Free Republic

There are news reports that Speaker Pelosi and Democrat leadership are fiercely angry with Representative Mike McMahon (D-NY) and the 33 other alleged “moderate” Democrats for their NO votes on the Heathcare monster. It’s being reported he and others who defied leadership's “arm twisting” have been threatened with little or no help in their re-election efforts. If you believe this I have a bridge in Brooklyn and one hellova fine health insurance plan to sell you! Folks DON’T BUY IT... it’s as truthful as President Obama’s deficit cutting efforts! Believe me! It's all a ruse, a 'headfake'. There are NO...

Bart Stupak’s surrender on ObamaCare likely signals the end of pro-life Democrats, as several commentators have noted. But Sunday’s votes also may mark the end of Democrats’ revival in the South and Midwest. The party made a concerted effort in 2006 and 2008 to recruit candidates that could win moderate or GOP-leaning districts. That’s a key reason why Democrats won such big congressional majorities. But after forging a big-tent caucus, Speaker Pelosi has not governed that way. Instead, she pushed Blue Dog and other moderate Democrats to vote as if they represented her San Francisco district.

“After thorough and careful review of the legislation, I am unconvinced that the long-term trend of rising health care costs is adequately addressed and am therefore unable to support the legislation.”

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire will vote against the health care bill when the House votes in the next few days, despite weeks of personal entreaties from President Obama and Democratic House leaders, he said today. Altmire, D-McCandless, was considered an important swing vote for House leaders who are trying to attract 216 supporters for the signature domestic initiative of Obama's presidency. Altmire voted against a previous health care bill last year ,and as the climactic vote on this Senate bill approaches, he has been buffeted by protests for and against the plan, intense lobbying in Congress and two visits to...

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100319/NEWS/100319064

Two undecided northeastern Pennsylvania Democrats may decide the fate of health care overhaul legislation slated for a House vote this weekend. That hardly makes Congressmen Paul Kanjorski and Chris Carney happy. Their political futures hang in the balance. "It's an issue that creates enormous public grief for them," says Pennsylvania political analyst Professor Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster. "It's not popular. Pieces of it are. But on the whole, people are against it." Kanjorski, whose 11th District includes Monroe County, and Carney, whose 10th District encompasses Pike County, haven't tipped their hands about how they'll vote....

Politics: The water spigots are back on, at least temporarily, in California's Central Valley. Turned off to protect a tiny fish, they happen to be in the districts of two congressmen "undecided" on health care reform. One could chalk it up to good fortune or just good constituent service. But in the middle of a contentious health care debate marked by Cornhusker Kickbacks and Louisiana Purchases, we may be forgiven if we find an announcement by the Department of the Interior regarding California's water supply a tad too coincidental. On Tuesday, the Department of the Interior announced it was increasing...

OH, GIVE ME A PHONE Oh, give me a phone Where the Democrats roam, In the land of the Bribe and the Spin, Where we never let up On the Blue Doggie pups, Cause we won't let Obamunists win. Phone, e-mail and yell, Whether doggies be Red, White or Blue, Then we'll barge through the dooor, And we'll sit on the floooor, Till they join the Tea Party too! TOLL-FREE PHONE CALLING When the Capitol operator comes on, just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. 1-866-220-0044 Note: the Toll-Free number above will ONLY work to get you to...

Dem Rep Ben Chandler of Kentucky, a prominent Blue Dog who voted No last time but has since been undecided, will vote against the Senate bill. “Congressman Chandler’s position on the bill remains the same,” Chandler spokesperson Jennifer Krimm tells our reporter Ryan Derousseau. “He expects to vote against the legislation.” Separately, Dem Rep Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, an influential member of the Congressional Hispanic caucus who voted Yes last time, is also a No vote, his spokesperson confirms. There was some confusion this morning about Gutierrez’s intentions, after he said on MSNBC that the immigration language in the bill...

I just called my Congressman's office and found out that this Blue Dog Democrat is voting for the healthcare bill. Patrick Murphy of PA district 8 is going along with the White House. His office says that Murphy believes we need healthcare and we need it now. I told her that if he votes for this he will see the door in Nov. I told her I will work night and day to make sure he is removed and I am not the only one who feels that way. I hope he gets defeated in Nov.

