Dutch officials call Sheehan’s theory blaming gay soldiers for the Srebrenica massacre ‘complete nonsense.’
Dutch officials call Sheehan’s theory blaming gay soldiers for the Srebrenica massacre ‘complete nonsense.’
Yesterday, ret. Gen. John J. Sheehan, the former Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) could harm the competency of the U.S. military. To back up his claim, he argued that Netherlands’ allowance of gay men and women to serve openly played a role in the devastating Srebrenica genocide in 1995. From his exchange with committee chairman Carl Levin (D-MI):
SHEEHAN: The case in point that I’m referring to was when the Dutch were required to defend Sbrenecia against the Serbs, the battalion was understrength, poorly led. And the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone polls, marched the Muslims off and executed them. That was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II.
LEVIN: And did the Dutch leaders tell you it was because there were gay soldiers there?
SHEEHAN: It was a combination –
LEVIN: Did they tell you that?
SHEEHAN: Yes.
Dutch officials, however, are forcefully rejecting Sheehan’s outrageous claim. “It is astonishing that a man of his stature can utter such complete nonsense,” said the Dutch defense ministry spokesman, pointing out that international investigations of the Srebrenica massacre found no evidence “that the sexual orientation of soldiers played a role.” The Dutch ambassador to the United States said she “couldn’t disagree more” with Sheehan’s statement, and Dutch caretaker Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop called the claim “‘damaging’ and not worthy of a soldier. ‘I don’t want to waste any more words on it,’ he said.” Gen. Henk van den Breemen, Dutch Chief of Staff at the time of the Srebrenica genocide, added that Sheehan was spouting “total nonsense.”
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ThinkFast: March 19, 2010
ThinkFast: March 19, 2010
Yesterday, two House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November, Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) and Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), announced that they will vote yes on the new package. Additionally, previous “yes” votes who were wavering, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Rep. Mark Schauer (D-MI), announced that they will vote for the bill. Rep. Steven Lynch (D-MA), who supported the bill in November, says he will vote no.
“Republican lawyers” are already gearing up for a legal challenge against health care reform,” conducting research and drafting arguments for lawsuits that could be filed within days or weeks, particularly if House leaders decide to go forward with a ‘deem & pass’ rule.’”
“The White House is nearing a deal with a bipartisan group of senators to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and pave the way for more detainees to be tried before military commissions,” the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal is being worked out with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Carl Levin (D-MI) and Richard Durbin (D-IL). “Senate Democratic aides say Mr. Graham believes two other Republicans are willing to join the compromise.”
A federal grand jury yesterday subpoenaed documents from the National Republican Senatorial Committee as part of its investigation into what actions Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) undertook to cover up his affair. “The issuance of subpoenas by the U.S. Department of Justice in addition to the Senate Ethics Committee indicates a new phase in the investigations, casting further doubt on the political future of Ensign, who a year ago was a rising GOP star.”
In an interview with Bloomberg News, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, “I don’t see a set of sanctions coming along that would be so detrimental to the Iranians that they are going to stop that program.” He added, “So ultimately, the solution has to be a negotiated one.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham and Glenn Beck Agree: Health Reform Is Like A Japanese Bombing Attack
Sen. Lindsey Graham and Glenn Beck Agree: Health Reform Is Like A Japanese Bombing Attack
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Picking up on Graham’s theme, Glenn Beck today similarly smeared health reform as the attack on Pearl Harbor. On his radio show, Beck intoned that reform “is like Pearl Harbor” because “people will wake up” to the “battle”:
BECK: The second thing is to prepare yourself. This is a battle. Health care is a battle. It’s a battle — it’s not the war. It’s a battle. Believe me, if you are a group that has values and principles, and you are peaceful, your power is about to go through the roof, not through the floor. Because people are — this event is like Pearl Harbor. It will wake people up and they’ll go, “wait, wait, wait. What did they just do?”
Listen here:
Blasting Graham’s remarks, Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) — a Japanese American who was interned in a prison camp during World War II because of his heritage — said he was “disheartened” that the South Carolina senator “chose racially tinged rhetoric to express his opposition to health care reform.” He added, “there is a way to engage in healthy debate without alienating Asian Americans, who are an important part of this democracy and healthcare reform.”
