Daily Democratic Wire 6-29-2009

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama will meet with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe - the meeting to be held at the White House will likely cover the U.S. concerns in regard to Human Rights and Colombian interest in a trade pact. The Washington Post has more here. It was just last year during the presidential campaign that Mark Penn, a senior adviser to the Hillary Clinton campaign, caught some flack over his company representing Colombia in regard to trade negotiations.

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Meanwhile in South America, a coup results in the ouster of Honduras President Manuel Zelaya - President Obama called for Democracy and the rule of law and a return to power of Zelaya. U.S. diplomats are working to ensure the safety of Zelaya and his family. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Over in Iran, results from a partial recount are expected to be released at the end of today - the government indicated they were conducting a recount of 10% of the vote. Hard to say what the recount will tell us as Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei has already ruled the election will stand. Reuters.com has more here.

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Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak to meet with U.S. Middle East Envoy George Mitchell - it is expected during a meeting in D.C. tomorrow, Israel will offer to suspend building on the West Bank for a period of 3-6 months as negotiations continue toward a two-state solution with Palestine. President Obama has said that Israel must stop the settlements in the West Bank in order for peaceful solutions to move forward. The NY Times has more here.

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Back home in the U.S., Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) says he will not delay issuing certificate to Al Franken (D) - the Minnesota supreme court is expected to rule soon on the vote challenge by Norm Coleman (R). Minnesota has been one Senator short on Capitol Hill since the November 2008 election due to legal challenges by Coleman. Politico.com has more here.

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The Obamas decide on a Church - after visiting many of the churches in D.C., they have decided on the Evergreen Chapel located at Camp David, the presidential retreat. It is a nondenominational church and is the same one used by former President George W. Bush. Time.com has more here.

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Surprise Move By Specter to Give Democrats 60 in Senate

George Wenschhof Bio

In a move similar to the one made by Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) prior to the general election in 2006, Senator Arlen Specter (Pa.) has decided to switch parties and become a Democrat.

Many remember Lieberman as the Democratic vice presidential candidate with Al Gore in the 2000 election. After a unsuccessful run for the Democratic party nomination for president in 2004, Lieberman was defeated in the Democratic primary in his bid for reelection to the Senate in 2006. His defeat in the Democratic primary was fueled by his support of the war in Iraq as liberal Democrats opposed continued U.S. presence in Iraq. Lieberman switched to Independent and won reelection to the Senate. He added insult to the Democratic party by supporting Republican presidential candidate John McCain in the 2008 election.

Democratic Leaders realized they would need Lieberman's vote on many key issues, and in spite of the call by many to sanction Lieberman for his actions, the Democratic party only delivered a slight slap on the wrist. They allowed Lieberman to continue to caucus with the Democrats and maintain his chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Senator Arlen Specter is the longest serving Senator in the state of Pennsylvania. He was first elected as a Republican in 1980. He came under recent fire from his fellow Republicans as he was one of only three Republican Senators who supported President Barack Obama's Stimulus bill. Serious moves were being taken to run a more conservative Republican against him in next year's mid-term elections. Recent polls indicated he was losing to declared Republican challenger; former Representative Pat Toomey.

With this surprise move of changing party affiliation to Democrat, he will be a favorite to win in the general election as many Republicans will vote for him in addition to his newly found Democratic voter friends.

In the meantime, The Republican party angst against Senator Specter has backfired and lead the Democratic party to what appears to be a filibuster proof number of 60 seats in the Senate. When Al Franken is finally seated from Minnesota, he will make 57 elected Democrats in the Senate. Independents Bernie Sanders (Vt.) and Joe Lieberman (Conn.) caucus with the Democrats and make it 59. So, when Specter makes it official he is a Democrat next week, he will be number 60.

While the official announcement by Specter is not until next week, President Obama has already telephoned Senator Specter this morning and welcomed him to the Democratic party.

Politics makes strange bedfellows...