CLICK ON EACH ONE OF THESE TO GET A FULL-SIZE PDF OF IT --THEN FAX IT AND MAIL IT TO EVERY ONE OF YOUR CONGRESS CRITTER'S OFFICES:Find a few more hereAND SEND THAT PAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, OR KNOW OF, IN THE TARGET DISTRICTS

"They'll have to walk across my dead body if they want my vote on this issue," Boren told Fox News on Wednesday. "This is so galvanizing in my district. I think the votes are not there and I don't see where we get them."

WASHINGTON -- Once again, it will be a "no" from Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, on healthcare as congressional Democrats scramble for every critical vote."If the question is whether I would vote for the comprehensive health care bill currently being considered, the answer is 'no,'" Edwards said in a statement to the Star-Telegram. "After listening to my constituents, I voted 'no' on the House bill last year, and I will vote 'no' on the Senate bill this year if it comes up for a vote."Edwards faces the same kind of pressure he did in November, when he broke ranks with most...

The co-chairwoman of the Blue Dog Caucus said today she will oppose the Senate version of healthcare reform if it comes up for a vote in the House. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), who also voted against the original House bill, tolld reporters in a conference call that she oppposes the upper chamber's legislation, and she would not support any changes that come from the Senate via reconciliation. "I will not vote for the Senate bill as is," she said, according to the Rapid City Journal. "I will not vote for a package of changes that would go through the...

tsunami wrote on 01/23/2010 09:46:10 AM: John Spratt is not just a foot soldier in Pelosi's Army, as Chairman of the House Budget Committee, he's a General. Everything that has come our way since Pelosi became the Speaker has been run through him. Health Care Reform, TARP, Cap and Trade, and the Stimulus package all received his approval. And what are the benefits to the State and his district as a result of his leadership? "SC jobless rate hits record 12.6 percent in Dec." - The Herald (1/22/2010) All of the counties in his district except two have unemployment rates...

The election is over and the result that no rational person could have predicted three weeks has happened. Republican Scott Brown is the new Senator from Massachusetts. Many conservatives will tell you that health care and the rest of the Obama agenda is now dead. Many Liberals will tell you that the election mean nothing outside of the Bay State. They are both right and they are both wrong. The election of Scott Brown has implications way beyond Massachusetts, its ripple effects will severely wound the Obama agenda, but progressiveness is alive and well and living in the White House,...

Republicans are trying to woo U.S. Rep. Chris Carney to switch parties, with Sen. John McCain among several GOP leaders making pitches to the Susquehanna County Democrat. Mr. McCain on Wednesday called Mr. Carney at his home in Dimock Twp. to ask whether he would consider joining the GOP, a Carney spokesman confirmed. The effort to persuade Mr. Carney was first reported by Politico, which quoted a GOP aide who said the party received "a nibble" from Mr. Carney. But Mr. Carney's spokesman, press secretary Joshua Drobnyk, rebutted that part of the report. Mr. Carney in a statement late Wednesday...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Freshman U.S. Rep. Parker Griffith, D-Ala., switched to the Republican party Tuesday and Democrats want their money back. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent more than $1 million last year to help Griffith eke out a 51 percent victory in a north Alabama district that went for John McCain by 61 percent. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the DCCC, said that Griffith "has a duty and responsibility to return to Democratic members and the DCCC the financial resources that were invested in him." Griffith, an oncologist, said the healthcare bill was the major...

What is this 1993 again? We've got a huge vote coming up on a healthcare overhaul, and now southern Democrats are deserting their party in favor of the GOP. Talk about a shift from last year. If someone told you in November 2008, that politicians would be jumping to the GOP, you'd have thought they were nuts. POLITICO: POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican. According to a senior GOP aide familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place in this afternoon in...

Usually one does not see Congressmen or Senators flipping parties to join the minority. However, Politico’s Josh Kraushaar has a scoop that Blue Dog Democrat Parker Griffith of Alabama, a freshman in Congress, has seen enough of Nancy Pelosi’s leadership. He will join Republicans in a move that has far more symbolic than substantive impact — for now: POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican. According to a senior GOP aide familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place in this afternoon in...