George Bush is rolling in the aisles ...

... We knew Harry and Nancy had struck a deal; we just didn’t when or how it would be implemented. Turns out that Nancy picked the most chickenshit cowardly self-serving way it could have possibly been done. Since this rule is only in effect for the 111th Congress, it expires on January 5 and applies only to the lame duck Congress.

Pete Peterson’s smiling now. He’s got my retirement money. Maybe he’ll use it to fill one of his swimming pools.

[from Phoenix Woman at firedoglake.com: Thank You, Nancy Pelosi, For Saving Me Money ]

Thank you, you despicable people: Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi! The laughs definitely on us. We put a Dem in the WH and got majorities in both houses of Congress so that you [fill in the blank with the most insultingly descriptive epithets you can think of] #$%@#*# would do what George Bush was incapable of doing.

Today's quote ...

It is important to remember that the perfect was never mentioned in this health care debate. The very good was declared impossible and did not even have a place at the table when they started planning reform last year. Even good reform was dismissed almost immediately.

The debate this entire time has been between what might be labeled “decent reform” at best, and terrible corporate giveaway labeled “reform.” This is not about making the perfect the enemy of the good. We were never even offered the “good” as a compromise.

-- Health Care Reform to Date: So Very Far From Perfect by Jon Walker, firedoglake.com

Today's quote ...

Watching Sherrod Brown, Ron Wyden and Harry Reid try to explain why the Senate’s emasculated health reform bill was still worth voting for was painful. These men know they’ve been defeated and humiliated by an unprincipled extortionist fronting for what amounts to a deadly protection racket.

Whatever Joe Lieberman’s motives, the reality is that he just performed a moral crime on national television. He’s essentially said that if Democrats want to provide even poor health insurance to 30 million uninsured Americans, the federal government and those citizens will have to pay blood money to an industry protection racket that will have the economic and political power to set the terms of that protection, shield itself from oversight and competition, and raise prices at will.

-- This Isn’t Health Reform; It’s Extortion for a Protection Racket by Scarecrow, firedoglake.com

Obama, Reid, Lieberman. So are they evil or just plain stupid? ...

Who knows for sure? The only thing that is apparent to me is that Obama is no more fit to be President of the United States of America than was Bush the Lesser.

From TBogg at firedoglake.com:

So all I really wanted for Christmas was a Karl Rove of our own who would make all of our Obama wishes come true, even if he had to kick Evan Bayh’s mushy skull in to accomplish them. Someone who, I had hoped, would make Joe Lieberman’s life something akin to a hemorrhoidectomy gone horribly terribly wrong.

Such is not the case:

The White House wants Reid to hand Joe Lieberman the farm.

An aide briefed on discussions with the White House says that there would be no story if Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel hadn’t interceded. The aide confirmed an account, reported by Huffington Post, that Emanuel visited Reid personally, telling him to cut a deal with Lieberman.

Then the aide provided more detail.

Emanuel didn’t just leave it to Reid to find a solution. Emanuel specifically suggested Reid give Lieberman the concessions he seeks on issues like the Medicare buy-in and triggers.

“It was all about ‘do what you’ve got to do to get it done. Drop whatever you’ve got to drop to get it done,” the aide said. All of Emanuel’s prescriptions, the source said, were aimed at appeasing Lieberman–not twisting his arm.

If Rahm Emmanuel is all he was supposed to be, we can safely assume that the Obama White House either never gave a shit about health care reform, or they managed health care reform so horrifically and incompetently that they are now willing to settle for a “win”, no matter how meager.

I hope they enjoy their Pyrrhic victory because they just burned the base.

Only if you think 'coddling Lieberman' isn't the plan ...

Jane Hamsher: Sane people have long ago realized that coddling Lieberman is what got us here and needs to be stopped.

Though Reid may have not been in on all the turns in the labyrinth, and has been selected by Obama and his administration as the fall guy for Obama's failing to deliver anything on health care other than what Obama's corporate masters desire, Reid still participated, quite willingly, in the deception and scamming of the public on all important matters.

Jane Hamsher writes:

Sorry, Harry Reid, you’re the one that takes the hit for this. If you let Lieberman lead you and the country around by the nose, it doesn’t matter who asked you to do it. Slipping in “annual limits” on coverage, manipulating procedure only when there’s something you really want, and then shrugging your shoulders and calling yourself a prisoner of the Senate parlimentarian when you want to facilitate some massively unpopular clause in the interest of the insurance industry — it’s all going to come to rest on you. Personally. I promise.

I would just like to add that Reid and Lieberman are not the only villains here. The worst one is turning out to be the one in the White House. The more I see, the less I believe there is much material difference between Obama and his predecessor.

