GOP Obstructionism

Todd Akin sure is confident that God is on Todd Akin's team. This morning:

[Todd Akin] credited divine intervention with the January election of Scott Brown, R-Mass., which deprived Democrats of the 60-seat majority needed to block fillibusters [sic]. Akin said he hoped God would intervene again in blocking the bill.

CNSNews.com:

Retiring Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) said that Bunning was right to object to the fact that the Senate never got the opportunity to debate how the benefits would be funded, something Bond said should have happened. Bunning’s objections forced a floor vote on whether the bill should be paid for, a measure Bond supported.

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) is filibustering legislation with an extension for unemployment benefits to help more than 1.2 million out-of-work Americans. Struggling families obviously count on these benefits to put food on the table, pay bills and keep a roof over their heads.In fact, the White House says 8,700 Missourians will not receive unemployment checks if the Senate fails to deal with Bunning's obstructionism.

In addition, two thousand federal highway workers were furloughed this morning because of Bunning's petty maneuvers. And today, his filibuster triggered a 21 percent fee reduction to doctors seeing Medicare patients starting today.

Fired Up! co-founder Roy Temple writes about the Senate and the Republicans' misuse of the filibuster in The Beacon today.  Here's an excerpt:

There once was a time that Republicans in the Senate played the role of a constructive minority, taking the ideas of Democrats, trimming off some of the excesses and offering ways to improve the legislation. By their recent actions, Republicans have signaled that those days are long since gone.

Yet, so far, Republicans have paid no political price for these tactics. In part, that was possible because the Democrats had 60 votes and the media focused on why the Democrats couldn't unify to pass legislation over Republican objection.

 From a new Public Policy Polling poll:

Our national poll this week found that only 19% of voters in the country are happy with the direction of the Republican Party, compared to 56% who are unhappy with it. Even among independents, who have voted overwhelmingly for [MA Senator-Elect] Scott Brown, [NJ Governor] Chris Christie, and [VA Governor] Bob McDonnell 58% say they don't like the direction the GOP is headed in.

The GOP's own voters are displeased with where the party's going- 38% say they are unhappy with the current direction to 35% who support it. In a trend that perhaps provides at least a ray of hope to Democrats the Republicans unhappy with their own party are disproportionately moderates. 54% of them are displeased to 25% content- the question is what Democrats can do to get those folks to actually jump ship.

Today on CNN Sunday morning, Sen. Claire McCaskill said it's "nuts" for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to hold up the confirmation of a Transportation Security Administration chief over concerns about letting employees join a union.  As noted by Politico, "DeMint has been blocking the confirmation of Erroll Southers...because he fears the nominee will let workers bargain collectively. Southers has the approval of two bipartisan committees."

I didn't call them that – the American people did (a majority of American adults did anyway). 

Gallup recently asked 1,025 adults to identify political figures as "winners" and losers" for 2009. Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Sonia Sotomayor were all big "winners." On the flip side, the Republicans in Congress, the White House party crashers, SC Governor Mark Sanford and SC Rep. Joe Wilson were all big "losers."

The biggest losers, in pretty chart form:

Tom Toles: 

This is not good news:

Senate Majority Leader Kevin Engler [R-Farmington] also is bracing for trouble. Eight of the 10 senators term-limited in 2010 are Republicans. Of the 10 additional senators term-limited in 2012, seven of them also are Republicans.

"Over half my majority is term-limited, and most of them aren't running for higher office, so they have no responsibility to the voters," said Engler, R-Farmington. "Some things that would be tempered before will not be tempered now, because their objective is, 'So what? You sure don't care what the public thinks. I can kill everything if I want, because I'm not up for election."

The idea of Republican Senators being even less "tempered" in their obstructionism and extremism gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder posted a letter to Sen. McCaskill today on his campaign blog demanding an "explanation" for her support of health care legislation to expand access to affordable health care for Missourians.  Predictably, Kinder's letter is light on the facts:

The plan being proposed by your colleagues in the Senate could cost Missouri an additional $400 million more each year. That is money we just don't have, as you and Gov. Jay Nixon are aware...

We now know that you support the plan crafted by liberal politicians. On top of cap and trade, the takeover of America's auto manufacturers and a failed "stimulus plan," this government-funded health care plan is one more program that would hurt Missouri taxpayers, Missouri small businesses and would bankrupt our state.

This is false.

I don't disagree with the thrust of this editorial in the Post-Dispatch about Republican fearmongering in the health care debate.

What campfires are to spooky ghost stories, Congressional Republicans have become to frightening, fabricated urban legends about health care reform. Death panels! Rationing! Medicare cuts!

But at the same time, I don't understand why the editorial is accompanied by a photo of Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and mentions Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) –- but doesn't note a single Missouri leader guilty of the same scare tactics. 

Speaking this morning on CBS’ “The Early Show,” Sen. Claire McCaskill called out Republican senators for their work to slow down and kill health care reform efforts.  The Senate GOP has steadfastly refused to produce a real plan for reducing health care costs and expanding access, but has produced a comprehensive plan for slowing down the health care debate.   Watch it:

The Beacon:

U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., is likely to make news this week as the Senate continues its health care debate.

Exactly how isn't yet known.

But for weeks, the outspoken comments of Missouri's most veteran incumbent statewide official on various topics -- from cap and trade to Afghanistan -- have won him air time on cable news shows and face time with President Barack Obama.

Whatever he says, I'm confident it will make sense and reflect his serious consideration of the matters at hand. 

Yesterday, the American Medical Association endorsed the thrust of the Senate Democrats' health care bill. Though they objected to a tax on "elective cosmetic medical procedures" and the creation of an Independent Medicare Advisory Board, they praised its health insurance regulation and new tax credits to help low- and moderate-income people buy coverage.

Meanwhile, Sen. Kit Bond says the bill is a "disaster" which needs an "exorcism" (because it's been drafted or is supported by the devil, I guess).

Who should we trust here on the general outline of the Senate bill?  The AMA?  Or the Senator who spends more time coming up with clever quotes than ideas?