This is a fantastic editorial about why the Obama Adminstration should press on with comprehensive health care reform.   When people really understand what the bill does, they tend to support it because they recognize the benefits for all Americans.  In addition, the fact remains that this bill has many similarities to bills proposed by Republicans when they held the majority.  Notwithstanding the fact that they now oppose it on political grounds, there is room to try to find some common group with some reasonable Senators.  To kill the bill now would be terrible for this country.

It is only natural that, with a conservative Supreme Court, there will be decisions I will disagree with.  Last week the court released one such decision and fundamentally changed the landscape on which campaigns are staged.  By throwing open the flood gates and allowing special interests to spend unlimited money to influence elections they have shifted electoral power.  There is now no real distinction between corporate and human dollars in elections and that means that ’ordinary’ voters like you and me have had our electoral influence severely diminished.   

I understand the opposition to campaign finance reform – why should the government be allowed to restrict who can air their opinions and spend money to help get the change they want?  However, to make this argument is to assume that corporations are no different from individuals and current tax laws in this country (and common sense) suggest that there is a difference.  While I acknowledge that all entities have the right to free speech, allowing organizations to spend unlimited money to directly try to influence an election is to give them an unfair ability to influence decision-making and laws.   In politics money equals access and access equals power and it is naive to believe that politicians will, on the whole, be able to resist the seduction of cash.  This becomes especially scary when you consider that, in many parts of the country, judges are elected officials.  The Judicial Branch, which should protect the rights of the minority, will be bankrolled by the majority and nothing less than judicial impartiality is at stake.

Finally, while the constitution does guarantee a right to free speech, there are limits to that freedom.  You can’t shout fire in a crowded movie theatre.  You can’t slander someone.  You can’t threaten.  These limitations were created because of abuses to these freedoms and an understanding that these abuses fundamentally harm the greater good.  There is a precedent for restricting speech and, even if you believe institutions should have the exact same rights as individuals, I would argue that opening the door to such a discrepancy will have a negative effect on the public good and thus should not be allowed.

If you had the under on 11:00 AM for the first story Super Bowl story about who Archie Manning would be rooting for, congratulations.  You are a winner!  The fact that, according to ESPN, this is a top story is amazing to me.

My other thoughts on the weekend:

1. Favre and Peterson handed the game to the Saints.  Terrible

2. That hit on Favre below the knees should have been roughing the passer

3. Nice to see a kicker finally hit one when it counts

4. Congratulations to the Jets on a great season – but they are still one or two pieces away from being a force next year

5. Have to feel good for the city of NO after everything.  The entire country (outside of hard-core Colts fans) are pulling for you.

6. Sean Payton is a really good coach

7. Early prediction: Saints 31 Colts 21

Last night Governor Patrick delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth address and it was one of the best speeches I have ever seen him give.  He clearly laid out his plan for the next year and didn’t shy away from addressing the tough climate we are in and admitted mistakes that he had made.  I think the speech sets him up well for what will be a re-election campaign.

Kudos to Cindy McCain for making her voice heard in the fight for equality!  Thank you for taking this stand and maybe you can convince your husband to join you!

Congratulations to Scott Brown and his campaign team for a very impressive win last night.  They ran a fantastic campaign and, quite frankly, deserved to win.  A few take-aways and thoughts after a very disappointing evening in Massachusetts.

1. Healthcare is not dead – Despite what you may have heard/read today, the fight to fix our healthcare system is far from over.  I would expect that, in the next few days, the House will take up the Senate bill and will pass it with no changes, thus negating the need for another Senate vote.  Failing that, they will be forced to chop up the bill into smaller parts (something the American people seem to want anyway) and pass what they can.  This allows them to claim some level of victory and move on to other issues voters seem to care more about right now.  It would be a huge mistake on their part for them to try to force through a bill before Scott Brown is seated – it would send a terrible message to the country and would be political suicide. 

2. 41st vote – I don’t think there are words sufficient for me to describe my frustration over the perception out there that, because the Republicans now have 41 votes, the Democrats can’t do anything despite still holding 59 of 100 seats in the Senate.  As Ann Woolner notes, in her fabulous piece in Business Week, “These days political parties are so polarized, so short on ideological moderates and so bent on each other’s demise that compromise on hot-button issues is the rarity.”  With one party being hell-bent on destroying the President, no matter the cost to ordinary Americans, and using filibusters at every turn, 60 seats has become critical to accomplishing almost anything.   The Founding Fathers intended a simple majority to be needed to pass legislation and, as Woolner points out, “If the Founders wanted a supermajority for everything, they would have said so.”  The fact that it is a well-accepted conclusion that, because Brown won, the President’s agenda is dead, is a sad comment about the state of this country.

3. The President – Make no mistake about it.  This was a loss for President Obama and is another reminder that the American public is extremely anxious and impatient.  Obama has only been in office for a year – not nearly enough time to fix the problems he inherited – but people are hurting and they want and need real results.  In some ways this loss is a good thing for him.  It drives home the challenges the administration is facing and gives them 11 months to right the ship before the all-important mid-term elections.  They must find a way to make people feel better about the direction of the country and focus on important issues like job creation.  In a recent poll, 75% of Americans said that they like Obama personally.  That provides an exceptional opportunity for him to get out there and rebuild public confidence in his administration.

4. 2010 and beyond – In Massachusetts, the Democrats lost the mantle of the being the party of the people.  Scott Brown was engaging and convinced people he was an everyman who would look out for their interests.  On the other hand, Martha Coakley, until the end, came off as aloof and entitled.  There is a lesson here about how to run campaigns, even if you are the front-runner.  Going forward, Democrats have to get back to the populist message that made them so successful in 2006 and 2008 and remind voters of who got us into the mess we are in now.  All is not lost – far from it – but there are important lessons to be learned from Massachusetts (and VA and NJ) and how well those lessons are learned will affect what happens later this year.  It remains to be seen if MA, VA and NJ are accurate measurements of the mood of the country or it is simply an example of less than stellar candidates running poor campaigns.

5. Remember who elected you – I would encourage Senator-elect Brown to remember that it was largely on the backs of independent voters that he sailed into office.  You can bet the people of Massachusetts will be watching very closely and, in 2012, will not think twice about casting him aside should he prove to be more focused on the President failing than on making the country better.

Depressed about the senate election in Massachusetts?  This should make you laugh at least.

Do you live in Massachusetts? Please please vote today!!! And, this is why I think you should vote for Martha Coakley.

Lindsey did such a bad job picking the games the last week, she brought in the only person in America who knows less about football than she does to help.

Cardinals at Saints
Lindsey: I don’t really have anything to say about this game. I just feel like the Cardinals aren’t fierce…I mean I know the Saints aren’t fierce, but the Cardinals aren’t like the Bears.
Saints 24 Cardinals 17
Dan: The Saints have to win because they’re above the Pope and the Cardinals are not and, clearly, that’s how you pick the winner of a game.
Saints 25 Cardinals 19

Ravens at Colts
From Dan “Lindsey, pick the Ravens…That’s so Raven.” Lindsey responded “I don’t think Manning should win, because he gets so much money from ads.” Dan responds “But if he doesn’t win, he won’t have any ads.” Lindsey finishes the conversation off by yelling “He’s a whore!”
Lindsey: Ravens 37 Colts 28
Dan: Ravens 36 Colts 14…F%$^%$&^#$%$#%#$%^^&%$#%$#% the Colts and the horse they rode in on. (Thank you Lindsey for noting that that would be difficult)

Cowboys at Vikings
Lindsey: VIKINGS!!!!!! And Lindsey just sung the Cowboy’s suck song!
Vikings 150 Cowboys -45
Dan: I’m going to say the Vikings because the Cowboys will be off on a mountain together
Vikings 14 Cowboys 0…even though the Cowboys won’t show up, the Vikings aren’t good enough to score more than 14 points

Jets at Chargers
Lindsey: Umm…I think it is going to be…long pause…the Chargers. I like their logo and I’m from South Jersey I can’t root for the Jets, but I can go down to the crick (creek) with my crowns (crayons).
Chargers 28 Jets 21
Dan: F$%%$^&%$ the Jets. I’m going to go with the Chargers.
Chargers 34 Jets 24 I have no joke because the Jets losing is funny enough.

Lindsey’s stats
Regular Season: Lots of sleeping
Last week: 0-4