The Left, the 2009 election spin, and health care
I’m not even going to bother linking to the legions of articles from pundits and journalists and bloggers on the Left who say that Tuesday’s election results have no meaning in terms of national politics, and shouldn’t and won’t affect a thing. You’ve seen them yourself, or heard them on TV, if you read or listen to the news at all.
Pay no attention to that huge group of Americans behind the curtain! Progressives onward and upward, to more and more government control of our lives!! Coming very soon to a theater near you on Saturday, when House leaders plan to cut off an illusory debate that never was and pass the Pelosi health care bill.
I wonder, however, to whom it is the Left is really speaking. Is anyone fooled by this into thinking Tuesday was actually not meant to be a repudiation of health care reform and all the other massive spending by this administration and this Congress? Does the Left really have that much contempt for the intelligence of the average citizen, especially the Independents they will need on their side to avoid heavy losses in 2010?
Or maybe they just don’t care, because they don’t need them at the moment. Perhaps it’s more in the nature of a pep rally to shore up the base and give extra strength to the Blue Dog arm-twisting that’s going on behind closed doors. Leftist eyes are on the prize so near at hand, not the distant 2010 elections. If Saturday’s health care bill passes, and then clears the Senate (a more daunting task), the Left is banking that it won’t matter if it’s deeply unpopular, because it will be difficult to repeal.
Perhaps that’s correct. It’s the common mantra, anyway: once this is passed, it will create so many entitlements they’ll be no going back. But I’m not entirely sure.
First of all, there’s the aforementioned Senate hurdle. Then, even if that’s cleared, the vast bureaucracy the bill will implement wouldn’t really get going for quite a few years. So there might be time, if Republicans do well in 2010 and then especially in 2012 (on the legislative and executive levels), to repeal it and undo what’s been done. It would take some pretty massive victories, however; difficult, although not impossible.
But to return to the present: what will happen on Saturday in the House is anybody’s guess. And Pelosi continues to curve the corners of her mouth upwards as she simultaneously grits her teeth (I hesitate to call it a “smile,” exactly) as she declares victory. And maybe, she’s right—if you take the short view, which is Saturday’s vote:
“Held since the Civil War”
Remind me again, Nancy, which party was on which side then?
Dems are whistling past the graveyard, but if they’re not, great. They’re happy with getting their asses kicked, and God knows I’m happy with their getting their asses kicked. Win-win.
But Nancy has a point. It would have been much better (for us, not her!) if they had they lost those two seats rather than gained them.
I’m not so sure about that, neo. There’s a case to be made for an American version of Cloward-Piven; give the left enough rope to hang themselves. They can pass whatever they want, but they own whatever they pass, with no bipartisan cover.
For years Dems havetalked a good game about the wonderful things they would do, if only those nasty Republicans wouldn’t block them. OK, Nancy & Co., over to you. You can do whatever you want, but can’t blame anyone for what you do. Put on your helmet and get in the game. Let’s see what you’ve got.
Meanwhile, the outcome of the gubernatorial elections has to give any sentient Blue Dog Democrats pause (paws? /g) for thought. I think the Dems are set up for a major league food fight over the next year. It makes wonder if this situation was engineered by Big Popcorn.
Meanwhile, speaking of conspiracies, this OT for Artfldgr: Iconic Soviet spy dies at 97. Stationed in …Hollywood. The hell you say. No accolades yet for Frank Marshall Davis or George Soros. Patience, patience.
Politico has a story with Larry Sabato quote saying that independents didn’t switch from Obama to Christie/McDonnell. Instead, the Obama independents stayed home and the right leaning independents came out.
A distincition without a difference in my view. Why don’t you tackle what ‘is’ is first, Larry.
Nate Silver points out that it is meaningless to say that a candidate won or lost because of the independent voters. By definition, voters committed to a party will vote for that party the vast majority of the time – it’s the independent ones whose vote can be sought and won. Now, if it makes you happy to believe that the NJ and VA gubernatorial races were a referendum on health care, by all means do so. But why then isn’t NY-23 the same, especially since that election directly sends a new Democrat to Congress? Why aren’t the failures of the two statewide TABOR initiatives a repudiation of conservative politics?
