This article is going to be part of a series that will lay out the way forward as I see it for the Democratic Party since they no longer hold a 60 seat majority in the Senate and face the prospect of losing more seats in the house and senate resulting in slimmer majorities. The current situation means that the Democratic leadership needs to exercise some gamesmanship. They need to be clear eyed field generals calling effective plays that guide their team to victory. In short, they need is a game plan.
Before I get started I should make clear a few things. One is that although they have 60 members in their caucus in the Senate they never had a 60 vote majority. Those 60 votes included Joe Lieberman of the Lieberman party of Connecticut who only represents his own interests and seems more interested in exacting revenge against the party for not backing him in his last re-election bid. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was also included in those 60 votes. Conservatives are fond of calling moderates in their party RINO’s Republicans In Name Only. Mr. Nelson based on his votes and his policy stances could best be described as a Republican by another name. The same could be said for Blanch Lincoln, Mary Landrieu, and to a lesser extent Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Kent Conrad of North Dakota. Two is that the bare bones of it are that of the 60 members of the Democratic Caucus there were approximately 52 solidly Democratic Senators that believed in the Parties values and solidly voted for those causes. Basically, this is a very long way of saying that while there were 60 members of the Democratic Caucus there were never 60 solidly Democratic votes. Now that an election in Massachusetts has made numerically clear the lack of a Democratic super majority the time has come to stop negotiating and start fighting.
First and foremost, Healthcare reform needs to be completed. The Democratic Party has basically painted itself into a corner on this issue. After spending the best part of a year putting this legislation together, making it the centerpiece of the first year of the Obama administration, and enduring a long hot summer and miserable fall in winter in which Republicans in the minority controlled not only the pace and composition of the debate but also the message that the American people received something meaningful needs to be passed before the midterms. Ideally, some form of this legislation that makes a real impact in terms of cost control and services will be passed before the middle of March. The problem is this. The Senate bill is wholly unpalatable to Democrats in the House of Representatives. They view it, correctly so, as deeply flawed, and in essence benefitting only the very insurance companies that this legislation was intended to reign in. Conversely, the member’s f the Senate view the House bill as far too liberal, and in the minds of some bordering on socialism. I will save the glaring mistakes with the socialism arguments of another day. The problem still remains that in their current forms neither chamber of congress is willing to pass the bill passed by the other, and a comprise will almost certainly not satisfy enough to pass both houses. Even if a compromise bill were to be palatable enough that the progressive members of the House of Representatives were to be able to swallow hard and pass it would likely never be able to pass in the Senate. The problem still remains giving up means surrendering the labors of a year and most assuredly a huge midterm gain to the Republicans, and going forward means possibly going down to defeat and likewise seeding the work of a year to the Republican Party. This is where the political gamesmanship comes in.
We already know that healthcare legislation can pass in the House. The Democratic leadership needs to scrap the bills that are being worked on now and adopt quickly a one two combination punch approach. First, in the House, you put together a bill that covers regulation only. This bill needs to include; the repeal of the insurance industry anti – trust exemption, barring insurance companies from dropping coverage for “pre-existing conditions, removing the ability of insurance companies ability to place a cap on the amount of coverage someone can receive when they become sick and likewise dropping their coverage when they become sick. This bill would also need to include the establishment of a national insurance exchange, a marketplace where people may shop for insurance across state lines, along with that ability to buy the same insurance policy that every federal employee including all members of congress are covered under today. This exchange would be comprised totally of private, regulated insurance plans. The cost of administering this national exchange could easily be covered by a service fee at the time of sale equivalent to a sales tax. This bill could easily pass the House with bi-partisan support. In the much more conservative Senate the leadership would need to play hardball. If the Republican minority threatens to filibuster this regulatory bill the Democratic leaders need to call the bluff. Tell the Republican leadership they may block these regulations that benefit every American with a private insurance policy, or they can publically and loudly side with insurance companies over their constituent’s interests and the Democratic Party will be sure that they have to run on, and defend that vote when they return to this district. Maneuver the minority into a position where a vote of no means almost certain political suicide from constituents tired of insurance companies taking advantage of them.
The second punch in this one two combination is creating competition. As a separate, stand alone bill, you create Medicare Part E. This will offer the same level of service as the Medicare that all of our seniors enjoy. This would be a premium based system. If you want this insurance option, just like a private insurance plan, anyone who wants this plan will have to pay a monthly premium for their coverage. The difference would be that unlike private insurance Medicare Part E will be not for profit, and like all the other parts of Medicare, will have the same low overhead in terms of management. The result will be an insurance plan with a monthly premium lower than the private plans. With the passage of the above mentioned first bill private insurance, now subject to antitrust laws, specifically laws regarding price fixing, will have to individually compete with a lower cost option that delivers a high level of service.
Passing this bill would follow much the same path as the first bill I described. Their will, likewise, be large, and possibly bi-partisan support for this bill in the House. In the Senate the passage will again be harder, with a much more conservative body. Once again, the Democratic body needs to replace their spine with steel and call the filibuster bluff. Stare down the opposition and tell them if you feel that strongly, they a lower cost option should not be in the market place to further drive down costs and make things easier for the American people then block the bill. Grind the Senate to a halt for 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, day after day reading the phonebook or your favorite author, and then go back to your states and run on this. Again, maneuver the opposition into an unwinnable position and pass the legislation you want to pass.
These are the first steps in a very long process. As I states in my opening, the way forward must be one of fighting for the policy that we want, not negotiating for it. These will be hard fights against vigorous resistance. These moves are basically the opening rounds of a fight, or the first drives in a football game, they are designed to start fast and hit hard, imposing your will upon your opponent, causing him to rock pack on his heels and react in an off balance disorganized way. These moves are not meant to exemplify comity in any way. These are the two fisted fighter’s approach that Middle America likes. The Democratic Party needs to dig in, hold its ground and fight for the average American.
This article first published by John Festa on the Left Turn Blog.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Consti,
Again with the insults and now lame ass “jokes.” Jfesta should threaten you with prosecution for slander like you did Laura, since you have made dispersions against him. Threatening legal action against someone here while hiding behind a false name and you have the nerve to refer to ANYONE as a “nancy girl.” Why don’t you just threaten to tell our mommas on us.
