By GottaLaff
This is getting plain stupid:
Partisan acrimony reached one of the most obscure outposts of the federal government on Thursday, when House GOP leadership voiced its opposition to a Democratic nominee to the Election Assistance Commission.
By GottaLaff
What a Boehner:
Dear John Boehner:
Yes. We. Can.
And we did.
Now STFU.
Love,
Laffy
H/t: Dana Goldstein
By GottaLaff
Keithgasm:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By GottaLaff
Re: The title. I couldn't help myself. Bygones.
Moving on...
I got a little curious about Maplight.org, and went over to explore. Look what I found!
John Boehner Republican (Elected 1991), OH House district 8Total Campaign Contributions Received: $3,430,213
Top 10 Interests Funding
Interest Contributions Insurance $224,720 Securities & Investment $163,000 Electric Utilities $156,950 Banks and Credit $154,250 Health Professionals $139,500 Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $136,900 Real Estate $127,550 Lawyers/Law Firms $127,250 Hospitals/Nursing Homes $99,025 Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $95,000 Contributions from political parties and from other candidates are not included in top 10 lists.
Contributions shown for the last two years of available data, Jan 1, 2008 - Dec 31, 2009.
Anthony Weiner Democrat (Elected 1999), NY House district 9Total Campaign Contributions Received: $569,799
Top 10 Interests Funding
Interest Contributions Real Estate $128,900 Health Professionals $44,300 Securities & Investment $28,875 Lawyers/Law Firms $25,100 Building Trade Unions $20,200 Public Sector Unions $18,450 Pro-Israel $16,600 Transportation Unions $15,500 Agricultural Services/Products $15,200 Industrial Unions $11,000 Contributions from political parties and from other candidates are not included in top 10 lists.
Contributions shown for the last two years of available data, Jan 1, 2008 - Dec 31, 2009.
By GottaLaff
If he insists, but only if I were a violent, deranged, gun-toting nutcase:
“(T)hey want $500 million from this Congress to rehabilitate this prison in northwest Illinois. I want to see who the members are who are going to vote for this. I wouldn't vote for this if you put a gun to my head.”
Though a great improvement over the system established by Bush, the commission process provides fewer rights to defendants. For example, it allows hearsay evidence and, in some cases, coerced confessions. Equally important, however, commission trials would be viewed around the world as a continuation of Bush's policy of establishing a "legal black hole" for detainees.
All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only Fayiz al-Kandari's story here. Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.
Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is a military attorney who represents Fayiz Al-Kandari in the Military Commission process and in no way represents the opinions of his home state. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.
If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.
Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.
More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.By GottaLaff
The House voted Thursday to open an ethics investigation into what and when House Democratic leaders knew of allegations of sexual harassment against former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.).
The House overwhelmingly backed a privileged resolution offered by GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) that will have the Ethics Committee look into what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and other Democratic leaders and staffers knew about allegations of sexual harassment against Massa, and when they became aware of the situation.
By GottaLaff
"I could go on and on and on."
""I've been patient....But why can't we agree...? ... Let's scrap the bill."
"There are so many things you just said that ... just aren't true."
Gotta love that spirit of bipartisanship and camaraderie. BTW, how do you crash something you were invited to?
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told his colleagues on Tuesday that Republicans plan to attend the president’s high-profile healthcare summit this week in order to "crash the party."**In other words, you better give us what we want or we'll stamp our feet, pout and show up anyway.
According to a House GOP leadership aide familiar with the top-ranking Republican’s remarks at the weekly closed-door conference meeting, Boehner appealed to skeptical Republican lawmakers, saying, “We shouldn’t let the White House have a six-hour taxpayer-funded infomercial on ObamaCare. We need to show up. We need to crash the party.”
(snip)
Boehner explained that leaders are waiting for a response from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to a letter they sent earlier this month that asked a series of questions on the bipartisan summit**.
“It’s our intent to be there on Thursday. We’re waiting on a response and we’re hopeful that we’ll receive one soon," Boehner explained.
