MARCO RUBIO IS DONALD TRUMP'S BIGGEST THREAT (YOUTH; LATINO VOTERS)

MARCO RUBIO IS DONALD TRUMP'S BIGGEST THREAT:

RUBIO ATTRACTS YOUNGER VOTERS & LATINO VOTERS.

LIKE TRUMP, RUBIO IS IN IT TO WIN IT.

Sources:  TIME, Youtube

As the 2016 GOP Presidential Candidate primary winds down, I predict that when the smoke clears there will most likely be two candidates standing:

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio

Trump is not a Politician but he is an Amazing, astute Businessman who knows Politics like he knows the back of his hands.

Rubio is indeed a Career Politician however due to his youth, he is still fresh and open to new ideas.

Both men are in it to win it and would make a great team against the Democrat machine.

*** How Marco Rubio Plans To Win South Carolina

~ 'Whatever happens next, God will either give me the ability to get around it, or the strength to go through it'

Marco Rubio’s play for South Carolina’s religious conservatives is anything but subtle.

His events here start with prayer and his soundtrack is heavy on Christian rock. 

The first-term Senator from Florida tells audiences that members of his family are living paycheck-to-paycheck so they can send their children to “faith-based schools.” His backers promise that Rubio would never utter profanity the way Donald Trump does. And, when asked if he can win South Carolina, Rubio simply says it is up to God.

“God is in control of everything. God has a will for my life and for your life, and for everyone else’s life. 

Sometimes God’s will is not our will, and we should be grateful for that because he knows a lot more than we do about what is best for us,” Rubio said Sunday in a packed high school auditorium, with 2,000 more supporters listening to audio piped into overflow rooms. “So what I think what we are called to do is to be faithful and do the best we can in every circumstance and pray for God’s peace.”

Rubio continued in a tone that seemed more compatible with a pulpit than a political rally. “Here is what I am at peace with: Whatever happens next, God will either give me the ability to get around it, or the strength to go through it. I think that is also true for our country,” Rubio said.

“He has blessed me with four incredible children, and a loving and godly wife,” he went on. In case anyone missed the exchange, the campaign sent along a transcript and video of the moment of Brother Marco’s brief evangelism.

The in-your-face faith might just be a winning strategy. Two-thirds of South Carolina residents say they pray daily and half say they read the Bible at least once a week. 

In 2012’s primary, 65% of Republicans said they were Evangelicals or born-again Christians. It’s tough to win in South Carolina with only a cursory nod to faith; the faithful want one of their own to win, and South Carolina demands public professions of faith. Rubio is obviously ready to stand in the public square with his creed.

Rubio is a practicing Catholic, but at various points in his life he has been a Mormon and attended a Southern Baptist-affiliated mega-church at home in Florida. 

He often mentioned his faith in Iowa, and that helped him place a better-than-expected third place before stumbling in secular New Hampshire.

Now that the campaign is heading toward a final push in South Carolina, Rubio is back to pushing his faith. He plans to be in South Carolina every day before Saturday’s primary. “We are all-in,” one of his top advisers said. 

The campaign once suggested they were playing for a win here, but now they’re trying to calibrate those expectations. (The same strategy called for them to come in second in New Hampshire, where he placed fifth. “Some things have obviously changed,” the same adviser says dryly.)

Rubio’s pitch has plenty of explicit promises, but he’s also crafty dropping in shorthand. 

For instance, during Saturday night’s debate, he criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling that expanded the right to marriage to same-sex couples. It was done in a way that most viewers at home might have missed it, but the religious voters who disagree with the Court heard what they needed.

“Justice Scalia understood that better than anyone in the history of this republic. His dissent, for example, on the independent counsel case is a brilliant piece of jurist work. 

And, of course, his dissent on Obergefell as well,” Rubio said. The official name of the marriage case was Obergefell v. Hodges. For the uninitiated, the citation went right past.

Rubio’s pathway to the presidency via preaching is a tough one, to be sure. Rival Ted Cruz is the son of a pastor and he has made his faith a central part of his campaign, which launched at the Jerry Falwell-founded Liberty University. 

