harikari.com

One of the loudest complaints about the Democratic-controlled congress is that it has done little for and is out of touch with ordinary Americans, particularly during these trying economic times.  The facts suggest otherwise.

First, congress passed and President Obama signed the much maligned but nevertheless effective stimulus bill that provided a much needed fiscal boost to the economy at a critical time in the form of aid to states, tax cuts, unemployment payments, funding for green energy and other worthy projects.  The bill was, alas, oversold by the Obama administration but there is no question that it saved between one and two million jobs that would otherwise have been lost, and ameliorated the need for Draconian cuts by state governments suddenly faced with enormous budget deficits.

Second, about a year ago Obama signed a bill that afforded consumers more protection from the predatory practices of the credit card industry.

Third, in April Obama signed into law the most far reaching reform of health-care since Medicare and in so doing significantly strengthened America’s tattered social safety net.

And last but not least, congress is on the verge of passing significant financial reform legislation that takes a giant step towards curbing the sort of practices by banks and investment houses that nearly drove our economy into another Depression.

They have done this in the face of vociferous opposition from the powerful industries involved.  Each of these bills benefited ordinary, hard working Americans and, in the cases of the credit card bill of rights, health reform and the regulation of the financial industry, did so at the expense of Big Business or the wealthiest Americans.  Now that’s a change.  And second, they moved forward against the obstructionist opposition of a GOP only too willing to do the heavy lifting for the financial and medical insurance industries.  Does anyone think it’s a coincidence, for example, that political PAC money contributions from the financial industry are flowing away from Democrats, despite the fact that they control Congress and the White House, and to the Republicans?

It has been less than eighteen months since the Democrats took control in Washington.  In that time they have confounded conventional wisdom and the usual Washington cynicism to pass legislation that makes the lives of ordinary Americans more secure.  And they have accomplished this over the objections of powerful business interests who have been used to getting their own way.

Obama and congressional Democrats may be fairly faulted on some issues from both left and right; but not fighting for ordinary Americans isn’t one of them.

Since President Obama’s inauguration in January 2009, the administration and Democrats in Congress have arguably:

Saved the United States economy from a meltdown which could easily have become a depression; given a new lease on life to the US automobile manufacturing industry whose collapse would have been disastrous to Michigan in particular and the Mid-West in general; put into law health-care legislation which fills a crucial hole in the nation’s frayed social safety net and taken a giant step towards ending the shame of being the only advanced country that doesn’t offer universal coverage to its citizens. And with luck, Congress will, by summer, pass an overhaul of the financial regulatory system which will be the most significant and far reaching in a generation to protect us from the sort of catastrophe that befell the nation at the end of the Bush administration.  Assuming, that is, the GOP hasn’t found a way to block it.

The Democrats’ reward for this impressive record of accomplishment from the American electorate will, at best, be a much reduced majority in both houses of Congress or, very possibly, the loss of one or both to the Republicans.  These are the same Republicans who have given the word “obstructionism” a whole new meaning and dimension; the same Republicans who have repeatedly put what they perceive as their political interests ahead of those of the country.

Yes the deficit is dangerously high and attributable in part to TARP and the 2009 stimulus bill. Yet most economists agree that the government couldn’t stand by and do nothing in the face of the sort of deep and destructive recession Obama inherited from the Bush administration. The $787 billion stimulus, passed with just one Republican vote in the Senate, gave a much needed boost to the economy and saved hard pressed states from devastating cuts to teachers, police and other critical public servants. And TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) which, in any case was passed at the end of the Bush administration, has been used wisely to prevent a disintegration of our financial system.

As for the health-care legislation, once Americans have penetrated the smokescreen of misinformation generated by the GOP, they will come to realize that at a time when money talks and Big Business rules, Democrats showed great political bravery and determination in striking a telling blow for ordinary, hardworking people who feel, and usually are, powerless in this political environment. The health care bill will ensure that wealth flows, just for a change, from the affluent to the benefit of those less well off in our society. 

Yet Americans see none of this.  Still grumpy because the economy remains weak, we will mindlessly punish those whom we blame for not fixing now what hasn’t had time to be mended; and reward those who did more than anyone to put us into the mess in the first place and have done nothing constructive to get us out of it. And as a bonus we will ensure political gridlock in which little that is useful can get done.

Where’s the sense or the justice in that?

