Quote of the Day: Bruce Bartlett Edition

I am Facebook friends and a Twitter follower of economist Bruce Bartlett. I am not a bit surprised by Bartlett's contempt for the tea party. Bartlett is viewed as a conservative. However, Bartlett has been blasting the GOP establishment and the tea party for years.

Bartlett is a wonk who cares about policy. The current conservative movement denies basic scientific facts and proposes economic policies that neither stimulate job creation or create a fiscal surplus. Bartlett is even defending Paul Krugman from conservatives.

Bartleet's quote came from an appearance on MSNBC.

Quote of the Day

"If you tax achievement, some of the achievers are going to pack it in. Lets take me. My corporations employ scores of people. They depend on me to do what I do so they can make a nice salary. If Barack Obama begins taxing me more than 50 percent, which is very possible, I don't know how much longer i'm going to do this. I like my job but there comes a point when taxation become oppressive."

Bill O'Reilly

There is a point when taxation becomes oppressive. Having Bill O'Reilly become the spokesman against tax increase to the rich isn't going to make people feel the pain of billionaires such as Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg. Ed Schultz is having fun with mocking O'Reilly by running a petition to increase O'Reilly's taxes. I would love nothing more for the Republican Party and Fox News to make O'Reilly spokesman for tax cuts to the rich.

Pink Slip Rick Scott

Ed Schultz spotlights the "Pink Slip Rick Scott" movement and the fact the man who hates public health care has a $30.00 per month public health care plan.

Scott pays only $30 per month for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for himself and his family, the Miami Herald reported. Meanwhile, the janitors who clean his office in the state Capitol pay six times as much out of pocket for their own health coverage.

Scott accepts no salary as state executive, but a perk of his — and 32,000 other high-ranking state officials — job is the option to enroll in the cheap insurance plan. Individual insurance for these top-tier officials costs only $8.34 per month. Nearly all of the state's 160 legislators are enrolled in the plan as well.

Don't be too hard on Scott. He is only worth $103 million.

Ed Schultz Says Weiner Must Go

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MSNBC host Ed Schultz gave an eloquent speech on why Anthony Weiner staying in office is becoming a distraction for the progressive movement. The sexting is an issue between Weiner, his wife Huma Abedin and the women Weiner contacted. The question is should Democrats spend more time defending Weiner or dealing with the debt ceiling and unemployment? The answer is obvious.

Progressives will say that it isn't fair that Sen. David Vitter can pay a prostitute to watch him parade around in diapers and keep his seat. Unfortunately, life isn't fair. Republicans are hypocrites on sexual morality. That doesn't change the fact that Weiner has dug a hole and his dragging the Democratic Party down with him.

Why Marco Rubio Loves Oil Tax Subsidies

Sen. Marco Rubio is taking the courageous and fiscally conservative position by planning to vote against the elimination of tax subsidies for oil companies.

"It’s a tax increase. I don’t vote for tax increases," Rubio told the Buzz. "Those are the same subsidies that are available to everybody and every company. I’m interested in lowering gas prices. I’m not interested in wasting time talking about things that aren’t going to help lower people’s gas prices."

Blast from the past: Ed Schultz mocked the stupidity of Rubio saying that deep water drilling is safe. Schultz showed video of Rubio telling Wolf Blitzer this, as a live feed of oil leaking from the Deep Horizon hole leaked into the Gulf.

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The oil and gas industry as donated $196,600 to Rubio since the 2005 election cycle. Oil industry PACs donated $76,750 to his Senate campaign. The Oil PAC contributors is a who's who of the energy industry. With friends like this it is obvious why Rubio won't vote for ending the tax subsidies.

American Gas Assn $1,000
Chevron Corp $10,000
ConocoPhillips $3,000
Devon Energy $10,000
Exxon Mobil $10,000
Halliburton Co $5,000
Independent Petroleum Assn of America $5,000
Koch Industries $10,000
Marathon Oil $5,000
Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Assn $1,000
Murphy Oil $2,000
National Ocean Industries Assn $4,000
Occidental Petroleum $2,000
Spectra Energy $2,500
True Companies $750
Valero Energy $2,500
Williams Companies

Lawrence Wilkerson on Rumsfeld

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Lawrence Wilkerson says former Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfuld is full of it about torture producing actionable intelligence.