I am willing to stake the 2010 races on the progressive agenda, and I’m willing to disadvantage the Blue Dogs who get in the way. I don’t find DINOs any more useful to progressives than you find RINOs useful to conservatives. Disliking progressives, you will be eager to derail the progressive agenda by threatening losses should it be carried out. Liking progressives, I will be eager to support the progressive agenda by threatening losses should it not be carried out.
And no matter what, we will all be back here next year arguing that the election results clearly support our point of view.
I am willing to stake the 2010 races on the progressive agenda
Good. Me too.
Unfortunately, the republican party is sitting back and watching how much the democrats are getting away with – and taking notes on how far they can fleece the public and maintain their jobs.
Republicans started becoming democrat-lite over the last decade – look at Scozzafava, she was a perfect example of a sacrificial lamb for the democrats (by being a democrat in republican clothing) she could push liberal policies all day long – then when people got sick of her they could vote in the other party – another democrat!
Politicians are in the job to benefit themselves and their friends.
Hey, why not, when you can break laws left and right with no consequences whatsoever.
I am surprised that the republicans won a couple of governor slots, they both seem like they are marginally conservative as well.
Will the corruption end?
I doubt it.
The entire political system has now been so corrupted, I don’t think there is any reasonable expectation of changing it.
Neo–you say that even if the Democrat’s health care bill passes, it is possible that–even though it will immediately create legions of beneficiaries and proponents who will not want to give up their new-found benefits and advantages–it can be rolled back and that, in any case, setting up such an enormous bureaucracy, containing over 100 new governmental agencies, boards and commissions, will take so much time that, if the Republicans are able to break the Democrat’s Congressional majorities in 2010 or 2012, they will likely be able to pass legislation to dismantle this huge, barely or not yet functioning bureaucracy.
I call your attention to a post of mine from yesterday, in your “Post elections musings” thread, pointing out that, unbeknownst to 99.999% of most Americans–at least to those people who are not part of Obama & Co. or Leftist apparatchiks–language creating and funding a large and important part of the machinery to implement Obamacare (there was probably a lot more hidden in there as well that no one has yet found out about) was hidden within the unread stimulus bill, and that the key organization–the innocuous sounding Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (which was rightly characterized as a “death panel”) which will determine who gets care, what kind, and how much per year will be allowed to be spent on an individual, has already been created, funded to the tune of $1.5 billion dollars, and staffed, and that Obama has already very quietly made all the major appointments; its all ready to go, just waiting for the rest of Obama care to get passed and to click in around it.
If a large chunk of the Obamacare machinery has already been voted into law and funded, and is being created even as we speak, this means to me that this radically decreases the chances of being able to easily dismantle it; another dirty, underhanded trick from Obama & Co.
It’s about as much of a smile as she is capable of, given that she is a walking advertisement for the youthful effects of botox. What I am trying to figure out is whether her odd hand gestures as she speaks would be more meaningful if she was not shot full of the stuff. Of course, I could be wrong. She could have one of those Dorian Grey type paintings at home that grows older every time she gets a shot.
In 1994 the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress and forced Bill Clinton, kicking and screaming, to govern from the center. He took advantage of his new image by campaigning from the center as he he had in 1992, only this time he was being more truthful than he intended or desired.
In 1994, as a result of Clinton’s sudden shift to the left after he took office (and Hillarycare) those Democrats that came from marginally safe districts were voted out of office, leaving those whose gerrymandered districts insured them of reelection in office. The net result was that, unintentionally, in 1994 the Democratic Party moved very far to the left. The election of the blue dogs in 2006 and 2008 would ordinarily move the party back to the center but for the fact that all of the committee chairmanships in the House and Senate are held by the very liberal liberals. This is likely to happen again in 2010 and Pelosi knows it. I wonder if she even bothered to get the names of those blue dog Democrats who are only passing through.
The process almost guarantees that the parties will not be able to create any form of bipartisan alliances in order to pass reasonable legislation.
Well, i think a lot of this talk is about to be eclipsed.
fort hood..
7 killed 12 injured..
no real details…
how convenient for nancy
(no, no insinuation here)
Yow! Multiple gunmen?
