By GottaLaff
Instant tears:
According to the Washington Post, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), son the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, visited his father's grave site in the Arlington National Cemetery following the passage of the health care bill, leaving behind a hand-written note that read: "Dad, the unfinished business is done."
By GottaLaff
My pal Cube, who writes for the inimitable and always entertaining National Lampoon, has graciously given me permission to cross post a little something he put up earlier.
And what a something it is:
Health Care Suicide Bombers — Open Thread
Posted by Erick Erickson (Profile)Precisely.
By GottaLaff
“John, we lost a very important seat, a very important vote,” Democratic strategist Donna Brazile told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
“It’s a disappointment,” Brazile also told King. “It hurts like hell. I can’t tell you how much it hurts. But, it’s also a gift. If we learn the lessons to get back to the basics, to deliver for the American people the change we promised them in 2008.”
Of course, then a "compassionate conservative" showed what a big, fat, oozy heart he has with this Very Special Comeback:
“Well, maybe we can find more under the tree,” Bill Bennett, the host of conservative talk show “Morning in America,” said in response to Brazile. “If that’s the gift, then we want to keep on giving,” the conservative commentator added.Bill has such a flair for ooze.
Brazile:
“This is not a defeat that should cause Democrats to become demoralized or to begin to fail in their pledge to change the country. This is an opportunity,” Brazile said Sunday.
Now that's heart we can believe in.
By GottaLaff
Ted Kennedy, Jr. pulled out all the stops to help Martha Coakley get elected:
If that doesn't garner support, I don't know what will.[...] That Senator will have big shoes to fill and I know that Martha Coakley is ready to fill them.
My father was a hero to me, not just because he was a great Dad, but also because of what he fought for every day [...]
Just as he was always there for me, he was always there for the people of Massachusetts. Now it’s time that we are all there for him and all that he stood for. Martha Coakley’s race gets closer by the day and today, we must work harder than ever to keep this seat in Democratic hands so that we can continue our shared fight for working families. Will you ensure that my father’s hard work continues? [...]
Without Martha Coakley in the Senate many of the things we’ve worked so hard to achieve are in danger, including my father’s 40 year fight to pass real, comprehensive health care. [...]
Your support couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Thank you for standing with me, my family and Martha Coakley.
Sincerely,
Ted Kennedy Jr.
By GottaLaff
Um, exsqueeze me?
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts finds Scott Brown (R) leads Martha Coakley (D), 48% to 47%, and is "buoyed by a huge advantage with independents and relative disinterest from Democratic voters in the state."Democrats, are you listening? Don't get lackadaisical now, we can't afford it. Rev up and vote. And rev up other Democrats to vote.
"Here's the reality: the Republicans and GOP leaning independents are going to come out and vote for Scott Brown. There's no doubt about that. But there's also a much larger pool of potential Democratic voters in the state. If Coakley can get them out, she wins. But this race is well past the stage where Democrats can take it for granted that will happen. It will be fascinating to see what happens the final ten days and we'll do a second poll on the race next weekend."
By GottaLaff
Talk about an emotional roller coaster:During Thursday's vote Senate vote, Majority Leader Reid could be heard voting 'no' before correcting his vote to 'aye.'
Smiley face.Sen. Byrd from West Virginia remembered his former colleague Ted Kennedy.
"This is for my friend Ted Kennedy: Aye!"
Tears.
Now on to the next, even crazier roller coaster ride.
By GottaLaff
On Hardball today, Chris Matthews provided the clip I discussed down thread here. The segment is at about 5:23 on the video:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By GottaLaff
"It is disrespectful and unseemly for [Republicans] to invoke the name of Ted Kennedy and Jack Kennedy in opposition to this legislation."Thank you, Senator Baucus. It's about time somebody came out publicly to shame the Rushpublics for smearing a beloved champion for and "the father of" health care reform, a lion of a man who has passed away and can't be there to defend himself.
This is the kind of crap that makes me see red. I'd actually be more pissed, but considering how close McCain is to "the other side", maybe he does know what Senator Kennedy would think. Asswipe.
By GottaLaff
Vicki Kennedy: "The bill before Congress will finally deliver on the urgent needs of all Americans. It would make their lives better and do so much good for this country. That, in the end, must be the test of reform. That was always the test for Ted Kennedy. He's not here to urge us not to let this chance slip through our fingers. So I humbly ask his colleagues to finish the work of his life, the work of generations, to allow the vote to go forward and to pass health-care reform now. As Ted always said, when it's finally done, the people will wonder what took so long."
