Now John Ensign is Focused on Doing His Job

Rick Sanchez ambushes the shameless John Ensign of Nevada, who should be embarrassed enough not to show up on TV, let alone criticize anyone. But lured by the opportunity to behave like one of the old men in the GOP coffee klatch, he falls into Sanchez's trap.

Liberal and Moderate Democrats Can Find Common Ground on Healthcare

On This Week, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida says common ground can be found with moderates such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who is opposed to a public option. He seems amenable to something like the trigger.
Plus Tom Coburn speaks on his role in creepy John Ensign's affair. Watch the video here.

Jon Stewart Does Town Halls

Much needed comic relief:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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And another not so funny video about the C Street gang, known as the Family, the cheating men who believe God chose them to be powerful and almighty:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

Secret Society of Political Sinners: The Family of C Street

The Family. Wasn't that what Manson called his band?
I heard this story on NPR a few days ago. Listen to it here. The Family, a group of Christian conservatives, apparently believes that God gives them special powers to help all. 
John Ensign, who recently embarrassed himself by cheating on his wife, getting caught and then having his Dear Cindy letter published, is one of The Family, and so is Mark Sanford. Ha! 
Fascinating to me, is that these guys turn to God and religion and get all preachy but God doesn't have anything to do with their deeds. Bad judgment, bad morals and all around creepiness does. They need to stop invoking religion and get some morals. 

Nevada's John Ensign Admits an Affair

The republican with the prettiest hair admits to an affair:

Sen. John Ensign today acknowledged an extramarital affair with a member of his campaign staff, according to several Nevada Republican sources. Ensign told the Associated Press, "I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions." An aide in Ensign's office said the affair took place between December 2007 and August 2008, with a campaign staffer who was married to an employee in Ensign's Senate office. LVSun

If it happened last year, why is he even bothering to admit it publicly? Who cares?
Is he running for higher office? His wife, Darlene, says she loves him even more. Ugh.
Nevada's governor and Obama critic (aren't they all?) Jim Gibbons also has allegedly had an affair(s), according to his wife.
Update: It was blackmail! The woman's husband asked for money. Isn't that illegal?
Update again: If these guys are so interested in protecting the institution of marriage, they ought to consider keeping it in their pants except when they're with their wives. Ensign called on Clinton to resign after his affair. Ha!
Oh, the irony! Ensign is a "Promise Keeper."

John Ensign Calls Obama Irresponsible

John Ensign? Yes, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, better known as the Hairdo (he does have really nice hair), gives yet another reason why the republicans are off the map. "You have to be careful who you're seen laughing and joking around with," he said. I think there are a lot of Alpha men out there who have a bad case of Obama envy. 

The Big Other Upside of the Stimulus

The upside of the stimulus is that it works as planned and saves jobs. But the other potential upside is that it's wildly successful and republicans learn that government can be useful and that spending can stimulate. But the stimulus money has to be spent properly by those who get a piece of it.

The stimulus package, which now has $281 billion in tax cuts in the Senate's version and $182 billion in the House version, is expected to pass after both versions are combined and whittled.

The main talking point against the stimulus now is JAPAN. On Meet the Press, John Ensign, R-Nevada brought up Japan, which misused a stimulus and 10 years later has a deficit. Read lessons of Japan here:

In addition, economist Barry Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley, says that one problem with Japan's stimulus spending was that it was slow and halting. "My reading of Japan's experience is that fiscal stimulus didn't work because it was delayed, sporadic, undersized and inadequately front-loaded," he argues.

The other big lesson from Japan, says Mr. Eichengreen, is that "fiscal stimulus alone won't bring a deep recession caused by a banking crisis to an end. You need to fix the banking problem and get financial markets going again at the same time you replace some of the private spending that has evaporated with public spending."

Ensign, of all people, should want to create jobs. People in his state are suffering more than people in many other states. To start, Nevada tops nearly ever social ills list -- teen pregnancy, huge high school drop out rates, few kids that go on to college. You name it. Nevada suffers it.

Now, its troubles are being compounded by the recession. Nevada is ruled by the Casino party, which of course, is made up of republicans.

John Ensign said the bill in the Senate is a one-party rule. Yep. But that's okay. Notice, it is the moderate republicans who are supporting the bill, which says something about the bill. It says that reasonable people support it.

Claire McCaskill looked in Ensign's eye and said democrats negotiated with republicans who wanted to and "by the way, that door was open." It's a given that the stimulus is so against conservative republican ideology that they didn't even bother.

Republicans seem to be unaware of the economic moment. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, compared this economy to post 9-11. Not quite dude.

Barney Frank said spending nearly $1 trillion in Iraq was a waste. War spending is the republican version of a stimulus. Frank is going to be hosting a barbecue on Wednesday, when CEOs will be called up in front of his House Financial Services committee. That's going to be a must-see. At one moment, Frank and Pence got into it and Pence looked like he was going to clock him. Folks don't usually argue on MTP.

On Daschle, McCaskill says Daschle was a wake-up call. Obama saw so much of the good in Daschle, that he could get the job done, that he didn't see the bad, she said. 

After the politician roundtable, Tom Ricks, a writer for the Washington Post, said Iraq is going to change Obama. Ricks said Obama's not going to be able to withdraw from Iraq. He's promoting his new book, "The Gamble."

Ricks said Pakistan is a "problem from Hell" and he has no idea how it could be solved.

A side note, David Gregory is doing a terrific job hosting the show. He's maintaining the show's integrity by being nonpartisan.

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Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy