Bob Carney, a Republican political activist, claims Pawlenty went too far when he eliminated a state tax refund for political contributions as part of a bigger unallotment plan. Carney says Minnesotans are still entitled to that money because the refund is part of state tax law.
Carney identifies a problem inherent in many of Pawlenty’s decisions under his unallotment plan. He’s assumed a power much greater than he’s given by the constitution: The power to legislate. He has unilaterally changed laws approved by a majority vote in the legislature, the way they’re supposed to be. Another example is decreasing the renter’s property tax refund by changing the formula used to calculate it — a decision that only the legislature has the authority to make.
Whether Pawlenty’s unallotment plan as a whole is unconstitutional is a difficult question. Given that he was sent a balanced budget by the legislature, does he have the right to sign only certain bills, leading to an unbalanced budget, and then balance it himself through unallotment? I don’t think the does. But whether his plan as a whole is constitutional, some of his decisions are clearly abuses of power and should be overturned.
Policy-wise, I think eliminating the refund on political contributions makes a lot of sense; it’s certainly one of the least painful cuts that can be made. But there is a process for lawmaking in this state, and nobody is above the rule of law.
Michele Bachmann understands what the debate over healthcare is all about. It’s about helping Americans struggling with healthcare costs scoring a political victory over Barack Obama. She, like most Republicans, has no real plan for how to overcome the enormous obstacle posed by soaring healthcare costs. All she’s really interested in is attacking Obama.
Speaking to the Conservative Women’s Network, Bachmann spent quite a bit of time attacking the Democrats’ health reform bill, but told the women “don’t lose heart.” After all the time she spent criticizing Democrats’ health reform efforts, was she telling them not to lose heart because she was going to fight for a more conservative health reform bill? Was she promising to stand up for her principles and put forward her own policy ideas? No, she was just excited that health reform might harm Barack Obama:
…don’t lose heart. Because the polling data is showing — Rasmussen for instance — polling data is showing that President Obama’s numbers are dropping like a rock. As a matter of fact, his polling data now says that President Obama is a mere mortal. (Laughter) And so we can take heart. [Via Think Progress]
That’s beautiful. Bachmann really has the ability to get down to the nuts and bolts of a topic, doesn’t she? At its heart, health reform really isn’t about improving our economy. It’s not about improving the health of our country. And it’s not about lowering costs and reducing the long-term federal deficit. It’s not about what’s best for the American people; it’s about who wins and loses in politics.
These are the mom and pop stores and restaurants, beauty shops and construction companies that support families and sustain communities. They’re the tiny startups with big ideas, hoping to become the next Google or Apple or HP. And, as shown in a new report released today by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, right now they are getting crushed by skyrocketing health care costs.
In this week’s address, Barack Obama discusses how health reform will help level the playing field for small businesses by providing an insurance exchange to help them gain access to affordable insurance for their employees. Small businesses and their employees, even more than many other Americans, are being seriously hurt by skyrocketing health care costs. Because they are the engine of our economic growth, it’s absolutely crucial that we have a system that doesn’t push small businesses out of business.
Is it possible that Mark Ritchie and our county election officials have been doing a good job? Is it possible that Minnesota Majority’s lawsuit against Mark Ritchie was rejected because, like all of the GOP’s other lawsuits, it was frivolous and unfounded?
No, of course not. It’s because the Supreme Court didn’t want to face facts, according to Minnesota Majority:
The conservative coalition that filed suit in May against Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and 31 county auditors is accusing the Minnesota Supreme Court of dismissing the lawsuit Thursday to spare itself “the embarrassment of having to acknowledge major election system problems after just issuing its decision in the (Norm Coleman-Al Franken) contest.”
…
“Here you have a major U.S. Senate race being decided by just a few hundred votes, and along comes our case citing the fact that the secretary of state has been unable to account for tens of thousands of voters in the 2008 election,” Minnesota Majority president Jeff Davis said in a statement. “You can see why the court might not want to touch this case with a 10-foot pole.”
Incredible. Are they really so deluded by their hatred of Ritchie? They’re seriously arguing that our Supreme Court decided to abdicate their responsibility and refuse to apply the rule of law? I’m pretty sure the right’s hatred of Ritchie now borders on psychosis.
It’s true! For once, I agree with Rush Limbaugh. Barack Obama is most definitely black. We should all face that fact.
There’s obviously more to that quote, but it’s not as intelligent as the first part. Limbaugh, in a fantastic moment of self-parody, is apparently making the point that Barack Obama hates this country because he’s black. We know that Obama hates this country because he’s against everything that makes it great, like arresting prominent black citizens for “forcing entry” their own homes.
Clearly, Obama hates this country. He hates it so much that he campaigned for two years to lead it. He hates our country so much that — and this is the worst part for Limbaugh — he thinks blacks and whites should be treated equally.
They have plenty of ideas. They just choose not to share them. Take, for instance, the GOP’s healthcare bill:
…House GOP leader John Boehner has weighed in, and he has confirmed that, yes, there is such a bill — and it’s almost finished, too. As Boehner put it a little while ago: “We’re continuing to put the final touches on our bill as the Democrats are continuing to put the finishing touches on their bill.”
Neither Boehner nor his office, however, will say whether this bill will ever be released. Republicans are waiting to see what Dems do first.