A video mashup of John Boehner shouting “Hell no you can’t!” in Will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” campaign video.

Wow… that 10% tanning booth tax really set him off.

A while back we had a post about how far-right wingnuts want kill President Obama.  Well now they are pissed off at the Democrats in congress, and they want to kill them too.  MSNBC reports:

At a news conference in Washington, Hoyer said people have yelled that Democratic lawmakers should be put on firing lines and posters have appeared with the faces of lawmakers in the cross hairs of a target.

…

Gun imagery was used in a posting on the Facebook page of Sarah Palin urging people to organize against 20 House Democrats who voted for the health care bill and whose districts went for the John McCain-Palin ticket two years ago.  Palin’s post featured a U.S. map with circles and cross hairs over the 20 districts.

…

In audio recordings of voice messages obtained by NBC News and other networks, one caller repeatedly tells Stupak “I hope you die.”

“There are millions of people across the country who wish you ill,” another caller says. “And all of those thoughts projected on you will materialize into something that’s not very good for you.”

A fax with the title “Defecating on Stupak” carried a picture of a gallows with “Bart (SS) Stupak” on it and a noose attached. It was captioned, “All Baby Killers come to unseemly ends Either by the hand of man or by the hand of God.”

And the Washington Post reports that in addition to the fax, Stupak also received a voice mail threatening his life:

…and an anonymous voice mail saying: “You’re dead. We know where you live. We’ll get you.”

And as if that’s not enough,  The New York Times reports:

Representative Louise M. Slaughter, a senior Democrat from New York, received a phone message threatening sniper attacks against lawmakers and their families.

…

Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest-ranking black lawmaker in the House, said he received an anonymous fax showing the image of a noose.

The Washington Post also reported: 

Some Democrats, sensing a political opportunity, suggested that Republicans were fanning the anger with their fiery comments in recent days. Several GOP lawmakers stood on the speaker’s balcony at the Capitol overlooking a tea party protest last weekend holding up signs that read “Kill the Bill.” Below them, protesters were yelling “No! No! No!” and “Nancy, you will burn in hell for this!”

And now I must give credit where credit is do.  Some of the Republicans heeded the call and denounced the violence and threats perpetrated by their followers, including House Minority Leader John Boehner:

“…violence and threats are unacceptable.  That’s not the American way.  We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change.”

Maybe he said that because he meant it, or maybe he said it because he is a media whore and he wanted to make the papers and be on TV again.  Ugh.  If he’s on again tomorrow morning, I am going to puke up my yogurt.

I am so tired of turning on the morning news and seeing nothing but a bunch of Republicans whining about the passage of the health care reform bill.  I just don’t get why they get so much air time to bash Obama and a bill the Democrats passed after about fifteen months of prolonged debate.  I was hoping that maybe today the media would focus on what was actually in the bill and, I don’t know, maybe have a Democrat explain it and why it’s a good thing.  But no such luck, the Today Show had clips of Limbaugh, Boehner, McConnell, and a gaggle of other rich old white guys.  NPR had a five-minute interview with Judd Gregg (R-NH) who babbled on and on about how the Republicans have been treated so badly by the Democrats.  Hmmm… I wonder if he was sympathetic to the Democratic minority from 2000 – 2006?  I can’t say for sure, but my guess is NOT.  Which reminds me… Jon Stewart said it best shortly after Obama was elected president and the Democrats took over both houses of congress:  “You guys lost!  It’s supposed to taste like a shit sandwich.”   They can serve it up, but they can’t eat it.

Okay so I continue to be frustrated by the mainstream media, and not just because they seem to devote so much time to the losers, but also because the losing party is home to so many mean, xenophobic, racist bigots.  I cannot tell you how pleased I would be if I turned on a major network newscast and saw that they were doing an in-depth report about the hateful bigots that proudly align themselves with Republicans and Tea Partiers. 

I found some solace in Bob Herbert’s column this morning:

…it is time for every American of good will to hold the Republican Party accountable for its role in tolerating, shielding and encouraging foul, mean-spirited and bigoted behavior in its ranks and among its strongest supporters.

For decades the G.O.P. has been the party of fear, ignorance and divisiveness.  All you have to do is look around to see what it has done to the country.  The greatest economic inequality since the Gilded Age was followed by a near-total collapse of the overall economy.  As a country, we have a monumental mess on our hands and still the Republicans have nothing to offer in the way of a remedy except more tax cuts for the rich.

This is the party of trickle down and weapons of mass destruction, the party of birthers and death-panel lunatics.  This is the party that genuflects at the altar of right-wing talk radio, with its insane, nauseating, nonstop commitment to hatred and bigotry.

Glenn Beck of Fox News has called President Obama a “racist” and asserted that he “has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.”

Mike Huckabee, a former Republican presidential candidate, has said of Mr. Obama’s economic policies:  “Lenin and Stalin would love this stuff.”

The G.O.P. poisons the political atmosphere and then has the gall to complain about an absence of bipartisanship.

There’s much more detail about Tea Partiers taunting a poor man with Parkinson’s disease, and the spitting, cursing, and name calling done on Saturday by protestors as the Democrats walked into the halls of congress.  Read it all here.

Senator Harry Reid grew some balls today.  Big brass ones.  Here are some excerpts from his letter to Senator Mitch McConnell: 

Dear Leader McConnell:
 
Eleven months ago, I wrote you to share my expectations for the coming health reform debate.  At the time, I expressed Democrats’ intention to work in good faith with Republicans…
 
Obviously, the opposite has happened, as many Republicans have spent the past year mischaracterizing the health reform bill and misleading the public.  …

… 60 Senators voted to pass historic reform that will make health insurance more affordable, make health insurance companies more accountable and reduce our deficit by roughly a trillion dollars.  The House passed a similar bill.  However, many Republicans now are demanding that we simply ignore the progress we’ve made, the extensive debate and negotiations we’ve held, the amendments we’ve added (including more than 100 from Republicans) and the votes of a supermajority in favor of a bill whose contents the American people unambiguously support.

…

I know that many Republicans have expressed concerns with our use of the existing Senate rules, but their argument is unjustified.  There is nothing unusual or extraordinary about the use of reconciliation.  As one of the most senior Senators in your caucus, Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, said in explaining the use of this very same option, “Is there something wrong with majority rules?  I don’t think so.” 

…
 
As you know, the vast majority of bills developed through reconciliation were passed by Republican Congresses and signed into law by Republican Presidents – including President Bush’s massive, budget-busting tax breaks for multi-millionaires.  Given this history, one might conclude that Republicans believe a majority vote is sufficient to increase the deficit and benefit the super-rich, but not to reduce the deficit and benefit the middle class.  Alternatively, perhaps Republicans believe a majority vote is appropriate only when Republicans are in the majority.  Either way, we disagree.
 
Keep in mind that reconciliation will not exclude Republicans from the legislative process.  You will continue to have an opportunity to offer amendments and change the shape of the legislation.  In addition, at the end of the process, the bill can pass only if it wins a democratic, up-or-down majority vote.  If Republicans want to vote against a bill that reduces health care costs, fills the prescription drug “donut hole” for seniors and reduces the deficit, you will have every right to do so.
 
Sincerely,
 
HARRY REID
United States Senator

P.S.  Can you hear them clanging?

While tens of millions of hard working Americans struggled to keep their jobs and pay their mortgages and ever increasing health insurance premiums, the for-profit health insurance industry increased their profits by billions over the last year.  From today’s Seattle Times:

WASHINGTON — As the nation struggled last year with rising health-care costs and a recession, the five largest health-insurance companies racked up combined profits of $12.2 billion, up 56 percent over 2008, according to a new report.

Based on company financial reports for 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the report said insurers WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Aetna and Humana covered 2.7 million fewer people than they did the previous year.

The report also said three of the five insurers cut the proportion of premiums they spent on customers’ medical care, committing relatively more to salaries, administrative expenses and profits.

Prepared by Health Care for America Now, a coalition of liberal advocacy groups and labor unions, the report was aimed at bolstering the drive by Democrats to complete work on a health-care overhaul, which insurers have vigorously opposed.

Industry representatives criticized the report’s approach, noting that 2008 was a bad year financially across many industries, skewing the 2009 comparison.

“It is disingenuous to look at the profits at one company today compared to where it was in the depth of a recession,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s Washington, D.C.-based lobbying arm.

While all five companies indeed reported lower profits between 2007 and 2008, a Seattle Times review of financial statements shows that the profits of three of them — WellPoint, Cigna and Humana — were higher in 2009 than in 2007, before the recession.  Outside factors such as the sales of assets can affect those numbers, however.

