Justice of the Peace Refuses to Marry Interracial
Couple

post from Everyday Citizen on 04 November 2009 05:03:23 PM. © Everyday Citizen

It's the year 2009. Barack Obama, a bi-racial man, has been elected President of the United States[...]

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Will Obama Be a Democratic Eisenhower

post from MyDD on 04 November 2009 05:00:41 PM. © MyDD

Gallup has produced a useful graph listing Presidential approval and midterm election results over the past 60 or so years that's worth taking a gander at.The numbers that stand out to me the most are those of President Eisenhower. Unlike the other[...]

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Tim Pawlenty Throws Olympia Snowe Under the Bus

post from Crooks and Liars on 04 November 2009 05:00:38 PM. © Crooks and Liars

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Looks like someone's trying to out teabag "going rogue" Sarah. Tim Pawlenty's obviously planning on running in 2012 and has decided his best course of action is to throw in with the conservative wing of the party. From The Hill--Pawlenty takes on Snowe:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) warned Olympia Snowe today that she's risking her position in the GOP by considering a vote for healthcare reform.
"She's somebody who has gotten into the middle of the healthcare debate in a way that makes Republicans mad," Pawlenty said on Morning Joe. "They make accept that, but they're not going to accept her deviating on many other things."
Asked whether he was glad Snowe was a Republican, Pawlenty hedged.
"There is a process in her state that is broad based that endorses her, and the Republicans in that state say 'we want her to be our candidate,'" Pawlenty said.
Pressed on the issue, Pawlenty made clear he wouldn't offer a definitive answer.
PAWLENTY: "I think Olympia Snowe is somebody who is more liberal than most Republicans would like but she is better than having a Democrat represent me."
SCARBOROUGH: "Is that a yes? I think that's a yes."
PAWLENTY: Well look, the people of Maine have an open process, they selected her. It's different [than Scozzafava]."

Olympia Snowe responded to Pawlenty's criticism...via The Politico:

"I've been a lifelong Republican -- I haven't changed, I don't know what the problem is -- I really don't," said Snowe, speaking to POLITICO at the Capitol. "I know Gov. Pawlenty to be a thoughtful person and i know if he could have rephrased it or re characterized it he would."
But Snowe, who is pro-abortion rights, took serious issue with Pawlenty's underlying argument that some members of the GOP's fast shrinking left flank, including one-time NY-23 candidate Dede Scozzafava, are so far out of the party's anti-abortion, anti-gay rights mainstream they are a "joke."
"All I know is that I've been a life-long Republican, I [spent] 16 years toiling in the minority in the House of Representatives and [was part of] the effort to get us the majority in 1994 -- now were in the minority and I'm still here," she added, with a laugh.
"So, i don't know -- I think they could probably borrow more from me in that sense, in terms of being in touch with your constituents..."

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Could It Get Any Warmer

post from Talking Points Memo on 04 November 2009 04:58:00 PM. © Talking Points Memo

Newsweek and the American Petroleum Institute team up for a special global warming forum on Capitol Hill. [...]

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Keep the Anti-Escalation in Afghanistan Blog
Fellowship Going

post from Firedoglake on 04 November 2009 04:50:06 PM. © Firedoglake

For the last three months, we've all had the pleasure of reading posts on the Afghanistan war by Derrick Crowe.Derrick has been writing regularly on the war, bringing to bear facts, video testimony, statistics, political insight, and thoughtful arguments[...]

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http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/12534

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House Will Bring up HCR This Week

post from Daily Kos on 04 November 2009 04:40:09 PM. © Daily Kos

Last night, Speaker Pelosi filed the manager's amendment--the final tweaks--to the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962). Here's the announcment describing the changes made in this amendment:

Building on the legislation House Democrats introduced last week, this manager’s amendment includes these key improvements to the bill:

providing $1 billion in new resources to states to rein in price gouging by insurance companies,

excluding insurers who put profits over patients from an affordable marketplace that will serve tens of millions of Americans,

expanding on the provision that removed insurance companies’ anti-trust exemption and strengthening it to further promote competition and bring down costs for Americans; and

expanding oversight to further prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.

