Sebelius Job Countdown?

If Sebelius goes, as acidic as many find her, she's nothing more than a scapegoat. Obama, Pelosi, Reid should top the list of political casualties for Obamacare.  Sadly, justice does not always prevail.

That said, I'm sure not too many people will be sorry to see her go.

Via The Washington Post:

It’s Kathleen Sebelius’s turn now. On the Hill, they’re calling for her resignation and tossing around words like “subpoena.” Pundits are merrily debating her future. (She’s toast! Or is Obama too loyal to fire her so soon?) Her interviews, more closely parsed than usual, seem wobbly. Though never a colorful presence on the political scene, she’s suddenly a late-night TV punch line.

And on Wednesday morning, the embattled secretary of health and human services will submit to a quintessential station of the Washington deathwatch — testifying before a congressional committee — to discuss her agency’s failings in the botched rollout of the federal health-insurance Web site.

Perhaps it's a bit early to be talking about her losing her job, but it would certainly be politically expedient for the president to throw her under the bus.

Wheelin' and Dealin'

Are we seeing this?

The President is apparently dealing directly with McConnell and Boehner bypassing Reid and Pelosi to reach an agreement.  That's how you know his wheeling and dealing are strictly about re-election.  He has something he wants and he can't be bothered to have those demands filtered through intermediaries any longer.  Compromise is not always a bad thing, if there's a benefit to both sides.  The question conservatives have to ask themselves about the debt ceiling deal - if indeed one gets done today - is what exactly did they gain from the deal that's on the table.  

Obama's about to speak

No doubt he'll be trying for a last push to support the Reid bill.  Harry Reid is moving ahead with his bill.  Here's an idea for Congress, once the Senate bill comes to Congress, actually before it comes to Congress, say "it's dead on arrival."  Tit for tat - Reid's ignored a number of Congressional bills and even called them dead before he's seen them.  

The GOP may have to compromise, but there is no reason they have to be bullied.  If they allow themselves to be bullied, they might as well not be a party because ideas don't matter if they aren't backed up.

Reid Don't Want It, Obama Won't Sign It

Boehner's latest plan has ZERO chance.  The GOP are in revolt and won't vote for it either.  Harry Reid won't pass it in the Senate and the President has said he won't sign it.  Democrats say it caters to the Tea Party.  Republicans say it doesn't go far enough.

What now?  Who knows.  One thing I do know - these guys are NOT anywhere close to a deal.

Hey Democrats, how about 'no'?

They didn't like the budget, they didn't like the Cut Cap and Balance legislation and they don't like the latest Boehner proposal.  Now they finally have their own proposal and if it doesn't pass, they're going to blame Republicans.  They've already today (both Reid and Schumer) once again tried to paint the GOP as beholden to Tea Party extremists.  So what's the incentive for the GOP to cave?  There isn't any.  And with the GOP having been shot down numerous times, for the Democrats to come forward with a single proposal and expect the GOP to cave is unfair, and likely (hopefully) unrealistic.

So GOP, when Democrats in the Senate come calling with their own plan that is no doubt going to be full of holes, schemes and tax increases, there's only one answer that will work:

Hey Democrats, how about 'no'?

Government Stays Open - Who Gets What

So many ways to add a metaphor...

The government is not shutting down.  At least for now.  Who won?  Who lost?  What really happened? Time for a quick assessment of the outcome.  Here's a quick look at what the various parties concerned with the deal get and my two cents on what it means.

Democrats off message for a reason

Back in 2008 the Democrats rode the "Hope and Change" message to the White House and large Congressional victories. Twenty two months later they are floundering and in large part it's because reality has subverted their narrative. The message that got them here is not able to be used to keep them in power. This November, when the Republicans are looking to do to Democrats what that rogue wave did to the Aleutian Ballad a few years back, the Democrats themselves will apparently still be looking for a coherent message to sell to the American people.

It's the economy, Harry.

News is out today about an expected 3 MILLION home foreclosures in 2010, and as many as 10 million through 2012.  That's bad.  Really, really bad.  You might not understand the specifics of how bad that is, but you aren't alone.  Apparently Harry Reid just doesn't get it either.  And while he might not "get it" those in his state seemingly do.  Or rather they are getting it, and they are getting it really, really bad...

