Posts Tagged ‘Senate’

Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Advances

Dec 18th, 10 / 2 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
December 18, 2010

 

Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Advances

Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Advances, © The New York Times, December 18, 2010, by Carl Hulse, excerpt quoted verbatim:

WASHINGTON — Capping a 17-year political struggle, the Senate on Saturday cleared the way for repealing the Pentagon’s ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military.

three happy semi-nude lesbians embrace and celebrate and end to Don't Ask Don't Tell

By a vote of 63 to 33, with six Republicans joining Democrats, the Senate acted to cut off debate on a measure that would let President Obama declare an end to the Clinton-era policy, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allows gay members of the armed forces to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret. The vote indicated that there was easily enough support to push the measure to final passage.

“By ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay,” Mr. Obama said in a statement after the cloture vote. “And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.”

The vote put Congress at the brink of a historic moment that some equated with the decision to end racial segregation in the military. It followed a review by the Pentagon that found little concern in the military about ending the ban and that was backed by Pentagon officials as a better alternative to a court-ordered end.

Read the full article here.

UPDATE: See Obama to sign law ending military gay ban, AP on Yahoo News, December 18, 2010, by Anne Flaherty, excerpt quoted verbatim:

WASHINGTON – In a historic vote for gay rights, the Senate agreed on Saturday to do away with the military’s 17-year ban on openly gay troops and sent President Barack Obama legislation to overturn the Clinton-era policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Obama was expected to sign the bill into law next week, although changes to military policy probably wouldn’t take effect for at least several months. Under the bill, the president and his top military advisers must first certify that lifting the ban won’t hurt troops’ ability to fight. After that, the military would undergo a 60-day wait period.

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Video – The Daily Show: 9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster

Dec 17th, 10 / 3 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
December 17, 2010

 

The Daily Show: 9/11 First Responders
React to the Senate Filibuster

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10c
9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire Blog</a>The Daily Show on Facebook
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The President’s Last Stand Is No Stand At All: Why the Tax Deal is an Abomination (Updated)

Dec 7th, 10 / 3 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
December 8, 2010

 

The President’s Last Stand Is No Stand At All:
Why the Tax Deal is an Abomination (Updated)

The President’s Last Stand Is No Stand At All: Why the Tax Deal is an Abomination, Robert Reich.org, December 7, 2010, by Robert Reich, used with permission, quoted verbatim:

The deal the President struck with Republican leaders is an abomination.

It will cost $900 billion over the next two years — larger than the bailout of Wall Street, GM, and Chrysler put together, larger than the stimulus package, larger than anything that’s come out of Washington in years.

Sen. Sanders: Obama Tax Deal
Goes Against “Social Justice”

It makes a mockery of deficit reduction. Worse, the lion’s share of that $900 billion will go to the very rich. Families with incomes of over $1 million will reap an average of about $70,000, while middle-class families earning $50,000 a year will get an average of around $1,500. In addition, the deal just about eviscerates the estate tax — yanking the exemption up to $5 million per person and a maximum rate of 35 percent.

And for what?

Wealthy families won’t spend nearly as large a share of what they get out of this deal as will middle-class and working-class families, so it doesn’t do much to stimulate the economy.

The deal further concentrates income and wealth in America — when it’s already more concentrated than at any time in the last 80 years.

The bits and pieces the President got in return — extended unemployment benefits, a continuation of certain small tax benefits for the middle class — are peanuts. After last week’s awful jobs report, Senate Republicans would have been forced to extend unemployment insurance anyway.

It’s politically nuts. Polls showed most Americans are against extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.

It would have been a defining issue for the President to use to show whose side he’s on (the middle and working class) and whose side the Republicans are on (not the middle and working class). And given that the House turns over to Republicans in January, the President probably won’t have another chance like this one.

It loses him even more of his “base” — by which I mean people who think of themselves as Democrats and are committed to the ideal of equal opportunity and don’t want the nation to become even more of a plutocracy.

It makes him look weak — Republicans got everything they wanted. And when a President looks weak, he is weak.

House and Senate Democrats should reject this abomination.

The President should get himself new advisors.