Cruz’s father, Rafael, is a rock star in some church circles, and the son certainly enjoys some of the halo effect. Last week, Cruz made clear he wasn’t ceding any ground to Rubio, saying he could not be trusted on marriage because he at one point said same-sex unions were the law of the land. “Those are the talking points of Barack Obama,” Cruz said of Rubio’s rhetoric.

Rubio and his team are ready to fight back, reminding voters of Cruz’s admittedly shady tactics in Iowa, where Cruz’s aides told caucusgoers that Ben Carson seemed to be ending his campaign. Such a move undercuts Cruz’s character, and Rubio’s team is eager to keep that at the fore.

Take Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Congressman who is advising Rubio. Before Rubio took the stage Sunday, Gowdy did a one-two punch against the foul-mouthed Donald Trump and the dodgy caucus strategy from Cruz.

“If you’re a parent, you will not have to put your hands over your kids’ ears a single time today,” Gowdy said to applause. “Nor will you have to explain the difference between dropping out of a caucus and picking up dry cleaning. You will not have to do that.”

They’re competing for Christians’ votes. That doesn’t mean these campaigns are offering political charity.

Young Voters: Obama & Romney Woo College Crowd Burdened With Debt; Decision 2012

Courting young voters in 2012 election

President Obama is counting on a lift-off in the economy to get re-elected. A poll out this week shows while most Americans have a gloomy view of current conditions, nearly 6 in 10 believe things will improve in the coming year.

These are especially tough times for new college graduates. And as CBS News' Terrell Brown tells us, jobs are sparse and young votes are up for grabs.

As they head home for the summer, the class of 2012 faces an uncertain future. For many, it's one filled with job searches and student loan payments.

"The uncertainty is scary," said Kevin Ward, who graduates from St. Anselm's College in New Hampshire this weekend. "It's the abyss. I'm jumping in the deep end."

He said this uncertainty will affect how he votes in November's presidential election: "The economy will really be on the top of my list, but also social issues are really up there."

Ward is one of the millennials -- 18-29-year-olds -- whose votes in 2008 helped President Obama take the White House.

"There were 2 million more youth voters than there had been in 2004," said Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire Political Institute. " I don't think that's going to happen again. Some of the shine has certainly diminished from the president."

Though a recent poll has President Obama with a sizable lead over Mitt Romney, Levesque thinks he could still be in trouble with the youth vote.

"Right now, he's up about 17 points with youth voters," said Levesque." But he's still only maxing out at a 43 percent rate within that demographic group."

Ward is not totally convinced. "It's different than it was before. I was younger, so I think I was easily influenced."

President Obama knows the youth vote is an important constituency. Mitt Romney's supporters are also pushing for the young vote.

"This time I'll be voting for Mitt Romney," said Justin Colella, who doesn't need a super PAC campaign to convince him to vote for Romney. "Mitt Romney possesses the qualities as well as the experience, both with business as well as politics."

And to emphasize how creating new jobs is the number one issue for young voters: Millennials say it's more important to them than health care or reducing the deficit.



Obama, Romney focus on student debt as campaign issue


President Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney battled for the attention of young voters on Monday in hopes of capturing the enthusiasm they displayed four years ago that helped shape the arc of the presidential election.

Both candidates are homing in on concerns about mounting student debt as a key issue that could sway the college vote. Obama is making a full-court press this week to extend low rates on government-subsidized student loans through next year, with stops at universities in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa over the next several days.

On Monday, Romney announced that he also supported the measure even though some Republican lawmakers have opposed it — marking one of the first significant policies on which the two can agree.

“I think young voters in this country have to vote for me if they’re really thinking of what’s in the best interest of the country and what’s in their personal best interest,” Romney said at a campaign event outside Philadelphia.

