George Wenschhof
President Barack Obama meets with Ghana President John Atta Mills - an historic event as Obama is the first African-American U.S. President and this is his first visit to Africa. The choice of Ghana was made partly due to the peaceful and democratic elections which resulted in Mills election to president.
Later, the Obama's will tour Cape Coast Castle, a fort that was used in the slave trade. Reuters.com has more here.
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House health care reform bill to include tax - the proposed tax is on income over $350,000 per year and is estimated the revenue to be 540 Billion over ten years. A tax on benefits has also been discussed but Leaders in the senate oppose this action. Meanwhile, Blue Dog Democrats have sent a letter to President Obama with their concerns regarding proposed health care reform. MSNBC.com has more here.
The sausage making like process of crafting a bill for health care reform continues. Stay tuned as 47 Americans without health care is unacceptable.
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Treasury Department sends legislation to Congress for consumer protection on Wall Street - the proposal delivered yesterday, includes greater authority for the Securities Exchange Commission to oversee and establish standards and accountability to those who provide investment advice. Included in the legislation is a provision to pay whistle blowers for information. McClatchydc.com has more here.
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls for release of Journalists from N. Korea - admitting they illegally entered North Korea, Clinton asked for amnesty for the two Journalists who have been sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Star-Tribune has more here.
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Saturday, July 11, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 7-11-2009
Obama Weekly Address 7-11-2009
George Wenschhof
Today, in his weekly address, President Barack Obama talks about how his proposals will make the economy stronger. Health care reform, actions on energy and creating jobs for the future all will help to get deficits under control. Click on the picture below to watch his speech.
download .mp3 download .mp4 (85.4) read the transcript
Share/Bookmark Sunday Morning "Talking Heads" Guests 7-12-2009
George Wenschhof
Remember to check your local listings for time and channel.
NBC "Meet The Press" - David Gregory will have Senators John McCain (R-Az.) and Chuck Shumer (D-NY). Expect discussion on the exit by Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), health care reform, and the Economic Recovery Act better known as the Stimulus Bill.
The roundtable discussion will include Karen Hughes, Bob Shrum, Andrea Mitchell, and Roger Simon.
ABC "This Week" - George Stephanopoulos welcomes Senators Jon Kyl (R-Az.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor will receive attention.
The roundtable will include George Will, Cokie Roberts, Donna Brazile, Sam Donaldson, and Bob Woodward.
CBS "Face The Nation" - Bob Schieffer will also be discussing Sonia Sotomayor with his guests Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).
Fox News Sunday - continuing with the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearing theme, Chris Wallace has two more members of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.).
Also appearing will be House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.)
CNN "State of The Union" - John King will discuss health care reform and the Obama response to the H1N1 Flu outbreak with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Also appearing with be Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Kent Conrad (D-ND).
CNN "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Finally, we get discussion on President Obama's trip to Russia as Fareed Zakaria speaks with Russia opposition Leader Boris Nemtsov who quietly met with Obama in Russia.
Also appearing will be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who will be asked how the Stimulus bill is working and what else he intends to do to help the sluggish economy.
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Friday, July 10, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 7-10-2009
George Wenschhof
Today, President Barack Obama is in Rome - He will be meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. Yesterday, the G-8 agreed to contribute 20 Billion in farm aid to help feed needy nations. Reuters.com has more here.
The President then heads to Ghana where a huge crowd is expected. BBC has more here.
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Obama says health care reform will happen this year - he offered these comments from L'Aquila, Italy, prior to heading to Rome to meet with the Pope. the president is urging Congress to have a bill out by the end of August. Obama acknowledged reform was not easy due to intense lobbying by special interests who benefit from the current system. Politico.com has more here.
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Costa Rica President Oscar Arias begins mediation of Honduras situation -yesterday, he hosted separate meetings with ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and interim President Roberto Micheletti. No agreement was reached. You can read more here.
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GM emerges from bankruptcy after only 40 days - CEO Fritz Henderson says the auto maker will focus on "customers cars, and culture". Makes you wonder, what were they focusing on previously? Let's see how they do now that their massive debt has been eliminated. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) stays in spotlight as his parents admit they gave his mistress's family $96,000 - a benevolent gift, of course and not to be confused with the term "hush money". I guess the line "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" did not apply in this case. Republicans continue to receive the headlines they do not want. TheHill.com has more here.
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Illinois Senator Roland Burris (D) will not run for election in 2010 - Democrats had their share of wackiness as the entire former governor rod Blagojevich saga was being played out. Along the way, the Governor appointed Burris to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat held previously by Barack Obama. Burris is set to announce today, he will not run for election next year. The Chicago Sun-Times has more here. One Democrat to watch in the coming primary, is businessman Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy.
