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Published Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 | 5:10 p.m.
Updated Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 | 5:10 p.m.
WASHINGTON -- Greetings, Early Liners and welcome to this Friday afternoon political wrap-up.
Living at the White House
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was back at the White House today for another long round of health care talks as the House and Senate race to craft a final bill for passage and the president’s signature.
Reid called off his planned fundraiser today in Dallas (much to the disappointment of the tea party protesters) to keep working on health care. Today’s talks follow Thursday night’s marathon session that went until 1 a.m. this morning.
Nevada’s House members remain non-committal about the deal reached with labor to exempt unions from the so-called Cadillac tax on high-cost health plans – a 40 percent excise tax that both Democratic Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus oppose.
“Congresswoman Titus has expressed concern for the tax on insurance plans; however, if some form of the tax is going to be included in the bill, she is encouraged that negotiations are moving toward changes that will exclude more workers from the tax,” her spokesman Andrew Stoddard said. “Negotiations are ongoing and she is withholding judgment until language is final.”
Titus and other House Democrats heard today from former President Bill Clinton, who addressed the group at on the final day of their annual issues conference.
Berkley, who was not in Washington for the conference this week but instead was home in Las Vegas, plans to discuss the compromise with Nevada’s labor unions, whose members could be snared by the new tax.
Berkley has “not taken a position” on the deal, spokesman David Cherry said.
Kennedy’s seat
Reid famously does not pay attention to polls, but he might be watching the ones coming from Massachusetts, where Republicans are within striking distance of taking the seat held by late-Sen. Ted Kennedy in Tuesday’s special election.
A Republican upset could spell the end of Reid’s 60-member majority in the Senate – hitting the brakes on President Barack Obama’s agenda in Congress and giving Democrats a shock as the 2010 election season begins.
Obama is headed to Massachusetts on Sunday to campaign for Democrat Martha Coakley.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today the president “believes he can be helpful.” Though some of questioned if Obama’s visit would only serve to rally supporters of Republican Scott Brown.
As congressional leaders conduct round-the-clock health care negotiations with the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied that Democrats were rushing the bill before Election Day.
Ensign’s resurgence?
Speaking of Republican popularity, the folks at Public Policy Polling have unveiled hypothetical 2012 electoral match-ups in Nevada.
A new poll out today pits Republican Sen. John Ensign against potential Democratic candidates Berkley, Secretary of State Ross Miller and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman (who the Sun’s J. Patrick Coolican and Jon Ralston have reminded cannot run as a Democrat).
Remember, this is robo-call polling, which is not the best measure of accuracy.
With that warning, here are the results: Ensign’s approval rating is as dismal as Reid’s, at 38 percent. However, he beats potential Democrats, besting Berkley 49-40, Miller 47-36 and Goodman 43-41.
Not great for a two-term senator, but not quite DOA, PPP’s Tom Jensen says.
State campaign coffers
Sun colleague David Schwartz-McGrath has the run-down on campaign finance reports in statewide races today over on his Twitter account.
To note: Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki tops the field for his re-election with $139,000 raised. “His campaign spin: $100K in last 11 days,” schwartznews writes.
Reid cartoon pulled
The Omaha World-Herald pulled its cartoon spoofing the majority leader’s impolitic racial comments earlier this week, Romensko reports.
HUD saga continues
Rep. Shelley Berkley today dialed up Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to add her voice to those complaining that Southern Nevada was left out of the latest round of Neighborhood Stabilization funds for foreclosed homes.
“I am pleased that the Secretary heard me out, and after our conversation, I know he is very aware of the situation we face in Southern Nevada,” Berkley said. “He indicated to me it was his understanding that Southern Nevada faced difficulties in utilizing resources that have already been allocated.”
Berkley is also talking with local officials to see what can be done to better use the money already on the table.
That’s all for now. Check back later for all the political news in Nevada.
Reid is the ultimate Beltway Insider. He only cares about his own perks.
Ensign only beats The World's Happiest Mayor by 2 points? Whoa.
My advice to Ensign is to start drinking heavily.
