Juan Williams on Brandeis University's Use of a Swastika with Tea Parties

Sen. Byrd Single-Handedly Stopped Clinton From Using Reconciliation For Clinton's Health Care Bill

Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller Turning on Obama (Re-Post, Video Added)

According to one published report, Rockefeller made it clear “he isn’t  sure he trusts the president’s commitments to coal. …” Referring to  Obama’s pledges to support coal, the senator complained that, “He says  it in his speeches, but he doesn’t say it in (his budget proposal). He  doesn’t say it in the actions of (EPA Administrator) Lisa Jackson. And  he doesn’t say it in the minds of my own people. And he’s beginning to  not be believable to me.”

Rep. Parker Griffith, a Blue Dog Democrat of Alabama, Announces He's Switching Parties To GOP (smart)

"All Options Are Open" -- Lieberman Says He May Run in 2012 as a Republican

Total of 20 Dems Switch to Republican

TEXAS: 5 More Democrats Switch to Republican, and RPT promises many more to come

Five public officeholders in Upshur County, Texas announced today at a Courthouse press conference, that they are formally switching their registrations to Republican. They will be running for reelections on the GOP ticket.

The Five Switchers are: County Judge Dean Fowler, Sheriff Anthony Betterton, District Clerk Carolyn Bullock Parrot, Constable Jason Weeks, and Justice of the Peace Lyle Potter.

Upshur County is located in Northeast Texas and borders the City of Longview. It includes Longview suburbs, Big Sandy and the county seat of Gilmer (photo). The county population is 35,000. The County is best known for the annual Yamboree festival which attracts country and blue grass bands from across the Nation.

From Bryan Preston, RPT Communications Dir.:

They gave various reasons for their decisions to switch, but it all boils down to one simple fact: The Democratic Party has become too liberal and too statist for Texas voters.

We're up to roughly 20 who have switched so far, with many more to come.

Note - The 20 Texas switchers include State Rep. Chuck Hopson.

A Defense Oriented Democrat... A Breath of Fresh Air

(Warren Williams Cartoon)

This Dem makes me happy that there are a few JFK minded guys in that party.  This is with thanks to HotAir:

The chair of the House Armed Services Committee has sent a letter demanding the appearance of Attorney General Eric Holder to explain his decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-conspirators in federal court.  Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat and former prosecutor, says the decision raises “many serious questions” to which Skelton would like answers.  Skelton also wants to make sure that Holder doesn’t continue to favor federal court trials over military tribunals:

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) penned a letter to Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggesting military trials would be a more appropriate venue for the accused terrorists.

“As a former prosecutor, I am not yet convinced that the right decision was made in these cases, nor that the presumption in favor of federal criminal trials over military tribunals for these detainees should continue,” Skelton wrote. …

“The decision to terminate the prosecution of these self-confessed terrorists in military commissions, transfer them to the United States, and bring them into a federal courthouse for trial raises many serious questions which I would like you both to address in a full committee briefing on December 3, 2009, at 1:00 PM,” Skelton requested.

The letter, which The Hill reprints in full at the jump, expresses Skelton’s skepticism politely but unmistakably. Skelton reminds Holder that he worked hard to ensure a fair system for all of the Gitmo detainees in the military commissions system, and that effort was meant to prevent the very decision Holder and Barack Obama have made.... (more)...

Joe Lieberman: If Public Option Plan Is In There I Will Not Allow This Bill to Come to Final Vote

(Gateway Pundit h/t)

Important Pro-Life Update -- Portion of Health-Care Bill Allowed Up-or-Down Vote (Stupak)

Two ways to look at this. I am very happy and glad that there is such pro-life Democrat out in the real world standing for such an important issue. On the other hand conservatives, while we support such a position, do not allow this to become the issue we want passed and then allow such a nonsensical health-care initiative to pass. As conservatarians we should fight against such a takeover of health-care period. In fact, such "battles" can be fabricated in order to make the opposition "feel" like they may have won something... don't allow such "feeling" of victory in one small battle to overtake the larger battle at hand.

Pelosi Caves to Stupak
(HotAir import)

How desperate has Nancy Pelosi become for enough votes to pass her ObamaCare proposal this weekend? She has reversed course and given Bart Stupak (D-MI) a floor vote on his amendment to ban federal abortion funding in the bill. Pelosi had attempted to use another amendment to undermine Stupak’s support and get enough votes to keep from a humiliating loss:

House Democratic leaders will allow an up-or-down vote on an amendment blocking any money in its healthcare overhaul from funding abortions, risking the votes of members who support abortion rights.

Anti-abortion Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) had told a bleary-eyed Rules committee panel that a deal struck earlier in the day to move forward on the issue was off.

