Arkansas: Obama

There are many lies from which to choose. Joan Walsh points out one Republican lie about "breast panels."

Republicans claim bureaucrats will deny mammograms to women under 50 thanks to Obama's push for reform.

It's an enormous lie. Various government advisory panels have been trying to ratchet up the age for women to begin routine mammograms (from 40 to 50) going back to the Clinton administration through the George W. Bush administration and now, again, in the Obama administration. I'm not sure which side is right; I know doctors and breast cancer advocates on both sides of the issue. All I know is the recent recommendations have nothing to do with so-called Obamacare.

The following takes my mind momentarily off all the grim words I heard at the Clinton Library luncheon about U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln's re-election campaign. Enthusiasm is lacking, to put it mildly.

For entertainment, I recommend Jason Tolbert's report on Republican Scott Wallace cutting up Republican Tim Griffin, an opponent in the race for the 2nd Congressional District nomination, for his Washington, D.C., fund-raising activities.

"[Wallace's] release said that Griffin was “cashing in favors owed to him from his years of work as a Washington, DC political operative.”

The release goes on to say “Vic Snyder and his liberal friends will party like its 2006 if Republicans nominate a candidate who is a former Bush operative so easily tied to the record spending, record deficits, corporate bailouts and lobbyist scandals that caused us to be stuck with Speaker Pelosi and the Obama administration.

Michael Tomasky reports in depth in the New York Review of Books on the Blue Dogs in the House and their impact on health and other legislation. Lots of attention to Rep. Mike Ross.

One question addressed: Do these mostly Southern Democrats really have to vote like Republicans on every tough issue?

Certainly, Blue Dogs and other rural Democrats can't vote like Manhattan's Jerry Nadler. Everyone understands that. But it's also not entirely clear that one or two controversial votes would endanger many of these legislators. The current House includes forty-nine Democrats who won in districts where McCain beat Obama, and thirty-four Republicans who won in districts that Obama carried.

Could Obama and health care create problems for U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder? Robo-polling outfit testing those premises currently. I don't think the polling company fully understands the Second District, particularly the important role that the Pulaski County vote plays in congressional races. Pulaski County voted for Obama.