Obama won young voters by a wide margin four years ago, and they provided much of the grass-roots legwork that helped propel him to victory. They were more likely than older voters to attend a campaign event, and nearly one in 10 donated to a presidential candidate, according to Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

“We think that he has the right vision and the right answers that are going appeal to those voters. The topic that we’ve been discussing today is a great example of why,” said James Kvaal, policy director for the Obama campaign.

However, a survey released last week by Georgetown University and the Public Religion Research Institute found that fewer than half of young voters say they are certain to show up at the polls this time. They rank jobs and unemployment as their most critical issue, according to the survey, with the federal deficit and education nearly tied for second place.

The debate over what to do about the nation’s $1 trillion in student loan debt speaks directly to all of those concerns. Many graduates have struggled to find jobs in the tight labor market — and have fallen behind on their college loans in the process. Another study by Pew found that those debts have made it harder for many young people to buy a home and have affected their career choices.

That has prompted rallies at college campuses across the country calling for an extension of low interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans. The rates were reduced to 3.4 percent in 2007 but will double on July 1 for new loans. According to the White House, about 7 million students would be affected, and the increase could cost them as much as $5,000 over the next decade.

Democratic lawmakers have proposed bills in both chambers that would extend the current rates through next year, but some Republicans have balked at the $6 billion price tag. On Monday, Sen. Tom Harkin
(D-Iowa), chairman of the education committee, said he would introduce new legislation on the issue later this week.

Romney’s support for the issue could help push it through the partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill. However, the candidate cautioned that the extension should be paid for in a way “that doesn’t harm the job prospects of young Americans.”

Still, the Obama campaign accused Romney of switching positions and supporting cuts to popular Pell Grants. And some Democratic lawmakers remained skeptical of Romney’s intentions.

“If they’re just going to say we’re for it, but not for paying for it any way that can pass and not for not paying for it, then it’s a game,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. “But if they’re serious, we want to pass this.”

Harkin said that he opposed cutting other areas of education to pay for the extension but he had not yet identified another source of revenue.

Nevertheless, Romney’s comments fueled hope among consumer activists for the bill’s prospects.

“This should send a clear message to Congress that this is a common sense nonpartisan issue,” said Rich Williams, higher education advocate for U.S. PIRG.


Sources: AP, CBS News, PBS News, Russia Today, Washington Post, Youtube

Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert Host D.C. "Sanity" Rally

Stewart, Colbert Preside Over Light-Hearted, Star-Studded D.C. Rally


Assisted by a colorful cast of characters, Comedy Central funnymen Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert held a raucous rally on the National Mall Saturday in typical fashion before a cheering throng of supporters.

Amidst all the hilarity, however, the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" carried a message about Americans turning their backs on hate and working together to make the world a better place.

Stewart and Colbert staged a mock battle, with Stewart supporting peace and sanity and Colbert promoting fear before a crowd that stretched nearly the length of the mall, most of the distance between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

During the rally's opening, Colbert appeared on a video screen, saying he was trapped in his "fear bunker" and worried no one had shown up. Drawn by cheers, however, Colbert ascended to the stage in a device like that used to bring up the trapped Chilean miners earlier this month, wearing a superhero costume.

Former "Saturday Night Live" character Father Guido Sarducci -- played by comedian Don Novello -- provided a benediction, thanking God for "making it so easy to find parking spaces." And actor Sam Waterston of "Law and Order" fame read a poem entitled "Are You Sure?" about fears including "funnel clouds and hail/Anthrax in the mail ... someone's robbing your house/I can see through your blouse/Your mother was right, you chose the wrong spouse."

Cat Stevens, also known as Yusuf Islam, sang his song "Peace Train" as part of a duel with Ozzy Osbourne singing "Crazy Train." Stewart stopped Osbourne, rooting for Islam, as Colbert urged Osbourne on. The two compromised on the O'Jays, who showed up to sing their hit "Love Train."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and "Star Wars" robot R2-D2 showed up to provide a lesson in tolerance and against stereotyping. "We're all on the same team," said Abdul-Jabbar, referencing Colbert and Stewart's discussion about Muslims.

