Column: Small changes can make a big difference
December 12, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Worthington Daily Globe
WASHINGTON This election we heard loud and clear from people on both sides of the aisle: Congress needs more cooperation and less gridlock.
The American people want leaders who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Continue Reading

“I support ensuring the minority has a strong voice, but the filibuster has now become a weapon that obstructs progress on critical issues. In fact, during the last Congress alone, it was used more than in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s combined.”——-
Well Senator Hypocrite, maybe because politicians back then actually put the country first, not party first. I’m not saying there wasn’t partisan politics but nothing like the crap we are seeing today. Perfect example of this is you and your fellow hypocrite, franken (plus 18 other dem senators). You now want to delay and repeal the medical device tax that is part of obamacare. Oh don’t get me wrong, it and all of obamacare should be repealed but why did you vote for it in the first place? Hmm, maybe you missed that part whne you read the thousands of pages of this debacle or were you just following pelosi’s advice…”we have to pass it so we know what’s in it”.
Did you just now figure out that there are medical device manufacturers in MN that may have to lay off workers because of this tax?
I think there are more pressing issues in Washington than fillibusters!
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Are we not a Democracy built on majority rule? Not 60% rule as the filibuster forces the Senate to become. The GOP has abused the filibuster to such levels in the Senate that NOTHING can get done with a simple majority. This is pure obstructionism for purely political gain. Filibuster reform is KEY if you want ANY thing done by Congress. Perfect example of how moronic the GOP is with the filibuster….the MINORITY LEADER FILIBUSTERS HIS OWN BILL MINUTES AFTER PROPOSING IT!!
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/mitch-mcconnell-objects-to-himself-so-do-we/
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BlahBlah Blah, the dems did it just as much when they were the minority…
What do you have to say about the moronic Dems passing a huge bill like obamacare before knowing whats in it, then wanting to repeal it because it makes them look bad?
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” the dems did it just as much when they were the minority…”….NO THEY DIDN’T!! That is 100% not true and a flat LIE! Since GOP has been the minority in the Senate, it has gone from 80 (at its highest Dem minority) to 139 (in their first year as GOP new minority!). The GOP acting like babies if they didn’t win so they will do everything possible to stop anything that would help this nation NOT in their name.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/post/the-history-of-the-filibuster-in-one-graph/2012/05/15/gIQAVHf0RU_blog.html
And thats from MAY 2012…didn’t include all up to this point.
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So this is your comeback for defending the dems and obamacare….typical.
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So to appease Pat for completely not talking about the article topic but calling into the Senators from Minnesota view of the Affordable Care Act, here is something interesting.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-urge-delay-for-job-killing-obamacare-tax/article/2515711#.UMtFjazgeSo
“During the Obamacare debate, for example, Franken and Klobuchar were among a group of senators who successfully pushed to reduce the tax. (The device giant Medtronic is headquartered in Minnesota.)” So they did read it, didn’t agree with this tax, and got it reduced. Pat’s comment “…maybe you missed that part whne you read the thousands of pages of this debacle…” is another fabrication in her head.
A major reason (beside it impacting MN companies) on why it should be halted…”the senators say, the medical device industry “has received little guidance about how to comply with the tax”.
To clarify, MN senators (both of them), read the bill, didn’t agree with that 1 part on taxing medical equipment companies, got the tax reduced before agreeing to the bill, and now would like more time for explanation on how to comply to the medical equipment companies on the new taxes implementation.
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“The GOP acting like babies if they didn’t win so they will do everything possible to stop anything that would help this nation NOT in their name.” Really? I’m guessing you’ll want to admonish the Dems for this type of childish behavior then, huh?
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/12/13/Reid-Laughs-At-Idea-of-Bringing-GOP-Bills-to-Vote
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And i didn’t notice that this article was about the Affordable Care Act (its real name in case you didn’t know)…..its a topic you drug up in your 1st comment…..perhaps you should read the #1 suggestion on comments
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Affordable Care Act….Now there’s an oxymoron for you.
Is that why 18 (so far) dems are having buyers remorse?
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“To clarify, MN senators (both of them), read the bill, “— Uhhm, BULL! If they had it wouldn’t have taken them so long to speak out. Show me some good proof where ANYONE read this piece of garbage before they passed!
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“Uhhm, BULL! If they had it wouldn’t have taken them so long to speak out. Show me some good proof where ANYONE read this piece of garbage before they passed!” I don’t think you read the article i linked…hypocritical don’t you think…crying about someone “not reading something” when you yourself don’t.
http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48756841-franken-on-senate-health-care-reform-bill
More proof. Written 11/23/09. “The Minnesota Senators also fought successfully to cut in half the $400 billion tax on medical device companies proposed in the Senate Finance Committee bill.” You do know that they would have to read the bill in order to get the tax reduced? Don’t just magically reduce something they know nothing about. So someone DID read it, debated it, and then passed it….both our Senators.
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“Filibuster reform is KEY if you want ANY thing done by Congres.”—- Just another reach for power. No filibuster, (bet that would change if the Repubs were in control in the years to come) No debt ceiling. They really do want us to look like Greece don’t they. Spending increases with NO cuts. Hmm, me thinks someone DIDN’T quit smokin the green stuff after he was elected. Or maybe it’s mushrooms; he does seem to be hallucinating more frequently.
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Ellamay, excellent post above. My question is, why should there be ANY extra tax on medical devices? No way did these dems read the bill before voting for it. Even if they did, one of the questions at that time would have surely been “how do the companies comply/implement it.”
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/post/the-history-of-the-filibuster-in-one-graph/2012/05/15/gIQAVHf0RU_blog.html
Then there is Mich McConnell who fillibustered his own debt limit bill. roflmao
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Can’t defend your dems on obamacare huh? roflmao
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And you can’t defend the obstructionist GOP senators and their use of the filibuster.
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Dems haven’t used it? Hmm, that’s interesting.
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Almost as laughable as Obamas budget going 97-0 and 414-0.
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Congress has a 9% approval rating. Probably can’t go much lower unless their own mothers give up on them.
But are they more popular than other unpopular things?
Not so much.
Congress is less popular than
the IRS – 40% of Americans approve of it
the airline industry – 29% of Americans approve of it
Lawyers! – 29% of us approve of them
Nixon during Watergate – ol’ Tricky Dick was down to 24% before he resigned
banks – 23% of us approve of banks
the oil and gas industry – 20% of us are still on board with them
BP during the oil spill – 16% of us said, yeah they’re ok
Paris Hilton – in 2005, 15% of us could approve of her (since then I think nobody cares either way)
a communist takeover of the U.S. – a full 11% of people would be OK with that
Hugo Chavez – 9% of Americans approve of him
There ya go, Congress! You’re on par with Hugo Chavez.
On the bright side, people like Congress more than they like Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, and Fidel Castro (just 5% of us like those losers)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/the-fix/Images/popularity-of-congress.jpg?uuid=NphtfA-lEeG1n7YB5GWwDg
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If congressional popularity is that low it means that democrats are at least as unpopular as republicans. Democrats control the Senate which is as much a part of Congress as the House of Representatives.
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