House showdown: The S-CHIP veto override vote; Update: Crazy Pete Stark accuses President Bush of blowing Iraqis and American troops up “for his amusement;” Update: 1:15pm Eastern Veto override fails;Update: MSM ignores Stark remarks
Update 3:20pm Eastern. See my new post on Pete StarkRavingMad. These people can’t contain themselves. And let’s stop the delusion that the Starks are the fringe. They are the center of the nutroots-i-fied Democrat Party.
Shocker! Not a word in the NYTimes coverage of the override vote failure about Stark’s remarks.
Nothing in the latest WaPo story, either!
Because, you know, Democrats debasing the president and dragging the debate into the sewer on the House floor is just not news.
Update 1:52pm Eastern. While the Dems continue Kiddie Kabuki Theater (”HEEELP THE CHILDREN! SUFFER THE CHILDREN!!”), the GOP moves forward.
As I noted last night, they’ll unveil their SCHIP alternative at 3pm Eastern today.
Update 1:15pm Eastern. The veto override fails, falls short of two-thirds majority, 273-156. The roll will be here.
FYI: You will be interested to know that Nancy Pelosi’s closing speech did not mention a single word about the Frost family.
Also: All the poster families the Democrats used as human shields remain covered by S-CHIP–just as they did before this vote and just as they did before the president’s veto.
Here’s the wire report on the override failure:
House Democrats failed Thursday to override President Bush’s veto of their pre-election year effort to expand a popular government health insurance program to cover 10 million children.
The bill had bipartisan support but the 273-156 roll call was 13 votes short of the two-thirds majority supporters needed to enact the bill into law despite Bush’s objections. The bill had passed the Senate with a bigger than two-thirds majority.
No mention of Pete Stark’s unhingedness.
Update Video of Stark Raving Mad:
Update 12:11pm Eastern. Oh, my Lord. Pete Stark is back on the floor ranting about us using billions of dollars to “kill innocent Iraqis, Iraqi children…We look at our shoes…we don’t want to talk about sending children to kill.”
GOP Rep. Hulshof points out that Stark did not support the original CHIP bill.
I wonder if Stark is looking at his shoes…
Update 11:57am Eastern. Rep. John Lewis sounds like he is going to collapse: “HEEELP THE CHILDREN! SUFFER THE CHILDREN!!” How embarrassing.
11:40am Eastern. Rahm Emanuel trots out another poster family…that is already covered by S-CHIP. Ed Morrissey is also liveblogging and also noted the same.
Update 11:26am Eastern. On the floor now…GOP Rep. Heather Wilson, who supports the entitlement expansion and is now one of the Dems’ favorite Republicans. New Mexico conservatives aren’t cheering.
Update 11:17am Eastern. Rep. Pete Stark starts blabbering about Republicans who don’t want to spend money on children, but instead want to spend it on “an illegal war” to be fought by children whom Republicans want to send to Iraq to “blow people up” and “get their heads blown up” for “his amusement.”
Stark: “Bush just likes to blow things up!!!”
Stark is reminded by his Democrat colleague “not to refer to the president in any personal way.” Fling those peas.
GOP Rep. Brady lambastes Rep. Stark. The man is a raving lunatic.
Dan Riehl wonders why the GOP didn’t fight back harder and smarter.
Update 11:14am Eastern. What does S-CHIP stand for? Rep. Steve King spells it out…
Update 10:58am Eastern. Here we go. Debate begins on HR 976. Rep. John Dingell insists the “bill is paid for.”
What’s he smoking?
Update 10:51am Eastern. Newly-elected Democrat Rep. Niki Tsongas has just been sworn in and she’s exulting in being there to cast her override vote on the S-CHIP expansion. Her husband, you may have forgotten, was one of the most outspoken critics of the entitlement crisis and gave out “Pander Bears” to politicians who refused to be honest about the looming fiscal disaster of the expanding social welfare state.
Those were the days.
Update 10:16am Eastern. House members are giving 1-minute speeches, which can be summed up thusly:
Bush hates children!
No, he doesn’t!
Head-counting taking place right now. Looks like the vote will take place around 12:30pm Eastern.
***
The House is in session now. I’ll be liveblogging the upcoming S-CHIP debate. You can watch the stream at C-Span’s website.
This morning’s AP dispatch reports the override is unlikely, with the Dems falling 15 votes short:
President Bush, anticipating that his veto of a $35 billion spending increase for children’s insurance will stand, has assigned three top advisers to try to negotiate a new deal with Congress.
