Scott Brown Wins Mass. Race, Giving GOP 41-59 Majority in the Senate

democrats wasted bailout money, banks bonused it out, nancy pelosi is so fake, healthcare reform is nothing but bribes and payoffs to unions, etc. while tort reform isn't even mentioned. maybe a couple good elements cannot make up for healthcare reforms tyrannical errors - making us all buy private insurance, taxing some policies at 40%!, sucks, we can't even get imported prescription drugs? such corruption, dems and republicans alike - i hope the independent masses are waking up for good.
peace

"Republicans who cheered "41!" at Brown's victory as if it were some kind of milestone"

It is a milestone dummy, if you've ever followed elections in Massachusetts. Hey liberals, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Can't wait to see the elections in November!

i'm an outreach worker who deals with the homeless and poor. this victory of republicans and hmo's means i'll get to see more people dying on the streets and more kids sliding into risk. and all of it more expensive than decent preventative medicine. anger and manipulation has turned us into a third world nation.

i'm an outreach worker who deals with the homeless and poor. this victory of republicans and hmo's means i'll get to see more people dying on the streets and more kids sliding into risk. and all of it more expensive than decent preventative medicine. anger and manipulation has turned us into a third world nation.

=========================================
Perhaps you should do more to see that people who have children can SUPPORT them and EDUCATE them and stop looking for handouts and generations of welfare???

Well...Looks like a majority of Americans are not the pacifist appeasers at home and to the world and have some strength and resolve....again.

AS usual, the Dems overreached and made assumptions THEY know better whats best for me. AS usual the people checked their arrogance....

I don't know where you attended college, but I'm questioning your math skills. In what world is 41 considered a majority over 59?

This seems a bit of an over reach. Brown ran a good campaign and Coakley ran a really bad one.

There is a spirit of calling the Dems on---passing the same plan nationally that Mass has and that Brown supported---which doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

The voters are riled up and angry but Coakley was a weak candidate. Dems need to back off from the cliff and be rational.

Rationality from the Reps would also be welcomed!

Kiersta, it's call irony.

So when cancer survivors are denied coverage if they go freelance or start their own business, they are looking for "welfare"?

I get that they were trying to use the headline to catch attention, but it is really just lazy journalism. I'm tired of the left freaking out about the results of this election and attempting to wuss out of passing anything we promised about. I'm also tired of the right trying to call this a referendum on health care and trying to state that this win is a reflection that the Americans miss them in power.

However, I get more angry at the coverage of these stories. I'm tired of sensationalizing everything. Why not have a serious talk about what happened and what it really means, if anything, for national elections.

We are truly a terrified nation. We need to torture to feel safe (I love how Brown says "America doesn't torture"...uh, yeah, she does, Scotty) and we want deficits cut but don't want anyone touching my mom's Medicare. We are gutless.

Brown likes that his state has HC coverage but doesn't want to vote to grant it to the rest of the country.

Can we please just stop with the tort reform BS? All I hear from Repugnantcans is tax breaks for the wealthy and tort reform. Medical malpractice insurance payouts AND costs is 2 percent AT MOST of the total spent of health care in this nation every year. TWO PERCENT! Apparently that is enough for the Repugnantcans to get their panties in a bunch. What needs to be done is to break the insurance companies' monopoly and you do that with a public option. Right now, as a full-time worker in California, my option is either Aetna or UnitedHealthcare...wow, I'm overwhelmed by the choices. Thank GOD I don't have a pre-existing condition.

Kiersta
The serious talk is that the Democrats with a 60 seat majority could not unite enough to get things done. So the thinking goes now that the Senate is 59 - 41 and no longer filibuster proof then the GOP can pretty much get what it wants by stalling anything the Democrats want. Hence they now [sort of] have the majority.
It is really a shame.
But the idea that the Democrats have to have a super majority just to get things done is the real issue. And, yeah, it is a serious issue. And sometimes only irony can point this out.

Greatest Headline Ever

Headline worthy of the Post. Glad to see you guys are aiming high.

I don't know who's doing your math, but last I checked, 41 out of 100 was a minority, not a majority. Try to be less incompetent next time, huh?

Roy Darling must be a Log Cabin Republican and I would guess that the Cosmopolitan centerfold has a pretty wide stance.

@ Lassarina: It's called irony. The problem is that they tried an Onion style headline on what is basically a straight story, which ends up a bit awkward. They should have either gone with straight satire or straight reporting, rather than mixing the two. But I'm pretty sure they're aware that 41 is not an actualy majority ;)

"What needs to be done is to break the insurance companies' monopoly and you do that with a public option."

