WHEN IN DOUBT, DEMONIZE

With the ink now dry on the health care bill, scrutiny is finally allowed.  After two days of gloating and self-glorification, the democrats are back to playing defense. 

The fact that the IRS is the enforcement arm of the bill has finally reached the general consciousness.  So too the missed demographics and taxation.  Does funding viagra for rapists and pedophiles count as one of those 'goodies' we kept hearing about?

Democrats assured us that there would be so many goodies once the bill was passed that the country would just fall in love with the legislation.  So far, the only thing that has kicked in has been taxes.

In an effort to control the debate and demonize the opposition, democrats are playing up threats, and laying them at the feet of tea partyers and republicans in general.  Yes, there is a great deal of anger out there over how this bill was passed and what it contains, but at no point have the protesters been violent. In addition, threats and violent acts are being heaped on republicans as well, so democrats aren't the only intended victims.   Democrat accusations of slurs being shouted at them on Sunday during the protests have been unsubstantiated, even though there is video and still photography of the event. 

Pelosi and the democrat's 'victory march' through the crowds of protesters was an asinine decision, and it's hard to understand their methodology behind it.  They must have known that they would be heckled, considering they were marching through a crowd that mainly consisted of opposition.  Which begs the question - were they hoping to catch such an incident on tape?

They know the bill is unpopular, and whenever they are faced with opposition, their go-to tactic is demonization.  What better way to do that than to go amongst an angry crowd and try to provoke them?  Every other attempt to paint the protesters as violent mobs has failed or been exposed, but, as the yearlong fight for the health care bill proves, these people are nothing if not tenacious. 

Let's not forget that there are plenty of people on the other side of the aisle who are angry with the bill, too, because of it's lack of a public option and it's alleged 'toothlessness'.  There are also those who like to pretend to be opposition and do things to put the opposition in a bad light.  A great example of this is the democrat supporter in Colorado who shattered the glass windows of a democrat campaign office after the 2008 election.  The democrats were quick to blame the right, but it turns out they were very, very wrong.  Needless to say, no apology was issued, and no corrections were made in the press.

What is really bothersome is how quickly these verbal threats are called terrorism, and yet Osama Bin Laden came out with another tape this week calling for the deaths of innocent Americans and nothing is said about it.  That is to be expected, though - after all, thousands of innocent people in numerous attacks have been slaughtered by those right wing tea bagger freaks....oh, wait....(BTW - since the left calls tea partyers 'tea baggers', does that mean the tea partyers get to call the left 'douchebaggers'?  They are both equally offensive terms...)

Did you ever think that a political party in America would stoop to calling a large portion of the public terrorists and the enemy?   During the Bush years, when he was being hung and/or burned in effegy, compared to Hitler and called the AntiChrist, dissent against government was patriotic.  Suddenly every word spoken against the current administration's policies are racist and/or dangerous.  You might say it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but then you'd probably be accused of being a racist for using the word 'black' in a sentence.

It is pretty obvious that democrats are attempting to smear the tea party movement in a desperate bid to discredit a peaceful, patriotic movement that obviously scares the bejesus out of them.  The Tea Party movement is a tough nut to crack for progressives, because it doesn't play into their gameplan.  Their tactics involve creating a leader and demonizing him/her, which then enables them to paint all followers of the movement with the same broad brush.  They haven't been able to do that with the leaderless Tea party, so they are instead left with vague accusations of unsubstantiated wrongdoing.

Isn't it amazing how Rep. Bart Stupak's allegations of threats to himself and his family when he was considered a no vote were of no consequence, but now that he voted yes and is still receiving threats, suddenly his life is in jeapardy?  There is also hardly any mention of Rep. Steven Lynch's (D-MA) threatening phone calls - probably because they originate from unions and health care supporters who are angry that he voted no. 

There are a few things being investigated right now, such as a cut gas line at the home of the brother of Congressman Tom Periello and windows broken at Rep. Louise Slaughter's NY offices.  The gas line incident in particular is quite serious, and we need to let the authorities get to the bottom of it.

The Tea Parties have been slandered before and been vindicated, so before anyone jumps to any conclusions, let's do what we do in America - grant the accused the presumption of innocence.  If the investigations turn up radical right-wingers, then they should be punished, just as if it is radical left-wingers at fault there should be prosecutions.

