Do You Have Any Thoughts (of your own) to Share?

                             I Don't Know, I haven't been online today.

Rand Paul would like to share his thoughts on America with you.   He'd like to but he can't,  Rand doesn't have personal thoughts.   Rand has even laid claim to the thoughts of  The Southern Avenger and presented them as his own.   The bulk of what Paul says comes from Wikipedia.   If no one has written an article about it and published it on the Wikipedia then Rand Paul must stand mum on the subject.   

In Rand Pauls autobiography "How I Learned to Pick Locks, do  straight jacket escapes and became Harry Houdini,"  Rand details his famous milk bottle escape.   In the backwoods of Kentucky Rand is more famous than his brother the turtle man.

                                                           Where are my pills?

The other day Rand Paul got mad and said he didn't need politics or his ethics questioned.   Paul said he could go home to Bolling Green and open his doctor's practice again and be completely happy.   To take a look at Paul's medical credentials I am printing this terrific article from Crooks and Liars, John Amato's blog.   It is old, written when Paul was running in the primary to get the opportunity to run for the Senate.   It also reveals that the average tea party thinker is slightly less quick than a wet river rock.   I was just being kind 
when I said slightly less quick, I meant noticeably slower.


Down With Tyranny, by John Amato     approx. June 2010

Well, even apart from the character issue-- I mean who wants another liar in the Senate, let alone operating on your eyes?-- it so happens that Paul, who's been sued for malpractice a couple of times  (paying off one ex-patient $50,000 to get him to go away) and that the Kentucky Board of Medical License has never sanctioned him!

This story is just completely insane.

                                       The Hacks and the Haters are after me.

Rand Paul, who touts his career as a Kentucky eye doctor as part of his outsider credentials in his campaign for U.S. Senate, isn't 
certified by his profession's leading group.

He tried Monday to bat away questions about it by calling it an attack on his livelihood, saying the scrutiny stems from his challenge of a powerful medical group over a certification policy he thought was unfair.

The libertarian-leaning Republican helped create a rival certification group more than a decade ago.    He said the group has since re-certified several hundred ophthalmologists, despite not being recognized the American Board of Medical Specialties – the governing group for two dozen medical specialty boards.  

                                                I See It All, Clearly Now

Questions about Paul's certification as an eye surgeon first arose in a story published Sunday in The Courier-Journal of Louisville.

This man is a quack.    The ABMS isn't a government agency that he's railing against because they want to control his life and it's not like he had to take a big test every year or so to keep his certification.    It's every ten years.    Isn't it nice that an organization formed to make sure opthamologist keep current with advancements in their field and know all about any new advancement?

The American Board of Medical Specialties said board certification is important because it enables "patients to determine whether their 
physicians were appropriately trained and knowledgeable in their specialties."

Instead he starts his own rival group "National Board of Ophthalmology."

He is listed as the group's president;   his wife, Kelley, is listed as vice president;   and his father-in-law is listed as secretary.    Paul 
and his relatives receive no salaries from the organization, his campaign said.

                                               Buddies

Are you laughing yet?      His family are the board members.

He then is completely dishonest.    He knows what he's doing with his own practice.

In an interview with The Courier-Journal shortly before the May 18 Republican primary, which he won, Paul said he was certified by both ophthalmology boards.

A spokesman subsequently said that Paul misspoke because the question was unclear and he acknowledged his certification by the American Board had lapsed.    There is no indication that Paul isn't qualified to practice ophthalmology, which he has done in Bowling Green since moving to Kentucky in 1993

And there's something weird going on here because he's practicing in a hospital when he's supposed to be a board certified.

I'm so tired I can't remember the answers the Southern Avenger wrote for me.

Board certification isn't required to practice medicine in Kentucky, but most hospitals either prefer or require that doctors be board-
certified.    That includes The Medical Center and Greenview Regional Hospital in Bowling Green, where Paul practices.