There were some serious notes struck during the event, however. Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow performed a musical number about changing the world, including the lyrics, "The least that I can do is care."



And as the rally drew to a close, Stewart spoke about resisting fearmongering and working together, saying most Americans don't live their lives solely as Republicans or Democrats, but as "people who are just a little bit late for something they have to do, often something they do not want to do. But they do it."

Some may paint the nation as fragile and torn by hate, he said, "but the truth is ... we work together to get things done every damn day."

"There will always be darkness, and sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the promised land," Stewart said. "Sometimes it's just New Jersey. But we do it anyway, together."

Stewart awarded his "Medals of Reasonableness" to recipients including Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga, who lost a perfect game in June when an umpire mistakenly called what would have been the last batter safe at first base despite the fact replays showed he was clearly out. Galarraga, who lives in Venezuela, accepted via videotape, telling the audience the umpire is "a good man."

Another recipient was Velma Hart, chief financial officer for AMVETS, who challenged President Barack Obama at a town hall meeting in September; and comedian and wrestler Mick Foley; and Jacob Isom. A video of Isom telling how he swiped a kerosene-soaked Quran from would-be burners, telling them, "Dude, you have no Quran," went viral, and was set to a dance mix.

Colbert's "Medals of Fear" went to recipients including a 7-year-old girl who he said had more courage than the media organizations who did not send representatives to cover the rally out of fear they would appear biased, as well as to "Anderson Cooper's tight black T-shirt." Colbert said that when CNN's Cooper "shows up on your front yard, you know something terrible has happened in your community." A small black T-shirt was brought on stage on a hanger, and the medal hung on it.

Stewart and Colbert announced the rally in September, less than three weeks after conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck hosted a much-publicized "Restoring Honor" rally on the National Mall, urging large crowds to "turn back to God" and return America to the values on which it was founded.


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Sources: CBS News, CNN, Daily Beast, MSNBC, Youtube, Google Maps

Obama Woos Youth & Gay Voters @ 2010 MTV Town Hall

President Obama's MTV Town Hall Energizes Young Audience


President Obama ran on the promise of hope in 2008, and after spending an hour with the nation's chief executive Thursday afternoon (October 14) at the BET studios in the nation's capital, a group of college students said they were feeling that positive vibe again.

"When I woke up this morning ... I couldn't sleep actually last night. I woke up five times," said Alexandra Lyn Von Paris, 20, a Finance Information Systems major at the University of Maryland, College Park, who said she got some serious jitters before asking the president about an issue close to her heart: the problem of cyberbullying.

"He seemed like he answered it to the best of his ability," she said of Obama's pledge to do more to make sure digital harassment does not take place on campuses. "I really appreciated that he said that that's one of his really big issues for this upcoming election and his legislation. ... It's really good to speak to young people, because we have separate issues. ... Whatever is passed through legislation or whatever Obama says, we're feeling that. It's good that he's speaking to us too, because we have power to change the vote in the election."

One of the audience members who pulled no punches in her question was Richmond, Virginia's Bridget Todd, 25, a graduate student at the University of Maryland who also teaches English at Howard University. She asked the president about his "alleged commitment" to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

"I think he responded well.

I kind of wish he would have been a bit more specific," said Todd, who comes from a Southern military family and has a number of friends who are gay in the military. "He mentioned that he really wanted to end 'don't ask, don't tell,' which is good, but he didn't address why he was being so slow about it." Todd wondered why Obama had not made an executive order to end the policy, which bars gay and lesbian military members from serving openly in the armed forces.

Like the other students MTV News talked to right after the one-hour live interactive forum, Von Paris said the atmosphere in the studio was electric, with the widely diverse group of 230 attendees swapping stories, sharing their political thoughts and personal feelings about the direction the country is headed in. "Everyone has a smile on their face and everyone is going to come out of this bragging about it to their friends and remember this for the rest of their lives," she said.

