Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

This fight is for everything.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

You are here: Home / More Thanks

More Thanks

by | 267 Comments

This post is in: 

Before I go to bed, I want to particularly thank the other bloggers who make this place great. DougJ, Anne, Dengre and Mistermix all kept the site going far more than I did, at least since I tuned in/turned on/started my postdoc over a year ago.

Extra triple thanks to John Cole. When his rightwing readers started groaning about his heterodox posts on Schiavo, Cole “appeased” his base by inviting me as his first co-blogger in ’05. You can imagine their relief.

Reader Interactions

267Comments

  4. 4.

    mak

    Tim, thank you so much for your efforts to whip this thing into reality. Today is a really big day, and you were a big part of that effort. Due to your prodding/inspiration, I made a lot more calls than I would have otherwise, and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment.
    Cheers to all of us!

  6. 6.

    Steve

    BJ really did God’s work on this health care bill. You guys and Steve Benen are right at the top of my heroes list.

  8. 8.

    demo woman

    Thanks, and a special thank to you Tim because you introduced us to a variety of beers that we would not have known us. Enjoy a beer and sleep.

  9. 9.

    SiubhanDuinne

    *Yes we did*.

    The new tag at the top of the page finally sent me over the edge. Waterworks everywhere.

    Thanks to every one of you. You are all beyond awesome.

    I love Balloon Juice and all its denizens. Even, tonight, the trolls. (Yeah, even *that* troll.)

  10. 10.

    Tim F.

    “Rightwing furious after Obama shoves huge package down their throat.”

    Every headline writer in America will have to tiptoe around that one.

  11. 11.

    JGabriel

    Thank you to Tim, Anne Laurie, DougJ, our newest additions Dengre and Mistermix, and especially John Cole, who forebears with the teasing and complaints from one of the most proudly cranky and smart-assed user communities in the political blogosphere.

    Thanks for all your work, and thanks for putting up with us.

    .

  12. 12.

    Moses2317

    Thank you, President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and the House and Senate Democratic leadership for taking an historic first step toward fixing our broken health care system. As the spouse of a young adult cancer patient, I am especially grateful that my family, and millions of other Americans, will not have to worry about being denied coverage due to a pre-existing health condition.

    And, thank you Senator Ted Kennedy for passionately fighting for health care reform over your entire career. This victory could not have been achieved without your decades of tireless advocacy.

  14. 14.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    Ten immediate benefits from the senate bill, now awaiting only Obama’s signature to take effect.

    1. Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday
    2. Children under age 19 may not be excluded for pre-existing conditions
    3. No more lifetime or annual caps on coverage
    4. Free preventative care for all
    5. Adults with pre-existing conditions may buy into a national high-risk pool until the exchanges come online. While these will not be cheap, they’re still better than total exclusion and get some benefit from a wider pool of insureds.
    6. Small businesses will be entitled to a tax credit for 2009 and 2010, which could be as much as 50% of what they pay for employees’ health insurance.
    7. The “donut hole” closes for Medicare patients, making prescription medications more affordable for seniors.
    8. Requirement that all insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet and fully disclose administrative costs, executive compensation packages, and benefit payments.
    9. Authorizes early funding of community health centers in all 50 states (Bernie Sanders’ amendment). Community health centers provide primary, dental and vision services to people in the community, based on a sliding scale for payment according to ability to pay.

    This is regardless what happens in the senate recon. effort.

    via c and l

  15. 15.

    SGEW

    . . . his first co-blogger in ‘05

    Cripes, has it really been that long?

    What a long, strange trip indeed.

  16. 16.

    Mwangangi

    Reposted from last thread:

    I’d like to thank you. All of the Balloon Juice community. From John on down through the front pagers and all of the prolific commenters like RedKitten, Stuck, Asian-grrl (and her clan), and other people that I’m too addled to state right now. I wouldn’t be anywhere else celebrating this series of moments.

    Mwangangi +8 (why yes… I am taking shots)

  18. 18.

    Genine

    Props to Tim, John, Anne Laurie, DougJ, Mistermix, the Juicers, Steve Benen and the members of Congress who voted tonight!

    Yay America! We don’t suck! :-D

  22. 22.

    Some Guy

    Thanks Balloon Juice! This rapidly became one of my core, daily sites to visit after John’s great revelation. The pet love and the political honesty are both much appreciated, and the work on HCR has been just great.

    Sleep well balloon people.

  23. 23.

    The Other Steve

    I hear the whining on the interwebs now… “This is just unbelievable! The nerve of them Democrats! How dare they actually hold a vote! This is just so unfair.”

    LOLZ!

    This is awesome! I haven’t been posting, but I read all your callouts to call the Congress critters. This was truly outstanding that we were able to turn this Democratic wimpy parade around and get them to realize that turning back was the act of a coward and people don’t vote for cowards.

  24. 24.

    slag

    Isn’t it crazy? The Democrats actually did something! Something smart and good and useful. And they did it together!

    I am in awe.

  25. 25.

    Athenae

    Thank you all here for being a bastion of sanity amid this batshittery on the Internets.

    1. Adult children may remain as dependents on their parents’ policy until their 27th birthday

    Which saves my family, personally, from potential medical bankruptcy. Which saves my parents from losing their house and their savings if their youngest child gets sick.

    This was the most important part of it for me. I’m happy to be a Democrat tonight. Very happy.

    A.

  26. 26.

    Mike Kay

    I want to thank all the Firebaggers, the PUMAs, Hanoi Jane Hamsher, Shithead Sirota, Griffter Glenn, and the rest of the JunkBloggers for driving the purity-hippie-van over the cliff!

    Bye-Bye!

  27. 27.

    demo woman

    I’m in shock, the bill seemed dead in the water so many times and to finally reach this point is unbelievable. If there is a heaven what do think the Teddy’s are saying.

  30. 30.

    Nutella

    Reposted from another thread (since you mentioned 2005):

    Some of the crazy Christianists were complaining that having this vote on a Sunday (and in Lent!) was sacrilegious.

    Rush Holt has an article over at HuffPo reminding us all that the last time Congress met to vote on a Sunday was in 2005 when they voted on the federal government taking over Terry Schiavo’s health care from her doctors and family.

    Worth remembering when we hear a Republican claim to be against government controlling health care decisions.

  36. 36.

    mai naem

    I don’t want to jinx this so I won’t believe it until I see Obama sign it. Thx to all the FPs. I did make calls to Mitchell/McCain and even that worthless POS Kyl after reading BJ posts

    BTW I don’t see Stupak in the celebratory Dem conference.

  38. 38.

    Fitzwili

    Thanks to everyone here-Balloon Juice, Steve Benen and Ezra Klein were my ports in the storm of teabagger insanity and democratic disunity.

    We.Passed.The.Damn.Bill!

  39. 39.

    Betsy

    @Tim F., it is thanks to you and you alone that I called my rep several times. Thank you for nudging me to be an active participant in MY democracy. <3

  40. 40.

    Mwangangi

    @asiangrrlMN: Close… East African, my other parts are African American and Asian (Yemen/Saudi Arabia iow typical American mutt)

    I’d also like to give a shout out to my Rep: Lynn Woolsey (envy me…) and my near Rep. Madame Speaker!

    edit: plus muthafuckin’ nine

  43. 43.

    geg6

    demo woman @26: Heh. Even Tricky Dick might be getting his groove on over this. Never thought I’d think even a little bit well of him, but even he wanted HCR.

  44. 44.

    Tonal Crow

    A special thanks to Tim for whipping us so frequently and so well ;-) And thank you to everyone who called Congress.

    And to all a good night.

  45. 45.

    bago

    McArdle is shrill:

    What I hope is that the Democrats take a beating at the ballot box and rethink their contempt for those mouth-breathing illiterates in the electorate. I hope Obama gets his wish to be a one-term president who passed health care. Not because I think I will like his opponent–I very much doubt that I will support much of anything Obama’s opponent says. But because politicians shouldn’t feel that the best route to electoral success is to lie to the voters, and then ignore them.

  46. 46.

    asiangrrlMN

    @SGEW: There was a thread earlier (way long time ago) about the different races breaking into teams. I was head of the Wu Tang Clan, and I was recruiting because we don’t have that many members here.

    @some guy: I will actually pack his damn bags for him.

    @Mwangangi: Cool! I will take you.

    So, Nancy Smash will be in the Lexicon now, right?

  47. 47.

    gbear

    @asiangrrlMN:

    No. I had to finish laundry and I wasn’t able to break away from the computer (until BJ crashed for a while). Ice cream will still be there tomorrow.

    edit: ‘Nancy Smash’ really needs to be in the lexicon.

  48. 48.

    TooManyJens

    @bago:

    “But because politicians shouldn’t feel that the best route to electoral success is to lie to the voters, and then ignore them.”

    “Unless they’re named Bush, because it worked out pretty well for that guy.”

  50. 50.

    asiangrrlMN

    @bago: McArdle is a puling, whiny, vapid, vacuous bitch. And I mean that in the best sense.

    @gbear: This is true. It’s sockulist like that.

    So, I missed Madame Speaker, didn’t I? DAMN IT!

  51. 51.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @Mwangangi:

    Mwangangi +8 (why yes… I am taking shots)

    I finished off an entire pint of B&J’s Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream during Pelosi’s speech and the votes. Urp.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @bago:

    But because politicians shouldn’t feel that the best route to electoral success is to lie to the voters, and then ignore them.

    He said he was going to do it, then he did it. What lie is she talking about?

  56. 56.

    mai naem

    Henry Waxman is so freaking short. He’s so short, he’s gotta be shorter than Kucinich.

  57. 57.

    CJ

    Although I don’t comment often enough, I love this place. Just sayin’.

    Here’s to staying on my parents’ health insurance.

  59. 59.

    Loneoak

    Balloon Juice is the best.

    Loneoak +3, but really its +8 because I’m also drinking schadenfreude by the gallon.

  61. 61.

    sbjules

    Thanks to Nancy and my congresswoman and senators and balooners and our President! I really like the way he rolls.

  62. 62.

    Zuzu's Petals

    Obama gave a great speech just now, looked like Biden was fighting back tears at times. My favorite part was when they walked out with their arms around each other.

    What a moment for them.

  63. 63.

    kid bitzer

    you know, maybe what this shows is that it takes some teabagging to get democrats to come together.

  66. 66.

    gbear

    @Zuzu’s Petals:

    I finished off an entire pint of B&J’s Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream during Pelosi’s speech

    Ohhhh, rub it in. (refer to comment 47) I love that flavor.

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    I don’t know why, but my team always wins when I don’t watch the big game. We were away in Ventura all weekend and I only just found out the news after the vote was done.

    You can thank me any time. ;^)

  68. 68.

    Anya

    Via Sully, this is McArdle

    What I hope is that the Democrats take a beating at the ballot box and rethink their contempt for those mouth-breathing illiterates in the electorate. I hope Obama gets his wish to be a one-term president who passed health care. Not because I think I will like his opponent–I very much doubt that I will support much of anything Obama’s opponent says. But because politicians shouldn’t feel that the best route to electoral success is to lie to the voters, and then ignore them

    .

    How does this woman has any credibility with people like Sullivan ad Yglesias?

  71. 71.

    freelancer (itouch)

    I’m so proud to be a regular here. This feels like vindication of the potential change we voted for in 2008. This is more special than election night. Thanks all.

    BTW, how many + is a whole bottle of champagne?

  73. 73.

    jc

    Hoo-Hah!!

    this is the blog I read, and commented on, regarding the health care issue. Thanks, everyone here, for all your work on this, and inspiring me to contribute.

  74. 74.

    MikeTheZ

    Personally, I’ll miss the “Consistently Wrong Since 2002” tag, but this is so worth it going away.

    Yes We Did.

  78. 78.

    Violet

    @Martin:

    What should we do next to destroy America?

    I know. Let’s turn the soshulize the banking industry by enacting a few regulations. That would be fun!

  81. 81.

    SGEW

    @MikeTheZ:

    Personally, I’ll miss the “Consistently Wrong Since 2002” tag . . .

    I still miss “ill-informed banter,” dammit.

  82. 82.

    Sasha

    @Tim F.:

    “Rightwing furious after Obama shoves huge package down their throat.”

    Every headline writer in America will have to tiptoe around that one.

    Obvious rejoinder:

    “GOP’s Horrified Response to Obama’s Package: ‘It’s twue! It’s twue!'”

  83. 83.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @gbear:

    Ha!

    Yes, I took a chance since they were out of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Not only was it thematically appropriate, it was deeeeelish!

  90. 90.

    Sasha

    @slag:

    Isn’t it crazy? The Democrats actually did something! Something smart and good and useful. And they did it together!

    I am in awe.

    Like I said in an earlier post thread:

    President Obama did the impossible and got healthcare reform passed.

    Maybe, just maybe, Barack Obama is a Magic Negro.

  91. 91.

    scav

    What I hope is that the Democrats take a beating at the ballot box and rethink their contempt for those mouth-breathing illiterates in the electorate.

    OK, I keep reading that, and I keep coming up with the obvious first reading that her point is that one should respect those mouth-breathing illiterates in the electorate.

    So. Does everyone see the basic contradiction.

    cheap giggle. I’m not proud.

  92. 92.

    Folderol and Ephemera

    “Rightwing furious after Obama shoves huge package down their throat.”

    Am I the only one who finds this kind of teh sexy? In a slash fan-fic sort of way, starring Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Obama, and Rahm?

    Oh. I guess I am the only one. Never mind.

  93. 93.

    Mwangangi

    @asiangrrlMN: woo hoo… I’m a joiner

    @Zuzu’s Petals: sweet, I’ve moved on to cocktails, my alcoholic stamina isn’t what it once was…

    I’m pretty lucky… when I was in NY Slaughter was one of my reps (I lived all around the state), now I have Woolsey.

    I’m bitter sweet about finding BJ. Love the community, but you have collectively taken away my ability to blog. I’m am (or was)
    an angry blogger, but John mostly gets pissed off about the sam shit I would and if he misses it, the rest of you pick it up. I hate writing anyway so I have to be pissed off to the highest of pissed-ivity to write anyway; but still it, was fun sometimes.

  94. 94.

    Comrade Kevin

    Hey, where are Sanka and Makewi? How’s that hopey changey working out for ya, jackasses?

  100. 100.

    Scott de B.

    Henry Waxman is so freaking short. He’s so short, he’s gotta be shorter than Kucinich.

    His brother is Professor Flitwick.

  102. 102.

    moe99

    Thank you John and all BJ bloggers and posters. From someone who mainly lurks, your posts and comments have been my lifeline.

  103. 103.

    MikeTheZ

    @asiangrrlMN: Apparently. Anyone have something besides MSNBC on? I wanna see if the media at large is being as nice as they are to the Dems (and not particularly kind to the Repubs)

  106. 106.

    burnspbesq

    “… another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American Dream.”

    Fuck yeah.

  107. 107.

    sfinny

    Thanks to all at BJ. Mostly I lurk, but Tim definately got me to keep up on calls to my rep, and he voted yes even though his office was getting hammered by anti-HCR callers. The staff I spoke to were absolutely happy to get the pro-HCR calls and I feel that even though we may have been outnumbered, the tone and language used made a difference.

