Category: Congress

Buck Fen …… (Nelson, that is)

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So, the Senate attempted to begin debate on the financial reform package, and the vote failed by 57-41, with Ben Nelson (DINO-NE) voting with the ‘Phants.

Reid voted “no” as well, but included a motion to reconsider, which is a parliamentary trick to get a do-over.

Still, the most effective thing that the Dems could do right now is to take action against Ben Nelson.

If they start taking real actions against recalcitrant members of their own caucus, it makes it that much easier for them to deal with the Republicans, because they won’t get knifed by the Liebercrats.

Someone Sent Harry Reid a Clue

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Unlike with healthcare, where he sat by idly while he allowed Ben Nelson (DINO-NE) to confab with 3 Republicans in the hopes of making the bill bipartisan, this time Harry Reid has said that, “The games of stalling are over.

Basically, he is saying that if Republicans want a deal, they had better talk now, and if not, they will filibuster financial reform, and the ads will go up, the ugly ones in black and white with the sinister music and the gravely voided announcer, in the states of the ‘Phants who are up for reelection in 2010.

I only wish that he had slapped down Nelson about this on healthcare. It would have made for a much better bill.

The Republicans Will Pick Up Obama’s Senate Seat

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The Democratic candidate for his seat is State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and as I’ve noted, before he entered politics, he worked at the troubled Broadway Bank as their chief loan officer, as well as being the son of the owner

The FDIC has just seized the bank, so his opponent, Republican Mark Kirk, who has already made much of his involvement with the bank, will doubtless be using this as a club with with to beat Mr. Giannoulias.

I Told You So…

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Remember when I said that Blanche Lincoln’s strong proposals on derivatives reform were, just for show?

I said the following:

I’m with David Dayen, this all happened within days of her primary challenger, Bill Halter (Reminder, he’s on My Act Blue Page) releasing ads saying that she was too close to the banking industry.

Everyone on Capitol hill know that her proposals will never go beyond a press release, and that behind the scenes, she will continue to do the big banks’ bidding.

This is just electoral politics, and a full court press from her Congressional Colleagues and the White House.

And sure as the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west, it’s happening.

Before the Republicans even got into the room, Democrats are weakening her proposals, with Gillibrand, Casey, and Stabenow taking point.

It’s what Glen Greenwald calls, “Villain Rotation“.

Basically, when an incumbent needs an electoral boost, they come out with a populist proposal, and then it gets killed by someone else, and when that person needs an electoral boost, they change places.

Charie Crist Gets Lucky

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No, I am not talking about some sort of sordid liaison, I am referring to the fact that his primary opponent in the Florida Senate campaign, Mark Rubio, is is being investigated by the, “U.S. attorney, IRS and FBI,” for misusing Republican Party of Florida credit cards for personal use:

Meanwhile, in a separate inquiry, the IRS is also looking at the tax records of at least three former party credit card holders — former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, ex-state party chairman Jim Greer and ex-party executive director Delmar Johnson — to determine whether they misused their party credit cards for personal expenses, according to a source familiar with the preliminary inquiry.

………

Rubio billed the party for more than $100,000 during the two years he served as House speaker, according to credit card statements obtained by the St. Petersburg Times and Miami Herald. The charges included repairs to the family minivan, grocery bills, plane tickets for his wife and purchases from retailers ranging from a wine store near his home to Apple’s online store. Rubio also charged the party for dozens of meals during the annual lawmaking session in Tallahassee, even though he received taxpayer subsidies for his meals.

I’m kind of hoping for Rubio to win the Republican primary, and Crist to run as a 3rd party candidate, because I don’t see Democrat Kendrick Meek winning any other way.

He’s a good guy, but there are a lot of people in Florida who just won’t vote for a black man.

Never Stop Your Enemy from Stepping On His Own Dick

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When you’re in Leno’s monologue, YOU ARE COMPLETELY SCREWED

As I have mentioned a number of times, Harry Reid is polling horribly in his bid for reelection.

In fact, his poll numbers are so bad that it appeared that his only hope was that there was a possible teabagger 3rd party candidate.

Well, it looks like the the Republican front runner just threw a life line to the Senate Majority Leader, or more accurately, she threw herself an anvil.

