"average income of the middle class was $68k"

Last year yeah, this year and beyond, I don't know, as the company I work for was purchased three days ago and after 235 years of existence is going bye bye sometime later this year. Weird feeling to know the rug  is being pulled from underneath you very slowly.

Anyone follow the Health Care Summit today?

I saw The President's and Senator Alexander's opening statements. They both seemed to do pretty well. I then listened intermittently on the radio during the rest of the day. Much of it seemed to be a snooze fest, with both sides spouting their talking points. I don't think much was accomplished, but I don't remember ever seeing anything quite like it. I'll give the President credit for that.

Second - One of the parts I caught was on the lunch break - when CSPAN let people call in and chime in - I was happy to hear so many Republicans calling in and reporting how disgusted they were with their party.  According to the fat crying man on TV and all his co-horts, the American People are ready to rise up in armed revolution against the government over this - which rang false anyway, but more so after hearing those callers.

Well, if they were Republicans. The Democrats are trying to organizes people to call into talk radio shows to talk up the health care plan. I suppose that these tactics could also be used on CSPAN.

Anyone follow the Health Care Summit today?

Yes, I was able to catch the first couple of hours before heading off to the office. It was mostly theatre, as was to be expected of an event like this. (And I have nothing against theatre; it is an essential part of the political process.) It gave the President the opportunity to appear statesmanlike and be seen as reaching across the aisle. But from what I watched and the summation afterward, I don't think there was anything that occurred that moved the needle. And neither side is all that much interested in reaching a compromise.

Frankly, everything about the effort could be summed up in one telling comment from Nancy Pelosi which I saw on the news this morning. I pulled the quote from the Washington Post and added the visual punctuation from how I saw the remarks delivered in the news clip.

“I’m not overly optimistic we would get Republican votes for the bill, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t incorporate some of their good ideas into legislation, (*smirk*) would they put some on the table."

Cute comment and plays well to the home town fans, but not very productive.

The Democrats have the majority in both houses and, assuming they can keep their members in line, they have the votes to ram through this legislation.But there are political points to be scored along the way, and taking pokes at the Republicans also takes the heat off the divisions between the various wings within the Democratic caucuses.

It's time for the Democrats to move forward with harmonization of the House and Senate bills in conference and to see how many members are willing to screw their courage to the sticking place with an up-or-down vote. The rub is with the current climate I don't know if they've necessarily got the 51 votes in the Senate if they go the reconciliation route with a heavily House-influenced bill without using a heavy hand.

Well, if they were Republicans. The Democrats are trying to organizes people to call into talk radio shows to talk up the health care plan. I suppose that these tactics could also be used on CSPAN.

Why wasn't I notified of that?  I'm on the mailing lists!

More to the point, I think it's more like what's seen here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/25/fox-news-poll-sha rp-division-health-care-reform/

Where even 46% of FOX viewers think we need to get this ball rolling. 

Where even 46% of FOX viewers think we need to get this ball rolling.

Umm, Mike?

According to the story, Fox News commissioned the poll, conducted by Opinion Dynamics Corp. among 900 registered voters from February 23 to February 24. It's not viewers.

Next, 50 percent of the respondents said they want no action right now. With a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, essentially you're in a dead heat between "march now" and "full stop".

If you read the detailed PDF on the metrics of the poll, you'll see that 345 democrats, 329 republicans and 155 independents were polled.

http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/022510_health_care_web.p df

You're overthinking it, Matthew - FOX news reported to their viewers that 46% want some action now - this from the same network that is also calling for an armed insurrection against the socialized government, etc..

I get that a lot of people think they're above playing politics and if that makes people sleep better at night then power to you.

But the bottom line is, right or wrong, politics are being played.  Facts and logic out the window here, and you do what you have to do.  This is why I'm agasht at democrats trying to show how "fair and balanced" they are - sure it's a decent and honest thing to do, but the other side will never do it, and instead of setting an example or shaming them, you're just playing into their hands.

