In what can only be described as an exercise in futility, President Obama invited Democratic and Republican leaders from the Senate to the White House this morning to discuss his forthcoming Supreme Court nomination. It goes without saying that the Republicans are going to oppose whoever the President nominates. They have opposed everything else he has tried to do (and has done); why would they change now?
The President met briefly with the press just prior to the meeting. He was asked if he would use a woman’s right to choose as a ‘litmus test’ when selecting a nominee…
You know, I am somebody who believes that women should have the ability to make often very difficult decisions about their own bodies and issues of reproduction. Obviously this has been a hugely contentious issue in our country for a very long time. I will say the same thing that every President has said since this issue came up, which is I don’t have litmus tests around any of these issues.
But I will say that I want somebody who is going to be interpreting our Constitution in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that includes women’s rights. And that’s going to be something that’s very important to me, because I think part of what our core Constitution — constitutional values promote is the notion that individuals are protected in their privacy and their bodily integrity, and women are not exempt from that.
Good answer.
A full transcript of the press availability follows the break.
Congress Thursday passed and sent to President Barack Obama the final piece of landmark health care legislation intended to change dramatically how most Americans buy, use and maintain insurance coverage.
The House approved the bill by a vote of 220 to 207 Thursday night, hours after the Senate passed the measure by a vote of 56 to 43. No Republicans in either chamber voted for either bill.
This legislation, combined with the bill signed into law on Tuesday, will bring the most significant change in health care policy since Medicare was created in 1965 to provide health insurance coverage for seniors and the disabled.
The new laws will extend health insurance coverage to 32 million people who currently are uninsured. They will expand coverage to 94 percent of eligible Americans. Consumers will find a host of changes in how they deal with doctors, insurers, hospitals and the rest of the health care system.
Done, of course, without a single Republican vote. I hope people remember that come November.
Posted by Len on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 9:59 am CT in Democrats,Politics
As you know, the Democrats in the House of Representatives finally passed health care reform in the United States last night. It was a long time coming and long overdue. Of course, the Republicans did everything they could to block this historic legislation, complaining and whining late into the night. So late, in fact, that I finally had to give up and retire for the night before President Obama was able to deliver his congratulatory message to the American people. If you missed it like I did, here it is:
Posted by Len on Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at 10:46 pm CT in Democrats,Politics
The Democratic party passed health care reform in the United States. They did it without a single Republican vote. So much for bipartisanship. Why do the Republicans hate Americans so?
President Obama won a historic victory in the struggle for health care reform Sunday as the House of Representatives passed a sweeping bill overhauling the American medical system.
The bill passed in a 219-212 vote after more than a year of bitter partisan debate. All 178 Republicans opposed it, along with 34 Democrats.
The measure, which cleared the Senate in December, will now go to Obama’s desk to be signed into law. It constitutes the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago.
A separate compromise package of changes expanding the reach of the measure was passed by the House after its vote on the Senate bill. That reconciliation bill will advance to the Senate.
The overall $940 billion plan is projected to extend insurance coverage to roughly 32 million additional Americans. It represents a significant step towards the goal of universal coverage sought by every Democratic president since Harry Truman.
Most Americans will now be required to have health insurance or pay a fine. Larger employers will be required to provide coverage or risk financial penalties. Total individual out-of-pocket expenses will be capped, and insurers will be barred from denying coverage based on gender or pre-existing conditions.
Posted by Len on Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at 4:40 pm CT in Democrats,Politics
I know Bart Stupak and his band of merry uterus watchers are patting themselves on the back right now, but they really got nothing that wasn’t already in federal law. It’s fine if they want to believe they did. President Obama has made history, accomplishing what every president before him since Teddy Roosevelt has tried and failed. The Republicans are walking away looking like the whiny, corporate ass kissing obstructionists they are. All will be good…
President Obama, rallying last-minute support for landmark health-care legislation nearing a crucial vote in the House, announced Sunday that he will issue an executive order after passage attesting that the bill is consistent with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortions.
The arrangement won the support of a key bloc of anti-abortion House Democrats, whose leader, Rep. Bart Stupak D-Mich.), said at a news conference, “I’m pleased to announce we have an agreement.”
Appearing with Stupak were half a dozen other holdout Democrats. With them on board, “we’re well past” the 216 votes needed in the House to approve the health-care legislation, Stupak said.
White House officials said they believe the addition of the anti-abortion Democrats to the “yes” column will provide House Democratic leaders considerable breathing room during the next several hours as they head toward critical votes. Before Stupak’s announcement, a top Obama adviser had said that without a deal, passage appeared possible but would have been extremely close. In the wake of the agreement, West Wing aides appeared relieved.
“While the legislation as written maintains current law, the executive order provides additional safeguards to ensure that the status quo is upheld and enforced, and that the health care legislation’s restrictions against the public funding of abortions cannot be circumvented,” White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement. “The president has said from the start that this health insurance reform should not be the forum to upset longstanding precedent. The health care legislation and this executive order are consistent with this principle.”
Posted by Len on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 8:25 pm CT in Democrats,Politics
I confess to being missing in action this week. There’s been some stuff going on that has kind of drained my desire to blog – stuff that really has nothing to do with the stuff I usually blog about. Besides, I must admit to being somewhat disillusioned with my party this week. I mean… really, now. We gave them the White House and majorities in both houses of Congress and still they’ve been unable to get anything of importance accomplished. They still cower in fear of the Republicans. Why do you suppose that is?
Here’s hoping my Democrats get a spine transplant soon.
Posted by Len on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 11:22 am CT in Democrats,Politics
Howard Dean gave the Democrats a spine way back in 2003/04 when he taught them how to stand up to the extremists who were then in charge of the federal government. Unfortunately, they have allowed it to evaporate since then. He appeared as a guest on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show last night to encourage them to get it back…
Watch. Listen. Learn.
Here is Rachel’s complete segment on why the filibuster in the Senate needs to be eliminated…
Posted by Len on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 7:18 pm CT in Democrats,Politics
President Obama braved the blizzard in Washington, D.C. this morning in order to address the Winter Meeting of the Democratic National Committee…
Now is not the time for sitting on the sidelines, or blocking progress, or pointing fingers, or assigning blame. Now is not the time to do just what’s right for your party or your poll numbers. Now is the time to do what’s right for the country. Now is the time to do what’s necessary to see us through these difficult times. Now is the time to do everything in our power to keep the American Dream alive for the next generation.
The full transcript of the speech as released by the White House follows the break.
Posted by Len on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 4:42 pm CT in Democrats,Politics
Last week, President Obama met with House Republicans. This morning, he met with Senate Democrats. He spoke to them and then with them, just as he did with the Republicans. The meeting lasted about 75 minutes.