Just trust them — the GOP has plenty of ideas. They’re way better than the Democrats’ ideas. And no, you can’t see them.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota’s top court has dismissed a lawsuit from a conservative group that went after Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and county election officials.
The order from the Minnesota Supreme Court says “the time for contesting any irregularity in the conduct of the 2008 election is long since passed.”
The group, Minnesota Majority, alleged that Ritchie and county officials failed to update voter records promptly. Ritchie said the group’s research wasn’t supported.
I wonder if we’ll ever reach the point where conservatives realize that they’re just wasting time and money going after Ritchie. I imagine it came as a bitter disappointment when Ritchie defeated right-wing extremist Mary Kiffmeyer in 2006, but after nearly three years of attacks on him, you’d think they’d let it go. The fact is, Ritchie is doing a great job managing Minnesota’s electoral system. He’s also squeaky clean, despite Republicans’ best efforts to smear him. At this point, all they’re doing is hurting their own credibility.
The report, How Health Care Reform Can Lower the Costs of Insurance Administration (issue brief, 20 pages, PDF), found that including both private and public insurance choices in a new national insurance plan could save the nation as much as $265 billion in administrative costs between 2010 and 2020, while a plan that provided a choice of private plans only would increase administrative costs by $32 billion over the same period. Savings from the mixed private-public reform approach would be realized through lower marketing and underwriting costs, reduced costs associated with claims administration, less time spent negotiating provider payment rates, and fewer or standardized commissions to insurance brokers. [Philanthropy News Digest, via Firedoglake. Emphasis added]
It’s hard for me to conceive what the problem is here. Including a public option would save hundreds of billions of dollars, but Congress can’t come to an agreement? We’d rather be subjected to skyrocketing health care costs, driven by the high costs of administering private plans?
I really don’t understand why so many people are insistent that the public option can’t be on the table. Conservatives seem willing to defend our private insurance companies to the end, but why? It’s hardly like they’re a sterling example of the success of the free market. Conservatives like to claim that the private market is more efficient, but if that’s true, why does the US spend so much money on insurance administration? We could save $265 billion just in administrative costs under the new plan. When our private plans are so inefficient and ineffective, shouldn’t we choose a better option?
In a welcome departure from Michele Bachmann’s fear-mongering, Amy Klobuchar is asking all Minnesotans to follow the law and fill out the census:
As you know, Bachmann has aggressively crusaded against the Census as an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
Klobuchar, by contrast, is urging Minnesotans to fill it out — for their own good. “The Census has a profound impact on Minnesota’s communities,” said Klobuchar in a statement given to Minnesota press by her office. “It’s important that every Minnesotan is counted, so we get our fair share of congressional seats and federal funding.”
I still can’t even believe this is a topic of discussion. I just hope Bachmann’s latest loony crusade doesn’t cost Minnesota a congressional seat, not to mention millions of dollars in federal funding.
I was working late, so I didn’t get a chance to watch it. That means I have absolutely nothing to say about it. If you’d like to watch it, though, here’s the video, courtesy of the White House Blog.
Let’s review: the Troubled Asset Relief Program, bailouts for American International Group and others, CEOs of bankrupt businesses that receive billions of tax dollars running off with millions in bonuses, a $ 3.5 trillion budget, a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus that has not stimulated, unemployment continuing to climb, government in the banking business, and of course, the U.S. government now making cars. [Emphasis added]
Bobby Jindal, July 19:
It must be great to be a Republican these days. Jindal gets to fire up the base complaining about Obama’s policies, then turn around and take credit for the Federal spending that passes through his state. Now I’m not saying he should have turned down stimulus funds; it wouldn’t be fair to his state to hold them hostage to his political ambitions. All the same, maybe he should consider cooling it with the giant checks.
After immediately getting to work by signing on to EFCA his first day in office, Senator Al Franken is now introducing his first piece of legislation: The Service Dogs For Veterans Act. Al wrote about his intentions to partner vets with dogs in the Star Tribune a few days ago - and today he and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) introduce the act, which will set up a pilot program within the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to pair service dogs with veterans who have physical or mental wounds, including PTSD. Al says:
“As someone who’s spent time with our troops on USO tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, and met wounded warriors at Walter Reed and Bethesda, I feel a real obligation to the men and women who have risked life and limb on our behalf. There is a huge return on investment here. Service dogs can do amazing things, and there is evidence to suggest that increasing their numbers would reduce the alarming suicide rate among veterans, decrease the number of hospitalizations, and lower the cost of medications and human care.”
My opinion: this is totally awesome. Al has shown in the past his commitment to our troops and veterans, and is only strenghening his stance by making our vets his first priority. Also, dogs are great.
At least nine members of Congress have cosponsored a birther bill that would require prospective presidents to affirm their U.S. citizenship. … Rush Limbaugh claimed [yesterday] that Obama “has yet to prove that he’s a citizen.”
The birthers are actually gaining support and their attacks are gaining intensity. Some Republican legislators are actually buying the birthers’ ridiculous claims. Perhaps even more importantly, even those who don’t agree are being intimidated and shouted down. Just check out this video of Mike Castle (R-DE) trying to keep a crowd of birthers under control:
It’s hard for me to conceive what the problem is here. Including a public option would save hundreds of billions of dollars, but Congress can’t come to an agreement? We’d rather be subjected to skyrocketing health care costs, driven by the high costs of administering private plans?
After immediately getting to work by 
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