CNN Summarizes Health Care Summit in 2 Minutes - What Could Go Wrong?

CNN must be fearful that Barack Obama didn't fare very well in the health care summit last week. They put together a summary for those who missed the 7 hour summit condensing it into a two minute recap of the entire event. Surely they must realize when they are picking and choosing specific soundbites from an event of that length they are editorializing. If they realize they are editorializing you might think a news agency would make that point clearly. Don't strain yourself watching for such an admission, however.  It's missing along with the other 6 hours and 58 minutes they cut to make this summary.

You won't see a single word Paul Ryan uttered proclaiming the health care reform a fiscal train wreck. You won't see Obama cutting off Republicans as they are making clear arguments against the current proposed health care reform and offer reasoned and thoughtful alternatives. Nor will you see Democrats suffering from "annectdotitis" relating stories from constituents who wear their dead sister's teeth when dental coverage is not at issue.

What we do see is a montage of soundbites from Republicans suggesting they start over along with a few snarky responses from Obama on the use of the 2400 page bill as a prop. Worse still, is a montage of seemingly sincere Democrats suggesting there are many areas of agreement between the two sides followed by another montage of Republicans pointing to significant differences. The segment is concluded with Obama's final ultimatum. Having watched nearly all of the 7 hour summit, I would have summarized the event entirely differently. My summary would have been equally biased, perhaps even more so.   Then again I freely admit my bias, maybe it is time for CNN to do the same.



Related at Hot Air "CNN: We need a radical procedure to save the ObamaCare patient"
Cross posted at Potluck

Reconciliation a "Political Kamikaze Mission"

Senator Lamar Alexander made an appearance on "This Week" with Elizabeth Vargas to discuss the political ramifications of Democrats passing health care via reconciliation. Alexander declared it a Kamikaze mission and explains in the following clip:




I am still astounded, though I shouldn't be I guess, the Democrats are so willing to even consider taking this to reconciliation. Kamikaze is a great word for such a move. Democrats would likely lose power for many many years. It seems they are increasingly desperate to do this though. The big question is how many of the vulnerable Democrats who are sure to be sacrificed to the health care gods before Obama are willing to offer themselves up as human sacrifice. We've seen them do it before though I wouldn't be surprised if they would do it again.

#Liberalmovies and LOL's

A few of the #liberalmovies highlights from Twitter

Femme Patriot Dirty Harry Reid
Anthropocon  The Taxorcist
Snarkandboobs Terms of Appeasement
AlKennedy Crouching Liberal, Hidden tax hike
SooperMexican One flew over the constitution
ResistTyranny Dances With Deficits
Im_bonafide Who Framed Rangel Rabbit?



Plus a double feature round up of LOL's around the blogosphere:

Security in Action at Health Care Summit

What's He Thinking?

What's Al Gore Doing on Apple's Board Anyway and Uh Oh They're Onto You Al

More Cowbell

Weekend at Barry's

Live Snarking the Health Care Smack Down

Not an LOL but a real Blood Boiling post

Totally Unnecessary “Nugget” From The Blair House Kabuki Political Theatre

The Taxman   and Jedi Squirrels

Two Feet of Snow

Barry is a Bust

Blair House Reject

More Friday Funnies

Tea Parties in the UK

Move Along Nothing to See

That Wacky Liberal Logic

A closet conservative meets kindred spirits, tea parties and potluck suppers  can't be far behind can they?

Two polls 23,000 jobs and a joke

Beck's Babies Petition Mr. Pwesident - If you haven't heard this you must, it's hilarious.

LOL Sunday Funnies

Today's Delusional Moment Brought to you by ....

If something is going to derail you from rounding up the summit coverage it might as well be a boob war

Round up everything from media bias to booger boarding Max Blumenthal.  Was he hitting Hannah Giles?

Oh my God, My Cat's A Democrat - sad but true.  Still the cat has an extraordinary name.

Frank Luntz Focus Group on Health Care Summit

My apologies for slow blogging this week, we've had a death in the family so I have been busy with family this week. I wanted to take a moment to call attention to this Frank Luntz focus group conducted in Philadelphia last night to garner reactions to the health care summit yesterday. A few neighboring Bucks County residents participated in the focus group including one of my Facebook friends who is also a subscriber to this blog. She gave a great response to the reconciliation question at the end, great job!

The reactions in the group to the summit seem to cement the growing consensus that the GOP gained much from the event while the Democrats appear to have miscalculated that the summit would give them something of a green light to go ahead with reconciliation. The overwhelming response to Luntz's question on this point near the end confirms this.

Gergen: GOP "Had Their Best Day In Years"

This was a surprising much talked about review from David Gergen on CNN today:


The Fix lists winners and losers from the health care summit as well:
Tom Coburn was indeed highly effective:

Tom Coburn: The Oklahoma senator is among the most conservative voices in Congress but his remarks emerged as a -- rare -- rallying point during the day. Coburn's comments on the necessity of eliminating waste and fraud from the health care system drew nods from the president and kudos from a handful of Democratic and Republican politicians gathered at Blair House. In a room dominated by politicians trying to score political points or vamp for the cameras, Coburn stood out.

I've already mentioned Paul Ryan but here is a bit more:

Paul Ryan: Speaking of the Wisconsin Republican, it was clear that the president regards him as a serious thinker and adversary while his GOP colleagues often deferred to him on matters of health care and budget policy. Ryan helped burnish his credentials a rising star within the Republican party; he was partisan but drove his attacks using data rather than pure political rhetoric.

There is little dispute on the left and right Harry Reid was one of the key losers today:

Harry Reid: Reid is the consummate behind the scenes player. And, today he reminded us again of why. Reid, who spoke within the summit's first hour, was extremely combative -- a tone that seemed out of step with the overall tenor of the meeting in which most attendees tried to pay at least lip service to the idea of bipartisanship before launching into the attacks. Not Reid. "Let's make sure we talk about facts," Reid scolded Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). Later, he interrupted Coburn and said the Oklahoma Senator was trying to "filibuster."

Will update as I find new reviews
More at Memeorandum

"A Ponzi Scheme That Would Make Bernie Madoff Proud"

One of the highlights today, and there were quite a few, was Paul Ryan's rebuttal to Sheriff Joe Biden's pointless discussion on the deficit.  Ryan made clear any "savings" from the Democratic health care agenda were a result of "smoke and mirrors," specifically included to game the CBO.   Ed Morrissey has video of Paul Ryan's highlight from the morning session, including the takeaway quote:

The difference is this. We don’t think all the answers lie in Washington.

By federalizing the regulation of insurance, and by mandating exactly how it’ll work, you make it more expensive and you reduce the competition among insurers for peoples business. We want to decentralize the system, give more power to small businesses, more power to individuals, and make insurance compete more. But if you federalize it, you standardize it and mandate it, you do not achieve that. And that’s the big difference.

While I certainly had my doubts about this summit, and it may be clear that nothing substantive was accomplished, this worked very well for Republicans.  As Ed Morrissey noted after listing those fabulous reviews of the morning session, "Maybe the GOP sandbagged Obama the first time around?"  This was definitely not a replay of the House Republican retreat, the "A Team" showed up ready to play.

THE HILL’S A.B. STODDARD: “I think we need to start out by acknowledging Republicans brought their ‘A Team.’ They had doctors knowledgeable about the system, they brought substance to the table, and they, I thought, expressed interest in the reform.  I thought in the lecture from Senator John McCain and on the issue of transparency, I thought today the Democrats were pretty much on their knees.” (Fox News’ “Live,” 2/25/10)

Cross posted at Potluck

Health Care Summit Cartoon Kickoff

Michael Ramirez offers the perfect cartoon to kick off the Kabuki health care theater extravaganza.  In a surprising moment of bipartisanship, expectations for the summit are as low on the left as they are on the right.  Granted the reasons driving the low expectations on each side vary greatly, but for this brief moment we all seem to agree that nothing much will come of this stage show.  Small consolation to those who plan to endure the Kabuki performance today, at least we aren't the ones heading over the falls:

Kill the Beast

On the eve of the health care summit, CNN is the bearer of bad news for ObamaCare, the crucial voting block of Independents are screaming, "Kill the Beast."  A full 52% of Independents think Congress should start over while another 27% say stop working on health care altogether.  They are not the only ones though, Democrats appear to be joining the mob with 4 in 10 saying start over and another 10% saying stop all work on health care.  As you may have guessed, Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed with a mere 6% supporting the current legislation but 94% believe Congress should halt work on health care or start over from scratch.

More bad news for Kabuki theater, most believe the Democrats need to give up ground in order to gain bipartisan solutions:

Even though more people think Republicans are not doing enough to reach bipartisan consensus, 54 percent believe the Democratic party should take the first step toward developing bipartisan solutions to the country’s problems, the survey says. Forty-two percent say the GOP should take that first step.

Just over half of those questioned say the Democrats should give up more ground to achieve bipartisanship, while 43 percent want to see the GOP make more compromises.

“Americans feel the ball is in the Democrats’ court,” Holland added. “They may not be held responsible for the problem, but since they are in charge of the government, Americans appear to think they are responsible for the solution.”

The ball may be in their court but Democrats appear not to know what to do with it.  Both the House and the Senate appear to be engaged in a game of chicken each daring the other "you pass it," "no you,"  leaving Kent Conrad to declare health care dead.  Eric Cantor has been counting votes in the House and seems to agree with Conrad.  Cantor released a memo earlier today outlining the reasons he believes health care can not pass in the House.  Here's  the bottom line:

Cantor says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “will not be able to muster the votes needed to pass a Senate reconciliation bill in the House.”

He estimates that House Democrats will likely only be able to attract 202 votes out of the 255-member caucus, 15 votes below the 217-vote threshold they need to pass the bill.

Cantor blames weak anti-abortion language in the president’s health care proposal, as well as public sentiment as expressed in polling and the election results in the Massachusetts Senate special election.

Health care has been the B movie monster that continually resurrects from the dead.  There is no dead until  Obama accepts that he's lost or he loses his Democratic Congress.   Can he let it go?  Charles Krauthammer doesn't think so, "He thinks he needs heath care and because he believes in it and secondly because he thinks if he comes away with nothing after a year on health care he’ll be wounded in a way he’ll never recover.”

Oh Joy, The Reelect Campaign is Underway

Politico reports with just over a year in office and little to show for it but a divided nation and plummeting polls, the reelection campaign for Barack Obama is quietly underway.  Not so quiet, mind you, that it doesn't merit a headline in the news but I digress.  As usual Democrats familiar with the discussions are leaking like a rusty valve:

President Barack Obama’s top advisers are quietly laying the groundwork for the 2012 reelection campaign, which is likely to be run out of Chicago and managed by White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, according to Democrats familiar with the discussions.

The planning for now consists entirely of private conversations, with Obama aides at all levels indulging occasionally in closed-door 2012 discussions while focusing ferociously on the midterm elections and health care reform, the Democratic sources said. “The gathering storm is the 2010 elections,” one top official said.

But the sources said Obama has given every sign of planning to run again and wants the next campaign to resemble the highly successful 2008 effort.

Of course he wants the campaign to resemble the highly successful 2008 effort, unfortunately for him, he now has a record.  The cast of characters assembled to transform the failing Obama presidency into Hope and Change 2.0 is what we might expect.  The Chicago group including Valerie Jarrett, Robert Gibbs and will be joined by David Plouffe and Anita Dunn, famous for her Mao quotes.  Consistent with what we've come to expect from the Chicago team, operatives are already busy at work drafting nasty narratives about potential GOP candidates.

