Thursday, April 25, 2013

Conservative Infighting Kills Effort To “Fix” Obamacare


Buzz Feed -- WASHINGTON — Three years after Obamacare was signed into law, Republicans on Capitol Hill are locked in an unusually bitter intraparty fight over whether to fix what they see as problems with the law or to insist only on the unlikely dream of fully repealing the health-care law.
The breach became painfully visible to conservative insiders on a private listserv this week when a top aide to Senator Ted Cruz exchanged a series of terse and combative emails — obtained by BuzzFeed — over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's attempt to change the law's treatment of patients with pre-existing conditions.
The emails, which were circulated on the "Repeal Coalition" listserv of activists and congressional staff, show a clear division inside the Republican Party's powerful conservative wing — a division over substance and strategy. On one side are conservative groups like Americans for Tax Reform, pushing hard for the legislation; while on the other, Sen. Ted Cruz' top staffer, the group Heritage Action, and others insisted Republicans stay with a simple message: "Kill the bill."
The emails also lay bare an unheard of breach of Capitol decorum: Aides to Cruz, a junior senator, are working actively to undermine the work of the House Majority Leader to provide insurance for sick Americans during a six-month gap in the implementation of Obamacare.
Cruz has emerged as an influential voice in Washington for the conservative movement and has claimed the mantle of the Senate's conservative provocateur-in-chief vacated by former Sen. Jim DeMint last fall.
In the emails, Cruz Chief of Staff Chip Roy and legislative assistant Alec Aramanda not only slammed the bill but accused Cantor of hypocrisy and questioned his and his supporters' fealty to the full repeal of Obamacare.
Cantor and his supporters wanted to "create a message in support of funding parts of Obamacare … build upon the misguided notion that pre-existing conditions should be taken care of by government (and thus undermining the very purpose of getting insurance) and create a 'win' that only wonks on list-serves [sic] in DC get excited about," Roy wrote in one email.
Similarly, Aramanda also flatly rejected the bill. Instead of providing a fix to Obamacare, Aramanda argued, Republicans and conservatives should focus on "repeal[ing] Obamacare and mak[ing] the case — as John Cochrane has — that liberty solves the problem … the Pelosi logic of passing a bill to find out what's inside it looks like evil genius when compared to our insistence on fixing that cancerous bill without thinking through how the other side might use process to expose GOP policy hypocrisy."
It is extremely unusual for members or staff from one chamber to actively lobby against legislation sponsored by a member of their own party in the other chamber — particularly when it is the majority leader, the second most powerful person in the House.
It is unclear whether the two staffers were working on behalf of Cruz. When asked about the emails and whether Cruz opposed the bill, his spokesman Sean Rushton would only say, "The listserv is designed for private exchange about the repeal of Obamacare — a clear goal of Senator Cruz and millions of Americans feeling the damaging costs and regulations of a bill described by one of its primary authors as a train wreck."
The bill, Helping Sick Americans Now Act, was abruptly pulled from the House floor Wednesday after it became clear it did not have enough Republican support to pass.
Cantor had hoped the bill would turn into a political win for Republicans. Because of the way Obamacare is being implemented, thousands of Americans with pre-existing conditions could find themselves without insurance for more than six months as exchanges are set up. Cantor's bill would have used funds from an account for advertising to set up a temporary "high-risk pool" for those individuals.
According to aides, the language is almost identical to that in a conservative alternative to Obamacare crafted by Rep. Tom Price — a darling of the tea party — and would have included some deficit reduction measures.
But with outside groups and apparently Cruz's staff actively pushing against the bill, Republicans balked, wary of being accused of not supporting full repeal of the unpopular law.
Perhaps ironically, the bill never had much of a chance of passage. The vast majority of Democrats also opposed it, and President Obama had formally threatened to veto the measure.
And that, GOP operatives argued, made it a perfect messaging vehicle. Republicans could claim to be trying to address a key failing of Obamacare, upholding their promise of helping those with existing illnesses — all while being able to bash Obama and Senate Democrats for blocking the bill.
"It's a no-brainer … how do you vote against something called Help Sick Americans Now?" one operative who has worked for House and Senate candidates said.
The collapse of the bill was a humiliating defeat for a leadership team that has struggled for years to keep its conference in line and is a testament to the continuing tenuous grip they have on their members.
"It's the outside groups' obsession," said a senior Republican aide, complaining that pressure from these groups was directly responsible for members abandoning their leader.
"We built this. We built our majority in 2010 on this. And now it may consume us," the GOP aide said Wednesday.
Officially, Republicans said they would continue to work on the bill and try to bring their conference along.
"We had good conversations with our members and made a lot of solid progress. There's still work to do, and with members leaving town for the Bush Library dedication in Texas, we'll continue the conversations after the district work period," said Erica Elliott, a spokeswoman for Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy.
Privately, however, Republicans acknowledged the bill is dead. "Our guys were never going to go for this … it's either full repeal or nothing at all for them," one leadership aide said.
