Daily Democratic Wire 9-5-2009

George Wenschhof

President Barack Obama considering drafting health care legislation - after all of the confusion over what bill contains what language, White House advisers are considering drafting their own bill. CNN.com has more here.

Yesterday, the president also held a conference call with the the more liberal Democrats in Congress to discuss the "trigger' option which was introduced a few days ago. The "trigger" would be if private insurance companies did not meet certain market conditions, then a public option for insurance would be created. Reportedly, liberal Democrats want the public option. TheAtlantic.com has more here.

Look to see Obama's speech on Wednesday address his position on the public option and indicate if the White House will be submitting a bill to Congress.

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Obama wants reform in retirement plans - in his weekly address today, the president spoke of expanding access to 401k plans and allowing workers to convert vacation days into retirement plans. TheHill.com has more here.

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Will Democrats retain Senate majority in 2010? - It's not too early to begin looking at the make-up of the Senate. Democrats currently have 58 (one seat vacant in Mass.) seats with two Independents (Sanders and Lieberman) who caucus with them. Newsweek.com takes an early look at the races to watch here.

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Republicans focus on "czars" as they keep up attack on Obama administration - the latest attack is focused on the so-called czar positions which are senior level White House appointments which do not need senate confirmation. Politico.com has more here. Van Jones is the green jobs czar and is being labeled a communist, connected to a 9/11 conspiracy group, and someone dug up a video where he called Republicans "a-holes". Expect this latest attack to have some affect as some in the Republican Party are masters at creating fear and spreading misinformation.

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Israel to freeze construction on West Bank for 6 to 9 months with hope for negotiations with Palestinians - however, construction on hundreds of new units will continue. Palestinians are unhappy with the latest announcement and the U.S. has sent the same message to Israel while expressing hope for a peaceful settlement. The NY Times has more here.

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