USA Politics

Other countries don't have the same quality of testing as the FDA. That is a powerful drug lobby to get approval for questionable drug; i.e. phen-fen, vioxx and celebrex.

On a serious note I don't think Pharmacutical Corporations should be allowed to openly advertise to the public. We have hypocondriachs and now thanls to WebMD, cyber-condriachs that can think of a whole bunch of ailments on their own with out Glaxo-Smith_Klein and others giving them a whole bunch of new ailments.
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
Other countries don't have the same quality of testing as the FDA. That is a powerful drug lobby to get approval for questionable drug; i.e. phen-fen, vioxx and celebrex.

On a serious note I don't think Pharmacutical Corporations should be allowed to openly advertise to the public. We have hypocondriachs and now thanls to WebMD, cyber-condriachs that can think of a whole bunch of ailments on their own with out Glaxo-Smith_Klein and others giving them a whole bunch of new ailments.
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I agree that it would be better if prescription drugs could not be advertised, but it is doubtful that will change anytime soon. 
 
I think this is going to be a tight race, MI is probably going to be one of (if not the) last place the economy recovers.  Union membership and influence is less that what it has been in the past with auto jobs on the decline.  Any incumbant in MI is in serious trouble if presented with a credible challenger, the election will most likely be a referendum on the governor.
 
Interesting article on Huntsman and a possible 2012 run

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48454.html

I think he has a hard time getting out of the primary (and if he wants to run needs to start pulling in cash soon).  He has some appeal because he is fairly unknown and people can super-impose an image of him over a blank canvas ... if he is serious, he needs to get back to the US quickly (in a way that does not look like he is abandoning his post) and define himself before others do it for him.  He does have the possibility of running as a successful governor with foreign policy experience, which is a rare combination.
 
He's also an extremely good candidate who could beat Obama easier than any other GOP possible. However, I really don't think he can get out of primary. He hasn't been polled in the early states, yet, but I wonder how many have even heard of him? Yet, the same could he said for a few candidates.
 
Obama was an unknown when he ran. Hillary figured to be a shoe-in and well... not the case. So you never know, he might be the GOP's golden ticket after all.
 
As far as early states, he has minimal shots in Iowa or South Carolina, being Morman and not a social conservative will hurt him in those 2 states. But he has a decent chance in New Hampshire and if he runs and wants to be a force, that is where he needs to win, I think it is not uncommon for people in NH to "switch parties" to vote in the competitive/interesting primary.  Obviously the Dem primary is a formality.  Huntsman could have a shot with that kind of electorate  running as a fiscal conservative, but distancing himself from Palin/Huckabee, etc. 

With Pence saying he will not run, Huntsman can fill that void.
 
Yes, I agree. Unfortunately, there's the other Mormon fiscal conservative-style guy in the race - Romney. If Huntsman and Romney battle it out hard in NH, there's the possibility for someone to come from behind and win. The primary in NH isn't winner-take all; delegates are handed out proportionally, but "winning" the primary gets you the big name recognition that candidates want.

If Huntsman goes in, then he makes an already interesting race rather moreso, but if he is going to win, he has to take out Romney hard and fast.
 
Romney will be the biggest challenge, but I thinkg he is going to do much worse this time around.  The Health Care issue is really going to come back to bite him, his enthusiasm level is not that great ... I would not be shocked if he does not run at all.
 
That would be great for Huntsman, but I have a feeling Romney will go for it. He seems like the kind of fellow who will assume he is in a better position than he is.
 
That could be with Romney, but I think he is smart enough to know he has one more shot before he becomes a 'career candidate", he might end up seeing 2016 as a better shot for him. 

Re: Mass, if they can come up with a credible candidate, that could be trouble for Brown ... if it is some hack/nutjob that runs to the right, it could solidify Brown to the general electorate.
Another ruling against the health care bill

A federal judge on Monday ruled that the entire health care overhaul is unconstitutional, the most striking blow yet to President Obama’s signature domestic legislation.

But Judge Roger Vinson stopped short of ordering the federal government to stop enacting the law.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48517.html
Looks like Huntsman is in

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix ... resig.html
U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman (R) has sent a resignation letter to President Barack Obama in possible preparation for a presidential bid against his boss. He will step down from his post in April
 
Looks like Montana is up for grabs, this should be a good race.


http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/sen ... nge-tester

House Republican steps up to challenge Sen. Tester in crucial 2012 contest
By Shane D'Aprile - 02/01/11 08:32 AM ET
 
Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) will challenge Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in 2012, giving Republicans another solid candidate in a race that will be one of the party's top targets next year. 

Rehberg will officially get into the race this weekend at a GOP dinner in Montana, a Republican source with knowledge of Rehberg's plans confirmed to The Ballot Box.
 
As expected, the full repeal of the Health Care bill failed, I am sure some of these votes will come up in 2012 campaign ads.  On the good side, a piece of it was repealed (it seems certain this will pass in the House and Obama will sign it):


The Senate voted Wednesday for the first time to repeal a piece of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, rolling back a new tax reporting requirement that’s been universally panned by business owners.

The amendment to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement passed 81-17 with broad bipartisan support



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/02 ... z1Cqgizkbr
 
Hopefully the whole bill will get struck down by the Supreme Court. Pesident Obama's calling out of the Court during his 2009 State of the Union Address may come back to bite him.
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
Hopefully the whole bill will get struck down by the Supreme Court. Pesident Obama's calling out of the Court during his 2009 State of the Union Address may come back to bite him.
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That would be ideal ... at a minimum, nuke the mandatory option which forces them to re-do anything invoving funding of this monstrosity.

I like how the unions spend tons of money pushing this thing, yet are the leading groups in requesting waivers to opt out of it.
 
That is what happens when you have the President in your pocket. Union Legacy costs have crippled alot of companies, local end state gorvernments. Why should they have to pay for healthcare too?
 
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of how waivers have worked with the new health care. Of course, I've been skeptical of unions for some time. They've done some really useful things in the past. But they seem to be pretty hazardous currently.
 
Public Unions, IMO, deserve a special case in hell.  They are in part responsible for the high cost and poor quality in education.  I am glad people like Chris Christie are going after them.
 
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