Huckabee Doesn't Heart the Stimulus

Mike Huckabee argues that the stimulus package is "anti-religious" - whatever that means. (h/t Greg Sargent)

Stimulus Bill Overcomes GOP Senate Filibuster

The Collins-Nelson amendment passed 61-37, and the stimulus bill now moves through to conference committee. A committee of House and Senate members (to include Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid) will seek a bicameral compromise.

Center for American Progress has a great blog explaining why the House version will create more jobs than the Senate version.

ProPublica has a side-by-side comparison of the bills.

Jim Cooper on the stimulus package

Glenn Thrush reports that Blue Dogs are sitting down this afternoon with President Obama's team.

I look forward to hearing how that goes. After contacting James Lueschen in Cooper's Washington DC office, I got this response from Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) about the stimulus bill:

Thank you for contacting me about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

President Obama gets high marks for trying to bring change to Washington, but Congress isn't living up to its end of the bargain. In the face of millions of lost jobs and an economy that continues to shut down, the House passed a bill loaded with pet projects that won't provide the jobs Americans need.

Let me be clear: our economy needs immediate stimulus. That's why I called for Congress to pass President Obama's plan to cut regressive payroll taxes, invest in the nation's infrastructure and extend social insurance for Americans going through hard times. That plan would provide an immediate, much-needed jolt to our economy.

Unfortunately, some longtime House members saw the recovery plan as an opportunity to advance parochial political agendas. Some of these may have been good ideas, some may have been bad ideas-but we didn't get a chance to discuss them, and they weren't designed to help our economy recover in the short term. (Many of them contained new, long-term commitments.) President Obama delivered a bipartisan, win-win proposal, and Congress turned it into the rare lose-lose: a plan that may fail to stimulate the economy while saddling our children and grandchildren with unprecedented debt.

The Senate is taking up this bill today, and already its price tag is growing. It will be a mistake to add more ornaments to this Christmas tree. Instead, we should pass the timely, targeted bill President Obama proposed: one that helps America start recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

(I bold-faced key passages)

A couple notes...

1. Obama specifically said yesterday that the bill contained no earmarks or "pet projects," which directly contradicts the rhetoric from Rep. Cooper's letter. There appear to be differences of opinion on this.

2. Cooper is right about the need for timely, targeted stimulus that works to create jobs and increase spending. But I wonder if he's missing the reinvestment part of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act".

You've gotta give Cooper bonus points for standing his ground. While Heath Shuler (D-NC) got a rebuke from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's assistant Jim Manley, Cooper's more low-key approach has been conciliatory and progress-oriented.

Expect this to be a trend from the Obama Administration - working with Blue Dogs in the House and fiscal conservatives like Kent Conrad in the Senate to change the way Congress works and create a culture of fiscal discipline and accountability. Obama promised it as a key part of his campaign platform.

Live Blogging the State of the State

6:03 - Thanks Jimmy Naifeh for his service as speaker. Also thanks Lois DeBerry and wishes her a speedy recovery

6:05 - Acknowledges Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Supreme Court has a majority of women

6:05 - Honoring "Tennessee heroes" serving in armed services to loud and sustained applause

6:06 - Recognizes Katherine Roberts of Lebanon, wife of David Roberts who serves as MP and security forces in SE Afghanistan. Also acknowledges Hutch Moore from Lawrenceburg, who commanded unit after Katrina and was deployed as 1175th Transportation Company leader in Iraq.

6:08 - 251st Military Police Company also recognized - notes deployments and asks for prayers

6:09 - Bredesen looks like he's gained some weight back.

6:10 - "Everyone knows people who fear losing their jobs, healthcare, homes ... we are living in tough times.... If it's tough for us, it's much tougher for millions of Tennesseans that we work for. Leadership happens from the front."

6:11 - Reminds assembly of principles used in 2003 to fix budget. 1. "Family budget" Honestly appraise how much money is coming in, live within your means. "Being governor is about stewardship." 2. "Always stay focused on the basics." Long-term success. Education, jobs, healthcare. 3. Bipartisanship. "As I watch our federal government struggle unsuccessfully," notes that the job is to "do the public's business" and calls for people to overcome disagreements.

