Blumenthal lied about Vietnam?

Richard Blumenthal has served as Connecticut's Attorney General for many years - and is widely respected - but recently he took the podium at a ceremony regarding veterans and apparently misrepresented his own service in the Vietnam era. This apparent lie has been exposed by the New York Times, and some are arguing it may lead to the end of his political career.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

This will be an interesting one to watch. Mr. Blumenthal is running to replace Senator Chris Dodd. If he should fall, is there a Democratic candidate who can step in to fill the gap, or is this one seat that the GOP can mark as "safe" for 2010?

President Obama doubles-down on Health Care Reform

Congress put forth two unpopular Health Care Reform plans - one by the House and one from the Senate. Both were pushed with considerable urgency by the White House. And these plans and the sense of reckless pace of passage was extremely unpopular with voters, and lead to the lowest ratings in recorded history of Congress. And, of course, the election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate seat formerly held by Ted Kennedy. So, what do you do if you are President Obama? Apparently, more of the same stuff that ruined Democratic chances for 2010.

President Barack Obama is putting forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year health care plan that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriated consumers....
It conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals.

They say "insanity" is defined as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.". I realize the president is trying to pass something before his Democratic majority is either reduced, or eliminated altogether in the 2010 elections. But one has to wonder if this would be easier to sell if the various measures were passed separately and the overall scope reduced.

Senator Evan Bayh bails out

After judging his seat to be secure against any challengers, Senator Evan Bayh has elected NOT to run for re-election, anyway. There is considerable speculation about why Bayh - who was on the short list to serve as Barack Obama's Vice President - has decided to bow out. It is unlikely to be related to the anticipated Congressional housecleaning in 2010. But it could well have to do with a presidential run against Obama in the Democratic primaries in 2012.

Republican Scott Brown wins Mass. Senate Seat

It seems like so much of the politics surrounding Barack Obama is driven inexorably by history, defying expectations and stereotypes. His own rise to power dumbfounded critics - a relatively obscure junior Senator became president over a Hillary Clinton (the assumed nominee from the day she announced). Now, the Obama agenda is threatened by another wave of history as Republican Scott Brown has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to win the senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. This seat has been held by a Democrat for for decades, and Massachusetts has not sent any Republican to the Senate since 1972 - two year before I was born.

Brown's victory was so sweeping, he even won in the Cape Cod community where Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime liberal icon, died of brain cancer last August.
"While the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person, no one political party," Brown told his supporters Tuesday night. "This is the people's seat," he added to chants of "People's seat!"
Brown will become the 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate, which could allow the GOP to block the health care bill. Democrats needed Coakley to win for a 60th vote to thwart Republican filibusters.

Senate explores taxes, taxes, and more taxes to pay for Health Care Reform

The Obama administration keeps pledging that Health Care Reform will wind up saving Americans money. But every time we hear back from Congress, the tax bill for it keeps going up. Now, the Senate is exploring new and interesting ways to tax hiring in the middle of the Great Recession.

The versions leaked so far would add as much as 0.5% on workers who earn more than $200,000. If assessed on both the worker and employer, this would increase the Medicare tax rate to 3.9% from 2.9% today. It would also create the first progressive payroll tax in American history, with wealthier workers paying a higher Medicare payroll tax rate than lower income workers...

In another trial balloon, Mr. Reid would impose the payroll tax on all income, not just wages and salaries. This means applying the tax to capital gains, dividends and other investment income. This would convert the Medicare levy into a de facto version of the income tax.

For those keeping score at home, that includes both taxes that punish investing (which creates jobs) and hiring (which gets people into jobs). Anyone out there think that will have a positive effect on Unemployment?

I am still amazed that the Democrats seem to think Unemployment is unimportant compared to all of their other priorities.

Arlen Specter goes to the Dems

Some may remember in 2001 when Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords switched from the Republican to the Democratic party in an attempt to create a clear majority for the Democrats. They may also remember it did not amount to much in the end. Well, Republican Senator Arlen Specter - famous for breaking ranks with the Republican party on the stimulus package - has decided to follow the same path and will be switching to the Democratic Party.

Much will be made of this - some will likely say it is the "death knell for the GOP". But the fact is that Specter already made the choice when he supported the stimulus package. He is now looking at his district, and see there are no Republicans willing to support him for another term - he will lose in the primary. So he is rolling the dice by jumping ship. Likely, he will still lose and wind up a man without a party.

Still, who knows? I have been wrong before. Maybe the real change will be the GP convincing Senator oe Lieberman to come over to the GOP. After all, he has allegedly been informed by party leaders that they will NOT support him in his next reelection bid.

Senate passes ANOTHER DTV Delay

In a comedy of congressional dialogue, this week the Senate passed a bill to delay the digital TV cutoff to June which the House then voted down. Now, the Senate has unanimously passed another bill to delay the DTV cutoff which it is sending to the House again. This time, the switchover's delay will be voluntary. No broadcaster will be required to switch over on February 17, but will have until June 2009 to do so.

My guess is this one will pass the House. The question is whether it will really make any difference in the end. The only advantage after all to the broadcasters is power savings.