Romney Wins Puerto Rico
Mitt Romney celebrates his win in the Puerto Rico primary with supporters.
Mitt Romney pulled out a win today in the Puerto Rican Republican Presidential primary. This victory added 20 delegates to his total. As of today, he has a total of 521 delegates. Rick Santorum is in second place with around 253 delegates. With 61 percent of precincts reporting, Romney hauled in 83% of the votes in Puerto Rico. This win is definitely not a surprise, given the endorsement of Republican Governor Luis Fortuno. Romney was also boosted by the statements Rick Santorum made about Puerto Rican’s learning English. The former Massachusetts Governor also came out in opposition to changing the official language in Puerto Rico as a requirement for statehood. This win puts him a little closer to the 1,144 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Next up is the Illinois Primary, and Romney is hoping for a strong showing there as well. It seems as if the Romney camp is attempting to push the message that it is now time for Republicans to rally around him, and give up their support for other candidates. We will see what happens as the primary contest continues.
The “Southern Strategy” GOP is back
I can’t say that I was at all surprised by some of the tactics we’ve seen recently from Republican presidential candidates in particular. Some may say that it’s expected given Republicans history with employing racial politics when necessary, and that the recent statements by someone like Newt Gingrich can’t be that shocking. Gingrich clip below:
He understands exactly what he is doing. Many would argue that some Americans on food stamps take advantage of the system. Some may, but determining the full extent is tricky. Also, unfortunately some Americans hold a belief that African Americans make up a majority of food stamp recipients(actually 33%). Blogger Joshua Green does a great job of explaining why critics of President Obama on this issue should look in the mirror:
The number of food stamp recipients has indeed risen sharply, but this rise began under President George W. Bush and is largely attributable to the recession. Food stamps are an anti-poverty measure, so it’s no surprise that enrollment should rise when large numbers of people are out of work (the number of recipients dropped last month as the economy improved). But recession isn’t the only cause. A Bush administration initiative begun in 2002 dramatically increased participation rates among eligible households, from 48 percent to 72 percent in 2009.
Couple that together with the fact that if he’s the Republican candidate, he would be facing off against the nations first African American President. Gingrich knew that the far right conservatives in South Carolina would eat it right up, and he went with it unfortunately. He’s not the first candidate to stoop to the racial politics of old.
The Jessie Helms “Hands” ad was one of the most memorable political ads of all time. It was both disgusting to watch, and sadly, very effective. The Republican Senator from North Carolina was in a tough re-election fight. His opponent was none other than up and coming Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt. Gantt was African American, and to Helms surprise, he was staying with him in the race. Helms had to drop a bomb, which he did. Racial politics was all too common in North Carolina at the time. Helms knew that he could play to peoples misconceptions about affirmative action, and use it as a wedge issue.
This next ad was unveiled by the Republican National Committee some years ago to attack Memphis Congressman Harold Ford, in his quest to defeat Republican Bob Corker in the Tennessee Senate race. Ford, like Harvey Gantt, was a young, ambitious African American politician that was on the rise. Ford came from a political dynasty, and though he was a Democrat, stayed moderate. This helped to position him to eventually run for the U.S. Senate, and he ran a very close race with Bob Corker. I believe the RNC aired this ad because they were afraid of a Harold Ford upset. Stoking some peoples hatred of interracial relations or dating seemed to be the strategy of choice for the Republicans. Unfortunately this classless tactic worked. Corker squeaked out a close win.
As the 2012 election nears, I only wonder what some of the Republican operatives have up their sleeve. They are very smart, and won’t present ads such as this unless the election seems to be extremely close. I think in 2012 it might be a little tough to produce ads that have such strong racial undertones. My prediction is that ads aired during the 2012 election will be a bit more discreet- just enough to not cause too much of an uproar. I’ll be watching, and analyzing.
The polls dont lie Scotty
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- Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
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- Wisonsin protesters making their voices heard at the State Capitol
I’m quite sure many of you all have been following the drama going on in Wisconsin of all places. All of the uproar is a result of legislation being pushed by Republican Governor Scott Walker that would pretty much eliminate the right of public employees unions to collectively bargain. This has called many to stage massive protests in Wisconsins state capitol. On top of that, the Democratic senators have fled the state into Illinois to avoid giving the Republican majority quorum to pass the bill.