Again with the self-delusion- who called you an intellectual? Wishful thinking on your part again…the only kind of thinking you seem capable of doing. You got busted by Jfesta with your own words and instead of being a man and apologizing, you take it on the offensive again. An offense is only a good defense if it is a GOOD offense, and yours is LAME at best. Dude, you need to just quit while you have a shred of decency or integrity left, cause you left “ahead” in the rear view mirror a long time ago.
I have not used profanity here, no more than when you asked Laura if she thought she was the “F*^&ing queen?” You are so used to being such a hypocrite that you don’t even notice it anymore and since your high horse is on such a self-created pedestal, you don’t notice your own stink anymore either. But WE DO…I won’t mention your family or fiancee because I won’t knock someone I pity so greatly…
Where oh where do I start with these two new piles of excrement. Probably should check to see if it passes the man with no name test. I’ll call you that from now on because you don’t deserve the respect and dignity of being associated with the Constitution, but I digress.
The man with no name test.
Demean.
Impotent rage? It’s the internet nancy girl… I’ve been insulted by more creative people than you. Completely from the rules for radicals… being a chicago man I am not surprised.
CHECK
Dismiss.
Again, you make me giggle. And the more you shoot your vulgar mouth off the more you show your intolerance and small mind. So please continue to express your opinion. You make a great example for me of the rabid progressive win at any cost liberal you are. Instead of finding common ground it’s all WIN WIN WIN. Force your ideology on people. So much for an inclusive democrat. People like you would gladly defecate on the constitution just to get their way.
CHECK
Insult.
Q. What does Jfesta and Al-Qaida have in common?
A. They both condone violence as a means of political speech.
Q. What does Jfesta and Hugo Chavez have in common?
A. They both condone violence as a means to squelch political dissent.
CHECK CHECK
Well done. Comparing me to Al Qaeda and Hugo Chavez. I’m impressed I would have thought you would follow the lines of the guys you imitate and go for Stalin Mao and Hitler. You know, you’re in the “Bunker” like that screeching blowhard Mark Levin. You call Obama the one like Sean Hannity. And, you blow your top talk down to people and insult anyone who doesn’t agree with your line of BS like Glenn Beck. I can’t wait for you to have a public implosion and scream at me when challenged like Beck does.
But I see what the rules are now. You can respond to being challenged including insulting demeaning and out and out dismissing anyone, but when someone responds to you the same way it’s a great affront. Nice double standard there no name. Oh, by the way, its Barack, not Barak, he is the President, least you could do is spell his name right.
Oh, I almost forgot. You started this when you called me a liar. Now maybe you don’t mind being called one, but I do, and when I am called one by a sniveling little parasite like you, I answer that insult. Now, if in that sawdust and cobweb filled mind of yours you can’t understand that I suggest you walk up to a man on the street, call him a liar and see how long it takes him to knock a few of your teeth out.
Since I make you laugh so much let’s see how many giggles this gets. When it comes to you, I’m rooting for the cancer. I hope it leaves you in agony for months while it eats you alive. Laughing yet?
Q&A time kiddies!!
Q. What does Jfesta and Al-Qaida have in common?
A. They both condone violence as a means of political speech.
Q. What does Jfesta and Hugo Chavez have in common?
A. They both condone violence as a means to squelch political dissent.
Q. What does Jfesta and Barak Obama have in common?
A. Nothing. Even Obama admonished both the dems and republicans about their rhetoric.
Thanks John for threatening violence in this thread. You have made this Q&A possible. You have insulted me, my parents, my family, my intelligence, and my manhood. All while whining like a nancy boy about how “insulting” I am . For someone who so arrogantly claims to be “a better man” I see you are not above being insulting yourself.
Impotent rage? and of course you don’t include ANY of the comments made to me that sparked my remarks in the first place. You are laughable. Of course like you I am not about to back down when someone comes at me like many have including yourself, but providing only ONE side of the story is all you are about anyway so I am not suprised. And I will point out I HAVE NEVER THREATENED VIOLENCE as you have.
Why do I have the image of you frothing at the mouth in front of your computer with a vein throbbing in your temple? Oh yeah, because I can push your buttons so easily. And here is one more for you BLAH BLAH BLAH… so what does that make the count now?
It’s the internet nancy girl… I’ve been insulted by more creative people than you. You are angry and can’t do anything about it. And you don’t upset me so it frustrates you more. Take a look at my very first comment in this thread… you will see that I was not insulting in any way… but of course you prefer to ignore that, and paint only one side of a picture. Completely from the rules for radicals… being a chicago man I am not suprised.
Again, you make me giggle. And the more you shoot your vulgar mouth off the more you show your intolerance and small mind. So please continue to express your opinon. You make a great example for me of the rabid progressive win at any cost liberal you are. Instead of finding common ground it’s all WIN WIN WIN. Force your ideaology on people. So much for an inclusive democrat. People like you would gladly deficate on the constitution just to get their way.
And yes George I said defiate. Unlike the vulgarity you both espouse. Intellectual? Really? With only a high school education? I’ve been called many things in my life, but intellectual has never been one. So thanks for the complement.
These are just a few of the comments you have made towards me and others:
January 31, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Blah, blah, blah… ignorance truely is bliss isn’t it? Again, sour grapes.
Submitted on 2010/01/31 at 10:03pm
WOW! George after that rant my only question is which asylum did you escape from? Trying to debate facts with you is like masturbation. Alot of work for very little reward. A biased close minded individual like yourself is ecactly what the Democrats need. God bless you!
Which asylum? Way to stay on the facts and not be insulting.
Submitted on 2010/01/31 at 5:32pm
George,
Are you completely mental? Or just off your meds?
NOPE, nothing insulting about that at all.
Submitted on 2009/12/30 at 3:05am
Whatever… Blame Obama? I’m just providing links to stories that are in the news… You really need to get that red headed temper under control. I would suggest upping your doseage of Prozac.
NAW, not at all patronizing or insulting, just sticking to the facts.
Submitted on 2009/12/17 at 9:24pm
Blah blah blah…. same ol same ol Laura.
Just sticking to the facts, nothing to see here. There’s that blah, blah, blah again
Submitted on 2009/12/17 at 8:36pm
Lol… You really are in rare form today.
First. “Only you would be able to find a way to Christmas all about you…LOL…and remind us of it instead of keeping it to yourself. I think that’s tasteless.” It has never been about me. As arrogant as you try to make me sound you obviously missed the point. Christmas is a special time for me because it ALSO includes my birthday. Christ and I are homies in that respect.
