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The Week In Blog: Special Election Edition
The latest The Week In Blog is up at Bloggingheads.tv featuring Kristen Soltis and I as we discuss the NY 26th special election, Elizabeth Warren and the President’s strategy on Isreal-Palestine. Watch it below.
Coming Tuesday: The New ThinkProgress
Great news: On Tuesday, May 31, we’ll unveil a brand new ThinkProgress. You can look forward to lots of new content, new voices, new features and a brand new look.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be getting the new site set up. The old version of the website will still be available, but we won’t be able to publish new content and some features, like comments, might not be available.
In the meantime, you can still keep up with the latest news by following us on Twitter and Facebook.
We apologize for the inconvenience but we think you’ll agree when you see the new site that it’s well worth it. We’ll fill you in on all the details Tuesday morning. See you then!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) defended his involvement in the cover up of disgraced former Sen. John Ensign’s (R-NV) affair, telling CSPAN yesterday that he was “proud” of the way he handled the situation. Coburn’s name was mentioned repeatedly in the Senate Ethics Committee’s damning 75-page report on the scandal, saying Coburn acted as a go-between to try to keep Ensign’s mistress quiet.
President Obama signed an extension of the Patriot Act into law late last night. The law almost lapsed as the debate in Congress was more heated than usual, with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) defecting and voting against the bill.
GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said yesterday that he would sign the Medicare-ending Republican budget into law if elected president. “If that was the only bill that came to my desk, and I wasn’t able to pass my own plan, I would sign it,” he said of the hugely unpopular plan.
The Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) Ellen Weintraub said that the agency has been noticeably less aggressive in enforcing the nation’s campaign finance laws. “The notion that we are a fierce investigative agency that people are quaking in their boots about is probably not the case. If it ever was the case, it certainly is not today,” she said.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a major speech in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage yesterday. “I see the pain that the status quo is causing, and I cannot defend it,” he said, calling on New York state legislators vote in favor of marriage equality.
Senate Republicans are using a procedural move to prevent Obama from being able to make recess appointments next week when the chamber is out for Memorial Day recess. The Senate will be in a “pro forma session” during which no business will be conducted, but it blocks Obama from appointing Elizabeth Warren to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Today President Obama and the other leaders of the G8 declared their support for the Arab Spring, pledging up to $20 billion to assist to the political and economic transformation in the Middle East and North Africa. In a statement, the leaders compared the Arab Spring to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Republicans in both chambers introduced legislation yesterday to counteract President Obama’s draft executive order that would require government contractors disclose their political contributions. The legislation comes after the House passed an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would block the draft order.
And finally: While he may not be doing well in the real race, presidential hopeful “Newton Leroy Gingrich” is the clear winner in yearbook race. The Atlantic complied the yearbook photos of the entire 2012 Republican field, revealing an unflattering picture of a bespectacled Gingrich, accompanied by a rather mysterious quote: “Specialization may produce success, but greatness is acquired only through generalization.” A close runner up: Rick Santorum.
Pence: 2012 GOP presidential field will grow
Add Mike Pence of Indiana to the list of House Republicans who think the GOP’s 2012 presidential field is far from settled.
Pence took himself out of the running in January, and earlier this month he announced a bid to succeed term-limited Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R). He said Thursday that he believes the field of presidential contenders is just beginning to take shape.
“Well, I was disappointed that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels decided to forego a run for the presidency in 2012,” Pence said when asked about the current 2012 field. “But I remain confident that the candidates who are in the field — and those that may enter the field — will produce the kind of alternative to this administration that will appeal broadly to the American public.”
House to vote next week on ending U.S. involvement in Libya
The already-contentious congressional debate over the U.S. intervention in Libya is about to get even more heated.
The House will vote next week on a measure calling on President Obama to end U.S. military involvement in Libya, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) office announced Friday evening.
The measure, sponsored by liberal anti-war Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), cites the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which states that any military operation not previously authorized by Congress must be halted 60 days after the president notifies Congress about the mission.
