El Rushbo: Oil Rig Explosion Could Have Been Set by 'Environmentalist Wackos'

There's no liberal conspiracy too idiotic for Rush Limbaugh to invent for his daily radio Blabfest.

The latest: Environmentalists blew up the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico to make some point or other. It's brilliantly backward logic, of course, but it makes perfect sense to Limbaugh and his Dittoheads.

Here's the response of Media Matters, which keeps track of El Rushbo's own wackiness: 

Today Limbaugh theorized that environmentalists may have been behind the explosion of an oil rig that is currently dumping thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Because the rig exploded one day before Earth Day…. And Earth Day was inspired by a river in Cleveland catching fire. And cap and trade was strongly criticized by "hardcore environmentalist whackos," and what better way to "head off more oil drilling" than by blowing up an oil rig? His logic is airtight. Somebody call Mensa.

Headline of the Day: Another GOP Defector

A telling headline in today's Tulsa World:

 Florida governor dumps GOP

Oklahoma Tax Dodge: Oklahoma Observer's Hamilton Hits State Legislators

Arnold Hamilton, editor of The Oklahoma Observer and a columnist for Urban Tulsa Weekly, has a few choice words for Sooner State lawmakers in this week's issue of UTW.

It's not a pretty picture.

Hamilton's column takes a realistic view of the state's revenue problems, which include declining corporate tax collections and transferable tax credits, which, as Hamilton reports, are seen by some legislators "as a license to loot the state treasury."

The result: Massive cuts in state spending, including cuts to schools, human services, prisons and so on. Such cuts will not be painless, Hamilton points out, and they will affect ordinary people, including seniors and veterans. 

Hamilton hits the Republican legislators directly:

Oklahoma is 50th in overall tax burden, but Republican legislative leaders long ago concluded it is better politics to mislead citizens into believing we're overtaxed than to rally them in support of social compact that attempts to create a rising tide for all, not just the privileged few.

Sloganeering: Human Rights Watch Spreads the Word against Tyranny

One of AltTulsa's themes is civil liberties, especially basic rights such as free expression, free association and fundamental human liberties.

Those issues make us fans of groups like Human Rights Watch, a non-profit group whose goals we endorse. 

Reading some HRW literature recently, we happened across one of their T-shirts with a slogan we like. It reads:

Human Rights Watch: 

Making the world unsafe for dictators since 1978.

Bill-O Gets It Wrong on Fox Reporting of Health Care Jailing

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn shook up the world of political news recently when he admitted what most of us know all to well: Fox News is not to be trusted.

Coburn's statement came at an Oklahoma town hall when Coburn pointed out that Fox News was saying that people who don't buy health insurance under the new health bill will be jailed. 

In other words, what appears on Fox is closer to sensationalism than truth. 

Bill O'Reilly, Fox News blowhard, responded, telling Coburn that Fox News had never reported any such thing. Except that it has. The guilty: Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck, among others.

PolitiFact has the quotes, all "Pants on Fire" lies.  Bill-O was wrong. The PolitiFact link is here.

Bad Breathing: Tulsa Air Quality Gets an 'F'

Tulsa's air quality is, well, poor. 

That's the verdict rendered by the American Lung Association, which keeps track of such things. Using air quality statistics from 2006 to 2008, the association found Tulsa County had 32 high ozone "orange" days when the air was considered unhealthy for sensitive breathers. 

Tulsa County had three "red" days during that period, days when pollution levels were unhealthy for everyone. The information appears in today's Tulsa World.

The good news: Tulsa County had fewer high-ozone days in 2009 than in 2008. 

This is an improvement, of course, but there's still a long way to go before we have great air in T-town.

Power Problem: Venezuela's Chavez Jails Judge Whose Rulings He Doesn't Like

Hugo Chavez is nobody's idea of a democratic leader. He's a dictator, plan and simple.

As evidence, we present this NPR report on the latest Chavez move in Venezuela, where the president's enemies are on the endangered species list. The president recently jailed a judge who had the audacity to issue a ruling Chavez didn't like. 

The Chavez formula: Agree with me and you will prosper. Disagree with me, and, well, how about some time in the ole Graybar Hotel? 

The NPR story is here.