Governor Walker has been publicly supported by the Republican establishment and fellow governors. He seems unwilling to compromise at this point, which I think is a grave mistake. The unions have already agreed to pay more for their healthcare, and other needed cuts because of the tough times, but are holding the line on collective bargaining, as they should. Its nice to see that a majority of the American people agree.
The latest NY Times/CBS News poll showed that 60% opposed weakening collective bargaining rights for public employees unions. Also, 61%(over half of them GOP voters )stated, “that salaries and benefits of most public workers were “about right” or “too low” for the work they do”. On top of that, Wisconsin voters may be having buyers remorse. Nitasha Tiku of nymag.com noted as much in a poll she cited:
But that’s not the only recent poll that could spell bad news for Wisconsin governor Scott Walker. If there were a hypothetical do-over of the state’s gubernatorial election, 52 percent of respondents in a PPP poll out yesterday said they would vote for Democrat Tom Barrett, the man Walker defeated, while only 42 percent said they would reelect Walker. That’s an flip-flop from what actually happened in the non-hypothetical elections, when Walker picked up 52 percent of the votes to Barrett’s 47 percent.
Governor Walker…..and other Republicans who think an aggressive, iron fisted strategy towards unions will work are mistaken. I think we all can agree as Americans that the deficit must be reduced, and everyone must sacrifice,including unions. But there is a difference between cuts and trying to eliminate unions completely. As you have seen, Democrats and union members are not afraid to protest and put up a fight. And you also see that Governor Walkers own citizens are turning on him…if only on this issue. Wake up Scotty.
Tea party challenger for 2012 VA Senate race…could be a spolier
Jamie Radtke, who is the head of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots has officially filed papers today to run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate that will be up for grabs in 2012. Gabriella Schwarz of CNN explained the reasoning for her jumping in the race:
Radtke said the recent tax deal passed by Congress and increased national spending contributed to her decision to run.
The entry of Radtke into the fray could complicate things for George Allen. The former Republican senator who was defeated by Jim Webb in 2006 is widely considered to be seeking to run for the seat again. He only lost re-election in 2006 by 1/3 of a percent(8805 votes), and many believe that loss was due to the fact that he spewed a racial epithet at a Indian American staffer of his opponents campaign at a rally. The former congressman and governor would definitely be the front runner for the Republican nomination. The problem is that Allen is considered an establishment Republican, and that could spell trouble in the primary. Republican voters have not been kind at all to establishment figures/front runners in their party, and many front runners(Charlie Crist, Mike Castle, Arlen Specter) have went down in flames. Radtke will surely run to the right of Allen, and go after him pretty aggressively.
George Allen will be able to raise massive amounts of cash, and put together a top flight campaign operation, but it remains to be seen if he can get enough support from the base to pull out a primary win. Because the likes of Sharon Angle, and Christine O’Donnell have pulled off primary upsets, it would never be too wise to count someone like Jamie Radtke out.
As a Democrat, I am jumping with joy at this situation. If Radtke is able to knock off George Allen, she will have far less appeal with moderate Republicans and independents than Allen would have…only helping Jim Webb’s re-election chances. And even if Allen pulls out a primary win, he may be pretty bruised and battered from a tough primary, and have burned through a lot of his cash fending off a challenger. That would in turn weaken him in a general election battle against Webb. We will see what happens.
Jindal wastes millions
It looks like Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was wrong all along. During the gulf oil spill, Jindal repeatedly criticized the Obama administrations response to the oil spill, and attempted to portray the response that he and the local officials implemented as much more efficient.
In the midst of the oil spill, Jindal and local officials aggresively advocated the idea of sand berms being built. Despite the fact that numerous scientists and federal government agency officials objected to this idea, Jindal forged ahead, and pressured the federal government to demand that BP pay for the project. The feds relented, and eventually went forward with the project, to the tune of $360 million dollars. The reason that many objected to this idea, was because they stated that it would be too costly, and would do little to capture the spilled oil. Turns out the feds and scientists were right. Below is the press conference in which Jindal announces that the berm project will move forward:
The independent commission that was set up by President Obama to investigate the oil spill concluded that the sand berms were a collosal waste of money, and captured virtually no oil. In a statement, they noted that, “they could comfortably conclude that the decision to green light the underwhelmingly effective, overwhelmingly expensive Louisiana berm project was flawed”.
