Algae Politics

No 216 Necessary.   Republican Burkean Thaddeus McCotter is relaxed and succinct in a colloquy with Democratic Knight-errant Chris Van Hollen, narrated by the sprightly Chuck Todd, a well matched trio of savvy, articulate and polite observers of the healthcare debate.  The healthcare tangle now turns to a peculiar state of anticipation as the Democrats proceed cagily to a test vote next week.  David Drucker tells me that the new twist is that the House brains and the White House geniuses are exploring a rule that will allow the Senate bill, passed December 24, 2009 by 60-40, to go the POTUS or signature without the House voting on it.   The trick is to convince the scholars and the Senate Parliamentarian to…
By John Batchelor | March 13, 2010 12:11 AM (0)

Lyndon's Whipping

Horse-Trading Farmhand.   Speaking Dan Henninger, WSJ, on Friday 12, re the difference between Senate Majority Leader and VPOTUS and then the accidental POTUS LBJ and POTUS Obama. LBJ built the foundation for the Great Society by starting in the Senate with the extremely cautious and conservative (and Jim Crow)…
By John Batchelor | March 12, 2010 12:34 AM (3)

Speaker Rumors

Speaker Hope.     Fresh report from Steve Dennis, Roll Call, that some of the Bart Stupak Dirty Dozen are slipping away from the coalition to resist the Senate bill and that all is not gloom and despair in the Speaker's office.  The White House's Rahm Emanuel attended a think tank…
By John Batchelor | March 11, 2010 12:07 AM (2)

Stupak

Stupak is the story.   Whip count again with John McCormack, Weekly Standard, along with Margaret Hoover FNC, and John Avlon, Daily Beast, to find that the number remains under 200 for the 216 needed by Mrs. Pelosi.   McCormack spoke to Bart Stupak of Michigan, leader of the well-established…
By John Batchelor | March 10, 2010 12:33 AM (3)

Ivan's Court

Rahm and Eric and the Bear Raiders of Lost Minds.      Nicholas Sarkozy arrives at the Court of Obama to campaign for the French presidency in the same town as his rival, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and the opening remark for the day's PR is that Sarko will defend the…
By John Batchelor | March 9, 2010 11:02 AM (9)

Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers."
February 19, 2010 8:35 PM (4)