The shooters were apparently wearing military uniforms according to MSNBC. There were reportedly two gunmen, one of which has been captured. The other is said to be loose on the sprawling Fort Hood grounds.
Local station KCEN is reporting there may be a third gunman; the incident took place at the post’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center.
was i miltary gone bad?
was it a group attack on military liek in pakistan
was it left or right?
health care jusdt got sidelined.
its just breaking so info is short and the same stuff is being reformed over and over…
will the left cheer?
will they be sad?
A congressman told MSNBC that a graduation ceremony may have been taking place at the time of the shooting.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the shootings, according to spokesman Robert Gibbs.
whatever happened its sure not getting much out in the way of info.
military personel normally dont carry live weapons.
that is, the miltiary is very careful about how many rounds it gives, how many not used coming back, etc.
the shooter at large is now reported to have a high powered sniper rifle
given that there are only a few rifles with that designation, i would say its probably an accurate rifle with a large scope.
however, chavez and them got shipments of Dragunov sniper rifles, and farc has some. so if its from the mexican stuff, it could very well be actual sniper rifles.
Wounded numbers rising…
story starting to flip around..
12, then 15, now 20 injured
2 gunmen… sometimes three…
2 M16s… no sniper rifle yet.
VERY interesting watching how its diffusing…
people are wondering if the victims will be cared for under one payer.
others are wondering if new gun control laws should be proposed.
Fort Benning is responding…
details emerging:
two or more people may have been involved in the shootings around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
there are two different crime scenes: the SPC and Howve Theater on Battalion Ave.
one person is in custody while there are unconfirmed reports that one of the shooters is surrounded by police in the 42006 building on Fort Hood.
the shooter has a high-powered rifle and was reportedly aiming to kill.
suspect was wearing an Army uniform with a Major’s rank.
If it were a single shooter, I’d be inclined to think it was someone going off their medication.
Military personnel can have the same sorts of failures as civilians in that regard.
Since the army is saying there are multiple shooters – the matter takes on a completely different feel….I’m frankly wondering if the Religion of Peace has struck again.
Re: ol’ Nancy’s botox face.
There have been several recent articles in medical journals–one in 2008, for instance, in the Journal of Neuroscience–reporting on findings from a number of experimental studies showing that the botulism toxin sometimes quickly migrates through nerve tissue back to the brain. Could that be it?
Ft Hood is a huge base. Worked there for three years – before 911. Rotated back through FT Hood on my second trip to the Balkans. Probably that same center…..
Pelosi’s spin is as transparently gruesome as the canvas of skin that covers her.
***My deepest and sincere condolences to the Ft. Hood community! I almost served there, but elected to do my entire enlistment in West Germany (Fulda) with the 1st/11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Allons!
Fox News reported earlier that the FBI very early on stated that there “was no Terrorism nexus” to this mass shooting.
Now, Fox news showed a news conference at which a General on the scene stated that there were three gunmen; one killed and two caught. Fox just reported that the killed shooter was an Army Major named, “Malik Nidal Hassan” yes, of course, no terrorism nexus here at all, “nothing here to see!” “move along folks.”
Hy, you put a lot of HOPE into the NY race when Doug has only one month of running and came within 2% points.
🙂
Keep on with the hope and dope…
Apparently Hasan was an MD (psychiatric specialist) recently transferred to Fort Hood from Walter Reed.
Ummm, this is really not good.
I can already see the by now familiar two part “narrative” playing out, as domestic law enforcement and the federal government try to obscure and contain this “incident,” as they have so many of the other and growing number of Muslim attacks against “unbelievers” in the U.S. in the past few years (see a list here http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/AmericanAttacks.htm); no Jihad here folks!
First, the FBI and/or the local police–often in the very earliest stages of the “incident,” when all is chaos and hardly anything can be known for certain–not even the number of the gunmen or their victims, or shortly thereafter–tells reporters that “there is no Terrorism nexus involved.”
Second, in the coming hours and days the stifling, muffling blanket of PC will descend, and all the obvious questions about the perp’s links to Islam, and Muslim ideology, Terrorism, hatred of unbelievers, and Islam and the Qur’an’s constant and repeated calls for violence against all “unbelievers,” and the fact that the perp is a Muslim will immediately be dismissed or studiously ignored–“not Cricket to inquire about this, old boy,” and treated as of no major significance, really just incidental, unimportant actually, and the perp will be characterized everywhere as being just a crazy “loner.”