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Democratic Chatter 4-8-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama arrived home at 3:00 AM ET this morning - he arrived a little later than originally planned due to his surprise visit to Iraq. he was greet enthusiastically, when in a speech delivered to the troops, he spoke of the withdraw timetable from Iraq and the time for the Iraq government to take over security of their country. Reuters.com has more on the Iraq visit here.

The whirlwind eight day European trip is now over and all early reports have been that it was a tremendous success. Today, the president has no planned events.

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Fidel Castro meets with Congressional Black Caucus members in Havana yesterday - the ailing Cuban leader has not been seen publicly for some time. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Barbara Lee (D-Calf.), and Laura Richardson (D-calf.) meet with Castro and will be submitting their report to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi upon their return to the States. They indicated Castro wanted to know how Cuba could help President Obama and the u.S. better relations between the two countries. You can read more here.

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Iranian Leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomes talks with the U.S. and President Obama - In a speech broadcast on state television, he stated Iran welcomed "honest" dialogue with the U.S. Iran has not had diplomatic relations with the U.S. since former president George W. Bush labeled them a terrorist nation and a member of the "axis of evil". You can read more here.

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Franken leads grows by 87 in Minnesota Senate race - good grief! five months later and we are still waiting for a Senator to be certified and seated from Minnesota. As expected, Democrat Al Franken's lead grew to 312 votes from 225 over Republican Norm Coleman after 351 absentee ballots ordered by the court were counted yesterday. The final court ruling is expected by the end of this week on various other issues surrounding the election. The Coleman campaign is expected to appeal the decision to the state supreme court. The Chicago Star Tribune has more here.

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7000 absentee ballots count begins today in NY Special Election - Republican Jim Tedisco has a slim lead of 17 votes over Democrat Scott Murphy. This is the election to replace Kirsten Hillibrand (D) in the 20th district after she was named to replace the vacancy Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. Politico.com has more here.

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As expected, Democrat Mike Quigley easily wins special election in Illinois - the former Cook County Commissioner easily beat Republican Rosanna Pulido with 70% of the vote with 94% of the precincts reporting. Quigley will replace Rahm Emanuel in Congress. Emanuel vacated the position when he became White House Chief of Staff. You can read more here.

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Congressional Ethics office begins preliminary inquiry into actions of Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) - information is being sought pertaining to the filling of the vacant U.S. Senate seat in Illinois by former Governor Rod Blagojevich. TheHill.com has more here.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-7-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama is on his way home after a very successful overseas trip - On the last day of his trip, the president attended a town hall meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. He spoke of building new bridges instead of new walls as he discussed future relationships with Turkey. ThePage.Time.com has his entire remarks and a video clip here.

Earlier, Obama met with Religious Leaders in Istanbul and also visited several Mosques. The president is expected to arrive in Washington D.C. at 5:30 PM ET.

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Obama makes unannounced stop in Baghdad - on his way home, he stops in Baghdad, Iraq to meet with General Odierno and troops. He is expected to personally award medals of honor to about a dozen soldiers. He will also call the Iraq President and Prime Minister as it is reported the visibility is too tough for Helicopter travel. Reuters.com has more here. The surprise visit is also most likely due to security concerns.

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Congressional delegation meets with Raul Castro in Havana - they were there to discuss future U.S - Cuba relations. You can read more here. Recently, a bill was introduced in the senate to allow for easier travel for U.S. citizens to Cuba. It is expected to pass by the time President Obama attends the Summit of Americas in Trinidad on April 17. CNN.com has more here. The current U.S. embargo of Cuba has been a failure for over 50 years and it is time to revisit U.S. policy in this area.

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On the home front, the federal budget deficit for the first six months of fiscal year '09 hits 953 Billion - for the same period in '08, it was 313 Billion. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. The deficit for fiscal year '09 will probably double over the next six months as the Stimulus bill and more TARP funds are spent. Reuters.com has more here.

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Tedisco ahead in NY special election - the latest tally by the NY Board of elections shows Republican Jim Tedisco ahead by 97 votes with 76,914 to Democrat Scott Murphy with 76,817. The state supreme court ruled yesterday the election officials must begin counting the 6,780 absentee ballots tomorrow. Politico.com has more here.

