Bbbut, Susan Collins wants to be a hero!

The National Assoicaition of Manufacturers are getting pissed that the “stand on principle” Republicans are unwittingly trying to destroy manufacturing in this country.

They must not understand that Jesus would want his flocks to eat during the downturn.

Susan Collins is so moderate! She’s so centrist! She’s a friend of Joe Leiberman’s! And she really doesn’t hate children, it’s just that we can’t afford to give them any health care, education or nutrition programs. And those children who come from “good families” don’t really need help with those things, anyway.

Keep talking about jobs:

The House bill would create 4 million jobs, Pelosi said, as well as more funding for infrastructure, food stamps, school construction, unemployment benefits and renewable energy.

“The bill (the House) passed is the bill President Obama wanted,” she said. “It is a rejection of the policies that got us here in the first place. … It’s a message of vision and change for the future.”

This is good, Nancy. I’m starting to listen to you again.

It’s another month’s worth of unemployed citizens moving to Collinsville.

Bingo! The most disgusting part of all this is that all the money given away so far hasn’t created one fucking job. Not one. I say no one working on The Hill should get a dime until the jobs come back.

OT – Hey, a few days ago we were discussing whether it wasn’t time for torches and pitchforks:

Check this out:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news…..forks.html
headline: “Grab Your Torches and Pitchforks”

On Sunday, hundreds of angry homeowners and volunteers traveled in vans and minibuses and protested outside Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack’s multi-million-dollar mansion to tell the wealthy finance czar how they really feel.

The group, led by Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), also went to Greenwich Finance CEO William Frey, among others, as part of what NACA calls the “Predator’s Tour.”

I’m quite loving this. Anyone here who participated?

I love it. Natives are getting restless. The uber-rich will need higher gates and extra barbed wire.

Actually, let’s make it even more painful. No member of Congress may hold a Campaign Financing event of any sort nor may they make any calls soliciting money from lobbyists until the Unemployment rate (including under employed and those who have given up), is under five per cent.

But Senator Suzie-Q had a cocktail with the president! That means we all have to do what she says now and that is…..spend more money on the Pentagon! Starve the children! Stimulate nothing except inside the pants of the American Taliban! Oil, oil, drill baby drill, oil!

LMAO:

“how do we create the most jobs,” not “how do we make Susan Collins happy.” ~ Jane

Great headline to use at a later date, Jane!

Oh, and not really OT – leading up to our current situation, check out this from Brad DeLong about the “Bush Boom in Employment.”

The Bush Boom: Employment

Lee Price emails us about the Bush Boom:

We now have job numbers for the entire 8 years of the Bush Administration. In the last 8 years, payroll jobs are up only 1.6% (0.2% annual rate). That’s far and away the slowest 8 year gain on record. In the 8 years of Clinton, jobs grew by 20.7% (2.38% annual rate). In the 70 years of available data, jobs have grown at an annual rate of 2.2%. For the 62 years before Bush the average was 2.4%.

Was the crowd wearing diapers? If so, there may have been a pup involved.

Dress code was not mentioned in the article.

OMG! Last line of the article:

None of the protestors were arrested.

Change has come in some things.

Sen Vitter’s become a pup?

No, but someone thought an angry mob outside Vitter’s place may be more relatable to the Senator if they were in diapers.

Actually the cops were very sympathetic to the protesters giving them the thumbs up sign and one sharing a story about how his sister lost her house.

And level IV body armor.

Here is someone ready to take on Vitter with or without diapers
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/….._0209.html

How about: Anyone who votes “no” on the proper stimulus (sans giveaway tax cuts) WILL receive a full-blown IRS tax audit. Anyone found to NOT have paid their taxes will be hauled into court.

Actually, as for the tax break for new car buyers…I’d like Pelosi to keep it in but modify it: It ONLY applies to economy cars. NO GAS GUZZLERS.

Obama was determined to be bipartisanism. Now we need people like Collins,Snowe and Nelson to get this bill passed in a hurry. Bashing them seems counter productive

I’ve said it before:

Help us, Obiwan Pelosi! You’re our only hope!

just wait until Spitzer’s Madam’s book comes out and names Wall Street CEOS who allegedly used company funds to pay hundreds of thousands (per diem) for prostitution-related services… someone’s gonna be Gitmo bound before this is over….

Slightly OT Closure vote underway in Senate (C-span 2)

These people are only important because we allow this 60 vote strategy to be deployed against progressive policies.
We need to take this on right now. Otherwise, get ready for government by Joe, Ben and Susan.

If Pelosi listens to you, I’d prefer that she drop it.

Some people should keep their mouths shut on things they don’t know…

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

Please tell me you know what the grand strategy is behind the closed doors of the White House and is there ANY fuckin’ communication goin on between Obama’s REAL political base in the House of Representatives and someone other than Rahm “Tiny Dancer” Emmanuel? (Or better still, jest tell me that there IS a fuckin “grand strategy”!!)

