Daily Political Wire 6-10-2010

George Wenschhof

Today, President Obama meets with the families of the victims of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig explosion - You can read more here. Outrage continues as BP struggles to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf coast and their containment efforts also are falling short. BP is not only facing unbelievable costs of the cleanup, they are also facing criminal investigation regarding the actions that took place prior to the explosion.

The president will also meet with a bipartisan group of Congressman today to discuss their agenda, the economy and the BP oil spill.

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House Leaders pick members of Financial Reform conference committee - finally, today the House/Senate conference on Financial reform will begin meetings to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill. TheHill.com has more here.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) picked 10 members led by Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Oh.) picked 11 members.

Wall Street has spent millions on lobbyists to water down the bill during this critical period, especially in the area of trading/selling of derivatives and the percentage of investors money that Banks can in turn invest.

The president has requested a bill by July 4 for him to sign into law.

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UN Security Council finally approves new sanctions against Iran - only two of the 15 member nation council voted against the measure. Reuters.com has more here. They were Brazil and Turkey. Turkey, a long standing U.S. ally has been wavering as of late especially after the Israeli seizure of a Turkish humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza.

The sanctions cover the ability of Iran to enter the international banking system and also curtails much international trade. However, the sanctions are mostly headline attention oriented and it is doubtful they will have the intended effect of curtailing Iran's nuclear program.

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California approves Open Primaries - in addition to determining political party nominees, voters on Tuesday also approved a change in how candidates will be chosen in future elections. FirstRead.com has more here.

Proposition 14 provides an open primary for House and Senate seats with the top two candidates facing each other in the General Election. This would allow any type of scenario, including two Republicans facing each other in the General Election.

Expect both major political parties to challenge the legality of the law.

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