Tag Archives: politics

Hypocrisy from the GetGo

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So, the House is going to start out with a vote to repeal the affordable care act on Jan. 12. You can see the two-page bill here (.PDF file). It’s pretty amusing that in two pages of large double-spaced type, they manage to write “Job-Killing Health Care Bill” at least five times. Also too: they have exempted themselves from their own CutGo promise and won’t account for the added $1 trillion the repeal would add to the deficit (according to CBO estimates). And while they complained mightily when Dems didn’t allow them amendments on bills brought to the floor, they … Continue reading →

Get ready

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The 112th Congressional session starts this week, and it looks like it will be a doozy. Already Darrell Issa, who will have subpoena power on the oversight committee, has called this Administration “one of the most corrupt ever”, though he can’t point to anything concretely corrupt that Obama and his staff have done. And even though 61% of Americans want the deficit addressed by raising taxes on the rich, Republicans have taken tax hikes off the table entirely, and are preparing to increase the deficit by refusing to pay for any tax cuts they might make. In that poll, only … Continue reading →

I am not despondent

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In fact, I’m not particularly worried by this election. I am sorry to lose Betsy Markey. I am happy we’re keeping Michael Bennet. Some other good things happened in Colorado as well: all three tax-busting amendments were defeated, and the profoundly misguided “fetus personhood” amendment was defeated. Still, even here conservatives made a lot of gains, and in other parts of the country they made even more. But I am not worried. The demographic tide is with the progressive vision. The religious right, the old white regressives, they are dying off one by one, and a new multi-racial, multi-cultural generation … Continue reading →

Sanity abides

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In the face of all the fear and violence, and with much love for Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and all my friends who are off to D.C. this weekend, let me say “May Sanity Rule!” Talking Points Memo has the very best rally story of the day. TPM Reader JL recounts his unusual flight into DC for the sanity rally: My girlfriend and I cashed in our miles so we could fly in for the rally. As we boarded our flight from Minneapolis into Reagan, it was largely an older crowd, and we figured we must be the only ones … Continue reading →

Sore winners

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Tom Junod at Esquire has an important take on the nature of the Tea Party and the oddity of how these folks, who are generally among the winners of our society, feel as if they are put upon minorities and losers. Junod calls them the “Sore Winners” and uses the example of a friend of his. This friend has a good life, he is well-off and he and his family have everything they need and many luxuries. Rather than feeling blessed, they feel somehow persecuted by those they consider “less deserving” than themselves. Indeed, he wasn’t as happy for himself … Continue reading →

Disapproval of the health care bill

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A new poll reinforces something I’ve discussed before on this blog, that the majority “disapproval” of the Affordable Care Act is not because a majority wants to repeal the bill or disapproves of government involvement in regulating health care. The poll is from the Associated Press-GfK poll, and it finds that while 37% want the bill completely repealed, another 36% want to bill expanded with more changes to our health care system, like a public option. This is in line with my own anecdotal experience as well. I hang out with mostly leftist types and many of them remain furious … Continue reading →

What has happened with jobs

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Austin Goolsbee takes to the White House White Board to explain job losses and gains every month for the past three years. Note the small drop off over this past summer, when the stimulus began to fade somewhat. It’s my own belief that if the stimulus had been stronger growth would be stronger now, but it’s just as clear that the stimulus did good for the economy, and provided many jobs, if not as many as we need. Also note in his explanation: the stimulus contained a lot of tax cuts. Taxes are lower now than when President Obama took … Continue reading →

Tax Cut fight

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I like this very much. It’s the clearest presentation I’ve seen of what’s at stake in the fight over the Bush-era tax cuts. I wish the White House had put this out weeks ago. Maybe then I wouldn’t have heard so much misinformation in the discussions on this subject on the news channels.

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