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Hot Dish Politics

Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann stopped by the state Capitol on Monday to pitch some proposed ground rules for the national debate over health care reform.

 

At a news conference, Bachmann unveiled the "Declaration of Health Care Independence," which will be formally released Wednesday.

 

"We are rejecting politics as usual in Washington D.C. in dealing with this health care issue," said Bachmann, a Republican.

Proposing ground rules at this point in health care reform is like the refs showing up for the game after the clock has run out.

Sometimes there's crazy, which makes sense in a headline grabbing sort of way. Then there is the above move by Bachmann, which is just plain stupid. Dumb ass stupid.

I am posting this at the Snelling Ave Dunn Bros. Coffee shop. Unfortunately, there were no available tables with outlets close by. Actually, every table was taken. So, I am sitting out back, which is great today, considering it is 60 degrees right now, but also lacks outlets. Anyway, work was quick, with only one consult. But it did require an assessment, and a DHS one at that.

DHS is Department of Human Services. In Minnesota, for publicly funded patients, we have to fill out a particular form, which is 18 pages long. Most of the Minnesota care HMOs (there are four of them that manage health care for Minnesota) require it to be completed, even if they are not going to get state funding for treatment.

See, many, many years ago, something called Rule 25 was created to help under-insured people get funding for treatment. These people could be employed, have health insurance, but not have substance abuse benefits, But, as in all things deemed welfare, the financial requirements became so strict, the original target population was restricted from receiving aid, and only the poor got the funding. Get a job, and you lose your funding.

Anyway, the funding was a combination of Federal grants with a certain level of matching state funds. From what I understand, Minnesota was better than most states at getting the money out there for treatment. Wisconsin, at least when I first sobered up in the mid 80s, was not so good at it.

As seems to be the case these days, in an effort to prove government inefficient, a re-write by the state (controlled by republicans, I deem, though can not prove) was done on Rule 25 recently, and they created a bloated assessment tool that goes above and beyond any reasonable effort at assessing for abuse or dependence. In my opinion, it was created with the mind-set that we had to discover a lifetime of issues in 40 to 60 minutes.

A psychiatrist that works for one of the county mental health services complained the assessment was a complete waste of time; that it attempted to be a tool for developing an actual treatment plan - instead of it's original function - which was simply to determine the necessary level of care for a person.

One of the biggest problems with my field is that it is very politicized, especially in the last decade, as Christian organizations attempt to insert their ideology into treatment services. I came across a little flier that was clearly written to coop the original intent of AA, and in direct opposition to one of the traditions, which clearly states attraction rather than promotion. This flier was describing the means to evangelize the 12 step concept.

In all things both conservative and Christian, it is a return to shaming the drunks and drug addicts. Considering Bill W. spent the first 8 months of his sobriety attempting that path, and failing, I suspect we will not really hear of any statistical success from this move. Prior to AA's creation, there really was not documented success at dealing with addiction.

In the end, I have to say I grow tired of my field. It seems more mired in bureaucracy then at any time in my 19 year career. All I want to do is help people find their way out of the hell that is addiction. Instead, it has turned into another battle ground for which ideology is the best.  

Joe Lieberman grandstanding. This is his effort at appearing relevant. He is not. Someday Joe is going to rudely be made aware of just how insignificant he is to the American people. The Democratic Party seems more sorry for him than anything, hence the continued allowance of caucusing with them. The Republican Party probably does not trust him, what with his turncoat actions these last 8 years. Of coures, had he simply switched from Democrat to Republican, he would have more trust, but he would not have the appearance of importance. As an Independent caucusing with the Democrats, he gets to make all sorts of threats in an effort to lay claim to being important.

Yes, he does, in the end, have some power. But the cost to his political future is probably more than he realizes. I suspect his state is not as red as he believes, and that a solid candidate will take him out easily. Indeed, I suspect most independents will probably not come to his defense at the next election. Further, most Republicans, those that are left, will be so rabidly anti everything not WASP that they will not be willing to vote for him.

It really is a shame that his ego is getting in the way of his duty as a Senator to do what is best for the country. Instead, his behavior paints a man who fails to recognizes his best political days are behind him; an also ran who did not quite make the grade. I am not so much angry at his power play as I pity his pathetic, last grasp at relevancy.

Yet, despite my pity, I have no recourse except to announce him as Jack Ass of the Day.

Eww! They eat their own.

Right-wing bloggers have recently attacked Newt Gingrich for endorsing Republican Dede Scozzafava over Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in the special election to fill Army Secretary John McHugh's (R-NY) vacated congressional seat. On her blog, Michelle Malkin said "no thanks" to the possibility of a Gingrich 2012 presidential run, noting that he is the "most prominent GOP endorser of [the] radical leftist NY-23 congressional candidate," while at RedState.com, Erick Erickson reportedly wrote -- before removing the post -- that Gingrich "stands athwart history and pees on the legacy of 1994."

I have to say, I take some small satisfaction in seeing Gingrich suffer the slings and arrows he inflicted on the Democrats and Clinton back in the 1990s.

