Financial Reform Bill passes and the rats come out

Isn’t funny how life plays out sometimes. Yesterday the Senate passed the Financial Reform bill. The bill was passed with the aid of four Republicans. Olympia Snow and Susan Collins, naturally went along with the madness. Chuck Grassley and Scott Brown were the other two.  Brown threw in his hat for a little bit of crony capitalism: 

Brown's vote was secured partly through the help of Frank, his Massachusetts colleague. In an interview, Frank said Brown called him Wednesday evening as Frank was working out on the elliptical machine in the House gym. Brown wanted assurances that Frank would fight in conference to preserve provisions in the House bill that protect large and solvent Massachusetts institutions, such as State Street and Fidelity, from "unnecessary intrusion" by government regulators. Over the next 24 hours, Frank sent Senate leaders two letters stating his position, and Brown indicated that "on that basis, he could vote for cloture," Frank said. 

I hope this quells any more foolish talk of Brown 2012.  He was the panic button to stop ObamaCare.  Since that failed, there is little need to continue to support this guy the next time around.

After the Senate voted to end debate (again with Brown’s help) Obama came out to the Rose Garden to laud the bill and push for its passage. As Obama droned on about things the bill is suppose to do, but clearly won’t, a rat scurried past the podium: 

Obama had just begun an afternoon statement to reporters lauding the end of a Senate filibuster on his financial overhaul plan when some kind of rodent — opinions differ on which — dashed out of the bushes to his right, just outside the Oval Office. 

There is something very fitting about that rat showing up. The Financial Reform bill that is supposed to have addressed the causes of the financial meltdown, does not address two of the biggest causes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or using bailouts for companies “too big to fail”.

Perhaps the Associated Press was trying to say that in an underhanded kind of way: 

Moreover, rodents of all kinds are pretty common in Washington… 

Yes, they are pretty common, and come November 2^nd the voters get to play exterminator.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Washington Post

Via: Associated Press

Via: Politico 

Scott Brown slams Obama’s “bitter health care push” in weekly GOP address

You had better believe this is a bitter push for health care. Obama is bitter that he cannot sell this turkey with his endless gabfests. As the year goes by and Brown does those silly RINO things you know he will do, think back to this video and you will be able to forgive him a little.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Associated Press
Video h/t: The Blogprof

Scott Brown votes with Dems to move Jobs Bill forward

Scott Brown voted with Democrats today to move the Senate Jobs Bill forward. We all knew Scott Brown wasn’t a tried and true conservative. He was elected as America’s Panic Button to stop ObamaCare. That is what he promised and that is what he had better deliver on. So this vote should not come as a big surprise to anyone.

Here is what Brown said about his vote [emphasis mine]: 

Washington Post: "I came to Washington to be an independent voice, to put politics aside, and to do everything in my power to help create jobs for Massachusetts families," Brown said in a statement issued by his office. "This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I will vote for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work.

"I was disappointed with the continuation of politics-as-usual in the drafting of this bill, as it was crafted behind closed doors, without transparency and accountability. I hope for improvements in that process going forward. All of us, Republicans and Democrats, have to work together to get our economy back on track. I hope my vote today is a strong step toward restoring bipartisanship in Washington."

I highlighted those phrases because this is the illogic I find so maddening with moderates.  Brown laments about the lack of transparency and accountability, but throws away any possibility for reform when he abandons principles for the sake of bipartisanship. Memo to Brown: If you want more open and accountable government, then be a man and stand up for it! Next time vote "NO" and say if they want your vote, then everything must be out in the open.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Washington Post

Sour Grapes: Patrick Kennedy says Scott Brown’s candidacy is “a joke”

Somebody sounds like they are just a wee bit upset that daddy’s seat went bye-bye.

From The Hill: 

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) castigated Brown for having pushed to be sworn in ahead of schedule to permanently fill the Senate seat left vacant by the congressman's father's death in August.

"Brown's whole candidacy was shown to be a joke today when he was sworn in early in order to cast his first vote as an objection to Obama's appointment to the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)," Kennedy said Thursday.

[SNIP]

"Seven out of ten of Brown's voters were labor households and he stressed that he was independent and while he was originally scheduled to be sworn in next week, they moved it up to today so he could cast his first vote, the most anti-labor, the most anti-what his constituents thought they were voting for when they voted for him," Kennedy said. 

[SNIP]

"This is where he shows that when they need him, he's in the tank for the Republicans," Kennedy said.  

I would love to know just what Patrick Kennedy thinks the nickname “41” actually refers to for Scott Brown?  The people of Massachusetts sent Scott Brown to Washington to put the brakes on Obama’s leftist agenda.  If they wanted another person to simply rubber stamp it, they would have voted for Martha Coakley.

