http://tinyurl.com/mfsa5j

I assume a similar approach is taking place in the NJ gubernatorial race as well by Christie. If those two candidates win, that will re-establish some important footholds for GOP fundraising and candidate recruitment in 2010.

Question: Are Democratic members of Congress bound by any rules to vote for Pelosi as Speaker? Let’s say for example next year the GOP pick up 30 seats in the House but not the majority. What if instead of nominating one of their own for Speaker, the GOP offer to vote en masse for one of the Blue Dogs as Speaker? If I were a Blue Dog, I would totally consider it. Pelosi is like an albatross around their necks.

……Gerrymandering is a uniquely Democratic activity……..okaaaay…..actually it’s an equal opportunity activity(and usually mutually assisted btw)……which is what makes the Democrats wresting so many Republican house seats that have been gerrymandered to death so surprising…..While I can’t disagree with the comments on pendulum swings you ignore several factors like the power of incumbency so a major party has to really screw up in govt to lose a lot of seats…..it’s also depends enormously on demographics, the general mood of the country and its perception of the overall competence of the parties and their leaders……..I suppose Republicans could magically transform popular perceptions of their competency…..of course they also have five years in the wilderness in your scenario in which to continue behaving like idiots.

One cause of the 1994 Republican sweep Mr. Kabaservice does not acknowledge is that the formation of odd-looking majority-minority districts created a score and more Republican districts in the South. By packing minority Democratic voters in a small number of districts, many rural districts in the South transformed themselves from being represented by conservative or moderate Democrats to districts represented by conservative Republicans.

………..So why is the economy starting to turn around and why do most reputable economists reckon it has a) saved about a million jobs and b) added about 1% to growth in the second quarter.

……….The stimulus plan has been designed as a slow release agent feeding money into the economy over a 21 month period…..so far about $100-200 billion has been paid out in tax reductions, rebates and transfers to the states…..most of the balance much of it for infrastructure projects that are big jog creators will be spent between now and the end of next year

” Even liberals like Paul Krugman concede the stimulus was not a great bill”

………Krugman didn’t think it was big enough!!……he wasn’t arguing with the concept, no reputable economist did!

……….Thanks for the benefit of your economic expertise irreign

Not necessarily. If there is capital in private hands that’s not being invested, for fear there will be no potential for profits in the future – then additional government spending into the future demonstrates a demand for certain services, and thus stimulates investment into those sectors.

In some ways, this was far more responsible than just pumping money quickly into the economy this instant … because that would have likely have already created significant inflationary pressures, and because it would have been difficult to ensure that the money would have been spent in responsible ways. It could, very likely, have created one more short term “bubble” that would have burst leaving us nothing to show except some short-term inflated assets.

Think of it this way. You run a steel mill. Construction is rapidly dimishing, it looks like there is a glut of new office and shopping space thanks to the super-low interest rates over the last 8 years, growing unemployment, and falling retail sales. You have to decide if you’re going to keep producing steel at margins that barely justify keeping your factory open. You have no idea when the business cycle will reverse.

Government puts a lot of money up promising to spend it on bridges and transmission lines and other infrastructure that will create a new demand for your steel, paced out over the next 2-3 years.

Does that change your calculus?

Krugman’s criticism, meanwhile, is not the pacing of the stimulus, so much as it being about half as much as he thinks the economy needed.

That’s absolutely right!

Health insurance “reform” can knock a fixed percentage off of health care costs. But the rate of increase of health care costs won’t be reduced at all. Not even if you completely zeroed out all the insurance companies’ profits.

In America, the rate of increase of health care costs is about 1.6% above the rate of increase of GDP. That’s in line with the situations in all the developed nations, including those with single-payer. That accurately reflects the truly increasing real cost of medical care itself, not who pays for it. To reduce that rate of increase, we have to change how health care is delivered–without sacrificing the effectiveness of treatment.

In fairness, the ObamaCare bill does spend some money to automate medical record keeping. At my hospital, my doctors have told me that 55% (at least) of their workday goes into manual record keeping. Yes,they still work by writing handwritten notes into loose-leaf volumes. With all the inefficiency and potential for human error that involves. Automating all that would improve productivity dramatically.

