As reported by, Roll Call: "Health Care Law Stuck In Limbo
House Republicans on Wednesday took a symbolic swipe at President Barack Obama's health care reform law when they voted to repeal its long-term care provisions, the CLASS Act, which the administration abandoned last year as unworkable."
...the thought of another long, lonely run for office....
Huffington Post: " 'Republicans are committed to repealing and defunding it, piece by piece if necessary," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said of the health care bill after the CLASS Act vote.' "
...they (the voters) love this guy LoBiondo, isn't it obvious by now...
... Politico Pro: "House Passes CLASS Act Repeal
The House on Wednesday voted to repeal the CLASS act - with the support of several moderate Democrats - in the latest attempt to take apart a piece of President Barack Obama's health care law....."
...what the f*@% I voted for him 6 times. I didn't know ...
In South Jersey, news of the pointless Republican maneuver was reported on local politico's facebook page Thursday, this way ....
Talking points memo from Stein for Congress (Democrat) via Blue Jersey (a mini diary, thank ya)
A Romney win tomorrow ends Gingrich and Santorum's chances for success, assures dull debates in the fall and demands a 3rd party candidate get in the race.
My choice? Michael Bloomberg; billionaire. Someone comfortable in his own skin, articulate, who feels for folks and who's genuine. If looney Trump is making noises, and there's no progress on deficit reduction, mighten Bloomberg say tough luck Obama, and get in? It's unlikely, but somebody is going to spoil the affair, it might as well be a really, REALLY rich man.
(Seriously) the prospect of the clumsy, programmed Mitt Romney debating the very savvy and sophisticated President will leave folks like me very unsatisfied to say the least. That's folks like ME, inhabiting the middle ground politically and making up the majority of the electorate (and btw, very nervous about gridlock in Washington). Team Dennis M./Blue1234 what say you?
LoBi goes "on the record" twice. As his potential fall opponent (and me) a Blue Jersey favorite lol "we" put several of the Congressman's recent, eh, inappropriate, remarks .... "in the record."
Issue 1: Last week on the Harry Hurley radio show, Congressman Frank LoBiondo stated he was for the death penalty. I think that's big and perhaps something of a campaign issue this fall. What was odd though, was neither the criminal justice system, nor the death penalty, were the subject of the on-air conversation. Mr. Hurley was using the NJ law, or some law somewhere, as an example of a statute that is on the books, but never used. LoBi was in studio to discuss the unacceptable situation of veterans having to go to Delaware for dialysis and other treatments. However, thanks to the efforts of many, including April Kaufman (see below), Vets, if they choose, can stay close by and be treated; but only IF they apply for an exemption. Problem so far is no Vet has applied for the exemption. Harry was inelegant in his example perhaps and he's usually better, but LoBi latched on to the words DEATH PENALTY. Pure pandering. Hurley mentions DEATH PENALTY, and "Pavlov" went for the bait. Besides Frank mixing apples and oranges, there's something else problematic about the whole damn thing as well :) I'm shaking my head....
Issue: Frank LoBiondo; FOR the death penalty; Stein AGAINST.
Issue 2: Last January the same sort of thing happened on the KingArthur radio show. LoBi was being interviewed by the conservative co-host, April Kauffman. She had just come home from vacationing in Arizona and asked the Congressman his thoughts on the border situation. And danggumit, Lobiondo brings up the Dream Act out of nowhere. I suspect again, it was to win points on yet another hot button topic. This second instance is really disgusting. Dream Act kids are really complete innocents; caught up in bitter electoral politics. But some of these young adults are here decades. Many were brought across the southern border as babies in the 1980's. American businesses eagerly embraced their parents though, who by the way, have mostly worked off the books for years (many, I suspect in S. Jersey restaurants, blueberry fields and other small businesses from the Atlantic Ocean to the Delaware Bay).
LoBi; against the Dream Act. Stein for the Dream Act.