Robert Reich was the nation’s 22nd Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton and is Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations. In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the Ten Most Successful Cabinet Members of the century. He has written eleven books, including “The Work of Nations,” which has been translated into 22 languages. His recent book is “Supercapitalism.” For Professor Reich’s book page for Supercaptialism at Amazon, go here. Reich’s newest book, Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future has been released September 21, and is available for ordering at this link (Amazon.com). The above article is from Reich’s new blog, and can be viewed here.

Robert Reich’s commentaries are available for listening to at Publicradio.com. Watch the video Aftershock: The next economy and America’s future (about his new book). Thanks to Professor Reich for permission to publish his articles on an ongoing basis.

UPDATE: See Tax deal still in doubt. So are the parties to the deal., Daily Kos, December 8, 2010, by David Waldman.

See Obama Confronts Democrats’ Pushback Over Deal on Tax Cuts, Bloomberg, December 7, 2010, by Ryan J. Donmoyer and Mike Dorning.

UPDATE: On a Positive Note See Obama’s Tax Deal: A GOOD Deal (updated with clip from The Last Word), Daily Kos, December 8, 2010, by Eclectablog.

UPDATE: See Obama’s Right – Liberal Critics are Sanctimonious Purists, Daily Kos, December 8, 2010, by YoGo, excerpt quoted verbatim:

The President had it exactly right yesterday when he tore into his liberal critics. These critics, including a ton of people writing on this site, insist, as the President accurately observed, on “having a purist position and no victories for the American people.” What the critics really want, as the President again so rightly pointed out, is to “feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are.” Here’s the plain fact – we lost the election and when you lose elections, you lose control of the agenda. No amount of angry posturing or taking misguided potshots at President Obama is going to change that.

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Oregon Senator Wyden effectively kills Internet censorship bill

Nov 20th, 10 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
November 20, 2010

 

Oregon Senator Wyden effectively kills
Internet censorship bill


Oregon Senator Wyden effectively kills Internet censorship bill, The Raw Story, November 19, 2010, by Stephen C. Webster, used with permission, quoted verbatim:

It’s too early to say for sure, but Oregon Senator Ron Wyden could very well go down in the history books as the man who saved the Internet.

OCInkjet.com 250x250 banner,<br /> image is updated by season.

A bill that critics say would have given the government power to censor the Internet will not pass this year thanks to the Oregon Democrat, who announced his opposition during a recent committee hearing. Individual Senators can place holds on pending legislation, in this case meaning proponents of the bill will be forced to reintroduce the measure and will not be able to proceed until the next Congress convenes.

Even then, its passage is not certain.

The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) would have permitted a blanket takedown of any domain alleged to be assisting activities that violate copyright law, based upon the judgment of state attorneys general.

“Deploying this statute to combat online copyright infringement seems almost like using a bunker-busting cluster bomb, when what you need is a precision-guided missile,” Wyden said.

The act was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.

“Few things are more important to the future of the American economy and job creation than protecting our intellectual property,” said Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont who co-sponsored the bill.
“That is why the legislation is supported by both labor and industry, and Democrats and Republicans are standing together.”

Opponents of the bill insist that many sites which contain allegedly infringing materials also traffic in legitimate data that’s constitutionally protected. There’s also a fear that whatever action the US takes, other countries will seek to emulate, and some to a much more zealous degree.

Activist group DemandProgress, which is running a petition against the bill, argued the powers in the bill could be used for political purposes. If the whistleblower Web site WikiLeaks is found to be hosting copyrighted material, for instance, access to WikiLeaks could be blocked for all US Internet users, they suggested.

A group of academics, led by Temple University law professor David Post, have signed a petition opposing COICA.

“The Act, if enacted into law, would fundamentally alter U.S. policy towards Internet speech, and would set a dangerous precedent with potentially serious consequences for free expression and global Internet freedom,” Post wrote in the petition letter (PDF).

“Blacklisting entire sites out of the domain name system,” explained the Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), a privacy and digital rights advocate group, is a “reckless scheme that will undermine global Internet infrastructure and censor legitimate online speech.”

The EFF has published a list of Web sites it believes are at highest risk of being shut down under the proposed law. Included in the list are file-hosting services such as Rapidshare and Mediafire, music mash-up sites like SoundCloud and MashupTown, as well as “sites that discuss and advocate for P2P technology or for piracy,” such as pirate-party.us and P2PNet.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, often cited as the father of the world wide web, has called Internet disconnection laws in the name of copyright protection a “blight” on the net.

