Obama the Nag
By · CommentsWhich is worse, being from the party of no, or the party of nag?
Politico: For a president who ran on uplifting themes like change and hope, Barack Obama spends an awful lot of time scolding Americans about how he hopes they’ll change.
He has advised parents to “replace that video game with a book and make sure that homework gets done.” He has urged members of Congress not to read blogs or watch 24-hour cable news. And he’s challenged lobbyists, lawmakers, bankers, journalists, insurance companies and other heads of state to do a better job.
He’s prodded people to get off the couch, eat healthier and exercise more. He’s even suggested Americans buy stocks, U.S.-made cars and energy-efficient light bulbs, while cautioning them not to max out their credit cards.
At times, having Obama in the Oval Office is like having a really powerful Dr. Phil around. …..
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NYT Paterson ‘Bombshell’ May be a Dud
By · CommentsWe’ll have to wait and see, but it looks like the “bombshell” the New York Times will reportedly drop on New York Governor David Paterson may not be quite as juicy as recent reports led us to believe.
According to a source close to the Paterson camp who is familiar with the scope of the Times‘ reporting, the Times piece will be an in-depth profile of the governor focused on his personal character. There are likely to be new details about his marital infidelities, but the source added that it’s not going to be the bombshell the blogs have predicted. “The piece is PG-13, not XXX,” the source explained. “Not to say it won’t be problematic, but the Aqueduct situation? That’s potentially criminal. On his extramarital affairs, the question is who those people are, and what jobs they’ve held.”
In case you missed the story over the weekend, you can catch up here. Here’s a little background info on the “Aqueduct situation.”
Gov. Paterson’s top lawyer conceded Friday that politics was a key factor in picking the winning bidder for an Aqueduct “racino.”
Peter Kiernan’s stunning revelation came as Paterson hustled to cast the controversial selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group as squeaky clean, insisting the losers who told of secretive and shady dealings were voicing sour grapes.
“A number of people who lose cry foul, and they think they can get some resonance,” Paterson told KISS-FM.
Kiernan, the gov’s chief counsel, said the weeding of bidders was more about political reality.
“It’s not a typical [bidding] process,” Kiernan told the Daily News. “It is not governed by procurement law. It is a political process because you have the three political leaders that have to make the decision.”
Just politics as usual, huh? Unfortunately, a big juicy sex scandal would get people’s attention. People will lose interest in the Aqueduct bidding process faster than you can say “Aqueduct bidding process.”
Via memeorandum
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John Boehner and Eric Cantor wrote to Rahm Emanuel asking that the President scrap ObamaCare and start over on health care reform.
Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over so that we can develop a bill that is truly worthy of the support and confidence of the American people? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today that the President is “absolutely not” resetting the legislative process for health care. If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate.
Assuming the President is sincere about moving forward in a bipartisan way, does that mean he has taken off the table the idea of relying solely on Democratic votes and jamming through health care reform by way of reconciliation? As the President has noted recently, Democrats continue to hold large majorities in the House and Senate, which means they can attempt to pass a health care bill at any time through the reconciliation process. Eliminating the possibility of reconciliation would represent an important show of good faith to Republicans and the American people.
If the President intends to present any kind of legislative proposal at this discussion, will he make it available to members of Congress and the American people at least 72 hours beforehand? Our ability to move forward in a bipartisan way through this discussion rests on openness and transparency.
Will the President include in this discussion congressional Democrats who have opposed the House and Senate health care bills? This bipartisan discussion should reflect the bipartisan opposition to both the House bill and the kickbacks and sweetheart deals in the Senate bill.
Will the President be inviting officials and lawmakers from the states to participate in this discussion? As you may know, legislation has been introduced in at least 36 state legislatures, similar to the proposal just passed by the Democratic-controlled Virginia State Senate, providing that no individual may be compelled to purchase health insurance. Additionally, governors of both parties have raised concerns about the additional costs that will be passed along to states under both the House and Senate bills.
Robert Gibbs responded. In short, he said “no.” The long version is here. The Hill summed it up:
Gibbs reiterated administration arguments that Obama had worked with Republicans throughout the year, and said that the president is “adamant” that lawmakers finish their work on health reform.
At least he refrained from saying “we won.”
Via memeorandum
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Only 29% of Independents Approve of Obama
By · CommentsThey must be government workers.
Hotline on Call: Independent voters see Pres. Obama in a negative light by a nearly 2-1 margin, according to a new Marist College survey, while almost half of voters say he has failed to meet their expectations.
The poll, conducted Feb. 1-3, showed just 44% of registered voters approving of Obama’s job as president. 47% disapprove. But among indie voters, Obama’s approval rating sits at a terrible 29%, while his disapproval rating is at 57%.
Obama’s 44% job approval rating is the lowest he has scored in any non-internet poll since moving into the WH, according to a review of data compiled by Pollster.com.
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The big blizzard over the weekend put a damper on NOAA’s plan for a climate change announcement.
As D.C. continued to dig out from Snowmageddon and is keeping an eye on another storm system, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was busy making a climate change announcement.
NOAA, part of the Department of Commerce, is going to be providing information to individuals and decision-makers through a new NOAA Climate Service office. “More and more, Americans are witnessing the impacts of climate change in their own backyards, including sea-level rise, longer growing seasons, changes in river flows, increases in heavy downpours, earlier snowmelt and extended ice-free seasons in our waters. People are searching for relevant and timely information about these changes to inform decision-making about virtually all aspects of their lives,” the release says.
Earlier snowmelt? That would be nice.
Turns out the release was planned prepared ahead of the snowstorm, which shut federal agencies today and forced its senders to hold a press conference by telephone instead of at the National Press Club. …….
It looks like they may have to delay the release for a few more days. Another blizzard could hit DC Tuesday or Wednesday.
I think the blizzards are God’s way of slowing down the Democrats and their agenda. The more time wasted, the closer we get to the mid-term elections. That, and sending a clear message that human beings can’t control weather or climate.
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PA Special Election Most Likely Will Be May 18
By · CommentsAccording to Chris Cillizza, the special election to fill the Rep. John Murtha’s House seat will most likely be May 18.
According to state law, the governor has ten days once the vacancy is officially declared to decide on the date for the special election, which can come no sooner than 60 days following that proclamation.That likely means the special election will be held on May 18, which is the date already set for federal primaries around the state. (Special elections costs the state huge sums of money and it’s likely that Gov. Ed Rendell will choose to go with an already established election day to save some cash.)
Special elections are quite costly. A good way to reduce the number of special elections is to set term limits. Isn’t it about time we stop electing politicians for life?
Via memeorandum
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Liberal Dems: Let’s Get to Work Selling a Tax Increase!
By · CommentsLiberal democrats are determined to make this recession drag out in perpetuity.
The Hill: House Democrats say leadership has their work cut out in convincing the public to support a tax increase on those making more than $250,000.
Centrists and liberal Democrats told The Hill they support allowing President Bush’s tax cuts on those making more than $250,000 to expire, but said leaders must win public support by portraying the tax increase as reducing the nation’s record budget deficit. “I believe there is a message from back home that is loud and clear: do something about these out of control deficits,” said Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), a centrist whose district was won in 2008 by GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).
“Failure to address that would produce the worst consequence for the country and therefore the worst consequence politically,” Pomeroy said.
What a dope. The Bush tax cuts fueled economic growth and increased revenue to the federal government.
Americans do want to see the government get these deficits under control. A good place to start would be for the government to stop spending so much money.
Via memeorandum
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Meghan McCain Slams Tea Party Movement
By · CommentsMeghan McCain went on The View today and slammed the Tea Party movement. She used the words of one man to malign millions of Americans.
ABC News: She specifically took aim at remarks by former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who suggested that people who voted for President Obama could not pass a basic civics literacy test.
“People who would not even spell the word vote or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House… named Barack Hussein Obama,” Tancredo said last week as he kicked off the Tea Party convention in Nashville, Tenn. He also ripped Sen. McCain for being a repeat of “Bush 1 and Bush 2.”
“It’s innate racism, and I think it’s why young people are turned off by this movement,” McCain charged of Tancredo’s remarks. “Revolutions start with young people, not with 65-year-old people talking about literacy tests and people who can’t say the word vote in English. It’s ridiculous.”
However, McCain was mum about Sarah Palin, who headlined the tea party banquet Saturday and took several jabs at Obama herself.
“I got a book coming out in August and I’d be happy to come back and tell you everything in August,” McCain said, when asked what her father thinks about Palin.
I guess she’ll wait to reveal that information until after Sarah Palin’s used her star power to campaign for dear old dad.
If you’re wondering whose side Meghan McCain is on, she kind of gave that away.
McCain has also repeatedly called for “Old School” Republicans to embrace progressives like herself.
I hate to burst her little bubble, but “Old School” Republicans and conservatives aren’t about to embrace progressives like herself. And maybe if she went to a tea party she’d find out that they’re made up of people of all ages and all races.
