Pelosi Will Keep "Villains" Campaign Contributions

Congressional Quarterly:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called health insurers "the villains" in the unfolding story of the health care overhaul on Thursday, ratcheting up an anti-insurer theme trotted out by President Obama earlier this month and encouraged by other Democratic leaders in Congress.

Read the whole story: Congressional Quarterly

Comments

[krocklin]

Strange how successfully they have demonized Pelosi. Her negative ratings are higher than Palin's.
The Rightwing Attack Machine is very successful at pulling the wool over Americans' eyes.
So what if she took money from the villains. They all do it.

[Glocksf21]

whats good for you, is not good enough for Pelosi.

[sueinmn]

I have ti run but PLEASE help to keep this going and get it in everyones face to read.

copy>paste­>save>send­,,,,,,,,,,­please!

This could certainly be a united effort for all to demand fairness in representation.

Anyoone good on You Tube?? Please help yourself!!

Make history if it goes viral.....­........LO­L

[sueinmn]

I hope I didnt miss any of it. I am circulating this below hoping to seek masses of people to agree we need to do this. My plan is to keep sending it around the country every possible methos! Then after the Congressional recess, fax it to the top committees and Peloske as laws begin in the house floor.

Please feel free to copy past, save, curculate. This will need extensive exposure to work. Masses of people need to agree once its it submitted to Congress. Just hope I got it all here and didnt miss any.

Thanks, We need to take out country back,. This is not promoting ANY party affilation, it is promoting citizens desires!

[sueinmn]

Carolab assistem me in proper and correct language! Thanks goes out to Carol and we need this as a large GROUP effort to make this fly!!

[Carolab]

Most welcome. And good job drafting it!

[jmpurser]

Pelosi will keep their money and Obama will push a "health care reform bill" that is a massive corporate welfare program for them.

The villains are in charge.

[pragmaticdallasite]

A contribution does not equal a bribe.

If she votes for a strong public option then she is in effect saying "Thanks for the money, but if you thought it was going to buy you favors you're wrong."

[jmpurser]

The "strong public option" (what an oxymoron) is a massive welfare bill for the insurance industry.

[sueinmn]

To the Legislative Branch of the United States of America:

Article I of the Constitution provides for the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances. However, under the Constitutional amendment process, there is no formal process for the people to address their grievances to the Legislative branch.

The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added, and as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

The notion of a popular amendment to the Constitution comes, therefore, from the conceptual framework of the Constitution itself. Its power derives from the people, was adopted by the people and functions at the behest of and for the benefit of the people. As Wilson noted in 1787, "... the people may change the Constitution whenever and however they please. This is a right of which no positive institution can ever deprive them"

Therefore, and herein, the people of the United States assert our power of an "informal popular amendment" to the Constitution of the United States to effect a change to the process of election campaign funding

[OpposingViewpoint]

Please.......allow me to be the first co-signer. You have noe been fanned by OV.

[sueinmn]

THANKS and you are the first!!

[sueinmn]

Specifically, we demand to include in Article I, The Legislative Branch, section 4, Elections and Meetings, adding a subsection A, laying out rules of campaign financing that specifically make it illegal for special interest groups or lobbyists to donate directly to any legislative election campaign fund.
We propose instead that the Constitution stipulate that a general fund be provided through private and public donations given. Legislative candidates will draw from this general fund handled by their political action campaigns or their respective Party Committees in such a manner as to maintain reporting requirements of a transparent nature to the public at large. Each Legislative candidate will receive an equal share based upon a population formula for each state. It will be up to these individuals to make the most of these funds for their re-elections. . An equal funding process may also contain an unwritten bona fide occupational requirement to prevent waste which should be an elected government representative’s upmost concern in todays economy.

Influence-peddling has become a lucrative business, with everyday lobbying of Congressional members as special interests grow more entrenched. This process often trumps the broader, but less focused, interests of our society as a whole.

[sueinmn]

The need to raise money for election campaigns has become the enemy of a Democratic republic in that it encourages millions in giveaways by well-healed lobby and special interest groups with which the people cannot hope to compete, which at best hinders and at worst negates fair representation on legislative action to the people of this country.


