Daily Political Wire 8-11-2010

George Wenschhof

President Obama signs 26.1 billion state aid bill - the House returned for a special session to pass (247-161) the bill which will help states avoid teacher lay offs and help in medicaid deficits.

The House also passed the 600 million border security bill which had been passed by the Senate. Reuters.com has more here.

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Obama backed Bennet wins in Colorado primary - he easily beat Democratic senate candidate Andrew Romanoff who had received the backing of former President Bill Clinton. This make make Democratic rethink questions of having President Obama stump for them this fall.

The Georgia Republican gubernatorial run off remains too close to call with Nathan Deal 3,000 votes ahead of Karen Handel. The Democratic nominee for governor Roy Barnes appears to be the front runner for the general election.

In Connecticut, Wrestling Promoter Linda McMahon (R) will face Richard Blumenthal for the rights to occupy the seat left open by retiring Senator Chris Dodd (D).

Politico.com has a good recap here.

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Rangel floor speech Ridiculous - the House returned to a session to vote for 26.1 billion in aid to states, but it was a questionable speech by embattled Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) that received all the attention. TheHill.com has more here.

Defying members to expel him and stating he was not going away, he complained of the almost two year process which led to 13 ethics charges being filed against him. He claimed his innocence based on stupidity and negligence, saying no corruption was involved.

He would have been better off two years ago admitting irregularities and accepting a reprimand by the House. Now, trying to use his waning power and influence which came from serving for 40 years to avoid responsibility, he has become an embarrassment to himself and the Democratic Party.

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Gloomy Outlook for U.S. Economy - economists polled by Bloomberg, all say declining consumer spending, an upside down trade balance and lack of job growth will decelerate any economic growth. Bloomberg.com has more here.

This will be the signature issue in the mid term elections. Unless the Obama administration can come up with a new program, such as a federally funded public service employment program which would put the unemployed to work immediately in public service jobs, the Republicans will make significant gains in Congress this fall.

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Will U.S. withdraw completely from Iraq? - as President Obama states the U.S. is maintaining their withdrawal timetable, questions remain as to how long an American military presence will remain in Iraq. All troops are scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of 2011, but doubts remain if this will actually be accomplished. The NY Times has a good read here.

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