Take the Town Halls to Washington; Update: Obama postpones Asia trip to June

If you can make it to D.C. this Saturday, there’s a Tea Party effort to “Take the Town Halls to Washington:”

More info here.

Bring a Constitution Butchers sign! (Get yours here.)

Photoshop exclusive: Big Fur Hat at iowntheworld.com and Applecross Media

***

Update: Just announced…White House press secretary Gibbs says Obama is postponing Asia trip to June.

Now is the time for all good men and women to raise their voices, kill the bill, and demand that Congress wipe the corruption-stained slate clean and start over.

Robert Gibbs says “The voters will have the final say on the politics” of Demcare.

Damned right.

Have your say. And remember: There are no inevitabilities in politics.

In response to amnesty stooge Dick Armey

I have wonderful, grass-roots friends at Freedomworks.

Dick Armey is not one of them.

He’s a clueless promoter of bailout-happy, big government Republican Sen. John McCain. And Armey’s a blowhard-y Beltway dinosaur who can’t resist shooting off his mouth and alienating the Tea Party base while criticizing other conservatives of alienation. At the National Press Club to promote the D.C. protest against Demcare, Armey veered off into a liberal platitude-littered rant against conservatives who believe in strict enforcement of our immigration laws.

Armey singled out former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo and bragged about censoring him while they served in the House together:

Former Republican House leader Dick Armey said staunch anti-immigration opponents such as Rep. Tom Tancredo are destructive to Republicans — and are alienating a “natural” constituency that could help the party win elections.

“Who in the Republican Party was the genius that said that now that we have identified the fastest-growing voting demographic in America, let’s go out and alienate them?” Armey said, referencing Hispanics, during a luncheon in Washington at the National Press Club.

“When I was the majority leader, I saw to it that Tom Tancredo did not get on the stage because I saw how destructive he was,” Armey said of the Colorado congressman and 2008 Republican presidential candidate known for his opposition to illegal immigration.

Armey said “this is a nation of immigrants” and “if you love America, love freedom” and if you will work and pay taxes, you should be welcome in the country.

The “nation of immigrants” mantra has been addressed many times on this blog — history lessons here and here. Just like all the other open-borders zealots who smear those of us who believe in strict immigration enforcement and control, Armey whitewashes the distinction between legal and illegal.

Since when are illegal Hispanic aliens the “natural” constituency of the Republican Party? See also: Debunking open-borders myths and Whither the Hispanic vote?

Tancredo was on the right side of the illegal alien shamnesty debate from day one — and as John Derbyshire noted in defense of Tancredo, “Tom stood up for our national sovereignty, for the integrity of our borders and the enforcement of our laws, when most Republican politicians were weaseling on those issues (as too many still are). I’ll honor him for that.”

NumbersUSA details Armey’s pro-amnesty record. It’s abysmal.

In boasting about exercising his Beltway power to keep folks like Tancredo off the stage, Armey embodies everything the Tea Party movement is supposed to stand against — top-down control, political hubris, silencing of dissent. With “friends” like Dick Armey, who needs enemies?

Caveat emptor.

***

The open-borders lobby will march on Washington this Sunday. Perhaps Armey can serve as an honorary grand marshal, with his good friends John McCain and Lindsey Graham leading the feckless GOP contingent.

***

Related reading from Tancredo: Republicans and the Hispanic Vote: Inconvenient Facts for Amnesty Proponents

Related: More issues with Dick Armey, via Dan Riehl.

Making their voices heard: Protesting Demcare on Capitol Hill

They only had a few days to mobilize, but bus loads of Tea Party protesters from across the country have descended on Washington today to make their voices heard on the Demcare cramdown.

Time: March 16, 2010 from 9am to 6pm
Location: Cannon House Office Building
Street: Independence Avenue SE and New Jersey SE
City/Town: Washington, DC
More info.

As of this morning, the Democrats and the House Rules Committee still have not posted the actual reconciliation bill text.

How’s the No-mentum going?

Via Politico:

Rep. Jason Altmire, a Pennsyvlania Democrat who has positioned himself as a key swing vote, said he thinks leadership is seriously struggling to marshal the votes. “They’re calling the hardnosed people…who have put out firm statements saying no,” he said. “They wouldn’t be doing that if they were anywhere close.”

The whip counts keep fluctuating and it’s anyone’s guess, but Democrat pro-life leader Bart Stupak thinks House Dem leaders are at least 16 short.