Todd said she not only heard a wide variety of voices and opinions while waiting for the president to enter the room, but she thought the forum, which touched on issues ranging from the lack of bipartisanship in Congress to immigration and racism, really proved something about her peers. "People think that young people are apathetic," she said. "Clearly that's not true, because here we all are talking about our issues and why they're important."

She also noted that the questions were not softballs, but sometimes pointed and blunt, including one about race relations from 27-year-old Kishor Nagula, who is a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

"I thought the forum was spectacular," he said. "It's not every day that a group of 230 students get a chance to hear the president speak so candidly as well as have the opportunity to get to ask the questions that we feel are so pressing to our current state of the country."

Nagula said he asked about the apparent breakdown in race relations following the euphoria and hope he felt after Obama's inauguration because he's felt recent incidents — such as the furor over the Park51 Islamic Center near Ground Zero in New York — have betrayed a hardening of racial lines in a seemingly more divided country.

"I feel like it's been a bit of a step back from a lot of the idealism that President Obama had spoken so candidly about," he said. One of the things Nagula, a Virginia-born son of parents from India, said was so inspiring to him was the sheer diversity of voices and faces in the audience.

"It feels like kind of a Benetton ad in here," he said. "All race, creed [and] gender were all represented here, which I think is part of the spirit of Obama and what he represents. This forum is a big manifestation of what his presidency is all about."


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Sources: MTV, The Root, Fox News, Youtube, Google Maps

PPP Releases 2008 Poll Data To Sway 2010 N.C. Elections (Corruption)

Apparently PPP Thinks It’s Still 2008


Some people were shocked today by a poll released by N.C. Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling that showed Republican incumbent Senator Richard Burr ahead of Democratic Secretary of State Elaine Marshall by only one point 43%-42%.

That result made good headlines, but it has as much basis in political reality as Ronald Reagan coming back from the dead to run for President in 2012.

Let’s look inside the numbers and methodology a minute and show just where this poll goes off course and how it’s numbers are irrelevant.

First, it is a poll of ALL registered voters.

There is no screen on the poll to determine if the respondent is even likely to vote in the 2010 election.

This method was fine in 2008 when turnout was off the charts and it appeared everyone was going to vote, but in 2010, polling all registered voters is not an accurate election prediction model.

Nobody thinks turnout is going to be anywhere near 2008 levels, why does PPP poll as if it is going to be?

By not including a likely voter screen, this biases the poll heavily toward the Democratic side as Civitas polling (and just about every other polling firm) has shown Democratic voter enthusiasm is severely depressed while Republican enthusiasm is sky high.

Second, the percentage of African-Americans in the poll is 22%.

Again, this was the turnout percentages of African-Americans in 2008, not anything close to what it is expected in 2010.

Does PPP really think all those first-time Obama voters are going to come out and vote again in 2010? Well, that’s exactly what they are hypothesizing in their poll today. (African-American turnout in 2004 was a little under 19%, 2006 was around 17%).

Since African-Americans vote 95-97% Democratic, this poll artificially inflates the overall percentage Marshall receives by roughly 3-5 points on this statistic alone.

PPP’s poll today should actually be seen as fabulous news for Richard Burr, because even under the political environment in 2008 that PPP tests, Burr is winning.

But 2010 is shaping up to be nothing like 2008 — the voter mood is completely different, Obama isn’t on the ticket and Democratic voters, especially Young and Minority, are not enthusiastic about voting.

Therefore, while this poll may have been relevant two years ago, it’s methodology does not fit the current political landscape.


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Sources: Civitas Institute, Public Policy Polling, Google Maps

Obama Reconnects With Black, Hispanic & Women Voters...Vote 2010

Obama Seeks To Reconnect With Young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and Women Voters for 2010



The Democratic National Committee this morning released this clip of the president rallying the troops, if rather coolly, for 2010. Obama's express goal: "reconnecting" with the voters who voted for the first time in 2008, but who may not plan to vote in the lower-profile Congressional elections this year.

Obama speaks with unusual demographic frankness about his coalition in his appeal to "young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and women who powered our victory in 2008 [to] stand together once again."

