One way to ensure a short-lived Democrat majority: Rush healthcare, stall Brown
I read a startling article yesterday regarding various contingency plans being tossed around Democrat circles in Washington and Massachusetts, preparing for the prospects of Scott Brown defeating Martha Coakley, in what could be one of the greatest political upsets of the 21st Century.
From the Wall Street Journal:
WASHINGTON—With the Massachusetts Senate seat unexpectedly in play, Democrats are weighing alternative scenarios for passing a health bill without their filibuster-proof majority.
Congressional Democrats and the White House have rapidly stepped up the pace of negotiations on a final bill in the last 48 hours as polls showed a tightening race in Tuesday’s special election.
But Senate leaders need every one of the 60 votes they can call on—including two independents—to pass the bill. A Republican victory in Tuesday’s special Senate election would deprive them of that margin.
It’s also possible that vulnerable Democrats could bolt after a defeat, leaving more votes to make up. Even a narrow victory for Democratic contender Martha Coakley—in one of the nation’s bluest states—could unnerve fellow party members.
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Democratic leadership circle in the House, acknowledged Friday the Massachusetts race would “complicate things if we lose.”
While we’ve known for awhile what was at stake with this special election, it’s disgusting to see what “nuclear options” are being proposed and considered by the various Democrat caucuses.
So far, four options have come to light: Move Quickly, Pass the Senate Bill, Use Reconciliation, or simply Give Up.
This obviously poses a challenge for the Democrats.
Should Scott Brown win, they’re going to have to select one of the four options mentioned above if they want to get their health care bill passed. Unfortunately for them, no matter which option they go with (other than waiting it out and hoping for a miracle), the current Democrat majority is going to lose a huge chunk of their base, those who lean more towards identifying themselves as conservative or moderate Democrats.
Not only will the Democrats lose popularity amongst there base, but they’ll also lose a significant amount of political capital, which is essential during an election year.
Unfortunately for the Democrats, they’ve set up a legislative agenda that will fracture them even more should they not maintain a safe number of reliable votes. After all, this Congress still hasn’t been able to come up with a cap and trade policy that is popular with the American electorate.
Luckily for the GOP, if the Democrats aren’t able to hold Ted Kennedy’s seat, and their filibuster-proof majority, I think it’s safe to say that the Dem’s are going to into a tailspin between now and November, essentially writing their own attack ads, paving the way for a Republican victory.
Coverage from the Code Red Rally
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to the ‘Code Red Rally’ in Washington, DC today, however I have been following it closely. To help anyone looking for coverage of the event, I’ve put together a small archive of some of the coverage received. If you come across something that I’m missing, simply leave a link in the comments section and I’ll add it as soon as possible.
Links:
Politico: Tea Partiers rally: ‘Kill the bill’
Dakota Voice: Code Red Rally Today Against Gov’t Health Care
The Washington Independent: Nervous About Health Care, Tea Parties Look to 2010
Christian News Wire: Concerned Women for America Joins ‘Code Red’ Rally on Capitol Hill
Courthouse News Service: Right Wingers Dress in Red to Protest Bill
CNN Political Ticker: Dean: Time to ‘kill the Senate bill’
CBS News: Conservatives Rally to “Kill the Bill”
CNN Political Ticker: Conservative ‘Code Red rally’ hits the Hill
The Hill: Tea Party supporters, conservative groups rally outside Capitol
Video Coverage:
Finally someone shows how hardcore Arlington, VA really is
On Friday someone sent me a link to this YouTube video by an artist named Remy who has done the impossible, and put together a video that truly sheds light on the mean streets of Arlington.
Nobody ever believes me when I say how rough my neighborhood in Pentagon City is, but Remy finally gave me something I can use to back it up.
Sadly though… I don’t own any brown flip-flops. They are always sold out.
DC Tea Party Looking to be a Huge Success
h/t to Ms. Chandler Ramelli at ANotSoCapitolIdea.com for the info, and for helping put this together.
For those who will be in the DC area tomorrow (April 15) between 11am – 3pm, I strongly urge you to attend the DC Tea Party, which will be staged at Lafayette Square and outside of the United States Treasury (yes, we’re talking belly of the beast here).
Here is a partial list of speakers scheduled to be in attendance:
Princella Smith, American Solutions
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Tobin Smith, Fox News
Brian Johnson, Americans for Tax Reform
Alan Keyes, Activist
Mike Church, Mike Church Radio Show
Rachel Hoff, College Republicans
Tom Schatz, Citizens against Government Waste
Josh Bolin, Reagan.org
For those of you unfamiliar with Washington, DC, below is a simple GoogleMap that I put together to illustrate the area.
View DC Tea Party in a larger map
While there is ample parking in the area, I warn you, it’s never cheap, unless you get lucky and score a street spot (usually around the monuments).
Instead of risking a $20 parking tab, or ranging parking ticket fee, my suggestion would be to find parking somewhere in Northern Virginia and just take the Metro in.
The event (both Lafayette Square and the Treasury) are located within a few blocks of 5 different metro stations: Farragut North, Farragut West, McPherson Square, Metro Center and Federal Triangle.
If you’re coming from Northern Virginia, both the Orange Line and Blue Line will get you to the event without transferring. If you have to take the Yellow line, you’ll have to transfer at L’Enfant Plaza.
Don’t forget your signs!
Obama’s New Dog is Named…
Bo.
Yes, alas, it’s Obama’s new dog.
From Sunday’s Washington Post.
The little guy is a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog given to the Obama girls as a gift by that
Portuguese water dog-lovin’ senator himself, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The girls named it Bo — and let it be noted that you learned that here first. Malia and Sasha chose the name, because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because first lady Michelle Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, a source said. (Get it? Bo . . . Diddley?)
Bo? I guess it could be worse.
My guesses for some other names that were probably considered, but couldn’t make the cut:
- Messiah
- Rush
- Maverick
- Rummy
- Turbo (Tim Geithner’s Pick)
- Blago
- Murdock
- Mary Jane
- Gimmick (this had to be the close second)
Are there any others that I’ve missed? 