You and Christ are homies. NAW nothing arrogant about that.
Submitted on 2009/11/11 at 2:46pm
Blah blah…
Found that blah, blah again.
Submitted on 2009/11/11 at 1:22pm
Blah blah.
And again.
Submitted on 2009/11/08 at 10:24am
Blah blah blah…. you need to come up with some new material.
Three blah’s this time, must be trying to show how serious you are about sticking to the facts and not insulting people.
Submitted on 2009/10/27 at 6:42pm
We grant? Who are you the F*^&ing queen?
Nope, not a bit insulting there.
Submitted on 2009/10/26 at 7:04pm
Blah blah blah.
Found the Blah’s again. You must really like those; they just prove facts so well.
Submitted on 2009/10/26 at 6:06pm
Laura as usual you are welcome to your opinion. You call me a coward for not using my name. I say I am being responsible for my family against radicals like you.
Nothing says impartial and sticking to the facts like calling someone a radical.
Above are just a small sampling of the insulting dismissive and patronizing comments you have made to multiple people on this site, one of whom got tired of dealing with the constant stream of bullshit that flows from your mouth and left. I owe you for that one, she writes for my blog now. But it looks to me and well…anyone else that can read, that you just like demeaning and insulting anyone who argues with you and won’t let you have your way. What a sorry little man you are. Of coarse then there is this from you also:
Submitted on 2009/12/23 at 4:58am
For those of you who read these comments (Other than the usual suspects) let me just say that when people berate you for your opinion or try to make you out as some angry, biased, foaming at the mouth, hater it’s because they can’t argue with your points.
Sounds exactly like what you do when I, and others like George, Laura and Dfunzy stand up and challenge you. You do the same thing to everyone that challenges you, when they counter every challenge you make you make it personal dismiss and demean. Everyone sees through it. I didn’t make this personal, you did. Don’t cry about getting hit when you step in the ring and challenge someone.
I refresh your memory about the 1st amendment every time I confront you with facts only to get insulted. Again, manly man, you think you pick up when I put down, but in actuality you choose to ignore the points I am making in order to be insulting and vulgar. Nice try to twist my words, but it’s transparent. Only an arrogant person would think someone is a “lesser man” because they disagree with you. When it’s all said and done at the end of the day you make me giggle. Let me repeat that… I am laughing at you. For talking about me being insulting you do a dandy job of it yourself supposedly “better man” What a joke.
Blah blah blah… and lets not forget that Unions got their power from the mob. Being from the same town I am well aware of Hoffa. But you don’t mention that do you. As I have stated before to you and others. You are most welcome to your opinion and “style” but violence is violence, and you make your “style” apparent. I am sure you are quite impressive manly man… Again, I respect my family and their wishes unlike yourself.
Here is a link to the text of the constitution. I suggest you refresh your knowledge of amendment one.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
UN:F [1.8.1_1037]
Ben,
That’s not somebody debating the facts, thats somebody throwing it down. When someone throws it down I pick it up. If one of the few liberals on this site were insulting and dismissive to you like that you know damn well you’d be going after them like a while animal. I don’t take kindly to being spoken down to, especially by lesser men.
Oh yeah, John Festa Berwyn, IL name was on the bottom of the article, I suggest you READ before you accuse, and now you have my hometown.
Consti,
Every time you get challanged and dont have an answer you give this dismissive whiney complaint and tell people to go read the constitution. Nice try, dosn’t work with me. There is an old saying, “The courage of your enemy does you honor.” You would do well to examine that and yourself. Until then, don’t step in the ring and complain when you get hit.
George,
I like your style, smart quick whitted and not afraid to mix it up. There is a spot as a contributer open for you on my new Blog when ever you want it.
Consti,
Most real writers would consider themselves successful, or to have “done something right,” when it becomes clear they are understood by their readers- not when they are argued with on a consistent basis by multiple people who are responding to unprovoked insults hurled by you. In order to do this, most writers realize that they must find a commonality with their audience; not insult, talk down to or belittle them. All that the repsonse you get shows is that you have failed in communicating a commonality and succeeded in insulting, talking down and belittling your audience. The comments you get from all but a token few on here provides plenty of evidence of that.
And when was Laura or Dfunzy supposed to know you were agreeing with them? Before or after you called them ignorant, insane, drunk or on drugs, among other pleasant phrases? You called Dfunzy a drunk in the very first comment to the very first satire he posted here. Quit trying to backtrack and make yourself look better- all anyone has to do is read your own words to see that BS claim for what it is.
You, SIR (see, now I sound like a big shot too,) are no Mark Twain, that’s for sure. Just because you can put words on a computer screen and compose a rant does not make you a writer, and certainly not a good or successful one- no more than spouting out 15 babies from her vagina makes OctoMom a real mom, or a successful one at that.
Keep on trying though…you might get there one day if you shut up and listen to other people for once, and quit insisting that you know it all. Spouting off at the mouth is only one half of a communication.
Plus, on vitriol and big words in general… If you are that unsure that your intended audience would not understand a word, then you don’t use it. Writing 101, my troglodytic friend (big word!!!!!! I’m all a twitter now! And I didn’t even have to look in the dictionary for what it meant)… And if you didn’t know what it meant, you shouldn’t have used it. The Dictionary.com bit just made you look stupid or like a conceited ass. Like I said, you must have gotten a “Big word of the day” calendar. Which word was today’s word? My vote goes for “obfuscate.”
You are a constant reminder that I am doing something right. So thanks.
HAHA…. I provided the link to dictonary.com for you when it comes to vitriol. And as for the rest of your claims that are absurd i disagree and agree with Dfunzy all the time. I even agreed with Laura despite her ignoring it. And neither of them are/were as ignorant as you. If you find me insulting you might want to review your comments. As I am simply responding to your hate.
You know- it ain’t just Consti, but ya gotta love this new trend of attacking the intellectual capability of anyone who doesn’t tow the line or who chooses to disagree, especailly if they are bold and colorful in talking about it….One could even call it the “insult du jour”- that thayre’s “insult of the day” to all you dum reglar folk without “cranial capacity” liek mee…
The guilty ones are the same people that slam the “liberal intellectual elite” and accuse them of snobbishness and a “holier than thou” attitude. Some even love to praise the common man, regular Joe, the average American.