Disregarding Honda’s plea for a substantive and nonracial health reform debate, Graham explained that his “comments really reflect the fanaticism of the Democratic leadership. I don’t know whether it’s sake or moonshine but no sober person would do this.” “For the senator to add ‘moonshiners’ to an already unsavory sake and suicide statement does a disservice to the underlying issue,” Honda replied in a statement. “I question who has, in fact — to use the senator’s words — lost their political mind.”
ADL asserts Gen. Petraeus ‘erred’ in his recent congressional testimony.
ADL asserts Gen. Petraeus ‘erred’ in his recent congressional testimony.
In his recent testimony (pdf) before the Senate Armed Services Committee, CENTCOM chief Gen. David Petraeus stated that “insufficient progress toward a comprehensive Middle East peace” is among the “issues that serve as major drivers of instability, inter-state tensions, and conflict.” Today, the Anti-Defamation League released a statement accusing Gen. Petraeus of error:
The assumptions Gen. Petraeus presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee wrongly attribute “insufficient progress” in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and “a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel” as significantly impeding the U.S. military mission in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and in dealing with the Iranian influences in the region. It is that much more of a concern to hear this coming from such a great American patriot and hero.
The General’s assertions lead to the illusory conclusion that if only there was a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the U.S. could successfully complete its mission in the region.
Gen. Petraeus has simply erred in linking the challenges faced by the U.S. and coalition forces in the region to a solution of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and blaming extremist activities on the absence of peace and the perceived U.S. favoritism for Israel. This linkage is dangerous and counterproductive.
Whenever the Israeli-Arab conflict is made a focal point, Israel comes to be seen as the problem. If only Israel would stop settlements, if only Israel would talk with Hamas, if only Israel would make concessions on refugees, if only it would share Jerusalem, everything in the region would then fall into line.
This is a clear misrepresentation of what Gen. Petraeus said. Petraeus offered his professional military opinion — shared by many others, including the 2006 Iraq Study Group — that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a key driver of instability in the Middle East, and that working toward a resolution to the conflict is an essential U.S. national security interest. The ADL offered no facts to dispute this conclusion.
DADT Repeal Opponent Blames Srebrenica Genocide On Gay Servicemembers In The Dutch Military
DADT Repeal Opponent Blames Srebrenica Genocide On Gay Servicemembers In The Dutch Military
Ret. General John J. Sheehan, former Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), arguing against repeal. Sheehan argued that repeal should not occur unless the review of the policy shows that a change would improve the U.S. military with no net-negative consequences.
Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) asked Sheehan whether he had heard any complaints about unit cohesion or morale in his experience with NATO allies who have integrated forces. Sheehan not only said that he did, but he said that having openly gay men and women serve could affect combat cohesion. Singling out the Dutch military’s response to the Srebrenica genocide by the Serbs in 1995, Sheehan said that the Netherlands’ allowance of gay men and women to serve openly actually played a role in the massacre:
SHEEHAN: The case in point that I’m referring to was when the Dutch were required to defend Sbrenecia against the Serbs, the battalion was understrength, poorly led. And the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone polls, marched the Muslims off and executed them. That was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II.
LEVIN: And did the Dutch leaders tell you it was because there were gay soldiers there?
SHEEHAN: It was a combination –
LEVIN: Did they tell you that?
SHEEHAN: Yes.
LEVIN: That’s my question.
SHEEHAN: They included that as part of the problem.
LEVIN: That there were gay soldiers among the Dutch force.
SHEEHAN: The combination was the liberalization of the military, the net effect of basically social engineering.
Later in the hearing, former Air Force Major Michael Almy — who had been discharged because of DADT — cited his experience with the Dutch army, describing their integration of openly gay soldiers as a “non-issue.” Levin also disputed Sheehan’s charge that gay men and women were not great fighters and contributed to the genocide:
LEVIN: I think we all remember Srebrenica. But I think that any effort to connect the failure on the part of Dutch to the fact that they have homosexuals or did allow homosexuals I think is totally off target. And I’ve seen no suggestion of that, I’ve seen the failures that you talk about general, that their training being peacekeeping and not being trained to do the combat work that needed to be done is accurate. In terms of any attribution to the fact that they have allowed gays in the military is no more on point than the fact that they may have allowed Dutch Africans or women, if there were women. [...]
