How Pelosi Got The Votes

[California Girl]

So, here we are. Pelosi got the votes to pass ObamaCare. Some time ago, I started asking around - because I was curious, and because I can - about how those votes were being 'achieved'.

Here is stuff I know, that I haven't seen in the media. Now, I appreciate that the rabids will scream for links but I don't link to the media to back up facts - cuz I know the media and the media and facts are not comfortable bedfellows. Truthfully, I don't care whether people believe me or not, but wait and watch.

The vote count was 219 yes. They needed 216. Where did those few extra votes come from? Well, maybe from here....

In the San Joaquin Valley of California, the Federal Government turned off the water to the farmland - America's breadbasket - to 'save' the smelt fish. Remember that?The farmers vs the fish? The fish won, the farmers lost and the valley is dying. 40% unemployment and huge drops in food production. Well, guess who voted 'yes' - against his better judgement? Congressman Devon Nunes. Guess what happened then? The Federal Government turned the water up by 20% instead of the 5% they had previously stated. 2 votes bought and paid for.

The Immigration issue is the other one. Obama promised the amnesty in return for healthcare votes. I commented on this a few days ago. Look at the timing of the Amnesty march in DC. 2 votes bought - IOU by Obama.

Now, I know, as most reasonable people know, that this is nothing new. It is 'politics as usual'. But.... given that Obama said he was going to clean up Washington, and that his Presidency would be open and transparent, with no special interests, no lobbyists, no back room deals etc.....

Putting the healthcare thing to one side.... and trying to leave the partisanship at the door..... My questions are:

Is it not time that that our congressmen voted in accordance with the view of their district? Is it not time that we said it is no longer acceptable to blackmail, force, bribe or cajole votes from congressmen who were elected by us to serve us?

I am tired of the 'we've always done it this way', 'you're just pissed cuz you lost' and the constant shit from both sides. I just think we as Americans deserve better. I guess I'm still young enough to be idealistic along with my usual cynicism.

 

[Brubricker]

Putting the healthcare thing to one side.... and trying to leave the partisanship at the door..... My questions are:

Is it not time that that our congressmen voted in accordance with the view of their district? Is it not time that we said it is no longer acceptable to blackmail, force, bribe or cajole votes from congressmen who were elected by us to serve us?

OK then, putting the healthcare thing to one side....


How do you propose to prohibit internal party politicking while at the same time preserving the ideal of a representative democratic republic where free speech, free press and freedom of assembly are still respected? I just don't see it happening.

 

[California Girl]

So, here we are. Pelosi got the votes to pass ObamaCare. Some time ago, I started asking around - because I was curious, and because I can - about how those votes were being 'achieved'.

OK then, whom did you ask.....like EXACTLY WHOM?

No one who will go on the record. As a writer, I have access to information that is not in the public domain. Hence I don't 'link', I just comment. People are welcome to make whatever they care to of anything I say. Of course, if anyone is inclined to call Congressman Nunes and ask him outright whether he voted yes for water, I suspect the answer will be 'yes'.

 

[Brubricker]

I thank you for responding so quickly. However, you can now see that before I saw your response I thought my own original response to be a bit too limited in nature and deleted it in favor of one I consider to be much more far-reaching. Would you be so kind as to respond to that angle?

 

[California Girl]

Putting the healthcare thing to one side.... and trying to leave the partisanship at the door..... My questions are:

Is it not time that that our congressmen voted in accordance with the view of their district? Is it not time that we said it is no longer acceptable to blackmail, force, bribe or cajole votes from congressmen who were elected by us to serve us?

OK then, putting the healthcare thing to one side....


How do you propose to prohibit internal party politicking while at the same time preserving the ideal of a representative democratic republic where free speech, free press and freedom of assembly are still respected? I just don't see it happening.

I never said it would be easy. Nor do I pretend to have the answers. Term limits would go some way, I think, to easing the issue. But that is not enough. I think 'we, the people' have to be better at holding our politicians accountable. That includes forcing congress to be open and transparent if needs be.

 

[L.K.Eder]

are you saying that nunes voted yes on the health care bill?

 

[California Girl]

are you saying that nunes voted yes on the health care bill?