RealtyTrac's housing prediciton is pretty gloomy looking at the next few years.  It doesn't mince words:

The Obama plan offers $75 billion to incentivize lenders to modify mortgages on a volunteer basis. Without forcing bankers to modify mortgages the plan was destined to fail from the beginning, and is presently viewed as a farce by real estate economists. Without a plan requiring lenders to deal with borrowers in jeopardy of foreclosure and force banks to negotiate the amount owed on mortgages, the crisis will only expand, triggering millions of more foreclosures. A Housing Predictor analysis has determined that the foreclosure epidemic could eventually affect one in six homeowners, or 25 percent of all mortgage holders.

Only 100,000 homeowners have been offered modifications by bankers under the current program, according to the Treasury Department, and fewer have actually taken them up on the offers. Under the plan, mortgage holders who do not qualify for a loan modification will undergo foreclosure, sell the property via short sale or hand the keys to their homes over and sign a deed in lieu of foreclosure instead.

Meanwhile Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid is struggling at home in Nevada in the polls. As much as conservatives would love to blame it on his bitter, partisan and ineffectual leadership, including on the economy, it's even more basic than that.

Remember the saying all politics is local? Consider this Nevada is into the foreclosure crisis deeper than any other state;

Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate for the third straight year in 2009, with more than 10 percent of households receiving at least one filing. December filings fell 22 percent from a year earlier and rose 27 percent from November.

Nevada residents may be souring on Democrats in general, but Reid is a lightning rod for their anger - he's the Senate Majority Leader, his state is hurting badly and is forecast to do worse in the next few years as the falling tide lowers all boats.  Nevada is concerned about their own peril.  Reid isn't helping.  At all. 

If he decides to stick around he seems destined to lose.  Might he decide to step down, despite his re-election war chest?  Probably not.  That's actually good news for conservatives, as his replacement would no doubt be much more likely hav e a chance to win.

Harry Reid's The Real Racist

The focus of the media will no doubt get past Senator Harry Reid's racist comments quickly and focus on the magnanimity of Obama's acceptance of his apology. Meanwhile, the hypocrisy on the left will be on full display over the next few days over this. Something I'll be only happy to point out.

But the real problem here isn't President Obama's double standard, Obama's putting his agenda ahead of everything, or the press praising Obama and protecting Reid. The real problem is Harry Reid himself.

Some context - during the 2008 campaign for President, Harry Reid made some racist comments according to the AP; (emphasis added)

WASHINGTON – The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate apologized on Saturday for comments he made about Barack Obama's race during the 2008 presidential bid and are quoted in a yet-to-be-released book about the campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described in private then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Obama is the nation's first African-American president.

What is this, 1910?  Democrats jump all over Republicans whenever there's even a remote hint of racism - including President Obama, as Gateway Pundit points out;

But, back in 2002 Barack Obama demanded the GOP “drive out” Republican Trent Lott over similar remarks.

The Weekly Standard reported:

Illinois Senator Barack Obama (D-13th), who hosted WVON’s Cliff Kelley Show, challenged the Republican Party to repudiate Lott’s remarks and to call for his resignation as senate leader.

“It seems to be that we can forgive a 100-year-old senator for some of the indiscretion of his youth, but, what is more difficult to forgive is the current president of the U.S. Senate (Lott) suggesting we had been better off if we had followed a segregationist path in this country after all of the battles and fights for civil rights and all the work that we still have to do,” said Obama.

He said: “The Republican Party itself has to drive out Trent Lott. If they have to stand for something, they have to stand up and say this is not the person we want representing our party.”

Wait for the press to play up the good men getting over the silly issue.  The same press that clearly goes after Republicans for even asking questions that touch on race - when it's a liberal who made the comment:

Liberals are uncomfortable with their own racism and project it onto Republicans. Classical transference.

But in the end - the real problem is Harry Reid. He's phony, he's clearly two-faced, he's antiquated and well, dumb. 

WOW. The man is a fool and deserves to be voted out in November.

Reid goes beyond the pale!

Harry Reid's comments today equating those who oppose health care reform - THIS health care reform - to those who opposed the abolition of slavery, are beyond the pale.

The comments are despicable. The comments are irresponsible. The comments are barbaric. They are misrepresentations and they are offensive.

Harry Reid should resign. He has equated a truly despicable act to a reasonable political viewpoint. If I were an African American, I would be highly offended. I am highly offended anyway. I oppose the idea of slavery but also the idea of mandated government health care.

I bet there's a lot of people in the same camp as me. Harry Reid - YOU ARE GOING TOO FAST. I say that only because you are. To create a moral equivalence to slavery is sick and disgusting.

Senator Reid - RESIGN.