They were trained to be peacekeepers, not peace enforcers. I totally agree with that. But to slip over, slide over from that into a suggestion that it had something to do with the fact that homosexuals were allowed in the Dutch army suggests that somehow or other homosexuals are not great fighters. And I think that’s totally wrong.
Watch it:
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) also disputed Sheehan’s argument that integrated foreign militaries were somehow less combat ready, citing the British force, which has served alongside U.S. servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Srebrenica genocide was the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II. In July 1995, over 7,000 Bosnian Muslims by the Bosnian Serb Army. A force of 450 Dutch soldiers, serving as U.N. peacekeepers, were unable to prevent the massacre, but that had nothing to do with the fact that their force was integrated.
Michael Steele Delivers Joe Wilson-Like Policy Analysis Of CBO Report: ‘That’s A Lie’
Michael Steele Delivers Joe Wilson-Like Policy Analysis Of CBO Report: ‘That’s A Lie’
Earlier today, the Congressional Budget Office released a preliminary analysis of the health care reform reconciliation package, concluding that it would cost $940 billion over 10 years, reduce the deficit by $138 billion over 10 years and by $1.2 trillion over 20 years. Republicans, however, are either dismissing the numbers or asserting that the report shows that health care reform is not “gonna save the taxpayers’ money.”
On CNN today, RNC Chairman Michael Steele — who has previously said he doesn’t “do policy” — took a page out of Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-SC) book and directly accused the CBO of lying:
STEELE: Can you just give me an honest number, Rick? How much do you really, legitimately think, adding, using the president’s number, 30 million people to a health care system that you just said doesn’t work is going to cost the American taxpayer? How much you think it’s really gonna? $940 billion dollars over ten years. So, you telling me an additional $940 billion dollars a year is going to make all of our problems go away?
SANCHEZ: According to the calculations that we did and according to the calculations the Democrats are announcing today, it’s going to save in the deficit for the United States citizens $1.2 trillion. Do you believe that’s not true?
STEELE: Ok, can I, I got two words for you — three words, three words.
SANCHEZ: Go, go.
STEELE: That’s a lie.
When Sanchez pointed out that Steele is “arguing with the CBO,” Steele responded by saying, “let me tell you about the CBO.” “Since they’ve been taken down to the woodshed at the White House last year, you can’t believe the numbers,” said Steele. “CBO is only as good as what you put into it.” “You’re saying the president of the United States is corrupted the CBO with a personal phone call or visit?” asked Sanchez. Steele then backtracked a bit, claiming that he was “just saying that, look, this whole process has not worked on behalf of the American people.” Watch it:
This isn’t the first time Steele has accused President Obama of intimidating the CBO into changing its numbers. In December, cited a July 2009 meeting at the White House with CBO head Douglas Elmendorf and other economists — which he said was the Obama taking Elemendorf “to the woodshed” — to dismiss a positive CBO score for health care legislation. “All of a sudden they’re getting these numbers that fall right within the framework of what they’re trying to do,” said Steele. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called Steele’s claim “delusional.”
Additionally, it’s odd that Steele says “you can’t believe the numbers” ever since that July 2009 meeting because Steele and the RNC have cited CBO numbers since then to support their arguments. In fact, as recently as March 5, the RNC invoked the CBO to criticize Obama’s proposed bank fee.
VIDEO: Bret Baier Interviewing Obama Vs. Bret Baier Interviewing Bush
VIDEO: Bret Baier Interviewing Obama Vs. Bret Baier Interviewing Bush
Yesterday, Fox News anchor Bret Baier aired his 19-minute exclusive interview with President Obama, where he frequently interjected and interrupted the President. (Raw Story counted 16 such instances.) The right wing gave Baier kudos for the interview, saying he “showed us how a genuine professional TV journalist works.”
Baier’s tenacity, however, seems reserved only for Democratic presidents. His interviews with President Bush were far friendlier, with questions like, “What are you reading now?” and “Do you believe that there hasn’t been a terrorist attack on U.S. soil in more than seven years because of the policies your administration has implemented?”
