They are afraid of you Jane.

The “Power of the Press”!

And IMNSVHO, the fact that DiFi and staff consider you a powerful media/reporting voice is about the only positive to take from this BS game they are playing.

I just logged in to respond to the previous post but I’ll put it here:

The vigilance of FDL and others has been outstanding. I’m proud of the pups who keep up the public pressure via the phones, internet and youtube vids. Way to go.

It’s the only way to level the playing field with the unfair advantage the lobbyists have as Jane describes above. And it’s awe inspiring.

mark up update – Energy/Commerce Committee recessed for vote on House floor

Jane

We all share your frustration with your distinguished Senator from California, who happens to be put out by your request to meet with her to discuss a very important issue.

A suggestion was made in your thread from yesterday. Set up an “interview” with yourself, Hilda, and a empty chair with Senator Feinstein’s name on it. Ask her all your pointed questions, giving the “chair” the opportunity to repond to each question with the camera focused on it. Then, let the video go viral.

p.s. A follow-up comment was to set a Marie Antionette costume in the chair.

Go, Jane!

Weasels.

Keep your cool, Jane. Feinstein has taken another page out of the Thuglican playbook by trying to personalize the issues. Works almost every time. Look what they did to ‘Sicko’. Don’t let up.

I like that idea. Hilda’s not going to be around so unfortunately we’re not going to be able to do it, but maybe we can do some variation on it.

DiFi must really, *really* want a primary challenger, apparently. Don’t make much money, but I’ll be happy to pass whatever $’s I can to whomever wants to run against her. And I’m sure I’m not alone. If she can’t remember who she’s supposed to be working for, then she shouldn’t remain a senator.

“The place is crawling with lobbyists, and the entire process is devoted to responding to their immediate pressure. Hundreds of them…”

Great. A whole country sold (or sold out as the case may be).

All those of us from Ca should e-mail DiFi and let her know that we don’t appreciate one of our own being turned away from an opportunity to speak with the Senator WHO WORKS FOR US. Pardon the caps but I am so furious over this. Difi has gotten so arrogant that she thinks she just doesn’t have to even speak with anyone who isn’t rich and powerful. I say we let her know that we are here and we’re not going away.

Kagro X is the Rosetta Stone to what’s going on procedurally.

amen, amen, amen. urging all firedogs to include a daily dose of Kagro X in their regime – just reading every day will allow you to pick up so much on the routines, procedures, rules – and Kagro is incredibly responsive in his comments section

Kagro is the shizz

The place is crawling with lobbyists

http://facweb.eths.k12.il.us/w…..oaches.jpg

RAID?!!!!

Another note about the “waste of time”: six minutes.

That video was only six minutes long. So the gatekeepers can argue for six minutes vs. DiFi hearing your story for six minutes. nice.

I do admire how everyone kept it civil. I would have been boiling over.

Yay Eve and Jane. It is nearly impossible to begin to comprehend how anything is getting done these days without fully understanding just how many people crawling all over the Hill don’t actually work for the American public.

DiFi’s office has never been wedded to transparency. But you’d think they’d be ever so slightly better about PR given all her years in public office. The high handed “I don’t have to answer to the public” approach never wears well.

Be creative as possible.

Which is ever more aggravating when you consider that we little people, example Jane, put contributions the size of $60,000 into the coffers of For Profit Medicine.

LOL – that’s very good.

a little glimpse of our Jane the mensch with that last soft urging to Hilda “go”

Thanks. Perhaps Jane could work in some stock footage of lobbyroaches crawling in the background while conducting the interview with DiFi’s empty seat.

We need to call this lobbying stuff what it is – “bribery”. They can make nice and call it campaign contributions but it’s pure and simple bribery and almost all the members of Congress have been corrupted. They make me gag – yes, the Dems, too.

firedogs w/ twitter – go here

slinkerwink on twitter

and look for slinky’s call for “followers” for Dr Dean’s action

hehe.. ugh. I was eating when just pulled up the link ;-)

Question: Why are lobbyists in Mark-Up meetings? To me, lobbyists are like any other citizen. They MAY see and talk to congress people, but not be negotiating. Lobbying must be done outside of official meetings.

Am I naive or what?

During certain hearings I was pleased with a feature which presented onscreen while the pompous pontificator was presenting his dolorous denunciation of Schilling et all the numbers the hooker on-camera had received in bribes campaign contributions from Enron. This is a very healthy sign, and should be universal. Whenever some politico preaches against Free Access, say, we should know just how much he was paid by the carriers to do so, because that is ever the signal factor in his argument. There was actually a Member of Congress who would meet with his aid in the hallway on the way to a vote and ask “Where are we on this one?” In other words, who has bought us? – the same question the ladies in the brothels ask before they go to their assigned workplaces.

Sort of like Churchill’s “we know what you are; now we’re talking price.” My fav quote.

there should be a rule that lobbyists (and no, they’re not like any other citizens, they’re specially registered sleazebags) must not step within a certain radius of the Capital building. In fact, call this radius the “Lobbyist Circle”… where legislators and staff have to come up to the circle (around the building) to talk to them, in plain view (and earshot) of the press and citizen-passers-by. In fact, I kind of like the idea that all meetings with lobbyists should be open to the public.

help !

per slinky’s tweet – Big Orange Liveblog diary about to fall off the Rec list – pls go over and rec it up – thankee

http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..lth-Reform!

http://politicalgraffiti.files…..change.jpg

That is great ! Thanks for the laugh.

Jane has a new post up on the front page: “Charles Rangel on Blue Dogs Holding Health Care Hostage”

If we have so many crooks in DC, then it is probably a good idea to figure out if our states can go it alone when the government collapses due to the weight of it’s sycophants. They do nothing for the people of this country that isn’t complained and whined about and nagged about, unless it gives them money in their pockets.
If it weren’t for Jane and Glenn and Marcy and another 30 or so people’s organizations, the world would never have known about the horror that makes up this century’s history.
Orwell’s nightmare has come true. We just don’t know if we are Oceania, or if we are in fact at war with Oceania.

The Feinstein people are really making a mess of this. “We’ll meet with you except if you’re in the media but we do, in fact meet with media, just not on the record, but not when they’re with constituents. Also.”

Just another way of saying, “We won’t meet with Jane Hamsher.”

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

The current system is top heavy with corruption and secrecy all to project those who Congress actually serves, corporations and well connected interests. The U.S. is the nothing more than a modern day Byzantium. When the public finally takes off the blinders created by a complicit media all bets are off.

Not fair to weasels that have a place in the web of life. Corrupt politicans have no place other than a prison cell perhaps.

Jane was so rude, no wonder Sen. Feinstein wouldn’t meet with her! /s

I would ask Sen. Feinstein what the rules are for constituents requesting a meeting with her. If I’m a member of the NRA, can I meet with her? If I’m a member of Americans United for Life, can I meet with her? If I’m a member of the ACLU, can I meet with her? If I’m a member of the press, can I meet with her?

DiFi is Joe Lieberman in a skirt and blue hair. Oh, wait, Joe already…never mind.

“…all meetings with lobbyists should be open to the public…”

Seconded.

Good going Jane! Keep the pressure on!!!!!!

Taxation without representation.

Didn’t that start a war once?

Pretty amazing. I can’t imagine what the lobbyists are anxious about. I guess no one is interviewing them to find out.

Nice video showing constituent people power.

The fact that DiFi wanted the constituent meeting ‘off the record’ is curious.

What exactly does ‘off the record’ include?
in addition to no recording devices does it include..
no logbook record the meeting took place?
signed confidentiality waiver blocking her constituents from quoting DiFi in the newspapers?

Truly shocking video clip, but not surprising for Feinstein.

The frustration that arrogance (”off the record”) breeds is immeasurable.

Thank you for this clip. All Californians need to see the Feinstein machine in action.

Sadly, this kind of representation, this world of Washington where senators make rules as to who has access and who doesn’t needs much more exposure.

This video makes my blood boil. I’m broke Jane, but I’m ponying up anyway. Insurance companies have a strangle hold on our health care system – thanks so much for being out on the front lines confronting people who are justifying this crap.

I like the idea, but I would suggest it will carry a greater punch if you follow it up with another three person interview but this time with a viable Republican gubernatorial candidate, or one who with enough publicity could be seen a s viable, who supports the public option or, eve better, a single payer universal health insurance system.

How much of California’s fiscal and economic wose are tied up in the billions of dollars that the state of California and its citizens have to pay for health insurance coverage? Think of all the public and private spending or investment or savings that could be achieved through a high quality single payer system. If I wanted to run for Governor against Dianne Feinstein, then I could do a lot worse than to make this the centerpiece of my strategy to rebuild California’s finances and stimulate economic growth within the world’s eigth largest economy.

That’s my two cents.