Year: 2013
Davis Appropriates Pro-Life Language in Texas Gubernatorial Campaign
I am pro-life. I care about the life of every child: every child that goes to bed hungry, every child that goes to bed without a proper education, every child that goes to bed without being able to be a part of the Texas dream, every woman and man who worry about their children’s future and their ability to provide for that future. I care about life and I have a record of fighting for people above all else.
— Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis (D), quoted by the Dallas Morning News, borrowing a phrase from anti-abortion activists.
An Inescapable Fact of Politics
In politics, when you have to eat shit, you don’t nibble.
— Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, quoted by CBS News, saying that President Obama “would be wise to admit his like-your-plan-keep-your-plan dodge was a mistake and apologize immediately and conspicuously.”
Dems Increasingly Anxious Over Botched Obamacare Rollout
I believe that there’s been a crisis of confidence created in the dysfunctional nature of the website, the canceling of policies, and sticker shock from some people.
— Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), quoted by Roll Call, signaling increasing Democratic anxiety over the botched rollout of Obamacare.
Why Bill de Blasio Doesn’t Care, Is Driving Cadillacs in His Dreams
Much is being made of Bill de Blasio’s recent mayoral win in New York City, with the Washington Post even calling it “historic,” since he will be the first Democrat to serve in that office since David Dinkins won in 1989.
It’s not just worth nothing that de Blasio won, but how. De Blasio focused on income inequality in NYC, or what he called “two cities,” one rich and one poor, much the way the ultimately disappointing Sen. John Edwards talked about two Americas.
As Marketplace’s Sabri Ben-Achour noted:
According to the Census Bureau, income inequality in the New York City region is higher than any other major metropolitan region in the country. So taking the whole city, Brooklyn to the Bronx, if you are in the bottom 20 percent in New York your income, on average, is about $9,000 a year. If you’re in the top 20 percent you make, on average, $223,000 a year. So otherwise, put [that] the top 20 percent of the population makes about 25 times what the bottom 20 percent makes.
Tea Bagger Loser in Alabama Special Congressional Election Shows How Not to Give a Concession Speech
The much-watched special election for the U.S. House seat in Alabama’s District 1 ended with a victory for Bradley Byrne, the far-right Republican who was not a tea bagger. After losing the race by just a few points, the tea bagger, Dean Young, demonstrated the sort of juvenile behavior that has become the trademark of the tea party lately:
Health Insurers Caught Lying to Customers about Policy Cancellations
Talking Points Memo investigated the rash of policy cancellations by heath insurers as a result of implementation of the Affordable Care Act. TPM reporter Dylan Scott found that insurers are routinely not informing customers that cheaper but better policies are available on the insurance exchanges:
If Donna had taken the default option that LifeWise offered outside of the marketplace, she would have paid nearly $1,000 more per month for a worse plan than she was able to obtain on the marketplace.Before Obamacare, Donna paid a $724 monthly premium for $10,000 deductible, catastrophic health coverage from LifeWise, a subsidiary of the state’s Blue Cross/Blue Shield affiliate. She asked that TPM withhold her last name because she was disclosing personal financial information.
The Sept. 16 letter from LifeWise told her that her existing plan was being canceled to comply with the new requirements of Obamacare and that she would automatically be rolled over into a new plan that was the “closest match” to her old plan. “If we don’t hear from you, we’ll automatically move you to this plan and you’ll be covered starting January 1, 2014,” the notice read.
GOP 2016 Frontrunner Chris Christie Bullies a Constituent at a Rally — Again
Pundits all seem to agree that when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wins reelection today, he will automatically become the Republican frontrunner for the presidency in 2016. That may be so, but most of these pundits live in the Northeast where a sarcastic, bullying style, of which Christie is the examplar, is part of everyday life.
To live in the Tristate Region is to deal with bombastic, aggressive smart asses at every turn — at the DMV, the supermarket checkout, at work and behind the wheel. This is the world in which the political opinionistas live. The fact that their lives are filled with blowhards like Christie blinds them to the fact that the bully-boy persona that is so common in the Northeast is considered ridiculous and repulsive outside the region.
3 Things to Know About Florida Politics Now
- Former Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is running for governor in 2014 as a Democrat. The official announcement was made in Crist’s hometown of St. Petersburg, and puts an end, not to speculation that Crist would run, but to when the campaign would begin. It’s on.
- Alex Sink (D), former state chief financial officer, who lost to Gov. Rick Scott (GOP/Tea) in 2010 by 1% in a campaign where Scott provided $75 million of his own money, announced she is running for Congress to fill the seat of U.S. Rep. Bill Young (R), who died in October. Sink claims a fundraising headstart, and if successful, will help chip away at the Republican majority in the House. Dist. 13, where Sink is running, is 37.7% Republican, 35.2% Democratic, 23.2% independent, and the rest “other.”
- Republicans are already gunning for both Crist and Sink. This promoted tweet from the Florida GOP went up as Crist was delivering his announcement:
