The answer depends on his own party, on Senate Republicans, who have fought normal legislative progress at every turn with delays to the process. The process in the U.S. Senate has been delayed enough to put many needed bills in danger, until Majority Leader Harry Reid found ways to overcome the obstructions and pass defense spending, homeland security spending, an up-to-date GI Bill, and much else.

In mid-January however, Rep. Paul Ryan presumed that Senate Republicans will also fail to block health care reform, which has been whittled down from its early ambitious goals with many compromises. Some shrinkage of reform goals was made to include moderate Republican senators, but the more radical faction has won out among them so far. Won out for the same reason Rep. Paul Ryan now promises he will campaign to repeal health care reform -- even before it's passed by Congress. He and many other Republicans rely on large chunks of money donated by deep-pocketed donors to pay for costly TV ads that dazzle voters into voting for their re-election.

And those deep pockets want no part of health care reform.

So who will win out? Rep. Paul Ryan, who needs a reform bill passed by Congress and signed by President Obama so he can campaign to repeal it? Or Senate Minority Leader McConnell, of Kentucky, whose leadership has kept every single Republican in line to vote against health care reform, against every step toward it, and against other bills just to complicate the normal processes?

Stay tuned, First CD Democrats. We might yet see Congressman Ryan get a comeuppance from another senior Republican, in the other body.

Norm Siler

====== refer to this  =====

Rep. Paul Ryan's pledge against reform was made January 13 and reported by a non-partisan capitol news site,  thehill.com

The Democratic View – by Paulette Garin   The Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s platform contains three resolutions in regard to Healthc are Reform all supporting Single Payer.   Single Payer is the gold standard of healthcare reform.  It is 100% guaranteed coverage for all Americans regardless of job transfer or pre-existing condition.  It fulfills President Obama’s 3 principles of cost effectiveness, access, and choice unlike any other proposal.    Single Payer is the only plan that guarantees “Everybody In, Nobody Out.”   Single Payer w ill control the costs of health care for millions of Americans, as well as state and local governments.  By removing private and for-profit health insurance companies from participating in American healthcare, there is no need for Federal taxpayer subsidies to insurance companies.  No one is going to be fined, treated as a tax evader, or ...continue reading

Recently we in Kenosha have been in uproar about health care and its cost of coverage. The 2008 challenger to Paul Ryan made reform a key part fo her campaign, though many voters didn't understand her or what Democrats wanted to make clear. This Friday morning, far from the Black Friday shopping spree, I find in the  Racine paper a letter  praising Paul Ryan and denouncing a previous letter Mrs. Krupp sent to Journal Times. It appears under a headline " Get facts right " and completes raking over Marge Krupp with this sentence: Marge Krupp's deceptive "facts" must be what Don Quixote meant when he said, "Facts are the enemy of truth." That sentence has two clues in it that most of us recognize:  1) our justice system, our scientific discoveries and just about everything else depends on discerning fact, on seeking the truth, so the quotation is foolish, on its face;  2) Don Quixote is the main character of a novel, of fiction. The ...continue reading

Op-Ed: A closer look at Paul Ryan's health plan By Kelly K. Gallaher Congressman Paul Ryan has been very busy talking about the health care crisis and touting his plan called “The Patients’ Choice Act.” My local newspaper invited him to write a series of articles to examine the “facts” of current legislation. After reading his article on July 27, I realized they offered it with no rebuttal or factual verification. A day later, I received a mailing from Ryan criticizing current health care reform proposals while stressing the benefits of his plan. Ryan’s plan sounds great, while U.S. House of Representatives Bill H.R. 3200 sounds scary. This time I sat down and read very closely every idea and derision posed in Ryan’s mailing. With a small amount of research I was able to refute every statement of criticism contained in the mailing. All of them. I was also able to dismantle the benefits Congressman Ryan claims his “Patients’ Choice Act” contains and discovered a ...continue reading

""I am working hard to make sure that small business owners are protected in this legislation." Sounds familiar, right? Republicans have been parading their deep dedication to shielding and promoting small business for years. Especially among the owners of small businesses. But if you look around for a neighborhood pharmacy or independently-owned gas station or locally-owned auto parts store, you might have to push Walgreens and BP and AutoZone out of the way during your search. A search likely to prove futile, because most of those small businesses and many others are gone. Just since 2000, and not due to any headline grabbing attack by foreigners. Right now, during late summer of 2009, Americans are engaged in a head-turning struggle to find out what health care reform really means to the average family. And to the typical small business, whether an employee there or its owner. Rumors have been spread that senior citizens will have a visit from a ...continue reading

