The political realities of health care reform

Health care reform is a complicated thing, and partisans on both sides of the issue have been trying to make it into a black-and-white litmus test issue. In fact, members of Congress are in very different political positions when it comes to this bill. Here's my take on the political realities of health care reform:

Reactions to Obama speech (updated with Herseth Sandlin)

Apologies for lack of posting in the past week -- I've been occupied with a hard drive crash that forced me to reinstall a lot of my applications. Will have a lot more in the next week.

Kanye and Joe Wilson

I've been incommunicado since Friday on a trip to the Twin Cities to see the symphony, a Twins game at the Metrodome and the movie "9" with a friend I seldom get to hang out with. But I did get back in time yesterday to see my Facebook and Twitter feeds explode with conversation about one incident: Kanye West charging the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards during country-pop star Taylor Swift's acceptance speech to praise Beyoncé Knowles' music video (and diss Swift's winning video).

FCC embraces "net neutrality"

Wired Magazine has full coverage of a speech today by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in which he comes out in favor of aggressive enforcement of "net neutrality," a controversial principle governing how internet service providers can regulate traffic.

Fun chart of the day

Andrew Sullivan flags this fascinating interactive chart showing the shares of the workforce made up by men and women since 1850. You can look at the whole workforce or break it down by gender.

Auto-Tune The News' South Dakota connection

Many politically aware South Dakotans have taken note of the Auto-Tune The News songs and videos which turn politicians and media personalities into musicians with the aid of the ubiquitous Auto-Tune software. In my article for today's print edition, I spoke with Evan Gregory, one of the brains behind Auto-Tune The News, about how they got started, why Sen. Junkie Einstein is from South Dakota and which real South Dakota lawmaker might soon find himself involuntarily singing.

Johnson: Thune exit plan 'premature'

Sen. Tim Johnson today told reporters he thinks Sen. John Thune's efforts to end spending on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (also known as the "bailout") are "premature."

*Updated* Herseth Sandlin offers a new approach on TARP exit plan

Sen. John Thune has been promoting a bill for some time setting a hard deadline for the federal government selling the ownership stakes it took in companies such as AIG and General Motors during the financial crisis last year. One day after Sen. Tim Johnson said he thought Thune's plan was "premature," Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today announced a bill seeking to accomplish the same goal but with a little bit more flexibility.

The perils (and humor) of live TV (Updated)

Whether you like or hate Glen Beck, I think this video from his show today is something everyone can get a good laugh at:

McRemote, South Dakota

Many people view McDonalds as a malign influence, encouraging unhealthy eating, competing with local restaurants and discouraging slow-paced family meals.*

Changing of the seasons

In South Dakota, as in many places across the country, autumn has arrived in an hurry the last few weeks. The weather outside seems freezing as everyone scrambles to put on jackets and sweaters to be more comfortable in low-60s temperatures.

Curd announces Congressional candidacy

Fresh in my inbox: Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin has a challenger in state Rep. Blake Curd, R-Sioux Falls. Curd has been very outspoken lately as an opponent of Democratic health care reform proposals. Here's the presser:

Daugaard, his opponents and his message

Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced his candidacy for governor today, framing himself as having both the experience and the character needed to do the job.

The multiple meanings of "large"

William at the newly revived Badlands Blue takes a potshot at ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for calling California America's "largest state."

A big health care bill -- that cuts the deficit?

On his conference call with reporters this morning, Sen. John Thune railed against Democrats who are proposing new spending programs at a time of skyrocketing deficits. Without getting into Keynsian and monetary theory about the best way to stimulate an economy during a recession, it's an argument that a lot of people share.

Obama wins the peace prize?

Wow. I leave my email for 24 hours and Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize? Even my friends who are Democrats are flabbergasted and don't believe he deserves it yet. And frankly, it's political bad news. Obama should reject the prize — if the Nobel committee is willing to give it to him after less than one year in office, he'll probably be able to win it again in the future. But this is a political distraction in the U.S. he doesn't need, and even his preliminary statement shows his complete shock. Also, I presume he'll be smart enough to donate the $1.4 million prize to charity.

More thoughts on the Nobel

As I said before, I'm skeptical of it. But a few points of fact:

Senators call for full funding for Indian Country

Twenty-two senators, including Sen. John Thune and Sen. Tim Johnson, have signed a letter to President Obama calling for full funding for public safety and public health products in Indian Country.

Thune and Kerry-Graham

Badlands Blue highlights a new bipartisan effort by Sen. John Kerry, R-Mass., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to reach a consensus on climate change legislation in the Senate. The Kerry-Graham proposal — at this point little more than an op-ed — marries a committment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (a central component of cap-and-trade legislation such as the Waxman-Markley climate bill which passed the House of Representatives this year) with expanding domestic energy production (championed by many Republicans) through nuclear power, off-shore oil drilling and "clean coal" technology.

