Daily Democratic Wire 2-15-2010

George Wenschhof

Today, President Barack Obama will be at Camp David - he will return to the White House late this afternoon. Camp David is the presidential retreat located in the Catoctin mountains near Thurmont, Maryland.

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Proposed 39% rate increase by California Health Insurer comes under fire - Anthem Blue Cross's proposed rate increase has provided more support for health care reform. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressed her concern when she noticed the company reported 2.7 billion in profits in the 4th quarter alone. Congressional hearings have been scheduled and Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to delay the increases until May. TPM.com has more here.

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Republicans lead in defending open seats in the House races - while Democratic retirements have gained a lot of media attention, it is the Republicans who now have 18 open seats to defend and the Democrats have 13. CNN.com has more here.

Republicans will need to win a plus 40 seats in the House in the Fall Elections to gain a majority. Early indications are all of the incumbents may feel the voters wrath as their dissatisfaction with Congress is at a very high level.

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Attorney General Eric Holder and White House have a "meeting of the minds" - Holder has been under pressure after the decision to use the public courts to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

Holder has agreed to work more closely with White House staff and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has agreed to give more media exposure to Holder.

Let's see how this arrangement works as the White House now has indicated the location of the KSM trial will be released within weeks. The NY Times has more here.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fears Iran is heading toward a "military dictatorship" - she made the remarks while speaking to students at the Carnegie Mellon's Doha campus in Qatar. Earlier, she had expressed her concern of Iran's lack of respect of Human Rights. Politico.com has more here.

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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 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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