Republicans declare World War III in Cardoza's congressional district
McClatchy's Big Eight
We didn't like this McClatchy article, "Health care overhaul: Tallying winners and losers." But we had to admit covering the results at the final bell of the year-long session of the free market for votes in the White House and Congress as if it were a wrap up article of a day's race card at Pimlico made some sense. But we had some bones to pick with it because for many ordinary readers, it will probably go down as pretty much the last word on the issue. We hope we get through the political campaign season without violence in the Valley.
The idea that Rep. Dennis Cardoza of Annapolis MD should get a few roses for his act on this bill is ludicrous. In a completely cowardly way, he refused to hold any town meetings on the bill last summer. He was stupid enough to crawl into the stinking bedsheets of water politics with Rep. Devin Hunes, Tulare Raver, and get politically sapped for his bad judgment. And he waffled on the bill until the last minute, like the proverbial "deer in headlights" pontificating sanctimoniously about proper House process and the suffering of members his own family all the way to the vote he had to make for the bill to avoid a future in the House broom closet if the Demcrats hang on this November. We think his vapors were authentic. People who spend their entire political careers denying the reality of history have a hard time dealing with historical situations.
When this bill becomes law, it may well create a marriage between the worst aspects of the free market in insurance and the worst aspects of government bureaucracy. It may be a "balanced" compromise from Hell. But, whatever its effects, they will be on the society as a whole. The fortunes of the "winners" will affect the "losers," and vice versa.
The benefit of the debate was that it displayed principle and the utter lack of it, courage and cowardice, reason and hysteria, openness and meanness, and other finer and uglier sides of elected officials. The American people, even here in the 18th congressional district, where we were muzzled by a gutless representative, did discuss and argue, sometimes to the point of violence, this bill. And the violence apparently goes on. The violence may increase as the rightwing takes its fascist message to the streets after eight years of pointless war and the Great Recession tear up the social fabric. The real "winners" in this economy must and do fund and promote division among the vast majority of us to divert attention from the greatest redistribution of wealth ever perpetrated on the nation. During the health insurance debate, the public had a chance to see health insurance lobbyists, as naked as jaybirds and ugly as bankers, fight for their pre-New Deal "trust" status, the little price-fixing oligopoly they've enjoyed since 1942. The people got a chance to hear the insurance companies scream at the thought of being subjected to anything as vulgar as market competition. And they got to see former Louisiana Congressman Billy Tauzin, the drug companies' top lobbyist, waltz in to the White House and come out with a deal that will keep American drug prices high.
The health care debate and legislation was about was hope and promises on the campaign trail versus the power of lobbyists and political betrayal in Washington. It was about the low level of general education in America, and how frightened groups of ignorant people could be mobilized by the most cynical elements in this society. It was about how the media covered the debates as a sporting event.
But, in the metaphor, it seems like there are three real winners in this health care bill: Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, and President Obama. Obama reminds us of a 3-year old colt out of an ancient stable, the Democratic Party. As a sprinter, he failed badly and the bankers blew right past him. But, at least in this distance race, he showed he was a come-from-behind politician who could go the distance with a kick at the end.
It's really hard to tell whether the people win or lose on this. Another big question mark is how the Democratic Party "tallied." Some ugly things were revealed about it in the health care debate. But the most interesting and important question is how the Republican Party "tallied." Moderate opinion has it that the Republicans have gone batshit crazy, that they are sore losers, they don't believe in the voter franchise, and that they are willing to take it to the streets and not peacefully. Having defined political debate for much of the last 30 years, now facing a little competition of views, they appear to be acting like spoiled little hedge-fund kids. Do they have absolutely nothing to offer the people but corporate power and reactionary dogma getting weirder by the week?
3-23-10
Merced Sun-Star
Health care overhaul: Tallying winners and losers
Bill's passage a boost to some, a detriment to others...MICHAEL DOYLE, Sun-Star Washington Bureau
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/03/23/v-print/1359432/health-care-overhaul-tallying.html
...POSSIBLE WINNER: Some San Joaquin Valley agricultural employers
The health care bill sets new mandates for employers to offer insurance, or pay a fee if they don't.
But one provision folded into the 2,409-page bill carves out an exemption for those who hire seasonal employees for fewer than 120 days a year. The opaquely worded provision states that the exempted seasonal workers include "workers covered by section 500.20(s) (1) of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations." The cited provision refers to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. This will save employers money; conversely, it will alsomean the seasonal workers are cut out.
But Jack King, manager of national affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation, noted Monday that important questions still remain. The 120-day employment threshold, and ambiguity about how farm labor contractors will be handled, leave uncertain the real- world impact in California...
