Rangel's rambling floor speech has House Dems wishing they didn't recognize him

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/10/AR2010081006230_2.html?sid=ST2010081005758

They had reason to feel ill. Rangel had trampled all over their plan to make the day about teachers and cops. In a larger sense, his determination to answer charges before November is guaranteed to crowd out any message the Democrats were hoping to deliver before voters punish them in the midterm elections.


Republicans were delighted with the problem Rangel had just caused for his party. "It was a Charlie Rangel moment, but it could have been a Jim Traficant moment," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) observed, recalling the Ohio Democrat's angry defiance as he was expelled eight years ago en route to prison.


The charges against Rangel aren't as heavy as those against Traficant, but there was something wild about the usually composed New Yorker. His jacket was open, his tie askew and his pocket handkerchief spilling from its place. His speech was, literally, a stemwinder: He stood back from the lectern, bending at the waist as he spoke without benefit of notes or apparent structure. He admitted that his lawyers begged him not to antagonize the ethics committee, and that his friends pleaded that he not give a speech on the floor.

But Rangel defied both. "I have a primary next month," he explained, and the charges won't be resolved by then. "Don't leave me swinging in the wind until November," the lawmaker begged, comparing his own ethics plight to the fiscal "emergency" that brought the House back into session. "What about me?" asked the 80-year-old Rangel, who said, "I don't want to die before the hearing."

Republicans were only too happy to lend Rangel their support. "It is certainly unfortunate that members of the Democratic leadership have allowed this to go on for two years without a resolution," Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence said as he left the chamber.

Rangel rambled through the allegations against him. Fundraising with official letterhead: "Grabbing the wrong stationery." The center named after him at the City University of New York: "A broken-down building." The office in the rent-controlled apartment: "The landlord has said he didn't treat me differently." The unpaid taxes on his Caribbean vacation place: "You'd have to be a tax expert" to get that right, said the deposed chairman of the tax-writing committee.

The diatribe was directed mostly at his own side of the aisle, where "no one is coming forward saying Rangel is not corrupt." He said he was told that his colleagues "all love you . . . but they love themselves better." He mocked those who turned against him for political expediency: "Do what you have to do."

Repeatedly, he dared his colleagues to vote on his fate. "Are you going to expel me from this body?" he demanded. "Are you going to say that while there's no evidence that I took a nickel, asked for a nickel, that there's no sworn testimony, no conflict, that I have to leave here?"

The angry lawmaker left his colleagues with two words: "Go home."

House votes to kill antitrust exemption for health insurers

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/24/health.antitrust/

Anyone wonder what sweetheart deal was struck to give insurance companies anti-trust exemptions in the first place?

No, it's not the guy from Harrold and Kumar.

http://www.kumarforcongress.com/

This is what we need in Washington.  Someone who is actually in touch with reality.

Sunrise votes nudge health care bill forward Tues.

Sunrise votes nudge health care bill forward Tues.

I guess there's no shame in jamming this through.  Patriots everywhere are stocking up on tar and feathers right now.

Time to take a stand!

I don't know who's with me, and I don't care.  I will not be forced to buy insurance.  I will not submit to tyranny!  They say they're going to throw me in jail if I don't buy insurance, big deal?  Freedom is being able to choose not only which insurance, but also the ability not to buy any at all. 
I have medical insurance.  It's not the best, it's over-priced, and it eats a lot of my paycheck.  Just because it's a good idea doesn't mean the government should MAKE someone do it.  I take issue with a government exercising tyranny.  I take issue with a nanny state that tells you what to do from cradle to grave.  I take issue with all 435 members of Congress, who excluded themselves from such tyranny. 

National Healthcare is not the will of We the People, so you get the tar, I'll grab the feathers!

Dem leader urges debt limit increase of $1.8-1.9T

Dem leader urges debt limit increase of $1.8-1.9T

WASHINGTON (AP) - A top House Democratic leader said Friday Congress will have to permit at least $1.8 trillion in additional federal borrowing next year in order to avoid a default on the U.S. debt.

