Sen. Daniel Inouye 1924-2012

AP: Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), World War II veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, died from respiratory complications at 5:01 p.m. ET at Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday, his office announced. He was 88. 

His last words were, "Aloha."

Goodbye and Good Riddance, Joe Lieberman

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman made his farewell speech yesterday to a mostly empty Senate chamber. And for good reason: nobody gives a shit about him.

Whenever I hear the name Joe Lieberman my reaction is "fuck that guy."

Lieberman droned about the need for bipartisanship in the Senate. He recalled the days when things got done by working with friends on the other side of the aisle. But Lieberman lost Democratic support not because he sided with Republicans on occasion, but because not only was he was an opportunistic scumbag who would stab you in the back, but more importantly because he was so goddamn consistently wrong.

He almost blew the 2000 Election (before the Supreme Court actually blew it) when he gnashed his yellow teeth on the Sunday talk shows and couldn't stick to what he knew to be the truth, what he was told by his own advisers. I remember that day well, as I was watching with bleary eyes and suddenly my hair caught fire. Here's the dramatized scene from HBO's fantastic movie, Recount.



The Democratic Party didn't leave Joe Lieberman. Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party.

He left it when he supported the Iraq War even after we found out the truth. Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party when he lost his 2006 Democratic primary against Ned Lamont and decided to run as an "independent." After he won the election in a three way race, he then he held his vote hostage to keep leadership positions on certain committees.

Joe Lieberman left the Democratic Party when he endorsed John McCain for president and speechified his mind-numbing patented drone that only Lieberman can drone at the Republican National Convention in 2008.

And don't fool yourself about why he's quitting. If he thought he had a chance to win he would have run in a second. He lost his support because he's become completely untrustworthy. He supported lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 55 until then Rep. Anthony Weiner and other liberals touted it as a great idea and included a Medicare buy-in in the Affordable Care Act. Then Lieberman completely backed off the idea. Was it because of fiscal reasons as he states, or was it payback for feeling rejected by the party he walked away from? So much for that bipartisanship he was mumbling about on the floor yesterday.

Whenever I hear idiots on the right whine on and on that President Obama had majorities* in both the House and the Senate, including that the Democrats had 60 votes in the Senate, where Republicans have engaged in record filibusters to stymie every bill that comes their way, all I can think of is three words: Joe. Fucking. Lieberman. He was consistently a thorn in the side of the Democratic party and leadership when his vote really counted. Sort of like McCain was after 2000. The only difference between McCain and Lieberman is that you know McCain is just prison fucking you in the ass out of spite, while Lieberman smiles that yellow toothy smile as he reaches for the Vaseline. Both are nasty, old, bitter warmongers who legislate out of spite while the latter tries to do it in sheep's clothing.

So goodbye and good riddance, Holy Joe. I'd say, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" but actually, I don't give a fuck.

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* And don't get me started about waiting for Al Franken for six fucking months and then Ted Kennedy dying less than two months later. The fact is that Democrats NEVER HAD 60 fucking votes.

Reid to McCain: Cut the Crap

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had some words for John McCain about his ongoing sour grapes. And he put them in a letter addressed to the Maverick, and CC'ed Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte because they are now being insufferable assholes on this Benghazi thing.

"I refuse to allow the Senate to be used as a venue for baseless partisan attacks... 

...You already have the opportunity to engage more fully in the fulsome and ongoing investigation in the events in Benghazi... [but] failed to attend a classified briefing held by the Senate Homeland Security Committee on this very issue."

In other words, you're making a fool of yourself. Knock it off, you idiot.

View the full letter here.

GOP Obstructionism Means to an Obama End, Economy Be Damned

Today, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) confirmed pretty much what we've known all along. The Republican Party's obstructionism and its latest vote against the American Jobs Act is not because of some philosophical difference about how to govern, but a political tactic to "make President Obama look bad" in order to help defeat him in the 2012 election, and if they have to throw the American economy in the shitter to do so, so be it.