Today on Fox News, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace defended Baier’s technique, saying that he needed to get in more questions and prevent Obama from “giving talking points.” But Baier had no problem with allowing Bush to give talking points in interviews. ThinkProgress has compiled some moments of Baier’s final interview with Bush versus his recent interview with Obama. Watch it:
This compilation doesn’t even include Baier’s infamous January 2008 documentary “George W. Bush: Fighting to the Finish,” on which he remarked:
We talked a lot about President Lincoln. And there’s going to be a lot of people out there who watch this hour and say, is he trying to equate himself with Lincoln?
I tell you what — he thinks about Lincoln and the tough times that he had during the Civil War. 600,000 dead. The country essentially hated him when he was leaving office.
And the President reflects on that. This is a President who is really reflecting on his place in history.
Note that despite Baier’s attempts to back up Bush’s delusional comparison, Lincoln wasn’t “hated” when he left office; he was assassinated just after being re-elected by an overwhelming margin.
‘Holder-in-Chief’ Coburn issues far-fetched threat against Democrats who switch votes in favor of health reform.
‘Holder-in-Chief’ Coburn issues far-fetched threat against Democrats who switch votes in favor of health reform.
During a GOP press conference today, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) issued a far-fetched threat against those Democrats who are considering switching their votes to support health reform. “If you voted no and you vote yes and you lose your election and you think any nomination to a federal position isn’t going to be held in the Senate, I’ve got news for you, it’s going to be held,” Coburn said. Calling Coburn the “holder-in-chief,” Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) said, “I look forward to those holds.” Watch it:
To be clear, Coburn — who has placed holds on everything from veterans benefits bills to sanctions against a mass-murdering African militia — is targeting the small number of Democrats who switch their votes, and then are subsequently defeated, and later nominated by President Obama for a Senate-confirmed federal appointment. In other words, Coburn’s threat pertains to a highly improbable event. “There is no limit to what the other side will do to protect the insurance companies,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
Summers Takes On Boehner: ‘Punk Staffers’ Aren’t The Problem, Bank Lobbyists Are
Summers Takes On Boehner: ‘Punk Staffers’ Aren’t The Problem, Bank Lobbyists Are
Yesterday, speaking at the American Bankers Association governmental relations summit, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) told the gathered bankers to fight Congressional financial reform efforts. “Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you and stand up for yourselves,” Boehner said.
Today, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Summers fired back at Boehner, saying that bankers certainly do not need any help in their effort to blunt regulatory reform:
“I do not think that those who want to address these issues are ‘little punk staffers’ who need to be stood up to,” Summers said in a speech at the National Press Club…“At a moment when there are four lobbyists per member of the House and Senate working on this issue, we in the Administration do not believe that the prominent issue is allowing bankers to stand up for themselves.”
House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) also wrote a letter to Boehner, saying, “I am appalled that a Leader of the House, who must know what good work is done by our staffs, would take such an inaccurate cheap-shot at these people, for the purpose of ingratiating himself with bankers.” Frank called on Boehner to apologize for the remark.
Boehner’s remarks are simply part of a long-running effort by Republicans to ingratiate themselves with the financial industry. Boehner has met with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to troll for campaign contributions, while Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, “said he visited New York about twice a month to try to tap into Wall Street’s ‘buyers remorse’” with Democrats. Back in December, House Republicans huddled with more than 100 financial services lobbyists to come up with a strategy for killing financial reform. And just today, as Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) told the ABA summit that “if there were 59 Senate Republicans, ‘you wouldn’t have to worry’ about a new consumer agency.”
But as Summers noted, it’s not as if the financial services industry and its allies need any help. The Chamber of Commerce has already pledged to spend $3 million fighting financial reform, and that’s chump change compared to what the banks themselves spend. All told, the financial services industry spent $500 million on lobbying in 2009. In their respective careers, Boehner has received $3.4 million from the financial services industry, while Shelby has received $5.2 million, which is $2.2 million more than he’s received from any other industry.
Cross-posted on The Wonk Room.
Rep. Steve King and Glenn Beck agree: Voting for health reform on Sunday is ‘an affront to God.’