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In another special election, Democrat Mike Quiqley is expected to win easily the Illinois 5th District Congressional seat - this is the seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel when he became White House Chief of Staff. The 5th district is heavily registered Democrat so Republican challenger Rosanna Pulido is not expected to win. You can read more here.

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In Minnesota, the Senate vote count continues today - five months after the election another 387 absentee ballots will be counted today as a result of a resent court decision. Democrat Al Franken has a 225 vote lead over republican Norm Coleman. It is doubtful, Coleman can pick up enough votes with these absentee ballots to take the lead. However, Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will not certify the election until the appellate process is complete. This indicates future appeals by the Coleman campaign. You can read more here.

As I have commented before, this has become ridiculous as there remains a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. If need be, legislation should be passed to ensure certification of a election be complete within sixty days from the date the election is held.

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Democratic Chatter 3-22-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama will appear tonight, on CBS "Sixty Minutes" - it will be broadcast at 7:00 PM ET. The president continues to defend Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in the interview. ThePage.Time.com has some excerpts from the show here. If Geithner's roll out this week of his plan to deal with toxic assets of banks flops, he is gone and the president is saying he accepts his resignation with regret...

The President and his family are spending the weekend at Camp David, the presidential retreat near Thurmont, Maryland. They will return to D.C. Monday morning.

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RNC raises more funds than DNC in February - The Republican National Committee, chaired by Michael Steele raised 5.1 million in February. While, the Democratic National Committee, chaired by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine raised 3.3 million. The DNC also has the 13 million email list from the Obama campaign. Grumbling is already happening among Democrats over the unusual part-time arrangement of Governor Kaine as DNC chair. Politico.com has more here.

It remains a mystery why the Obama administration was in such a hurry to replace Howard Dean as DNC chair. It was Dean's 50 state strategy which aided the success the Democrats experienced as they won the White House and gained majorities in the House and Senate. Dean was also passed over for any position in the Obama administration.

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Employee Free Choice Act receiving scrutiny - expect discussion on this bill also known as the "card check" bill to heat up over the next few months. Costco, Whole foods and Starbucks have offered a compromise proposal which would move from 50% to 70%, the number of employees required to have signed a authorization card to form a union. Stay tuned as this bill will be hotly debated. TheHill.com has more here.

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Decision due this week on Minnesota Senate race - nearly five months after the election, Judges are set to rule on the Senate race trial between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken. After a mandated state recount Franken was certified as the winner by 225 votes out of 2.9 million cast. The loser of this trial could still appeal to the state Supreme Court and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Minnesota is short one Senator. The Washington Post has more here.

Look to see efforts made to streamline legal remedies in regard to election disputes as voters are denied of representation as the legal due process works it's way through the system.

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Democratic Chatter 3-11-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama to address Earmark concerns today - He is expected to sign the 410 billion omnibus spending bill today that was finally passed by the Senate last night. The bill was needed to keep funding government agencies through the end of the current fiscal year which ends on September 30. The bill contained countless earmarks from Republican and Democratic members of Congress worth about 20 billion or 5% of the total funding in the bill. The president will probably say something to the effect that this is a bill he inherited and sign it. Then he will discuss reforms he plans to institute to avoid earmarks in the future. Time.com has more here.

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Obama to nominate Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske to be U.S. drug czar - the president is also removing this department from a cabinet level. the office of National Drug Control Policy was raised to a cabinet level under the previous George W. Bush administration. Reuters.com has more here.

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Meanwhile, another nominee withdraws from consideration - Charles Freeman had been nominated by National Intelligence Director Admiral Dennis Blair to be Director of the National Intelligence Council. Freeman came under fire after disclosures he was less than pro-Israel and for statements attributed to him regarding the Chinese crackdown at Tianamen square. When it was apparent Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) would not support Freeman, he withdrew from consideration. Politico.com has more here.

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Chinese Foreign Minister to meet with Secretary of State Clinton today - a recent flare of tensions between the countries occurred when Chinese ships intercepted a U.S. intelligence ship in international waters off the coast of China. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Hillary Clinton are expected to discuss this incident along with broader U.S. - Chinese interests. You can read more here.

