Daily Democratic Wire 8-8-2009

George Wenschhof

Right-wing conservative groups behind the disruption of town hall meetings on health care reform - the Republican Party which has long been the Party of fear and division is at it again. Off the wall ridiculous statements are the norm as they intend to incite citizens against meaningful reform in the health care system. Whether it has been hanging Representative Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) in effigy, using the Nazi party symbol, or just flat out unruly crowds at town hall meetings, the wackos have been out and about in force. President Obama responds to these vicious and untrue attacks in his weekly address today. The NY Times has more on the disruptive measures being taken by the right wing nuts here.

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Sonia Sotomayor to be sworn in today - in a proud moment in American history, she will be the first Hispanic and the third woman to be a Supreme Court Justice. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will perform the swearing-in. The Supreme Court is scheduled to reconvene on September 9. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Promising Economic News - in addition to unemployment rates dropping, the Dow Jones reached the highest level of 2009 Friday when it closed at 9,370.07. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Who will Florida Governor pick to replace Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla.)? - is the question many are asking. The Senator is resigning effective the end of August and Florida Governor Charlie Crist has indicated he will be running for the seat in the 2011 election. So, the speculation is he will only appoint a caretaker to keep the seat warm for him. The names being bandied about are Secretary of State Jim Smith, former US Senator Connie Mack and former Governor Bob Martinez. One more reason why US Senate vacancies should be replaced by special election as are state Representatives. ThePage.Time.com has more here.

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Jenny Sanford moves out of Governor's Mansion - the two week family vacation she just returned from must not have gone that well. Her husband Republican Governor Mark Sanford admitted recently, after disappearing for several days, he had been having an affair with a woman in Argentina. I guess the odds of the wife and mistress running into each other were slim. The Governor had been on the short list for Republican presidential candidates for 2012. Politico.com has more here.

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