UPDATE:  You can see the video of Reid's foolish assertion here, courtesy of Spinsterpov.

Pelosi and Reid Tell President: We Have the Votes; President Wants Bill Passed Soon - Political Punch

Jake Tapper at ABC News blogs the story:

Pelosi and Reid Tell President: We Have the Votes; President Wants Bill Passed Soon - Political Punch

But do they? Shortly, I'll be blogging a prediction about what the President is going to say in his address to the joint session of Congress, and how he'll say it. But here's a preview of who the target audience is:

Blue Dog Democrats.

And if that's the target audience, as much as the American public who can influence them, then do Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi really have the votes locked up? I don't think so.

Whither the Democrat triumvirate?

Strike one, strike two...Weren't these people the new power consortium in Washington D.C.? Whither, or wither, the Democrat triumvirate? Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are doing their best shrinking violet acts right now.

Congressional House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's popularity ratings have nose-dived since her hissy fit with the CIA. According to Boston.com;

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released this afternoon found that the approval of how Pelosi is doing her job as speaker has dropped from 51 percent in January to 46 percent in March to 39 percent now.

In the new survey, conducted Thursday through Sunday while Pelosi was embroiled in controversy over how much she was told about waterboarding of terrorist suspects, 48 percent of respondents said they disapproved of her performance.

In a news conference on Thursday, she said she had been misled by the CIA -- an accusation that prompted officials of both parties to defend the spy agency and that provoked some angry Republicans to say she should put up proof or shut up and apologize.

Meanwhile Harry Reid, as reported in Review Journal, would be sunk if his re-election bid were being waged today;

About a third of the state's voters would re-elect Reid if the 2010 election were held today, according to the poll, but 45 percent say they would definitely vote to replace him. Seventeen percent would consider another candidate.

The findings are echoed by another poll question about Reid's popularity that finds the four-term incumbent to be a polarizing figure in his home state.

Half of Nevada voters had an unfavorable view of Reid, while 38 percent had a favorable view and 11 percent a neutral opinion.

Where does that leave President Obama? According to Gallup, still sitting pretty at 64%. And is he happy to be okay at the expense of his 'friends'? Maybe so.

Obama, Pelosi & Reid vs Dobbs

Pelosi - no pork;



Reid - trillion dollars;



And who can forget this Obama gem;



Well you'll just have to forget it;

Burris gets a seat. Obama gets a pass.

Politics with a difference. Change. Hope. Don't worry Barack, the media will carry your water on this one too. Blagojevich's appointment of Burris to Obama's vacant Senate seat was supposed to be rejected by the Senate. At least they did the public the courtesy of saying no for a day before back-dooring the appointee.

And Al Franken has apparently won the Minnesota seat, because Chuck Schumer declares the race settled, despite what the Minnesota Board stated about not declaring a winner. Again, Harry Reid will go to bat and Obama's hands can stay clean.

Bill Richardson pulls his name out of the running for Commerce Secretary so Obama doesn't have to undergo the scrutiny that the nomination would apparently have caused both of them.

Leon Panetta, a weird choice for head of the CIA is questioned as a choice by Democrat Dianne Feinstein because of lack of intelligence experience. But no worries Barack, Lee Hamilton and the Brookings Institute will go to bat for your nominee. And Dianne has fallen into line.

More and more this guy is starting to remind me of a cross between Bill Clinton and Pontius Pilot. Slick and at the same time, washing his hands of everything because his proxies are going to handle the issues so he can stay clean.

Top 10 Liberal Idiots

Just for fun.

(10) Chris Matthews. 3 words - Run Fatboy Run. What??? It was a funny movie.


















(9) Keith Olbermann. My disgust with his uninformed opinion is, 'assiduous'.
















(8) The New York Times. Yes, increasingly irrelevant, but still shills.



















(7) Hugo Chavez. The implosion will not be televised. (Hey, check out my monkey.)
















(6) Michael Moore. Some white man can't jump, some can't think, some can't do either.
















(5) Karl Marx. A watershed moment in historical mistakes.



















(4) Nancy Pelosi. See Karl Marx. Of course I'm referring to her parents' decision to procreate.



















(3) Harry Reid. Can someone ask HIM to stay away from Washington please?????
















(2) Al Franken. You have no business being out of show business Stuart. Or in it.

(1) Barney Frank. It takes a lot to top this bunch. (Apparently having Frank in your name gets you in the top 2). Wait, is it wrong to make fun of short bus Congressmen?