Link to Original Testimony
http://www.democracynow.org /2004/2/20/john_kerry_then_ hear_kerrys_historic

A New Winter Soldier Speech Regarding Healthcare
By Tom Wieliczka

I've revised Senator John Kerry's 1971 Winter Soldier Speech to Congress, from being about The Vietnam War to being about Healthcare.

I simply took Senator Kerry's words:  

"How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake."

and converted that portion of his speech into one concerning healthcare and and people that get red-flagged or go through rescission with their health claims.

These are the revised last five paragraphs of that original speech.....

The topic below was originally posted on my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

In the grown up world, honorable and reasonable people may initially disagree but eventually compromise upon a collective review of empirical evidence. It was in this spirit, that the nascent Obama administration reached out to Republicans with respect to their proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which finally passed both houses of congress yesterday.

Last night I listened as Democrats and mainstream media journalists and commentators, presumably spurred on by comments attributed to President-elect Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, urged that Joseph Lieberman retain his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee and opportunity to remain within the Democratic Senate Caucus.

One such comment was amusing.  Karen Hughes, who governed as a take-no-prisoners adviser to George Bush and would angrily confront journalists who dared make any unfavorable comments against the boss she served, recommended that to demonstrate that Barack Obama was not bound by partisan interests, Lieberman should continue to serve in his chairmanship and remain a part of the Democratic Caucus.

The question that should be asked is what Hughes would have said, for example, if Senator X had been a Republican Caucus member and conducted himself in the same manner as Lieberman, campaigning for a Democratic presidential nominee as well as others on that party's slate of candidates, then seeking to return to that group.

Hughes would have shrieked and bellowed, at the very least, "How can you trust this senator?  Let this senator stay with the other party!  That's where this senator belongs!"

Lisa Vorderbrueggen has an article in today's Contra Costa Times, titled, Bloggers take Tauscher to task. The article has a number of huge problems, let me list some of mine and I'm sure other bloggers will have their own complaints.

First off, I don't see how this story could be written without mentioning that the exact same thing happened to Congressman Jeffery Cohelan in the next district over. OK, maybe not the exact same thing because Cohelan went into his unsuccessful 1970 primary with strong labor support. But the complete lack of historical perspective does damage to the analysis.

But not as much damage as this:

Yes, Tauscher voted to allow President Bush to start the Iraq war. But so did every other Democrat in the nation except one.

That is a lie. A lie in the pages of the Contra Costa Times. In reality, Tauscher was one of only two Bay Area Democrats to support the unnecessary, unilateral, invasion of Iraq with the vast majority opposed. In all, only 81 Democrats voted the wrong way on the biggest issue of our time with 126 voting no, meaning 60% of house Democrats were opposed.

This failure to understand even the most basic dynamics and history means this isn't the type of article I would recommend people reading.

If last week was defined by Katie Merrill catapulting a primary campaign against Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, this was the week that Tauscher tried in vain to distance herself from Joe Lieberman.

The following is how the week developed, you can sign up to get this delivered by email at the Ellen Tauscher Weekly.

The diary below was originally posted in my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was arguably the most odious piece of domestic legislation the previous congress passed. President Bush and his party typically cited it as among their "accomplishments" and the media seldom questioned whether it was a good idea.

This "accomplishment" amounted to nothing less than class warfare waged on behalf of the super rich against the little guy. Indeed, it illustrated the sheer indecency of the Republican Party machine and pervasive influence of banks, credit card companies and the financial services industry as a whole.

"Stay the course!"

That is all you will get from both Bush and Lieberman.

Despite President Bush's recent denials that "We've never been stay the course" and the NY Times' FALSE assertions to counter Ned Lamont's caqmpaign charges that Joe Lieberman has been a consistent cheerleader for Bush's failed "Stay the course!" policy, the fact remains that this is a bold face lie that exposes BOTH Bush and Lieberman's  penchant for polticizing this war by telling people whatever they have to in order to cover their political asses and get more votes.  It also doesn't say much about the researchers and writers at the post Judy "neocon propaganda" Miller NY Times.

In Bush's and Lieberman's own words BELOW:

Back from the void of laziness...

I'm always torn when I write metaposts about blogging. There are two radical positions one can take regarding the dreaded Blogosphere, both of which irk me. At one extreme, you have the right-wing triumphalists who take credit for everything and exaggerate their own accomplishments to ridiculous levels. At the other, you have today's subject.

Meet Bruce Kluger - USA Today contributor, writer for Parents magazine, and trasher of blogs. You probably saw the link to his article on Eschaton recently, but Atrios (as he is wont to do) didn't bother to give it the thrashing it so deserves. (And yes, I realize how ironic it is that I'm now criticizing Atrios for being lazy) Below, you'll find a proper dissection of this truly deranged article, with added snark. Enjoy.

Holy Joe has been taking a lot of flack in recent weeks for this comment:

"It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years, and that in matters of war, we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.

Now, I believe Joe Lieberman's picture appears in the OED next to the word "douchebag."  But in his charmingly awkward "Joementum" sort of way, he actually kinda-sorta-almost hit on something worthwhile there, without intending to.

As usual, Joe was trying to suck up to the President and the GOP, which I'm convinced he's a closet member of.  In an attempt to spin flax into gold, I'm going to take the small kernel of an idea he dropped and try to nuture it into a beautiful flowering plant of electoral victory.

Sometimes your friends can cause you more harm than your enemies.  

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, a leading candidate for the Presidential nomination in 2008, wowed an AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) crowd the other day with what apparently were strong comments in defense of Israel.  Those comments apparently prompted several AIPAC members to say the following:

"Tell Sen. Joe Lieberman: Debate Is Patriotic," from Democracy for America

So, Joe Lieberman may soon be rebuked by several Democratic organizations, while rumors abound that the Bush Junta may recruit him as the next DOD secretary, thus giving the Republican governor of his state the chance to appoint a GOPster to Joe's Senate seat.

To anyone fretting over the Republicans gaining another seat in the Senate, allow me to allay your fears: Joe Lieberman IS a Republican, for all intents and purposes, so this really wouldn't be a loss for Democrats.

Further, Lieberman would be inheriting the Iraq quagmire, and maybe when he sees what kind of cluster fuck it really is, he'll betray the Bushites just as he has repeatedly betrayed the party he pretends to be a member of... Although I won't be holding my breath for THAT event.

Too bad Lieberman doesn't show the same devotion to America and the Democratic Party that he shows to Israel and the Bush Administration; he'd be a better person -- and a better Senator -- if he did.

Lieberman sees "real progress" in Iraq:

In the Kurdish North, there is continuing security and growing prosperity. The primarily Shiite South remains largely free of terrorism, receives much more electric power and other public services than it did under Saddam, and is experiencing greater economic activity. The Sunni triangle...is where most of the terrorist enemy attacks occur. And yet here, too, there is progress.

There are many more cars on the streets, satellite television dishes on the roofs, and literally millions more cell phones in Iraqi hands than before. All of that says the Iraqi economy is growing. And Sunni candidates are actively campaigning for seats in the National Assembly. People are working their way toward a functioning society and economy in the midst of a very brutal, inhumane, sustained terrorist war against the civilian population and the Iraqi and American military there to protect it.

I guess one man's progress is another's debacle.