George Wenschhof
Today, President Obama will hold the first of what he hopes will be monthly bipartisan meetings at the White House - he stated he would begin these monthly meetings during his State of The Union address. Republican and Democratic Leaders are expected to attend. You can be sure they will be discussing the ground rules for the February 25 Health Care Reform summit and also the President's proposed Jobs bill. CNN.com has more here.
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Time for GOP to put up or shut up on health care reform - the February 25 meeting between Republican and Democrats to forge a consensus has now been set by President Obama. It will be held at the Blair House and it will be televised. Republican Leaders are already signaling they want the existing Senate and House bills which have been passed;scrapped. While, Democratic Leaders are not willing to do so, especially in light of the fact they tried to negotiate with Republicans previously and they refused. The NY Times has more here.
Let's hope this summit brings about the needed reform in health care as 40+ million Americans remain without it. Being televised; Americans can judge who is providing the best plans for them and if compromise becomes a reality or just more rhetoric. The Republican strategy of being obstructionists and a party of "no", if continued during the summit, could backfire on them and hurt them in the mid term elections. Stay Tuned.
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Representative John Murtha (D-Pa.) has died at the age of 77 - he was the first elected member of Congress who was a Viet Nam war combat veteran. Of recent years, he gained attention when he spoke out against the Iraq war and called for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops. MSNBC.com has more here.
This seat, held by Murtha for the last four decades will now be filled by special election. Upon notification of the vacancy, Governor Ed Rendell has ten days to set the election date which must occur within 60 days of his announcement. The target date is May 18, the same day as the Pennsylvania primary. Politico.com has more here. You can count on Republicans to be going after this seat.
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Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) announced this morning he would release his blanket hold on President Obama's nominees - this had affect 70 appointees and would have required a time consuming cloture 60 vote, followed by the actual vote for each nominee. Shelby is upset the GAO negated a deal with Northrup Gruman to build Air Force refueling tankers in Mobile, Ala. The GAO acted after a complaint by Boeing on the contract award process. The contract has now been rebid. The announcement by Shelby today to release the holds is probably due to the amount of coverage his self serving and boneheaded move received in the media. TheHill.com has more here.
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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin critical of President Obama and his use of a teleprompter - Is the palm of you hand better?
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Daily Democratic Wire 2-9-2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Daily Democratic Wire 2-8-2010
George Wenschhof
President Obama calls for bipartisan summit on health care reform - in an interview yesterday with CBS Katie Couric he says he intends to move forward to pass needed health care reform. The bipartisan meeting will be televised and is scheduled for February 25.
This is a good move by the President as it shows him reaching out to work with Republicans and if they refuse to attend or refuse to reach any compromises, they will be looked upon as the obstructionist party of "no" at a time when Americans want their political leaders working together to solve today's problems.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ready to use Recess period to appoint nominees by President Obama - In another example to voters of how politics can sometimes really stink, Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) put a blanket hold on 70 Obama nominees forcing them to first receive a 60 cloture vote, prior to the actual vote, which is time consuming and cumbersome. Shelby is fuming over the loss of a FBI counterterrorism lab which was to be built in his state. Reid says he is looking at appointing 15 during next weeks Presidents day recess. Politico.com has more here.
This action by Shelby is similar to the action taken by Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) who demanded and received in return for his "yes" vote for health care reform a blanket pass in payments from his state to Medicare. Americans are disgusted with both major political parties as they learn of the inner workings of our government.
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Illinois Lt. Governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen (D) ends his campaign - he was the surprise winner in the primary who beat more established politicos by in part spending 2 million of his own funds. Revelations of a past stormy relationship with a prostitute caused him to drop out. democratic leaders had feared his continuing in the race would hurt Democratic Governor Pat Quinn. Seems the crazy politics in Chicago and Illinois never ends. you can read more here.
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White House Counterterrorism Adviser Jon Brennen says senior Republican leaders were told the attempted XMAS day bomber suspect was being held by FBI - among those who were called Christmas night and offered no objections were Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Kit Bond (R-Mo.), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.). They all understood Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had been mirandized and was talking to the FBI. This is yet another example of the silliness of politics as Republican leaders now call for military interrogation - waterboarding anyone? TheHill.com has more here.
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Sunday, February 7, 2010
Daily Democratic Wire 2-7-2010
George Wenschhof
Yesterday,Obama tells Democrats attending their winter convention in D.C. he is not walking away from health care reform and is committed to change.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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Mitch Landrieu elected New Orleans Mayor - He won yesterday with 66% of the vote against eleven other challengers. He is the first White mayor of New Orleans since his father; Maurice "Moon" Landrieu left office in 1978. His sister Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is U.S. Senator. CNN.com has more here.
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Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) calls for the practice of earmarks to end - she pointed out the craziness of earmarks which was being illuminated by Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) who has now blocked 70 appointees by President Obama due to a potentila loss of a military contract in his state. TheHill.com has more here.
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House Democrats to force vote against the privitization of Social Security - Representatives John Larson (D-Ct.) and Linda Chavez (D-Cal.) will introduce the legislation. The fear is Republicans are once again pushing for this change, even after the disasterous Wall Street collapse illustrated how bad an idea this is. TPM.com has more here.
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discusses Iran and N. Korea on CNN "State of the Union" - appearing with new host Candy Crowley, Clinton spoke of how President Obama's policy of engagement has helped to bring the world together in opposing nuclear development in Iran and N. Korea.
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Palin Speaks to Tea Party Convention
George Wenschhof
Last night, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin spoke to the Tea Party convention in Nashville - full of anti-Obama administration attacks, she was the darling to the 500 in attendance.
Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post "The Fix" blog, appropriately added in his comments those written by the AP's Liz Sidoti "The speech also was rife with criticism for Obama and Democrats who control Congress, but delivered with a light touch. But, aside from broad conservative principles like lower taxes and a strong national defense, the speech was short on Palin's own policy ideas that typically indicate someone is seriously laying the groundwork to run for the White House."
The fractured Republican party will need more than angry "tea party" activists to put forward a positive image of reform for the 2012 election.
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Saturday, February 6, 2010
Daily Democratic Wire 2-6-2010
George Wenschhof
President Obama and First Lady to host Superbowl party tomorrow - among those on the guest list are member of congress, cabinet members and service members injured in Iraq or Afghanistan. TPM.com has more here.
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Ho-Hum Tea Party Convention greets Sarah Palin as keynote speaker tonight - Fox News (Who else?) will televise her speech to the sparsely attended convention. This comes after former Representative Tom Trancedo (Col.) called president Obama a Socialist Ideologue who never would have been elected if there had been a literacy test for voters. TheHill.com has more here.
Only about 600 showed up to attend the $549 convention in Nashville, Tennessee and most complained about the cost being hardly befitting an organization that stands for fiscal restraint. Seems they have their work cut out for them as a new CNN poll shows 42% of the voters don't even know who they are or what they stand for. The NY Times has more here.
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Maryland representative Frank Kratovil is one of 24 House Democrats who voted for PAYGO and against lifting the debt ceiling - both measures passed, but this shows more clearly the Democrats in the House who are fearful of their reelection bids. Kratovil is a first term member of the House from a conservative district who won when the Republicans beat each other up in the 2008 primary. FirstRead.com has more here.
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Candy Crowley, new host for CNN's "State of the Union" has landed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as her guest on her first show - other guests on the Sunday morning "Talking Heads" will be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Politico.com has a detailed list of the guests here.
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Editor's Note: due to a power outage caused by snowmogedden, this post was published too late to be included in yesterday's email updates sent to subscribers.
