Who said that conservatives were "evil"? It helps no one to bring this childish distinction to the table, even in "jest."

I hope not either. I'm not even sure if I'm a conservative or liberal politic-wise so pretty hard to try and stereotype a whole political group when you and everyone you know votes according to a specific platform, not a specific party (or votes for the party you think will do the least amount of damage this time around...).

When it comes to politics, these Romans Persians Americans are crazy.

C-horn, what do you mean by "conservative model"? We haven't had conservative economics in the U.S. since the Ford Administration. We haven't even had Classical liberal economics. Conservative economics is a low-tax, low-spend model, with restraints on certain economic behaviors, e.g. tariffs. Classical liberal economics involves free markets with little government interference. What we have are so-called liberal economics, which is high-tax, high-spending government with lots and lots of government regulation, or so-called conservative economics, which is high-borrowing, high spending government with little or useless government regulation.

I would be glad to have either conservative or liberal economics, if only for a change of pace.

I don't like Krugman's economic ideas. He's not recommending liberal policies; he is suggesting a continuation of Bush's policies. The intellectual gymnastics to justify this strike me as remarkably absurd. I fail to see how running even more deficits will cure a problem created by running up deficits.

http://www.slate.com/id/2248490/

Amazing. Stupak sells out for a lousy executive order that is toothless. He didn't even get a kickback.

Not amazing at all. I never counted on Stupak any more than I counted on all those Democrat Conressmen who swore they'd never vote for a bill without a public options. It's just talk, like those people who say they're going to leave the country if so-and-so wins. Ultimately these people are more afraid of their party bosses than they are of us. No, our only hopes here have been in the Constitutional challenges that the states will raise.

It is uncanny - when I think of Ed and Petrospamic, I too have Dumb and Dumber in mind

Speaking of dumb, here is something: Petrosianic's references to the pro Health care bill congressfolk supporting the bill because they were bribed. So let me get this straight: on one side you have the uninsured people, who are by definition he poorest and the least influential segment of the population, and on the other side you have insurance conglomerates who are known to be making obscene profits and who are known to have direct and immediate access to the people in power through lobbyists. So, you look at this situation and you assume it is pro-bill congressmen who are being bribed? It does take a certain kind of talent to lament the fact that people are being bribed to vote FOR the bill. Because, you know, the poorest/the downthrodden/the sick are more likely to lobby the congress than the insurance industry. Yeah, one can't help but look at this whole situation and feel the insurance companies are getting the short end of the stick in the legislative process.

Hold on tight, Ed, as it is going to be a bumpy ride!

That would make you Rightest, since you come from a country that hasn't got a trillion dollar deficit, a 12 trillion dollar debt, or any of those great things Krugman thinks you should have. You've got to get with the program and move to the left of me and Ed before you can call us right. Deficit Awareness has been a Left-Wing issue for most of the century, so don't blame Ed or me if our fellow Lefties check their values at the door every time ownership of the White House changes. At least I praised Krugman on the consistency issue, rather than blaming him.





Odd that you're more offended that I made him sound like Marlo Thomas' brother than you are at the "bat-**** crazy" remark. I guess some people just don't like Marlo...

I wouldn't be too sure about that. Say rather that he got no obvious kickback. People don't sell out their values just for grins and giggles. The Executive order is only for show value, of course. I couldn't quote chapter and verse offhand, but I'm pretty sure it directly violates Roe v. Wade.

(Sidebar: And honestly, I'm not sure that that's a bad thing. Abortion is either legal, or it isn't. The games we play, where it's legal, but we're not going to use any Federal money for it, because some people don't like it, are silly. Pacifist's have no veto power over their tax dollars going to military spending either. If a) abortion is legal, and b) the government pays for health care, then c) the government is going to pay for abortion, or at least some of them. If not now, then later, when the heat dies down.)

Stupak is not Stupid; he knows it and doesn't care. So either he was never a pro-lifer in the first place, or he got something more valuable in exchange. Since he was about to receive an award from a pro-life organization next week (they rescinded the offer), I assume that he really was a pro-lifer once. In a way, government is a lot like chess, where you exchange one commodity for another: Material for Time, Space for Pawn Structure, Cash for Cloture, et cetera.

I hope it was at least something good. Jay Leno was on the other night joking about how Kucinich sold his vote for an airplane ride. (But he was predisposed to vote for it in the first place, so no surprise that his price was cheap). If the US Capital suddenly moves to Lansing, you'll know why.



____________________
"I say, Blackadder, do you think he really was the Scarlet Pimpernel?"
"Well, judging from the ridiculous ostentatiousness of his death, I would say that he was."
"Well, then, that's a damn shame, because I wanted to give him this enormous postal order."
"Please, Sir, let me finish. I would say that he was...n't." -- Prince George and Blackadder

Petro, stop trying so hard dude. I don't think I could be offended by anything you write: a. because you tend not to write offensive things; and b. because I simply don't care. You dismissed Krugman as "that guy who writes for the New York (or was it Zork this time?) Times" and I chuckled a little bit. I mean, it's kinda like calling George W Bush "that guy who ran the Texas Rangers." It has a small measure of comedic value, but that's about it.

If Stupak got something, it isn't obvious. If some pro-life group is rescinding an award, he's made some new enemies (as Bobby Kennedy used to say "friends come and go, enemies accumulate.") It would be worth knowing what it is he received.

I can't say I agree with using federal money to pay for abortions. It goes with my opposition with using federal money to pay for things like Botox. Pregnancy, like a double chin, is not an illness, but a natural healthy condition. If there is danger to the mother's health, that's one thing, but abortion by rule is another.