weak economy good news for dems??

The November election has many issues for congressional candidates to focus on, this article stresses the importance of the state of the economy. President Bush this morning during a press conferences stated that the economy was in a "slow down" but is not heading towards recession. This has led to believe that voters are going to see this slowdown as a problem brought on by the Republican party and will give Democrats an increased advantage in the House and Senate. We discussed in class how the President has an advantage over Congress in that the Pres. is a much more visual figure, therefore, is much more open to receiving grief/praise. In this case Republicans can potentially lose more seats in Congress because the President is a Republican. People seem to forget that the Democrats have controlled Congress for the past four years. Depending on the state of the economy come November, the GOP may see its numbers dwindle even more.

What's in a name??

On Headline News yesterday night, there was apparently a controversy over Obama's middle name, which is Hussein. Which is the same as Sadam Hussein. Such controversy over a name?? There was also an issue that his name some how rhymed with Osama Bin Ladin's. Now, are we electing him on what his name is or his issues and what he believes in?

Investigation of Clemens Is Sought

Here we are again another case of perjury in the baseball steroid era. Now tell me you couldn't have seen this coming. From the feeling I got out of the article, it sounded like congress was going to push for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation on Clemens for lying under oath even before he testified. The fact of the matter is, I really do not think congress really cares what goes on in baseball and whether or not baseball players are using performance enhancing drugs. Congress in my opinion is really looking at this as a public promotion guide. They are trying "in my opinion" to make it look like congress is tough when it comes to abiding by the rules. I guarantee you that if they had on trial a person that did not have the type of famous reputation as Clemens does, congress would most likely not even look at the person like they were lying while under oath. The fact that congress had to of had in their mind they were going to investigate Clemens even before he took the stands, clearly states to me that Congress is trying to make themselves look like the all and mighty powerful.

energy

I really like the idea of taxing oil and using the money for clean energy. I can see how it isnt really fair to the gas companies, since we're taxing them until we can replace them. It's tricky diplomatically, because we need the oil right now, and this bill clearly threatens the oil market. Putting special taxes on specific imports isnt really a new idea, so I dont see it as discriminatory, but it's a tricky business getting the oil we need now and at the same time becoming less dependant upon it.

GOP Wants DeLay's Old District Back

Well really there are 2 seats in Texas they are investing a lot into getting back, one of them being Tom DeLay's seat. The emphasis on the "symbolic value" of the seats is interesting given that they lost a lot of seats in '06 and I'm sure they'd like them all back, but it's not suprising since DeLay was a pretty big name in the party for awhile. Also the article notes that one of the candidates has been campaigning since early last year, in other words since probably right around the time the new Democratic rep went to work in Washington. Permanaent campaign cycle indeed.

The Russ Belts.

Today we tune in to find one of our very own Senators, Russ Feingold, (D-Wis.) in the national news.

And again he endeavors to torment the Bush White House before their January 20th trip back to Texas, or Kennebunkport, or wherever it is they claim residency.

Feingold, along with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has proposed a bill that would stop payment for combat operations in Iraq by June.

I chose to highlight this bit of news because it harkens back to our recent reading on Congress and the President, in terms of WHO exactly has WHAT powers regarding the Making of War.

As mentioned in the reading, and as we all know, the President is the "Commander in Chief;" he/she is top leader of the military. Congress controls the military money, and Feingold is making that point very clear with this bill.

In essence, Feingold is telling the President, "show me something (by way of progress in Iraq) or I'm cutting off the cash for your project."

It's worthy of mention that Feingold and the Democrats make absolutely no effort disguise their slim hopes of actually getting this bill passed. They know, and have essentially said as much, that this thing is gonna fly like a lead balloon. (Like a Brett Favre pass on cold January night. In front a nationally televised audience. In overtime. With a shot at the Super Bowl at stake.)

But, feeling that they now hold the stronger hand in this debate, Senate Republicans have called Feingold's bluff and allowed his bill to proceed.

