House of Representatives

The Last Gasp Of Right Wing Homophobes: Outrageous And Deplorable!

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Last night, the House of Representatives adopted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as part of a military spending bill, just hours after the Armed Services Committee in the Senate agreed to such an outcome by a vote of 16-12, including Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. Final action by the Senate is expected within weeks.

With Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, having signed on, the end of this discriminatory policy is within reach, after the final military review due by December of this year!

At a moment when there should be rejoicing, however, Senator John McCain of Arizona is creating barriers after having promised to back the change IF the military apparatus went along with the change. He and others in the Republican party continue to create obstructionism on the issue. It is sad to see McCain give up all his principles and dignity in his struggle to keep his Senate seat in the upcoming Arizona primary in August against former Congressman J. D. Hayworth! 🙁

But in addition to McCain’s delay tactics, right wing homophobes are creating propaganda and myths to try to stall the change in military policy!

Among their tactics are to claim:
1. Homosexual assault will multiply, with soldiers being fondled and having oral sex done on them in their sleep!
2. HIV tainted blood will become a widespread crisis in the military!
3. Adolf Hitler had a gay military, which was more brutal and vicious than a straight army would have been!

These ideas and assertions are totally outrageous and deplorable! We are being told that straight soldiers will be so deeply asleep that they will be attacked without their knowledge! This assumes that gays are so aggressive that they will bother with straight soldiers who have no desire for sexual contact! Also, the facts are that all soldiers are regularly blood tested, and anyone trying to be a soldier who is HIV positive is not allowed to serve! Also, the idea that gays were part of a special group under Adolf Hitler belies the fact that gays were one of the three groups of people specifically labeled and marked for mass execution, along with Jews and gypsies, and were required to wear pink triangles to identify them!

It is time for these despicable assertions by people who claim to be for the “family” and to have “Christian values” to be totally repudiated as simply signs of hate and intolerance!

Republican Congressional Candidate Proposes “Hunting Liberals”! :(

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A Republican candidate for a Congressional seat in the San Francisco Bay area of California has published a statement on his website promoting an “open season” on “hunting liberals” between now and Election Day, November 2!

This man is named Brad Goehring, of all names! LOL The similarity to Nazi leader Herman Goering is stark! 🙂

He said on his Facebook site that his purpose was to “thin the herd” of liberals and he had no limit on taking them out, which sounds like a veiled threat to promote assassination of liberal candidates and office holders!

Goehring said he was joking, but immediately took down the statement from his Facebook account. But this is not a joke, but rather is insanity and borders on seditious speech, which is not covered by the Constitution! 🙁

When a candidate proposes violence by implication, if not direct statement, he only fosters the nuts out there to follow through on action! This is free speech gone amuck, and is unacceptable speech, and just apologizing is not enough, as the damage has been done!

The one thing that MUST be done is that the GOP repudiate this man, and knock him off the ballot as an unacceptable representative of their party! If they do not, it means they are endorsing him! 🙁

Newt Gingrich Being Totally Irresponsible And A Demagogue!

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Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, always considered very intelligent and knowledgeable, but also seen as very confrontational and divisive in his years in the House of Representatives, has been, as Richard Cohen of the Washington Post wrote recently, on a “tear” lately in his vicious attacks on the Obama Administration.

Considered a likely candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012, even though he has been out of elective office since 1998, Gingrich has used the words “socialism” and “secularism” very loosely and attacked what he calls “Cultural Elites”!

The problem is that he, himself, is part of the “Cultural Elites”, as he is a former college professor with a Ph. D. in History who speaks in such a way that most “ordinary” people would have trouble understanding his intellectual bent!

Gingrich promotes religion and “family values”, but he has been married three times, divorced twice, admitted to an extramarital affair, and served his first wife with divorce papers while she lay in the hospital after cancer surgery! 🙁

As Richard Cohen points out, Gingrich lives in a very wealthy suburb of Washington, DC. He has never been in the military, but always promotes them as if he was a war veteran himself! He has never worked in the business world, but acts as if government is evil, even though his whole career has been one of being in government or being paid to comment on government! 🙂

But he revels in calling Barack Obama “socialist”, when, as any reasonable person would have to admit, Obama is FAR from being a Socialist, even on National Health reform (no public option)!

As Cohen states, Gingrich lives off controversy and provocation! He promotes trouble and mischief! Cohen concludes: “He is good at being bad. He is just not any good at being good.”

To this, I say “Amen” without invoking religion! LOL 🙂

Ted Deutch A Worthy Successor To Robert Wexler as Palm Beach/Broward Congressman!