Why is he practicing there?    Anyway, this is a man that the rules just don't apply to, ever.

As Joseph Gerth writes in his column:   Rand Paul creates mistrust by refusing to answer questions about ophthalmology certification.
Then, his campaign, which had been shielding him from answering questions for five days at that point, announced that all questions on the issue would have to be submitted in writing.

Rand Paul misses the point.    He is right that the questions about his National Board of Ophthalmology have nothing to do with issues of national policy.

They have nothing to do with the federal debt.    They have nothing to do with the decision to go to war in Iraq or Afghanistan.    And they have nothing to do with plans to shutter the U.S. Department of Education.

They have to do with trust.

                                              I will run for President

Patients have come to expect that a doctor who holds himself out as a "board certified" specialist, as Paul does, meets rigorous standards created by an independent body?

And, if the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Medical Association, the Kentucky Board of Medical License and the American Academy of Ophthalmologists don't recognize Paul's National Board of Ophthalmology, exactly what are the standards required for certification by that board?    You can find the requirements of the American Board of Ophthalmology at www.abop.org.    Paul's group maintains no such website.

Why should people trust him to represent them honestly in Congress when he's a huckster in real life?


ACV Democratic News

ACVDN

Democrat Terry McAuliffe Wins VA Gov

Democrat Terry McAuliffe Wins Virginia Governor Race by 54,548 votes, With 99% reporting


   McAuliffe   1,062,212  47.9%   ✓

            Cuccinelli                 1,007,664       45.5%
         
                    Sarvis                            146,166        6.6%

Here's a quick word from Terry for the readers of the ACV Democratic News.

We did it,  ACVDN!!!!!

Last night, I had the privilege of thanking hundreds of supporters and volunteers in person at our Election Night party and I took a moment to quote one of my Virginia political heroes.

Thomas Jefferson devoted his first inaugural address to bridging partisan divides after a bitterly contested campaign,  saying  "every 
difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.    We have called by different names brethren of the same principle."

Two centuries later, I know that's still true.    Our differences of opinion aren't often a difference of principle or goal.

Over the next four years, Democrats and Republicans and Independents in Richmond can work together to make Virginia a model for pragmatic leadership.

We can build great schools and invest in a modern transportation system.    We can make sure Virginia is welcoming to everyone — regardless of race, religion, gender, or whom you love.

But all of that is only possible if Virginia is a model for  bipartisan cooperation.

This was a hard fought race.    But it is important to recognize that while Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and I have big differences on a lot of issues, he is a principled man.     I thank him for his service and dedication.

So while I promise you that I will be Governor for all Virginians,  the real test is my actions when I take office.    I expect you to hold me to my pledge to work with both sides.

And I hope that once we have started to make bipartisan progress on critical issues like jobs and education, that I can earn your trust.

Finally, I wanted to make sure I had the chance to thank you and all of my supporters for everything you've done.     Last night — and the next four years — wouldn't have been possible without you.

ACV Democratic News Readers— "thank you for the honor of electing me to serve as your 72nd governor."


Terry



Democratic state Sen. Ralph Northam defeated Republican E.W. Jackson for Virginia's lieutenant governor.

Obama Phones Winners In Virginia

President Barack Obama has phoned Terry McAuliffe, winning candidates in the Virginia governor's race.   

The White House says he congratulated McAuliffe on his election victory and vowed to work with him in the months ahead to expand economic opportunity for middle-class families in Virginia communities.

Tara and Simone.     Both are members of S B Young Democrats, Simone is the President.

The crowd watched with great interest as the vote totals slowly built.

Lynn is an adviser to the S B Young Democrats

McAuliffe  took the lead for the first time of the evening and never looked back.    The crowd was getting lively.

Wolf and the CNN News Team Projected Terry McAuliffe the winner and next Governor of Virginia.

Terry and the Big Dog had put in a lot of 16 hour days and this one was in the bag.

ACV Democratic News

Women were important to the campaign.