Post-surge Iraq, and Baghdad in particular, looks downright El Doradoian to the Republicans and they want the opportunity to tell Americans that Iraq is gonna be alright.

Who says Politics is boring?

On either side of the aisle, this is a symbolic, strategic, insincere move down to its very core. Looks like somebody's readying some issues to bring home to voters and campaign on.
How Rovian of them.

NOTE: Midway through the report, the radio host mentions a "test vote," on the bill to gauge support for it ahead of time. I'd never heard of that tactic, maybe something for discussion in class.



And, if you'd prefer to read than listen, I've also included here a link to an New York Times print story about the same move by Feingold.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/iraq-returns-to-the-stage-in-congress/

Another link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17982862

Survelliance Law

Bush asked the House to renew a surveillance law that expired this month. The surveillance law was known as the Protect America Act of 2007; it would also add legal immunity for telephone companies. The main reason why Bush wants to renew this law is due to the lawsuits phone companies such as AT&T, Sprint, & Verizon are facing after turning over phone records without court orders after 9/11. The Senate passed a bill that includes immunity; the House version of the bill does not contain immunity. Two Senators and two Reps. said that Bush is using scare tactics to renew the bill. This is a difficult issue because the phone companies were complying with the government, but at the same time they violated people’s rights. Hopefully in the next few months the Senate and House can work together regarding future surveillance law issues.

You will probably want a donut after you read this

Now this is the kind of campaign investigation that the American people have been clamoring for. I don't really have anything smart to say about it, just thought it was an interesting story about spending that if nothing else highlights the (notsomuch now I guess) hidden costs of running such a large scale campaign. And it contains a concise political insight from a Dunkin' Donuts assistant manager.

Obama not wearing his lapel pin.

I read an article on CNN about Obama not wearing his flag pin on his lapel. Now is that such a big deal to everyone? He states by saying, "My attitude is that I'm less concerned about what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. And you show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who served. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and our ideals and that's what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals." I feel the same way, some of our other Presidntial candidates don't always wear a flag pin either, nor does our own President. So, what's the big deal??

Enter Ralph Nader

To the chagrin of Democrats and delight of Republicans, Ralph Nader has
decided to run for President. Throwing around lines such as "Jeffersonian
Revolution" and "Dissent is the mother of ascent," Nader announced hisc candiacy
on Meet the Press this morning. If I may state my opinion, I am
appalled. In the past few presidential contests,I believe a choice in
the form of Ralph Nader had been necessary, but not
this time. I can't help to believe that Nader is completely senile and
full of self-pride that blinds him to the real political ramifications
his actions have.

Rep. Rick Renzi

Rep. Renzi, R- Arizona, has been indicted on multiple charges by a federal grand jury. The charges include pressuring landowners into buying a 480-acre parcel which was owned by a previous business partner of his. Needless to say, Renzi has decided not to run for re-election. Its interesting that many times when someone in Congress is involved in a scandle or lawsuit (pretty much anything that could put a damper on their re-election), they decide not to run for re-election. Although this article suggested that Renzi not running for re-election had a lot to do with pressure from the House GOP leaders.

Article with further details on Renzi's charges in case anyone is interested

Illinois senator garners key demographics

With Obama winning Wisconsin it seems like he is starting to get ahead of Clinton in many areas. The article states that Obama is starting to attract many of the supporters that had been supporting Clinton. Obama has to have a lot of motivation after winning Wisconsin, which many are calling a key state when it comes to November's election.

Illinois senator garners key demographics

With Obama winning Wisconsin it seems like he is starting to get ahead of Clinton in many areas. The article states that Obama is starting to attract many of the supporters that had been supporting Clinton. Obama has to have a lot of motivation after winning Wisconsin, which many are calling a key state when it comes to November's election.