Sorry. I've been up all night and I'm exhausted. I worded that totally wrong. The bribe was 20%, the cost to his district for his no vote was they don't get more water.

However, they got two votes for their efforts in Ca. My point.... there is too much of this back room deals, threats and intimidation.

 

[California Girl]

What I did find interesting was the amount of people who just wouldn't speak to me about the vote.

 

[California Girl]

Also, people.... bear in mind, I contacted people before the vote. So, I suspect that, as with Stupak, if they got the votes they needed, some people were 'let off' the 'yes' vote.

 

[KissMy]

Term limits will be imposed 225 days from now. The ones we vote in must vow never to confirm any political appointments for any out of work congressman that voted for this bill. As a mater of fact we should never let anyone voted out, lobby or work for government again. This is one of our biggest problems, these criminals keep getting recycled.

 

[California Girl]

Term limits will be imposed 225 days from now. The ones we vote in must vow never to confirm any political appointments for any out of work congressman that voted for this bill. As a mater of fact we should never let anyone voted out, lobby or work for government again. This is one of our biggest problems, these criminals keep getting recycled.

While I, as an individual, will not vote for anyone who voted 'yes' to the bill, I am not really talking about the healthcare bill. I am talking about honesty and openness in politics. I just think it is time that we demanded that the people elected to represent us do so honestly. If they can't do that, they shouldn't be representing us.

This is not about democrats or republicans, left or right, it's about quality. I think we deserve better than corruption, blackmail, backroom deals, bribery or any underhand tactic.

 

[Brubricker]

While I, as an individual, will not vote for anyone who voted 'yes' to the bill, I am not really talking about the healthcare bill. I am talking about honesty and openness in politics. I just think it is time that we demanded that the people elected to represent us do so honestly. If they can't do that, they shouldn't be representing us.

This is not about democrats or republicans, left or right, it's about quality. I think we deserve better than corruption, blackmail, backroom deals, bribery or any underhand tactic.

Really now? This year-long healthcare fight has been the most open and publicly accessible legislative process in all of American history. The entire scope of the the bill has been sliced and diced in the full public sphere. There are no secrets here of any kind. There are just a lot of things that a lot of people don't like. We got to see it all, and I mean ALL OF IT!!!

You just don't like it that your side lost.

 

[California Girl]

While I, as an individual, will not vote for anyone who voted 'yes' to the bill, I am not really talking about the healthcare bill. I am talking about honesty and openness in politics. I just think it is time that we demanded that the people elected to represent us do so honestly. If they can't do that, they shouldn't be representing us.

This is not about democrats or republicans, left or right, it's about quality. I think we deserve better than corruption, blackmail, backroom deals, bribery or any underhand tactic.

Really now? This year-long healthcare fight has been the most open and publicly accessible legislative process in all of American history. The entire scope of the the bill has been sliced and diced in the full public sphere. There are no secrets here of any kind. There are just a lot of things that a lot of people don't like. We got to see it all, and I mean ALL OF IT!!!

You just don't like it that your side lost.

Wrong. Yea, I don't like the bill and I certainly don't support it but I have no 'side'.

And, no we did not have an 'open and publicly accessible legislative process'. Don't bullshit me. There were deals with the unions, the industry, states, there was intimidation and blackmail, there were promises made for the future.... there was all kinds of shit that should not have happened. If the bill (and I don't mean this bill specifically) isn't good enough to carry support, it should not pass.

You are making this thread about the healthcare bill. It isn't. It is about the process. The corruption of our government. Unsurprisingly, the rabids (like you apparently) don't get the difference between one bill and a whole fucking culture of corruption.

 

[Joe Steel]

While I, as an individual, will not vote for anyone who voted 'yes' to the bill, I am not really talking about the healthcare bill. I am talking about honesty and openness in politics. I just think it is time that we demanded that the people elected to represent us do so honestly. If they can't do that, they shouldn't be representing us.

This is not about democrats or republicans, left or right, it's about quality. I think we deserve better than corruption, blackmail, backroom deals, bribery or any underhand tactic.

Compromise is critical to representative democracy. Without compromise, nothing would be done. Is that your goal? An impotent government?