But, as the Repeal Coalition emails make clear, it's not just House leadership that is unhappy with the preoccupation with full repeal of Obamacare.
A number of influential activists, including Independent Women's Forum CEO Heather Higgins, Americans for Tax Reform's Ryan Ellis, and others, vigorously defended Cantor's bill.
Following the bill's defeat, Ellis wrote bluntly, "Now nothing will happen. I'd rather have tried than made the perfect the enemy of the good. Longer term, this makes this entire coalition decidedly unserious and a liability rather than an asset. But don't fret — now we don't have to worry about seven months of a federal risk pool tainting our ideological purity."
But well before the vote, advocates for Cantor's bill were clearly fighting an uphill battle.
Throughout the internal debate, Ellis was one of the bill's most vocal proponents, attacking the logic of the opposition and insisting support of the bill made political sense.
"If you're opposed to this, I hope you were opposed to 1099-MISC repeal. Because the 'improve' logic used here is the same perfect/enemy/good argument that could have been used then," Ellis wrote on April 18 in reference to the repeal of an unpopular tax provision in Obamacare.
"There really isn't a difference. This repeals part of the bill in a particularly-painful way politically [for Democrats], he argued. "It does so in a way that cripples Obamacare's ultimate success. That's exactly what we did with 1099 … This vote is all about political pressure. If the vote were simply to repeal a slush fund, that creates a discomfort level of X for vulnerable House Dems. But to vote to repeal a slush fund AND use the money to get sick = people health insurance? X on steroids. Which version would you rather vote against if you were a Blue Dog?"
That argument sparked a protracted technical debate. On the 19th, Roy, the Cruz staffer, interjected, "I have no idea about all that, but the message sucks. We oppose Obamacare. Period. We will repeal it. Period."
Bill Pascoe, a conservative blogger who seems to have sat out much of the debate, at one point argued that while he agrees Republicans have "wimped out" in the past, "that's one of the reasons I actually LIKE this bill — because at least on this one exercise, we may not have to worry about wimpy Republicans opposing our efforts to save the country from Obamacare."
"I stayed out of it yesterday because, as I've reminded everyone just about every time I've opened my mouth at one of our meetings, I am no health care policy expert. I read everything yesterday very carefully, and weighed all the arguments. It's my POLITICAL judgment that supporting this bill is a s= mart thing to do for those seeking repeal," he wrote the morning of April 19.
After Roy rejected the idea "that we will win the epic fight of our generation by painting in the pastels of D.C. group-think and accepting the premise of the very thing we supposedly seek to kill ... Government interference in health care and markets," Higgins fought back.
"No pastels here: But here I think it helps to see these as two separate fights — one immediate and one long term: right now we have the opportunity to stop $5bb being spent to promote government interference in health care and markets," Higgins wrote. "Stopping that happening strikes me as a good thing and worth doing, and precisely the thing your email below makes clear you want to see happen."
In an April 19 email, Higgins took direct aim at Roy, questioning his insistence that the message must be "we oppose Obamacare. Period."
"Is your view that it is better to find acceptable only demands for full repeal, knowing that won't happen while Obama is president, and knowing that full implantation is rapidly approach long before then?" she wrote.
That drew a strong rebuke from Matt Hoskins, a former top aide to DeMint.
"Is this a serious question? Chip's boss fought to defund Obamacare but a bunch of Republicans wimped out and voted to pass the CR that funds the implementation of this horrible law," Hoskins countered in a terse April 19 email.
Indeed, one of the most intriguing aspects of the emails is the clear alliance between Cruz and those close to DeMint. In addition to Hoskins, former senior aide Ed Corrigan repeatedly bashed the legislation, as did Russ Vought, the political director at Heritage Action.
In one missive, Vought explicitly warned his colleagues that despite their concerns — and reportedly aggressive lobbying from Cantor's office — Heritage Action would come out against the bill.
"The Club will not be alone in this. Heritage Action will oppose as well. We are opposed to federal high risk pools and don't believe Congress should be expanding Obamacare programs, even if it comes from savings within Obamacare," Vought wrote.
"It's also a fake payfor — Obamacare is not an acceptable offset for new spending. Nor does it make sense when House Republicans have not had a full repeal vote or shown any willingness to fight to defund Obamacare on the CR to suddenly go on the offense by fixing Obamacare. We will have more information soon," he added.
One notable group not on the list is the Club for Growth, a major player in conservative politics who not only opposed the bill but also key voted it.
The Club's absence from the discussion was not lost on members of the listserv. When discussion turned toward the Club's opposition to the bill, Campaign for Liberty's Norm Singleton asked, "Is anyone from Club for Growth on this list?"
Higgins explained they had pulled out "because, as [Club spokesman] Barney Keller informed me, 'The people on that listserv gave up on repeal a long time ago.'"
Rep. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, expressed frustration. "I don't understand what the problem is … this is an opportunity for Republicans to follow up on things we said we would do."
"Here's a chance to reduce the deficit [and] support people who are sick … perhaps not everybody is thrilled with this policy," Gardner said. "But it's better than what we have now."