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South Palm Beach Country and Northern Broward County in Florida were fortunate to have Robert Wexler as their Congressman from the beginning of 1997 to the beginning of 2010! Wexler chose to leave and become engaged in the promotion of Middle East peace through leadership of a Middle East organization dedicated to that endeavor!

But as of April 15, the Congressional district I am a resident of has been blessed to have former State Senator Ted Deutch as its new Congressman, and already he has been successful in pushing through rebates for homeowners nationwide who have been victims of nature, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and other natural disasters!

Imagine, it has only been three weeks since Deutch took the oath, and already he has had an impact! 🙂

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has appointed Deutch to the same committees that Wexler was on, Foreign Affairs and Judiciary, arguably the two best committees to be a member of in the House of Representatives!

Deutch has pledged to work against Iran and for Israel’s security, and also to support civil rights and abortion rights!

This is fantastic news, and Deutch will be a worthy successor to Robert Wexler and represent his district in an exceptional manner! 🙂

The Character Assassination Of Democratic Congressional Leaders: Unwarranted!

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These days, it is hellish to be a politician, but particularly to be a leader in Congress.

I am referring to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Both have their personal idiosyncrasies, and both have personal financial assets in the millions of dollars. Both have views and beliefs that annoy millions of Americans, particularly conservatives and Republicans.

Having said that, the same could be said to be the description of Republican leaders, except that it is liberals who object to their views and beliefs.

The point that is being made here is that both Democratic leaders are truly committed to back Barack Obama’s agenda, as one would expect. Both have worked very hard, and have had to deal with the reality of a total of 535 egos clashing on Capitol Hill, including their own, plus the power of lobbyists.

We hear constant bitter attacks, but if one looks at the record, one sees things very differently.

Nancy Pelosi has presided over a total of 290 plus bills that have successfully wended their way through the House of Representatives, due to her strong leadership skills. This includes all of the major agenda items of President Obama, including but not limited to health care reform. Whether one agrees or not with all of these bills, one can say that the Democrats have brought about a mountain of legislation that marks them as one of the most active of all Congresses in history, at least in the lower chamber. But the fact that the Speaker is female has become an added incentive for bitter attacks on her.

But of course, the Senate has stood in the way because of the filibuster threat, and the fact that Harry Reid, as decent a man as he is, is no Lyndon Johnson or even Bob Dole. Reid is trying to figure how to overcome GOP opposition with 59 Democrats, and follow through on what the House has done. The conservative and GOP opposition has been unrelenting, as well as talk radio and Fox News Channel. They will stop at nothing to destroy the Obama agenda and prevent the Senate from completing the extensive, far reaching work of the House of Representatives.

Now, on top of everything, Harry Reid has a personal crisis with the auto accident injuries of his dear wife and daughter, and is shuttling back and forth from his duties to the hospital. He is faced with a tremendous burden, along with the need to deal with a tough re-election contest, with very poor public opinion polls.

Neither Nancy Pelosi nor Harry Reid are truly appreciated in the nation at large for their sacrifices and efforts. One sometimes wonders why any person of their talents and abilities, who may have wealth as they both do, does not decide that the constant attacks by political and ideological opponents and the news media, and the constant public disdain they face by masses of Americans who have no real clue as to what they do, and how they sacrifice their time and efforts under great adversity, is not worth it, and decide to give it up and leave it to others.

There is an old saying: When alive, you are a “dirty politician”; only when dead, are you seen as a “statesman”. Despite the bitter attacks and character assassination, I think it is likely over time that both Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will get their due in history.

But realize the treatment given these and other leaders, and politicians in general, many of whom REALLY care about the citizens they serve, will lead to many, as seen already, giving up, and leaving future leadership to mediocrities, who are only interested in their own self advancement and self aggrandizement!

Democrats’ New Strategy: Force Votes That Will Show Republican Support Or Intransigence

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The Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress are adopting a strategy to force the opposition Republicans to make a decision: support legislation on various matters, or be recorded as against the legislation and make it a case against the party in the upcoming Fall elections.

While there is hope that bipartisanship will occur, particularly at the scheduled White House summit on health care on February 25, the plan is to promote legislation on some aspects of health care, a job creation bill, legislation to lift the anti trust exemption for insurance companies, action to help small businesses and extend unemployment compensation, and a measure to levy fees on Wall Street banks that received bailout money.

There are hints that some GOP senators might join the Democrats on some legislation, including Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, and Utah Senator Orrin Hatch.

At the same time, the Democrats in the House of Representatives face the fact that there are now two vacancies of members who supported the health care bill, when it passed 220-215 last fall. Robert Wexler left in January and John Murtha died last week, and neither seat will be filled until the spring. And Joseph Cao, the one Republican who voted for the health care bill, now indicates he will not support the bill on later passage if it comes up for a vote, so the House probably does not have a majority for the bill at this point.