It really isn't a shock, but the fact that a member of Congress would admit that something like this is happening behind closed doors is stunning, as MSNBC host Chris Jansing expressed. So the next time you hear that both parties care for their country but just have a difference of opinion in how to run it, know that it's complete bullshit. The Republican Party would rather destroy the US (and possibly global) economy solely for the purpose of winning the White House in 2012 and then attempt to repeal health care reform.

President Obama's Weekly Address - October 8, 2011

Making Your Voice Heard on the American Jobs Act

Lose a House Seat, Gain a Senate Seat?

The House seat vacated by Anthony Weiner was filled last night by Republican Bob Turner. To put things in perspective, this particular district has been a Democratic stronghold for about 100 years, and although registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a margin of 3 to 1 in NY-9, Turner came away with a win over Democratic nominee David Weprin by a 53-47 margin. There are some arguments that despite the district being Democratic, it's a conservative one. Take that for what you will, but I don't recall Anthony Weiner being very conservative.

That news doesn't bode well for 2012 in my opinion, but this does:

Elizabeth Warren officially announced her candidacy for Senate in Massachusetts on Wednesday morning in a short video posted to a new campaign website, www.elizabethwarren.com.

...Warren will attempt to take on Scott Brown, the Republican who won Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat in a special election after the veteran senator died in late 2009.

I hope the people of Massachusetts do the right thing this time.

Ryan's Plan Fails in the Senate

Forty Republican Senators were absolutely idiotic enough to jump off the cliff and vote for the Paul Ryan Budget plan, AKA Kill Medicare Plan.

...Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, brought the legislation to the floor so that Senate Republicans would either have to vote for it, exposing them to attacks from Democrats and their allies, or against it, exploiting growing Republican divisions on the issue.

Five of 47 Senate Republicans voted against it — four because they said it went too far, one on the ground that the budget measure that contained it did not go far enough fast enough to address the budget deficit.

The Democrats playing offense! It's a strange thing to behold.

It's All About Jobs...

...right, Republicans? So tell me, what's the first thing on your agenda when you take over the House on Wednesday, January 5th?*

Republican leaders in the new House say they'll hold a vote next week to repeal President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

WHAAAA?!?! But you've spent the last year and a half criticizing the White House for prioritizing the concept of affordable health care for all and that what they really needed to do was focus on the economy and jobs.

The announcement of the Jan. 12 vote by the No. 2 House Republican, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, sets the stage for a showdown with the Democratic-led Senate.

Excellent! Let's reinstate the power of insurance companies to deny coverage due to pre-existing conditions, dropping you when you get sick after years of paying premiums and opening up that Medicare donut hole again. That'll be a real winner with constituents.

Of course, it's just all for show because it'll never pass the Senate. Welcome to the first week of the 112th Congress. Out with the old, in with... ah, nevermind.

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*Why can't Congress go back to work on Monday like the rest of us common folk?

Specter's Parting Shots

Just watch.

DADT Repealed!

The final vote was 65-31. Eight Republicans voted in favor of repeal.

More to follow.

If You're A Woman, Why Vote Republican?

This isn't a rhetorical question. Seriously think about it before you answer.

I've posed this question to myself in different incarnations. If you're an immigrant and you know that the Republican Party is completely unserious in its immigration reform policies (and use fearmongering tactics particularly pertaining to our southern border shared with Mexico), why vote Republican?

If you're lower or middle class and you know that the Republican Party caters to the whims of corporate interests, and instead of letting tax cuts expire for the top income earners in the country so that their tax rate would increase from 36% to 39%, they instead look for spending cuts in Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and block legislation to extend unemployment benefits, why vote Republican?

And now comes word the Senate has just voted on the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would close the pay gap between women and men and would help end discriminatory pay practices.

According to the National Women’s Law Center, “This persistent pay gap translates to more than $10,000 in lost wages per year for the average female worker.” The gap is even worse for women of color: African-American women earn 61 cents and Latinas earn 52 cents for every dollar a white non-Hispanic man earns.

