The Hollywood Liberal

Congressman-Elect Tim Walberg Calls For Government Shutdown If Obama Doesn?t Follow His Mandate
Tim Walberg (R-MI), a proud birther who has threatened to impeach President Obama, won his election over Rep. Mark Shauer (D-MI) earlier this week. Shortly after his victory speech, Walberg spoke with the Jackson Citizen Patriot to outline his agenda. “(Voters) are repudiating what is going on by politicians in general, and more specifically, this […]

Tim Walberg (R-MI), a proud birther who has threatened to impeach President Obama, won his election over Rep. Mark Shauer (D-MI) earlier this week. Shortly after his victory speech, Walberg spoke with the Jackson Citizen Patriot to outline his agenda. “(Voters) are repudiating what is going on by politicians in general, and more specifically, this administration,” he said. If President Obama does not follow the Republican “mandate,” Walberg made clear that he will force a government shut down:

He said Republicans can work together to get things done with the Obama administration, but that will be up to the president. If Obama, like then-President Bill Clinton did after the 1994 midterms, responds to the mandate from voters and understands he can’t disregard it, then he thinks Obama will do well. “If he doesn’t, he will shut government down,” Walberg said.

While Walberg’s threat is extreme, he is not the only Republican politician proposing a government shutdown. Newt Gingrich, architect of the government shutdown in the ’90s, has pledged that the new Republican Congress will close the government as a political tactic to force through their right-wing policies. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) told a Republican audience recently that a government shut down — including a closure of the Veterans Administration — would be one of the goals of the new GOP caucus. As Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and other leading Republicans have made clear, they will force a “show down” with Obama by holding general government funding bills hostage until health reform is repealed. (HT: Michigan Messenger)

The Fix: Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn narrowly wins election to first full term
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D), the onetime lieutenant governor to disgraced Gov. RRod Blagojevich (D), has bested former state Sen. Bill Brady (R) to win election to his first full term in office.

Thousands of Democrats to be jobless in Washington
The Great Shellacking of 2010 will throw more than 2,000 Democratic congressional staffers out of their jobs. And it will send thousands of gleeful Republican staffer wannabes into overdrive to get those resumes up to the Hill to fill those vacancies.

The Fix: How GOP will expand majority
Republicans made huge gains in the House on Tuesday — victories supplemented by a slew of state legislative pickups that could allow the party to not only cement their majority but also add to it in 2012.

GOP grapples with how to reward tea partiers
Rep. Michele Bachmann’s bid for a top Republican post in the House received a cool reaction Thursday from Speaker-to-be John A. Boehner (Ohio), an early test of how GOP leaders will treat the tea party movement’s winners in Tuesday’s elections.

Sorry, Barney Frank, You Can’t Be Trusted
Margery Eagan, Boston Herald
After 30 years, Barney Frank finally lost my vote.On election night, he lost my respect as well.Frank's road rage acceptance speech was an out-of-body experience.There was the congressional king of anger, vituperation and vitriol lashing out at the Herald and Fox 25 for, in his words, "anger, vituperation . . . and vitriol."What, does he not own a mirror? Is he incapable of introspection? Has he never seen YouTube's collection of his best TV hissy fits?Barney seemed to have forgotten: He won. Big. And he was lucky he did.The contrast between a nasty, bitter Frank…

GM, Corporatism and the Slippery Slope
Mickey Kaus, Newsweek
Netrootsy partisan Alan Grayson blames the weather for his loss. Why didn't I think of that? … P.S.: At least blame a server crash, or something Webby … 6:45 p.m.___________________________Annals of Corporatism:  Another $45 Billion Gift to General Motors? Any time you have a firm that's "too big to fail" you have a form of corpratism, by definition, no? The government will step in to save the failing firm, and inevitably"”to avoid disruptions"”be forced to keep on some of the highly paid managers who drove it into…

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