Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Judge Rejects Detroit Bankruptcy Filing - A Michigan Circuit Court Judge ruled Friday that Detroit's bankruptcy filing is unconstitutional and ordered the case be withdrawn from federal bankruptcy court.

But Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement soon after the decision that he intended an immediate appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals and would seek to block this latest order from taking effect while the appeal is heard.

The order came in response to motions by lawyers for retirees and pension funds for city workers, who argue the state constitution prohibits cutting pension and retirement benefits, as has been proposed in the bankruptcy case.

The order was from Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, the county that includes the state capital of Lansing. CNN.com has more here.

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Kerry Announces Israel-Palestine Agree to Restart Peace Talks - When Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Friday that Israel and the Palestinians had tentatively agreed to resume peace talks after three years, he did so standing alone as dusk fell over the Jordanian capital.

The image reflects both his achievement and his challenge: few people would have predicted success when he began his quest to get the parties into talks nearly six months ago; yet even as he heralded the planned negotiations, neither was at his side.

In a brief appearance at Jordan's Queen Alia International Airport, Kerry told reporters the Israelis and Palestinians had laid the groundwork to resume direct negotiations.

While acknowledging the agreement was still being "formalized," he said that "if everything goes as expected" the chief Palestinian and Israeli negotiators would come to Washington to start talks in the next week or so and to make a three-way announcement.  Reuters.com has more here.
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McAuliffe-Cuccinelli Hold First Debate in Virginia Governor Race - After months of assailing each other’s integrity from afar and by proxy, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II and businessman Terry McAuliffe traded direct attacks on stage Saturday in the opening debate of their heated race for Virginia governor.
 
In a 90-minute face-off, the candidates cast their arguments in sharply personal terms, accusing each other of bullying, influence peddling and “flimflammery.”

McAuliffe (D) dubbed Cuccinelli a conservative zealot on issues including gay rights and abortion and unsuited to govern the increasingly moderate commonwealth, while Cuccinelli (R) called McAuliffe a “Washington insider” with little understanding of the state and its voters.
From the start, Cuccinelli accused McAuliffe of looking out only for himself.
“Instead of putting Virginians first, you put Terry first, a common theme for you,” Cuccinelli said.  The Washington Post has more here.

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Senate Nears Vote To Require Warrants for Email Searches - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is pushing to fast-track legislation that would require police to obtain a warrant before accessing emails and other private online messages.

Sen. Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) goal is for the Senate to unanimously approve his bill before the August recess, according to one of his committee aides. Any opposition could delay a vote until after Congress returns in the fall.

He has secured unanimous support from his fellow Democrats and is in negotiations with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Judiciary Committee's ranking member, and other Republicans to address their concerns.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Nate Silver Leaves NY Times, Hired By ESPN - Nate Silver, the statistician who attained national fame for his accurate projections about the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, is parting ways with The New York Times and moving his FiveThirtyEight franchise to ESPN, the sports empire controlled by the Walt Disney Company, according to ESPN employees with direct knowledge of his plans.

At ESPN, Mr. Silver is expected to have a wide-ranging portfolio. Along with his writing and number-crunching, he will most likely be a regular contributor to “Olbermann,” the late-night ESPN2 talk show hosted by Keith Olbermann that will have its debut at the end of August. In political years, he will also have a role at ABC News, which is owned by Disney.
       

An ESPN spokeswoman declined to comment on Friday night. Mr. Silver declined to comment. The employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Mr. Silver’s deal could be announced as soon as Monday. The NY Times has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama Reflects on South Africa's Past and Mandela's Legacy - On a stage at a university in Soweto, Obama recalled the anti-apartheid student protests in the township three decades earlier, when a black youth was killed by police. Then the president hailed the lessons of Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid icon who lay seriously ill in a hospital.

“As you go forward, I want you to think about the man in our prayers today,” Obama said. “Think of the 27 years in prison, the hardship and struggles. . . . In your lives, there are times that will test your faith. Don’t lose those qualities of your youth: your imagination, your optimism, your idealism.”  The Washington Post has more here.

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RNC Chairman Says GOP has done a "Lousy" Job at Reaching Out to Latinos -The chairman of the Republican National Committee told a gathering of the nation’s Latino public officials Saturday that the GOP has done a “lousy” job reaching out to their community, but pledged that a new outreach campaign shows “we want to earn your trust, and your vote.”
 