Whose really responsible for Lieberman ...

In my opinion both Obama and Reid are responsible for the train wreck that is Lieberman. Either Obama and Reid approve of what Lieberman is doing or they both are such craven cowards that they are afraid to do anything that will stop or limit Lieberman's hare-brained and demented behavior.

Perhaps it's a little of both.

Yeah, yeah, just part of the game ...

Source: Reid Fed Up With GOP Obstruction, Committed To Finishing Health Care By Xmas

Come on, if Obama cared about jobs ...

... he'd actually do something about them.

The only programs Obama is going for are what used to be called Republican programs --- permanent wars and more transfer of the nations wealth to the degenerate rich. These are now officially Democratic programs also.

What's left of the Republican Party is literally insane. The Democratic Party has morphed into the Conservative/War Party. There is no Party for the left.

All sane people has been ejected from the Republican Party. The controllers of the Democratic Party have no intention of honoring any promises to Progressives. They will continue to stage elaborate political theater in order to pretend they are 'working very hard' but can't quite make anything work.

I really think that working through the Democrats is a lost cause. Either give up or start a new movement. The collusion between Reid and Obama is manifest. Taking these people seriously is a wasted effort.

Verdict ... on the Senate.

Maybe it is time to stop treating the Senate like some great legislitive [sic] body, and start treating it like the terribly broken monstrosity it has become. Its love affair with its own unconstitutional, arcane rules and extremely abused “privileges” has made it a practically unworkable institution that threatens the long-term success of our nation. The Senate just spent almost half a year working on health care reform, and didn’t accomplish anything that couldn’t have been done in three weeks if they were a functioning legislative body.

Thanks so much, Obama, Reid and the rest of you ...

Harry Reid, subversive or really, really stupid? ...

Reid Says “No Reconciliation,” ConservaDems Immediately Get Leverage

Ha, ha. Harry Reid care? Now that's knee-slapping funny ...

If Harry Reid truly cares about fighting for the good of the country over the good of Wellpoint, he will immediately dispense with the opt-out and move to reconciliation and allow a majority in the Senate to deliver to Americans what they want and desperately need.

Don't lose sight of the fact that if the Senate does not pass real health care ...

... it will be because they didn't want to!

This post explains why that is the case.

Reconciliation is only one possible solution. At any time, 50 senators plus the vice president could use the “nuclear option” to effectively eliminate the filibuster. The filibuster is a terrible perversion of the idea of allowing unrestricted debate in the Senate. The founders had no intention, that 200 years later, it would be warped into some gimmick used to permanently undermine the foundational constitutional power of the majority.

There is no need to compromise, there is no need to find 60 votes, and there is no need to win the support of Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, Blanche Lincoln, etc.; it is well within the power of Harry Reid and fifty other Democrats in caucus to pass at much better health care bill without some potentially terrible compromises. If the Senate Democrats don’t pass a decent health care bill–with a public option–it is because they did not want to, not because they were unable to. They decided that maintaining their special Senate privileges were more important.

So LIE-berman is set to destroy any Public Option ...

Does Reid know just how much of a fool Lieberman makes him look. Or is it all done with Reid's cooperation? That is, is it an in-joke and Reid actually likes to look the fool?

Harry Reid has never really needed 60 votes to pass health care reform with a public option, or the public option in a stand alone bill. Fifty senators plus the Vice President can do anything in the Senate if they really want to. While it would be more difficult and would step on a lot of precious Senate egos, Reid can get a public option using reconciliation, or even the “nuclear option.”

Well, we're going to find out are we not ...

Lieberman makes Obama the fool also. Even if Lieberman is doing something Obama and Reid want done, given that Lieberman repeatedly undermines what both Obama and Reid claim they are working for or believe in and both Obama and Reid actually reward Lieberman each time he acts against them makes for a very sick relationship and/or a very corrupt relationship and/or a deliberately deceptive relationship.

For the hypocritical Dems who insist Obama 'has a clever plan' ...

(UPDATE Below)

Could this be Obama's oh so clever plan?

Lieberman Demands Public Option Be Taken “Off The Table” Completely

Did Obama (and Reid) save LIEberman just for this kind of contingency. After all if Obama is just so clever and plans for the future so well then by definition Obama knew any real healthcare possibilities would come down to the wire. And here's ol' spiteful and malicious lying Joe Lieberman popping up right on cue ...

I have to handed to all of you who knew how clever Obama was, working with his n dimensional chess game and all. He really called it. Between his Blue Curs (Blue Dogs Win Huge Victory For The Health Insurance Industry) and his favorite monkey-wrench, ol lying Joe, Obama continues to show his disdain for all Americans, except a few obscenely rich guys.