The Virginia attorney general’s race was a virtual dead heat and headed for a recount early Wednesday morning, with Democratic State Sen. Mark Herring clinging to a 541-vote lead over Republican State Sen. Mark D. Obenshain with 2.2 million ballots cast, according to unofficial results posted by the state board of elections.

With 99.92 percent of the vote tallied, the margin between the two candidates was a scant .03 percent. State election law provides for the trailing candidate to request a recount if the margin is less than 1 percent of the total vote.

Obenshain is dangerous, a truly far fringe nutjob right-wing social conservative, all women should be concerned in the event he wins. 
Obenshain is a Republican warrior against women, a real misogynistic.  

Democratic State Sen. Mark Herring is clinging to a 541-vote lead 
over Republican State Sen. Mark D. Obenshain with 2.2 million ballots cast, according to unofficial results posted by the state board of elections.   I'm keeping positive for a clean sweep by the Democrats.

The Republican Obenshain introduced a bill in 2009 that stated "that if a miscarriage occured without medical attendance, the woman would be required to report the "fetal death, location of the remains, and the identity of the mother" to the local or state police department. 

If she failed to do this within 24 hours, the bill would find the woman guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.   A Class 1 misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of “confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500”.  

This shows that Obershain is  anti-women.  The miscarriage is hard enough to deal with and this nutjob wants to connect that trajedy with criminal penalties.   Now women can be criminalized for losing their babies and being so stressed they fail to take Obenshain's  GOP required actions withing 24 hours. 

Who actually votes for people like Obenshain?     Republicans should be on the endangered species list.    That this nutjob could become Virginia's AG is disturbing.    What type of screwed up person supports this type of Law?     How mucked up do you have to be to think this way?


As soon as this story has a conclusion I will update it.



A Short Note From The FLOTUS

Hello and Thank You Virginia

To ACV Democratic Readers:

One year ago, all of our hard work and sacrifice paid off, and we made sure Barack got a second term as president to finish the work all of us started together.

I didn't just support him because he's my husband -- I supported him because I believe in his vision to lead this country forward and 
create a better future for our two girls.

Everyone who stood with Barack had their own reasons for doing so, whether it was to rebuild an economy that works for the middle class, to follow through on the promise of affordable health care, or to improve access to higher education. We all had something that drove us, and we came together to get the job done.

But just as none of us could elect Barack on our own, he can't finish the job by himself.    He needs leaders in Congress and in state 
capitals around the nation to help him continue moving our country forward.

So today, a year after Barack was elected to his second term, I'm renewing my commitment to support a group of leaders who share Barack's values.    I hope you will join me in putting your support behind Democrats in the year to come:

Click to Get FIRED-UP

Thank you for your faith in us, last year and in the years ahead,

Michelle

P.S. -- I'm still fired up, and I'm still ready to go. Are you?

Terry McAuliffe's efficiency plan will:

Save millions of taxpayer dollars through operational efficiencies.    There remain significant targeted opportunities to save money by proactively rooting out inefficiencies and correcting them.    Terry will bring his business and management experience to bear, bringing best practices from the private sector to be an aggressive steward of taxpayer funds.

Reduce government expenditure on energy.    Previous governors have made tremendous progress in reducing the Commonwealth’s expenditure on energy costs.    Yet in fiscal year 2013 the Commonwealth spent $188 million on energy just to heat, cool and light our buildings.    Terry will use the latest technologies and strategies, such as performance consulting, to continue to reduce energy consumption.   This makes good environmental sense and good sense for the taxpayer.   Even a modest 10% saving would save the citizen taxpayers millions each year.    Specific strategies would include:

Increase on-site generation where appropriate.    Environmentally friendly on-site Combination Heat and Power (CHP) energy generation at government facilities, supplemented with solar panels, will continue to play a significant role in Virginia’s strategy to reduce energy costs.    These services should be contracted on a “pay if you save” basis or funded through bonds repaid directly from savings where possible to avoid any costs to taxpayers.