“There was some compromise language from different proposals that we thought would be satisfactory, our understanding was that we had an agreement. Two hours later it was not an agreement,” Stupak said as the clock neared 1 a.m. Saturday.

That sounds like bad news, in one sense. Stupak’s coalition of pro-life Democrats could have kept Pelosi’s bill from passing. Indeed, Stupak had threatened to work with Republicans on a motion to recommit, which would have killed the bill. If Stupak gets his vote, he may wind up supporting the bill even if he loses and the bill remains with its current language. Even if Stupak remains firm, members of his coalition may split after an up-or-down vote.

However, Stupak will almost certainly get the entire Republican caucus to support him, and perhaps more Democrats than the 40 Stupak already has. If the amendment passes, Pelosi may have an entirely different problem:

Liberals on the committee threatened to vote against the final healthcare bill if it included Stupak’s language, warning that it would be a return to the days of back-alley abortions.

“I forsee a return to the dark ages,” said Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.). “I’m 73, I’ve seen these dark things, they use these coat hangers and die.”

That’s a remarkable statement — since we don’t use federal funds now to pay for abortions. Stupak’s amendment just maintains the status quo; it doesn’t actually change anything. The coat-hanger argument has always been a red herring anyway, but in this instance it’s especially dishonest … unless Hastings et al see this bill as a complete government takeover of the health-care system, which it will definitely produce sooner or later.

If Pelosi loses the progressives over the ban on abortion funding, what would she have left? The Blue Dogs won’t rescue this bill, not after this week’s elections and the nosedive in polling for ObamaCare, and especially not after the latest unemployment numbers.

Pass the popcorn. This should be interesting, and still scary enough to keep pulse rates high.

Michigan Democrat Firm On Taxpayer Money NOT Being Used Towards Abortions (Right On!)

Very rarely do I get to write or post (import) any stories like this... so I am happy that a Democrat from the state I was born in is "life Oriented" when it comes to other peoples money (tax monies).

Mich. Democrat: Pelosi 'not happy with me'
By Bob Cusack - 10/27/09
from ~ The Hill

Rep. Bart Stupak said Speaker Pelosi is not pleased with his effort to change abortion-related provisions in the healthcare bill being crafted by the House.

During an interview on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" show, Stupak (D-Mich.) said he is undeterred in trying to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions. Stupak, who opposes abortion rights, acknowledged that some in his party are upset with his public campaign to change the bill.

"The Speaker is not happy with me," Stupak said....

Breaking News: Sen Joe Lieberman To Join Republican Filibuster Over Harry Reid's and Public Option

WOW! My Jaw Just Hit the Floor! I Will Give Props Where They Are Due... (*pat on the back* for Mr. Rick Sanchez)

(NewsBusters h/t)

California Treasurer, (D) Bill Lockyer, Spanks Legislature

(Much more at: HotAir h/t)

Mika (MSNBC): With One Exception, Every CBS Reporter, Director, Anchor a Liberal

(NewsBusted Import -- HotAir h/t)

Give Mika Brzezinski credit for candor. She has stated that during her 10 years at CBS, every reporter, producer and anchor she knew, with one exception, was a liberal.

The Morning Joe co-host made the disclosure today in the course of discussing with Joe Scarborough the White House's attack on Fox News.

Will Mika's revelation trigger a frantic internal investigation at CBS to root out the Republican interloper?....

Full marks to Mika for her frankness. But surely she was joking in claiming, and Joe in agreeing, that CBS and NBC aren't "pushing a perspective" and that they "try their best to be objective." Does Dan Rather's use of blatantly forged documents in an attempt to defeat George Bush in 2004 ring a bell, for example? How about the way NBC turned its entire network over to a "Green Week" promotion of an Algoresque global-warming perspective?....

This Crazy Secularization in Education from the Left (Plus: Coulter Vs Powers: Obama's Education Czar)

I have to say, Kirsten Powers commentary is a step above most Democrats

(WND h/t)

A father of a high-school student is infuriated after he said a teacher provided "banned books" to her 11th-grade students, including at least one with explicit descriptions of homosexual sex acts, rape, masturbation, profane language and even bestiality.

John Davis, father of an 11th-grade student at William Byrd High School in Vinton, Va., told WND that English teacher Kathleen Renard provided her personal copy of a book called "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky to one of her English students, and it was passed to his son. The book is published by MTV Books.

Davis found the book in his son's possession, along with a bookmark that said, "Read banned books. They're your ticket to freedom."

"My son was reading the book and stated it was a school assignment," Davis told WND. "He was embarrassed that I began to peruse through the book and discovered its contents. He advised that the book belongs to his English teacher, Mrs. Kathleen Renard."

