Video: The obligatory “Anthony Weiner goes berserk on House floor” clip
"You vote in favor of something if you believe it's the right thing!"
Categories: World Tags: Alternate, anthony weiner, berserk, care, congressmen, floor, headline, health care
Katie Perry Thinks She And Russell Brand Are The New Brangelina
Katie Perry told reporters she thinks her and boyfriend Russell Brand are the new Brangelina. Oh, sigh. And it begins. I forget (probably because I don’t care) but Katy Perry and Russell Brand co-starred in Get Him To The Greek, where they fell in love and blah blah. more Russell and Katy after the hop… While doing [...]
Categories: Media Tags: blah, boyfriend, Brangelina, care, love, New, russell brand
How Barack Obama, Democrats Passed The Health Care Reform Bill: Inside Account
When the president and his closest advisers huddled in the Oval Office last August, they had every reason to panic. Their signature piece of legislation, comprehensive health care reform, was mired in the Senate Finance Committee and the publi...
Categories: World Tags: care, comprehensive health care, comprehensive health care reform, health, Health Care Reform, Oval, President, reform, senate finance committee, signature piece, West Wing
Schwarzenegger Budget Deals Blow To The Poor, Compromise Hopes Dim
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Having already cut billions from state programs and tried tax increases, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders from both parties say they are in no mood to compromise as they face California's latest sum...
Categories: World Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, bob huff, budget, budget proposal, Cal, Calif., california, care, Chuck Devore, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Irvine, lean budget, Los Angeles, program, Sacramento, Sandra Varga, Sen. Bob Huff, state, state and local governments, tax, U.S.
Juan Pablo Montoya Doesn’t Know (Or Care) Why He Still Gets Booed
Juan Pablo Montoya always gets some of the biggest boos during driver introductions, typically ranking just behind Jimmie Johnson and the Busch brothers. Yes, Montoya ruffled some feathers when he first came into the Sprint Cup Series in 2007. But wh...
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Not vindicated
If this is accurate, then President Obama not only had to battle Republicans and conservative Democrats to pass health care reform, he had to battle his own chief of staff.
Rahm Emanuel spent nearly a week in the summer of 2009 aggressively trying to talk Obama out of moving foward with an ambitious version of health care reform, and by his own admission "begged" him not to do it, a book out next week reports.
The book, Jonathan Alter's The Promise, goes much further than previous accounts in documenting just how opposed Rahm was to proceeding with ambitious reform -- something that was widely suspected at the time but never proven in detail. Excerpts of the book were made available in advance of its release next Tuesday.
Heading into August, the Obama administration was still in good shape on health care reform. Americans trusted President Obama over Republicans in Congress by nearly 30 points, 55%-26%. Republicans had just unveiled a health care proposal that represented a dream come true for insurance companies.
Then came the town halls, and Republicans for the first time on health care went on the attack. Instead of keeping the initiative and firing back, using the newly introduced Republican plan (which would have deregulated insurance across the nation) to illustrate a narrative featuring Republicans and health insurers as the villains, the White House was virtually silent, except to focus on concerns that the town halls might turn violent.
By the middle of August, President Obama was backtracking on the public option, and while he made it clear he was pressing forward with a plan, the initiative had been lost -- along with the enthusiasm of a large chunk of the Democratic base.
Based on the relative quiet of the White House in early August, it seems likely that it is during that period that Rahm would been pushing against health care reform. So if Alter's account is accurate, right as the Republican attack machine was hitting its stride, the White House was stuck in neutral, with Rahm urging the President to throw things into reverse.
What's especially frustrating is that ultimately, President Obama did ultimately try to build a narrative in which Republicans were doing the bidding of insurance companies, but he did so very late in the game. Imagine how things might have been different if instead of battling Rahm, he'd been able to seize the opportunity Republicans gave him at the end of July.
Categories: Politics Tags: Alter, book, care, conservative democrats, Emanuel, health, health care, Health Care Reform, Jonathan Alter, President Obama, Rahm, Rahm Emanuel, reform, relative quiet, republican plan
Senate GOP Launching New Campaign Against Health Care Law
Senate Republicans are poised to try to reignite the health care debate by launching a coordinated political messaging offensive to target Democrats and the White House for what they contend are the new law's onerous consequences. A group of ...
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DOJ Files Response to Health Care Reform Suit
In its first filing defending the Affordable Care Act, the Justice Department questions the plaintiffs' standing to bring suit. The response also argues that the law is within Congress' powers to tax and spend and clearly within congressional prerogative under the Commerce Clause.
The suit, filed in a Michigan federal court by the conservative Thomas Moore Law Center, seeks to enjoin the provision mandating health insurance coverage for individuals from being enforced. The DOJ, noting that the individual mandate does not go into effect until 2014, says that the plaintiffs "demonstrate no current injury, and merely speculate whether the law will harm them once it is in force."
Even if the plaintiffs were found to have standing, the DOJ writes, the suit's likelihood of success is minimal. Echoing points that have been made by constitutional law experts on the legality of the individual health care mandate, Justice Department attorneys cite congressional authority to tax and spend, and under the Commerce Clause, arguing that the Affordable Care Act falls well within Congress' powers under Article I of the Constitution. Arguments to the contrary "are flatly wrong," the DOJ's brief states.
A copy of the Justice Department's filing is below.
Categories: Politics Tags: affordable care, Affordable Care Act, article i of the constitution, care, congress powers, Department, department questions, Economic inequality, Economic, Workplace, and Environmental Regulation, Health Care Reform, individual mandate, justice, justice department attorneys, Law, michigan, Other courts, preemption, quot, Ripeness, Separation of powers, Separation of Powers and Federalism, Standing, The Courts
D. Brad Wright: What’s In a Ranking?
There's a lot of information out there. In fact, there's so much data that while our computers might be able to wade through it all,...
Categories: World Tags: care, example, hospital, imputation, Italy, Johns Hopkins, little italy, Manhattan, pleasant shade, question, restaurant, shade of brown, statistical term, U.S., Wright