By GottaLaff
Statement by Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) on the Proposed Feb. 25 Health Care Summit
Washington, Feb 13 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement regarding the health care summit being planned by congressional Democrats and the White House for February 25:
"A productive bipartisan discussion should begin with a clean sheet of paper. We now know that instead of starting the 'bipartisan' health care 'summit' on Feb. 25 with a clean sheet of paper, the president and his party intend to arrive with a new bill written behind closed doors exclusively by Democrats -- a backroom deal that will transform one-sixth of our nation's economy and affect every family and small business in America. They will then engage a largely handpicked audience in a televised 'dialogue' according to a script they have largely pre-determined. They will do this as a precursor to embarking on a legislative course that Democratic congressional aides acknowledge has also been pre-determined -- a partisan course that relies on parliamentary tricks to circumvent the will of the American people and engineer a pre-determined outcome. It doesn't sound much like bipartisanship to me."
NOTE: House Republicans' alternative solutions to make health care more affordable and accessible can be found at HealthCare.GOP.gov.
Here is a link to their so-called solutions.
Where do I start?
For one thing, The Boehner seems to forget that those very same "tricks" were used ad nauseam by Boy Georgie. And that it's because of the stubborn obstructionist tactics by his own party that the Dems might, and should, resort to circumventing the endless, and unprecedented, number of filibusters.
Oh, and BoehnHead? When it comes to "pre-determined scripts", you might want to 1) Look in the mirror (with sunglasses on, lest your artificial coloring blind you), 2) Check out this post on ReadHand McCribNotes' insistence on pre-screened questions, and 3) Walk down Memory Lane long enough to recall that BushCo pre-determined everything from hand-picked audiences to fraudulent wars against sovereign countries.
But using the word "Democratic", instead of "Democrat", is duly noted.
H/t: _ccm, Coopster04
By GottaLaff
Dear GOP,
And that's the way it is. I hope.White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just responded to a letter sent today from House Republican Leader John Boehner and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor regarding the proposed bipartisan health care summit:
The President is adamant that we seize this historic moment to pass meaningful health insurance reform legislation. He began this process by inviting Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House on March 5 of last year, and he’s continued to work with both parties in crafting the best possible bill. He’s been very clear about his support for the House and Senate bills because of what they achieve for the American people: putting a stop to insurance company abuses, extending coverage to millions of hardworking Americans, getting control of rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reducing the deficit.
The President looks forward to reviewing Republican proposals that meet the goals he laid out at the beginning of this process, and as recently as the State of the Union Address. He’s open to including any good ideas that stand up to objective scrutiny. What he will not do, however, is walk away from reform and the millions of American families and small business counting on it. The recent news that a major insurer plans to raise premiums for some customers by as much as 39 percent is a stark reminder of the consequences of doing nothing.
By GottaLaff
AMERICABlog has the whole thing (via Roll Call, which is subscription only), but the gist is, the Republicans won't go to the bipartisan [sic] health care meeting (my post about that is here) unless the White House considers scrapping the health care bills, plus they say reconciliation is off the table.
Here's the excerpt we can access:
In a tersely worded letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Monday, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wrote that Republicans “would rightly be reluctant” to participate in the Feb. 25 bipartisan health care meeting if the White House refused to consider scrapping the current health care reform bills.Keith Olbermann also just reported the news on Countdown.
By GottaLaff
This should be interesting viewing:
President Obama made a dramatic attempt to jump-start the stalled health care debate Sunday, inviting Republicans in Congress to a half-day summit on the subject to be televised live later this month. [...]Obama challenged Republicans to come to the discussion armed with their best ideas for how to cover more Americans and fix the health insurance system. [...]
Best ideas? How about any ideas?
Although The Boehner said he's "pleased that the White House finally seems interested in a real, bipartisan conversation on health care" (um, excuse me, huh, whaa?), and that the existing bills should be "scrapped", the White House says, uh-uh:
"This is not starting over," one White House official said. "Don't make any mistake about that. We are coming with our plan. They can bring their plan."
If they do, they'll be packing awfully light. As in, empty. As in nada.
By GottaLaff
This Party of No thing got old about a year ago. Keep it up, Rushpubstructionists, because the White House is finally hitting back.
Check out the latest brick wall courtesy of The Boehner:
House Minority Leader John Boehner on Friday rebuffed a request from the Obama administration to work with Democrats to rein in soaring budget deficits, aides said. Instead, the Ohio Republican argued, the White House's plans for a bipartisan commission to address the deficits should be scrapped and redesigned.