Markiebee, do you not see that legistlating a government-run healthcare system would actually create a monopoly? The "public option" is less of an option (more a mandate) when the government that created it also writes the rules that their competitors (private insurers) have to follow.

the true problem is that anything is done or NOT done based on a disgusting, outdated tactic in which the minority (yes still) in effect stomps their feet and makes a big to-do (filibuster) in order to get their way. Republicans who use filibuster as a way of governing are big, spoiled children and WILL be ousted.

Wow, the commenters who don't "get" the headline of this article are just plain stupid.

But seriously What schizophrenia/dementia the state of Massachusetts has!

We love our state healthcare plan, but think that Obama's less robust plan is tyranny! Why? Because the pretty cosmo model (who's daughter is similarly hot, a sports star and was on AMERICAN IDOL...OMG!!!!) told us so and how could we POSSIBLY trust someone who doesn't even understand the intricacies of pro-sports like our enlightened population does.

Can we please just stop with the tort reform BS? All I hear from Repugnantcans is tax breaks for the wealthy and tort reform. Medical malpractice insurance payouts AND costs is 2 percent AT MOST of the total spent of health care in this nation every year. TWO PERCENT! Apparently that is enough for the Repugnantcans to get their panties in a bunch. What needs to be done is to break the insurance companies' monopoly and you do that with a public option. Right now, as a full-time worker in California, my option is either Aetna or UnitedHealthcare...wow, I'm overwhelmed by the choices. Thank GOD I don't have a pre-existing condition.

Good let it die. Health care reform was a bad idea, pure socialism. I lost my job and my Aetna coverage and had to sell my house and gun collection to pay for amaryl. But I am not complaining, because this is what it means to be a real American. I am proud of what Republicans have done for us.

I, for one, appreciated the snarky headline.
It's so funny becaude it's true!

MarkieBee

You'd still have no choice with the "public option." In order to make health insurance cheaper for us all, take away the interstate restrictions. Why are you now limited to two choices? What is different about health concerns in your state than in any other? Why can't I live in Virginia and buy health insurance from a California insurance company? Trade restrictions discourage competition, and encourage monopolies that are now at least partially responsible for the mess we're in. Don't be duped into believing anyone is trying to help you. It's all about where the money goes.

Anybody complaining about the headline has a very, very short attention span or just doesn't follow politics. It's that simple. The headline is a commentary on the "sausage making" process, the "filibuster" process, Harry Reid's weakness as a Majority Leader, and the fact that the currently constructed GOP is the PARTY OF NO, who have put forth no ideas about how to actually govern and improve this country in the year since President Obama was sworn in. It's not a typo, it's not incompetence, and it's not lazy journalism. It is spot on and says more than a thousand cowards who call themselves journalists have the guts to admit.

Andrew, what part of OPTION don't you understand? If you like paying 20 percent increased costs per year on your Aetna/United/etc. plan then by all means go ahead. But the public options pools those with crappy or no health care and presents them to insurance companies and says "what can you do?" It's the free market baby, the company that comes in and sells policies to that group wins. I thought you folks liked free markets? I guess that's true ONLY when you can game the system to your advantage. That makes it anything BUT a FREE market and that's what many Americans do not understand. It's only a free market when the market is on a level playing field.

Chris:

SMBBD, okay?

GaryL: Rock on!

I guess they don't teach irony in college, either.

You see, this headline is IRONIC.

OF COURSE, 41 out of 100 is not a majority. That's the WHOLE POINT.

The Dems HAVE a majority, they just don't ACT like it...

ARGGHH. (*smacking my forehead*)

I am afraid of Republicans and Democrats equally.

A government-controlled market is not a free market, and a level playing field is not a pre-requisite for a free market.

41 is not a majority. your headline is irresponsible

Yep let's see... Social Security broke... education broke ... medicare broke... a
deficeit that's mind blowing and a white
house writing check's left & right & spending money.

Yep that's what i'm for.. a goverment that can't run any agency without breaking it now
let's hand them health care too...

I've got a strange idea ! let's fix what's
broken first THEN move on to things like
health reform etc. THEN move on to nation
wide health care... just a thought

Gary, i feel bad for you. if you worked hard, did your job competently, you shouldnt have had to lose that much. my grandpa worked at lockheed and got covered healthcare FOR LIFE. i was in awe how easy that was. he worked, he was rewarded. THAT'S America, not 'work and it's ok but dont and f-u, give it back.' our benevolent capitalist overseers do not see fit to grant care to us. i'm amazed how people can have a clear conscience about letting others die for lack of work.

i'm an outreach worker who deals with the homeless and poor. this victory of republicans and hmo's means i'll get to see more people dying on the streets and more kids sliding into risk. and all of it more expensive than decent preventative medicine. anger and manipulation has turned us into a third world nation.