No curiosity about why a Muslim steeped in hatred for “unbelievers” and given sanction by Islam to kill them as a primary, praiseworthy, sacred duty, might just see them–when he is set off by who knows what–as his prime targets, no connections with the Jihad, no, its just once again, “nothing to see here folks, move along.”
P.S. In case your first reaction on hearing that Major Malik Nidal Hassan was a Psychiatrist or Psychologist is that “Doctors are supposed to heal the sick and save life, they don’t do things like this,” I remind you that the fanatical Muslim terrorists who tried to incinerate a Scottish airport waiting room full of families with many children, by repeatedly driving a flaming jeep, filled with cans of gasoline and oxygen tanks, up the steps of the terminal and into the waiting room, were all Doctors working at the UK’s National Health Service.
Islam is designed to be and most often is a Muslim’s first and only allegiance, which is superior to and superceedes all other allegiances.
Wolla, that sort of coverup is of a piece with not showing victims of the WTC jumping to their deaths to escape the flames. I’d like to think it was to spare the feelings of relatives, but I suspect it was to avoid inflaming the American desire for vengeance against the perpetrators. Pace limp-wristed liberalism, some things warrant vengeance.
Doctors are supposed to heal the sick and save life, they don’t do things like this”
Zawahiri is/was a qualified surgeon. Guess he either missed that lecture on the Hippocratic oath, or that “first, do no harm” exhortation lost something in translation.
Dan Henninger at WSJ has an interesting take on the elections: Basically, he says that voters are unhappy at Washington incompetence and they could jump back and forth till they find a leader who pays attention to their concerns. The Reps had better start sounding and acting like the grown-ups and find a way to deal with Dem spin and name calling. It’s all about priorities and follow through.
This wonderful election comment from James Taranto’s Best of the Web (11/4/09)
____________________________
President Norma Desmond
The analogy would be perfect if only that HBO documentary had been a silent film!
“As if hoping to avoid the outcome,” FoxNews.com reports in a postelection roundup, “the White House issued a statement after the GOP win in Virginia saying the president was not watching election returns and would not be making any remarks on the results.”
He’s president of the United States, after all. What are mere governors’ races to him? He just doesn’t care. True, he doesn’t not care enough to refrain from putting out a statement letting you know how little he cares. So he cares a little. He’s only human; it hurts to lose. But he’s got it in perspective. He’s focusing on himself right now.
Man, is he ever focusing on himself! NewsBusters.org reports on what he was doing last night when he was ignoring the election returns:
During the 10AM ET hour of America’s Newsroom on Fox News Channel, fill-in co-host Martha Maccallum told viewers what President Obama watched on election night while Democrats suffered big losses in New Jersey and Virginia: “Robert Gibbs said, well, he was actually watching, you know, the HBO special about his year-long campaign and how it all went.”
Good Lord, we’ve gone and put Norma Desmond in the White House. He is big. It’s the elections that got small.
He was trained to help people, but listen to me carefully, good people will do good, and bad people will do all the ill they can…
…If you want a good person to do something bad, inject them with religion, with the warrant of god on your side, any repulsive act is possible.
nyomythus: blaming this on religion is as offensive (perhaps more so) as blaming it on PTSD or the war.
I’m not going to revive an argument we’ve had many times on this blog, but I had to speak out once again. Religion can be made into a force for evil if it’s used that way. But religion is responsible for more good than bad, IMHO.
The bottom line is that bad people will do ill with religion, or just about anything else.
And perhaps we should continue this discussion of the shootings on this thread.
I have been attempting for several years to become a superb commenter on blogs. Now, before you misunderstand, I have to tell you that I have also been trying to become a superb Free Cell player for about the same time. I have not become superb at Free Cell. I am around 65% on Free Cell. I don’t know exactly how good I am…uhg, ..I can explain. I have found out how to make my Statistics on Free Cell indicate that I am superb regardless of my actual performance. I will add how to do that at the end of my comment. If you are saying to yourself “What is Free Cell?” don’t bother. But, I digress.