The pot is getting blacker and blacker (or more and more black, or ever increasingly black- choose your snobby phrase of choice) next to that kettle…LOL
Consti,
You need to check the air quality level in your bunker. There must be some noxious fumes that are getting in the way of proper brain function. You may not be able to spell or use proper grammar, but you sure like to pull out the big words when it suits you- “cranial capacity?” It just makes you sound like a know-it-all idiot. Spend more time coming up with original concepts in your blogs (not tired old retreads with the same talking point links and polls) and less time trying to find new big words to use.
Hey, I never claimed to be better than anyone else. I don’t routinely slam and insult everyone on this site. I don’t call people stupid or imply they are just because they don’t agree with me. Never have. I am very different from you in that regard. You consistently make blanket statements about people you have never met. You personally insult people based on one or two statements. You are condescending and dismissive in your posts and in your comments. You verbally place yourself on some kind of higher plane than everyone else. All the while, you drop arguments made by others left and right the second they prove conclusively what a chump you are being. I, on the other hand, only truly insult one person on here- you- because of those same said reasons.
Cranial capacity? Dude, you have no idea…and I don’t have to justify or explain myself to you. You probably had to look the phrase “cranial capacity” up in the dictionary, just like you had to look up vitriol. Or were they in the “Big word of the day” desk calendar you got for Christmas? Or did you find them on one of your nutjob blogs and thought they sounded grown up and decided to use them? I’m not here to feed my ego or to look like a big shot because I don’t feel like I have to. Sad that you can’t say the same. I really don’t think you have any idea how shrill, inconsequential and nonsensical- oooh, big words are FUN!- you come across, especially when the basic concepts you write about are so purile as to be farsical. ..And I didn’t have to use the dictionary once! What a big shot that makes me! And “blah, blah, blah”- yeah, lots of “cranial capacity” to come up with that one. Did you call up my four year old nephew to get that one?
What a joke…LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Ben,
If children are reading this blog, then they are not your average kid anyway. And I thought that it is a parent’s responsibility to monitor what a kid is viewing on the internet. Jfesta, and anyone else on here, is free to use whatever language they choose. I love how you focus on the words people are using while ignoring they nasty insults that people you agree with use toward others just because they stop just short of using cuss words . You need to call out nasty hateful speech regardless of the topic or the source if you want to have any kind of moral authority. Without it you just sound prissy and prudish- very Niles Crane. (Consti- more big words! I almost had an orgasm…) Hey…Niles Crane…I think that is the perfect nom de plume for you, Ben. (Consti- there goes another one! I guess I’m not a “one and done” kinda guy!)
To you both- You won’t be smacking into any trees as you walk through the forest, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t lost. LOL
What’s funny to me is that party of tolerance is the most intolerant of them all if you happen to disagree with their politics. And their president is a master at playing that game.
J Festa- Since when is it necessary to get vulgar on this site? You have taken rude, crude and socially unacceptable to a whole new level.
If I had a vote on this site, I would vote to rid this site of people like you. You add absolutely nothing to the conversation. Your vulgarity simply indicates that you have no argument and would rather stoop to bullying and intimidating than debate the facts. You, sir, are an ideologue of the worst kind and to the Nth degree.
For the past 15 yrs I’ve worked in a maximum security prison (male facility) and those hard-core inmates have more basic human decency that you could ever hope to obtain. Even when dealing with those on my caseload, I don’t have to use the kind of language that you use here.
You want to talk about someone hiding behind a pen-name and state that you use your real name because you refuse to hide. How do we know that? All I see is an initial and what may or not be a last name. Why don’t you quit hiding behind that and put your real name, as I have done here. I’ll even tell you I live in McAlester, OK.
If that’s the way you choose to respond when someone disputes your facts with their facts, the best thing you could do is dry up and go away.
JFesta
You refuse time and time again to honorably engage when challenged, but dismiss and speak down to anyone when they successfully argue their position.
HA!! I never refused to engage you in fact I do it all the time. It is you sir who prefers to insult, threaten, and obfuscate. I give you plenty of facts to choose from. Yet you choose instead to ignore it. Violence is the refuge of the weak minded.
There are children who read this site according to others, so I would ask that you refrain from vulgarity. Again it is a sign of a weak mind.
Sticks and stones may break my bones but morons like you just amuse me.
George
Blah, blah blah… same thing goes for you.
I see that intolerance is still alive and well in this world. And for complaining about me being insulting while you yourself are so well versed at it is laughable. Two tough guys behind the keys, but kittens in the world. Perhaps if the two of you actually took the time to read what I provide instead of getting your panties in a twist you would understand. However, at this point I don’t think you have the cranial capacity. As always you are welcome to your opinion and hate.
Consti,
You try to make it about the individual when they disagree with you and call you out. Doesn’t the fact that you have had multiple people call you on the same bad attitude, insulting nature, hypocrisy and lack of overall balls tell you something? Brother, it ain’t all of us- it’s you. Maybe if you didn’t find such glee and obvious purpose in doing nothing but insuting people and trying to bring them down, you might not feel the need to hide in a bunker. If you feel “attacked” or “threatened” then maybe you need to ask why, what part you play in it. We all have told you.
And your insistence on the “facts” that you use. You may post a link, but that doesn’t make your interpretation of an interpretation accurate. And the fact that you use “facts” as justification for rant after rant about anyone who doesn’t hold the same belief as you doesn’t justify it either. Hey, if that goes then me, Jfesta, Laura and everyone else who have quoted your exact words to show what a hypocrite, Alinsky-file and overall a**hole you are is well within our rights. And then you wave the First Amendment. If we all have First Amendment rights (or two claims if we work for a corporation too,) then why do you insist on getting up the backside of any who use theirs, calling them names from the first time they post or comment?
You act like you are some kind of intellectual- since when has ANYTHING you’ve had to say been anything but a hollow retread at best. The only “original” words that come from your pen are insults and I’m sure that even they have been done before if I took the time to read the likes of Michelle Malkin (who by the way thinks it’s okay to imprison American citizens without just cause, Mr. Rights Crusader.) You, son, are a joke and the fact that you refuse to open your eytes and ears yet use your narrow version of the world and the truth to vote scares me and raises serious concern about the future ofthis country. I wish we could split this nation down the middle and put you and those like you on your side, then see what it looks like in 20 years, only I would not be able to afford to support all the people from your side that would flee over to our side without contributing to our kitty. Look at the top states in per capita Federal tax income (Blue States, every one) as opposed to those states that have their hand out (Red States, every one.)