Technology in Congress

About 50 bills regarding technology are on Congress's agenda. The main concern of industry groups is that Congress does not change the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). One bill proposed is the Digital Media Consumers Rights Act. Another bill that may be introduced would not allow people to make or distribute digital media devices unless they have government-approved copy restriction. Another bill that may be introduced is a privacy bill to protect online surfers. There seems to be two overall dominant opinions about the technology bills in this article. First, people like Robert Crestanti (mentioned in the article) view Congress' changing of the DMCA as a threat to their companies. And secondly, members of Congress may have proposed bills, but it doesn't seem like much is going to get accomplished. Senator Ernest Hollings, who may introduce two bills, proposed a bill last year that got lost on the Senate floor. These bills seem to be a somewhat controversial issue between industry groups and Congress.

What's a Superdelegate To Do?

As one colleague pointed out today, maybe calling them supertrustees would have cleared up all of this mess...

Voting Rights

Word has it that Congress wants to pass a law so that convicted felons that have done time are able to vote. That would mean an addtional 40,000 votes by 2010, the thing is that these felons have to have finished their sentence. I'm not really sure how I feel about this topic, given that illegal immigrants aren't able to vote, but from my first post, are eligible for the $600 coming in the mail. Of course this is a good thing for the candidate, but what about the people who can not vote, but would like to.

FISA

I really dont understand why it is so important when exactly this bill expired. I guess there may be specific contested cases, but it definitely feels like someone is spending too much time fussing over the wrong issues. And once they decided exactly when the bill expired, how does that help. It expired at 12 AM on sunday. Is that eastern time? Central? Mountain? Pacific? It doesnt matter how much energy you spend specifying the exact time, there will always be away to get around it for specific controversial cases. Maybe it's just me.

Senators ask Pentagon to investigate delayed Armored Vehicles

Senators Joseph Biden Jr. De-Del and Senator Kit Bond Re-MO are asking the Pentagon to launch an investigation into why a Marine Corps was denied a request by battlefield commanders in 2005 for blast resistant vehicles. The article explains how hundreds of US Marines have been either killed or injured by roadside bombs. Both Senators issued statements on the refusal by bureaucrats to deploy the blast resistant vehicles. The Senators say that the investigation needs to be done to find out why the delay happened and to insure that it never happens again. It seems to be a big deal that a refusal like this would occur when Congress continues to approve additional funding for the war on terrorism. This should never have happend because these blast-resistant vehicles could have saved American lives.

The Stimulus Bill.

This piece is slightly outdated, however, I consider it a very good example of the Median Voter Theory (MVT) that we'd looked at earlier in the semester.

The article deals with the (at the time) differing versions of the Economic Stimulus Package that was developing in Congress.

As the article states, The House of Representatives and The White House crafted a bill that would cost $146 billion. It was then sent over to The Senate who countered with a $158 billion version of their own.

The House and The White House wanted "X," and The Senate wanted "Y." Now it is time for everyone to sit down and hash out the particulars and push the bill through.

Farther down the article is the section headed "What's in the Senate version?" Here we see the specific differences the Senate bill addresses.

I will do some more digging to find an article that illustrates more precisely what the final, agreed upon Stimulus Bill contains.

Huckabee Takes a Break and Heads to Caymens

It appears that Mike Huckabee is really getting down to grassroots and appealing to his base, by leaving Wisconsin over the weekend and making his way to the Caymen Islands. It's tough for me to figure out how this fits into a Congressional politics class, since Huckabee has never been in Congress... He sites that unlike his rival candidates, he has never recieved a taxpayer based salary that pads the pockets of McCain, Obama, and Clinton. Maybe Congress should look into having publicly funded campagins as they have in Europe... so that sending Congressional outsiders, like Huckabee, overseas can be avoided...?