 

[Brubricker]

Wrong. Yea, I don't like the bill and I certainly don't support it but I have no 'side'.

Like hell you don't. We can all read what you've written. Every single on of your posts is laced with nothing but standard right-wing talking points.

If you were anything other than that you would at least express some possiblity that a FEW provisions of our new healthcare law might have merit, maybe just a FEW of them. But you do none of that. Instead, you do nothing but offer pure right-wing spin while preposterously claiming to be above it all. That makes you just another Bill O'Reilly.

You shouldn't lie about what you are the way O'Reilly does. People can see right through him and they see right through you.

 

[California Girl]

While I, as an individual, will not vote for anyone who voted 'yes' to the bill, I am not really talking about the healthcare bill. I am talking about honesty and openness in politics. I just think it is time that we demanded that the people elected to represent us do so honestly. If they can't do that, they shouldn't be representing us.

This is not about democrats or republicans, left or right, it's about quality. I think we deserve better than corruption, blackmail, backroom deals, bribery or any underhand tactic.

Compromise is critical to representative democracy. Without compromise, nothing would be done. Is that your goal? An impotent government?

No, that is not my goal. And nothing I've written states that I am against compromise. I am against the federal government blackmailing our representatives to get votes. I am against the federal government promising special interest groups something in return for their support. That is not compromise, Joe, it is corruption.

 

[California Girl]

Wrong. Yea, I don't like the bill and I certainly don't support it but I have no 'side'.

Like hell you don't. We can all read what you've written. Every single on of your posts is laced with nothing but standard right-wing talking points.

If you were anything other than that you would at least express some hope of cautious optimism for our new healthcare law. But instead, you do nothing but offer right-wing spin while preposterously claiming to be above it all. That makes you Bill O'Reilly.

Oh my, such faux outrage.

So, what you're saying is that you are okay with the government using tactics such as bribery, blackmail, and intimidation to get their way. Ok, that's your right. Personally, I would prefer an honest government.

You are, unfortunately, unable to take partisanship out of the discussion. That's fine. I am. I have and will continue to be anti-corruption in government... whether it is on the right or the left... perhaps it's easier for me because I have no allegiance to either party.

 

[midcan5]

No one who will go on the record. As a writer, I have access to information that is not in the public domain. Hence I don't 'link', I just comment. People are welcome to make whatever they care to of anything I say. Of course, if anyone is inclined to call Congressman Nunes and ask him outright whether he voted yes for water, I suspect the answer will be 'yes'.

So then nothing you write is verifiable? I'm sorry but I consider private information used solely for personal or partisan beefs not entirely ethical.



"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." Richard Feynman

 

[Brubricker]

You are, unfortunately, unable to take partisanship out of the discussion. That's fine. I am. I have and will continue to be anti-corruption in government... whether it is on the right or the left... perhaps it's easier for me because I have no allegiance to either party.

You are, unfortunately, incapable of recognizing the fact that your view of "corruption" is merely a condemnation of the left. There is no "corruption" in anything you've posted. Nothing you've said will lead to corruption charges against anyone. You're just hating on Pelosi and Reid, pure and simple. They've done nothing illegal but here you are declaring them CORRUPT!!! Name the corruption laws they've broken. There aren't any. You just don't like the fact that they won.

We can all see what you're doing here.

 

[California Girl]

No one who will go on the record. As a writer, I have access to information that is not in the public domain. Hence I don't 'link', I just comment. People are welcome to make whatever they care to of anything I say. Of course, if anyone is inclined to call Congressman Nunes and ask him outright whether he voted yes for water, I suspect the answer will be 'yes'.

So then nothing you write is verifiable? I'm sorry but I consider private information used solely for personal or partisan beefs not entirely ethical.



"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." Richard Feynman

It's verifiable, but you have to verify it for yourself rather than have it spoon fed by a media that has an agenda - be it left or right.

You can just sit back and wait til the Amnesty for illegal aliens becomes the cause of the moment for Obama. That'll tell you that he's paying for some votes.

As I said, what I write is my own opinion. In this case, that opinion was formed by the people I spoke to about their intention on voting. Anyone can call congresscritters, it's not an unheard of practice.