Liberal Democrat Insists Current Health Care Plan is Worth Losing His Seat Over: If He Insists, But if It’s Come Down to That, Why Doesn’t He Resign Immediately and Save Us the Trouble?

This Congress is so far out of control with the electorate that they don’t take the time to read the bills that are before them before casting a vote, don’t care what their voters think and are willing to lose their seats to get what they, and only they, want.

So says Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado, who thinks that the health care bill is worth losing his seat over.

It’s worth noting that his constituents did not get to express their opinions of his choices as their representative, as he did not schedule any town hall meetings during the summer break as many of his Democratic colleagues did, though he has mentioned health care in other town hall meetings. So, he’s bound and determined to vote on this bill the way that the Democratic leadership wants it, regardless of the consequences. Sounds like someone who needs to be recalled immediately, before the bill is voted on in the Senate. I don’t think he’ll step down on his own.

I’m glad he’s not my representative.

Democratic Lawmakers Are Learning What Happens When They Try to Mandate Health Coverage That Punishes Those Who Opt Out: People Push Back

I'm wondering if Democratic lawmakers, under heavy barrage at their town hall meetings across the country, are getting the message that people don't like to be forced to purchase government health care plans or ELSE?

What did they think was going to happen? That people were going to let Congress and our Socialist President push them into a Socialist agenda? And submit to fines for not wanting to get into the government health care plan, especially if they can't afford the premiums?

Then there's the fuzzy math...taxing the rich to pay for this mandatory health system? The Administration hasn't come out and said how much of a shortfall that the government will be forced to pick up. That bill is likely to be HUGE to the taxpayer, who will also be paying for the system if they don't have health care through their employer or on their own.

This is the wrong battle to be fighting right now. And Congress is learning the hard way that if they push a socialist agenda on the American people, that they'll push right back.

It's extremely unfortunate that there has been violence and disruptions at these meetings; in civil discourse there is no place at the table for those who intend to disrupt the town hall meetings through acts of violence or aiming to prevent the exchange of ideas.

Congress needs to know how their constituents feel about the issues; if that flow of information is disrupted, they're likely to go further off course than they already are.

If I was going to give advice to the protesters, it would be to register your opinions at the mike, and in your reactions to what the legislator says, then leave it at that. They'll hear you, loud and clear.

And my advice to the other side would be to not restrict the debate by underhanded tactics, such as letting your own supporters fill 85% of the seats before letting the rest of the public in. In order for a town hall meeting to be legitimate, let everyone in.

And both parties need to stay out of these meetings. They'll taint the proceedings even more.

Blagojevich Impeached: Saga of His Appointee to Obama's Senate Seat Goes On

Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois House of Representatives on Friday; and his choice to fill President-elect Obama's Senate seat, Roland Burris, was denied permission to join the Senate.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Burris' favor, saying that the appointment was completely legal. I saw that one coming. But the only question now is whether the Senate will delay the appointment, or approve him tomorrow. All the appropriate paperwork has been filed with the Secretary of the U.S. Senate and everything appears to be in order.

What now?

The Senate might well seat Burris without further comment, or delay the appointment until the impeachment of Blagojevich is complete and an outcome is decided. I hope the Senate buries this issue and gets the story out of the news. It's getting really old fast!

Unless there's a specific reason to deny Burris the seat, they should seat him and move on. His nomination by Blagojevich IS in bad taste, but Blagojevich had a right to do so. He wasn't impeached at the time of the nomination nor was he convicted of any crimes. I'm not sure if he's stripped of any powers while the impeachment is in progress in any case.

The Senate needs to settle this; it's a HUGE distraction, which is probably what Blagojevich intended in the first place.

Auto Bailout Bill Passes House: Senate Bill Faces Filibuster

The House of Representatives passed their version of a bill which partially bails out the auto industry in exchange for a controlling interest in those corporations. It appears that the bill will face an uncertain future in the Senate as the GOP has threatened a filibuster unless changes are made in the bill.

I have mixed feelings about this bailout.

While I do think that the people of Michigan have suffered enough, I don't think that government will do a better job of making the auto industry better. I do not like the idea of a "car czar," nor his/her power to put the companies into bankruptcy or withdraw potential bailout money without some protections for the corporations, as well as some oversight of the "car czar."

And the government is already into too much private business.

I also do not think that copying Venezuela's economic model is a very smart idea. In fact, it's a really dumb move.

And now that we have an incoming socialist President, I fully expect this nationalization process to accelerate. The debt he's going to inherit and his current "tax and spend" plan is going to put the economy deeper into the hurt locker that it's already in.

The government needs to come to it's senses before it's presented with a bill that it can't pay.

Reid Proposes Doing Cartwheels Down Aisles of Senate to Draw Attention to GOP Blocks of Democratic Legislation: Poor Baby

Senate Majority Leader Reid is growing more frustrated with his inability to get the Senate to pass Democratic bills and stooped to proposing that legislators do cartwheels on the floor of the Senate to draw attention to President Bush's "49 puppets" who are in his way.

Poor Senator Reid. Perhaps he should resign and turn the leadership of the Senate over to someone who is more capable of working with the puppets to pass needed legislation.

