The Great Pork War Marches on...

I'm meeting with our field commanders at Pork Central, so talk amongst yourselves. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:48 PM | Add Comment
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Rescued!

Posted by: Ace at 06:16 PM | Add Comment
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For those who missed it, the President went very low tonight. I'm not talking about the lies (there were too many to recount here), the contortions ("I'm not attacking Republicans" about two minutes after attacking Republicans), and the incoherence (e.g. "Senior citizens who right now have a so-called donut hole in their plan, where after spending a certain amount on prescription drugs suddenly they drop off a cliff and they've got to pocket the entire cost, suddenly half of that is filled.").

I'm talking about foot-in-mouth soundbites. Let's count them down:

4. The Sacrifices Americans Must Make

The question was: "Do you think -- do you accept the premise that other than some tax increases on the wealthiest Americans, the American people are going to have to give anything up in order for this to happen?"

The president answered: "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier. And I -- speaking as an American, I think that's the kind of change you want."

Like cheeseburgers and cigarettes and alcohol and cars that drive faster than 25 miles per hour?

3. Economics 101 FAIL

"Having a public plan out there that also shows that maybe if you take some of the profit motive out, maybe if you are reducing some of the administrative costs, that you can get an even better deal, that's going to incentivize the private sector to do even better."

2. I Don't Know Anything, But I Know the Police Acted Stupidly

On the professor arrested following a confrontation with a police officer after he broke into his own house: "Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don't know all the facts. ...

"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly."

1. Doctors Want to Take Your Kids' Tonsils For Profit

Again, another answer unrelated to any question asked: "Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that's out there. So if they're looking and you come in and you've got a bad sore throat or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, "You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out."

In all, he had some very clear villains in tonight's performance: doctors, insurers, Republicans, and the Cambridge police department. A full transcript of the press conference is available here.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:10 PM | Comments (19)
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Photoshop by McGurk

Posted by: DrewM at 03:05 PM | Comments (1)
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Let's see, there is no actual bill at the moment. One of the three House committees responsible for writing the bill has canceled its meetings for the last two days but Nanc says everything is fine.

Um, okay.

While Pelosi said she has "no question" that Democrats have the votes they need, she stopped short of promising the full House would act on the legislation before beginning a monthlong vacation at the end of July.

"We are waiting to see what the president says, and what the Senate will do," she said.

Here's what the Senate is going to do...nothing. At least not before Obama's self-imposed August deadline.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said for the first time Wednesday that its no longer possible for the Senate to pass a health-reform bill before leaving for the August recess – which would defy President Barack Obama’s wish that both houses approve the legislation before summer break.

Durbin’s comments, confirmed by his office, are the strongest signal yet of what’s become increasingly apparent on the Hill – that the Senate Finance Committee is well short of being able to negotiate a compromise in time to clear the full Senate.

Oh and Orin Hatch is done with the Senate Finance Committee's efforts.

Are members of the House willing to walk to the plank on this mess only to have the Senate not do something, like they did with Cap and Trade? I have to say I doubt that.

No doubt that given all of these breakdowns in the Democratic party, Obama will naturally beat up on....Republicans. Help us @jaketapper and @MajoratWH you are only hopes to call BS on this tonight.

UPDATE: Leading "Blue Dog" calls BS on Pelosi's claim.

Posted by: DrewM at 02:45 PM | Comments (1)
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Via Dave in Texas, Jim Geraghty has Straw Man Bingo created by the Senate Republicans. It turns what promises to be another soul-destroying attempt at speechifying from the Great Orator into fun for the whole family!

Given the rhetoric from the White House directed toward unnamed “opponents of health care reform” and those who “defend the status quo” (whoever they are), the SRCC has prepared “Straw Man Bingo” based on actual quotes from the Administration so you can track references to these anonymous evildoers in tonight’s press conference.

Click over for the game board.

More: Well, that was timely. The White House just released some excerpts from his opening remarks. Geraghty nailed it with "let me be clear."