Get a life. Get a sense of humor. Get a pair. Get your head out of your backside. Then maybe you might actually have something of value to say.
I have read the Constitution multiple times, I know it quite well and you are entitled to speak your mind, even though every time you do you prove yourself to be s snivling weakling whos only brave behind a mask in the dark, much like a mugger who only preys on women sneaking up from behind. I DO respect the wishes of my family. the one thing they can not abide is a coward. If I were to do like you, hide behind a fake name and run from every fight I’d be a disgrace to myself and my family. and yes I am a man. I would rather die than be a disgrace. You sir, are a son of a bitch, and I mean that as an insult to yourself and your parantage.
You refuse time and time again to honorably engage when challenged, but dismiss and speak down to anyone when they successfuly argue their position. I believe the only responce to you is in the vernacular of my union brothers and sisters. Fuck you boy. Come back when you’ve reached manhood.
and lets not forget that Unions got their power from the mob.
Here is a link to the text of the constitution. I suggest you refresh your knowledge of amendment one.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. You have your side I have mine, I think yours is wrong, you think mine is. My goal is wins for my side. Obama may want to try for the “post partisan Presidency” but that’s not my style. I’m more of an in the trenches, roll up the sleeves out work the other side and get a win kind of guys. I don’t even see Democrats as my opponent. I just can’t do that to my mother.
As for your comments about me being like SEIU thugs, since my father was a union laborer for 45 years, 30 of that with SEIU, and since most of those men he worked with I call friends, and probably will have a job in that same union shop shortly I think you can take your opinion of SEIU and stick it where you’re head is so firmly inserted. This is a union that represents janitors, and nurses aids, carpet cleaners, and hospital staffers, basically the people that clean up after everyone else. SEIU makes sure that when these people want that “evil” thing called collective bargaining, so they can make a decent wage, the kind of wage that allowed me and my brother to grow up middle class and attend college, that will allow me to pay for grad school and buy my first home, someone is in their corner, with a brotherhood of fellow workers, and the legal resources to stand up to management and big corporations. I notice that it’s always the evil SEIU, like it’s the only union, a giant purple monolith aiming for world domination. I guess the IBEW, UAW, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Carpenters, Plumbers, Pipefitters, Heat and Frost Insulators, Operating Engineers, Steelworkers, Sheet metal workers, Brick layers, AFL-CIO, Iron workers, Police Officers, and Fire Fighters, are all perfectly fine. Just normal hard working Americans looking for the dream of a house with a decent car in the garage and a better life for their kids. Not like that evil SEIU, they want to take over the world. SEIU wants what all these other unions want, and all their brothers and sisters want, pay that gives them a middle class lifestyle, good health insurance, and a pension so they care retire comfortably.
Maybe, just maybe, when proud union workers, who form the backbone of the nation’s workforce, see this Tea party mob screaming about socialism, they remember the stories of fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers, being beaten threatened, and in some cases killed when they tried to form unions. Maybe they see the same rhetoric and attitude and see the starting of a movement to break unions, the way companies today still try to break union contracts and intimidate and get rid of people who want to form them. But hey, they’re just purple shirted goons bent on world domination.
“You’re an opponant.” That’s a shame J. It’s that exact attitude that Obama scolded the Congress for in his State of the Union. I do not see you as an opponent. I see you as a citizen. What are we going to have a “war on politics” like we do a “war on drugs”? I don’t even see Democrats as my opponent. I just can’t do that to my mother. But then again that’s the very attitude I would expect from someone who talks about “punches in the mouth.” You make me think that you would gladly beat some old man on the corner selling anti-obama stickers like the SEIU thugs did. That’s not a very progressive liberal view of compassion. Aren’t you supposed to be your brothers keeper?
And here is your Democrats eating their own President. I called it that the Democrats would back away from Obama’s sinking poll numbers. Here’s the article I predicted 2 weeks ago.
“As Congress begins picking through President Obama’s vast election year budget, many Democratic incumbents and candidates seem to be finding something they love — to campaign against.”
Pasted from http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/michael-jackson/sc-dc-obama-dems04-20100203,0,987524.story
I’ve said it before they are all (both sides) not interested in the public. Just their jobs. Another thing Obama has chastised them for.
Ben,
If you look just under the left corner of the embeded video there is a link to a full trascript of the speech. The link is below.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-state-union-address
Consti,
Humor is for friends. I’ve got one conservative freind. He and I disagree on everything political but he’ a good guy to drink beer and watch football with and unlike you, he stands completely behind everything he says and backs it up with his good name. He, unlike you, speaks his mind with out the fear of reprisials from those who don’t agree. I don’t agree with him but he has my respect. You don’t. You aren’t a friend. You’re an opponant.
J.
Sure enough there it is. Do they not issue a sense of humor where you are from?
My apologies, I guess I didn’t watch long enough until it transitioned back to the State of the Union. However, there still isn’t a link to the full text of the speech. Even w/ past Presidents, I rarely watched the speech, rather waited and read the text version from the White House website.
Ben, Consti,
Nice try.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/27/putting-washington-service-middle-class
If you look you will see that this was posted at 10:23PM EST Jan 27, 2010 THREE minutes after the Presidents speach concluded. Directly under a full video of the State of the Union, you’ll see a link to the full transcript of the speack. Looks pretty transparent to me.
Kinda what I was thinking…
Plausable deniability?? IDK. I had to go to google and find a transcript that was posted on a news site. So much for transparency eh?
Off-topic question Alert!!!
Why is it that when GWB was president, you could not only find the entire text of every State of the Union on the website, but a video of the speech in it’s entirety…however, with BHO, you can find only (and I quote directly from the whitehouse.gov website) “the essentials of the President’s plan, and watch a video with highlights of his speech to Congress”?
Can anyone answer that???
1. July 2009 (5 months after taking office) “Heading into a critical period in the debate over health-care reform, public approval of President Obama’s stewardship on the issue has dropped below the 50 percent threshold for the first time, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.” So yeah when you are saying that support is there for Healthcare you are wrong. 5 MONTHS after taking office HALF the country didn’t approve of it. PERIOD. To deny it is to be ignorant of the facts. Or flat out ignore them. So when you say it has approval you are either wrong or lying. Just as you say calling it like I see it. As for Medicare they have been trying to “fix” it for decades. Remember Newt Gingrich’s little line about letting it “wither on the vine”? Remember Clinton, Bush I, Bush II, etc, ad-nausem.
