ThinkProgress: 40 Economists Say The GOP Has Abandoned Economic Reality

A survey of forty economists from across the ideological and partisan spectrum has concluded that on some of its most cherished issues, the Republican Party has simply taken leave of economic reality. 


This is why the GOP house should be replaced with Democrats. ideologues and ditto heads who cannot pass the laws the nation needs to progress. The 112th House passed 75 bills, which is far short of the usual 200. It has an overall approval rating of 17 per cent, the worst in the history of the Gallup Poll. 


Yet the GOP is expected to retain control of the House. 


In the Senate, the GOP may gain a one to two seat advantage, too. 


How is this possible? 


No one said Americans are astute about politics as the graphic that follows suggests. 

source: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view/20220726congress_give_us_a_break/

See 40 Economists Say The GOP Has Abandoned Economic Reality | ThinkProgress:

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Hillbilly Report: John Boehner caves

The GOP took back the house by unleashing the dogs: the Tea Party crazies. the Tea Partiers have become a problem for establishment Republicans like John Boehner.

The 2012 elections are facing up as President Obama v. the US congress. The US Congress ended its session with an 11 per approval rate, and a 17 per cent overall average approval rate according to Gallup.

Intrade is predicting the GOP will take the House and the Senate. Most of the 1 per centers on Bloomberg agree.

As long as the Democrats can prevent the GOP from getting 60 senators, a GOP majority in the senate should not make much difference because every vote requires 60 votes for cloture. I f you live by that sword, you can die by it.

With the decline of the Tea Party and the low congressional approval rating, the Democrats should have a fighting chance at taking the House back.

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Democratic women in politics: Barbara Mikulski Breaks Senate Record

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) becomes the Senates longest-serving female member.  The senator recounts 24 years of making history. She will start her fifth 6-year term shortly.

Sources:WUSA  WJLA  USA Today  CNN  ABC  Fox News

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Politico.com: Will the real maverick from Alaska, please stand up

Senator Lisa Murkowski didn't get mad when the GOP tried to throw her under the bus, she got even.

After thrashing Tea Partier Joe Miller in a write in campaign, she bucked Mitch McConnel and his band of Senate obstructionists. Senator Jim DeMint probably had a seizure when Murkowski crossed party lines.

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Huffington Post: Filibuster Reform in the wind?

By Dan FriedmanWednesday, December 22, 2010 3:12 p.m.

All Democratic senators returning next year have signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging him to change long-sacrosanct filibuster rules.

The letter, delivered this week, expresses what Democrats consider unprecedented obstruction and asks Reid to take steps to end those abuses.

Democrats said it demonstrates increased backing in the majority for a proposal, championed by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and others, to weaken the minority’s ability to tie the Senate calendar into parliamentary knots.

Among the chief revisions that Democrats say will likely be offered:

1. Senators could not initiate a filibuster of a bill before it reaches the floor unless they first muster 40 votes for it.
2. Senators would have to remain on the floor to sustain it.
   

That is a change from current rules, which require the majority leader to file a cloture motion to overcome an anonymous objection to a motion to proceed, and then wait 30 hours for a vote on it.

A cloture vote requites 60 votes to end a filibuster. At one time it took 67 votes to end a filibuster but he Senate rules were changed to just require 60 votes.

There need to be changes to the rules to allow filibusters to be conducted by people who actually want to block legislation instead of people being able to quietly say ‘I object’ and go home. --Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

This year, McCaskill lined up backing from more than two-thirds of senators for elimination of secret holds, which allow a senator to block action on a bill or nomination anonymously. She said that Democrats will also push plans to force senators who place holds to do it publicly.

After weeks of Democratic Caucus discussions during which newer members pushed various plans to limit filibusters, reformers are increasingly confident that they can defy predictions by Republicans and many pundits that rules changes will not happen in the near term.

A Democratic leadership aide said that Democrats expect to “do something on timing” next month, specifically by seeking to prevent 30-hour waiting periods on motions to proceed.

The fact that every returning Democrat signed the letter circulated by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Mark Warner, D-Va., urging changes underscores growing determination on the part of the Senate’s majority to raise the bars for filibusters.

Adding to the momentum for change, say proponents, is a push by Udall to seek a simple majority vote on changing Senate rules at the start of the session . . .

The rules change could come at the start of next Congress, shortly after the Senate returns on January 5th.

Rigtardia agrees that the rules need to be changed. We can see how a filibuster could be used to protect the rights of minorities and to prevent the tyranny of the majority. but is should not be used in the day-in and day-out business of the Senate.

That's not the way a Democracy is supposed to work.

Of course, the Senate Democrats are a day late and a dollar short. Why didn't they do the rules changes after it was clear the GOP had no interest in bipartisanship in 2008?

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Mario Piperni.com: Lisa Murkowski catches the big one

One of Pres. Obama‘s biggest supporters in the Senate in the past week is not even a member of his own party: she is Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Murkowski supported the president’s position on the Senate’s four biggest votes since last Wednesday.

She and fellow Alaska Sen. Mark Begich (D) voted in favor of the tax cut compromise and to invoke cloture on New START treaty, the Dream Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Both senators also voted in favor of the final repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell on Saturday.

No Senate Republican voted for all four bills other than Murkowski.

The senior senator from Alaska, who became a national figure this year when she defeated attorney Joe Miller (R) with her write-in campaign, has actually been a more reliable vote for the president than 18 members of the Senate Democratic caucus since Dec. 15.

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POLITICO.com: Kendrick Meek may drop out of the Florida Senate race

By MEREDITH SHINER | 10/11/10 10:06 AM EDT

Democrat Kendrick Meek said Monday he is "absolutely not" in negotiations with independent Charlie Crist to drop out of the three-way Florida Senate race, insisting he is "running for first."

Nice talk, Kendrick, but you are in third place and really have little chance of winning this election. The Senate needs more independents in it if we cannot elect a Democrat.

Meek has been denying reports, originating from a Wall Street Journal story last week, that he is considering dropping out of the race in order to keep Republican favorite Marco Rubio from becoming Florida's next senator.

When pushed as to whether it was more important to keep Rubio, the conservative candidate, out of the Senate, Meek dodged the question.

President Obama recently cut a radio ad for Meek prior to his trip to the state for a pair of fundraisers. 

In it, the president says he "strongly supports" Meek:

Kendrick's been a powerful voice for Floridians: standing up to special interests, to hold Wall Street accountable, fighting the insurance industry to make sure health care isn't denied to our children because of a preexisting condition, working to eliminate subsidies to banks so young people can afford a college education, and Kendrick strongly opposes extending tax breaks for the wealthy and has worked tirelessly to expand the middle class and support small businesses. So please join me in supporting Kendrick Meek for Senate.

source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43397.html

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The Gavel: Key Differences Between House-Passed and Senate-Passed Health Insurance Reform Bills

December 29th, 2009 by Karina


Senate passage of health insurance reform legislation last week brings Congress closer to providing quality, affordable health insurance to every American.

As we move forward through the legislative process, we will produce a final bill that is founded on the core principles of health insurance reform: affordability for the middle class, security for our seniors, responsibility to our children, and accountability for the insurance industry.

House leaders are committed to working with Members of the House, Senate, and Obama Administration to reconcile the House and Senate bills and send the final legislation to the President’s desk as soon as possible.

While both the House-passed and Senate-passed bills are a critical step forward, the House bill has quicker reform, is more affordable, and covers more people.

Read a side-by-side comparison prepared by Tri-Committee staff on similarities and differences between the House-passed and Senate-passed health reform bills.

Key Differences Between House-Passed and Senate-Passed Health Insurance Reform Bills

Middle Class Affordability:

The House bill lowers premiums and cost sharing for the middle class through significantly more generous affordability credits for the average person going into the national insurance exchange, compared with the Senate bill.

Coverage:

The House bill covers 36 million currently uninsured Americans.

The Senate bill covers 31 million currently uninsured Americans.

Snowe Votes With Democrats, Senate Panel Passes Health Care Reform

10/13/09

In a major Democratic victory, the Senate Finance Committee voted 14 to 9 to pass its version of health care reform Tuesday afternoon. All Democrats on the committee and Maine Republican Olympia Snowe voted in favor of the bill, The remaining nine Republicans voted against it.