I watched what I could stomach of Obama’s pitch in Indiana this mornin’ and I jest gotta say that he is WAAAAY off a his game and he doesn’t seem ta even know who he is talkin’ to here…his political base is sufferin and is ready ta do and support whatever he tells ‘em, so why does he talk to the congregation like they are supplicants for First Communion?

You are the only political commentator who I trust and who actually still has a sense of political reality…so please tell me that Obama has a clue where he wants ta go here and that he has some kinda plan taget there.

I am gettin’ REAL worried that we are lookin at blood in the streets if Obama doesn’t get his shit straight pretty fuckin soon!!

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, I AIN’T RETIRIN’ BACK TA THE THE FUCKIN MIDDLE AGES!!

I wish C-SPAN showed the Senate vote tally like they do the House tallies.

sigh.

The CW is that the Senate will prevail in conference.
Maybe. Maybe not.

Newly-elected House Dems may be very receptive
to politely worded, persuasively argued emails from all
us well-informed FDLers.

considering that the population grew at an annual rate of 1.01% during this period, shrub actually managed to lose jobs in real terms. Go shrub. Worst. president. ever.

we need to keep the pressure up.. keep on calling.

Norske, how’s it hangin?

61 to 36 for cloture

Greetings, Norske!

You’ve summed it up precisely.

What do you figure, two years of hard ‘educational experience’ for the ‘people’ and then heaven help the Political Cla$$ and America’s own Ari$tocracy?

I’d say it is a race between ‘understanding’ and demagoguery (total fuckin fascism).

DW

Norske, glad to see you are still kicking (you know what) :-) . How are you?

Heh, that was moi. One of my better ideas, I’ll brag.

“how do we create the most jobs,” not “how do we make Susan Collins happy.”

Maybe a bit more accurate would be “How do tickle Susan Collins’ ego.” :-)

She is so full of her self these days it’s unbearable.

Except that THIS bill is now bullpucky writ large. Nancy has the right idea, either don’t pass this one or else DECIMATE it in conference.

I want to see who those 36 are.

You genius, you. Can’t get the image of diaper-wearing torch and pitchfork mobs out of my mind.

Actually in this particular case it’s 60 because it’s an increase in deficit spending. An actual law requires that.

i’m probably way behind (have missed a bunch of threads) so this has probably already been mentioned, but just in case….

collin’s senate amdt 570 (”In the nature of a substitute.”) to h.r.1 is now up on thomas:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/……AMDT.570:

Well, that is good news. Somehwere I just read a compilation of all the things Obama-related that the CW said would/wouldn’t happen – all of which were completely wrong.

The compilers of the CW are Villagers who still haven’t figured out that the world has shifted, let alone that the people in the real world would be just as happy to have the pundits’ heads as the politicians’.

De nada, and I am so sorry. May I recommend a liberal (ahem) application of Suzanne’s patented Brain Bleach(TM)?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again right now

Obama needs to invite these imbeciles (Nelson, Lieberman, Collins …etc) into the Oval Office – one by one. Sit them down, make them comfortable, offer them coffee, tea, wine, beer, whatever. And then explain to them that they’re voting for the House bill as is.

Obama needs to go Michael Corleone on them

I’m thinking of the scene where Senator Pat Geary tries to squeeze the family for the casino license fee

Geary: The Corleone family has done very well here in Nevada. You own, or you control, two major hotels in Vegas, one in Reno. The licenses were grandfathered in so there was no problem with the Gaming Commission. Now, my sources tell me that you plan to make a move against the Tropigala. They tell me that within a week you’re gonna move Klingman out. That’s quite an expansion. However, it will leave you with one little technical problem. Ahh! – the license will still be in Klingman’s name…Well, let’s cut out the bulls–t. I don’t want to spend any more time here than I have to. You can have the license – the price is $250,000, plus a monthly payment of five percent of the gross. Of all four hotels, Mr. Corleone.

Michael: Now the price for the license is less than $20,000, am I right?

Geary: That’s right.

Michael: Now why would I ever consider paying more than that?

Geary: Because I intend to squeeze you. I don’t like your kind of people. I don’t like to see you come out to this clean country in oily hair and dressed up in those silk suits, and try to pass yourselves off as decent Americans. I’ll do business with you but the fact is that I despise your masquerade, the dishonest way you pose yourself. Yourself and your whole f–king family.

Michael: Senator, we’re both part of the same hypocrisy. But never think it applies to my family.

Calmly, Michael rejects the “little games” of the Senator, refusing to pay even the $20,000 legal fee for the gaming license of the casino he will take over from Klingman: “My offer is this – nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.”

If they refuse?

He needs to explain to them that as of right now any and all federal funding that is at his discretion will cease to go to the states that these assholes represent

Call his cabinet with them in the office and order them to begin federal spending cuts in their state.

Nelson needs to understand that farm subsidies to his state will be removed from the next farm bill; highway funds will dry up; military installations will be consolidated into states which are much more receptive to his agenda …etc

Isn’t there a submarine base in Maine or Ct.?