Wow. Why don't you start telling the people with whom you work that they SHOULND'T HAVE KIDS IF THEY CANT RAISE THEM IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER!

its like when harvard tied yale after a miraculous comeback in 1968 the headlines read: "harvard beats Yale 28-28." actually what it is saying is our system is screwed up that 41 can thwart 59 having the power of an majority.

I have to admit, it does take a bit of the sting out of last night's loss to see so many people show up here wanting to crow about it, but utterly failing Roy Edroso 101.

It's good to know that there are at least a slight majority of patriotic Americans in Massachusetts! Now, we tea party patriots can set to work stopping the socialist agenda, first stopping UHC and then - who knows? - maybe even finally getting rid of Social Security!

We are tea party, hear us roar! Our numbers are too great to ignore!

"actually what it is saying is our system is screwed up that 41 can thwart 59 having the power of an majority."

Which at this point is a good thing seeing
how that 59 majority refuses to listen to
the MAJORITY of Americans that doesn't want
health care....

"such corruption, dems and republicans alike - i hope the independent masses are waking up for good."

Okay, they wake up and then what? Americans aren't smart enough to figure out what to do, and too cowardly to start a real revolution. Fall of the Roman Empire Part II.

@ MArkiebee - direct costs are only 2%, but the overall cost is MUCH higher. Think of the tests and drugs are over-prescribed because of lawsuits. For example, when a doctor gives antibiotics for a cold, that is fear of malpractice. Antibiotics can only prevent the remote possibility of a cold becoming pneumonia. That is one small example, there are, literally, hundreds of others.

If the extra costs are 10% or 8%, wouldn't that be a nice cost reduction?

@ MarkieBee - you have two options in California because of government, not insurance companies. Allow consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines, like we do auto insurance, and you will have almost as many options for health as you do for cars.

Also, allow policies to be tailored to the consumer. If i am a single male, do I really need childbirth coverage? Your state mandates that I do.

a goverment that can't run any agency without breaking it

Why do hate our troops?

@ Markiebee - "But the public options pools those with crappy or no health care and presents them to insurance companies and says "what can you do?""

You are confusing the state based exchanges in the legislation with the public option. The public option acts as a private sector insurance company with a government budget. How to "compete" with an entity which can sustain infinite losses forever?

"Which at this point is a good thing seeing
how that 59 majority refuses to listen to
the MAJORITY of Americans that doesn't want
health care.... "

I love this line. for every poll that says this, Ill give you two that say something else. bottom line is i have health insurance and it is getting more expensive each year for less coverage. whats not to like about that?

"bottom line is i have health insurance and it is getting more expensive each year for less coverage. whats not to like about that?"

I work for a health care insurance provider. I think you're being facetious, but I am totally pleased with the way things are going. I'm not going to cry for suckers who went for ideals instead of reality. The reality is: we own you. Pay up.

I haven't heard of one new idea from democrats. Raise taxes and spread the wealth around? Thats been tried and failed long ago.

Man, a nude model who is a fan of torture. I can't wait for the bondage photos to surface. Will fit right in with the rest of the rethuglican caucus, that's for damn sure.

Marc Thiessen is the Gallagher of punditry. Scott Brown mentioned waterboarding during one line of a little-watched debate. This election was many things, but one thing it most definitely was not was a referendum on torture. The mouth-breathers at NRO might lap his bullshit up, but anyone with a third-grade education will just roll their eyes and walk away, trying not to laugh.

Gary L: " I am proud of what Republicans have done for us."

If you're story is true (which I doubt), You are the perfect Republican voter. Their shit policies send you into bankruptcy, and your attitude is, "Thank you sir, may I have another."

If you enjoy being a broke peasant in an oligarchy, move to Russia. You'll have the time of your life in the bread line.

So, Republican leadership, what does the 41 member majority propose to do to contain health care costs (beyond "tort reform")?

It is amazing that anyone ever wants to vote Republican.

Democrats haven't waved a magic wand and fixed the Republican-created mess yet? Because Republicans are over-using the filibuster against good Democratic bills?

Well obviously the answer is to elect Republicans then.

(snark)

The Republicans haven't been even the slightest part of why these proposals haven't been passed into law. The Republicans have successfully been ignored. Try not to lose sight of the obvious-- the issue is and has been Democrats.

As far as GOP proposals go, there have been several, including two complete bills introduced. So, lets not pretend the Republicans aren't trying to have their say. But Democrats in Congress can and have ignored the Republicans. If that's changed as a result of one election I'd be shocked.

What??? Since when is 41 votes a MAJORITY? Who is the idiot who wrote this headline? Even if they meant that Democrats "lost" their majority this would be untrue. They lost their SUPER-majority of 60 votes. 59 votes is still a freakin' majority.

Idiots!

What I want to know is: which Senator should replace Harry Reid as Minority Leader? I'm talking about someone in the LBJ (pre-1960) mold. Dick Durbin? Chuck Schumer?