Bush Scolds Congress Over Expiring Eavesdropping Bill

Some Democrats never learn, just like Bill Clinton, maybe we should just stick our head in the sand and hope nothing happens. It worked for Clinton, afterall he did nothing but small scale strikes that amounted to nothing but distract people from his many affairs. Maybe the Democrats can go back to bullying smaller nations like Serbia, but wait Bush beat him to it today, so I guess they have nothing do do other than make this nation more vunerable to attack. After my people were stabbed in the back again by our "Allies" I don't blame them either.

Wisconsin Primary

I tried to resist the temptation to blog about the upcoming presidential primary, however, the Democratic race is too heated to ignore. The link is from pollster on the support for the Democratic candidates and it is real close. I was only concerned about voting for my alderman during the primary election on Tuesday because it seems that McCain has virtually clinched the Republican nomination. However, to touch on a class related topic, I am now choosing to wake up real early to walk down to Riverside High School to partake in some strategic voting. I understand that the Republican nominee is going to have a difficult election this year, that is why I must do my part to help my party by voting for the Democrat candidate I feel has less chance of succeeding in November. I hope all conservatives in class do the same. =)

Chafee Endorses Obama

Just a short article on a moderate Republican turned Independent endorsing Obama. We discussed Lincoln Chafee in class a couple of weeks ago so I thought this was an interesting article following up on that discussion.

This also made me think about sophisticated voting. Obama seems to be attracting voters from all walks of life, as well as both sides of the scale. No matter who you like, if anyone, on the Democratic side of things...you have to take into account their chances of winning in the general election.

House to Debate Contempt Charges for Bush Advisers

Just another waste of time by the Democratic Congress. As we know U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President, who may fire them at any time, for no reason. In fact when Bill Clinton came to office he fired all the US Attorneys, which was he right to do; and there was no investigation. Congress should do some work on the economy, and other more pressing issues like filling judicial vacancies! In fact the Iraqi Congress has gotten more done lately than the US Congress, and even worse Congressional Leaders say the Iraqi Government is a failure. So what should we say about the Reed-Pelosi Congress?

Rebate checks in the mail by spring

As a poor college student I am always happy to hear when the government is handing out free money. I know everyone in America is always happy when the government gives you money and you don't have to give them money. With the recent passing of the legislation to allow rebate checks to go out to Americans, many Americans will be looking forward to this. However, it stated in the article that not everyone will be spending it right away. It stated in this article that in 2001 when rebate checks were sent out not all Americans spent the money right away and it took them 3-4 months to decide what they were actually going to spend it on. I read in another article which I was not able to find again once I was ready to post that many times Americans will use this money to pay bills or to invest in some way. So if Americans are spending it on their daily lives and are really not putting money back into the econmy like the legislation is designed to do, what exactly will our economy get from this. If its anything like the past this will not change our current econmy. Don't get me wrong I am not complaining about free money, but history doesn't seem to be in our favor.

MD Challenger Wins Stunning Victory Over Long-Time Incumbent

We've talked before about the vulnerability that primaries create for incumbents. More evidence that it's true.

Rep. Tom Lantos

Rep. Lantos, a CA Democrat, died earlier today. He was the only Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress. Lantos served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and was on his 14th term in Congress. He escaped labor camps twice while Hitler was in power. Last year, Lantos and four other members of Congress were arrested while protesting outside of Sudanese Embassy protesting against the genocide in Darfur. Other accomplishments include founding the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and leading the first congressional delegation to Libya in more than 30 years. Rep. Lantos seemed like he cared very much about Americans freedom as well as the freedom of people in other countries. His work in Congress over the decades shows his dedication towards making sure people today do not have to experience what he did in the labor camps.

WI Votes...February 19th

If you would have asked almost anyone a few months ago whether or not the Wisconsin primary would even matter in deciding the nominations, most people would have said no...including me. I knew the elections (especially the on the Democrat side of things) would be close, but I didn't foresee a virtual tie resulting post-Super Tuesday. This article takes a look at how our state is gearing up for possible record-breaking turn out next Tuesday. Milwaukee has ordered enough ballots to support a 75% turnout and is staffing around 300 more poll workers than normal. These are important preparations because despite Wisconsin's relatively late primary, we have always had a high turnout. This could have something to do with our same day registration. The article also discusses the 50% turnout that set the record for Wisconsin in 1960 when JFK received the nomination. Could this be another 1960?