To read the manager’s amendment click here. The full text of the bill is available here.

According to CQ, it's possible that they could bring the bill to a vote on the House floor as early as Saturday, Nov. 7. The Hill has a whip count here, based on media accounts, press releases and spokesmen for the lawmakers.

Here are their undecideds:

Brian Baird (Wash.)
Melissa Bean (Ill.)
Marion Berry (Ark.) Wants more aggressive action against HMOs, drug makers
Rick Boucher (Va.)
Dennis Cardoza (Calif.)
Yvette Clarke (N.Y.)
Chet Edwards (Texas) A perennial GOP target
Bob Etheridge (N.C.) May run for Senate
Bill Foster (Ill.) "Encouraged" House is moving forward
Bart Gordon (Tenn.) Republicans targeting Science panel chairman
Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) Wants vote on "robust" public option
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.)
Baron Hill (Ind.)
Frank Kratovil (Md.) Voted yes on climate change bill; GOP targeting him
Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) He said he "will have trouble voting for anything other than robust public option."
Daniel Lipinski (Ill.) Opposes abortion rights
Betsy Markey (Colo.) Has concerns with cost of the bill
Jim Marshall (Ga.)
Eric Massa (N.Y.) Fan of single-payer approach
Jim Matheson (Utah) Prefers Senate Finance measure; voted no in committee
Harry Mitchell (Ariz.)
Dennis Moore (Kan.) Was target of death threat last summer over healthcare reform
Jim Oberstar (Minn.)
Heath Shuler (N.C.)
Zack Space (Ohio)
Harry Teague (N.M.) Skeptic of public option

Grijalva and Kusinich have both been holding out for somtehing better, Grijalva for a robust public option amendment, and Kucinich and Massa for single payer. Some of them--Brian Baird?--are just head scratchers, some (Oberstar, Lipinski) having been holding out on the Stupak abortion amendment, and others are predictable Blue Dogs who don't want to be looking like they agree with Nancy Pelosi on anything.

In a bow to the abortion opponents, Slaughter says that the rule will include anti-abortion language from Rep. Brad Ellsworth.

The Ellsworth language would become part of the House adopts the rule for the bill, Slaughter said. It would explicitly prohibit federal funding for abortions and also guarantee patients access to "pro-life" insurance plans that would not cover the procedure.

Stupak, according to CQ, is still holding his breath. As of yet, there's no word from leadership on what they've done to appease progressives.

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House will vote on health care reform this
weekend

post from Open Left - Front Page on 04 November 2009 04:37:42 PM. © Open Left - Front Page

The House Committee on Rules has set the mark-up of the House health care reform bill for 2 p.m.,[...]

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Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

post from TalkLeft on 04 November 2009 04:36:00 PM. © TalkLeft

I'm at the office for a few more hours yet. Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

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Thanks, Geniuses

Here's my analysis of yesterday's results. More voters voting Republican was the key reason McDonnell and Christie won. You might say this is a less than ingenious analysis. But I'm not sure it's much worse than the constant refrain I keep hearing[...]

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Michael Steele and Rep. Mike Pence to host a
12-hour online health care town hall called ‘Pelosi Plan Exposed.’

Today, the Republican National Committee (RNC) sent out a press release announcing that Chairman Michael Steele and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) will be hosting a 12-hour online town hall called “Pelosi Plan Exposed” tomorrow from 1:00 p.m. to Friday 1:00 a.m. ET. The intent of the forum is to “expose the 12 truths of Nancy Pelosi?s health care bill” and promote the “Republican alternative.” Topics include “your money,” “the culture of life,” “taxes,” and “families and women.”

Pelosi Plan Exposed

In his video announcement, Pence said that he and his House colleagues “will present an interactive broadcast marathon on the Democrats’ plans to launch a government takeover of health care. We’ll take your calls, answer your tweets, and talk to people on the street.” Watch it:

video details and more