2. Name me ONE concession the Democrats made to the Republicans? Just ONE. If you are talking about news heads driving the public debate you are correct. If you are talking about actual substantive debate in congress the Dems were driving it. Being obstinate is not what we put our elected officials into office for. We put them there to work together for US. Now I will grant you NEITHER party has been doing the peoples work. But to place blame on just one party is silly. They are ALL acting like little kids on the playground. If they don’t want to share the ball then we will send them home without it.
3. New jobless clames have gone down because benefits have run out and people are STILL unemployed. If you want to look at ACTUAL numbers unemployment is 17% That’s a fact. GDP doesn’t mean jack if people are out of work and homeless. And it doesn’t mean jobs are created. It just means a slight increase in production. We lost over 7 MILLION jobs and Obama is happy about 1.2 million created. That’s a joke.
4. Obama’s vaulted “spending freeze” (which is the same one McCain suggested during the election) will only efect 1% of the debt. Big deal! It’s nothing to what they have added to the budget in the last year. In fact this administration has add more to the debt in ONE YEAR than the last 4 administrations. Another fact you can look up.
5. “that vast group of people in the middle are the low information voters.” And those “low information voters” kicked the Dems kiester in Massachusetts. And they are fellow citizens who have JUST AS MUCH a right to their views. I got news for you, with the country split ideologically down the middle THEY decide who wins. Period. You make the assumption that they are ill informed. I believe you are wrong.
6. “I would never give in to the irrational fears of women and hide behind another name.” If you are so willing to ignore the wishes of your loved ones then that is your decision. I prefer to honor the people I love and their wishes. If that makes me less of a man, then so be it. It’s the right thing since personally family comes first. And as far as a “broken Jaw” as you say it’s that exact threat of violence that they are concerned about. So thank you for proving my point for me. I’d like nothing better to put my name to these articles, but I RESPECT the wishes of my family. It’s a big desert my friend and people disappear all the time. So manly man somewhere else, it doesn’t play with me.
“Removing the state boundaries may remove monoplies but with out removing the anti trust protections you simply get 2,3 or 5 companies all charging almost the same thing.”
You’re logic is flawed and I have to disagree with this. Home owners and auto insurance companies have been allowed for many years to compete and sell their products across state lines and it is an extremely competitive market. I live in Oklahoma and was paying nearly $200/mo to cover my vehicles. I changed insurers (an out of state entity) and wound up saving nearly $80/mo – and that was AFTER purchasing a new vehicle to replace my 2000 Dodge Stratus.
If health insurance companies were allowed to operate under the same guidelines, we would see the same competitive rate structures. They would have to lower rates in order to attract new business. Also, many auto insurers have begun to include such things as Rental Reimbursement as standard on certain policies. You would see much the same thing among health insurers if only the restrictions were loosened in order to increase real competition.
1. ” In fact recent polling shows that a majority of the country doesn’t want a socialized healthcare system. ” Your words, not mine. I just refuted the contention. If Medicare is such a disaster, why isnt there a movement of citizens to avoid paying into during their working lives, and large numbers of people refusing it in favor of paying for private insurence. Will you refure medicare when you turn 65?
2. Republican talking points dominated the debate. I saw it. most of the people I know liberal and conservative saw it. Even the little old lady down the street saw it. I’m just calling it like I saw it. If you were trying to work with someone, and gave concession after concession and still they refused to agree to the final product what would you do. You would damn well get up, walk away and do it yourself. For the record I didnt like the bribes either. But Im more the bare knuckles politics type. If members of the caucus refused to agree you don’t appease them with payoffs, you let them know that you’re willing to let the bill die, but the bame will fall on them and they will be waging a one person re – election campaign. That’s the way party politics works. It’s not pretty, but that’s the way it is.
3. See the above answer. That’s not Alynsky. Never read his book. This is me looking at whats going on calling it like I see it and telling it like it is. It’s my opinion. You have yours and clearly its different. You’re entitied to yours, I’m entitled to mine. They are what they are. Don’t fall back on the tired Alynsky arguement. It’s a crutch of the weak. You’re a better debater than that.
4. Look at the data, not on unemployment, but new jobless claims. the number of new jobless claims has decreased every month in 2009 and continues to decrease last month. That means every month fewer and fewer people are losing their jobs. That trend line says to me that while we are still sheding jobs, the rate is falling, mostlikely because we’re bottoming out in this recession. At the same time, the rate of shrink in the GDP has slowed, and in the last reported quarter GDP grew by 4% meaning we’re starting to produce again. A growing GDP means that the trend line in less and less new jobless will continue and in one or two quarters the economy will start adding jobs as production increases.
5. This isn’t BDS, its BS. Pure 100% bullshit. The Republicans did set up Part D like this, They did require that the US pay full market price for drugs when they could get a massive bulk rate discount. the screwed the American people and they should get called out for it.
Perconally, I think Geightner and Bernake are Wall Street hacks, just like Bush’s guys were Wall Street hacks and the guys before them were Wall Street hacks. I dont trust any of them to police an industry they were just a part of. All they’re going to do is give deal to the guys they used to work with. They need to dump these guys and find some Wall Street outsiders to run the FED and Treasurery.
As far as raising the debt celing. You know and I know the Federal Government budgets year by year. If they are going to make cuts they wont take effect until 2011. Meanwhile, we are still fighting two wars that require infusions of cash, and paying for economic recovery. Most, not all of the banks have repaid their bailout funds. that money is back in the Treasurery. GM will pay back all of their bailout by the end of the year, so we will have that money back. Like it or not, we still need to invest in infrastrcuture. Other countries are and they are way ahead of us. if we want to remain competative we need to start building again also. That needs to be done by borrowing since the government has a decreased revenue stream because of the decreased economy. However, by 2011 ans into 2012, we will have pulled out of Iraq, removing the need for funding an army in the field, all the bailout money will have been paid back, and the Bush tax cuts will have expired returning the high level income tax rate to their 1990′s level. With that increased revenue and decreased need for spending, as well as hopefully a still growing GDP Obama can do, like Clinton did and cut spending, along with the spending freeze, and start paying down the debt. with any luck, that could mean surpluses again before 2020.
6. One caviat. Removing the state boundries may remove monoplies but with out removing the anti trust protections you simply get 2,3 or 5 companies all charging almost the same thing.