The libs sure have changed their tune on how to treat Tea Party protesters. Here’s a memo excerpt from House #2 Democrat Rep. Chris Van Hollen:

In a memo sent to freshman and sophomore lawmakers, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the House leadership, urges lawmakers to make special accomodations to prepare for the protesters, ranging from refreshments to extra staff members.

“Activists are expected to begin arriving around 9am and they have been given instructions to wait in your office until they can have a meeting,” the memo says. “Please have an orderly process and enough staff and interns to welcome what could be a very large number of visitors throughout the day.”

Among the suggestions:

Consider having some light snacks, H2O, and coffee available;

Have multiple guest books/comment sheets available for all visitors to sign-in and leave comments

Have a Capitol Directory and map available to direct visitors to their Member of Congress and written instructions on how to get over to the Senate side of the Hill

Listen and communicate in small groups:

But lawmakers and their staff should also understand that the tea partiers are reacting merely to a “caricature of the reform bill presented by right-wing media outlets” and aren’t intimately familiar with the legislation, the memo says.

“[D]on’t assume common myths about this bill have been debunked,” lawmakers are told. “Be prepared to explain that there are no death panels, that Medicare is in fact strengthened, and that reform is not a government take-over, but it is an attempt to crack down on the abusive practices of health insurance companies by providing oversight and increasing competition.”

Tea Party activists sure have come a long way — from being greeted by Purple Shirted-Hounds and race-card players and conspiracy theorists and vulgarians…to “light snacks, H20, and coffee” with Talky McTalkingPoints aides on the Hill.

But they’re still not listening.

Get louder. Remember: There are no inevitabilities in Washington. Demcare is not a fait accompli. Stop it now, don’t rely on politicians to repeal it later.

And note well: The government health care Trojan Horse is riding in a bigger Trojan Horse for Nancy Pelosi’s Big Guv agenda:

Pelosi said passing the bill would allow Dems to undertake a “debate” with Republicans over “what is the balanced role that government should have.”

“We have to take it to the American people, to say, this is the choice that you have,” she said. “This is the vision that they have for your health and well being, and this is the vision that we have.”…

Pelosi also sought to reassure those unhappy with the Senate bill by stressing that future legislation would follow, suggesting that after they passed this legislation Dems might try to do away with the insurance industry’s antitrust exemption, among other unnamed initiatives.

“Kick open that door, and there will be other legislation to follow,” she said. “We’ll take the country in a new direction.”

Yeah: Hurtling down the progressive cliff.

***

Let them laugh. They’ve been trying to minimize the Tea Party movement all year.

Reverse Midas Touch: House Democrat won’t attend Obamacare Road Show in Ohio; Update: Protesters line streets, video added

Photoshop: Mr Right

Cue The Police: Don’t stand so, don’t stand so, don’t stand so close to me…

Representative John Boccieri, Democrat of Ohio, whose vote on major health care legislation could be crucial to the outcome, will not be attending President Obama’s health care rally on Monday in Strongsville, Ohio, not far from Mr. Boccieri’s own district, a spokeswoman said.

Mr. Boccieri is focusing instead on a major infrastructure announcement this morning at Akron-Canton Airport, where the chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, Randy Babbitt, delivered a $16.6 million check for a runway extension and improvement project.

Mr. Boccieri has said the runway project would create up to 60 jobs and lift the local economy. The runway work is part of a 10-year, $110 million capital improvement plan at the airport that began in 2008.

In recent days, Mr. Boccieri has indicated that he is undecided on the current version of the health care legislation. In November, he was one of 39 Democrats who voted against the House bill.

Via the NYT.

The time for talk is over. The time to kill the bill, stop the constitution-butchering slaughter house, and start over is now.

***

Protesters are lining the streets in Strongsville — making their voices heard:

Opponents of President Barack Obama’s health care proposals turned out early to protest outside a suburban Cleveland recreation center he plans to visit.

Protesters stretched for several blocks leading to the president’s this afternoon speaking location in Strongsville.

They waved to passing vehicles and held signs including “Don’t stick me with your Obamacare” and “Kill the bill.”

Here’s video:

Apparently, someone fainted again at Obama’s rally (flashback here and here). The pricetag and corrupted process behind this monstrosity should make anyone feel ill.

***

Feel the ghost of Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinksy:

She was a fresh force in politics, a former TV journalist who won election to Congress in 1992 from a district outside Philadelphia that Republicans had held since 1916. Promising to oppose new tax hikes and fight to hold down federal spending, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky came to Congress on the back of President Clinton’s coattails.

