George Wenschhof
Today, President Obama and family head north for vacation - they will spend the next ten days at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., the same place they vacationed last year. AP has more here. What a difference a year makes - last year, Senator Ted Kennedy died while the president was on vacation and since then Health care and financial reforms have been passed by Congress.
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Unemployment Claims highest level since November - at a time when unemployment claims should be reducing due to seasonal summer employment, claims have increased 4 of the last 5 weeks. The Labor department just reduced the figures for the week ending August 14. Bloomberg.com has more here.
More bad news for the Obama administration, his 787 billion Stimulus bill, and Democrats facing election in November.
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Will Mosque Debate hurt Democrats? - the latest statement by President Obama on supporting religious freedom in regard to the building of a Mosque near ground zero in New York city is the latest issue to capture the attention of voters. The NY Times has more here.
Democratic Leaders have been quick to state opposing views to the President or in the case of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.), punt on the issue. She said it was a local zoning issue.
Others, like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former DNC chair Howard Dean have said the idea to build it there was insensitive and opposed the building of a Mosque near ground zero in New York City.
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Last Combat brigade leaves Iraq - yesterday, meeting the deadline of the agreed upon withdrawal schedule.
However, 56,000 troops remain in Iraq to assist in training and support missions. CNN.com has more here.
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Thursday, August 19, 2010
Daily Political Wire 8-19-2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
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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Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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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Monday, January 12, 2009
Democratc Chatter 1-12-2009
George Wenschhof Bio
Today, President-elect Barack Obama will meet with Mexico President Felipe Calderon - The meeting will be held in Washington D.C. at the Mexican Cultural Institute. Time.com has more here. It is now eight days until Inauguration Day.
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Obama begins public service announcements asking people to make commitments to serve their communities - these announcements will be on TV as well as radio. The Presidential Inaugural Committee website has a video here. The President-elect encourages everyone to get involved through USAService.Org.
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Vice President-elect Joe Biden is in Iraq - after traveling to Pakistan and Afghanistan, he arrived in Baghdad today and is expected to meet with President Talibani. Reuters.com has more here.
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Israel continues fighting in Gaza - the aerial bombardment and ground invasion continued as the death count neared 900 with another 3700 Palestinians injured, many of them civilians. This recent flare up between Hamas and Israel has President-elect Obama committed to breaking the deadlock between them. CNN.com has more here.
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Roland Burris may be seated in the Senate this week - Democratic leaders continue to backpedal from their earlier stance they would not seat the Senator appointed by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Seems that now they are awaiting a statement from the Senate Parliamentarian and legal counsel after Burris submitted documents including the signature of Illinois Secretary of Sate Jesse White. Politico.com has more here.
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