Posts Tagged Obama
C’mon Dennis, Don’t Be Another George Voinovich
Posted by Roldo Bartimole in Politicians on March 8th, 2010
March 8, 2010… Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich is being singled out to change his vote on President Barack Obama’s health reform measure. President Obama himself pitched to Kucinich, telling him a form of single-payer option – Kucinich’s desire – is in the reform bill.
Kucinich was a no vote on the measure that passed the House. He has been pressing for an ideal single-payer measure.
Kucinich has the reputation of being a politician with strong beliefs. He has also been a rather selfish politician who thinks of his standing when making his decisions.
His intransigence not only endangers health reform – weakened as it is – but damages the Obama administration and possibly Democrats in general for the coming election.
The delayed health reform battle has set back President Obama’s ability to deal with the jobs and other issues. Republicans have denied Obama a single vote in the U. S. Senate in an attempt to fatally damage his presidency.
Rep. Bernie Sanders told the Huffington Post that he had talked to Kucinich, albeit “a while back,” about his provision that gives states the ability to provide a single-payer option using federal funds to do so.
The article said that President Obama directly addressed Kucinich’s concern about lack of a single-payer aspect, telling him a form was in the bill and that the Congressman “wrote it down.”
Dennis and a few other Democrats – mostly more conservative ones – are holding up health insurance for some 40 million people and many others facing a jobless future without health insurance.
Democrats want to pass a revised health bill under circumstances that allow the U. S. Senate, which has already passed a bill (as has the House) to dodge a Republican filibuster. A revised Senate bill from the House would require only 50 Senate votes. Democrats believe they can produce 50 votes.
C’mon Dennis, let’s not be your usual selfish self and think about the general good.
The full Huffington article can be accessed here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/kucinich-becomes-target-o_n_490280.html
Republicans Lie and News Media Spread It
Posted by Roldo Bartimole in Media, Politicians on February 4th, 2010
February 4, 2010… The Audacity of No.
The Republican Party has put the country into serious financial jeopardy. Now they blame others.
Two Republican wars, two Republican tax cuts mostly to the wealth and a Republican prescription drug benefiting drug companies – and NONE paid for by the party that now sees disaster in deficits.
What gall.
Of course, one of the leaders of the dire need to deal with the deficit is our own Sen. George Voinovich. His image burnished by The Plain Dealer and Steve Koff recently as so, so concerned about our profligate spending.
In a paean of praise, Koff recently credited Voinovich, who ends his career this year, with going out by working to “force Washington to deal with the national debt that could doom the nation’s shaky finances…”
Where have Voinovich and Koff been for eight years?
The problem we all are in now has to do with the news media, the mainstream media’s biases. It’s utter failure to be honest about the predicament we are in and who caused it.
They are treating the dire problems the nation faces dishonestly.
The treatment of President Barack Obama and the Democrats in reporting the situation the nation now finds itself lacks the proper context that could make truthful. So it is a lie.
The news media’s failure is very similar to the way the news media treated Sen. Joe McCarthy by “reporting” his lies. Reporting and waiting for others to define his ravings. The major newspapers failed miserably by reporting lies as “news” in their supposed objective manner. He said it, didn’t he? That’s what we are reporting. That’s news judgment?
It wasn’t until after vast human damage was done that a few people spoke out or were allowed to counter his ravings. It took a major media figure as Edward R. Murrow to strike the blow to reveal the truth of Sen. McCarthy. We couldn’t expect that of a Tom Brokaw. Courage may be his subject but it isn’t his talent.
Now I read the newspapers, including the New York Times, for some honesty. But I don’t find it.
This is the reason 49 Republicans are a “majority” in the U. S. Senate. They have 49 Senators and a sad-sack news media. Unwilling to present the truth in full frontal view. Too timid for unvarnished truth.
Republicans are making a mockery of governing by simply saying “No” to everything of any importance. It’s a strategy right out of Rove. It should be headline stuff.
The message is clear. The aim is even clearer. They want to destroy the Obama administration. Stop it before it starts. No matter the cost to the nation. No matter the cost to ordinary people. Those suffering the most.
There’s an old ditty I like to tell in these instances:
Why will people never say the things all people know?
Why must truth be smiled upon as if it were not so?
Ask your daily newspaper and national TV news.