So the Democrats are trying to figure out a strategy to gain action in both houses, but the road ahead is still very complex and difficult. It is hard to see any great prospect for action anytime soon! 🙁

Hints On The Census Effect On Reapportionment Of House Seats In 2012

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The Election Data Service in Virginia has come up with estimates of how population shifts will affect reapportionment of seats in the House of Representatives in 2012.

The estimates are based on the Census Bureau figures of July 1, 2009, which shows more than 307 million Americans.

The indications are that ten seats are likely to switch from one state to another, with the most likely scenario being that Texas will gain three seats; and all of the following states will gain one seat each: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington.

Nine states are likely to lose seats, with Ohio losing two, and the following eight states losing one each: Louisiana, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

It should be noted that all states gaining seats are in the Sun Belt, and the only Sun Belt state to lose a seat is Louisiana, certainly due largely to the effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This continues the long range switch of population from the Frost Belt Northeast and Midwest to the Sun Belt South and West.

At the same time, since there is still another nine months after the Census Bureau estimate to the actual Census Bureau count, there is a potential for some other changes based on small switches in population and the level of accuracy of the census count on April 1, 2010.

Texas and Arizona could gain one extra seat each beyond the projections. And Rhode Island could become the eighth state to have only one House seat if population projections go badly. Also, California, which has always gained a seat in every census since statehood in 1850, could actually lose a seat, and is not projected to gain a seat in any case. Finally, Minnesota is in danger of losing one of its eight House seats.

The housing market downturn and the recession can certainly have an effect on the final population totals for several states. Also, the more homeless people there are makes an accurate population count ever more difficult. So the future makeup of the House of Representatives is certainly still in play!

A Great Step Forward On Restoring Confidence In Future Of The Economy

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The US House of Representatives took a major step forward in restoring confidence in the future of the American economy, when it passed by a vote of 223-202 a bill establishing the greatest set of changes to the banking regulatory system since the 1930s.

The purpose of the legislation is to prevent a future collapse of the economy similar to what happened in 2008. But it also sets up a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate credit cards, mortgages, and other financial products, and give consumers easier understood contract language and information, so as to prevent them from becoming victims of corporate manipulation.

Additionally, the government would have the power to break up companies that have become too large and threaten the stability of the financial system. This would address the argument that some banks or insurance companies are “too large to fail.”

The problem, however, is that the Senate is working much slower on this legislation, and also, the Republican party is again stonewalling support of this essential legislation. So the first battle has been won for consumers, but it is far from certain that this initiative will succeed all the way to legislation signed by President Obama.

The Magic Number For The House Of Representatives: 41 in 2010?

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Now that the off year elections are over, the attention turns to the midterm elections, taking place at the beginning of November 2010.

The question that arises is whether or not it is possible for the Republicans to gain the magic number of 41 seats, which would give them control of the House of Representatives. This would be a reprise of 1994, when the GOP gained control of both houses of Congress after two years of Bill Clinton.

Experts say this is highly unlikely, although it is assumed that the Republicans will gain seats, a normal development in a midterm election for the party not in the White House.

Polls indicate that voters still prefer a Democratic Congress by a six point margin, but of course this is subject to change based on the success or lack of it of the health care legislation, the economic recovery if there is one, and the trials and tribulations of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are always unknown factors that can influence an election, and of course, the individual candidates across the country can have a major impact on the final results.

What is certainly clear is that the Republicans cannot win the Senate, and the possibility exists that the Democrats could actually gain seats, with the retirement of several GOP senators.

One thing is certain: The next year politically will NOT be dull!

A Different Way Of Analyzing Tuesday’s Election Results

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While the Republicans are celebrating their gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, if one looks at special elections in House districts since the election of 2008, things look quite differently.

Not only did the Democrats win NY 23 for the first time since the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant in the 1870s, but also they have won a vacancy in a California seat, and also earlier in Louisiana, Mississippi and Illinois, since Barack Obama became President.

The fact that they won open seats in New York and California on Tuesday allowed their margin of victory on the health care legislation last night to be 220-215, rather than 218-217, the absolutely bare margin needed for passage.

In the long run, winning the House vacancies is more significant for national politics than the losing of governorships in states that have recently demonstrated that they have gone for the party out of the White House a year after the presidential election for 20 straight years in both states, and actually 32 straight years in Virginia.

The difficult economy is bound to affect governors of both parties, as higher unemployment and greater numbers of foreclosures, leading to budget cuts in public services, naturally creates a political nightmare for governors, who bear the brunt of the blame for the downturn.

So while the Republicans celebrate their triumphs, the Democrats also have a lot to celebrate–five Democratic wins in the past year in special House elections!