Thursday, March 11, 2010

Senators Blocked Clinton, But Will They Block Obama?

Recently, I had a post aboutSenator Robert C. Byrd, and his opposition to using Reconciliation to pass Healthcare. Recently, he seemed to leave the door open for Reconciliation in a recent letter to the Charleston (WVA) Daily Mail. Given his inimitable performance on the Senate Floor during Bill Clinton's presidency on this very issue, his seeming change is rather staggering. Or is that hypocritical?? Decide for yourself:



Those are some forceful words from Senator Byrd. What did President Clinton do? Clinton acknowledged that Senator Byrd was correct, and dropped the pursuit of Reconciliation to pass Healthcare back in the 1990's.

My question to Senator Byrd is: why are you not arguing in the exact same manner against Obama's desire to use this process for the EXACT SAME REASON???

How about Senator Kent Conrad, D-North Dakota on Reconciliation? This was Senator Conrad on the floor of the Senate recalling the debate over President Clinton's consideration of Reconciliation for Healthcare:



And now? Oh, you know what's coming. Now Conrad has signaled he is willing to use this budgetary procedure to pass Obama's exceedingly flawed (and not even completely written) Healthcare bill.

I might add, he was that upset in 2001 over a $138 Billion dollar initiative? Ahahahahah, isn't that just precious? Especially considering Obama and the Democrats racked up $223 Billion in DEBT just this past month alone!! In just ONE month they have spent more $90 billion MORE than Bill Clinton's Healthcare Initiative. Wow, Senator Conrad, way to really stick to your budgetary guns there.

No wonder Democrats are referred to as the "Tax and Spend" Party. I used to take offense at that, but they are earning that label in a big way now.

And then, there is Obama as a US Senator on how we cannot use Reconciliation. Yo knew it was coming. Oh, make sure to check out the date when he is talking about getting a bill to his desk to his sign:



Did you catch that? September of 2007 he was already claiming the presidency. Talk about hubris. Now? You know that, too. Obama wants to use it. In the following video from the Blair Street Summit, Obama's essentially saying we are a bunch of dumbasses who don't care how Congress does its job:



Here's a newsflash for you, Obama - we DO pay attention to how things get done in Washington, or not, and how much you all are listening to us or not. You most definitely are NOT.

Just to digress for a moment, I just wonder why in the world this man wanted this position so much that he was willing to lie, cheat and steal to get it when he CLEARLY has such little regard for the people whom he is SUPPOSED to be serving. Must be those perks he mentioned in the first video because it isn't any respect he has for us.

And talk about HYPOCRISY. Byrd, Conrad, and Obama are poster boys for it in their flipflop about Reconciliation to shove this extremely expensive, pork laden, Big Pharma gifting, increased insurance premium making, Medicare curring healthcare bill down our throats.

Obama wants to "get 'er done" before he leaves next week, another false deadline.

To that end, the House Democrats have locked themselves away in their "transparent" attempt to come to some agreement about this bill so they can try and meet Obama's time frame.

So glad they are spending SO Much time on this when 462,000 people have filed for unemployment this WEEK. The numbers were expected to be lower.

In my own state, the front page news included that unemployment in South Carolina has hit another record high:
Employers cut 27,700 positions throughout the month, including seasonal jobs in tourism and retail, as the jobless rate reached 12.6 percent, the state Employment Security Commission said Wednesday.

South Carolina's unemployed population -- a total of 273,455 residents -- is the biggest on record.

Compare that number with the data recorded several years ago and a grim picture emerges. That figure, for example, never topped 100,000 people in 2000. Throughout 2005, the number averaged 140,000.

"It gives us a sense of how many jobs the economy needs to create in order

to put a majority of people back to work," said economist Don Schunk of Coastal Carolina University. "More so than the unemployment rate, (that number) tells us how far we have to go before we return to some sense of normalcy."

The preliminary January rate eclipsed the previous record set in December. That number originally came in at 12.6 percent, but it was revised downward to 12.4 percent last week, based on more current information.

So, yes, Congress, by all means, cancel all of your other meetings like you did today (Thursday), continue to focus all of your time and energy on a healthcare bill we have been telling you for months we do not want, while we continue to lose our jobs, our homes, and our faith in you.

November cannot come soon enough.

6 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

Oh wow...great find on that Byrd video. The whole bunch of these hypocrites make me ill.

In Obama's case, I have no doubt that it was always about the ego and power and never about Americans as to his decision to run for President.

And what really burns me up is that when Clinton was President, the Republicans hated him and did everything they could to bring him down, when in fact, he often worked across the aisle and showed them respect. Now we have that asshat Obama in the Oval Office and he shows NO ONE respect, not his fellow Democrats, Republicans and most of all, the American people. He makes me ill.

I have a very sick feeling that this thing is going to get passed and there is nothing we can do about it. The Dems will fold, even though they know their constituents don't want this and there will be enough Republicans to go along with it because they are getting their pockets lined with "favors" from Obama. A bunch of despicable sell-outs.

Oh..and how do you like the hubris of this woman?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5To

Nice of them to let us know what's in it AFTER the fact, eh?