Blogger Pat Dollard has an interesting theory as to the true reason that Governor Jindal acutally forged ahead with advocating the berm project:
Some have even charged that the plan was nothing more than a multi-million dollar kickback for the governor’s supporters. “The only reason those sand berms are still being built is because Bobby Jindal has supporters he needs to pay back,” a current Louisiana officeholder, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of ongoing dealings with the Jindal administration, told Yahoo News back in October. “It’s that simple … follow the money. The people making money off this thing are people that gave money to Jindal.”
I’m glad that the record has now been set straight, and that we now know that Governor Jindal’s berm project was an absolute waste of money, and did little to stop the oil. The facts dont lie governor.
Political Survival 101: Protect the Senate
We need to make sure that the Democratcs you see there are still standing after 2012.
This is the second installment of my column called “Political Survival 101″. I am writing this in hopes that President Obama and his advisors make serious changes politically and policy wise, to ensure that he is reelected in 2012. I think that Obama’s focus needs to be on pushing a few moderate policies in order to protect vulnerable Democratic senators who are looking warily to re-election battles in 2012. Compromise on the tax cuts was a good start, though I feel he should have extracted more from the Republicans.
Currently, the Senate is comprised of 53 Democrats, and 47 Republicans. That is a very slim margin, and can easily be tilted to the Republicans favor in 2012 if we dont immediately shift course. The main Democratic Senators who are the most vulnerable come from mostly states that either supported John McCain by significant margins in 2008, or were only won by slim margins by President Obama . They are as follows:
- Jim Webb(D-VA)
- Kent Conrad(D-ND)
- Ben Nelson(D-NE)
- John Tester (D-MT)
- Claire McCaskill(D-MO)
- Bill Nelson-(D-FL)
Essentially, I think the best strategy the President should employ to protect them is to push all other legislation to the back burner unless it deals with the economy or creating jobs. Dont Ask Dont Tell, the DREAM Act, Immigration, as well as any hot button social issues need to be tabled until after the 2012 election. Issues such as these are exactly ones in which Republicans will hammer vulnerable Democrats with….but only if there are any risky votes taken. Many courageous Democrats representing moderate to conservative districts took tough votes and supported healthcare, the energy bill, bailouts, and other pieces of legislation that were unpopular in their districts. The end result was that 49 Democratic members of the House lost their seats, and 5 Democratic members of the Senate went down in defeat.
Those numbers are grim, but also can be viewed as a wake up call to the President and his advisors. The message they were sent on November 2nd was, “get to the middle fast”. Here are some other nuggets to throw out, courtesy of the American Osteopathic Associations analysis of the midterm elections:
- Republicans won every Senate race along the once Democratically tilted I-70 corridor(Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri)
- Republicans won 22 Democratic incumbent seats and did not lose a single incumbent seat in the South
I don’t mean to minimize the important of issues such as the Dream Act, Dont Ask Dont Tell, or others….but the fact is that putting the American people back to work should be our #1 priority. Focusing solely on that and the economy will be good for the country, and good politically as well. People have a way of acting irrationally when they are unemployed and frustrated(as the midterms showed us), but at the same time forgetting they were mad at a politician when they find a good job, and the economy picks up. Listen up Mr.President.
Anderson Cooper embarasses TX State Rep who questioned President Obamas citizenship
Honestly, I have no problem with a Republican disagreeing with President Obama’s agenda for legitimate reasons, such as a difference of opinion on policy. They lose my attention when they delve into issues like questioning his citizenship or religion. Those issues have both been addressed by President Obama, and people who still aren’t satisfied are those on the far right, and on the fringe.
One of those individuals is Texas State Representative Leo Berman, who is introducing a bill that will require that all presidential candidates produce a valid birth certificate to get on the presidential ballot in Texas. This is clearly a move that has roots in the fact that some wackos still hold on to the widely refuted claim that President Obama is not a US citizen.
Thankfully, CNN ‘s Anderson Cooper brought Berman on his show, and completely destroyed his entire argument with clear, sound evidence and factual information. What a sight to see. The clip is below:
Republican congressman:”Obama is very urban”
I am quite used to hearing idiotic things come out of the mouth if Congressman Steve King(R-IA), but what he said on Monday, tops the list. King was speaking on the House floor on Monday to voice his opposition to the Pigford 2 settlement, which granted compensation to black farmers who were discriminated against by the USDA. The Pigford 2 settelement was apporved in the Senate last Monday, with bipartisan support. King seems to imply that President Obama is helping the farmers and expediting this settlement because he is black, and the farmers in the lawsuit are African American. Below are the infamous quotes:
“Figure this out, Madame Speaker: We have a very, very urban Senator, Barack Obama, who has decided he’s going to run for president, and what does he do?” King said. “He introduces legislation to create a whole new Pigford claim.
We’ve got to stand up at some point and say, We are not gonna pay slavery reparations in the United States Congress, he said. That war’s been fought. That was over a century ago. That debt was paid for in blood and it was paid for in the blood of a lot of Yankees, especially. And there’s no reparations for the blood that paid for the sin of slavery. No one’s filing that claim.”
Below is the actual video clip of King spewing this nonsense. This guy is an embarassment to the US Congress and the state of Iowa. I often wonder whats in the water in his district…it must be something potent, because no sane person would continue to vote for a nut like this.
http://videos.mediaite.com/embed/player/?layout=&playlist_cid=&media_type=video&content=LW97LM2SBFN9CNPQ&read_more=1&widget_type_cid=svp
The originial Pigford Settlement was brought by Timonthy Pigford and thousands of other black farmers who had been denied loans and aid by the USDA. Initially, $1 billion was paid out to many of the farmers in the settlement. The issue is that an additional 70,000 farmers filed claims late and could not proceed, due to the fact that the USDA did a poor job in serving notice and letting farmers know about filing claims and deadlines. Thankfully, their was a provision in the 2008 judgement that allowed for farmers to file a second claim if their was just cause to do so.
John Stewart shoots down Glenn Beck….good stuff
As always, John Stewart comes to the rescue to refute the stupidity that often comes out of Glenn Beck’s mouth.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:366130 | ||||
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and here is the second clip
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:366131 | ||||
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Political Survival 101: Listen to the Debt Commission regardless of consequences
After the drubbing that we Democrats took on Election Day, I, as im sure the Obama Administration, did some serious soul searching. Why such a huge defeat? What message where voters trying to send? What does this say about President Obama’s chances for re-election in 2012?
That final question is most important to me, and I decided to lay out certain steps that the Obama Administration can take to right the ship, and put themselves in much better shape going into the 2012 elections. Many feel that with the middle disappearing, bipartisanship is just about impossible. I beg to differ, and I feel that the president and his advisers can find a path to higher approval ratings…though it may be narrow. The first step is to tackle the debt.
The bipartisan debt commissison’s report that was announced a few weeks ago is definitely a game changer. The leaders of the commission are Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. Bowles served as the chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, and Simpson is the former Republican Senator from Wyoming. Bowles and Simpson decided to go public with a outline of the proposal that they have been working on to reduce the deficit. They went rogue and released this because they couldnt come to a consensus with the other 16 members of the commission on a way forward. I think that the other 16 members were reluctant to put their stamp of approval on this because many are current elected officials who have no courage to make the tough choices needed to bring down the deficit. Bowles and Simpson realized this, and released this drafted plan, if for any other reason to get debate started on how we can tackle this pressing issue.