Because someone needs to retire Reid's role of Eunuch-in-Chief. It might not be a panacea, but it's a start.

It's either that, or work hard to get to 85 seats in the Senate, or amend the filibuster rules (which Reid would never consider).

And will the imbeciles who keep babbling about how "41 isn't a majority" STOP IT ALREADY!!

You morons don't seem to be able to read past the headline, nor understand irony, so please stop showing us how f'ing stupid you are.

the ignorance of some people amazes me. republicans gave obama less than 6 months before they started to declare his policies a failure. are you kidding me? the economy was in shambles when obama took over. health care in this country is severely BROKEN. these clowns would have you believe it will all be fine with tort reform and if we allow people to purchase insurance across state lines. if you believe that i have a bridge to sell you.

Try to get this through your head andrew: the Republicans are beside the point. The Democrats have an enormous majority in both houses. The failure of the Congress and the administration has nothing to do with the Republicans. Beyond that fact, "health care" is not "severely broken", whatever that is supposed to mean. Democrats just failed to create a new program, that's all. Calm down.

MTF, i agree the dems (which i am not one of for the record) have failed in taking advantage of their majority in passing legislation. health care is broken because each year i am required to pay more for insurance while accepting less coverage. many people can't afford insurance at all. companies continue to have to pay more to cover their workers which to use a word Republican understand is a TAX on business. thats what i meant when i said broken.

This headline is INCORRECT -- the GOP does NOT have a 59-41 majority.

Oh here goes. Do you guys -most of you anyway, ever read Running Scared? I ask because I'm not used to seeing 59 comments.
Roy, who I have never defended because of the cigarette thing and a few other "quirks", WAS BEING FUNNY!
You know, like "A Modest Proposal"?
Or maybe you don't know.

All this debate is always the same Republicans blaming Democrats and Democrats blaming Republicans. When ever the presidency changes parties, by the way, the opposing party blames everything on the previous presidency and the other party, without fail. Our country is so segmented, so polarized that no one can seem to come to the table anymore. It's all or nothing and "you are a moron if you don't agree with us." I agree health care is broken and needs to be fixed. But sadly our government is so big and so costly that it's about money anymore not helping people. Government wants to tax more to be able to spend more, it's like a kid with a shiny new credit card. I don't trust the government anymore to responsibly spend my tax dollars. So when they assure me it will lower the cost of living when like the cost of health care, my taxes keep climbing, I am skeptical. Until everyone can ignore the rep/dem crap and think outside the box and compromise, nothing will move forward.

Everyone who complains about the headline is a god damned idiot. Please, just shut up if you don't know what you're talking about. You're making the Republitards sound smart, something I never thought possible.

Dang, Roy. What are you using for troll-bait these days?

The people I see that do not have health care choose new cars, cable TV, cell phones, gambling, drinking, and eating out over paying for their health care. When you say these people deserve health care, you are saying that they deserve the car, phone, TV, etc.

Make it mandatory like car insurance and then make these people choose between their spending and breaking the law.

If they are so poor that they actually cannot eat, stay warm, and still pay for their health care, then they probably qualify under public assistance.

To the moron who said we should allow insurance companies to move across state line so that people can have more choices, if we were to do that then all the insurance companies would move to states that have no regulations, the same reason why ALL credit card companies are based in Delaware. The result....even less choices, less coverage, and higher price tag for insurance, get a clue before you propose an idea. Also, who doubled the 200+ year old national debt in just 8 years? That's right, a Republican named Bush. The budget wouldn't be running wild if it wasn't for him...the last time someone balanced the budget was Clinton. Again, get a clue.

@Rob (#2):To say that all who do not have health care are choosing to spend their money unwisely is an over simplification. There are those who fall into that generalization but it's a far stretch to call that the rule. I still think health care needs to be reformed. It's an industry that profits from not paying and not providing quality coverage. When people are making a profit off the "health care" (or lake there of) there is a serious conflict of interest. I don't want the government to force me into a public health care option, (and with the penalties outlined in bills going through the senate for choosing a private option there is some serious coercion by the government to use the public option) but I do want them to break up the monopolies, help curb frivolous lawsuits, and help it become more accessible.

@Realist: I agree the spending genie was let out with Bush... but I have yet to see that Genie put back. I had high hopes for this administration. I am still waiting. The new modus operandi is "Don't worry we can print more." And I aim that at all parties.

Speaking as a really stupid person without a sarcasm detector, I, too, question the accuracy of the headline!

Totally agree Rob, OUR representatives need to stop worrying about re-election and postering, and start worrying about helping THE PEOPLE. But when I hear "conservatives" all up in arms over big spending, I think where have you been for the last decade?