It failed. The final vote was 58-41. Two votes short. Every single Republican Senator voted against it, including Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

Every. Single. Republican. Senator.



Couple that with most Republicans in general insisting on pro-choice restrictions, wanting the government to have a say in what you do with your body and your personal medical choices, and I have to ask again: if you're a woman, why would you vote Republican?

Sarah Palin Redux?

I haven't been able to watch very much of last night Christine O'Donnell/Chris Coons Delaware Senatorial Debate, but from the little I've seen, it's deja vú all over again.

Was Katie Couric moderating? When asked what recent Supreme Court cases Witchy-Poo disagrees with, she couldn't think of one but promised to put it up on her website.



Why Wolf Blitzer would try to bail her out with his Roe v. Wade comment is beyond me, but let's just chalk it up to being part of the most trusted name in news.

Then there's this whole fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 80's and 90's?  Uh, no. We funded the mujahideen through covert CIA operations, but we didn't have any troops in Afghanistan, which is what O'Donnell definitely implied.



At some point, someone she is debating has to call out the stupidity. When Christine "I would've been a Hare Krishna but couldn't give up the meatballs" O'Donnell called Coons a Marxist, why did he rebut with his love of Capitalism? Why didn't he just say something like, "Gee Christine, I'd be offended if I thought you knew what the definition of Marxism was." That's how you fight the stupid. With a little belittling remark. Maybe a follow up asking her to explain what Marxism is.

And I love that some pundits have such low expectations of O'Donnell that, because she didn't go out there and bray like a mule, she is automatically declared formidable and some say, won the debate! Ridiculous. It's Sarah Palin all over again.

Republicans Block Debate on DADT

NY Times: Senate Republicans voted unanimously blocked debate of the bill — the huge, annual authorization of military programs — after the majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, said he would attach a number of the Democrats’ election-year priorities to it while also moving to limit the amendments offered by Republicans.

The vote was 56 to 43, with Democrats falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster and take up the bill. The Arkansas Democrats, Senators Blanche L. Lincoln and Mark Pryor, sided with all 41 Republicans in opposing debate.

Why Does The GOP Hate Small Business?

For all the bluster about protecting small business owners, you'd think that voting in favor a bill that would give them tax breaks and make available extended loan programs would be a no-brainer, right? You'd think...

Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected a bill to aid small businesses with expanded loan programs and tax breaks, in a procedural blockade that underscored how fiercely determined the party’s leaders are to deny Democrats any further legislative accomplishments ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Ah, yes. It's an election year.

Mark Williams Booted From National Tea Party Federation

They're a "federation" now?  What am I, watching an old Star Trek repeat?

‘We, in the last 24 hours, have expelled Tea Party Express and Mark Williams from the National Tea Party Federation because of the letter that he wrote,’ [federation spokesman David] Webb said of the blog post by Williams that satirized a fictional letter from what he called ‘Colored People’ to President Abraham Lincoln.

Webb called the blog post ‘clearly offensive.’

And as Oliver Willis notes, they'd have a lot more credibility on this matter had they expelled Williams over the last few months of hate speech bullshit spewing from this guy's mouth. Did it really necessitate a sick letter as a final nail in the coffin?

Also, if there is no room in the Tea Party for the likes of a Mark Williams, why are conservatives and Tea Party folk going apeshit over the NAACP's resolution to denounce any form of racism in their group? Seems like a no-brainer, and yet those with no brain are doing the "I'm offended" dance.

Robert Byrd Dies at 92

NY TIMES: Robert C. Byrd, who used his record tenure as a United States senator to fight for the primacy of the legislative branch of government and to build a modern West Virginia with vast amounts of federal money, died at about 3 a.m. Monday, his office said. He was 92.

...Byrd’s death comes as Senate Democrats are working to pass the final version of the financial overhaul bill and win other procedural battles in the week before the Independence Day recess. In the polarized atmosphere of Washington, President Obama’s agenda seemed to hinge on Mr. Byrd’s health. Earlier this year, in the final days of the health care debate, the ailing senator was pushed onto the Senate floor in his plaid wheelchair so he could cast his votes.