A good commenter must take what is currently being discussed and astound, amuse or intrigue readers in some way. Most times when I have felt that I made a superb comment; it turns out that, looking at it a day later, the comment is the equivalent of commenting on the first landing on the moon by me raving about the neat computer screens in the Houston Command Center.
Perceiving the kernel of a discussion…is tough.
So what kind of fool tries to discern the kernel of the discussion generated by the recent elections?
That being obvious, here goes.
It seems clear to me that what all of this means is that the caring American public (those who are not on Jay Leno’s street interviews) is saying that what they want is trustworthy political leadership. Leaders who at least attempt to do what they say they will do.
By the way, I know that we currently have it. If one is an income redistribution Marxist disciple of George Soros, we have excellent (well, given current trends, perhaps I should downgrade that estimation) leadership. I don’t mean that one can trust what they say, but one can trust what they will do. Or refrain from doing. I believe that a majority of Americans do not want our current kind of leadership. There, I have said it. [I know, racist, racist, racist.]
Personally, I don’t want the President of the United States to be a housewife from Massilla, AK, however attractive and bright she may be. On the other hand, I really don’t want the next President to be another phony who knows how to run, but has no idea how to govern in accordance with my wishes.
Here is the killer: if given that regrettable choice, I take the housewife from Massilla. And I have to tell you, I have looked over the contenders and so far I see only more of the same phoniness and Sarah seems better to me than the alternatives. I would prefer someone I could have more faith in, but, given the alternatives…
PS: OK. How to beat Free Cell. Instead of resigning the Free Cell Game by checking “Yes” in the box they give you when you bail by checking the “X”; or just playing along until you fail and the program gives you the box stating that you have failed (and marks up the failure on your Statistics), do this: When you are at an impasse and you know that one more move will bring out the failure screen (I’m not being very artful here in my descriptions of the game; if you play, you know what I mean) simply press Control, Alt and Delete. This brings up the Windows Task Manager screen. Click on “End Task”. Up will pop another screen. On this screen click on “End Now”. Lo and behold, the Free Cell game will end without crediting you with a failure!
Instead of losing a tough game, you may choose to note the number of the game you are having a tough time with, follow the above procedure to blow the game away without penalty and select the game again by number for another try. This way you can learn how to beat the toughest game without incurring the failure count of how many times you fail.
Of course, you could use this method to have a 100% success rate in Free Cell. Or, if you are clever, say, 85%. Just think what your sneaky new relationship partner will think when they borrow your computer to get their email and they surreptitiously check your Free Cell Statistics!
One is a choice, the other is not (PTSD). The warrant for good people to do wicked things is available for interpretation and commandment that even good hearted people will follow, despite knowing that we should not do to others what we would find repulsive for ourselves between normal people. With the good of charity and righteous council comes also the suicide bomber. I would suggest a better magisterium … enlightenment principles.
nyomythus, what’s eating you? First your talking-point comments on the Vietnam thread and now this. Neither are anywhere near your usual standards. What’s wrong? Has someone stolen your identity?
(Without assuming satire) … Seriously, not that I’m aware of.
I have no idea whether Pelosi can back up her brave talk about passing this bill tomorrow — she said she had the votes last July — but I would agree that it’s the best shot she and the administration have right now.
If the House Democrats can’t do it tomorrow, they can’t do it at all.
Unless of course they decide to go genuinely bipartisan. Little chance of that.
Oblio,
Standards…. He has a well documented hatred for religious people …. so much so that he HATED Palin even though she had the economic prescription.
He voted for the virus.
Correction, somewhat documented hatred of fanatical religious people — they are the virus indeed.
The moderates can help us wash away the extremes.
Though far from an expert, it is my belief Pelosi needs some serious therapy. It is my belief she should be removed from office. If one gathers all the information about her and what she has said, then done, since her current position was acquired and goes down the information line by line, the need she seems to have for absolute power is a threat. All that the democrats are trying to push through at this time flies in the face of what I believe, or at least understand, a representaive democracy, a constitutional republic, to be.
Long and short, those of us who are going to have to PAY for all this, don’t want it. Those who are going to profit greatly from it, as well as those who will benefit greatly from it through no means or effort of their own, do want it. I don’t see how it can stand.