With prior reporting by Daniel Tencer

A prior version of this report cited Sir Tim Berners-Lee as “the creator of the Internet.” He is in actuality the creator of technologies central to the world wide web, namely hyper-text markup language (HTML).

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Oops! Media raps O’Donnell for ‘weird’ claim that’s mostly true

Oct 9th, 10 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
October 9, 2010

 

Oops! Media raps O’Donnell
for ‘weird’ claim that’s mostly true


Oops! Media raps O’Donnell for ‘weird’ claim that’s mostly true, The Raw Story, October 8, 2010, by David Edwards and Muriel Kane, used with permission, quoted verbatim: Evans Liberal Politics is pleased to partner with The Raw Story to bring you breaking, cutting edge liberal news:

Christine O’Donnell, the Tea Party candidate running for Senate in Delaware, has been widely mocked by the media for her wacky statements about mice with human brains and her claims to have “dabbled” in witchcraft. But her latest wild story actually appears to have a germ of truth.

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“If both the House and the Senate pass legislation to repeal the health care bill,” O’Donnell told an audience of Delaware Republicans on Wednesday, “and then Barack Obama thumbs his nose to the will of the people and vetoes that bill right before his re-election — I’ve already  seen some Hillary Clinton ads. There are a lot of Democrats who don’t want this. If he has the audacity to ignore a very clear message from the people, he’s making his re-election very uncertain.”During an interview Thursday with CNN, O’Donnell repeated her insistence that the prospect of a Republican-controlled Congress repealing the Obama administration’s health care reform next year was “absolutely realistic.” because “if Barack Obama vetoes that the year before his re-election, he’s setting himself up to be very vulnerable — and I’ve seen many Hillary for President ads running.”

“What on God’s tiny blue earth is she talking about?,” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow asked after playing a clip of O’Donnell’s remarks. “This is now so weird I don’t trust my own ears.”

Political website the Hill also picked up on the CNN interview, tartly noting, “It’s not clear what ads O’Donnell was referring to and she didn’t elaborate.” And FirstRead at MSNBC.com quoted the Hill’s comment in a roundup of election news on Friday morning.

The truth is, however, that there actually has been a “Hillary for President” ad around this fall — though Clinton herself has no connection to it. According to a September 2 story at CNN, New Orleans television had recently been running a pro-Hillary ad which a Chicago dentist named William DeJean had produced with his own money.

“She has more experience working in and with the White House than most living presidents,” the ad stated. “She is one of the most admired women in our nation’s history. Let’s make sure the president we should have elected in 2008 will be on the ballot in 2012. Hillary 2012.”

DeJean, who had previously paid to run pro-Clinton ads in 2008, told CNN, “I’m a dentist and I don’t think this country is headed in the right direction.”

O’Donnell has previously expressed confusion about Clinton, naming her in an interview last week with the New York Times when asked who in the Senate she most admires. “She is a woman in a man’s world, holding her own,” Ms. O’Donnell stated. “As one woman who is also taking some flak and stepping into the political arena, I deeply admire that.”

In this case, however, O’Donnell appears to be correct about the existence of a pro-Hillary ad — although it’s not apparent that she personally could have seen “many” such ads running on television.

It’s possible that O’Donnell was elaborating on the story, as she apparently did in that same New York Times interview when she described her father as a television actor who had taken on a number of small roles before working his way up to play Bozo the Clown. Daniel O’Donnell has since clarified his daughter’s remarks, acknowledging that he was at best a substitute Bozo on a small television station in Jenkintown, PA.

“I was doing things in community theater and a friend of mine worked there who knew that I could relate to children very well,” O’Donnell told the Philadelphia Daily News, explaining how he had filled in briefly when the regular Bozo had a role in a Broadway play.

It seems that O’Donnell’s account of Clinton’s presidential ambitions, like her story about her father’s stint as Bozo, has been somewhat embroidered — but not made up out of whole cloth.

This audio below is from a video from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Oct. 7, 2010.

