Daily Democratic Wire 2-12-2010

George Wenschhof

NY Times/CBS News poll show Americans blame former President George W. Bush, Wall Street and Congress for current economic problems - President Obama escapes the wrath of the voters on this one and appropriately so. The NY Times has more here.

Other results show Americans favor by a 2-1 margin, ending the tax cuts for the wealthy passed under the George W. Bush administration. In addition, a majority favored allowing gays to serve openly in the military and favored a change of the filibuster rule in the Senate. 62% of the respondents also feel President Obama has made a better effort than Republicans to compromise and reach consensus.

As to the "tea party" movement, only 18% of the respondents were supportive.

However, almost everyone was dissatisfied with Congress, so look for all incumbents to face serious challenges this fall in the elections.

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Former President Bill Clinton receives two Stents to clear blocked heart artery - after returning from a trip to Haiti, Clinton felt chest discomfort and saw his cardiologist. The procedure to place the stents in the artery was performed at NY Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital, the same place where his quadruple heart bypass surgery was done in 2004.

He has already been released from the hospital and is on his way home to Chappaqua, NY. Interestingly, one million of these type of procedures are performed annually in U.S. hospitals.

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71% view former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as unqualified to be President - in addition, only 37% had a favorable view of Ms. Palin. The poll was conducted February 4-8 by the Washington Post and ABC News. The Washington Post has more here.

Thankfully, outside of the 500-600 who attended the recent tea party convention, voters see Ms. Palin for what she is, a former politician hoping to cash in from the heightened public exposure afforded her by Senator John McCain (R-Az.) when he picked her for his running mate in the 2008 election.

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Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy announces he will not be running for reelection - next year, for the first time since 1962, there will not be a Kennedy serving in Congress. He was facing a tough campaign after a history of addiction and mental health issues. In a video he taped and paid to be aired this Sunday, he informs the voters he will not be a candidate. You can watch the video here.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) caves, 27 Obama appointees approved - in a meeting Tuesday at the White House, President Obama warned McConnell if action wasn't taken on the remaining 63 stalled appointments, he would make recess appointments. The continued silliness of the Republican tactic of obstructionism is turning off voters. These are positions needed to run government agencies. Politico.com has more here.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Az.) says no to Grassley/Baucus 85 billion Jobs bill, introduces 15 billion Jobs bill - in a surprise move, the bloated bipartisan jobs bill was discarded. The new bill focuses on tax breaks for companies that hire the unemployed; a provision which has been pushed by Republicans. Reid made his announcement after meeting with the Senate Democrats who expressed their displeasure with the proposed Grassley/Baucus bill. MSNBC.com has more here.

Makes you wonder if some of the Democratic Senators are still angry with the stalling actions and concessions taken by Max Baucus (D-Mont) chair of the Finance Committee, in regard to the health care reform bill.

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Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to introduce legislation to limit corporate spending on elections - this is a result of the Supreme Court "Citizens United decision" which basically said corporations had the same rights as individuals and opened the door to unlimited corporate spending on elections. The proposed bill would ban contributions from corporations with foreign interest and companies who receive government contracts or federal bail-out funds. CNN.com has more here.

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