But remember: "If 50 Senators Really Want A Public Option, They Can Get It With Reconciliation."

So if Americans do not get decent health care choices, at the minimum a ROBUST public option, the one that the Blue Curs just removed, it will be because OUR REPRESENTATIVES in the House and the Senate DO NOT WANT to provide what the people need and what a very significant majority want. And, if this plays out the way Obama has engineered, we must thank Obama, Reid and the blue curs, not to mention the ReThugs, for all the misery they will cause.

UPDATE Oct 30, 2009

Obama Meeting With Progressives And Caucus Leaders Focused On Triggers And Opt-Out

The article doesn't directly say that Obama's goal is to break down the support for the Public Option but it certainly doesn't seem that Obama was offering any support to Public Option supporters, does it?

Politics stinks to high heaven ...

Todd: White House Tells Reid 'Don't Come Crying to Us When You Need That Last Vote'

If Reid is, like Obama may be and Reid has done in the past, playing a game on us with the public option, may his soul rot in the lowest level of Hell.

ADDED: Oh, yeah, and what about that 'adult' we just elected to the White House. So much for that.

The public option with OPT OUT ...

Reid surprised me with his apparently real support of a health care bill with a 'public option' to which the states run by crazy people will be able to 'opt out.'

I didn't expect him to do it while at the same time didn't see how he would be able to do otherwise.

Time will tell how this works out; what is actually in the details and what Reid really has in mind. But at this point all I can say is good on you Harry Reid. Hope you plan to carry this through.

It's official now: Obama hates us ...

What will Reid do. Will Reid take Obama's hate for Americans as an excuse to betray the voters.

Obama Wants a Trigger, So Keep Calling Reid

Well, Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, arguably the second most powerful man in the country. The Senate is a separate and co-equal branch of the federal government. If he’s giving over his power to the White House to dictate his job to him, he’s weaker than even I thought.

If Reid wants to give up his seat by letting the executive branch take control of the Senate and get the triggers that they have wanted for so long, it’s up to him. If he puts a public option with a trigger in the final bill, fought that battle before. It’ll be time to do it again.

A public option is something that 80% of Nevada Democrats want.

Harry Reid can't lay his actions on Obama. Obama's perfidy belongs to Obama. If Reid chooses to betray American voters that's his own call.

Apparently only a few things make Obama any better than Bush-baby. Obama can construct sentences in the English language. Obama does not behave like a cowardly bully. Obama may stave of the entire world organizing against us for awhile. Other than that, what exactly has Obama done differently. It appears to be more style than substance.

Never, never thought I'd say this, but I almost feel sorry for Harry Reid ...

Reid, left out in the cold by his own party's corporate collaborator of a president. Reid, the target of millions of barb from the voters for his frequent underhanded behavior. Reid, threatened with loss of his Senate seat.

Does he want to do the right thing with health care? Who knows. But what seems very clear is that he will have no support from his usual friends. Obama and his Bush-like cronies want Americans to continue to suffer from lack of adequate health care.

What will Harry Reid do?

Sadly we've seen what Obama does with important issues ... he gives rousing, if duplicitous, speeches in public, then joins the enemy in private. How many years will it take before this behavior catches us with Obama, as it finally has with Reid on health care?

It is Harry Reid’s choice and his alone to include the public option in a final Senate bill. ...

Repeat, repeat, repeat:

As Senate Majority leader, it is Harry Reid’s choice and his alone to include the public option in a final Senate bill. He’s the only one who gets to make that decision. And if he decides to kowtow to powerful DC lobbying interests and hike up health care costs for individuals by $2000 a year by jettisoning the public option, then he’s the one who will have to shoulder the blame.

If he doesn't include the public option in the final bill, Reid will attempt to blame someone or something else, as he usually does. Only this time there are more people watching. Don't expect it will be forgotten as soon as his other deceptions ...
-----------------------
Another subject about Reid, sort of.

Reid went to the AMA to find out how Republicans were going to vote? And they lied to him? Is this weird or what:

The Doctor’s Fix Debacle: Reid Claims He was “Misled” by AMA on Deal for GOP Votes

Did some of his own Dems lie to him too? You know theoretically he didn't even need the Republicans.

Big surprise: Harry Reid doesn't want anti-trust legislation for his masters, the insurance companies ....

Bad News: Insurance Industry Anti-Trust To Be Offered As An Amendment To Senate Health Care Bill

Harry Reid couldn't lead himself out of a paper bag. All he does is take orders. He has so many masters he obviously lives in a state of perpetual befuddlement.