Thune 2010 war chest grows

Federal Election Commission filings from the third quarter are out, and Sen. John Thune -- still without a Democratic opponent -- is in a strong financial position.

Climate change heterodoxy

One of the most interesting things about Freakonomics authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner is their willingness to buck orthodoxy and come to counterintuitive conclusions by careful analysis of data. In their original bestseller, for example, Levitt and Dubner famously argued that a big reason why crime rates dropped in the 1990s was not better policing or a roaring economy but Roe v. Wade. The two authors looked at the socioeconomic statuses of the millions of aborted lives — and concluded that had those children been born they would have been more likely to become criminals.

Roberto Lange confirmed 100-0 as U.S. District Judge

A press release from Sen. Tim Johnson's office announces that Sioux Falls attorney Roberto Lange has been confirmed as U.S. District Judge for South Dakota by a 100-0 vote in the Senate.

Thune and Rounds on interstate insurance competition

The tough part about doing this blog is getting behind. I pile up lots of great material, but because I have to do my writing for the print edition first, sometimes stuff gets left behind — stuff that'd make good posts. But I never throw any of my notes away, which means I can catch up on stuff whenever it becomes relevant again. So here's a little notebook-diving from interviews I did with Gov. Rounds in early August:

Health care and Medicare reimbursement

My article today in the print edition of the Capital Journal looks at a really interesting — and really complex — debate in Congress about fixing a set of automatic pay cuts to Medicare physician payments. In the confines of that article, I didn't get to get into one of the important aspects of that debate — how it connects to the health care reform debate going on in Congress right now.

Herseth Sandlin: position on public option "complex"

Republicans jumped on Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today after former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean's Web site reported Herseth Sandlin as a "yes" vote in favor of a public option in health care.

New bill reforms veterans' funding

Each year, Congress takes longer and longer to pass its annual budget. As deadlines approach, Congress has taken to passing "continuing resolutions" which extend the previous year's funding until they can pass a new budget. It's not a pleasant process for government agencies trying to make their budgets — and it's something that the Veterans Health Administration won't have to worry about in the future.

"So some cow passes air and I can't eat a cheeseburger?"

Over the past week, I've been getting back in touch with one of my favorite childhood TV shows — the science-fiction adventure drama SeaQuest DSV. Essentially Star Trek in a submarine, the 1993-1996 series takes place in the year 2018, in a world where humanity has colonized the sea and the giant "deep submurgence vehicle" SeaQuest is responsible for keeping the sub-marine peace. It was on when I was seven or eight years old, and contributed to a phase where I wanted to grow up to be an admiral in the Navy. (I eventually abandoned this goal when I figured out you couldn't start at the top and had to actually work your way up.)

Obama highlights South Dakota in wind energy speech

South Dakota in the news — In a speech today at a solar energy plant in Florida, President Barack Obama highlighted South Dakota's potential for wind energy:

Thune slams stimulus bill as ineffective

Sen. John Thune acknowledged that the $800 billion federal stimulus package has done some good but said Wednesday that he believes the bill has by and large been wasteful and ineffective.

Hunting season in South Dakota

While hopping from site to site online yesterday, I stumbled across a scanned comic strip from the 1980s comic strip Bloom County that's quite apt to both our current frenzied political environment and hunting season:

Anatomy of a talking point

My article in today's paper checked in with South Dakota's Congressional delegation on health care reform negotiations — and, thanks to an NPR interview, got Gov. Mike Rounds in, too.

The soul of the Republican party

Three big elections are going on today that will inevitably be interpreted as a referendum on President Barack Obama: gubernatorial contests in Virginia (almost certainly a Republican win) and New Jersey (something of a tossup), and a congressional race in northern New York.

View from the left: "I'm (now) a Nelson guy"

My newsroom debating partner on political issues is Capital Journal sports editor Josh Linehan, a liberal Democrat who volunteered for Barack Obama and who supports robust health care reform. After Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced she would vote against the health care reform bill being considered in the House, Josh sent me an angry instant message laying into Herseth Sandlin. I thought it was an interesting perspective and asked him to write up his feelings. What follows is written by Josh Linehan and presented without comment or edits:

Herseth Sandlin on the politics of health care reform

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said her decision to oppose the current version of health care reform was influenced by discussions with constituents — but not by organized protests or concerns about her reelection.

Herseth Sandlin to vote against House health care reform bill

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced Friday she will oppose the health care reform legislation being voted on by the House of Representatives Saturday — but said she hopes to be able to vote yes on future versions of the bill if changes she wants are made.

Contact Us

Staff Directory