A Bright(er) Spot
By Mitch Berg
The good news yesterday? The House GOP caucus stood firm, even though they were prohibitively outnumbered.
And conservatism got a new hero:
Paul Ryan (R-WI)
“The philosophy advanced on this floor by the majority today is so arrogant, it’s condescending, and it tramples upon the principles that have made America so exceptional.”
“My friends, we are fast approaching a tipping point where more Americans depend upon the Federal government than upon themselves for their livelihood; a point where we, the American people, trade in our commitment and our concern for our individual liberties in exchange for government benefits and dependencies.”
“More to the point, Madame Speaker, we have seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. The European social welfare state promoted by this legislation is not sustainable.”
“This is not who we are, and this is not who we should become”
“If this passes, the quest to reclaim the American ideal is not over. The fight to reapply our founding principl,es is not finished. It’s just a steeper hill to climb. And it’s a climb that we will make!”
I’ve heard “Ryan For President!” talk. Today, I could be persuaded.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:21 am
MWAHAHAHA! Welcome to totalitarian socialism, comrades!
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:26 am
They may have “stood firm,” but what really looked stupid was that one after another, many of them stood to announce that they wished to “Revise and extend their remarks in opposition to this flawed healthcare bill.” Some even had to read that brief statement to be sure they “got it right.”
Michelle Bachmann broke ranks. She said “dangerous” instead of “flawed.”
Wow!
Makes one wonder if they even read the bill, but they sure demonstrated that they can march in lock-step with their leadership.
The question is…did they truly represent their constituents?
The Democratic side appeared to be a bit more independent. Ultimately, which is better for the country? Congress people who are independent thinkers or blind followers?
It’s difficult to believe that with nearly 200 Republican amendments in this bill, it would not have found favor with even one of the the Republican representatives!
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:27 am
Sorry, I should have typed, “Michele Bachmann.”
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:34 am
I agree with you on Paul Ryan as the man of the moment. I also believe there is another piece of good news about the passage of healthcare. The Senate filibuster is now dead. If republicans accept a 60 vote threshold for themselves and 51 votes for democrats then they aren’t fit to govern. Besides I don’t think I could take one more declaration from either party about the august traditions of the Senate.
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:12 am
Isn’t that parliamentary procedure to announce why you are rising to speak? I thought it was required pro forma. Saying dangerous instead of flawed was pretty creative though.
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:42 am
what really looked stupid was that one after another, many of them stood to announce that they wished to “Revise and extend their remarks in opposition to this flawed healthcare bill.”
As Margaret notes, I’m pretty sure that’s part of the House’s parliamentary procedure.
Some even had to read that brief statement to be sure they “got it right.”
The dire awfulness of public speaking in America, even among those who do it for a living, has been noted on this blog many times in the past.
Makes one wonder if they even read the bill, but they sure demonstrated that they can march in lock-step with their leadership.
The question is…did they truly represent their constituents?
Of course they did. Any Republican House member is there because they survived the Obamalanche of ’08. They are there because their constituents didn’t care for the bill of goods Barack Obama was selling. And since a steep majority of Americans now oppose Obamacare, the Dems who flipped are reacting to their constituents, too.
Indeed, the real question is “do the Democrats who voted for the bill represent their constituents?” Given that many have said it’s political suicide (and it will be), I’m guessing not really.
The Democratic side appeared to be a bit more independent. Ultimately, which is better for the country? Congress people who are independent thinkers or blind followers?
“Blind followers?” The public opposes the bill; their party ideology does, too.
But there’s an interesting question for you . In one graf, you wonder if they “represent their constituents”. Isn’t being an “independent thinker” kind of the opposite of that?
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:02 am
I was most impressed by his performance against Slaughter in the rules committee, which Hot Air had linked in a post the other day. He has the agility and capacity to articulate the message, we need that in a national spokesman.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:53 am
Paul Ryan, the Great White Hope, eh?
Maybe he’ll do better than Jack Ryan?
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:13 am
Great White Hope? No. I’d vote for Walter Williams, JC Watts, Thomas Sowell, or any number of other african-american thinkers over Dear Leader.
Great Sane Hope? That’s more like it.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Not Alan Keyes though, eh? The president’s already slapped him down but good.