Thumbnail image of the set of the Rachel Maddow show serves to launch audio of the discussion Maddow had about Christine O'Donnell possibly being mostly right in a statement about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Hillary's Presidential ambitions "O’Donnell Right?" The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC: from a video from October 7, 2010, excoriating Christine O’Donnell about a statement on Barack Obama’s reelection and Hillary Clinton that turns out to be – gasp – mostly true. — 3:49

See Top 10 Craziest Tea Party Quotes of All time, Alternet, October 8, 2010, by Davona Walker.

Federal Judge Rules Health Law Is Constitutional


Judge Rules Health Law Is Constitutional, The New York Times, October 7, 2010, by Kevin Sack:

A federal judge in Michigan on Thursday dismissed one of more than 15 legal challenges to the new health care law, becoming the first to rule that the law is constitutional.

Two other cases with higher profiles, one in Florida and one in Virginia, are headed toward hearings on the issues that were decided in Michigan. The central question, which may ultimately fall to the Supreme Court, is whether the Commerce Clause of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to require citizens to obtain a commercial product, namely health insurance.

Starting in 2014, the law will require most Americans to obtain health insurance, while prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

Judge George C. Steeh of Federal District Court in Detroit ruled that choosing not to obtain insurance qualified as an example of “activities that substantially affect interstate commerce.” That is the standard set by the Supreme Court for Congress’s compliance with the Commerce Clause.

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Election 2010 News

Oct 5th, 10 / 3 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
October 5, 2010

 

Election 2010 News


Evans Liberal Politics, October 5, 2010, compilation and commentary by Paul Evans: selected news on House and Senate races of interest as we enter the last month before Congressional elections.

Democrats gain in poll but GOP still leads as midterm elections near, The Washington Post, October 5, 2010, by Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, excerpt quoted verbatim:

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Democrats have cut in half the GOP’s early-September advantage on the question of which party’s candidates voters say they will support on Nov. 2. They have also made small gains on the question of which party people trust to handle big issues, such as the economy and health care.

Voters give Democrats a significant edge as the party that would do a better job in helping the middle class, which has been a key campaign message from the White House in recent weeks.

President Obama’s approval rating has rebounded to where it was in July after hitting an all-time low a month ago. Also, in some state races, Democratic candidates have taken the lead over their Republican opponents or narrowed GOP advantages.

Also See In Ads, Democratic Candidates Play Down Party, The New York Times, October 4, 2010, by David W. Chen:

One New York Democrat proclaims that he proudly opposed the federal government’s health care overhaul plan. Another one pledges, in the finest Tea Party spirit, to oppose any future financial bailouts. Still another has rolled out three Republicans in three separate commercials, all vouching for his credentials.

But there is one word you will not hear mentioned in any of these campaign advertisements: Democrat.

With the Democratic Party bracing for a dismal showing in the elections next month, many candidates are doing everything possible to convince voters that they are not tied at the hip to President Obama or Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker. A vulnerable Democratic incumbent in North Dakota, Representative Earl Pomeroy, praises former President George W. Bush in one of his commercials. But even Democrats in and near New York State are running away from their party.

“In a year of insurgency and anti-incumbency, being a Republican in New York State is, for the first time in a long time, not a bad thing, because being a Democrat implies you’re an incumbent,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic consultant, said.

“So why would you mention that you’re a Democrat?” Mr. Sheinkopf said. “The smarter thing to do is, don’t tell them what kind of party you are, tell them what you’re going to do.”

Russ Feingold News


Also of Interest: Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold in Peril, But Still Practicing ‘I Did It My Way’ Politics, Politics Daily, October 4, 2010, by Walter Shapiro. Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold trails GOP challenger Ron Johnson, who is a plastics manufacturer (and therefore eminently qualified to lead America in the right direction), by some 7 points in the latest McClatchy-Maris poll, with only about three percent of voters still undecided. The candidates debate each other for the first in three debates on Friday evening.

See Feingold: They’re Dancing in The End Zone, Daily Kos, October 5, 2010, by Julie Gulden.

