Judd Gregg Has No Idea What He's Talking About (to put it politely)

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_03/022684.php

JUDD GREGG HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT.... Five years ago this month, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) was so desperate to let oil companies drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he tried to use the budget reconciliation process to do it. "If you have 51 votes for your position, you win," he said at the time, adding, "Is there something wrong with majority rules? I don't think so."

Today, Gregg was disgusted by the notion of using reconciliation to pass health reform.

"Reconciliation has never been used for a massive rewrite of policy like this," he said. "Adjusting tax rates is not like rewriting the entire healthcare system of the United States. It's substantive. It's very different."

Look, Gregg isn't some rookie. He's not a right-wing radio host or some random conservative blogger. Gregg is almost certainly is aware of his surroundings, understands the reconciliation rules, and realizes how the process is likely to unfold.

With that in mind, it's almost impossible to believe that Gregg's obvious misstatements of fact are the result of ignorance. He must know what he's saying is false. That Gregg can repeat such lies with a straight face, as if they were legitimate, raises serious concerns about his integrity.

It's tempting to note that reconciliation has already been used, by Republicans, on all kinds of sweeping, "substantive" issues -- welfare reform, for example -- but even that's beside the point. Reconciliation isn't being used for "a massive rewrite of policy"; it's being used for a budget fix. The "a massive rewrite of policy" has already passed. It passed through regular order, with no reconciliation. Gregg must realize this; he was there when it happened.

My first thought, reading Gregg's quotes, was that we won't have to endure the talking point for too much longer -- if the House passes the Senate bill, and the Senate approves a budget fix through majority rule, the notion that the huge health care reform package was passed through reconciliation will disappear.

Except, my first thought was almost certainly wrong. Even if Dems don't pass reform through reconciliation, Republicans will likely say they did. Why not? Fox News will dutifully play along -- "Sure, health care reform became law, but only because Dems cheated" -- and mainstream outlets will present it as a he-said/she-said dilemma.

There's no incentive for Republicans to tell the truth, just as there's no consequences for them failing to tell the truth. So, they'll just keep making stuff up, as Judd Gregg exemplifies.

—Steve Benen 4:05 PM

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. He knows what he's saying.

He's a liar, plain and simple.

He also knows that most people accept what he says, that they won't question him...

I watched him on the PBS Newshour last week, and he sat there next to Sherrod Brown, and told lie after lie, and never batted an eye.

I loathe him.

[Cha]

2. And, therein lies the reason republicons

like judd gregg keep lying..because the corporatemedia will not hold them responsible.

It's so frustrating to be pointing this out for 10 years.

[Supersedeas]

5. Fact-checking is just unbalanced--better to disseminate lies to balance with the truth

Let the people decide and take all those advertising dollars in the process.

[Boxerfan]

3. I'm past the startling conclusion(a while ago)They are lying on purpose.

(Sarcasm)

But I really found it hard to believe there were people like this. people who will lie cheat & steal with a smile. They feed their own delusions to a point. But when it comes to they way they do business?. They are knowing willful liars.

[RayinDC]

4. Judd Gregg's reconciliation statements

Agree completely. Judd Gregg definitely knows he's lying, given that he's used reconciliation himself so many times before. I hope he keeps on making statements, though, because I've been really enjoying all the things he's been saying about reconciliation being a killer asteroid, or about giving the reconciliation bill a "Byrd bath."

Here's the former quote:
“This bill, this giant bill, on health care -- this asteroid headed towards Earth -- is sitting in the House of Representatives. And they don't have the votes to pass it… So what have the House leadership and the Senate comes up with? They've come up with a huge sidecar. It's called reconciliation.” – Senator Judd Gregg 3/16/10 23:45

That amused me so much, I wrote a poem about it, entitled:
"Reconciligeddon (or, Hey Judd, Don’t Be Afraid)"

A new term has swept the Nation:
Reconciliation.
For Dems, it represents healthcare’s last chance,
But Republicans take a contrary stance.

They believe that it’s introduction
Will bring about the country’s destruction.
(Never mind the fact that they’ve used it much more
Than the Dems ever had before.)

But one brave Senator from New Hampshire
(A Republican, to be sure)
Has come out against this grave offense
And offered himself up in our national defense.

NASA is preparing to send him up into space
In this last ditch chance to save the human race.
(Dramatic pause while we all reminisce
About the heroic scene with Bruce Willis.)

I guess we should call it asteroid R-51,
Because that’s the number of votes needed to get health reform done.
“R” is for reconciliation, of course,
Something the GOP used to heartily endorse.

But now that the tables are turned
And Dems to the majority have returned,
Reconciliation has become a mortal threat
The likes of which the Nation’s never seen yet.

Mortal, that is, to the Republican attempt
To treat the political process with continued contempt,
To block and obstruct for political gain
In their unending anti-Obama campaign.
(An asteroid killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
Does a similar fate await the dinosauric Party of No?)

And you, Judd, don’t be afraid--
It isn’t as bad as you’ve portrayed.
Reconciliations used to make you glad,
So don’t make this one out to be so bad.
===
Let me know what you think, and go to http://newsericks.com/tag/reconciliation for some other poems about reconciliation (along with videos and links to other articles), or http://newsericks.com/the-byrd-bath for one about Judd's Byrd bath statement.

[Jennicut]

6. Ha! He is my father in law's Senator up in good old NH.

Love NH but there are some wack-jobs up there. My father in law is one of them. Loves Rush and Glenn Beck.

Loved the poem!