No, Really -- This Time It Really Is A Dagger

Murray Light's op-ed today quotes Senator Schumer on Bush's proposed health care cuts.

Schumer, never bashful in his comments, has categorized the president's proposals as "a dagger in the heart of New York health care."

You may not have been keeping track but "dagger in the heart" is one of Schumer's favorite expressions.  In fact, he's used the term so often that last October James Taranto provided a list of the Senator's "dagger to the heart" usages as of that date.

• " I have sat with people who lived by the American dream. They saved their $25 a week for five or ten years, a subway motorman or a clerk in a supermarket. We told them ''play by the rules,' and finally that great day came when they could have their little piece of the rock, a home. And in swoops a predatory lender, and two years later, they have no money, no home, no dreams. That is a dagger in the heart, not only of that family, but to all of us who believe in the American dream for everybody."--testifying before the House Banking Committee, May 24, 2000
• "Until this proposal [McCain-Feingold] becomes law, organized crime, drug lords, and other various bottom crawlers in society unknown to any of us could influence the political process by contributing money and running ads that we all know are, for all practical purposes, political ads. To have no disclosure, let alone no limits, on these kinds of activities puts a dagger in the heart of democracy. Sunlight is the disinfectant we need. Sunlight is the disinfectant provided by this provision."--on the Senate floor, June 28, 2000
• "Mr. President, let me make it clear that without the Schumer amendment this [bankruptcy] bill does not help women. It would be the leading dagger in keeping a woman's right to choose."--on the Senate floor, Dec. 5, 2000
• "You may recall that nearly 20 years ago, another president proposed eliminating this [federal income tax] deduction [for state and local taxes]. Well, let me tell you straight out, even though it would have repercussions across the nation, this is a dagger aimed right at the heart of New York."--Schumer press release, Jan. 19, 2005 (link in Word form)
• "Overall as bad as having, say, that person on the bench is, it would have been worse to have the nuclear option, which would have really just brought the Senate to a grinding halt and been a dagger really right at the heart of what this republic is all about."--on "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," May 24, 2005
• "Schumer, New York's senior senator . . ., heralded [Tom] Daschle's efforts [to kill the Federal Marriage Amendment], saying that he not only defeated the amendment but 'put a dagger through its heart.' "--Gay City News, June 16, 2005
• "Democratic Senators who had defended [Dick] Durbin [who likened U.S. servicemen to Nazis] immediately attacked [Karl] Rove [for saying Dems were soft on terror]. Senator Schumer raced to the microphones to proclaim that Rove's remarks were "not only a slap at New York and all those who suffered. It's a dagger to the heart of what America is all about."--blogger Jack Mercer, June 24, 2005

Now we can add to the list.