Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

We still have time to mess this up!

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

It’s easier to kill a dangerous animal than a man who just happens to have different thoughts/values than one’s own.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

The jury literally has a bell they can ring to force Trump to show up on command. Greatest thing ever!

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

No one could have predicted…

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Chutkan laughs. Lauro sits back down.

Cole, when it comes to calico cats, restraint is overrated.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

You are here: Home / Stupak presser — we are all Bob Somerby now

Stupak presser — we are all Bob Somerby now

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For the love of God, Luke Russert AND Larry O’Donnell? (I’m watching MSNBC.)

I need a drink.

I will update as soon as Stupak says something.

Update. O’Donnell is braying on about how the “ever-wise” Tweety knew it would come down to abortion. The Guinness I popped feels pretty redundant right now.

Update. Bart’s on stage and…..he’s smiling…waiting for the rest of his posse…

Update. “The agreement we’ve been able to reach”….it’s done.

Update. The exact deal is an executive order, so not in the lej itself.

Update. TPM has the details of the order.

Reader Interactions

175Comments

  10. 10.

    Tenzil Kem

    I can’t imagine that Chris Carney would be standing behind Stupak if Stupak were about to announce a no.

  11. 11.

    MD Smith

    Well, I’m already sipping pinot grigio, my pain killer of choice.
    And listening to MSNBC, with C-Span streaming live on my computer. Also occasionally checking March Madness scores. Too much going on and so much at stake.

  16. 16.

    rob!

    Mr. Stupak is ready for his closeup now.

    Bart Stupak: “I’m still big…it’s the Health Care Bill that got small.”

  19. 19.

    Kristine

    I watched Countdown once during the time that O’Donnell sat in for Keith, and that was by accident. Annoying, arrogant know-it-all.

  20. 20.

    batgirl

    Bullshit Stupak. There was no public funding for abortion in the Senate bill. Go fuck yourself. Hopefully this is the last time we here from you.

  21. 21.

    4tehlulz

    Bart’s big victory is getting the president to say that applicable laws are applicable.

    Good work, Rep. Stupak.

  32. 32.

    Mike Kay

    White House release executive order, simply reiterates the language of the bill: no public funding for abortion.

    Stupak =Stoopid

  35. 35.

    blueintheface

    All that posturing for a piece of paper from Obama saying that federal dollars won’t be used for abortions. What a dumbass.

    Obama should take a page from Schwarzenegger and spell out “Stick this up your ass, Stupak” with the first letter in each line.

  37. 37.

    Polish the Guillotines

    Kaptur is framing things the right way, but if she’s smart, she’ll run as fast as possible away from Stupak after the smoke clears.

    That dude is gonna be seriously toxic in the party down the road.

  41. 41.

    Mayken

    Stupak and his C-street cronies are still a pack of lying nutbars and I am giving money to each and everyone of their primary challengers.

  42. 42.

    eemom

    And now there is officially no one left in the universe except Jane Hamsher who has the courage of their convictions. : (

  43. 43.

    Susan Kitchens

    The stuff that Marcie Kaptur is saying re: covering maternal health care is good.

    (I’m trying to justify to myself why I’m watching live coverage of this presser on TPM. There are weeds outside that need pulling. I’ll candidly admit that I sang the “we did it. hooray” Dora song when Bart said the “30 million uninsured…” lines. The major question, while they’re talking about valuing life is… will I, now that this will pass, will I get a life?)

  44. 44.

    ellaesther

    Oops, just posted a rant in the wrong thread, have now deleted and will post rant here:

    I HATE BART STUPAK AND ALL HIS LYING LIES AND THE VERY FACT THAT HE THINKS THAT HE HAS A RIGHT TO TELL ME OR MY DAUGHTER WHAT WE MAY DO WITH OUR BODIES.

    Ahem. Sorry. Had to let that out.

    Is there any chance in hell that some reasonable Democrat will run against him in a primary? Can I donate now?

  45. 45.

    Dannie22

    Who is this clown with five children talking about preserving the sanctity of life?

