Summit Open Thread
If it is not obvious to anyone with an iq over room temperature that the Republicans want to do nothing but kill any bill, I’m not sure what more it is going to take.
February 25, 2010 12:38 pm
Posted in: Open Thread
298 Comments
298 Responses
GambitRF - February 25, 2010 | 12:39 pm · Link
BU-BU-BU-BUT TORT REFORM
beltane - February 25, 2010 | 12:40 pm · Link
John McCain says this is a closed process, so you are not seeing what you think you are seeing on TV. In fact, there must be nothing to liveblog since it is a closed proceeding.
John McCain loves to remind us of what a loser he is.
Sue - February 25, 2010 | 12:41 pm · Link
I haven’t been able to watch yet, but I’m hearing Reid has already stuck his foot in his mouth. Have the Dems managed to kill the summit themselves yet?
Pangloss - February 25, 2010 | 12:41 pm · Link
Waste, Fraud and Abuse!! Gubmit bad!!
Waynski - February 25, 2010 | 12:43 pm · Link
I’m listening to Cantor. What a douche.
Alex S. - February 25, 2010 | 12:43 pm · Link
Usually I don’t talk like that, but I really want to throw a shit cake into Eric Cantor’s face.
Paula - February 25, 2010 | 12:45 pm · Link
waaaahh waaahhh you didn’t tell us the TIME
Gawd, these people would be at home on a schoolyard.
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 12:47 pm · Link
Cantor’s face is priceless. He knows that Obama’s tearing him apart.
Ash - February 25, 2010 | 12:47 pm · Link
Here’s the clip of Obama basically telling McCain to fuck off and die already (just in the Obama way).
http://jezebel.com/5480235/oba.....wn-grandpa
(I’d usually never link to Jezebel, but it needs to be seen)
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 12:48 pm · Link
I’m following it through Ezra on Twitter. A few choice tweets:
Midnight Marauder - February 25, 2010 | 12:48 pm · Link
@Quackosaur:
I was just about to comment on how utterly overwhelmed he looks every time the camera cuts back to him. President Obama is decimating him right now.
El Cid - February 25, 2010 | 12:48 pm · Link
beltane: NO FAIR! The TeaTards weren’t invited to scream OBAMAHITLERSTALIN!
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 12:48 pm · Link
@Sue: Reid did fine; not sure why you’re hearing that. Read the “It’s Snowing Again” thread; we were live-blogging the summit there.
Chat Noir - February 25, 2010 | 12:49 pm · Link
@Quackosaur: Cantor brought a knife to a gunfight.
Sean Connery
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 12:49 pm · Link
mccain brings rusty butter knife to gunfight.
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 12:49 pm · Link
Now Obama is explaining how insurance works to the Republicans, as well as legislating. If only such steps were unnecessary.
Bulworth - February 25, 2010 | 12:49 pm · Link
Well, maybe if the Dems would agree to privatize Social Security, end Medicaid—since it only affects young bucks buying steaks on food stamps—eliminate the ability of anyone under a certain level of income to file a lawsuit, criminalize abortion, and promise to drill, drill, drill, just maybe the Republicans would agree to cutting taxes some more.
Anya - February 25, 2010 | 12:51 pm · Link
I was not able to watch (I am working) but from the little I am seeing now I think the President is doing a great job schooling these idiots. I know they will not change their corrupt minds and they will run to the first camera at the end of the summit to complain and portray themselves as victims of Chicago politics but the American people are watching, hopefully.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 12:51 pm · Link
I forgot, McCain is now 74. He just keeep getting older and dimmer.
Chat Noir - February 25, 2010 | 12:51 pm · Link
Joe Biden rox!
Adam Collyer - February 25, 2010 | 12:52 pm · Link
How dumb is Eric Cantor?
“We have a difficult bridge to gap, here.”
Uhhh….what?
Joe Biden is incredibly irritated with these people. He was literally just jumping out of his seat trying to smack down Cantor.
freelancer - February 25, 2010 | 12:52 pm · Link
McCain: Bitter, doddering fuckhead of a fool:
geg6 - February 25, 2010 | 12:52 pm · Link
Sue @3: I think the Dems have been fine, if boring. The GOPers have been schooled all morning. By Obama. Who has been stellar in every way. And Cantor is too whiny and stupid for words.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 12:52 pm · Link
As I said on the other thread – God, Cantor just looks like douche personified.
Paula - February 25, 2010 | 12:53 pm · Link
Re Cantor: no we can’t afford everything we want, except for unbudgeted tax cuts and endless war, of which we can never have enough.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 12:54 pm · Link
Could the folks who are following along give us updates pretty please? Instead of saying
could you say
or something along those lines? I love picturing cantor getting decimated, but I’d love to know what they’re talking about. kthxbai
CADoc - February 25, 2010 | 12:54 pm · Link
Obama and Reid fact checked them forcefully at the beginning on their talking point that the bills would raise premiums (No per the CBO) and yet they continue to repeat it.
I’m just listening to the audio feed but you can hear the barely controlled exasperation in Obama’s voice. This is where his recent experience raising and disciplining young children comes in handy. Dealing with children, obtuse people and Republicans takes infinite patience. And many people in that room are all 3.
dmsilev - February 25, 2010 | 12:54 pm · Link
The smackdown of John McCain was one for the ages.
Obama: Yes, John, I beat your ass. You’ll spend the rest of your life gnawing on your own liver about that. Enjoy.
-dms
zzyzx - February 25, 2010 | 12:56 pm · Link
I wish I could watch this but, y’know, women’s curling semi finals… Whose idea was to have this opposite the Olympics?
Mr Furious - February 25, 2010 | 12:56 pm · Link
Missed opportunity there by Obama to just shut Canto the hell up on costs…
THIS BILL DRIVES COSTS DOWN AND HAS BEEN ANALYZED AND SCORED TO DO SO.
“WE CAN’T AFFORD THIS, CANTOR? WE CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO.”
Citizen_X - February 25, 2010 | 12:57 pm · Link
waaaahh waaahhh you didn’t tell us the TIME
Cantor’s ad nauseum hand-on-the-bill point was But but but 2400 PAGES!
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 12:58 pm · Link
Slaughter (D-NY): Can’t we just be human beings? Never mind that private healthcare makes us less competitive internationally.
Bad Horse's Filly - February 25, 2010 | 12:58 pm · Link
Since it’s an open thread, I’ll share this: I had the most vivid dream and you and you and you were there.
Okay this was just disturbing. I dreamt that John threw a Balloon-Juice party at his house. A large ranch house, with a full basement, btw, where he and his four brothers lived. It appeared John was supporting them all. The house looked like you would expect a house to look with 5 brothers living there – in desperate need of a housekeeper. No naked housecleaning here. The basement was done up for gaming.
Lily was there – though her shape was a bit more reminiscent of Tunch’s, causing one party-goer to snark, “what do you feed your animals John, pure lard?” There was also a beautiful shepherd mix named Ginger who had the most remarkable markings I’d ever seen on a dog. Four cats were also in residence, none of them Tunch*.
DougJ was there, making it known to everyone that he grew and rolled his own and everyone should partake.
asiangrrlMN was there and proudly told us she’d dyed her hair blonde for the occasion. She seemed to be the queen bee of the party.
Tattoosydney was there showing off his wedding ring and bragging on his hubby.
LauraW was busy buzzing around everyone, making sure they were doing okay.
Anne Laurie held court on the couch, everyone interested in what she had to say.
John, bless his heart, did not disappoint and had two unprovoked rants (one seemed aimed directly at me, I was so proud).
General Stuck was there, too, though I don’t remember much about what he was up to.
For those of you didn’t make the dream, John had an explanation: party turnout was low due to bad weather.
The weirdest part of all this is that I’m not someone who dreams and when I do, I rarely remember details. I remember this dream from start to finish. So if you will excuse me I’m going to go talk to my doctor about that MRI now. Cheers!
*Tunch: I only show up in dreams for a hefty appearance fee. Talk to my agent.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 12:58 pm · Link
Dammit. I finally broke down and decided to watch and they go on break. Probably for the best anyway.
