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Harry Reid wants to get health care done by Christmas, so much so that there’s a push to “ping-pong” his Manager’s amendment over to the House and dispense with conference. He won’t tell the public what’s in his Manager’s amendment, but the insurance companies have evidently seen it and they’re declaring “we win.” But nonetheless, it’s imperative they get this passed quickly, you know.
Reid announced that the Senate would be working weekends in order to do that.
But, looks like after asking everyone clear their weekends, Harry Reid has something more important to do this weekend, according to the Note:
It turns out Reid has a 1,000 plus per plate fundraiser scheduled for Saturday in New Orleans, according to one local paper, which also reports that Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-LA, a key swing moderate in the health care debate, will also be in attendance.
Reid’s flim-flamming arrogance is infuriating. He thinks his power as Majority Leader is to be used for nothing better than his own personal advancement. He won’t use it to push Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincoln, but campaign cash? The whole country can wait!
Call likely Nevada Democratic voters and make sure they know what he is doing.
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Just when I thought my opinion of Reid couldn’t get any lower, he finds a way to set a new floor.
In NOLA, no less.
The WH is probably orchestrating things to railroad the bill through at this point. Perhaps telling “Leader” (term used generously) Reid how to avoid any type of exposure or accontability may be part of it. I wouldn’t put that type of thing past Rahm & Co. at this point.
No surprise.. healthcare insurer shares are up an average of about 3% since the “deal” was announced. This is truly infuriating.
Will Pelosi put up with the ping pong deal? Her bill will be dead and she’ll just accept and call for a vote on the Senate bill?
I hope not.
Fascinating….Let them Eat King Cake with doubloons….
Pelosi: “Between the Senate’s bullshit and nothing, I’ll take nothing.”
One could only hope.
If she were to say it, it might shake up the Senate leading up to the CBO’s score on the most recent Senate garbage…
You think our Congress is listening?
‘According to a new Public Policy Polling poll, Americans oppose Obamacare 52% to 39%, and a new Quinnipiac poll, shows Americans oppose Obamacare 52% to 38%.’
Nah, bah humbug Harry is on the road to nowwhere.
Will he be doing lunch in Paris along the way to the Big Easy? Big money goes around the woild!
You have to stand in awe of our devoted public servants – they openly trample us and think nothing of it. Business as usual these days.
I’m afraid if O tells her to, that she just might. This has gone way beyond infuriating.
Guess I’m old enough that I should’ve known better. HAH! Real Health Care Reform? IN AMERICA??? What the heck was I thinking? But no, I got caught up in the hoople, the hope, the call for change we can believe in.
Like I said, beyond infuriating.
You forgot america at the end of your name, or are you not sure of how to spell OBAMA.
Level of trolls is definitely in decline when you have to help them out with their own acronyms.
And the progressives in the House will roll over?
yup-infuriating.
Here are a couple of recent articles about the upcoming NV governors race and the candidacy of Harry Reid’s son for anyone wanting to know more about this.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/governor-candidates-gearing-up-78669502.html
http://www.lvrj.com/news/goodman-takes-slight-lead-in-poll-78588147.html
He thinks his power as Majority Leader is to be used for nothing better than his own personal advancement. He won’t use it to push Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincoln, but campaign cash? The whole country can wait!
That’s why we have to work to defeat him. Even if that means a Republican takes his place. We should defeat him and help people like Brunner in Ohio get elected.
As we bear down on the 2010 elections, lots of folks in Washington are holding fundraisers. Below are the top ten recipients of corporate cash to date. In the Senate. Lots more cash wil be forthcoming. And by corporate cash, the dough below is coming just from the combined efforts of 1] finance 2] insurance and 3] real estate industries.
Now, it is common knowledge, of course, that the Republican Party is the party of Wall Street. Yet of the top ten Senators, only two are Republicans. I guess Wall Street didn’t get the word this year about which party is their’s.
Besides, Reid has a long ways to go before he catches up with Chuck, right? He needs all the fundraisers he can get.
