George Wenschhof
Today, President Obama will visit Winston-Salem, North Carolina - He will visit a Community College and deliver remarks on the economy. You can read more here.
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Bernanke on "Sixty Minutes" - last night, the Federal Reserve chair defended his actions to date to stem the recession gripping America. He also called for a change in the current tax system which he felt was overly comprehensive and burdensome. The NY Times has more here.
A proposal also included in the recommendations released recently by the bipartisan deficit reduction committee.
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Tax Extension Compromise Expected to be Announced Soon - hardly a surprise. After, the show and bluster by Democrats in the House and Senate on votes to only extend tax cuts for those earning $250,000 or less. The compromise? a temporary two year extension of all the Bush tax cuts in return for an extension of the Obama middle class tax cuts and a one year extension of benefits for the long term unemployed. FirstRead.com has more here.
This deal could have been reached months ago without all the political theater.
An interesting note: The cost of this action will exceed the 800 Billion spent on the Stimulus Bill.... and Republicans say they oppose government spending?
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Meanwhile, U.S. Foreign Policy Remains a Question Mark - the U.S. is accusing China of enabling North Korea in it's nuclear development and looking the other way in regard to the latest military actions by North Korea directed at South Korea. The Washington Post has more here.
While, over in Afghanistan, U.S. General David Petraus says "success is complicated.. it will take a long haul and U.S. commitment". ThePage.com has more here.
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DREAM Act Passage Unlikely in Lame Duck - the vote is expected this week and the watered down bill to provide a pathway to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who attend college or serve in the military is expected to fail. TheHill.com has more here.
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In case you missed the Sunday morning "Talking Heads", CNN has a quick look at the highlights below.
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Monday, December 6, 2010
Daily Political Wire 12-6-2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Daily Political Wire 8-26-2010
George Wenschhof
Today, Vice President Joe Biden will be in Manchester, New Hampshire - he is continuing the "Recovery Summer" tour with a speech on the 787 billion Stimulus bill.
The planned tour has mostly fallen flat as unemployment has remained steady at 9.5%. Today. there was a little bright news with initial unemployment claims down 31,000 for the week.
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Bernanke to give policy speech tomorrow - with the U.S. economic outlook remaining gloomy, all eyes will be on Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke tomorrow to see what policy initiatives are being put forth. Fear is rising among economists that lower prices will lead to deflation and a even weaker economy. Stay Tuned... The Washington Post has more here.
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Absentee ballots to determine Alaska GOP Senate Race - incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski trailed Joe Miller by 1668 votes after all precincts had reported. There are 8000 absentee ballots remaining to be counted. It will take into next week to have the final results. Chris Cillizza has more here.
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Aide to Afghanistan President tied to corruption and C.I.A. - more bad news on the Afghan front as the Obama administration continues to struggle with an unpopular war. Now, revelations show a chief aide to President Hamid Karzai to be both directly involved in corruption schemes within the Afghan government and also working for the C.I.A. The NY Times is reporting Mohammed Zia Salehi was arrested by an anti corruption intelligence force and then released after an appeal to President Karzai. The NY Times has more here.
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Retrial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to be decided today - lawyers will meet in a federal court today in Chicago to decide the date of the new trial. Blagojevich was only found guilty of one charge of lying to the F.B.I. and the jury was unable to agree on conviction on 23 other counts of corruption. CNN.com has more here.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 8-25-2009
George Wenschhof
This morning, President Barack Obama nominated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for another term - so much for the promise yesterday from deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton of no news from the president while he was on vacation. Bernanke flew to Martha's Vineyard to be present for the announcement. You can read more here.
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Housing prices rise for first time in three years - for the last quarter. The peak was in 2006. Since then, home prices have fallen 30%. ABCNews has more here.
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Upon new release of information pertaining to abuse of prisoners, Attorney General Eric Holder appoints Special Prosecutor - the newly released report details additional abuse of prisoners by the CIA and their contractors. Holder stated he had no choice but to appoint a prosecutor to determine if a full investigation is to follow. The man chosen for the job is John Durham, a prosecutor from Connecticut. The NY Times has more here.
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Afghanistan Election may be headed for a run-off - Reuters is reporting that with 10% of the vote counted, President Hamid Karzai has a 41% - 39% lead over challenger Abdullah Abdullah. If neither obtains a simple majority of the vote, there will be a run-off election. Reuters.com has more here.
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Daily Democratic Wire 6-24-2009
George Wenschhof
Iran election to stand - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said they had no intention of altering the results of the vote. Yesterday, in a nationally televised press conference, President Barack Obama condemned the brutal and unjust actions taken by the Iranian government toward those who were protesting the vote. You can read more here.
