Let he who is without sin cast the first stone - Jesus Christ

Via Steve Benen, Bruce Bartlett writes:

I believe that political parties should do penance for their mistakes and just losing power is not enough. . . . One reason this isn't happening is because the media don't treat Republicans as if they are discredited. . . . Just look at the silly issue of death panels. The media should have laughed it out the window, ridiculed it or at least ignored it once it was determined that there was no basis to the charge. Instead, those making the most outlandish charges are treated with deference and respect . . .

(Emphasis supplied.) There is a reason the Media does that. The Media needs to do penance for its mistakes too. As do many Democrats. Start with Max Baucus. Then follow with Ben Nelson. Bush acolytes both in the early part of the decade. And the new progressive lion Lawrence O'Donnell, who worked for Moynihan when he was playing Max Baucus in 1993-4. But it goes further back than that. Bob Somerby catches Lehrer, Shields and Brooks in the act again . . .

President Barack Obama:

OUR nation is now engaged in a great debate about the future of health care in America. And over the past few weeks, much of the media attention has been focused on the loudest voices. What we haven’t heard are the voices of the millions upon millions of Americans who quietly struggle every day with a system that often works better for the health-insurance companies than it does for them.

I think this is an interesting choice for framing the debate. I would have gone another way. I would have invoked the 2008 election. Those millions and millions were not silent that day.

Elections have consequences. Or at least they do when Republicans win them.

Speaking for me only

I've been up late, and intend to sleep late, so in case BTD or TChris aren't around in the a.m., here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

I checked the morning papers before going to bed, but didn't see anything that leapt out at me, crying for its own post. Hopefully, you'll have better luck.

Enjoy your Sunday, and if you're online, thanks for sharing some of it with us.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) (received by e-mail, no link yet) on President Obama's speech on health care reform in Grand Junction today:

“I look forward to continuing the conversation about health insurance reform with Coloradans over the next several weeks. I want a bill that meets the needs of everyone in our state. I’m particularly focused on ensuring that any legislation we pass improves care for our rural communities and works for our small-business owners, who are the backbone of our economy. And I will have my constituents’ thoughts and suggestions in mind when I return to Washington.”

Air Force One is on the ground in Grand Junction. The town hall expected to start half hour early, at 3:45 pm MT. Local news in Grand Junction reports 4,000 protesters showed up earlier at Lincoln Park.

Grand Junction NBC page with live feed here. CNN is and MSNBC will also carry it live.

Let's keep comments to this thread on Obama's talk in Grand Junction and your reactions to it.

I'm off to Whole Foods (just joking, although I'm not boycotting.) Here's an open thread for you, I'll be back when Obama's health care speech begins. I hope BTD will be watching and near a computer so he can weigh in as well. He has the political perspective while mine is more along the lines of asking for more concrete details about the changes it will bring for those with insurance and/or Medicare.

We get a lot of comments on the health care threads, I wonder if that's because TalkLeft's readers tend to skew a little older than the 20 and 30 something crowd.

In the meantime, there must be other news today. Here's an open thread, all topics (including health care) welcome.

In his weekly Address this morning, President Obama sought to reassure Americans about the health care bill. He said (in part):

First, no matter what you’ve heard, if you like your doctor or health care plan, you can keep it. If you don’t have insurance, you’ll finally be able to afford insurance. And everyone will have the security and stability that’s missing today.

Insurance companies will be prohibited from denying you coverage because of your medical history, dropping your coverage if you get sick, or watering down your coverage when it counts – because there’s no point in having health insurance if it’s not there when you need it.

[More...]

The Obama Movement was never really about issues. His campaign was personality centric, it was about him. This is why the Obama grass roots has been incredibly disappointing on health care. His supporters have not seen this is as being about Obama - that failure on health care reform will be a supreme failure by Obama. Some Obama folks, like Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias, have forwarded the line that a President can't get it done in order to deflect the blame from Obama. This is not only wrong, it is counterproductive to actually getting health care reform done. The reality is not only is the success or failure of health care reform on Obama, to succeed, Obama needs it to be seen as being on Obama. Today the New York Times reports:

Ezra Klein obliquely labels the Obama Administration political strategy on health care reform a failure:

The cost argument wasn't working to marshal public support. But that wasn't its real failing. [I]ts real failing was that it didn't work to marshal Washington support. That, after all, was the audience. "Bend the curve" was a strategy with particular potency in the Beltway. People care about the deficit here, or at least pretend to. And the plan was to keep this in Washington: Pass the House and Senate bills by August, use the recess to reconcile the two pieces of legislation, and take a vote in September. That required a Washington-centric argument. It failed.

Even as a Washington strategy it was destined to failure. The reason is obvious for anyone with a memory - Republicans were never ever ever going to play along. What Klein is saying is, and it is an amazing statement - that the Obama strategy on health care reform was to count on Max Baucus and his "bipartisan" Gang of 6. What an amazing blunder. It seems inexcusable really. Who came up with this one? No doubt it was Rahmbo and his sidekick (and former Baucus CoS) Jim Messina. More . . .

President Obama will be in Grand Junction, CO today to talk about the health care reform bill. Right-wing activists are calling out their troops:

Organizers of what’s now known as a “Hands Off My Health Care” rally are expecting 3,500 to 4,000 people in Lincoln Park at 10 a.m., including tea-party and other activists from the Front Range and Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

“We are asking everyone to wear a solid red, white or blue shirt, show our patriotism and to contrast the purple shirts worn by SEIU activists,” Nancy Rumelt of Loveland said in an e-mail, referring to the Change for America campaign of the Service Employees International Union.

[More...]

Count me out for the Whole Foods Boycott.

The CEO John Mackey wrote an op-ed opposing health care reform in the Wall St. Journal.

Whole Foods is a grocery store that apparently provides decent health insurance to its employees. The boycott, if successful, could lead to employee layoffs. What best interest does that serve?

Who cares what this guy thinks? If he was advocating a change in the law so Whole Foods could terminate their employees' coverage and institute a policy that Whole Foods workers would have to pay their own premiums or go without insurance, I could see the battle-cry.

As it is, he's just one more capitalist that doesn't think health care is a right guaranteed to all. Others can and should feel free to disagree.

I want to protect the workers, so I'm not boycotting Whole Foods over the stupid remarks of its CEO.

How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Bob Dylan found out today when stopped by a 24 year old police officer and asked for identification. He had no ID on him, but said he was Bob Dylan and that he was just taking a stroll before his show. The police officer still didn't recognize him. She and another officer took him back to the hotel where he was vouched for by tour staff. The officer said he was very polite.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.