President Obama: “Lone Wolf Terrorists” Were “Biggest Concern We Have”

Buzz Feed -- President Obama warned in 2011 that the possibility of a "lone wolf" terrorist attack — similar to what the Boston bombings appear to be — was the greatest national security threat America faced in the post-9/11 age.
Obama was speaking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer weeks before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 2,000 people.
"The biggest concern we have right now is not the launching of a major terrorist operation, although that risk is always there. The risk that we're especially concerned over right now is the lone wolf terrorist," the president said. "Somebody with a single weapon being able to carry out wide-scale massacres of the sort that we saw in Norway recently. You know, when you've got one person who is deranged or driven by a hateful ideology, they can do a lot of damage, and it's a lot harder to trace those lone wolf operators."
The president continued, adding that intelligence agencies were staying "vigilant" against terrorist threats, especially in the wake of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"We're spending a lot of time monitoring and gathering information," he said. "I think that we generally have to stay vigilant. There may be a little extra vigilance during 9/11."
He continued, "I think the most likely scenario that we have to guard against right now ends up being more of a lone wolf operation than a large, well-coordinated terrorist attack. We still have to stay on top of it, though, and we're never letting our guard down, that's part of our job."
According to reports Tuesday, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told FBI investigators that he and his brother operated alone and without aid from terrorist organizations. The Los Angeles Times reported terrorist experts, such as Brian Jenkins of RAND Corporation, suspect the brothers follow a pattern of alienated youth self-radicalizing.
New York Congressman Peter King, the former chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said Wednesday it was too early to say if the Tsarnaev brothers attacked alone.
"I don't see how we can accept that," King said, according to The Hill. "It may end up being the truth, but this is a person who is a mass murderer. He's a person who barely can speak, speak at all. I don't see why he would be giving up any accomplices anyhow or talk about any connections his brother might have had in Chechnya or Russia."

George W. Bush Library To Be Commemorated Today

The George W. Bush Presidential Library will be commemorated today in a ceremony that will bring together all four current living ex-presidents as well as President Barack Obama. The library, years in the making, was funded through private donations and cost over $200 million making it the most expensive presidential library to date. Taxpayers traditionally pick up the operational costs, which for 2013 is expected to be around $63 million. 








Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Rhode Island Approves Marriage Equality


Rhode Island Senate Passes Marriage Equality


The vote was 26-12. The House previously voted for the bill but needs to vote again on minor changes made by the Senate before the bill will be signed by the governor.


