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Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Healthcare Anti-Reform Payola
My good friend is kind enough to email me her posts on various issues that she covers in her blog and I look forward to reading her thoughts on many issues. We don’t always agree but many times we see eye to eye. If you care to get a glimpse as to where the money trail is in the Congress concerning healthcare debate then please check out Demwit for the full transcript of a very biting commentary from MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. There are no punches pulled on this emotional issue when it comes to the folks cashing the payola checks from the healthcare industry against the current legislation proposed.
This is the video link from MSNBC. I can honestly say that I have never seen such a passionate commentary in my life. Wow!
As a moderate liberal and democrat I propose a Bill O’Reilly type ban on anyone in the Congress that votes against reforming healthcare. And you would show your ban enforcement by first voting against the perpetrators of this crime against humanity, and secondly, by contributing to whomever is their opponent during the next election cycle.
You know that this legislation is scaring the hell out of the healthcare industry when they are spending an estimated $1.2 million dollars per day against it! The old saying is true, follow the smoking money and you will find the fire. That amount of money is almost as much spent per day running for the Presidency.
Thank you BJ for sending me the link to your post! All I can say is WOW!
Don’t get me wrong, I love Mike Capuano from Mass A Two Sticks but he is living a pipe dream. He is proposing a regulatory independent agency to more or less police the Congress for ethics violations. The only problem with his plan is that Constitutionally this outside law force would have to be armed with feathers. Gives a whole new meaning to “Packing Heat” does it not?
I’m thinking little tiny down feathers in little tiny holsters on a lawman from the old west. Armed agents patrolling and roaming the halls of the Congress ready to arrest anyone that steps over the line of truth, justice and the American way. Stepping into the dark corners of the law and breaking the ethics rules just might get you a handful of feathers tossed in your face. Take that you wrong doer!
Over at the Washington Post they have this to say on it…
House May Add Outside Watchdog For Ethics
By Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 20, 2007; Page A27
A House task force yesterday recommended creating an independent Office of Congressional Ethics that would have the power to initiate reviews of lawmakers' behavior.
The new office, whose creation requires the approval of the full House, which reconvenes in mid-January, would be the first in either chamber to allow an outside body of nonmembers to examine alleged ethical misdeeds.
"It breaks the appearance of the good ol' boy network," said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.). Capuano headed a task force that spent a year trying to craft a compromise for the new ethics office in the wake of the lobbying scandals that helped sweep Democrats into power.
But some ethics watchdogs warned that the office, if approved, would not be strong enough, particularly because it would lack subpoena power.- Washington Post
Keystone Cops mentality all over again…
Not to mention the fact that any Congressional member could at any point in time, when under fire for ethics violations, recite the Constitution and then express a raspberry with their tongue.
For those in the Congress not knowing what a raspberry is, you insert your tongue between your lips, gently press down with your lips and exhaust air from your lungs in a rapid exhale. Not through your nose People! Take two. Insert your tongue between your lips, gently press down with your lips on your tongue, and exhale rapidly through your mouth. Not through both your nose and mouth Congressman. This is going to take some practice. Most of these folks have not lived in reality for a long time so you might want to check back later. When you do come back could you bring about four hundred pair of underwear. That last try had some of the older members of the House in a most discomforting position. That’s a first isn’t it!
Oh screw it, they could just lift up the middle finger, close the rest of their fingers and show it to the Congressional Police. No, No, NO Congressman. You close your thumb too! Everyone knows that is how you hail a cab for a F’n ride. This is going to take a long time to educate these folks about how American’s really live. When you come back with the underwear would you bring some coffee too.
Speaking about how American’s really live, when we have corrupt leaders in our government, if they do not police themselves, the voters can fire them at the polls. For Congressional members that happens every two years, President is every four, and Senators every six years. Then again there is this whole whacky thing called freedom of the press that sometimes can shame SOME people in our government into resigning from office.
I applaud the attention that Congressman Mike Capuano has put into this but I fear that any outside influence on the Congress would be the first step in finally killing the Constitution. That is something as an American that I could never accept. Neither should you and that is why we all should vote based on our own personal ethics. Democrat, Republican or Independent political mindset, if you see a wrong then right it with your vote. It is as simple as that.