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Afghanistan election on the horizon - current Afghan President Hamid Karzai is pretty much considered a U.S. puppet. He has limited travel within the country and when he does, he is heavily guarded by U.S. troops. His challenger to the presidency, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai warns of a rigged election on August 20. Stay tuned. Politico.com has a good read here.
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How weird is this? Republican Governor Governor Mark Sanford sighted - after disappearing last week without even his wife knowing where he was, the Governor was interviewed after arriving in Atlanta. After his staff had indicated he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, a ambitious news reporter had located the state vehicle he had been driving located in the parking lot at Columbia International Airport with a sleeping bag, jogging shoes inside. Upon being met at the Atlanta airport, his initial response was he had been in Buenos Aires, unwinding from a difficult session with the state legislature. There is surely more to come in regard to this story. This man was being considered a strong possibility for President on the Republican ticket in 2012. You can read more here.
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More Nixon Tapes and Documents released - expect more interesting tidbits to be released as the media pours over 154 hours of new tapes and 30,000 new documents released by the Nixon Library. Not exactly what the Republican Party needs at this point after being routed in the recent elections and polls showing less than 23% of Americans are Republicans.
The late Republican President Richard Nixon was impeached over the Watergate scandal and these additional released tapes and documents will be fascinating to read. So far, it is being reported Nixon stating in a conversation he believed the Republican Party should recruit attractive women to run for office - not because he was for women, but because he felt they would be competitive. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Climate Change Bill vote may come Friday - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) is pushing this forward for a vote and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) indicated he would not be moving it forward without the votes to pass. Not all Democrats are in agreement, but the president gave the bill a boost as he expressed his support yesterday in his press conference. TheHill.com has more here.
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Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke expected to give update on economy today - policy analysts have been in meetings for the past several days discussing possible actions in regard to the economy. Any action decided is expected to be announced at the end of the day. Time.com has more here.
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Thursday, April 9, 2009
Democratic News Chatter 4-9-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama starts off busy day with economic roundtable discussion - they will be discussing low interest rates and the roundtable discussion meeting in the Roosevelt room will include some homeowners who have recently refinanced their mortgages.
At 11:45 PM ET, the President joined by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Eric Shinseki will present a plan to improve the health care of veterans. Reuters.com has more here.
Later, Obama will meet with Treasury Secretary Robert Gates, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke and FDIC Chair Sheila Bair. They will be reviewing an update on the "stress test" of the 19 largest banks in the country. The reports are due the end of this month and will help measure the impact of recent government action and determine the need for addition moves by the government. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Wells Fargo Bank revenue rises 16% in first quarter - in a report out today, a three billion profit was realized in the first three months of this year. J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., Citigroup and Bank of America will all be reporting their first quarter earnings within the next two weeks. CNN.com has more here.
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Immigration reform on the table for the President - many pundits felt with the economy being the number one issue, any discussion on immigration reform would be put off by the White House. Fortunately, they were wrong as the president intends to speak publicly on this contentious issue in May, followed by workshop over the summer. There is hope legislation could be introduced in the Fall of this year. Included in the discussion will be a path to citizenship. The NY Times has more here.
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Karl Rove op-ed attacks Obama - thank goodness the former White House Senior adviser to George W. Bush is no longer there. After eight years of fear mongering and attacks on individuals patriotism, Rove now writes op-eds for the Wall Street Journal. You can read his latest piece here.
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Absentee ballots being counted today in NY District 20 race - Republican Jim Tedisco holds a 17 vote lead over Democrat Scott Murphy. The Republican absentee ballots received are 3,111 and the Democratic absentee ballots number 2394. This would indicate an advantage to Tedisco. This district has a majority of Republican registered voters, but Obama won the district with 51% and Kirsten Hillibrand, a moderate Democrat had previously held the Congressional seat before being chosen to fill the vacant Hillary Clinton U.S. Senate seat. The absentee count can take some time as both campaigns can challenge ballots. You can read more here.
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Friday, March 20, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-20-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President Barack Obama will meet with Schwarzenegger, Rendell and Bloomberg to discuss infrastructure and jobs - the Governors from California and Pennsylvania along with the NY City Mayor have formed a coalition called "Building America's Future". They will talk about the need for additional funds for infrastructure projects which will create jobs. MSNBC.com has more here.
The president will have a luncheon meeting at the White House with Leaders of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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The President also taped a message reaching out to Iran and others celebrating Nowruz which marks the beginning of a new year. Entitled "A New Year, A New Beginning", President Obama spoke of the common humanity that binds us together.
Download .mp3, .mp4, or .mp4 with Persian subtitles Read the transcript in English or Persian
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A.I.G. bonuses last straw for Geithner? - the Treasury Secretary admitted he asked Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) chair of the Senate Banking Committee to include the loophole in the Stimulus bill to allow bonuses to be paid by A.I.G. - seems he forgot to tell the president. CNN.com has more here. Meanwhile, the "breaking bad" exercise by the House yesterday to pass legislation taxing 90% of the bonuses is most likely unconstitutional and unenforceable. President Obama did defend Geithner during his appearance on Jay Leno last night. It is not good for the Obama administration to be defending their Treasury Secretary every day when the number one problem facing the country today is the economy. Stay Tuned.
