Steny Hoyer: Members are at risk

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Does no one read any longer? Seriously?

The OP included a quote from John Boehner condemning calls to violence,and further text indicating that both Republicans and Democrats have had threats made against them. Responsible Republicans do denounce these threats, as they should.

Boehner's statement is a day late and a dollar short. They whipped the crowd up and produced that which they no longer control or can stop. All the fcuking lies, the catering to and support of the lunatic fringe. I mean, you can't sit there after having started a fire and then try and tell the flames that they are bad, bad flames. You don't want shite to burn down? Don't light a match.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[Sofiyya 1,687]

The Republicans aren't responsible for whipping people up. You don't have to be a Republican to be repulsed by the goals and tactics of this White House and partisan Congress. The open houses about health care across the country proved that. Besides, Obama, the transformational figurehead,is a divisive president, and the Congress is at its lowest ebb, with Pelosi's approval ratings at 11% and Reid's at 8%. They are bald-faced liars, claiming to be so honest and transparent while doing all the back room deals and bribes that all this hopey changey, it's a new day in Washington BS was supposed to amend. Yea, there's plenty of blame to go around.

Boehner's statement is a day late and a dollar short. They whipped the crowd up and produced that which they no longer control or can stop. All the fcuking lies, the catering to and support of the lunatic fringe. I mean, you can't sit there after having started a fire and then try and tell the flames that they are bad, bad flames. You don't want shite to burn down? Don't light a match.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The Republicans aren't responsible for whipping people up. You don't have to be a Republican to be repulsed by the goals and tactics of this White House and partisan Congress. The open houses about health care across the country proved that. Besides, Obama, the transformational figurehead,is a divisive president, and the Congress is at its lowest ebb, with Pelosi's approval ratings at 11% and Reid's at 8%. They are bald-faced liars, claiming to be so honest and transparent while doing all the back room deals and bribes that all this hopey changey, it's a new day in Washington BS was supposed to amend. Yea, there's plenty of blame to go around.

It always takes two to Tango, Sarah.

[Danno 1,228]

Actually people are a little too afraid of violence, many cultures use these means to work out their difficulties and since we certainly want to embrace a wide diversity of cultures, why not open our minds to what many see as one method of getting the point across?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Actually people are a little too afraid of violence, many cultures use these means to work out their difficulties and since we certainly want to embrace a wide diversity of cultures, why not open our minds to what many see as one method of getting the point across?

That's just about the quality of contribution one would expect from you. You truly never disappoint.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

It always takes two to Tango, Sarah.

And the Dimocrats are the lead dancers.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

And the Dimocrats are the lead dancers.

Yes, they won the majority. That's what puts them into the lead position. It's how the system works. Now, if the other party would be willing to dance as has been tradition in the country, we'd be looking at a better climate. But the sour grapes faction has decided to take their ball and go home instead.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Yes, they won the majority. That's what puts them into the lead position. It's how the system works. Now, if the other party would be willing to dance as has been tradition in the country, we'd be looking at a better climate. But the sour grapes faction has decided to take their ball and go home instead.

You left out the part about the opposition party acting as the opposition. That too, is how the system works. Frankly, I'm proud that the Republicans have been the grown ups in this scenario.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Sofiyya

[Danno 1,228]

Yes, they won the majority. That's what puts them into the lead position. It's how the system works. Now, if the other party would be willing to dance as has been tradition in the country, we'd be looking at a better climate. But the sour grapes faction has decided to take their ball and go home instead.

But It's poor taste to leave the one who got you to the party and dance with another.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

You left out the part about the opposition party acting as the opposition. That too, is how the system works.

Yea, opposition is good. I like opposition. That's what forms the basis for a productive debate and brings out the ideas of the entire spectrum. Out of those ideas, compromises are crafted and law is made. But when opposition turns into obstructionism, debate comes to a halt, ideas aren't exchanged and governing becomes all but impossible. That's not the system works. That's how a system is prevented from working. Willfully.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Yea, opposition is good. I like opposition. That's what forms the basis for a productive debate and brings out the ideas of the entire spectrum. Out of those ideas, compromises are crafted and law is made. But when opposition turns into obstructionism, debate comes to a halt, ideas aren't exchanged and governing becomes all but impossible. That's not the system works. That's how a system is prevented from working. Willfully.