It was only a matter of time for lobbyist reform and the ability for big money to get back to our nations capitol politicians . More like the time it took for the light switch to be flipped up and the light bulb actually illuminates. One would have to be very gullible to think that lawmakers would ever separate themselves from the almighty dollars that ultimately gets them re-elected every couple of years.
I would tend to think that many lobbying firms on K Street in the District had advanced copies of the legislation and their lawyers had red penned all of the wording that led to open season on the “Waskily Wabbit’s” of Capitol Hill. Over at the Washington Post they have a great piece that the Lobbyist on K Street are working on to get around the rules…
Seeing the Ethics Rules, and Raising an Exception By Jeffrey H. BirnbaumTuesday, October 23, 2007
Shhhh! Don't tell anyone, but lobby groups are plotting all sorts of ways to get around the new ethics rules.
Lobbyists and their lawyers don't want to talk publicly about these "workarounds," a.k.a. clever cheating. But privately I've collected a few of the likely ways that lobbyists will continue to stay close to lawmakers while not outright breaking the law.- Washington Post
I can actually envision a group of lobbyist from any given firm sitting around the corporate conference table with a Thesaurus, a Dictionary, and of course the Latin Dictionary. With the English language derived from so many other languages I’m betting that a few linguistics experts were called in to sit in on the meeting that would define the word “It” in every sentence and any possible alternative to the meaning. I won’t even mention the definition of “Is” because that could start a language race war in America. Librarian’s would be going after English teachers and Theologians would be launching midnight battles against Theorists. All that number two pencil lead would fly and the cloud of eraser dust would probably send the world over the edge of global warming.
We can look at this as just another way of lawyers and lobbyist getting back their form of good government or we can look at this as lobbyist showing we the people how corruption will survive in the District long after the cockroaches have left town. I tend to admire the cockroach over the politician for their ability to know when the gig is up.
I’m not sure if I could ever understand the mentality of the ever popular Red Stateblog? I like to see what other people are thinking and I honestly like to see what people that don’t think like I do have to say. This is America after all and voices in politics come from every direction.
For the most part I understand what a Conservative is and what they stand for. Less government, less waste, and less spending. What I’m not sure of is if you can be a Democrat with Conservative thoughts and Liberal thoughts? I’m not sure if Red Stateallows thoughts like that.
Red State has a post on a phone conversation with Congressman Roy Blunt of Missouri and I found it interesting just how splintered our nations government really is.
I asked Congressman Blunt how they were holding up in minority, how the party was doing for unity. He told me that being in the majority was better, but he wasn't thinking only in terms of his job. It was better for the country when the Republicans were in charge, he explained, because we were safe from the reckless nature of the Democrats: taxes, regulation, and spending. But the GOP minority are learning from being in the minority.
Snip
The Democrats are the party of defeat, the Congressman told me. Listening to Jim Clyburn, their number three guy, talk, the Democrats have banked everything on defeat. In order for the Democrats to be successful, the mission must fail. That's a tough position to find yourself in, he observed.- Red State
Now you have to read the whole piece to get the gist of it. I summed it up as Democrats are losers, defeatist, and Bush still has the veto pen. Is that our government at work? If it is then we need to toss in the towel and send them all home. Payroll will forward the fat checks to the address on file.
This is what is wrong with this picture… While everyone is shouting at the top of their lungs whom is more right (Correct) politically, the American people are not being served. Is our form of government broken where as it can not operate to pass the peoples business? Is the central line of thought to stick to your guns no matter what is at stake more important than serving the peoples will?
In the last election the people voted and the Republican majority was barely cast aside for reasons that anyone could insert here. I’m wondering if the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi are able to walk across the isle to talk to a Republican to get the peoples business done. Congressional Representatives are elected to serve the people and not their own personal ideology.
It seems to me that over the last couple of decades the people have been put on a back burner while special interests have taken the front burner. All you have to do to see that that fact is true is read the damn paper or any online news source to see who is being subpoenaed today. It does not matter what letter you put at the front or back of the elected leaders name, what matters is that corruption or walking as close to that line is almost expected in our nations capitol.
America has a serious problem and we all know that. How we fix it is the next question. I’m leaning more towards the Democrats in the next election because they have less members under investigation for corruption while serving in our government. Is that a twisted reason for voting or what?
