Obama's Budget Passes With No GOP Votes-- And No Heed To Arlen Specter's Warnings

GOP prospects in PA: The Pitts

Earlier this morning we looked at how members of Congress make it onto the dipshit dickwad list. We saw how a small handful of reactionary Democrats voted with every single Republican against even debating President Obama's budget. They lost, of course, and this morning the House approved the Conference Report on the Budget that would align the Senate's version and the House's version. A nice 100 days present for Obama-- 233-193. Having learned nothing from what Arlen Specter told them yesterday about the dangers of extremism and mindless intransigent obstructionism, every single Republican voted no. They were joined by the 16 worst Democratic reactionaries in the House (+ anti-war Dennis Kucinich):

John Barrow (Blue Dog-GA)
Dan Boren (Blue Dog-OK)
Bobby Bright (Blue Dog-AL)
Travis Childers (Blue Dog-MS)
Bill Foster (IL)
Parker Griffith (Blue Dog-AL)
Frank Kratovil (Blue Dog-MD)
Betsy Markey (CO)
Jim Marshall (Blue Dog-GA)
Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
Mike McIntyre (Blue Dog-NC)
Walt Minnick (Blue Dog-ID)
Harry Mitchell (Blue Dog-AZ)
Glenn Nye (Blue Dog-VA)
Gene Taylor (Blue Dog-MS)
Harry Teague (NM)

And along with the real lunatic fringe of the GOP-- from historian Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Paul Broun (R-GA) to the especially abhorrent flock of imbecile freshmen like Tom Clintock (R-CA) Bill Posey (R-FL) and Pete Olson (R-TX)-- every Pennsylvania Republican, even the ones who try portraying themselves as moderates at election time, voted against President Obama's budget, the blueprint for change so many of their constituents favor. They should have paid closer attention to what Snarlin' Arlen said yesterday and to what mainstream conservatives are saying today.

Joe Pitts has been the Republican congressman from Pennsylvania Ditch Country in the southeastern part of the state centered on Lancaster since 1996. In 2004 Bush swept the district with 61%. Last year PA-16 only narrowly went for McCain (51%) and Pitts' 57% share of the vote-- against an unknown and un-financed Democrat-- was his lowest ever. The district's PVI has dropped from R+11 to R+8, the same as the PVI in PA-10, IN-08, and AR-01, where Democratic Congressmen Carney, Ellsworth and Berry were all re-elected with substantial margins, Berry not even drawing a Republican opponent!

Are Pitts and other Republican congressmen in Pennsylvania frightened that their party's most senior elected official just joined the opposition? Well, despite the brave (crazy)talk from Club For Growth president Chris Chocola, a former radical right congressman defeated for re-election ("Sen. Specter has confirmed what we already knew-- he's a liberal devoted to more spending, more bailouts and less economic freedom"), I'd say the 7 Republicans left in the Pennsylvania delegation are shaking in their boots. This morning Pitts talked to the NY Times: "I am deeply disappointed that Sen. Specter would choose to align himself with so many of the irresponsible policies we are seeing the Democrats attempting to implement in Washington."

In the past two election cycles, Pennsylvania Republicans have seen the loss of an extreme right wing senator, Rick Santorum (59-41%) and 5 House seats previously held by Curt Weldon, Phil English, Melissa Hart, Mike Fitzpatrick, and Don Sherwood. Neither Charlie Dent nor Jim Gerlach is likely to survive another re-election bid-- although in their moderate districts having Specter on the ballot would have been a big plus. Toomey at the top of the ticket will be a tremendous drag, especially in districts like Dent's (where Toomey was once a congressman) and Gerlach's-- and perhaps even in Pitts'. The prognosis for the Pennsylvania Republican Party is pretty grim-- a fate not unlike the state of the GOP in states where it once ruled, like Massachusetts, Maryland and New York. There are over a million more registered Democrats than Republicans in Pennsylvania and Obama crushed McCain in Gerlach's district and in Dent's district.

Eric Massa's congressional district along New York's Southern Tier, has a long border with Pennsylvania and is very similar economically and culturally to the northern Pennsylvania districts. Eric enthusiastically supported Obama's budget and summed up some of the accomplishments by pointing out how it would:

·    Cut taxes for 95% of working Americans;
·    Cut the deficit by 2/3 by 2013;
·    Cut non-defense discretionary spending;
·    Strategically invest in areas that will grow the economy;
·    Increase Veterans' health care funding by 11.7%

This afternoon he explained to his constituents that the "budget makes the hard choices. I came to Congress to help take this Nation in a new and better direction and by shifting our priorities to areas like health care, education, green job creation, and tax cuts for 95% of working Americans, we are doing just that. Additionally, I am proud to support a budget which does not short change our area's small family farmers. I fought very hard to make this critical change to the budget and to protect farmers and our local agricultural economy and I am proud to vote for this budget."

Many, though not all, of the Blue Dog scum who voted against the budget represent districts that McCain won. McCain also beat Obama in NY-29, Massa's district. Massa, unlike the Blue Dog scum, is a leader and a communicator. While pandering Republican-lite Blue Dogs such as Tim Mahoney (FL), Nick Lampson (TX) and Don Cazayoux (LA) were defeated by real Republicans, strong, proud Democratic leaders like Eric Massa show everyday how to win in traditionally Republican districts. Chet Edwards had no problem voting for the budget. McCain's 67% share of the vote last year in TX-17 was more daunting to confront than any of the treacherous Democrats who crossed the aisle this morning to essentially expose themselves as Republicans. The only traitor with a more Republican-leaning district is Gene Taylor's backward hellhole in Mississippi-- and even there McCain only had one percent more than he did in Edwards' district.



UPDATE: And In The Senate...

Early this evening the Senate got together and accepted the Conference Report, approving Obama's budget, 53-43. All Republicans, including Arlen Specter, voted against it and 3 Democrats from Evan Bayh's anti-Obama Bloc, cross the aisle to vote with their ideological brothers in the GOP-- Bayh himself, of course, plus Robert Byrd and Ben Nelson.


BREAKING NEWS

Ken Lewis, the chief bankster at Bank of America, was fired as chairman by share holders today. This was a great-- and rare-- moment in corporate democracy. Unfortunately, he'll be staying on as president.