Mitch McConnell

Obama, Wall Street Regulations, And Mitch McConnell

Ronald 1 Comment

One would think the collapse of the economy in the Fall of 2008 would motivate everyone in Congress to promote strict regulations of Wall Street, so that what happened can never occur again!

It was lack of regulation that allowed the Wall Street abuses to happen, but apparently that does not affect the Republican opposition, most of whom seem dedicated to prevention of any real regulatory reform!

Well known as friends of Wall Street, they now are trying to play a shell game, and claim that all bailouts must be prevented in the future, when many of them backed the original bailout that took place under President Bush!

Despite Tea Party protests, it is a fact that the so called “bailout” saved the country from a worse economic downturn, and much of the bailout money has been paid back by the banks, insurance companies, and auto companies, and the rest will be paid back.

Would it have been better to do nothing, and let the economy slip into a total depression? Why is it that now when it is urgent that reform be accomplished, suddenly the GOP is acting like an innocent child, as if they had nothing to do with the lack of regulation during the Bush era?

It is good to see President Obama declare that, just like with the Health Care legislation, he will not allow GOP intransigence to stand in the way of essential reform! It is time for action, no matter what Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, or anyone else does to block reform! It has been the height of hypocrisy for McConnell to attack the legislation, when he is well known for being close to Wall Street financiers! What a disgrace! 🙁

Senate Republican Obstructionism: Not A Winning Strategy!

Ronald Leave a comment

The House Republicans disgraced themselves by their behavior this weekend as that chamber passed the Health Care reform legislation.

Now the Senate Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and with the full backing of John McCain, have decided to be totally obstructionist, and to pledge to do everything to delay or prevent the “reconciliation” bill designed to make the newly minted Health Care reform better than it presently is.

So, as a result, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans all night sessions to prevent delay in the enactment of “reconciliation” beyond this pre Easter week.

If the Senate Republicans think this is a good image they are presenting the nation, they will soon discover how wrong they are!

Already, the first polls out after the enactment of Health Care reform indicate that 49 percent favor the legislation, compared to 40 percent opposed.

The GOP is about to have a rude awakening! Health Care reform is here to stay, even with 14 states trying to promote its repeal in the courts!

Senator Jim Bunning: A Disgraceful, Despicable Action To Block Unemployment Compensation And COBRA Extension! :(

Ronald 1 Comment

Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky already has a reputation in the chamber, even among his fellow Republicans, of being a “problem”, an embarrassment, and as one of the absolutely worst senators in the history of the United States!

He has used foul language, been totally uncooperative even with the Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentuckian, and people have wondered about his mental alertness and sanity.

The fact that he finally chose not to run for reelection is a blessing for his party, but now even in his last months, he has chosen to use “senatorial privilege” to block an extension of unemployment beliefs and COBRA health care for the most desperate among us, the long term unemployed. He is another one of those senators who loves to quote religious themes, and yet he is willing to promote a direct assault on those in our society who are the most unfortunate!

The basis of him, all alone, stopping extension, is that the cost of the extension must be paid for, which certainly makes sense, but the fact that he voted to support two wars that have destroyed our budgetary balance, plus voted for both Bush tax cuts to the rich, makes him a total hypocrite now, when the most downcast in our society are in need!

Jim Bunning may have been a great baseball player with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950s and 1960s, who ended up in the Hall of Fame, the only baseball player to have done that and been in the Senate. But in his nastiness and mean spiritedness now demonstrated, yet again, he is certainly no Hall of Famer in politics! 🙁

“Reconciliation” And Health Care Legislation: Time For Action!

Ronald 2 Comments

As the Health Care Summit is about to occur on Thursday, it is clear that the Obama Administration intends to use “reconciliation” if the Republicans refuse to budge on the issue, which is seen as extremely likely.

The statement by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that such action would be “unprecedented” is pure propaganda, as it has been used under earlier Presidents.

But also research shows that the Children’s Health Care program and expansion of Medicaid to more children, and many other extensions of Medicare coverage have been brought about by “reconciliation” since the Reagan Administration onward.

So after the summit tomorrow, IF the GOP refuses to cooperate, it is time to follow that tactic, and if need be, use Vice President Joe Biden to break a tie, as Al Gore broke a tie on the Clinton economic plan in 1993, which led to the greatest period of economic expansion in US History in the 1990s.

Enough of bipartisanship, which requires both parties to cooperate! If the Republicans don’t, then do what must be done to extend health care to many millions of Americans who are entitled to have the same access to health care that Dick Cheney and Bob Dole are receiving right now!

Bipartisan Health Care Summit Called By President Obama

Ronald Leave a comment

President Obama has just taken the step to welcome Republicans in Congress to a bipartisan summit on February 25, to be televised live.

This is a good step, and will test the Republicans as to whether there will be any cooperation by that party toward some form of health care legislation.

It will be interesting to see if the GOP tries to evade the summit, or will in some way, attempt to undermine it.

Stay tuned for the reaction by Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Michael Steele et a!

Republicans Politicizing National Security

Ronald Leave a comment

Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan was on Meet The Press this morning, and he accused Republican leaders of Congress of politicizing national security.

Brennan declared that he had fully informed the top Republican leaders of Congress–Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader; Ohio Congressman John Boehner, House Minority Leader; Michigan Congressman Peter Hoekstra, ranking member of the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives; and Missouri Senator Kit Bond, ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee–of the Christmas Airliner incident in Detroit, and told them that the FBI was using normal procedure, including reading the Miranda rights to the suspect, and that no objection was registered.

Now all of the Republicans are making it a political issue, he said, instead of recognizing that using the typical criminal methods of questioning the suspect through the FBI and Miranda rights was that always utilized by the Bush Administration during the nearly eight years of the War on Terror under that President.

Brennan said that the profesionalism of counter terrorism experts was being challenged in an unfair and destructive manner.

Is this anything new, that the Republicans are refusing to cooperate and support the administration? During the Bush Presidency, it was said to be unpatriotic and counterproductive if anything was criticized about the Bush approach to terrorism, which ironically was exactly what the Obama Administration is doing, regarding terrorism suspects arrested on American soil. Unfortunately, the answer is that there is no willingness to cooperate and avoid partisanship! 🙁

A Few Republicans Being Fair Minded On Harry Reid Controversy

Ronald 1 Comment

It is good to see at least a few Republicans being fair minded about the Harry Reid controversy, refusing to call for his resignation as Senate Majority Leader.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and fellow Nevadan John Ensign all are calling for their party to lay off the topic, as it is not their place to tell the Democrats or Nevada what to do.

The same cannot be said for Republican National Chairman Michael Steele and Texas Senator John Cornyn, who are ridiculously comparing what Reid said to what Trent Lott said about Strom Thurmond in 2002. As stated in an earlier entry, to compare the two situations is totally ridiculous!

But also, President George W. Bush did not back Lott in 2002, and helped assist his resignation, while Barack Obama has fully backed Reid and called for an end to the attention to the comments the Majority Leader made.

As Obama said, Reid has his heart and record in the right place, having a consistently strong civil rights record in his years in the Senate, while Trent Lott was just the opposite in so many ways.

So as Obama said, it is time to move on and focus on health care, the energy issue, and the economy–issues important to the American people.