6:12 - Ready to prepare budget based on cut of $900 million in "deep, difficult cuts". Notes that House passage of stimulus bill and Senate bill will probably be passed soon. "It's clear that we will have a substantial amount of money" to deal with budget shortfall. Makes no sense to do budget with cuts when we know that federal action likely to get aid out by end of February.

6:13 - "No panacea" or "silver bullet".

6:14 - No desire to push the problem back a few years. Reminder of need for long-term plan. Recognize stimulus as temporary help, and develop multi-year plan for long-term beyond 2011. "Soften the landing, not to ignore the hard ground that is there."

6:15 - "I worry about a lot of my fellow Tennesseans tonight... Jobs are so important." Concern about healthcare for the jobless - add'l people will qualify for TennCare, Cover TN will cover others. "We need a national solution for health insurance." Applause line.

6:17 - Education important priority. Both K-12 and college/university spending has grown. TN has received recognition across the nation in this regard. Need to reset NCLB benchmarks to make a smooth transition rather than putting large group of schools in failure list. Set high standards, support teachers, and "We will do just fine."

6:20 - Notes trip to VW plant - robotics but "very few people". Called it "the Ghost Hall". "The lesson here is not that factory work is obsolete." 54K employed in good high paying jobs. Focus on design, invention, logistics, programming, etc. These skills are needed more than industrial labor. "If you wanna work in a factory and build things..." it's a good thing and honorable work but "You need a good education to play."

6:22 - Focus on children's welfare. Note that kids in DCS custody has dropped from 10,000 to about 7,200. Talks about Books from Birth program success. "If I could have a third term," says he would focus on higher education. Capital investments haven't helped raise number of students with post-secondary degrees. "We have such a wealth of opportunities right now, and it would be a tragedy" to fail to use these opportunities. Time to fix colleges/universities.

6:24 - Freedom of Boards of Trustees and Regents is good, but call for working with General Assembly and Governor to fashion a "true 21st century higher education system in our state."

6:25 - Focus on job creation. "We're in a strong position right now and we need to capitalize on it." Notes VW and Hemlock successes - "a lot of interest in Tennessee right now". Low taxes, low business costs make TN a good place to go. Clean energy technology is a "toehold" where TN has an advantage. Great opportunity in all business sectors to make use of green technology.

6:27 - Call for development of a "solar institute" making TN a leader in making solar energy possible. Uses example of Cavendish Institute, Princeton, Bell Labs, etc. "Solar power today is a tiny part of the power equation". Ripe for breakthroughs. Cellulosic ethanol leadership already established. Photo cell leadership, as well as research tools in Oak Ridge. Sees green energy leadership potential as a long-term opportunity (Al Gore must be smiling!) to take a leadership.

6:30 - Will send "conservative" budget in March. Sound and well-managed state will be passed along to the next governor and the next legislature. "I ran my company better when times were tough."

Obama Town Hall on Economic Recovery Plan

Jed L at Daily Kos has the video and a transcript.

Info on compromise proposal by working group

Greg Sargent has the internal memo.

Cuts food stamps, pre-K, and schools.

Increases for military procurements.

I'm not a fan at the moment...

This goes totally contrary to my moral values as a Christian.

Wonder what Richard Land will say?

Why we need to do better

The Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center is a top-notch center for treatment and research, created in memory of Bronson Ingram, the late husband of Ingram Industries chair (and noted philanthropist) Martha Ingram. (Martha has served as the chair of Vanderbilt's board of trust and helped lead their billion dollar capital campaign) Orrin, the son of Bronson and Martha, has been instrumental in promoting the work of the center and raising funds for the work at Vanderbilt.

In spite of tremendous advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, we're seeing that access to care is still limited for many cancer survivors.



As the home to HCA and countless healthcare organizations, Nashville has an opportunity like few other cities in the United States to take leadership on comprehensive healthcare reform. But it won't come from corporations or from the government.

We need to take action through the private sector. It is only by changing public opinion that we will see the changes needed to end the inhumane neglect of serious neglect. If we are serious about being pro-life, then we need to ensure that we provide an adequate safety net of healthcare. Pro-life means all life, not just the unborn.

Healthcare reform can be completed this year. There's no time to waste.