Contract with performance experts.    Implement more aggressive use of Performance Consulting (PC) whereby state agencies partner with Energy Savings Companies (ESCOs) to develop individualized saving plans for every public building in the Commonwealth.

Implement a statewide energy dashboard to track progress.    Virginia should build on the model used by Missouri, which implemented statewide technology infrastructure to track energy use at all government buildings in real time.     Like on-site generation, this service should be contracted on a “pay if you save” basis.

Continue to work aggressively with local governments to reduce energy use.    Recruiting localities to participate in a statewide energy performance contracting would improve Virginia’s negotiating position and save taxpayer funds at multiple levels of government, including local school systems, local governments, regional services (such as regional jails), and state government.

Reduce state employee travel expenditures.    Following the recommendation of Governor McDonnell’s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring, Terry will implement a statewide online portal for managing travel requests and reimbursements.    Agencies should be required to use this service unless they can present compelling justification for opting out. 

Higher education institutions, localities, and other political subdivisions will be given the option to participate.    This will:

Reduce staff time spent on administrative tasks

More effectively find the cheapest travel option

Improve compliance and management reporting

Enable volume travel discounts

Create additional targeted saving strategies similar to those outlined above around other operational expenditures such as:  water usage ($35 million per year), postage ($34 million per year), trash removal ($10 million per year), subscriptions ($6.2 million per year) and 

overnight package delivery ($6 million per year), etc.

Implement technology-driven asset management strategies.    Private sector companies around the world are making use of advanced technology-driven practices to keep track of supply chains, inventory, and fixed assets.    The Commonwealth should make use of these strategies to more effectively make repair and procurement decisions in real time.

Improve governmental responsiveness to citizens and businesses.    Government employees and agencies must remain squarely focused on the  “customer”  for government services: Virginia’s citizens and businesses.    Accordingly, Terry supports commonsense reforms that make the Commonwealth more responsive to these end users.

Putting additional permits and transactions online.    Terry will push hard for a stronger emphasis on speeding up permit applications and other transactions by putting their processes online.    If major business transactions can take place online there’s no reason more simple governmental functions can’t also be easily taken care of online.    This initiative will require that the traditional way of thinking about service to our citizens must change.

Move state government interactions to mobile platforms.       Virginians spend millions of hours each year interacting with state agencies, whether it is applying for a driver’s license, checking on the status of a tax refund, registering for social services, or applying for a building permit or professional license.     Smartphone technology now offers citizens the ability to conduct all of this business on their mobile phones safely and securely, wherever and whenever they want.    Using this technology, the McAuliffe Administration will substantially reduce the time and cost to apply for and receive government services, or check the status of a pending application or license without interrupting Virginians’ busy schedules.

Expand customer service training for government employees. Beginning at the top, Terry will require all agencies to develop comprehensive procedures and training for all government employees who interface with the public.   All Virginia public employees should be trained to promptly, professionally, and courteously address citizen concerns.    Any deviations from courteous and friendly customer service should be easily reportable and dealt with quickly by supervisors.

Simplify call center operations.    Virginians should not get the run-around when they call their government.    Terry will require agencies to empower front line workers to resolve issues and reduce the number of transfers and transactions it takes to complete a call.

Create a Statewide  “311″  service and improve call center performance.    Cities and counties across the Commonwealth and across the nation are successfully providing basic customer services and addressing citizen concerns via these hotlines.   Virginians should be able to better interact with their state government and share concerns via call, text, and mobile.   The Commonwealth needs to look at better integrating call center operations by developing one or more “cross agency” call centers:

Place the integrated call center(s) in a strategic locality.    By carefully planning and locating the call center in a locality with high unemployment we can insure a stable workforce and by having more than one center we can ensure continuity of operations in disaster scenarios.

Streamline government and improve management at the highest levels.    Terry will use his background in business to improve management and decision-making at the highest levels of Virginia government.