U.S. House of Representatives
OH-16: Boccieri vs. Renacci:


Watch OH-16: Renacci’s civil rights gaffe makes national news, Plunderbund, September 10, 2010, by Modernesquire: Renacci says the Federal Government has little place in the ongoing civil rights, race relations situation, that we’re past this now, and that local governments need to take over this role from the Federal government. It represents a deplorable ignorance of the situation in inner cities and for minority populations, and these sorts of positions have been ongoing among right wingers since back to 1863. The right wing position is one of states rights, and local governmental control. This would leave the disadvantaged without a national protection or voice, at the mercy of ten thousand local entities, and without any real guarantee of civil rights protections. It is a position which should have been abandoned for many decades but which, sadly, many Republican candidates now hold. I find it an incredibly reactionary, and dangerous position for a congressional candidate to hold in this day and age.

My county, Wayne County, Ohio, is the heart of Ohio’s 16th Congressional district. I have marched in campaign parades for John Boccieri so I am hardly a nonpartisan in these matters. But Wayne County is 62 percent Republican, and I fear for John Boccieri’s re-election campaign, what with all the Renacci signs I see in the yards, and with the prevailing anti-incumbent mood around here and around the nation. John Boccieri finally, reluctantly supported the health care reform bill, and now he is paying a political price for that as it is not popular around here. Please consider visiting John Boccieri’s campaign website and donating or volunteering. Thanks.~ Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans

Read Clyburn Slams GOP Candidate Who Said Civil Rights Issues Should Be Left To Local Governments, The Huffington Post, September 10, 2010, by Amanda Terkel.

Visit the John Boccieri for Congress campaign website, and sign up!

Christine O’Donnell News:


Christine O’Donnell gives me a reason to smile every morning when I wake up at 4 a.m. to put up the news. ~ Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans.

Del. Senate candidate O’Donnell: ‘I’m not a witch’, The Associated Press on The Raw Story, October 5, 2010, by AP, photo of Christine O’Donnell is © AP courtesy of The Raw Story:

photo of the witch, Delaware U.S. Senate Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell

Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell is trying to assure Delaware voters: “I’m not a witch.”

The Republican tea-party-backed candidate in her first TV ad since winning the primary pokes fun at comments she made during a 1999 taping of a late-night talk show that she dabbled in witchcraft when she was a teenager.

In the 30-second ad that starts airing Tuesday, O’Donnell smiles at the camera and speaks over a soft piano soundtrack. “I’m nothing you’ve heard. I’m you.”

UPDATE: See Leno tells Christine O’Donnell sex joke (with video), Salon, October 6, 2010, by Tracy Clark-Flory.

See O’Donnell once claimed to have ‘classified’ info on Chinese plot to ‘take over America’, The Raw Story, October 4, 2010, by Stephen C. Webster.

See Christine O’Donnell Opts Out of Being Hare Krishna, ABC News, October 2, 2010, by Ryan Creed:

In a 1999 television appearance, Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell admitted to dabbling in several religions — including witchcraft and Buddhism — but said she skipped being a Hare Krishna because she couldn’t give up meat.

See 2nd school suggests Christine O’Donnell fudged record, Yahoo News, The Upshot, September 29, 2010, by Rachel Rose Hartman.

Watch Christine O’Donnell: ‘I Love Meatballs’, ABC News video, Bill Maher with Politically Incorrect: 23 seconds.

mocking cartoon image of Christine O'Donnell as a confused witch

UPDATE: See Roundup: The Christine O’Donnell witch doll, Salon, October 5, 2010, by Tracy Clark-Flory.

Also See Educating Christine O’Donnell: LinkedIn-Gate, Lawsuits And Late Degrees Color Senate Hopeful’s Resume, Talking Points Memo DC, September 30, 2010, by Christina Bellantoni.

Don’t think O’Donnell is all that off the wall? Watch Christine O’Donnell’s 90′s MTV Anti-Masturbation Campaign, Rachel Maddow on TPMTV, September 14, 2010 – 1:38.

Still not feeling happy yet today? O.K., watch Christine O’Donnell on Hitler, God, Jews & Lies, Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher on the Young Turks, September 15, 2010 – 2:34.

