September 23, 2009

9/23: A Numbers Game

Liberal bloggers are (mostly) pleased that the MA Senate approved a bill granting Gov. Deval Patrick (D) the power to appoint an interim replacement for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D). However, lefty bloggers still don't know if 60 Dem senators will be enough to pass health care reform. Some think that Dems need to find a way to replace the ailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) with a Dem who actually votes. Others argue that Dems should "stop chasing the unattainable 60 votes" and instead use the reconciliation process to pass a bill that includes a public option. And still others think that Dems should use the "nuclear option" to end the GOP's use of the filibuster.

What else is happening in the blogosphere?

• Liberal bloggers (Waldman, Benen, Willis, Cole) are buzzing about reports that Blue Dog Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR) sold a piece of commercial property to a pharmacy chain for "an eye-popping price" in 2007. Lefty bloggers think this transaction helps explain Ross's opposition to a public insurance option, and they're stepping up their efforts to target Ross with a critical TV ad. Meanwhile, the netroots (McCarter, Dayen, Benen, Aravosis) are pleased that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is reportedly backing away from an agreement with the Blue Dogs and instead "planning to include a government-run public option in the House version of the healthcare bill."
• Liberal bloggers (Walker, McCarter, Black) are calling Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) a hypocrite for disregarding the CBO's negative assessment of his "co-op" proposal after Conrad repeatedly defended the CBO's negative assessments of competing health care bills.
• Liberal bloggers (Lewison, Marshall, Singer, Aravosis) are buzzing about the new MoveOn.org ad featuring Will Ferrell and other celebrities, which seeks to build support for a public insurance option. Conservative bloggers (Geraghty, Morrissey) are arguing that a high-paid actor like Ferrell isn't in a position to criticize high-paid insurance executives.
• Conservative bloggers (Faughnan, Field, Morrissey, Ace) are criticizing Dem efforts to sanction insurance companies for allegedly sending misleading information to seniors. Righty bloggers (Klein, Malkin, Jessup, Mirengoff) are also complaining that Dems are providing favorable treatment to the AARP.
• Liberal bloggers (Marshall, Drum, Lemos) are expressing skepticism about the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, and they're praising Pres. Obama (Ackerman, Lemos, publius) for "exploring alternatives" to a major troop increase in the region. On the other hand, conservative bloggers (Hewitt, McLaughlin, Allahpundit) are upset that Obama is reevaluating his Afghanistan strategy.
• Liberal bloggers (Bonin, digby, Benen) are excited about the prospect of using the Defund ACORN Act to deny federal funds to other organizations that have been charged with fraud, such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Gumman.

HEALTH CARE REFORM: Senate Strategizing

Liberal bloggers are (mostly) pleased that the MA Senate approved a bill granting Gov. Patrick the power to appoint an interim U.S. senator:

• TalkLeft's Big Tent Democrat: "For the record, I was not paying much attention to what Massachusetts did in 2004, but after the fact, it was pretty outrageous. This? Common sense. It's good legislation."
• Daily Kos' Steve Singiser: "After a couple of days of stall tactics from legislative Republicans, the second hurdle in getting full representation in the Senate for Massachusetts has been cleared."

However, dday thinks Dems still need to address Byrd's continued absence: "Democrats may gain one seat in Massachusetts by the end of the week if the appointment law goes through, but Byrd has been in and out of hospitals for months and is rarely seen on the Senate floor. Nobody wants to tell Robert Byrd to retire -- he's been in the Senate since 1958 and he probably wants to die right there on the Senate floor. But for the good of the country he ought to resign and not have his illness affect the quality of life for millions of Americans. West Virginia allows for a temporary appointment, Governor Joe Manchin is a Democrat, and within a matter of days the Democrats could have 60 able-bodied members. But instead of that, and instead of coming up with a process where Byrd can vote by proxy, we are hampered with endless filibusters based on Robert Byrd's physical health, which I don't think was the founders' intentions."

Big Tent Democrat advocates a different approach: "I think it is time to stop chasing the unattainable 60 votes for real health care reform and instead pursue the [NY Sen. Chuck] Schumer Strategy -- a good bill with a public option through reconciliation and a second bill with the mythical '80%' that 'everyone' agree on."

Open Left's Chris Bowers thinks Dems should vote to eliminate the filibuster: "Progressives far and wide have mocked and attacked Senator Max Baucus [D-MT] for deciding to negotiate with an even number of Democrats and Republicans despite the 60-40 Democratic majority. However, the entire Senate Democratic caucus is doing the exact same thing as Max Baucus on every single piece of legislation except the budget. Because they are not challenging the Republican abuse of the filibuster, they have all effectively decided to give themselves the same number of votes in the Senate as Republicans on every issue, and even allowed Senator Byrd to serve as a tie-breaker in favor of Republicans while he recovers in the hospital. It doesn't have to be this way, but Senate Democrats have decided that it should be that way. And so, we are not taking anywhere near full advantage of the best chance for progressive federal legislation since 1965. Senate manners are apparently the most important policy of all."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: In Defense Of Washington

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein:

"I love the anecdotes streaming forth from Matt Latimer's tell-all about the [George W.] Bush administration. And I love the counter-anecdotes angrily administered by Latimer's former boss. But what does annoy me is Latimer's refrain that this is really the tale of a wide-eyed Midwestern Everyman being slowly ground down beneath the jackboot of the Beltway. 'I wanted to give people a glimpse of Washington from someone who came from the middle of the country,' he said this morning on MSNBC's Morning Meeting. 'I wanted people to see what Washington is really like.'

Washington is a big place. If you hang around cynics and frauds, that says something about the company you keep and the cohort you've chosen. It doesn't say much about Washington. The folks at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, for instance, keep a firm grasp on their souls. Some Hill offices have long since veered into careerism, but many are filled with exhausted staffers who are trying -- and maybe failing -- to make the world a better place, and doing so for a lot less than they could make in the private sector. As an example, I've spent the whole day posting comments from experts who spend all day studying delivery system reform and trying to explain their findings to the political system. They don't do it because it's glamorous or enriching. It's not being a presidential speechwriter or penning a dishy book. But it's important.

Latimer's experience, obviously, is his own, and not for me to question. But it's not a reflection of what 'Washington is really like.' It's about what Senator Jon Kyl's [R-AZ] office was really like, and what [ex-Energy Sec.] Spencer Abraham, and [ex-Def. Sec.] Donald Rumsfeld, and the Bush administration were really like. You can argue that it's about what the modern Republican Party is like. But Washington? That's a more complicated place."

LEST WE FORGET: Republican S&M Safe Words

McSweeney's contributor Nathan Pensky:

• "Trickledown"
• "Surge"
• "Cut and Run"
• "Bait and Switch"
• "Flip-Flop"
• "Wide Stance"
• "Gerrymander"

Posted by Ian Faerstein at September 23, 2009 12:44 PM