If anyone has questions about where you vote, how you register or anything like that, I found this website helpful...http://elections.state.wi.us/

From Bush, Foe of Earmarks, Similar Items

Speaks for itself I think. And this is the guy the who defends McCain as a "true conservative" when he has proven to be conservative, particularly in the fiscal sense, in (last) name only. Personally I would gladly accept all politician's desire to allocate money to earmark/pet projects if they would just stop acting like they don't all do it.

Wisconsin Primary

Not, necessarily Congressional politics, butI like the atricle regardless. Takes a solid look into demographics of the state, along with an excellent multimedia tab on the right. The Delegate Tracker was put together by the AP, touching on what was discussed in class last week; it appears no one has a firm idea on the number of delegates won, the AP has given Obama a clear lead. It will be ineteresting to see what generalizations hold true in the Wisconsin primary as specified by the Journal...

Recession Would Work in Democrats’ Favor

Many say our economy is about to enter into a recession lasting into the summer. Usually this would not be good news, but because the presidential elections are approaching the Democrats are using this news to their advantage. Most likely people will blame the state of the eonomy on the Republicans. With a recession comes higher unemployment rates which the Demcrats will be sure to grab onto saying they can change that. The Democrats' challenge is to not scare voters into believing our economy is about to enter terrible times.

Senate passes passes stimulus bill

Today the Senate passed a bill that will send approximately $170 billion dollars in rebate checks out to the American public. Now with both houses passing the bill and the president already saying he supports the bill, this looks as though it is really going to happen. The main hope from passing this bill is to help out the declining American economy. However I don’t know if this bill will have the effect everyone wants. Government officials are banking on the idea that with those rebate checks many Americans will start spending more. That may not happen though, many Americans may elect just to save or pay off debts with that money. There will probably be a small boost in the economy from the rebate checks but I don’t know if there will be a big enough boost to reach the goals of those who passed the bill.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/congress.economy/index.html

Romney to Quit Race During CPAC Speech

The Former Governor of the Liberal State of Massachusetts is reported to be dropping out of the race for the Republican Nomination. He is behind in delegates almost 3 to 1 to McCain, and even lost ground to Former Arkansas Governor Huckabee. I always wondered how Conservative someone can be who was elected by the same people who keep sending Kennedy, Kerry, and Frank to Congress? I suppose McCain will be the winner of the Republican Nomination unless Huckabee can pull off a miracle. Ron Paul is there too, but let's be realistic, he stands no chance. Which might let Republican's in open primary states vote in the Democratic Primary just to mess with the lefties for a bit. Whoever gets the GOP nod for President, one can be sure he will not be a true conservative, whether that makes him more "electable" to the masses that remains to be seen. I for one have never voted for a Democrat for President in the 3 elections I could legally vote in, and will continue that tradition this November.

Wisconsin Primary

Well, Super Tuesday apparently hasn't lessened the suspense of who will become the Democratic nominee for the Presidency, so it seems like Wisconsin might actually be an exciting place to be on the 19th of this month. I honestly thought it would be too optimistic to think that a black man and a woman would both have an equal chance for the nomination. We'll just have to see. And according to wispolitics.com, voters will get to see a lot of Obama before the primary. It will be interesting, since Doyle is supporting Obama, while Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton is endorsing Clinton. So it looks like Wisconsin will be more of a battleground for the Democrats rather than the Republicans, since McCain is looking more and more like a sure thing. And it feels good when Wisconsin gets this kind of attention, so I'm looking forward to the "circus coming to town."