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus also reiterated his belief in the need for “comprehensive” immigration reform but acknowledged he’s not a policy maker who can shape a plan for Republicans who control the House.

Priebus’ appearance before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, holding its 30th annual convention at a downtown Chicago hotel, marked another step in the GOP’s outreach efforts following an intensive study in the aftermath of the 2012 elections.  The Chicago Tribune has more here.

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Kerry Continues To Press for Israel-Palestine Talks - Secretary of State John F. Kerry prepared to leave the Middle East on Sunday afternoon without achieving an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to return to the negotiating table.

“We have made real progress, but we have a few things we need to work out,” Kerry said as he left a final round of talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, his third in as many days, in Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian government on the West Bank.

His three days of intensive, non-stop meetings with Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, and Abbas, first in Amman, Jordan and Sunday in Ramallah, were clearly the centerpiece of the trip. “We have had very positive discussions, very important discussions, for the last few days,” Kerry said as he stood with Abbas outside the Palestinian leader’s residence. “We both feel good about the direction.”  You can read more here.

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NSA Bugged European Union Offices - The U.S. bugged European Union embassies and hacked into internal computer networks, according to a report in a German magazine on Saturday, the latest disclosure from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

Der Spiegel said it had been shown a September 2010 classified document from Snowden detailing the NSA’s surveillance of EU offices in Washington, D.C. and at the United Nations.

The document referred to the EU as a “target” and the report suggests that the surveillance included documents and emails. The report also claims NSA surveillance extended to Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, the office for the European Council.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Protests Continue in Egypt - Egyptians and their security forces prepared for demonstrations on Sunday that may determine their future, two years after people power toppled a dictator and ushered in a democracy crippled by bitter divisions.

"The longest day," headlined government newspaper Al-Gomhuriya above pictures of two rival camps in Cairo. One was of Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi, the other of protesters in Tahrir Square who said they wanted him out by day's end or they would sit there until he goes, like Hosni Mubarak in 2011.  Reuters.com has more here.

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Biden Calls Ecaudor About Snowden Asylum Request - President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said Saturday that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had asked him in a telephone call not to grant asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former security contractor wanted in the United States.

Mr. Correa, speaking on his weekly television broadcast, said that the two had a “cordial” conversation on Friday initiated by Mr. Biden, but said he could not decide on Mr. Snowden’s request until he entered Ecuador. 

The fallout from Mr. Snowden’s disclosures widened Saturday, as the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the United States had eavesdropped on European Union offices in Washington, Brussels and at the United Nations in New York. The NY Times has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof


Kerry Appeals To Russia to uphold "The Rule of Law" - Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday urged Russia to "uphold rule of law" and aid the U.S. in its mission to apprehend Edward Snowden, the former defense contractor wanted on espionage charges.

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Obama To Outline 3 Objectives in Climate Change Speech - When President Barack Obama details his national strategy to combat climate change in a major speech Tuesday at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he will outline a plan comprised of "three main objectives," a White House official said.
 
The official said that the objectives of Obama's plan are "to prevent the worst effects of climate change by reducing our carbon pollution," "to prepare this country for the impacts of climate change we can’t avoid" and "to lead the rest of the world around combating changing climate."  TPM.com has more here.

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Senate Immigration Bill Going Nowhere in House - House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) had told his Republican colleagues that no immigration legislation would be brought the floor if a majority of the GOP majority didn’t support it. And, anyone who has spent any time around the current Republican majority in the House — or watched as the farm bill failed last week – recognizes that the Senate immigration bill (and, perhaps, any bipartisan immigration bill) isn’t going to be backed by a majority of the Republican majority in that chamber.
 
How the Senate voted on Monday also affirms that the immigration legislation could well be dead on arrival in the House. Not a single member of the Senate GOP leadership voted for cloture. The Washington Post has more here.

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Supreme Court Punts on Affirmative Action - The court voted 7 to 1 to send the University of Texas’s race-conscious admissions plan back for further judicial view and told the lower court to apply the kind of rigorous evaluation that must accompany any government action that considers race.