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Thursday, July 9, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 7-9-2009
George Wenschhof
President Barack Obama still in L'Aquila, Italy as the second day of talks of the G-8 Summit continue - the economy, trade, and the environment continue to be discussed with an agreement reached to lower emissions by 80% by 2050. President Obama will hold a press conference today at 12:30 PM ET. BBC.com has more here.
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CNN/Opinion Research poll shows Obama with 61% approval rating - this poll was conducted from June 26-28. 70% felt President Obama was a strong and decisive leader. The president did drop 11 points since February of the year on the question that he had a clear plan for solving the country's problems. This poll showed him at 53% and he was at 64% in February. CNN has the poll results here.
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Today, Vice President Joe Biden will travel to cities in Ohio and NY to promote the Stimulus bill - in the morning, Biden will be in Dayton, Ohio at the American Can Company a development project which will be receiving HUD Community Block Grant funds. He will also travel to Saratoga County, NY in the afternoon. DaytonDailyNews.com has more here.
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Chair of House Intelligence Committee says CIA mislead Congress - Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.) says CIA director Leon Panetta told Congress the CIA had mislead and concealed actions since 2001. House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) said similar things last month and Mr. Panetta issued a statement saying the CIA had not mislead Congress. So stay tuned as more details will surely follow. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Health Care reform talks continue in Senate - the senate bill has not yet been released from the Senate Finance Committee which has both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans wondering what it will look like. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) met with some Republican members yesterday to assure them he was looking for a bipartisan bill on heath care reform. TheHill.com has more here.
Remember, since the Democrats used a legislative tactic earlier in regard to the approval of the budget, they can if necessary, can use budget reconciliation as a means to pass health care reform. This would only require a 51 vote majority and not the filibuster proof number of 60.
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Representative Joe Crowley (D-NY) to head new Democrat Coalition - today, he will assume the chair of this new coalition in the House which is a moderate and pro-business group. Politico.com has more here.
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Crowded Aldermen Field in City of Frederick, MD Election
George Wenschhof
As it is still early and many of the aldermen candidates have not started their campaigning, I want to first take a look at some past results and what happens now. A total of twenty candidates had filed by the 4:00 PM ET deadline of July 7. Eleven were Republicans and nine were Democrats.
The nine Democrats are in alphabetical order; Josh Bokee, John Daniels, David Koontz, Andrew Kotkin, Carol Krimm, Donna Kuzemchak, Michael O'Connor, Kelly Russell and Karen Lewis Young.
The eleven Republicans are; Shelley Aloi, Bill Ashton, George Bauer IV, Robert Cassidy, Joe Cohen, Senitta Conyers, Amanda Haddaway, William Huckenpoehler, Alan Imhoff, and John Shupe.
Interestingly, there is still time for candidates of other recognized political parties in Maryland to file. Stuart Harvey, Elections Director; Frederick County Board of Elections sent me the following " Candidates who are affiliated with another recognized party in Maryland (Green, Libertarian, Independent, or Constitution), may be nominated by their party by August 3, for the November ballot. The party would file the list of nominee(s) with the City. Those who are “unaffiliated” had a May 1 deadline to submit petition signatures of 3% of City voters to get on the Nov. ballot, and that deadline has passed. However, for the first time, the City will allow write-in voting in November."
I point out the alphabetical order as this will be how they appear on the ballot. A candidate who appears at the top of the ballot in a multiple candidate race can sometimes benefit from this placement.
Other things which play havoc with aldermen candidates is many voters do not vote for five aldermen. The under votes in the aldermen election are substantial. So it is important for the candidate to be the first, second or third choice of the voter.
Another little known and rarely used tactic by some candidates is to quietly urge their supporters to just vote for them and no other alderman candidate. This ensures no other candidate is receiving votes from their supporters and as long as they are the second or third choice of the other voters, their odds of winning are increased significantly.
This tactic, also known as "single shot" is rarely used for if it became public knowledge, it would backfire against the candidate.
In the 2005 City of Frederick primary, there were a total of 15 aldermen candidates. 8 were Republican and 7 were Democrats. The City of Frederick website has the results here.
The five aldermen in each political party receiving the most votes on September 15 will move on to the general election.
The primary voter turnout is even lower than the dismal 30% general election voter turnout average. One of the issues to ask these aldermen candidates is their position on moving the city election date to coincide with the presidential election cycle. This will result in more than doubling the voter turnout and also save the city money.
I first broached this issue back in 1997 and more recently requested and received a mayor and board workshop. Unfortunately, incumbent mayor Jeff Holtzinger has not moved this forward to a vote. I have a series of columns on my most recent effort located in the right hand margin of the home page. Take a moment and read them and vote for aldermen and a mayor committed to increasing voter turnout in the city.
