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01 Mar 2010 11:00

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Politics: Halter, who goes there! Blanche Lincoln has competition in Arkansas

  • He’s a Democrat, but wait, so’s she! Bill Halter, the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, just announced a Senate run. He’ll be running in the primary against Blanche Lincoln, whose poll numbers are sagging at the moment. Lincoln, by the way, voted for the health care bill, but was one of the moderates who pushed against the public option. Halter, a former Clinton staffer, seems more likely to support health care based on this video. source

01 Mar 2010 10:29

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U.S.: How health care reconciliation would work, point by point

  • 1st The House would pass the Senate health-care bill without any changes.
  • 2nd A bill of changes to the current bill would go between both chambers of Congress.
  • 3rd The reconciled bill would then go before the Senate with a simple majority vote.
  • 4th Obama signs it, and the Tea Party has a national
    day of mourning. *sob* source

27 Feb 2010 13:26

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Politics: Oh yeah, the health care bill is still a testy subject in Congress

  • We need to move past the bickering and the game-playing that holds us back and blocks progress for the American people. Some of these disagreements we may be able to resolve. Some we may not. And no final bill will include everything that everyone wants. That’s what compromise is.
  • President Barack Obama • In his weekly radio address. With the health care summit still fairly fresh in people’s minds, this may seem to be an olive branch. But Republican Sen. Tom Coburn doesn’t seem to take it that way. “Instead, they want to use procedural tricks and backroom deals to ram through a new bill,” he notes. The truth, of course, is somewhere in the middle. source

25 Feb 2010 10:23

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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

22 Feb 2010 18:56

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Politics: Here’s what that baby-killer Scott Brown said about the jobs bill

  • It is the first step in creating jobs, not only for the people of Massachusetts but for the people of the country.
  • Sen. Scott Brown • Regarding the jobs bill, which passed a test vote 62-30 with bipartisan support, including a vote from Brown himself. Twitter conservatives are currently having a fit because the bipartisan turn seems to have been exactly the opposite of what they were expecting from Brown, who is moderate. Shall we stone him now or stone him later? source

15 Feb 2010 19:53

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Politics: Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh to Congress, Obama: Drop dead.

  • There are better ways to serve my fellow citizens. I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress.
  • Senator Evan Bayh • On his decision to leave Congress after two terms. His press conference today (which featured his son wearing perhaps the ugliest sweater ever) ripped hard on the gridlock of Congress, saying there was “too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem solving.” Even though he could’ve safely won his seat (and also put the Democratic party in a scramble), fears on his electoral status didn’t play a part in his decision. Crappy politics did. “If Washington, D.C. could be more like Indiana, Washington would be a better place,” he said. Oh, and he didn’t tell Harry Reid. source
 

15 Feb 2010 11:57

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U.S.: Why Evan Bayh’s drop-out puts Democrats in a tough spot

  • $13
    million
    the amount Bayh had in his coffers prior to his drop-out; he was up significantly on the GOP in recent polls
  • 4,500
    people
    the number of people the Dems need to sign a petition for a new candidate (500 per district) – by tomorrow

15 Feb 2010 11:44

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14 Feb 2010 10:27

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Politics: Like filibusters? Don’t? They’re not going away anytime soon.

  • Republicans are gambling they can convince the American people Democrats can’t get much done, and at the moment, their gamble is paying off.
  • Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey • Regarding the Republican’s strategy to filibuster the Democrats’ agenda so that it helps them in the next election. The filibuster has significantly changed in usage since the days of civil rights, and is now routinely used as a political stalling tactic. We just want to make a point here: While the GOP’s filibuster usage is inexcusable, the Democrats did the exact same thing to get a majority in the Senate in 2006. In fact, they did it at a faster clip. While the rule really needs to be changed on a fundamental level, it’s not going to happen easily: It requires 67 votes to make a change like that. source