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15 Mar 2010 23:29

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Politics: One option to get Obamacare through: Sleight-of-hand

  • It’s more insider and process-oriented than most people want to know. But I like it, because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi • On an option she’s considering to ensure the passage of the health-care bill. With this process, the bill would fall under a “self-executing rule,” which would assume the bill passed while a more popular piece of legislation was voted on. The idea would be to allow for passage of the Senate bill without pinning anyone’s name on the legislation. Even though this is a commonly-used tactic, Republicans are crying foul, calling it unconstitutional. Pelosi, BTW, wants the bill passed by the end of the week. Good luck with that; you’re gonna need it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2010 20:16

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Politics: Jim Bunning gets what he wants, and all is right with the world

  • Dude got the emergency unemployment bill paid for. Thanks to a lot of complaining and even more grandstanding, the lame-duck Senator got the emergency unemployment bill paid for. How? Democrats decided to remove a biofuel tax credit on so-called “black liquor,” a byproduct of the paper manufacturing process, which is expected to save $24 billion – more than enough to cover the emergency $10 billion unemployment benefits bill. You win, Sen. Jim Bunning. Next time, do it on a bill that doesn’t screw over a million people, OK? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Feb 2010 22:12

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Politics: We imagine John Kerry feverishly working on a climate change bill

  • Senator Reid made it clear to me the other day that he wants a bill and he wants it soon.
  • Sen. John Kerry • Discussing the possibility of a climate change bill just in time for the sting of the the health care bill to wear off. He says he plans to have a bill within the next two weeks, which we imagine he’ll be writing at the very last second, asking Professor Reid if he can get an extension on because he tripped on a ketchup packet and sprained his ankle or something. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Feb 2010 10:18

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U.S.: Get ready to sink your teeth into health care again – for the first time

  • Admit it, you’ve been waiting for this moment all morning. Obama’s got a health care plan for everyone to dig into at length, and a fresh Monday morning is as good a time as any to sink one’s teeth into health care. Reuters has the details if you don’t want to dig in, but let’s put it this way: This is put together as if bro wants to get it passed. ‘Nuff said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2010 12:05

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Politics, U.S.: New York Times: The stimulus bill an unheralded success

  • The program has had its flaws. But the attention they have received is wildly disproportionate to their importance. To hark back to another big government program, it’s almost as if the lasting image of the lunar space program was Apollo 6, an unmanned 1968 mission that had engine problems, and not Apollo 11, the moon landing.
  • New York Times journalist David Leonhardt • In an analysis piece describing why the stimulus program actually worked. The numbers are somewhat inconsistent, but he points out in his article that yes, the stimulus has actually improved the job picture. People disagree on the details and Republicans will use it as a good excuse to trash Obama, but the numbers, Leonhardt argues, favor Obama. One point worth noting: In most worldwide financial crises this century, it generally takes five years for jobs to bounce back to normal numbers. Obama’s already doing better than that, Leonhardt says. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Feb 2010 10:56

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U.S.: Senate Democrats say screw the snow, release their jobs bill

  • Remember, it’s just a bill right now. The Democrats’ big plan for jobs? Business tax breaks and construction projects. That’s right, we have a jobs bill coming, and it’s everything you’d expect a jobs bill to be. Will it pass a harshly divided Senate? Will it actually cut that godawful unemployment rate? We’ll find out. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2009 10:40

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Politics: Fox News’ angle on Ben Nelson: He sold his vote for his state!

  • Do the twist! Saying that the abortion concessions weren’t enough, Fox News claims that Nelson sold his vote for health care to win kickbacks. “It’s pretty obvious votes have been bought,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia said. Nelson did get Reid to agree to help pick up his state’s future Medicaid tab, at a cost of $45 million. Most other states will get their tab picked up, but only over a short period.
  • Fair & balanced Politico covers the issue differently – they note it’s the kind of concessionary agreement made with legislation like this. Nelson’s fellow Democratic Nebraska senator, Tom Harkin, makes a good point: “… it is going to be the impetus for all the states to stay at 100 percent. So he might have done all of us a favor.” That’s right, the Feds might pay the balance of Medicaid for everyone eventually.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

15 Dec 2009 23:13

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U.S.: Immigration: Hey, let’s throw another thing on Obama’s plate, OK?

  • Couldn’t this battle wait for now, guys? Today, Democratic Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez introduced a bill to reform immigration. Now, obviously, this battle needs to come up, especially considering how heated it got during the Bush years. But let’s play devil’s advocate here. You have a president who is dealing with these things (among others), in order of importance: Unemployment, health care, the economic crisis, Afghanistan, Iraq, closing Guantanamo, gay rights and making sure Bo the dog gets kibble. And now we want to throw immigration on top of all of this? This seems like it could wait until year three. We’d rather see Obama deal with all that other stuff the right way. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Nov 2009 21:08

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Politics: Twitter is nearly as lively as the senate tonight on health care

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2009 20:03

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U.S.: The Senate has a big plan for health care – but will it pass?

  • $849 billion the size, over ten years, of the biggest thing that’s getting tea partiers all riled up
  • $127 billion the decrease in the deficit the Congressional Budget Office anticipates with the bill source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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