    Oh, and Stupidhack-go away!!

  46. 46.

    Rommie

    The Full Nancy must be some kind of wow – should be interesting to read as the history is written about this.

  48. 48.

    K. Grant

    No matter the circumstance, no matter the abject foolishness unfolding around you, no matter if it were the parousia itself arriving, a Guinness is right and proper for all occasions. The Greek gods called it ambrosia because they didn’t know how to pronounce ‘Guinness’.

  49. 49.

    Comrade Mary

    Stupak, that shit-weasel, says that the EO specifically prevents community health centres from performing abortions.

    And it does, but from what I can see, it’s just the Hyde Amendment being enforced. Status quo, which sucks, but there was no way Hyde was going to be loosened when trying to pull HCR together.

    (I’m reading the EO out loud, adding “do you understand me, you thickheaded motherfuckers?” at the end of every sentence. It helps a bit.)

  50. 50.

    Econwatcher

    Now, if Obama can pivot from the win tonight to an aggressive push for financial reform that forces Republicans into publicly defending Wall Street…. The losses won’t be so bad in November.

  51. 51.

    Violet

    Unless this was some kind of massive political theater distraction technique by Pelosi and Obama, instead of a real vote hostage situation, then Stupak is a total and complete ass and an utter idiot. He got nothing that wasn’t there before. And lots of people like me who didn’t know who he was before will actively donate to his primary challenger. Plus, the Dems won’t trust him and he’ll probably risk being thrown under the bus at the first chance.

    Like I said, it could have been massive political theater, but if not, Stupak is just dumb.

  53. 53.

    ellaesther

    @Mike Kay: I know right — the bill said it all along! There is nothing new here!

    Though God bless the President for saying “You know what, you need a note saying that we said what we said? Ok, Bart, here’s your note.”

  54. 54.

    scav

    hee hee hee, am I the only one enjoying the weird echos that all this involves an EO that apparently changes nothing. EO, EO, EO after all those GWB ones, HA!

    OK, I’m weird.

  57. 57.

    Polish the Guillotines

    No surprise that the women in the coalition are talking beyond abortion and casting the “pro-life” dialog in terms of caring for women’s health. They need to keep hammering on this. Call the GOP’s bluff.

  58. 58.

    Brandon

    How long before Hanoi Jane and her motley crew of Firebaggers turn on Stupak? 5…4…3…2…1

  59. 59.

    Mike Kay

    @Comrade Mary: that’s the thing. The community help centers are not OB/GYN clinics and even if they were, they would never use federal dollars, as that is currently prohibited. Yet, stoopak kept lying.

  60. 60.

    Michael D.

    @tomvox1:

    Pop the corks. The USA can now join the 21st Century.

    Before you pop corks, this bill just takes this country a step closer to joining the 21st century.

    Until we get to single payer, or something close to what France has, we’re still a number of years behind.

  63. 63.

    slag

    @Mike Kay:

    White House release executive order, simply reiterates the language of the bill: no public funding for abortion.

    You forgot the “(except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered)” clause. Because any conception under those circumstances isn’t “life”, after all.

  64. 64.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    Democrats get knocked down, often at their own hand, get up and do the right thing. I’m not mad at any of them, they done good, Stupak was just a very long drawn out speed bump of stupid. Democrats being democrats maximizing angst for everybody but crossing the finish line bruised and bloodied. Nothing new.

  65. 65.

    kay

    @mcc:

    He got something. It was always about community health centers.

    What he got is this: part of the funding for community health centers will now come through HHS, and Hyde applies to funding that comes through HHS. It’s in III, in the Order.

    Community Health Centers will not be permitted to offer abortion, because part of their funding will come through HHS, and Hyde bars federal funding of abortion that comes through HHS.

    Abortion coverage was never available through Medicaid, but a person could go to a community health center and pay cash, if the Center offered abortion services.

  66. 66.