(Berkley has "not taken a position" on the deal, spokesman David Cherry said.) Yeah sure, Democrat Shelly Berkley in CD 1 who votes likes a screaming Liberal on medication has no opinion on taxing insurance plans on Unions and forcing other people to pay for the obvious shortfall. What a joke! Democrat Shelly Berkley help get us in this Government Run Health Care debacle that poll after poll reflect that America is OPPOSED to. Congressional District 1 deserves better representation. We deserve a representative that ACTUALLY represents us! We DO have someone poised and ready to do just that. Along with Harry Reid, let's fire Democrat Shelly Berkley in November! Let's elect a representative that will fight for us, the people! https://www.craiglakeforcongress.com/
(Rep. Shelley Berkley today dialed up Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to add her voice to those complaining that Southern Nevada was left out of the latest round of Neighborhood Stabilization funds for foreclosed homes.) Las Vegas is in an economical mess, 13% unemployment, people losing their homes and how do the Liberals treat us? Zero federal funding to help Las Vegan's. We have to do better than Shelly Berkley. Her time has come and gone. Let's send her home in November!
DessertSun: But who will represent Israeli interests if Shelley goes away?
Reid's health bill will increasingly burden Nevada with Medicaid costs that include paying for unauthorized residents. Reid's support of forced costly health insurance on Americans and new federal taxes will also Crush--what is left of Nevada home values, forcing many NV home buyers to decide between owning a home, buying health insurance; or paying opt-out penalties in order to own a house. The High Costs of Obama forced health insurance is foreseeable to disqualify home buyers, driving down NV home prices, casing more layoffs in construction and other employment. It is foreseeable NV to make up lost tax revenues, to protect its government infrastructure; and or include Gov. Gibbon's proposal that Nevada replace paying Medicaid, could cause NV to enact a State Income Tax. That would cause many to leave NV. The health bill stinks so Bad, including allegations of bribery, the public should demand an independent prosecutor investigate.
Oh Man we are so screwed. Dinasore Titus and Shelly Berekley oh man we are so screwed. Dingy back in that sorry swamp to put the finishing touches on finishing off what was once a pretty good country. Really what ever glimmer of hope that barrrrrackus obamarama was ever any different from any other slimeball pol should brilliantley clear to even the most ingnorant of nevadans. oh man we are so screwed and dingy, dina and shelley go on about there merry way signing off on whatever is politaclly correct at the moment.
Obama care Good-bye!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2scxJNXj...
Well, When is Nevada's primary? June?
Who's running against him?
I know of two. One I like.
It's just a matter of whether Reid earns a different vote.
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained offensive language.
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"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada described then-Sen. Barack Obama as "light skinned" and "with no Negro dialect." Obama is the nation's first African-American president."
So, mees being darker, HR would'nt have sported me fer president? I dink he may be pregidice at thet time, but he aint no moore. Since my presidnt likes him,i's going to vote for HR whin it comes round. So's a repubcans dont get in da senate from Nev -we's all bettre pichin and help hr git back in the sinate.
NEVADA: Harry Reid's Disney World. OMG r-u folks going to re-elect this buffoon? Do you folks want him and Pelosi to fudge-up the rest of the U.S. the way they have done your states? Just in case you missed it, which I am sure the gullible Nevada public has, the "Canadian Premier Flys to U.S. for Heart Surgery, see http://www.healthreformscam.com/category......
The 59-year-old Conservative needed health care which was not timely available in Canada.
WAKE UP FOOLS
With the majority of Americans against this government intrusion into our heathcare, why is Reid Pushing it? First it's healthCONTROL and second it will provide care for all the 20 million illegals currently occupying the U.S. Who pays the bill for this? Working American citizens. Who benefits? Illegal aliens and their dishonest employers. Like the representation you're getting from this guy? Like paying for education of illegal's kids and the reduction in resources for our own, like paying their medical, like them getting SSI that Americans paid into? Reid's your man!
O, Brother Reid, where do I start? That I was proud that there was an openly liberal member in the Senate? Who seemed to care about the underprivileged and seemed like you actually read the Beatitudes and took them to heart in your priesthood meetings. That I was disappointed in your stance on abortion? Your pushing of the Bailout? That you initially fought for healthcare and then backed down like the spineless Mormon Beta-Male that you are.
And in backing down from the Public Option, I sighed the sigh of someone who will never be able to afford health care, and who will probably die in my thirties on account of it. And this, Brother Reid...really? I'm just flabberghasted.
O, Brother Reid, having you removed from office for something like this is a little chocolate sprinkle on the scum cake that has been the recent Democratic control of both Houses. All of you in the Senate have been phenomenally disappointing thanks to your inability to take control of the moral and ethical high ground and populist rage.
But your lack of passion and guile, and your reliance on the stereotypes which came a generation before your own will cost us all dearly. In five or six years, when my kidneys fail and my joints look like that of a 60 year old and my system shuts down organ by organ, I will remember you and your concessions in the interest of business as usual and your subtle prejudice and remember that your mansion awaits you in the other world.