The cynicism of this passage slots in Valley farmers as potential winners because of the
ambiguity of a provision that exempts them from paying anything for farmworker health
care. It is in keeping with the entire article, written like a commentary on a horse race
in the Racing Form. In addition to the Valley's premiere position as a polluted air
quality basin, farmworkers also contend frequently with the most polluted drinking water
in the Valley and are constantly exposed to health-threatening pesticide residues. Poverty is also a major source of health problems. There are few classes of workers in the country that face more exposure to health risks than Valley farmworkers as they harvest all those "fresh" fruits, nuts and vegetables.
"Winners" indeed. Entitled and subsidized to the maximum extent political graft allows, Valley farmers continue to whine for more water, cheaper labor, tax breaks, etc. Their entire input into the discussion of the Valley's future amounts to one long whine. Quite aside from people in Washington and Sacramento getting tired of them, their neighbors are getting tired of them. "All they want is more," recently said one Valley native. More and more people are beginning to feel the same way.
LOSER: Immigration reform Realistically, comprehensive immigration reform had a slim chance, at best, of being taken up this year. The divisive issue is a heavy lift for Congress in an election year, and health care obsessed lawmakers have not prepared for immigration. Now, the rampant partisanship of the health care debate has nailed shut the coffin. Admittedly, some lawmakers might simply want an excuse to duck immigration. Even the stalwart, though, recognize an impossibility when they see one.
"The first casualty of the Democratic health care bill will be immigration reform," declared Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a key supporter.
As for this McClatchy insider prognostication, which is just opinion no different from "Bucephalus in the Seventh," just adds to the general cynicism. Meanwhile, some thoughtful, practical approaches are coming out of knowledgeable Kern County, reported below in this Bakersfield Californian editorial.
3-23-10
Bakersfield Californian
Immigration reform that helps growers, consumers, economy
http://www.bakersfield.com/opinion/editorials/x1664565930/Immigration-reform-that-helps-growers-consumers-economy
Immigration reform, and the lack thereof, has been a political hot potato in recent years. For some, immigration is a cheap tool to wind up those whose buttons are easily pushed. Others use it to deflect attention from pressing issues.
At long last, it appears we have a real shot at getting it right -- improving the lives of immigrant workers, satisfying labor-hungry industry, adding a new layer of security and accountability, and sanding some of the sharp corners off of a contentious issue.
That is, if lawmakers don't muck it up.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is sponsoring the AgJobs bill, and she has bipartisan support. She can count on Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and some representatives in the House from farm-heavy states, with the push.
The plan will open a way to "temporary" permanent residency for illegal immigrants who have worked in ag for at least two years, if they remain in farm work for another three.
Their immediate families would be eligible to live and work in the U.S., and to travel freely to their homeland. Later, they may apply for permanent-resident status, with a few procedural hoops to jump through.
Remarkably, ag interests -- including the California Farm Bureau -- and their historic foe, the United Farm Workers of America, are both on board. When was the last time they agreed on anything?
"I know a lot of western growers are in favor of it," said Matthew Park, executive director of the Kern County Farm Bureau, the California Farm Bureau's local chapter.
The Obama administration, which would welcome another legislative victory, has sent a clear signal that it wants to get it done.
"We've been close to getting it passed for years," UFW President Arturo Rodriguez said in a briefing with The Californian's editorial board earlier this month, "but we feel like this is really the year to do it."
Farmworkers will have the opportunity for a better life than the one they fled in their homelands -- and legally so. That's good for our economy. Ag interests will be able to count on a ready labor force. That's good for the economy, too. And we'll have a greater measure of security, knowing who's in this country, and for what ostensible purpose.
As always, there will be determined resistance, some of which will be powered by the intellectual dishonesty, half-truths, blatant appeals to public fear and rage, and -- this is key -- the real possibility that national leaders will fail, once again, to control the debate. The Democrats, for example, have proven virtually incapable of shaping opinion.
Voters should, if for no other reason, consider the positive effect this program would have on the national economy. Jobs, even those of the menial variety, mean consumer spending, without which America suffers. It would also hold down the price of produce.
Rodriguez said it's in everyone's best interest for a broken system to change, as the United States is importing more food than it exports.
"That doesn't help growers, it doesn't help farmworkers and it doesn't help consumers," he told the editorial board. "It's very hard to control pesticides, how workers are treated and food safety when food is produced overseas."
Let's hope this is one initiative that withstands the barrage of attacks that are certain to come.
Now, we turn to Jim Boren's editorial in the Fresno Bee.
3-23-10
Fresno Bee
Jim Boren: Will vote hurt Valley Dems?...Jim Boren is The Fresno Bee's editorial page editor.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/03/23/v-print/1359441/jim-boren-will-vote-hurt-valley.html
...Costa is in a much safer district than Cardoza, given this year's political dynamics.