But the ruling, one of the most anticipated of the term, was notable for what it did not do. It did not forbid the consideration of race, significantly alter the court’s prescription of how such programs should operate or even pass judgment on the UT program at issue.

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Issa Subpoenas State Department Officials in Benghazi Probe - House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Tuesday subpoenaed four State Department officials as part of his investigation into the administration's response to the Benghazi mission attack.

The newly deposed individuals are Eric Boswell, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security's former assistant secretary and its former principal deputy assistant secretary; Scott Bultrowicz, the director of the Diplomatic Security Service; and Elizabeth Dibble and Elizabeth Jones, the former principal deputy assistant secretary and the acting assistant secretary at the Bureau Near Eastern Affairs, respectively.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Massachusetts Voters To Choose Kerry Replacement Today - Massachusetts voters go to the polls on Tuesday to choose between a Republican newcomer and a veteran Democratic Congressman hoping to preserve the majority his party holds in the U.S. Senate.

Representative Edward Markey has enjoyed a strong lead in polls since launching his campaign six months ago to succeed fellow Democrat John Kerry, now U.S. Secretary of State. Markey's opponent is private equity executive and former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez, whose solid support among Republicans looks to be not enough to prevail in the liberal-leaning state.  Reuters.com has more here.

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Race for Majority in Senate Promises to be Intense in 2014 - There are 21 Democratic seats up, but only 14 GOP seats in 2014 (two of those seats, South Carolina and Hawaii, are special elections).

Republicans seem almost guaranteed to net additional Senate seats in the 2014 midterms. With two highly vulnerable Democratic open Senate seats already on the books (West Virginia and South Dakota) and at least five other Democratic seats at greater risk than even the most vulnerable GOP seat, Democratic Senate losses are virtually assured.

But, of course, there is a big difference between a Republican gain of two Senate seats, versus netting six or seven seats.  RollCall.com has more here.

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Daily Political Wire 8-1-2010

George Wenschhof

Uni-Tea Party Rally Falls Flat in Philadelphia - billed as a huge rally to show the diversity of the movement, less than 500 attended the rally held in Independence Park. Interestingly, the non-white attendees were few. TPM.com has more here.

The tea party movement bolstered by main stream media, has begun to sputter out, as the tired old refrain of less taxes and less government espoused by many of the Republican Party right wing is no longer catching on with voters, who instead, want concrete proposals on issues.

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Senators Kerry and Lugar call for Pakistan Enterprise Fund - Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) want President Obama to use funds already authorized by Congress to establish a 1.5 billion a year non-military aid program for Pakistan. TheHill.com has more here.

Not sure this proposal will go over well with the recent revelations from wikileaks.org that Pakistani intelligence agencies have been helping the Taliban battle the U.S. in Afghanistan. The idea of helping economic growth is basically a sound one, but the U.S. can no longer engage in long term nation building efforts in countries who's regimes are fragile and mutual support suspect.

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Wikileaks Cause Rift in Britain-Pakistan relations - on the eve of a trip by Pakistan President Asif ali-Zardari to Britain, remarks made by British Prime Minister David Cameron are causing a bit of an uproar within Pakistan. Cameron, while in India, (a bitter rival of Pakistan) referred to the fact Pakistan is doing little to root out militant extremist in their country. Reuters.com has more here.

Zardari, already hanging onto his position by a thread, and also arguably corrupt, is now under fire by opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who is using the nationalism angle to say Zardari should not meet with Cameron. Both Sharif and Zardari have their sordid pasts in a country that has been beset with corruption.

The fact remains the military is the strength in Pakistan and the corrupt civilian government continues to have little influence on a country beset with extreme poverty.

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House votes to lift 75 million cap on Oil Spills liability - interestingly, with billions of barrels of oil in the Gulf due to questionable drilling and operations by BP and others, the vote was close; 209-193. In addition, the measure calls for increased and new safety measures. CNN.com has more here.

The Senate may take this up in their latest watered down version of a energy bill this week. However, reconciliation between the two chambers would not take place until after the August recess.