Midnight Marauder - February 25, 2010 | 12:58 pm · Link
@Adam Collyer:
To say the least. Obama had to quite forcibly jump in (rhetorically, of course) and steer the meeting away from Biden, who is more than ready to punch a motherfucker in the face today.
dmsilev - February 25, 2010 | 12:59 pm · Link
You’d think that the House and Senate would come up with some procedure for voting without actually having to be in the chamber, rather than having to shut something like this down, shuttle everyone over to the Hill, and then right back.
-dms
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 12:59 pm · Link
@zzyzx: I’ve said it before and am determined to say it again:
Carmen Schafer for the win.
That is all.
ChrisB - February 25, 2010 | 12:59 pm · Link
First topic on Fox News after the break:
Obama’s Plan B
Sasha - February 25, 2010 | 12:59 pm · Link
@freelancer:
Even money says that will be The Daily Show’s money shot tonight.
cat48 - February 25, 2010 | 1:00 pm · Link
Instead of loud rock music played for al Qaeda as torture, I would go with Congress debating…......
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:00 pm · Link
Coburn’s telling Sebelius about his most recent bowel movement, complete with hand gestures – Dammit Kathy! I tell you it took up this much of the bowl!
And before I flushed her down it told me to “Keep on keepin’ on!”
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 1:01 pm · Link
Break for House vote now—resume at 1:45 EST
ALL_CAPS_FOR_CHRIST - February 25, 2010 | 1:02 pm · Link
ITS OK IN THE BIBLE TO EXULT OVER YOUR FALLEN FOE, TURN THEM INTO YOUR OWN SLAVE, WHATEVER YOU WANT. WHY HAS OBAMA NOT DONE THIS TO MCCAIN? IS IT BECAUSE MCCAIN IS PHYSICALLY USELESS AND CANT LIFT HIS ARMS OVER HIS SHOULDERS, OR IS OBAMA SO MUCH THE RACIST THAT HE DOESNT WANT A WHITE MAN EVEN AS A SERVANT?
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:02 pm · Link
What kills me is that all these people live like kings.
They are all going to retire to private dining rooms, be served by people, and eat something most of us save up months to treat ourselves to.
They don’t give a shit.
demo woman - February 25, 2010 | 1:02 pm · Link
I missed the Lamar smack down. I assume that I can find it later on CSpan but I need to know approximately what time it was.
Rick Taylor - February 25, 2010 | 1:03 pm · Link
I saw the Republican opening statement. The guy was trying to give the impression that Republicans recognize there’s a problem and want to do something about it, but object to comprehensive approach and want to proceed piecemeal. I have no idea if that will fool anyone. They’re base of course doesn’t want any reform, piecemeal or otherwise, so I assume they’re trying to placate their base without turning away independents. I’m assuming that the administrations strategy is to make it painfully clear the Republican party has no plan for fixing the problems in health care except for a few ideas which have been incorporated in the current bill already.
ruemara - February 25, 2010 | 1:03 pm · Link
@ALL_CAPS_FOR_CHRIST:
Dougj, quit trolling the blog.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 1:04 pm · Link
Any word on how long they’ll break for? I sit down with my lunch, put on my headphones, fire up YouTube, and get ready for some wonkery…only to see a title card saying that the meeting will resume shortly. Bah.
Joshua - February 25, 2010 | 1:04 pm · Link
@dmsilev: They certainly don’t feel the need to be physically present to debate bills, so why bother being present to vote?
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:05 pm · Link
@zzyzx: Multi-tasking, bitchez!
Sasha - February 25, 2010 | 1:05 pm · Link
Actually, it helps immensely for any citizen who is unfamiliar with either understand. And with Obama defining it, John Q. Public can now see how the GOP is not getting it.
Loves me my MUP.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 1:05 pm · Link
Buchanan says: President is doing “extordinarily” well.
bcinaz - February 25, 2010 | 1:06 pm · Link
two things we know about HCR. 1) Americans do not seem to know what is in the actual bill unless some pollster tells them what’s in the bill and then asks approve/disapprove questions. 2) Republicans don’t care what’s in the bill because they don’t plan on voting for it anyway.
The idea behind todays Theater of the Absurd is to demonstrate one more time to the American People that President Obama is and has been reaching out and that there is no way to reason with or compromise with a Republican.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:06 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: 1:45 ET
robertdsc - February 25, 2010 | 1:06 pm · Link
These GOP animals are killing their own constituents. It’s disgusting.
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 1:08 pm · Link
@ruemara:
My money’s on El Cid, or anyone who was reading the previous thread.
@Sentient Puddle:
They’ll be back at 1:45 EST.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:09 pm · Link
@robertdsc:
Much like our recent semantic debate over the term “hippie”, your statement depends on how one defines “constituent”.
Trinity - February 25, 2010 | 1:09 pm · Link
@Corner Stone: This.
slag - February 25, 2010 | 1:10 pm · Link
@Ash: OK. That made me happy. I had abandoned this thing as soon as McCain started bitching about CSpan. But that response from Obama might have been worth the wait.
licensed to kill time - February 25, 2010 | 1:10 pm · Link
I just watched the McCain Smackdown – Epic! Obama looks like he is just.holding.it.in. like you do with a particularly obnoxious know it all teenager to whom you are dying to say “STFU you stupid little twerp! ” but you refrain because you don’t want to crush them too badly, seeing as how you are the grownup and all.
The livefeed seems to be borking the site…it’s loading like an old geezer.
(ETA – of course as soon as I said that and hit submit it loaded like a champ. sigh.)
flukebucket - February 25, 2010 | 1:10 pm · Link
@Mike Kay:
Praise Jesus!
Alex S. - February 25, 2010 | 1:10 pm · Link
@Mike Kay:
I guess Buchanan is amazed that a black person can hold his own there.
uila - February 25, 2010 | 1:10 pm · Link
CNN has just assured me that what we are witnessing are honest differences of opinion.
Will - February 25, 2010 | 1:11 pm · Link
@Ash:
Thanks!
Randy P - February 25, 2010 | 1:11 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: Voiceover on C-SPAN said 1:45.
I’m in the same boat. I just sat down and tried 3 different video links before I found the C-SPAN one.
Zifnab - February 25, 2010 | 1:12 pm · Link
I want to say that this will give the White House the necessary PR and political capital to finally push the bill through reconciliation, but we all know the Sunday Morning Disc Jockeys will have the same old songs playing. sigh
Maybe filling a room full of obnoxious, obstructionist Republicans is what it takes to whip those last Democratic votes into line. Personally, I’ve had my fill of whining GOP gimps bemoaning the failure of the government to function after they spent the last eight years wrecking the joint.
At the very least, this will satisfy some of the more intellectually honest Broderites and independent moderates that care more about compromise process than product. But at the end of the day, I don’t know how Obama plans to get a GOoPer to break ranks. This all seems like a six hour kabuki.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 1:12 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: 1:45 EST.
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 1:12 pm · Link
@Sasha:
True. I’m always amazed how much Americans don’t know about our government. It must be with how it’s taught (or not taught). I remember having to do a constitution test (state and federal) in 8th grade (I think) about ten years ago. I’m sure it’s just another effect of NCLB and conservative take-over of local school boards; though you’d think conservatives, being supposed “strict-constructionists” and all, would value instruction in the US Constitution.
gypsy howell - February 25, 2010 | 1:12 pm · Link
I sure wish someone would take the republicans whine “we can’t affooooooooooord health care reform” to its logical conclusion.
So what are you saying, Senator? That here in the United States of We’re Number MotherFuckin’ One America, we’re just going to accept the idea that thousands of Americans die every year because they don’t have access to health care? Is that what you’re saying? ‘Cause that seems to be where your statement leaves us.
I really really don’t want to hear about whether we can affoooooooord this, from either party.
Adam Collyer - February 25, 2010 | 1:16 pm · Link
MSNBC’s interview with Senator Barrasso:
“Senator, do you think this was more political theater or was there some actual, substantive discussion going on?”
“Well, Andrea, there was some discussion, I wish there could be more. The President is intent on countering other people’s points, then giving Democrats more time to talk, so it seems as if it’s a bit of political theater.”
With all due respect, Senator, I don’t think “political theater” means what you think it means.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 1:17 pm · Link
@beltane: McCain was really awful. Bitter, bitter, bitter.