This plan that Simpson and Bowles have come up with is a great start in my opinion. It mixes the perfect amount of tough/hard spending cuts along with proposals to raise revenue. The plan also:
-Will not start cuts until 2012, so as not to put too much pressure on a fragile economy
- Cuts defense, domestic discretionary, entitlement, and spending on the tax code
- Will bring spending down to 21% of GDP
Major Recommendations
- Proposing spending caps which will provide $200 billion in domestic/defense savings by 2015
- Ensure Social Security is solvent for the next 75 years
- Reducing the deficit by $4 trillion
- Cut the deficit significantly by 2015, and BALANCE the budget by 2037
The commission came up with $100 billion in defense cuts, and below are some of the ways they did this:
- Freezing salaries and bonuses
- Double defense contracting cuts
- Reduce overseas bases by 1/3
They were also able to shave $100 billion off the budget through domestic spending cuts:
- Freeze federal salaries and bonuses at non-defense agencies for 3 years
- Cut the federal workforce by 10%
- Slow the growth of foreign aid
Reforming the outdated tax code has been something many have talked about, but nobody has really taken head on. The commission came up with some very interesting ways to reform the code, and save the taxpayers and businesses money:
- Consolidate the tax code
- Eliminate all $1.1 trillion of tax expenditures
- Establish three rates: 15, 25, and 35
-Reduce corporate tax rate to 26%
- Raise gas tax by 15 cents by 2013, and use the funds to pay for transportation projects
And lastly, Social Security must be altered in order to assure it is stable for years to come. Its the third rail of politics, and many politicians are afraid to reform it…but now is the time for pol’s to get some backbone and get to work. Below are a few changes they propose:
- Raising the retirement age gradually to 68 by 2050, and 69 by 2075
- Broadening the payroll tax base by assuring that 90% of wages are captured by 2050
- Slightly reducing benefits for the wealthy.
Many of these cuts will be painful, and sure to cause interest groups on the left and right to attack them. I predict that the loudest critics will be on Obama’s left flank, because of the massive but necessary proposed cuts in entitlement spending. If Obama comes out and passionately supports most of these proposals, it will be music to the ears of moderates and independents. And secondly, many newly elected members of Congress and the Senate won their races by trumpeting their plans to drastically cut spending and reduce the deficit. This provides Obama an opening to possibly find the votes necessary on the opposite side of the aisle to get some of these spending cuts passed.
So what if the far left gets angry….Obama must remember that many on the left are disappointed yet and still, even after all he has accomplished in just two years. Also, he must remember that many Democratic members of congress and some in the senate have safe seats, regardless of if he wins re-election in 2012. Many are more concerned with their districts, and not what may be in the best interests of the ENTIRE country. Since he is the President of the UNITED STATES, he must govern accordingly. Its time for the President to stand up and do whats right, even if it means angering the base. His political future depends on it.
STRAIGHT from a small business owner
It’s good see some small businesses that actually support President Obama’s former plan to not extend the tax cuts for the top 2%,as well as the healthcare bill. From the right wing propaganda outlets, all you hear is that a tax increase on the top 2% will hurt small businesses, and healthcare is HORRIBLE for small business. Glad to hear some truth come out. Click on this link (http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:365265) below:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:365265 | ||||
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Republicans side with BP…Surprised????
It seems as if we may never get to the bottom of who is responsible for the oil spill that occurred a few months ago in the gulf. President Obama did in fact create a commission that is responsible for gathering information from BP, Transocean, and Halliburton so that they can come to a conclusion of who is to blame.
The issue is that Republicans(led by Jim DeMint) are blocking the commission from having power to subpoena these companies, and make them testify under oath. One can only wonder what these companies have to hide. If everything is kosher, then you would think that nobody would have a problem testifying under oath. Just when I thought that we would actually be making progress in finding the culprit of this disaster, the Republicans swoop in and save their best friend..BIG BUSINESS. Below is a clip of the always idiotic Jim DeMint objecting to giving subpoena power to the commission. I am at least thankful for Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Robert Menendez(D-NJ) calling out DeMint and Republicans for their shameless stance on this issue. Whose in bed with big business again???
A lot of fear mongering……..little substance..Typical GOP
It looks like the Republicans are up to their same old tricks, as Election Day nears. There was one ad that particularly caught my attention, and it was the attack ad aimed at Congressman Nick Rahall(D-WV). Below is the ad in its entirety:
The West Virginia Conservative Foundation was responsible for this ad. Wouldn’t you know though, that the WVCF was actually founded by the current West Virginia Republican Party chairmen Mike Stuart.
Its truly sad when Republicans continue to use racial politics to achieve their ends. We have seen this tactic used a countless number of times, from former NC Senator Jessie Helm’s ads, to the spots put up to smear Tennesssee Congressman Harold Ford Jr. in his quest for the Senate seat a few years ago.
When you analyze the clip, please pay attention to how little in substance the announcer provides. They focus on the fact that Rahall was the chair of Arab Americans for Obama. I didn’t know that working with Arab Americans was something to be reviled, or off limits. Oh, I forgot……linking someone to Arab Americans plays on the racial stereotypes and anger that many in our country have these days. It’s pathetic and shameful that Republicans would stoop to this level. I can’t say I’m surprised, though.