1 Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) $2,167,300
2 Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) $1,173,400
3 Reid, Harry (D-NV) $1,038,210
4 Dodd, Chris (D-CT) $752,698
5 Bennet, Michael F (D-CO) $612,804
6 Specter, Arlen (D-PA) $552,175
7 Lincoln, Blanche (D-AR) $515,000
8 Shelby, Richard C (R-AL) $502,150
9 Thune, John (R-SD) $407,950
10 Wyden, Ron (D-OR) $404,750
BHO is scrambling to save his presidency. If this goes down, he’s toast and he knows it. Rahm is telling folks in the House that “conferencing” will cost BHO his presidency.
BHO thinks his powers of bullshitting can sell even the worst bill to the nation to keep his favorability near 50%. He’s counting on the Palin Express and his asshole buddies in the MSM and wonkisphere — who have called every dead end compromise ” actually better” than what we were losing — to give him a small margin of victory. He knows we’re completely fucked in 2010 — but he’ll still be a hopin’ and a changin’.
Good luck with all that.
Maybe Reid is trying beat out Holy Joe for that “Asshole of the Decade” award. I think he might have a shot at it…
They’re goint to get routed in 2010 because folks like me aren’t going to support them the way they have forever. It’ll be because they’ve pissed off the base, and in off year elections, you need the base.
But after the mauling they take, I don’t doubt that they’ll once again draw the wrong lesson from it, and decide next time they need to move even further right.
To hell with the calls for a third party. I’d settle for a second party.
I’m sure there will be plenty of backslapping and congratulatory words on the health insurance bill. Meanwhile, the nation will be drowning in debt from healthcare bills and no access to doctors. The ones not drowning will be watching in disbelief that such incompetence leads the country.
Katrina all over again.
You have a link to that?
Not Possible.
Which isn’t sayin’ anything nice about Reid at all. There simply are no parallels for the Great Troll of Stamford.
I’d respectfully like to disagree with you OFG.
I’d like to, but sadly I can’t disagree with a single word of your post.
Who do you know in New Orleans Jane and Team that could turn out some homeless, turn out the uninsured to have some kind of soup kitchen outside where ever that dinner is being held in New Orleans? I am going to go on line and try to alert some of the organizations I am aware of in the area.
Could potentially make a huge statement outside that dinner. And New Orleans is a prime location to do just that.
Wonder if Brad and Angelina are anywhere in the neighborhood. A branch of billioniares for wealth care?
There will be constant refrains of “The President’s own base is opposed to this bill” and “Progressives across the country are angry at the President’s failure to achieve real health care reform” all over the tv if they pass crap.
Unhappiness with Obama’s handling of health care reform in his own base is already starting to show in polling.
One more time:
who is primarying Reid?
The Senate and this president are no strangers to false deadlines. This schedule is the only kind of “cramdown” this legislature understands: cramming down a corrupt piece of legislation on the deserving public, giving it no time to appreciate or resist what you and your esteemed colleagues are doing. Mr. Reid, I hope you enjoy retirement after next year. The public can no longer afford to keep you on its payroll.
“The President’s own base is opposed to this bill”
The President’s base is Goldman, PhRMA, etc. We’re just the citizens.
Yeah.
I see the same polls that troll above posted talking about a majority doesn’t support the health care bill now. Duh! It’s because the progressives don’t support it now.
But no, they’ll think it’s still too “liberal” and try to make it more “centrist”. I know if I were polled, I would say I’m against it. I’ve already contacted my Senators several times urging them to defeat it.
Yet polling on the public option, and frequently even on Single Payer, is still a majority. I really don’t think these folks know how to interpret polling.
It’s okay with me if he loses his election, but I would rather keep the seat and have the other Dem Senators have the guts to remove him. Sick and tired of all this comity crap.
Good lord it must be bad if they won’t even let us see it.
We’re here at FDL to show that we citizens have a voice, too.
That’s the worst part in all of this. He most certainly WILL enjoy retirement after next year. In a plush, high paying gig from one of the many corporate interests he’s served over the years. Maybe even from more than one.