Themes for the campaign have not been chosen nor does it appear a decision has been made where to base the campaign. The anonymous leaker, ironically advises us not to expect a radical surprise:

The themes for Obama’s campaign are not yet chosen, but a top adviser said not to expect a radical surprise: “He knows who he is."

I think most of America has already gotten the radical surprise. Obama may know who is he is, sadly for him so do we.

H/T: Memeorandum
For More:
Pundit and Pundette and Jules Crittenden who also links this Sense of Events post, "Is Obama a Lame Duck Already?"

Wisconsin Planned Parenthood Ignores Sexual Abuse of 14 Year-old Girl

Via  Hot Air comes the latest Lila Rose undercover video expose of WI Planned Parenthood conspiring to avoid reporting the sexual abuse of a minor by a 31 year-old man.   Liveaction reports:

In the video, after hearing the girl is 14 and her boyfriend is "much older," the counselor says whether or not the situation will be reported by clinic workers "depends on the person you're disclosing that information to." When the girl says that her boyfriend is 31, the counselor tells her, "You don't have to say anything" about the statutory rape and instructs her, "Just give them the information that's needed." The counselor also confirms that the 31-year-old "boyfriend" will be paying for the abortion.

In Wisconsin, sex between an adult and a minor under age 16 is a felony, and health care professionals are required to report such cases to law enforcement immediately. The law specifically includes abortion providers in this requirement.

 Of course the "boyfriend" will not be reported, he will be paying because abortion is never about what is best for the woman, or in this case child, and the pre-born, it is about money.  It's an industry that holds much influence over the Democratic Congress and White House as witnessed by the inclusion of $11 billion dollars in funding in the President's health care bill.  Though the money is set aside for the innocuous sounding  "community health centers" much of it will find its way to Planned Parenthood much the same way stimulus money is going to fund new Planned Parenthood facilities.  These are our tax dollars hard at work "creating and saving."

Newt Gingrich Answers O'Reilly: Is Obama a Socialist?

Newt's answer, "of course he is."

Evan Bayh Grilled on "The View"

Politics Daily reported earlier on the grilling Evan Bayh took during his appearance on "The View." Joy Behar starts the ball rolling when she compares Bayh's retirement to Sarah Palin.

"I hate to say it, but you sound like Sarah Palin right now," Joy Behar said, accusing the senator of quitting his job before his work was done.

"Do you want to look at my hand?" he joked, referring to the talking points Palin wrote on the palm of her hand when she appeared before the National Tea Party Convention earlier this month.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck, the conservative in the group, pounced on Bayh's remark about Palin. "You sit here and say, 'I'm sick of the partisanship,' yet you throw a cheap Sarah Palin joke in, so I don't really understand or believe you," Hasselbeck said. "I just think if you're going to participate in that, you can't be saying the other things. So I want to hold you accountable."

Of course, as you will see in the video Behar can't stand to pass up the opportunity to join in on a good Palin joke:



Barbara Walters didn't seem to buy Bayh's fed up with politics routine and ended the interview with the following:

"Come back and see us, especially when you run again in 2016."

ObamaCare 2.0 Kicks Off Kabuki Week for Health Care

The wonders of wonders of Obamacare 2.0 were revealed today in advance of the Kabuki health care summit on the 25th. I am still poring over the changes that enable the White House list these selling points to promote the latest version of government health care:

* It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today – and makes coverage more affordable for many more.
* It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress will have.
* It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
* It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
* It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years – and about $1 trillion over the second decade – by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

Michael Cannon describes this roll out as "Meet the New Plan, Same as the Old Plan." His caveat, the regulation board to control health insurance costs makes it even more bureaucratic. Philip Klein tweets almost everything about the bill will make ObamaCare more costly than the Senate bill.

Marc Ambinder notes the "new" bill could end up benefiting either party depending on whether or not the public perceives the bill as something new:

The way forward: either rank-and-file Democrats accept this bill -- Obama's bill -- or they don't.  Republicans could suddenly discover an upside in supporting it, which is doubtful, but if they could also reduce the number of procedural delays to help the Democrats speed its passage. If not, we might be faced with the spectacle of Republicans trying to drag the votes out through the midterms. This could benefit either party; it depends on whether Americans view this bill, which is basically a product of the bills they don't like, as something new. The reason why they might do this is because they never really opposed the provisions in the bills or the goals of the bills; it was the process that alienated them so profoundly, making health care in 2009 unlovable.  

 Daily KOS among others were treated to an early morning conference call to enlist support of the left leaning media to sell the "new" bill. Expect a full court press to sell this bill, they're desperate.  The White House strategy appears to rest, in part, on the continued vilification of health insurers. They have been pouncing on the rate hikes of one insurer to make this case.  Ambinder notes Democrats hope to put Republicans in a politically untenable position of having to justify opposing regulation of rate hikes by the insurers.

 Ambinder's commentary smacks at the White House for "governing through the New York Times," suggesting the "centerpiece" of the legislation was revealed to the Times specifically to convince the public to grab their pitchforks and stick it to insurers by supporting Obama's bill.  Don't expect the White House to be honest enough to admit that many states already have the power to regulate premiums.

George Will on the Broken Government Meme

Via Newsbusters H/T Instapundit

George Will is having quite the weekend.  First he gave a fantastic speech at CPAC then he nails Evan Bayh on partisanship in Washington.  This is pitch perfect

Potluck Anyone?

Get acquainted with a few of my favorite women bloggers at our new group blog Potluck.  Look who's cooking the conservative dish:

• Adrienne from Adrienne’s Corner
• Pat from And So It Goes In Shreveport 
• Anne from Backyard Conservative
• Carol from Carol’s Closet
• Fuzzy at Fuzzy Logic 
• Obi’s Sister, where else but from Obi’s Sister
• PJ Mom from Political Junkie Mom
• Jill from Pundit & Pundette 
• Carol from  No Sheeples Here. 
• Bread upon the Waters
• Kris from Shout First Ask Questions Later

Many thanks to Jill from Pundit & Pundette for pulling this all together and for inviting me.