Rep. Steve King and Glenn Beck agree: Voting for health reform on Sunday is ‘an affront to God.’
With this morning’s release of the Congressional Budget Office’s reconciliation package score, the House appears ready to vote on health care reform this Sunday. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) — speaking with Fox News host Glenn Beck on his radio show this morning — said the timing of the vote is unholy. He warned that Democrats intend to “take away the liberty that we have right from God” on “the Sabbath, during Lent.” Beck agreed, calling the Sunday vote an “affront to God,” and something “our founders would have never” done “[o]ut of respect for God”:
KING: They intend to vote on the Sabbath, during Lent, to take away the liberty that we have right from God. [...]
BECK: You couldn’t have said it better. Here is a group of people that have so perverted our faith and our hope and our charity, that is a — this is an affront to God. And I honestly, I don’t think anybody is like, “yes, and now what we’ll do is we’ll vote on the Sabbath.” But I think it’s absolutely appropriate that these people are trying to put the nail in the coffin on our country on a Sunday — something our founders would have never, ever, ever done. Out of respect for God.
On Palm Sunday in 2005, the Republican-controlled Senate passed a controversial bill to allow a federal court to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo. The House passed the same bill shortly after midnight on Monday morning.
Bachmann: ‘I don’t mean any disrespect’ when I accuse the media of ‘treason.’
Bachmann: ‘I don’t mean any disrespect’ when I accuse the media of ‘treason.’
As ThinkProgress noted yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) accused the media of “treason” on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Monday, claiming that they are “not telling this story” that Speaker Nancy Pelosi “would even consider having us pass a bill that no one votes on.” When Bill Bennett suggested on his radio show today that the media has shown “disgust” over the parliamentary procedures, Bachmann agreed, adding that she doesn’t “mean any disrespect” when she refers to the press as the “treason media”:
BENNETT: Are you kind of surprised with even the media’s disgust with the procedures?
BACHMANN: Well, I’m amazed that they actually were willing to be shocked. Because for most of the time they have been, and you know, I don’t mean any disrespect, but they’ve been treason media. They haven’t been telling the whole story. Unlike the shows like yours. You’re doing that.
Listen here:
Bachmann’s contempt for the media is somewhat ironic considering she courts them so habitually. In August, Smart Politics calculated that Bachmann appears on national cable news every 9 days — though the majority of those appearances were on Fox News and Fox Business.
Limbaugh’s ‘Cheap And Disingenuous’ Call For People To Jam Congressional Phonelines
Limbaugh’s ‘Cheap And Disingenuous’ Call For People To Jam Congressional Phonelines
For the past few days, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh has been urging his listeners to call Congress and oppose health care. Yesterday, he gleefully aired clips of journalists touting his project, urging his followers to keep up the pressure:
LIMBAUGH: So here are the numbers, the toll-free number for the Capitol Switchboard: 877-762-8762. The toll call number, the direct toll number is 202-224-3121. Now, we have these numbers at RushLimbaugh.com if you don’t have a way to write them down, if you’re driving around or something. If you have a smart phone, you can log on at a red light and get the numbers. Here they are again: 877-762-8762, I guess this is the third time now that I’m — or maybe I could just say this is a continuation of yesterday, still only the second time in history that I have advocated this. And there’s no better time than now. It is really crucial. I think all these phone calls that you made yesterday, there’s no question at all they had an impact. I mean everybody noted it at the Capitol Hill switchboard.
Limbaugh seems eager to be in the spotlight after his “spawn,” Glenn Beck, has been getting all the attention lately. To do so, Limbaugh is adopting a Beck-style tactic that he previously derided. In an interview with Politico last year, Limbaugh said that telling people to “call Washington” was “cheap and disingenuous“:
“I don’t rally people and haven’t since the first year of my radio show,” he wrote to POLITICO. “At that time, all local talk hosts were attempting to prove their worth by getting people to cut up gasoline credit cards, call Washington, etc. I thought it was cheap and disingenuous. The few times I did, early on, suggest people call Washington, the reaction to it from the media was that the response was not genuine (I shut down the House switchboard) because people only did what they did because ‘Limbaugh told them to.’“
On his show yesterday, Limbaugh admitted that he has “shied away” from urging people to call Congress in the past because his efforts could “delegitimize the whole thing.” He said that this time was different, however, because the media weren’t saying that “Limbaugh urged them to do it.” “They’re reporting it as a genuine outrage at the bill, and it is!” he said. “There’s no question.” Well, not really. In fact, even in the stories that Limbaugh highlights, the press reports that the calls are coming in because of Limbaugh — not because of a spontaneous outrage over health care. As The Hill wrote yesterday, the “unusual call volume” to Capitol Hill “began Tuesday afternoon after Limbaugh made a plea on his website for fans to call lawmakers.”