    Kristine

    I would like to think that in exchange for allowing Stupak to save face now, he will be expected to vote with his party for other important legislation sans drama. I would like to think that this vote doesn’t constitute the end of his payback, because he drew this out for as long as he could and made it abundantly clear along the way that he doesn’t give a shit for the opinions or circumstances of half of all Americans.

  68. 68.

    Malron aka eclecticbrotha

    @blueintheface:

    Obama should take a page from Schwarzenegger and spell out “Stick this up your ass, Stupak” with the first letter in each line.

    Win.

    Kos’ Twitter feed is sublime as well.

  70. 70.

    Michael D.

    Wouldn’t it be hilarious if, while Stupak and his cronies are up their accepting their “Standing on Principle” awards, they accidentally miss the vote???

  72. 72.

    batgirl

    @kay: Do you know how many Community Health Centers offered abortions?

    Edit: according to PolitiFact, community health centers have never offered abortion services so this changes nothing, nada.

    It is pure political theater.

  73. 73.

    Brandon

    @Violet: Who knows what Stupak actually got. We know he’s unprincipled, so the question is, beyond the attention, what did he do all of this for in the end? I am sure he got something, the big question however is what was it? I got a 5 on him getting some gov’t GM stock.

  74. 74.

    General Egali Tarian Stuck

    David Dreier on the House floor debating why the dems have shut down debate/wingnut

  75. 75.

    AnotherBruce

    Thanks congressman Stupak, I see you are a courageous man of principle.

    I am so not going to donate money to your primary challenger any time soon. Nope not going to happen, no way no how. Nyet, nay, negatory.

  76. 76.

    Violet

    Someone on the MSNBC panel said this was great for Stupak’s career. I totally disagree. He’s toxic to the Dem party and needs to go.

    Donate money to his primary challenger, Connie Saltonstall.

  78. 78.

    Wannabe Speechwriter

    Rep. David Dreier is attacking the Democrats for not being honest with the American people. The closeted Republican demands honesty from others. Why am I not surprised?

  80. 80.

    jwb

    @Violet: I think it has to be distraction. Even Stupak can’t be this dense. My only hesitation is that I can’t quite figure from what exactly this negotiation with Stupak was supposed serving as a distraction.

  81. 81.

    Brandon

    Now that they have the votes, vote already! Only the Dems are dumb enough to get all of the votes a second time, only to wait an unncessarily long time to allow for something else bad to happen to stop HCR.

  82. 82.

    tammanycall

    Stupak just said Dems had the votes for HCR BEFORE the anti-choice deal was struck!!!!

  87. 87.

    Eljai

    Has anyone noticed that all this talk of abortion on MSNBC is pretty much between reporters and pundits who are all …men. I hope Rachel shows up before I throw this empty whiskey bottle through my TV.

  88. 88.

    Joseph Nobles

    And Freedom weeps.

    No longer will people be free to go to the emergency room for all their healthcare needs, no longer will people be free to lose their house in bankruptcy to pay their medical debts, no longer will people be free of insurance because of their pre-existing conditions.

    No, totalitarianism rules the day and Republican opponents only have 1,200 cable channels, the Internet, and what remaining newspapers there are to use to voice their opinions about this clampdown.

    A sad, sad day indeed for American freedom.

  89. 89.

    Tonal Crow

    Dreier is a tremendous liar. He just said that the Senate bill will do “nothing” to improve access to health care.

  90. 90.

    scav

    @Michael D.: Yeah, but France is still suffering under Sarko so let’s not insist on following their every move. Yeah, there’s still stuff to be done but at least we seem to be in an entirely new rut. Like running this guy out of office: his 15 minutes have been WAY overlong. On the upside, Obama no-drama AND crew managed some drama and it ended with the spectacle of an 11th hour compromise that may have meant jack diddly.

    Let’s just hope that champagne corks are the only violent popping noises we hear for a bit. Once the votes are officially recognized and cast in stone.

  91. 91.

    ellaesther

    @tammanycall: @Violet:

    I just went to read up on her a little and think I like her — can you point me to more information about her?