  108. 108.

    MikeTheZ

    @Zam: I didn’t so much just get healthcare as in 2 months I won’t lose my healthcare for having the sheer unmitigated gall to turn a year older.

  109. 109.

    Comrade Kevin

    To quote Oliver Willis: “A woman’s place is clearly in the Speaker’s office”

  110. 110.

    Tonal Crow

    @Comrade Kevin:

    Hey, where are Sanka and Makewi?

    Pissing in each others’ decaf as B.O.B runs under a neighboring bridge to rip the sparrow off someone’s makeshift roasting spit.

  112. 112.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @scav:

    Someone on MSNBC just pointed out that most Dems are gonna be pretty happy to go back and campaign on something besides the Lily Ledbetter Act and the stimulus … “Hey, we passed health care dude!”

  114. 114.

    jrosen

    There is also the sound of Republican heads exploding in the morning (cf. “Apocalypse Now”), and Rush off to Costa Rica.

  115. 115.

    K. Grant

    I really hope that they open a good bottle of scotch at the White House tonight. It is well earned.

    I simply do not see how any one can ever say that this President cannot get things done. He and Speaker Pelosi are a formidable team.

  118. 118.

    JGabriel

    I am so looking forward to tomorrow night’s Daily Show, and all the footage of crying Fox pundits.

    .

  119. 119.

    Tattoosydney

    Congratulations to all of you, and (and I say this in a genuinely non-snarky way) welcome to the list of countries that have a vaguely equitable healthcare system.

    I’m not American, but my happiness at what was achieved today is genuine and heartfelt.

    Healthcare, bitches!

  120. 120.

    mai naem

    I really think it should say “Yes, we motherfuckingwell did” but then, this really isn’t Samuel L. Jackson’s blog.

  125. 125.

    Warren Terra

    To revive (and very slightly bowdlerize) a phrase from one of the tough primary battles, like this one a victory of planning and persistence against experience and expectation:

    Si se fncking puede.

  127. 127.

    Ed in NJ

    @MikeTheZ:

    Fox News has Geraldo on by himself interviewing first Al Sharpton, and now some no name R from Nebraska whining about backroom deals that are now out of the bill.

    Most surprising (not) is that the big guns on the network are off crying in a corner somewhere.

  128. 128.

    Steve

    Seriously Tim, thank you for getting me of my complacent ass and calling my reps. It would have never happened without the continuous urging of my favorite blogger. For some reason I never contemplated breaking any kind of political barrier other than obsessive reading amongst blogs (and voting obviously). Especially after Scott Brown won, it didn’t feel like a spectator sport anymore, and you’re unrelenting encouragement got me up to do something that I hadn’t before. And for that, I thank you. I feel this kind of behavior in congress must be rewarded. I consider myself a democrat, and they just delivered on the biggest possible item in the biggest way politically possible. I feel I owe a campaign some volunteer time. If this won’t get you on the street for a worthwhile D candidate, I don’t know what will. I’m in Texas I’m going to volunteer for Raggio’s campaign even if it is a long-shot vs. Pete Sessions (one of the most corrupt Rs out their in the house). If anyone has some suggestions on how to organize or what venues politically would be the best to channel the current enthusiasm add to the thread, or email me at SB marshall, at that google email service provider.

  129. 129.

    scav

    @Zuzu’s Petals: totally tubular du-ude! Especially given I can’t help thinking Leadbetter Beach, former barbarian that I am. And you know, like, Justice and Health are just such downers as platforms.

  133. 133.

    Yutsano

    @Tattoosydney: A to the fucking Men to that. I thought just getting Obama elected was gonna be the limit of the change and little more would happen. Now I really want to see how Obama’s approval numbers improve from here, especially as the positive effects start kicking in.

    @asiangrrlMN: Home from a semi-crappy assed day at work and trying to do a little as possible right now. Rush will be delicious to listen to tomorrow.

  134. 134.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @Corner Stone:

    I think he just meant it wasn’t something that would be especially sexy with voters.

    One of those videos of the teabaggers throwing a nutty showed some guy yelling “Name ONE THING Obama’s done. ONE THING!” Geeze, you mean aside from averting a depression, lowering your taxes, and yes … protecting your wife/daughter/sister’s employment rights?

  135. 135.

    Sasha

    “We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed.”
    – Speaker Nancy “SMASH!” Pelosi

  137. 137.

    Martin

    Wow, I really like this bill. I just got my George Soros secret email (yours should all be showing up soon). Among other things that go into effect, next year Organizing for America will be forwarding to all African Americans information gleaned from Census and 1040 forms that will allow them to directly send medical costs to the bank accounts of white Republicans in confederate states.

    Looks like there were some good nuggets in those 2,000 pages.

  141. 141.

    AngusTheGodOfMeat

    I thought Kill The Bill was about BOB.

    Darn it, I never get this stuff right. Now I am trying a new handle to see if this post dodges the posteater.

    Congrats to the B J team for all the hard work helping to get this done.

  148. 148.