Still, he remained very cautious -- which is his style on every controversial issue -- before acknowledging his support of health care reform.
But Michael Der Manouel Jr., chairman of the conservative Lincoln Club of Fresno County, thinks both Costa and Cardoza are in trouble.
"I used to believe that registration advantages were critical," he said. "But voter registration doesn't matter anymore because people are so angry. Their taxes are going up, unemployment is going up, and the health bill makes that worse."
He said Republicans will have strong nominees in the 18th District (Cardoza's) and the 20th District (Costa's), and there's "no question that those seat are in play."
He said the fall campaign in those districts will be "World War III" ...
First, we congratulate Cardoza. He will have to work this year. He got a free ride in 2008. The work might improve his physique and his character, which runs to cowardice and mean vindictiveness. He also doesn't like people, something of a disadvantage in politics. Let's see if he can remedy some of these defects if he decides to raise himself from his chair in Annapolis and actually get out here and hit the sweat, dust and rubber chicken circuit of a Valley summer political campaign.
Second, we condemn in advance Republican plans to start "World War III" in the place where we live. We are not going to allow ourselves to be intimidated by goon squads. Chances are Cardoza will be intimidated by them. But, hey, miracles can happen in politics when a man's office is at stake. All things considered, it's going to be a dirty year in the region. Maybe people will learn something about their basic values in it.
Third, it will be interesting to see how the McClatchy boys of the Political Sports Desk cover a "World War III" type political campaign on their turf. It will be extremely interesting to see how the Bland Boys of the Bees will handle this if the threat is not idle. If Republicans feel Cardoza is vulnerable enough to mount a full-scale invasion of his district, tea-bagging shock troops and all, it should be apparent, even to the bland boys, if not their publisher, that the thugs of the far right ain't no friends of a free press.
Badlands Journal editorial board
3-23-10
Merced Sun-Star
Health care overhaul: Tallying winners and losers
Bill's passage a boost to some, a detriment to others...MICHAEL DOYLE, Sun-Star Washington Bureau
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/03/23/v-print/1359432/health-care-overhaul-tallying.html
WASHINGTON -- Winners and losers accompany every bill, especially one as big as the $940 billion health care package approved by the House late Sunday night. Here are some of them.
WINNER: Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced.
Cardoza adroitly played his hand on the House Rules Committee, which sets the rules for considering legislation. He helped fend off a procedural maneuver that arguably would have been bad policy for Congress and bad politics for Democrats. House Democratic leaders had suggested a special "deeming" or "self-executing" procedure to approve the health legislation. This no-fingerprints-on-the-gun maneuver would have allowed House members to avoid casting an initial vote on an unpopular Senate version.
Dissenting from leadership, even as he served on the leadership's committee, Cardoza urged regular order.
"I don't believe it's smart to pass a bill this momentous with a deemed bill," Cardoza said Saturday afternoon.
Shortly afterward, House leaders dropped the intensely controversial deeming idea. They probably had many reasons for doing so, but Cardoza's well-timed opposition was certainly one of them.
LOSER: San Joaquin Valley congressional comity
San Joaquin Valley lawmakers like to cite a tradition of bipartisanship. They can kiss that goodbye for a while, following the health care debate.
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, took the gloves off with his March 19 appearance on Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck show. Beck brought Nunes on to allege Cardoza and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, had traded their health care votes for an early Interior Department water delivery announcement.
"These two congressmen, are they getting water for their vote?" Beck asked, having earlier referred to the supposed tradeoff as a "bribe." "I think it's kind of worse than that," Nunes said. "We're only getting 25 percent of our water for 100 percent of their health care bill." Nunes then summoned parallels with how Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and Zimbabwe dictator Robert Mugabe had "starved their people of water." Earlier, Nunes had denounced Democrats for their "totalitarian" rule over Congress, a charge Democrats dismissed as overheated.
On the other hand, rhetorical zeal that undermines congressional relationships may play well among constituents. So, in some cases, determining winners and losers may depend on the audience.
POSSIBLE WINNER: Some San Joaquin Valley agricultural employers
The health care bill sets new mandates for employers to offer insurance, or pay a fee if they don't.
But one provision folded into the 2,409-page bill carves out an exemption for those who hire seasonal employees for fewer than 120 days a year. The opaquely worded provision states that the exempted seasonal workers include "workers covered by section 500.20(s)(1) of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations." The cited provision refers to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. This will save employers money; conversely, it will also mean the seasonal workers are cut out.
But Jack King, manager of national affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation, noted Monday that important questions still remain. The 120-day employment threshold, and ambiguity about how farm labor contractors will be handled, leave uncertain the real-world impact in California.
