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...?