I don’t know how to fix this anymore.
Do we know where this dinner is going to take place?
So long as Reid is seen as having have paid dearly for his complete failure of leadership when he loses next November, I’m fine with him quietly enjoying his retirement.
His loss next Nov must be seen as having been the result of his great betrayal.
Short of spilling blood it can’t be fixed. That’s their favorite part of the system.
sorry unable to link.
Anyone want to join me in calling or contacting a few of these organizations in New Orleans to show up at that dinner in New Orleans,,that Reid and Landreiu will be attending
HandsOn New Orleans
Vision We envision Greater New Orleans as a hub of civic-minded individuals that take action through service to meet critical community needs Hands On New Orleans rallies volunteers to assist in… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Children & Youth, Community, Disaster Relief, Environment, Homeless & Housing
Updated: 11/30/09
New Orleans Rebirth Volunteer Program of the Center for Ethical Living and Social…
The New Orleans Rebirth Volunteer Program, the anchor program of the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal, provides more than work and housing to volunteers from across the country…. More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Community, Disaster Relief, Environment, Homeless & Housing
Updated: 10/6/09
New Orleans Women’s Shelter
In the months after the storm, the Women’s Shelter provided a space for displaced women who wanted to return to New Orleans to rebuild their lives. We continue to be the only shelter in New Orleans… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Homeless & Housing, Women
Updated: 9/19/09
Committee for Plaquemines Recovery (CPR)
Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Plaquemines Parish on August 29, 2005 completely destroying everything in its way. Committee for Plaquemines Recovery (CPR) a local non-profit agency is taking… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Community, Disabled, Disaster Relief, Homeless & Housing, Seniors
Updated: 9/11/09
Lake Vista Foursquare DBASons&Daughters of Promise Outreach
Vison Description: LakeVista Foursquare Church DBA Sons&Daughters of Promise Outreach Ministry is a Spirit Filled Church, which is operating in the five-fold ministry. We are equipping leaders for… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Children & Youth, Disabled, Homeless & Housing, Hunger, Seniors
Updated: 9/4/09
Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans
The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans helps volunteers find service projects, assists with trip planning and connects visitors to the local Jewish community. More >
Metairie, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Children & Youth, Community, Disaster Relief, Homeless & Housing, Religion
Updated: 8/24/09
New Orleans Mission
All services, which are offered free-of-charge, include overnight emergency shelter, transitional housing, meals, clothing, groceries, showers, a one-year discipleship recovery program and a… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Crisis Support, Homeless & Housing, Hunger, Religion
Updated: 6/2/09
St Jude Rebuild
St Jude Rebuild is a 501 (c) 3 certified non-profit agency working to rebuild and restore New Orleans people and neighborhoods that were lost to recent disasters. We are committed to bring people… More >
New Orleans, LA | (1 reviews)
Interest Areas: Community, Crisis Support, Disaster Relief, Environment, Homeless & Housing
Updated: 4/30/09
CitiIMPACT Ministries-New Orleans, LA
IMPACT Ministries serves people with disasters in life. Disaster Relief; Children and Youth; Housing and Homelessness are some primary issues volunteers help resolve. Everybody needs help sometime!… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Children & Youth, Community, Disaster Relief, Homeless & Housing, Religion
Updated: 4/28/09
Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans
We are a Non-profit organization in the city of New Orleans since 1974 whose main source of funding is private donations. We have several complimentary programs focusing on different needs of the… More >
New Orleans, LA | (No Reviews)
Interest Areas: Community, Disabled, Disaster Relief, Homeless & Housing, Seniors
Updated: 4/16/09
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We are making progress. Jane is frequently on TV and others are speaking out. We keep pushing because that’s what we do. They don’t have the means to make us go away. Think how far we have come already. Until
the Scooter’s trial, most people had never heard of FDL – quite different now.
I guess my problem with it is that I don’t see how it counts as a “loss” if he goes from a 200K a year job with a lot of prestige (US Senator) to a multi-million dollar a year job with a little less prestige.
