1.) ‘FIRE PELOSI,’ howl…the Democrats? — A few months ago, conservatives began hammering Pelosi’s air-tight visage like a drum and demanding that whoever is responsible for firing House speakers fire Pelosi. Now that Democrats are making the same case, will the professional left also accuse them of rampant misogyny? Did Ronald Reagan drink the blood of poors for breakfast every morning? According to Jon Ward, “TheDC contacted 50 conservative Blue Dog Democrats by phone and e-mail on Tuesday, and received only one response in support of Pelosi.” In total, roughly 14 House Democrats have called for a speaker who is less horrible. Democratic aides, when pressed on the possibility of returning the speaker to her cryogenic chamber, argued that “[u]nlike Republican staff who are still in D.C. measuring drapes and ordering champagne with the Koch brothers credit card, Dem staff are engaged and singularly focused on winning November 2.” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was more restrained in his support: “I think she’ll have enough votes.”
2.) Charlie Crist complains about Obama ‘ramming things’ — Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tried again last night to end his political career with dignity by rejecting Obamacare during a debate with Senate candidates Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek. “Obamacare was off the charts, was wrong,” Crist said. “It taxed too much, has mandates that are probably unconstitutional, and it’s not the way to go. And it was rammed through,” he added, causing the entire audience to wince. According to the Associated Press, which managed to stay conscious for the entire debate, “Meek seemed incredulous that Crist would use the strategy of criticizing Obama. Meek has been frustrated that Crist is having some success in his overt outreach to Democratic voters.” If it’s any consolation, the governor is equally frustrated that his outreach-around isn’t working as planned.
3.) Redcoats cut military budget, ask America to pick up the slack — British Prime Minister David Cameron is still on “our side” even though he is cutting Britain’s military budget by 8 percent. But what he really means, according to the National Review’s Kevin Williamson, is Please continue to protect us with your huge guns. “There are upsides to America’s overgrown national-security apparatus, to be sure, but the downsides, in addition to the walloping direct expense of the thing, is the indirect expense: Our over-large military is a shadow subsidy for the over-large welfare states of Europe, Canada, and our other allies around the world, including their protectionist corporate-welfare measures.” Talk about a special relationship! We pour our money and our family members directly into the Tigris, and the Brits get to spend more time picking their teeth. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? Says Williamson, “Mostly because we regret what happened the last time we left the Europeans in charge of anything more consequential than Nokia.”
4.) Obamacare fails to control costs: Part WHATEVER AND A MILLION — The idea behind a health savings account is simple, says the Examiner’s Max Borders: “Instead of going to the doctor and getting a $100+ prescription of Nexium – the cost of which would be dinged to the insurance pool – I go to Target and buy a very similar over-the-counter drug called Prilosec. It costs me $15. It costs you nothing. If I didn’t have the HSA, I’d be passing everything beyond the copay onto the insurance pool–that is, to you.” Thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s illiteracy and Chicago House Rules, HSAs are about to be useless: “Starting Jan. 1, employees who use flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health saving accounts (HSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to pay for common medications such as pain relievers, cold medicines, antacids and allergy medications will need prescriptions. The new rules don’t apply to insulin.”
5.) Dems play the race card with black voters — “In an effort to drive up turnout for the midterm elections in Chicago and other cities,” writes the Chicago Sun-Times, “Democrats are aiming a less-than-subtle message at African-American voters: ‘Our President Needs You.'” Apparently, because a high number of African Americans voted for Obama in 2008, hoping perhaps that he would in some measurable way improve the conditions of America’s poor, they can just be trotted out to the polls again to vote for a white mobster. That’s not racist, is it?
6.) Axelrod’s mustache very much resembles Leonidas at Thermopylae — “It is natural and easy in a midterm election particularly in difficult times to treat the election as a referendum on current conditions,” Axelrod told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s not what it is. This is [a] choice between two fundamentally different approaches.” So make a note! This is not about Obamacare, toothless and crappy financial regulatory reform, assassinating citizens, high unemployment, wasted stimubucks, wiping Wall Street’s ass, wiping Detroit’s ass, stocking the White House with lobbyists, trying to bribe congressional candidates, hamstringing entire industries, or threatening to kill the Jonas Brothers. This is about something else. They just haven’t come up with a good “else” yet.