Cartoon of the Day

This comic sums up the current climate at MSNBC. The editorial cartoon was done by Deb Milbrath.

Bernie Sanders Threatens Filibuster

Sen. Bernie Sanders is threatening to filibuster on the tax cuts deal struck between President Obama and the Republicans.

While Republicans are fighting for upper-income tax cuts, a Census Bureau report more Americans are falling into poverty.

The poverty rate in 2009 was the highest since 1994, but was 8.1 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available, the Census Bureau said.

Median income declined between 2008 and 2009 for non-Hispanic white and black households in the United States, while Asian households had the highest median income in 2009. Median income for Hispanic-origin households was about the same in 2009 as in 2008, the report said.

The number of working men fell since 2007 by 2.5 million, while the number of working women fell by 1.3 million, the report said.

During the health care debate Republicans argued to either slow down reform or none was needed. The Census Bureau report shows more Americans losing health care coverage because of current economic conditions.

The number of people covered by private health insurance fell from 2008 to 2009, while the number with government health insurance rose, the report said.

Some 194.5 million people in 2009 have private health coverage, compared to 201 million in 2008. The number of people covered by government plans rose to 93.2 million in 2009, from 87.4 million in 2008.

This is what the political conversation should be about right now.

Why Marco Rubio Is Dumb

"Marco Rubio is the kind of candidate that appeals to low info voters," said MSNBC host Ed Schultz. "In fact, he's a low-info candidate."

Schultz made his point by showing video of Rubio on CNN claiming deepwater drilling is safe, as a live feed of the Deep Horizon leak played in the background. Only someone very dense would go on TV to make the bogus claim about deepwater drilling being safe during an environmental crisis. Rubio was asked by the editorial board of the The Daily News about the Navy not wanting offshore drilling to interfere with operations. Rubio was clueless about the Navy's concerns and said he would look into it. Rubio has still not said how he plans to have drilling off the coast of Florida without interfering with Navy operations.

I have been describing Rubio as an economic iliterate since 2007. Rubio told radio host Jim Defede working class people live off "other people's leftover money." Rubio really believes trickle down economics theories that have been discredited by economists. Rubio's 12 Ideas are failed George W. Bush tax policies; such as extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Rubio fails to mention how he is going to be a fiscal hawk by extending the Bush tax cuts. The Congressional Budget Office numbers show the Bush tax cuts helped create the deficit.

Beltway reporters such as Ezra Klein and Dave Weigel say Republicans admit TARP was needed and the tax cuts created the deficit. These same elected Republicans will tell tea baggers Bush's TARP is entirely President Obama's fault and say more tax cuts are needed. That kind of hypocrisy is nothing new in politics. What concerns me about Rubio is he is so willfully ignorant that he actually believes most of the stuff he rants on about. Someone that stupid does not belong in public office.

Fox News Fundraising For the GOP

Fox News on-air talent have paticipated in Republican Party fundraisers in 49 states. I'm shocked. Actually, not really.

Heat On Blanche Lincoln

Howard Dean floats the idea of Democrats running a primary opponent against Sen. Blanche Lincoln. She loudly said she plans on filibustering the health care bill. Another good reason for Democrats to run a primary opponent is to keep the seat. Lincoln's polling numbers are bad.

SCHULTZ: What do you say to progressive groups that want to put a progressive candidate up against Blanche Lincoln in a primary down in Arkansas? Is that a fool’s errand? Does that have merit, in your opinion?

DEAN: I think it does. The Democrats are pretty progressives. We’ve done some polling in Arkansas, Democracy for America, which I consult for. The majority of people in Arkansas and especially the majority of Democrats, want a public option.

...

SCHULTZ: Blanche Lincoln is polling behind. There are nine possible candidates on the Republican side in Arkansas. Blanche Lincoln is behind every single one of them in a poll. Wouldn’t it be good money spent on the part of the Democrats to go in there and get somebody who’s really going to do something about health care reform? Wouldn’t that be a good dollar to spend?

DEAN: Well, you know, there are some people talking about running in the primary down there. I’ve heard the lieutenant governor is thinking about running. And he’s just organized a whole series of huge clinics, free clinics. You know, that could happen.

Look, you have to stick with your base. If you don’t stick with your base, you can’t win elections. That’s what happened in Virginia and New Jersey this year, is the core people that got Barack Obama elected to the presidency didn’t show up for the gubernatorial candidates.