Obama praises Poland’s transition to democracy; calls it a leader in Europe and the world
WARSAW, Poland — President Barack Obama praised Poland’s early democratic leaders as an inspiration to the world Saturday, and encouraged them to share their experiences breaking free from the grip of communism with people in the Middle East and North Africa who are seeking greater freedoms.
Obama met here in Poland’s capital with dozens of leaders of Poland’s Solidarity movement, as well as civil society leaders, some of whom have already traveled to Tunisia where popular uprisings led to the overthrow of a longtime autocrat and sparked the protest movements that swept throughout the region.
Texas Gov. Perry may weigh a bid for the GOP presidential nod
Texas Gov. Rick Perry acknowledged Friday that he will consider a bid for president, reversing his past opposition to the race and setting up a period of intense speculation about whether he will run and whether he can win.
“I’m gonna think about it,” Perry said when asked about the presidential race.
Perry chief of staff Ray Sullivan said earlier this week that the praise the governor has won from the likes of conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh — among others — has made an impact.
Following Sarah Palin’s bus tour
We’re following former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s bus tour through the Northeast, a trip that has renewed speculation about her presidential ambitions.
Details on the tour are still hazy. As of Friday afternoon, all Palin has said is that she will travel from the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in Washington, D.C. on Sunday through New England, visiting “our nation’s rich historical sites.”
The trip will include a stop on Friday in New Hampshire, a state Palin has not visited since 2008. She also plans to visit the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Antietam and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
The Goal Shifts in Libya
Eric Schmitt & David Sanger, New York Times
President Obama has subtly shifted Washington’s public explanation of its goals in Libya, declaring now that he wants to assure the Libyan people are “finally free of 40 years of tyranny” at the hands of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, after first stating he wanted to protect civilians from massacres.Abandoned tanks are scavenged for parts for rebels at a Libyan Army base in Ajdabiya that was destroyed by NATO airstrikes.
What Texas Can Teach Us
Michael Barone, Washington Examiner
If you want to see a place where the private sector in America has been booming and generating jobs, you should look at Texas. That’s my take from these absolutely fascinating numbers compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics figures by The Business Journals, tracking the increase or decrease in private sector jobs in the ten years between April 2001 and April 2011. Any precise ten-year period is somewhat arbitrary, of course, since the two endpoints can fall at different points in the business cycle, and so picking different starting and end points will produce…
Where Are the Obama Scandals?
Brendan Nyhan, UVA Center for Politics
One of the least remarked upon aspects of the Obama presidency has been the lack of scandals. Since Watergate, presidential and executive branch scandal has been an inescapable feature of the American presidency, but the current administration has not yet suffered a major scandal, which I define as a widespread elite perception of wrongdoing. What happened, and what are the odds that the administration’s streak will continue?Obama has been extremely fortunate: My research on presidential scandals shows that few presidents avoid scandal for as long as he has. In the 1977-2008 period,…
Obama Burned by Toast
When the time came for President Obama to deliver his toast to Queen Elizabeth Tuesday night, the meticulously planned state dinner at Buckingham Palace turned awkward. When Obama said the words “to her majesty the Queen,” it caused the band present to play Britain’s national anthem, leaving the president alone in his toast.
Late Late Night FDL: Beck (and Page)
Jeff Beck — Beck’s Bolero, Immigrant Song (with Jimmie Page), and The Peter Gunn Theme, at Beck’s 2009 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Jeff Beck — Beck’s Bolero, Immigrant Song (with Jimmie Page), and The Peter Gunn Theme, at Beck’s 2009 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
What’s on your mind?
Exclusive: Ry Cooder’s ‘No Banker Left Behind’
The legendary musician tells Robert Scheer that his new album, including a song inspired by one of Scheer’s columns, was written out of feeling frustrated, helpless and angry with current events.
The legendary musician tells Robert Scheer that his new album, including a song inspired by one of Scheer’s columns, was written out of feeling frustrated, helpless and angry with current events.