Jan 12, Dear Diary; Stein for Congress returns the fantastic book, The Heart of Power, Health and Politics in the Oval Office, back to the Atlantic County free public library system. The campaign HIGHLY recommends this book. BTW, the unlikeliest of Congressman, Mr. Stein, one, supports and would increase funding for NPR ("we" go on the record and also note that Frank LoBiondo, voted to kill public funding for NPR), and two, if Stein was a County Executive and not a candidate for Congress, he'd cover any 2nd district library budgetary shortfall's originating in Trenton! But enough out of me....
Chapter 2 Harry S. Truman by David Blumenthal and James A. Monroe
p.58
... This chapter tells the story of Truman and his greatest frustration. "I have had some stormy times as president," he wrote in his memoirs. "I have had some bitter disappointments..., but the one that has troubled me the most, in a personal way, has been failure to defeat the organized opposition to a national compulsory, health insurance program." President Truman would come to stand as a hero of the great struggle for health reform.
p.90
The Truman story also introduces the daunting new checklist for bold innovations: coordinate the executive agencies who prepare the reform, gather enough (but not too much) detail from the specialists, overrule the economists who counsel against domestic programs (they are always budget-busters), rouse the public, and negotiate the change through Congress- the "graveyard of health reforms."
Below; submitted as an Op-Ed column on the odd chance... they ... the Washington Post, would print. No reply back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... .... a waste of time on my end. I never laid claim to being a writer and don't even understand the most basic rules of punctuation. Does any of that really matter in the big scheme of things?
______________________________
A new year is upon us as we enter the fourth year of the Great Recession. Congress likes to think it's on the job steering the ship of state. But they're killing us, they really are; like arguing for weeks about 2 month or 12 month extensions of the social security payroll tax reduction. It's on, it's off, on, off, on... What it is, is no brainer. Get it done this February and let's move on all you incumbents, or else...
Unless a miracle takes place this Tuesday and Republicans in LD1, LD3, and LD4 pull off major upsets, South Jersey party boss, George Norcross, will have more than enough votes to replace his primary adversary in the Assembly, Majority Leader Joe Cryan, with his top ally in the legislative body, Louis Greenwald, sending Cryan to the back bench.
What remains to be seen, however, is what Cryan will do once he is sent there. Will he unite with his fellow back bencher in the Senate, Dick Codey, to build an opposition movement that will contend not only for the Governor's office in 2013, but also all 120 legislative seats? As much as I would love to see this, I do not expect that this will happen. It is very possible that Dick Codey will run for Governor in 2013, but it is also possible that Cory Booker, Barbara Buono, and Steve Sweeney will run as well and it is unlikely that any of them will run opposition slates against the party lines that they do not win, which means that regardless of who wins the gubernatorial primary, there will not be much change in the legislative roster or its leadership.
If I am right about this, then Cryan will most likely remain on the back bench for most of the next decade. That is, unless he finds a new office for which to run or that office finds him. There have been times in the past decade when Cryan expressed an interest in running for Congress in the 7th district, but admitted that the current configuration of the district made it extremely difficult for a Democrat to win.
This is very true. Our best chance to win this district came in 2006 when a very popular Assemblywoman, Linda Stender, challenged a very unpopular Congressman Mike Ferguson in a year that Democrats were trending up and Republicans were trending down. However, despite these trends, Stender came a few thousand votes short of victory. Two years later, Stender did not run as strong of a campaign as she did in 2006 and faced a very popular State Senator, Leonard Lance. Despite huge turnout increases inspired by Barack Obama's candidacy, it was not enough for a Democrat to win the 7th and Lance defeated Stender by a much wider margin than Ferguson did two years earlier.
"Some in GOP signal openness" blares the unexpected Washington Post headline. It seems forty Republicans have joined sixty Democrats to sign a letter advising that "all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table," a strong hint in support of tax increases. So, a list of the 40 most open-minded, bipartisan Republicans, with moderates and conservatives, must surely include New Jerseyans? No, not one. Frank LoBiondo and all the rest are missing in action again. Honestly, the last year shows LoBiondo wakes up every morning afraid of following Mike Castle into involuntary retirement. It's pretty pathetic after he spent four years in the minority complaining that Republican leaders didn't value moderates enough.