So, let me get this striaght. We're in debt. If we don't have the money to pay the debt, we'll be in default. Our plan is to borrow more money and get into more debt to make sure we don't default on our current debt. Am I the only one who sees how foolish and damaging this kind of activity is?

I have a modest proposal for congress. When the company I work for falls on hard times, we don't give everyone a raise. As a matter of fact, you may even have your pay cut. Sucks to have your pay cut, but you've still got a job at least. Pay cuts for Congress is the first step. Paycuts for President is next, followed by all other government employees taking a 10% pay cut.

Wanna save $40 Billion? How about we abolish the IRS and go to a national sales tax. The savings in paper alone would be tremendous! Not to mention Americans wouldn't have to spend countless hours trying to figure out how much money the IRS expects from them. This tax system would also force illegal aliens to share the tax burden they mostly avoid with their "status."

None of my proposals will be taken seriously. Unfortunately, it's not the intention of our government to fix this problem, and they seem intent on making our problems worse!

Wow, Congress has so many important things to do.........Like college football?

http://www.redstate.com/hogan/2009/12/10/joe-barton%e2%80%99s-folly-%e2%80%93-congress-has-nothing-more-important-to-do-than-to-run-college-football/
I'd like to see a playoff system, but since when is it the government's business?

The War on Congress

That's right, Mario Apuzzo is still at it, and now he's going after Congress for not investigating the eligibility of a certain President Elect.  The case was dismissed, but merely because the judge found a way to put the case out of his jurisdiction.  There was no answer to the charges of ineligibility, or the Congress' failure to investigate the current President.  While other "birther" lawyers attack Obama and the DNC directly, Apuzzo is focused on the Constitutional guardians of the office of the President of the United States of America:  Congress. 

The Wrong Side of History

A phrase I've been hearing a lot more lately is, "I don't want to be on the wrong side of history." I can't think of a more ridiculous argument to defend any position. Think about what our Forefathers did, sticking their necks out, subjecting themselves to treason if we didn't win our revolutionary war. What would've happened if they were afraid of being on the wrong side of history?

I'm still trying to find in The Constitution how Congress has the power to take over the healthcare industry. Looks like a blatant disregard for the 10th Ammendment, just like medicaid, social security, welfare, etc.

Mirror, Mirror

Is anyone else troubled by the fact that every healthcare bill these constitutional butchers put forward doesn't include them? I mean, isn't it obvious they're screwing us? C'mon people, wake up. I personally don't believe in socialism, with the exception of education, and children's welfare. I'm not heartless, but I don't like the fact junkie's use their welfare to get crack. I'm sure no one else likes the situation either, well maybe the junkie. I see people sitting on the corner, waiting for someone to roll down their window and give them some change. I don't have a problem with helping people, but sympathize more if their pathetic cardboard sign said, "will work for food," instead of "hungry, anything will help." These people have learned that they don't have to work, and soon, they'll have free healthcare. How is this going to encourage productivity in an already troubled economy? How is this constitutional? I just don't see it. There's just not one mention of healthcare in the Constitution, the 10th Ammendment clearly states: Amendment X The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. But aside from this, our guilded plan does not include the very people we're supposed to trust to make it better. I understand who benefits from this, and it's not good. We already have medicaid, and let me tell you the seniors ain't exactly roses about that setup. Now, they'll force you to get health insurance. Doesn't that sound wrong in America? Congress & Obama shouldn't force us to get insurance, especially if they're not willing to put their own families on it. All in all this just looks like another government takeover. They took over the banks, financial sector, automobile business, and now healthcare is the new target. If healthcare is passed, there will be trouble. Do we really want to go to the DMV to get a checkup, or referral to a specialist? Why does the government demand access to our medical records? Why won't Congress impose them on themselves, and the rest of the Federal Government? It's obvious something stinks here. Unfortunately, it's the entire Federal Government.