Well, I guess we all should have plenty of time for blogging today since we’re snowed in. So, here is a fresh open thread for you to play in.
Ezra Klein on the Republicans’s health care reform ransom note:
Just screams “we would like to cooperate with you to reform the American health-care system,” doesn’t it? But don’t take my word for it: You’ll really want to read the whole thing. These are not folks who concern themselves with the appearance of good faith. The only thing missing is an obscure riddle that Obama must answer before he can speak to Mitch McConnell.
But I think the administration should release a counter-proposal. They will agree to literally every one of the GOP’s demands — including the ones that don’t make any sense — in return for one, simple promise: The final legislation is guaranteed an up-or-down vote in the House and the Senate. No filibusters. No delays. No procedural tricks. If the GOP wants a clean process, I bet a deal can be struck here.
I think we all know this will never happen, but perhaps calling their bluff will be a good way to highlight the Republican obstructionism.
Republicans have also painted themselves into a corner concerning the Christmas undiebomber. They started objecting to putting Abdulmutallab through the civilian courts even though they never objected with other terrorism suspects, including Richard Reid. In fact, John Brennan, Deputy National Security Advisor, wrote an op-ed for USA Today taking Republicans to task for their lies and distortions on the case. That hasn’t stopped the GOP from continuing the attack, no matter how nonsensical. TPM catches Gingrich lying about the similarities of the Reid and Abdulmutallab cases on the Daily Show.
Classic moment last night on The Daily Show when Newt Gingrich explained that it was okay to mirandize “shoe bomber” Richard Reid and not Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab because Reid, unlike Abdulmutallab, is a US citizen.
Only, of course, Reid is a British citizen. Watch the video here.
What was so classic about this to me isn’t that Gingrich got a fact wrong. That happens, though to some more than others. But it was a larger illustration of how much Republicans are flailing to find any ‘fact’ to plug in to explain why the Abdulmutallab arrest was an outrage even though it went down just like every other arrest of a terrorist on American soil in like forever.