I wish I could suffer losses like that.
I’m here because I heard about Firedoglake on national television
(and because the Democrats who have power and don’t know how – or don’t want – to use it on behalf of the people of this country piss me off).
I think he cares about not being a Majority Leader who lost his own seat to an opponent back home. And I think the next Leader will not want to lose his or her seat either.
Anyway, losing elections matters in politics.
Reid can’t lead, and he’s gotta go.
Despite the fact that the public option polls better than “Obamacare,” they’ll use those numbers as an excuse to make it more insurance industry-friendly.
Me too. I heard about it on a documentary I watched on the Sundance channel this summer. The documentary was a few years old (it was about the US Senate contest in Connecticut in 2006 IIRC).
“That’s the worst part in all of this. He most certainly WILL enjoy retirement after next year. In a plush, high paying gig from one of the many corporate interests he’s served over the years. Maybe even from more than one.”
He’ll be like Tom “I’m not a lobbyist” Daschle (who is a shadow HHS Secretary while getting paid by the corporate lobbyists). It’s amazing what these guys can get away with and not even have to register as lobbyists.
FDL is really getting known now and Jane is not about to ease any of the pressure. The Lake has become a force and will get even better. I have no doubt of that.
Can we take him down?
Visualize Rahm Emanual in his office will print copy of poll on his desk, fingers in ears, eyes closed saying, yelling lalalalalalala…
Yes, it’s very heartening. Not long ago, FDL had far less influence and visibility. Credit to Jane and all the others who’ve worked so diligently and cleverly to build it up.
Got that right. I bet this bill is a piece of crap. And they know the minute it is made public that shit will hit the fan.
Reid? You betcha. *wink.
lol, thanks for noticing!
I asked yesterday but don’t have an answer – do we know when the bill will be make public? I hate this secrecy.
Damn good thread, Jane. I think to some extent, maybe to a lot of extent, Reid is taking his cue from the Preznint.
Obama has shown the leadership instincts of a bold paramecium; why should Reid do anything different?
I thought I heard they weren’t going to release it until the CBO got done scoring it. Not sure though, my mind might be tricking me again.
Eve (NYCeve) Gittleson has a fresh cross-post ready: “Haunting videos from the heartland of Americans in desperate need of healthcare”
I heard this morning that it will be about a week before we know about teh CBO score. Maybe next tues or wed?
It’s too early to talk about the mechanics of a third party push, but is it okay to talk about the possibility?
Progressives are getting our asses kicked, 24-7, and we’re not getting them kicked by the republicans. I concede that the ‘net and ‘roots pressure helps some, but evidently not enough to help win one of the big ones.
It’s like WE are trying to lead Obama. We hired him for a wheel-hoss, not a mule to be dragged behind the wagon.
So long Harry…apparently it’s not been good to know ya! ps so long Dem Party.
Hey! Prostitution is legal in Nevada. Give him a break (not!).
You’re right. After the CBO is done.
Let’s get some homeless and uninsured outside that dinner in New Orleans. Who do folks know down there?
Call this number and make a request or suggestion
Cate Poe
Louisiana Health Care for America NOW!
catepoe@gmail.com
C) 973-202-6775
F) 718-282-9998
Obviously Reid – and the others – have targeted Jane and FDL to render her irrelevant. Every time Jane attributes human qualities to him, like “arrogance” this time, he goes out of his way to show how inhuman he is, and therefore how ‘wrong’ Jane is. Not just wrong, but also naive in her presumptions about morality and justice. And what more is there to say after the president said “We won”?
I get the distinct feeling the bill will have all the right talking points, but once you look at the actual details it will be a complete sell out.
Keep it hidden as long as they can so they can pass it before anyone can organize against it.
It’s the power and authority part of being a Senator. A highly paid lobbyist is just another lobbyist. Everybody will call him Senator but he’ll no longer be calling the shots. Just another cog in the imperial wheel.