"You know, casting the other side as somehow nefarious and evil and poorly intended is the oldest trick in the book."

Paul Ryan's answer to a question posed in a condensed interview in the New York Times was a thing of beauty. Consider the actual question posed by the Times author Deborah Solomon:

He seems genuinely pained by what he has called the “obstinacy” of Congressional Republicans and their just-say-no obstructionism.

SLAM DUNK.   Notice how Solomon uses Obama's word "obstinancy" and then goes on to add her own "just-say-no-obstructionism."  No bias there at all.  Of course by now we expect that from the Times and most of the left-leaning media, frankly.  What I do find interesting is the sudden awareness that Paul Ryan not only has a plan for deficit reduction, but that he has a plan for health care.  I mentioned it back in October but it was revealed back in May.  Surely they know this, they started tearing into it immediately.  Now, suddenly it's news.

Yes Virginia, Republicans have been offering health care alternatives all along.  That doesn't quite fit with the narrative Republicans want the "status quo" or that their only goal has to been to derail Obama's agenda while offering no ideas of their own.  Ryan dispels the notion there has been anything remotely resembling bipartisanship from this administration or the Democratic Congress as well.  Here is a sample:

Your “Road Map,” we should explain, is a somewhat alarming document that proposes, in 600-plus pages, erasing the federal deficit by radically restricting the government’s role in social programs like Social Security and Medicare. The president described it as “a serious proposal.”

Right. And then the next day his budget director starts ripping me and then the day after that the entire Democratic National Committee political machine starts launching demagogic attacks on me and my plan. So when you hear the word “bipartisanship” come from the president and then you see his political machine get in full-force attack mode, it comes across as very insincere.

Ironically, Ms. Solomon begins the interview by noting the President has declared Ryan a "pretty sincere guy."  Ryan's answers throughout give no such impression of the President, however.  Then again, we know Ryan is quite sincere, why should he say something he has been given no cause to believe is true?  

Waterloo

The White House obsession with health care borders on the pathological at this point. A month after Scott Brown won his earthquake victory in Massachusetts, the Obama administration is reportedly writing its' own bill which is then to be passed through reconciliation. Are we to believe they think the American people will suddenly adore this bill if it is passed by what is commonly referred to as "the nuclear option?" They can not let it go. It's nearly impossible to believe they can be so staggeringly ignorant they would pass this bill by the most divisive means possible. Still they persist.

Political analyst Charlie Cook likened this administration's obsession with health care to Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. Whether you agree or disagree with the analogy, it is stunning to hear a decidely left-leaning but fair analyst discuss the magnitude of the health care failure and its implications for this White House and the Democratic Congress. Cook makes some grim statements on the fate of Democrats in the following clip. Full transcript available at National Journal



H/T:Hot Air

Happy Hour - Taylor Swift meets Viva La Vida Coldplay—Piano Cello

I saw this posted by a friend on my daughter's facebook page and just felt moved to share it.  At the 6:11 mark the arranger Jon Schmidt explains how he was inspired to extend Taylor Swift's "Love Story" with Coldplay's "Viva La Vida."  The arrangement is dedicated to Schmidt's daughter Sarah.  I love the combination of the piano and cello here, it feels joyful.

Congratulations Ed Morrissey - CPAC Blogger of the Year

Wow, what an honor. Trite but true, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Congratulations to Ed for this much deserved honor and for that marvelous introduction from Rush. I will admit I am a tad emotional this week for a few reasons but this video got me a bit choked up. It is just wonderful to see someone so genuinely honest and hard working get this kind of acknowledgement.

I would add that it speaks volumes about Allahpundit's character that he is so obviously thrilled for his colleague. Michelle Malkin was wise to choose these two excellent bloggers to head the good ship Hot Air. It is this foresight that makes her such a leader in the conservative movement. This was an amazing week for all at Hot Air. Congratulations!

Sestak Offered High Level Job to Sit Out Specter Primary Challenge

In other words, a bribe.  Philly.com reports:

Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) said yesterday that the White House offered him a federal job in an effort to dissuade him from challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in the state's Democratic primary.

The disclosure came during an afternoon taping of Larry Kane: Voice of Reason, a Sunday news-analysis show on the Comcast Network. Sestak would not elaborate on the circumstances and seemed chagrined after blurting out "yes" to veteran news anchor Kane's direct question.

"Was it secretary of the Navy?" Kane asked.

"No comment," Sestak said.

"Was it [the job] high-ranking?" Kane asked. Sestak said yes, but added that he would "never leave" the Senate race for a deal.

The White House denies  and is angered by Sestak's account.  What a surprise.  Perhaps it wouldn't be difficult to believe such a denial if there weren't a history of this sort of thing.

H/T: Free Republic

Cook Report Revisions: More Bad News For Democrats

Politico is reporting Cook Political Report made ratings changes in 25 House races all in favor of Republicans to reflect the increasingly bleak prospects for Democrats as they head into the 2010 midterm elections. A January 25, 2010 analysis showed Democrats with 49 seats in the lean or toss up category while Republicans had 10. The February 18th assessment shows Democrats with 52 seats in the lean or toss up category while Republicans now have 6. Seats that were previously thought untouchable have suddenly become vulnerable:

The list of potentially vulnerable Democrats, according to the Cook Report, includes members who have been virtually untouchable in the past, including Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.), the powerful chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Nick Rahall, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, who hasn’t faced a competitive race since 1990.

“At this rate, Democrats are likely to lose at least 25-35 seats in the House and would have to bend the current trajectory of the cycle to hold onto their House majority,” wrote Cook Political Report House analyst David Wasserman.