Hilarious and sadly true headline.

What website full of morons linked to you Roy? They seem too stupid to understand irony.

As for the rest of you "Yay, healthcare reform is dead!" assholes, fuck you and anyone who looks like you.

Hunter S. Thompson described you type best:

"We have become a Nazi monster in the eyes of the whole world--a nation of bullies and bastards who would rather kill than live peacefully. We are not just Whores for power and oil, but killer whores with hate and fear in our hearts. We are human scum, and that is how history will judge us...No redeeming social value. Just whores. Get out of our way, or we'll kill you. Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid rich kids like George Bush?

They are the same ones who wanted to have Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill gooks. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are the racists and hate mongers among us--they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis.

And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck them.

So "Torture More" is now the Republican flag?
Wasn't "Cut Taxes and Run Up Enormous Deficits and Leave the Banks Alone" bad enough? The whole conservative push is negative. Aside from cruel and unusual punishment, and more money for rich people, and more of the same fiscal mismanagement they inflicted on us for eight years (and that got us in this mess) are they for, for chrissakes?

Thank god they've only got 41 votes and don't have a prayer of again running the government into the ground any time soon.

They are the racists and hate mongers among us--they are the Ku Klux Klan.

Now you've done it. Any minute, I expect some wingnut dimwit (oops, redundant) to screech "B-b-b-but Robert Byrd!!!!"

But, seriously, Roy, don't you know that 41 is not a majority in the US Senate? Did you fail basic math! Yore hedline is pore jurnalism!

I want a lot of these commenters dead.

http://thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1320

http://thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1321

These two links are to "This American Life". The two part series they did on Health Care in America was very well done and it explained to me a lot of thing 'talking points' that I couldn't figure out no matter what research I did. It blasts both sides equally, I think. And it does a VERY good job explaining how we got here in the first place. I feel like it was very independently done.

And just a thought, can we stop calling people names? Whether its 'Repugnintcans' or the people who just don't *get* the headline... The one thing I've observed is a decay in culture that keeps both sides HATING each other. There used to be a day where 2 gentlemen from each party could disagree on the floor then go out for a beer afterwards. I do not look forward to the next 5 to 20 years of this country. If we're all not in for a major upheaval of how this country runs, we will be in for a MAJOR depression, the likes we can't even imagine.

The Demokrats have created such a poisonous political atmosphere in the country, rejected every effort at bipartisanship, that now, reaping what they sowed, they must pass all their ultra-partisan, ultra-liberal legislation with supermajorities. The loss of such supermajority is therefore a defeat.

Please note: This is a blog, not journalism.

I completely agree with Anonymous. There is so much animosity that our country will continue to rot and decay. And this is not all the democrats nor the republicans fault either. So many examples here as to why our system is failing.

This is great news for the Democratic party; the one thing both parties fear is majority rule. These corrupt siblings, the Democrats and the Republicans, never, I repeat, never want to completely control the levers of power. The fact is, they need each other to blame for the miserable way in which they collude in the charade of governance. Only power, and the dispensing of favors are what are truly at the heart of all political. Now, without their fake-majority of 60, the Democrats can cry out, "Oh, if we only hadn't lost Ted's seat, we could have provided real, meaningful health care to all Americans".
Ha! The Democrats are gleeful; now they can wash their hands of any resemblance to activist political struggle, and return to the two hands that guide party politics in America; one hand to promise, and the other hand to insure betrayal.

Hysterical!
In more ways than one.
Apparently 41% is now a majority!

What this all comes down to is that we all sit here on our fat asses while 120 American citizens die without healthcare every day.

If you think that's reasonable from a moral or economic standpoint, you're not a good person. You might think you are, but in actuality you are a greedy, heartless asshole.

Hopefully there is a heaven and hell so that you can spend eternity boiling in a lake of fire with the rest of the cruel and indifferent. You deserve it.

The Demokrats have created such a poisonous political atmosphere in the country, ...

You really haven't been paying much attention to anything outside of Rush and the other nutjobs, have you? The Rethugs started doing it in the 1980s, maybe earlier. It was only recently that they stopped - for about a week - equating liberals with terrorists, child molesters, and so forth. And if ever a Dem were to say that the Rethugs are being jerks, the Rethugs and their media shills would shriek to the heavens about those mean Dhimmicrats.

... rejected every effort at bipartisanship, ...

Yeah, well, to the Rethugs, "bipartisanship" means "give us everything we want, or we'll stamp our little feet and go home". They just can't handle the idea that (A) they lost big-time in November '08, and that (B) the sheriff is a Ni-*clang*. They, like you, should grow a set.

So listen, sonny, here's a buck - go buy yourself an eighth of a clue.