And Yet Even More: The GOP is going to liveblog this mess with "real-time fact checking." We here at the HQ are also going to liveblog it (new post forthcoming). The difference between the two? Here there will be special guest appearances by the Spirit of TOTUS1 and Joe Biden. Also: careful analysis, incisive commentary, cussing, and tits. You make the choice.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 01:47 PM | Comments (2)
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The strange, strange world of Iranian politics.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad showed rare defiance of his strongest backer, Iran's supreme leader, by insisting on his choice for vice president Wednesday despite vehement opposition from hard-liners that has opened a deep rift in the conservative leadership.

...Conservative clerics and politicians have denounced Ahmadinejad's choice for the post of first vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, because Mashai said last year that Iranians are friends with Israelis. There are also concerns because Mashai is a relative of Ahmadinejad — his daughter is married to the president's son.

Ahmadinejad must really be feeling pretty good about things if he thinks he can take on reformers and Khamenei at the same time. Or he's just nuts.

Either way, it's not reassuring that the Obama administration has pretty much let the cat out of the bag and announced that yes, Iran will get nuclear weapons at some point.

"We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment ... that if the U.S. extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf, it's unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer because they won't be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a nuclear weapon."

A senior U.S. official said Clinton's comments should be seen as a public argument that the United States is making to dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear arms rather than a sign that the United States is becoming resigned to the prospect.

Yeah, that 'senior U.S. official"? Whoever it is that person is an idiot. Of course Iran is going to read it that way and of course they are going to be bolder once they have nuclear weapons than they already are.

Oh and that 'umbrella' we are promising to extend? Does that include all the "unproven" missile defense systems we hear so much about and that are being cut left and right?

I'll be interested to see if this comes up in tonight's press conference..."Mr. President, what enchants you most about the Iranians getting nuclear weapons? Is it the world oil supply being held hostage? The prospects of them increasing their support for terrorists? Or is it the prospect of Israel being wiped off that face of the Earth? And for a follow up...I loved your "mom jeans". I realize that wasn't a question but I had to let you know."

Posted by: DrewM at 12:51 PM | Comments (6)
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The craziness that is Obama's attempt to take over another 15% of our economy in a couple of weeks hurtles down and hopefully off the tracks. You would think that a look at the government run health care systems already in effect might provide a cautionary tale. I mean I know no one holding up Medicare as a model of efficiency, the same can be said of the VA healthcare provided to vets. Yesterday Matt Burden (Blackfive himself) Chairman of the Warrior Legacy Foundation was on Glenn Beck's show to discuss VA medical care. Matt & Glenn point out many of the problems VA faces and why a government take over of health care could be even worse.

Posted by: Uncle Jimbo at 08:10 AM | Comments (2)
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Update: 58-39 fails to get 60 for cloture.

An interesting idea that will put a lot of Democrats in a box today.

Gun control and gun rights advocates are bracing for another clash with a Senate vote on a measure that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry those hidden weapons across state borders.

Backers, led by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., say truckers and others with concealed weapons permits should be able to protect themselves when they cross into other states. Opponents say the measure would force states with strict procedures for getting permits to accept permits from states with more lax laws.

"Law-abiding South Dakotans should be able to exercise the right to bear arms in states with similar regulations on concealed firearms," Thune said. "My legislation enables citizens to protect themselves while respecting individual state firearms laws."

Democrats from states like Virginia, Montana and Nevada (yeah, Harry Reid is going to vote for it) face a tough choice. Their constituents are likely to favor this but on a national level, there will be a lot of pressure to oppose this measure.

I like the idea in theory though as someone who believes in federalism, I'd prefer to see this handled at the state level. If states that allow their residents to carry concealed handguns, they should be free to implement their own reciprocity laws.

Still, it's fun to see the 'moderate' Democrats finally having to stand up and take responsibility on a number of issues. Too often they have gotten a free pass to talk conservative at home but vote more liberally in D.C. Now that the Democrats have full control, they don't have as much room to hide.

More: Just to be clear, this proposal does not allow concealed carry in all 50 states. It simply extends automatic reciprocity between states with concealed carry laws.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:15 AM | Comments (3)
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Or, as Chris Matthews calls it, the press release. Unnnnnhhhh.

Chris Matthews is watching that clock like a download-meter on FileFactory, if you know what I'm sayin', and I strongly suspect you do.

Muffy's tip, Kensington's "release" joke.

Posted by: Ace at 06:51 AM | Add Comment
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