Colbert Explains Nevada Republican's Barter Plan for Medical Services

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Indecision 2010 Midterm Elections - Sue Lowden
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

Nathan Daschle: Republicans Go Negative, Alienate Moderates and Independents

Some perceptive comments on the GOP's increasingly alarmist rhetoric and its probable results, from Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association.

GOP gubernatorial candidates have become the shrillest voices on the right.

Scott McInnis (Colo.) wants to abolish the Colorado Department of Education. John Kasich (Ohio) wants to get rid of Ohio's income tax - though he has no clue how to make up the enormous revenue (40 percent of the state budget) this tax generates.

Former Rep. Bill McCollum, the state attorney general who is running in Florida, is spearheading a campaign to repeal health care reform that is already backfiring. 

Perhaps because so many have their eyes on the 2012 prize, Republican governors and candidates are increasingly talking past independents. Instead, they are targeting their far-right base, using language that would make Ronald Reagan blush.

Long gone are the days of "morning in America." The message of today's Republicans is one of anger, cynicism and doubt about our nation's abilities.

While this works the tea partiers into a lather, the persuadable independents are left empty-handed. This is not hope, optimism or promise. This is "freedom fries" all over again.

Krugman Slams GOP's Dishonest Bailout Claim

Sunday Funnies: The Paranoia Behind the Weird Microchip Implant Ban

AltTulsa tends not to believe in fantasies, especially the kind cooked up by people with weird conspiracy theories and way too much time on their hands. 

The other day, the state of Georgia began plans to forbid the implantation of microchips in people's bodies for the purpose of controlling these people. One witness before a state legislative committee claimed she had one now, planted by the Defense Department in her "vaginal-rectum area."

Oh, really? Lady, that's too much information.

A Virginia legislator thinks the ban is a good idea, in accordance with Biblical prophecy. The Great State of Missouri has worked on this "problem" as well—can Oklahoma be far behind?

More on this bizarre story here.

Tulsa Promotes Local Shopping with New Website

Tulsa shoppers should spend their money in Tulsa.

That's the message of a new city-sponsored website called (what else) Shop Tulsa. The idea behind the site is to help Tulsa shoppers find local merchants and vendors, which will help the city's sales tax revenues.

As most everyone in Tulsa knows by now, sales tax revenues in T-town have been down for more than a year, resulting in big budget cuts to city offices and departments. 

We don't know if the new website will help, but it sounds like a promising idea. It's a new and evolving site, and city leaders say it will have more information about Tulsa shopping in the coming months.

The site is shoptulsa.org (it is not shoptulsa.com). A link is here.

Recent Reading: E.L. Doctorow's Civil War Novel 'The March'

AltTulsa has been a fan of writer E. L. Doctorow for many years, at least as far back as his acclaimed novel Ragtime.

Those readers with good literary memories may remember that Ragtime was made into a powerful movie, which, like the book, incorporated fictional characters and real historical characters (Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie) into a searing tale of power, violence and racism in New York. 

The March, published in 2005, is Doctorow's take on Gen. William T. Sherman's infamous "march to the sea," a devastating campaign that laid waste to a wide swath of Georgia and the Carolinas.

Doctorow creates a set of memorable characters who experience the war from different perspectives. We were particularly taken with the regal regimental surgeon, Dr. Sartorius and the former slave girl, Pearl. In Doctorow's capable hands, these and other characters make a compelling and moving story.

Doctorow also imagines the mental and emotional life of Gen. Sherman, a man widely despised in the South to this day. Doctorow's portrait of the man won't satisfy die-hard Southerners, but it does humanize the man and give a sense of Sherman's restlessness and turmoil.

The March tells an important American story. Get a copy and spend some time with Doctorow in the Civil War.

By the way, we met Doctorow in Tulsa a few years ago when he was at the Tulsa City-County Library to receive their Helmerich literary award. Good choice.

Republican Legislator Targets Illegal Shoes, Clothes. Really.

The Republican Party has a simple solution to every problem—and it's almost always hilariously wrong. 

Example: The Arizona crackdown on illegals (read: Mexicans) and all things brown-skinned.

Here's how it would work, according to Rep. Brian Bilbray, a GOP legislator from the Great State of California:

Chris Matthews: …like what, like what? Give me a non-ethnic aspect that would tell you to pick up somebody.