And Mike “The Mole” Pence is blathering on to Andrea Mitchell about how mean the dems are being, especially to poor old McCain. I don’t know how Obama keeps from throwing the water pitcher at them.
Wankers.
slag - February 25, 2010 | 1:18 pm · Link
Am I the only one who wishes the other Democrats would go away so I could watch Obama take each Republican on one-by-one?
Although that Democrat from NJ was pretty good.
Waynski - February 25, 2010 | 1:19 pm · Link
@MagicPanda— I’ll probably miss some things, but essentially Cantor was saying the Republicans have a philosophical objection to regulation and complained about the costs. Obama pointed out that the Repubs already support certain regulation for the public good (he used the FDA as an example), can’t remember how he addressed the cost objection, other than saying it was a legitimate concern. Cantor whined again about philosophical differences. Enter an exasperated Joe Biden for a second Cantor smackdown. Joe pointed out that if you’re going to do something about healthcare it’s necessarily going to involve regulation and then said you’re either in or you’re out. I didn’t watch the whole thing but Obama seemed generally pretty good at calling them on playing politics, which he asked them not to do from the git go. Then they did it anyway, big effing surprise.
mr. whipple - February 25, 2010 | 1:20 pm · Link
The sad thing is that John Q is at work, and even if they were home they’d probably have to have an expensive cable package to watch this.
So, what they learn about this will be from poorly written newspaper articles, or articles written with an agenda. In other words, bullshit. Or the network news, which will be at best fair and balanced, he said, she said. If people had accurate information presented to them, the approval rating for HCR would already be much higher.
Sasha - February 25, 2010 | 1:20 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle:
They’re scheduled for a 40-minute break.
Mikeg - February 25, 2010 | 1:21 pm · Link
I know this has been said in different ways, by different people, etc, etc. But really: Can anyone imagine George Bush (or even John McCain) mediating this event with the same kind of command-of-facts and overall knowledge that Pres Obama exhibits? Where’s his telepromter, morans?
Chat Noir - February 25, 2010 | 1:23 pm · Link
@Corner Stone: You are so right.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 1:23 pm · Link
goopers really, really, screwed up. they shouldna let McSame into the room.
Now, that’s the lead story: McSame going down in flames.
Sasha - February 25, 2010 | 1:24 pm · Link
Nice work from Obama. Any idea where his teleprompter is hidden?
Linda Featheringill - February 25, 2010 | 1:25 pm · Link
So much nonsense, so little public service. Sigh.
By the way, it is snowing in Cleveland again, too. Supposed to dump a significant amount on us today and tomorrow. And I still have an angry patellar tendon from the last bout of ice and snow.
Sigh, again. Bad weather, bad government, what the hell.
Sasha - February 25, 2010 | 1:27 pm · Link
@mr. whipple:
C-Span is basic cable so no, and anyone who can access the internet (expect Obama’s explanations to go YouTube) can watch unfiltered.
Paula - February 25, 2010 | 1:27 pm · Link
It’s really nice that McCain gives Obama every opportunity to remind everyone how badly grandpa lost the election.
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 1:28 pm · Link
@Mikeg:
It wouldn’t be a problem because McCain or Bush would not appear so divisive. Congress would patriotically accept what they would say as divine law from God handed down by the rightful Commander-in-Chief. To oppose either one would be both treason and blasphemy. It’s only because of Obama and his evil, godless, soshulistic theft of the Oval Office from a TRUE AMERICAN that Congress has been forced to oppose him.
scav - February 25, 2010 | 1:29 pm · Link
@Linda Featheringill: well, here, as a palate cleanser: Fry and Laurie Gray and Hopeless. With a puppy at the end.
clone12 - February 25, 2010 | 1:29 pm · Link
On the other hand, given the prospect of a hottter planet, that “room temperature” remark is not as much of a putdown as it was 30 years ago…..
DS - February 25, 2010 | 1:31 pm · Link
John says:
And on that note, this from McArdle:
I think that pretty much sums it up right there. I’m done for the day.
D-Chance. - February 25, 2010 | 1:31 pm · Link
Kabooooooooooki!
The silliness continues. And 3-4 “key” Senate Dems will balk.
Whoop-dee.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 1:31 pm · Link
OK, I admit. I love this president.
/OBOT
dmsilev - February 25, 2010 | 1:32 pm · Link
Re: the question at the top of the post, I’m sure it won’t convince most of the media commentariat. Most of them aren’t stupid per se, just incredibly blinkered.
-dms
mr. whipple - February 25, 2010 | 1:32 pm · Link
It wasn’t for me.
JenJen - February 25, 2010 | 1:33 pm · Link
I believe it was Oliver Willis who, over Twitter, suggested the Dems try an onside kick after the lunch recess. ;-)
dougie - February 25, 2010 | 1:33 pm · Link
This whole summit has been fascinating. I’ve got a renewed Oboner.
Did they really think it would work out in their favor to go in there with talking points and dramatically thick stacks of the pages of the bill? (By the way, they are wasting our tax money on printing. At least duplex that shit with two pages per side.)
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford - February 25, 2010 | 1:35 pm · Link
@ALL_CAPS_FOR_CHRIST:
Damnit ACF_CHRIST! The man’s a war hero, dontchaknow?
El Cid - February 25, 2010 | 1:35 pm · Link
C-Span caller, on Republican line: This meeting is a joke because Obama brought a bill to the table! He should have trashed every bill they’ve done!
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 1:36 pm · Link
@DS: Megan clearly forgot one possibility. When they complain about stuff like the Cornhusker Kickback, Obama is in the hard position of not standing up, yelling “Or you could FUCKING READ MY PROPOSAL AND STOP MAKING SHIT UP,” and smacking them upside the head.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 1:37 pm · Link
@dougie:
I bet they used extra thick paper and giant margins and giant print size.
Bulworth - February 25, 2010 | 1:38 pm · Link
@El Cid: Are the Repubs still calling on the Democratic line, too? That used to really annoy me so I stopped listening.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 1:39 pm · Link
@El Cid: HOW DARE THE DEMOCRATS LEGISLATE ::flailsputterflail::
frankdawg - February 25, 2010 | 1:39 pm · Link
John:
“I’m not sure what more it is going to take.”
It would take the Ds to find a pair. Use the party’s power. You want DSCC money & support? Get on board. You want to retain your chairmanship? Get on board. Show them the numbers from their own damn states showing the people against this won’t vote for them and there are more people that want it than don’t.
Twist arms! A lot of the tough calls in the past were made because guys like LBJ threatened weak-kneed Ds to do the right thing (and Sam Rayburn before him)
But it seems the party is afraid they might miss out on the big bucks the oligarchs dump on them. And/or they are afraid that the 20% of voters that hate their guts & hope they die will maybe not vote for them. And nobody ever one an election by appealing to the 80%, they have to toss off the 80% to gain that all important 20%.
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 1:39 pm · Link
@El Cid:
Was that the one from Colorado Springs? I liked the supposed Republican who complained that Republicans weren’t putting Country First.
@dougie:
It’s not government waste if you’re fighting soshulist take-over of government.
mr. whipple - February 25, 2010 | 1:40 pm · Link
I can’t listen to cspan callers. The ensuing depression from The Stupid makes me want to move to an island.
Anton Sirius - February 25, 2010 | 1:40 pm · Link
@JenJen:
I’ve been trying to watch CNN’s coverage, but every time they cut to the studio and Wolf Blitzer asks John King who’s winning and what the score is, I want to punch him in the throat.
By the way, does anyone happen to have a video clip of Roland Martin metaphorically punching Blitzer in the throat when he tells him nobody gives a shit what the score is, they just want to see some damn results?
El Cid - February 25, 2010 | 1:41 pm · Link
Ha ha! John Kline said “We don’t hear too many complaints from patients on big company health care plans.” Democrat—“We do.”
JohnR - February 25, 2010 | 1:42 pm · Link
@Quackosaur:
“..you’d think conservatives, being supposed “strict-constructionists” and all, would value instruction in the US Constitution.”
No. Just as with the Bible, the instruction must only focus on the Approved and Correct Interpretations of the Holy Document. You give the kids too much information, they get all uppity and backsass you.