Part of the reason health care reform numbers are so bad in Arkansas is Lincoln and Sen. Mark Pryor have been trashing the public option. It makes sense for Arkansas voters to be against the public option.

Arkansas is the state where health reform advocate President Bill Clinton came from. Obviously, Lincoln and Pryor do not possess Clinton's political skills and charisma. Lincoln wants to be all things to all voters. She becomes indecisive and and lacks leadership skills. Lincoln promised to filibuster healthcare. She allowed the health care bill to reach the floor. Why allow the bill to be debated if she promises to vote against the Senate bill. It pretty pathetic posturing. Voters see through the grandstanding. That is why Lincoln's numbers are down.

Alan Grayson on the Ed Show

Via GottaLaff: Rep. Alan Grayson is not backing down from his statements about the Republican (lack of) health plan. Grayson told MSNBC host Ed Schultz, "We need Democrats with guts!"

The people who should be apologizing are the Republicans... for dragging us all in the mud...

American is sick of you Republican party, you are a lie factory. Why don't you solve America's problems instead of making stuff up?

These people are No-Mongers, they have no answers to anything.... There's STILL no Republican plan!

If I have to choose between my job and saving thousands of lives a year, I know what my answer is.

We need Democrats with guts!

I wrote today, I have reservations of the Democratic Party engaging in Republican Party "death panel" attacks. My concern is Democrats alienating voters. I could care less if Grayson hurts the feelings of Congressional Republicans.

Litbrit was declared Grayson her New Favorite Person on the Planet. To say Litbrit was thrilled about Grayson attacking the GOP would be an understatement.

Tom Harkin on the Public Option

The Senate Finance Committee killed the public option. Tom Harkin tells Ed Schultz the final bill will have the public option.

HARKIN: I believe that when we merge these two bills, we will have a public option in there that we will take to the floor of the Senate and we're going to pass it.

SCHULTZ: Well, okay, so despite what happened in the Senate Finance Committee today, you think you've got the votes to get a public option coming out of the Senate? Cause I'm not so worried about the House anymore and I think the American people, I mean, this is gonna be reported, all the talking heads are gonna say, "Hey, public option is dead." I need to have some confidence tonight with you, Senator Harkin, that you think you can get these votes out of the Senate.

HARKIN: Well here's one thing I will guarantee you, Ed, and I will tell you again as I've told you before -- we will have a bill on the President's desk before Christmas and it will have a public option.

SCHULTZ: Well that's what the American people want to hear. Now ...

HARKIN: I know it and most of the doctors want it, 73% of the doctors polled want a public option, uh, sixty-some percent of the American people want a public option and the vast majority of Democrats, over fifty in the United States Senate, also want a public option.

SCHULTZ: Okay now, are you going to have to go reconciliation? You're not going to get sixty at this point are you?

HARKIN: Well, I wouldn't give up on that yet. I still think that we can get sixty votes to bring the bill on the floor of the Senate. And then we'll have amendments and then we'll have, probably have to have a cloture on the bill to bring it to a close. Now that will be the tough vote. I still believe that we can get the sixty votes for that.

SCHULTZ: Okay, what about ...

HARKIN: But if we don't, Ed, if we don't, we're going to go to reconciliation. As I said to you, and as I say to the American people, we will have this bill on the President's desk by Christmas, one way or the other.

Reconciliation is only used on bills that involve the federal budget. Health care definately falls into that category. The question is will Harry Reid push for reconciliation? President Bill Clinton attempted to use reconciliation to pass health care reform. Sen. Robert Byrd stopped Clinton. The Byrd Rule was created to limit reconciliation only to deficit reduction.

* a provision that mitigates direct effects attributable to a second provision which changes outlays or revenue when the provisions together produce a net reduction in outlays;

* the provision will result in a substantial reduction in outlays or a substantial increase in revenues during fiscal years after the fiscal years covered by the reconciliation bill;

* the provision will likely reduce outlays or increase revenues based on actions that are not currently projected by CBO for scorekeeping purposes; or

* such provision will likely produce significant reduction in outlays or increase in revenues, but due to insufficient data such reduction or increase cannot be reliably estimated.

Republicans will be looking for potential ways a public option bill would violate the Byrd rule. If a violation is found then 60 votes will be needed to a filibuster.