The Rhode Island Senate approved a marriage equality bill 26-12 on Wednesday afternoon, after a spirited if lop-sided debate.
The bill was approved by the House in January, but slight changes in the Senate bill will need to be approved by the House before being sent to Gov. Lincoln Chafee, who supports the bill.
Sen. Donna Nesselbush, the chamber's sole out member, introduced the debate on the bill, saying it would impact her more personally than any other bill and adding, with a laugh, "I even wore a dress."
Several lawmakers gave a nod and thanks to former Sen. Rhoda Perry, who had introduced the bill in several previous sessions Sen. Gayle Goldin, who now represents the district Perry had represented, said she was honored to have Perry in the chamber Wednesday.
Sen. Elizabeth Crowley, one of several undecided senators who decided to vote yes, said, "I did not decide until today how I was going to vote," concluding, "This won't change my life one bit, but it will change the lives of so many people."
One of the few lawmakers to speak against the bill, Sen. Harold Metts, quoted from the Bible and dismissed comparisons between the civil rights movement of the 1960s and today, saying, "I can change my sexual preference tonight if I want, but I can't change my color." Later, he added, "You can laugh or ignore me if you want, but let me assure you, I did not write the Bible."

Friday, April 19, 2013

They Got Him!






Boston Bombing Suspect Alive And In Custody

Shots were heard in Watertown, Massachusetts around 7 p.m. Friday night, by 8:45 p.m. cheering was heard as authorities apprehended Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Here's a comprehensive of his capture.

The first reports of shots fired came across Twitter around 7 p.m.

Just heard a bunch of shots outside of my house #watertown #help
My dad is convinced that the suspect is in the Charles River right now. Okay dad lets go fishing.
Faaackinnnng helicopters againnnn
Gunfire in Watertown.

Video and audio of the first round of gunfire.

Watertown residents were obviously panicked, with authorities having lifted the Boston lockdown only an hour before.

Shit's going down cops racing by again ahhh channel 7! Guns fired etc, they better catch him this time. #Boston
Shots were fired in Watertown.
FUCK another bomb in my neighborhood?! dude im fuckin scared now .
Considering it was "safe" to go out last night, I'm think I'm gonna stay in my apartment tonight.

Watertown residents noticed that police presence remained strong in the town even after the lockdown had ended.

RT @adamwitwer: Here's the entrance to my bldg on Norfolk St, where I STILL cannot enter. pic.twitter.com/NY67Vp2jpu

Very soon after, residents began reporting word that a body was found in a parked boat in a backyard.

Body found in a boat in someone's backyard on Franklin Street in Watertown#BostonManhunt
friend just walked to pick up someone and saw a dead body . are fuckin serious? dude ur dead man .
Image of backyard where UNIDENTIFIED body found in boat.pic.twitter.com/1wLW66pCr6

Ten minutes later, the first media reports of police pursuing a suspect hiding out in a boat in a backyard on Franklin Street in Watertown surfaced.

RT @passantino: Photo: Watertown home with boat where situation appears to be unfolding twitpic.com/ckih28
Shots fired on a boat in Watertown.
Shots fired from Franklin St. area in Watertown. Live coverage via @CBSnews:ustream.tv/cbsnews pic.twitter.com/pH0UOlDXqT

What was unclear as of 7:30 p.m. was whether or not the suspect being pursued by police, currently hiding in the boat, was alive or dead.

All the new activity is focused around a covered boat in a backyard in Watertown.
Suspect was found hiding under tarp in parked boat in Watertown, MA. (via @FoxNews)
RT @TomlinM: Shots fired scene centered on Franklin Street in Watertown.pic.twitter.com/XBSBlDRNI2
Source: instagram.com

There were, however, numerous reports of a S.W.A.T. robot on-site.

At #watertown shooting scene..over 20 shots fired..ran for cover..behind police #fox25#bostonbombing pic.twitter.com/CVzNuBbD3J
BREAKING PHOTO: Cops using concrete wall for cover; SWAT robot brought in, as well as the K-9's - @tonytullnbcdc pic.twitter.com/C1AsrlPCFF
Things tense. SWAT calling people off. Possible car battery charger cable visible in house window n

Adding to the confusion, NBC's Pete Williams reported there was a "body found on the boat," but did not specify the status of the suspect.

@laurakrantzmwdn: View on walnut st in #watertown after multiple shots fired on Franklin st pic.twitter.com/0eLgJg3vpf

As for how the police tracked the suspect to the backyard, NBC reported that Watertown residents noticed suspicious behavior and called authorities.