As for John’s question at the top, it’s not IQ that matters. It’s the “none so blind” factor that counts. Once you are determined to Believe, then everything you see supports that belief. Anything which might contradict your belief is either not seen at all or is somehow transmogrified into what you already Know it must be. Ex: pretty much every remaining Republican voter will not see what youall here see. Instead, they will see a Rude, Lying, Socialist Black Man Sassing His Elders And Betters to their faces. Why back in my day, we didn’t tolerate that sort of thing! You know what’s funny? My mother, who spent most of her life as a confirmed FDR Democrat, has become a Hannity Republican after living in FoxNews-land for only 20 years. I, the confirmed conservative among the children, am now derided as a wild-eyed leftie, even as my siblings have shifted farther and farther to the left. Sounds like a good lyric: “Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed.” Perhaps I should take up songwriting.
El Cid - February 25, 2010 | 1:43 pm · Link
GOP: WASHINGTON! MANDATE! BYUROKRAT! TORT REFORM! TAX CREDITS! SMALL BIDNESS! FREEDOM! COMPETE ACROSS STATE LINES! NO STANDARDIZATION! INDIVIDUALS! WASTE! FRAUD!
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 1:44 pm · Link
I loved it when Obama called on Cantor, and even before Cantor started speaking, Obama pointed at the books Cantor had piled up in front of him and said, “Now, let me guess. That’s all 2,004 pages of the health care reform bill, right?” SMACK! “Ow! Mo-o-o-om, he hit me. Again!”
El Cid - February 25, 2010 | 1:45 pm · Link
@Quackosaur: I don’t know. It was a woman. I’m listening to the audio version, so I didn’t hear the intro.
El Cid - February 25, 2010 | 1:45 pm · Link
Oh. C-Span is repeating segments from the morning session right now.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:49 pm · Link
@mr. whipple:
What I think will be the easier takeaway for a lot of busy people are the headlines – which unsurprisingly so far are F’ng brutal.
One on Yahoo so far – Obama Summit – GOP “We have better ideas”
I kid you not. That is the working headline.
JenJen - February 25, 2010 | 1:49 pm · Link
@Ash Can: Not only did he preempt Cantor’s attempt to introduce props into an otherwise serious discussion, after Cantor’s remarks, he said, in reference to the prop bill, “I point this out because these are the political things we do that prevent us from having an actual conversation.”
Cantor sounded a tad whiny in his next response, and I applaud the President for taking down this kind of crap and getting it out of the way early.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:52 pm · Link
@JenJen: Predictably, Cantor continued as if Obama had said nothing at all.
I like Obama’s handling of it but Cantor is just the worst person.
freelancer - February 25, 2010 | 1:53 pm · Link
Okay, halftime’s almost over.
Hey coach, how ‘bout a few words?
“Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose“
Oh, wait, fuck. We’re Democrats.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:55 pm · Link
These guys are all buddies. That’s why no one wanted the C-Span cameras there. Neither side wanted their people to see how absolutely friendly they all are with each other in real life.
Johnny B - February 25, 2010 | 1:55 pm · Link
@mr. whipple:
OMG, you’re speaking my language. I stopped listening to any call in shows to C-SPAN a long, long time ago. I found them so depressing. While the callers were authentic, in ways that right wing radio callers aren’t, they were so wildly stupid. So stupid that you couldn’t even find it funny.
ksmiami - February 25, 2010 | 1:56 pm · Link
What I don’t get is if the govt is so bad, so broken, so evil, then why do Republicans spend so much effort trying to run it??? Oh yeah, power and graft and killing darkies. A-holes, every single ONE
LGRooney - February 25, 2010 | 1:56 pm · Link
Off topic but I am waiting for the right-wing freak out. The anti-Christ is apparently Norwegian. Their medal count? 6 gold, 6 silver, 6 bronze. Could it be any clearer?
Robert Plant’s voice in my head, “I come from the land of the ice and snow…”
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 1:57 pm · Link
By my watch it is well past 1:45 EST, and I do not hear any wonkery coming out of my headphones. Where is my wonkery?
demo woman - February 25, 2010 | 1:58 pm · Link
@LGRooney: Terrorist Stark’s daughter lives in Norway. Need we say more.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 1:58 pm · Link
@Anton Sirius: So what’s the channel run down? I want as much unfiltered as possible. CSPAN is running something from the House of Reps. MSNBC has tweety bloviating per usual…
Also, Yahoo headline this hour:
Digraced snowboarder speaks out
Lago addresses controversy
Speedskater misses race
Death spotlights controversy
What an ‘Idol’ is worth.
No worry about the media distorting a story if it doesn’t exist.
AaronLaperle - February 25, 2010 | 1:59 pm · Link
wow…someone calling in on the C-span Republican line just started complaining about Politico and their reporting, siting Rachel Maddow on the size of Obama’s bill.
then again, could be a D calling on the R line.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 1:59 pm · Link
Obama to Alexander – Lamar. Thanks for being the easy mark earlier.
ALL_CAPS_FOR_CHRIST - February 25, 2010 | 1:59 pm · Link
@J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford: LEVITICUS 21:18
THE LORD HATH SPOKEN. JOHN MCCAIN IS UNFIT EVEN TO BE A SLAVE. SO SAITH THE LORD.
Joey Maloney - February 25, 2010 | 2:00 pm · Link
Well, this has been interesting but it’s getting late over here and I’ve been invited to watch something much more absorbing, coherent and intelligent:
The 2005 musical version of Reefer Madness.
ellaesther - February 25, 2010 | 2:00 pm · Link
My good husband just informed me that Digby informed him that if you watch the proceedings via the Sunshine Foundation’s site, as each person speaks, it shows just who their donors are.
As the participants are off playing hopscotch right now, or whatever, I can neither confirm or deny, or in fact tell you what it looks like, but I thought y’all would want to know!
Ah, the internet. A force for good!
Digby (scroll down to “Livestream Of The Summit”)
Sunshine Foundation
arguingwithsignposts - February 25, 2010 | 2:01 pm · Link
Wolf Blitzer is fluffing the GOP right now on CNN. F**k, get david gergen off my TV/Lawn!
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:02 pm · Link
I think it’s time for the goopers to pull the plug on McCain’s life support.
kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:02 pm · Link
“And we’re starting to focus on what the real disagreements are. If you look at the issue of how much government should be involved, the argument that the Republicans are making really isn’t that this is a government takeover of health care but rather that we’re ensuring the—we’re regulating the insurance market too much. And that’s a legitimate philosophical disagreement. We’ll hopefully be able to explore it a little more in the afternoon.”
Obama says the Republican position is that Democrats are regulating insurance too much :)
ellaesther - February 25, 2010 | 2:02 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: That just made me snort.
I said, good sir: Where is my wonkery?
MNPundit - February 25, 2010 | 2:02 pm · Link
@Dennis G.:
BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
The way forward is this: we ram the bill down GOP throats with reconciliation and hope they choke and die on it and stick the public option in there to make it burn on the way in and out. Making it burn like fire for the GOP is the way it should always have been.
MikeJ - February 25, 2010 | 2:04 pm · Link
You want health care? Standish Sanitarium is about to hire Hugo Hackenbush as their new attending doctor on TCM.
cat48 - February 25, 2010 | 2:04 pm · Link
This whole HCR debate has been Hell on the Dems…......just thinking though, that O could have bully pupited everyday, but it would not have been as effective as this…..they are live in person & the Repugs are just using the same old tired talking points…...it is very effective to see them rebutted immediately…...
I really liked Dr. No’s idea for fraud “undercover patients”......and O just goes there too…....might be something we can work in the bill…...liked it because never knew it was done before today…...a job this unhealthy bod could do
fraught - February 25, 2010 | 2:04 pm · Link
First story on all the networks tonight:
“Obama testily throws ailing McCain under moving bus.
We examine the drama inside Blair House.”
I heard that Obama just cancelled McC’s Medicare.
Sasha - February 25, 2010 | 2:05 pm · Link
Obama:
Now that’s how you reframe an issue.
Bulworth - February 25, 2010 | 2:05 pm · Link
@Corner Stone: Yeah, can’t figure that one out, other than it is truly gawd awful. As in, OK, what is their “better idea”?
slag - February 25, 2010 | 2:06 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle:
You’re not going to get any. You’re going to get more bogus whinery about process.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:06 pm · Link
Did someone slip LSD into my iced tea at lunch?