Republicans once thought to be vulnerable have also been changed to show incumbents in better positions for reelection.  Michelle Bachmann has moved from lean Republican to Likely Republican despite targeted efforts to defeat her:

Republican members who began the election cycle in a highly vulnerable position appear to be in better shape. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), whose provocative rhetoric has made her a top GOP target, saw her status moved from “lean Republican” to the safer “likely Republican” rating — even though she’s facing two well-funded Democratic opponents, state Sen. Tarryl Clark and physician Maureen Reed.

Both Clark and Reed “would have probably beaten this lightning rod incumbent had they been running in 2008,” Wasserman wrote.

Democrats appear not have gotten this memo if the current cycle of Bachmann attack ads running on Google are any indication.  Perhaps they might find better ways to spend their money.  The list of Republicans on more solid ground for reelection is growing.  Cook shows Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) as a near lock for reelection as are Reps. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), Bill Young (R-FL.), Tom Rooney (R-FL), Mark Souder (R-IN), Thad McCotter (R-MI) and Judy Biggert (R-IL).

When the report was last updated Patrick Murphy (PA 8) had just been moved from safe to likely Democratic.  That seat has since moved to Lean Democratic.  While such moves reflect an increasingly perilous election cycle for Democrats, Cook's list still manages to understate that peril.  Representative Alan Grayson of Florida is somewhat absurdly listed as Democratic toss up intending to reflect the race could go in either direction.  Grayson has to be one of the most vulnerable after some of his ridiculous statements this past year.  Clearly he is a far left leaning ideologue who is ill-suited to represent an R+2 district.  Nevertheless, Cook's continual shifts in favor of Republicans reflect the national mood which is clearly turned away from Democratic governance.  It sure does feel like 1994 lately.

CPAC Highlights: Rubio and Cheney

First the Cheney surprise visit brings this highlight:

“I think Barack Obama is a one-term president”

From your mouth Mr. Vice President:



From Politico Marco Rubio: Belle of the CPAC ball.  See the video and more below the jump

Live Stream CPAC Speakers

By all accounts, Marco Rubio's speech earlier today at CPAC was terrific. I am sorry I didn't embed this earlier but will try to find a copy of Rubio's speech to post as soon as one is available. Currently Mitt Romney is giving a very good speech and there are many great speakers scheduled to address the CPAC convention in Washington. This should cover most speeches as they are happening:

EDIT: I am going to embed the video below the jump since it has a tendency to turn on when the page is clicked. I know that can be annoying. If you want to follow the speeches, just click the red Read More link. Thanks

Surprise Tax Increases For Middle Class on the Table

The DailyCaller notes Obama has begun the CYA strategy laying the groundwork for middle class tax increases we all knew were coming anyway, by hiding behind the deficit commission he plans to appoint. While Obama famously promised throughout his campaign he wouldn't raise taxes on those making under $250,000 it was only a matter of time before Obama would look for a way to walk back that promise. He found himself the perfect foil, a bipartisan deficit commission to make the recommendation for him.

Republicans have been leary of the commission for two reasons  First it is toothless and can only recommend changes to decrease the growing deficit and second Obama was unlikely to take tax increases off the table. The panel, of course, will be overly populated with liberals and Democrats making for recommendations that are heavy on the tax increase side but for spending cuts - not so much:

Rep. Tom Price, Georgia Republican and head of the Republican Study Committee, called the panel “a political solution to a glaring math problem.”

“Since the president has unfairly given Democrats and liberals an over representation on the commission, the odds are high that its recommendations will be heavy on tax increases and light on spending reductions,” Price said.

An increase in taxes would be a potentially lethal political issue in the 2012 election, when Obama will presumably run for reelection.

Obama appears not to want to suffer the fate of George H. W. Bush when he reneged on the "read my lips" promise through an appointed panel that he can use as a foil.  Harvard economist Greg Mankiw suggests Republicans should not give that cover without exacting a heavy cost from the Democrats in return.  He outlines five goals, a combination of tax increases and decreases with heavy spending cuts all of which Democrats will find unpalatable while Republicans will have to swallow a VAT and carbon tax in return.

 I think this is too much to swallow for Republicans who would be giving the most irresponsible administration cover for outrageous spending and a failure to perform the duties of their office.  As Mankiw points out:

A reasonable position is, perhaps, that the commission should not succeed.  After all, it is the president's responsibility to put out a budget.  The one he just released is, as I explained in my recent Times column, not sustainable.  He just passed the buck to the fiscal commission.  Perhaps conservatives should not allow him to do that but, instead, should try to force him to put out a sustainable budget on his own.  After all, isn't that Peter Orszag's job?

 The Congress Obama will have to deal with is likely to be much different than the one he enjoys now.  The Republicans should have at their ready a plan for reducing the deficit of their own to counter with next December when the panel reveals their recommendations.  In fact, they should offer a plan before the panel offers its recommendations which would leave Obama owning any tax increases as he rightfully should.

The Stimulus Suspicious Minds Tour

"One year later, it is largely thanks to the Recovery Act that a second depression is no longer a possibility. It's one of the main reasons the economy has gone from shrinking by 6% to growing at about 6%."      Barack Obama

Unfortunately for Obama, only 6% of the American public believes the stimulus has created jobs according to a recent  CBS News poll.  More people believe Elvis is still alive than the stimulus has created jobs.  Nevertheless, the Obama administration is on a full-fledged resurrection tour to promote the the wonders of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act better known as the stimulus, porkulus if you prefer.    The New York Times is in full cheerleader mode as the the Obama loving media does their level best to help lay to rest the fears of your suspicious minds.   I guess they're caught in a trap

Why can't you see

What you're doing to the One

When you don't believe a single word he says

Via Memeorandum

Janeane Garofolo and Rosie O'Donnell Explain it All

H/T: Hot Air headlines
NewsBusters has the transcript of this surreal rant between Rosie O'Donnell and Janeane Garofolo. The entire premise of the discussion is what's wrong with those conservatives and who among them know they are lying. There's at least one Democrat who knows the liberals are lying and sees the handwriting on the wall. There is no hope for these two however:

Hitler Parody of the Day

I haven't posted any of the Hitler parody videos although I think they are usually hilarious and very creative each in their own way. By now I have seen so many I watch for specific parts such as Hitler's fingers trembling as he takes off his glasses, the soldiers being dismissed from the room and the woman comforting a younger female. It's not that you are going to be surprised by Hitler's screaming rant anymore but what the parodist does with each part. This was posted earlier by Instapundit so for the most part there isn't much point in my posting it as well. Nevertheless, I thought this surreal take on the parody with Hitler's idea for a Hitler parody being taken was particularly clever. My son still lists Hitler Finds out the Ending of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince as one of his personal favorites. Are there really 197 of these?

Democratic Shennanigans in Indiana - UPDATE

When news broke yesterday of Evan Bayh's retirement from the Senate my initial impression was Bayh was leaving his party in the lurch by making his announcement the day before the deadline for candidates to register for the race.  Dan Riehl, however, made an excellent point that the move cleared the way for the Democrats to do a little king making by appointing a candidate.  Ed Morrissey thought this would lead to the appointment of a liberal  ideologue, not a winner in Indiana, which it would if the state Democrats were left to their own devices.

Enter Tamyra d'Ippolito, a political newbie and hapless cafe owner who was 500 signatures short of getting her name on the ballot leaving the Dems stuck with her as their candidate.   A rallying cry went out to the right to help d'Ippolito meet her goal.  A little chaos amongst the Dems is a good thing.  Today d'Ippolito is claiming the White House and Rahm Emmanuel have been working secretly to put Baron Hill, an Indiana Blue Dog on the ballot:

However, d’Ippolito said she was informed Monday that Hill, a blue dog who represents Indiana’s 9th District in the House, already has the necessary signatures and is sitting on them until the deadline. She accused White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel of colluding with Hill and the Democratic party county chairs to secretly supplant her as the nominee.

“I can’t confirm so I’m working feverishly to find out if this is the deal. If it is, there’s something unethical going on in Indiana politics,” d’Ippolito said. She then referenced Emanuel’s  at a fundraiser for Hill in Bloomington and accused the president’s top political aide of playing kingmaker during that visit.

“Don’t you find that strange, Rahm Emanuel coming to Indiana?” she asked, adding that Emanuel was sent by the White House to “find a blue dog to put into power.”

Would anyone put it past this group of Democrats to have conspired against other Dems if they thought it would give them a leg up in a race?  Nothing would surprise me from this crew.  Personally, I hope d'Ippolito gets her signatures whether Baron Hill, the 9th Congressional Dist. Blue Dog, gets his in on time or not.  If d'Ippolito runs a campaign anything like she runs her restaurant we've got nothing to fear from her.

If the White House has conspired with Bayh to keep others off the ballot hoping to put Baron Hill on the ballot, they might have done a little better by picking someone who hasn't voted for the health care bill that has put the Democratic majority in such peril.  Opposition to health care has a strong correlation to voting behavior and nothing makes that case like Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts.  While d'Ippolito's progressive ideology makes her a bad choice for the Dems, do they seriously think anyone believes there are moderate Democrats anymore?  When push came to shove they all voted with Pelosi or Reid, though some demanded a higher price tag for their vote than others.

Ed Morrissey reports d'Ippolito has the signatures and it appears the Democrats are buying themselves a whole lot of scrutiny in the process.
Via Memeorandum

UPDATE:   She missed the deadline according to an official in a key district.  Does this surprise anyone?

Not a lot of Love in Liberland These Days

Alan Colmes is having himself what little fun there must be left to have if you live in "Liberaland."  Colmes thinks it is ever so ironic that conservatives are not willing to give Obama a little sugar because his latest Gallup poll shows a respectable 53% approval.  Sadly for Colmes, Gallup is polling adults rather than likely voters over a weekend, all of which points to a poll more likely to lean towards Democrats than not.  Gallup also presents the rosiest approval of any recent poll as well.

Colmes notes the right loves to bash Obama when his polls dip below 50%.  That was certainly true in the past.  Now it such a common occurrence it barely merits a mention.  Obama first dipped below 50 in the Rasmussen daily tracking poll way back in June:

Interestingly enough Obama dipped below 50 on June 30th for the first time.  I don't believe it was a coincidence Obama dropped below 50 among likely voters on that date and has gone down hill ever since.
Any theories out there?
Via Memeorandum

She Snapped

“She snapped,” said a source who knows Bishop, adding of the enigmatic egghead that talking with her was “like crawling to the bottom of a coal mine with the lights off. I don’t think (her husband) ever really understood her. I don’t think anybody did.”

Her husband knew  her well enough to take her to the shooting range a few days before she shot 6 of her colleagues, three fatally.  He doesn't know her well enough to know where she got the gun though.  Nothing unusual happened on the shooting range trip and she didn't reveal nor did he ask evidently, why the sudden interest in a trip to the shooting range.  "She was just a normal professor," he said.  No I wouldn't say your average professor has quite the history Amy Bishop has had:

Her husband said Monday he had known about her brother being shot, but said "it was an accicdent. That's all I knew about it."

In another incident, The Boston Globe  reported that Bishop and her husband were questioned by investigators looking into apipe bomb sent to one of Bishop's colleagues, Dr. Paul Rosenberg, at Children's Hospital Boston in 1993. The bomb did not go off, and nobody was ever charged.

She has quite the history of snapping, maybe someone should have gotten to the bottom of the coal mine a long time ago.    Neighbors recall her asking police to shoo noisy kids off their street with a broom.  They had a pizza party the day Bishop and her husband moved from the neighborhood.  Neighbors recall the explosion of the pipe bomb on Dr. Rosenberg's front yard.  I guess normal is in the eye of the beholder.   Her husband is sticking by her though "so far."