You see, she made a statement about how barter should be an important part of healthcare.

When I first heard this, I assumed that this was someone misspeaking and confusing “barter” and “bargain”.

I was wrong. She really meant barter, as in chickens for MRI’s:

The feathers are flying in the political attacks over Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sue Lowden’s declarations that people could control health care costs through the use of barter.

On Monday, Lowden doubled down on the barter idea. “Let’s change the system and talk about what the possibilities are. I’m telling you that this works,” Lowden said. “You know, before we all started having health care, in the olden days, our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor. They would say I’ll paint your house.”

(emphasis mine)

So, not only is she eschewing healthcare reform, she is apparently opposed to the very concept of money, the center of our financial system.*

So, she’s not just a Republican, she is an Anarcho syndicalist, opposed to the very concept of money, or she’s a complete moron, or maybe both.

In any case, Senator Reid, it’s better to be lucky than good, and you just got lucky.

*OK, money and greed……†
†……OK, money, greed, and fractional-reserve banking……‡
‡…………OK, money, greed, fractional-reserve banking, and a well defined system of contract law ……………… Oh, never mind.

Signs of the Apocalypse

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Starts at 2:05

On Morning Joe, Mark Halperin, a long time hack best known for the phrase, “Matt Drudge rules our world,” feels compelled to call it for what it is when he says, “They are willfully misreading the bill or they are engaged in a cynical attempt to keep the president from achieving something.” (emphasis mine)

Except for the fact that he should have said and not or, he is telling the truth, and when Mark Halperin feels compelled to call bullsh%$, you know that Republican spin has crossed some sort of “Shoe Event Horizon” where the normal punditocracy simply ceases to function.

The first part of the video is Austan Goolsbee ably defending the program (full disclosure, I made a post that he objected to in the comments, see here, and I posted his response here),* but Joe turns to Halperin for a “fair and balanced appraisal, and Halperin calls them full of it too.

H/t Steve Benen.
*I don’t have a problem with his objecting, my family calls me full of it all the time, it sticks in my head because I was stunned that he read my little old blog in his capacity as an economic advisor to the Obama campaign.

We See the Beginnings of Competence

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About bloody time!

So, after the disastrous negotiations on healthcare with the Republicans, Barack Obama and His Stupid Minions™ begin to get a clue.

On financial reform, Organizing for America, the Obama campaign political arm, is running ads using Republican opposition to financial reform to Wall Street as a club to beat them with.

Certainly, this is better than their strategy on healthcare reform, which was to let Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) sandbag them by engaging in extensive negotiations when she had not the slightest intention of voting for cloture.

H/t FT Alphaville.

True Dat

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I don’t know why it takes a comedian to tell the truth

Following the passage of (admittedly tepid) healthcare reform, the Republicans are now saying that they won’t cooperate with the Democrats.

Of course, there was exactly 0% cooperation before, so we should not worry.

In any case, Bill Maher (at about 2:55 on the vid) says it with his characteristic aplomb:

New Rule: You can’t use the statement “there will be no cooperation for the rest of the year” as a threat if there was no cooperation in the first half of the year. Here’s a word the president should take out of his teleprompter: bipartisanship. People only care about that in theory, not in practice. The best thing that’s happened this year is when President Obama finally realized this and said, “Kiss my black ass, we’re going it alone, George W. Bush style.”

Two months ago, conservative Fred Barnes wrote, “The health care bill is dead with not the slightest prospect of resurrection.” Well, if it’s dead, you just got your ass kicked by a zombie named Nancy Pelosi. Seriously, the last time a Democrat showed balls like that John Edwards’ girlfriend was filming it. Make all the botox jokes and she-shops-too-much jokes you want, but this is the biggest political victory a woman has ever achieved in America. Yes, Nancy Pelosi likes nice clothes. So does Sarah Palin. The difference is Nancy Pelosi pays for hers.

This should be the policy on financial reform too.

The Democrats should break out the parts that they can demagogue, and dare the Republicans to vote against. Make the Republicans vote against the sound bites, just like the Republicans did to the Democrats.

