Some links before the holiday…

by: Chris Bowers

Wed Nov 25, 2009 at 05:00

Before I go, here are some links to check out:

• Given that this is the biggest shopping week of the year, Open Left has joined with CREDO action to offer some great gift ideas: Send a coat hanger to one of the 20 "pro-choice" Democrats who voted for the Stupak amendment. And to save you the trip to the store, all you have to do to send a coathanger is to sign a petition opposing the Stupak amendment in the final bill.

• Looks like artic ice and glaciers are part of the Climategate conspiracy.  So nice of them to help out.

• While the Senate will be focusing on health care after Thanksgiving, the House will focus entirely on the new jobs bill.  The leadership is aiming to pass it by December 18th, when Congress goes on recess for the next holidays.
  

  For the occasion, a new, actually bi-partisan jobs caucus has formed around the bill. I am always interested in new Congressional caucuses, but their ideas are a little strange:

  Kaptur, Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), the top three members of the Jobs Now Caucus, have all said they're open to using some of the roughly $600 billion left in stimulus money for new programs targeted specifically for job creation.
  

  Miller floated the proposal during a news conference last week introducing the caucus. Miller supports redirecting stimulus funds toward more infrastructure projects.

  They are really proposing using stimulus infrastructure money to pay for new infrastructure projects in the jobs bill?  Really?  That's entirely pointless.  It isn't even as silly as robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Its robbing Paul to pay Paul.
  

• Speaker Pelosi also seems to get what the Obama administration seems a bit dense about-people want jobs more than they want deficit reduction.  Pelosi:

  "But I think if anybody is asked in the public, 'Would you rather have a job or a percentage of GDP or our national debt will go up a little bit?,' I think everybody wants a job."

  Good.  Unfortunately, the Obama administration is going to focus on deficit reduction next year.  This jobs bill is just about the last chance Democrats have to avoid getting crushed in 2010.

• Speaking of global warming denial, there are moments when I wonder if conservatives really are more off-base than progressives.  Then, I remember that the majority of conservatives don't believe in either global warming or natural selection.  Its at that point that I remember we are dealing with people who aren't interested in a reasoned examination of the world.

• Yes, the filibuster is bad.

  Let me further add that if the filibuster is not destroyed, the public policy passed in 2009 will be the most progressive policy we will see for at least one or two more decades.  If you are cool with that, then go ahead, defend the filibuster.  If you want more, then we need to start working to destroy it.
  

  And of course there are risks.  Yes, without a filibuster, Republicans will be able to pass more of their legislation once they regain control of the Senate and the White House.  However, that is a risk I am perfectly willing to take in order to at least have a chance to actually make significant progressive change happen before the kids I have not yet had are old enough to vote.

• Over at FDL, Jon Walker notes that PhRMA is running ads urging Joe Lieberman to pass the health care bill as is.  Are they perhaps afraid of progressives blocking the health care bill?

  I suspect if PhRMA were 100% confident Joe Lieberman could successfully remove the public option and still ensure the rest of the bill would pass intact, they would be supporting his efforts. The fact that PhRMA is asking Lieberman not to fight indicates to me that they actually fear the possibility that the progressive block might kill the current bill because if it lacks a public option.

  Maaaybe.  But really, does anyone fear the Progressive Block on health care?  Or the Progressive Block on anything?  Even Ralph Nader refused to admit he was helping Republicans.  If Naderites aren't even going to admit they are willing to help defeat Democrats, and help Republicans, if their demands are not met, then why should we expect Progressives in Congress to do so?  There is something deeply embedded in the American progressive psyche that prevents them from ever admitting they will hurt Democrats, and help Republicans, in order to further their goals.

This is an open thread.