As Wanda Sykes might say, "I am so damned sick of these @#!*# Democratic snakes on this @#!*# plane!" Yes, once again, ConservaDems are holding a gun to the head of progress. This time, they want to blackmail Congress into overriding the Constitutionally-mandated power of the House over the nation's purse strings - and hand it over to them:

Seven members of the Senate Budget Committee threatened during a Tuesday hearing to withhold their support for critical legislation to raise the debt ceiling if the bill calling for the creation of a bipartisan fiscal reform commission were not attached. Six others had previously made such threats, bringing the total to 13 senators drawing a hard line on the committee legislation.

“You rarely do have the leverage to make a fundamental change,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who said he hasn’t ruled out offering the independent commission legislation as an amendment to the healthcare reform bill.

What is it about Kent Conrad that makes me want to slap him? Is it that perpetually robotic grin? Is it the fact that he's so reliably a corporate tool? Or maybe it's that somehow, I just know that Celine Dion is on his iPod.

The panel, which has been championed by Conrad and ranking member Judd Gregg (R-N.H), would be tasked with stemming the unsustainable rise in debt.

Among its chief responsibilities would be closing the gap between tax revenue coming in and the larger cost of paying for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. The Government Accountability Office recently reported the gap is on pace to reach an “unsustainable” $63 trillion in 2083.

The panel would also have the power to craft legislation that would change the tax code and set limits on government spending.

The legislation would then be subject to an up-or-down vote; it could not be amended.

Chris Bowers calls it a "national suicide pact":

Let's review the threat that these five Democrats are making:

* They will allow the United States to default on its debt, which will vastly increase the overall amount we have to pay on our debt

UNLESS

* Speaker Nancy Pelosi turns over Congressional power on Social Security and Medicare to an unelected commission that will almost certainly propose deep cuts in Social Security and Medicare entitlements. Keep in mind that if deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare pass under a Democratic trifecta, the party would be doomed at the ballot box for years to come.

This is completely insane, and there is no choice but to call this bluff.

Let's see these five Democratic Senators explain to the entire nation why they allowed the country to default on its debt. No matter how safe their seats appear to be, no Senator is going to win reelection after making the entire country default on its debt. Their rationale does not matter. Being blamed for making the country default on its debt - especially after all five of these Democrats voted in favor of the Wall Street bailout and are demanding that Social Security and Medicare be cut - will be the effective end of their political careers.

Go for it, guys. Form your national suicide pact. Tell the country that you are demanding deep cuts in Social Security and Medicare, or else you will personally cause the United States debt to double. Let's see how well that message plays on the air.

Comments from Left Field: The White House is set to release an IG torture report. Dem Congressional staffers tell me this report is the “holy grail,” because it is expected to detail torture in unprecedented detail and to cast doubt on the claim that torture works — and its release will almost certainly trigger howls of protest from conservatives.

TAPPED: Offensive remarks?  Oh wait.  Wanda Sykes didn't say these things, Rush Limbaugh said them about Obama and other Dems, and he wasn't kidding.

Legal Schnauzer: As Texas Governor, Bush did the same thing that landed Don Siegelman in prison

Where’s the Outrage? Say what? Health Care Industry pledging $2 trillion in cuts

Pharyngula: Elephant's Wings (h/t Vagabond Scholar)

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: Just wondering...Hard Hitting journalism always provides a megaphone for frauds...Waiting for CNBC...A world without Newspapers...Clear Channel reaping the whirlwind...Newspaper Narcissism...Fire this assh*le...NYT finally prints the word 'torture'...Mustard...Play Misty for me...EFCA for very slow reporters....Kindle to the rescue... Interview with Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher Magazine...How much was Fox paid to shill Bush's War Crimes?

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TIME"s Joe Klein went after Rush Limbaugh and didn't hold back any punches. The topic was Wanda Sykes and her routine at the WH Correspondents Dinner. She hit Rushbo. and conservatives are so upset.

KLEIN: This is just comedy. And we're talking about a guy in Rush Limbaugh who is inappropriate half the time I hear him on the radio.

CARPENTER: Yes, but he doesn't go to the White House Correspondents' Dinner to... (CROSSTALK)

KLEIN: But he describes himself as an entertainer. Wanda Sykes, entertainer. This is entertainment.

CARPENTER: But would you hold up Rush Limbaugh at these dinners to tell those jokes?

KLEIN: So could Rush. He could be in a lot better taste on a daily basis in which he is delivering misinformation, lies to a large audience in America. That is far more serious than telling a couple of jokes at a banquet.

KURTZ: Well, "lies" is a strong word, but we'll come back to that another time.

Klein was surprisingly candid in his assessment of Limbaugh and what he says on the air. Kurtz got stunned when Joe called Rush an outright liar. He also defends Sykes right to do what she will as a comedian.

(transcript below the fold via CNN)

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