Ain’t Nothin’ but a Guy Thing
Seventeen-year-old Scotty McCreery just won “American Idol,” making him the sixth guy to win in 10 competitions. That’s not so unbalanced overall, but McCreery is the fourth male singer in the last four years to win. Viewers of the show select the winner, either by phone, text or online. This year Fox recorded 122 million votes.
Seventeen-year-old Scotty McCreery just won “American Idol,” making him the sixth guy to win in 10 competitions. That’s not so unbalanced overall, but McCreery is the fourth male singer in the last four years to win. Viewers of the show select the winner, either by phone, text or online. This year Fox recorded 122 million votes.
Congress Sends Patriot Act Extension To Obama
WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday passed a four-year extension of post-Sept. 11 powers to search records and conduct roving wiretaps in pursuit of terrorists. Votes…
Critics Of Joe Arpaio, “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Call Arrest Stings A Publicity Stunt
Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, calls himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff.” More likely, he is its most self-promotional. Arpaio has written two books…
Patriot Act Extension Signed By Obama
WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday passed a four-year extension of post-Sept. 11 powers to search records and conduct roving wiretaps in pursuit of terrorists. Votes…
HuffPost TV: WATCH: Howard Fineman Discusses GOP Governors On ‘Hardball’
HuffPost’s Howard Fineman appeared Thursday night on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’ to discuss the falling popularity of Republican governors in places like Florida and…
Michele Bachmann Plans Presidential Announcement In Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican Michele Bachmann is making plans for a presidential campaign announcement next month in Waterloo, Iowa, the city where the Minnesota…
Fox’s Tantaros Falsely Claims Ryan Plan “Doesn’t Drive Up The Costs” Of Seniors’ Health Care
Fox News contributor Andrea Tantaros recently claimed that Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget proposal would not “drive up the costs” of Medicare because “[Ryan is] bringing it to the private market.” In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that under Ryan’s plan, seniors’ out-of-pocket health care costs would more than double.
Tantaros: Ryan’s Plan “Doesn’t Drive Up The Costs” Of Seniors’ Health Care Because It “Bring[s] It To The Private Market.” On the May 26 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, during an exchange with Fox News contributor Juan Williams, Fox News contributor Andrea Tantaros claimed that Ryan’s budget plan “doesn’t drive up the costs” of health care for seniors because “[h]e’s actually bringing it to the private market. That incentivizes insurers.” From the broadcast:
WILLIAMS: Now we have a proposition here from Paul Ryan, who I acknowledge has taken a necessary first step because we’ve got to deal with entitlements if we want to get the deficit under control, but it is a plan that’s going to have an adverse effect in terms of the cost of health care for seniors, just as President Clinton described. Health care costs are not static. They keep rising.
[…]
TANTAROS: Well, you talk about costs going up under the Ryan plan. How? He’s actually bringing it to the private market. That incentivizes insurers —
WILLIAMS: No, I said —
TANTAROS: Hold on a minute — incentivizes insurers —
WILLIAMS: No, no, but I’m saying, it drives up the costs —
TANTAROS: No, it doesn’t drive up the costs. And I’ll tell you why.
WILLIAMS: No, no, hold on — health care costs, independent of Paul Ryan’s plan —
TANTAROS: I will tell you —
WILLIAMS: — are going up — higher than the rate of inflation.
TANTAROS: First of all, Juan, health care costs have spiked since Obamacare was passed. Premiums have gone through the roof.
WILLIAMS: They have not spiked, come on!