7. Over the summer, when the public option was explained as function like medicare and other government run healthcare plans the polling was overwhelmingly in favor. In June a no partisan D.C think tank that had opposed healthcare reform in the 90′s and is supported by one of the nations largest insurence companies found that 53% of people stringly supported a public option and another 30% somewhat supported it for a total of 83% somewhat or strongly supporting a Government health plan. Those results were almost identical to the follow up WSJ / NBC News poll that found 87% of Democrats, 50% of Republicans, and 72% of Independents supported a public option. That gave a grand total of 73% overall. I don’t lie
8. Parties are what they are. each has an ideology, liberal and conservative. I believe that a liberal ideology is best for the country. Ive picked my side, picked my ideology and I fight for it. that vast group of people in the middle are the low information voters. They are swayed by sound bites and comercials. Anyone who spends enough time reading and researching whats going on can decide, and I a liberal or conservative and pick their side. Independents either dont have enough information to make that decision, or the simply aren’t interested enough to find out a vote on how they feel.
Finally, you made this personal when you accused me of lying. I believe in honor, and courage, and living by both. I would never give in to the irrational fears of women and hide behind another name. You’ve called me a lier twice, twice questioning my honor. In person that would have been answered with a broken jaw.
Oh… and here is your “recovery”…
Sales of new homes in the US unexpectedly dropped in December, the latest sign that government support is causing swings in the performance of the housing market.
New home sales fell by 7.6 per cent last month after falling by a revised 11.3 per cent in November, commerce department figures showed. Wall Street analysts predicted an increase.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/46067160-0b5f-11df-8232-00144feabdc0.html
Ok.
1. I never said “Socialized Healthcare”. I said government run Healthcare. Big difference. So lets be sure we are on the same page. People see the disaster Medicare is an don’t want to be saddled with another expensive government entitlement program.
2. “lock the doors and do it yourself.” Which is exactly what happened. So negotiating never happened in good faith or not. And what about the negotiating within the Dem party. The bribes for votes wasn’t pretty as well and I’m sure everyone was willing to “negotiate” within the party.
3. Republicans didn’t control ANY debate on the issue of Healthcare. And even someone who hides behind a pen name can see that the bribes for votes means the dems were controlling the debate the whole time. Even the town hall protesters were belittle, derided, insulted, summarily dismissed, and they WERE constituents. To say the Republicans controlled the debate when the Dems have been in power since 2006 is a complete obfuscation of the truth. It was the wheeling and dealing for the 60 votes that drove the debate. Nice Alynsky try but very transparent.
4. Unemployment is not on the downslide. And to say that we peaked last year is an assumption on your part. The GAO released a report THIS WEEK that stimulus will cost another 75 billion than originally expected. Never mind the fact that government doesn’t create jobs and already reports have shown that the 2 million number often quoted is mostly fabrication. There is NO way and any economist will tell you this to accurately determine jobs saved by the stimulus. An expensive bill on tax payers backs to create jobs that never materalized Remember we were told by Obama himself that passing stimulus would mean unemployment wouldn’t go past 8%. Were at 10.2% so I would say that’s either a promise broken or a complete failure.
5. Yes lets talk about the government taking advantage. Just today they raised the deficit limit to over 14 trillion so they won’t have to make hard political decisions about what to cut. Let’s talk about the Fed allowing a bail out of AIG AND paying 100 cents on a dollar of the money AIG owed to it’s creditor. Let’s talk about Timothy Geithner allowing bonuses to be paid, and the fed keeping the records sealed until 2018 after the two terms Obama “might” serve. And those documents have been leaked recently showing the damaging evidence. Let’s talk about the government taking advantage of people since the Democrats have been running the show since 2006. I see you still suffer from BDS.
6. Anti-trust laws. I agree with you on this one 100%. However by not allowing companies to sell across state lines you are artificially creating a monopoly. Then complaining about it.
7. Having explained to them and 75% are for it? You should start reading the news. ANY current poll indicates that 57% of the public doesn’t want it. So don’t lie. And as for catching bogus claims on Medicare they haven’t done it in decades… why do you think they will start now? Not when you have groups like ACORN teaching people how to game the system. That’s a joke to think that they will aggressively go after claims.
8. I agree with you about political parties. There is NOTHING in the constitution that states we need them for an effective government. However, like most partisans you are forgetting the middle party… independents who really determine which side wins or looses. And again, since you didn’t understand me last time. YOU SHUOLD NOT “FIGHT” FOR YOUR PARTY YOU SHOULD FIGHT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. As Rodney King said; “Can’t we all just get along?”
As always it’s a pleasure to debate this with you but comments about my using a pen name or being a jack ass just show your intolerance to differing views. Try not to make it personal in the future.
Ok, we’ll take this from the top.
One, healthcare reform is not a socialized healthcare system. For that to happen the government would need to employ all the doctors, own all the hospitals and provide all the services. Not even the Senate train wreck of a bill does that. What both bills try to do, I personally think the House bill does it better, is responsably regulate the industry. Since the people are ok with the government doing thing like regulating safety standards for their cars, and the trucks they share the road with, and planes, and making sure thing like lead paint don’t wind up in their kids toys, I’m pretty sure the people would be ok with those kinds of regulations on insurence and tell conservatives to go preform an act not suitable for polite society.
Two. Yes. Stop negotiating. I said it and I stand by it. When Chuck Grassley sits down with max Baucus to negotiate the Senate finance bill then goes back to Iowa and talks to people about death panals and killing reform, that is not negotiating in good faith. When the Republican minority on the Finance Committee gets dozens, DOZENS of their amendments passed and then none of them vote to pass the bill in committee that’s not negotiating in good faith. When you clearly have people who are not negotiating in good faith, but only have as their objective delay and to weaken the bill from within, you tell them thanks for the help but we got this, lock the doors and do it yourself.
Three. Republicans have controled the debate. Its been allowed by the Democratic Party because I believe that the current Democratic party is run by old hippies and devout cowards. had they been willing to fight like I articulated this would have been passed already, and in a much better form that it is now, and with out catastrophic things like an individual mandate in them. Call me a lier while hiding behind a pen name if you like, but I think everyone can see thats a clear case of a jackass looking into a mirror and expecting to see an apostle looking back at him.