Then she became the margin of victory for Clinton’s 1993 budget, which actually eliminated the deficit for the first time in decades by raising federal taxes on the middle class. She knew she was committing political suicide but felt it was the right thing to do. As she cast her vote, Republicans salivated at the opportunity to defeat her — filling the chamber with shouts of, “Goodbye Marjorie.” She was defeated in the next election.

Now, as Democrats try to corral the needed votes to push President Obama’s healthcare reform package across the finish line, conservatives have made no secret that they plan to use the same playbook to defeat moderates in usually Republican districts who vote for the bill. Already, Americans for Responsible Health Care — a 527 campaign group funded by a single wealthy individual, the same one that backed Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown in his upset victory in January — is running radio ads in seven states — Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia — warning members of Congress who already voted for the bill once not to do it again.

Endless “Time for talk is over” tour hits Cleveland, Ohio on Monday; Update: More signs of No-mentum

Calling all Tea Party activists: Make sure to make your voices heard in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday when President Obama comes to town.

They’re piggy-backing Democrat fundraisers onto the Demcare salvation road show — just as they did in St. Louis, Missouri.

Will Dems flee from the Reverse Midas White House touch like they did yesterday?

At least one Democrat is taking the risk: Ohio Dem. Gov. Ted Strickland:

…in Ohio, Gov. Ted Strickland is making sure his schedule is cleared for next week’s visit by the president. Strickland, who is facing a tough challenge in his re-election bid from Republican John Kasich, will join Obama in northeast Ohio on Monday to promote his health care plan, a Strickland aide said.

The first-term Democrat, saddled with a difficult economy and a state jobless rate nearing 11 percent, led Kasich by five points in a mid-February poll by Quinnipiac University.

Strickland will get some political help from the administration on the same day as the president’s visit. Vice President Biden is headlining a fundraiser for the governor on Monday night in Cleveland.

With a tip of the hat to Doc Zero, who cracked on Twitter that “Democrats love Obama campaign visits like the citizens of Tokyo rush to have their pictures taken with Godzilla,” run for your lives!

***

Update: More signs of No-mentum…

More than two dozen Democrats are expected to vote against the healthcare reform bill that will hit the House floor in the coming weeks.

At least 25 House Democrats will reject the healthcare reform legislation, according to a survey by The Hill, a review of other media reports and interviews with lawmakers, aides and lobbyists. Dozens of House Democrats are undecided or won’t comment on their position on the measure.

And more:

A group of Hispanic lawmakers on Thursday will tell President Barack Obama that they may not vote for healthcare reform unless changes are made to the bill’s immigration provisions.

The scheduled meeting comes as Democratic leaders and the White House are struggling to craft a final bill that will attract 216 votes in the lower chamber.

Readers of the day

Making their voices heard, some of our readers made the road trip from Chicago to St. Louis to protest the Obamacare Road Show at the St. Charles High School. Every voice counts:

One group of folks on Bennett Avenue journeyed from Chicago to hold signs protesting health care reform. Stefanie Wilson, 44, daughters Ellery, 18, and Charlotte, 16, said they drove four hours along with friend Ryan Szumny, 20, after hearing about Obama’s visit through columnist Michelle Malkin’s Web site.

Wilson said she had attended every Tea Party event in Chicago. “I really believe that health care is not the government’s business.”

If you can be in D.C. on March 16 for the people’s surge against Demcare, check in here for more info and details.

Make your voice heard: Counter-protest the Obamacare Road Show; St. Louis Oba-Kabuki event is closed-door, invitation-only

This is it, Tea Party people. This is the week for your on-the-ground mobilization to help drive a final nail into the Obamacare coffin. The perpetual campaigner-in-chief will be in Philadelphia today and St. Louis on Wednesday to rally his troops/stage props on a taxpayer-funded road show.

He said “make your voice heard” last week.

Make sure he and the MSM hear yours.

As usual, only a select few will get inside the events. So raise your voices outside.

It’s short notice to organize, but here are details on the Philly visit this morning:

President Barack Obama will take his health insurance road show to the Delaware Valley Monday when he speaks at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa. The event is free and open to the public but you must have a ticket to get in the door.

The tickets were all distributed on Saturday.

He’s scheduled to speak at 11:00am Eastern.

Arcadia University is located at 450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, PA 19038.

Here’s the website for the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots. Friends tell me they will be gathering near the front entrance on Easton Rd.