Arizona Governor completely loses it
Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer made headlines this week, but I can assure you it was not positive at all. All the buzz that is surrounding her happens to be regarding the disastrous debate performance that she put on this Wednesday against her opponent, Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard. Below is the introduction, which shows that Brewer completely lost her bearings(similar to John McCain in the 2008 presidential election).
Brewer has been thrust into the spotlight because of her decision to sign Arizona’s tough new immigration law(SB 1070). Sadly, she stops at nothing, even lies, to shape the debate regarding the immigration law. She has stated that, “law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded. This false claim was quickly refuted, thank God.
The Arizona Guardians Dennis Welch was one who has called Brewer out on these lies and distortions. In his investigation of the claim, “officials with six counties in the state, including four from other counties that have a border with Mexico say they have never heard of such attacks. Furthermore, many of the officials stated that they have never investigated an immigration related crime in which someone’s head had been cut off.”
The worst part about this is that Brewer has refused to walk back the lies that she has been telling regarding the beheadings, even in the office of evidence that proves this claim is not true. Below is a run-in she had with some reporters after the debate, who were attempting to get answers from her about the beheading claims.
Not surprisingly, Brewer is comfortably ahead in the polls. In the latest Rasmussen poll, she was pulling 57% of voters, compared with 38% for Goddard. Her stance on the immigration bill(which is popular in Arizona) has helped her surge in the polls. Funny thing is, I believe Brewer’s support of the bill was purely political. She was running in a tough Republican primary, and realized that a bill such as HB 1070 would burnish her credentials with hard core conservatives. Looks like the bet paid off.
The energy bill that never was
The man behind the bill...Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
On Thursday, July 22nd, Harry Reid and the rest of the Democratic leadership in the Senate announced that they would be abandoning the sweeping energy legislation that they had been working on for over a year.
It was a stinging defeat, because of all the effort put forth by environmentalists, as well as the bipartisan efforts by John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, and Lyndsey Graham to pass a good bill. Many factors led to the defeat of energy legislation, such as the oil spill in New Orleans and partisan gridlock in Washington on the issue. With that being said, little attention has been given to the energy bill put forward by Democratic New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman.
No matter what type of legislation is being debated, normally there are multiple bills coming from different committees, that are then melded into one piece of legislation in the end. Though the media had given most of the attention to the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham bill, in my opinion, it was not one in which you could realistically expect to get enough Republican votes to pass.
Jeff Bingaman, who is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, passed legislation which received votes from 4 Republicans. It was also co-authored by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. The American Clean Energy Leadership Act(ACELA) would:
- Only cap power-plants
- Establish a renewable energy standard(RES), and establish a mandate that 15% of power nationwide must come from renewable sources by 2021
- Put no cap on carbon emissions
This bill was a brilliant tactical move, because it eliminated the main point of contention(pricing on carbon) that Republicans and coal state Democrats had with supporting energy legislation, while at the same time including most of the objectives that we Democrats support in terms of energy reform.
Other aspects of the bill include:
- Improving efficiency of energy production permitting, and working with the Interior Department in order to open more offices that dealt with the issue.
- Increasing available financing to $30 billion to expand natural gas pipelines in Alaska.
- Creating Clean Energy Deployment Administration(CEDA) to help spur investment environment of clean energy technology.
- Allowing more production of renewable energy on public lands
- Using incentives and financing to help small and large manufacturing companies become more efficient in their energy use
- Ensures that consumer products (appliances, lights, etc) are made more efficiently
- Increases building efficiency
- Protects consumers from market manipulation, and gives the FERC power to regulate energy industries on behalf of consumers.
I hope that Senator Harry Reid rethinks his decision soon to table energy legislation all together. The fact is that many politically vulnerable House members took tough votes to support energy legislation, and many are getting hammered in television ads by their opponents as we speak. It can now be considered a wasted vote, due to Senate inaction on the issue. It would be better off to pass the Bingaman energy bill, which has bipartisan support, and is clearly not as contentious as the cap and trade bill. We will see what happens.
State aid bill passes…now on to President Obama’s desk
Today, the House passed a 26.1 billion state aid bill. The final vote was 247-161, and gives President Obama a nice legislative victory during a recess, as well as aid to cash strapped states. The main purpose of this bill is to help state and local governments avoid laying off teachers and other government workers.
