Tuesday Open Thread
Welcome to the first official day of our Socialist Nightmare. President Obama signed the health care reform bill today and the Senate also begins debate the reconciliation sidecar bill. So, are you ready for an open thread?
Chris Matthews owes Rep. Alan Grayson an apology. In January, Chris Matthews dismissed the scoop given to him by Alan Grayson about how the final push for the health care reform bill would be achieved: reconciliation.
Anybody can make a mistake. Certainly any pundit who tries to predict the political future will make dozens on any given day.
But to sit there and harangue a Member of Congress and all but call him crazy for laying out for you the actual game plan that turned out to hold the key to the passage of an historic piece of legislation? And to do so as a former Congressional staffer supposedly “in the know” about these things?
Americans watching the health care debate were confused for weeks on end about reconciliation, and they looked to insiders like Chris Matthews to explain it to them, with the help of guests who could provide the inside story.
Here, Matthews had the inside story handed to him on a silver platter, weeks before the rest of the traditional media were able to pick up on it (though weeks after those crazy netroots types had it), and not only does he drop it, he kicks Congressman Alan Grayson in the teeth for trying to serve it up to him.
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Whoa, I just watched the video again and Tweety was more arrogant than I even recalled.
But I’d like to single out one person who deserves more praise than he’s going to claim or is likely to get: Steve Benen himself. After Scott Brown won, Democrats’ first reaction was panic. The analogy most often drawn, though it in retrospect seems deranged to compare the loss of a Senate super-majority to the loss of both Houses, was to Clinton’s situation, and his reaction, after the Republican victories of 1994. Steve stepped in on January 20—just a day after Coakley’s loss, a full week before the State of the Union—with an alternative: “pass the damn bill,” and then amend it via reconciliation. I believe he invented the slogan, though Kevin Drum picked it up a few hours later. I know that he flogged it, immediately, relentlessly and repeatedly, through good news and bad: see, for example, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. It became proverbial. It became the popular title—and, thanks to alert fans, the easy-to-remember URL—of Steve’s pithy, powerful strategy memo making the case for moving forward. It cemented Democratic opinion around the idea that failure was not an option—and, more important, that incremental reform counted as failure.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately researching what Thomas Schelling called “focal points”: salient or obvious places to rally at, meet at, or aim towards. Focal points solve what are called coordination problems, the kind of problem that when each member of a group wants to go where a lot of other people will be going but nobody has a clear idea where that might be. There are many applications. In warfare, or politics, the main takeaway lesson is that a determined and courageous leader, regardless of whether he or she is a brilliant strategist, can by conspicuous presence and force of example make the difference between a successful attack, a panicky rout, and everything in between. In this campaign, Obama provided the rhetoric, Pelosi and her people the toughness and legislative legwork, and Andy Stern and others the grassroots pressure. But “pass the damn bill” provided the focal point: not failure, not incremental reform, but the imperfect, landmark bill that the Senate had already passed. Once that was set, and only then, incremental reform or putting off the whole process started to seem cowardly and crabbed, a strategy almost impossible for a serious Democrat to justify. Steve’s explicit and successful model was William Kristol’s 1994 memo, which made all-out-opposition into the tragically successful focal point for Republicans faced with Clinton’s health reform plan.
Reportedly, Benen’s memo was passed around to every Congressional office. Now, I’m wondering, why don’t we see Steve Benen on Meet The Press or This Week?
Tags: Open Thread
Here is crazy Glenn Beck last night, complaining about how John Lewis is acting like a civil rights leader:
The Discovery Channel is going to air Palin’s reality show for $1M per episode.
Have you seen this picture? It’s Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama reacting to news of the bill’s passage.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read today.
Excuse me, but haven’t Republicans been going on for months about how the government supposedly wasn’t listening to the will of the people? Now Louie
GomerGohmert wants to take the election of Senators out of the peoples’ hands? If he were anything but a member of the Republican Party, I’d say it was a shocking display of hypocrisy.Let me guess — 13, 14, and 15 are next.
Shouldn’t delawareliberal localize some of these national post by tying them to Mike Castle’s goatfuckery up front? Just asking?
Today in History: Freedom v. Fascism
1775 Patrick Henry called for America’s independence from Britain, telling the Virginia Provincial Convention, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
1919 Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy.
1933 The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers.
We’re trying not to go over into Castle-bashing overload. It’s pretty much 1 Castle post per day, but we haven’t had one today.
Just got Chris Coons response to Castle’s vote on HCR…..
I did too, Anon. I’ll post it when I have time later.
Professor Lacewell says the Tea Partiers are not just rascists but sedionists. (The Nation).
There was an anti war protest on Sat in DC with 10,000 people. Many of them got arrested (for peaceful protests). Cindy Sheehan was kept until just a couple of hours ago. While the Tea Partiers spit, curse, and throw n and f words, none were arrested! You have to wonder who the Capital police are protecting? DC officials did everything possible to keep the anti war protestors from meeting up. From denying permits to tearing down signs, the City finally relented and determine a specific place for them to protest (walking in a circle). Not good enough for capital police…they arrested the WRONG people!
John Coryn looks to be calling for takebacks on that running on repealing the bill thing.
Grayson Accused of Campaign Finance Violation
Yahoo ^
Grayson Accused of Campaign Finance Violation By Matthew Murray, CQ-Roll Call Matthew Murray, Cq-roll Call 26 mins ago
After spending a year talking tersely to Republicans, populist firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) may soon be getting a scolding of his own — from election regulators for botching disclosure language on a recent fundraising appeal.
Grayson is accused in a complaint filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission of breaking federal campaign finance laws earlier this week when his campaign solicited prohibited corporate campaign contributions on behalf of a Florida political candidate, Scott Maddox.
may the schwartz be with you!
go suck on some fascism for me, since it’s everywhere you look. can’t see to find any though.
FEC complaint filed against Fla. Rep. Grayson
The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A central Florida voter is filing a federal elections complaint against Rep. Alan Grayson, claiming he violated federal law by soliciting corporate donations for a nonfederal candidate.
The complaint mailed Wednesday takes issue with a fundraising invitation for Democrat Scott Maddox’ agriculture commissioner campaign. Grayson is listed as the headlining guest on the invitation, which Grayson’s House campaign sent to supporters.
The invitation for Thursday’s event states the maximum contributions for individuals, corporations and political action committees.
Steve Gillespie is asking for a Federal Elections Commission investigation.
A Grayson spokesman said an elections attorney was consulted and said the complaint had no merit
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/24/1544934/fec-complaint-filed-against-fla.html#ixzz0j8QACWTy
Oooooo….just like laundering money through some south pacific island!
Bet that voter has no agenda whatsoever… 😉