TANTAROS: What Ryan’s plan does is he puts it in the hands of insurers, and he says compete against each other. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/26/11]
CBO Report: “A Private Health Insurance Plan Covering The Standardized Benefit Would … Be More Expensive Currently Than Traditional Medicare.” On April 5, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report analyzing Ryan’s budget proposal. The CBO noted that Ryan’s plan would privatize Medicare, stating it “would convert the current Medicare program to a system under which beneficiaries received premium support payments–payments that would be used to help pay the premiums for a private health insurance policy and would grow over time with overall consumer prices.” In its analysis, it determined that such private health care plans would “be more expensive currently than traditional Medicare” because “[b]oth administrative costs (including profits) and payment rates to providers are higher for private plans than for Medicare.” From the report:
Chairman Ryan’s proposal would affect not only federal spending for Medicare but also Medicare beneficiaries’ spending for their health care. To quantify the impact of the proposal on beneficiaries’ spending, CBO followed these steps: First, the agency estimated what total health care spending (including the costs paid by health insurers and out-of-pocket expenses for covered services) would be in 2011 for a typical 65-year-old who had a private health insurance plan with a benefit package comparable to the services covered by the Medicare program. That package is dubbed the “standardized benefit,” and CBO used the total health care spending for a typical 65-year-old with a standardized benefit in a private plan as a benchmark for this analysis.
[…]
A private health insurance plan covering the standardized benefit would, CBO estimates, be more expensive currently than traditional Medicare. Both administrative costs (including profits) and payment rates to providers are higher for private plans than for Medicare. Those higher costs would be offset partly but not fully by savings from lower utilization stemming from two sources. First, private health insurers would probably impose greater utilization management than occurs in Medicare. Second, private plans might restrict enrollees’ ability to purchase supplemental insurance plans; enrollees would thus face higher out-of-pocket costs than they do in Medicare, and that increased cost sharing would encourage lower utilization. On net, for a typical 65-year-old in 2011, CBO estimates that average spending in traditional Medicare will be 89 percent of (that is, 11 percent less than) the spending that would occur if that same package of benefits was purchased from a private insurer (see Figure 1).
Moreover, CBO projects that total health care spending for a typical beneficiary covered by the standardized benefit under the proposal would grow faster than such spending for the same beneficiary in traditional Medicare under either of CBO’s longterm scenarios. For the period before 2030, the difference in projected growth rates occurs primarily because CBO expects that the payments to providers in Medicare will grow more slowly (especially under the extended-baseline scenario) than those in the private market.
As a result, total health care spending for a typical 65-year-old in Medicare under the extended-baseline scenario in 2022 would be 66 percent of total spending with a private plan with the standardized benefit; in 2030, the figure would be 60 percent of that benchmark. Total health care spending in Medicare under the alternative fiscal scenario would be a larger share of total spending with a private plan–72 percent in 2022 and 71 percent in 2030–because payments to providers in Medicare are assumed to grow at a faster rate than under the extended-baseline scenario. [“Long-Term Analysis of a Budget Proposal by Chairman Ryan,” CBO, 4/5/11, emphasis added]
CBPP: “In 2022 … CBO Estimates That Total Health Care Expenditures For A Typical 65-Year-Old Would Be Almost 40 Percent Higher With Private Coverage Under The Ryan Plan.” From an April 7 report on Ryan’s plan by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP):
Moreover, CBO estimates that the total health care costs attributable to Medicare beneficiaries would be considerably higher under the private insurance plans they would purchase under the Ryan plan than under a continuation of traditional Medicare, because private plans have higher administrative expenses and higher payment rates for providers.
[…]
In 2022, the first year the voucher would apply, CBO estimates that total health care expenditures for a typical 65-year-old would be almost 40 percent higher with private coverage under the Ryan plan than they would be with a continuation of traditional Medicare. [CBPP, 4/7/11, emphasis in the original]
AP: “CBO: Big Health Cost Shift To Elderly In GOP Plan.” From an April 6 Associated Press article:
Most future retirees would pay considerably more for health care under the new budget proposed by House Republicans, according to an analysis by nonpartisan experts for Congress that signals problems ahead for the plan.
The fiscal blueprint would put people now 54 and younger in a different kind of health care program when they retire, unlike the Medicare that their parents and grandparents have known. Instead of coverage for a set of benefits prescribed from Washington, they’d get a federal payment to buy private insurance from a choice of government-regulated plans.
“A typical beneficiary would spend more for health care under the proposal,” the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in an analysis released late Tuesday.
The CBO said over time future retirees would pay much more, partly because the Medicare benefits package would be more expensive to deliver through private insurers. By 2030, the government payment would cover only about one-third of the typical retiree’s total health care costs, the budget office said.
