When Jesus heard that, he said to them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor; those who are sick do. I've come to call sinners, not people who think they have God's approval."
(emphasis added)
GOP Health Care Obstructionists, are you Listening???
The Pharisees, thought they were doing God's work too.
Imagine their surprise when this upstart Carpenter, from the old neighborhood, dared to stand up to their blatant self-righteousness ... and dish back to them some cold, hard truth ...
"Now, I think that there are some of my Republican friends on Capitol Hill who are sincerely trying to figure out if they can find a health care bill that works - Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Olympia Snowe from Maine have been - yes, I got to admit I like Olympia, too. They are diligently working to see if they can come up with a plan that could get both Republican and Democratic support."
In addition, Thomas Beaumont of the Des Moines Register noticed that Organizing for America is not mobilizing Obama's supporters to show up at Grassley's town-hall meetings in Iowa. Instead, Organizing for America is trying to drive turnout to events hosted by Iowa's Democrats in Congress.
I am one of those 46 million Americans without health insurance.
I have been unemployed for 3 months and have finally found a job, albeit one that does not include benefits and barely pays enough to provide for the cost of living. And lest it be questioned, I do not go out (other than for work), I own a 15 year old car free and clear (so no car payment), I do not travel, I do not eat fancy foods, and I have not bought clothes or shoes in a few years (yes, they're getting very old). In short, I do not do any frivolous spending and I don't have much of a life outside of work.
(GOP, healthcare, and budget reconciliation... - promoted by poligirl)
As the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley will influence the shape of health care reform. For that reason, he and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana were invited to lunch at the White House on Wednesday with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Grassley's message to the president and vice president, as well as to every journalist who'll listen, is that health care reform should be done through a bipartisan bill that can receive 70 or 80 votes in the Senate. (See also Grassley's recent guest editorial at Politico.)
Many Democrats want to include a health care bill in the budget reconciliation process, which would prevent a Republican filibuster. Grassley warns that it would be a mistake to reform such a large part of the U.S. economy without broad support from members of Congress in both parties.
After the jump I'll explain why Grassley is wrong, wrong, wrong about health care reform.
(ACTION and agriculture... - promoted by poligirl)
Tom Vilsack appears to be on track for unanimous confirmation by the Senate as Secretary of Agriculture in Barack Obama's cabinet. At his confirmation hearing yesterday, Republicans didn't ask hostile questions, and Vilsack didn't have to explain away any embarrassing behavior like Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner's failure to fully meet his tax obligations over a period of years.
Despite the lack of drama, Vilsack made a number of noteworthy comments during the hearing. Join me after the jump for some highlights.
I do most of my writing at the Iowa progressive community blog Bleeding Heartland.
Last year at this time I was scrambling to make as many phone calls and knock on as many doors as I could before the Iowa caucuses on January 3.
This week I had a little more time to reflect on the year that just ended.
After the jump I've linked to Bleeding Heartland highlights in 2008. Most of the links relate to Iowa politics, but some also covered issues or strategy of national importance.
I only linked to a few posts about the presidential race. I'll do a review of Bleeding Heartland's 2008 presidential election coverage later this month.