Furthermore, the numbers clearly show that while unemployment is still high a recovery is begining. Job lossed peaked last year. less and less are being lost every quarter showing a trend towards job growth most likely by the third quarter of 2010. This is bolstered by the fact that last quarter the GDP did not shrink, it grew, by 4%. Sounds like that whole stimulas thing conservatives love to scream about is having an effect.
Four. let’s talk about the government taking advantage of people. Let’s talk about Medicare part D, the Prescription Drug Benefit. Lets talk about how that legislation. Lets talk about how a Republican member of the House incert language into the bill to force the government to pay full market price for all drugs instead of getting a bulk discount considering this program made them the largest buyer of these drugs. Let’s talk about how that Republican language has caused cost over runs of hundresd of billions of dollars. And, let’s also talk about how that same Republican member of the House, after placing that higher burden on the tax payer while creating windfall profits for drug companies, petitiones and received permission from Speaker Hastert to leave his seat early and take a job with one of the largest drug companies in the U.S. Let’s talk about the government taking advantage of the people shall we.
Fifth. Simply allowing people to shop for insurence across state lines will not lower costs. Since Company A and Company B are both exempt from Antitrust laws, and are allowed to colude together to fix prices, Company B will simply raise its prices to match Company A.
Sixth. When people had the public option explained to them as a Medicare style program with the same level of services and costs it polled at over 75%. Also, when it was explained that the origional legislation contained npo mandate to buy insurence, no mandate to go onto a federal plan, the ability to keep their Dr. and their private insurence if they liked it, this also polled well over 70%. People like medicare because they see how well seniors are taken care of. You complain that Medicare has the highest claims denial rate while asserting that it is a system “ripe with fraud” Looks to me like Medicare, a proportionally massive plan when compared to some of the other, is catching those bogus claims and denying them.
Finally. If people really wanted an end to partisanship they would do away with all political parties. The entire point of political parties is to be partisan. The parties represent two opposing points of view, one liberal, one conservative. People identify with one or the other and vote accordingly. Idealy the two sides could compromise and meet in the middle. Since it’s obvious that they can’t, you pick your side and fight like hell to win.
Oh man where do I start with this.
“Party Values” – How about American values? How about the people’s values? Not everyone in this country wants healthcare reform. In fact recent polling shows that a majority of the country doesn’t want a socialized healthcare system. Perhaps the Democrats should get back to the peoples values and tell the extreme left to go fly a kite. Party values. We didn’t vote them in to march in lock step to party values. We voted them in to do the will of the people which they have completely ignored for party values.
“Stop negotiating” – They never started in the first place! Republicans were locked out of conference rooms during the healthcare debate. Don’t believe me look it up. A small news article that never his the MSM. And the proposals the Republicans made for healthcare were never even considered. It was Pelosi who said; “We won the election we write the bill.” That’s not the “most bi-partisan administration” we were promised by Obama during his campaign. In fact a recent report shows him as THE MOST polarizing president EVER. They need to start negotiating since the American public is sick as hell of the partisan tone in Washington.
“controlled not only the pace and composition of the debate” – The Republicans haven’t controlled ANYTHING for the past year. It was Democrats positioning for favors for their state. Or lets just call them what they were, bribes for their vote. The Republicans had nothing to do with the pace and composition of the debate. Don’t lie it’s un-attractive. The Democrats ran healtcare for a year while IGNORING unemployment. Healthcare is number 4 on the top concerns of the public. It comes after jobs, the deficit, terrorism.
“This bill would also need to include the establishment of a national insurance exchange,” – Instead of re-inventing the wheel why don’t you just allow insurance companies to compete across state lines. This will drop prices in that there is a larger pool of people that will be willing to pay for better insurance at a lower cost. If company A charges less than company B in another state who do you think we will buy our insurance from? This is just another form of state control that the people of this country have CLEARLY said they don’t want. Forcing down our throats is a sure way to get booted out of office.
“constituents tired of insurance companies taking advantage of them” – That may be, but the American public is also tired of government taking advantage of them as well. Stay out of our pockets to pay for your social programs that half the country doesn’t want. Additionally any poll you look at, any American I have personally talked to, doesn’t want a government run healthcare system. Do the PEOPLES WILL NOT THE PARTY LINE.
“Medicare Part E” – Seriously? Medicare is so far in the hole as it is you want to add more to it? And it will be “not for profit”? So in other words MORE TAXES to pay for a program that is already ripe with FRAUD. Just consider this:
According to the American Medical Association’s National Health Insurer Report Card for 2008, the government’s health plan, Medicare, denied medical claims at nearly double the average for private insurers: Medicare denied 6.85% of claims. The highest private insurance denier was Aetna @ 6.8%, followed by Anthem Blue Cross @ 3.44, with an average denial rate of medical claims by private insurers of 3.88% Pasted from
Or this;
According to their own auditors, Medicare knowingly overpays for almost everything it buys. Examples include:
– $7,215 to rent an oxygen concentrator, when the purchase price is $600.
– $4,018 for a standard wheelchair, while the private sector pays $1,048.
– $1,825 for a hospital bed, compared to an Internet price of $1,071.
– $3,335 for a respiratory pump, versus an advertised price of $1,987.
– $82 for a diabetic supply kit, instead of a $47 price on the Web.
Pasted from
Medicare part E is nothing more than another government entitlement. That may play in Washington, but the people don’t want MORE of their money going to people who don’t know how to spend it.
“imposing your will upon your opponent,” – So in other words COMPLETELY ignore the will of the people for party gain. Completely ignore the people who are telling you they are tired of the partisan politics in Washington. Americans have sent the message that they want Washington to stop acting like little kids and play nice. A message completely ignored in the state of the Union. There shouldn’t be a need to “fight” just so YOUR party wins. It’s not weather or not your party wins, it’s a matter of “is this good for the people.” Something the Democrats are showing they don’t care about. I hope they do fight and continue with the partisan bickering. If they do they will loose MORE seats and power than they have already. They were elected to work for the people. Not impose their will UPON the people.
We put these people in positions of power over us and expect them to serve the public. I believe that is the definition of a public servant. It’s time BOTH parties come to terms with the fact that they are there because WE want them to do OUR bidding. Not the other way around. By the tone of your article you are showing that it’s not the will of the people, it’s the will of government. That is not going to fly with the public. Half the people in this country don’t want it, and you don’t care about them you only care if your party “wins”. So I hope they take your advice. By what I hard in the state of the union it looks like they are. And that will be their downfall.