Open Thread: CPAC


Posted by Caleb Howe (Diary)

Sunday, February 28th at 1:00PM EST

7 Comments

From Eyeblast.tv’s Stephen Gutowski, a wrap-up:

OPEN THREAD



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Jon Kyl: Republicans do not want to stall health bill with unlimited amendments

Mayhem (Diary) Sunday, February 28th at 1:45PM EST (link)

This is not comforting:

“Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that his party does not want to use a delay tactic to stop the passage of healthcare reform legislation should Democrats use the reconciliation process to approve it.

“Kyl said that Republicans would prefer not to offer unlimited amendments to the healthcare bill to stall it under reconciliation, which would allow the bill to bypass a GOP filibuster, because he said that would be ineffective.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/84087-kyl-republicans-do-not-want-to-stall-health-bill-with-unlimited-amendments

You may remember the controversy that Jon Kyl sprouted a few months back during the first Senate healthcare vote. Speaking on Bill Bennett’s morning show, he said: “Our strategy is not actually to delay and not take votes. … It is not our strategy to somehow slow things down.”

At the time, RedState criticized the Senate GOP for this strategy, and rightfully so. If they are going to roll over again and pussy-foot their way through Round 2, then they need to be called out.

James Madison, Jim DeMint, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan… You get the picture.

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We need to start courting John Shadegg. nt

mbecker908 (Diary) Sunday, February 28th at 2:18PM EST (link)

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Conrad: Reconciliation Won't Work

izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, February 28th at 1:56PM EST (link)

Conrad: Reconciliation Won’t Work

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/02/a-separate-headline-conrad-reconciliation-wont-work/36785

Even IF it did work……the Republicans SHOULD always be trying to block what the socialists are trying to ram through. Period – end of discussion.

The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.

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Saw that too-don't think they can do much

erikgershengorn (Diary) Sunday, February 28th at 2:09PM EST (link)

.

http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Governor-C-L-Butch-Otter/292986829831?ref=search&sid=100000502757197.902265557..1

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Republicans Gird for Democrats' End Run on Health Care

izoneguy (Diary) Sunday, February 28th at 2:36PM EST (link)

Republicans Gird for Democrats’ End Run on Health Care

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/28/republicans-gird-democrats-end-run-health-care/

Under the limitations of reconciliation, items like prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, establishing health insurance exchanges or preventing lifetime caps on insurance are not covered under reconciliation.

“Many of these insurance reforms we could pass on a bipartisan basis, but you wouldn’t have to cut Medicare by half- a-trillion dollars, levy a half-a-trillion-dollar tax increase, put that on the side, and let’s talk about insurance reform and legal reform, getting rid of junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. Those are the kinds of step-by-step reforms that we’ve been — that we’ve been talking about,” McConnell, R-Ky., said on CNN.

Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn said her state of Tennessee already tried a similar idea with Medicaid and failed.

“We rolled the dice on this in Tennessee over a decade ago, made the gamble that near-term expenditures could be offset by long-term savings. Those savings never materialized,” she said.

Conrad called the elements of reconciliation “side-car” items.

“The role for reconciliation would be very limited. It would be on side-car issues,” Conrad said.

“Anything that doesn’t score for budget purposes has to be eliminated. That would eliminate all the delivery system reform, all the insurance market reform, all of those things the experts tell us are really the most important parts of this bill,” he said.

In an interview that aired Sunday Pelosi said that the time for talk is over, but determining the policy, learning what the Senate can achieve and then counting votes among House Democrats still have to take place. She declined to say whether she’s got the votes to pass a new bill.

“We have a very diverse party, but we all agree that the present system is unsustainable. … We cannot afford the rising cost of — of health care,” she said.

Wrong, Pelosi – America cannot afford your socialism….time to go.

The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.

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Prediction:

redneck_hippie (Diary) Sunday, February 28th at 3:48PM EST (link)

Talking heads were blathering on a Sunday show today about how Rahm is to blame for the President’s failure to pass his signature agenda item.

Prediction – IF (and that’s tenuous) Dems decide to start all over, Rahm will be gone immediately as a signal they really want to work with Republicans.

Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

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NOT EVERYONE GIVING BARACK A B+

wbb1950 Sunday, February 28th at 4:01PM EST (link)

1. Charlie Cook: Healthcare Is Obama’s Iraq

The Obama administration made “grave miscalculations” in pushing for healthcare reform just as his predecessor George W. Bush erred with the invasion of Iraq, political analyst Charlie Cook observed.

Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report, said in an interview with National Journal that “when unemployment numbers started proving to be much, much tougher and it started becoming more clear that the stimulus package hadn’t worked properly, [Democrats] just kept plowing ahead on healthcare.”

“I think they made some grave miscalculations and as it became more clear that they had screwed up, they just kept doubling down their bet.”

Obama and the Democrats’ miscalculations have been “of proportions comparable to President George W. Bush’s decision to go into Iraq,” Cook declared.

“Bush went, ‘We’re going to go after Afghanistan as a reaction to 9/11,’ and then pretty soon got distracted and obsessed with going into Iraq with varying rationalizations that sort of evolved over time.”

Cook also predicated the tea party movement could have a “huge impact” on the political scene, and said “it’s hard to come up with a scenario where Democrats don’t lose the House” in November.

The Republicans have problems, he acknowledged, but added: “If I had a choice of the Republican Party’s problems right now or the Democratic Party’s problems, I think you could triple the Republican Party’s problems and I’d still rather have their problems than the problems facing Democrats.”

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