Public plan debate could pit Democrat vs. Democrat - Yahoo! Finance
The Senate Finance Committee is expected to consider whether the government should offer its own insurance plan for the middle class in competition with private carriers. A public option is the top goal for liberals, but it has no Republican support and moderate Democrats say the Senate will never go along.
So Tuesday's debate is expected to pit Democratic liberals against moderates.
Although the public plan isn't expected to get a majority of the panel, supporters say at least they'll know where everybody stands.
Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., is already in the hot seat -- accused of being lukewarm, if not downright hostile, to the government option.
Two liberal groups are launching a hard-hitting television and Internet ad featuring a young father from Montana. Bing Perrine, 26, in need of a heart operation, uninsured and deeply in debt, looks straight into the camera and asks Baucus, "Whose side are you on?"
September 29, 2009
September 28, 2009
Attention Mr. President: Here is How to be a fiscally Responsible Democrat
Deeds pledges to walk tight fiscal line - Washington Times
Fiscal conservatism for Virginia has been a sound course that must be maintained at time when the state is grappling with pockets of double-digit unemployment and the federal debt is ballooning, said Democrat R. Creigh Deeds.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate told The Washington Times in an interview that Virginia's attitude toward business and the requirement to keep the budget balanced have put the state in a comparatively good position. At the same time, he said, he sees improving education and transportation infrastructure and not job creation as the state's primary role in helping fuel prosperity.
"I think it's paid off for us to be fiscally conservative and frugal, a relatively low-service state. It is part of the reason why we continue to be named the best state for business in the country," Mr. Deeds said Saturday while driving between campaign stops in Bedford and Roanoke.
Fiscal conservatism for Virginia has been a sound course that must be maintained at time when the state is grappling with pockets of double-digit unemployment and the federal debt is ballooning, said Democrat R. Creigh Deeds.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate told The Washington Times in an interview that Virginia's attitude toward business and the requirement to keep the budget balanced have put the state in a comparatively good position. At the same time, he said, he sees improving education and transportation infrastructure and not job creation as the state's primary role in helping fuel prosperity.
"I think it's paid off for us to be fiscally conservative and frugal, a relatively low-service state. It is part of the reason why we continue to be named the best state for business in the country," Mr. Deeds said Saturday while driving between campaign stops in Bedford and Roanoke.
September 26, 2009
Endorsement: Ohio Governor
Massachusetts Blue Dog is pleased to endorse John Kasich (R-OH) for governor of Ohio
John Kasich for Governor of Ohio Biography
While Ohio’s problems are daunting, I believe they are fixable – but only by creating a business environment that rewards investment and increases wages. With forward-thinking, solutions- oriented leadership, we can transform Ohio into a model of job creation and economic vitality that other states will want to follow. To succeed we must:
lower taxes – Create a tax climate that allows Ohio to compete with other states to attract new businesses, foster job creation, and keep our precious, existing jobs here
make government more efficient and effective – Skinny-down state bureaucracy to ensure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth, and reform state government into a 21st century partner with Ohio's job creators – not one that punishes business with outdated or unnecessary regulation;
transform our education system – Help our kids achieve, compete and succeed to meet the workforce demands of tomorrow’s economy
end the influence of special interests – Build common-sense solutions to our problems and kick out those who, for too long, have kept us from fixing all that is wrong in our state
John Kasich for Governor of Ohio Biography
While Ohio’s problems are daunting, I believe they are fixable – but only by creating a business environment that rewards investment and increases wages. With forward-thinking, solutions- oriented leadership, we can transform Ohio into a model of job creation and economic vitality that other states will want to follow. To succeed we must:
lower taxes – Create a tax climate that allows Ohio to compete with other states to attract new businesses, foster job creation, and keep our precious, existing jobs here
make government more efficient and effective – Skinny-down state bureaucracy to ensure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth, and reform state government into a 21st century partner with Ohio's job creators – not one that punishes business with outdated or unnecessary regulation;
transform our education system – Help our kids achieve, compete and succeed to meet the workforce demands of tomorrow’s economy
end the influence of special interests – Build common-sense solutions to our problems and kick out those who, for too long, have kept us from fixing all that is wrong in our state
September 17, 2009
US may extend real estate tax credit
Time For a Compromise?
Here is my proposal:
Extend the $7,500 credit through 2010 for couples making up to $250,000.
Deal?
Here is my proposal:
Extend the $7,500 credit through 2010 for couples making up to $250,000.
Deal?
Senator John Isakson, a Georgia Republican, said yesterday he is “talking
to everybody and anybody’’ in an effort to drum up support for a bill that would
extend the program through the end of 2010, almost double the credit to $15,000,
and remove restrictions that prohibit individuals who already own homes or earn
$75,000 ($150,000 for couples) from receiving the tax break. The bill, first
introduced in June, failed in a 47-to-50 Senate vote last month.
September 13, 2009
Tom Harkin is Delusional
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin predicted today that a health-care reform bill would pass Congress before Christmas, with Republican votes.
Speaking in Indianola at his annual Steak Fry fundraiser, Harkin also declared that the legislation would “have a strong public option.”
Establishing government-run insurance plans that Americans would have the option of buying has been one of the most controversial aspects of the health-care reform bills before Congress.
There is no way that anything with a "Public Option" is going to pass the Senate. Period.
Speaking in Indianola at his annual Steak Fry fundraiser, Harkin also declared that the legislation would “have a strong public option.”
Establishing government-run insurance plans that Americans would have the option of buying has been one of the most controversial aspects of the health-care reform bills before Congress.
There is no way that anything with a "Public Option" is going to pass the Senate. Period.
Two Key Senate Votes Come Out Against Public Option
Snowe, Collins Will Not Back Public Option -- Political Wire
More proof that the "public option" is all but dead
comes from the two senators Democrats hoped might side with them in supporting
the measure in a health care reform bill.Sen.
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) said President Obama "should take it off the table" since
it would "give real momentum to building consensus," reports The Hill.Meanwhile, Sen. Susan
Collins (R-ME) said she would not even support a "trigger" option in any
legislation, meaning a provision to delay a public option and allow health insurance companies to lower costs
on their own, according to the Washington Post.This is pretty much the death knell for the public option
September 12, 2009
Bob McDonnell Should not have a f***ing shot at becoming Governor of Virginia
CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Bob McDonnell, the normally-disciplined Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, mistakenly blurted out the F-bomb during a live radio interview on Friday.
Appearing on Washington-area radio station WTOP, McDonnell was sparring with host Mark Plotkin on the topic of transportation funding.
Plotkin asked if McDonnell would consider an increase in the state gasoline tax to help fund the transportation budget. McDonnell said no, and uttered the expletive during his response.
"So no tax will be raised during your four-year term?," Plotkin asked.
McDonnell answered: "I'm going to find other ways to be able to fund transportation. I've outlined twleve f—ing funding mechanisms that are creative, that are entrepreneurial."
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Bob McDonnell, the normally-disciplined Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, mistakenly blurted out the F-bomb during a live radio interview on Friday.
Appearing on Washington-area radio station WTOP, McDonnell was sparring with host Mark Plotkin on the topic of transportation funding.
Plotkin asked if McDonnell would consider an increase in the state gasoline tax to help fund the transportation budget. McDonnell said no, and uttered the expletive during his response.
"So no tax will be raised during your four-year term?," Plotkin asked.
McDonnell answered: "I'm going to find other ways to be able to fund transportation. I've outlined twleve f—ing funding mechanisms that are creative, that are entrepreneurial."
September 10, 2009
Mr. Perfect Gets More Perfect All The Time
Mitt Romney is constantly working at making sure that all the right people like....no, adore....him.
The Long-Distance Runner - The Boston Globe
During his long presidential campaign, Romney -- the reformed Massachusetts moderate with the salesman’s too-perfect touch -- had struggled to earn a welcome into a conservative movement whose members were often suspicious of his motives. The plastic sleeves in the binder held the good news to emerge from his experience trying to win them over: typed or handwritten confirmation that hard work and collegiality meant something in politics.
With nearly metronomic precision, Romney seems to emerge monthly from the cuckoo clock he has constructed for his exile. Each time, he delivers a speech with a carefully calibrated new critique of the Democratic regime, and then retreats back to a lower-profile schedule of fund-raisers, Op-Eds, and diligent networking among Republicans nationwide.
Romney’s schedule is a testament to his measure and caution as he has worked to stay in front of crucial conservative constituencies and away from unnecessary squabbling on news shows. “He’s not a talking head, and he doesn’t want to be critic-in-chief,” says spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. Romney turns down 95 percent of the media requests he receives and has refused to cooperate with what he calls “Romney-in-exile” profiles, including this one. “He is not a candidate, he is a private citizen,” says Fehrnstrom. “He does not want to invite or encourage speculation about 2012.”
When [Eric]Cantor unveiled his National Council for a New America, perhaps the most concerted of the efforts within the party to rebrand the Republican agenda, he had Romney by his side for the early May photo op. At a suburban Virginia pizzeria, Romney and former Florida governor Jeb Bush were perched on wooden stools as two of Cantor’s five “national experts”: a tableau of a smart, good-natured party in search of a common-sense future. The group’s founding documents promised “a conversation with America that seeks to remove ideological filters” on issues like health care, education, energy, national security, and economic issues. There was no mention of immigration, abortion, judges, or gay rights, and Republican leaders most popular with religious conservatives -- Palin and Huckabee, in particular -- were glaringly not included.
“He’s someone who is solutions-oriented. He’s about results, it’s about deliverables. He says: Let’s put a goal out there,” Cantor says of Romney. “So much of what our party needs right now is the respect that we can implement our conservative vision.”
As Romney advisers mined their 2008 experience for potential 2012 lessons, several rued the fact that he had been introduced nationally as an ideological purist and not as a businesslike pragmatist. Instead, his campaign focused too intently on winning over Iowa’s evangelical voters, for whom Romney’s Mormonism had likely been an insurmountable hurdle, aides concluded after the election. “If you’re looking for a mistake we made, we should have made [the campaign] more about competence,” says Ron Kaufman, a lobbyist and former White House official who advises Romney. “If a Republican can win in 2012, it will be because competence matters.”
So now, Mitt Romney is like Mike Dukakis -- "It's not about ideology, it's about competence."
Good luck with that, Mittens!!!
The Long-Distance Runner - The Boston Globe
During his long presidential campaign, Romney -- the reformed Massachusetts moderate with the salesman’s too-perfect touch -- had struggled to earn a welcome into a conservative movement whose members were often suspicious of his motives. The plastic sleeves in the binder held the good news to emerge from his experience trying to win them over: typed or handwritten confirmation that hard work and collegiality meant something in politics.
With nearly metronomic precision, Romney seems to emerge monthly from the cuckoo clock he has constructed for his exile. Each time, he delivers a speech with a carefully calibrated new critique of the Democratic regime, and then retreats back to a lower-profile schedule of fund-raisers, Op-Eds, and diligent networking among Republicans nationwide.
Romney’s schedule is a testament to his measure and caution as he has worked to stay in front of crucial conservative constituencies and away from unnecessary squabbling on news shows. “He’s not a talking head, and he doesn’t want to be critic-in-chief,” says spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. Romney turns down 95 percent of the media requests he receives and has refused to cooperate with what he calls “Romney-in-exile” profiles, including this one. “He is not a candidate, he is a private citizen,” says Fehrnstrom. “He does not want to invite or encourage speculation about 2012.”
When [Eric]Cantor unveiled his National Council for a New America, perhaps the most concerted of the efforts within the party to rebrand the Republican agenda, he had Romney by his side for the early May photo op. At a suburban Virginia pizzeria, Romney and former Florida governor Jeb Bush were perched on wooden stools as two of Cantor’s five “national experts”: a tableau of a smart, good-natured party in search of a common-sense future. The group’s founding documents promised “a conversation with America that seeks to remove ideological filters” on issues like health care, education, energy, national security, and economic issues. There was no mention of immigration, abortion, judges, or gay rights, and Republican leaders most popular with religious conservatives -- Palin and Huckabee, in particular -- were glaringly not included.
“He’s someone who is solutions-oriented. He’s about results, it’s about deliverables. He says: Let’s put a goal out there,” Cantor says of Romney. “So much of what our party needs right now is the respect that we can implement our conservative vision.”
As Romney advisers mined their 2008 experience for potential 2012 lessons, several rued the fact that he had been introduced nationally as an ideological purist and not as a businesslike pragmatist. Instead, his campaign focused too intently on winning over Iowa’s evangelical voters, for whom Romney’s Mormonism had likely been an insurmountable hurdle, aides concluded after the election. “If you’re looking for a mistake we made, we should have made [the campaign] more about competence,” says Ron Kaufman, a lobbyist and former White House official who advises Romney. “If a Republican can win in 2012, it will be because competence matters.”
So now, Mitt Romney is like Mike Dukakis -- "It's not about ideology, it's about competence."
Good luck with that, Mittens!!!
September 7, 2009
Labor Unions are Out of Favor this Labor Day
This Gallup Poll presents some really bad numbers for the union bosses.....
Labor Unions See Sharp Slide in U.S. Public Support#1#1
The percentage saying unions mostly hurt the companies where workers are organized has risen from 39% in 2006 to 46% in the latest poll. As a result, Americans are now evenly divided over whether unions mostly help or mostly hurt these companies, whereas in all previous measures the balance of opinion was positive.
Gallup finds organized labor taking a significant image hit in the past year. While 66% of Americans continue to believe unions are beneficial to their own members, a slight majority now say unions hurt the nation's economy. More broadly, fewer than half of Americans -- 48%, an all-time low -- approve of labor unions, down from 59% a year ago.
Labor Unions See Sharp Slide in U.S. Public Support#1#1
The percentage saying unions mostly hurt the companies where workers are organized has risen from 39% in 2006 to 46% in the latest poll. As a result, Americans are now evenly divided over whether unions mostly help or mostly hurt these companies, whereas in all previous measures the balance of opinion was positive.
Gallup finds organized labor taking a significant image hit in the past year. While 66% of Americans continue to believe unions are beneficial to their own members, a slight majority now say unions hurt the nation's economy. More broadly, fewer than half of Americans -- 48%, an all-time low -- approve of labor unions, down from 59% a year ago.
Joe Kennedy opts out of Senate race
Joseph Kennedy will not run for Senate - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe
Joseph P. Kennedy II announced today that he will not seek the Senate seat
held by his uncle, a move likely to end the Kennedy family's half century of
political dominance in Massachusetts and entice several other candidates to jump
into the race.
Kennedy's decision not to run opens the door for several candidates who had
been hesitant to run against a Kennedy for the state's first open Senate seat in
25 years. Several other Democrats may now join the race, including U.S.
Representatives Michael Capuano and John Tierney and former U.S. Representative
Martin Meehan.
The lone Democrat to officially launch her candidacy is state Attorney
General Martha Coakley. US Representative Stephen Lynch, also a Democrat, has
taken out nomination papers, but has said he must weigh family matters before
deciding whether to run.
On the Republican side, Canton Selectman Bob Burr is the only candidate
to officially enter the race. State representative Scott Brown, a Republican
from Wrentham, is also weighing a run. Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling,
who is an independent but has campaigned for Republican President George W. Bush
and Senator John McCain of Arizona, has also expressed interest. Republican
Kerry Healey, the former lieutenant governor, said
on Sunday night that she would not run.
Kennedy's decision leaves the field wide open
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