Still no mention in the MSM Bishop was a socialist or obsessed with Obama, not that it's relevant, unless she went to a tea party or supported Sarah Palin.  Then, it would be really really relevant to the MSM.

Reid Didn't Know About Bayh's Retirement

Interesting tidbit MSDNC is reporting on the Bayh retirement. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did not know about Bayh's plans to retire but Obama spoke with him this morning. Was there some pressure on Bayh to step aside so Democrats could avoid the anti-incumbent fevah? Does Bayh blame Reid for bungling the Senate health care vote? It's possible Bayh felt some need to let Obama know his decision before it broke in the news and Obama was just as stunned as Reid. Interesting.

UPDATE: Memeorandum has many links on this breaking news.
Ed Morrissey reports on the nomination process and the obstacles facing Dems getting a credible candidate on the ballot. It looks as though Bayh stuck it to the Democrats big time, the filing deadline is tomorrow. Yes, that's right tomorrow.

The most likely candidate to jump in the race is Brad Ellsworth. Ellsworth will face huge hurdles getting qualified by tomorrow especially since this is a legal holiday. If reports are correct that Bayh let his staff know on Friday and only notified Obama this morning and Reid long after the news broke, he was clearly very resentful and not at all concerned about leaving Democrats in a bind. While some on the left would like to think Bayh is complaining of partisanship on the Republican side his actions today benefit Republicans far more than Democrats though he directs his comments on excessive partisanship to both sides here:

“Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed, but seven members who had endorsed the idea instead voted ‘no’ for short-term political reasons,” he said.

“Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create jobs — the public’s top priority — fell apart amid complaints from both the left and right. All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state and our nation than continued service in Congress.”

Seven Republicans voted against the bipartisan commission which was widely argued to be a toothless commission being proposed in place of those actually responsible for reducing the deficit, Congress, from doing the jobs they were voted into office to perform.  It was Harry Reid, however, who scrapped the jobs bill that had bipartisan support, in favor of a pared down bill he proposed.  Mmm, I think there was definitely resentment toward Reid shown in this move.  We'll know more, or at least have more to pick apart when Bayh makes his statement at 2 PM.

Evan Bayh Retiring UPDATED

Via Politico comes this huge blow to Senate Democrats.  They're dropping like flies folks:

“After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so in Congress has waned,” he said.

“My decision was not motivated by political concern,” he added. “Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for re-election.”

Bayh had never lost an election, from his first win in 1986 as secretary of state, his wins for governor in 1988 and 1992 and his election to the U.S. Senate in 1998 and 2004.

“But running for the sake of winning an election, just to remain in public office, is not good enough,” Bayh said. “And it has never been what motivates me. At this time I simply believe I can best contribute to society in another way: creating jobs by helping grow a business, helping guide an institution of higher learning or helping run a worthy charitable endeavor.”

Stacy McCain  wonders whether the National Enquirer has been snooping in Indiana lately.  Good question.  With Mike Pence taking a pass on running for the seat, Bayh might have faced a grueling election anyway but he had the benefit of incumbency.  His favorables  were under 50% in a recent Rasmussen poll which is a bad sign.  It seems more likely Bayh was facing repercussions for his health care vote:

As in many other states, there is a strong correlation between support for the congressional health care plan and voting behavior. Just 37% of Indiana voters favor the plan, while 60% oppose it. Those figures are similar to the national average and include 16% who Strongly Favor the plan and 48% who are Strongly Opposed.

Those who Strongly Favor the plan overwhelmingly prefer Bayh. Among those who are Strongly Opposed, 80% say they’d vote for Pence, 70% for Hostettler and 56% for Stutzman. In Stutzman’s case, 17% of those who Strongly Oppose the plan would vote for Bayh, and 26% are either not sure or would prefer a third option.

Bayh cited excessive partisanship according to television news reports.  There seems to be some resentment growing for the plank walking the leadership and Obama administration asked of their members.  I bet there are more than a few like Bayh who are increasingly resentful of the votes they were forced to take for seemingly naught but despair in the end.
Domino Effect? - Bayh another liberal mugged with reality, could be.

More Updates:  Reid Didn't Know About Bayh's Retirement
Memeorandum has more

Balloon Boy Redux

The float entitled "Yes we can be ecologist" is featured in the 126th Nice Carnival on February 13, 2010. The theme of this year's parade, “Roi de la Planète Bleue” or "King of the Blue Planet," was portrayed with 20 floats including this of the King himself carrying some very small trees or large broccoli heads.  You decide.  Of course this was all done with environmentally friendly materials such as polyuerthane likely flown over in a jet by Al Gore himself.  Nevertheless, this gaseous tribute has a certain "je ne sais quois" quality that seems almost fitting for a President who flew to Copenhagen hoping to save a flailing global warming agenda and came back empty handed.

No King, should be without a Queen and possibly a few court dancers:

H/T: Shane Hayes Facebook  Photos:  Reuters

Say Goodbye to My Little Hockey Stick

Professor Phil Jones admits his organizational skills are so bad he no longer has the raw data to support his famous "hockey stick" graph.   As if that weren't enough, however, Jones made further stunning revelations to the BBC yesterday:

Professor Jones also conceded the possibility that the world was warmer in medieval times than now – suggesting global warming may not be a man-made phenomenon.

And he said that for the past 15 years there has been no ‘statistically significant’ warming.

There is nothing "settled" in this science:

N - When scientists say "the debate on climate change is over", what exactly do they mean - and what don't they mean?

It would be supposition on my behalf to know whether all scientists who say the debate is over are saying that for the same reason. I don't believe the vast majority of climate scientists think this. This is not my view. There is still much that needs to be undertaken to reduce uncertainties, not just for the future, but for the instrumental (and especially the palaeoclimatic) past as well.

Of course it is the politicians and devotees of global warming who argue the science is settled.
Via Memeorandum

Linked at American Power Thank you.