In explaining her vote, Snowe said the bill "bolsters what works in the system," adding, "Is this bill all that I would want? Far from it. But when history calls, history calls."

Snowe's support for the bill marks the first committee-level Republican to vote in favor of health care reform this year and gives a crucial edge to Democrats as they push forward on their plans to reform the health care. With 60 votes in the Senate, Democrats can theoretically defeat a Republican filibuster on health care. But the frail health of Sen. Robert Byrd and the moderate impulses of several conservative Democrats have left Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with no room for absence or dissent in his caucus.

source: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/10/13/snowe-votes-with-democrats-senate-panel-passes-health-care-refo/

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Vatican Official: Church Erred in Holding Kennedy Funeral

09/22/09

In a speech last Friday night to a gathering of Catholic conservatives at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, an American archbishop now heading the Vatican version of the church's Supreme Court said that politicians who support gay marriage or abortion rights cannot receive sacraments without publicly repenting their ways:

"It is not possible to be a practicing Catholic and to conduct oneself in this manner," said Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, whom the pope transferred to Rome in 2008 after Burke's checkered tenure as archbishop of St. Louis.

"Neither Holy Communion nor funeral rites should be administered to such politicians," Burke said. "To deny these is not a judgment of the soul, but a recognition of the scandal and its effects."

The remarks come from an account of the 50-minute speech by Deal Hudson, director of InsideCatholic.com, a conservative Web site that hosted the Sept. 18 annual gala for some 200 supporters.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley earlier this month rejected the denial of sacraments "in the strongest terms," as he wrote in a blog post:

"We will stop the practice of abortion by changing the law, and we will be successful in changing the law if we change people's hearts. We will not change hearts by turning away from people in their time of need and when they are experiencing grief and loss," O'Malley wrote.

"At times, even in the Church, zeal can lead people to issue harsh judgments and impute the worst motives to one another. These attitudes and practices do irreparable damage to the communion of the Church."

source: http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/09/22/vatican-official-cardinal-erred-in-holding-funeral-for-kennedy/

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Breaking News: Public Option get voted on tomorrow in the US Senate

The public option is headed for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) lamented on a conference call Thursday evening that the debate Friday would be the first time that the committee, since it began negotiating health care reform months ago, would be debating the public option.

"We're going to have a full blown debate in the Finance Committee," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a backer of the public option. While it may be an "underdog," Schumer said, "don't count it out."

The bill in its present form, written by Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) with three Republicans and two Democrats on the committee, offers health care cooperatives as an alternative.

Baucus is not offering any law changes for cooperatives so they cannot operate across state lines. Most co-ops are small businesses that make between  $5 and $10 million per year. They are too small to compete with the large health care corpriations and also only offer a limited range of services. 

Jonathan Alter on Newsweek suggested a super-co-op might provide a compromise solution for health care, but there is no such animal in the Senate bill.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/24/public-option-headed-for_n_299232.html

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/24/public-option-headed-for_n_299232.html

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Daily Beast: Senate Republicans cave-in on Cash for Clunkers

Rightardia predicted the GOP would cave in after some frosty rhetoric about the cost of this program. Most politicians do not want to tangle with the National Auto Dealers Association, particularly Republicans who have benefited form its largesse for years.

Drivers still hoping to swap old cars for lump sums have a little more time to get to the dealership: The Senate voted to pony up an additional $2 billion for Cash for Clunkers, the Associated Press reports.

According to President Obama, the program's initial $1 billion, which was supposed to last until October, will run out Friday. The vote to extend the measure (using money formerly set aside to use toward renewable-energy subsidies) will allow the rebates to continue through September.

The program awards rebates of between $3,500 and $4,500 to consumers who trade in old cars for newer, more fuel-efficient ones, aiding consumer spending and allowing nearly a quarter-million Americans to buy new cars. The Clunkers program reported having performed $664 million worth of transactions as of early Tuesday morning.

Read it at Associated Press:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBKeXttB7SwhTB7ul9b-chc-q0b/dail1
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