Revive the Governor’s Management Study.    Terry will revive Governor Holton’s  Management Study, which loaned executives from Virginia’s leading companies to assist in improving Virginia government management.    Terry will update this study with a similar loaned executive approach as well as experts from Virginia’s colleges and universities.

Streamline and focus the cabinet.    Virginia’s cabinet has become overly complex since its inception.    While many of the additions and alterations have been well meaning attempts at improving the government, some create duplicative roles or misallocate areas of responsibility.

Centralize responsibility for Homeland Security with the Secretary of Public Safety.    While the Secretary of Public Safety has operational responsibility for Virginia’s first responders, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs manages certain citizen boards relating to homeland security.    This creates unclear lines of authority in an area where we can least afford them.    Terry will make it clear that the Secretary of Public Safety is the designated cabinet official to respond to homeland security threats and natural disasters.

Refocus the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security will be renamed the Secretary of Veterans and Military Affairs, in recognition of the vital role that the military plays in Virginia’s economy.

Terry will empower this cabinet official to care for Virginia’s veterans, ensure smooth working relationships between military installations and state and local government, and shape Virginia’s response to a potential new round of BRAC – an important economic threat to the Commonwealth.

Operate the cabinet and state agencies along a corporate model.    Virginia should move toward a system in which cabinet officials are the chief executives of the agencies they oversee, not merely policy coordinators as has been the model.    This will correspond with an effort to recast the cabinet on a more functional, corporate model – with the Chief of Staff playing a COO role and the Secretary of Finance playing a CFO role.

Reduce unfunded mandates on local government.    Terry will reform the relationship between the states and local government.   Virginians can’t afford to have their property taxes increased as a result of irresponsible budget choices made in Richmond.    As governor, Terry will work to ensure that legislators live within their means and stop passing down unfunded mandates on local governments that force them to raise taxes.

Support local government budgets.   Create a high-level  “Local Government Advisory”  committee to meet regularly with the Office of the Governor to coordinate state and local government relationships and exchange policy ideas.

Create a petition process for fiscal review of legislation with local impact.    Terry will work with the Commission on Local Government to create a process by which local governments can request directly from the Commission a fiscal analysis of proposed legislation that they believe would impose unfunded or underfunded mandates on localities and school divisions.

Establish Intergovernmental Councils within key agencies. Localities and key state agencies must engage in robust regional cooperation and be part of an on-going conversation about local mandates.    A strong locality-agency relationship would clearly identify local mandates and find ways to simplify or streamline their implementation.    Terry will establish Intergovernmental Councils at the agencies with most impact on local government to serve as the framework for these discussions.

Thank You, Virginia, for this opportunity to serve.

ACVDN

Goodlatte Votes NO on Ending Shutdown

Bob Says "Keep Government Shut Down and Stop Paying Bills"

Bob Goodlatte represents his own and the tea parties interest in the Congress.     We need someone who will work for the working people of the 6th District.     What we don't need is a radical like Bob.

Push came to shove and the government had been shut down for 16 days.    Now it was on the edge of defaulting on its bills and incurring added expense on monies it had to borrow.     

One tenth of one per cent rise in rate on the national debt would cost taxpayers 15 Billion dollars.    A half of a per cent rise would cost taxpayers 75 Billion.     This was a serious moment requiring partisan fighters and fools to unite for the good of the country.

Bob Goodlatt failed the test but he wasn't alone, Robert Hurt from the 5th district failed also.     Two thirds of the republican party failed.     These folks knew that a default would drive up the cost of credit sky high and send the country into a tailspin and send us back into recession.   

The elected representatives would have to come together and do the things that were best for the country and her people.     The two republican tea party Bobs  shouted dam the torpedoes and cast their NO votes.    Digging a deeper hole, inflicting more pain and chasing their fools errand.
  