    MikeTheZ

    I’m amused. Dems actually seem to have gotten their talking points in line. Everyone appearing on MSNBC have been saying things like “Republicans said no to you, yes to the insurance companies.”

  149. 149.

    frostys

    Thanks, Tim F.

    I made the calls to my wingnut congressman (R-AlabamaUpTheMiddle). I wouldn’t have bothered without your whipping (oh the scars!). I’m glad I did, even though it probably did no good.

    frosty +5

  151. 151.

    Redshift

    Woo-hoo! Yes, we did! I love all you guys!

    We were over visiting friends tonight, and we spent most of the evening watching C-SPAN. (Well, to be honest, we switched to Discovery when Republicans were talking. Komodo dragons may be as creepy as Republicans, but they have more integrity.)

  153. 153.

    demo woman

    I can’t sleep. I keep thinking of DeMint in glittery gear singing Waterloo. Help is there a cure for this?

  156. 156.

    FlipYrWhig

    Hi and thanks to all for making me part of the loop. I’m glad I landed here after feeling run off of many blogs I’d been reading much longer. Thanks for making it such a congenial place for n00bz.

  157. 157.

    Violet

    A really great side effect of this is that I think the Dems maybe have learned that they can accomplish things since they’ve got a majority. And I get the impression they like the feeling of winning. Maybe they won’t be such wimps from now on. /hopeychangey

  158. 158.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Tattoosydney: Yutsy is here, but I haven’t seen El Cid.

    @Yutsano: You listen so I don’t have to listen.

    I had a couple slugs of ice-cold bourbon (yum) and a few bites of a sockulist brownie (from the coop). Nooner can bite my flat ass!

    Night to all who are hitting the sheets. Good work y’all!

  159. 159.

    Mwangangi

    @General Egali Tarian Stuck: Son… you stir up shit like no other. Beyond the entertainment value, you inspire your opponents (sometimes) to lay out cohesive arguments for their point of view. I get to mine all of that material for my interactions with all the people I interact with in meatspace (I’m the political dude, so I pretty much am required to know everything; and if I can’t give reasonable explanations, I can’t get my cohort to care enough to vote).

  160. 160.

    slag

    David Plouffe FTW in his debate with Karl Rove:

    If Karl and a lot of Republicans want to call the election already, they ought to break out that ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner.

  166. 166.

    TEL

    Yay!! Thanks Tim F.! And thanks to everyone else here, this blog really has helped keep me sane through all the HCR craziness (or made me less sane? – the jury’s still out).

  168. 168.

    FormerSwingVoter

    When I wake up tomorrow, the world will be a better place than it was when I woke up today.

    I want that to be true every morning.

  172. 172.

    Mnemosyne

    @frostys:

    I made the calls to my wingnut congressman (R-AlabamaUpTheMiddle). I wouldn’t have bothered without your whipping (oh the scars!). I’m glad I did, even though it probably did no good.

    No good in terms of making him change his vote. Lots of good in terms of annoying the crap out of him. Win-win!

  174. 174.

    Dave Ruddell

    I went into the archives to read some of those posts from March of 2005 (which was about the time I became a regular reader and infrequent commenter). It really was a different blog back then, with a rather different set of commenters. Of course, back then a really controversial post might get as many as 50(!) comments…

  175. 175.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    @Mnemosyne: LOL, Biden looks like the cat that ate the canary. Barely contained glee. Obama looks like the cool cat he always does.

  176. 176.

    JGabriel

    Rush Limbaugh:

    If this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented — I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica.

    Shit. We’re stuck with him until 2015.

    You’d think the new death panels could do something about that.

    .

  177. 177.

    srv

    There is something so satisfying in hearing other congressmen call Stupak a Baby Killer.

  178. 178.

    MikeTheZ

    @Mnemosyne: I’m planning on calling my representative, Eric Cantor, tomorrow, thanking him for assuring the Dems will have a wonderful issue to hammer EVERY LAST HOUSE REPUBLICAN with during the midterms.

  179. 179.

    Yutsano

    @Tattoosydney: I had proposed a familial group hug, however this was when the WP gerbils were having their massive fail. It could have also been my work browser being ass too, so hard to say for sure where the fail really lies there. Either way, it was a good idea. I’ll join in a happy dance though. Everybody hora!

  181. 181.

    CaseyL

    I too want to thank BJ for keeping us on track and continuing to exhort us to call our congresspersons. I did call McDermott, and Inslee – and Baird, repeatedly – and would like to think my calls made a difference.

    Thank you so much for getting us to pick ourselves up after the Scott Brown debacle, and for encouraging/demanding that we keep at it. I really don’t think I would have had the mettle to keep at it without your encouragement.

    This is one hell of a blog: an amazing community, with so much love and also so much empowerment. Invaluable, I tell you. Invaluable.

  182. 182.

    burnspbesq

    David Frum:

    We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat.

    Yup. I love the sound of that, don’t you? “Abject and irreversible defeat.”

  184. 184.

    ricky

    Would somebody tell the REAL progressives out there they can take the “Stab me” stickers off their backs. And remove the self inflicted forks. They were done when this started.
    If they get any more cooked the forks will fall out on their own. Then they’ll have to pay for all new flatware.

  187. 187.

    Yutsano

    @Violet: I think it would be better if they taxed him heavily then refused him treatment under the soshulist health care system. Now THAT would be delicious!

    @scav: Heh. You’ve never been to a Jewish wedding I can tell. Ten minutes of ceremony, ten hours of party.

  188. 188.

    scav

    @Yutsano, I don’t think I can get off the floor to hora correctly. Can I just lay here and giggle insanely at @ricky’s falling flatware?

  189. 189.

    Lurker

    As someone who had her applications for private coverage rejected three times by three different insurers because of a preexisting condition…

    …thank you, thank you, a thousand times over.

    Thank you for calling, voting, writing, discussing, donating and doing what you could to get this done.

    You guys rock.

  190. 190.

    demo woman

    @Yutsano: That was awesome and I bookmarked it for nights like this. Thanks.
    Mnemosyne, Biden’s picture was great and I love that smirk.
    Night all. The best win ever.

  191. 191.

    Violet

    @Mnemosyne:
    I love Joe Biden. Can’t wait to watch him in the Senate with this reconciliation vote. He’ll be there, right? He wouldn’t miss it, would he?

  193. 193.

    Zam

    @Violet:

    I feel bad for the Costa Ricans, though. What did they do to deserve this?

    They have Soshulized medicines, he’s probably going to liberate them.

  194. 194.

    The Main Gauche of Mild Reason

    I think the other thing people don’t realize is that legislative wins build comraderie and coalitions. Regardless of how ambivalent they felt about the bill, the reps are now going to be subject to a week + long celebration-fest. They’re going to want to justify their vote for the bill, and so they’re going to feel better about it and want to fight against misrepresentations of it. And next time a big issue comes up, they’re going to talk about getting a win “like healthcare reform”, and they’re going to try to replicate that process. And freshman legislators in Congress now are going to talk with their colleagues years down the road about the great job they did passing healthcare reform.

    It’s a hell of a way to buck up ambivalent wimps like most elected Democrats ;-)

  198. 198.

    Yutsano

    @demo woman: Next challenge for Disney when they revisit the Fantasia franchise: platypi. I demand nothing less than a full-on platypus ballet. Maybe to something by Vivaldi.

  199. 199.

    slag

    @asiangrrlMN: It was funny. I’ve been wondering whether Plouffe is behind Obama’s most recent HCR campaign strategic direction. All the “Fired Up”ness Obama’s had going….It sure smacks of Plouffe.

  203. 203.

    Mnemosyne

    @Violet:

    I think that if somehow Biden dropped dead between now and the vote, his zombie would still show up to preside over the Senate like in one of the old EC Comics.

  204. 204.

    Zuzu's Petals

    @Lurker:

    Given just the testimonies here at BJ, I’d imagine there are going to be some pretty heartfelt “thank yous” featured in folks’ campaign ads.

    A nice thought.

  205. 205.

    IndyLib

    I love the intertubes, I got e-mails from the Pres and Madame Speaker. How cool is that!

    Late back to the party, but I add my thanks to the front-pagers, espcially TimF, for all the whipping and sanity.

  208. 208.

    Violet

    @slag:

    I’ve been wondering whether Plouffe is behind Obama’s most recent HCR campaign strategic direction. All the “Fired Up”ness Obama’s had going….It sure smacks of Plouffe

    I think you’re right. Did you see Plouffe take on Rove today on one of the Sunday shows? Awesome stuff. Plouffe knows how to frame things the right way.

  211. 211.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Mnemosyne:

    I can’t help it—I love Crazy Uncle Joe.

    This was the dialogue I imagined as they walked down the hallway away from the cameras:

    “Hey, sport, ya know, I could really use a drink.”
    “You always say that, Joe.”

  214. 214.

    Violet

    @Yutsano:
    From that awesome CNN column:

    From the start of Obama’s presidency, Pelosi has argued that Democrats should focus on maintaining partisan unity rather than on achieving bipartisan coalitions. She has implored her colleagues to act with confidence rather than out of fear. Her goal has always been to find ways to keep Democrats together rather than bringing Republicans on board.

    YES! This is how Democrats should be acting. NANCY SMASH!

  215. 215.

    freelancer (itouch)

    Sleep, Win, No complaints.

    I feel satisfied. The only thing missing from today would be ravenous, noncommital sex. But I’ll count my blessings, the arc of history bends my way.

    Again, SQUEEE!

  216. 216.

    Cain

    I’ve been reading and watching the whole day, but not posting much.

    Let me see this first:

    “Hows that hopey changey workin out for ya?”

    DAMN FUCKING GOOD, BITCH! We are Democrats, here us ROAR!

    I’m afraid that a light has ignited in me, and I’m going to be doing a LOT more activism after this. YES WE CAN!

    cain

  217. 217.

    Stroszek

    After losing faith in January, I’m a total Obamabot again.

    And Pelosi… greatest Speaker ever.

  219. 219.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: THAT. WILL. KICK. SO. MUCH. FUCKING. ASS. I hope that tours soon. Hell I’d go to NYC just to watch that alone. That and eat at a Batali restaurant. I really need to figure out a way to convince him to open a restaurant in his home city. His dad still runs a business in Seattle.