Comment by Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans: Christine O’Donnell is a moron with the mind of a fifth grader who maybe is a viable candidate for dogcatcher. The RNC is wise if it refrains from spending money on this campaign, as has been reported. See Christine O’Donnell down 15 points in new poll, Politico, September 21, 2010, by Kasie Hunt. My dear, I’m afraid you have served us cold tea… Don’t expect this campaign race to heat up very much, either. The other race that’s fun to watch is the California governor’s race where old Jerry Brown can’t seem to have much chance to blow it against the Republican, Meg Whitman. See Meg Whitman’s meltdown, Salon, October 4, 2010, by Joan Walsh: “The GOP candidate’s hypocrisy is helping to hand the California governor’s office back to Jerry Brown.” In a campaign season that looks dismal for Democrats generally, O’Donnell and Meg Whitman are a reason to smile wryly and say, “see, it’s not all bad news!”

In summation of the evidence that O’Donnell is a lightweight fruitcake, watch Christine O’Donnell’s Greatest Hits, Talking Points Memo TV on YouTube – 3:38. Obviously Christine O’Donnell is a flaming witch who needs to be burned at the stake, right? ~ Paul Evans

Also In the News


Also of Interest: Watch and read The Debate Vid Everyone’s Talking About (CT-Sen) UPDATED, Daily Kos, October 5, 2010, by grannyhelen: In the race for Senator in Connecticut, in a debate, Blumenthal is effective in defending health care reform against Republican WWE magnate Linda McMahon, who has only "no comment" to say about possible criminal charges towards her wrestling empire.

CO – Gov: CO-Gov: Tancredo endangering Colorado GOP’s future, Daily Kos, October 5, 2010, by Joan McCarter:

Tancredo is inching up in the polls at Maes’s expense. A SUSA poll from this week has Tancredo at 34 to Maes’s 15, with Dem Hickenlooper still ahead by double digits at 46. A Rasmussen poll (grain of salt) has Hickenlooper 43, Tancredo 35 (a more than 20-point gain in two months) and Maes 16. His gains are almost entirely from Republicans jumping ship and the wackier fringe of the unaffiliated voters. Tancredo is both egotistical enough and crazy enough to take the Republican party down with him. Could this race get any more interesting?

Minnesota Governor: Biden mocks GOP over federal debt, StarTribune blog Our Voices, October 5, 2010, by Bob von Sternberg:

Vice President Joe Biden mocked Republican calls for fiscal restraint and criticism of the current level of federal debt, pointing out the last federal surplus occured during the Clinton administration.

“Mark [Dayton] knows how to balance a budget, the way he did as [state] auditor. Mark’s opponents are drinking the same KoolAid as the Republican national leadership … This election is a choice. The choice is very stark, between telling the truth or continuing with a Ponzi scheme.”

He repeated his broadest critique of the GOP: “Give me a break — I’ve had it up to here.”

“Look folks, we’ ve seen this movie before and we know how it ends. Minnesota can’t afford it. America can’t afford it….If we lose, we’ll see a rerun of that movie.”

Wrapping up, he quietly implored them, “do for us what you did two years ago.”

See Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 10/4/10, Daily Kos, October 4, 2010, Updated, by Steve Singiser.

No Surprise: Shock:GOP and its allies cook their ads with foreign money (with poll), Daily Kos, October 5, 2010, by karpaty lviv.

Well, well: Watchdog Groups Ask I.R.S. to Investigate Crossroads GPS, The New York Times Politics, The Caucus, October 5, 2010, by Michael Luo: "Campaign finance watchdog organizations say Crossroads GPS, a (right wing, Rovian) nonprofit group, is violating federal tax laws."

Bad News: Disillusioned Hispanics May Skip Midterms, Poll Suggests, The New York Times, October 5, 2010, by Marc Lacey.

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This is Democracy? Meet the GOP’s one man Toll Gate

Sep 30th, 10 / 0 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
September 30, 2010

 

This is Democracy?
Meet the GOP’s one man Toll Gate


This is Democracy? Meet the GOP’s one man Toll Gate, Daily Kos, September 29, 2010, by jamess, quoted verbatim:

“It is my understanding Jim DeMint has had a standing hold on everything throughout this two year process,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. “When I have had amendments on a couple of occasions, I have been told: ‘Absolutely, we in the Republican leadership are fine but you are going to have to clear it with Jim DeMint because he has a standing hold on everything.’

graphic photo of American Idol judge Simon Cowell giving the thumbs down sign

DeMint Has Had ‘A Standing Hold’ On All Legislation For Past Two Years
Sam Stein, HuffingtonPost — 09-28-10

“… but you are going to have to clear it with Jim …”

This is Democracy?


