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17 Mar 2010 09:07

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U.S.: Where do we stand on health care swing votes today?

  • 39 Democrats voted against the original House health-care vote back in November
  • 27 Dems plan to vote against the latest iteration, leaving just 11 votes of wiggle room
  • five announced their intentions to vote against the health care bill just yesterday source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Mar 2010 10:09

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U.S.: Who won’t vote for the Senate bill in the House, anyway?

  • Among the people voting no: Dennis Kucinich. Not socialist enough for you, dude? As of right now, CNN estimates that 200 representatives will vote against the Senate bill for sure, including at least one Democrat who voted for the original bill (Luiz Gutierrez of Illinois). Six Democrats could switch from yes to no if their concerns aren’t allayed, including prior sticking point Bart Stupak (who wants changes on abortion funding). It’s gonna be a photo finish. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Mar 2010 22:24

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Politics: Far-left Rep. Dennis Kucinich: Seven terms, nothing to show for it

  • 97 number of bills Kucinich has sponsored in Congress since getting elected 14 years ago
  • three number of those bills that actually became law, and all three were nothing laws source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2010 22:40

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Politics: Eric Massa is an infinite supply of comedy and backtracking

  • Between this and Debbie Medina, Glenn Beck is really starting to prove his worth as a part of the political conversation. Sure, he still has wacky moments, but his wacky moments are starting to get outweighed by astute observations such as this one, where he essentially admits that it was a waste to bring on former Rep. Eric Massa, who seemed just a wee bit uncomfortable with the appearance. In other news, the Washington Post actually wrote an article on whether lawmakers conduct political business while naked. The answer: Not really, though the showers are reportedly communal, so the Rahm incident could have happened. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2010 20:46

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Politics: Young Republicans more engaged than Young Democrats

  • 41% of young Republicans plan to vote this fall
  • 35% of youthful Democrats plan the same
  • 11% of independents plan to not stay home source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2010 02:37

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Politics: Hear that? It’s the sound of Democrats fighting in Arkansas

  • $1
    million     the amount donated to Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who just announced his Senate run, in just 48 hours
  • angry liberals the reason why Halter, who’s taking on incumbent Blanche Lincoln, is gaining financial traction source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Mar 2010 12:01

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Politics: Is the Tea Party movement a conservative hippie movement?

  • The Tea Partiers are closer to the New Left. They don’t seek to form a counter-establishment because they don’t believe in establishments or in authority structures. They believe in the spontaneous uprising of participatory democracy. They believe in mass action and the politics of barricades, not in structure and organization.
  • New York Times columnist David Brooks (who really needs to update his stodgy column mug) • Regarding the similarities between the Tea Party movement and the New Left (i.e. the hippies). Both are populist uprisings (though one can argue that Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks is responsible for astroturfing the Tea Party movement). Both don’t align neatly with the political party in power. Both have been known to get together on the National Mall en masse. Neither have leadership in the traditional sense. And both are important movements. However, Brooks notes that the things that failed the New Left – “imprudence, self-righteousness and naïve radicalism” – will fail the Tea Party movement. Interesting take. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Mar 2010 20:23

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U.S.: David Paterson’s bad day: The latest in the NY governor’s scandal

  • one His communications secretary resigned, saying he couldn’t “in good conscience” support Paterson.
  • two Paterson’s scandal continues to broaden, with ill-gotten World Series tickets under deep scrutiny.
  • three Paterson said he’d be governor Friday, but stayed silent when asked if he would be governor next week. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Mar 2010 09:55

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Politics: The Atlantic: Democrats regained their health-care momentum

  • Then – Jim Bunning’s decision to put a face on Republican obstructionism in the Senate. … Bunning’s gesture of ill-will erased any credibility the GOP Senate had.
  • Atlantic writer Mark Ambinder • Regarding what he calls a “perfect storm” of decisions that have put health care back in the Democrats’ court. He names a number of reasons (WellPoint’s rising insurance rates), but Bunning’s move stands out the most notable in a series of events that have seemingly put the ball back in the Democrats’ court once again, after Scott Brown effectively took it away. However, it’s not a slam-dunk. First they have to please folks like Rep. Bark Stupak, who won’t support the Senate bill unless key abortion provisions are removed. He pushed for a compromise in that regard for the House bill. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2010 21:08

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Politics: Harold Ford decides not screwing with N.Y. Senate election smart

  • After giving it considerable thought and talking it over with his wife, he reached the conclusion that he would not be running, although he said he would like to remain active in the Democratic Party here.
  • New York Assemblyman Vito Lopez • Regarding Harold Ford’s decision not to take on Kirsten Gillibrand in the New York Senate race. Ford hasn’t exactly made himself a lot of friends when attempting his Senate run, making himself sound like an idiot on multiple occasions, all of which have been covered at length on Gawker. In fact, some might argue that Gawker singlehandedly ruined Ford’s chances by publicizing his stupid moves. Including us. Yeah, we said it. OK, we’ll give Harry some credit too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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