[jeffkrol]

Today the Republican Party voted on procedural motion to repeal health care reform even though the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told htem such a move would increase the deficit. According the CBO, the Republican actions will increase the deficit by $230 billion over the first two years, and by $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years. Republicans like Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) have dismissed the CBO report as "fake numbers" in justifying their vote. However, in the video clip to the left Bachmann is caught using CBO numbers just two minutes after she tries to discredit the same organization. The moment occurred in a debate between Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) on Sean Hannity's show last night. When challenged on the deficit Weiner pointed out that Bachmann will soon be voting to increase the debt by $1.2 trillion with her health care reform vote. At the (8:00) mark in the video to the left, Bachmann calls those CBO numbers "fake", but then at the (8:57) mark produces a chart which purports to prove deficits increased under President Obama. When Weiner asks for the source behind the chart Bachmann is forced to admit that it comes from the same CBO she just slammed.

According to most analysts the CBO is correct in both cases. Deficits have greatly increased under President Obama. However, Democrats contend that many of the items responsible for that deficit (i.e. TARP, Medicare Part D, tax cuts) were passed under the Bush administration. Deficits are often a reflection of spending passed in the past, not current legislation.

As for the health care reform bill, estimates certainly do vary depending on the source. But everyone agrees that spending was projected to greatly increase without any changes. Republicans claim health care reform will increase the deficit and some progressives contend it may actually decrease the deficit more than the CBO projects. The CBO serves as a sort "referee" on the matter, and despite Bachmann's claims the CBO's analysis does seem to stand up under closer scrutiny. At the very least, Bachmann weakened her argument by trying to use the CBO just two minutes after trying to debunk it.

Michele Bachmann dismisses CBO then uses CBO numbers within 60 seconds (Video) - National Political Buzz | Examiner.com
Just funny............

[cardinal43]

I saw this exchange last night as I was channel surfing, and it cracked me up. As you watch it, you can see that Weiner is getting ready to shoot her down.

[Parallax]

Hypocrisy or just sad

The two aren't mutually exclusive.

[jeffkrol]

You might recall how Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has said that she first became a Republican as a result of her disgust at reading a "snotty" Gore Vidal novel. So what does Gore Vidal think?

As we reported last week, Bachmann told a Republican crowd in Michigan that she cast off her youthful Democratic roots after reading Gore Vidal's novel Burr, which depicted the Founding Fathers in an unfavorable light. (We later discovered that Bachmann had told this story before -- and that in an earlier version of the tale, she said it had been a different Vidal novel, 1876.)

Our old colleague Justin Elliott at Salon did quite a lot of work to get a response from Vidal. And finally, through an assistant, he received this written statement from the man himself:

"She is too stupid to deserve an answer."

Gore Vidal: Michele Bachmann 'Too Stupid To Deserve An Answer' | TPMDC
more fun:
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8[/YT]
[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li73RRLEyW8[/YT]

[Ratmagiclady]

Pretty sad to see hypocrisy lead to such a colossal waste of time and energy just to do the opposite of what they claim they're all about doing.