Sounds instead like the GOP’s own version of American Idol — where Gopher DeMint is the lone ‘Simon Cowell’ on the Jury.

Surely this is an idle threat. No Senator could dare to form their own Star Chamber, and actually get away with it.

Think again.

“Ask not what you can do for your country; Ask what you can Do for DeMint.”

Speaking at a Center for American Progress forum on filibuster reform, Merkley’s comments were part of a broader argument about the need to change the rules of the United States Senate.
[...]

Merkley said that on the two occasions in which he was forced to clear his bills through DeMint’s office, the South Carolina Republican “lifted the hold.” One such piece of legislation, he recalled, was to send ten million dollars to help repair Oregon’s Klamath Basin, which was suffering from a severe drought.
[...]

“My impression was that everyone who had an amendment had to go [through DeMint],” Merkley said. “It was a standing hold but it wasn’t something he had just singled out in my particular case.”

Had DeMint objected to that or any other piece of legislation being considered under unanimous consent agreement, it would required the Senate to go through the time-consuming process of cloture (which requires 30-hours of debate and 60 Senators for passage) or simply drop the matter entirely.

Jim DeMint had to be consulted, in order for a Senator to react to a Severe Drought, in his OWN State ??

image showing severe drought at a reservoir in the Klamath Basin

Unbelievable!

No wonder so much Good Legislation, ended up dying on the vine this year, in the Senate.

The GOP has a ‘Standing Hold’ — to go along with their ‘Stand Filibuster’!

No wonder they’ve managed to BLOCK numerous Votes, that would have

helped Small Businesses,

helped the Unemployed,

helped the Middle Class, by reversing the incentives to Off-Shore our Jobs.

Unbelievable!

Imagine what they’ll end up “BLOCKING” — IF they regain control of either the House or the Senate.

The Possibilities for Inaction are truly mind-boggling, given the Wingnut/Tea Party mindset.

SO, Why can’t WE — Vote those Gophers, OFF the Show, eh?

After all Simon was given his walking papers, wasn’t he? Couldn’t have happened to a ‘nicer’ judge and jury!

Visit jamess’ blog, Global Warming Matters.

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“Political Suicide:” No tax cut vote before election: Democrat (Reuters) – Updated

Sep 24th, 10 / 6 Comments

Evans Liberal Politics
September 24, 2010

 

“Political Suicide:” No tax cut vote
before election: Democrat (Reuters) – Updated


UPDATE 4-No tax cut vote before U.S. election-Democrat, Reuters, September 24, 2010, by Kim Dixon and Susan Cornwell, excerpt quoted verbatim:

Reid blames Republican opposition to tax vote

  • House’s Hoyer only pledges vote by years’ end
  • Republicans could cause delays; calendar tight
  • Some Democrats fear impact on re-election chances

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) – The Senate will not vote on renewing Bush-era tax cuts before the Nov. 2 elections, a spokesman for the Majority leader said on Thursday, as Democrats face internal divisions and potential Republican obstacles.

a figure of the Grim Reaper complete with scythe stands on a calendar with the date of April 15th marked as Tax Day

“Democrats believe we must permanently extend tax cuts for the middle-class before they expire at the end of the year, and we will,” Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Reid said in an email. “Unfortunately, to this point we have received no cooperation from Republicans to do so.”

The Senate will come back after its recess for the November elections to address the issue, he said. The Senate had been expected to take the lead on the issue, though House leaders were still discussing whether to take their own vote, according to aides.

Democrats faced a potential Republican filibuster of their plan plus unease among some Democratic lawmakers who worry that voting on extending tax cuts enacted under former President George Bush could hurt re-election chances. Democrats are expected to lose seats, and perhaps even control of at least one chamber of Congress.

The tax cut debate has captured Americans’ attention during a fierce congressional election season focused on the sluggish economy and massive deficit.

President Barack Obama and most of his fellow Democrats want low tax rates extended only for the first $200,000 of a person’s income, or the first $250,000 of household income, saying the country cannot afford the cuts for higher earners.