Over the past 16 days the country had been put on debt watch by rating agencies and  900,000  jobs had been lost and it had cost the taxpayers 24 Billion dollars.    Bob Goodlatte, our elected congressman in the 6th District, stepped to the plate and struck out.   

Bob voted for default, for shutting the government long term by destroying our standing in the world and running up our cost of borrowing money.     Goodlatte and his tea party wolf pack demonstrated that they were reckless and irresponsible.

What kind of stupid consumes the mind of Bob Goodlatte? 


These foolish republicans are trying to sell the idea that the Democrats shut down the government.    Nobody is buying that republican lie.   The last time I saw this mental derangement Ariel Castro was telling a judge the three girls liked being held hostage and raped for 10 years.   

 Enough of the lies and spinning Bob, time for you to explain your screwy actions.   Explain why destroying the full faith and credit of the United States is less important than the thoughts You and the tea party espouse. 

Goodlatte, Hurt Vote Against Bill to End Shutdown

Both houses of Congress have passed a bill to reopen the federal government and raise the debt ceiling until Feb. 7.    Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, voted for the bill.    Thanks to Mark and Tim for putting the country first.

The three congressmen who represent parts of Southwest Virginia – Republicans Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke County, Morgan Griffith of Salem and Robert Hurt of Chatham,  voted against the measure in the House.   

 The bill still cleared the chamber by a vote of 285-144.     Thanks to the 87 Republicans who put the country first and voted with the entire Democratic block.    It is amazing that two thirds of the Republican party cannot put partisanship aside
even to save the country.

Republicans demonstrated a total lack of courage and showed that they will destroy the country to force their ideas down people's throats.   

  

They are in charge of the House and nothing else and they use the trust the people placed in them to take the country hostage and attempted to destroy the government.    You had better thank God and your lucky stars the republicans didn't get their way.

Please, Next Election,  Throw the BUMS  Out. 


 

Republicans Dazed and Confused

The United States Congress has endorsed bipartisan legislation to end a protracted budget crisis, pulling the country from the brink of a looming debt default and signaling the end of a two-week government shutdown.

The bill, a temporary fix that will last through until the start of 2014, passed the  Senate  81-18 with a majority of both Democrats and Republicans.    It then passed the US House of Represenatives by 285 votes to 144, with a majority of Democrats bolstered by a minority of Republicans.

In brief remarks at the White House, shortly before the House was due to vote, president Barack Obama said he hoped the deal would "lift the cloud of uncertainty"  that has hung over the country in recent weeks.

"Once this agreement arrives on my desk,  I will sign it immediately,"   he said, saying he hoped the next round of spending negotiations between the parties would be more successful.

"Hopefully next time it won't be in the eleventh hour.    We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis."

Earlier in the day, House Republican leaders conceded defeat in their two-week battle to derail Obama's healthcare reforms on Wednesday, and said they would not block the deal, despite winning virtually no concessions.

With just hours to go until the start of the deadline set by the US Treasury for extending the debt limit, House speaker John Boehner signalled he was ready to accept a Senate-drafted peace deal that contained almost no concessions to conservatives who had driven the country the precipice of a new financial crisis.

The Republican capitulation was swift and dramatic.    "We fought the good fight, but we just didn't win," Boehner told a local TV station in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Moderate Republicans, bitter at the wounds inflicted on the party by a fight that ended in an almost complete failure to achieve any of the concessions they had sought, lashed out at their conservative colleagues.

The standoff ended just after midday when Harry Reid, the majority leader, announced the deal on the the floor of the Senate. Calling for all sides to work together, he said:    "Now is not the time for pointing the fingers of blame.    Now is the time for reconciliation."

Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, acknowledged the fight was over.    "This has been a long, challenging few weeks," McConnell said.    "This is far less than many of us had hoped for, but it is far better than some had sought."

The deal, crafted by Reid and McConnell, will fund the government until 15 January and lift the debt ceiling until 7 February.    It will force both sides into a formal budget conference in an attempt to reach a longer-term deal by 13 December.

