CONGRESS | The acerbic wit of Rep. Pete Stark cannot be contained, even in an election season when critics have called into question his lack of comity. During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to discuss the potential tax ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision virtually upholding the Affordable Care Act, Stark zinged an opponent of the law.
“In the past, one or twice, you’ve indicated the only recourse you would have here is, if you didn’t like this program is to move to another country, and I wonder if you know of any other country you could move to that did not have universal health care paid by the taxpayers?” Stark asked Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network, who said she was not aware of one, before he cut her off.
“If you can find one, I’ll probably take up a collection to get you a one-way ticket there.”
The quip will likely beg a response from Stark’s Democratic challenger Eric Swalwell, whose campaign and friendly media outlets have gone to great lengths featuring the 40-year congressman’s perceived rhetorical flubs.
However, congressional committee hearings are typically used by many legislators, including Stark, to grandstand, preen or fire off a wicked rejoinder. In fact, the tone of Stark’s comments sound less like provocation and more like political gloating over the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding Obamacare.
ebcitizen.com 
Thank you very much for sharing this, I'll be sure to share this article for sure.
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Very interesting items today.
Two local political leaders have come out for Swalwell.
#1. Ellen Tauscher, not totally unexpected since Swalwell worked for her and she knows him well.
#2. Nate Miley, I'm surprised by this. Has he had some issues with Pete Stark over the years, or is he one of the few who “dare” to oppose the venerable “honored one”.
Are these cracks in the East Bay Democratic Party group-think?
Miley had earlier supported Stark. Does “earlier” mean this year, or in the past races?
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They can't recall Swalwell. Why? Because he hasn't done sheeet in Dublin. Can you recall someone for not accomplishing a lick?
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I agree with 1:24 and 8:23, that is quite a desperate move.
I hope Corbett and her staff would never stoop down to something so low and pathetic. And Labor should not bend over backwards for Stark.
Anyone that is not fit to handle public debates, public appearances, or interaction with the Media is not fit to hold public office.
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I agree with 1:24. With the demographics in the new District this strong-arm tactic would leave a very bad taste in the mouths of those voters. If the rumor is true I would read the move as desparation on the part of Stark's campaign.
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Well, I am not sure how true the rumor is. Just heard that there was some Dublin blog person 2.0 talking to labor and corbett staffers about a city council recall campaign. Doubt it gets far, and if so probably just a fringe movement of Alameda County insiders that won't get much traction. Swalwell has been pretty good at staying on message and doubt a fringe recall would throw him off his game of going after Pete.
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Are you talking about recalling Swalwell from congress after he would be elected, or are you talking about starting a recall for his city council position between now and November?
Because I would submit that a recall attempt between now and November would be veiwed as blatantly political and probably make voters ask why Pete Stark, labor and insiders are doing that, rather than attending public meetings and forums where both candidates can debate the issues.
In other words, I sense this could backfire with those folks in the undecided middle who would see this as subterfuge trying to alter the CD15 election.
A form of “dirty tricks”. Do it after November, fine, then it may seem genuine.
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I have heard that local labor and select members of Ellen Corbett's staff (who recently moved into the district) are working with Dublin activists on a recall Swalwell movement. So far, nothing on the web. But, if this is true, it will be disastrous for Swalwell.
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By MW:
To 8:36PM,
Actually, I am an Independent and with slight Republican leanings.
However in some places, and with the Bay area one of the most extreme examples, the main priorities of the Democratic Party are: one, engaging in vote fraud; two, demagoguery; and three, keeping things as screwed up as possible, and including so that there will be a huge crowd of people on welfare and so forth, and who will therefore naturally vote for the Democratic Party's candidates.
And as a former extreme liberal, I did eventually come to agree with the often stated assertion that: “If you are not a liberal at age twenty you have no heart, but if you are not a conservative at age forty you have no brain.”
And as far as the quality and ethics of most of the most prominent Democrats, and such as for instance and including Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein, etc, I wouldn't agree to pay even ten cents for the whole lot of them if they were sold at auction.
I have a slighty higher opinion, but only slightiy higher, of the majority of the big boys in the Republican Party, and therefore might agree to pay up twenty or thirty cents, but no more, if they were sold at auction.
And in most cases in politics and government, the cream does not rise to the top but instead the very sleaziest, the most corrupt, and the most extreme pathological liars are the ones who get to the top. That's explains how over the years we have gotten such sleazeballs as the Lockyers, Willie Brown, Dianne Feinstein, Pelosi, the Clintons, Richard Nixon, and Spiro Agnew, etc, in high ranking positions in government.
So in conclusion, I am an Independent and with strongly cynical leanings, and including since I have seen how extremely corrupt the system is and and also most politicians are.
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I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, to see MW out themselves as a Republican. So, no crooked Republicans at all, MW?
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By MW:
As far as moving out and leaving, Pete Stark is a member of the Demagogue Party, and as also is Nancy Pelosi. And shortly before the 2010 election, Nancy Pelosi got in extremely high gear by repeatedly stating and emphasizing it was time to drain the swamp, in other words to get rid of the very sleaziest members of Congress.
However I am sure that Pelosi was very sad that the general public actually took her up on her idea of draining the swamp, since the voters did get started on draining the swamp by getting rid of a number of the Demagogue Party clowns and crooks who were infesting Congress.
Hopefully in the soon upcoming November election, the voters will see that a lot of the remaining jokers, and such as Pete Stark, also get to move out and leave.
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That's one way to look at it. Otherwise we'd have to face the fact that maybe all he has left in him are a bitter bunch of quips to shoot off at random.
Avoiding debates and the press really undermines our political process.
At least Pete has his 16 year old son doing his talking points and campaign research. And he's got Ro Khanna carrying his banners at local parades. We're in good shape.
Everyone on his local staff should be fired for their complete incompetence.
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It is that blunt honesty of Pete's that I love the most. He cuts through the crap and calls people who believing their own press. Well done sir, very well done!
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