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Democrats, including Rep. Betty McCollum, launched into an assault on incivility Tuesday, saying incendiary words from members of Congress were inflaming tensions that could provoke another incident of Oklahoma City-style domestic terrorism."When Members of Congress compare health-care legislation to ‘government tyranny,’ ‘socialism,’ or ‘totalitarianism’ — in the hopes of scoring political points — it's like pouring gas on the fire of extremism," McCollum said. McCollum's St. Paul office was one of a few that received an envelope containing gasoline-soaked tatters of an American flag and a letter that called her things not fit for print in this or any publication....

Obama's 'Health Care Summit' took place Thursday and shortly after the lunch break, Democratic Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa made a few remarks that were both illogical and inaccurate in regard to insurance premiums. Senator Harkin read a letter from an Iowa farmer whose Blue Cross insurance premiums are going up 14.6%. The farmer is already paying very high premiums for his family of four. The farmer also has unspecified health conditions that prevent him from simply switching companies because other insurance companies will turn him down based upon his pre-existing conditions... Although it may appear to be a bad...

Sen. Tom Harkin compares health care pools to segregation.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top Democrat on the Senate health committee says insurance companies who refuse coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions are engaging in discrimination. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa told participants at the White House's health summit that such refusals are akin to racial discrimination that was legal during parts of the last century. Harkin says it's time to end discrimination based on health in this century. Democrats are pushing a health care overhaul that would make it illegal for insurance companies to refuse coverage to people who have conditions such as asthma or diabetes.

The Senate has the votes to pass a healthcare reform bill including a public option, a key Senate chairman said Tuesday. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that the Senate "comfortably" has a majority of votes to pass the public plan, and that he believes Democrats can muster 60 votes to break a filibuster. "I have polled senators, and the vast majority of Democrats — maybe approaching 50 — support a public option," Harkin said told the liberal "Bill Press Radio Show." "So why shouldn't we have a public option?...

Midlands lawmakers are back home listening to constituents this August, with health care expected to dominate the discussion. Here's a listing of scheduled events at which the public can tell hear from their elected representatives on the issue. NEBRASKA Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. Saturday, Aug. 15, 8:30-10 a.m., Coffee with Lee, Homestyle Café, 8807 Maple Street Advertising Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6 p.m., Town Hall Meeting, Millard North High School Auditorium 144th and Pacific Streets Saturday, Aug. 29, 8-9:30 a.m., Coffee with Lee, Vidlacks Café, 156th and Bob Boozer Drive Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2:15 p.m. MDT, Meet...

these 2 guys in the first video get in each others face, they accuse the guy of being part of a group that sent him there, later Harkin talks about how much CEOs make, and a lady yells out about congress buying new corporate jets...Round One: Town hall protesters...

Did someone make this "Declare Your Devotion To a Dem Day" at MSNBC? You have to wonder. During the network's noon hour, Dr. Nancy Snyderman declared herself a "big fan" of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Not to be outdone, during the following hour Andrea Mitchell ended her interview with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Ia.) by thanking him profusely—and I mean at length—for having pushed through passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act 19 years ago today. View video here.

In its effort to overhaul health care, Congress is planning to give employers sweeping new authority to reward employees for healthy behavior, including better diet, more exercise, weight loss and smoking cessation. A web of federal rules limits what employers and insurers can do now. Congress is seriously considering proposals to provide tax credits or other subsidies to employers who offer wellness programs that meet federal criteria. In addition, lawmakers said they would make it easier for employers to use financial rewards or penalties to promote healthy behavior among employees. Two Democratic senators working on comprehensive health legislation, Max Baucus...

President Barack Obama plans to unveil today a fiscal 2010 budget full of details on his plans to save as much as $17 billion by cutting — and in some cases ending — 121 government programs. The goal, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said, is "identifying and ending programs that are unneeded and don't work." About half the savings would come from nondefense programs, and the rest from de-fense. Major cuts would include ending the Even Start program, which promotes family literacy, as well as a mine cleanup effort and the Education Department's Paris attache. The full list will...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--It appears Sen. Arlen Specter's planned party switch will restore his electoral safety but won't, at least according to a Senate colleague, come with the trappings of a chairmanship. Specter, R-Pa., who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee before Republicans lost control of Congress in 2007, will retain his seniority when he migrates from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. His nearly three decades in the Senate will catapult him above other Democrats on several committees. But although that means he now has the seniority to chair the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the departments of Labor, Health...

