Wither Representative Christopher Lee

Ken AshfordCongress, Republicans, Sex ScandalsLeave a Comment

Which is funnier regarding the Rep. Christopher Lee (R-NY) story: That Lee, a man with the finely-toned body of a PGA golfer, described himself as "a very fit fun classy guy" after lying about his profession, his martial status and his age.  or That in the post-Mark Foley era, a married US congressman with a child would be so naive … Read More

Doing It Old School

Ken AshfordCongress, Economy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

MSNBC: Sanders, currently in his fifth sixth hour of speaking on the Senate floor against the Obama-crafted tax cut compromise with Republicans, is getting lots of web buzz from filibuster enthusiasts and progressives irked at the president for cutting the deal. An independent who caucuses with Democrats, Sanders has threatened to speak out against the extension of cuts for the very … Read More

The New House Republicans Off To A Great Start

Ken AshfordCongress, Economy & Jobs & Deficit, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Press release from the Republican Study Committee: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   11.8.2010   Tackling Spending: Save $25 Billion by Restoring Welfare Reform    Washington, Nov 8 - With the national debt quickly approaching $14 trillion, Washington needs to get serious about cutting spending. One option the next Congress should consider is to restore welfare reform, one of the most successful bipartisan initiatives of … Read More

Bachmann Quote Of The Day [Update: Rep. Barton (R-TX), Too!]

Ken AshfordCongress, Disasters, Energy and Conservation, Environment & Global Warming & EnergyLeave a Comment

Wow.  Just wow.  Here is Rep. Michelle "Crazy As A Loon" Bachmann on the BP escrow fund to compensate Gulf shore residents for their losses: The president just called for creating a fund that would be administered by outsiders, which would be more of a redistribution-of-wealth fund.  And now it appears like we’ll be looking at one more gateway for … Read More

Should Taxpayers Pay For The Oil Spill?

Ken AshfordCongress, Corporate Greed, Disasters, Energy and Conservation, Environment & Global Warming & EnergyLeave a Comment

Republican leaders think so. This is tremendously stupid politics.  The public — particularly Republicans — are weary of taxpayer bailouts already.  Now we want more? Oh, sure — count on Republicans to say, "Well, we bailed out the banks.  So why not BP?" But that argument falls flat.  The bailout of the banks was necessary to stem the economic downflow.  … Read More

Congress Rules!

Ken AshfordCongress, Health CareLeave a Comment

I hate all the gibberish about parliamentary proceedings, but I think it comes down to this: If the minority party can use the filibuster to do an end-run around the majority-wins rules of Congress, then the majority party is well within its rights to do an end-run around the filibuster by using "reconcilliation". That's it.  That's all I have to say.  … Read More

Are Filibusters Unconstitutional?

Ken AshfordCongressLeave a Comment

Finally, someone makes the argument that requiring 60 votes on every piece of legislation is not what the Framers intended.  Here's the problem, in a nutshell: So on the health care bill, as on so many other things, we now have to take what a minority of an inherently unrepresentative body will give us. Forty-one senators from our 21 smallest … Read More

Teabaggers Turn On GOP

Ken AshfordCongress, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Oh, my.  Look what they have created. In Florida and Missouri and elsewhere, the tea baggers are attacking Republicans candidates for being "DC insiders".  Put another way, they are splitting the Republican party. What does this mean for Democrats?  Well, the Democratic Party was never going to be the choice of teabaggers.  But the further the GOP moves to the … Read More

Bloody Sock To Replace Liberal Lion?

Ken AshfordCongress, Red Sox & Other SportsLeave a Comment

Just because he's got he had a decent split-finger fastball doesn't mean he'll be a good political leader: Can a Republican fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts? Among the list of possible GOP candidates is Curt Schilling. The former right-handed starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox is not ruling out a possible run. "I've got a lot on … Read More

Silliest “Serious” Objection To The House Health Reform Bill

Ken AshfordCongress, Health CareLeave a Comment

It still gets a lot of play, even among congresspersons: "The health care reform bill is over 1,000 pages long!" I'm not sure what that objection really means. Are they suggesting that, because it's a huge bill, it must represent a massive government program? If that's so, why don't they say it's a massve government program? Or, are they complaining that … Read More

Quote Of The Day

Ken AshfordCongress, DisastersLeave a Comment

In discussing the need for a balanced budget and PAYGO legislation, Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) shockingly exclaimed: "We're not going to cry 'emergency' every time we have a Katrina." In other words, having a balance budget is of paramount importance, and we're not going to muck it up by spending money on emergency appropriations like we did when Katrina hit. … Read More