Rep. Bilbray: They will look at the kind of dress you wear, there’s different type of attire, there’s different type of—right down to the shoes, right down to the clothes.

Clueless Republican: Nevada Candidate Suggests Barter for Medical Services (Seriously)

Those clever Republicans in Nevada are on to something.

Need medical help? Trade some chicken to your doctor. Or paint her house. 

Say, I wonder how many chickens it will take to have a knee replacement? Oh wait, I don't have any chickens. I guess I'll have to paint houses—lots and lots of houses.

As another sign of GOP idiocy on health care, we present the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nevada, one Sue Lowden. Here's the story:

Sue Lowden, a Republican candidate challenging Majority Leader Harry Reid for his Nevada Senate seat is refusing to back down from an earlier suggestion that America consider a medical barter system as an alternative to current health care solutions.

On Monday Lowden took the idea one step further.

"Before we all started having health care, in the olden days, our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor," Lowden told a local news station. "They would say I'll paint your house."

Now, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has launched a new website to ridicule Lowden for her support of the bartering proposal.

The website, Chickens for Checkups, calls Lowden's health care barter system "an old-timey solution for a modern problem," and says that such a program would ask Americans to "barter with their doctors for health care with things like chickens and house painting," items she referenced on a local news program.

"Do you need medical care?" the site asks. "Write a letter to Sue Lowden with your ailment and what you're willing to trade, and we'll make sure she gets it. It's just like the good old days!"

Glenn Beck & God: The Lord Is Giving Beck His Plan (or Maybe Beck's Just Hearing Voices)

Glenn Beck thinks he's divinely inspired—God's special broadcast messenger to all of humankind (and especially us heathens).

But it's much more likely that Beck is simply deluded—a person so in love with in his own ego that he can't separate reality from wishful thinking.

That would explain Beck's bizarre radio comment that "God is giving me a plan." Yes, Beck really said that. It's scary stuff, but it's also typical Glenn Beck hogwash.

The story is here.

Fifteen Years after the OKC Bombing, Home-Grown Extremist Threats Continue

 Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.

Unfortunately for Oklahoma and the nation, the extremist ideology espoused by Timothy McVeigh is still around today, promoted by hate radio, Tea Party zealots, racists and many others.

Here's the problem in a nutshell, courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor:

Some believe that the extremist political climate in which McVeigh operated is today making a resurgence. Resentment over racial changes in America, combined with the bad economy, is producing an extremist comeback, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks militia activity.

Today there are 512 extremist militias and so-called patriot groups in the US, up from 149 such groups only a year ago, says the SPLC’s Mark Potok.

“[R]esurgent anger at the federal government has again caught fire,” Mr. Potok writes in a recent SPLC newsletter.

Decoding Sarah Palin: A Guide to the Alaskan's Odd Speech

Sarah Palin is a nothing if not plain spoken, but her rhetoric is curious. Unlike a thoughtful political thinker, Palin speaks in superficial terms, repeating cliches and homilies as if there were deep and original thoughts.

She's not exactly Thomas Jefferson. Hell, she's not even John F. Kennedy.

Now a journalist from The New Republic has taken a close look at Palin's speech. The results are interesting, but it's not flattering to the half-term governor.

A sample:

Palin is given to meandering phraseology of a kind suggesting someone more commenting on impressions as they enter and leave her head rather than constructing insights about them. Or at least, insights that go beyond the bare-bones essentials of human cognition — an entity (i.e. something) and a predicate (i.e. something about it).

The link is here.

GOP's Mitch McConnell: Lovin' Those Big Bank Bail-Outs

Economist Paul Krugman calls out the hypocrisy of the top Senate Republican, Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, on financial reform:

Mr. McConnell is pretending to stand up for taxpayers against Wall Street while in fact doing just the opposite. In recent weeks, he and other Republican leaders have held meetings with Wall Street executives and lobbyists, in which the G.O.P. and the financial industry have sought to coordinate their political strategy.

And let me assure you, Wall Street isn’t lobbying to prevent future bank bailouts. If anything, it’s trying to ensure that there will be more bailouts. By depriving regulators of the tools they need to seize failing financial firms, financial lobbyists increase the chances that when the next crisis strikes, taxpayers will end up paying a ransom to stockholders and executives as the price of avoiding collapse.

