George Wenschhof
Today, President Obama will travel to Atlanta - he will attend the national convention of The Disabled American Veterans. The president will be addressing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the efforts of his administration to improve assistance to Veterans. Time.com has more here.
Later, the president will speak at a fundraiser for the DNC.
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Elena Kagan to be confirmed by Senate this week - the Senate debate on her nomination as Justice to the Supreme Court. She is assured approval as five Republicans have publicly stated their support for her. TheHill.com has more here.
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Will 26.1 billion state aid bill Pass the Senate? - a vote is expected today to see if 60 votes are there to get through a Republican filibuster and then be followed by debate and vote. The bill would provide 16.1 billion toward the cost of medicaid to states and another 10 billion toward education. State governors have been pleading for this assistance. Politico.com has more here.
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As Mid terms Near - Eyes are on Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen - the four term congressman is serving his second term as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. he was credited with helping steer the Democrats to the current majority in the House with wins in the 2006 election. This year, his challenge is making sure the Democrats do not lose that majority. Republicans need a net gain of 39 seats to take a simple majority in the House. The Washington Post has a good read here.
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Monday, August 2, 2010
Daily Political Wire 8-2-2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Daily Political Wire 7-20-2010
George Wenschhof
Today, President Obama meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron - the first visit to the white House from the newly elected Prime Minister. there is certainly lots to talk about, starting with BP. The BP Gulf oil spill will be the largest spill ever to hit the United States. in addition, what role, if any, did BP play in the release of the Lockerbie Bomber Baset al-Meghani? You can read more here.
There's more on the agenda like the world economy, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and what to do with Iran?
Britain has long been a U.S. ally so a scolding is not in order.
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Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan to receive Judiciary Committee vote today - the Senate committee is expected to vote along the same lines as they did with Sonia Sotomayor. The vote will either be 12-7 with all Democrats voting for and all Republicans voting against or Republican Lindsey Graham (S.C.) will vote for as he did with Sotomayor.
Kagan is expected to win nomination by the Senate within the next couple of weeks.
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Unemployment Benefits expected to pass Senate today - President Obama waited until the day before (yesterday) Carte Goodwin was to be sworn in as the new senator from West Virginia to blast Republicans for using the filibuster to block passage of the bill. At 2:30 today, Vice President Joe Biden will swear in Carte Goodwin to replace the late Senator Byrd, giving the Democrats the 60 votes needed to secure passage of the bill.
Continued obstructionism by Republicans in Congress, especially in regards to bills which would help those unemployed in need, will not help them win the seats needed in November to retake majorities in the House and Senate.
Late yesterday, the West Virginia state legislature approved a special election to fill the seat with the primary to be held on August 28 and the General election to fall on the same November 2 date as the regular elections. Mr. Goodwin's tenure will be short as popular Governor Joe Manchin is expected to announce today he is running for the seat. The candidate elected will serve the remainder of the term until 2012.
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New Gallup Poll shows voters prefer Democratic controlled Congress 49% - 43% - a sign the Republican Party obstructionism and strategy of saying "No" to everything is backfiring as the mid term elections near.
Expect Democrats to hammer home the Republican policies under the George W. Bush administration that put the country in the economic state it is in and ask the voters "do you want to go back to the policies that put you in this ditch or continue to move forward with the policies that are helping us to climb out of this hole".
Case in point is an ad just released by the Democratic National Committee.
Independents now favor Republicans by only 4 points 43%-39%. Gallup.com has more here.
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Georgia Primary Today - Chris Cillizza, as usual, is on top of it. In the race for the nomination for Governor, he believes Republican Secretary of State Karen Handel will win in a crowed field, but not receive 50% of the vote. thus, a August 10 runoff election will be held.
On the Democratic side, former Governor Roy Barnes is favored to win easily. He is also expected to win in the General Election.
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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Democratic Chatter 2-10-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
President Barack Obama spoke to Americans about the economic crisis during prime time on television last night - some of the pundits are saying if he had done this a week ago, the passage of the Stimulus bill would have gone easier. However, that is doubtful as many questions remain as to how to best solve the economic problems facing the country today. If you missed it last night, you can watch the entire press conference here.
Continuing a message to the people, the President will travel to Ft. Myers, Florida today to attend a town hall meeting at noon. The DNC, now merging with the Obama campaign email list also sent a email to supporters with a message from DNC chair and Governor Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Last weekend 3,587 meetings were organized at the grassroots level to discuss the economic crisis in all 50 states across the country and to hear from voters their experiences and suggestions. To view a short video from Governor Kaine discussing those meetings, click here.
Debate in the Senate on the 838 Billion Stimulus bill concluded last night with just one vote (61-36) over the required 60 needed to end discussion and move the bill to a full vote. The Senate is expected to pass the bill today. It will then go to committee conference for reconciliation with the House version before being sent to the president for signature.
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Remember the 700 billion Bailout bill? - Today, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will announce changes that will include public-private partnerships, limits on executive compensation, more monitoring of use of the funds and 100 billion of the remaining 350 Billion targeted on foreclosure relief. Interestingly, the name of the bill is Troubled Assets Relief Plan, (TARP). CNN.com has more here.
The combined spending of the Bailout and Stimulus bills will exceed 1.5 Trillion. Let's hope they work at strengthening the economy.
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William Lynn expect to be confirmed today for deputy defense secretary - this appointment by the President also drew criticism due to Lynn's former work as a Lobbyist for a defense contractor. His appointment required Obama to waive new own ethics guidelines the President had recently instituted. You can read more here.
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Elena Kagan expected to be confirmed as Solicitor General - she will be the first woman to fill this position. The Solicitor General represents the government before the Supreme Court and Appeals Courts. She is a former Harvard Law School Dean who has respect from both sides of the aisle. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on her nomination today. The Washington Post has more here.
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Iran President says they are ready for talks with the U.S. - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he is ready for talks as long as they are based on mutual respect. The U.S. severed ties with Iran in 1979 after the Iranian revolution. MSNBC.com has more here.
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