WellPoint Failed To Deliver Tens Of Millions Of Dollars It Promised To Help Uninsured Americans
WellPoint Failed To Deliver Tens Of Millions Of Dollars It Promised To Help Uninsured Americans
Health insurance companies have always claimed that they support “affordable, high-quality health care for every American” and are supportive of health care reform efforts and not simply concerned with their profits. To try to project this image of compassion for the uninsured, WellPoint Inc. — which recently came under fire for planning double-digit rate hikes in at least eleven states — pledged three years ago to use its charitable foundation to spend $30 million to assist the uninsured receive care.
A new investigative report by the Los Angeles Times finds that WellPoint’s foundation has completely failed to meet its promise of spending $30 million to help the uninsured. Rather, the company spent $6.2 million — a paltry 11 percent of what the company promised:
WellPoint’s public records indicate that from 2007 to 2009 the foundation gave less than $6.2 million in grants targeted specifically at helping uninsured Americans get access to coverage and care — barely one-fifth of what was promised and just 11% of the charity’s total giving over the last three years.
“It was just not something that the company really wanted to do,” said one former executive, who, like others interviewed for this story, asked not to be identified out of concern that discussing WellPoint could have adverse career consequences. “So it went by the wayside.”
The Times created a graph that charts WellPoint’s charitable giving since 2007 and showed how little of the insurers’ charitable spending actually went to helping the uninsured:
An investigation by Congress earlier this year found that WellPoint’s Chief Executive Angela F. Braly had a salary of $1.1 million last year and stock options valuing approximately $8.5 million, meaning that the company couldn’t spend anywhere near what it spends on just one of its own employees to help the uninsured it claims to care about.
Pete Sessions Agrees That ‘Deem And Pass’ Is Legitimate
Pete Sessions Agrees That ‘Deem And Pass’ Is Legitimate
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) is now the second Republican to reluctantly admit that “deem and pass” is a legitimate procedure that Republicans have used is the passed. Asked if he had ever voted for reconciliation or “deem and pass” since joining Congress in 1997, Sessions said that he had, but stressed that it was only in instances where the bills passed the House and Senate:
CALLER: I want to ask you a question. Have you ever voted for the the deem and pass any time since you’re in Congress? And another one. Have you ever vote for reconciliation process before? How about The Paycheck Act in 2001. Did you voted for that, sir?
SESSIONS: I believe I have. As part of processes where bills have been through the House and through the Senate as they go through the process to conference. I believe there have been times that I have voted for it. I think anybody here who is talking about this processes would recognize and understand that we are talking about the bill that will be probably the largest bill in the history of Congress that we vote on in our generation.
Watch it:
Indeed, as a member of the Rules Committee, Sessions has been a big supporter of deem and pass during periods of Republican majority, a process he now considers “a disgrace to the House of Representatives [that] tramples on democracy by attempting to silence the voice of the American people.” As Norm Orenstein reminds us, “in the last Congress that Republicans controlled, from 2005 to 2006, Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier used the self-executing rule more than 35 times, and was no stranger to the concept of “deem and pass.”
ThinkFast: March 18, 2010
ThinkFast: March 18, 2010
In a Washington Post op-ed today, former Democratic congresswoman Marjorie Margolies urges “wavering House Democrats” to vote for health care reform, saying that she doesn’t regret losing her seat after voting for President Clinton’s plan. “I am your worst-case scenario,” she writes. “And I’d do it all again.”
House Democrats acknowledged yesterday that the much-awaited Congressional Budget Office scoring of their reconciliation bill will not come out until sometime today, perhaps sinking chances of a vote on Saturday. The vote on the bill will now most likely occur on Sunday.