Even more important, however, the financial industry wants to avoid serious regulation…. It’s worth remembering that between the 1930s and the 1980s, there weren’t any really big financial bailouts, because strong regulation kept most banks out of trouble. It was only with Reagan-era deregulation that big bank disasters re-emerged.

Defending the Big Banks: GOP's McConnell Gets Hit by Hometown Paper

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is "unabashedly courting Wall Street bankers for political money.

So says McConnell's hometown newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader. 

Here's a sample of the Herald-Leader's spot-on attack:

McConnell's statements are perfectly calibrated to inflame the public. He insists the bill would "allow endless taxpayer-funded bailouts for big Wall Street banks." Their resemblance to the truth is another matter....

McConnell, it should be remembered, voted for the bailout of the big investment banks in the fall of 2008, when it was the only alternative to global economic meltdown. We have read that the Republicans have a plan for financial reform, but McConnell isn't talking up any solutions, just trashing the other side's ideas with no respect for the truth.

While the intricacies of financial regulation are complicated, McConnell's calculus is pretty obvious.

Bill O'Reilly Jumps Sen. Coburn for Fox Criticism

Fact-check: O'Reilly is wrong. Fox News did—on more than one occasion—claim that citizens would be jailed for not having health insurance. In this instance, Sen. Coburn was right.

Making Stuff Up: The Right Invents Its Own (Fake) History

If you have been paying attention over the past several decades, you're well aware of the so-called culture wars. 

In a nutshell, the culture wars pit liberals against conservatives over a broad range of moral and social issues, including hot-button issues such as abortion and back-burner issues such as, well, the interpretation of American history.

Unfortunately, the Right is so desperate to win the historical battle that it has resorted to inventing its own history, which raises a serious ethical problem. 

Steven Thomma, a reporter with McClatchy newspapers, did some fact-checking, and the results were not good for the right-wing's historical honesty.  

Former Republican Congressman Dick Armey, for example, recently claimed that the 1607 Jamestown colony was "founded as a socialist venture." Wrong! It's a good story, but it's not true. In fact, Jamestown was a capitalist venture.

Then there's the eminent historian Glenn Beck, who recently claimed that Teddy Roosevelt was a proto-socialist. Well, no. As Thomma discovered, Roosevelt believed in individual opportunity, not handouts. He was no fan of socialism, dismissing it in his autobiography.

Or what about the incredibly thoughtful Rep. Michelle Bachmann, who insisted recently that FDR took a manageable recession and "turned it into a 10-year depression." Wrong! The facts are quite different, Thomma noted.

There's more to this sad story, but you get the idea.

For some of the Right, apparently, reality has a definite liberal bias, which they intend to fix by making up their own bogus history.

GOP Alarmists Wrong Again; Federal Budget Deficit Shrinks!

The Tea Party folks say the federal deficit is out of control and will grow and grow forever.

Wrong. Here's a report today from the Washington Post, which shows—yes!—the numbers are improving. 

The federal deficit is running significantly lower than it did last year, with the budget gap for the first half of fiscal 2010 down 8 percent over the same period a year ago, senior Obama administration officials said Monday.

The officials attributed the results to higher tax revenue and to lower spending than projected on bailing out the financial system. If the trend continues for the rest of the year, it would mean the annual deficit would be $1.3 trillion -- about $300 billion less than the administration's projection two months ago for 2010.

Zanies on the Loose: Talk of an Oklahoma Militia Making News

It was bound to happen. 

With conspiracy theorists and wingnuts seemingly behind very bush in the Sooner state, it was probably inevitable that the Tea Party folks and the militia movement would find some common ground in Oklahoma.

With would-be secessionist Sen. Randy Brogdon misleading his supporters (see our previous post) and an active wingnut crowd, it's getting weird out here in Soonerland.

So weird, in fact, that Oklahoma is making national headlines, but not in a good way. Oh no. The zanies are making us all look a little kookie, which is not good for the Sooner state.

More on this story here.

All Hail, Col. Randy Brogdon, Oklahoma Wingbag of the Week

Let us praise the Tulsa World today for its dead-on criticism of Sen. Randy Brogdon, Republican candidate for governor and would-be secessionist. 