Today I rode my adult tricycle in a 4th of July Parade.  Tomorrow I will do it again in another town.  (Riding is easier than trying to march, and I don’t trust bicycles anymore.)   I participated as a member of the Democratic Party.  All too often we look down at politicians, and think of corruption and graft.  But we need to be involved with the political parties if we want them to be honest and above corruption.  We all need to be very aware of public issues and to help elect good people.   We  should help make the changes we feel are necessary from within the system, not from standing outside and complaining. I’ll never forget my high school civics teacher who taught us that voting is a duty, not just a right.  It is everyone’s duty to read and be a well informed voter.  I’ve lived by that rule and haven’t missed voting in an election in almost 50 years.  I even voted absentee the day I had heart surgery.  ...continue reading

Submitted by Marge Krupp We must fight to keep the Chrysler plant in Kenosha open.  When the people let their voices be heard the powerful pay attention. The workers at the Kenosha Chrysler plant have won numerous productivity and quality awards.  How does Chrysler expect to compete with other high quality auto makers by manufacturing a complex engine with low paid workers in Mexico?  They are walking away from a $624 million investment in the Kenosha plant to build a new plant in Mexico.  This looks like another bad business decision that got them in trouble in the first place. Where was Paul Ryan when we rallied in for our jobs at the UAW Hall in Kenosha?  He had time to rally outside his district in Madison against taxes for those making more than $250,000 per year but not the time to stand with his own constituents in Kenosha.  He also sat by while the GM plant closed in Janesville, his home town. Our hard earned tax payer dollars are not ...continue reading

The Republican budget is being hailed by experts as a JOKE.  An April Fool’s Day JOKE!  Their stale solution is more tax cuts for the wealthy.  You know, the system that has worked so well for the country since the year 2001. And the face of the funny budget is Paul Ryan.  All the news shows are using Paul Ryan’s name in the same sentence with the new Republican Budget every time they talk about it.  He is getting credit for introducing this abomination in Congress. This is our chance to label him and make the label stick.  He is stale, his ideas are worn out, he is an obstructionist,.  He has nothing to offer the suffering working people of the 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin.  Kenosha need help, not old ideas that don’t work. It’s time to work now to make sure his name turns stale.  We cannot wait two more years to start talking about his mistakes.  He is giving us all the fuel we need now to defeat him in ...continue reading

Recently President Obama made a speech to the joint houses of Congress.  I read an article about that speech by George Lakoff, and I'd like to discuss a little about what he said.  Perhaps you remember Lakoff for his book Don't Think of an Elephant, that we talked about at a program a few years ago.  George talks about how we must FRAME our arguments and thoughts He says that Obama has three core principles that he was trying to get across in that speech.  We need to learn those three and use them to frame all our arguments. They are: "    Empathy "    Responsibility "    Excellence Most of those three principles blend together when we talk of the progressive way of government.  If we use empathy, we can stop the argument of Welfare Queen in its tracks.  (The "Welfare Queen in Reagan's speeches never existed and he knew it, but used the story over and over.)  We can point out the stale, golden oldies of ...continue reading

As we all eagerly anticipate the monent we've been waiting and working for for two years, let's be patient and positive.  Barack Obama cannot change the world overnight, but he has certainly demonstrated his eagerness to get started. We are not going to get everything we want all at once.  Let's all be ready to defend his positions and actions to the nay-sayers and really give him a chance.  It's our job to keep informed so that we can set the record straight as Republicans try to undermine all our hard work.  Plan to come to meetings, go to our state convention, read our newsletters, check our website regularly, and listen to Progressive Radio. WLIP (1050 AM) on Sundays 3 to 4, WRJN (1400 AM) weekdays from 2 to 5, WCPT (820 AM) everyday during daylight hours! Hooray, our day is HERE!

At this holiday season, I hope all will be blessed with happiness, peace, and a loving family to share the joy.  May you all spend the holiday celebrating with your loved ones and friends, and appreciate that we are very fortunate to live in a land that values everyone's personal preferences.  We are all looking forward to a new era in Washington and Madison.  We are confident that we have had a part in the bright future.  Thank you all for working so hard to make our dreams a reality.  Let's be more tolerant, let's me more forgiving, let's work even harder.  Our mission has only just begun.  Please don't forget to keep tuning in to radio and TV programs that tell the truth.  And keep tuning in to Internet sites and blogs that do the same.  Stay informed, stay interested. COME TO MEETINGS!

I am unbelievably relieved to see Democrats facing Blogo's scandal head on and calling for his resignation.  Even though he deserves the benefit of the doubt, as the allegations are not even in the form of an indictment yet, the exposed evidence cannot be ignored.  It is important to put an end to his corruption before it taints the new Senator. And the Democrats are not making excuses or running from the crime!  We need a new age of accountability, and it's beginning to look like we'll get it!  Hooray! I'm all for oversight and holding people responsible for their actions. 

I'm still pinching myself!  After eight long, long years of watching my beloved country go backwards or at best stand still, I'm watching progress!  The President Elect has taken charge and shown the leadership qualities I had confidence he possessed.  There may not be two presidents right now, but certainly the official president seems absent in his leadership of the economic crisis. But Barack Obama has chosen a truly brilliant economic team to lead us out of this mess.  Here is a little something of what the New York Times says about Timothy Geithner:  "Though not an economist, Mr. Geithner has a deep understanding of monetary and fiscal policy and broad experience in international trade issues. Before the current crisis, he was involved in the bailouts of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Brazil and Thailand. Although he served in the Clinton administration, he is not viewed as partisan and enjoys good relations with both Democrats and Republicans in ...continue reading

Another election cycle is over and we can go back to leading the rest of our lives!  Many of us have a lot of catching up to do.  But let's never forget to keep informed of the issues and keep active in this local party.  Please tell all your friends to listen to progressive radio and watch TV stations that are really balanced until we get a station that is all progressive. WCPT radio in Chicago has expanded to 3 FM stations too.  The AM station only broadcasts during daylight hours, and that's getting pretty short.  They are at 820 AM.  You can now hear them on 92.7 FM from 5 am to 9 pm.  Most of Air America Radio broadcasting is found on WCPT.  I highly recommend Stephanie Miller on the morning drive! (8 am to 11 am)  WCPT AM can be heard from Portage, WI to Springfield, IL on a car radio.  Ed Schultz can also be found on WRJN, 1400 FM at 2:00 pm.  His show runs until 5:00.  The original time slot for his show is 11:00 am ...continue reading

Here's a letter from William J. Connell, top aide to Hubert Humphrey for twenty plus years , to his daughter, a dear friend of mine.   I have been a bit obsessed about this election, shall we say?  But with good reason.   I believe it much the most important election since 1932 when the Democrats came in at the very bottom of the Great Depression, to sweep away the old economic and political order and make fundamental changes in the way we govern and specifically the way we treat our downtrodden, our young, our sick and our old, and, indeed, our entire working class, to re-set the nation's priorities, and to resume the great quest for equal justice and opportunity for all and not just for the tiny moneyed class.    We have nearly come full circle since I was a small boy who looked down from the second story of a Balboa Park building in San Diego and watched the great FDR sitting jauntily in the back ...continue reading

Just to show how out of touch John McSame is this week, the new campaign theme for John and Sarah is that the Democrats are Socialists.  I guess they think they can scare the people of this nation into a post-World War II frenzy of anti-Communism like Joe McCarthy did.  In fact they sound just like old Joe. So they really believe that all the young voters who have newly registered, or all the older voters who grew up in the 70's, 80's, or 90's have even the remotest fear of Socialism.  In fact those of us who grew up in the 50's don't even have that fear.  I don't think any of us even have the word in our vocabulary! Wake up John McSame!  This is the 21st century.  The American dream is a lot closer.  We believe that everyone should have a chance.  We believe that Progressive Income Tax IS  an American ideal.  We believe that every a 5yr. old boy or girl can dream of being President one day, regardless of his or her color or ...continue reading

One of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs is "Vampires, Mummies, and the Holy Ghost."  In that song he says "These are the things that terrify me the most.  No Aliens, Psychopaths, or MTV Hosts, scare me like Vampires, Mummies, and the Holy Ghost." What scares you? I am personally afraid of three things...down escalators, roller coasters, and Abuse of Power! Were it not for Abuse of Power, even Hitler wouldn't have been such a bad guy. Sarah Palin has not only been found guilty of Abuse of Power, she is lying all over the TV news shows saying it did not even happen!  She (and John McSame) say she was found innocent.  What planet do they live on??? I don't believe the U.S. should be torturing prisoners under any circumstances. I don't believe the President has the constitutional right to issue "Signing Statements." I don't believe the U.S. should be at war in Iraq.  I don't believe John McSame will live 8 more years. I don't believe Sarah (or Todd) Palin ...continue reading

Ask yourself honestly...do you think Sarah Palin was chosen because she is the MOST qualified person to lead the free world should McCain pass, or because she was politically the most useful person in the land? McCain has only a one in three chance to survive the next eight years, according to the tables that insurance companies use to determine risk.  So the nation's risk would be Sarah has a 66% chance of being president, if elected to VP. Ask yourself honestly...which party seems the more honest?  For four years my friends in Illinois have been telling me that Barack Obama and Russ Feingold are the only politicians they think of as being honest.  Do you really believe McCain is ready to toss the pirates and bums out of Washington?  Is that even one of your top issues in this election at all?  Do you think if McSame and Palin anger all the Republicans in Washington by "cleaning house," they'll be able to get any of their policies adopted?  Certainly ...continue reading