    (and PS if we’ve been talking about her already on BJ — and I suspect we have — I apologize. I don’t always get the time to read as much or as closely as I would like to. Does John, in fact, have an ActBlue account set up for her?)

  92. 92.

    GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific

    What’s with the custsie names? Gartorade? Bizmark Bankjob? Makes me want to punch someone.

  93. 93.

    Violet

    @Brandon:
    Don’t they have to get through all the procedural hoo-haw before voting?

    @jwb:

    My only hesitation is that I can’t quite figure from what exactly this negotiation with Stupak was supposed serving as a distraction.

    Maybe providing cover for wavering Dems? Last minute horse trading? Who knows. It certainly has been a distraction.

  95. 95.

    AnotherBruce

    @tammanycall:

    Damn, just after I got done praising him for being a man of principle.

    I guess I’ll have to contribute to his primary challenger after all.

  96. 96.

    kay

    @batgirl:

    No. I don’t know that any did, and I don’t know that any planned to. It’s preemptive.

    But community health centers are vastly expanded in this bill, so that was the fear.

    Why Stupak didn’t just say this beyond me. Because he’s incapable of negotiating honestly?

    Kaptur actually mentioned it in an interview, and that got my attention.

  98. 98.

    Brandon

    @jwb:

    I think it has to be distraction. Even Stupak can’t be this dense. My only hesitation is that I can’t quite figure from what exactly this negotiation with Stupak was supposed serving as a distraction.

    I am with you on this. He used his “abortion block” for some alterior purpose that most likely involved the financial gain of someone/thing. As Dennis G. would attest, that is how things are done is Washington, moral crusades are more often than not just cover for interest group lobbying for gov’t goodies. Case in point, Abramoff/Grover/Ralph Reed. Anyone think that those folks invented that trick?

  102. 102.

    Texas Dem

    Stupak just said Dems had the votes for HCR BEFORE the anti-choice deal was struck!

    I think he’s stretching the truth there just a bit. Maybe it’s more accurate to say they had the votes if every one of the remaining undecideds voted yes, but the leadership undoubtedly wanted to give some of them a pass. They also wanted to go above 216, so the GOP wouldn’t be able to attack each Dem as the deciding vote. Hence the deal with Stupak.

    Unrelated observation: I don’t know who on the Dem side thought of having the House Dem. leadership walk arm-in-arm, civil rights style, over to the Capitol. But it was great political theater. The House leadership definitely took their smart pills this morning.

  103. 103.

    licensed to kill time

    Old McStupak had a no, EO EO D’oh!
    And now his vote is changed to yes, EO EO HEH!
    With an EO here and an EO there
    Here an EO There an EO everywhere an EO EO
    Old McBama pwnd his ass EO EO HO!

    (I need to eat, low blood sugar is making me giddy)

  106. 106.

    Lisa K.

    If anybody wants a grim chuckle, Drudge and the Freepers are in full meltdown mode. I recommend checking them out…

  107. 107.

    mcc

    @kay: For all I know Kaptur really was legitimately concerned about that and that was her sticking point.

    But I think you are correct, that just wasn’t Stupak’s objection. He spent months and months fighting for something very specific, he wanted recipients of federal aid to be barred from buying certain kinds of insurance policies. If community health centers were his objection none of this would have happened.

  108. 108.

    tripletee

    @Michael D.:

    Before you pop corks, this bill just takes this country a step closer to joining the 21st century.
    Until we get to single payer, or something close to what France has, we’re still a number of years behind.

    Jesus, Debbie Downer. Can’t we be happy for a few hours?

    Most coastal areas will be under water tomorrow from the combined flood of fire/teabagger tears, so we better take a little happiness while we can.

  110. 110.

    Brandon

    The next question is, and maybe this has been answered and I have not been paying attention, but what has the Senate parlaimentarian ruled on reconciliation and when does the Senate plan to have their vote?

  111. 111.

    Texas Dem

    I can’t wait to hear the right wingers at my office tomorrow morning. They’re liable to blow a gasket. Should be fun.

  112. 112.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    @Violet: Saving face likely had a lot to do with it.