That's right, Sooner fans, candidate Brogdon has been foaming at the mouth lately, saying things about Oklahoma seceding from the United States. We should reduce our ties to Washington, Brogdon claims, because those D.C. types are ruining America and taking away our liberties.

But as the World correctly points out, that could be a problem. Which ties does Brogdon want to sever? The ones that fund Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City? Federal matching dollars for highway and bridge construction? Medicare? Social Security?

Then there's Brogdon's charge that the Feds are taking away individual liberty. He neglects to mention his own interest in taking away some liberties, including "the right of a woman to make her own, legal choices concerning her own body."

For his overblown rhetoric and political doublespeak, the World has named Brogdon honorary "Colonel" in the Oklahoma Secessionist Army, a fantasy military force for a fantasy governor.

All Hail, Col. Randy.

Scary Talk: Violent Christian Militia Quote of the Week

AltTulsa's nomination for the scariest Christian militia quote of the week from one of the Michigan-based members of the Hutaree Christian militia to his stepmom:

I don't need a job -- I already have one preparing for "the war."

Lying about Obama, Part 126: Phony Chain E-mail Claims President Criticized the Troops

The Conservative blogosphere never sleeps—nor does it cease inventing outrageous stories about that evil man, President Barack Obama.

The latest example claims that Obama "dissed" the troops. Naturally!

In Wingnut World, the president is always doing this, at least when he's not shredding copies of his African birth certificate and plotting more death panels for seniors. 

The truth, as PolitiFact discovered, is that the offending comments were made by a comedian and have nothing to do with Obama.

One more Big Lie dispelled. The full story is explained here.

Recent Reading: Ian McEwan's 'Atonement'

AltTulsa believes in the power of fiction, the ability of the literary imagination to locate human truths and to illuminate the moral dilemmas of contemporary life.

This brings us to Ian McEwan's novel Atonement. The book, published in 2003 (we're really slow readers), is serious literary fiction and McEwan is a gifted storyteller and master stylist. 

We were impressed with McEwan's ability to probe the complex inner life of his characters, spinning out their desires and fears in sparkling sentences of rare beauty.

Sometimes, McEwan is a tad too British in his language and manner, but this is a minor issue easily forgiven. We recommend Atonement for its deeply human insights and moral complexity, qualities that led to its adaptation as a film, which we haven't seen.

Speaking of McEwan, he turned up on NPR yesterday to talk about his new novel, Solar. The NPR link is here. Recommended listening for the literary types out there.

Farmer's Market Time: Cherry Street Market Opens Saturday

Tulsans can buy local and fresh this week as area farmers' markets open their 2010 season. 

The AltTulsa gang is fond of the Cherry Street Farmers' Market, but there are farmers' markets all around Green Country. Find one close to home and look for fresh, local produce and other Oklahoma products.

Here's the announcement from the good folks at Cherry Street:

It's  a street party! Join in the fun April 10, 7 – 11 a.m. opening day for the 13th season of the Cherry Street Farmers’ Market.

Yes, it is going to be a real street party since the market will be relocating onto Cherry Street between Quaker and Rockford avenues. To commemorate the occasion we have planned a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 10 a.m. with Mayor Bartlett and District 4 Councilor Maria Barnes.  

There will be more vendors who will have produce, raw foods, breads, beef, cupcakes, and butterfly/bat houses.

Buy Fresh, Buy Local will be on hand to discuss farmers' markets, buying locally and reducing the carbon footprint.  Plant vendors will share valuable knowledge about how to select and care for plant material.

North Carolina GOP Leader Calls for Michael Steele's Resignation

The Republican bondage-gate scandal is still making waves, swamping the leadership of Michael Steele.

Here's the latest from North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Tom Fetzer:

"Recent events, regardless of who is to blame, have made it difficult if not impossible for you to lead the party in the direction that it needs to go,” Fetzer wrote in a letter to Steele today. “...I believe that the best service you can render to your party at this critical juncture is to graciously step aside and allow the party to move on from this current quagmire."

Remembering Chief Wilma Mankiller: The 'Fresh Air' Interview

Many Oklahomans were saddened yesterday to hear of the death of Wilma Mankiller, former chief of the Cherokee Nation and a well-known Native American activist and leader.

