Rep. Obey Balances Preferences

This article describes how Dave Obey (D-WI 7th) crafted an Iraq War appropriations bills that approximated the median floor preference enough to pass the House. The bill provisionally allocates almost all of the funding sought by the Bush Administration, except it withholds most of that funding until after the release of a review of benchmarks this July. The bill is likely to be modified in a conference committee to match its provisions with those of the most similar Senate bill that passes, if a similar measure does come to pass there. A notable dimension in negotiating a passable bill is the difference between merely having benchmarks that might or might no be attainable and having a timetable with definitive dates; this article states that Bush supports the former, likely due to not being as time-bound as the latter.

STUDY BUDDY GROUP?

A bunch of us are getting together to study for this mofo, not sure when but more than likely either sunday or tuesday night sometime, and personally i will probably be going over stuff wednesday early morning as well. If you want in on this study session, snacks and beverages may be provided....send me an email (dmweigel@uwm.edu) or reply on the blog......

New hope for border control legislation

Bipartisan support is key in the promotion of new legislation on border control. Members of both the House and the Senate are trying to work together on this issue and would like the President to be involved. Across the aisle negotiations are going to be important to the success of any agreements on this issue. Some Republicans are already expressing disliking the bill.

War Funding Part MDCVIXX

The controversy over the Iraq war funding drags on... and on... and on. The democrats only want to fund the operations through July, whilst the Administration wants funding to September. The whole thing seems like posturing to say the least, as what is the difference of two months? Sure, most will agree that there needs to be more accountability in the whole scheme of things, but still this is a bit superfluous. How about just a continuing resolution to fund for six months and let it go at that?

Pelosi....being silly since the 110th congress..(at least)

Pelosi is now threatening to sue president Bush over the Iraq War spending bill.


Pelosi recently told a group of liberal bloggers, “We can take the president to court” if he issues a signing statement, according to Kid Oakland, a blogger who covered Pelosi’s remarks for the liberal website dailykos.com.

“The president has made excessive use of signing statements and Congress is considering ways to respond to this executive-branch overreaching,” a spokesman for Pelosi, Nadeam Elshami, said. “Whether through the oversight or appropriations process or by enacting new legislation, the Democratic Congress will challenge the president’s non-enforcement of the laws.”

Obama only off by 9,988 deaths....

In a campaign speech, Obama got caught up and said that the Kansas tornados have left 10,000 people dead, when in reality the number was 12.

"In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died—an entire town destroyed," the Democratic presidential candidate said in a speech to 500 people packed into a sweltering Richmond art studio for a fundraiser.

Later in the speech realizing what he had said, he explained to the people that he would get tired and misconvey what he meant to say. I think all in all it was a good save, but either way ...being in this much spotlight..your bound to get burned....more more and in the months to come.

Virginia Tightens Rules on PACs Formed by Out-of-State Politicians

Here is a topic that many of us talked about in our presentations: campaign funding by PACS. Virginia is proposing new legislation that will stop out of state politicians from getting unlimited funding from the commonwealth since there is no restrictions on how much money can be donated. Virginia is one of 13 states that have no previous legislation on this issue. This will definately have an affect on campaign financing and I definately support this new legislation. I think some campaign financing has gotten out of control due to minimal restrictions.

Thompson offers another apology

Tommy Thompson, former governor of WI and Republican presidential hopeful, has yet again used discrimatory language and offended a minority group. First it was Jewish people when he claimed that making money was part of an "old jewish tradition." Three weeks later he announced in a Republican debate that it should be up to employers to decide if they want to fire someone for being gay. The first insult he blamed on not thinking clearly and the second he blamed on his hearing. While Thompson is partially deaf in one ear when I read the transcript and how the question was worded I had a hard time believing that hearing caused the problem. I don't think Thompson was a forerunner for the nomination anyway but these remarks are definetely not going to help his campaign.

Flowers: Legitimate Campaign Expenditure?

As spring is bringing out the leaves on the trees and mother's day approaches, people are beginning to think flowers. However, are flowers an appropriate campaign expenditure? Two Representatives spent over $10,000 on mother's day flowers the past couple of years. All federal campaigns have spent over $700,000 on flowers since 2005. Yikes! I mean, is that what donors pay for? Move over yard signs, bumper stickers, and literature; flowers are the future.

Beyond Pork

This article describes how Bush is using tax revenues to hold an extravagant reception for Queen Elizabeth. According to sources, Laura Bush has claimed responsibility for notching up the formality a few levels. To top it off, Britain will hold a similar reception for George and Laura when they visit later this week. How irresponsible to hold five-course meals on gold dinnerware with tax revenues! Bush and QE better hatch some damn good foreign policy to justify that overpriced rendezvous. The median vote theorem states that both Bush and QE will hold fancy dinners for each other because both decision makers want to travel and to engage in wasteful spending that makes pork spending seem miles better.

Polarity Prevails...For Now

With Republicans and Democrats playing off different presentations of the Iraq War, it appears that each are substantially right and left of the median floor preference, respectively. Republicans spin Democrats as in the wrong for wanting to set a withdrawal timetable, whereas Democrats spin Republicans as bad for wanting to invest in a campaign that seems to have increasingly diminished returns. As the months go by, some middle partisans will likely become more moderate in their funding and withdrawal stances such that a timetable will be decided. This makes sense given that most voters are tired of hearing back-and-forth rhetoric without action, so some MCs have to budge towards the median preference or be faced with electoral backlash, particularly in the House.

