[speechlesstx]

In a debate in January of 2008, Obama said this on health care reform:

But the last point I want to make has to do with how we're going to actually get this plan done. You know, Ted Kennedy said that he is confident that we will get universal health care with me as president, and he's been working on it longer than I think about than anybody.

But he's gone through 12 of these plans, and each time they have failed. And part of the reason, I think, that they have failed is we have not been able to bring Democrats, Republicans together to get it done.

That's what I did in Illinois, to provide insurance for people who did not have it. That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are.

C-Span begged Democrats to keep their promise and televise the negotiations. Well, the Demos have begun closed door negotiations and shut Republicans out of the debate.

Even more shamelessly, Pelosi responded to C-Span's request with a bald-faced lie, "There has never been a more open process for any legislation." She also laughed off Obama's campaign promise by saying, “There are a number of things he was for during the campaign.”

The DCCC's Chris Van Hollen said the legislation has been "subjected to unprecedented scrutiny and public input."

Obama wanted this passed in July before precisely to head off any momentum against the bill. Democrats and their foot soldiers in the media went about methodically demonizing the very town hall protesters Van Hollen is holding up as evidence of their "open process."

This legislation is marked by backroom deals, secret meetings with lobbyists, vote bribes and middle of the night votes on draft legislation that no one had actually seen.

Show me the transparency.

[tomder55]

C Span can keep it's cameras rolling 24/7 and they will not capture any negotiations happening on Capitol Hill . That is not where the action is .Rhambo is going to meet with Madame Mimi ,Harry Reid ,and perhaps Ben Nelson and a couple other key Senators and Congressional Reps. To do some serious enhanced persuasion technique and bribing.

Time is not on their side. Already it looks like they will miss the SOTU address .

Even more ominous for the Dems is now there is a real possibility that the open Senatorial seat in Mass. To be decided Jan 19 is actually up for grabs. Republican Scott Brown is running an amazingly strong race against Dem Martha Coakley .Brown is openly saying that he would be the 41st vote against the bill ;and is also running on the Jack Kennedy legacy of supply side tax cuts.
The national GOP is of course AWOL on this ;but Brown has single-handidly built up his prospects similar to the almost upset that happened in NY 23rd by Doug Hoffman.
Even if he ultimately loses ,it will be close and will send further messages to the trojan horse blue dogs about their prospects in November.

[speechlesstx]

Sen. Dorgan also announced he's retiring and his seat looks good for a GOP pickup.

Dorgan hadn’t given any sign before the holiday recess that he was considering retirement, and he’d even been raising money for his reelection campaign.

"It caught us totally by surprise," said an aide to one top Senate Democrat. "We had no idea this was coming. Total stunner."

Dorgan’s wife, Kimberly, a senior executive at the American Council of Life Insurers, wasn’t enthusiastic about her husband's running for another term, according to a source close to the senator.

With Dorgan out of the race, North Dakota becomes a prime pickup opportunity for Senate Republicans. The Cook Political Report has already changed its rating of the race to “Lean Republican” and is calling it one of the Republicans’ “best opportunities to pick up a Democratic-held seat in 2010.”

[tomder55]

So is Michigan Governor's seat ;especially if Pete Hoekstra makes a run for it. And of course ;Chris Dodd is gonzo,

[speechlesstx]

Unfortunately though, Dodd was probably sacrificed to give the Dems their best chance at retaining his seat. Either way, good riddance.

Update: Ed Shultz was asked to consider a run for Dorgan's seat. Sounds like a great idea to me.

[tomder55]

Ed schultz and Franken in the same Senate ? CNN can change their moniker to SCTV.

[tomder55]

Unfortunately though, Dodd was probably sacrificed to give the Dems their best chance at retaining his seat. Either way, good riddance.

Whoever runs for the Dems is going to have problems in Conn. Linda McMahon is a contender for the Republican slot and she brings the family fortune of the WWE to the table (she is the former CEO of the highly successful wrestling empire). She is prepared to spend $30 million on the campaign.

Just like in Mass. The national party is AWOL .

And just like many GOP New Englanders she is or borders on being RINO .Not as bad as Dodd ,Franken ,Schultz et al .
But that is a low bar to hurdle.

The Republican alternative I favor is Peter Schiff.He president of Euro Pacific Capital a brokerage firm .In 2008 he was an economic advisor for the Ron Paul campaign.