    His trying to avoid the “Stupak rebuffed” narrative. Which we all know is exactly what happened.

    I read the text at TPM and there’s no part of it that stands in the way of people changing abortion laws at any point they can, it just stipulates that this bill won’t do so. Which it already wasn’t going to anyway.

    It’s political theater, but one that Obama and Pelosi were probably happy to stage, since it was basically meaningless.

  113. 113.

    FlipYrWhig

    @GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific:

    What’s with the custsie names? Gartorade? Bizmark Bankjob? Makes me want to punch someone.

    It may cheer you up to think of them as unusual sexual practices, like the Cincinnati Bowtie.

  115. 115.

    demo woman

    @Texas Dem: If you haven’t read ezra, you should.. I am theoretically helping to pay for insurance coverage for corporate employees right now. My tax bill is higher because they get a 250 billion health care deduction. It’s a great point. Read the whole article though.

  117. 117.

    ericblair

    (Sung to Hi-ho)

    EO, EO,
    Bart Stupak reads it slow,
    It don’t say shit but saves that twit
    EO, EO EO EO

  118. 118.

    GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific

    You know what’s arrogant Rep. Foxx? You talking for “The American Public”

  119. 119.

    jwb

    @scav: Except if that were the case, you think they’d want to have as much of the Democratic caucus as possible, but it seems clear that they have made a calculation to pass it with a slim margin (meaning that there are some who will now vote “no” but who would have voted “yes” if needed). I don’t quite get that calculation, since personally I don’t see a “no” vote by any Democrat helping them in the election.

  120. 120.

    IndyLib

    @Texas Dem:

    I don’t know who on the Dem side thought of having the House Dem. leadership walk arm-in-arm, civil rights style, over to the Capitol. But it was great political theater. The House leadership definitely took their smart pills this morning.

    Any footage of this? I’d love to see it.
    I just joined the drama, I have 6 kids to cook for this week, so my grocery store trip was a nightmare.

  121. 121.

    FlipYrWhig

    @mcc:

    He spent months and months fighting for something very specific, he wanted recipients of federal aid to be barred from buying certain kinds of insurance policies.

    Was he maybe making a sloppily-phrased slippery-slope argument? I.e., not that the bill _does_ do something, but that it _might_ do something later that has to be stopped preemptively? Because that sounds like what he got.

    But, yes, all his talk about how money that could go to non-abortion-related health care would end up getting magically transmuted into support for abortions, which Mnemosyne and others have been elucidating here, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with this solution.

  122. 122.

    Susan Kitchens

    Hoping to watch the highlight reel between Slaughter and Dreier. Someone going to make it? Haven’t seen a bit of it. But the comments/tweets have hinted that it’s, well, interesting.

    Alas, alas, alas, I tell you, David Dreier is my congressman.

  123. 123.

    Chat Noir

    @Violet:

    He got nothing that wasn’t there before. And lots of people like me who didn’t know who he was before will actively donate to his primary challenger.

    Include me in that group, too, Violet.

    I know it ain’t over until they vote, but I’m seriously emotional about the thought of this bill passing. I know it still needs work but this is a start. Fingers crossed that it starts the U.S. on the road to single-payer.

  124. 124.

    Texas Dem

    A tweet from David Frum posted over at Huffpo: “If HCR prevails, GOP needs accountability moment. Jim DeMint/ Rush /Beck etc. led us to Waterloo all right. Ours.” Bwahahahahaha!

  125. 125.

    Violet

    @Lisa K.:

    Thanks for the tip. The Freeper meltdown is epic! I like the counsel to “Sell! Sell! Sell! All your stocks tomorrow!” Because of the soshulist takeover. Bwahahaha.

  126. 126.

    Nellcote

    @Rommie:

    The Full Nancy must be some kind of wow – should be interesting to read as the history is written about this

    .

    I hope I live long enough to read Prez Obama & Nancy Pelosi’s memoirs on their time in DC.

  127. 127.