White House Defends CIA's Use of Waterboarding in Interrogations

I couldn't believe that this was real. The White House defended the notion that almost drowning a person to get them to talk is acceptable. Fratto defended waterboarding, which is a form of torture, in the event that "an attack might be imminent". Parts of the U.S. are still under high risk for terrorist attack. Does that mean that any day is a day for interrogation? I'm glad that congress is investigating this further.

MPS gets $13 million in grants

I really think it is great that the federal government is making it known that it does realize the problems that we face in Milwaukee with our children. Its great to see that we are not spending all of our money in wars like Iraq or on investigations in congress on sports matters that really do not belong in the governmnent. I really hope this grant will make the program run in a way that will allow the program to continue working even if the grant does not get re-issued. To many times we see grants come into to local areas, work while the grant is being used and then when the grant is over the community is in the same way it was in before the grant came around.

Super Tuesday

Just a little reporting of the Super Tuesday results. McCain feels "confident" enough to call himself the front-runner, and Clinton and Obama results are split. Obama won more states, but Clinton won states with higher delegate counts (California and New York being two of the states with high delegates). McCain currently has 514 votes; Romney has 177. Super Tuesday has made it clear that McCain will most likely be the Republican candidate, but Obama and Clinton appear to be neck in neck still. Clinton has 689 votes and Obama has 582. It is still a close race between the two Democrats. Any predictions whether Clinton or Obama will win???

Really?!

So Obama's a mac and Clinton's a PC. This article really makes me wonder about the amount of free time some people have. There is something to be said about Obama being younger and more tech savoy, but honestly, I doubt that either of them designed their own web page. Having checked out both web pages, I did find Obama's a little less overwhelming, but most of us are used to flashy ads on our websites, and if you're looking for specific information, I think you're able to find it equally well on either site.

Auto Workers Union to Delay Endorsement of Democratic Candidate

The UAW has come out to say that they will not endorse a candidate until one os clearly the nominee. Funny how Democrats are always Pro-Union when they need money. I seem to recall that it was a Democratic Congress that ratified NAFTA after Bill Clinton became President. Also with Obama promising to raise taxes if elected, I don't see how a Union can endorse him. People will have less money to buy things, leading to less profits, less production, and more job losses. Either way it's simply LOSE-LOSE.

Could Giants Win Divide Senate Dems?

With the underdog Giants win in last nights Superbowl in his pocket; Ny Sen. Chuck Schumer got infront of the Senate to praise the team he has loved as kid and in an obvious shoot aim Mass. Sen. Kerry and Kennedy, by calling the game the "one of the greatest upsets in Superbowl history". Schumer also introduced a resolution praising his teams victory over the New England Patriots. His bill is cosponsered by fellow Ny Sen. Clinton and Both Nj Senators Lautenburg and Menendez; Senators Kerry and Kennedy were unavilable for comment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020401990.html

GREAT budget proposal...(thats sarcasm)

The budget proposed today by President Bush is honestly hard to read much less think about. The thing that really gets me is the whole cutting $14.2 billion from federal health care programs. For those of you who watched the State of the Union last week, you'll recall that one of the proposals made was more affordable and accessible health care for Americans. For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of watching, take a look at the White House website...you'll see it right there. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060131-7.html). The plan also eliminates a program that trains pediatricians and pediatric sub-specialists at children's teaching hospitals. Something else that caught my eye is the fact that beyond 2009 nothing is set aside for war costs. Is that a promise to get us out of Iraq? Maybe we should allow for a third term...NOT.

PS Take a look at the reader comments...they're pretty amusing.

Senator Spector to meet with NFL Commissioner over Cheating

Similiar to the begining of Congressional inquries on MLB steriod use. For baseball, Congress used the "public health" catchall to justify their interest in the matter. This time it appears that any official Congressional actions will be under the rallying cry of "violations of anti-trust agreement" the NFL operations unders. At the current moment, Spector is going alone on the issue, but he is the chair of the judicial committee... which may soon find this issue more intriging and marketable than the other issues they could be examining...