magnitude

Writing in an op-ed in today’s Mooney Times, Jeffery Kuhner floats the idea of impeaching President Obama if health care reform passes. His argument is the same old strawman we have been hearing all week – the “deem and pass” of the House of Representative:

Many Democrats could claim they opposed the Senate bill while allowing it to pass. This would be an unprecedented violation of our democratic norms and procedures, established since the inception of the republic. Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution stipulates that for any bill to become a law, it must pass both the House of Representatives and the Senate. That is, not be "deemed" to have passed, but actually be voted on with the support of the required majority. The bill must contain the exact same language in both chambers - and in the version signed by the president - to be a legitimate law. This is why the House and Senate have a conference committee to iron out differences of competing versions. This is Civics 101.

Between 2005 and 2006 the Republican controlled House used this same parliamentary procedure 35 times. Did we call for the impeachment of President Bush because of it? Of course not. Of course Republicans are arguing that “it has never been used for legislation of this magnitude”. I have read the Constitution countless times and for the life of me I can’t find the language that says procedures are different depending upon the size or scope of the legislation.

For all those out there who I knew would be worried about the future of John McCain, fear no longer. We now have official confirmation that he is running for re-election in 2010:

I want you to know that I do intend to seek re-election. The magnitude of the financial crisis that many American families are facing makes it clear to me that I want to continue to serve our country in the Senate.

The economic challenges currently confronting our nation are immense and unfortunately, the Democrats in Congress propose addressing these challenges through increased spending that wastes billions of taxpayers dollars and saddles our children and grandchildren with a staggering debt. Their proposals will not stimulate economic growth or create jobs. While the leader of the Democratic Party, President Obama, has pledged to change business as usual in Washington and spoken of bipartisanship, I have been saddened to watch as Congressional Democrats try to use their majority to advocate more of the same failed policies and wasteful spending of the past. With so much at stake, now is not the time to step away from my work in the Senate.

As always, I anticipate a tough re-election challenge. But with your help, we will counter those efforts and put forth an aggressive campaign by registering new voters, reaching out to Democrats, Independents and Republicans, and again earning the support of Hispanic and Native American voters in Arizona.

I am honored to serve the people of Arizona as their United States Senator. I would be most appreciative of your support of my re-election efforts and hope you will click here to join my re-election team. Thank you for your consideration.

Of course Bush would take his weekly radio address to try and prop up his image on Katrina:

Nearly one year after Hurricane Katrina created a humanitarian and political crisis, President George W. Bush said on Saturday the storm showed the government was unprepared to respond to a disaster of that magnitude and revealed "deep-seated poverty" in America.

Political fallout from the hurricane, which killed more than 1,000 people and displaced tens of thousands, was severe for Bush last year, sending his public opinion ratings to new lows amid widespread criticism the government's response had been too slow.

He returns next week to the scene of one of the worst natural disasters in American history to meet with local residents and officials to review progress in rebuilding New Orleans and communities along the Gulf Coast that were flooded and destroyed.

His trip to Louisiana and Mississippi comes as the election season heats up with Democrats trying to seize control of Congress from the president's Republican Party in November congressional elections.

"One year after the storms, the Gulf Coast continues down the long road to recovery. In Mississippi and Louisiana, we can see many encouraging signs of recovery and renewal, and many reminders that hard work still lies ahead," Bush said.

"We will stay until the job is done," he pledged in his weekly radio address from Maine, where he was visiting family.

So what has Bush and the Republican controlled congress done this year to address these problems Katrina "showed" us? Well let they tried to cut taxes for the wealthiest 1% of this nation again. They enacted the new Medicare program that ends up costing the poorest of our seniors more than it did before. They tried to ban gay marriage and flag burning.

Rather your for Alito or against him, you got to admire the historical event
taking place this weekend. Bloggers from the left side are working non-stop to
oppose the confirmation and muster enough support for a filibuster of Alito.
This is the first movement of its kind considering it has taken place on the
internet and grown to a larger magnitude.

Air America radio reported tonight that most Senators voice mails are full
now from the shear volume of calls they have received trying to build support
for this historic event this week. If you are willing to try and get through,
then MYDD has a
list up of Senators who need convinced to stand behind Kerry and his filibuster.
Please take a moment to call as many as you can and express your concerns over
the confirmation of Alito.

The liberal blogosphere is showing an enormous stronghold on politics in
America right now, and it is the very tool we need to get our voices heard. For
the past several years, the big corporations with their high dollar lobbyists
have had the influence in Washington. It has raped us of our very essence of
being - "A nation by the people, for the people". Proof of this lies in the
greed exhibited by the 109th session of Congress and the simple fact that a
majority of the legislation passed was strictly to support the big corporations.
This is not helping America, it is hurting the people of this country. Only the
upper 1% benefit from it and the rest of us, well we are treated like pawns in
their dirty chess game.

This historic weekend marks the beginning of a new time where our voices can
once again be heard and help put America back on the right track. Take a couple
minutes of your time to also be heard with everyone else. Make it known that you
oppose Alito.

You may be wondering why I am relating the disaster in the
Gulf Coast to that of Bill Clinton’s greatest moment of indiscretion. While the
actual events of both incidents have a great difference, the reaction of both
Presidents is much the same.

Bill Clinton had his sexual encounter with Monica Lewinsky.
He was ratted out for it and ultimately had to testify before Congress. When it
became obvious that Clinton had lied under oath, it was the immediate opening
for an impeachment trial. Once it got to that point, even Democratic supporters
realized that they had to break the party lines in order to salvage their own
political careers.

President Bush is now coming under fire for his lack of
action and involvement in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It is
becoming more obvious that the President and his subordinates failed to act
based upon the magnitude of the situation, which was rapidly deteriorating. This
inaction led to a greater loss of life and property and left a nation outraged.

In the days immediately following last week’s disaster,
Michael Brown made numerous television appearances. One interview in particular
showed me the level of incompetence Michael Brown exhibits as the head of our
nation’s disaster team.