Members of the legislative branch, owing to an inherent interest in preserving their power, will never themselves sponsor true public campaign reform. Yet, we must enact a level legislative playing field and a balancing mechanism in election funding in order to preserve the Constitution and the purpose for which it was written and adopted.
There are two main ways that the interpretation of the Constitution changes. The first is that it adapts to changing circumstances. Today, circumstances are much different than when the Constitution was adopted. The Founding Fathers could not have foretold the economic difficulties we endure, our intertwined global economy, the "too big to fail" financial industry, the millions of dollars given to Congress to influence the laws of the land. The banking, insurance and pharmaceutical industries appear to have become more important to please than the people our legislative branch is sworn to serve.

[CelticMajic]

the speaker says: The CIA, I mean insurance indusstry briefed me only once on ... in my capacity as ranking member of the Intelligence Committee I mean speaker of the house. I was informed then that the Department of Justice, I mean HHS opinions had concluded that the use of interrogation techniques I mean insurance industy political contributions were legal i mean ethical--oh gosh what so I mean......

[sueinmn]

If you here, see something birthing on a local and hopefully national level to end lobbying as campaign financing, would you jump on board? Would you consider a movement to do an informal popular amendment to the cosnstition to enact this? Would you consider this a constitutional right to have fair representation in legislation?

[OpposingViewpoint]

Yes, yes, and he// yes. I would also love to see this blog excercise fairness and objectivity, casting aside censorship, when "moding" posts.

[Tyler-Durden]

no kidding. i dont' know why they dont have a user vote system like um, Wired i think? you get enough "don't like" votes and they shade your comment. they still don't delete it, just shade it.

i dont like censorship!

and i dont like payoffs in govt.!

[pragmaticdallasite]

Some people don't understand that many large corporations give blanket donations to all politicians.

The key is to track contributions, their degree of severity, and voting patterns.

A corporate political contribution isn't necessarily a bribe, just an attempt at a bribe. Voting patterns will tell you if the bribe has worked.

[Beegood]

this is a good post.
I wish it wasn't so complicated. Makes me think that if we had publicly funded elections then we'd all be better off.

[sueinmn]

Lets force publically funded ones!! We can do this is we all demand. See above .

[pragmaticdallasite]

Yes we would be.

[slowhand0728]

Cracks me up I made the same point yesterday when this started, and what happen? My post got deleted. Amazing, hypocrites!

[Mnemanth]

Surprise surprise. Empty sabre rattling with a plastic sword.
"They're villians!" she squeals...knowing full well that we're all pretty aware of that already.
"But, I'm keeping their money..." she whispers...knowing full well- but arrogantly not caring- that it makes her look complicit.

[Strywever]

Considering that she demonstrated quite convincingly yesterday that they did not buy her support, why shouldn't she keep it? She knows full well that her vocal criticism of the industry is likely to affect future contributions, too, but she didn't let that stop her.

[chasethis]

Absolutely.

[pragmaticdallasite]

Exactly. Don't argue with the simpletons, it's a waste of time they think only in absolutes

[Chaimirija]

good point

[bilmardre]

Absolutely she should keep it, unless it was a bribe.
If it was a bribe she should give it back, and she and the "briber" should be investigated.

[menlopian]

Makes me laugh. Reminds me of Snoop Dog. "You don't love me... you just love my..."

[expired]

The Blue Dog Coalition

Contact these members of Congress and urge them to support the public plan option! These are the Democrats holding us back from the best health care plan possible.
Key people to contact - view the entire list of the 56 Blue Dog Democrats here!

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration
Rep. Baron Hill (IN-09), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy
Rep. Charlie Melancon (LA-03), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications
Rep. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Blue Dog Whip
Rep. Mike Ross (AR-04)

----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------

The List of Democratic Senators not directly supporting the public plan health care option
Call and email them, telling them to support President Obama's public plan option!

[smiththomas]

here comment on the view told it all. Going off subject she states "im the third most powerful person in the country you know".

[Beegood]

What is the "it all" that it told?

[starkcr31]

That she's arogant as sh*t.