Folks I just spoke with Kate Poe the contact person in Lousianna I think she is in New Orleans for Health Care for America Now. She was unaware of the Reid/Landreau dinner in New Orleans on Saturday. She was excited and seemed to believe that they will put something together for the dinner. Free Clinic etc…something.
Anyone in the area want to help, volunteer, have ideas that you are willing to follow through on. cate poe….973-202-6775….catepoe@gmail.com
Jane she needs to know where that dinner is if you know. Trying to find out. Wonder if Brad or Angelina are in the neighborhood. the cameras sure come out for the rich looking out for the poor or uninsured. Always too bad they will not just come out and do the stories on the uninsured without a celebrity there
We all have thankfully gotten past whether Reid and Lincoln should be targeted for loss next year and now the question is who do we support in their stead.
Action against these senators is most effective and realistic once we have an alternative candidate to support in full force. The alternative candidates to these two senators should have been selected and supported long ago so that threat could have influenced the management and vote on HCR by these two senators. That chance has been lost.
Now what we can achieve is to change the make up of the Senate by replacing thes two with public minded Senators and making the Senate much less conservative. In the meantime, we certainly are not bound to obey the requuirement of the HCR proposal that mandates the purchase of private insurance.
There are real legal concerns regarding this mandate. We should begin to explore legal opinions from knowledgeable sources as to whether these mandates infringe our rights. And to bring a suit or stay to put a hold on this mandate. We are certainly not bound to limit our choice and to further the profits of private firms.
We have to take a stand here and not see ourselves as meek subjects to arbitrary dictates of a corrupt government. Either we change the make up of the government or we simply don’t obey. Sadly it has come to this.
Theoretically, once the CBO finishes scoring the portions the Senate sent them over the weekend.
So the upcoming fundraiser was the real reason for formation of the gang of 10 and then for them to suddenly come to a “broad agreement” -according to Harry Reid, but no one else.
This kind of b.s. started in the White House with Obama’s immediate embrace of back stabbing Joe Lieberman and his handler/puppet Harry Reid and trickled down from their, when those two were allowed to take our hard fought victories of 2006 and ’08 and drag them through the gutter.
Now with the President’s defense of John Yoo too, 2010 won’t be an election. For most of us activists, it will be a mission.
Good news and excellent work, Leen!
my cup of tea….contacts overlapping…going lateral.
Any ideas for New Orleans to get a crowd outside that dinner, press. Go for it. If you can in anyway help Cate Poe in New Orleans or know anyone in that neighborhood who can. Please contact Cate and them.
Is FDL gonna oppose the bill or not?
When will you come to a decision?
As of this minute, it seems that FDL won’t take ANY position. You seem to be afraid to call for defeat
Also contacted nola@billionairesforwealthcare.com.
Would really like to see the Billionaires show up at the dinner. Cate Poe just let me know that McCain just blasted Reid for going out and doing fund raising in stead of staying to work on the reform.
Hmmmm…later. got to go make some $$
Edit is my friend.
Does anyone know where the dinner in New Orleans is going to be? Can not find it
It’s probably time to admit that all the delaying by Baucus, and then by Harry to merge the bill, was another part of gaming the process. Push it out far enough so that everything is rushed, there’s pressure for the Progressives to cave, there’s little time to debate some of the worst parts of the bill (which are largely flying under the radar as we debate the PO), and then force the House’s hand to play ping-pong.
The Senate bill is clearly being written to appeal to ConservaDems and those Blue Dogs who will vote for healthcare. And Progressives will be told to hold their nose and vote for it. Of course they will.
At some point a group of Progressives are going to need to call the bluff of Leadership *and* the Blue Dogs/ConservaDems and kill something major while laying the blame on the feet of Leadership, the Blue Dogs/ConservaDems and in this case the White House. They’ll never have “street cred” in Congress until they show their willingness to kill something and not back down.
All it takes is 3 senators to prevent the White House and Leadership from backstopping the bill with President Snowe and VP Collins, who would be more than happy to step into the place of 2 no-voting progressives to have a chance to water the bill down even further.