A basic understanding of political history of the 20th Century alone will show that as concrete fact.

But more to the point - I am hugely influenced by Malcolm X - reading his autobiography in high school changed my life.   One thing he said always stuck with me - "You don't speak to an Italian man in Japanese."  You have to play by the rules of the game. 

Do I wish we could all sit in a cirle and sing kum-by-ya? Well, no, that song is terrible.  But yes, I long for the brotherhood of man.  Will me standing there longing for it change the Republican's obstruction policies?  Will they respond to the lies being spread by the Republican's media propaganda wing?  Will they do anything at all other than give me a self-important sense of satisfaction?

I know where I stand on this.

You're overthinking it, Matthew.

No, Mike, just thinking it.

There's a big difference between the completely inaccurate "Where even 46% of FOX viewers think we need to get this ball rolling" (what you first said) and the somewhat more accurate "FOX News reported to their viewers that 46% want some action now" (which appears in your most recent note).

Reality is that the results of a recently commissioned poll report 46 percent of registered voters responding said they want a plan passed this year. 50 percent of the registered voters responding in the same poll said they want nothing done now. Last time I looked, 50 percent was more than 46 percent.

Now, if I want to interpret the results deeper, with a +/- 3 percent accuracy range, that means the “action now” result is safely within the 43-49 percent range, while the “full stop” result is safely within 47-53 percent range. In short, given probabilities of accuracy and the potential overlap, we’re essentially in a dead heat in public opinion.

As reported in one poll.

But if you look at a number of polls, you'll see that trend line remains consistent. The needle hiccups and bobbles a little, but it isn't moving dramatically one way or the other. So far. Let's see what comes of recent events.

Another trend in the polling is that the Democrats will always be with Obama and the Republicans will always be against him on this issue. but Red and Blue isn't what this whole political theatre effort is about. It's to win the hearts and minds of the Independents. More specifically, the hearts and minds of Independents who could spell victory or defeat for a number of Democratic candidates this fall.

If you read my note from earlier today, I think the Democrats should stop playing games and go for it up-or-down if they think they have the votes to pass Healthcare. But that's the problem, isn't it? By the admission of the Democratic leadership themselves, the current Senate bill won't pass in the House, and the current House bill won't pass in the Senate. The compromise between those two bills in committee is where the real gamesmanship is going to take place. Forget about the Republicans, Mike. You've got to make peace within your own family.

And lastly, I presume the calls for "armed insurrection" by Fox News is modest hyperbole on your part, since I haven't seen them when I've clicked over to that channel. But then again, I might not be watching the right shows on that station. Or maybe, just maybe, you get the special “rile up the Democrats feed” that's beamed only to selected households...

Rich

Under the rules of the Senate, legilslation can be passed with a 50-50 tie broken by the Vice President, in this case Mr. Joe Biden.

Now, one would hope that legislation of such an enormous economic magnitude as Healthcare, an entitlement program involving the government expenditure of 100s of billions of dollars would not be passed under such narrow margins and in the wake of very mixed public opinion, especially in light of the enormous budget shortfalls that we face.

Nevertheless, the Democrats have solid control of the Legislative and Executive branches through January 2011, so there is nothing to prevent them apart from feared consequences at the ballot box from proceeding on that course if they so choose.

Why wasn't I notified of that?  I'm on the mailing lists!

More to the point, I think it's more like what's seen here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/25/fox-news-poll-sha rp-division-health-care-reform/

***

No, it's like this:

http://radio.barackobama.com/

It's probably the same channel where they're telling Democrats to pass themselves off as Republicans on talk shows, Matthew.

I'm sorry that the networks havn't added armed insurrection to their banner crawls - you actually have to soak in the shows to catch it being referenced every so often. 

You are correct that the Dems have to understand what majority means - they have it.  They need to use it.  Touche.  They will, though.  Health Care reform will pass.  Don't worry about that.