In a response to reports that opposition groups are targeting Dina with ridiculous messages that her constituents don't want her to support the president's health care bill, I am writing to urge her to stand up to the lies and manipulation that are driving people to oppose the effort for reform.
These industry driven negative forces have twisted the truth, using deplorable fear tactics to trick constituents into thinking the bill is horrible. Their largely successful efforts have already negatively influenced the reform effort to the point where the current legislation is significantly less effective than it should be. We are at a point though, where pragmatism dictates that this flawed bill is better than nothing.
IT IS IMPERATIVE TO PASS THIS BILL NOW! Like Medicare, once we get it up and running, people will see the potential and much like the "death panel" stories, the truth will drive a more positive perception. Then we can pass improvements and move it closer to where it should be, but if we overreach and say 'no' to what we are being offered now with the hopes of something better in the future, I am convinced we will will suffer a great deal more than if we pass this imperfect bill today.
I urge everyone who reads this letter to contact Representative Titus with the message to grab the "1/2 apple" we've been offered and support the president's program. In return for her faith in this process and the benefits of it, I pledge my efforts and access to my community on her behalf when she needs it this fall.
It is time for strength of conviction, pragmatism and hope for the future. Please support the president's plan for health care reform!
Harry Reid and the Democrats are pulling their usual tricks. Tea Party candidate Jon Scott Ashijan is a Democrat plant.
Another reason to vote Reid out.
Wow....his wife and daughter....that really is something...I wonder if someone is sending him a message...because that was no coincidence....
Representative Dina Titus is voting YES for health care.
That you would elect a representative, send them to the White House, and then have them blindly and sheep-like do whatever a green, ill-prepared, failure of a liberal, American-hating president told them to do is unthinkable.
You don't want this horrendous bill - yet your representative will deliberately throw your vote back in your face...telling you that you don't know what is best for you - and that they do what THEY want, once in office.
You need to teach them how to represent and make believers out of them. Give them one chance to toe the line as your representative - then vote for someone with less of an ego and more respect for their constituents.
Call your representative and senator and tell them to vote this fiasco down. Then become active in removing them and replacing him or her with someone worthy if they continue with their self-destructive course.
Obama is tickling their ears with comments like "this is the chance of a generation" and "The president very pointedly talked about how important this is historically," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., "how he needs our help." Obama told them that "'this is an opportunity, it'll give us momentum'" on other issues, the congressman said."
Tell Titus to make their historical moment by standing up to this bill.
Mr. President, I want to admire you. I want to trust you. I want to believe that you have every American's best interest close to your heart.
But Mr. President, I don't believe these things. And I have always loved my presidents. You have shown Americans that we are pawns in a game that you are playing and in which we are the losers. As I am writing this, the biggest fraud that has ever been perpetrated against our country is happening in OUR White House. You are packing your clothes to make a quick exit to Indonesia - your childhood home. No doubt you will be welcomed, cheered, and people will love you in hopes that you can improve their lives.
But, Mr. President, WE are your citizens, your neighbors, your family. WE are those who deserve your respect and your guardianship. We have to be able to trust our president, because without this trust, we are in grave danger.
So I ask you, Mr. President, to reconsider your course of action. You are pressing our officials to make a historic decision - but you have silenced our voices, withheld information, hidden what is ours by right, and lied to us about that which is most precious. The most grievous offense; however, is that you have taken away our ability to provide the best lives that we can for our children. And this is - unforgivable.
AMERICANS:
CALL THESE DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM THAT YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING EXCEPT "NO" ON THE HEALTHCARE BILL.
17 potential Democratic No-Yes flip votes:
6 lean yes:
Jason Altmire
202-225- 2565
EMAIL
Bart Gordon
202-225-4231
EMAIL
Brian Baird
202-225-3536
EMAIL
John Boccieri
202-225-3876
EMAIL
Scott Murphy
202-225-5614
EMAIL
Betsy Markey
202-225-4676
EMAIL
7 possible:
Glenn Nye
202-225-4215
EMAIL
John Tanner
202-225-4714
EMAIL
Suzanne Kosmas
202-225-2706.
EMAIL
John Adler
202-225- 4765
EMAIL
Lincoln Davis
202-225- 6831
EMAIL
Jim Matheson
202-225-3011
EMAIL
Harry Teague
202-225-2365
EMAIL
4 less possible:
Travis Childers
202-225-4306
John Barrow
202-225-2823
EMAIL
Allen Boyd
202-225-5235
Rick Boucher
202-225-3861
EMAIL
20 potential Yes-No flip votes:
5 possible members of the Stupak bloc (Stupak-curious):
Steve Driehaus (Obama is attending an event in Ohio for Driehaus on Monday, March 15)
202-225-2216
Brad Ellsworth
202-225-4636
Marcy Kaptur
202-225-4146
Jerry Costello
202-225-5661
Henry Cuellar
202-225-1640
15 other wary Democrats:
Mike Arcuri
202-225-3665
Zack Space
202-225-6265
Chris Carney
202-225-3731
Mike Doyle
202-225-2135
Paul Kanjorski
202-225-6511
Ann Kirkpatrick
202-225-2315
Alan Mollohan
202-225-4172
Nick Rahall
202-225-3452
Dan Maffei
202-225-3701
Bill Owens
202-225-4611
Baron Hill
202-225-5315
Solomon Ortiz
202-225-7742
Gabrielle Giffords
202-225-2542
Earl Pomeroy
202-225-2611
Tim Bishop
202-225-3826
I am a Registered Nurse working for a hospital north of Detroit. We are currently going through a labor dispute with Ascension Health/Genesys Regional Medical Center. The organization is attempting to capitalize off of our already compromised economy and extremely high unemployment rates. Although they are profitable as a nonprofit organization they are requesting concessions far beyond the employees capability. They are proposing health care insurance premium increases of 300.00 dollars per month, 2% wage cuts with a wage freeze, elimination of retiree health care, defined pensions and many other benefits. In addition to economic challenges, they are proposing the elimination of licensed staff and EMT's that provide rapid response health services to our community. All this under the Catholic Value system, as Ascension Health/Genesys Regional Medical Center is a nonprofit Catholic Health Organization.
The CEO of Ascension Health has been reported to have made 2.75 million dollars last year. It has also been reported that as Ascension Health shut down a "charitable" hospital in Detroit that served an indigent population, they have secured a contract with a company in Saudi Arabia to build a $60 million dollar facility for Rehab and Psychiatric care.I hope you will assist this decimated area in the continued exposure of corporate America getting rich at the expense of middle class workers. This is a very frustrating time to compromise the value systems of Health Care Organizations while Health Care Reform has been such a priority in this country.
Dear Harry
I believe our "neocon" friends in the so called "tea party" have no intention of betraying their "tory" masters in the Republican party and standing against you in November. It's all a show put on by Fox and their Aussie owners at "News Corporation" whose chairman Rupert Murdoch is very much on first name terms with the Royals and whose father was a knight of the Realm (and I might add unlike his son an honourable man).
That they are using the name of the Bostonians (Real American Patriots not phoneys!) who set against my rule is causing me and Charlotte much mirth.
The ancestors of these same tory's who are behind the tea party the eastern seaboard moneyed class who really run the republican party as you may know vigorously opposed the American Revolution and supported the loyalists.
You will easily beat these puppets of "Fox" and "Big Medicine" the people in Nevada are not so stupid to be conned by these charlatans.
So my advice Harry, is don't loose any sleep about it.
Yours George III
Healthcare is extremely important!!!! I do not know how many times that I have to reemphasize this, but it is important that all Americans receive good healthcare benefits.
Sincerely,
Anthony Hopkins
PS: Here is my blog on honesty!!
Honesty
What is honesty? Honesty is when something that is tangible is dispensed from one's mouth. It is valid and factual. It is just telling the truth about you to another. It is not hard to tell the truth to others. It is refreshing when the truth comes out and it makes you really feel better. I am writing to say that I enjoy being honest and truthful each and every single day. I also like to feel better about the things that I say because this is what God wants men, women, and children to do each day. Just have an honest day of living. It is not about deeds; it is just telling the truth and being honest.
Sincerely,
Anthony Hopkins
Dayton, Ohio
It seems the most level headed person between the two candidates is Sharon Angle and she has my vote:
Harry Reid voted for the Wall Street bailout. Sharron Angle opposed it.
Harry Reid voted for government-run health care. Sharron Angle says no.
Harry Reid voted for trillions in deficit spending and supported pork barrel projects like the Bridge to Nowhere. Sharron Angle supports a balanced budget amendment and will fight to end the earmark favor factory.
Sorry Harry. I took a shower today and I don't stink according to you. My vote is going to "anyone" else and the other reason is that you are a pure progressive politician who drove this economy into the ground with entitlements and we are picking up the tab while you are a millionair that doesn't give a hoot!