I do wish she’d stop calling herself a republican.
See video here. Find out what others are saying at memeorandum.
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Did Democrats Slip Card Check Into Jobs Bill?
By · CommentsI just watched ABC News and they did a segment on how the Republican Party is the party of no and cited a few examples that made Republicans look bad. (No mention of Obama’s ballooning debt.) One point they made was that some in the GOP are going to vote against measures they once supported. The jobs bill was mentioned, but for some reason they didn’t mention big labor’s efforts to sneak card check into the legislation. (Emphasis mine.)
Las Vegas Sun: Still, those moves don’t easily lend themselves to a campaign mailer or political rhetoric. Even key parts of the economic stimulus package, such as tax credits and unemployment assistance, don’t pack the populist punch of health care or labor law reform.
“Saving jobs is invisible,” said Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “You need an accomplishment that is clear. No matter what unions try to do, their members and the friends of their members will be demobilized.
“That’s why something like health care is so important. People will say, ‘What have you done for me?’ And the answer is, ‘Nothing or not much.’ ”
On labor law, Bill Samuel, the AFL-CIO’s legislative director, said the union would try to enlist moderate Republicans but acknowledged the difficulty of achieving a bipartisan bill. He said the federation might consider “other tactics,” meaning the card-check legislation or key parts of it could be placed into a larger jobs bill this year.
Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, suggested that was the bill’s fate. “Maybe it won’t be card check,” he said, referring to the full bill. “But there are some things we need to do to straighten out the process for (union) elections and certification and first contract.”
Amy Dean, the former head of the AFL-CIO’s Silicon Valley office who has written about reshaping the American labor movement, said labor’s current lot is in part the result of failing to learn the lessons of the early 1990s.
“In the Clinton years, the labor movement let the White House and the Democrats lead — and we got rolled,” she said. “We have to be prepared to put forward our own vision for the economy … We have to stop giving our money away and working for people who aren’t working for our needs.”
Dean said labor should use the Obama jobs bill, which could include labor law reform and taxes to discourage outsourcing, as a condition for its support in November.
So, will Democrats slip card check into the jobs bill to retain the support of unions. I wouldn’t put it past them.
No wonder so many Americans are angry at government, and believe unions weaken America. They work behind the scenes, bullying politicians to work for their needs rather than the needs of the politicians’ constituencies. So if the GOP blocks the bogus jobs bill, it will be a good thing for America. We can’t afford it anyway, and we certainly can’t afford giving the unions any more power over our lives.
H/T Ed Morrissey
Via memeorandum
Update: It’s been several hours and the ABC News report I saw still isn’t on line. If I find it I’ll change the link.
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Aw – White House Press Corps Feeling Snubbed by The One
By · CommentsFunny, I feel absolutely no sympathy for the White House press pool. They should have seen this coming.
It would be hard — impossible, actually — to argue that Obama hasn’t been accessible to the media, not with his constant television interviews. The man has even done color commentary at a Georgetown basketball game. But the decision to bypass the White House press corps is no accident.
“It’s a source of great frustration here,” says Chip Reid, CBS’s White House correspondent. “It’s important for us to hold the president’s feet to the fire.”
NBC White House reporter Chuck Todd calls the situation a “shame,” saying the administration is trying to control the message rather than allowing Obama to be seen “unscripted.”
Oh, poor babies. Didn’t they get the memo? This is the most transparent administration ever, so there’s no need for a White House press corps. Or, as Obama would say, press corpse.
Via memeorandum
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Rep. John Murtha Died at Age 77
By · CommentsABC News reported that Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) has died.
A spokesman says Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a retired Marine Corps officer who became an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, has died. He was 77.
He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery.
My condolences to the Murtha Family.
Update: The Washington Post has more information on the death of Rep. Murtha. Find other reactions at memeorandum.
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The $2.5 Million Super Bowl Ad Dud
By · CommentsThe federal government can’t even produce a decent Super Bowl commercial, yet we’re supposed to let them take over our health care? This is awful, and it cost us a whopping $2.5 million.
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Rush Limbaugh warns Republicans to beware the Obama’s health care trap. He notes that this is no time for bipartisanship and there’s nothing wrong with being the party of no.
Via Breitbart
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You can’t say she doesn’t have a sense of humor
By · CommentsSarah Palin wrote “hi mom” on her hand while campaigning for Texas Governor Rick Perry. Too funny!
Sarah Palin sure has a way of sticking it to the left. I love it.
Via memeorandum
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