Turning out those so-called "surge" voters -- who turned out for the first time to back Obama, but who sat out gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia last year -- has become the Democrats' central pre-occupation for the midterm elections, and the new Democratic effort to nationalize the election around Obama and his agenda mark an attempt to energize those voters.


Sources: DNC, Politico, Youtube

North Carolina Teens Question Pres. Obama (Video)

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Sources: Ig Publishing, McClatchy Newspapers, NC GOP, Youtube, Google Maps

Black Youth Project Website Proves To Be A Hit!

New Web Site Gives Black Youth A Voice


The Black Youth Project has launched its new Web site, http://www.blackyouthproject.com, a place online where young black people can speak for themselves. Most of the bloggers and researchers on the project are associated with the University of Chicago.

“While this generation of young African Americans are much talked–about by pundits and the media, they are rarely talked with and asked to engage in real dialogue,” said Cathy Cohen, the principal investigator for the Black Youth Project and the David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science and the College. “Finally, there’s a place on the Web where young black people can speak for themselves instead of having other people speak about them.”

This first–of–its kind online resource explores the attitudes, actions and decision–making of black youth by including their lives, ideas and voices. The Web site aims to generate new media information, blogs, art, conversations, webinars, data, research, policies and movements that will expand the human and social capital of young black youth, facilitating their empowerment by highlighting their voices and experiences, Cohen said.

The current generation of black youth finds itself in the center of many of the country’s political and social debates and the subject of numerous films, videos and media analysis. But more than any other group of Americans, black youth face the challenge of inclusion in the post–civil rights period as well as the challenge of Web access and digital spaces to call their own, Cohen said. The Black Youth Project, a national research project that examines the attitudes, resources and culture of African American youth, decided to create an online hub for black youth where scholars, educators, community activists, youth allies and youth could access an array of resources.

“This site gives us a voice,” says Jonathan Lykes, a second–year student in the College who is one of the featured bloggers on the BYP Web site. “A lot of black youth have something to say now. We understand now, and we want our voices heard now.”

“It is a place where the perspectives of young black people will be heard loud and clear,” stated Leigh Richie, Web coordinator for the Black Youth Project.

The BYP site features a number of innovative and useful resources, including:

Rap Lyrics Database:

The first public, searchable database of rap music lyrics. A cyber storehouse that allows scholars, youth, cultural workers and teachers to search lyrics of Billboard Music’s top rap songs from 1990 to February 2009, it was created to allow users to think critically about rap and hip–hop, just as one does about jazz and classical music. “You can find a whole number of videos as well as articles and blogs that talk about hip–hop in a way that respects young black people and the culture, ” said Alexandra Moffett–Bateau, a researcher on the project and a graduate student in Political Science.

Black Youth Blogging:

Daily blogs that represent the voices and attitudes of young African Americans who are in their late teens and 20s. Content consists of conversations about popular culture, current news about politics, testimonials and narratives about being black, gay, straight, male, female, transgender, working class, middle class and differently abled in the United States. “The Black Youth Project is really cool because it is a space where people from various communities can come together and get information. You can search for anything you are looking for,” said Summer McDonald, a blogger and graduate student in English.

Data, Survey and Findings:

The Black Youth Project Survey includes the most extensive dataset on black youth available to the public. Researchers can download the original data set from the Black Youth Project, focused on surveys of young people ages 15–25. Additional data sets also will be made available to the public. “BYP’s 2005 study was one of the largest ever national surveys of black, Hispanic and white youth on their attitudes about morality, education, marriage, politics, discrimination, justice and the future,” Cohen said. She added that a new survey that includes a significant number of young people and focuses on the impact of the Obama presidency will be released in 2010 through the Mobilization and Change, Political and Civic Engagement Project.

Curriculum Workshop:

Consists of educators, social workers, community activists and artists creating innovative, student–centered curriculum that focuses on the lives of young black people and uses data from the Black Youth Project. “Educators can use the curriculum page as a great resource to borrow and generate lesson plans focused on black youth,” said Fallon Wilson, a blogger and graduate student in the School of Social Service Administration.