The sweeping fiscal plan by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., would reduce total federal spending, deficits and debt, saving money for federal taxpayers. But it would be tempered by a cost shift to future retirees. [Associated Press, 4/6/11]
CBO: “A Typical 65-Year-Old Would Pay 61 Percent Of The Benchmark In 2022 Under the Proposal” As Compared To 27 Or 30 Percent Under Alternative Scenarios. From the April CBO report about Ryan’s budget proposal:
Under the proposal, most beneficiaries who receive premium support payments would pay more for their health care than if they participated in traditional Medicare under either of CBO’s long-term scenarios. CBO estimated that, in 2030, a typical 65-year-old would pay 68 percent of the benchmark under the proposal, compared with 25 percent under the extended-baseline scenario and 30 percent under the alternative fiscal scenario.
[…]
After assessing the total costs that would be incurred for a typical 65-year-old, CBO estimated the government’s share and the beneficiary’s share of those costs under the proposal and under CBO’s long-term scenarios. The proposal would set the premium support payment for a typical 65-year-old at $8,000 in 2022, approximately equal to government spending on the average 65-year-old beneficiary in Medicare under the extended-baseline scenario in that year. In other words, the government contribution to that beneficiary’s health care costs under the proposal would be approximately equal to the government’s contribution to the beneficiary’s costs through Medicare under current law. Hence, measured relative to the benchmark, the government’s contribution in 2022 would be similar under the proposal (at 39 percent), the extended-baseline scenario (39 percent), and the alternative fiscal scenario (42 percent).
However, because the benchmark would be greater than that with traditional Medicare, a typical beneficiary’s spending–the sum of premiums and out-of-pocket spending–would be greater under the proposal than under traditional Medicare. Specifically, CBO estimated that a typical 65-year-old would pay 61 percent of the benchmark in 2022 under the proposal. In comparison, under the extended-baseline scenario, the typical 65-year-old would pay 27 percent of the benchmark, while under the alternative fiscal scenario, that figure would be 30 percent. [“Long-Term Analysis of a Budget Proposal by Chairman Ryan,” CBO, 4/5/11, emphasis added]
CBPP: CBO Found That Typical Medicare Beneficiary’s “Annual Out-Of-Pocket Costs Would More Than Double.” From the CBPP report:
Since the Ryan proposal would reduce the federal government’s contribution for beneficiaries’ health care costs even as it caused total costs to increase, beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket spending would rise dramatically.
[…]
CBO also finds that this beneficiary’s annual out-of-pocket costs would more than double — from $6,150 to $12,500. In later years, as the value of the voucher eroded, the increase in out-of-pocket costs would be even greater.
The report included this graph showing the projected increase in seniors’ health care costs under Ryan’s plan:
[CBPP, 4/7/11, emphasis in the original]
Gingriches Rang Up Big Tiffany & Co. Bill While Jeweler Was Lobbying Her House Committee
Tiffany & Co. was actively lobbying the House committee Newt Gingrich’s wife Callista was working for at the time the couple had a revolving charge account with the famed jeweler.
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You are currently browsing the The Hollywood Liberal weblog archives for May, 2011.
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Cost Of The Iraq War. $4-6 Billion For a Lie. |
Where's Osama?On Sept. 11th, 2001 George Bush said he would catch bin Laden dead or alive. He never did, we used to run a counter showing how many days it had been, but Obama finally took care of it for him. Just another Bush lie. |
The Hollywood Liberal started in 2004 at the height of the Bush Administration madness in America. We were inspired by the late great Bartcop.com. The very first thing I did when the site started was to get arrested at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. My arrest at the start of a march from The World Trade Center was later ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. On New Years Eve 2014 the case was finally settled, with a judge awarding a class action suit that I was part of over $26 Million. I posted daily on the blog up until the end of The Bush error, and the site is now run as a history of the whole fiasco. Feel free to browse the old postings, pictures, & comics (an HL favorite) It reveals the twisted history of the times. Thanks H.L.
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