Capitol Hill News Open Thread

by: CA Berkeley WV

Thu Dec 24, 2009 at 17:29:24 PM EST

Good afternoon, WvaBlue readers. This is your afternoon open thread to discuss all things Hill-related. Use this thread to praise or bash Congresscritters, share a juicy tip, ask questions, offer critiques and suggestions, or post manifestos.

As always, this is a crosspost from Congress Matters and I will refrain from my routine claim that this is the most important news of the day. That would be the what is happening in your own house this time of the year.

Sen. Byrd did not miss the vote today either, even thought it was finally just a majority wins event. His thoughts went to his friend Edward M. Kennedy.

Here are some of my own thoughts...

"I'm reasonably optimistic that they're just playing games with themselves; that this isn't going to become law," said Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, during an appearance on "Dateline Washington," the same program as the one on which Crapo appeared.

If it does, I think it helps put the Republicans in the majority. And then I will, as the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, if the Republican conference gives me that privilege, I'll move to repeal a lot of this stuff," Barton added.

The last vote on Christmas Eve was in 1895 for a military-affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers. Hmmm.

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After a hiatus The Washington Times is again sending it Top 10 News email. It wasn't a hardship, really.

Staffers reported that both cloakrooms at various times have been stocked with candy and baskets of fruit.

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Interest groups weight in on the Senate version.

The short version: The AMA, drug industry and AARP backed the bill; health insurers and the Chamber of Commerce did not.

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Wasilla still belongs to the Governor Vacationer Mrs. Palin.

I just got off of the phone with an ADN reporter who tells me that the banned list only contained FOUR names!

Just four?

Hmm, now let's see. There was Shannyn, Dennis, and me, and that makes three. Now who do you think was lucky number four?

The reaction to remove those who are the possible targets of unwanted attention rather than controlling offensive behavior seems to be a little backwards. Here in West Virginia that was the move of hte state police at a recent hearing on mining permit, remove the environmentalists for their safety.

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The House has standing rules to deal with a defector, swiftly. Speaker Pelosi wasted no time. And some in the Alabama GOP have their doubts about their newest member.

Griffith is already facing challengers in the Republican primary, and some big-name conservative activists are calling for his defeat. In previous years of his political career, Griffith had declared that he was for "health care for all of the citizens," and he'd also donated to Howard Dean and Harry Reid. So some people aren't taking seriously his protest that the "far-left" Democratic Party wasn't welcoming him.

All very different than the Senate, remember?

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Who would have thunk this would happen?

Lieberman's well publicized opposition to the expansion of Medicare or the creation of any government-run public insurance option led to a Senate health care compromise that left many people upset. Interestingly, Lieberman's biggest decline -- a 14-point drop -- came among independents.

How mavericky.

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They are still student athletes.

For Sowers, it means the end of his college career. The fifth-year senior and former Kennedy Award winner from Martinsburg was a starting strong safety in 11 of WVU's 12 games this season. He was injured and missed the South Florida game.

He played quarterback for the Bulldogs..