Details on the St. Louis speech and fundraiser on Wednesday:

The White House announced Saturday that President Barack Obama has chosen St. Charles High School as the backdrop for his speech next Wednesday on health care. The afternoon address will be by invitation only, and not open to the general public, his staff said in a release…

…After the St. Charles speech, the president is to head to downtown St. Louis for a campaign fund-raising event Wednesday night to raise money for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

While in Hannibal for Democrat Days, McCaskill told reporters that she expects — and will urge — that much of the DSCC money raised Wednesday be used to help Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the best-known Democrat running for the U.S. Senate.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Saturday that he expects to join Obama at some point during Wednesday’s visit.

St. Charles High School is located at 725 North Kingshighway Street, St Charles, MO 63301-1797. *Update: He is scheduled to speak at 3:50pm.*

More info:

Obama’s speech in St. Charles — his second trip to a suburban St. Louis high school within the last twelve months — is set to begin around 4 p.m. Unlike previous events here and around the country, the event is not being billed as a townhall forum — in other words, no questions please.

The event will be by “invitation only” — meaning the stands will likely be filled with guests of the school and local party officials.

Brace for rush hour highway closures as the president travels from St. Charles to downtown, where he will headline a 6 p.m. fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill — a key ally on Capitol Hill — at the Renaissance Grand hotel.

Air Force One is schedule to leave the area later Wednesday night.

This is Obama’s third trip to St. Louis since his inauguration last year. In July, he threw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game at Busch Stadium. Earlier, he marked his 100th day in office with an event at Fox High School in Arnold.

The McCaskill/Obama fundraiser will be held at the Renaissance Grand Hotel. More info:

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
6:30 PM
Renaissance Grand Hotel -*- 800 Washington Avenue -*- St. Louis, Missouri

RSVP Required

Ticket Levels:

$25 per person: Includes 1 Standing Ticket
$75 per person: Includes 1 Standing Ticket
$100 per person: Includes 1 Ticket with Priority Standing
$250 per person: Includes 1 Ticket with Premier Seating
$500 per person: Includes 1 Ticket with Ropeline Priority Seating

For more information please contact or Anna Jinkerson at (314) 592-2238 or showmevictoryfund@gmail.com

PAID FOR BY SHOW ME STATE VICTORY FUND, A JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE AUTHORIZED BY DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC AND MCCASKILL FOR MISSOURI 2012.

St. Louis Tea Party has info on a counter-rally 9:45 a.m. at the St. Charles Convention Center on Wednesday.

***

The NYTimes publishes its “handy road map” on Demcare. Be prepared:

THE ENDGAME This week, Mr. Obama will begin making what White House officials are calling the “closing arguments,” focusing on steep increases in insurance premiums and his insistence that a comprehensive overhaul is needed rather than the incremental approach Republicans are demanding. Mr. Obama’s final push will include visits to Philadelphia on Monday and St. Louis on Wednesday.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing for a procedural fight with Republicans over the reconciliation measure. The rules require provisions to focus on meeting budget targets, and policy changes with only an “incidental” fiscal impact will be struck out.

(This is why Democrats cannot make changes to the abortion provisions, and may need a third bill to resolve that issue.)

Democrats will go to the floor with a package they believe can pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian, aiming to complete it by March 26. Surprises are possible, and while debate on a reconciliation bill is limited to 20 hours, Republicans can offer unlimited amendments, which will mean politically charged votes intended to inflict damage ahead of the midterm elections.

Senate Democrats control 59 votes, so passage of the reconciliation measure is expected — especially with Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, a legendary protector of Senate rules, supporting the process.Even a 50-50 tie would pass it, because Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is the tie breaker.

Still, some House Democrats want assurances — perhaps a letter signed by 50 senators — but they may have to rely on Mr. Obama’s word.

Democratic leaders want lawmakers to make a simple calculation: vote yes and chalk up an accomplishment, or vote no and be painted as a failure. “You have got the pain, now get the gain,” is one new mantra.

How about some operating mantras for conservative activists:

Change the optics.

Kill the momentum. Kill the bill.

Don’t wait for promises of repeal. Stop the Demcare juggernaut now.

***

ABC News: Two Democrat no votes holding fast.

For the latest Demcare head count, see Jay Cost.

***

Update: Missouri activists, see Jim Hoft for counter-protest details!

