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Senate Republicans Reluctantly Agree to Maybe Throw a Few Coins at Sickly First Responders
Aw, these Republicans, they're not so bad once you get to know them. They might grumble and growl about not wanting to divert any money away from the gold coin vaults of their billionaire friends for a few dirty firemen. But really, when it comes right down to it, all they need is to be publicly shamed in front of the entire nation, and they'll cave in and agree to your stupid 9/11 First Responders Health Care bill like the big softies they are.Provided you agree to gut the funding by nearly half…
The compromise on Wednesday was reached after the two New York senators, Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, agreed to changes demanded by conservative Republicans, who raised concerns about the measure’s overall cost. Under the new agreement, the bill provides $4.3 billion over five years to provide health coverage to the 9/11 workers, instead of the original $7.4 billion over eight years.
With lawmakers eager to get home for the holidays, the Senate is expected within the hour to take up the bill by unanimous consent, an agreement made between both parties to bypass any potentially time-consuming debate.
It is truly a Christmas miracle! God bless us, everyone! Ho ho ho!
Tags: 9/11, Chuck Schumer, First Responders, Health, Health Care, Kirsten Gillibrand, Republicans, Senate -
Jon Stewart and The Daily Show May Have Saved the 9/11 First Responders Bill
Did you happen to notice how a week ago, when Republicans blocked a Senate bill that would have paid for health care coverage for 9/11 First Responders, there was this deafening sonic boom of complete silence that emanated from the cable and network news offices, and then how, after Jon Stewart dedicated an entire episode of The Daily Show to the bill's defeat and its resulting silence, all of a sudden people started to talk about how maybe this was kind of an important thing that somebody should have told people about?
You did notice that? Well, you're not the only one…
In the wake of Stewart's show, ABC's Jonathan Karl ran a story on World News and the cable nets seem to have woken up to the bill's existence. On Sunday, New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand announced that a revised version of the bill, which reduces the cost from $7.4 billion to $6.2 billion — the measure is offset by closing a corporate tax loop hole — had gained at least some GOP support. Indeed, several prominent Republicans have come out in support of the bill with Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace calling it a "national shame" that the legislation has yet to be enacted.
Sen. Gillibrand thinks there might even be enough Republican votes to get this piece of crazy liberal legislation passed…
"I believe we now have more than enough votes to pass this legislation. We have been working extremely closely with a number of Republicans and have made a series of changes to the bill. Americans will be watching closely over the next few days and expecting the Senate to do what is right and fulfill our moral obligation to these heroes."
Wow! Who'd have thought that reporting on an issue could actually produce real world results? Seems so counter-intuitive, doesn't it?
In case you missed it, The Daily Show 9/11 first responder episode is after the jump.
The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.
Tags: 9/11, Dick Durbin, First Responders, Health, Health Care, Jon Stewart, Kirsten Gillibrand, Mike Huckabee, Republicans, Senate, The Daily Show -
Stephen Colbert's Best Moments on Empire State Politics
Most people forget about li'l ol' New York State, with its shrinking violet politicians and its Aw Shucksy down-home folkiness. But Rep. Charlie Rangel's recent improprieties have sort of dragged New York kicking and screaming back into the limelight. And, since it's already here, we might as well use this opportunity to examine it through a Colbert-approved politiscope. 'Cause who knows when we'll be hearing from it again…
Eliot Spitzer: Spitzer Sandwich
The Colbert Report airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30pm / 10:30c.
Tags: Caroline Kennedy, Carolyn Maloney, Charlie Rangel, Dan Maffei, David Paterson, Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton, House of Representatives, John Hall, Kirsten Gillibrand, Maurice Hinchley, New York, Senate, Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, Video -
Harold Ford Has Decided Not to Lose to Kirsten Gillibrand in November
Wise and selfless nomadic senatorial candidate Harold Ford announced today in an op-ed in the New York Times that — after some deep soul-searching and a lot of personal reflection — he has decided not to push an ugly and divisive Democratic primary battle in the state he just moved to a few months after his failed 2006 Senate race in Tennessee…When it was reported two months ago that I was thinking seriously about running for the United States Senate from New York, Democratic Party insiders started their own campaign to bully me out of the race… But as I traveled around New York, I began to understand why the party bosses felt the need to use such heavy-handed tactics: They're nervous. New Yorkers are clamoring for change. Our political system — so bogged down in partisan fighting — is sapping the morale of New Yorkers and preventing government at every level from fulfilling its duty…
I believe raising these issues over the last two months has forced Democrats and Republicans alike to do better. And I will continue holding their feet to the fire. But I will not do so as a candidate for senator from New York.
I’ve examined this race in every possible way, and I keep returning to the same fundamental conclusion: If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary — a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened.
So, what's next to Harold Ford? Well, I guess it's time for a slightly sadder and wiser Ford to strap on his backpack, hit the open road with an extended thumb and a glimmer of hope in his heart that the next state will be the one to welcome him with open arms into their open senate seat. The one that will not have him trailing in the primary polls by 18 points. The one that is more friendly to people who aren't friendly to gay people.
One must keep hope alive.
Tags: Harold Ford Jr., Kirsten Gillibrand, New York, Primaries, Senate -
Colbert Interviews Harold Ford Jr.
After naming him last week's Alpha Dog, Stephen Colbert had Harold Ford Jr. on last night to defend some apparent changes in his positions. It turns out transforming from a pro-life, anti-gay right-of-center Tennessean Blue Dog into a dyed in the wool liberal New Yorker doesn't make Ford a flip-flopper after all. It's just like in nature when a caterpillar emerges from its cocoon as a beautiful hippopotamus.
The Colbert Report airs Monday through Thursday at 11:30pm / 10:30c.
Tags: Harold Ford Jr., Kirsten Gillibrand, New York, Senate, Stephen Colbert, Tennessee, The Colbert Report, Video