Why does Enzi sound almost reasonable so far?
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford - February 25, 2010 | 2:06 pm · Link
@ALL_CAPS_FOR_CHRIST:
So saith the flock?
JGabriel - February 25, 2010 | 2:07 pm · Link
Ooh, Mike Enzi complains that he’s not getting as many bill-signing pens from Obama as he got from Bush!
Elections have consequences, asshole.
.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ - February 25, 2010 | 2:07 pm · Link
@mr. whipple:
I said something similar on last nights thread ( here ) after the thread had gone cold. Obma (and pretty much anybody else who is good at talking policy) are at their best when our news media are not in the room, i.e. the speaker can talk more or less directly to the American people without the punditariat filtering everything.
At this point our broken news media are the single largest and most serious threat to American peace and prosperity, full stop. There isn’t much we couldn’t fix or solve if our media would just go DIAF.
Adam Collyer - February 25, 2010 | 2:08 pm · Link
Is there a reason I shouldn’t like Mike Enzi’s comments on the exchanges? I thought that was a really reasonable, interesting policy discussion.
licensed to kill time - February 25, 2010 | 2:08 pm · Link
Enzi’s talking about s h o e s ? WTF?
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:09 pm · Link
Harkin’s about to cry.
The Raven - February 25, 2010 | 2:09 pm · Link
BTW, the Sunlight Foundation is running the feed with annotations indicating the speaker’s contributors. View.
Davis X. Machina - February 25, 2010 | 2:10 pm · Link
If CNN ever broadcasts a production of Hamlet, there’ll be a crawl at the bottom with a constantly-updated body count.
Just like the P.D.Q. Bach album with a play-by-play guy (and color commentator) doing the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth.
JD Rhoades - February 25, 2010 | 2:10 pm · Link
@Bad Horse’s Filly:
I never get invited to the really good parties.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:10 pm · Link
@frankdawg: I returned the DCCC fundraising letter with a note “pass healthcare – then I’ll contribute again” scrawled across it. The fun part was using their prepaid envelope to send it to them. Heh.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:10 pm · Link
@Corner Stone: Harkin. Please just stop the wanking of this letter. It’s not working.
ellaesther - February 25, 2010 | 2:11 pm · Link
@The Raven: Jinx? See #122.
I think I’m too wordy….
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:11 pm · Link
Wow. Next time I apply for insurance I should say my middle name is ‘Enzi.’ Then I won’t get rejected for pre-existing conditions. Ass.
And if young people can get health savings account and not pay into the insurance pool, that would solve the problems for the young people, and those who don’t want to deal with insurance problems just stay young forever.
It still astounds me how fucking stupid Republicans are. I’m looking forward to reviewing this thing on youtube… bummed I missed the epic smackdown.
Notice, though, how politics are becoming unmoored from reason. I’m getting that sinking feeling that I got after Kerry’s loss. Three debates won resoundingly, but not enough to win the election against a moron.
The Raven - February 25, 2010 | 2:11 pm · Link
@Sasha:
Sure, if you want to give credibility to the deregulators. Why, think of it! The market can do it all!
Croak!
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:11 pm · Link
Wha …. ?
MSNBC is showing women’s hockey. Am having to watch the afternoon session of the summit on FNC.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:13 pm · Link
@licensed to kill time: Enzi runs an internet supply company selling used women shoes for the sniffer fetishists.
JD Rhoades - February 25, 2010 | 2:13 pm · Link
@SIA:
Has anyone called Obama “disrespectful” (i.e. “uppity”) yet?
If not, just give it time.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:14 pm · Link
@Zuzu’s Petals: CNN.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:14 pm · Link
@Zuzu’s Petals: OK I just realized that too. Then went to CSPAN 1 & 2 and it’s not on? WTF? Or is it just because they’re on break?
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 2:14 pm · Link
I’m liking Harkin here: Whattya mean, start over? We’ve had a year’s worth of meetings, committees, debate. The bill incorporates a bunch of stuff the Republicans want. WTF more can we do? The incremental approach doesn’t work. And Massachusetts’ system does. Bite me.
ETA: I thought Enzi sounded pretty reasonable for a Repcn too.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:15 pm · Link
Harkin started slow but is building momentum quickly.
Bulworth - February 25, 2010 | 2:15 pm · Link
@Zuzu’s Petals: Don’t they have their regular NBC network to show that on? I thought MSNBC was supposed to be for actual news.
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:17 pm · Link
@inkadu:
I was just about to say I couldn’t take the CNN commentary, and then some blonde FNC babe cut in and started blathering.
Argggghhhh….
dmsilev - February 25, 2010 | 2:17 pm · Link
@SIA: It’s on CSPAN 3. Or you can use a stream. this one has been working for me without any problems.
-dms
licensed to kill time - February 25, 2010 | 2:17 pm · Link
@inkadu: Ah. Special deal on two wetsuits?
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:17 pm · Link
“Unelected” Secretary of Health and Human Services? Dude, you guys fucking confirmed her.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:18 pm · Link
@JD Rhoades: You know, they have – Matthews, Mitchell and Kelly O’Donnell spoke for a few minutes about how they all had to call him Mr President, but he called them by their first name. ZOMG.
I find it difficult to take Ms O’Donnell seriously – I have a very clear memory of her deplaning with McCain and Lieberman during the campaign and giving them both a big hug. I sense a McCain bias to her comments today.
So yes. Yes, our president is uppity, according to the liberal media.
cat48 - February 25, 2010 | 2:18 pm · Link
Sebelius look: Oh no you didn’t Rep Camp….
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:19 pm · Link
@Bulworth:
I just checked the listings, and it looks like Oprah’s on NBC.
Sigh.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:20 pm · Link
@dmsilev: Thank you – I’m actually using my laptop to work, but priorities, you know. :)
Quackosaur - February 25, 2010 | 2:20 pm · Link
@Bulworth:
Not during the Quadrennial Winter Athletic Competition!
jenniebee - February 25, 2010 | 2:20 pm · Link
Trying to find a link for the Cantor smackdown. Anybody find one?
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:22 pm · Link
Slightly off topic, but I’m easily distracted…do the mics have red lights on them that indicate that it’s on, or something?
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:22 pm · Link
I always wonder what that little hand gesture means to Obama. The one where he turns his hand sideways and holds his index finger out almost like a measurement of something?
He uses it all the time and not always when he’s trying to simulate a gap or measurement of something he’s talking about.
Midnight Marauder - February 25, 2010 | 2:23 pm · Link
This is the C-SPAN online stream I’ve been using all day today.
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:24 pm · Link
@SIA:
And GWB calling ‘em all Stretch, Jocko, or Buddy Boy would just be endearing.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:25 pm · Link
@licensed to kill time: Order now and get a dildo. But that’s not all, if you call now and say the password, “Enzi is a shoe sniffer,” we will send you an extra dildo absolutely free! That’s a $40 value absolutely free.
@Zuzu’s Petals: Hm. BLonde babes? Maybe I can screen-in-a-screen with fox. Some women are better seen and not heard.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:26 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: Your question intrigues me because in my line of work whenever I see something like this come together I always default to the logistics of a thing happening.
So I’ve been watching the little things like the red light band turning on and wondering about how they have the back end setup.
To answer your question – everyone is turned off but the lighted red light band. That one is live.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 2:27 pm · Link
Yay, Jay Rockefeller: Insurance companies look for excuses to drop people from coverage. It’s just the way they operate.
Bingo. For-profit companies are designed to, surprise surprise, turn a profit. It’s about time someone highlighted this.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:27 pm · Link
@Midnight Marauder: Cable TV: A medium designed to save CPU processing time.
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:27 pm · Link
@inkadu:
Well now it’s a redhead and some bald guy. I refuse to learn their names.
Oh wait, that was the Fox business channel. Back to FNC and the blonde lady, I guess. Or CNN.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 2:28 pm · Link
@Waynski: Nice summary. Thanks!
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:28 pm · Link
@Corner Stone: Ah, and now that makes me realize why, at the beginning of the afternoon session, I didn’t hear Rangel, who was apparently saying something to Obama.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:28 pm · Link
@dmsilev: Actually, that’s working great, I can listen to it and still work. Thank you.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:30 pm · Link
The 80% to 85% spent on health care is a farce and has so many loopholes it’s not even worth bothering.
As long as they are “for profit” then that will be their focus. Not care.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 2:30 pm · Link
Is it just me, or does Jay Rockefeller not actually have a point? (He’s rambling about how bad insurance companies are. we know that, right?)
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:34 pm · Link
Ezra tweet:
Shorter: Shut up, Marsha Blackburn.
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:34 pm · Link
Okay, the blonde woman (Megan?) just said the townhall screamers knew more about the bill than the Senators. Anything on CNN has gotta be better than this.
kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:34 pm · Link
@The Raven:
Obama wants to “explore” why Republicans don’t want to regulate insurance companies. That’s why he framed their argument that way. Because that’s the point he’d prefer to argue.
He’s pro-regulation, and he wants them to defend insurance companies.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:35 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: They sooo badly want a race to the bottom.
ChrisB - February 25, 2010 | 2:35 pm · Link
@mr. whipple: @MagicPanda: Just what I was thinking. Rockefeller’s comments were largely a waste of time.
Midnight Marauder - February 25, 2010 | 2:35 pm · Link
@inkadu:
Quite true. Although for those of us on the job, working like sheelple for The Man, it’s a worthy substitute.
And Marsha Blackburn is most likely about to be eaten alive after her inane spiel about…certain elements of HCR not being implemented until 2016? That seems like an odd approach.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:38 pm · Link
@Zuzu’s Petals: Heh. Have you seen that SNL skit with “Fox sexy blonde lady”?
Ruckus - February 25, 2010 | 2:38 pm · Link
@Mike Kay:
Well when you’re 90, eyes going, brain gone and still too vain to wear glasses the print has to be big and spaced out.
Wile E. Quixote - February 25, 2010 | 2:38 pm · Link
@Joey Maloney:
It’s awesome, great musical numbers, Kristen Bell in a dominatrix outfit and a red-hot dance routine between Neve Campbell and Steven Weber (the guy from Wings).
Wile E. Quixote - February 25, 2010 | 2:41 pm · Link
@arguingwithsignposts:
The only reason that Wolf Blitzer has a beard is so that he won’t end up on that website men who look like old lesbians.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:41 pm · Link
Ok. You win. CNN has three assholes talking, even though it’s tabbed as “The Health Care Summit,” and not, “Three Assholes with hosted by Wolf Blitzer.”
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:42 pm · Link
It occurs to me that this summit isn’t as big news as I feel it is.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:42 pm · Link
Blackburn trying to draw that distinction (letting insurance companies in to other states vs. letting people out of their states) is very telling. It clearly favors insurance companies racing to the bottom in terms of regulation.
Obama was right to push back on it, asking what the difference was. Small but important difference.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:44 pm · Link
@Wile E. Quixote:
what’s the name of the movie?
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 2:44 pm · Link
lulz @ Joe Biden catching himself before saying “hell”
jenniebee - February 25, 2010 | 2:46 pm · Link
Boehner looks bored. I think he’s texting.
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 2:47 pm · Link
Marsha “Mosquitah” Blackburn – the most irritating voice in human history.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:48 pm · Link
@inkadu:
and that is the news. goopers have been saying the process is horrible, and gullible indies have bought into it. But when they see it for themselves, they say, hey “what’s the big deal, it’s not as scary as the gop says”. I mean, why do you think the gop didn’t want the summit and had to be dragged kicking and screamin to the table—because it exposes the emptiness of their boogie man.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 2:48 pm · Link
Ooooo – Medicare Advantage burn!
Paula - February 25, 2010 | 2:49 pm · Link
oooh … O’Biden was brainwashed by Canadian soshumalism while in Vancouver.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:49 pm · Link
@jenniebee:
dreaming about his tanning bed.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:50 pm · Link
Uh…music in the background? Is that someone’s ringtone or something?
Mr Furious - February 25, 2010 | 2:50 pm · Link
Biden is really awful right now… horrible combination of numbers, figures and statistics and attempts at plainspeak.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ - February 25, 2010 | 2:51 pm · Link
@jenniebee:
[actual text]:
HALP!
IM TRAPD IN RUM W ANGREE BLK MAN
SEND MOAR TALKN POINTZ PLEZ
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:52 pm · Link
@SIA:
it’s on CSPAN 3.
Bubblegum Tate - February 25, 2010 | 2:52 pm · Link
New wingnut line of attack: Republicans aren’t getting equal time! Waaaah!
Because it takes a long time to say “no.”
Midnight Marauder - February 25, 2010 | 2:52 pm · Link
“What has been placed in front of them [the CBO] is a bill full of gimmicks and smoke and mirrors.” —Rep. Paul Ryan.
President Obama does not looked pleased with this tomfuckery.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:53 pm · Link
...and Ryan makes me want to tune out again. “This bill will not reduce costs.” Why? Because shut up.
I take it I missed a lot of this kind of crap in the morning.
Osprey - February 25, 2010 | 2:53 pm · Link
@Mike Kay:
Tanning bed? I think he has a bathtub full of bronzer that he jumps into every couple of days. Either that or he pays a couple of migrant workers a few dollars to color his face in with magic markers. Crayola calls the color ‘bear shit in the springtime’.
Zuzu's Petals - February 25, 2010 | 2:54 pm · Link
@SIA:
No, but sounds about right.
inkadu - February 25, 2010 | 2:55 pm · Link
@Mike Kay: Independents are just lazy bastards looking for any convenient excuse to make a snap decision. We’ll see if this moves the needle.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 2:55 pm · Link
@Midnight Marauder: If he can effectively smack Ryan down it’d be great.
kay - February 25, 2010 | 2:55 pm · Link
Cantor: “we all read letters by constituents who are allegedly wronged by our health care system”
That is a really, really bad way to put it.
He takes those pesky constituent letters with a real grain of salt, that Cantor. Can’t fool him.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 2:56 pm · Link
I presume that Ryan is not being 100% straight here, but he’s doing a good job of flinging around words that sound like he knows what he’s talking about. I’m sure this is playing well with people on the GOP side. Let’s hope Obama can smack this down.
Wile E. Quixote - February 25, 2010 | 2:57 pm · Link
@Mike Kay:
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (obligatory Amazon link whorage because I’m a stockholder and John needs money to feed Tunch and pay the the highly trained BJ staff). Oh, and not only do you have Kristen Bell in a dominatrix outfit, the incredibly hot Neve Campbell/Steven Weber dance number and all the other great musical numbers but you also have Alan Cumming as the smarmy, government anti-drug lecturer delivering lines like this:
jenniebee - February 25, 2010 | 2:58 pm · Link
CNN Broadcasts all of Ryans BS and then cuts away on Obama’s response.
You stay classy, CNN.
Tonal Crow - February 25, 2010 | 2:58 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: Blackburn’s “let them out” rhetoric is truly excellent. But, of course, it masks the race to the bottom, in which fly-by-night “insurers” will sell cut-rate but loophole-ridden “insurance” nationwide. When you buy it, it’ll seem like a good deal. When you need it, the insurance bureaucrats’ll point to the fine print that says why they’re not going to pay for your cancer treatment.
Too neither Obama nor any other Democrat said that.
Throwin Stones - February 25, 2010 | 2:58 pm · Link
Makes me sad that Paul Ryan and I share an alma mater.
“don’t want government to run this, we want people to run this” What does this mean? Doesn’t the government represent the people more than corporations do?
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 2:59 pm · Link
@MagicPanda: Eh, I’d disagree with him sounding like he knew what he was talking about. He was flinging around crap like “start over,” “government takeover,” and the usual.
I suppose the problem is, we know this rhetoric is shit. But the way the media lets it go unchallenged, he may end up coming across a winner.
Tonal Crow - February 25, 2010 | 2:59 pm · Link
@SIA:
Sadly, no. Palin tops her by a moosehead. Or three. Too.
Midnight Marauder - February 25, 2010 | 3:01 pm · Link
Oh god, here comes President McCain riding in to save the good people of Florida from any cuts to Medicare Advantage.
“Help us, Obi-wan McCain! You’re our only hope!”
Da Bomb - February 25, 2010 | 3:02 pm · Link
@Osprey: That was funny as hell!
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 3:02 pm · Link
Why is River Tam sitting RIGHT BEHIND COBURN?
*and not extinguishing him?
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:03 pm · Link
OT: fight breaks out in Finland-Sweden women’s hockey game. Minor stuff—push, shove, glove-in-the-face, quick swing—but makes me LOL. Finland and Sweden just do not like each other.
Svensker - February 25, 2010 | 3:06 pm · Link
@Ash Can:
It finally dawned on me that one of the reasons the Korean short track team hates Apolo Ohno so much is that Ohno is half-Japanese. I’m a bit slow.
robertdsc - February 25, 2010 | 3:07 pm · Link
Medicare Advantage saved my company in the latter part of 2009. All those books we printed were part of that program. LOL.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 3:08 pm · Link
Guy speaking now to Rep Ryan – Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus or not? Cause I’ve heard you talk about Jesus. And if we don’t agree you believe in Jesus then we are all lost.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:08 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle: Yeah. I’m not saying I thought he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. I’m putting myself in the shoes of a Republican viewer.
But now, Xavier Becerra is doing a good job of smacking that one down by scolding Ryan on questioning the CBO numbers and calling them the “referees” and having Ryan back down.
Svensker - February 25, 2010 | 3:09 pm · Link
In the HuffPo picture of Obama and Boehner at the summit, Boehner has darker skin color than O.
Throwin Stones - February 25, 2010 | 3:10 pm · Link
@Throwin Stones: and Ryan calling HCR a ponzi scheme is pretty rich, as he’s put forth a plan to hand Medicare over to Wall St.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:10 pm · Link
@Midnight Marauder: And then Obama basically says “yes, good point, so what?” LOL
Becerra: Ryan, you’re all in favor of the CBO unless it doesn’t support your agenda? F.U.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 3:11 pm · Link
Grassley. When you absolutely have to have the stupidest person in the room™.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 3:11 pm · Link
you can’t tell me McSame doesn’t suffer from the onset of dementia.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:11 pm · Link
@MagicPanda: I think Becerra could’ve done a bit better, but I approve of him pissing off Ryan. That was good theatre.
I also like how Obama near immediately broke in to Grassley and said “Hey, check your math.”
jenniebee - February 25, 2010 | 3:12 pm · Link
And CNN cuts away from Congressman Javier Something’s response to Paul Ryan to hear from their analysts.
It also looks like we’re hearing platitudes from CNN rather than hearing what Grassley has to say, but I think that’s probably also doing a favor to Republicans.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 3:13 pm · Link
@Corner Stone:
The good news, at age 77, Grassley is long for this world.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:13 pm · Link
Grassley called the mandate unconstitutional. That has to be a drinking word.
ETA: He also said he was quite well aware of the “grassroots,” though I think he thinks the “grassroots” are farmers.
licensed to kill time - February 25, 2010 | 3:15 pm · Link
Grassley thinks there are consequences for everything except tax cuts, I guess.
Mike Kay - February 25, 2010 | 3:16 pm · Link
@jenniebee:
CNN is heavily influence be their sponsors (Pharma & Insurance).
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....are-Summit
SIA - February 25, 2010 | 3:16 pm · Link
@Mike Kay: Oddly enough – I don’t seem to have CPAN 3.
Ruckus - February 25, 2010 | 3:17 pm · Link
@Mike Kay:
Way past onset.
t jasper parnell - February 25, 2010 | 3:18 pm · Link
@MikeJ: I’ve seen quicker checkups but never a wetter one.
MK - February 25, 2010 | 3:18 pm · Link
@kay:
That should be the tag line for every political ad against Cantor this fall. It should be interesting to see how constituents feel at being called liars, by politicians no less.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:19 pm · Link
Oh, and I’m getting annoyed at people constantly turning on and off their mics during someone talking. It mutes the entire sound for a moment, and makes my (tired) brain skip a beat trying to figure out what I just missed.
bemused - February 25, 2010 | 3:23 pm · Link
@Sentient Puddle:
R’s always say something they hate is unconstitutional.
Charles Pierce is hilarious. Over at Eric Alterman’s blog he said the Constitution begins “We the People”, and not “I the Dickhead”. Love that guy.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:26 pm · Link
...and Boehner brings the prop, says “scrap the bill,” it will “bankrupt our country.”
Goddamn, I really should bust out the beer. I’m going to need it by the time he’s done talking.
ETA: Someone should track how long he speaks. He might break the talking points-per-minute record.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:26 pm · Link
I can barely stand to hear Boehner talk or look at his face. Ugh. Nothing but platitudes and double talk and smug idiotic trash.
Tonal Crow - February 25, 2010 | 3:27 pm · Link
@bemused: Are Republicans unconstitutional? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Throwin Stones - February 25, 2010 | 3:28 pm · Link
my god I truly despise The Orange One®-OH
kormgar - February 25, 2010 | 3:28 pm · Link
Ah, that strange Republican lie again that the US has the worlds best healthcare system.
I mean, I suppose if you look at the charts of outcomes upside down we look pretty good, but you’d think they’d notice that all of the words are upside down.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:29 pm · Link
Boehner: “The American people want us to scrap this bill. We all agree that health care needs to be fixed, but we have the best health care system in the world and this bill is a government takeover and will bankrupt us and it cuts medicare and raises taxes on Americans and it makes employers provide insurance for their employees and, and, and…I’m not making any fucking sense, am I? Oh, and this bill MAKES EVERYONE HAVE ATHEISTIC GAY ABORTIONS.”
Osprey - February 25, 2010 | 3:29 pm · Link
@Svensker:
Heh, was it that White House Dinner…I can’t remember what they call it, the Correspondent dinner?
I remember Obama was talking about Boehner, and he said something along the lines of “and my colleagues in Congress, men like John Boehner, who is also a person of color…just not a color that occurs in the natural world”.
geg6 - February 25, 2010 | 3:31 pm · Link
WTF Boner? Scrap the bill is all you got besides ABORTION? Abortion? Has he read the bill? Can Oompa Loompas not read? Oooo, the MUP is calling Boner a liar straight up. Straight fucking up. Whoa.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:31 pm · Link
Obama: “No, John, you’re not making any sense. So just do everyone a favor and shut your goddamn pie hole, OK?”
bemused - February 25, 2010 | 3:31 pm · Link
@Tonal Crow:
Indeedy.
Batocchio - February 25, 2010 | 3:32 pm · Link
I’ll look forward to more detailed fact-checking and debunking, but it’s striking (although not surprising) that most of the Republicans are making demonstrably false statements. Paul Ryan’s slicker than most, but they’re all doing it. The more honest Republicans are offering tiny measures, which in some cases are fine, and in some cases are already in the bill, but they won’t do the whole job.
Boehner is lying right now about the bill bankrupting the country, it being a government takeover of health care, and the U.S. having the best health care in the world. He’s also claiming the American people have rejected reform. (Boehner’s also lying about abortion now.) McCain has whined that the GOP weren’t invited to participate, when they were. Cantor was repeatedly pushing that the GOP wants reform (a lie, but okay) but that America can’t afford it. Then how do other countries get better results for less money? Health care reform will save money in the long run, and to some degree in the short and middle runs, too. But no, let’s scrap everything and start over, according to Boehner.
I was glad to hear Obama take on some of the bullshit on those horrible, horrible cuts to Medicare Advantage (actually, eliminating ineffective subsidies to private insurance companies). Obamas’s now briefly taking on Boehner’s BS , too.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:32 pm · Link
Yes! Obama just said Boehner was relying on talking points, was being counterproductive, and saying things that were not true. Total smackdown!
jenniebee - February 25, 2010 | 3:32 pm · Link
If our government should only do things that Democrats and Republicans both agree on, why bother having elections in the first place?
No Joy in Mudville - February 25, 2010 | 3:32 pm · Link
Orange John Boehner is on now with the twin Republican LIES that 1) America has the BEST health care system in the world and 2) Obama’s moderate health care reform is a Government Takeover of Health Care.
The summit has been going on for hours now, and Boehner is so stupid and so dishonest that after hours his best shot is still to resort to the BIG LIE method of argument.