The problem with monsters is that they turn on their masters.

MN Progressive Project has a post up about Minnesota Republican infighting that has gotten ugly. It is the usual personal attacks on character that we have come to expect from today's Republican party. It is reminiscent of the attack George W. Bush's campaign made against John McCain back in 2000

Now, don't get me wrong. I have no doubt that Democrats of days gone by have engaged in the same personal attacks and will do so in the future. Currently, though, it appears to be a Republican trait. If anyone has done any reading on Karl Rove's past, you learn that he started his dirty, character assassination tricks at a young age, and at a local level.

I know, for myself, that in the past I never paid attention to these kind of low brow political attacks. I considered myself above them, or just felt it was not important enough for me to take into consideration. But I have come to learn that it is important these types of antics be exposed and brought to the attention of the electorate, and at a local level. Just imagine a world where Karl Rove's sleazy campaigning were exposed when he first started out, and had not been at the helm of George W. Bush's campaign, and by extension, his administration.

Eight years of George W. Bush in the White House has taught me that all politics is local. Any and all personal attacks, whisper campaigns, and other Lee Atwater dirty trick antics, whether by Republicans or Democrats, must be exposed early on at the local level, or else we can look forward once again to an incompetent and immoral presidency.

I've been hearing, and reading, a lot lately on how investigating law breaking by the Bush administration would end up distracting Obama from his job of stewarding the country. How, exactly would Obama be distracted. It's not like the White House will be running any investigation. Let's remember, the Justice Department is an independent agency, not beholden to, or controlled by, the White House.

If memory serves me well (large amount of drugs and alcohol years ago make it not so much a possibility), when Nixon tried to control an investigation, he actually sealed his fate and ended up resigning.

Honestly, I think the village idiots are confused. It's they who would be distracted. We are talking about people who willingly, and easily, walked hand in hand with the Bush administration into the Greatest War Against Terror. And by hand in hand, I mean lead by the Bush administration because the villagers seem unable to walk and chew gum at the same time.

Okay, that was unfair. But it felt soooooo good to type.

Anyway, Obama's concern, which does hold merit, is that the American people would be distracted by the investigations, and the Republicans in the congress would step up their obstructionist behavior (and possibly a few complicit Democrats). However, is an increase in obstruction by Republicans any more of a problem then what they are doing now? And with the Blue Dogs already complicit in obstructing Health Reform....., well, I don't think it would be much worse then what he already faces. As for the American people? For the most part they are always distracted by something. Usually with the Legacy Media's help.

This is what Sarah Palin meant when she said it:

I've been struck by this since the beginning. If it is the case that the president can designate an Office of Legal Counsel functionary to immunize government officials and employees against criminal behavior, then it is true, to all intents and purposes that "if the president does it it's not illegal."

And, from this article, we also learn that Cheney, who developed his executive beliefs and values from the Nixon White House, ordered the CIA to not inform Congress about the secret wiretapping programs.

(NYT)The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

Next week sure is going to be an interesting news week.

I know, I know. Most of you already think of  the Republicans as dumb. But seriously, this statement by Palin;

(ABC) As to whether another pursuit for national office, as when she joined Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the race for the White House less than a year ago, would result in the same political blood sport, Palin said there was a difference between the White House and what she had experienced in Alaska. If she were in the White House, she said, the "department of law" would protect her from baseless ethical allegations. [highlight by editorial, i.e., me!]

is nothing more than Nixon's statement "When the president does it, it's not illegal" dumbed down. Palin's statement boils down to the same unitary executive belief as voiced by Nixon and further advocated by Bush/Cheney. Honestly, the point is not that she's stupid, though she sure works hard at projecting stupidity, it's that she is following the same unitary executive ideology.

The ideal question to ask her would be her belief about the separation of powers inherent in the constitution. Her whole "Department of Law" gives evidence that she either doesn't believe in the separation of powers, or is just plain stupid.

Well, yes. Of course it could be both.

Carl, over at Unpopular Ideas reminds us that the introduction of Sarah Palin as the GOP VP selection was a "Hail Mary" pass. In keeping with this metaphor; a reminder that most Hail Mary passes are incomplete. Her resignation from the Governorship of Alaska - that she is leaving with an incomplete term - completes the metaphor.

While it appears the Legacy Media continues to beat the drum about signs of recovery (because the corporate masters believe it will make the masses believe and the economy will magically improve) I am listening to the bloggers and economists (in two cases, both) who called the housing bubble and the financial meltdown. You see, I tend to listen to people who actually have a track record of being right.

Interesting that in most cases, they turn out not to be Republicans...........

I think this grandstanding by Pawlenty has sealed the fate of the MN GOP. At a time when the GOP nationally is losing ground, to stand tight with a failed ideology, after having already lost ground in the state congress, is only going to hasten the decline of the MN GOP.

At this point, if he should run, I doubt TPaw could win another term.

Update: Dave Mindeman is right, of course, in pointing out that Pawlenty now owns the MN Budget and all its fallout.