Boehner told Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner in a telephone call that Republicans would refuse to participate on the 18-member commission unless it were comprised equally of Republicans and Democrats, and unless all GOP members were appointed by their caucus leaders, according to a top Boehner aide.
As Rachel and Keith remind us daily, these tin-eared, negative, filibuster-happy, naysaying Party of Wall Streeters are siding with the banks and Big Biz against "ordinary" Americans. And they're admittedly blocking everything. That's their strategy.
Good luck with that.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By GottaLaff
The Wall Street Journal reports today that "Republicans are stepping up their campaign to win donations from Wall Street, trying to capitalize on an increasing sense of regret among executives at big financial institutions for backing Democrats in 2008." [...]Last week, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio made a pitch to Democratic contributor James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan, over drinks at a Capitol Hill restaurant, according to people familiar with the matter.Mr. Boehner told Mr. Dimon congressional Republicans had stood up to Mr. Obama's efforts to curb pay and impose new regulations. The Republican leader also said he was disappointed many on Wall Street continue to donate their money to Democrats, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The Boehner foots the bill for a couple of drinks and expects a few million in return... and his bait to Wall Street is that the Democrats are trying to fix the gargantuan problems that the Rushpublics jammed down our throats for 8 endless years.
By GottaLaff
PLEASE NOTE: If the videos don't show up, it's because YouTube is "under maintenance". Good timing, right after Sunday talkers, YT. Way to make our lives easier.
Drinking game: Take a slug every time The Boehner avoids answering a question and/or distorts actual, you know, facts:
Where's that Rushpublic health care plan again, John Boy? Talk about a show about nothing...
Amazed that Fox could see the hypocrisy.
"Well, it was a different time."
-- House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), in an interview on Fox News, on why Republicans, when they were in control, didn't allow members 24 hours to read bills before they came to the House floor.
By GottaLaff
Kimberly Young of Oxford, Ohio, died Wednesday morning a few days short of her 23rd birthday. Hospital officials have said she appeared to have the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
But here's why Young's death is news beyond her northwest Ohio community: people who knew her are saying she resisted treatment that could have saved her life -- because she didn't have health insurance.
This is beyond appalling. Is this what it will take to convince people like The Boehner to stop their asinine campaign against decent health care reform?
And adding to the political resonance: Young's member of Congress is Rep. John Boehner, who as the House Republican leader has led the effort against reform.
However:
It's by no means confirmed that Young's death was caused by a lack of insurance. Even assuming the accuracy of what her roommate's mother said -- that she resisted treatment because of the lack of insurance -- there's no way to be sure that timelier care could have saved her.
Still, if Young's lack of insurance did contribute to her not seeking treatment sooner, it would be hard to find a starker or more compelling example of the need to fix our broken health insurance system. And the fact that she was a constituent of the man who's leading House Republicans' in their effort to block reform only underlines the point.
By GottaLaff
Initially, when I saw The Boehner say this on the Tee Vee Machine, I was hopping up and down, all a-dither and a-gog at the apparent gotcha:
Of course, all my a-ditherage and a-gogitude was tempered by The Boehner's little tap dancery implication, "Hey, I'm not the one who said it, I won't call him that. I'm simply the bizarrely bronzed, orange-faced good cop, but hey, if Michael Steele wants to lie, it's fine by me."
And then there's this little nugget:
Ding!Boehner is lying. He has said that what Obama and Democratic leaders are doing is socialism. From his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference a few months ago:
Well, the stimulus, the omnibus, the budget — it’s all one big down payment on a new American socialist experiment. … All of these bills seek to replace our economic freedom with the whims and mandates of politicians and bureaucrats.
Basically, Boehner admitted today that all he was doing there was fear-mongering and attempting to scare the public for political gain.
Today on CNN’s State of the Union, Obama responded to these charges from conservative leaders, stating, “You know, I’m amused. I can’t tell you how many foreign leaders who are heads of center-right governments say to me, I don’t understand why people would call you socialist, in my country, you’d be considered a conservative.”
.jpg)