  222. 222.

    YellowJournalism

    Congratualtions, all! Thank you BJ readers–and especially to the BJ crew–for helping to make this possible. It feels good to know that in a few years, my family members in the States will have few obstacles to decent medical insurance.

  226. 226.

    Loneoak

    @asiangrrlMN:

    So, Nancy Smash will be in the Lexicon now, right?

    Aww, I was too busy getting drunk to notice that my coinage NANCY SMASH was getting nominated for the lexicon. You guys are awesome.

    Loneoak +5

  227. 227.

    FreeAtLast

    Am having trouble keeping up with all the postings tonight – but Tim F gets a big THANK YOU from me. Tim, you did yeoman’s work around here. You and the commenters you inspired made it easier (and therefore more likely) for all of us to take action.

    Good Night.

  228. 228.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: BJ road trip to the Big Apple? (points to FH #1)

    I also just realized something. Would we all be this enthused if HCR had passed in the summer as opposed to the longer tortuous path it took to finally become law? I wonder if the delayed release of our huzzahs are just making this moment just the more sweeter.

  230. 230.

    Violet

    @asiangrrlMN:
    Lolz. I’m only plus about 0.75. I’m a total lightweight. Mostly I’m just seriously keyed up about the whole hcr thing and am not doing a very good job of calming down and going to bed.

    Think I’m finally getting sleepy, though, so I’m going to turn off the computer and head to bed. Should have done that hours ago.

    NANCY SMASH is still my hero, though! She is beyond awesome. From the CNN article:

    She “kept the steel in the President’s back,” Democrat Rep. Anna Eshoo told Politico. Finally, in the past week she displayed the kind of vote-gathering skills that have been displayed by legendary figures such as Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas.

    When they compare her to Sam Rayburn, that’s high praise indeed!

    Sleep well, all.

  232. 232.

    Sly

    I hope the GOP keeps its promise and campaigns on repeal.

    “Hello, Miss. The Democrats’ health bill made it illegal for insurance companies to take into account your six-year-old son’s congenital heart defect when they rated your policy and, in turn, made insurance actually affordable for you. It also made prescription drugs more affordable for your seventy-year-old father, and the risks associated with your brother’s cancer history is currently being mitigated through the high risk pool until the Exchange is set up. I want to get rid of all that. Can I expect your vote in November?”

    CAN’T LOSE.

  235. 235.

    Mwangangi

    @Yutsano: I was born there… although I now live in the Gomorrah (San Francisco) I could give a tour to Sodom ( and show you the best spots to run the intermission con at)…

  236. 236.

    scav

    whew, obsessing over salumi and Mount Townsend cheeses might just prevent that second dose of ABBA and the guitar from haunting me in my dreams. . . .

  238. 238.

    Violet

    @Loneoak:
    Congrats on the NANCY SMASH coinage! Excellent! Definitely must become part of the Lexicon. And one of the BJ tags for posts, too.

  239. 239.

    williamc

    @freelancer (itouch):

    I feel satisfied. The only thing missing from today would be ravenous, noncommital sex. But I’ll count my blessings, the arc of history bends my way.

    The best thing I’ve read all day, I can’t disagree and hope you (and myself for that matter) get what you are looking for. I’m glad everyone is in such a great mood, since its back to squabbling Senators later in the week to finish the job.

    @Cain:
    Its been an ongoing party here tonight in downtown Atlanta celebrating our victory. And it really is our victory. My pals and I spent months campaigning in hostile territory in N. Atlanta for the President in 2008, and then doing some canvassing through Organizing for America in late 2009, and today it paid off. Yes We Did, indeed.

    I was feeling mighty low after the teabaggers attacked my rep John Lewis, like he was ever going to vote any other way, and the spitting on Emanuel Cleaver took me over the edge for a bit, but a win over Boner, Can’ter, and the rest of the Crazy caucus makes me want to go out and fight some wingnut crimnals somewhere at 130 in the morning. But I’ll go to bed drunk instead.

    Good night everyone.

  240. 240.

    Violet

    @asiangrrlMN:
    I’m much farther south than you, but I do have family in MN so maybe I could visit them on my way to pick you up on the way to NYC. Lolz.

    Okay, I really am headed to bed now. Goodnight all. And a very good night it was, too.

    And one last time, just because she’s so awesome – NANCY SMASH!

  241. 241.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: I am all about taking the train from Seattle to Chicago (I could just as easily catch it in Spokane and go from there, though going through the Cascades by train would be more than worth it) and going east from there. Maybe we could get our beloved fearless leader to get those high-speed rails up and running by then eh?

  247. 247.

    Mike E

    @JGabriel:

    I do not know what the Democratic Party spent, in toto, on the 2004 election, but what they seem to have gotten for it is Barack Obama. Let us savor.

    This would make a lousy t-shirt, but oh how I would love to wear the fuck out of it.

    Cheers y’all!

  248. 248.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    @JGabriel:

    That is fucking priceless! Thanks for sharing that tidbit of history.

    Holee Shit! Yes. We. Did.