Upon reading the book, Davis discovered the following:

• sex acts between teenagers
• male and female masturbation
• suicide
• oral sex
• extensive use of profanity, especially the "F"-word
• multiple cases of homosexual acts between teenage boys, including kissing, seduction and anal sex
• illegal drug and alcohol use, including smoking marijuana, dropping acid and LSD usage
• anonymous homosexual acts between men and boys
• rape of a teenage girl while she cried
  
• molestation of a young boy by a woman
• molestation of a young girl by an older man
• how hitting a girl can turn her on and make her love a boy
• attempted sex between a boy and a dog

Davis confiscated the book and arranged to meet with Renard and William Byrd High School Principal Richard Turner.

Amazon.com excerpt from 'Perks of Being a Wallflower'

The father said the English teacher was not present at the Oct. 2 meeting. He asked the principal if he could speak with the teacher, but he said Turner refused to call her in, saying, "I'm not going to fire her over this."

...(Read On)...

Democrat Sen. Tom Carper Won't Read Text of Health Care Bill

Blue Dog -- Last Word (Congressman Ross Says Legislation "Could Kill Old People!")

More Obama Lies Shown -- Now Libs Are Wondering

(HotAir: Facing health-care oblivion, the left finally wonders: “Who really is Barack Obama?”)

.

....Well, let’s just say that being mentioned in the same breath as Dick Cheney isn’t quite the change BO would be looking for. Enter Greg Palast, who — after lambasting Obama for striking a secret deal with pharmaceutical companies that would, by his calculations, save a whopping 2% on the drugs Americans buy — wonders:

What else went down in Obama’s drug deal? To find out, I called C-SPAN to get a copy of the videotape of the meeting with the drug companies. I was surprised to find they didn’t have such a tape despite the President’s campaign promise, right there on CNN in January 2008, “These negotiations will be on C-SPAN.”

This puzzled me. When Dick Cheney was caught having secret meetings with oil companies to discuss Bush’s Energy Bill, we denounced the hugger-muggers as a case of foxes in the henhouse.

Cheney’s secret meetings with lobbyists and industry bigshots were creepy and nasty and evil.

But the Obama crew’s secret meetings with lobbyists and industry bigshots were, the President assures us, in the public interest.

We know Cheney’s secret confabs were shady and corrupt because Cheney scowled out the side of his mouth.

Obama grins in your face.

See the difference?

Yup. It’s heart-ache.

Take it away, Michael Brenner.

Let’s face the harsh reality — Obama has blown health care reform, big time. The opportunity of a lifetime has been squandered. The most recent revelations about backroom deals with Pharma and the other vendors of medical services drops the curtain on any hope of serious change in our costly and inefficient non-system. This is a painful admission to make. Not only does the country remain handicapped by grossly sub-par arrangements for health delivery, we also are burdened with a president who has been discredited as a progressive dedicated to a betterment of how we conduct public business….

It is Barack Obama who is to blame for this. For months, he stayed aloof from the out-of-control Congressional maneuvering based on a strange belief in some kind of bipartisan collective will emerging by osmosis. He never leaned the weight of his person and his office to elements of reform that has been touting as candidate and then President. He deceived the country by pursuing secret talks with the very lobbies who are the heart of disgraceful national health care situation. He entered into deals that were weighted heavily in their selfish interest rather than the national interest. In short, we have gotten from him the antithesis of what we were promised and expected — in the substance and process of policy both. We have instead a conventionally minded politician overly respectful of the status quo and deferential to those who control and profit from it, A man with no apparent fixed convictions.

That last part may be a little too harsh, because it’s clear that there’s at least one thing Barack Obama is fully and fixatedly convinced of: himself. The “opportunity of a lifetime” in health care is, of course, two-fold, because while there’s an ideological opportunity here for the Left to remake the health system — and like it or not, they think for the better — there also emerged a likely divergent political opportunity for Barack Obama to lasso a powerful interest group in the process. Two roads, one leading to Chicago-style politics, with a choice making all the difference......

ROOOF!! Blue Dogs

“I’ve been lied to,” Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chairman Charlie Melancon (D-La.) said on Friday. “We have not had legitimate negotiations…

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, the only hope for passage of the bill in the House will be to go straight to the floor, an option leaders shied away from endorsing but said was an option.

But the Blue Dogs issued dire warnings to leaders contemplating that approach.

“Waxman simply does not have votes in committee and process should not be bypassed to bring the bill straight to floor,” Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the lead Blue Dog negotiator, said on Friday. “We are trying to save this bill and trying to save this party.”

In order to win last-time-round, the Dems put up conservative Democrats (pro-life, pro-business, pro-guns, and pro-military) because that is the only way they could fill seats with their Party affiliation. These Guys and gals (Blue Dogs) are truly trying to save their party and bring it back to the JFK days.

Still One of My Favs -- Political Correctness Gone Awry (a couple of books I recommend after)

BOOKS