…

Industry analyst Sheryl Skolnick, a senior vice president at CRT Capital Group, said many of the insurance companies likely would benefit from more customers.

But they are driven to increase prices for their products to satisfy investors, which in turn drives away more and more customers.

“It is a terrible thing to run your business for Wall Street,” Skolnick said. “It creates very bad incentives, and it ultimately prevents you from doing the thing that is in the best long-term interest of your business. … There is no way that as long as these businesses are publicly traded, they can have the best interest of their customers at heart.”

Sounds to me like the greedy corporate health insurance providers could use a little competition from a lower-priced, more efficient, government-run plan.  So why is the Public Option off the table? 

Only answer I can come up with is to make the rich richer.

Like Mr. Barnes, was sying, people don’t know what’s in the healthcare bill – they just know it’s “socialist” and it must be bad, ’cause they heard about it on the most watched noise network, FOX. 

Krugman tell it to his face:

During the previous administration, Bush and his Republican chorus in Congress and the right-wing punditry exploited the fear and ignorance of most Americans to invade a country that represented no threat to us, establish what amounted to an offshore America gulag for our enemies, real or imagined, and to spy on United States citizens without judicial approval or oversight. 

Today, the GOP and allies are doing it again to stir opposition to the agenda of President Obama and the Democrats as they seek to enact comprehensive health care insurance reform and steer the ship of state in a more moderate and progressive direction.  And it’s clearly working.

Obama’s poll numbers have plummeted and Democrats have lost a senate seat in Massachusetts, of all places, and governorships in Virginia and New Jersey.  Never mind that the two previous Democratic governors in Virginia had been instrumental in making it one of the best administered states in the union.  Or that the seat won by a right-wing Republican with nothing to distinguish him save his abs was previously that of Senator Edward Kennedy, who accomplished so much for his state and his country and whose unrequited dream was universal health coverage for all Americans.

A grumpy and fearful electorate has bought into GOP lies and distortions to blame Obama and the Democrats for not fixing in a year what took the Republicans nearly three decades to break.  Sure, some blame attaches to Democrats who foolishly bought into or lacked the courage to oppose the deregulatory fervor of the right.  But it was the GOP, starting with Reagan and ending with George W Bush, who pushed the idea of the self-regulating free market and the notion that stricter government oversight unnecessarily and perniciously fettered our financial institutions.  We failed to heed the warning of the savings and loan fiasco of the 90’s and the result, in time, was an economic meltdown precipitated by irresponsible banks. 

Yet the GOP has succeeded in painting Obama as a typical big-spending liberal, ignoring the fact that junior Bush added three trillion dollars to the national debt after inheriting a budget surplus from his Democratic predecessor, and that the current deficit is partly the result of the $750 billion TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) passed under the previous administration.  The Obama $787 billion stimulus bill, on the other hand, was a necessary response to the deepest recession since World War II that he inherited and it has helped to ameliorate what would otherwise have been a much worse employment picture.

As for the health care bill, Americans again have been guilty of both woeful ignorance and susceptibility to GOP propaganda.  A Kaiser Foundation tracking poll found that whilst Americans are evenly divided on whether they support the Democratic bills, most have no clue what’s in them.  Furthermore, when told of the bills’ specific key elements, support rises significantly.  

Yet the GOP and the right-wing punditry have managed to convince Americans, falsely, that the Democratic legislation will increase the deficit, raise their taxes, and diminish the quality of their own health insurance whilst raising its cost.

Congressional Republicans may be a despicable bunch but their manipulations of the truth could not succeed without an American electorate too lazy to find out the facts for themselves.

Say hello to the new senator from Massachusetts.

He’s the newest senator representing the G.O.P. – the party of fiscally irresponsible, xenophopic, war-mongering, freedom-hating, money-loving, hypocritical Bible thumping, mendacious moral degenerates.

He is the the pawn on the Republican side of the board that they will use to kill healthcare reform.

But the Democrats still have a big majority, so the stalling tactics of 41 Republicans and one douche bag from Connecticut shouldn’t be a big problem for the 58 Democrats, right?

Wrong!

Jon Stewart explained it best:  “Democrats will only then have an 18-vote majority in the Senate.  Which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whatever the fuck he wanted to.”  (watch it here)