What Planet is He From?

I don't think Mr. Ensign will be running for President of this nation any time soon, because its painfully obvious to the most casual observer that he has to have been born on some other planet entirely. If you're not one of the privileged to get one of his "Weekly Updates," (I'm on his list because I sent him regular emails about how I think he should vote, not that he ever does) here's what he had to say about health care reform in this week's update:

Over the last couple of weeks, I have held numerous telephone town hall meetings with Nevadans in both the north and south of our state. From these calls, it is clear to me that the American people are extremely wary of the healthcare reform proposals coming from the other side of the aisle. Back in Washington, D.C., healthcare reform is turning into quite the partisan battle, but both sides do agree that our health care system is in need of reform. The time has come to set aside
party differences and to put a reform plan in action that will benefit all Americans.

As a Republican leader on health care (pardon me, but what????), I am hopeful that we can put forth a bipartisan plan that will cover those who need health insurance, without hurting those who are already covered with a government takeover. My vision for health care is ust that; reforming the system, not creating a new government-run program that will end up hurting millions of Americans and their choice in health insurance.

Health care is a very personal issue for Americans, and choice in their coverage should play a vital role in a healthcare bill. Further, Americans should be incentivized to lead a healthy lifestyle. Weight management, preventive care, and smoking cessation should be reflected in lower insurance rates. Medical costs and errors could be greatly decreased through electronic medical records and medical liability reform.

With these cornerstones, I am working with my colleagues to develop a healthcare reform bill that will improve health care in America, won’t increase the deficit, and will continue to put patients and their doctors first – not government bureaucrats. With this in mind, I will continue to work hard for you in the United States Senate.

To whom has he been talking? Must have been a bunch of upper-class elite Republicans, because it sure sounds like a bit of group-think going on during those townhall meetings. Did any of you get invited?

The Republicans don't have plan, and have publicly stated they don't intend to introduce a plan. And now that we've read Mr. Ensign's update, we all know why: we wouldn't have any problems if we'd all just lose some weight, stop smoking and eat healthy. Problem solved. Next.

Where's the Plan?

Republicans are certainly generating a lot of wind about how the health care plan currently being considered in the Congress, saying it will cost too much, it will cause working Americans to lose their current employer-subsidized plans, and that it will only create a system for rationing socialized medical services.

Well ... I'm getting tired of all the negative rhetoric being spewed out by the GOP machine. Thus far, the best the GOP has been able to do was present a vague 4-page outline of their health care reform plan ... but they couldn't predict how much it would cost, nor could or would they say how they would fund their plan and who it would actually cover. You'd think in the 5 weeks since they introduced that pitiful excuse of a plan that they could have at least fleshed it out to let Americans know how they would approach the health care dilemmas facing vast number of Americans. Everybody knows that if you want to debate the subject, you need to bring something of substance to the table. Heck, my grand kid's homework assignments have considerably more substance than the GOP's plan. But instead of substance, the Party of NO merely chose to fall back on their traditional scare-tactics political advertising machine.

Clara Peller said it best in those all familiar Wendy's commercials when she said, "Where's the Beef?" So hey GOP, "where's YOUR plan?"

And the Circus Begins

This morning marked the beginning of the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee, Sonya Sotomayor, and it seems that we're in store for some serious political theatrics. Already, just in the opening statements from a number of Senators from each party, a marked difference in the tone and tenor of their remarks.

While each side has congratulated her on her nomination, it pretty much stops there for the Republicans. Where Democrats have praised the depth and breadth of her judicial experience and record, the Republicans are trying to paint her as an activist who is not qualified to sit on our nation's highest court.

• Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) implied that she would substitute her own beliefs in deciding cases, thus corrupting our legal system with her empathy. He further went on to state: "I will not vote for—no senator should vote for—an individual nominated by any President who is not fully committed to fairness and impartiality towards every person who appears before them. I will not vote for—no senator should vote for—an individual nominated by any President who believes it is acceptable for a judge to allow their own personal background, gender, prejudices, or sympathies to sway their decision in favor of, or against, parties before the court. "Sen. Sessions also indicated that looking at judicial opinions is not a good test, because Supreme Court Justices cannot be reversed. I beg to differ with that statement. A perfect case in point is that of Lilly Ledbetter, where Congress just passed legislation that reversed the opinion of the Supreme Court ... and that legislation was recently signed into law by President Obama on January 29, 2009.
• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) implied in his remarks that even if she has an impressive legal record and a superior intellect, he fears she will use her "empathy" to legislate from the bench ... that she would be "a creative jurist who will allow his or her background and personal preferences to decide cases."
• Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) condemned her experience from the appellate court by claiming that "... she appears to believe that her role is not constrained to objectively decide who wins based on the weight of the law, but who, in her opinion, should win. The factors that will influence her decisions apparently include her 'gender and Latina heritage' and foreign legal concepts that get her 'creative juices going." He also implied that she may not be able to "...faithfully interpret the laws and Constitution and take seriously the oath of her prospective office ... Until now, Judge Sotomayor has been operating under the restraining influence of a higher authority—the Supreme Court. If confirmed, there will be no such restraint that would prevent her from—to paraphrase President Obama—deciding cases based on her heart-felt views."
• Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) implied that, if confirmed, she would steer the Court in the wrong direction limiting the fundamental rights of generations of Americans stating, "Judge Sotomayor: some of your opinions suggest that you would limit some of our basic constitutional rights – and some of your public statements suggest that you would invent rights that do not exist in our written Constitution."

Judge Sotomayor is a restrained and moderate jurist who was put on the bench initially by Republican President George Herbert Walker Bush. She dilligently reviews all relevant information before her in making a decision. In fact, her decision on the appellate court regarding the New Haven firefighters (which was recently overturned by the Supreme court and which the GOP seems to want to rant the most about about) was one that clearly followed precedents set in earlier court rulings ... the exact kind of rulings that conservatives purportedly claim to embrace. In defense of Judge Sotomayor, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) took exception to some of the political theatrics stating: "Mr. Chairman, every senator is entitled to ask whatever questions he or she wants ... Judge Sotomayor will finally have an opportunity to answer some of the unsubstantiated charges that have been made against her. One attack that I find particularly shocking is the suggestion that she will be biased against some litigants because of her racial and ethnic heritage. This charge is not based on anything in her judicial record ..."

But, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) said it best today, "Nominated by both Democratic and Republican presidents, for 17 years she has been a distinguished jurist and now has more federal judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in the last hundred years. "

Let's all hope the political theatrics affecting this confirmation are minimal and that Judge Sotomayor's confirmation happens quickly.

Too Much Heat in the Kitchen

It appears that Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin has found that there is too much heat in the kitchen and has opted to leave ... mid-term. Citing in her resignation speech the amount of negative attention she has received since accepting to run as McCain's running mate, she condemned those who participate in the "politics of personal destruction."

She made two claims (watch the video): (1) that this undue attention has cost Alaskans thousands of hours and approximately $2M dollars to defend her against 15 frivolous etchics violation allegations, and (2) that it will personally cost she and her husband $0.5M to set the record straight. So ... what's her solution? She won't run for re-election. Oh ... but that creates a "lame duck" situation. Oh, no problem, she'll just resign so Alaskans don't have to endure her lame duck status over the next 18 months. And since everybody believes in freedom, Alaskans are then "free to progress" as is she.

To her, the circular reasoning is flawless. But, in announcing she wouldn't seek re-election, she herself created her "lame duck" status, which she then exploited to justify quitting mid-stream. Well Sarah, Americans don't look too fondly upon quitters. I seem to recall that quitting mid-stream didn't work so well for another political hopeful (Ross Perot). When the flames got to hot, he got out of the pot and he never managed to find a way back in. I, personally, hope that proves to be the case for you as well. You're the last person we ever need to see sitting in the oval office making decisions that will affect each and every one of us.

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