Webb wants to have his progressive cake and eat his re-election, too

Brilliant foreshadowing of how multiple votes on the same bill provide political cover to a shifty Democrat:

Senator Webb has taken a number of tough votes in the last month-- always voting his conscience and without bowing to party politics. . . . During this debate, he has broken with his party six times, including four votes to prevent cuts in Medicare. At the same time, he appreciates that the need for health care reform is great. The status quo of our health care system burdens families and undermines the competitive position of American business."

In other words: Count Webb as a Democratic "yes" vote on cloture for ObamaCare, although his vote on final passage of the bill is purely a function of whether Harry Reid needs him to get to 51 (which is unlikely). Either way, if challenged about his votes in 2012, his votes on various amendments provide him with a chance to play it both ways.

Webb has shrewedly amassed a facing-both-ways record that can be used to fend off either a "progressive" primary challenger or a conservative Republican in the general election. The Conscience of a Centrist!

(Hat-tip: AmSpecBlog.)

Not exactly news: Democrats continue to destroy capitalism, prevent recovery

You're not surprised by this, are you?

The House passed the most ambitious restructuring of federal financial regulations since the New Deal on Friday . . .
The sprawling legislation would give the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy, create a new agency to oversee consumer banking transactions and shine a light into shadow financial markets that have escaped the oversight of regulators.
The vote was a party-line 223-202. No Republicans voted for the bill; 27 Democrats voted against it.

Hey, did you catch that? The government could "break up companies that threaten the economy."

• Question: Which companies are targeted by this?
• Answer: Any big company that gives too much money to Republicans.

Honestly, this misguided legislation is about one thing and one thing only: Expanding government power. A few other tidbits from the Washington Post:

The 1,279-page House bill . . .
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who guided the bill through the House Financial Services Committee . . .

1,279 pages! Let's face it: The Democrats couldn't pass a resolution to honor National Stamp Collecting Week that didn't run at least a thousand pages long with $50 billion in pork-barrel spending buried in the amendments.

And of course Barney Frank is in charge of the bill! Who else can we trust to bring reform and transparency to the financial industry?

And when the bill goes to the Senate, Chris Dodd will be in charge of it. Because this just makes sense, you see?

Please, Mr. Caterpillar, let me hit that hookah. After four or five puffs, maybe the madness will seem sane.