The NPR program Fresh Air today released a 12-minute interview with Mankiller from its archives. It's a fitting tribute, a review of Mankiller's life and interests in her own words.

Terry Gross, the host and interviewer, is excellent as always. The link is here.

Glenn Beck Strikes Again: Mitt Romney's a Socialist Too.

Thin-Skinned Tea Party: Criticize the Tea Baggers, Get Threats

AltTulsa has been arguing for months that the Tea Party crowd is out of control. They're angry about, well, almost everything—and they don't mind using threats to make their point. 

The latest example comes from Tennessee, where a congressman criticized the Tea Party folks and got a email threat for his trouble.

Memo to Tea Party people: Violence is anti-democratic. If you are going to operate in a democracy, you have to follow the rules of democracy, which means you don't resort to arms or threats of violence.

Peaceful protest is democratic. Go for it. But spewing hate and threatening people is not.

Read more here.

Head-spinning Time: Sen. McCain's Maverick Denial Falls Flat

John McCain was a maverick before he wasn't. Or something like that.

The former GOP presidential candidate said this weekend he never considered himself a maverick—expect that lots of video shows otherwise. 

PolitiFact has checked out McCain's denial. It's a doozy—Pants on Fire lying.

The sorry details here.

Truth-telling Time: Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn Dumps on (Yes!) Fox News

Tom Coburn sometimes colors within the lines, parroting the Republican line with gusto. But he's a better senator when he colors outside the lines and speaks his own mind, which is what he did this weekend.

At a recent Oklahoma town hall meeting, Sen. Coburn actually criticized Fox News, home of right-wing propaganda. Don't believe everything you hear on Fox, Coburn told his fellow Sooners.

Wow! Apparently the scales have fallen from his eyes.

As to his advice about Fox News, we couldn't agree more. Fox is full of over-the-top rhetoric, distortions and what-if accounts, all in service to a far-right agenda. 

The full account here.

Amazing Voices: NPR Profiles the Queen of the Gypsy Singers

We admit it: AT never heard of Esma Redzepova until today.

But we have a weakness for the offbeat and the unusual, so we fell fast for this incredible Roma (gypsy) singer.

NPR has the amazing audio. Check out the music here.

Nevada's Republican Embarrassment: Sen. Ensign Gets Slammed

For those of you keeping score at home, Senate Republicans are not having much fun these days. Remember the very conservative Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho and his problem in a Minneapolis men's room? 

Remember the very conservative David Vitter of Louisiana and his prostitute problem? 

Then there is Nevada conservative, John Ensign, who's had major ethical challenges in recent months. Now the Las Vegas Sun, Engsign's hometown newspaper, has taken a hard look at Ensign (who is, by the way, a conservative pal of Oklahoma's own Tom Coburn).

Ouch! He's "arrogant," and that's one of the nicer things that comes through in this profile of Ensign.

Read the Sun's story here.

McCain the Maverick, or Maybe Not: Arizona Senator Wants It Both Ways

John McCain, former standard bearer of the Republican Party, once touted himself as a maverick. In fact, he and running mate Sarah Palin were two mavericks, going to Washington to shake up the political establishment.

Now McCain is stepping back. He's not a maverick anymore, McCain told Newsweek.

So is he or isn't he? Who knows. McCain has two minds about a lot of topics, though that's hardly the image he wants to project. He wants to be tough, just like the consistent conservative he claims to be.

But his record is anything but consistent. Read the story here.

Job Numbers Good; Republican Naysayers Wrong Again

The Republican "Chicken Littles" said it couldn't happen—Obama will ruin the economy.

That's what they said. But they were wrong, as this headline from the LA Times shows:

162,000 jobs added to March payrolls, most in 3 years.

The Repeal Fizzle: More Republican Backtrack on the Health Reform Law

Over in North Carolina, a Republican lawmaker, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, has blinked. Burr is no longer a solid critic of the new health reform law.

Here's part of a report from the Tarheel state:

North Carolina’s senior senator now acknowledges there are some good things in the health care package that President Obama signed earlier this month.

Republican Senator Richard Burr tells North Carolina Policy Watch that he would rather “replace” parts of the bill or see a “a series of fixes” moving forward to further contain costs and improve care.