Caucus Blogs

Health Care Reform: All or Nothing? Grassley Says Nothing

noneed4thneed — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:35:00 +0000

Here's a quote from Sen. Jay Rockerfeller (D-WV) about bipartisanship and health care reform...

"But do you want to be non-partisan and get nothing? Or do you want to be partisan and end up with a good health care plan? That is the choice."

-- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), quoted in the Charleston Gazette, expecting little Republican support in passing health care reform.

Sen. Grassley, however, thinks the bill must be bipartisan and Republicans need to make sure there is no public option.

What’s Wrong With this Picture?

noneed4thneed — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Here's a screenshot from Fox News's coverage yesterday of South Carolina Governor, Republican Mark Sanford's press conference.

Sanford admitted to having an affair after going missing for 6 days when he was seeing his mistress in Argentina.

Notice anything wrong with the with the ticker Fox News showed in this picture?

Healthy Americans Against Reforming Medicine: Secret Meeting Details Uncovered!

noneed4thneed — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:57:00 +0000

Obama, The Deficit Hawk

noneed4thneed — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:15:00 +0000

From Matthew Yglesias...

There’s a lot of political concern in Washington about public anxiety about budget deficits. Substantively, the public’s concerns don’t really make sense, as deficit-reduction amidst a severe recession will only make the recession more severe. But Stan Collender, whose deficit hawk credentials should not be in question, observes that the political problem is largely a mirage as well:
If you look beyond the very short-term, the deficit situation will begin to turnaround next year, that is, before the election. Under current forecasts, the deficit will fall by a record amount from 2009 to 2010. It will still be high by virtually anyone’s standards — probably around $1 trillion or so. But the big change in the right direction will give the White House the breathing room it needs and alter the politics substantially. Anyone want to bet that there will be a cover story somewhere next year calling Obama the deficit killer?
This will, of course, not be a substantive fix for anything. But the nominal deficit reduction will, indeed, be huge. As the economy recovers, tax revenues will rise, social safety net outlays will fall, and stimulus measures will begin to tamp down. If we can assume further growth in 2011, the complete expiry of Recovery Act provisions, and the winding down of the Iraq War, that’ll be further deficit reduction.

Battle of the Burqas

The Real Sporer — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:06:00 +0000

The French, whose cultural and political significance is so often cited by American liberals as worthy of emulation here in the USA, are now actually outlawing the wearing of the burqa and the najib. The cosmopolitan French President described the burq...

Obama, The Nerd Presidency

noneed4thneed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:59:00 +0000

John Hodgeman spoke at the Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner over the weekend and discects the culture of war of our time: jocks vs nerd. Hodgeman concludes that the Obama administration is the first nerd presidency.

A new week begins with even better numbers.

The Real Sporer — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Oh yeah, Rasmussen’s Presidential Approval Index goes negative for the first time in the Obama Presidency.Thirty two percent strongly approve of the Obama job performance and thirty four percent strongly disapprove.We have nothing to fear from critic...

Is a Public Option for Health Insurance a Good Idea?

noneed4thneed — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:27:00 +0000

The Des Moines Register wrote this editorial this morning about the merits of a public option.

So how do you decide whether a public option for health insurance is a good idea?

Ask people who already have it.

And you won't have any trouble finding them. About one-third of Americans - nearly 100 million people - already use Medicare and Medicaid, which together cover seniors, the disabled and the poor. The programs are administered by the government and heavily funded by taxpayers.

They're optional. No one has to sign up. But millions do.
Ask them why they opted to join a government program instead of just going out to purchase health insurance in the private sector, as every American is free to try to do. Ask people with Medicaid whether the government has denied enrolling them (if they met income requirements) or charged them more because of a pre-existing medical condition. Ask seniors with Medicare whether they're worried about losing health insurance if they change jobs or get too sick or can no longer afford to pay the premiums.
If you have time for only one question, ask this: Did a government employee accompany you to your last doctor's appointment?

The Paradox of Health Care Reform

noneed4thneed — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Matthew Yglesisas explanes the paradox of health care reform that left must overcome...

The big problem, politically speaking, with health care is that you basically have people on the left arguing both sides of the question. On the one hand, insofar as your plan is “big government” that’s left-wing. But insofar as your plan is expensive, that’s also left-wing. Which is because people normally think of big government programs as expensive. But when it comes to health care, heavy-handed government intervention is actually way cheaper than private sector alternatives. Consequently, every time you try to make the plan more “moderate” by, for example, curbing the influence of a public option you actually wind up making the plan more “left wing” by needing to raise more taxes. And if you want to make the plan cheaper, while still actually achieving its goals, then you need to make it more left-wing not more moderate. But in the United States,ideological correctness and special interest politics prevents us from admitting this.

Green Monday-Freedom for Iran!

The Real Sporer — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:06:00 +0000

Should we not all wear green on Monday in solidarity with those Iranians that truly do want a democratic government and a place in the mainstream world?They may not be a majority and they may not be entirely to our liking but they are certainly better ...