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Wall Street will be listening to Bernanke speech today - the Federal Reserve chair will speak at noon today at the Independent Community Bankers of America National Convention. The recent announcement of the 1.2 trillion in additional spending by the Federal Reserve to buy securities has some concerned in regard to inflation. Watch to see how the Dow Jones reacts to the speech this afternoon. You can read more here.
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Blue Dog House Democrats are not push overs for President Barack Obama's 3.6 Trillion budget - the Blue Dog Democrats number 51 of the 257 Democrats in the 435 member House of Representatives. They are moderate and fiscally responsible leaning who believe in deficit reduction and pay as you go government. While they supported the recently passed 787 billion Stimulus bill, do not expect them to roll over as the 3.6 trillion FY 2010 budget is reviewed in Congress. If they voted with the 178 Republicans in the House, it would be a majority vote of 229. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Democratic Chatter 3-10-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President Barack Obama will discuss his education plan - He will speak this morning at the annual legislative conference of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. One of the components of the education reform plan will include merit pay for teachers. ThePage.Time.com has the White House Fact Sheet on the President's Education proposal here.
Also today, the president will meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
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Yesterday, the President ordered the review of past Presidential Signing Statements - Presidential signing statements have been in use for some time as previous administrations while signing a bill into law, wanted to note questions pertaining to certain aspects of the bill. President George W. Bush is reported to use this practice more than any other president. Obama has sent a memo to all Agency heads informing them to refer previous signing statements to the Attorney General's office for guidance before relying on them. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner meets with House Democratic Caucus - last night for nearly two hours Geithner described the administration's plan to end the economic crisis and answered questions from Representatives. Apprehension continues as to exact measures being taken and questions were asked as to when he intends to have his Department fully staffed. House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank (D-Mass.) spoke in defense of Geithner. Politico.com has more here. It may not happen for another 6-12 months but the odds remain high that Geithner will become the first Obama Cabinet member to be replaced.
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Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke says financial system regulation needed - in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations he spoke of how the financial regulatory system must be overhauled. Not a big surprise to many as we watch what deregulation of the financial institutions under the previous George W. Bush administration has done. You can read more here.
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Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to face stiff challenge in 2010? - Dodd is the current Senate Banking committee chair and was also a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for president last year. He has faced criticism for receiving favorable refinancing on homes he owns. A new Quinnipiac poll shows him trailing a former Republican Representative Bob Simmons by 1 point, 43-42. Still way early, but an interesting development. Stay tuned.. TheHill.com has more here.
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
Democratic Chatter 2-19-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama to visit Canada today - he is expected to arrive mid-morning and meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the afternoon. ThePage.time.com has more here.
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Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke downgrades economic outlook for 2009 - in what should be no surprise by now, it appears the recession will continue throughout the year. Unemployment projections are as high as 8.8%. The concern remains falling prices and lack of spending. Reuters.com has more here.
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Last month's housing starts lowest on record - more economic bad news as town homes and multifamily starts dropped by 28%. The Northeast was particularly hard hit with a drop of 43%. The Midwest region experienced a drop of 29%. January has never been a big month for house starts, but a 28% drop was not expected. Bloomberg.com has more here.
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AP/Gfk poll shows 47% of Americans worry about losing their jobs - yikes! This is up from 28% in February 2008. Another 65% worry about paying their bills. 62% agree with what President Obama is doing to work with Republicans to aid the economy. The poll was conducted from February 12-17. MSNBC.com has more here.
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Clean Energy Summit to be held in D.C. next week - the invited guests will include former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens. Although the just passed Stimulus bill included funding for clean energy, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Az.) intends to pass another energy bill within the next several weeks. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) who is chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee has been tasked with writing the legislation. Reid also says the Senate will be introducing by summer, legislation pertaining to climate control. The Washington Post has more here.
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Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius in line for Secretary of Health and Human services - this Cabinet position has been without a nominee since Tom Daschle withdrew due to tax issues. Sebelius was an early supporter of President Obama and at one time rumored as a candidate for Vice President. The HHS Secretary is very important in the Obama administration as they will be responsible for developing and shepherding through Congress his healthcare program for Americans. The vetting process is expected to continue for another week. The NY Times has more here.
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Attorney General addresses race during speech at Justice Department - during a celebration of Black history month, Eric Holder spoke of how race issues need to be openly discussed among Americans. Holder's use of the phrase we are "a nation of cowards" when referring to the need to discuss these issues will be debated by the pundits. CNN.com has more here.
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