Republican Moderates Showing some Life

As we had been talking in class a little while ago, the moderate wing of the Republicans aren't doing as well as they had been doing 10 years ago. This article talks about how the moderates may be making a come back, and could gain a few more members at the mid-terms even with the whole tea party movement.

Pelosi Struggles to Keep Democrat Moderates on Board for Healthcare Reform

Maintaining moderate support is proving to be a continued uphill battle for Speaker Pelosi as she tries to assemble her caucus. Wary of negative political consequences in 2010, many moderates have begun to abandon current healthcare reform efforts altogether.

Entertaining exchange in congress

Congress is usually known for its polite reserved debates but Rep. Anthony Weiner injected some emotion into it the other day in this entertaining exchange. I wish more politicians would speak their mind and not tiptoe around controversial observations. Decorum is overrated.

Hope & Change Meet the US Senate

Paul Krugman on policy change in the New Yorker:

Now that we have people whose goals I share in power, I’ve seen what it actually takes to make policy change happen... It’s pretty revelatory. It’s one thing to do opinion pieces about the way things ought to be; it’s another thing to think about, O.K., given the makeup of the U.S. Senate, given the difficulties of getting people on board and of communicating stuff to the public, what can you actually do?

Can't we all get along

health care reform is the biggest issue being pushed forward. but it appears as though both sides refuse to cooperate and reach a final consensus on the issue. It would be great if the two parties could reach a final decision on the matter but it is unclear on when that will happen.

U.S. to test Lexus model cited in Toyota hearings

With all this talk on health care reform, and the fact that no one can agree because the Republicans are sticking together, I almost forgot that Congress is looking into the whole Toyota recall fiasco. They're ordering tests! Holy cow! They might be doing something to help the everyday American by re-testing some Toyota models.

Or not...if tests were the answer, wouldn't the problem have been found the first time around? I just don't know anymore!!!

TOFIAS EDIT: bad title. Fixed now.

Ethics Violations

Charles Rangel, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, basically had his hand slapped for not ensuring his people knew the rules governing travel expenses. Technically, he was not found to be at fault. Other ethics investigations involving Rangel continue. Meanwhile, another preliminary investigation has found "probable cause" behind Rep. Visclosky's (D-Ind) alleged promising of federal contracts for corporate campaign contributions. However, the committee has chosen not to pursue it any further. Really?

Congress filbusters the unemployed

Here is the classical case of the senate holding up legislation to help there constituents. But for the sake of party politics and mid term election they are using the extension of unemployment benefits as a political ploy to help derail the president’s health care bill.
Also it looks like this bill is far from the preferences of most senators. It is interesting to see how one simple bill cascades to other larger issues.

President Obama & Congress

Yesterday in class we talked about different styles of presidential relationships with congress. This article discusses President Obama's style which was exemplified yesterday at his health care summit.

What do you think of his style? Do you appreciate his thoughtful, collected manner aimed at consensus-building? Or do you think he could be more effective if he took a more aggressive approach? What would health care reform look like if he took a different approach with congress?

Whatdya' expect?

Holy smokes bloggers! The bickering continues over the health care bill after Obama's summit on Thursday. Can the two parties compromise? Will the Republicans break down and give Democrats the majority they desire? Find out; or not, in the next contentious meeting of Congress!

CNN POLL: Health care provisions popular but overall bills unpopular

This article demonstrates that some sort of a bill regarding health care should be able to be reached. The problem however is one that has existed throughout history and in democracies is that a lot of people really do not think through things, and they vote. The poll in the article states that majority of people think health insurance companies should not deny people with pre-existing conditions. The poll then linked in the article then states that forcing people to buy insurance is wrong as well. This is one point Obama was correct on, if you require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions then you have to force people to buy insurance because otherwise some people, particularly younger people will not buy insurance until they get sick. Insurance companies cannot afford this. This is one of the reasons why public opinion polls should not always be the final say in any matter. The problem is that I believe if you asked these same people is it ok to wait until you get sick to buy health insurance they would probably say no. I think you often get different responses to questions based on how they are worded.

Gop's Brown Branded Turncoat for Jobs Bill Vote

Potential fallout (or not) for Brown and the other 4 Republicans who voted for cloture on the jobs bill.

White House unveils compromise health care bill

This article details the compromises made in the proposed health care bill, including expanded Medicare prescription coverage and the ablity to block excessive health insurance rates.

Ron Paul's CPAC Speech

In case you are interested in my post below, here is Ron Paul's speech at CPAC 2010

At CPAC... Winner: Ron Paul, Loser: Social Conservatism

This article reviews, with some videos as well, the CPAC event that just closed. Highlights are the denouncement of the Bush era Republicanism, and the incredible backing for Texas Rep. Ron Paul to be the GOP Presidential candidate in 2012... I never thought I'd see the day :)

Ads Pressure Brown to Vote Yes on Jobs Bill

Democrats fight hard to gain the vote of new Senator-elect Scott Brown: Reid says there is greater than a 50/50 chance of Brown voting yes on a new $15billion job stimulus proposal.

Questions for Paul Ryan

Wisconsin's own Paul Ryan faces off against the New York Times's Deborah Solomon in the NYT Magazine Section's weekly Q&A feature.

A wave is building

This is very interesting to see the political pundits come out and predict the mid-term elections. The best part was how they did not put names but rather party identification.I like who they used the spacial model in a sense where they predict "moderate republican" to win or "safe Democrat" etc.

In Case You Forgot How it Works...

Give Scott Brown a Chance?

This article talks about Majority Leader Harry Reid getting newly elected Senator Scott Brown on board with the jobs bill. As the man who ended the Democrats 60 seat majority in the senate, it's very interesting to see Brown potentially working with the Democrats.