LOSER: Immigration reform Realistically, comprehensive immigration reform had a slim chance, at best, of being taken up this year. The divisive issue is a heavy lift for Congress in an election year, and health care obsessed lawmakers have not prepared for immigration. Now, the rampant partisanship of the health care debate has nailed shut the coffin. Admittedly, some lawmakers might simply want an excuse to duck immigration. Even the stalwart, though, recognize an impossibility when they see one.
"The first casualty of the Democratic health care bill will be immigration reform," declared Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a key supporter.
WINNER: The uninsured
An estimated 6.6 million California residents are currently not covered by health insurance, according to the Census Bureau.
Residents of the San Joaquin Valley, in particular, are less likely than others to be protected. An astonishing 28 percent of the residents below age 65 in Costa's Fresno-based district do not have insurance coverage.
The health care bill is intended to extend coverage to those who currently do without.
LOSERS: Democrats in swing districts
Even in the best of times, off-year elections tend to turn out poorly for the party in power. The health care package could give Republican challengers a strong tailwind. None of the San Joaquin Valley Democrats currently face well-funded challengers, but Democrats in other states may be hurting.
WINNERS: Political consultants
See above.
LOSER: Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
Nelson dearly loves to be the man in the middle. He's constantly the Democrat considered most likely to vote with the Republicans, thereby ensuring him attention and bargaining leverage.
But when Nelson insisted on a $100 million provision relieving his home state, it quickly was derided as the "Cornhusker kickback." Every legislator uses their leverage to favor their constituents. Nelson's ploy, though, became a symbol for excessive back-room wheeling-and-dealing. Lawmakers dropped it like a hot potato, leaving Nelson with egg on his face while writers scrambled for food metaphors.
Fresno Bee
Jim Boren: Will vote hurt Valley Dems?...Jim Boren is The Fresno Bee's editorial page editor.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2010/03/23/v-print/1359441/jim-boren-will-vote-hurt-valley.html
In a normal political year, Democratic Reps. Dennis Cardoza of Merced and Jim Costa of Fresno wouldn't worry about their re-election chances because they hold solidly Democratic districts.
But in a year of political upheaval, Costa and Cardoza must be concerned about how voter anger in the independent San Joaquin Valley will play in the November election.
Cardoza and Costa must still be considered heavy favorites for re-election. The gerrymandered seats make it almost impossible for a Republican to win. But it would be foolish for them to take their seats for granted this year. An anti-incumbent fervor sweeping the country should make every member of Congress nervous.
After Sunday's controversial health care vote, Republicans think they have an opportunity to pick up seats held by Democrats. It might be 1994 all over again -- the year the GOP took control of the House and Senate during the Clinton administration.
But while that may be a good talking point for party regulars, we're more than seven months from the mid-term elections and a lot could happen on many hot-button issues.
The economy remains the most important, and it will determine who runs Congress in January. If Americans have more confidence in their economic circumstances -- more of them are employed, home foreclosures are under control, bankruptcies have leveled off -- it would be good for Democrats.
But if the economic recovery has yet to help middle-class America, Republicans could see big gains in the mid-term elections.
The GOP wants to lump Valley Democrats in with Bay Area liberals such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. George Miller.
Costa and Cardoza held off announcing their positions on the health care bill until Saturday, then voted with their party to push the reform package through the House.
The big question is whether their health care votes will make them vulnerable in November.
Cardoza doesn't think so.
"My constituents supported this measure," Cardoza said Monday. "The loudest people on health care aren't necessarily the majority. I've never cast a vote that is more beneficial to the Valley."
Costa is in a much safer district than Cardoza, given this year's political dynamics.
Still, he remained very cautious -- which is his style on every controversial issue -- before acknowledging his support of health care reform.
But Michael Der Manouel Jr., chairman of the conservative Lincoln Club of Fresno County, thinks both Costa and Cardoza are in trouble.
"I used to believe that registration advantages were critical," he said. "But voter registration doesn't matter anymore because people are so angry. Their taxes are going up, unemployment is going up, and the health bill makes that worse."
He said Republicans will have strong nominees in the 18th District (Cardoza's) and the 20th District (Costa's), and there's "no question that those seat are in play."
He said the fall campaign in those districts will be "World War III."
So far, though, the Republican challengers in those districts have shown no indication they can raise the money they need to run a credible campaign.
Jeffrey Cummins, a political science professor at California State University, Fresno, doesn't think the Valley Democrats will lose their seats.
"The strength of the registration numbers are in their favor, even with the voter anger that's out there," he said. "By the time we get to the November election, the condition of the economy will be the issue."
But while Cardoza and Costa will probably win, Cummins says the Democrats could lose their majority in the House in November.
That would make things very uncomfortable for Costa and Cardoza. They may retain their seats, but they would lose any clout they have from serving with the majority party.