Democrats appeared about 15 votes short in the House heading into Thursday’s attempt to override Bush’s veto of their $35 billion spending increase for the program. The president said his veto gives him a chance to weigh in on the future of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
“Sometimes the legislative branch wants to go on without the president, pass pieces of legislation and the president can then use the veto to make sure he’s a part of the process,” Bush said. Leading the discussions for his administration are Mike Leavitt, the health and human services secretary; Al Hubbard, director of the National Economic Council; and Jim Nussle, the White House budget chief. But supporters of the bill passed last month by Congress say they already have compromised. The House originally had proposed a $50 billion increase over five years.
The bill is bipartisan and the Senate has shown it could override a veto. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has replied with an emphatic “no” when asked if he would seek a compromise with the administration. Both the House and Senate have to override a veto for a bill to become law over a president’s objection.
Through the program, the government and the states subsidize the cost of health coverage for families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance. Bush has recommended a $5 billion increase, bringing total spending over five years to $30 billion — half the level called for in the bill that he vetoed.
In case you missed it last night, here’s the GOP alternative that will be introduced later today.
While we wait, here’s food for thought from Peter Suderman:
…the White House, and indeed, most Republicans in Congress, has decided to fall in line with the Democrats’ broad goals for the program, choosing only to make weak arguments about how much additional money ought to be spent. It’s no wonder the party is in such bad shape. When all Republicans have to offer is a watered down version of program backed by Democrats, it shouldn’t be a surprise when the public doesn’t bite.
Bush, by refusing to take a tough stand against the program entirely, has allowed Democrats to use “for the children!” as a cudgel to crush him in the press, and, as today’s vote shows, they’ve been more than willing to take every opportunity to hit him as hard as they can. As a result, the entire Republican party — not exactly strong at the start — has emerged from the debate bloody and bruised.
If this is a preview of what’s to come in the debate over national health care, it will be tempting for conservatives pick up their lawn chairs and go home. Who wants to watch their team make this many mistakes in both goals and strategy? Congressional Republicans have made some minor buzz about “re-branding” the GOP as the party of economic conservatism, and Bush has recently taken to speaking in front of an oversized banner that reads, in huge capital letters, “Fiscal Responsibility.” That sounds great, but brands and slogans aren’t worth much without action to back them up.
As long as fiscal responsibility remains a banner to hang over milquetoast policies, Republicans are likely to continue to fare as badly as they have on S-CHIP. It shouldn’t be this way, and it doesn’t have to. It’s time for GOP lawmakers to prove Democrats right and make Republican opposition to a program actually mean something.
See what others have said
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Trackbacks
- Riehl World View
- Do Democrats Give a SCHIP About the Children? » Constitutionally Right
- Right Voices » Blog Archive » The SCHIP OVERIDE.. WILL IT HAPPEN?
- Captain's Quarters
- Don Surber » Blog Archive » SCHIP is a step to Hillarycare
- The SCHIP Veto Override Vote : The American Pundit
- Macsmind - Conservative Commentary and Common Sense
- Macsmind - Conservative Commentary and Common Sense
- Hot Air » Blog Archive » Video: Rep. Pete Stark’s nutroots-flavored rant
- Ankle Biting Pundits » Blog Archive » Socialized Medicine Beaten Back At The Gates - Barely
- Bluey Blog | Robert B. Bluey » House Sustains Bush’s SCHIP Veto
- Balloon Juice
- Truth v. The Machine » Archives » House fails to override SCHIP veto
- Why Rep. Steve King is My Hero. « Memoirs From a Young Conservative
- Michelle Malkin » Stark raving mad
- Health Care BS
- JABbering Stooge :: S-CHIP veto stands - Dems to fold like lawn chairs :: October :: 2007
- Solomonia
- Iraq .::. The Current Truth About The Iraq War
- Michelle Malkin » Daily Kossacks + Pete Stark = Nutroots mutual admiration society
- Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) attends roundtable discussion in King of Prussia | Illegal Protest
- BizzyBlog » Couldn’t Help But Notice (101907)
- MSM yawns over moonbat rep’s remarks « Crush Liberalism
- The Daily Conservative
- Stark raving lunatic « The Foxhole
- This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here » Stark raving lunatic
- Cao's Blog
- Michelle Malkin » GOP moves to censure Pete StarkRavingMad
- Michelle Malkin » Playing fire with S-CHIP; Update: Pete Stark takes the floor!
