Monday, October 22, 2007

That's Hurricane Jen-ni-fer to you, Senator

Sometimes it is best to embrace the monikers that the Republicans throw at you. This is one that denotes strength and power; why would boxers or the University of Miami choose to use it as a nickname otherwise? Something to think about as you read what follows next.


We will get back to Senator Alan Sanborn and his choice of words in a minute; what we want to look at is why the Senator brought this up in relation to the SCHIP resolution, when the two had absolutely nothing to do with each other.


Yesterday at Daily Kos, one of my favorite bloggers of all time, georgia10, hit the nail right on the head in a diary entitled "Over There". It describes how Republicans everywhere are so devoid of actual ideas on issues that they have to turn to the personal attack as a deflection to hide the inadequacies of the party as a whole.


On the merits, the GOP knows full well that it has lost its audience.  Poll after poll shows that when it comes to issues, Americans overwhelmingly support the Democratic agenda.  Political survival then depends on misdirection from this fact.  At any cost.


The most common form of misdirection employed by the idea-barren Republican Party is to avoid talking about ideas altogether.  And the most common method used to accomplish this goal? Deflecting attention from the policy to the personal.


Those two paragraphs described to a T what happened in our Michigan Senate last Thursday when it came time for the Republicans to justify why they wouldn't move a resolution to urge Congress to override the SCHIP veto.


Jump over the flip to see what went down. It was a day to remember.
Senate Democrats, knowing that Congress was going to vote within hours (or even minutes at this point), wanted to move on two different resolutions that would urge Congress to override Bush's veto of SCHIP- one of their own and one that has passed with strong bipartisan support in the House. Naturally, the Republicans obstructed that from happening and put it off for "another day"- leading the Senate Democrats to object strongly (check Mark Schauer's diary) and get their protests printed in the Senate Journal.


The Democrats had the nerve- the nerve I tell you!- to point out the fallacies of the Republican argument, such as the illegal alien excuse and whatever, and the nerve to point out what we are spending for the Iraq War as opposed to the cost of this legislation.


How dare they, those Democrats speaking the truth. The predictable happened next. As Georgia said, "Knowing that they cannot emerge victoriously out of a battle of ideas, Republicans latch on to individuals instead." Getting called out on their inexcusable inaction was the cue for Senate Republicans to make this personal, starting with Sanborn's attack on the Governor.


I rise to make a statement as to the outrageous display by the Democrats with regard to House Concurrent Resolution No.51 earlier today. This state has enough economic problems since Hurricane Jenny blew through, and yet, the Democrats in this chamber would rather create a smokescreen to hide the fact that our Governor has failed to lead Michigan out of its economic woes and fix the problems that she has caused--problems like her tax increases, Michigan's nation-leading unemployment, and the administration that is currently in turmoil. The casualties in this week alone include her insurance commissioner and her chief of staff who have defected.


What on God's green earth did this diatribe have to do with SCHIP or House Concurrent Resolution No. 51?


Absolutely nothing.


He calls the Governor a name. Talks about moves in the administration. Calls the debate for health insurance for children a smokescreen for... nothing that had been mentioned, so I'm not sure where he got the idea it was a "smokescreen". It was the issue at hand. The question is, where in any of that do you see a valid reason for delaying a vote on the resolution for SCHIP?


You don't. And you won't, because next he moved on to attacking Senator Schauer.


I appreciate that our colleague from the 19th District wants to leave behind the problems of the state of Michigan, problems created largely by his own party and Hurricane Jenny, for Washington, D.C., but this is not the place to run for Congress.


At this point they cut his mike, citing a Senate rule that states thou shall not disparage thy colleagues motives for making statements, so unfortunately we don't get to read the rest of what surely was a rant that Ted Stevens would be proud of, and of course,  I bet it had nothing to do with getting children health insurance.


Nancy Cassis got into the act next- and get this, she complained that Senate Republicans were being censored.


Yes, the team that brought you the censorship of a blog and the censorship of the photographers, is shocked at the notion that their own mike might be turned off if they break the rules.


The blog wasn't breaking the rules. The photographers weren't breaking the rules. But Nancy proceeded to follow up Sanborn's previous attack with her own finger-wagging-I'm-better-than-you deflection of the issue at hand, as she too broke the Senate rules with a sad, sad attempt at a shot at both Schauer and Granholm.


What a sad, sad, sorry day. The other side of the aisle chose to use children, our children, in a political ploy, a political stunt, seemingly orchestrated by their minority leader running for Congress himself. I'm afraid the other side of the aisle, who so advocated for freedom earlier today, now is trying to censor our remarks. That is a terrible, terrible thing.


Let me say again that this filibuster for all practical purposes is used to divert attention away from their failed economic policies and those of the current sitting Governor and the fallout of their disastrous tax increases directly undermining job providers throughout our state.


Would that be the disastrous tax increases that the Senate Republicans passed, Nancy? Because we couldn't have done it without you, you know.


Cassis apparently doesn't have an ideas about how to insure children either, but my guess is she would call for more tax cuts on big business as a solution. That works for everything in Nancy's world.


Senator Mark Jansen used this occasion to decry the remarks made about President Bush. I didn't notice anyone calling Bush "Hurricane Georgie", but Jansen felt the need to defend him anyway, and to point out just how generous the feds have been with Michigan, and we should all be grateful, thank you very much.


Um, yeah. If you say so, Senator. Put in a call to Mike Leavitt when you get done, OK?


I would ask my colleagues who are going to call names to people who are leaders, maybe you ought to rethink that because we have been saved by the federal government in our budget over the last four years. Yes, we've patched; yes, we've taken out different funds from different places, but the federal government has been very helpful to Michigan and to all of us here.


As you want to pontificate about our leaders and leadership, please rethink that and call a President a President and respect that person in leadership.


Federal tax dollars, gee golly whiz fine in the Republican book. State tax dollars, pure evil. Gotcha.


And what day of ranting and raving and deflection and utter lunacy would be complete without an appearance by Alan Cropsey who had to bring up... wait for it... Hitler.


It just doesn't get any better than that.


Some of the things that were said on the floor today by the party on the other side of the aisle were particularly offensive. I can't think that our President would go in the war because he has a lust for war or words to that effect. If I recall correctly, when we entered into the war in Iraq, it was done by a congressional resolution which had tremendous bipartisan support because of the Hitler who was there in the Middle East who was threatening world security. And I think a President who stands up for our national interest and goes into war with bipartisan congressional support is looking out for out best interest. And as a father of two soldiers, I find that particularly offensive for people to say that our Commander-in-Chief has a lust for that type of thing.


But the bipartisan support for SCHIP means nothing to Alan. Only when it supports a Republican purpose is that ever meaningful. Cropsey went on the recite all the spin that had been already discredited, and by that time Senators were probably getting bored anyway. After all, once you play the Hitler card, the party is over.


Now, where in that mess did you see any Republican solution to health care for children? Fact is, they don't have one. All they have is personal attacks and distortion of the facts. That's it.


And when that choice is made to engage in the battle of ideas instead of feeding a distraction, Republicans will be unable to sell their failed policies to the American people. Because over here, away from individualized distractions, is the truth that Democratic ideas are those which are the best for our nation. Over here, where all eyes should be focused, is the truth that any claim of competence and morality by today's Republican Party is nothing more than illusion.


Back to Senator Sanborn. Actually, Hurricane Jennifer has a nice ring to it. If you proudly embrace the names that the Republicans call you in their attempt to deflect from the truth, they will have nothing left to say at all.


We won't have to worry about shutting off the mike ever again.



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