    Mike Kay

    what the fucks wrong with O’Donnell? He’s like the Harold Ford of HCR — always concern trolling from the right wing.

  128. 128.

    Brandon

    David Frum predicts that HCR is the Republican Waterloo. If only he’s right. I think the press will just give them a mulligan and pretend that it didn’t happen. Or perhaps forward the McMegan/Rove lie that it creates a massive new gov’t obligation that will bankrupt our nation, when it does the exact opposite.

  129. 129.

    mr. whipple

    Democrats get knocked down, often at their own hand, get up and do the right thing. I’m not mad at any of them, they done good, Stupak was just a very long drawn out speed bump of stupid.

    I disagree. Stupak and his minions can DIAF, and the reason is all along they’ve been validating wingnut talking points that dems were gonna pass a bill that paid for abortions contrary to law.

    It was BS then, it’s BS now, but all along the GOP has been able to say, ‘even Democrats like Stupak believe…’

    F him.

  130. 130.

    mcc

    @Brandon: I can’t find a clear source for this right now. What C-SPAN said last night is that the parlimentarian ruled that the House can do what they’re doing (pass the reconciliation amendments, then pass the senate bill) as long as the President signs them in the order such that the reconciliation bill is amending “current law” at the moment he signs it.

    I believe the Senate will be voting on the reconciliation bill by the end of this week. They’d have to– they’re scheduled to go on vacation on the 29th.

  131. 131.

    FlipYrWhig

    @GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific:

    You know what’s arrogant Rep. Foxx? You talking for “The American Public”

    Do you ever watch real estate and interior design shows on HGTV? There’s a habit that realtors have of saying that “the buyers” won’t like something about the before-the-makeover house (like, it has one screaming red wall or something). And there’s a habit that designers have of saying that “the eye” isn’t pleased by a scattery design plan. What they really mean is that THEY don’t like it, but in both cases they authorize and validate their preference by projecting it onto an abstraction, which then supports their already-existing view.

    Republican politicians constantly do the same thing with “the public” and “the people.” “I hate it” becomes “Teh Peepl hate it, which is why I hate it.”

  132. 132.

    scav

    @jwb: I don’t know that anyone planned it that way all along, but taking tactical advantage of what turns up is not a bad skill to have. Some of this will he or won’t he bullshit feels like it was stage-managed. I’m not sure I’m buying your point about having all the Dem caucus as being a necessarily good thing. THAT just shouts party line vote, whereas if you’re happy with and actually prefer the cover of reasonable compromise, having errant Dems wandering about blethering that don’t really change the final outcome doesn’t matter and may, in fact, help over the long-term.

    Then again, I am so far from a belt-way politico. :)

  133. 133.

    mr. whipple

    @Mike Kay:

    He can’t get over Obama and Congress were able to do this, when he so utterly failed. He’s had a stick up his butt all along.

  134. 134.

    freelancer

    @GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific:

    You know what’s arrogant Rep. Foxx? You talking for “The American Public”

    Eh, it’s bad, but it’s a step up from their normal behavior, presuming to speak on behalf of the Creator of the Universe.

    Also,
    Seriously, I’m so fucking paranoid, I want to know if it’s okay to go get some champagne, or can they still Fuck this UP?

  136. 136.

    FlipYrWhig

    @Mike Kay:

    what the fucks wrong with O’Donnell? He’s like the Harold Ford of HCR —always concern trolling from the right wing

    Someone in some comments section–probably here–said that O’Donnell has sour grapes about the Obama HCR effort because he was involved in the one that failed under Clinton. I think he has some firebagger tendencies, actually, more so than “trolling from the right.”

  137. 137.

    Corner Stone

    @ellaesther:

    I HATE BART STUPAK AND ALL HIS LYING LIES AND THE VERY FACT THAT HE THINKS THAT HE HAS A RIGHT TO TELL ME OR MY DAUGHTER WHAT WE MAY DO WITH OUR BODIES.

    I hate to tell you this but CapsLock Jesus is not on your side on this one.

  138. 138.

