Who Ya Gonna Call? Filibuster!

From Joe Conason at Salon:

If Democrats are disappointed by Joe Lieberman’s threat to filibuster any healthcare reform bill that includes a public option, they shouldn’t be. Despite all of his past promises to support universal healthcare, nothing was more predictable than the Connecticut senator’s fealty to the insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists.

Much the same can be said of Sen. Evan Bayh, who emerged from hiding on healthcare to announce that he too plans to filibuster against reform with the Republicans, regardless of what his constituents and Americans in general plainly want. Like Lieberman, his state is home to powerful corporations that want reform killed — and like Lieberman, his wife has brought home very big paychecks from those same interests. . (UPDATE: A report published in a South Bend paper Thursday night says Bayh may now support a floor debate.)

Original movie poster

All Politics is Local?

Oh, kids, there’s a fight abrewin’ in the Rethuglican tent! From Bill Pascoe (ex-press secretary at the RNC) at CQ Politics:

These days, whether you’re a conservative activist, or a Republican Party official, saying “New York 23” out loud leads to a shortening of breath, a quickening of the pulse, and a tightening of the muscles. Heads whip around to see who said it, and in what context — friend, or foe?

…snip…

The official GOP nominee — Dede Scozzafava, a very liberal New York Assemblywoman — now trails her Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, and the Conservative Party nominee, Doug Hoffman, according to a survey released Monday by the Club for Growth.

Original movie poster

AU whatta PAIR!

If they ever make a movie about Batshit Michele Bachmann, Fran Drescher would be a good choice for the lead, but who would ever have thought that Batshit Bachmann could have played the role that made Fran Drescher famous?

From George Will (who apparently has nothing better to do or opine on) at The Washington Post:

WASHINGTON — When Marcus Bachmann came home that Saturday evening in 2000 he checked the telephone answering machine and was mystified by the many messages congratulating his wife for something. “Michele,” he said, “do you have something to tell me?” She did.

The state senator from her district in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul had been in office for 17 years, had stopped being pro-life [he became anti-life?] and started supporting tax increases, so that morning she had skipped washing her hair, put on jeans and a tattered sweatshirt and went to the local Republican nominating caucus to ask him a few pointed questions. There, on the spur of the moment, some similarly disgruntled conservatives suggested that she unseat the incumbent. After she made a five-minute speech “on freedom,” the caucus emphatically endorsed her and she handily won the subsequent primary.

After six years in the state Legislature, she ran for Congress and now, in her second term, has become such a burr under Democrats’ saddles that recently The New York Times profiled her beneath a Page One headline: “GOP Has a Lightning Rod, And Her Name Is Not Palin.” She is, however, a petite pistol that occasionally goes off half-cocked.

Two things, George. First, that story sounds like something a legend in her own mind would make up. Second, half-cocked? Projecting, perhaps? Is that why you don’t like blue jeans? (Click on that link, dammit. It’s to a post I did on ol’ George over at the Big Orange, complete with lots of pix)

Original movie poster

Do Your Magic, Harry

From The Washington Post:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) announced Monday that he will seek to bring a health-care bill to the Senate floor that includes a government insurance plan, a major reversal from just two weeks ago, when Reid was leaning against the idea.

He also called for the bill to include a version of the so-called public option with an clause that would allow states to decide by 2014 not to participate in the government plan.

“The best way to move forward is a public option with the opt-out provision for states,” Reid told reporters, adding that he “clearly” believes that such a bill would have “the support of my caucus.”

Original DVD cover
Original comic book Olympia Snowe is holding

In a Dither

Hey kids! By now you’ve all heard Deadeye Dick Cheney’s remark about President Obama and the war in Afghanistan. To refresh your memory:

The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.

Well, kids, that got me thinking. Why dithering? Who says dither these days? Then it hit me. I know why dithering came to Deadeye Dick’s mind. I remembered something I had seen on the news during the Chimpy George W. Bush administration. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the video, so I used the stills and added the dialogue so you could understand what was going on.

I Scream, “Sunday!”

From POLITICAL ANIMAL at Washington MONTHLY (October 23, 2009):

SUNDAY SHOW BOOKERS REFUSE TO READ POLITICAL ANIMAL…. Maybe I should start taking this personally.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been booked for yet another Sunday talk show appearance this weekend — this time on CBS’ Face The Nation. Despite a “wildly unsuccessful presidential campaign” last year and his comparative irrelevancy in the U.S. Senate, this will mark the 15th time McCain has appeared on a Sunday talk show since January.

…snip…

Since the president took office, McCain has been on “Meet the Press” twice (July 12 and March 29), “This Week” three times (September 27, August 23, and May 10), “Fox News Sunday” three times (July 2, March 8, and January 25), and CNN’s “State of the Union” three times (October 11, August 2, and February 15). His appearance on “Face the Nation” this weekend will be his fourth appearance since February (October 25, August 30, April 26, and February 8).

Original movie poster

You Can Buy the Big Apple If You Have Enough Cabbage

From The New York Times:

Michael R. Bloomberg, the Wall Street mogul whose fortune catapulted him into New York’s City Hall, has set another staggering financial record: He has now spent more of his own money than any other individual in United States history in the pursuit of public office.

Newly released campaign records show the mayor, as of Friday, had spent $85 million on his latest re-election campaign, and is on pace to spend between $110 million and $140 million before the election on Nov. 3.

Original DVD cover

The Pro-Stupid Agenda

From THINK PROGRESS:

Today on her radio program, Laura Ingraham interviewed guest Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and asked her about the ideological direction of the Republican Party. The pair discussed recent statements made by retired GOP Senate Majority Leaders Bill Frist (TN) and Bob Dole (KS) in support of some type of comprehensive health reform.

Dole has called for Republicans to become engaged in the process, stating “we’ve got to do something” to solve the current crisis. Frist has endorsed the Senate Finance health reform bill, and has called out “people on the extreme” in his own party for falsely labeling President Obama’s health reform as “socialized medicine.” Clearly incensed by these comments, Ingraham and Bachmann traded barbs trashing the former Republican leaders for daring to veer away from a “pro-freedom agenda”:

Original DVD cover