“Anger in America,” MSNBC-style

Someone named Dylan Ratigan is apparently auditioning to take Keith Olbermann/Larry Scary O’Donnell/Chris Matthews’ place on MSNBC. These angry white men sure can work themselves up into a lather about angry white men. Watch him foam and hyperventilate while Tea Party activist Mark Williams sits quietly on the right:

Dude, look in the mirror:

Dems: Screw bipartisanship, full steam ahead on Obamacare hara-kiri

Scroll for updates…GOP Rep. Deal resignation makes House magic number 216….

They’re all in — and they’ve convinced themselves that you do not care about the process. They’ve learned nothing from the Tea Party protests, the town hall revolts, or the Massachusetts election. The White House/Democrat message: Screw you!

The White House called for a “simple up-or-down” vote on health care legislation Sunday as Speaker Nancy Pelosi appealed to House Democrats to get behind President Barack Obama’s chief domestic priority even it if threatens their political careers.

In voicing support for a simple majority vote, White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle signaled Obama’s intention to push the Democratic-crafted bill under Senate rules that would overcome GOP stalling tactics.

Republicans unanimously oppose the Democratic proposals. Without GOP support, Obama’s only chance of emerging with a policy and political victory is to bypass the bipartisanship he promoted during his televised seven-hour health care summit Thursday.

“We’re not talking about changing any rules here,” DeParle said. “All the president’s talking about is: Do we need to address this problem and does it make sense to have a simple, up-or-down vote on whether or not we want to fix these problems?”

DeParle was optimistic that the president would have the votes to pass the massive bill. But none of legislation’s advocates who spoke on Sunday indicated that those votes were in hand.

You remember DeParle as the overseer of the White House’s infamous Internet snitch brigade. More importantly, I’ve filled you in on her career as a Clinton-era health care bureaucrat-turned-corporate cash cow-turned Obama health czar in Culture of Corruption.

None of her lucrative corporate ties were mentioned, of course, as she posed as a crusading industry-basher on Meet the Press this weekend:

MS. DePARLE: I believe that the president will keeping fighting and that the American people want to have this kind of health reform.

MR. GREGORY: But you don’t have the votes yet?

MS. DePARLE: Well, look, the president will have more to say about that later this week, and he’s working with the Congress on how best to address that.

MR. GREGORY: Has he made a decision, especially given the results of this summit, that you’ve got to move forward with reconciliation, just go for a simple majority and, you know, losing the opportunity to try to bring some Republicans along?

MS. DePARLE: Well, look, he’s going to have more to say later this week about how he thinks is the best way to move forward. But I think what it’s important to remember here is that we have some fundamental problems with our insurance markets. We have insurance companies sending out premium increases of 39 percent out in California. These are problems that need to be fixed, and the president hears every day from Americans who are hurting because of that.

MR. GREGORY: Right. OK. But fixing those problems, you have to get through procedure to get there, and I’ve been told by several people the decision has been made. It’s reconciliation, go for the simple majority, or else the reforms you’re talking about simple won’t be possible.

MS. DePARLE: Well, I don’t know about that. But I do know this. The healthcare reform has already passed both the House and the Senate with not only a majority in the Senate but a super majority, and we’re not talking about changing any rules here. All the president is talking about is, do we need to address this problem and, and does it make sense to have a simple up or down vote on whether or not we want to fix these problems?

MR. GREGORY: A lot of talk at the summit about where public opinion is. And, and here’s one poll from CNN Opinion Research about how Congress should proceed, a similar bill, a new bill, or stop working on the bill. Nearly three-quarters of the public saying either start over or stop working. I wonder if you respond to Senator McCain who says the “unsavory deals,” in his words, that were made by this administration with pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies, really hurt the president’s effort overall?

MS. DePARLE: Well, first of all, I’m not sure what he’s talking about with deals with insurance companies. If you’ve watched your network or any others, you’ve seen a lot of the ads they’re running to try to stop reform. And I think we know why. I think we know that right now insurance companies are making the rules and that’s part of what the president’s…

MR. GREGORY: Right.

MS. DePARLE: …trying to change. So…

MR. GREGORY: But they did agree to more regulation and to allow people with previous, you know, prior conditions, because they’d get access to a wider of market of people who would be insured.

MS. DePARLE: I don’t know that they agreed to anything.

MR. GREGORY: There was a deal with pharmaceutical companies.

MS. DePARLE: I think…

MR. GREGORY: There was a deal with the senator from Nebraska…

MS. DePARLE: Well…

MR. GREGORY: …and deals for Louisiana and Florida’s both with regard to Medicaid.