In the meantime, the democrats in Congress need to shut their traps and allow the investigations to be concluded before they throw any more bombs. 

When, exactly, did the demonization of fellow Americans become good politics?

THE POLITICS OF DECEPTION

The most frightening part of this legislation isn't a specific part of the bill (although there are some pretty horrifying bits).  What is really scary is the length this administration is willing to go to pass it.  Not only are they sneaky and underhanded in their closed door crafting of this piece of....work...they are knowingly (he is, after all, a constitutional lawyer) violating the constitution in their brazen attempt to impose their will on the country.

Just how low are they willing to sink?

Well, first there is Bart Stupak's worthless piece of paper.  He has been duped and will have sold his vote (and 8 or 9 others) for nothing.  Executive orders are secondary to the law of the land, and the new law of the land after the Senate bill passes will be that abortions will receive federal funding.  For what it's worth, he can always take the order, tear it into strips and take it with him on his next visit to the congressional washroom.  That's about all it's good for.

And then there is the Slaughter Solution.   Once it got the nic-name Demon Pass, though, it was done for.  You have to hand it to them - those progressives sure do know a poisonous name association when they see one, don't they?  It is, after all, their favorite tactic.

There are plenty of other shady deals and misinformation in the creation and attempted sale of this bill of goods - far too many to mention.  But it seems that even after all of their other little schemes have been discovered, they are still trying.  Former PA republican senator Rick Santorum mentioned a really shady piece of information about the House reconciliation bill during his interview with Greta Van Susteren.  

According to Mr. Santorum, the Budget Act of 1974 states that revenues slated for Social Security cannot be used for other programs.  The current reconciliation has a provision for "rerouting" SocSec revenues into Medicaid.  This would nullify the entire Reconciliation package.  This means all of the promises that were made to persuade reluctant House democrats to fall on their swords was nothing but hot air. 

Senate Republicans have been attempting to meet with Leader Reid and the Senate Parliamentarian to get some sort of resolution to this situation before the House votes.  So far they have been unable to get a meeting. 

After listening to Santorum explain the deception, Van Susteren asked, "Could they be that diabolical?"

Let's let Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) answer that one, shall we?




They certainly have learned their Alinsky well, haven't they?

There is always the hope that Stupak and House Dems in general will realise they've been duped, but it's most likely this nightmare is going to pass. 

After this, there is still debate in the Senate, but only on the reconciliation package - the main Senate bill will be the law of the land.  If the reconciliation is voted down or nullified in some way, there is absolutely no doubt that Obama will sign the Senate bill into law without the "fixes".  That might just be even worse.  The whole point of Senate republicans making this public is an attempt to have wavering dems rethink their vote.  Odds are good that they won't. 

It's not over 'til the fat lady sings, but you can hear her warming up in the wings, and she'll probably be singing a dirge.

GAME ON

The race is on to ge the votes to pass reconciliation.  Let the arm twisting and bribery begin.

Not only do we need to remember that the Senate bill includes the 'Louisiana Purchase' and the 'Cornhusker Kickback', but that they will be adding to it, as well.

I'm sure there will be plenty of arms twisted, if push comes to shove, but the preferred method these days
is 'sweeteners' - you and I would call them bribes.  And you know what?  Since we're footing the bill, we get to name it.  It't time to start calling things what they are, so 'bribery' it is.

The first one to pop up is quite a doozy.

Congressman Jim Matheson's (D-UT) brother has just been nominated for a federal judgeship.  What a coincidence.  I don't know what's worse - the obvious vote buying going on, or the country's blase attitude about it.  The sad part is, the brother is probably a good judicial candidate, but now he may be sullied by the whole affair and may end up paying a career price as well.

It will be interesting to see what else is being bartered and how successful those graft attempts are once the sun shines in.

This whole situation is, at best, an embarrassment - they are behaving like some third world country.  I'm waiting for someone to throw a chair, followed by a mass brawl.  At worst, this is highly unethical.  Not that that means much of anything anymore.

Hopefully this will be the only post about outright bribery, but the pattern of ethics that has been established so far by this Congress points in the other direction. 

So what do you think the odds are that this story will get picked up by the neo-pravda media?