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Republicans want the lower rates renewed for all Americans, regardless of income, and say higher tax rates would hurt small businesses and job creation just as the economy is recovering from its worst recession since the 1930s.

“We are so tightly wound up in this campaign that it’s impossible to see a bipartisan answer to the challenge we face. That’s the reality, before the election,” Richard Durbin, the Senate’s assistant majority leader, said earlier.

The lower tax rates for virtually every taxpayer expire at the end of this year.

Senator Charles Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said putting off a vote was irresponsible and reckless.

Continue reading this article, here.

See Senate Democrats give up push for pre-election tax cut vote, CNN Politics, September 23, 2010, by Dana Bash and Brianna Keilar.

See Dems put off votes to extend Bush tax cuts until after elections, The Hill, September 23, 2010, by Alexander Bolton and Russell Berman, excerpt quoted verbatim:

A rift between centrist and liberal Democrats in both chambers of Congress has derailed plans for House and Senate votes on extending tax cuts before the election.

Senior Senate Democrats said they plan to leave Washington by the end of next week without voting on an extension of the George W. Bush-era tax rates, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

More News on Democrats Plans to Abandon the Tax Cut Fight


Senate Democrats Delay a Vote on Bush Tax Cuts

(Summaries by Campaign for America’s Future)

Senate Democrats Delay a Vote on Bush Tax Cuts, The New York Times, September 23, 2010, by David M. Herszenhorn:

“Democrats said they would still fight to end the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans when they return for a lame-duck session. But the delay increases the likelihood of a compromise with Republicans who have insisted that the lower rates continue for everyone…”

Axelrod To TPM: It’s The GOP’s Fault Dems Punted On Tax Cuts Vote, Talking Points Memo, September 23, 2010, by Christina Bellantoni:

“Our goal is to get these tax cuts passed. If we can’t get it done before the election we’re going to insist on it after … The Republican Party is holding hostage tax cuts for the middle class.”

Senate Maj. Whip Dick Durbin addresses arguments that the tax cut fight should be had on the Senate floor. W. Post quotes:

“The reality is we are not going to pass what needs to be passed to change this either in the Senate or in the House before the election … if you bring it up and don’t pass it, does that [politically] help you or hurt you? If you don’t bring it up, does that help you or hurt you? You can argue it round, you can argue it square. But the reality is nothing’s going to happen before the election.”

Paul Krugman argues Dems are missing a political opportunity: (NY Times):

“…given a chance to really put the GOP on the spot – the chance to force a vote on extending only the middle-class tax cuts, forcing Republicans to vote no in order to save their beloved tax cuts for the rich – Democrats will … punt. I guess the Blue Dogs really want to be in the minority.”

Democrats Decide On Political Suicide, The New Republic, September 23, 2010, by Jonathan Chait:

“Moderate Democrats worry that passing a tax cut for income under $250,000 would be portrayed as a tax hike, because it allows rates to rise on income over $250,000. As I’ve noted several times, that could be solved by holding a separate vote. But the moderate Democrats’ solution is not to hold a vote on any tax cuts.”

Watch Keith Olbermann: Bush Tax Cuts – A Decider For The Midterms?, MSNBC video on YouTube — 8:40.

UPDATE: See Tax cuts: Pelosi says vote possible before election, Daily Kos, September 24, 2010, by Jed Lewison, excerpt quoted verbatim:

If you’re a Democrat facing a challenge this November, you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t — at least as far as the GOP is concerned. There’s no scenario under which they won’t go on the attack. At least by having the vote now, you’ve either got something to fire back in their face — that they are holding the middle-class tax cuts hostage — or, even better, you’ve passed the tax cuts out of the House and put the Senate on the spot. Either way, if you’re a Democrat, you win — even if you favor extending tax cuts for the wealthy, because you’ll still have a chance to accomplish that goal when Congress returns after the election. But at least for now, you’ve done your job when it comes to extending middle-class tax cuts.

UPDATE: See AP analysis: Could GOP be playing into Democrats’ hands?, September 23, 2010, by The Associated Press.

UPDATE: Amazingly Great! – See Stewart on GOP pledge: ‘Same sh*t we’ve heard before’, The Raw Story, September 24, 2010, by Eric W. Dolan (with Daily Show video).

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