Sen. Byrd Seriously Ill

Via TPM: Byrd was admitted to the hospital late last week suffering from what was believed to be heat exhaustion and severe dehydration as a result of the extreme temperatures. He was expected to remain in the hospital not more than a few days.

However, upon further examination by his doctors, other conditions have developed which has resulted in his condition being described as "serious."

Senate GOP Forces New House Vote

And there you have it. Senate Republicans were able to sneak in two provisions that change the reconciliation bill enough to have to send it back to the house for yet another vote. Luckily, it seems that it won't make much difference.

In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin ruled that two minor provisions of the health care reconciliation bill violated the so-called Byrd rule, and must be stricken. That has altered the language of the legislation and will the House to vote on the package one more time.

One of the provisions is meant to prevent Pell grant reductions (the reconciliation bill also deals with student loan reform). The other strike came against obsolete language. Both changes are incidental to the overall package, though, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to have no problem passing the bill again with the same coalition of 220 members who passed it for the first time on Sunday.

House members have been told to stay in town for a reconciliation revote, in the event that the Senate adopts the bill with a few changes. The Senate adjourned after 2 this morning, without having taken a final vote. They'll reconvene this morning at 9:45 to resume consideration.

Of course all of this is really moot and for some reason, the GOP thinks delaying the inevitable seems like a smart tactic. Stopping work at 2pm? Forcing committees to reconvene at a later time midstream? Proposing ridiculous amendments like Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn's "No Viagra for Sex Offenders" in order to force Democrats into a tough vote.

If Coburn is so adamant about this, why doesn't he introduce it as a stand alone bill?  Let's see if he does after the GOP plan to derail the reconciliation vote fails.  Then we can all call him and ask why he hasn't followed up with his Viagra bill?

Why Is The Senate Broken?

Steve Benen knows:

As much as I'm sympathetic to the vice president's entirely accurate concerns [in regards to his statement: "I don't ever recall a time in my career where to get anything done, you needed a supermajority, 60 out of 100 senators.... I've never seen it this dysfunctional."], his omissions make all the difference. For viewers who don't know what filibusters or cloture votes are, they're thinking, "There's a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress. If the system is broken and dysfunctional, maybe it's Democrats' fault."

Except, for anyone interested in reality, that assumption couldn't be more wrong. If legislation received up-or-down votes in both chambers -- the way Congress operated for the better part of two centuries -- the system would work quite well and the dysfunction that drives everyone crazy would largely disappear.

Biden, in other words, needs to name names -- Republicans broke the American legislative process. They did so deliberately, during a time of crises, because they're desperate to undercut the Democratic majority, regardless of the consequences. The GOP's tactics have no precedent in American history, and violate every democratic norm that keeps our system moving.

Seriously, Harold Ford?

If you want to run for Senator of New York, being that you've lived here all of four years, wouldn't you think that the first thing you would do is make sure your tax records are in order? Not Harold Fold.

Ford claims to have moved to New York three years ago, and says paying "New York taxes" makes him a New Yorker. But his spokeswoman confirms to Gawker that he's never filed a New York tax return — meaning that he's never paid New York's income tax, despite keeping an office and a residence in New York City as a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch since 2007: "He pays New York taxes and will file a New York tax return in April for the first time," Ford's spokeswoman Tammy Sun told Gawker. "He will file all necessary personal disclosure and tax forms that candidates are required to file if he chooses to run." (According to Sun, Ford admitted to the tax dodge yesterday at a press availability in Albany, but we can't find any news accounts mentioning the remarks.)

Wouldn't this also mean that if he's filing Tennessee taxes and therefore claiming it as his "primary" residence, he's not eligible to run in New York? I suppose by filing in New York in April for the first time makes that point moot since there is no minimum time requirement one must live in a state for eligibility, but what does it say to the constituents whose votes Ford wants to garner?