But first, I'd like to see him try to do a cartwheel, along with some of his associates. The fat ones can stay in their seats. No need to break a hip or anything else and cause more of a farce in the Senate above and beyond what's happening right now under Senator Reid's outstanding leadership.

Cartwheels, my afterburner!

Ultra-Left Launches Two-Pronged Smear Campaigns Against Conservative Commentators; Senate Democrats Foolishly Get Involved

The ultra-left has gone after Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh with smear campaigns in the last few weeks that Senate Democrats found irresistible to avoid. They're on the wrong side--again.

Some background...Bill O'Reilly was on his radio show and was expressing his surprise at a recent visit to a Harlem-area diner, in which he saw that minority-population customers acted like everyone else. The Democratic organization Media Matters posted a clip of the clip on their web site and CNN and MSNBC jumped on the story a few days later, running it as their lead stories last week, making suggestions that O'Reilly was a racist.

O'Reilly fired back hard and other Conservative commentators--Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity--came to his defense.

Then this week, Limbaugh was commenting on a soldier who had reported seeing/participating in atrocities in Iraq on a recently completed tour. The problem was that this "soldier" wasn't a soldier at all, and had never been in Iraq. Limbaugh referred to him--truthfully I might add--as a "phony soldier," and was immediately attacked by Media Matters and the usual crowd--as being an anti-military commentator who was going after soldiers who were opposed to the Iraq War. Again, several of the networks picked up the story and ran with it as their lead story for several days.

Then the Senate Democrats got involved, demanding that Limbaugh and the company that syndicates his national radio show, Clear Channel Communications Inc., retract the "phony soldier" comment immediately. Senate Majority Leader Reid made a speech on the floor of the Senate, as did several of his colleagues. They even went so far as to sidetrack their already-sidetracked agenda and put together a letter that condemned Limbaugh and demanded the retraction. Forty-one Democratic Senators signed the letter.

I have a few things to say about that.

O'Reilly kind of screwed up by using words that had double-meanings. He should have thought twice about revealing his apparent ignorance, but the clip of the clip used by the media and Media Matters was unfair. They didn't bother playing what O'Reilly said before and after the comment in question.

Limbaugh didn't screw up. It's the Senate Democrats who royally screwed up by going on with such a blatant lie. Their condemnation of Rush (a private citizen--not an elected official) during Senate working hours is further testimony to Reid's failed leadership, the derailed Democratic agenda, and the ineptitude of the Democratic majority to recover their lost momentum. Furthermore, the Democrats who signed Reid's letter are accomplices of the lies told by one man who is a "phony soldier." The words "swindlers" and "liars" fit in here somewhere.

The smart Democrats were the ones who didn't sign Reid's letter.

I object to taxpayer resources and time being used in the manner that the Senate Democrats have displayed in the last couple of days. It's the Democrats who should apologize to Limbaugh and to their constituents for participating in this utter farce.

Democrats Tack on Withdrawal Date to Military Spending Bill Again: Bush May Not Be Given Time for Surge to Work

Senator Levin tacked on an amendment to a new military spending bill that features a withdrawal date for troops from Iraq.

Here we go again.

This time, however, the Democrats may have support from GOP Senators Lugar, Warner and Voinovich, as well as several other GOP senators. They have said that the Administration's plan isn't working and a change in direction was needed.

It appears that Congress isn't going to wait for General Petraeus's report in September to decide what's working and what isn't. The House has already voted to withdraw troops next year.

And President Bush isn't gaining any new allies in Congress; he's losing the allies he's already got. Looks like things are going to get really nasty.

Congress Questions Sending Billions in Cash to Iraq: Vast Sums Missing, But Whose Money Was It?

The Senate questioned former Coalition Provisional Authority governor L. Paul Bremer about a huge amount of money that was sent to the Iraqi capitol prior to the end of the formal occupation and the handover of power to the Iraqi government.

And I'm questioning why the Senate is wasting time on this particular question.

The funds belonged to Iraq and came from Iraq's oil sales and were assets of former President Saddam Hussein's government which were seized following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The legitimate government of Iraq requested the funds be unfrozen and sent over in cash so that they could pay their bills and pay their employees.

The question of how these particular funds were used are an Iraqi problem, not an American one. There are more important matters for our elected officials to focus on.

Before Too Many Republicans Tuck Tail and Run, They Need to Remember That They're Still on the Taxpayer Time Clock

Republicans like Senator Lincoln Chafee need to remember that they're STILL in office, STILL on the taxpayer time clock and BEHOLDEN to fulfill the promises that they made to those who elected them six years ago.

The new Congress isn't seated until January, so this Congress is still very much in session. There's still work for them to do.

The recent election sets a mandate for the 110th Congress and for the President to follow. But the current Congress already has a mandate from prior elections that they should honor until they recess and the new Congress takes over.

They need to get back to work, and stop wasting time.

If they decide to keep the seat warm and do nothing, they should resign immediately and get off the taxpayer time clock. We aren't paying them to keep the seat warm and vote themselves pay raises until January. There's been enough of THAT already.