Are there 3 Progressive Senators who have the balls to do that, and clearly articulate their reasons (i.e. lay out all the massive giveaways in the bill)?
Al? Whitehouse? Boxer? Anyone with more balls than Nelson and Lying Lieb in the Progressive group of Senators?
Are there enough in the House?
Unlikely. It’s a hard spot for Al to be in. As a Gang of 10, he might have plenty of cover. But Boxer is up for election, and pissing off the base isn’t great for her. Could she lead?
Unlikely. She has Global Warming coming up, and is loathed to put that further at risk.
On the other hand, this would strengthen her, and progressives, position in those negotiations by getting across that when they say they won’t give something away, they won’t.
Of course it won’t happen. Progressives have no spine in Congress. :/
John
oops got it
On Saturday, Sen. Mary Landrieu, political commentator James Carville and a committee of prominent Democrats will host a fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada at the home of David Voelker, chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.
Tickets to the affair start at $1,000 and escalate to $4,800 for co-hosts supporting Reid, who is locked in a bitter re-election campaign for 2010 and raising money in the districts of his Democratic Senate colleagues nationwide.
I would be more than happy to support a truly leftist candidate to run vs Reid and Lincoln. The ideal would be someone coming from a union background who is accustomed to fighting entrenched abusive business practices and giveaways at the expense of taxpayers.
But first we need to find these people. Time is running short because the campaign to run in 2010 is essentailly already begun. Nothing would do more harm to the notion that Senators violate the people’s wishes at their peril than to have these two senators re-elected and in essense rewarded for doing just that.
Who are the people that will run a campaign to unseat Reid and Lincoln from the left? The sooner we know the sooner we can support them and elect them.
I suspect that both Reid and Pelosi have been promised substantial campaign support by the White House.
It would be nice if it were possible to read the bill before taking a stand.
It seems rather obvious – We, the people of the United States, have been sold out by a majority of the Democratic Oarty in Washington. Both those on Capitol Hill and in the Whitehouse have done so over and over. Assuming that the Healthcare bill unfolds as it appears that it will now, and the rest of the mess in our government (no bank regulation, foreclosures, usury, no undoing of Bush’s power grab, the ongoing war we simply can’t afford, no prosecution of war criminals – and on and on), I would like someone to tell me why I should believe that our government hasn’t been sold to corporations. The question then is, “what can we do?” I would say that from within the Democratic party, we can do nothing. Harry Reid has demonstrated that conclusively.
The Mobilization for Healthcare for All, which organizes multiple actions on behalf of Medicare for All, has a Contact tab on its home page with three key email addresses. Someone might want to send them a link to this post. (I did not.)
Al Franken surrenders:
“The plain fact is, we are one step closer to extending health coverage to 31 million Americans and giving some peace of mind to tens of millions more. If this compromise includes proposals I’ve been fighting for, like ensuring that a higher percentage of premium dollars are spent on health care rather than profits and wasteful administrative costs, we will achieve the end result that I want – high-quality, affordable health coverage for Minnesota families and small businesses.
If you can, please click here to make a contribution of $5 today to help us get our positive message out.
Thanks for all you’ve done, and all you’ll do.
Best,
Al”
Do they really think we are this stupid.
Are we at the point that we can talk shit about the democratic party in general?
Oh, lets.
At the rate we’re going, would it be better for the republicans to preside over the establishment of a corporate 4th Reich, or for the Democrats to do it? I only ask, because, if we’re realistic, we’ll admit that we don’t have about zero chance to take the white house with a third party. (although, things could and will change between now and 2012)
All we can do is monkeywrench the democrats for their perfidy, and fork it back over to the repubs. How much worse will that be than having the Judas-goat democrats in control? I mean, I’m real tired of helping these assholes get in power, and then having them do worse-than-nothing for us.
It’s been going on for a long time. What can we do to change that political fact?
Wow, Jenny C, you’ve been trying since this morrow…