When it comes to the breakdown of funds, $10 billion will be allocated to education(saving 140,000 teaching jobs). The other $16.1 billion will be used to assist states in making Medicaid payments. This bill was paid for by various tax reforms, along with spending cuts.
The pharmaceutical industry will take a bit of a hit, as Medicaid rebates will be altered. Also, foreign tax credits to multi-national companies will be rolled back, creating $9.7 billion in revenue. In terms of cuts, the food stamp program will be axed my $11.9 billion. Many Democrats opposed this cut, but some tough choices had to be made, which they were. One positive is that this bill does not add to the deficit, and according to the Congressional Budget Office estimates, will raise $1.4 billion over 10 years.
If it weren’t for the courageous votes of Republican senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, this bill would never have seen the light of day. Moving forward, it is essential that President Obama and majority leader Harry Reid shape legislation that will be assured of getting support from moderate Republicans like Snowe and Collins.
To nobody’s surprise, most Republicans opposed this bill. The sad fact is that had this bill failed(due in no small measure to Republican opposition), hundreds of thousands of teachers, police, and other workers would be out of a job. My only guess is that Republicans would have seized on the new people added to the unemployment rolls as evidence that President Obama is failing at trying to revive the economy. It disgusts me that many Republicans are more worried about their political fortunes and scoring cheap, short term points than fighting to keep people employed. I can’t be too disgusted though, because I know their game. A revived, improving economy would not be good for Republicans political fortunes. The worse off the job situation, the better their poll ratings will be.
I admit we will take some lumps in the November midterms, but I’m confident we will retain the majority in both houses of Congress. In the end, the American people will realize that Democrats are a much more fierce advocate for them, and are taking decisive action to stem the tide of unemployment, and put people back to work.
A no-win immigration issue
I see choppy waters ahead for the Obama administration after they have announced they are filing a lawsuit that questions the constitutionality of Arizona’s recently passed immigration bill. In essence, its really a situation that will end negatively either way.
On one hand, it looks as though the administration is taking a position that a majority of Americans disagree with. Soon after the bill was passed there were passions running high on both sides of the issue, but I had the impression that many opposed this bill, Democrats and Republicans alike. Polls have shown otherwise, though.
Border fence that seperates the U.S. and Mexico
A recent Gallup poll showed that half of Americans oppose the lawsuit by the administration, and only 33% support it. Also, independents are leaning towards the GOP position on this issue. A Rasmussen poll put out recently showed 56% of Americans opposing the administrations lawsuit, and 61% of Americans who like the idea of their state passing a law similar to Arizona’s. Only 28% of citizens in this poll agreed with the administrations lawsuit.
Thats only one side of the issue. On the other side you have a Hispanic population that has legitimate reasons for being upset with this law they view as discriminatory and over the top. According to a Pew 2008 election exit poll, 67% of Hispanics supported President Obama. They have a right to expect Obama to deliver on a promise of immigration reform, especially due to the fact that their support of him was a huge factor in him winning the election. With that being sad, Obama cannot act without the cooperation of Congress, which seems nearly impossible.
The problem lies with the fact that the prospects of immigration reform passing the Senate are slim to none. Republicans toe a hard line, and are demanding tough border enforcement and no amnesty for illegals in our country. Any bill that addressed those concerns would get very little support from the Democrats, who prefer a more comprehensive approach and granting a path to citizenship for those already here.
Its unfortunate and wrong when people blame President Obama for not passing immigration reform. It is the failure of Congress, and not the President. People must remember that President Bush courageously attempted unsuccessfully to pass immigration reform when he was in office. You have to ask yourself…..If both a Democratic and a Republican President have failed to reform our immigration laws, is a way forward possible??? In all honestly, I think the answer to that is no on the federal level.
I think that what will happen in the near future, is that individual states will take the lead, and either pass tough laws(like Arizona’s), or pass legislation that is more comprehensive, and provides a path to citizenship for those already here. This is a very difficult and heated issue..just the type of issue Congress does not like to take head on. They have no courage, and would rather pass the buck on to the states. So be it.
Who says bipartisanship is impossible???
