As negotiations between the House and the Senate, or more likely Pelosi and Reid heat up, we can expect to see more friction between the Democratic leadership.  It is crunch time where each has to shore up their support with their base.  For Pelosi, that means appeasing a far more liberal electorate than Senator Reid or President Obama has to contend with.  To complicate matters, Speaker Pelosi has to contend with the centrists Democrats in the house who were largely recruited by the man who is now the White House Chief of Staff, former Representative Rahm Emanuel.  Many were elected from conservative districts that generally oppose the current health care reform bills.  Forcing these colleagues to make a difficult vote on the health care bill could doom their chances of re-election.

While the Speaker is secure in her leadership role right now, that could all change if the Democrats suffer big losses in the 2010 elections.  She would be well advised to adopt Reagan’s 11th commandment:  “Thou shall not speak ill of a fellow Democrat.”

(Posted at Examiner.com)

I can’t believe this.  Does she even listen to herself?  There is a time and place for the debate on whether the government should be spending tax payer money providing contraception to individuals but it is beyond reasoning to think that it has a place in a stimulus package.  This goes to show that Congress and the Administration is not serious about making sure that this is a clean bill intended to create jobs and rev up the economy.  It is going to be full of pork and earmarks disquised as “job creating” or “cost reductions”.  It is going to be created based on ideaology and not sound, reasonable judgements.

By the way, I would suggest that reducing contraception availability would do more to stimulate the economy.  Increased births would lead to increased health care expenditures.  Job creation in the child care industry will skyrocket.  Parents will be forced to put more of their hard earned dollars into the economy instead of in savings.  This increase in consumer spending will translate into more jobs, more tax revenue and a more vibrant economy.