Tag Archives: health care reform

Conservative Brick Throwers and Tim Pawlenty: Did Tim Pawlenty Call on Republicans to Smash Federal Government Building Windows?

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

“Conservative” paired with “brick thrower” would appear to be an oxymoron. But not among contemporary American conservatives. And at CPAC recently, Tim Pawlenty seems to have called on conservatives to engage in acts of violence against the federal government’s buildings that eerily anticipated … Continue reading →

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Yes we did

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Barack Obama’s signature on the health care bill.

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Surprise, Surprise

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

After the passage of health care reform, Barack Obama’s job approval number has markedly risen. See Gallup here.

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David Frum: Are Republicans suffering from a change of political weather or climate?

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

David Frum says climate. That would make the Republican Party not an elephant, but potentially a dinosaur, right?

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John Boehner on Health Care Reform: Hell no you can’t!

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

John Boehner’s “Hell no you can’t!” as a Republican refrain worked into Will.i.am’s “Yes we can” song. Tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks: Oh, and yes we did.

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Yes we can, John Boehner

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

And we did. John Boehner added to the classic Will.i.am song: The above reminds me of the Beatles song where Paul McCartney sings sunnily “It’s getting better all the time” accompanied by John Lennon singing “It can’t get much worse!”

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Rush Limbaugh and a Disturbing New Authoritarian Phenomenon: The Brick Throwing “Patriot”

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Talk about pushing the Overton Window to the right. Yesterday Rush Limbaugh (who calls himself a “Christian”) equated Barack Obama with Hitler and put up this rather uncharitable battle cry against Democrats: We need to defeat these bastards. We need to wipe … Continue reading →

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Reality Check: Gallup Poll finds public approval of Barack Obama’s health care victory

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

No wonder the president has been smiling all day. As you might expect, now that the health care reform bill has actually passed, the public’s approval of it has markedly improved. This is what the Democrats were banking on all along, … Continue reading →

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Health Care Reform: What this means for President Obama’s place in the history books

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      . More than a few thoughtful political observers think Barack Obama’s health care reform success secures the place of his presidency in history. Here are three: Matthew Yglesias: Now that it’s done, Barack Obama will go down in history as … Continue reading →

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Mental Health Break from the Health Care Reform Drama

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

This old Disney cartoon short is oddly soothing, but is that Republican John Boehner as Foxy Loxy (at the 2:30 point)? Oops. It doesn’t embed. See it at YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvdhN_pXTsc

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Republican Health Care Reform Hysteria Watch

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Now that the Democrats appear to have achieved a victory on health care reform some Republicans are, well, freaking out with end-of-the-world hysteria. This today in the Hill: Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) explained that “this is too big. We believe that this … Continue reading →

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Stupak and White House reach a deal on health care reform

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

So according to the Hill, and now according to Stupak himself. The Republicans appear to be Wile E. Coyote. They made a political calculation that obstinate resistance to health care reform would prove a political winner for them, and now it seems … Continue reading →

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Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Republicans think that the passage of health care reform will deliver them an overwhelming electoral sweep of both houses of Congress in November. Have they gone mad? Here’s Politico yesterday. You would think that they had actually achieved something historic by … Continue reading →

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Health Care Reform 101 with MIT Economist Jonathan Gruber

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

MIT economist Jonathan Gruber is an expert on the economics of health care and his explanation of the dynamics underlying the debates surrounding health care reform is exceptionally clarifying. After listening to Jonathan Gruber you understand just how improbable and … Continue reading →

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Health Care Reform: Republicans are losing it, aren’t they?

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Slip sliding away. Republicans, watching undecideds break for Obamacare, are starting to name call, a sure sign that their year-long campaign to upend Barack Obama’s presidency and agenda is about to fail in a most pleasing-to-behold and spectacular fashion. The … Continue reading →

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Health Care Reform Metaphor Watch: is the Republican Party “a broken wheel,” “facing its Waterloo,” “Wile E. Coyote”—or something else?

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

With regard to health care reform, I’m grappling with a lot of metaphors for describing where I think the Republicans are at, and those metaphors are not good, so I’ll just mix them all together below. See if you can … Continue reading →

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Health Care Reform: The Republican Party’s Waterloo

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Here’s what health care reform means: stabilizing for millions of Americans one of the verities of human existence (illness), and without ballooning deficits. This is how the Democrats are about to drive the Republican Party into irrelevancy, by delivering the goods. And I … Continue reading →

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Kill Obama = Kill Health Care Reform?

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

The latest lovely image of Barack Obama, stepping into a coffin, the word “KILL” in large red letters alongside a caricature of his face, courtesy of some sick racist at a “Code Red” Tea Party protest in Washington, March 16, 2010:

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Health care reform and Barack Obama: Howard Fineman thinks Barack Obama’s stock is destined to rise big time, especially if health care reform passes

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Apparently based on health care reform’s revived prospects, Howard Fineman says this: If I were a broker and Barack Obama were a stock, I’d have a one-word piece of advice today: buy. Republicans should be scared. Very scared. Democrats are … Continue reading →

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Yes we can! Nancy Pelosi is bullish on health care reform’s passage

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

If what Greg Sargent is reporting today is true, American politics is on the verge of a seismic shift: In her most expansive case yet for health reform, Nancy Pelosi argued in a small roundtable with bloggers today that passing … Continue reading →

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