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In Minnesota, the Franken campaign last witness to testify today - the never ending trial is coming to a close - maybe. The ruling will most likely come next week but then there are possible appeals to the state supreme court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 3-8-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Did you remember to "Spring Forward"? Time to set your clocks around one hour!

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President Barack Obama considers reaching out to moderate Taliban - to aid in the stabilization of Afghanistan. A similar strategy was used in Iraq with segments of the Sunni community. Afghanistan President Karzai welcomed the news. The NY Times has more here.

The President is also planning a trip to Turkey - a large Muslim nation, this would fulfill Obama's promise to visit and reach out to the Muslim world. The Chicago Tribune Swamppolitics.com has more here.

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Help on the way for Treasury Secretary Geithner - the White House announced yesterday three senior appointments to the Treasury. They are David Cohen for terrorist financing, Alan Kreger for economic policy and Kim Wallace for legislative affairs. Early speculation is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be among the first casualties of the Obama administration. So far, he has failed to instill confidence in investors or the American voter. CNN.com has more here.

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Remember the Minnesota Senate race? - well, it is still not over. Democrat Al Franken just lost a state supreme court decision on his request to have the state recount be certified and for him to be seated as Senator. The Democrats could sure use this seat in the Senate so it is not a surprise that Republican Norm Coleman is battling so hard to retain his seat. Politico.com has more here.

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A tribute will be held for Senator Ted Kennedy tonight - in celebration of his 77th birthday and a lifetime in politics. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife plan to attend. ThePage.time.com has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 2-24-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Tonight, President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress - his speech is being billed as similar to a "State of the Union" speech and will last about one hour beginning at 9:00 PM ET. It will be carried by all the major television networks. Obviously, the president will address the economy, but also expect him to touch on foreign policy, education health care, and energy. CNN.com has more here.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will deliver the Republican response following the President's speech.

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Yesterday, President Obama held a White House fiscal summit - included were members of Congress, union and business leaders. In what I found to be a first, Obama answered questions from participants behind a podium at the end of the summit. It was similar to a White House press briefing except the questioners were members of Congress. The President did a good job answering the questions, including one from Senator John McCain (R-AZ) who asked about the need for a new fleet of Presidential Helicopters. MSNBC.com has more here.

Next week, the President will be holding a health care summit.

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Dow Jones drops to lowest point in a decade - yesterday, the Dow Jones dropped another 250 points to close at 7114.78. This is the lowest close since 1997. It will be important for President Obama to include some hope and optimism in his speech tonight as the overwhelming majority of Americans are in fear of the economy. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Gary Locke to be named Commerce Secretary - is the third time the charm? The former two term Governor of Washington is expected to be named this week. He will follow the nominations by the President of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH). Politico.com has more here.

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Hilda Solis inches toward confirmation for Labor Secretary - her confirmation has been delayed by Republican concerns with her support of organized Labor. If a filibuster does not transpire by the Republicans, it is being reported she will be confirmed by the senate this week. Time.com has more here.

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Meanwhile, the Minnesota trial surrounding the Senate election continues - it has been almost three months since the November 2008 elections and Minnesota is still short one U.S. Senator. Arguments from the Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D) campaigns continue before a three judge panel over previously rejected absentee ballots. After a state required recount, Franken was declared the winner by a margin of 225 votes. The StarTribune has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 2-14-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

This morning, in his weekly address to the nation, President Barack Obama spoke of the passage by Congress of his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan - better known as the 787 billion Stimulus bill. He cautioned there are no quick fixes for the economy and recognized some questioned the effectiveness of the bill. He said Americans can check on the progress of the bill at http://www.recovery.gov/. You can watch his speech below.

privacy policy download .mp4 also available here audio

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787 billion Stimulus bill passes late last night in the Senate - the vote in the Senate was 60-38 and the reason for the late hour approval was they waited for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Oh.) to return from memorial services for his mother who had passed away. In fact, the White House arranged for a plane to fly him to D.C. and then back to Ohio in order for him to attend funeral services today. He gave passage of the bill a veto-proof measure of victory. Senator Edward Kennedy was unable to make the vote as he was in Florida receiving treatment for his brain cancer.

You wonder where the 100th vote went? Well, it wasn't cast due to no resolution to the Minnesota Senate race involving Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). The three Republican Senators to vote in favor of the bill were Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins from Maine along with Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Republican Senator Judd Gregg who just withdrew from consideration for Commerce Secretary voted against the bill.

The House vote was 246-183 with seven Democrats voting with all Republicans against passage of the Stimulus bill. So much for bipartisan spirit in Washington.... The President is expected to have a bill signing ceremony on Monday. The NY Times has more here.

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Speaking of the Minnesota Senate race - yesterday, a three judge panel issued a ruling that appears will not be helpful for Republican Norm Coleman who is arguing for more rejected absentee ballots to be counted. The ruling was there had been not been a statewide problem in the counting of absentee ballots. They also provided a conservative guideline for the judges to use in determining what rejected absentee ballots should be examined. Maybe, by the end of the month Democrat Al Franken will be sworn in. Politico.com has more here.

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President Obama lays out ambitious agenda for the next two weeks - not slowing down, the President plans to present his plan to aid the housing crisis next Wednesday while in Phoenix, Arizona. On February 23, the President intends to hold a "fiscal responsibility" summit where social security and medicare will be discussed. The following day, Obama will give a speech to the joint session of Congress. CNN.com has more here.

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New fodder for Republicans to scream about - seems Representative Grace Napolitano (D-Calf.) loaned her campaign $150,000 back in 1998. Over the last ten years she has served in Congress, the campaign has paid her 18% interest on the debt amounting to $221,780 while only reducing the principle by $64,727. In 1999, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruled the interest payments were allowable. Nonetheless, in this economic crisis climate, expect this issue to gain traction among Republicans. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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On the foreign policy front, U.S. fired missiles from drones kill 25 militants in Pakistan - this is the third U.S. missile strike within Pakistan since Obama became President. It is being reported the killed were al-Qaeda linked militants and the location was in the South Waristan region. Pakistan has expressed outrage of the continued U.S. missile strikes within their country. Reuters.com has more here.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her first foreign policy speech yesterday to the Asia Society in New York - she will be leaving on her first trip as Secretary of State next week to visit Japan, China, South Korea, and Indonesia. MSNBC.com has more here.

Special envoy to Afghanistan/ Pakistan Richard Holbrooke met with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai - the Karzai administration/U.S. relationship has been deteriorating as the Taliban has regained strength in Afghanistan. President Karzai has also expressed displeasure of U.S. military tactics which have caused civilian deaths. You can read more here.

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Democratic Chatter 2-6-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Welcome to Washington, Mr. President - President Barack Obama is finding his first weeks in office to be anything but easy. He has had Cabinet nominees withdraw due to tax issues and others have their confirmations delayed due to questions that should have been addressed during the vetting process.

Now, the 900+ Billion Stimulus bill vote in the Senate is being delayed due to lack of consensus. It was expected to be voted on last night. But, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could see the writing on the wall and postponed further discussion until today. A major question from both sides of the aisle is the low level of funding in the bill for infrastructure improvement across the country and questions surrounding funding a myriad of other items unrelated to what had originally been proposed.

Reid is saying if the bill does not come to a vote today, he will get the necessary 60 votes on Sunday to call for the vote to pass the bill. Expect many changes and compromises to have transpired overnight. Reuters.com has more here.

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598,000 Jobs lost in January adds urgency to pass Stimulus bill - unemployment now is 7.6%, the highest since September 1992. The number of jobs lost in the last four months now exceeds 2 million. The NY Times has more here.

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President Obama to name Economic Advisory Board today - we reported yesterday that Paul Volcker, a former Treasury Secretary was in a little bit of of a snit as he had not been named to head the special committee appointed by the President to offer advise on getting the country out of the economic mess it is in. Well, today, he gets his time in the spotlight when he appears with the President. Let's hope he and the committee gives good advise. CNN.com has more here.

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On Monday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will spell out new Economic Stability Plan - this will be a revision of (TARP) the Troubled Assets Relief Program which the remaining 350 Billion was recently authorized by for the Treasury to spend. Expect more help to go to troubled mortgages to help Homeowners with more transparency and accountability to be included in the revisions put forward by Geithner. What is unknown is whether he intends to up the current budgeted amount of 350 Billion and ask Congress for more funds. CNN.com has more here.

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Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis confirmation delayed - taxes pop up once again for a nominee for the President's Cabinet. This time it pertains to the husband of the nominee. Solis is already facing opposition due to her support of Labor so this recent issue is not so surprising to have popped up at this late date. Politico.com has more here.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has pancreatic cancer - she had surgery yesterday in what has been said to be very early stages of cancer. She is 75 years old. During the Presidential campaign, due to the age of some of the Justices on the Supreme Court, it was often discussed that the next President could easily be responsible for appointing several Supreme Court Justices. Let's hope for a rapid recovery for Ginsburg. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

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Meanwhile, the Minnesota Senate race saga continues - the state mandated recount resulting in the canvassing board verifying Democrat Al Franken the winner by 225 votes. Then incumbent Republican Norm Coleman filed suit asking for additional previously rejected absentee ballots be counted. The court just recently said up to 4800 ballots could be argued to be counted by the Coleman campaign.

Now, the Franken campaign is asking the court for more previously rejected absentee ballots to be counted. The issue of contention is where the ballots are from with some areas favoring conservative and other areas, more liberal candidates. How about just reviewing all the remaining 20,000 rejected absentee ballots? Just a thought. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 2-4-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama will announce $500,000 pay limit for executives of companies receiving bailout funds - He will hold a press conference this morning at 11:00 AM ET. Joining him will be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who will spell out additional rules for the remaining $350 Billion of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Reuters.com has more here. This comes after revelations surfaced of no accountability on how the first 350 Billion was spent, executives receiving million dollar bonuses, and expensive Jets and office renovations taking place by companies who had received bailout funds.

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Speaking of the Bailout bill, how about helping homeowners in distress? - this is what everyone was led to believe the 700 Billion TARP bill was intended to do. Instead, the first 350 Billion went with no strings attached to financial institutions. Now, both Republicans and Democrats are looking at ways to provide funds to help distressed homeowners and the housing market. The NY Times has more here.

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"I screwed up" - was one of many statements made by the President last night as he made the rounds appearing on the major television networks. The scheduled interviews had been set up for President Obama to explain the importance of passing the Stimulus Bill. Instead, he was apologizing for the withdrawals of two of his nominees; Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle due to tax issues. ThePage.time.com has some videos of the interviews here.

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How about Howard Dean for HHS Secretary? - the former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee chair also happens to be a doctor. Now that Daschle has removed himself, how about considering Dean for the position? The question was posed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC "Hardball" last night. Dean, who as chair of the DNC, successfully implemented a 50 state strategy that helped Obama win the Presidency. Since the election, he has been replaced by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and mostly snubbed by the Obama administration. He deserves consideration for the position.

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Remember the Minnesota senate race? - a Minnesota court ruled yesterday to consider an additional 4800 of the 12,000 previously rejected absentee ballots. Republican Norm Coleman's campaign was pleased with the ruling and democrat Al Franken said it was good to have clarity. The Franken campaign also intends to ask the court to instruct Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to issue a temporary election certificate. They have refused to do so until all legal challenges have been decided. Franken won by 225 votes in the state mandated recount. CNN.com has more here.

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Bonnie Newman named to replace Judd Gregg as Senator in New Hampshire - as we reported previously, Democratic Governor John Lynch announced the appointment today. This keeps the seat as a Republican after Gregg was nominated to be Commerce Secretary by the President. In what appears to be a little bit of wheeling and dealing, Newman will not run in 2010 and she will not endorse a candidate in that race. Politico.com has more here.

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