The only apparent change to the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans had targeted when they precipitated the government shutdown, involves asking the Obama administration to carry out better checks on the incomes of people registering for insurance exchanges.

A senior Republican aide told the Guardian that Boehner had agreed to allow the House to vote on the deal, which in practice means it would pass with support from Democrats and moderate Republicans.    The vote was due to take place on Wednesday evening.

At 3pm, Boehner hosted a short meeting with Republicans in the House.    Sources inside said he effectively told his colleagues they had lost the fight, before he was given a tepid applause.

Several congressman leaving the meeting conceded that hardline Republican tactics, which forced a two-week government shutdown and took the government to the brink of an economic crisis, had left them empty-handed.

The White House welcomed the Senate deal but cautioned that the battle would not be finally over until House lawmakers voted in favour of it.    "The president applauds leader Reid and minority leader McConnell for working together to forge this compromise and encourages the Congress to act swiftly to end this shutdown and protect the full faith and credit of the United States of America,"  said Obama's chief spokesman, Jay Carney.

The White House also hinted that Obama may use the defeat of conservatives in Congress as a way to push ahead with other administration priorities such as immigration reform, that were previously blocked from coming to the floor of the House of Representatives.

"The president believes that one of the consequences of these manufactured crises is that time is taken away from the pursuit of other goals that we have as a nation,"  added Carney.    "That includes ... the project of bringing about legislation that he can sign that comprehensively reforms our immigration system."

Recriminations among Republicans flew thick and fast, with moderates accusing House conservatives of trashing the party's reputation in pursuit of an impossible ambition to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Senator Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, said this had  "been the best two weeks for the Democratic party in recent times".

"When we evaluate the last couple of weeks, it should be entitled the time of great lost opportunity.    If we had been focused on the rollout of Obamacare and its confusion, public support would have diminished.    Instead, our numbers have gone down, Obamacare has mysteriously gone up, and other than that, this has been great."

Graham was scathing about the influence of conservative advocacy groups such as Heritage Action, which torpedoed a deal on Tuesday when it threatened to withdraw support from Republicans who backed it.    He also warned of the damage that the party had inflicted on itself:   "The way we are behaving and the path we have taken the last couple of weeks leads to a marginal party in the eyes of the American people,"  he said.

Ted Cruz, the first-term Republican senator from Texas who had led the rebellion against Obamacare with a marathon 21-hour speech last month, was unrepentant but said he would not stand in the way of the Senate vote even though he opposes the deal.

Underscoring the fault lines in the Republican party, he blamed fellow senators for failing to go along with his strategy. 

"Unfortunately the Senate chose not to follow the House and in particular we saw real division among Senate Republicans.    Had Senate Republicans united and supported House Republicans the outcome of this would have been very, very different,"  Cruz said.

Shortly before the Senate vote, Cruz took to the floor to urge his colleagues to vote against it.    "This is a terrible deal,"  he said.   "It embodies everything about the Washington establishment that frustrates the American people."

It was the worst of all possible outcomes for Republicans.    None of their stated goals were achieved, and polls showed that voters overwhelmingly blamed them for the crisis.    By refusing to blink, Democrats pushed Republicans to show that they would not let the US default on its debts, making it hard for the GOP to repeat its tactic.

Charles Boustany, a Louisiana Republican Charles Boustany, said the Tea Party-backed members of the House of Representatives had put the GOP's position at risk.    "This could trigger a wave of discontent that could wash out our Republican majority in the House if we're not careful – it's getting to that level,"  Boustany told the National Journal.

However, conservatives were equally robust in return.    Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, admitted his side had emerged with  "a goose egg".    "We got nothing,"  he said.

Asked if his party had been damaged in any way over the last two weeks, he replied:   "No, I don't think so.    I think we'll find out in 2014, at the ballot box."

Amherst County Virginia Democratic News

ACVDN

Don't Forget,   Write In  Jeff Price