An unpopular war raged but the president refused to acknowledge error or change course. A talented and ambitious congressman continued to support his president in spite of private doubts and even misgivings from his own children. He largely supported the president's domestic agenda and as a Washington insider received many briefings from the Pentagon, State Department and CIA.

They all told him the administration's policies were working and a premature withdrawal was tantamount to weakness. The war was of course Vietnam. LBJ was in the White House. And a Massachusetts congressman named Tip O'Neill was on a collision course with President Johnson after years of steadfast support.

I think we should demand that Congress pass a simple law, requiring all Congressional members and staffers to switch from whatever health insurance coverage they have now, to Medicare. And, they should all have to enroll in the drug prescription program seniors have been forced into. After all, what's good enough for seniors should be good enough for them, right? Given a report now being circulated by familiesusa.org, it looks like the Republican medicare drug benefit has, as many would have guessed, provided the highest benefits to the drug companies, who have now RAISED their prices on the top 20 drugs seniors take.

While the VA is allowed to negotiate for best prices with the drug companies, the Medicare prescription legislation passed by Congress FORBIDS such negotiation. Is it any wonder that of the top 20 drugs taken by seniors, the costs have gone up this year and are astronomically higher than the prices the VA negotiated?

Here's a portion of the report from familiesusa.org:

Conservative political analyst Dick Morris writes that the majority senate party come 2006 might be decided in red-state Tennessee, home to Al Gore and Democratic Senate Hopeful Harold Ford. With the senate holding a 55 Republican majority, Democrats will need to pick up six seats to take over. But which six?


Top Democratic targets: (According to the latest Rasmussen polls)

Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) trails Democrat Bob Casey Jr. 56-33

Senator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) trails Rep. Sherrod Brown 44-41

Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) trails Jon Tester by 48-44

Ahead of their Democratic challengers but well below 50 percent are:

Senator Jim Talent (R-Mo.) over Democrat Claire McCaskill 43-40

Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) over Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse 44-42

Both of these would likely fall to the Democrats in the event of a broad trend towards Democrats.

They took a pay raise this week while ignoring the flames of two wars in the middle east, and the decline in respect, indeed, the growing distrust for America all over the world.

They accepted a pay raise of over three thousand dollars a year per do nothing congressperson while ignoring the joblessness, the stagnant wages and the economic deprivation of their constituents.

Help Wanted!

If you are an American citizen with skills and expertise in any field relevant to the operation of the legislative, judicial or executive branches of the American government Uncle Sam wants you.

The People are currently seeking men and women with talent and competence in any area who are willing to work forty eight weeks a year at the People's business, keep their hands out of the cookie jar and themselves out of the beds of those who would corrupt the government to serve their own interests.

Help Wanted:

If you are an American citizen with skills and expertise in any field relevant to the operation of the legislative, judicial or executive branches of the American government Uncle Sam wants you.

The People are currently seeking men and women with talent and competence in any area who are willing to work forty eight weeks a year at the People's business, keep their hands out of the cookie jar and themselves out of the beds of those who would corrupt the government to serve their own interests.

Major News, as of a few minutes ago: Success in the Senate!

The U.S. Senate on Thursday killed a bill backed by President George W. Bush that would have permanently repealed estate taxes. On a vote of 57-41, the Senate blocked consideration of a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would wipe out what Republicans call the "death tax." Republican backers had acknowledged they were short of votes for full repeal, but they had hoped to offer an alternative that would have reduced the tax rate and exempted all but the wealthiest estates from the tax.

Frist had thought he was two votes short. So much for his judgment. Despite this success, contact your Senators and congratulate them, encourage them to continue to fight for middle-class Americans, and vote for the best interests of the country. Today's the day Bill Frist will try to ram the vote through on repealing the Estate Tax--the so-called "Paris Hilton" tax.

While this tax benefits only the top 1% of all Americans, and the 14 families (including the Wal-Mart heirs, the Mars heirs, and others) pushing this have lobbyied long and hard for the repeal, the netroots have an important part to play here.

If you haven't already contacted your Senator, DO SO TODAY!!!

Surely Frist is concerned only about his own financial interests here, but he's also counting on the fact that we'll all be distracted by the Al-Zarqawi news and other items.

Begin by contacting two important "wobbly" Democrats:  Maria Cantwell and Mark Pryor.

Background below the fold.

Faced with a crises of confidence in their ability to establish an ethical climate in Washington that everyday citizens can look to with pride, and acting with the kind of boldness and raw courage that we have come to expect from the "Do Less Than Nothing Congress," the august body yesterday passed the "Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act" which will accomplish ...... Nothing.

It will make government no more accountable nor make the influence lizards of K Street more transparent. What could be more transparent then what is now going on and has been going on between elected crooks and corporate crooks since I first was able to read a newspaper? Is there anyone in this country unaware of the corruption of our Government? Our business community? Please don't answer all at once.

He's baaaaaaaaaaaack.  Just like Jason in Halloween, Bush keeps coming at the Senate to get the same deal the House gave him on his tax cuts.

There doesn't seem to be much noise in the blogosphere on this, so I'm going to stay with this until people (or the traditional media) begin to pick up on it.  Like Colbert's appearance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the media has been mum on this week's activities between Bush and Senate Republicans.

What's the rush on making these tax cuts permanent, you say?  (Or perhaps even the necessity?).

First, the cuts are due to expire in three years (hmm, that's about a thousand days, right?)  So little time left to bankrupt the country.  Making the tax cuts permanent would extend the 15% maximum tax rate on capital gains and dividends beyond 2008 forever.  If Bush doesn't get his way, without congressional action, capital gains taxes would jump to 20 percent and dividends would be taxed as regular income.

Second, Bush has so little "political capital" left this is likely to be his only chance to salvage any kind of domestic legislative agenda.

Third, since Congress doesn't seem to be too upset about the Katrina costs, this would be a good time to tack on additional increases in our debt.

Fourth, this benefits Bush, Cheney, and crowd (but you knew this already).  How much?  
Check this out.

Fifth, this is also a plan to eliminate the estate tax for those few Americans who are concerned about it.  Here's newly released IRS information on who pays it.  

Sixth, if another pre-emptive war should start with some Middle Eastern country (lemme see, maybe Iran?), it would be more difficult to make the case economically.

As I mentioned yesterday in a diary on news briefs, the President summoned his minions to the Oval Office yesterday for some action on extending the 2003 tax breaks for the wealthy.  Looks like he may succeed.  He met, of course, only with Republican leaders.

Today we have more of the specifics from various sources, and it seems the President forced his agreement on compliant minions:

President Bush and congressional Republicans agreed yesterday on a $70 billion package of tax-cut extensions that they hope will help halt the deterioration of their political fortunes.

The package would extend the 2003 cuts to the tax rates on dividends and capital gains, continue tax breaks for small-business investment and the overseas operations of financial service companies, and slow the expansion of the alternative minimum tax, a parallel income tax system that was enacted to target the rich but is increasingly snaring the middle class.

Looks like it will be up to Democrats to stop the steam-roller of the assault on the middle class.  At least three  have weighed in so far: Kent Conrad, Pete Stark, and Max Baucus.

Yesterday we peeked into new developments in the 2006 House elections. Today, we'll sniff out the Senate '06. Monday, we'll take on the White House '08.

As we move on, it's worth noting that the NRSC is trailing the DSCC in fundraising by a margin of almost 2-to-1. Republicans have raised $5.5million in February while Democrats raised $3.8 million. Additionally, Democrats still hold "a big advantage on money in the bank with $27.4 million, while Republicans have $14.5 million."

That is at least part of the reason that the White House is increasingly concerned about losing the Senate. According to the US News Bulletin:

... strategists for the White House and the Republican party are increasingly concerned about losing control of the Senate in this November's mid-term elections -- a worry made more intense this week by continued weak job-approval ratings for President Bush and the GOP. Such a reversal would make it more difficult for Bush to fill any future Supreme Court vacancies with conservatives -- a high priority for Republicans. And loss of the Senate would turn Democrats loose against the White House through endless oversight and investigatory hearings by various committees, which would also be true if the House fell to the Democrats. Finally, loss of the Senate or the House would give anti-Bush legislators more opportunity to level impeachment charges against him for allegedly misleading the country about the need for invading Iraq, for warrantless domestic surveillance, and for other perceived offenses. GOP insiders think chances for impeachment are remote but a debate on such charges would be a huge distraction.

And no doubt this is creating some ulcers in the Oval office as well:

A few days ago I shared my thoughts on the Democrats in power and how their Superhero Conundrum is hurting their message and eroding their support.

Today I want to talk about why they have to get a little more competitive and nasty, even though they might not be inclined to do so.

Much has been made about what the Democrats have done and what they need to do. At times, their actions and/or inactions have been confusing (to say the least).

Support censuring Bill Clinton, but wishy-washy on censuring George W. Bush. Call Bush on misleading the public, but don't provide a clear alternative. Have staffers to take the phone calls and emails of their fellow Democrats and progressives, but repeatedly fail to act on the suggestions given.

This is directed at anybody who thinks that their vote will not be important in the next election for whatever reason. It doesn't matter whether you are a Green disgusted at what you see as a lack of spine by the Democrats or a former Hackett supporter disgusted at what you see as an insular establishment who determines the candidates for Senate in smoke-filled backrooms. You are missing the key point as to why it is so important that you go to the polls and vote for a Democrat. You forget that a vote for a Democrat for Senate or the House is a vote for John Conyers as chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

What is truth?  In January of 1999, several United States Senators outdid themselves in calling for `truth' `honesty' and `integrity in the oval office. Anything less would confuse our children and destroy our society.

Here is my second diary from researching the Congressional Records, I have pointed out statements that are so powerful they still reverberate today. As with my first diary, I did not take their statements out of context, or play with quotes to change their meaning.