    While this isn’t near what most progressives want I do think this bill removes the door that we have been getting slammed in our faces for over 100 years now. Obama, Pelosi and the Democrats took that fucker off the hinges and threw it away. We now have a good starting point to work from and not from scratch once again.

    I had company over and we flipped between cspan, msnbc, bj, GOS, wonkette, free republic (for purely humorous reasons) and several other outlets. My company noticed that the liberal blogs were having fun with this while the wingers/teabaggers were in full tilt whining and threatening mode. The contrast was very stark, enough so that they commented on it to the wife and I. Our friends are ‘loose’ progressives; progressive but not really politically involved (young, raising kids and preoccupied with life). Our commentary while watching the sausage-making was fit for any sporting event. Watching the Tan Man whine almost to tears was pure nectar for the soul, something to savor every minute of. I have never been more entertained watching cspan than I was today.

    Too bad I cut back my smoking, I wanted to smoke a pack when this was over. Oh well, at least I didn’t cut back on bong hits. :)

    To the boss and his henchmen/woman here; well done! You too John, I can’t give Tunch all the credit. ;)

  249. 249.

    Yutsano

    @Mwangangi: If you’re not already planning to, I would highly suggest calling Madame Speaker and thanking her for Passing The Damn Bill. I feel strangely good to be an American tonight.

    @burnspbesq: Philly works just as good for me too. Mmm… cheese steaks.

  252. 252.

    Loneoak

    How sick is it that I’m tired and kinda drunk but still thought, “Hey, I wonder if Krugman’s column is up yet?”

    “And on the other side, here’s what Newt Gingrich, the Republican former speaker of the House — a man celebrated by many in his party as an intellectual leader — had to say: If Democrats pass health reform, “They will have destroyed their party much as Lyndon Johnson shattered the Democratic Party for 40 years” by passing civil rights legislation.

    … Think about what it means to condemn health reform by comparing it to the Civil Rights Act. Who in modern America would say that L.B.J. did the wrong thing by pushing for racial equality? (Actually, we know who: the people at the Tea Party protest who hurled racial epithets at Democratic members of Congress on the eve of the vote.)”

    From a news perspective, this is about the only advantageous thing about living on the West Coast.

    NANCY SMASH +6

  256. 256.

    Yutsano

    @Tattoosydney: Agreed on that point. I really wanna see what NANCY SMASH next. You realize of course she would be our PM if we had a parliamentary system? I find that little factoid…stimulating.

  257. 257.

    KS in MA

    Thank all of you for keeping me sane this past year-and-then-some. And I’m going to write my Congressman (Richard Neal, a good progressive Public Option guy who’s kept his mouth shut through this whole ordeal) and thank him, too.

    Whoowee!

  259. 259.

    JadedOptimist

    Although I’m not in her district (my rep is the wonderful Linda Sanchez, the more progressive of the Sanchez sister act), I’m proud to be from Madam Speaker’s state. I am forunate to be represented by three amazing women in Congress: Sanchez, Boxer and (to a lesser degree) Feinstein. But today the Speaker made me so proud that I can say:

    I’m proud to be a Nancy Boy!

  262. 262.

    Redshift

    While I’m feeling much more positive now (obviously), I would like to raise a small glass to Sarah Palin. Things weren’t looking so great at the time when she sneered to the CPAC-ers “how’s that hopey changey stuff workin’ out for you?” and reminded me of just how much worse things could have been if we had actually elected vindictive, incurious, “I’ll embrace any nutbar economic idea for addressing the meltdown if it will make the wingnuts like me” McCain and even worse, vicious grifter Palin. Even when none of this great stuff had come to pass, the answer was already:

    “Pretty damn well, thank you!”

    And now so much more so.

    Nancy SMASH! Good night. :-)

  264. 264.

    Dr. Morpheus

    @asiangrrlMN:

    Wait, whoa, I missed the ravenous noncommittal sex part. Where do I sign up?

    Well, if there’s a tour being organized then count me in!

    BTW, Thanks from me too to the BJ crew and Steve Benin for keeping the pressure on!

    Celebration time!

  266. 266.

    Chris Johnson

    Hey, I just woke up in a society with civilized features.

    Whoa.

    And I am SO PROUD of MY SENATOR Bernie Sanders, who I helped vote in :) that alone ought to earn me some of that ravenous noncommital (is that the right word? Soc1alism means we DO commit to each others’ wellbeing, noncommital is wide stance closeted-rightie crap) sex.

    I’ll contribute some background music to the soc1alist Swedish-style orgy, a recent single- http://www.jinxtigr.com/temp/AndIDangle.mp3

    We’ll ball like a Scandinavian volleyball team in winter, we’ll rock like Americans, and you know what I’m getting at some point this summer?

    Dental work. Preventative dental work. My last dentist who’d take my govt. insurance had just shooed me away saying I wasn’t in the service area and they ‘couldn’t service all of Southern Vermont’, illustrating that you can’t always just travel great distances to solve the problem. Odds just went up that I’ll find some form of dental care somewhere before I have to end up looking like an Appalachian hillbilly :) I might not get my existing pulled-tooth gap filled in, but I have a fighting chance of not losing lots more…

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