The answer to obstruction is reconciliation

The time for playing nice is over. Although it’s only halftime, the scoreboard is clear, the Democrats are in serious danger of losing badly in this year’s midterm elections. The problem? Obstruction. President Barack Obama has run square into the heavily fortified defenses of the Congressional Republicans. When it comes to governing, the GOP has dug in and refused to budge or compromise an inch. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner have constructed a great wall that would make the ancient Chinese jealous.

On his signature domestic policy issue, health care, Mr. Obama is in danger of becoming the latest fatality in a long line of presidents that tried to cure the ills of our health care system only to fail badly in the face of Congressional and industry opposition. The President needs a game changer, and he needed it yesterday. A failure to act, and act boldly, in the next few weeks and Democrats will likely be swept out of their majority positions in the Senate and House faster than you can say “1994.”

The answer? Reconciliation. If there is anything that Mr. Obama should have learned during his first year in office, it’s this: bipartisanship in Washington is deader than John Edward’s political career. Albert Einstein said that insanity was “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Trying to broker a compromise bipartisan deal with the Congressional Republicans is insanity.

The President can use his bipartisan meeting today at Blair House with Congressional Republicans to end the insanity. Mr. Obama needs to take the bull, or in this case the elephant, by the horns and make it this simple: we’ve gone along with this charade long enough. Either you act with us on a bipartisan solution to fix the problems with our health care system right now, or we will use the budget reconciliation process to pass through our health care bill. It’s your choice.

As NPR’s Julie Rovner noted today – pointed out by Newsweek’s Katie Connolly on the The Gaggle – every major health care improvement over the last 30 years has been accomplished by reconciliation.

She [Rovner] shows how every major health-care innovation of the last three decades has been done through reconciliation. One of her best examples is COBRA, that vital and popular law that allows people to keep their health insurance for a period after they’ve lost their job.

The acronym actually stands for the reconciliation bill that established the program: the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. The Children’s Health Insurance Program—which, together with Medicaid, gives one third of all American children access to health care—was also done via reconciliation. It’s hardly the dastardly procedure some in Congress would have you believe it is.

Congressional Republicans are decrying the reconciliation process as an abuse of power. As Leonard Jacobs explains in his op-ed at FoxNews.com, this sudden about face reeks of hypocrisy. These same Republicans weren’t railing against reconciliation when they used it to pass welfare reform in the mid-1990s or the Bush tax cuts of 2001. Turn about is fair play – that is, unless those same Republicans were for reconciliation before they were against it.

The Democrats also benefit from using reconciliation because it sends a strong message to the GOP. Dig in all you want, if you refuse to compromise we’ll use reconciliation to run right over the top of you. We’ll take our chances at the polls that the American people will value leadership and action over obstruction and inaction.

If obstruction is the problem than reconciliation is the answer. The bottom line is that Mr. Obama and the Democrats need a game changer politically to prevent what all signs point to is a political tsunami that will sweep through Congress and give the majority back to the GOP this fall. If Democrats are going down, they might as well go down fighting, and in the process, get one of the most significant pieces of legislation ever enacted into law.

Posted by: Josh Swanson on 2/24/2010 at 11:17 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: 2010 midterms, congressional republicans, health care, obama, reconciliation

WARNING: Being a Vikings fan may be hazardous to your health

Being a Minnesota Vikings fan should come with a warning label. Maybe then we'd wise up and stop beating our heads into the wall. The label would be stitched onto every piece of Vikings merchandise. The public address announcer at the Metrodome would be required to read the warning several times every home game. The label would be similar to the warning required on a pack of cigarettes.

WARNING: The NFL Commissioner Has Determined That Cheering For the Minnesota Vikings May Be Hazardous To Your Health. Being A Vikings Fan Causes Heartbreak, Agony, Despair, And May Complicate Pregnancy.

A skull and crossbones over the Viking horn would emphasize the point. But, like smokers, those of us who support the Vikings will continue undeterred. Doesn't matter how many agonizing losses we're forced to endure. Why? We're addicted. We can't help it. We know better, but do it anyway, even those Vikings fans that only cheer when they drink.

Sadly, unlike smokers, there is not a single patch or chewing gum in the world that can break our hopeless addiction. If there was, we wouldn't take it, wouldn't want to. Just as smokers stand outside when it's -40 degrees below zero to pull shivering drags off their smokes, we'll still sing that silly "Skol Vikings" song, wear those goofy hats with the golden locks flowing down or the Vikings horns protruding up, and buy Adrian Peterson jerseys.

Despite the heartbreak, agony, and despair we'll make up excuses for why we continue cheering after losses like the one we suffered at the hands of the New Orleans Saints last night for a trip to Super Bowl XLIV. Excuses like, "This year is the year," "This team is different," or, "I can quit whenever I want." But, as we've grown well accustomed, this year wasn't the year, this team wasn't different, and we can't quit.