- RedOklahoma.org » Democrats Aim To Stimulate our Amygdalae
- Michelle Malkin » Another showdown in Congress
- Right Wing News Presents: The 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes of 2007 « BUUUUURRRRNING HOT
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Jammie, if only they were that concerned. They don’t give a rip what their constituents think, their only worry is getting re-elected (long enough to get their non-Social Security retirement).
Sorry aj, we have to taz you bro, and prop you up in front of C-Span…you will soon fear the polarity…
Can you believe some of these nitwits calling into c-span? scary.
What a load of crap you spew, troll. I’m sorry that your parents didn’t teach you any fiscal repsonsibility and I’m sorry that the best for you would be a government run system. I guess you think the government did a great job of cleaning up hurricane Katrina, so they should handle your health care, eh? And the irony is that you use the phrase “anti-choice’… how about my choice to keep my money instead of funding people who are fiscally irresponsible? How about your choice to start a charity that bails out irresponsible middle-class people who didn’t bother to provide adequate health insurance for their kids? Hmm? Where’s my choice in that? You Marxists hate choice with the one exception to choose to kill your own child. You’re against anyone choosing to put 2% (!!) of their social security into a 401k type account, you’re against school voucers that would enable parents to choose to send their kids to private schools that they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford, you’re against anyone choosing to listen to conservative talk radio… getting my point? And by the way - the word is “anyway” not “anyways”.
The only path for over ride is if there are enough no shows to skew the vote to passage.
Just for discussion. Pelosi says there is nothing in the bill regarding coverage of illegal aliens. Can somebody point the portion that would grant them coverage? Not trying to pick a fight but trying to get facts.
Is there a backdoor method that has folks concerned?
Can’t see the numbers… is it going to pass?!
Looks like 200 something “YEA” to 100 something “NAY”…
273 -156 right now…
What do they need?
not passed… now do something productive.
It goes down in flames as expected.
TNX AJ
According to Ed Morrissey
Oh thank god.
Now someone go slap Stark, please…
AMEN! to that…
swj,
He really does need more than a slap. Tar and Feathers?
Do you really wanna touch the loon long enough to acomplish that?
What if stupid is contagous?
Pete Stark appears to have lost what little of his mind he had left! What an embarrassing, hateful…. (fill in the blank).
Oh for the love of…
Could I spell stuff right today? Pretty please?
Yup even with all the pressure the left put on their self described “Bush Dog Dems” they could only turn 3 out of the 5 dems who voted against the bill to start with.
La hooo sers!!!!!!! LOSERS!!!!1
AJ Tar and feathered would be a good thing. Just don’t push him over on his dog!!!!!11
It’s Bush’s fault. lmao
Is it just me, but it seemed Ms Pelosi speaking from prepared remarks sounded like she was rambling?
11% approval rating is unacceptable…they’re shooting for 10%. OMG, these idiots really think that we’re stupid. Before talk radio, the internet and FOX they would have passed this no problem.
Rusty said:
Too bad they can’t get anything accomplished with that majority. Loosers!!!!!11
Que pasa Michelle?
The Republicans have an opportunity to turn a political loser into a winner, and for once, I hope they take it. Gallup published very interesting poll results. The people trust the Dems on SCHIP much more than the Reps however on policy they agree with the Reps. If I am in the Rep leadership, I am ashamed of myself. In other words, you have the edge on policy and you allowed the other side to argue better.
They have finally put together their own proposal, however unless they go out into the public marketplace and sell it only bloggers will know that Republicans have a plan of their own. It would be a shame if the Reps blew this opportunity because if they don’t they can turn health care into a Republican issue.
Unfortunately, the Reps have been comfortable letting the blogger hold their water on this debate, and as good as Michelle is, she won’t win the debate on her own. They need to go out and sell their own plan themselves
Pelosi’s team will reach 100 errors before they ever pass the agenda they wanted to get in their first 100 hours.
Crickets Chirp.
Good Job Michelle staying on top of this socialized medicine bs……… and way to go conservative Republican’s in the House for standing your ground!
Just A Grunt #106
The bill does not “authorize” illegals S-CHIP … it says they don’t get it … but it provides no valid means of checking eligibility to prevent it from happening … all the applicants have to do in the current bill is show a Social security card … with all the id theft that’s a real great way to get in the program … in the original bill they had to show things like birth certificates and such … but the Dems changed the language in the bill in this version …
The President has delivered a handwritten message to the House. The look on the face of the guy holding the gavel was priceless. Shock and fear.
All the left side noise machine could do is create false smears of valid debate of the issue and staying with the mantra despite the lack of value of their approach. Move on put together ads that also stressed the guns or butter approach of the dems today.
Since they both were using the same stawman this approaches the limitation’s of political coordination by an organization should not by law be allowed to do.
Thanks,
mike volpe said:
True Mike, but they never got an opportunity because when the Dems first brought the bill out of committee … over 500 pages delivered one evening and voted on the next morning … they didn’t even get time to read it let alone have any chance of trying to change it …
DAMNIT! I wish I could watch TV while at work…
coulda heard a pin drop in the room as well, lol
Exactly, it would be yet another clusterf___ of a program.
Were I the guy that wrote the note, it would have said “QQ more, noobs. You got pwned.”
Everyone must understand that the political battle is just beginning on this bill. Don’t think for one second that the Democratic tactics haven’t worked. They have. The polls prove it. The Reps have an excellent alternative to the Democrats SCHIP proposal, but if a tree falls and no one hears it, did it fall? I am glad that Robert Bluey reported it and that Michelle linked to the report, but that is not going to cut it. The Reps, especially those sponsoring the bill, Mel Martinez, must sell it. We must all email, write, phone and fax, all our Republican lawmakers and insist that they go out and aggressively sell our alternative.
This alternative re authorizes SCHIP, it provides tax credits, it doesn’t increase government, and most of all, it covers the poor children.
I can’t say it. Eric Cantor must say it. John Boehner must say it. Mel Martinez must say it.
Pete Stark’s comment is as about as unhinged as you can get. What a maroon.
Same here! I have to wait until tomorrow when my leave begins. Time to recharge the batteries and it is already starting on some great news! Now on to beat LOST and the Dream Act (again).
When I went to link for the roll call vote …I noticed this
“The House received a communication from Greg Lankler, Staff Assistant, Office of Rep. Obey. Pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules of the House of Represenatives, Mr. Lankler notified the House that he had been served with a grand jury subpoena issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and that after consultation with the Office of General Counsel, he had determined that the ad testificandum aspect of that subpoena is not consistent with the rights and privileges of the House.”
Just seems to me if [ insert Republican name here] had had their name and subpoena in the same sentence it would be a “Breaking News Flash”
Just curious if anyone knows what thats about
Which should be screemed from the floor by every Repub!
Moran is now up talking about WWII interrogations.
He totally ignores the obvious differences with the morale scale of the German soldiers v Terrorists with religious extremists as their base.
Yes we need to commemorate the fine work of those back then but it clearly does not transfer to the current situation and still tries to brand as torture things that are not and pulls Abu Gharib back into the debate as somehow being official policy no matter how wrong that logic is.
Boomer
you are correct … can’t afford to sleep or the DREAMs will turn into nightmares for sure … then we will definitely be LOST at sea …
LOL
Aloha,
Or, if I was feeling extra civil, it would read “Weep in greater quantities, novice…”
Groan…. Look, it’s Attila the Pun.
Rusty #10….I note that you were not aborted.
I will ask - can you explain to me the LOGICAL basis for abortion.
jrl …
…
Yawn. They’re done blabbering. Can we get something done for real, now??
Like pass a real bill that doesn’t provide socialist incentives?
Unbelievable. I’m calling Pete’s office right now.
The roll is now up.
I’m proud to report that my Congresscritter, Paul Ryan, voted to uphold the veto. His press release hasn’t hit the House web server yet, but here’s the Cliff Notes’ version from the press release in my mailbox:
- Would have actually cost $113 billion over 10 years.
- Would have driven 2 million out of the private insurance sector into the sunken S-CHIP.
- Would have expanded it to middle- and upper-income families.
- Would have opened the S-CHIP door to illegal aliens.
- Would have relied on a shrinking revenue stream, namely, the cigarette tax.
- And the final kicker, despite being “certified as ‘earmark-free’”, had at least one earmark, cash for a health care facility in Steve Cohen’s (D-TN) district.
From CNS news:
So, right after being involved in the Iraq war, Dingy Harry thinks this is the next worst thing to happen to this country…..
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…..
9-11
Racial Segregation
Slavery
Assassinations
Columbine
Virginia Tech
Forget about those little things… not expanding Government Health Care to the middle-class and illegal immigrants…
THAT’S Tragedy!
Stark needs to be taken to, no, not the woodshed, but to the back door and thrown out. If the congress cannot be trusted to police their own does that not leave it up to we the people? Here is a seditious person who likely in the civil war era would have been hanged. As some famous pundit once stated, no one has the b–ls or guts to do it. So let’s go we the people–charge his office, first with calls, emails, visits or whatever it takes to make him crawl on the house floor and make an apology or quit!
Hey,wait a minute!If the commie/puke al-Qeada loving pukes are for the children,WHY DO THEY SUPPORT ABORTIONS?!!
If Iraqi,and Afghani children are killed,it is because those bad ass insurgents,or tallywackers,are using children for shields.Ho Chi Minh’s play book.John Kerry co-authored.
Constantly loosing on EVERY SINGLE ISSUE is making the Dems. a little crazy.
Article about grave diggers in Iraq seeing less business
I didn’t know where else to put this article I found today. But I thought it was interesting while listening to the debate numerous people screamed about “killing innocent iraqis” yet this cemetary has seen less business than usual. Hm.
The islamo-facists may grow weary of trying to kill our men and women in uniform, but never fear, the American Democrat shall never waiver in his or her dedication to that end.
Con. mytha used his influence to have those BS charges brought against our best when they needed his support most, and every other high profile dem. has seen to it that the enemy never loses hope, while our best undertake the task of liberating 50 million human souls.
It makes one wonder: What kind of “October Surprise” might they have waiting for us next autumn ? After all, when it comes to the party of hate, and the Clintons especially, what’s a few (thousand) more dead bodies anyway ?
Amazing - just amazing. Only 1 Democrat (soon to be an independent - not by choice) voted nay.
I’ve got to comment on Niki Tsongas–what a shame she won the election. She will give a new depth of meaning to “nut root”, you wait and see.
The Dems should stop their whining and take Bush’s offer to negotiate–while they still have time.
Ahhh, my friend. He was one of the lucky ones. Few live to tell the story…few indeed. Lol.
On October 18th, 2007 at 1:23 pm, ajmontana said:
Could I spell stuff right today? Pretty please?
It’s Bush’s fault. lmao
AJ, That’s funny. He gets AMUSED when we spell wrong. Stark needs to be hammered and hard. This should not die out over a couple days. This needs to go on for weeks. Wonder if any of the Sunday shows will cover his stupid A..sorry…Democrat comment.
He’s a complete (sounds like my last name)
*swoons*
Why in the hell should the Democrat leadership care if American troops get their heads blown off. They HATE American troops: Kennedy, “Turban” Durbin, Murtha, Kerry, Kucinich. And have frequently and openly courted muslims with known sympathies to jihad. What’s their beef?
Democraps doing what they do best. It’s sickening.
My email to Congressman Dave Reichert:
Representative Reichert,
I am extremely disappointed to learn that you voted ‘yea’ for the ill-conceived S-CHIP bill. Though you were certainly not alone among erstwhile conservatives, you do happen to be the one person in Congress that I believed actually represented me.
I understand that reasonable people may disagree about many issues. However, S-CHIP is not one of them. It is a clear abandonment of one of the fundamental values upon which our nation was founded: self reliance.
I do believe in a safety net for those transiently or permanently unable. A safety net is something that catches those that fall. S-CHIP is a drop net that will subdue our competitive edge until we are little more than another failed socialist state.
Those that have argued for S-CHIP say that it is about what is right and what is compassionate. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing compassionate about socialized medicine. There is nothing right about removing the freedom of choice, competition and personal responsibility from something as fundamentally important as our health care.
Acknowledging the logical weakness of their position, the S-CHIP demagogues have used ad hominem attacks in order to avoid addressing the content of opposing arguments. They have held up children as a weapon to stifle debate. Why have you joined these people? Is it difficult to recognize the history of entitlement legislation and how its inevitable growth harms us all?
Congressional “leadership” has already stated that it will re-introduce the S-CHIP legislation. Please find yourself on the right side of this issue in the next round. Please represent the people of your district as they had reason to expect they would be represented.
Thank you.
Stark needs to be given a sedative and carted off to the “Happy Home”. Well, U.S., this is the leadership you voted in. If I wasn’t an American who cares a lot about my country, I would call Congress, one of the funniest sit-coms to come out in recent years.
Compare and contrast: Trent Lott (Republican) waxes eloquent about how much better life would be had Strom Thurmond been elected president back in 1948; Pete Stark (Democrat) accuses the commander-in-chief of getting his rocks off to the thought of American GI’s getting decapitated. Which one does the MSM find outrageous?
Nope…no liberal media bias!