On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't complain. Whatever the Deficit Super Committee recommends would only harm America in the short and long term.
UPDATE: We know a little more now about how this video was compiled. Senator Lautenberg with his staff took the initiative, in recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month, which is October. To accommodate busy schedules, blocks of time over two weeks were reserved at the Capitol Visitor Center Recording Studio, with invitations to members of NJ's congressional delegation to record. There are a few faces missing - it would be even better with Reps. Andrews, Garrett, Frelinghuysen, Pallone and Smith. And we must point out that Lance & LoBiondo voted NO on DADT repeal, as Runyan might have but he wasn't sworn in yet. But the effort, and especially Senator Lautenberg's initiative, are much appreciated.
BTW - I'm told this is the first-ever It Gets Better video that includes elected Republicans.
The New Jersey suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi and other other young gay people prompted the It Gets Better Project, a labor of love from columnist Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller. The project took off like wildfire; over the last year celebrities, sports teams, and ordinary people have turned their webcams on themselves to give encouragement to teens and kids of a welcoming future for themselves. And those videos, some of them simple and low-tech, made by ordinary people, are bouncing all over the internet.
Last month, an upstate New York 14-year-old named Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself outside his house. A smart kid, with supportive parents, and friends who cared about him. A kid whose NY state senator had led other Republicans to reverse course and help pass marriage equality in New York State, in part after Jamey's hero Lady Gaga had asked her Buffalo audience to ask him to. Jamey's last message was a thank you to Lady Gaga for her message of self-worth to gay kids. And Jamey had himself just months earlier made an 'It Gets Better' video to give confidence to other kids. Jamey himself died last month, after a particularly rough bout of online bullying.
Proof if ever there was any that there's work still to be done. This is the 'It Gets Better' video that's going to the press later today, with our thanks to Senator Frank Lautenberg's office for the advance heads-up:
It's amazing that a perception still exists that pretty much ANY Congressional Republican is anything other than completely beholden to the far right base - and won't pass up an opportunity to pander with votes in favor or more pollution, a bigger ability to rig the system and impose heartless regulation over people's private medical decisions -unless someone can profit off of it.
Much like the rest of their party, Lance, LoBiondo and Frelinghuysen relish at the fake persona they have created for themselves (see Bush, George W.) while fooling the "swing" constituents with meaningless votes. The three bills - the "TRAIN" Act, which would indefinitely delay the clean-up of toxic power plant pollution; H.R. 2681, which prevents clean air standards that lower mercury and other toxic air pollution from cement plants; and H.R. 2250, which would prevent standards to reduce toxic pollution from industrial incinerators and boilers at power plants.
If one is going to position themselves as "reasonable about" or "sympathetic to" or "in favor of" making it harder to die from harmful toxins in our air, then bills like this should be no brainers to support. All three of these Representatives have at least attempted to demonstrate an interest in the very things they just voted against. If there was any issue that these three would get "a pass" on from the extreme right wing for their vote, it would be this one. The problem is that all three of them face uncertainty either in their bid for reelection or the prospect of losing their seat as a result of redistricting and therefore have to pander to the unreasonable and militant wing of their party.
Environment New Jersey has called them out on this, and you can too if you click on their ad here at Blue Jersey. Their press release is here too.
And don't even expect a Republican's definition of "moderate" to be anything close to what "moderate" actually is.
In a meeting with editors of the Wall Street Journal, Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, speaking about the GOP's intentions on Medicare, said Americans must "come to grips with the fact that promises have been made that frankly are not going to be kept for many."
Looks like the only promises that will be kept are the ones made to the mega-rich. Kinda makes you wonder if the "moderate" members of NJ's Congressional delegation (Runyan, Lance, LoBo) happen to agree or not.