MS. DePARLE: And let’s, let’s, let’s talk about that. The, the Medicaid provisions in the president’s proposal that he put out last week are not the same ones. And, in fact, all states are treated the same with respect to Medicaid. But the more important question, David, is are we going to move forward here or just start over? What is that really code for?

MR. GREGORY: Right.

MS. DePARLE: Is that, is that just code for let’s not do anything? And I don’t think that’s what the American people want. That’s not the people that I’m hearing from every day.

MR. GREGORY: But where’s the evidence–the, the president has said that Americans don’t want to wait. But you see the poll that I just showed, and I’m asking where, where’s the evidence that Americans don’t want to wait, that they really want to move forward? The only protests you’ve seen publicly are on the right in opposition to the bill. Is it a problem of apathy among those who support it or is it not really there?

MS. DePARLE: No. I think it’s a problem partly of who has the power in this whole equation, and I think that’s part of the president’s fighting for is that, right now, the people that he hears from every day–I get notes from him about people that he’s hearing from when he’s there out talking to them and the letters he gets–who can’t get insurance coverage because their child has a pre-existing condition. They have asthma, they can’t change jobs, their premiums are skyrocketing. So I leave the polls to others. What the problem he’s asked me to work on is to try to get the best, most effective way we can to help Americans who are dealing with these problems.

MR. GREGORY: Right.

MS. DePARLE: The small business people who…

MR. GREGORY: But you can’t…

MS. DePARLE: …can’t afford to keep providing coverage.

MR. GREGORY: But you can’t separate the lack of public support for an effort as you move forward on, on the policy. Can this be passed through Congress without support from the American people?

MS. DePARLE: I think there is support.

This is the new strategy of the Dems — to keep repeating out loud that they have the support and they have the votes (even as they urge their members to commit health care hara-kiri and go down with the ship against the will of their constituents).

Pelosi is looking into her mirror and into the cameras and repeating: I have the votes.

They are counting on wearing down their opponents, catching them off-guard, and taking their silence as consent.

As year two of the Tea Party movement begins, job number one is to stop the Obamacare juggernaut, restore true deliberation to the deliberative process, and revoke the consent of the governed to the backroom deals and generational theft being crammed down our throats in the name of compassion and “reform.”

Call your congressional rep. Pound the pavement. Make yourselves heard. Again and again.

***

Update: I’ve been hearing from some very irate Georgia readers about this all morning…

An e-mail alert from Congress Daily:

Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., announced today he will resign from Congress to devote his “full energies” to the governor’s race, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. One of seven Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor, Deal will step down from the House next Monday.

The earliest Deal would be replaced is probably late July, when Georgia holds its 2010 primary election.

Among other things, this means ObamaCare is one vote closer to passage. Democrats will now need only 216 votes in the House for a majority, and there is one less “no” vote. By Rep. Eric Cantor’s whip count, though, Democrats are probably more than ten votes short — for now.

The old “coconut” smear: Another white liberal bigmouth with race issues

Read this post »

Reconciliation, the public option, and Demcare revival

Looks like the Demcare peddlers have gotten a second wind. [...] Read the rest »

NYT: Brooklyn accent = RAAAAACIST!

Read this post »

It’s all the Tea Party’s fault

Read this post »

Tea Party Speaker Calls for a Lynching

At a tea party demonstration in Washington state last week, one of the speakers called for Democratic Senator Patty Murray to be hanged.

(AP)  SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – A speaker at an eastern Washington “tea party” gathering called for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to be hanged, drawing laughter and applause from the crowd.

The unidentified woman, captured by a local television crew while speaking from the podium Saturday, told the crowd in Clarkston that Murray should suffer the same fate as the character Jake in the western “Lonesome Dove.”

“What happened to Jake when he ran with the wrong crowd?” the woman asked. “He got hung. And that’s what I want to do with Patty Murray.”

The crowd erupted in laughter at the comment. Organizers estimated that approximately 500 people attended the weekend meeting of the Lewis & Clark Tea Party Patriots, held at the Asotin County Fairgrounds.

UPDATE at 2/18/10 7:41:57 pm:

And that wasn’t all. At the same event there was a sign calling for President Obama to be castrated.

[Video]

The most convoluted Tea Party=RAAACIST smear ever

Amy Bishop is the Obama-loving professor who is accused of gunning down her University of Alabama colleagues over tenure denial. [...] Read the rest »

An inconvenient question about the Mount Vernon Statement

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