The Hollywood Liberal

Fox ?News? cheerleads for Tea Party protesters.
Serving its traditional role as the voice of the Tea Party movement, Fox News has been dedicating inordinate coverage today to the couple thousand anti-health care protesters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol. Fox host Megyn Kelly breathlessly reported every movement and rallying cry of the protesters, declaring at one point: “Fox News alert! … Protesters […]

Serving its traditional role as the voice of the Tea Party movement, Fox News has been dedicating inordinate coverage today to the couple thousand anti-health care protesters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol. Fox host Megyn Kelly breathlessly reported every movement and rallying cry of the protesters, declaring at one point: “Fox News alert! … Protesters are outside and, now we are getting word, inside the U.S. Capitol!” Kelly invited Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) onto the show to ask him about the protesters. Weiner dismissed the question, noting, “The important action is going on the floor of Congress.” He added, “The important story today is whether or not there we are going to be able to get 216 votes to save the taxpayers a lot of money and provide insurance for people that don’t have it.” Watch a compilation of Fox’s promotion of the Tea Party protest:

Law professor Goodwin Liu may be test case for Obama judicial picks
Liberal legal activists came away from last summer’s confirmation hearings on Sonia Sotomayor with an empty feeling. It’s not so much that they had a beef with Sotomayor, whom they supported. But her pragmatic discourses on judging and her vague remarks on constitutional interpretation were far from the soaring progressive vision of the Constitution that they had waited for years to hear from a Democratic nominee.

Senate has some work left on health-care bill
Leaving a meeting of House Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) walked off quietly Saturday afternoon with a few aides but was stopped in his tracks by an unfamiliar face.

In creating consumer financial regulatory agency, there are no guarantees
In the debate over how to structure a new regulatory agency to protect consumers of financial products, history offers a lesson:

Republicans rally Tea Party activists to oppose the health-care legislation
Congressional Republicans rallied Tea Party activists to oppose the health-care legislation on the verge of being approved by Congress even as party leaders began to look beyond Sunday’s vote to campaigning against the reform in the fall elections.

Real Cost Of HC Bill is Much More Than Money
Michael Tanner, NY Post

In Defense of Deficits
James Galbraith, San Francisco Chronicle
For this reason, the deficit phobia of Wall Street, the press, some economists and practically all politicians is one of the deepest dangers that we face. To cut current deficits without first rebuilding the economic engine of the private credit system is a sure path to stagnation, to a double-dip recession – even to a second Great Depression. There are two ways to get the increase in total spending that we call “economic growth.” One way is for government to spend. The other is for banks to lend. For ordinary people, public budget deficits, despite their bad reputation, are much…

Eraser Duty for Stupak?
Maureen Dowd, New York Times
WASHINGTONMaureen Dowd Angry nuns have been calling Congressman Bart Stupak’s office to complain about his dismissive comments on their bravura decision to make a literal Hail Mary pass, break with Catholic bishops and endorse the health care bill. As a Catholic schoolboy, the Michigan Democrat had his share of nuns who rapped his knuckles when he misbehaved, like the time he crashed a kickball through the school window. So, of course, he’s having some acid flashbacks, but he told me, “They’re not printable even in The New York Times.” Like…

How Health Care Reform Reduces the Deficit
Ezra Klein, Newsweek

Vote a Nail-Biter as Undecided Dems Shrink
Dennis & Newmyer, Roll Call
The ranks of undecided House Democrats continued to shrink late Saturday night, with leaders confident they would find the votes even though they still appeared to be a handful short.Leadership's latest setback came from Rep. Glenn Nye (D-Va.), who voted against the original House bill, declaring his "no" vote.Other setbacks Saturday included Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) flipping from "yes" on the original health care bill to "no," and Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) staying in the "no" column.A key group of undeclared…