The worst part? When we think they can't break our hearts anymore we get a gut-wrenching reminder of the risks that accompany being a Vikings fan. The most fervent Packers fan couldn't have scripted a more agonizing way for the Vikings to lose the 2010 NFC Championship Game. After the entire offense contracted a severe case of fumbleitis in the second half, most of us resigned ourselves to the reality that tonight wasn't meant to be. We'd accepted it. Let's draft a shutdown cornerback, hope Brett comes back, and get ready for training camp.

But faster than you can say Gary Anderson, there were the Vikings with a 1st and 10 inside the Saints 35-yard line with under a minute to play. We were inside Ryan Longwell's field goal range. We were actually going to the Super Bowl! After fumbling the ball six times - twice within the Saints red zone, and once inside our own 20-yard line that led to an easy Saints touchdown - all we had to do was snap the ball three times without getting a stupid penalty or a dumb turnover. Then Longwell would walk onto the field and boot it through the uprights as time expired to send us into a state of euphoria that we haven't experienced since our last Super Bowl trip in January 1977. 

Then, as has happened so many times, the other shoe dropped. And boy, did it drop hard and fast, with a stupid penalty and a dumb turnover. Facing 3rd down, the Vikings were flagged for having 12 men in the huddle. A penalty that rarely strikes a bad junior varsity team pushed the Vikings back five yards and forced a passing situation. From there it became part of our history of heartbreak. Favre throws an ill-advised pass that gets intercepted. The Saints win the overtime coin toss and go marching in. Only the Vikings could find a way to lose this game that makes the 1998 NFC Championship Game feel like a weekend trip to the beach.

I guess we should expect nothing less as Vikings fans, but we really believed this time. One day the Vikings will be in the Super Bowl. And on that day, if I'm lucky to be sitting there, I'll look around and think, "Damn, I bet I died. No wonder why the beer is free, my wallet is full of $1,000 bills, and I'm sitting between two busty blondes that think all of my jokes are funny." That day will be heaven, and as a Vikings fans, we'll have earned it.

Posted by: Josh Swanson on 1/25/2010 at 12:05 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink

Tags: brett favre, minnesota vikings, nfl

"Very angry" Pomeroy confronts House Dems on health care reform

In its feature story this morning, 'Very angry' Democrat sounds alarm, the website Politico is reporting that a "very angry" Rep. Earl Pomeroy confronted House Democrats on health care reform earlier this week:

A Democrat who attended the Ways and Means session said Pomeroy was “very angry” as he spoke about the delay. “Other folks were upset, but he was the maddest by far.”

“I believe Congress needs to resolve fairly quickly this protracted health care debate,” Pomeroy told POLITICO on Thursday. “We have a number of other issues that haven’t been able to get enough attention, because health care is taking up all the floor time, all of the attention. We need to move on.” ...

But Pomeroy has clearly lost patience with the slog, a long legislative ordeal that has seen deadlines repeatedly pushed back or missed and that has allowed Republicans to seize as much on the process — closed-door meetings, special deals for reluctant senators — as on the final product.

In a meeting with the House Democrats last evening, President Barack Obama acknowledged the toll the health care bill has taken on members of his caucus. Obama predicted that the American people will be less skeptical once they learn what the bill does and doesn't do. "But I also know what happens once we get this done, once we sign this ... bill into law: The American people will suddenly learn that this bill does things they like and doesn’t do things people have been trying to say it does. The worst fears will prove groundless.”

Posted by: Josh Swanson on 1/15/2010 at 8:14 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

Tags: earl pomeroy, election 2010, health care reform, president obama

Major League Baseball should restore Maris's home run record

Mark McGwire deserves the single season home run record like Tiger Woods deserves the "Husband of the Year" award. McGwire's tearful admission that he used steroids during baseball's "juiced ball" era of the 1990s was about as shocking as Lindsay Lohan checking into rehab. In a televised interview with Bob Costas on the MLB Network, McGwire revealed what nine out of four Americans have strongly suspected since his "testimony" before the House Government Reform Committee in March 2005: he cheated.

What was a surprise given McGwire's long-term steroid use was the size of his cajones, on full display throughout the apology. "I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era," said McGwire. It was McGwire and Sammy Sosa that captivated a nation in the memorable summer of 1998 when they went back and forth, smashing blast after blast in pursuit of the single season home run record.

Setting aside that he blamed his cheating on playing "during the steroid era" - yes, Big Mac went with the classic standby "but mom, all the other kids were doing it, so I had to put a syringe in my buttocks too" defense - he had enough cajones in the tank to call a career where he duped everyone and disgraced the game by cheating a "mistake."