If Patrick wants to sport such sour grapes, perhaps we should all send Scott Brown some Mary Jo Kopechne photos to hang about the newly reclaimed People’s Office, just to remind Patrick that the Kennedy name just ain’t what it use to be.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Hill

Video: Scott Brown sworn in as US Senator

Bye-bye Democrat super majority! May they never have power like that again until they learn to respect the will of the people. 

This is a good day for America and a bad day for John Kerry.  Despite Brown being the junior senator from Massachusetts, he gets to reclaim Ted Kennedy’s office for the people’s office.

From CNN: 

Brown will be taking over Kennedy's coveted office space in the Senate Russell building. Sen. Paul Kirk, who was appointed to fill the seat after Kennedy's death, currently occupies the office and will move out.

Several Senate sources tell CNN that the Senate Rules Committee, which assigns office space, decided to give Brown the office space as a matter of convenience.

Because of his seniority, Kennedy had one of the most coveted office suites in the Senate complex. It is located in the Russell building, down the hall from the Rotunda, and has balconies that overlook the Capitol.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: CNN

Humm, Scott Brown will be sworn in on Thursday

Here is something that is a little puzzling. Scott Brown was supposed to be sworn in on February 11^th.  However after finding out about crucial votes coming up next week, Brown had his attorney speak with Massachusetts authorities to have himself certified now.

The puzzling part is how easily the whole thing is going. No delays from Democrat governor Deval Patrick and especially surprising no delays from Harry Reid. Reid is find with having Scott Brown sworn in on Thursday.

Harry Reid spent the entire year locking Republicans out of the healthcare process and aggressively pushing that process over the objections of the will of the people. Now with Obama’s pro union pick for the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB), Craig Becker, to be voted on next week, Reid gets all accommodating to Republicans? Why?

If I had to guess, I would say Reid is desperate for another excuse as to why he cannot pass healthcare reform. Despite all the chatter and tough talk, healthcare reform is dead, dead, dead.  It died a least a week before the Scott Brown victory. When the House Democrats, who all face re-election this year, saw what was happening in Massachusetts they dropped support for healthcare reform.

All this stuff you hear now about working on healthcare is just noise designed to let their base down softly, because the truth would set their base on fire. Can you imagine what would happen on the left if it were known that the Democrats got  *this* close to passing ObamaCare and then got cold feet at the last minute?

Instead of that nightmarish scenario, it is easier to let Brown be sworn in and then claim that the Republican loophole to stop reconciliation worked. This way, the death of ObamaCare can be blamed on the Republicans rather than on Democrats with cold feet.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Hill

Via: The Hill

Via: Washington Monthly

Saturday Night Live’s Scott Brown sketch

Scott Brown seems to have liked the sketch.  Here is Brown's reaction: 

Brown smiled as he watched it. “Thank goodness I like a good laugh,” he tells National Review Online. “That was pretty funny. I wish I could host SNL some day. I’ve been watching it since I was young. Jon Hamm is great.” But what about Hamm’s Boston accent? “He did a great job,” says Brown. “He doesn’t really sound like me, but it was very funny.” 

I thought it was funny too, but knowing that SNL leans to the left, I have to wonder if they are suggesting that the only reason Brown won was because he is perceived as good looking? This theme is often applied to Palin as well, so is that why the SNL Scott Brown does all that winking (a la Palin)?

Via: Memeorandum

Via: National Review’s The Corner

Scott Brown on Jay Leno's show

Shamelessly pinched from Left Coast Rebel's blog (damn you LCR, you find all the good stuff).

H/T: Left Coast Rebel

Yes, there are hot people on the right

You just knew once Scott Brown rocked the Democrats’ world they would be seeking payback.  Well it looks like the left is going to try  give Scott Brown and his family the Palin Treatment.

Huffington Post has dug up this old music video featuring Scott Brown’s wife Gail Huff in a bikini!

This is pathetic. Keep in mind that this is coming from a party that went to the mat for an adulterer and constantly supports liars, tax cheats and incompetents in high positions.

I think the reason why the left is focusing in on things like this concerning the Browns and the Palins is because they hate the fact that both the Browns and the Palins are hot! The left is having a hard time dealing with the concept of young and attractive people on the right. To them we are all supposed to be fat, white, toothless dullards who eat babies and kill puppies. So when they encounter people like the Browns or the Palins, who are attractive, they try to turn their attractiveness into a bad thing.

Remember how these folks swooned over a shirtless Obama at the beach?  They yapped endlessly about his physique and his youthfulness, blah, blah, blah. But Scott Brown’s 30-year-old nude pictures, Mrs. Brown in a bikini or Palin in running shorts is scandalous!  

The left needs to get over it and just accept the fact that there are hotties on the right.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Huffington Post 

Scott Brown for President in 2012? Let’s not get carried away.

Scott Brown’s victory last night in Massachusetts seems to have some people talking about the idea that Brown would be a good candidate to run against Obama in 2012.  I don’t think so.

First let’s put Scott Brown in perspective. Scott Brown was elected to play the role of America’s Emergency Brake to big government. He won that role because he proved himself to be fiscally conservative enough for the job and he showed himself to be a servant to the people rather than a master.  Is this really enough to put things right in 2012?

Let’s be real, in one year Obama and the Democrats have caused a lot of damage. In three more years, who knows what kind of mess we will be looking at? We are going to need someone with real executive experience to weed through that mess. Another senator simply will not cut it. Secondly, let us not forget, Scott Brown is a blue state conservative and as such he may not be willing to roll back all of the progressive nonsense in play. He may just be willing to compromise on them instead.

Make no mistake, I am grateful as hell to have Scott Brown in the Senate, but my gratitude does not extend taking risks on 2012. For 2012, I want someone who will not only roll back the liberal policies enacted by The Won, I want someone who will take the steps to make sure we never find ourselves in this situation again.  That means making the necessary changes so that implementing progressive ideas in the future is near impossible. 

The Bitch Slap Heard Around The World: Scott Brown Wins!

Scott Brown Wins!

The people of Massachusetts deliver one hell of a bitch slap to Washington for America. Massachusetts, the bluest of blue states said: 

• No to Martha Coakley’s rubbing stamping the Obama agenda.
• No to Obama’s deception of centrist promises but a hard left agenda.
• No to the arrogance of Nancy Pelosi.
• No to the dirty dealing of Harry Reid.
• And a big far NO to that hideous healthcare bill! 

I hope this bitch slap leave one hell of a mark on Washington or at the very least some serious tire tracks from an old truck from Massachusetts!

Thank you, Massachusetts!

Via: Memeornadum

Via: Associated Press

Dem GOTV effort finds many Democrats for Scott Brown

Now this is good news that makes up for absentee ballot cheating.  From Politico: 

A Democratic operative familiar with Martha Coakley and the DSCC's massive get-out-the-vote operation says that outreach workers in and around Boston have been stunned by the number of Democrats and Obama supporters who are waving them off, saying they'll vote for Scott Brown.

This makes sense to me. There are many people on the left who thinks the current healthcare bill stinks. Since Obama, Nancy and Harry have turned a deaf ear to the people, why not join the bandwagon and send the Dems a loud message.

I am beginning to get the feeling that Brown might win and win big. He needs to in order to overcome any possible cheating.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico

Obama plans to get “combative” if Scott Brown wins

Talk about a sucker for punishment. Politico is reporting that in the even Scott Brown wipes the floor with Martha Coakley, Obama plans to take a “combative” turn: 

President Barack Obama plans a combative response if, as White House aides fear, Democrats lose Tuesday’s special Senate election in Massachusetts, close advisers say.

“This is not a moment that causes the president or anybody who works for him to express any doubt,” a senior administration official said. “It more reinforces the conviction to fight hard.”

A defeat by Martha Coakley for the seat held by the late Edward M. Kennedy would be embarrassing for the party — and potentially debilitating, since Democrats will lose their filibuster-proof, 60-vote hold on the Senate.

A potential casualty: the health care bill that was to be the crowning achievement of the president’s first year in office.

The health care backdrop has given the White House a strong incentive to strike a defiant posture, at least rhetorically, in response to what would be an undeniable embarrassment for the president and his party.

There won’t be any grand proclamation that “the era of Big Government is over” — the words President Bill Clinton uttered after Republicans won the Congress in the 1990s and he was forced to trim a once-ambitious agenda.

“The response will not be to do incremental things and try to salvage a few seats in the fall,” a presidential adviser said. “The best political route also happens to be the boldest rhetorical route, which is to go out and fight and let the chips fall where they may. We can say, ‘At least we fought for these things, and the Republicans said no.’”

Clearly Obama and his advisors are not reading the message that a Brown victory would send. While Obama and the Democrats recognize the anger of the electorate, they refuse to recognize that the anger is directed at them.

When Republicans screwed up, the electorate threw them out because they did not perform as advertised. In the case of Obama and the Democrats, the American people hold a much worse view. The American people are viewing Obama and the Democrats like a threat to the nation. This is not something that is over come by boldly pushing ahead. 

Obama and the Democrats need to view a Scott Brown victory as if the American people pushed a panic button. The people see the wild spending and the deliberate deaf ear to their displeasure over healthcare reform as a government out of control. Electing a Republican in the bluest of blue states is equivalent to jamming on the breaks.

Obama and the Democrats’ best course of action would be to chuck healthcare reform, begin taking huge chucks out of the deficit (i.e. HUNDREDS of billions in cuts), knock off the big spending and go about doing things that actually help to create jobs.  Anything short of that and the public will remain in panic mode.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico

Obama gets heckled at Coakley rally

Hat tip to Hack Wilson blog for bringing this to my attention.

I listened to the video like 10 times already and I still cannot figure out what the heckler is saying.  Listen to it and let me know what you think the heckler says. 

Either way, the Obama Coakley rally did not enjoy the same enthusiasm as Scott Brown did. I hate to rely on evidence like this, but it is looking more and more like at total Brown out in Massachusetts.

Via: Hack Wilson blog

Scott Brown draws bigger crowd that Obama and Coakley

I know relying on evidence like this to determine how a campaign will do is risky, but come on. If the President of the United States cannot fill a 3,000 capacity hall in downtown Boston on a Sunday well then ….

From Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit:

A REPORT FROM THE SCOTT BROWN RALLY AT WORCESTER: “It’s an absolute mob scene. The police have closed off the streets. It’s mind blowing. The hall is already full, and it holds 3,000 people. There may be another 1,000 people outside.”

Meanwhile, reader Sean Fitzpatrick writes: “Pictures don’t do justice. Nothing like this in Mass since JFK. Worcester rally starts in thirty minutes and the streets are already packed.” Here’s a pic.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Meanwhile, reportedly, Coakley can’t fill a hall. “Martha Coakley and Barack Obama held a rally today in Boston. They couldn’t fill the hall. . . . It holds 3,000 and frankly only 2,000 to 2,500 showed up.”

Come on Massachusetts, save us from ObamaCare!

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Instapundit

Can interim senator Paul Kirk vote after a Brown win?

Fred Barnes at the Weekly Standard has looked into the legal ramifications of what happens to interim senator Paul Kirk’s voting ability in the event of a Scott Brown victory.  GOP lawyers say there is precedent that Kirk loses his voting ability the second Brown wins.  According to Massachusetts’s law, Kirk’s is only valid until a qualified candidate is duly election. Note it is qualified not "certified". There is also Senate precedent and the Constitution that backs up Kirk’s lame duck status. Read the whole article here for a full understanding.

While this is a comforting thought, I don’t hold out much hope of Democrats respecting precedent or the spirit of the law. Over the last year they have only seemed interested in doing so when it worked to their benefit.

Over at Clusterstock, Jim Weisenthal lays out 6 scenarios of what can happen if Scott Brown wins. 

·  House passes the Senate version as-is.Right now the healthcare bill is in conference, meaning the House and Senate are coming up with a compromise that bouth bodies could then go back and pass. But if Democrats fell below the 60 vote threshold, it's possible that house Democrats could drop all compromise demands, and simply vote in favor of the Senate bill, which would then not require a second vote in the Senate. This seems unlikely though, given that there are differences between the two, and since a Martha Coakley loss would cause a lot of moderate Dems to get nervous.

· Democrats succeed in slowing the seating of Scott brown, giving the 60 sitting members time to vote. If Scott Brown wins, expect all kinds of legal challenges, recounts, and other efforts to slow his seating, giving Congress time to pass the bill. This would look horrible to voters, and it may not even work given the amount of time required to reach a compromise.

· Democrats succeed in slowing the seating of Scott Brown, but Republicans succeed in preventing sitting Senator Paul Kirk from voting. Democrats might be able to slow Brown's entry into the Senate, but Republicans are already taking about their own trick. In The Weekly Standard, conservative commenter Fred Barnes argues that under Massachusetts law, sitting senator Paul Kirk is ineligible to vote right after the election takes place, regardless of who wins.

· Democrats bend Senate rules in order for healthcare to pass with 51 votes. Apparently Democrats could, theoretically, break Senate rules in such a way that would allow the Senate to pass healthcare reform with only 51 votes. We haven't seen a clear explanation of how this would work, though it might require the bill to be scaled back in some way.

· Democrats convince a liberal GOP Senator (like Susan Collins) to support healthcare reform.There are one or two Republicans who might be willing to support a bill, though we haven't seen this proposed too seriously.

· Healthcare dies. Probably the most likely scenario. See Megan McArdle's explanation here.

Of the scenarios, numbers 2 and 4 would seem radioactive to me. Scott Brown is running against ObamaCare, so his victory is a referendum on ObamaCare. For the Democrats to go over the people’s heads once more will push things beyond the brink.

I think scenarios 1 and 5 are dead already. With the race in Massachusetts already looking so shaky, the safe thing to do would be to pass it as is or get the extra senate vote now. The fact that they haven’t tells me that they may not be able to. I think there are too many Dems running out the clock to see what happens in Mass. A Scott Brown victory will be they reason to bolt.

Scenario 3 is pretty much a temporary stalemate that eventually leads to Scott Brown voting against ObamaCare and I see no advantage for either side in that.

I agree that healthcare dying is the most likely scenario should Scott Brown win. Right now the Dem leadership is spinning that not passing healthcare reform will hurt more than passing it, but a Scott Brown victory would prove that false beyond a doubt.

Of course, should Coakley win all is moot. The Dems will immediately seat her and she will vote for ObamaCare without batting an eye.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Weekly Standard

Via: Clusterstock

How bad is Martha Coakley? SEIU Purple Shirts rally for Scott Brown

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well these pictures are worth about two thousand. If SEIU's rank and file members are supporting Scott Brown, then I don't think we should expect too much help from them on Tuesday.  


Actually this kind of reminds me of the New Jersey governor's race. Corzine had all these union people who were suppose to be out there for him on election day.  They did show up, but they clearly could not match the enthusiasm of those on the right. It almost seemed like the union guys were only going through the motions rather than actually trying to get out the vote. With a bit of luck, maybe the same will happen in Massachusetts. 

Via: Memorandum
Via: Red Mass Group

Welcome to Blunderville: DSCC uses World Trade Center image to attack Scott Brown and Wall Street greed

Lord have mercy, these folks are dense when they are in panic mode. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee put out an attack ad for Martha Coakley (D- Blunderville). The ad is supposed to tie Republican Scott Brown to those “greedy Wall Street” capitalist. So to symbolize those greedy Wall Street people, the ding-dongs at the DSCC use an image of the World Trade Center.

What were these people thinking? Why on earth would anyone use an image of one of America’s greatest tragedies to symbolize villainous greed?  The left squeals when the right accuses them of hating America, but when you see stupid shit like this, you just have to wonder if there isn’t some truth there.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the Democrats were clearly not expecting any competition from Brown. Furthermore and more importantly, this is another example of how completely tone deaf the Democrats have become to the people they represent. Coakley and the Democrats really and truly deserve to lose in Massachusetts. The loss might finally wake them the hell up.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Politico

Great Scott! Brown takes the lead in Mass Senate race

This is very happy news. A Suffolk University poll is out showing Scott Brown 4 points ahead of Martha Coakley. Brown leads Coakley 50/46.  While Brown’s lead is within the margin of error, there is other evidence that may show he really is ahead.

Byron York writes in the Washington Examiner today, that Democrats are already preparing their excuses for a Coakley loss. They are painting Coakley as another Craig Deeds in order to distance her loss from Obama and his agenda.

This is laughable. One of the very reasons why Coakley is sinking is because of her support of ObamaCare. Even the people of Massachusetts  hate it. Trying to pretend that it is just her bungling alone isn’t going to fool anyone. Should Brown really pull it out the sonic boom that will be  sent to Obama and the Democrats in Washington will be impossible to ignore.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Boston Herald

Via: The Washington Examiner

Dems try to use PDS against Scott Brown

The special election in Massachusetts to fill the Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy is looking like a wild roller coaster ride. Poll numbers are all over the place, but there seems to be a general feeling that Republican Scott Brown has traction. Brown’s one-day haul of $1.3 million certainly has gotten attention.

As a result of all this attention, the DNC has dispatched one of their top spin/smear masters Hari Sevugan to come to Martha Coakley’s aid.  Hari Sevugan's strategy appears to be trying to get PDS [Palin Derangement Syndrome] suffers to come out in force to vote for Coakley. In a series of emails and blog post, Sevugan has tried to inject Sarah Palin in the Mass race, by asking where is her endorsement of Brown and why hasn’t Brown asked for Palin’s help.  The whole thing reeks of desperation.

I think Brown’s perfect response to David Gergen during the debate might have sealed the deal for Brown:

“The people’s seat” is sure to resonate in today’s political climate and it is a killer for the “do it for Teddy” line of thinking. All in all the special election is sure to be the closest watch race since 2008.  It will be very interesting to see how this finally plays out.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: The Washington Examiner

Via: The Other McCain

Via: National Journal

Via: Instapundit

Photo h/t: Conservatives 4 Palin