Bill Press’ floundering radio show seems to be the place where Democrat senators go to say stupid things. Last week is was Senator Debbie Stabenow who wanted the Fairness Doctrine. This week it’s Senator Tom Harkin. “…They are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another,” Press said. “All we want is, you know, some balance on the airwaves, that’s all. You know, we’re not going to take any of the conservative voices off the airwaves, but just make sure that there are a few progressives and liberals out there, right? “That’s why we need the Fairness Doctrine...

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has become the second U.S. senator in a week to endorse a return to the ideas behind the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," a plan that was abandoned under President Reagan in 1987 as unnecessary and unconstitutional. The plan, originally introduced in 1949, demanded that radio and television stations give "equal" time to conservative and liberal opinions on political issues under the threat of penalties or license revocation.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is pushing for return of the Fairness Doctrine even as some of his Democratic colleagues are quietly backing off the idea. Originally instituted in 1949 by the FCC, the Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters over the public airwaves to give equal time to opposing political views.

Dear Rob: Thank you for contacting me. I am always glad to hear from you. At a time when Americans are working harder to make ends meet, I share your concern about the high cost of gasoline. Iowans are paying record prices and it's creating a ripple effect throughout our economy and the problem only seems to be getting worse. These prices make living our daily lives a real challenge. I am fully committed to changing the course of America's energy policy - to transition America away from our crippling dependence on foreign sources of oil. These debilitating prices are...

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa is an embarrassment, both to the Senate and to the citizens of his home state of Iowa. It is Harkin that you can see cheering on Howard Dean has he makes his famous "I Have a Scream" speech in 2004, and Harkin is the guy shouting "DO IT FOR PAUL!" as he turned a memorial service into a crass political rally when he exhorted the thousands of mourners to elect Democrats because that's what the recently dead Senator Paul Wellstone supposed would have wanted. Harkin is also known for lies about his own military experience,...

According to Tom Harkin, a man who served his country for decades in the military and follows a family tradition of service must be feared rather than respected. Harkin told reporters that John McCain’s family history of service makes him too “militaristic” to be President, unlike those who got drafted against their will to serve the nation. Unfortunately, neither describes Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton: Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, “and he has a hard time thinking beyond that,” Sen. Tom Harkin,...

Talker Rush Limbaugh is under fire for being falsely accused of saying that any U.S. soldier who comes out against the war is a “phony soldier.” He did not, of course, say such a thing. Rush was actually talking about a man named Jesse Macbeth who was touted by anti-war activists as a soldier who came out against the war, but it turned out later that Macbeth never served in the military at all. Still, despite that Rush is utterly innocent of these scurrilous charges, members of the Democrat Party and assorted extreme leftists like Media Matters, a far left...

Senator Tom Harkin has joined the Democratic left's attack on Rush Limbaugh for calling a phony soldier a phony soldier. Here is Harkin's charming contribution, which he saw fit to offer on the floor of the U.S. Senate: Well, I don’t know. Maybe [Limbaugh] was just high on his drugs again. I don’t know whether he was or not. If so, he ought to let us know. But that shouldn’t be an excuse. As (Michelle Malkin) points out, Harkin knows a thing or two about being a phony claims regarding military service. During his 1992 presidential campaign, Harkin claimed he...

As our soldiers are engaged in an epic battle against sworn enemies of America, our elected officials take to the Senate floor, whining about a passing comment by a talk show host. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scored a “two-fer”. He burnished his “pro-troop” credentials while, at the same time, attacking Rush Limbaugh. This was a masterful gotcha moment. Sen. Reid implored his fellow senators to join him in condemning Limbaugh for a "hateful" and "unpatriotic" attack on U.S. troops. This, in response to a comment about phony vets made by Rush Limbaugh. Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa threw...