You joke about the 41-59 GOP "majority" but realize that many Democrats are up for re-election in 2010. They'll be afraid to vote for Progressive legislation, because they'll be teabagged in November just like Coakley.

41 vote majority? Dear God, are you people REALLY THAT STUPID? Don't answer that. Continue to be tone deaf, keep that tin ear covered up. I am so looking forward to November this year!

Who was the douche that actually said Roy was funny?

Coakley was NOT 'teabagged'. Brown won on his stance. She lost on her stance of her voting with 'The Messiah'. And all that have been voting in lockstep for all these measures that are destroying the American economy? Watch for them to be defined that way and watch them beaten soundly. Even Charlie Crist has no chance to be elected to the Senate because of his 'hug' and backing of 'The Messiah'.

It is time for the Lefts arrogance to be quelled once and for all.

Coakley lost because she didn't campaign. It had nothing to do with healthcare, and everything to do with a lazy, useless candidate who thought the D by her name entitled her to a senate seat.

Voters don't like being taken for granted, who could have guessed?

Coakley was NOT 'teabagged'. Brown won on his stance.

She may not have been teabagged, but Brown didn't win on his stance. As with Bob McDonnell in Virginia, Brown hid, soft-pedaled or lied about his more objectionable (to MA voters, that is) positions.

As for Coakley: normally, I would say she ran a campaign worse than anything Bob Shrum has ever done - but that would imply she actually ran a campaign. She didn't. Once she won the Dem primary, she thought yesterday would be a coronation, not an election. Hell, if I didn't find Brown's positions so antithetical to good governance (to put it nicely), I would have voted for him, because Coakley was such an imbecile. And that's saying a lot, since I've been a liberal for a bunch of years.

Coakley was over 50% in December polling. If she hadn't taken everything for granted, she probably would have won. And her drop in the polls wasn't due to some festering anti-Obama sentiment - were that the case, it would have shown up before December, and it didn't.

This is a great thread.

You guys are a bunch of idiots, all republicans are. Go suck gods dick and prevent stem cell research. Faggots.

And I bet Scott's old photos from Cosmopolitan magazine didn't hurt either.

i'm an outreach worker who deals with the homeless and poor. this victory of republicans and hmo's means i'll get to see more people dying on the streets and more kids sliding into risk. and all of it more expensive than decent preventative medicine. anger and manipulation has turned us into a third world nation.

Wow. Why don't you start telling the people with whom you work that they SHOULND'T HAVE KIDS IF THEY CANT RAISE THEM IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER!

-- Republican corollary: Married people shouldn't have sex if they don't want kids. Abstinence is the only 100% effective way not to get pregnant. So... whose working on banning abortion? Republicans. And banning contraception is also in the works.... A lot of druggists don't have to sell the pill or contraception if they don't want to. Republicans again. You know... life begins at conception.

PLEASE TELL MARRIED PEOPLE NOT TO HAVE SEX IF THEY CAN"T RAISE KIDS IN A RESPONSIBLE FASHION. EVEN THE RHYTHM METHOD IS NOT COMPLETELY EFFECTIVE. THERE"S A 20% FAILURE RATE. SO STOP HAVING SEX.

JUST SAY NO.

i'm an outreach worker who deals with the homeless and poor. this victory of republicans and hmo's means i'll get to see more people dying on the streets and more kids sliding into risk. and all of it more expensive than decent preventative medicine. anger and manipulation has turned us into a third world nation.

Wow. Why don't you start telling the people with whom you work that they SHOULND'T HAVE KIDS IF THEY CANT RAISE THEM IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER!

-- Republican corollary: Married people shouldn't have sex if they don't want kids. Abstinence is the only 100% effective way not to get pregnant. So... whose working on banning abortion? Republicans. And banning contraception is also in the works.... A lot of druggists don't have to sell the pill or contraception if they don't want to. Republicans again. You know... life begins at conception.

PLEASE TELL MARRIED PEOPLE NOT TO HAVE SEX IF THEY CAN"T RAISE KIDS IN A RESPONSIBLE FASHION. EVEN THE RHYTHM METHOD IS NOT COMPLETELY EFFECTIVE. THERE"S A 20% FAILURE RATE. SO STOP HAVING SEX.

JUST SAY NO.

The headline is inaccurate and ridiculous. 41-59 is no majority and the republicans were able to get a hell of a lot of legislation through with a bare 51-49 majority during the time the ACTUALLY HAD the majority shortly after 2001.

So, time to stop weeping or rejoicing too much.

Most likely the Democrats will force a certain amount of really nasty tasting legislation down the GOPs throat in order to get it to refrain from filibustering until the messiah comes.

And then comes reconciliation, which the GOP used like a wonder drug for 6 years.

And remember, neither the filibuster nor the magic 60 is in the constitution. Only the balanced budget amendment (which both parties have regularly upended) is part of the constitution.