Health Care Summit is Kabuki

Invitations have been sent on the supposed bipartisan health care forum expected to be held on February 25, 2010. From the wording of the invitation we can gather that this forum  is tilted to favor Obama more so than any real problem solving:

The President will offer opening remarks at the beginning of the meeting, followed by remarks from a Republican leader chosen by the Republican leadership and a Democratic leader chosen by the Democratic leadership. The President will then open and moderate discussion on four critical topics: insurance reforms, cost containment, expanding coverage, and the impact health reform legislation will have on deficit reduction.

Since this meeting will be most productive if information is widely available before the meeting, we will post online the text of a proposed health insurance reform package. This legislation would put a stop to insurance company abuses, extend coverage to millions of Americans, get control of skyrocketing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reduce the deficit.
It is the President’s hope that the Republican congressional leadership will also put forward their own comprehensive bill to achieve those goals and make it available online as well. As the President said earlier this week:

I’m looking forward to a constructive debate with plans that need to be measured against this test: Does it bring down costs for all Americans as well as for the Federal Government, which spends a huge amount on health care? Does it provide adequate protection against abuses by the insurance industry? Does it make coverage affordable and available to the tens of millions of working Americans who don't have it right now? And does it help us get on a path of fiscal sustainability?

These are priorities that we all share, and the President is looking forward to examining with you and your colleagues how we can best achieve the most effective reform possible.

Essentially, this is going to be like Obama moderating his own debate.  Now some might say the media was a perfect subsitute for Obama himself in the 2008 debates but no one thought it would be even remotely acceptable to actually have Obama moderate the debate.  He is hardly a disinterested party in this discussion.

My first inclination is to skip this sham discussion altogether.  The odds are Obama hopes to use any package the Republicans put on the table to put down with whatever bogus analysis he can put together beforehand.  He will likely express some agreement, as he has in the past, with something like tort reform.  Then he will tout the inclusion of a trial provision that does nothing resembling actual tort reform while he claims hey it's already in there.  This will be a sound bite that the media will  run on a loop to show the bipartisan President reaching out to those obstructionist Republicans.

Still, as much as I think the deck is stacked in Obama's favor, I do think Republicans will in the end be forced to attend this sham of an event.  The alternative is stacked clearly on Obama's side.  With invitations being sent to many players in the debate, the visual of the Republican empty seats is not going to play well.  The Dems have many problems with health care.  As much as they claim they are in the red zone, they are, in reality, no closer to passing something than they were when Obama took office.  When they held a 60 seat majority in the Senate they couldn't agree on a bill.  Now we are expected to believe that the same group that faces enormous losses in the midterms suddenly agrees.  I doubt it.

The answer, for Republicans is pretty simple.  They should follow the advice of Charles Krauthammer and have someone, not just like Paul Ryan, but Paul Ryan himself take Obama to task on his plans.  He does, as Krauthammer suggests,  know the issue like the back of his hand.  Moreover, Ryan understands the long term implications of creating another entitlement when those we have are heading to the iceberg dead ahead.  Ryan is without a doubt, in my opinion, much smarter than Obama and knows how to cut through Obama's absurd double speak.  In the end, Obama may regret holding the event altogether if, and this is a big if, the Republicans play this one to their advantage.

Update:  Before I even finished this post, I find the list of those invited to the event and Paul Ryan is not included.  Nor is anyone who really knows the subject.  Rarely do I agree with Ezra Klein but in this case I do:

And where are the good-faith folks who'd actually have something interesting to say? Ron Wyden's not on there. Jay Rockefeller's not on there. Even Olympia Snowe's not on there. They've left off the people who know the most about the subject and would be likeliest to cut a deal. Obviously, that's not an accident:

This is Kabuki theater and a complete waste of time for anyone serious about health care.  The list speaks for itself.

More on this at Memeorandum

FMJRA Roundup: Olympic Gold Edition

Here I am again, late for the Rogue Thursday roundup or a tad early for a Saturday, take your pick.  Tonight the 2010 Winter Olympics got underway.  News of  the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old Georgian luger, brought sorrow to the usually joyous opening of the Olympic games.  Nevertheless, the Canadians managed a spectacular opening to ""Inspire the world," at a time when inspiration is in short supply.

There was a brief technical malfunction that caused hockey great Wayne Gretzky to grimace while he stood waiting for the cauldron to rise from the floor.   He was joined in a circle by a few Canadian super stars, sharing concerned glances and the occasional smirk knowing they were there to surprise the crowd by lighting the cauldron together:

Snow Studs - 10 Winter Olympic Male Hotties

UPDATE:  Thank you to Instapundit for linking and welcome Instapundit readers.
Little Miss Attila links, thank you and so does And so it goes in Shreveport thanks Pat.
Instapundit linked 10 Winter Olympic Hotties which was a post depicting some beautiful women on the US Winter Olympic Team.  He had a request for equal time, however:

UPDATE: Reader Jeff Pittman writes: “How ’bout some equal time for your readers who hoped at least a few of the hotties would be guys? Not that there’s anything wrong with gals (yawn), I’m just saying…” Well, somebody send me a link, if you’ve got something like that. Haven’t seen anything along those lines myself, but surely there are some hunky bobsledders or something out there . . . .

Actually there were more than a few hunky bobsledders.  Choosing among the various good looking guys on the hockey team was tough, but I  persevered with the arduous task.  Someone had to.  All are on the team with the exception of TJ  Lanning who is still recovering from his injury.  He has been a member of the team for years though and plans to be there to root for his team.  I couldn't leave out a genuinely nice guy and ok, he's pretty hot too.   Good luck to the team!

David Backes  Hockey
Home: Minneapolis
Birthday May 1, 1984
Height 6'3
Team St. Louis Blues
Photo: Blues.nhl.com

Steven Nyman

  Provo Utah

Birthday:  Feb 2, 1982

Alpine Skiing

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  Source: Getty Images