A government that governs least, governs best.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

A government that governs least, governs best.

That might be. But the obstructionists are actually complaining about a lack of bipartisanship. If they wanted to govern least to govern best, they'd have nothing to complain about, would they?

Edited March 25, 2010 by Mr. Big Dog

[Pooky 3,824]

Boehner's statement is a day late and a dollar short. They whipped the crowd up and produced that which they no longer control or can stop. All the fcuking lies, the catering to and support of the lunatic fringe. I mean, you can't sit there after having started a fire and then try and tell the flames that they are bad, bad flames. You don't want shite to burn down? Don't light a match.

Oh, boo hoo, blame the Republicans and everything's all right with the world. Even when they do the right thing you're not satisfied. What is it with Democrats on here being really sore winners?

And then there's the reason why people are angry and it really has very little to do with the Republicans in the first place. People are angry because their representative Democracy just had an epic fail in the representation department. No-one is arguing that the majority of the electorate wanted healthcare reform. But there is a hardcore brand of deluded people who refused to acknowledge that a sturdy majority of the electorate did not want the brand of healthcare reform that the Democrats in Congress just foisted on the American people. Fully 60% of the electorate saw through the mediocre reforms being offered and into the dark heart that was the greed of the Democrats, adding pay-offs, vote buying, sweetheart deals and opt-outs to everyone who thought they could get something out of this mess, just to get the damn thing passed.

I couldn't care less whether mandating individuals to buy health insurance is constitutional or not. It's plain wrong. Private insurance companies are an inefficiency designed into the system and to feed such an inefficiency is simply inept, until you factor in the amount of money the pharmaceutical lobby threw into backing this Bill, after cutting a deal with the White House, when it smacks of being corrupt. Private insurance companies exist for one reason and that is to make money for their shareholders. This takes money out of the healthcare system and thus is an inefficiency. Ah, but pre-existing conditions are now covered, you say. That doesn't preclude insurance companies employing legions of "healthcare claims specialists" (I'm sure you've heard the radio ads), to analyse each claim in detail and generating a denial of coverage at every opportunity. The whole existence of private insurance companies is an overhead, and therefore an inefficiency in the system. This Bill just means the government is mandating we feed it some more and that's plain wrong.

This Bill could have been so much more than it is, but the Democrats couldn't see past their own grasping hands to make something worthwhile happen here. Some people are angry because they never wanted reform in the first place, some because this Bill goes 10, maybe 20% of the way it needed to go and most because they see the corrupt, vote-buying antics that gave this Bill enough votes to pass and don't like what they see in their representative government.

Come November, any chance of developing this Bill could be gone, if, as some expect, the Democrats lose heavily in the mid-terms. Because you can bet your life that the Republicans will do everything in their power to strangle as much of this Bill as they can, to hamstring President Obama when he comes up for re-election in 2012. That's what you get when you try baby steps when you needed a long jump. Incremental change wears out the American politician, as well as the American public. Face it, this is likely as far as we get with "healthcare" reform. That makes me angry, because we're stuck in the middle of nowhere and if this thing blows up, we're all screwed.

So don't sit there and pontificate that the Republicans are to blame for these threats and rag on them, even when they condemn them, as they rightly should. The threats are there because the Democrats failed to heed, or simply ignored as inconsequential, what the electorate was telling them, in voices as loud as they could make them. From what I have seen, the American electorate does not take kindly to being viewed as inconsequential.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Oh, boo hoo, blame the Republicans and everything's all right with the world. Even when they do the right thing you're not satisfied.

The right thing? Such as the death panels they invented? Pulling the plug on grandma? Yeah, I'm sure that was the right thing to do.