House approves funding for Head Start, rejects religion amendment

The house has approved funding for the program Head Start. The programs helps prepare local income children for school. What was striking was that Republicans wanted to add religious amendments, making it possible to fire and hire someone based on religion. Isn't that a violation of the Constitution? Democrats though amendment the bill confirms the rights of religious people to participate in the program.

Bush urges congress to pass free trade pact

pres. bush is hoping congress will listen to his plan for a free trade pact with colombia. problems arise when the colombian regimes record on human rights and ties to right-wing paramilitary groups come into question. congress also has questions as to whether this will hurt use economic interests. bush believes this pact will help build democracies in south america and help fight the war on drugs.

Judiciary Committee subpoenas Gonzales

The senate judiciary commitee issued a subpoena to obtain emails sent by Karl Rove in the federal attorney firing scandal. Apparently, the judiciary committee has asked for the emails on two prior occassion with no response. Surprisingly, this story doesn't seem to be going away. It will be interesting to see if Rove and Gonzales comply or continue to insist the emails were lost.

House Fails to Override Bush Veto on Iraq

Can the vetoing President and the non-overrideable Congress find a middle ground over what to do with this messy war? What happens to the Appropiations Bill now? Does Congress and the Prez stop spending until something is passed? HA! Do things just revert back to status quo? Presumably so. What's the next step for the Democrats?

Penalty Stands in Congressmen's Battle Over Leaked Phone Call

Since many people have been discussing scandals of their representatives during their presentations, I thought this article might be fitting. It discusses the leaking of a phone conversation, illegally obtained by a couple using a police scanner, between House Republican leaders discussing allegation against Newt Gingrich, the-then Speaker of the House (1996). Representative Jim McDermott (D-Wash) took it upon himself to hand over the recorded conversation to the press. Ironically enough, McDermott was a senior member of the House ethics panel during all of this. His case is still in the works but apparently he sees no wrong in his actions because he has hinted that he may appeal his case to the Supreme Court.
Articles like this just make me sick to my stomach. It is just so unbelievable that the people this country have elected to represent us and our interests, in the words of Representative Boehner, "break the law in pursuit of a political opponent." Politicians definately go way too far sometimes.

The Art of Compromise

Politics is the art of compromising just enough to get what one wants (or needs). That is the mantra that the Bush Administration is foing to have to learn when it comes to dealing with the new Congress. Neither side is going to get all of what they want in regard to the war issue, however no matter what happens we must think about those over there first. This should not be a debatable issue. I want out just as much as Pelosi (and secretly I'm sure Bush) but we cannot just cut and run. Our elected leaders should do the job they were elected to do and compromise enough to get the #1 problem taken care of. If they can do that then we can argue and bicker over all the other details.

Kohl still pushing for answers on Biskupic

Steven Biskupic was a federal attorney from Milwaukee that the US Justice Department considered firing. Senator Kohl is trying to push for answers. Kohl asked US attorney general Alberto Gonzales why Biskupic was on the list to get fired and then later removed. Sen. Kohl and Sen. Feingold have written the state department for documents pertaining to this, but requests have gone unanswered. The department claims that the request in under review, but I think there is corruption. The fact that the request is under review signals to me that there is something to hide. If there wasn't anything to hide, the department would just turn over the documents

Bush vetoes troop withdrawal bill

President Bush has vetoed legislation pushed through Congress by the Democratic leaders because the legislation had time-tables. Bush does not want time tables because he does not want the enemy to know when he is pulling out. Democrats think he wants a blank check, but Bush claims that the Democrats made a statement by pushing an anti-war bill through Congress. Bush is meeting with members of Congress this week to discuss a compromise, without time tables. Spatically, they are trying to find a win set to beat the status quo, with war and no war being the dimensions. It will be interesting to see what happens, especially since Bush has such a low approval rating. Eventually, the Democrats might have enough support to over ride Bush's veto because the American public does not support the war and Republicans could be punished for supporting the war.

Feinstein’s Cardinal shenanigans

This is an interesting article that caught my eye after listening to one of the presentations today mentioning Fienstein. It also reminded me of the day we saw how committees were ranked in the house and it agrees with the findings of Professor Tofias.

America's Dirty Little Secret

America has a dirty little secret --and its doing your dishes, cleaning your houses, landscaping your yards, and everything else Americans are too lazy to do. Yep, that's right, I am talking about immigrants, mostly Hispanic and many illegal. I just got back from marching with them from S5th Street all the way to Veterans Park. These folks are not "illegal" in any sense, except what Congress dictates...so maybe it is time for this problem to be tackled. I fully realize it is a no-win situation for most politicians, but maybe decency will win out. The main problem is that most of them cannot vote, so therefore they have no voice in the politics of the country they work so hard for. What is true however, is that most people (and politicians) will agree that something must be done to help end the exploitation and abuse that occurs all to often.

Iraq Legislation Differs From Norm

The new legislation about the war in Iraq strays from the norm of Congress during such conflicts. Even during Vietnam, there was no legislation that compares to this effort by Congress to take control of ending the war. There are some thoughts as to whether or not this may be more extreme due to the majority shift in Congress.