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Hey, Mary Ellen -

I admit - it was a fluke, but holy smokes, I couldn't believe it when I saw him speaking abt this, and his seeming flip for Obama. WTH does Obama have on these people?? I mean, really - what does he use to threaten them, when his ratings are going down, Congress' ratings are in the toilet, every single poll ever since this came up shows the people are opposed to this, and yet, they keep pushing, pushing, pushing.

Obama is getting something out of it, besides wanting to best Clinton. He has made deals with the devil, no doubt abt it.

I heard abt Pelosi saying that - they have to pass the bill before we can know what's in it. Is she INSANE??? I mean, really - is she nuts or something?? That is NOT how the process is supposed to work!

Oh, wait - Obama says we mo-rons out here don't care nothing abt no law making just as long as we get ourselves some laws. How incredibly offensive is that?

Sheesh.

You are so right abt Bill,too. He treated everyone with so much more respect than Obama could ever muster.

Tell me again why everyone likes this guy so much? Because arrogance, condescension, hubris, few qualifications, and sexism are "cool"? Just wondering.

Mary Ellen said...

Ya know, I have no idea what it is that Obama is using to twist arms but you can bet it's something good. Look at what he did to win the Senate seat in Illinois...he managed to make public the sealed divorce records of his opponent. That takes clout...and Rahm is the guy to dig deep into the closet of every person in the House and Senate to find the dirt.

It's blackmail, Chicago mob style, and it works.

We are so screwed, Amy. And did you read this from Logistics Monster? I'll just put up a small excerpt, but it's scary as hell.

The following bill was introduced by Zachary Space (D-OH) yesterday, and the text is not yet available. This bill is being slid into committee by a no name congressman who votes 94% of time along party lines. This bill also has NO cosponsors; assumption being ‘maybe they won’t notice’.

I am sure this will probably be worse than just it’s title. Remember Daniel Hannan saying that the National Health Service is the 3rd biggest employer in the world? England has 70 million citizens. We have over 300 million.

H.R. 4799:

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a strategic plan to retrain displaced workers to become health care professionals serving areas with a shortage of such professionals, and for other purposes.


So, that will be our healthcare, Obama style. For those who can't afford a Cadillac plan, they will have to see "Dr.Displaced Worker" instead of the doctor of their choice. This sounds to me like something out of Soviet Russia! And of course, they are doing it behind everyone's back in the dead of night. You know darn well they aren't going to talk about this in the main stream news media.

Really...we are screwed.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Hey, Mary Ellen -

Not to correct you or anything, but Obama actually did that to TWO different competitors, one of whom was a Dem. That is to say - he will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and that is scary indeed.

I love Logistics Monster (I get email alerts from her site). Thanks for the heads up on that article, though - I hadn't seen it yet.

"Displaced workers" are going to provide medical care?? For real? Holy smokes. Who the hell IS this guy who put this in?

This is the problem - there are all kinds of sneaky additions like that going on with the Dems.

Yes, health care Russia-style. Our dentures will be made form wood, if we can get them at all. Some former Sanitation Engineer will be our Ob/Gyn (hey, he didn't specify from what arenas these "displaced workers" would come, did he??), and on it goes.

I cannot believe I used to think the Dems were better than Reps. Flip sides of the same coin, seems to me.

Btw, did you look at the other video abt Monica Conyers, when she is asked abt her reprehensible behavior by some children? WOW - there was one young woman who schooled her, that's for sure, and Conyers continued to be combative. That attitude of hers should go far when she's in the Big House, don't you think? Ahem.

Anonymous said...

I just posted the video of Byrd on my Facebook page (along with the mention of Conrad and Obama both also being against Reconciliation at one time). I wonder how long it will take for "friends" to start tossing the kool-aid at me!

I don't get it, I really don't. I know the Republicans hated Clinton, and the Democrats weren't all that fond of him either (some Arkansas upstart grabbing the presidency right from under their nose!). But their blind support of Obama, I just don't understand. I believe absolutely that O doesn't give a flying rat's ass about the people. He just wanted the power and glory. But why are the Dems so willing to lose their Congressional seats for him? What is he bribing them with?

Do they REALLY think we're all so stupid that we won't find their anti-reconciliation videos? Do they think we're so stupid we'll just buy whatever spin they toss out there?

I think that Obama truly believes we are like him....the end justifies the means. We don't care how the Congress does it, just do it. We're all just silly women anyway, we don't want to fill our pretty heads with details and procedures. No, we'll just leave that to the menfolk in Congress. You just bring me some more of that mint julep, honey, and don't bore me with how. Just do it, darlin'.

Nancy Pelosi's botox must have leaked into her brain and frozen it. She's a wacko. She's gotta go.

And HR4799??? Yep, just what I want, a "retrained" displaced worker taking care of me. I wonder what the and for other purposes is. Euthenasia of the old folks who are too expensive to care for?

Montserrat in 2012! THAT's my new rallying cry!

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Hey, SF -

Cool abt you posting the video at FB (hey - we should "friend" each other!).

And yes, isn't it just astonishing how those three have done such a complete 180? For what? Obama's ego? For bragging rights? WTF?

NO kidding abt the "displaced workers" - isn't that a scary ass thought? What is WRONG with these people? Are they on drugs or something?

HEY! Maybe THAT'S why Obama made a deal with Big Pharma - so Congress can get their stash for FREE!!! Ahem.

I like your rallying cry, SF - I am so right there with you!!