Lincoln Follows the Poll Numbers, Goes Hard on Banks

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Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), as head of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has significant input on derivatives legislation, because one of the oldest of the derivatives are commodity futures, things like pork belly futures, which is why it manages the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The word has been that Lincoln would be almost as much of a road block ad the Republicans on meaningful reform, seeing as how her record is one of doing the bidding of insurance companies and bank.

It turns out that the word is wrong. Lincoln is requiring that derivatives trading be walled off from banking, as well as requiring the trades be done on open exchanges:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and their biggest rivals would be forced to wall off derivatives trading operations from their commercial banks under a measure to be introduced by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln, a congressional aide said.

Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat, will propose a “no-bailout provision” as part of an overhaul of derivatives regulation she plans to unveil today, according to the aide, who declined to be identified because the plan isn’t public. The measure aims to ensure banks don’t endanger depositors’ money with risky trading of over-the-counter derivatives, the aide said.

…………

Lincoln’s provision would bar swaps dealers from taking advantage of the Federal Reserve’s discount lending window, emergency liquidity functions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s deposit guarantee. “It eliminates all of the advantages with the affiliation with an insured depository institution, which are profound,” said Karen Petrou, managing partner of Washington-based research firm Federal Financial Analytics Inc.

…………

It would also increase protections for clients by requiring swaps dealers to treat them as a fiduciary — obligating them to put customers’ interests ahead of the company’s, the aide said.

The measure requires most over-the-counter derivatives to be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses. Companies that use swaps to hedge the cost of materials or other non-investment purposes would be exempted from the requirements, the aide said. Like the Volcker rule, which would ban commercial banks from proprietary trading, the wall-off provision would separate derivatives trading from traditional banking activities such as taking deposits and making loans.

Let’s be clear, this is very tough stuff, at least by the standards of the Congress, particularly the Senate.

She actually lambasted the administration for being too soft on banks:

“Proposals that I have seen from the administration have not gone far enough to prevent bailouts of ‘too big to fail institutions’ and could contain loopholes,” Lincoln said. “If we pass reform, it needs to be real reform. My proposal will go further than any other congressional or administration proposal to prevent future bailouts.”

I’m with David Dayen, this all happened within days of her primary challenger, Bill Halter (Reminder, he’s on My Act Blue Page) releasing ads saying that she was too close to the banking industry.

Everyone on Capitol hill know that her proposals will never go beyond a press release, and that behind the scenes, she will continue to do the big banks’ bidding.

This is just electoral politics, and a full court press from her Congressional Colleagues and the White House.

That Special Election in Florida?

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Bob Wexler retired, and there was a special election in Florida’s 19th district to replace him last night.

The results? Democrat Ted Deutch trounced Republican Ed Lynch, 62%-36%.

This is very much in line with the district’s PVI D +19, but that’s the point: there was no movement from the existing trends.

So much for “voter backlash” against the HCR bill.

I think that the Republicans may have seen the outrage of their base at losing when they thought that they had won, and thought that it was some sort of mass anger at the bill.

The Ever Reliable Joseph Lieberman

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Remember when I said that Joe Lieberman would be preening to get his face on the Teevee with regard to the new START Treaty?

Well, I was right. He is now calling for what appears to be a massive buildup in European missile defenses and a his desire for an unprovoked nuclear strike on Iran as a condition for his support:

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” [big shocker there] the Connecticut Independent suggested that he himself would oppose ratification of the START II Treaty that Obama signed in Prague this past week, in part because, he reasoned, the language left America vulnerable to a nuclear Iran.

“I don’t believe that there will be 67 votes to ratify the treaty unless the administration does two things,” Lieberman said. “First: commit to modernize our nuclear stockpile, so as we have less nuclear weapons we know that they are capable if, God forbid, we need them. And secondly, to make absolutely clear that the statements by Russian president [Dmitry] Medvedev at the signing in program, that seemed to suggest that if we continue to build ballistic missile defense in Europe they may pull out of this treaty, is just not acceptable to us. We need that defense to protect our allies and ourselves from Iran.”

Basically, Lieberman is saying that unless Obama threatens Iran with nuclear attack, and promises to build up the ill-conceived European missile defense system, he’ll vote no.

Yes, he’s with on everything but Iraq, thanks for keeping him in the tent and pissing in, Harry and Barack.

This is all about Joe Lieberman getting his ego stroked, and the solution to this problem is to make it clear that there will be consequences if he f%$#s with this, not to stroke his ego: that only makes him worse.

Here is hoping that he gets caught buggering an underage hamster and will be forced to resign.

Breaking: Stupak Retiring

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Bummer of a birth mark, Bart

So, after making a bid for national prominence by grandstanding on a woman’s right to choose, and getting a primary challenger, the Teabaggers are still hating on him, and Rachel Maddow uncovered the fact that he was getting bribed with below market rents while he was living at “C Street,” so he will not run for reelection:

Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, who played a central role with fellow anti-abortion Democrats in negotiating a compromise in the final hours of debate that allowed the health care overhaul bill to pass, said on Friday that he would not seek re-election.

Mr. Stupak, a nine-term incumbent, has been under intense pressure from anti-abortion groups and others since the health care bill passed last month. At his request, President Obama signed an executive order outlining the prohibitions against the use of federal funds for abortion. But anti-abortion groups dismissed the executive order and pledged to defeat Mr. Stupak, whom they had once championed.

Let’s be clear here: The Teabaggers would always have supported a Republican in the general, because they are a Republican movement.

In fact, it could be argued that they have captured the Republican party.

And when you never had the Teabaggers, or the Republican party, and you’ve just told the Democratic party to go Cheney yourself, you do not have much left to win an election with.

BTW, here is his challenger, and now putative nominee, Connie Saltonstall’s Act Blue page.

Give generously, to keep the idiots at the DCCC and DNC from trying to anoint a Conservadem between now and the primary.

I Call This a Good Start

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The labor union the SEIU is starting a 3rd party named North Carolina First in that state.

They are collecting signatures to get qualified as a state party, and the implication is that they will be running candidates in the general against the Blue Dogs Heath Shuler and Mike McIntyre, as well as conservative Larry Kissell.

My attitude is that this is a good thing.

To quote James “I hate that smarmy bastard” Baker, “F%$# them, they didn’t vote for us.”*

I don’t have a problem with this. There is a difference between a conservative Democrat, and particularly in a conservative district, I understand the difference.

Shuler, McIntyre, and Kissell are disloyal democrats, and they can reliably be counted on to vote against healthcare, financial reform, and fair labor rights.

Truth be told, if they want to go after just one of them, I would suggest going after Shuler.

He’s the whip of the Blue Dogs, and taking him down would make the rest of those guys think twice about playing to Fox News as a political strategy

I would note that my hostility towards Shuler might be a function of his tenure as a Washington Redskins over-priced first round draft pick washout.

*Yes, I am aware that Baker said this about Jews and the Republican party while serving in the Poppie Bush administration.

Jon Stewart Goes After Jon McCain

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Ouch!

John McCain, in a tough primary fight with a man whose political corruption John McCain covered up is now denying that he was ever a maverick.

Considering the fact that it was every 3rd or 4th word out of his mouth in the campaign, this merits some comment, of a particularly scathing nature.

Well, luckily, Jon Stewart writes a lot better than I do, so I will just leave you with his comedic flaying of the “straight talking maverick” from Arizona:

But even with all that, you never felt like the guy was selling his soul. You just felt like he was maybe shaving little slivers of his soul …off …for money. But you still always felt like he maintained a controlling interest in his soul. Fifty-one percent of his soul. The majority shares of his soul. Until now.

And then he goes say that McCain is making “soul default swaps on the back end,” in a masterful juxtaposition of corruption and our opaque financial system.

Really, I cannot do justice to what he does in just 5 minutes and 4 seconds.

He shows the hypocrisy and political cowardice of the the man that the Beltway pundits, and the Sunday talk show hosts, love beyond measure.

Of course the aforementioned Beltway pundits Sunday talk show hosts will never acknowledge that their guy is basically a selfish and petulant politician, but I think that the rest of America is starting to realize this.

Signs of the Apocalypse, Tom Coburn Edition

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Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!