Yesterday, Idaho “became the first state to pass a law saying no thanks to part of President Obama’s health care proposal.” Gov. C.L. Otter said the law, which says that Idahoans are “free to choose or decline to choose any mode of securing health care services,” ensures that people are “treated as an individual, rather than as an amorphous mass whose only purpose in this world is to obey federal mandates.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that, for the first time ever, the United States will submit itself to the “universal periodic review” process of the U.N. Human Rights Council. “We are committed to holding everyone to the same standard, including ourselves,” Clinton said.
The Senate passed its $17.6 billion jobs bill yesterday along a 68-29 vote. The bill includes “a payroll tax break for small businesses and highway funding designed to spur job growth.”
Stupak dismisses nuns’ letter: I don’t listen to them, I listen to ‘leading bishops’ and Focus on the Family.
Stupak dismisses nuns’ letter: I don’t listen to them, I listen to ‘leading bishops’ and Focus on the Family.
Today, “60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns” sent a letter to federal lawmakers urging them to pass the Senate health care legislation. They decried the “false” information floating around about abortion provisions and said that the bill’s “historic new investments” for pregnant women are the “REAL pro-life stance.” The nuns’ letter was a significant and unusual break with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which continues to denounce the legislation. This afternoon, Stupak dismissed the nuns, saying that he listens to only male religious figures and far-right religious organizations:
Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Mich, responded sharply to White House officials touting a letter representing 59,000nuns that was sent to lawmakers urging them to pass the health care bill.
The conservative Democrat dismissed the action by the White House saying, “When I’m drafting right to life language, I don’t call up the nuns.” He says he instead confers with other groups including “leading bishops, Focus on the Family, and The National Right to Life Committee.”
It’s Stupak and the bishops, however, who are increasingly isolated. The nuns join other prominent pro-life figures and organizations — including the Catholic Health Association — in urging passage of the bill.
Bachmann: ‘MoveOn.org people’ are not ‘real people.’
Bachmann: ‘MoveOn.org people’ are not ‘real people.’
While yesterday’s tea party rally outside the Capitol drew an anemic crowd of about only 300, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) urged supporters to keep up the fight against health care reform for the rest of the week. Bachmann warned that Democrats will bring in “MoveOn.org people” “to really beat the living tar out them” — presumably referring to lawmakers who are not sure how they’ll vote — and called on “real people” to “keep flooding here”:
BACHMANN: And so what they plan to do is keep everybody here and beat the living snot out of them through Saturday and then try to get the vote on Saturday. That’s their goal. So, the main thing is the more people that can just keep flooding here between now and Saturday to keep the pressure up. Because my guess is they’ll probably be bringing in a lot of MoveOn.org people on Saturday to really beat the living tar out of them. That’s my guess. So the more we get real people here, the better.
Watch it (beginning at 0:35):
Bachmann’s “real people” comment is reminiscent of Fox News contributor Sarah Palin’s claim that “small towns” represent “the real America” where people are “pro-America.”
Boehner Tells Bankers To Fight Financial Reform: ‘Don’t Let Those Little Punk Staffers Take Advantage Of You’
Boehner Tells Bankers To Fight Financial Reform: ‘Don’t Let Those Little Punk Staffers Take Advantage Of You’
This week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the latest version of his financial regulatory reform bill, which aims to correct the deficiencies in the financial system that led to 2008’s economic crisis. The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive regulatory reform bill, and now that Dodd has given up on negotiating with recalcitrant Republicans, he is moving on an expedited timeline, with a markup scheduled for Monday.
It’s taken the Senate a year and a half after the financial crisis to even get to this point, but House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) told “an enthusiastic crowd of bankers” today that, even if the Senate passes a bill, reconciling it with the House version will take another year. “If the Senate is able to produce a bill, I think it’s just as likely that we’ll be talking about the same issue a year from now as we are right now,” Boehner said at the American Bankers Association government relations summit.
