Neo-Con Agenda: "I Object!"

Rudeness overtook the capital again today as the healthcare reform debate rages in Congress.  It's interesting to track the most recent methods the republicans have used to fight the Democratic control of congress.  here is a brief review:

Stage One: The Party of No -  they became the "party of no."  you might remember their things like "this will be Obama's Waterloo.  It became clear at this point that the Republican party was committed to opposing everything the democrats did simply because it was "liberal" policy.

Stage Two: Make Shit Up - Having realized that they weren't going to win on a platform of "No" they decided, instead, we'll spread rumors and lies through the media to try and derail policy.  For instance, Republicans were making "death panel" claims, prior to a bill being produced.  The House version was only prepared with in the last two weeks, yet this debate as been raging for months.  where did all that information come from?  well of course it came from the Republicans try to sew fear, so they could oppose the bill once it arrived.

Stage Two and a Half: Get Angry - This stage is epitomized by Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst in the middle of Obama's address to both houses of Congress.  When nothing you've tried works, get angry about it and yell at the President of the United States.  Sadly, it worked.  However, it did come with negative publicity as well, so probably not something you want to use too often.

Stage Three: Provide an Alternative - I think this stage was particularly satisfying for me and other liberals, because it proved that Republicans are, in fact, just as stupid as their policies.  The republicans attempted to respond to Obama's "show me what YOU'VE got" challenge by presenting their own $61 Billion solution to the health care issue.  The problem is that while they were spending a fraction of the price, they were not solving the problem Obama has identified.  The Democratic plan will cover another 36 Million people (the goal of the Obama administration was to cover all 50 Million uninsured, but this is a good start, right?).  The Republican plan would apparently push another 6 Million into the ranks of the uninsured.  yeah, you heard that right.  The media didn't really criticize them on this point, but let me repeat this point.  The Republican plan would leave 6 Million MORE people uninsured.  Yikes!

Stage Four: Don't Show Up - So their last strategy failed pretty miserably.  So they needed something else.  In true elementary school fashion, their next plan was to object to the Climate Bill, making its way through the committees, by simply not coming to work.  Some call this a boycott.  Well, if it was, it was pretty ineffective, because Barbara Boxer pushed right on by them and passed the bill out of committee without the Republicans even showing up.

Stage Five: Get Angry (Part 2) - Well, nothing seems to be working so this week we saw the resurgence of  the get mad strategy.  Michele Bachmann, neo-con nutjob extraordinaire, and her Republican colleagues sponsored a sparsely attended rally to oppose Health Care Reform.  At this rally were the usual signs comparing Obama to hitler, the joker, etc.  just the usual racism I suppose.  What was really disturbing was the picture comparing health care reform to the holocaust.  Rep. Boehner, who was standing right in front of the sign, claimed not to notice.  Pretty sad.  Well things got worse today when Republican members of congress shouted down the women's caucus, as they tried to make statements.  Watch here:



Kinda sad that this what the political process has devolved into.

Common Sense