Gone

Defense contracts

Gone

Federal gov. contracts

Gone

Then play them this scene from Godfather II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLcBsopWa8w

Make them an offer they can’t refuse

oh, and while i’m at it, here are the signatories to the cloture motion:

Mr. REID. Mr. President, pursuant to the order before the Senate today, on behalf of Senators Collins and Nelson of Nebraska, I call up the amendment, which is now at the desk.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Ms. Collins and Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, proposes an amendment numbered 570.

(The text of the amendment is printed in today’s Record under “Text of Amendments.”)

CLOTURE MOTION

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the clerk will report.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

Cloture Motion

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Collins-Nelson of Nebraska amendment No. 570 to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Jon Tester, Debbie Stabenow, Charles E. Schumer, Richard Durbin, Dianne Feinstein, Jeff Bingaman, Patty Murray, Christopher J. Dodd, Benjamin L. Cardin, John D. Rockefeller IV, Claire McCaskill, Patrick J. Leahy, Blanche L. Lincoln, Harry Reid.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment No. 570 be printed.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

A lot of words are coming out of KB Hutchison’s mouth on MSNBC, but I don’t think they mean anything.

Kennedy showed up to vote. 58 dems, Collins, Spector & Snowe for it. 2 Rs did not vote!

Sens. Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME), and Arlen Specter (PA) voted for cloture. According to Think Progress, the vote will be noon tomorrow.

but there is a provision (i think) that allows for an emergency to get around that requirement. if i have it right, and i probably don’t yet, then it could have been submitted (as the “emergency” war funding bills blank checks were by the 110th congress for bush’s wars). however, it appears that tax changes do not have the “emergency” loop hole.

if that’s correct, then it might have been possible to submit an emergency spending bill (wo the tax cuts though, how sad is that?) and get around the 60 vote requirement.

i’m not yet convinced we’re not just seeing some fancy kabuki on the part of the dems to cave while pretending to fight. what can i say? watching fisa has made me into a bigger cynic.

Which two Rs didn’t vote? Were they present?

2 Rs did not vote!

That would have been McSFB and Short Ride, right?

McSFB and Short Ride

Translation, s’il vous plait!

assume we’re not counting Coleman as one of ‘em? ;-P

Color me confused. Cloture on debate on amd 570, or cloture on debate on the underlying bill?

A feint to left, huh?

i’m not yet convinced we’re not just seeing some fancy kabuki on the part of the dems to cave while pretending to fight.

You’re probably right. But on the other hand, the CA state budget is in pretty dire straits, so Nancy is likely feeling a lot of pressure from home.

Looks like Kabuki abounds. It’s not like PBO and the D’s don’t have the positives they need to get it done. So I’m concluding they just plain don’t want to get it done.

Were McCain and Graham at the security meeting in Germany?

I did not see him actually vote but I saw Lieberman in the well.

It was a deep well I hope. See anybody walking away with a rope and bucket?

Ian is upstairs saying the vote was 61 – 39.

So everyone voted.

Not really, because Collins and the others cut out some of the domestic spending, but added in military spending, and then had the audacity to add more tax cuts which don’t make jobs!

Not possible because of Franken’s empty seat.

we’ve seen it so many times on the fisa issue – where the dems use the rules to structure the votes such that the conservatives will win while the dem leadership pretends to fight. the one time we saw the house D leadership really go all out to win (in march, iirc, on fisa) they were brilliant.

Collins’ only interest is her own self-importance and power. Just keep that in mind, anything else she says can be safely ignored. What a w..re!

this, imo, gets to the inherent contradiction of the Ds position. they depend on one group for $$ and one group for votes. the two groups apparently have diametrically divergent interests at this moment.

that is why the D cave to their corporate supporters (for $$$) while pretending to care enough about our interests to get our votes.

imo this is just as unstable a coalition as the R’s corporate / rightwing religious coalition.

..

what do i know? but this is my current working hypothesis.

You’d think after Nov they’d see we’re payin’ a lot more attention that they’d like.

edit that than they like

perview is mah fren

that didn’t stop them from caving on fisa in june after they’d won the battle in march. we’ve only begun to watch – i think we’re going to have to get as good as the best corporate hack.

I don’t disagree at all with that. But from what I hear about CA, it’s getting pretty desperate. And Nancy will be up for reelection in two years. So I’m thinking the vote group is more influential for her right now (Susan Collins, on the other hand, just won reelection, so she has many years to go).

No argument here about the cuts….just glad we got thru cloture and are closer to passing something.

Actually, as for the tax break for new car buyers…I’d like Pelosi to keep it in but modify it: It ONLY applies to economy cars. NO GAS GUZZLERS.

It’s hard to argue with that, though yo might not want to use the phrase “economy cars” and try “high gas-mileage cars” or “energy efficient cars” or something like that.

Gitmo bound

Sounds like a book title or a porn movie title. Maybe both.