Black Youth Create!

This page calls out black youth to create and submit performance pieces, poetry, prose and visual art that talk about what it means to be a black youth in America. “The Black Youth Project is an unprecedented Web site that sheds light on a demographic that has for too long been overlooked. It’s the perfect space for young black people to express themselves and learn from others,” said blogger Edward James, a second–year student in the College.

Black Youth In the News:

This page is a comprehensive archive of news stories in major U.S. newspapers written about black youth. This database will be updated weekly.

Research & Resources:

Listings/links to latest reports, research, books, films, documentaries, organizations and Web sites focused on black youth. A team of primarily young black researchers and writers created the structure and content of the BYP site.

The team of BYP researchers and personnel includes Tracye Matthews, Associate Director of the Center on Race, Politics and Culture, and David Showalter, a second–year student in the College.



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Sources: University of Chicago, Black Youth Project, Youtube, Google Maps

Dems' Senate Health Care Bill Deals Teaching Youth "Dirty Politics"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

A Senate Health-Care Victory That Stinks


The health-care reform bill coming out of the Senate presents a real dilemma for spectators: How do you applaud while holding your nose?

There is so much that is wrong with it -- and the way it was made -- and, at the same time, so much that is right that you just have to shake your head in despair and in wonder.

As one who covered the Clintons' struggle 15 years ago to pass health-care reform and who wrote an overly long book about their failure to even bring it to a vote in a Democratic Congress, I am in awe at the prospect of such a bill making it all the way to the White House.

When implemented years from now, it promises to make as many as 30 million men and women who now live with the fear of illness or hospitalization leading straight to financial ruin eligible for the same care as their more fortunate, insured neighbors.

Six decades after FDR's death, one of his Four Freedoms will, at long last, be guaranteed to almost all Americans. And the shame of this affluent society tolerating the denial of health care to its citizens will be largely lifted.

But Lord, what a load of embarrassment accompanies this sense of satisfaction! What should have been a moment of proud accomplishment for the Senate, right up there with the passage of Social Security and the first civil rights bills, was instead a travesty of low-grade political theater -- angry rhetoric and backroom deals.

There's blame enough to go around. Start with the 40 Republicans, not one of whom was willing to break out of the mold of negative conformity and offer a sustained working partnership in serious legislative effort.

But even those Republicans who were initially inclined to do that -- and there were at least a handful of them -- were turned away by the White House and the Senate Democratic leaders, who never lifted their sights much beyond the Democratic ranks.

Forced to bargain for every vote among the 60 in his caucus, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid did what he usually does: He reduced the negotiations to his own level of transactional morality. Incapable of summoning his colleagues to statesmanship, he made the deals look as crass and parochial as many of them were -- encasing a historic achievement in a wrapping of payoff and patronage.

The taint has rubbed off on the bill.

This week's Quinnipiac University poll found a majority of Americans disapproving of the legislation by 53 to 36 percent and an overwhelming number -- 73 to 18 percent -- saying they do not believe it will, as promised, reduce future budget deficits.

It now becomes President Obama's responsibility to strengthen the bill's cost-saving features and present them in a better way. Two of them are vulnerable to attack when the bill goes back to conference with the House in January.

Liberal Democrats do not like the Independent Commission in the Senate bill having power to enforce savings in Medicare and the Private Health System. And Labor does not accept the Senate plan to Tax high-end insurance plans.

Obama has not intervened with a heavy hand as the bill has moved through the House and Senate, but now it is time for him to act.

It would help a lot if he reached out personally to those few Republicans who might still want to improve the bill rather than sink it. And it would help even more if he shamed the Democrats into rescinding some of the crasser bargains they made to buy votes along the way.

The country would welcome even a few signs that this legislation has Bi-partisan support.

Then we could applaud its final passage and take our thumbs from our noses.




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Sources: Washington Post, MSNBC, Freaking News, Youtube, Google Maps