    Chat Noir

    @mcc: I think HCR being signed into law by Friday would be a very nice 70th birthday present for Madame Speaker.

  139. 139.

    Corner Stone

    There’s a “Pro-Choice Caucus” in the D party? WTF?
    I thought that was a plank in the core party platform?

  140. 140.

    Mike Kay

    @mr. whipple:

    yes, much like Harold Ford can’t believe he won’t be the first black president. Not only that, Obama did it from the left, when DLC Harold always thought it could only happen by kowtowing to the right.

  141. 141.

    Violet

    @Mike Kay:
    He’s the one that said this was good for Stupak’s political career. Uh huh….

    Like I said upthread, I’d never heard of Stupak before all this mess. Now I can’t stand him enough that I’m going to donate to his primary challenger. And apparently I’m not alone. Before this mess, did he have to worry about a primary challenger?

    He’s actively detested and mistrusted now by Dems and Republicans won’t like him because he voted for the health care bill. Who will his political friends be?

  144. 144.

    mr. whipple

    Someone in some comments section—probably here—said that O’Donnell has sour grapes about the Obama HCR effort because he was involved in the one that failed under Clinton.

    Yup. Don’t know how many times he said, ‘when I was in the Senate and we tried it, blah blah blah’ and then get this smug look that if he couldn’t do it, no one could.

    He’s an a-hole.

  146. 146.

    Malron aka eclecticbrotha

    Now that we know this 15 month melodrama is hours from the end, Obama’s perfect in-yo-face response to the obstructionist GOP, batshit insane winguts from Teabagistan and the Manic-Progressive Hamsherites would be the lyrics to “King of Rock” from Run DMC:

    I’m the King of Rock
    There is none higher
    Sucker MC’s
    should call me “Sire”
    To burn my Kingdom
    you must use fire
    and I won’t stop rockin’
    ’til I retire

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXzWlPL_TKw

    Let the poppers pop, and the breakers break…

  149. 149.

    SIA

    Oh God. Paul Broun up. How come we have so many stupid ass ex-doctors from GA in the house? Gag.

    ETA David Dreier practicing for his next job as a game show host.

  153. 153.

    Chris

    @Mike Kay:
    and what about o’donnell saying that no one has ever overrulled the parliamentarian in a reconciliation vote?? Didnt Cheney fire one to get the tax cuts passed?? WTF Lawrence??

  154. 154.

    Corner Stone

    @demo woman: Some would call that “unlucky”.
    Fill ‘er up! If ever a day called for the endless opportunity for a hangover, it’s this one.
    Or maybe opportunity for the endless hangover…either way, top mine off while you’re up, will ya?

  156. 156.

    AnotherBruce

    @demo woman: @Violet:

    Wow, the optics of this are sensational. This needs to go viral.

    And Wonkette’s analysis is dead on. Nancy absolutely owned the teabaggers, using them as props.

    People who try to mess with this woman do so at their own peril.

  157. 157.

    Corner Stone

    Luke Russert’s morph into pseudo-adulthood is spooking me right the fuck out.

  158. 158.

    Nellcote

    @Mike Kay:

    He’s like the Harold Ford of HCR —always concern trolling from the right wing.

    ODonnell’s jealous that Prez Obama is getting done what Clinton (w/ODonnell’s help) couldn’t.

  160. 160.

    Texas Dem

    and what about o’donnell saying that no one has ever overrulled the parliamentarian in a reconciliation vote?? Didnt Cheney fire one to get the tax cuts passed?? WTF Lawrence??

    I think O’Donnell is still pissed that Obama is going to succeed where he and other Dems have failed miserably. Recall that O’Donnell was a Senate staffer during the Clinton HCR effort.

    As for the passage of HCR through the Senate, yes, the GOP can make trouble. But after the bad press they’re likely to have going out of this vote, I suspect most of the fight will have gone out of them. There’s already some blame-gaming going on. David Frum is the first out of the gate with a, “Obstructionists, you screwed us” argument, but there will be others. Today is the decisive battle.

  161. 161.