Not really "swift"......but here's an update on this past Friday's rejected "letter to the editor" over at Press of AC, criticizing LoBi in my round about fashion. Is this version also suitable for the cutting room floor, or is it printable? Why am I asking here, there's only 10 people logged in and I'm not Blue Jersey front page material. Who'll ever see? Just kidding Blue Jersey, this is an excellent place to go "on the record" :)
The relentless pursuit of my old nemesis, last falls opponent, Republican Congressman Frank "Teflon" LoBiondo continues.
Blue Jersey Update. There are untold rejected "letters to the editor" submitted to the Press of Atlantic City by poor, put upon Gary Stein. Other than me, nobody, save the one man who decides what's fit to print has seen them. And there's now one from this morning....followed by a rejection which I'm sharing here. Then there's a reconfiguration of the scorned "letter" in the hope of a guest column, followed by a phone call to the paper, then a second worse rebuff with these memorable utterances from editorial writer Jim Perskie. "you take up too much of my time. The answer is no, no, no, no."
The "letter" as it will never appear in the Press of Atlantic City............below.
The FAA is shutting down tonight for a simple reason. Republican extremists have decided that they need to pass anti-union legislation more than we need a functioning government. As the AP writes*:
The House bill also seeks to undo a ruling by the National Mediation Board approved last year that allows airline and railroad employees to form a union by a simple majority of those voting. Under the old rule, workers who didn't vote were treated as "no" votes.
Democrats have made clear they will not stand for this hostage taking by conservative extremists. Now New Jersey, and Atlantic City in particular, are getting hammered:
As a result, a partial shutdown of the FAA will occur tonight at midnight, furloughing nearly 650 workers at the FAA Tech Center in Atlantic City, delaying Teterboro Airport construction projects, and jeopardizing future airport construction projects in New Jersey and across the country.
Frank LoBiondo has been missing in action, sending out press releases blaming Harry Reid, but failing to get his Republican colleagues to compromise. That's always the problem with LoBiondo, who sometimes casts himself as a 1994 conservative revolutionary and sometimes as a moderate, but never has any actual influence with his party or its leadership. He relies on union support to discourage a Democratic challenger, but won't block anti-union legislation, even when it hurts his own people.
Now if Frank LoBiondo believes a real principle is at stake, he should resign from Congress and send his time suing to block every New Jersey school budget, because if not showing up for an election is a no vote none of these elections were ever valid. It might be crazy enough to make the Tea Party like him. Otherwise, he needs to be effective for the first time in his career, even if it annoys some extremists.
*The above AP link was actually recommended by Rep. LoBiondo's own website.
The President rightly pointed out today that the House Republicans are jeopardizing Social Security checks, disability checks, and veterans benefits:
"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven't resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it"
Stopping checks or defaulting on debts would be a complete disaster, whether we're talking about the consequences to individuals or the consequences on the national macro-economy.
Setting recent arrivals Jon Runyan and Leonard Lance aside, every New Jersey Republican and Democrat have voted to raise the debt ceiling multiple times (PDF), each voting yes when their party was in the majority and no when it wasn't. These long-term Republicans -- Frank LoBiondo, Chris Smith, Scott Garrett, Rodney Frelinghuysen -- are in perfectly safe seats and it's time for them to step up for the good of the country. After all, they already approved the budget so they have authorized every dollar of spending, knowing that it required borrowing. It's been pure political showmanship until now, but reality is intruding. They need to vote -- with some Democrats of good faith -- to raise the debt ceiling without continuing to take the country hostage.
Imagine walking into Congress and saying "Sure, I'll vote to abolish Medicare -- What could happen?" Now even Newt Gingrich, the original Republican bomb-thrower and revolutionary, is saying Jon Runyan threw his lot in with extremists:
Gingrich also distanced himself from the plan proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to turn Medicare into a voucher system: "I think that that is too big a jump." He called the plan "right-wing social engineering," which he considers not "any more desirable than left-wing social engineering."
Of course, the headline could apply to any of our House Republicans, but Frank LoBiondo is more afraid of the Tea Party in a primary than anyone else, and Leonard Lance is going to lose his seat in the great game of musical chairs.