By GottaLaff
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) and state Sen. Scott Brown (R) won U.S. Senate primary elections in the Bay State, the Associated Press projected Tuesday night. They will face off Jan. 19 in a general election to become the permanent replacement for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.Nobody can replace Uncle Teddy.
By GottaLaff
This video is brimming over with bad:
The video takes aim at the four Democratic candidates for [Ted Kennedy's] seat, making them out to be characters in a horror film and giving them nicknames like "Cap and Trade Capuano" and "Call My Sister Overseas Coakley.
By GottaLaff
Senator Paul Kirk:
The Boston Globe reported that when Kirk arrived in Washington today, he first paid a visit to his late friend's grave, in Arlington National Cemetery.Tears.
By GottaLaff
After failing in their bid to stop the Massachusetts legislature from giving Democratic Governor Deval Patrick the power to fill a United States Senate vacancy, Republicans are going to court on Friday to try to prevent the governor’s interim pick from taking office.
On the same day that Patrick chose Paul Kirk, a long-time friend and associate of Ted Kennedy to temporarily replace the late senator, Republicans filed court papers arguing that Patrick’s use of an emergency declaration paving the way for the nomination was unconstitutional. Because most Massachusetts laws do not go into effect for 90 days, Patrick had to issue the declaration so that the just-passed legislation allowing him to name a replacement senator could take effect immediately.
A hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction against Patrick is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Friday in Suffolk County Superior Court — several hours before Kirk is scheduled to be sworn in to office.
Several legal experts familiar with Massachusetts constitutional law said Republicans could face an uphill battle in seeking to delay or invalidate the governor’s appointment. [...]
Lawrence M. Friedman, a professor at New England Law in Boston who studies Massachusetts constitutional issues, predicted that the GOP challenge was unlikely to succeed.
“The court will treat it seriously and I expect given the gravity of the issue, it might even work its way to the Supreme Judicial Court,” Friedman said in an interview. “But in my opinion it’s unlikely that the judiciary is going to second guess the governor’s reasons for an emergency.”
Friedman added: “In a way it’s a political question and if the governor made a bad call, the voters will take it out on him in the next election.”
After reviewing the injunction, Marc Perlin, an associate dean and professor at Suffolk University Law School, agreed that there was little chance Republicans would be able to stop the appointment.
I don't know anything about this Kirk guy, so I'm in the dark on this. Via Taegan-
According to the New York Times, former DNC Chairman Paul Kirk might have the inside track to getting the interim U.S. Senate appointment from Massachusetts.
Senior Democrats in Washington said they believed that former Gov. Michael Dukakis "was out of the running and would not be named. Other possibilities include Evelyn Murphy, a former lieutenant governor; and Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School."
The Boston Globe says late Sen. Ted Kennedy's two sons, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Ted Kennedy Jr., have told Gov. Deval Patrick (D) that Kirk is their first choice to fill their father's seat.
By GottaLaff
The Massachusetts House gave preliminary approval this afternoon to a bill that would allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint an interim replacement for the late US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
The House voted 97-58 to send the bill to a final vote before the bill is sent to the Senate, where Republicans are vowing to use every parliamentary maneuver they can to delay it.
Top Senate officials are planning to hold formal sessions Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. That would leave Republicans out of parliamentary delaying tactics by Wednesday, when the bill could be sent to Patrick’s desk. Current vote projections suggest there is a narrow margin to approve the legislation. [...]
Top Democrats in Washington have been aggressively pushing for Massachusetts to temporarily fill the seat to give them more leeway in approving President Obama's national health care plan. Shortly before his death, Kennedy himself advocated for the change in law.
"This bill will give us full representation today and the people of Massachusetts will have their second voice in the US Senate," said Representative Michael Moran, a Democrat from Boston who co-chairs the Joint Committee on Election Laws, as he introduced the bill. "My overriding concern is making sure the people of Massachusetts are fully represented in the US Congress."
But Representative Paul Frost, a Republican from Auburn, said he felt the Democratic Party was ramming the bill through, in order to allow the Democratic governor to put a Democratic senator in the office.
Gee, the Rushpublics never ram anything through ::coughPatriotActcough:: now do they? Different circumstances, same hypocrisy.
More here.
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