NBC just said a neighbor saw a ladder on the boat that hadn't been there before and called police. GOOD SLEUTHIN' WATERTOWN!!!!!!!
Eyewitness: Neighbor went to check boat behind his house today, saw blood, climbed up ladder to open boat's cover, saw a body, called police
Unconfirmed reports movement in backyard possibly in boat parked there - Franklin St Watertown after gunfire here pic.twitter.com/bjwx8SCrJu
Saw two families evacuated..running with State Police. Children in arms of police, younger adults sprinting. They're safe. #fox25 #watertown
Movement in the boat. Hearing movement in boat from adjacent officer's radio. #fox25#watertown

By 7:45 p.m. multiple sources began reporting that the body inside the boat was the Boston bombing suspect and that he was moving.

WCVB: Multiple sources: This is the suspect. He is moving.
200 Meter vom Ort, an dem sich Killer verschanzt hat; Hunde bellen in der Nachbarschaft, Menschen warten gebannt. pic.twitter.com/zIu8V9ItkQ

Media quickly descended on Franklin Street as word spread of the police facing off against the suspect hiding in the boat.

Media quickly descended on Franklin Street as word spread of the police facing off against the suspect hiding in the boat.
Source: instagram.com
Bewohner warten bange auf die Erstürmung des Killer-Versteck. Bewohnerin Buka: "ich hoffe, dass es wirklich er ist" pic.twitter.com/IVEFgtbvv5

As the standoff wore on, gunfire became more and more sporadic.

Total of 12 shots in most recent moments. Haven't heard any for ~30 seconds now.
More shots fired at Franklin Street scene in Watertown.

The Google Maps shot of the residence that ran on NBC.

The Google Maps shot of the residence that ran on NBC.
"If they're assaulting that boat, this should be over shortly." -@PeteWilliamsNBC
BREAKING NEWS: Police are still concerned that the suspect may be wearing a suicide bomb vest, the source tells the Globe.
Terrible pic but here's law enforcement and firefighters huddled up across the streetpic.twitter.com/MEzyYKgnSf

An Instagram photo of onlookers on Mt. Auburn Street about a block away from the parked boat.

An Instagram photo of onlookers on Mt. Auburn Street about a block away from the parked boat.
Neighbor of boat owner on @WCVB: "That boat is his baby. He's going to be heartbroken."

NBC's Pete Williams reported as of 8:15 p.m. that a fire started inside the boat.

"We're told that there is a fire now in the boat." -@PeteWilliamsNBC

And there were reportedly 40 gallons of gas inside the boat.

Boat owner says there is 40 gallons of gas in the boat. Watertown Fire Dept now on scene. (@ProvFireVideos)

An Instagram taken from where a crowd is formed on Mt. Auburn Street.

An Instagram taken from where a crowd is formed on Mt. Auburn Street.
Source: instagram.com

Numerous firefighters were on the scene throughout the standoff as concerns about a fire inside the boat spread.

Numerous firefighters were on the scene throughout the standoff as concerns about a fire inside the boat spread.
Source: @jtes
PIC: Massive crowd gathered at Mt. Auburn St in #Watertown, waiting for word on suspect #WCVB pic.twitter.com/ZuCdxzMkxd

Another Instagram from the crowd on Mt. Auburn Street.

Another Instagram from the crowd on Mt. Auburn Street.
Source: instagram.com
More media arriving. Police keeping us back. Scene not visible from location. #fox25#bostonbombing #watertown pic.twitter.com/o2ghTVEU7r

A negotiator arrived on the scene and was present throughout the standoff.

Negotiator has arrived on the scene in #Watertown, Mass., officials tell NBC News
RT @NBCNews A negotiator is on the scene where bombing suspect is surrounded.#manhunt MORE:nbcnews.to/17MqbOC
Mass. State Police want to take the suspect alive. (@7News)

Camera crews assmbled on both Mt. Auburn Street and Arsenal Street, both of which are main roads near the boat.

Camera crews assmbled on both Mt. Auburn Street and Arsenal Street, both of which are main roads near the boat.

By 8:45 p.m., cheering was heard from the crowds surrounding the area and NBC reported they believed the suspect was in custody.

Lot of cheers breaking out, started by the officers
Alive. In custody. Asking for medic. -- via NBC
Hearing cheers from up on Mt Auburn st., cheers erupting. He's in custody.
Applause from crowd in Watertown.
Clapping coming from police. #fox25 #watertown #bostonbombing Good sign???

Footage of the police cheering.

The Boston Globe and Boston Police Department reported minutes later that the suspect was alive and in police custody, with an ambulance headed to the scene.

Suspect in custody. Officers sweeping the area. Stand by for further info.