Oh, nice! He just added BIG LIE #3—the biggest “cost driver” in health care is Medical Malpractice.
Obama follows by pointing out the absolute untruth of what Boehner just said.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:34 pm · Link
@Ash Can: When Cooper started speaking, I could hear Obama talking faintly, as though someone near him had their mic on still. I couldn’t tell exactly what he was saying, but it did sound a little something like that.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:36 pm · Link
Oh joy, I get to hear McCain speechify! This ought to be…maddening.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:37 pm · Link
McCain’t: “We don’t want to do nothing, but we do want to start all over again.” (And that’s an actual quote.)
Throwin Stones - February 25, 2010 | 3:37 pm · Link
McWalnuts again? Now with tort reform.
No Joy in Mudville - February 25, 2010 | 3:38 pm · Link
After Boehner finished his mindboggling performance, all I could think of was Senator Rockefeller and his belief that reconciliation should not be used to pass the Public Option because it isn’t bipartisan enough.
I would love to hear Rockefeller explain exactly what bipartisanship would like with a moderate Democratic plan on one side of the table and Boehner’s Republican Party on the other—and Boehner is representative of the Republican Party.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:38 pm · Link
WTF was McCain talking about Arizonans hating California for stealing water? I’m sure that was supposed to be a joke, but it made him sound like a weird grumpy man. Instead of trying so hard to be funny, maybe he should just be himself, which… oh wait… he IS a grumpy old man.
bemused - February 25, 2010 | 3:38 pm · Link
I truly detest McCain’s cackling laugh.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:38 pm · Link
(Because I can’t edit my last post)
Is McCain citing Texas as a successful example of tort reform? Because everyone paying attention agrees that it didn’t do a damn thing.
...and he answers. He clearly isn’t paying attention.
geg6 - February 25, 2010 | 3:39 pm · Link
Walnuts is crying over malpractice reform. And the manufactured tears are interfering with his ability to read off his palm. And back to process whining again.
Legalize - February 25, 2010 | 3:39 pm · Link
Oh, good, Walnuts McCain again.
Batocchio - February 25, 2010 | 3:40 pm · Link
@jenniebee:
Good line!
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:40 pm · Link
McCain: NOOO! WE CAN’T HAVE MAJORITY RULE! WE’LL ALL DIE!
Svensker - February 25, 2010 | 3:41 pm · Link
@Osprey:
Yes, a great Obama zinger. :)
Legalize - February 25, 2010 | 3:41 pm · Link
Someone explain to McCain that reconciliation is not the same as blowing up the filibuster.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:42 pm · Link
I think it’s funny that Obama keeps calling out John Boehner by name on his lies. Heh.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:45 pm · Link
Durbin puts the med malpractice horsecrap in perspective. Hooray.
geg6 - February 25, 2010 | 3:47 pm · Link
Durbin is on fire on malpractice. Awesome.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:48 pm · Link
Oops. Durbin started out strong by saying that tort reform would only save 1/5 of 1% of total costs, so stop talking about it. He should have left it at that.
But now he’s going on and on about how medical malpractice suits are important, and can help save lives. Undoubtedly true, but it mixes up his message and makes it sound like he’s against tort reform on principle. Better to just say that it’s only small potatoes so let’s move to the main issues.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:49 pm · Link
Durbin also calling the asses out on their hypocrisy: If you think your gold-plated fed insurance coverage is sozzialistic, then drop the hell out of it.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 3:50 pm · Link
Just to clarify, I’m with Durbin on substance. I just want to make sure that he’s smacking down the falsehoods in a way that the GOP can understand.
By defending the idea of malpractice lawsuits, I’m sure he’s just turning off the GOP-leaners who might have been swayed by his first argument.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:51 pm · Link
Obama: Can the US catch up to the rest of the world and make sure its citizens have health coverage?
WHY DOES OBAMA HATE AMERICA ::sob::
twiffer - February 25, 2010 | 3:51 pm · Link
@inkadu: And if young people can get health savings account and not pay into the insurance pool, that would solve the problems for the young people, and those who don’t want to deal with insurance problems just stay young forever.
was this a proposal? cause if, by health care savings accounts, they mean those crappy health care accounts that are currently offered…those fucking suck unless you know exactly how much you are going to spend on health care. cause if you don’t use all the money in them, you lose it. poof! gone.
fuck that.
geg6 - February 25, 2010 | 3:54 pm · Link
Durbin put it in perspective for the average Joe. And that whole thing at the end about how they are rich white guys with fabbo coverage and don’t know shit about how this works for real people.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 3:55 pm · Link
So they’re trying to hammer out policy…and Barrasso is trying to make a point out of the popularity of the bill? Who the fuck cares what people believe the bill will do? Why don’t we care what the bill actually fucking does?
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 3:56 pm · Link
Barrasso: All the constituents I talk to don’t like this bill because they believe it will do this and won’t do that…
Then educate them on it, asshole. That’s your job.
Legalize - February 25, 2010 | 4:01 pm · Link
Obama pivots on Barrasso’s nonsense.
Tonal Crow - February 25, 2010 | 4:04 pm · Link
Waxman is raking the GOP over the coals on vouchers.
MagicPanda - February 25, 2010 | 4:04 pm · Link
Go Waxman! Good way to frame the issue of catastropic care. “Would you want medicare recipients to only have catastropic care?”
And way to bring back the Ryan budget. “Medicare recipients should be worried if we DON’T do something. In Ryan’s budget, he proposes the medicare recipients get a voucher to shop for their own insurance. Tell that to the folks in California whose premiums just went up 39%” Zing!
Bulworth - February 25, 2010 | 4:05 pm · Link
@Wile E. Quixote: Kristen Bell in a dominatrix outfit? Wow, sounds like a movie much worth seeing. Umm, I loves me some Kristen Bell.
Legalize - February 25, 2010 | 4:07 pm · Link
Barrasso should immediately be asked to respond after Waxman is done.
Grumpy Code Monkey - February 25, 2010 | 4:07 pm · Link
@twiffer:
I think you’re think of flexible spending accounts. Health savings accounts are something different. They don’t go away at the end of the year, they earn interest, etc. The propaganda sheets make them sound like the most wonderful thing since sliced bread, but frankly, I’d just rather have coverage that, you know, covers shit.
No Joy in Mudville - February 25, 2010 | 4:10 pm · Link
DOCTOR Barrasso. What sane person would seek medical care from this POS?
This summit is a textbook case of what to do when none of the facts are on your side—LIE, make shit up, pretend, fear-monger, etc. Sadly, those tactics are disproportionately effective with ignorant people.
I eagerly await Senator Barrasso’s forthcoming bill to downgrade all Congressional insurance to Health Savings Accounts. I foresee at least 95 votes in favor.
twiffer - February 25, 2010 | 4:13 pm · Link
@Grumpy Code Monkey: probably. i’ve never used them myself, because i take issue with putting money in an account, only being able to use it for certain things and then losing any balance if i don’t spend it all. frankly, i’d rather just pay the income tax.
Sentient Puddle - February 25, 2010 | 4:14 pm · Link
By my count, this is the third time someone used the Senate bill as a prop. Didn’t these morons learn the first time that they tried that earlier? Obama smacked Cantor down. Hard.
Ash Can - February 25, 2010 | 4:26 pm · Link
Barton: All the points I’m making now have long since been addressed and debunked here, but I’m going to waste everyone’s time and make them anyway.
Corner Stone - February 25, 2010 | 4:35 pm · Link
@Batocchio:
Me too. Please tell me in what universe this will occurr so I can point my Stargate to it.
Batocchio - February 25, 2010 | 5:57 pm · Link
@Corner Stone:
Are you talking about the corporate media? Yeah, fact-checking is pretty rare there. I was thinking of Steve Benen, Greg Sargent, TPM, Ezra Klein, ObWi, C&L, ThinkProgress, Paul Krugman, BJ, many other blogs, me if I have time… Some of these are just the same old lies told over and over again, such as the GOP one that Democrats want to “cut” Medicare when they’ve proposed ending a wasteful, ineffective subsidy, and when the GOP wants to cut Medicare even more. I’m assuming Paul Ryan’s mainly peddling the same bullshit as before, but he may well have added some new bullshit. (Boehner was all old BS.)