So, let's get back to reality.

You can be assured that democratic gotv efforts for the fall will jump 5-fold of what they were in blue blue blue Massachusetts.

Oh good grief.

1) There was never 60 votes. Just because Harry Reid kisses Joe Lieberman's ass and lets him caucus with the Democrats doesn't mean he is one. All this "loss of supermajority" is media claptrap and always was.

2) Republicans vote as a bloc, Democrats don't. 41 solid Republican votes is a majority in a Senate with maybe 40 solid Democratic votes - the rest are swing Senators that can go either way. That's the nature of Democrats, who see the world in shades of gray, rather than Do-What-Daddy-Tells-Us Republicans. All you folks that don't understand than 41 *is* a majority in this Senate in real life don't understand the difference between real life and fantasy.

3) A lot of the problem is the flat out lying going on, like bill prattling on above. Social Security isn't broke, neither is Medicare, education is actually coming along in leaps and bounds.

4) When Republicans oppose Medicare (remember when Anthony Weiner gave Republicans a chance to vote against it and *none* of them had the stones to do it?), then I'll buy into "socialism", otherwise it's just a "BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA" cry of idiots.

5) And yes, dummy, a level playing field *is* required for a free market. That's what the "free" part means.

And teabaggers, just wait until old folks realize you intend to put them on ice floes just so you can get more beer and Cheeto money in your paycheck. That'll be the end of that crap, toute suite.

And teabaggers, just wait until old folks realize you intend to put them on ice floes just so you can get more beer and Cheeto money in your paycheck.

They're counting on the old folks being so senile that it won't matter.

And, frankly, given the collective stupidity of the electorate - eight years of W? Sarah Palin? Seriously? - they might be right.

Thanks for your 8:35 post, by the way.

But didn't you realize that the headline is mathematically rong? Not only that, 41 is not more than half of 100! And that the Dems have the majority in the Senate! And the Republicans don't have the majority! And Teh New York Times doesn't have headlines like this one!!

Also.

The sheer number of morons who can't figure out that the headline was supposed to be sarcastic is a reflection of how idiotic our nation as a whole truly is.

The sheer number of morons who are Liberals is a reflection of how idiotic our nation as a whole truly is.

"Rationality from the Reps would also be welcomed!"
Wrong decade for that.

First, a non-profit single-payer system is a monopsony (single purchaser, i.e. of health care services), not a monopoly (single seller). It serves only as a middle-man between doctor and patient, and because it is a monopsony, it can negotiate much lower health care prices (the opposite of a monopoly, which leads to higher prices). This is not so-called socialized medicine; socialized medicine is when the hospitals and doctors themselves are run by the government. No one has proposed this in any of the bills under consideration.

Tort reform is a joke. These lawsuits account for only 1.5% of total health care costs -- something that the folks proposing tort reform don't want you to know or, even worse, don't know themselves.

For the dolts advocating a totally unfettered and free market, take a time machine back to the 19th and early 20th century and see how much you like it. Short of this, try reading some history. With virtually no regulations, there was a boom and bust every 7 to 10 years -- far worse than we have seen lately -- culminating in the Great Depression. We had decades of relative stability until these regulations began to be repealed in the late 20th century.

As for the same dolts who believe that tax cuts can fix any problem under the sun, what can I say. My seven year old daughter was able to spot what a ridiculous belief this is. If you are simple-minded enough to believe this, then no amount of facts are going to change your mind. You are either rich and greedy, trying to push policy solely to fill your coffers, or you are an empty-headed sheep, gleefully and uncritically swallowing whole anything conservatives spoon-feed you. What you are not, however, is someone who is honestly trying to solve problems, nor is it possible that you have taken the time to think through the consequences of such a preposterous prosal.

What I would give for a little rationality in Washington . . .

Empty-headed sheep indeed. Baaaaa. Baaaaa.

As for buying insurance across state lines, the problem is that insurance companies will flee to the state(s) with the least regulation; more claims will be denied, etc.; and ultimately everyone will be buying horrible plans from only a handful of states. This is --again -- something that the folks proposing this nonsense either don't want you to know, don't know themselves, or simply don't understand.

For the record, I am a conservative -- but, bounded reason.

I think that the ideas the current GOP and Tea Party activists have been proposing are dangerous, at best. The movement has turned into cult, with reckless and nonsensical ideas being held up as gospel to their gullible followers who believe they will bring a Nirvana that will never come.

It is really disheartening.

tehm0bru1z, you make many good points. Unfortunately, when one actually has to explain irony and sarcasm to the average idiot, chances are good that none of those points will ever get heard, much less understood, by enough of the voting public to make any difference.

Who knew that "Idiocracy" was a documentary?