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:57 pm
It seems race is everything to angryclown. Funny that he always calls other people “racist”.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I heard Alan Keyes is going to be replacing Omar Minaya as the GM of the Mets.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Hey AssClown, don’t knock Jack Ryan, after all, he did have his way with Seven-of-Nine. (oh nevermind, you prefer sphincterpolishing along with AC Jr, so nevermind, you wouldn’t understand the hotness of Jeri Ryan.)
…. …. …. ….
“Welcome to totalitarian socialism, comrades!”
AssClown, you are close, it’s actually Liberal Fascism.
March 22nd, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Not Keyes. For all the faults, Illinois subjects still recognize a carpetbagger when they see one.
Unlike, say, New York.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Mitch,
“But there’s an interesting question for you . In one graf, you wonder if they ‘represent their constituents’. Isn’t being an ‘independent thinker’ kind of the opposite of that?”
Fair question.
I guess it depends on who they represent. If they fairly represent their constituents and/or their own thoughts, I would say “independent.” When it begins to look like they are blindly following the party line/leadership then I’m not sure I would call that independent thinking. Many conservatives take that same viewpoint when accusing Walz (down here in southern Minnesota) of blindly following Pelosi.
I understand the protocol. The point I was trying to make is that was ALL they had to say. How many of us are going to actually LOOK at the Congressional Record to see just what those “remarks” were (especially now that they are relatively unimportant)? I think the Republicans would have been better served by having fewer commenters that said more. This was supposed to be a debate after all.
Now, I realize, everyone was pretty set in their vote last night and that the debate was not for the representatives’ votes. It was for those votes at the ballot box in November. Did the republicans look good? I’m not so sure. I think they shot themselves in the foot.
Maybe the bill that got passed last night will be all Republicans need in November. They better hope so because they didn’t win any points last night. They had a great chance to explain the flaws (dangers) and instead they simply said that they opposed this flawed (dangerous) bill.
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Les, when in doubt, you don’t ram legislation down America’s throat.
And pull your head out of your arse, just because you have your fingers in your ears doesn’t mean people haven’t said anything.
Les, what do you think of the “cornhusker kickback” and the recent “louisiana purchase”? Does that make YOU proud?
Could you show us where in the bill it specifically prevents taxpayer funded abortions?
Any thoughts on how this will reduce medical R&D and new lifesaving innovation?
Les, I can spot Liberal Fascism a mile away.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:09 pm
K-Rod,
Republican lawmakers missed a great opportunity to bring out the points that you mentioned at a time when more citizens were probably watching CSpan than at any other time this year…and they didn’t.
I think it is a shame…
March 23rd, 2010 at 11:34 am
Les,
I agree that this monstrosity of legislation and the way it was rammed down our throats is a travesty and a crying shame.
But why can’t you answer the other questions? Need more time to check your talking points?
Too chicken to answer?
March 23rd, 2010 at 8:24 pm
K-Rod,
It was never my intention to argue the bill, which is now law. I only wanted to point out that I felt the Republican lawmakers missed a great opportunity to do that very thing.
Now we really have to look to the fixes that need to be made…including neutralizing some or all of the very items you mentioned.
I stopped responding to accusations of being a “chicken” long ago. My talking points are about “process” and I will not let them be defined by you.
Sorry to disappoint you…
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Do not worry Leslie. You are dealing with KRod, the only person ever asked to leave AntiStrib for being too dumb, which is like being the only person asked to leave Milwaukee for being too fat and drunk.
March 24th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
ak thinks Les is worried. Strange, very strange kid.
ak, your projection is quite obvious. “too dumb”, AssKlowner, you wear it well. Now get yer shinebox and come back when you can actually contribute something of substance, eh punk. Heh heh heh
As for Closeted-Liberals 3.0, pffft, it’s not the first liberal blog to censor out opposing opinions.
Ass-Snozzle 3.0 promotes more government laws and more government control instead of repealing current bad legislation. FACT.
Barthe blamed the poor economy on why he is so obese. FACT.
Booosh made him fat!!!! Bwwwaaaaahahahahahahaaaaa!
Their liberal victim mentality of always placing the blame on others.
I doubt the libs over at Ass-Snozzle 3.0 will ever man up and take some personal responsibility.
….
“accusations”
What accusations, Les. If you don’t have a quote then STFU. I simply asked a question.
.
“It was never my intention to argue the bill, which is now law.”
Spoken like a true sheeple. Blame the Republicans, eh Les. Is there anyone you don’t disappoint right of center?
…. …. …. …. ….
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.