Wherein the raving nut job from the Sooner State says thatNancy Pelosi is a nice woman and that you should not believe everything htat you hear on Fox news:

“The intention is not to put anybody in jail,” Coburn said. “That makes for good TV news on Fox, but that isn’t the intention.”

Later, when his audience started to boo at the mention of Pelosi, Coburn stopped them.

“Come on now… how many of you all have met her? She’s a nice person,” Coburn said. “Just because somebody disagrees with you, doesn’t mean they’re not a good person.”

“Don’t catch yourself being biased by Fox News that somebody’s no good,” Coburn added.

Coburn urged audience members to widen their points of view by reading and watching different media outlets, not just the ones they agree with.

(emphasis mine)

This from a man who says that abortion doctors should face the death penalty, and that he, in the course of his duties as an OB/GYN, has performed abortions, so maybe he can hold these rather disparate thoughts in his head because if he is batsh%$ insane.

You Know that the ‘Phants are Crapping Their Pants When……

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That look in his eyes is terror

When Karl Rove is so concerned about teabagger paranoia over the census that he as recorded a PSA for the decennial survey.

You see, the numbers are coming back, and it turns out that all over the Republican heartland, people are refusing to fill out the forms, because people like Michelle Bachmann and Glen Beck are telling them that it’s all a ploy for Barack Obama’s concentration camps for white folks.

What this means is that, probably for the first time in a very long time, that the under counting of minorities and immigrants may be balanced out by non-compliance among the suburban and rural white populations, which could move a few Congressional districts to bluer states, and change the shapes, of a few more.

I know that the census is important, and I know that it should be filled out promptly and accurately, but still, my initial thought is, “Heh. Hoist by their own petard.”

Barney Frank Goes Nuclear on Former Staffer

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And let me note that the staffer, Peter Roberson, deserves it.

Basically, this guy took lead on writing regulations on derivatives, and then he started shopping himself to hedge funds, and this Really pissed off Barney Frank:

But in late January, after learning that Roberson was interviewing for a position with ICE, Frank asked him to leave his post, removed him from the payroll, de-activated his email account and took his Blackberry, keys and identification credentials, according to both Frank and Frank’s spokesman.

And if that weren’t enough:

Frank said there is a rule which bans staffers who leave for industry positions from interacting with committee members for one year, but he doesn’t think this rule goes far enough.

Frank said Thursday he has instructed staff “to have no contact whatsoever with Mr. Roberson on any matters involving financial regulation for as long as I am in charge of that committee staff.”

(emphasis mine)

I will note that Frank did this a year ago with another former aid, where he forbade contact with Goldman Sachs lobbyist, and former committee staffer, Michael Paese, from contacting the committee while they were working on reform legislation, but that was only while the bill was being drawn up.

I am not sure if this has happened because Roberson’s behavior was particularly egregious, or if it was because the bleeding in staff was becoming excessive, but this is a much needed shot across the bow of the revolving door in the US Congress.

In either case, it’s pretty clear that Roberson is now radioactive, and that his market value as a peddler of access has been much diminished.

Frank’s official statement after break:

Statement of Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank

Washington, DC – House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following statement about stories related to a recent staff departure from the House Financial Services Committee:

“Several people have expressed criticism of the move by Peter Roberson from the staff of the Financial Services Committee to ICE, after he worked on the legislation relevant to derivatives. I completely agree with that criticism. When Mr. Roberson was hired, it never occurred to me that he would jump so quickly from the Committee staff to an industry that was being affected by the Committee’s legislation. When he called me to tell me that he was in conversations with them, I told him that I was disappointed and that I insisted that he take no further action as a member of the Committee staff. I then called the Staff Director and instructed her to remove him from the payroll and provide him only such compensation as is already owed.

“Stories about this correctly noted that there is a one year ban on his interaction with members of the Committee staff, but I do not think that is adequate. I am therefore instructing the staff of the Financial Services Committee to have no contact whatsoever with Mr. Roberson on any matters involving financial regulation for as long as I am in charge of that Committee staff. Fortunately, examples of staff members doing what Mr. Roberson has done are rare, but even one example is far too much and that is why I wanted to make clear I share the unhappiness of people at this, and my intention to prohibit any contact between him and members of the staff for as long as I have any control over the matter.”

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