Boehner then added that the bankers should be standing up for themselves against “those little punk staffers” trying to write new regulations:
“Don’t let those little punk staffers take advantage of you and stand up for yourselves,” Boehner said. “All of us are hearing from our friends and constituents on lack of credit, you can’t get a loan, the more your government takes and taxes, the more regulations you have to comply with the more cost you have there and less amount you are going to have available to loan to customers.”
The fact that he’s willing to let another year lapse without putting in place new rules for Wall Street shows exactly where Boehner’s priorities lie. But it should come as no surprise, considering what Republicans have been up to this year.
In February, Boehner met “over drinks” with JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, where he “made a pitch” for Wall Street support by explaining that “Republicans had stood up to Mr. Obama’s efforts to curb pay and impose new regulations.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, “said he visited New York about twice a month to try to tap into Wall Street’s ‘buyers remorse’” with Democrats. These pitches had some effect too; last year, “major Wall Street players began sending an increasing share of their donations to Republicans.”
Prior to Boehner’s speech, American Bankers Association President Edward Yingling urged delay in the financial reform effort, because “every day that passes gives more leverage to [Banking Committee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL)].” In his career, Boehner has received $3.4 million from the financial services industry, which is $1.2 million more than he’s received from any other industry.
After Calling Self-Executing Rule Unconstitutional, Pence Admits He Previously Voted For It
After Calling Self-Executing Rule Unconstitutional, Pence Admits He Previously Voted For It
Last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) stirred faux outrage over the House Democrats’ plan to use a “self-executing rule” to pass the Senate health care reform bill, saying Americans would “have standing to sue against” the bill and that it’s “breathtakingly unconstitutional.” The claim has now turned into the latest fact-free GOP talking point to try to kill reform; Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) picked up on the theme yesterday. “It really tramples on the Constitution of the United States,” he said on the House floor.
Today, the Daily Caller’s Jon Ward asked Pence if it was “correct” to call the rule “unconstitutional.” “Well I think it’s probably unconstitutional,” he said, adding, “My background in law and constitutional issues suggests to me it’s unconstitutional.” But later in the interview, Pence admitted that he had voted for self-executing rules in the past:
THE DAILY CALLER: My question is, though, that Democrats say you voted for self-executing rules yourself on three occasions.
PENCE: Yeah, sure.
Pence said those votes were different because, he claims, the House is passing the Senate bill without technically voting on it. “The Senate bill has never passed the House.” Later, Pence admitted that the House wouldn’t actually be voting on the bill anyway:
THE DAILY CALLER: So procedurally they’re not voting for the Senate bill, and I understand your point about how legislation of this magnitude has never been passed, but for all practical purposes won’t it still be considered a vote for the Senate bill, a vote for reconciliation?
PENCE: I don’t think so.
Pence then became confused. “If you say that you don’t think this will be perceived as a vote for the Senate bill, you can’t go out and run ads against House Democrats saying they voted for health care,” the Daily Caller noted. “You lost me on that one,” Pence replied. “What do you mean?”
This morning on ABC, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) admitted that the self-executing rule is legal and has been used many times — even by Republicans — in the past. “The rules of the House allow for this type of deeming provision, it’s called a self-executing provision which means that once the bill, the rule for the next bill passes, the Senate bill is automatically is deemed as having passed,” he said.
‘Climate Crime Scene’ declared at Smithsonian’s David H. Koch Hall Of Human Origins.
‘Climate Crime Scene’ declared at Smithsonian’s David H. Koch Hall Of Human Origins.
Today, the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History unveiled a new exhibit named after right-wing billionaire polluter, David H. Koch. Greenpeace dispatched its Climate Crime Unit at the opening of the $20.7 million David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins in search of Koch, the billionaire scion of Koch Industries and founder of a vast network of conservative organizations that deny the threat of global warming. Greenpeace research director Kert Davies noted that the true Koch family legacy is “one of environmental crimes”:
While David Koch’s oil wealth may get his name on a museum exhibit, the Koch family legacy is one of environmental crimes, lobbying to block clean energy, and funding global warming denial front groups.
David Koch’s political organization, Americans For Prosperity, is re-launching its “Hot Air Tour” aimed at opposing climate and clean energy policy, and is mobilizing opposition to health care reform with Tea Party rallies and false cancer ads. More at the Wonk Room.
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