What I really want is an explaination from the White House. I want to know if they are serious about real reform. If they are, then WHY are they still pandering to the Republicans?

i'm interested in the moral angle of health care reform but my approach in explaining/debating to the mouth breathers is the economic angle of health care cost reform. the right doesn't want to hear personal
medical stories. they don't care. health care ins. cost reform is a economic necessity. "outsourcing" will continue if we don't become more competitive in the global economy. when i get into this angle their mouths just hang open. this is reality. Whirlpool is closing a plant to locate to mexico. Boeing is talking about locating to China. CHINA is implementing Universal Health Care. CHINA understands the importance of the "collective".the global recession,debt to china,unemployment,foreclosures and reduction in consumerism has made us very vulnerable. almost every state has budget problems. this reform is a economic necessity. read this NYTimes and send it to your congress person and ask them how are we going to compete and slow down "outsourcing"?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/world/asia/...

Bob Somerby in yesterday's Daily Howler hits the nail squarely on the head:

“Why are Democrats (and liberals) so bad at messaging? So bad at pushing back?” Rick Perlstein’s reader asked the right questions (same link). But before we start to answer those questions, let’s consider the potent messaging which comes from the other side.

It’s simple-minded—but it works. On our side, we stand in line to help. For decades, almost all conservative spin has derived from two simple messages. When you get to work with such clear messaging, being a conservative pundit is the easiest job in the world:

Big government never did anything right.
Liberal elites think they’re better than you are.

Almost all Republican spin derives from those two messages. The conservative movements has been actively pushing those messages at least since the time of Nixon. No matter what happens in the real world, the conservative pundit simply dreams up a response which derives from one of those notions.

It doesn’t matter how dumb the response might be. The response will sound familiar—will seem to make sense—if it conforms to those well-worn frameworks. You can dream up any damn thing. To many people, it will seem to make sense.

For that reason, being a conservative pundit is the easiest job in the world.

In other words, too much of Frank Rich, Bill Maher and not enough of Bill Moyers and Marie Cocco.

so republicans that speak out against their turn are patriots and democrats that do it are rude?

Mr. Steal is a clear example of what happens when these beltway elites actually come face to face with people that are suffering from their selfish policies. He simply cannot fathom why someone would challenge his credibility and that of his fellow members of the political arm of the plutocracy. He cannot carry on a rational debate because this middle class revenue source submitted a small dose of reality to his fantasied, lobby funded lifestyle. The only response he can come up with is to insult her. That is because no one else has challenged him on important issues. Especially not his opponents in Washington. They play a game that they all win and we lose.

Lovitz said that during a skit in which he was playing Mike Dukakis debating Bush Sr during the 1988 presidential campaign. I nearly fell off my chair because I was laughing so hard. I love out of the blue lines like that.

This is not a white man in black face? I am not talking about his actions or how he pronounces words, but the constant dribble of bullshit that permeates everything he says.
He sounds like one of these greedy racists took him under their wing and showed him how he could make some money pretending to be one of them.
Do you need any more proof that republicanism is a mental illness?
Really?

Come the mid-terms elections in 2010 we need to make the repub wear the pictures of these crazies around their necks in every ad aired to main steam Americans . Show how the repub is not only the party of no but the party of WRONG. Show how they have been wrong on everything, the war, the economy,how instead of using good sense to debate they go around talking about Pres.Obama not being born in this country, taking there country back, Pres. Obama wanting to brain wash their children,about him being like Hitler, Michelle Bach man being afraid of the census, etc. If these images were to be used at every turn next year, the only place they would win is in the really nut wing sections of the country.

Two Words: Uncle Tom

Someone should put together a collection of all of these videos where repugs talk down to those in need and make that collection of videos go viral. Show the whole world what heartless bastards these greedy SOBs are.

By the way, not sure if C&L posted this, but McCain, McConnell, and Missouri Senator Kit Bond had a town hall a few days ago which was by invitation only.

Cowards.

The Democrats are losing to Democrats they elected who seem to believe the idiots on the right will ever vote for anyone who is a Democrat. If they are afraid of the noise generated by the tea bag machine they are afraid of their own shadow and should be voted out in a primary.

I don't find too much to object to here. Steels was actually sounding somewhat rational and the video doesn't track it long enough to see about content...however, the lady who stood up and began shouting,
which she may have a good point, did make it seem somewhat like those town halls where it was the other side who was shouting.

That said, Steele's paternalistic asshole response...including the "jab" at being on TV, did get a deserved
negative reaction from some people.

I can't figure out who or why others were applauding him.