A mistake? That word hardly scratches the surface of what Big Mac did. For an entire decade, including the years of his record breaking home run exploits, McGwire made the conscious decision to pull down his shorts and inject a needle full of illegal and banned drugs into his posterior.

In doing so he made hundreds of millions and was lauded as a national hero. Not exactly something that happens by mistake. "Oops, hey Canseco, my shorts fell down again. Can you please put that syringe into my right cheek, you know, so I can stay healthy." This wasn't a mistake, it was a deliberate decision that's tarnished an entire era and generation of baseball players beyond repair.

McGwire was just warming up. "I want to come clean, I want to move on after this," he continued. Coming clean? This would be like Bill Clinton strolling into the White House residence in 1998 and apologizing to Hillary after telling an entire nation he left some incriminating evidence on a blue dress. "Hey, my bad. Let's all just move on and forget this thing ever happened."

McGwire could've come clean during his Congressional testimony in 2005 when he faced the actual threat of legal consequences for his cheating. Instead, he conveniently waited until after the statute of limitations lapsed before coming clean. Sorry Big Mac, we can't move on so easy.

While the steroids apparently had no effect on his cajones, it appears they did significant damage to his brain. "I was given a gift to hit home runs," a straight faced McGwire told Costas. "I believe I was given this gift. The only reason I took steroids was for health purposes. There's no way I did this for any type of strength use."

Is this guy being serious? Yeah, and some guys buy the magazines wrapped in plastic at the gas station for the articles and not the pictures of the naked ladies. If Big Mac looked like Nick Punto instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger he wouldn't have blasted home runs like a 27-year-old decathlete playing T-Ball.

It's not too late for Major League Baseball to get something right about the steroid induced juiced ball era. If baseball wants to move past this and come clean they can begin by restoring the single season home run crown to its rightful king, the man who did it without a needle and syringe, Roger Maris. Maris's 61 in '61 should stand as the record. Until then baseball will remain as credible as McGwire's steroid fueled home runs. 

Posted by: Josh Swanson on 1/12/2010 at 10:40 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Tags: major league baseball, mark mcgwire, roger maris, steroids

No time for politics: DeMint holds up key national security appointment

If someone is trying to burn your house down, you certainly wouldn’t grab a knife and slash the tires on the fire trucks rushing to the scene to put that fire out. That is, unless you are Sen. Jim DeMint. After al Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day attack aboard Northwest Flight 253, you’d expect an all hands on deck response from even the most ardent conservative partisans to show a united front with President Barack Obama in this war on terror.

Unfortunately, instead of throwing aside his partisan differences and grabbing a fire hose to help direct it towards those who seek to burn our country to the ground, DeMint stands, stubborn and vindictive, in front of the very fire trucks we need to fight this fire with his ever-ready political knife in hand.

In light of these recent events, the darling senator of Tea Party devotion continues to support the hold he placed on President Obama’s nomination of Erroll Southers to head the Transportation Security Administration. Southers is the assistant chief of the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department. DeMint’s block of this appointment is not based on Southers’ resume or qualifications. Prior to his position with Los Angeles World Airports, Southers was an FBI agent, police detective, and most recently the deputy director of California’s homeland security office overseeing counterterrorism policies.

In a statement to the Washington Post, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised Southers. “California is safer and better prepared because of Erroll’s commitment, hard work and dedication, and he is more than qualified for this role.”

DeMint’s hold is predicated on his concern that Southers may support unionizing the TSA. So while terrorists like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab plot attacks against America, the nomination to head a critical position in our national security apparatus is being held up all because Sen. Jim DeMint would rather have men with bombs in their underwear blow up airplanes than risk the unthinkable: organized labor roaming the halls of our nation’s airports with union cards.

On the eve of the Civil War, it was the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln, who stated prophetically that, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Those words were as true in 1858 as they are in 2010. President Obama shouldn’t have to ask for bipartisan support to fight al Qaeda. It should be a given. With so much at stake, bipartisanship must be more than a meaningless buzz word thrown around by pundits that tests well in focus groups and polling. When it comes to national security, bipartisanship isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

We must stand united. We cannot effectively confront al Qaeda when some within our own house place personal politics and political ideology above national security. Lincoln’s famous assessment of a house divided against itself holds even more true when al Qaeda is trying to burn our house to the ground. This is no time for politics – al Qaeda doesn’t distinguish between union Democrats or pro-management Republicans when they seek to do us harm.

Sen. DeMint should get out of the way of the fire trucks and release his hold on Mr. Southers nomination.

Posted by: Josh Swanson on 1/05/2010 at 9:17 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink