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When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro….Hunter S. Thompson
Virginia Terry McAuliffe, netroots hero? That is how it is looking after the former DNC Chair offered to break out his rolodex and host a fundraiser for the first member of the Virginia delegation to take the pledge. The Macker is looking great all over, including: the front page of Daily Kos, AmericaBlog, Huffington Post, Crooks & Liars, Taylor Marsh, Bloggers for Change, and even out to Seattle at The Stranger. Thanks Chairman McAuliffe, now how can we get a move like this going in your state?
Ohio Tim Russo at Blogger Interrupted noted how many people are donating to Marcia Fudge and Marcy Kaptur for taking the pledge and concluded, "Tim Ryan is one of the most likely Democrats in the Ohio delegation to instinctively support the public option on its merits. This is the biggest no brainer of all time, Tim. What are you waiting for? Take the pledge on the public option."
New Jersey clammyc at Blue Jersey donated $20 to each of the four members of the New Jersey delegation to take the pledge and concluded, "Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Rush Holt, Donald Payne and Albio Sires deserve a standing ovation." Indeed.
Minnesota MN Progressive Caucus thanked Keith Ellison with their dollars for taking the pledge. In other Minnesota news, Crazy Michele Bachmann has concluded that health care reform is unconstitutional.
New Mexico Democracy for New Mexico wonders why Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan have yet to take the pledge, "However, as push comes to shove, more and more people are wondering why Heinrich and Lujan won’t publicly commit to fight for a public option by making it crystal clear that they believe, along with virtually every Democrat I know, that any reform bill that lacks a public option is inadequate, unwise and unacceptable."
New York Phillip Anderson of The Albany Project is proud of the members of their delegation who have taken the pledge, "Reps like Massa and Weiner and Serrano and Nadler and Hinchey and all the rest are standing firm. The very least we can do is stand with them."
Connecticut tparty at My Left Nutmeg doesn’t have a single member of congress who has taken the pledge yet, and asks to, "let your member of Congress in Connecticut know that you demand a strong public option in the final legislation, and that they can expect the same type of support if they stand up now."
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Lotsa good newsbits here.
I attended a health care townhall with Jackie Speier (CA-12) yesterday and wrote it up. She explicitly would NOT commit to “no public option;no bill” though she has a good record on single payer. Crowd was not ready to really push.
She’s the kind we have to move: up and coming progressive with close ties to Pelosi.
Thanks for the update. We’re on a roll here – keep the pressure on!!
Wow. Guess it gets lost in all the other calls of “You’re Awesome” but for what it’s worth Jane, “YOU’RE AWESOME.”
If this thing gets pulled out of the jaws of defeat I seriously think you should be considered for one of those Medals of Freedom the President awards. And I’m not making that statement lightly. If this thing ends up happening, it is because of grass roots progressive work and in spite of lawmaker work, and that grass roots work has been and is headed up by you. Damned hard to be optimistic, but when I read your posts it’s damned hard not to be.
God Bless you Jane Hamsher.
Health care reform unconstitutional??? Really??? Damned I bet her head must’ve been spinning the last eight years then with warrantless wiretapping, arresting American citiziens on American soil and then denying them lawyers or a day in court (habeas corpus).
Gee, I wonder what bad things she had to say then??????
BTW, what the HELL is that a picture of???
No matter what he did, I’ve always had a “PT Barnum-ish” soft spot for McAuliffe.
Good for him.
.
When I read her comments, I immediately thought of something Julian Bond said of Barbara Bush following Katrina and her genteel remark that those people who had nothing were now better off…Mr. Bond said something like someone should gag that woman….not a direct quote, but very close. True then, again true now. Thanks for the chuckle. Does MB say what Law School she attended to learn about the Constitution?
with you on THAT, OFG!
Jane is a Force!
I do believe Hunter Thompson is about to blast his typewriter.
I have to second the cheers for Jane Hamsher and I am praying for her success every second of every day.
The Rollings Stones Hunter Thompson???
Guess I didn’t know what he looked like older, man I remember that name from the 70’s for crying out loud.
Heh, blasting his typewriter. That fits.
Yes, I would never have guessed….he liked those firearms.
That sure looks like him, and shooting a typewriter is just the sort of thing I’d expect him to do.
Forgive if this was linked to earlier, but Dana Hunter posted a terrific letter that she wrote to Jay Inslee (WA-01) a couple of days ago. He’s on the whip list.
It is HST. It’s a photo from the cover of one of his later books.
The news about McAuliffe and Virginia is especially impressive. Virginia’s a classic purple state, like Florida, of the kind that the Blue Dogs say can only elect super-conservative corporate-’ho DINOs like the Doggies. Terry Mac’s move, just down the road from Capitol Hill, is resonating like a mofo.
I agree about the news about McAuliffe, admitting also that I didn’t vote for him in the gubanorital primary (I voted for Moran).
But I have a question, don’t know if you PW can answer, but maybe someone can.
Does offering to hold a fundraiser for anyone making the pledge at all run up against the laws about bribery??? Just curious as to how far you can go. For example, I assumed it would be illegal to start a PAC, raise some money, and then publicly agree to disribute that PAC money to all who took the pledge, right???? That wouldn’t fly, since it would basically be paying members to vote a certain way on a bill, right?
Sorry, I’m a little unclear on the laws about bribery.
Thanks for any clarification.
Bachmann is truly amazing, annoying and amusing, all at the same time.
Several pejoratives which apply to her:
>> She is certainly not a constitutional lawyer.
>> She falls under 2 of Samuel Clemens’s warnings, “It is better to have people think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” and “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.”
>> And finally, Bill Maher describes her accurately when he said, “Over the last 30 years, the Democrats have moved to the right, and the right has moved into a mental hospital.”
Furthermore, in her interview, she accused Democrats of not representing and listening to their constituents in their districts and states? Huh?? That sounds more like Repuglicans, Conrad, Baucus and Blue Dogs to me.
The Big E is right when he says that they are trying to conflate “the public option” with “single payer”/”government takeover of health care”. She and Hannity are playing word games and equivocating. I will be a little stronger. They are intentionally misleading the public and lying to them.
But what do you expect from a woman who supports the teaching of Creationism and believes that showing the Disney movie, “Aladdin”, in a public charter school, would promote witchcraft and paganism. I just knew that you couldn’t trust Michael Eisner and Robin Williams. Damned commies. LOL