We won 6 races on Tuesday night. And none of my dumbshits lost because their message sucked or because they didn't have enough money.

Well, I think that if it really reduces the deficit, and people start to see benefits, they can actually take some credit for some shit in the next couple of years, ya know?

The deal with HCR isn't so much about healthcare, it just became this sort of prizm through which all problems could be projected. So, if you hate the deficit, you hate healthcare. If you hate entitlements, you hate healthcare, etc. And there was no good answer -- especially for Dems where we come from.

This is an email between me and another guy (I won't tell you what he does for a living, because I don't want to offend your sensibilities, but suffice to say he's not a storage consultant).

The problem with this is that they didn't create enough jobs...and the "money spent" issue doesn't go away, it gets worse because the opposition counters with "You spent $X per job" and "X" will be an obscenely big number.

I've tried to remain engaged in the political process but as a liberal Democrat living in Jesusland it remains a ever constant source of frustration.

I don't have the answers and I know how the game works but I still find it so depressing to watch the state I love so much continue to reward incompetence.

GA Repubs have controlled the Governor's mansion and both houses of the General Assembly for the past 8 years where we've seen corruption, lax environmental conditions, higher poverty rates, some of the highest unemployment rates in the Union, an education system that is failing at almost every level, and very little industry has been brought in.

How did voters react to this:

Relative landslide victories for Republicans who now own every statewide office.

I try not to think about it. Thanksgiving with the country relatives should be fun this year.

And that's why Republicans all over the Midwest that voted against the stimulus went to announcements for the roads or whatever they were building.

But think about it - they needed a fancy name. New Deal, Fair Deal, Great Society...Stimulus. The best marketers in the world, who sold America on a black president, and this is the best thing they could come up with?

I was in a jewelry store a couple weeks ago getting a watch battery and the owner and a couple are talking about how you now have to pay sales tax if you sell your house because of Obamacare; Now the specifics of this are a lot different than they were presenting it but I hadda go home and google the goddamn thing just to get the real story. And in addition, I also got that this was a GOP talking point used to hammer Dems on the trail.

My dad is having a problem with the supplemental insurance he has in addition to Medicare (I believe its called Medicare Advantage). The problem isn't with the insurer or the Piedmont hospital system (which likes to play fuck-a-round with the insurance companies every so often), nope, the problem is Obamacare. And this is a guy who HATES insurance company's because of what they do to the little guy and how they jack up their rates every year and make it impossible for small business people to understand what it is they've got. But no, Obamamcare.

Pretty interesting quote from David Frum back in the Spring when HCR passed:



Food for thought.

How bout dis, lil niiiii?

Don't hate the player, hate the game

Nice! Your list of Haters should be growing daily.

This is key and something easily forgettable. We elect people to do things and pass legislation we like not just to get re-elected. Sure, for me and other of my ilk the healthcare bill did not go far enough, but it is a big change and something we've been clamoring for for decades. This congress may not have played the re-election game well by taking all of these issues on, but they got things done. And, in the end, that is why we send people to Washington. So sure, I'm pissed and bothered by the election. But, the bottom line is some historic legislation got passed by this congress and even after a landslide, Obama is still in a better position than many of his democratic fore bearers in that he at least has his party controlling the senate. All in all not a bad coupe of years, even if I'm still bitter at the moment.

Plus, if they hadn't passed HCR, most of the same folks would have lost anyway. And, there aren't a bunch of homeless former Congressmen begging for change in DC & PG County. If anything, they end up doing quite well for themselves after life in office.

Why did Bush and his Republican Congress love Medicare Part D then? I'm baffled that voters actually think the Repubs will reduce the deficit at all. They are the borrow and spend party.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/artic ... 56,00.html

Well said in this piece.

Agreed. The health care bill is not going anywhere. If that's all the new republican house fights for, they are a joke.

This actually occurred to me last night: Before (or in addition to) repealing HCR I'd like to see this Congress debate elimination of Medicare Part D, which unlike the HCR, nobody even tried to figure out how to fund. They just passed the fucker.

If there were still journalists in this country (not PR people and teleprompter readers), they might ask Messrs. Boehner, McConnell, Cantor or especially Demint about this. I'd love to hear their answers.

They are a joke and it's damn near impossible to get ANYTHING done in Congress because of:



I admittedly haven't read up on the pros/cons of term limits, so I hope someone will enlighten me, but it only seems logical that to end the never-ending election cycle term limits should be passed, no?

Talk about narrowcasting. Not for the message, but for the legibility of the call.

If you think it's never ending NOW.....


Also, Term Limits give more power to lobbyists than anyone else - because they are the only ones who know the rules and the issues.

dude looks like he just rolled out of bed.

none of the newly empowered repubs are serious about deficit reduction. most have a recent track record that is over the top borrow and spend. to the extent that they take defense spending off the table from any cost cutting, they are utterly contemptible.

i also want to know where they are going to cut when they attempt to make the bush cuts permanent. how does anyone believe a fucking word they say?

... I'm just sayin'...

Depends on which ones...there are some younger repubs that have been entering party leadership over the past few years that seem like they are actual believers in small government. For example, it was really the younger republicans that defeated the initial Wall Street bailout voting against their own President. That's not to say that I'm not still skeptical. It will be interesting to see how the Tea Party favorites operate once they get into power though.

Gar's on the right track in giving the argument against. It's as much about political/policy staff and bureaucrats though as lobbyists. I still am all in favor of term limits though personally.

Oh and this is as good a place as anywhere to say I really miss Firing Line. Someone should bring that back. I don't know who the conservative/repub would be but i think Robert Reich would be a good pick for the liberal team leader.

Only if the first episode featured Reich in a position like this: