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:
Born on this day: Russell Kirk
Born on this day: Russell Kirk.
Who was Russell Kirk?
From Wikipedia:
Russell Kirk (October 19, 1918 – April 29, 1994) was an American political theorist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author known for his influence on 20th century American conservatism. His 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, gave shape to the amorphous post-World War II conservative movement. It traced the development of conservative thought in the Anglo-American tradition, giving special importance to the ideas of Edmund Burke.
His works include:
- The Conservative mind: From Burke to Eliot
- American Cause
- Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered
- Old house of Fear
- Ancestral Shadows: An Anthology of Ghostly Tales
- Economics: Work and Prosperity
- Roots of American Order
- Eliot and His Age
- The Portable Conservative Reader
- John Randolph of Roanoke
Will Generation Y Redefine What it means to be Conservative or Liberal?
In Yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Concordia University Professor and former Republican Congressional candidate, Jim Burkee, had an interesting op-ed discussing role “Generation Y” could play in re-shaping American politics.
In the first few months of his presidency, Obama has continued his full-court press for young voters, breaking protocol by giving Queen Elizabeth a loaded iPod, appearing on television and radio and expanding the White House’s Internet presence.
But the political loyalties of that coveted demographic are not yet decided. While they seem to lean to the left, they’re actually more libertarian than liberal, a fact that will reshape the way we think about liberalism and conservatism in decades to come.
America’s Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1995) is the first to have grown up with the Internet, which leaves it the most liberty-loving generation since the era of Andrew Jackson. Liberty, the root of what meant to the founders’ generation “liberal,” describes freedom from control and interference, particularly by government. And there is no domain so free from government as the Internet.
What does it mean to have been weaned in an environment – the Internet – virtually free of government interference? Millions of Gen-Yers have grown accustomed to making purchases online tax-free. They download movies and music (much of it pirated), read their news online for free (to the detriment of print media), find recipes online and network with friends and relatives online.
In short, they love their freedom.
While I agree with much of what he is saying there, I do have to point out some disagreement with the beginning of his op-ed:
If exit polls and surveys prove accurate, there will be one demographic deeply underrepresented in Wednesday’s conservative “taxpayer tea parties,” to be held at capitols across the country: Americans between the ages of 18 and 29.
While in the eyes of many Americans that might seem like a safe assumption, personally, I don’t think it could be further from the truth.
The fact of the matter is that if it wasn’t for this demographic (and those who come close to falling in it), the tea parties that have been (and will be) held around the country wouldn’t have been as successful.
It was the Internet (the tool that Burkee rightly points out as one that has given our generation a unique footing politically) that has led to these movements becoming what they are today.
Luckily, most of us “Gen-Y” folks haven’t been politically active enough to be completely indoctrinated by one party or another. This means that if anyone is going to be able to call bullshit on those in Washington and in our states, it’s going to be us.
We’re young and we’re not huge donors, so most politicians don’t give us the time of day (unless they want free labor or websites built). This inherent bias and neglect gives us a perspective that many older Americans simply aren’t able to see… at least without our help.
Simply put, we get to see politicians for who they really are, first hand, because so many of them still don’t take us seriously.
While every generation was once young and had similar experiences, with the Internet, we have the advantage of being able to share our frustrations with millions of people in seconds, and quickly organize to yield change.
Yes my friends, change is coming America, and it’s going to come from us, Generation Y. Yes we can.
Let the classical liberal revolution begin
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!