Keep in mind, the city population is over 60,000 and registered voters are around 30,000. In the 2005 primary, the Republican receiving the most votes was Paul Smith. His vote total was only 1,531. The fifth place Republican who would move on to the general election was James Joyce who received 990 votes. Alan Imhoff was second with 1,305 votes. Both Imhoff and Smith would go on to win in the general election. Both are also running for reelection this year.
Randy McClement, who is running for Mayor in this election, came in fourth with 1,010 votes. He would finish ninth among the aldermen in the general election with 3,257 votes.
On the Democratic side, Marcia Hall who toyed with the idea of running for Mayor, finished first with 2,638 votes in the 2005 primary as more Democrats than Republicans voted in the primary. Ms. Hall is not running for office in this election. The number two and three finishers in the Democratic primary were David Koontz and Donna Kuzemchak with 2,457 and 2,394 votes. All three would be elected in the general election with Marcia Hall finishing first with 5,430 votes.
It is readily apparent a candidate does not need to receive very many votes with such a low voter turnout. With more candidates running than in 2005, the vote will either be spread out even more or the additional candidates may bring more voters to the polling booth. Unless voter turnout increases, a candidate will be able to move on to the general election with even less votes than the winning primary candidates received in 2005.
Incumbents typically have a name recognition advantage over other candidates and this can give them an edge. Four incumbents; Alan Imhoff (R), Paul Smith (R), David Koontz (D), and Donna Kuzemchak (D) are all running for reelection.
While name recognition has it's benefits, it can also become a detriment if voters want to see a change. In this primary, this is something that remains to be determined. There is extreme dissatisfaction by city voters with the action the mayor and board took in regard to the early retirement buy-out program for city employees. Paying a employee 1-2 years salary to retire early and then hiring them back is not something that is understood by the voters. Whether the voters express this dissatisfaction by not voting for incumbents will be known on September 15.
As I mentioned yesterday, when I was discussing the mayoral candidates, the upcoming vote on three annexations into the city could also easily become a motivating force for voters. If voters do not want these annexations and feel they are premature, this could also be a factor if incumbent aldermen vote in favor and other aldermen and mayoral candidates express their opposition to the annexations.
Another overriding issue will be the perception voters have of the current mayor and board. After, what many felt were four years of bickering between the mayor and board during the 2001-2005 term, the current board of aldermen have been on the most part amenable to requests made by the mayor. However, some have said not enough questioning by aldermen took place over the last four years.
So, being an incumbent running for office can have it benefits but also work against them.
Newcomers have to work on receiving name recognition and with so many candidates that can sometimes be difficult.
Aldermen candidates and the voters also need to keep in mind they are electing a legislative body. The alderman position does not have executive authority.
The city has a charter form of government and voters elect their mayor as the executive. It is also known a s strong mayor form of government which means the mayor is the day to day administrator. The mayor also controls the gavel and as such, the agenda.
The City of Frederick elections have not in the past had publicized "slates" running for office. However, it is important for the voter to examine the position of aldermen candidates on issues and compare them to the positions their choice for mayor has on the same issues. The mayor needs the consent of the aldermen to move their agenda forward.
We have links to all of the Democratic candidate campaign websites located in the right hand margin so please take the time to check them periodically as I am sure they are updated from time to time.
In my next post on the City of Frederick election, I will look at the Democratic candidates for aldermen.
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Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Democratic Daily Wire 7-8-2009
George Wenschhof
Today, President Barack Obama is in Italy - he began the day with a meeting with Italian President Giorgia Napolitano. Then, it is meetings with seven other industrialized nations who make up the G-8. The meetings will be held in L'Aquila which is near Rome and will focus on the global economic crisis and climate change. Time.com has more here.
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Chinese President Hu Jintao leaves G-8 Summit in Italy to return to China due to the riots in Xinjiang - so far the riots have reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 150 with 1000 injured. Reuters.com has more here.
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Cost Rica President to mediate Honduran crisis - President Oscar Arias, who won a nobel prize in 1987 for his efforts in brokering an end to civil wars in Central America will mediate the efforts to resolve the leadership question in Honduras. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement yesterday after meeting with ousted Honduran President Zelaya. Honduran interim President Roberto Micheletti has also agreed to the mediation. You can read more here.
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Republicans strategize on how to stop Sotomayor appointment to Supreme Court - the Senate confirmation hearing begins next week and Republican leaders plan to focus on her positions on gun rights and affirmative action. While Sonia Sotomayor will receive flak from some angry Republicans, expect her nomination to be confirmed. Newly sworn in Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) was appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee so he will be in the spotlight immediately. Politico.com has more here.
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Karl Rove testifies in front of House Judiciary Committee - the former White House aid during the George W. Bush administration was grilled on his role in the firing of U.S. attorneys. President Bush had claimed executive privilege in refusing to allow testimony from Rove or White House counsel Harriet Miers. You can read more here.
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