I think that its great that we have finally passed healthcare reform. With an ultra partisan, and ever toxic culture in Washington, it may seem that Democrats and Republicans working together on legislation may be close to impossible. I disagree, and I will highlight a handful of Republicans that President Obama should be aggressively courting as he hopes to get some movement on financial regulatory reform, cap & trade, and possibly immigration.
It's war, or is it???
Lindsay Graham- We now know John McCain has went off the deep end, and acquired a hyper partisan edge of late, which is why the senator from South Carolina is now the maverick of the Senate. He is working with Democratic senator Chuck Schumer to craft a bipartisan immigration reform bill, and is also teaming up with senator John Kerry to address the climate change issue.
Scott Brown- The freshman Republican senator who pulled off the upset in Massachusetts may end up being a good friend to us the next three years. Though he opposed the healthcare bill, he framed himself during the campaign as a “Scott Brown” Republican, and one that would possibly have an independent streak. This was evident in his decision to join four other Republican senators in supporting the recent jobs bill that Harry Reid came up with.
Olympia Snowe/Susan Collins- The pair of centrist senators from Maine also joined Scott Brown in supporting the jobs bill. Senator Snowe was also the one that cast the deciding vote to bring the healthcare bill out of the finance committee.
Kit Bond/George Voinovich- These two Mdiwest senators are retiring this year, and dont have nearly as much political pressure to tow the Republican lines as some of their colleagues. They both worked together with Democratic senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin to craft an auto bailout. They also both signed the jobs bill.
These senators are the key to Obama passing legislation with at least a respectable number of Republican votes. I believe Rahm Emmanuel is already putting things in place to have a decent enough relationship with these senators to be able to call on them in the future to get some legislation passed.
It took a long time, but healthcare reform is here
I hope that many of you all were able to catch the historic vote on healthcare reform tonight. What stood out to me is that for once our elected officials actually did something constructive, and passed some meaningful legislation. I know many of the freshman Democrats from swing districts made some tough votes tonight, but it was morally the right way to go. Many of the members are wealthy already, so if they lose their seats, they will be fine in the grand scheme of things. I’m sure they are more concerned with assuring Americans can get affordable coverage than petty politics.
Two of the biggest reasons they made it past 216 votes
The courageous votes will go down in history. It seems as if for once our legislators voted their conscience, and stood up for the working class americans who are struggling with ever rising healthcare costs. In the end, I think that my party will end up on the right side of history.
Eric Massa….GO AWAY…that is all
Just when you thought that President Obama and my fellow Democrats had a full plate, the Eric Massa scandal hits. For those of you that dont know, Massa is a first term Congressman from the 29th district in New York. He lost his first race for Congress by only 5,952 votes to former Republican Rep. Randy Kuhl in 2006. As is customary, Massa basically began campaigning right after his loss, to prepare for a rematch with Kuhl in 2008. In November 2008, Massa was elected by a slim 1.5 % margin over Kuhl.
You would think that Massa would understand that he needed to focus on constituents, fundraise, and prepare for a tough re-election. A normal person would have realized that any slip up would mean the end to a short political career. All of this went in one ear and out the other, as Massa resigned on Monday because of health concerns and a pending ethics investigation related to possible sexual harassment charges made by staffers.
It seems as if it was only a matter of time before some issues surfaced in regards to Massa. According to some Democratic insiders, Massa hired quite a few gay male staffers, and paid them so little that they were forced to all share living quarters with him. I just want to state that someones sexual preference is their business, and I’m just stating the facts of the situation. It seems that Massa’s inappropriate behavior has been going on for some time now.
According to The Atlantic Online, “Past shipmates of Massa are charging that he used his status as a commander to subject underlings to abusive sexual advances.” I am glad that he resigned, but I cant believe he has the nerve to be going on all these talk shows trying to say Rahm Emmanuel and the White House pushed him out of office because of his opposition to healthcare reform. In my opinion, that is simply an excuse used to try and save his shattered reputation. There are quite a few Democrats(many Blue Dogs)who opposed some pieces of the healthcare legislation, and while they may have received some tough calls from the White House, I’m sure no pressure to resign occured. The fact is that his improper behavior finally caught up with him, and he wasn’t man enough to accept that.
I’m resigned to the fact that a Republican will most likely regain this seat. I guess thats life.
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