No to Yes - Health Care Reform

Fox News: Reports that nine Democratic members of the House of Representatives could change their NO votes to Yes for health care reform. The Republicans should pray that the Democrats use the 51 nuclear option in the US Senate and ram through health care reform in the House, this would allow the Republicans to campaign on one clear issue, the repeal of of Obama Care, the tax hikes and the demand that Americans buy insurance will allow the Republicans to retake the House and block the Obama Agenda. If Obama is foolish enough to go down this route the Republicans should build him an Alter, a fake star for a fake alter, love the irony. The one thing that can be stated almost as a fact is that Obama is a one hit wonder as they say in the pop world. At the start of the Obama Presidency he had the chance to bring the country together, but he has become a hostage of the liberal leadership of the House and Senate, Obama is no LBJ.

Votes in the House - Health Care Reform

Slate: Reports on the voting patterns in the House of Representatives, the article states that Speaker Pelosi will have a hard time getting the votes, as stated in the NYT it comes down to Democrats who oppose abortion and those that think that the Bill will bankrupt the country. At the end of the day the heavy lift will have to come from the Oval, Obama will have to find his inner LBJ. In other words its down to what House members want, do they need money for their individual races, do they want the White House to get jobs for their friends, do they need Obama not come to their district in the Mid Terms. Or even more hard ball does the White House have any political dirt on House members, sleeping with their secretaries, tax avoidance, mob connections, etc. If so the Oval will have to use this dirt, its about winning not coming second. This is hard ball politics, lets put aside the issue of health care reform, lets look at the process, Obama needs a win, thus it time to put away his moderator hat and place his Chicago hat on, find what is the weakness of the voter you need and feed that weakness, leave the morality at the door. As the article states in less Pelosi can turn some votes the bill will " almost certainly fail. " This would be a crushing defeat for Obama, thus as Reagan rented House votes the Obama White House has to play hardball, otherwise the Democrats will lose the House in 2010 and the Presidency in 2012. Its real politics folks, that is what this blog would do if in the Obama White House.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that another British soldier has been killed in Afghanistan, the soldier was from the " 3rd Battalion The Rifles ". This is the second death in two days, in 2009 the UK lost three soldiers for the month of March. Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 268 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 235 in combat operations and 33 due to illines, accidents or other incidents.

Death in Afghanistan

MOD: Reports that a soldier has died today in Afghanistan, the soldier was from the " A Company 4 RIFLES, part of the 3 RIFLES Battle Group ". Thus since 2001 the UK has lost 267 of its Armed Forces Personnel in Afghanistan, of that total it has lost 234 in combat operations and 33 due to illness, accidents or other incidents.

Obama's House Troubles - Health Care Reform

Bloomberg.com: Reports on the problems that President Obama is having with his own Democrats in the House of Representatives when it comes to health care reform. This will be the real test for President Obama, can he manage the House like LBJ and Reagan, can he get Congressmen/women to vote for a Bill that could see them thrown out of office in November. At the end of the day charm is not enough, JFK had charm in abundance but could get nothing pass the Congress, the heavy lift was done by by LBJ, his successor and former Senate Majority Leader. The Congress has to be afraid of a President, if they see him or her as a voter loser they will thrown him or her over the cliff, Obama needs to show that he can get votes, so far his record is bad, Obama can not expect the loyalty of moderates and blue dog Democrats, they want to come back to Washington D.C, thus lets see if Obama is a moderator or President.

Pelosi on Health Care Reform

The New York Times: Reports that Speaker Pelosi has made it clear that she is willing to throw members of her own party under the bus for health care reform, the article states the following, " ( Pelosi )...confident she will be able to get the votes....even if it threatens the political careers of some members of her party. ". Lets recall Speaker Pelosi is a extreme liberal, she has a safe liberal seat in Congress, thus moderate and blue dog democrats have a simple choice, health care reform or re-election, its that simple and brutal folks, the question the House should ask would Speaker Pelosi sacrifice her political career to protect moderate and blue dog democrats, lets be honest we all know the answer. Thus members who face tough re-election fights have only one sane choice, ditch Pelosi and come back to Washington D.C.

Reconciliation - Health Care Reform

The Hill: Reports on the White House path to to health care reform after the Health Care Reform Summit at the White House, the article states the following, ".....Obama effectively endorsed the use of budget reconciliation rules to pass a final bill through the Senate on a simple-majority vote. ". Thus we come to the most simple route, that the House passes the Senate version of health care reform, then the Senate through reconciliation do the changes as demanded by the House. The problem is that there are not the votes in the House to pass the Senate version of health care reform, the blue dog Democrats would be throwing their political careers under the bus for the liberal leadership Congress. It was amusing to see that Speaker Pelosi expect moderate and conservative Democrats to throw their careers away while she is in a safe district, if she had offered to walk the blank first one would take notice of the Speaker. Thus time for House members to throw Pelosi under the bus as to allow themselves the chance to get re-elected.