So would eliminating unnecessary tests. Whenever I’m referred to another doctor, he insists on doing the exact same tests all over again for himself. Yet our parathyroid hormone, phosphorus, and other levels don’t change significantly from one week to the next. Obama mentioned this problem in his presser; but I don’t know if there’s anything about it in the bill.

The problem YOU mentioned, has to do with whether a doctor is needed for routine ear infections and other routine problems. I say that we should train lots more Nurse Practitioners (NPs). Their first-hand experience gives them hard-won knowledge comparable to many doctors. And they’re legally allowed to make diagnoses and prescribe drugs. Yet they’re paid much less than doctors. (On the other hand, America can live with fewer boob jobs–what a waste of money that is.)

BTW: Another reason the economy may pick up, is the massive injection of liquidity (far exceeding the stimulus bill) by the Fed. Including, you’ll notice, interest rates that were bouncing around zero for a while.

Yep. Agreed. I’ve felt the same way for years.

I actually tried (and succeeded – if you wanna call it that) back in ‘06 when I voted FOR Democrat John Hall and AGAINST my RINO incumbent Sue Kelly.

Thing is… as I’ve indicated on other threads… while libertarian-leaning true conservatives are often capable of cutting off their noses to spite their faces, the Democrat Party’s more “pragmatic” liberal base is unlikely to echo folks like me.

Do you think there’s a chance in hell of getting even mildly partisan Dems to consider voting against Dem incumbents knowing that this means an automatic loss of the House? (I’m not sure what the numbers are in the Senate…)

And if Rush Limbaugh and every single major conservative/traditionalist/libertarian “name voice” in the nation were to engage in a unified call for conservative/traditionalist/libertarian voters to simply vote AGAINST the incombent NO MATTER WHAT – no matter who he or she is or whether they like him or not – even assuming broad sympathy and a DESIRE to follow though… how many Republicans would so distrust Democratic voters doing the same that they’d simply refuse to “unilaterally disarm?”

Hey… maybe if you had Bill and Hillary Clinton… Ralph Nader… Newt Gingrich… George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush… Colin Powell…

(You get the idea!)

…ALL begging the American People to simply “throw ALL the bums out,” how many folks would “trust” in the integrity of “the other side” enough to risk “unilateral disarmament?”

Me? Out of “pragmatism” I still see a military coup (not gonna happen!) as our only potential salvation.

(*SNORT*) (And what does THAT say about my level of pessimism and disgust…???) (*SHRUG*)

BILL

…….I’m in favor of term limits but it doesn’t seem a good idea to elect a completely new bunch of hicks in the house every two years and ditto in the senate. Probably four terms as a congressman and two as a senator would be reasonable but it’s never going to happen

Most folks think I am too unreasonable in asking everyone to NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS. They think it’s an extremist position. But that’s the whole point! Congress will never listen to us UNLESS we scare the bejesus out of them! To drive the point home, NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS.

The closer we get to a “Voter’s One-Term Congress”, the closer we’ll get to real term limits on Congress, and thus a “Citizen’s Congress.

There is only one way to make term limits happen : The American voter can IMPOSE term limits on Congress by NEVER REELECTING anyone in Congress. In other words, don’t let anyone serve more than one term. That’s the only way to teach them that the voter is boss! The “one term limit” can be eased AFTER we citizens get control of Congress.

Congress will never allow us to constitutionally term limit them. Our only choice is to NEVER REELECT them.
Remember too, it makes no difference who you vote for, as long as it is NEVER any incumbent.

Backup for this reasoning follows:

NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS
I believe that even a little success in a campaign to NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS would move us a long way toward a revolutionary change in American politics, much like 1776. Some of the reasons in favor of this approach:
• Gives us a one-term, term limited Congress without using amendments
• It would be supported by 70% of the country who want term limits Congress
• It is completely non-partisan
• If repeated, it ends career politicians dominating Congress
• It opens the way to a “citizen Congress”
• It ends the seniority system that keeps freshmen powerless
• It doesn’t cost you any money. Just don’t vote for any incumbent
• It is the only infallible, unstoppable way to “Throw All the Bums Out”
• It takes effect immediately on Election Day
NEVER REELECT ANYONE IN CONGRESS.
Nelson Lee Walker of tenurecorrupts.com