    Mum

    The parade of Republican bobbleheads standing in line to come to the podium to announce their opposition to health care reform should be more amusing than it is. I think I’m experiencing C-Span fatigue.

  163. 163.

    ellaesther

    @tammanycall: @Violet: @Mum:

    Thank you all very much, I’ve just thrown some dollars her way, via the BJ ActBlue thingie. It wasn’t much, but hopefully I’ll be able to do a bit more between now and the primary!

    Grrrr Bart fucking Stupak….

  164. 164.

    GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific

    Apparently 9 year olds are walking up to Rep Fortenberry and asking what country they should move to when American gets too bad.

  165. 165.

    J. Michael Neal

    @Texas Dem:

    A tweet from David Frum posted over at Huffpo: “If HCR prevails, GOP needs accountability moment. Jim DeMint/ Rush /Beck etc. led us to Waterloo all right. Ours.”

    The GOP is right in casting Obama as Napoleon, but they were wrong that this was Waterloo. They’re now hoping that it was Borodino, but I think the 1806 campaign against Prussia is more like it. It’s a pity that the Senate Dems are such fuckups, because it could have been Austerlitz.

  166. 166.

    Texas Dem

    I understand the tea party protests are starting to thin out. Sort of like the fourth quarter of a basketball game, where your team is 20 points down and has no chance of winning. Why stay to the bitter end? Beat the traffic.

  167. 167.

    Mum

    Another gaggle of Republicans marching in lockstep to proclaim their opposition. I’m surprised they aren’t clicking their heels together as they address the podium.

    And does anyone know if that is Fortenberry’s real hair? If it is, he has real Blagojevich look going for him.

  168. 168.

    Chris Johnson

    Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Obama just use Stupak to establish that he is not the raging s0cialist prochoice madman they say he is- by doing nothing more than confirm the law which was there anyway, which the opposition was lying about?

    Now that’s bipartisan I can believe in :)

    I think there’s a very good chance he’s undermined some of the insanity at a stroke at a cost of NOTHING. I’m impressed.

    …oh, for heaven’s sake. Kids, when you alter the s-word, alter the I, not the O! Hi, moderation hell!

  170. 170.

    Mum

    @GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific:

    They should be asking Devin Nunes the same question. I called his office to ask why, if he thought the Federal government was such an abject failure at everything it does, he continues to work for it.

  171. 171.

    Tom Hilton

    @Mike Kay: right, or left? He seems to have followed Olbermann down the this-bill-sucks rabbit hole.

    He had Ezra Klein on the other night, and I was shocked at how obnoxious he was being. Ezra said the bill includes some protection or other, and O’Donnell interrupted him and said “no, it doesn’t.” And I thought, does anyone seriously believe that O’Donnell knows this bill better than Ezra Klein? (I don’t recall the specific issue, but my impression at the time was that Ezra was at least more right than Larry.)

  173. 173.

    AarynLaperle

    is it bad that every time RCP seems sad, i get really happy? The sorrowful resignation in their liveblog is making me laugh

  174. 174.

    tammanycall

    @Tom Hilton:

    I believe O’Donnell knows procedure better than Ezra. And I also think, given his background, it’s likely he has better sources in the Senate.

    I like Ezra a lot but he has a tendency to postulate “the purpose of the healthcare summit w/ the Republicans was to take the media attn. away from Congress so Dems could make deals” without backing it up with reporting. His reading and interpreting of documents is top notch, though.

    We need to be careful about pointing to any one person as an oracle on any issue.

  175. 175.

    Tom Q

    This is totally speculative and the kind of long-distance analysis Bob Somerby mostly rightly decries, but, screw it, I’m going to say it anyway:

    O’Donnell was Moynihan’s right hand man when they failed to get health care through for Clinton. On some level, I think he might have wanted it demonstrated that getting health care through Congress at any time was an impossibility. He has been, for well over six months, a negative voice on Keith’s show. Now that, against all that, the bill appears it’s going to pass, I wonder if his fallback position has to be, OK, it got through, but the bill is crap.

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