Hamsher on Democratic Hypocrites
Harry Reid is now making noise about standing up to Max Baucus. While it’s certainly more encouraging than his “don’t expect too much” speech, here’s a tip for those thinking that their righteous insistence will move Reid: it’s SOP in his “road to the sellout” tour. Such strong statements preceded the big el-foldo’s on FISA and the supplemental. Remember cots in the Senate? Shutting down Chris Dodd? What he’s really saying is “of course I’ll love you in the morning, baby.” …
Members of Congress are first and foremost politicians who play dependable roles within a political machine. If left to their own devices, they’ll default to the influence of that power structure over the interests of their constituents if the two are at odds. If they feel that the actions they are taking as part of that machine jeopardize their standing with their constituents, their sense of self-preservation kicks in and they become candidates for office once again….
Harry Reid is just walking back his blunder from a few days ago. He didn’t want to encounter the same speeding truck that flattened Rahm Emanuel yesterday. He’s one of many who read about the collapse of Obama’s numbers among Democrats in Ohio yesterday and figured it was time to start throwing around some political fiery rhetoric.
That’s right: Obama is collapsing in Ohio, and it’s a crisis of his own making, aided and abetted by conservative Democrats like Evan Bayh and the Gang of 18, who made sure the stimulus was too small to be truly effective.
For that matter, Harry Reid’s own numbers are collapsing, and for the first time in years, the old fool may have to look for a real job.
Nearly half of Nevadans have had enough of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as the powerful Democrat heads into his re-election campaign, a new Las Vegas Review-Journal poll finds.
About a third of the state’s voters would re-elect Reid if the 2010 election were held today, according to the poll, but 45 percent say they would definitely vote to replace him. Seventeen percent would consider another candidate….
Reid’s approval ratings at home have been subpar for years, particularly since he ascended to Democratic leader in 2004 and to majority leader in 2006.
He had hoped things might improve with the departure of President George W. Bush, but that’s not the case, at least not yet. The poll finds Nevadans are bullish on President Barack Obama even as they are unhappy with Reid.
Well, that’s what happens when you act like an obstructionist asshole, eh Harry? It’s no wonder that I was having a chuckle over Reid’s new-found spine with the guys answering the phones at senator Casey’s office. Casey is a strong proponent of a public option, and they seemed bemused by recent events putting Reid and Baucus on the spot.
So anyway, they’ve fucked things up enough that now the public’s getting good and angry, and wondering why they bothered to vote for the Democrats to begin with (if you think it’s just me, you’re nuts). So now they HAVE to get something done on health care (since as noted the senate Dems fucked up the stimulus, and it’s a golden opportunity to really gum up the works for the corporate whores. here’s Jane again:
The fact is, 40 Democratic votes in the House can stop any health care bill from getting through if the Republicans vote against it in a block. And 76% of the country is in favor of a public plan. So we find ourselves in a situation where progressives, in progressive districts, have influence over progressive members of congress, who have the power to determine what goes into a health care bill — if they will use it…
The trick is to get these health care lions on the record right now, committed by name (and not under the umbrella of a “caucus” they might not even agree with), to a firm definition of what they will vote against. Many think that the HCAN principles we’ve asked people to agree to are too soft, but the big risk right now is that Kent Conrad’s co-op plan is gaining strength in the Senate and in the White House, who will try to sell it as a “public plan.”
That definition was drawn up to explicitly to get people to commit to vote against the Conrad plan. Available day one (no triggers), nationwide (no state balkanization), answerable to Congress and the voters (as opposed to answerable to states that lack bargaining power at the federal level)….
The more important thing is to organize the 40 (and hopefully 60 and 80) around the principle that progressives will stand together to oppose the current push to screw us, and that having done so they can use that bargaining power to strengthen the bill as it moves through the committees and markup and onto the floor, and then into conference. With 76% of America at their backs and those in their communities watching, that’s a powerful chip to have.
In short, the Democrats have promised health care for so long, they have to pass SOMETHING. But as we’ve seen, their immediate instinct is to pass, well, total bullshit. And if WE do not FORCE them to include a robust public option similar to medicare, available nationwide to everyone on day one, and accountable to the voters, we’re not gonna get it. It’s up to US because our representatives and senators are lazy, self-interested, feckless wretches who aren’t worth the shit boiling away in their intestines.
So keep whipping your reps into shape (and for the record, fattah may have his staff SAYING nice things about the public plan when you call, he has NOT committed on the record (although he’s very proud of his work with Michael Jackson to fight AIDS in Africa). It’s working: several progressive representatives have committed: let’s make it ALL 40 of them.