The Republican deficit reduction plan does not even win majority support, but when voters learn almost anything about it, they turn sharply and intensely against it. They have particularly grave concerns about the plan to end Medicare and slash Medicaid spending, pushing seniors into the private insurance market and costing them thousands of dollars more in out-of-pocket expenses.
Today, every New Jersey Republican voted for the plan: Frank LoBiondo, Scott Garrett, Jon Runyan, Chris Smith, Rodney Frelinghuysen, and Leonard Lance all have now tried to end Medicare.
"I think what's different is people understand now that we're borrowing 40 cents for every dollar we spend, and that if that continues our economy will collapse upon itself. That wasn't the reality in 1995. We had certainly had problems then, but the fiscal situation was not at the crisis that it is now," he said.
The primary difference between then and now is Frank LoBiondo's "Bush" tax cuts for the rich which ended up producing mass unemployment instead of the economic growth promised, plus the financial deregulation of Wall Street and the banks that he has consistently pushed. His choices starting in 1995 are why we are in the hole.
House Republicans huddled late Monday and, according to a GOP aide, gave the speaker an ovation when he informed them that he was advising the House Administration Committee to begin preparing for a possible shutdown. That process includes alerting lawmakers and senior staff about which employees would not report to work if no agreement is reached.
Jon Runyan, Frank LoBiondo, and the others have direct responsibility for what is going to happen. Whatever measured official statements are made, they are actually applauding and cheering when the cameras are turned off. Every reporter should include it in their accounts.
(And oh yes, the pathetic Democrats who failed to pass the budget last year are the ones who gave them this opportunity.)
A new survey by Democracy Corps in 50 of the most competitive battleground Congressional districts - nearly all of which gave a majority to Obama in the last presidential election - shows the new Republican majority very much in play in 2012.
The Republican incumbents in these districts, 35 of them freshmen, remain largely unknown and appear very vulnerable in 2012 (depending on redistricting). In fact, these incumbents are in a weaker position than Democratic incumbents were even in late 2009, or Republican incumbents were in 2007 in comparable surveys conducted by Democracy Corps.
The polled districts include the old NJ-3 (Jon Runyan) and NJ-7 (Leonard Lance). Now, we don't know what the new districts will be, and New Jersey is losing a seat, so it's too early to worry about details. What is clear through this and other polls that the Republican extremists in the House (and their counterparts at the state level) are alienating independents, exciting Democrats, and all-in-all building a voting record that will be difficult to defend.
The key though is that Democrats -- and progressives -- must recruit credible challengers while the window of opportunity is still open. LoBiondo's district is very favorable to Democrats, but giving him a pass year after year has left him seemingly invulnerable. Democrats can't afford to make the same mistake with Runyan.
President Barack Obama's decision to commit the American military to the United Nations action in Libya has come about without a Congressional vote and can safely be described as controversial. Evidently the President thinks Col. Gaddafi will be overthrown quickly. Our two senators are strongly in favor. Naturally, most of our Representatives have taken the opportunity to say nothing--as you'll notice I'm doing too. As for our regular users, Couch Potato Politics thinks Obama's Libya war is unconstitutional and unwise. Here's what I've found...
"It is welcome news that the Security Council has voted to stop Qaddafi's slaughter of thousands of Libyan people who are seeking freedom" stated Lautenberg. "The madness employed by Qaddafi's guns, tanks, planes and artillery against innocent men and women seeking human rights must be stopped immediately."
"Muammar Qadhafi is a terrorist - plain and simple. Just days ago, Qadhafi said he would hunt down every person opposing him. After years of violently oppressing the Libyan people and silencing political opposition, we cannot - and should not - take Qaddafi at his word. The announcement today is nothing more than an attempt to distract and deceive the international community while internally pursuing his hunt. The international community must follow through, impose an immediate no-fly zone, provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance, and extend a hand of friendship to the Libyan people. This is our opportunity to effect change and end Qadhafi's rule of terror."
