Congress has lost its mind...

[dar512]

Originally Posted by classicman

Since when has the media been friendly to the R's anyway???

How long has Fox been in business?

[classicman]

Didn't realize he meant that one outlet. Misinterpreted it as the media in general.
No big deal - down boys.

[TheMercenary]

No shit, ya think?

Towns Walks on Thin Caucus Ice
By Tory Newmyer and Jackie Kucinich
Roll Call Staff
Oct. 22, 2009, 12 a.m.
Government Reform Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) is facing heat from up and down the Democratic ladder after locking Republicans out of his committee room this week in an ongoing spat over a mortgage lending controversy.

Towns’ move set off alarms in House Democratic leadership, with top staffers voicing growing concern Wednesday that the Oversight chairman is losing control of his panel amid a showdown with ranking member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). It was unclear Wednesday evening whether leaders would intervene, but aides made clear they were now monitoring the situation.

“It will be on the agenda going forward,” one senior Democratic aide said.

And while committee Democrats blasted what they called partisan cheap shots from their Republican counterparts, some also decried their own panel leadership for allowing the dispute to distract from other work.

“There seem to be a lot of theatrics, and I wish we would get beyond the theatrics and get some real work done for the American people,” said Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio), an Oversight member.

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_45/news/39788-1.html

[TheMercenary]

.

[TheMercenary]

More trouble for Demoncrats and ethic probes.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,1633862.story

[TheMercenary]

Power Hungry Demoncrats flex their muscles:

House Democrats blocked the public from attending the unveiling ceremony of their health care bill Thursday morning, allowing only pre-approved visitors whose names appeared on lists to enter the event at the West Front of the Capitol.

The audience at the crowded press conference included Hill staffers, union workers, health care providers and students, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who thanked them for attending.

Mrs. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders announced the chamber's long-awaited version of a health care overhaul, which would expand insurance coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans, costing less than $900 billion over 10 years.

The West Front of the Capitol -- where President Obama was inaugurated -- is traditionally open to the public. But the entrances were blocked off Thursday morning by metal fences, with Capitol Police officers standing next to staff members holding clipboards with lists of approved attendees.

"The steps of the Capitol are and should be open to the public," Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, said on the House floor Thursday night. But House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, denied the charge.

"I was there. I saw nobody turned away. I saw nobody precluded from attending," he told Mr. Cantor.

Videos posted on YouTube, including by Mr. Cantor's office, showed people being turned away by staffers or police. In the video from Mr. Cantor's office, a police officer tells a Republican staffer they are being denied access "per the speaker's staff."

By Thursday evening Republicans were using the closed-to-the-public event as a fundraising tool.

"Pelosi and her liberal allies want us to know as little about this legislation as possible, because it cannot stand up to public scrutiny. Why else would Pelosi forbid the public from attending the event?" the National Republican Congressional Committee said in its plea for contributions.

A 2008 Congressional Research Service report says using the Capitol's West Front usually requires a joint resolution of Congress, though in some cases a simple police permit will suffice.

"Events that entail the use of the West Front Steps of the Capitol, electricity on the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol, require more than 24 hours from setup to cleanup, require vehicles on Capitol Grounds for setup, or will have a large number of Members in attendance typically require a concurrent resolution," the report said.

Congress did not pass such a resolution. Asked about whether a special permit was issued, a Capitol Police spokeswoman referred calls to the House Sergeant at Arms Office, which didn't return calls seeking comment. Mrs. Pelosi's spokesman also didn't return messages asking about the authorization to close down the space.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...closed-public/

[classicman]

"Pelosi and her liberal allies want us to know as little about this legislation as possible, because it cannot stand up to public scrutiny. Why else would Pelosi forbid the public from attending the event?" the National Republican Congressional Committee said in its plea for contributions.

I call Bullshit. This information on this legislation is every-fuckin-where. They are more than happy to tell everyone what is in it.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by classicman

I call Bullshit. This information on this legislation is every-fuckin-where. They are more than happy to tell everyone what is in it.

Sure they are. It has never been about what they are telling us. It is what we are not being told.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Sure they are. It has never been about what they are telling us. It is what we are not being told.

I thought it was about not being transparent or not making the bill available for all to read prior to the floor debate and vote.....Ahhhh....different bitching and moaning.

Anyone can read the full bill, a two-page summary, a ten-page summary, 20 different fact sheets on the components of the bill and more.

http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/1...lth-care.shtml

But it won't tell some what they want to here....for that, there are the ideological ops ed from the other side. The ones that describe it as socialism, government take over of health care, screwing grandma.

Or as the Republican leader in the Senate said today, "...the public option may cost you your life."

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

I thought it was about not being transparent or not making the bill available for all to read prior to the floor debate and vote.....Ahhhh....different bitching and moaning.

Correct the bill was completely formed behind closed doors with no bi-partisan input. The ideas formed by committtee with no in put from anyone other than Demoncrats.

Anyone can read the full bill, a two-page summary, a ten-page summary, 20 different fact sheets on the components of the bill and more.

Of course you can read the Demoncratic Healthcare Bill. Rahm it down the throats of the people. Fact sheets out by the White House and the Dems. Partisan.

But it won't tell some what they want to here....for that, there are the ideological ops ed from the other side. The ones that describe it as socialism, government take over of health care, screwing grandma.

The facts are painful.

Or as the Republican leader in the Senate said today, [i]"...the public option may cost you your life."

I could only hope.

[TheMercenary]

Hey Redux. How about all those jobs the White House claims they made. To bad they can't show anyone how they got their numbers and most experts agree it is more smoke and mirrors bullshit from Rahm.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Correct the bill was completely formed behind closed doors with no bi-partisan input. The ideas formed by committtee with no in put from anyone other than Demoncrats.

In fact, the underlying bill (the one adopted in July) that the final bill mirrors in most respects, accepted 14-15 Republican amendments and rejected 25-30 amendments.

That's called majority rules.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Hey Redux. How about all those jobs the White House claims they made. To bad they can't show anyone how they got their numbers and most experts agree it is more smoke and mirrors bullshit from Rahm.

The 640,000+ jobs created or saved announced today is from data provided by the states, both red and blue states. BTW, these are separate from the 30,000 private contract jobs announced earlier (where the ap claimed a 10% over-statement).

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx

Even if they are off by 10%, the numbers dont lie that much.

And its been fun to watch Republican governors (and members of Congress) hold those checks up at public local events and proudly declare they are savng jobs....then go back to their office and bitch about the program.

Given that much of the ARRA money has yet to be spent, creating or saving more than 1-2 million jobs over the 18th month period envisioned in the bill seems about right to me. The talk of 3+ million ...probably not.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Fact sheets out by the White House and the Dems. Partisan.

The facts are painful.

I get it now.

Facts sheets from the White House and Democrats are partisan opinions......and partisan opinions from those opposed to the bill are facts.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

I could only hope.

You hope this bill may cost people their lives?

How sad or mean-spirited is that.

[spudcon]

Why fact sheets? Why not the 2000 sheet bill they're voting on?