Apparently the Philly Metro has a wingnut for Editor/proofreader.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2010/01/journamalism.html

Face it Roy, you were ahead of the curve.

Hello

Please look at these 2 web pages and tell me if you will tell everyone on your mailing list about these? We can destroy the power of the conservatives in both parties
with the petitions listed at the second web site and get progressive legislation passed like a SINGLE PAYER PUBLIC OPTION or PURE SINGLE PAYER and also a FIX to the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Democrats, end your frustration with conservatives in both parties.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NNgFBN8Mfc

http://www.democratz.org

Spread the word.

Scott Brown won because The progressives in Massachusetts either stayed home, or voted for Scott Brown, or went to the polls and just abstained from voting so they could keep their voting record active. These progressives did not like the health care plan that appeared very inadequate so they played a joke on people like Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, and Mary Landrieu, each of them Conservative Democratic Senators. The Massachusetts Progressives sabotaged the conservative Senate Democrats so they could not pass a new compromised bill with the house whoich would have looked like a HULKING version of Medicare Part D that shafted the middle class.

Brown will have to come up for another election in 2012 and if the corporatist bill goes down the tubes, the Progressives will come back in 2012 and cut Brown off at the knees politically and see about passing a more progressive health care law with a new progressive Masachusetts Senator.

This election appeared about stopping the corporatist health care bill and not much else. The Progressives scuttled Max Baucus and the conservative Senate Democrats.

More of this story at http://bit.ly/76toQ4

"I think that the ideas the current GOP and Tea Party activists have been proposing are dangerous, at best. The movement has turned into cult, with reckless and nonsensical ideas being held up as gospel to their gullible followers who believe they will bring a Nirvana that will never come."

Just replace "GOP and Tea Party" with "Dems and Liberals" and you have the same thing!

Hey Markie Bee,
You clearly either flunked or never took an economics class, so here you go. You don't solve a supply problem(too few insurance companies to choose from in California) with government regulation. The insurance industry as a whole has averaged a six percent return, so they are not getting rich. I wish they were, however. Why? Because then the industry would attract more participants, i.e. more supply, more companies to choose from! We need to allow insurance companies to provide coverage across state lines, limit malpractice damages, and reduce govt. interference, not increase it. If costs are too high, increase SUPPLY, don't subsidize it. Socialism doesn't work, wake up people, talk to any Canadian about how bad their health care is.

Realist,
You are such an idiot that you made my own point for me in an idiotic attempt to argue against it. "If you let insurance companies cross state lines, they will all go to the states without regulation and you will be left with even higher premiums and fewer choices." What a dorker. Dork Fried Rice. Dork and Beans. Exactly, dude! You figured it out, but you are too dumb to know you figured it out. "They all move to the states without regulations." When you remove profit hinderances (regulations, taxes, lawsuits, etc..) supply increases, fool. Profit is good, it creates competition. Healthcare companies average a six percent ROA, not a wonder there aren't more of them. Here's another gem: "Bush doubled the budget." You ignorant fool. Do you not know that Obama's first stimulus bill spent more money than all of the other Presidents combined, in the history of the country? You and the rest of your liberal, dope smokin' "Blame Bush" crowd need to get a flippin job!

Roy, you're a raving asshole. Your mother must have been a real stinkpuss to raise an idiot like you. I wish she'd aborted you.

(yeah... funny, you liberals who support abortion rights are lucky your own mothers chose life... when it's YOU who deserves to be burned with saline solution in the womb)

Jtexas - I'm Any Canadian, go ahead and ask me anything you want about our health care. I'm fairly familiar with it, and I have no illusions about it. I don't think you really understand how much peace of mind and freedom you gain with a universal health system - nevermind at half the cost! But hey, make up your own mind - you'll see my point when you hit 65.

Bob - I think your Freudian slip is showing, but shine on you raving diamond.

Roy - I understand you were "quoted" by the President today, and really just started this message to throw an "attaboy" your way from a longtime fan of your writing.

Online freelance writing has added another dimension to the already raising writers industry. On line freelance writing offers a myriad of opportunities to many writers that support their financial obligations.

Even if he cannot deal with all kinds of problems there, it is really a good beginning. Anyway, it is close to what we hoped for.

with reckless and nonsensical ideas being held up as gospel to their gullible followers who believe they will bring a Nirvana that will never come

Hey, should you can shoot me an email. I find out that BE is producing some large variations to their operation and as a fellow BE blogmaster I was curious to know after getting heard something about it.

New York congressman and former mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner said before the election that "I think you can make a pretty good argument that health care might be dead" if Brown were to win; after Brown's victory, Weiner has come out with, "We shouldn't show the arrogance of not getting the message here," "I don't think it would be the worst thing to take a step back," and other gutless whinges. Thanks for sharing.