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White House Schedule

From: http://thepage.time.com/

The Political Schedule

*all times Eastern

Wednesday, July 28

• • 9:30 am
  • President Obama receives the presidential daily briefing
• • 10:00 am
  • President Obama meets with senior advisers
• • 10:40 am
  • President Obama meets with Senator John Kerry in the Oval Office
• • 12:00 pm
  • President departs Andrews Air Force Base en route Newark, New Jersey
• • 12:50 pm
  • President Obama arrives in Newark, New Jersey
• • 1:30 pm
  • President Obama meets with a group of small business owners at the Tastee Sub Shop in Edison, New Jersey
• • 2:20 pm
  • President Obama delivers a statement on the economy
• • 5:40 pm
  • President Obama attends a DNC finance event at the Four Seasons Hotel in NYC
• • 7:20 pm
  • President Obama attends a DNC finance event at a private residence in NYC
• • 8:50 pm
  • President Obama departs Newark, New Jersey en route Andrews Air Force Base
• • 9:55 pm
  • President Obama arrives at the White House

Democratic Chatter 2-13-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

The House to vote on the 789 billion Stimulus bill today - this is the House-Senate compromise that came out of conference committee. It is expected to pass easily in the House and the Senate is expected to vote on it tomorrow. Time.com has more here.

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President Obama continues to stumble with Cabinet picks - the first three weeks of his Presidency has not been kind as a third Cabinet nominee announces his withdrawal. This time it was Republican Senator Judd Gregg (NH) who said yesterday his philosophical differences with the Obama administration would not allow him to serve as Commerce Secretary. Questions continue regarding the vetting process. When Gregg was announced as the nominee, liberal bloggers pointed out Gregg has supported discontinuation of the Commerce Department. TheHill.com has more here

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New chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee targets nine seats in 2010 - never too early to start the rhetoric. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) recently took over the chair from Senator Charles Schumer from New York who was able to claim large gains and a new Democratic majority while he served as chair. Menendez pointed out five open seats in Florida, Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Kansas and four other states where he feels Democrats will be competitive. The other states were Louisiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Out of the last four states, the Senate seat held by Republican Arlen Specter is the most likely pick up with Republicans going after Specter in the Primary due to his support of the Stimulus bill. CNN.com has more here.

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Leon Panetta confirmed by Senate for CIA Director - there was some initial hesitation by some Senators who questioned his total lack of experience in the intelligence field. however, in the end, he was approved by a voice vote in the Senate yesterday. Hilda Solis, the nominee for Labor Secretary, won approval in the senate committee and will be scheduled for a senate vote as early as today. The NY Times Caucus blog has more here.

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Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) proposes special commission to investigate possible wrongdoings by the George W. Bush administration - this is a hot topic among the more liberal Democrats who want investigation into possible illegal wiretapping, use of the Justice Department for political purposes, and the use of torture on detainees. A USAToday/Gallup poll conducted January 30 - February 1 showed 60% of Americans favored some type of investigation into these actions. While only 41% favored criminal probes. So far, the Obama administration has not indicated any desire to begin these proceedings. Gallup.com has more here.

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On the foreign policy front, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves today for her first official trip - she is off to Asia to visit China, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke is in Afghanistan and Senator John Kerry (D-Ma.) is scheduled to visit countries in the Middle East next week. Politico.com has more here.

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Sunday Morning "Talking Heads" Guests 2-1-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Always plenty to talk about on the Sunday morning political discussion shows. This second Sunday after the Obama inauguration will be no exception.

In spite of attempts by President Barack Obama to charm Republicans on the Hill, his Stimulus bill was passed in the House without a single Republican vote. Expect dissecting of the 819 Billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan by the pundits and guests today. This bill is likely to capture most of the attention today.

The selection by the Republican Party on the sixth round of balloting of their first African-American to be the head of the Republican National Committee will have the tongues wagging as well. Is former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele a response to the first African-American President who happens to be a Democrat?

Of course, the final gasp of Governor Rod Blagojevich prior to being removed will receive some attention. New Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn will also be discussed.

A little below the radar is a Judge who refused to suspend a trial of a Gitmo detainee in spite of the request by the President.

Some mention may also be made of the rapid deployment of new foreign policy envoys George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke to their respective assigned regions in the Middle East and Afghanistan/Pakistan.

Below is a list of the Sunday morning "Talking Heads" with their scheduled guests. As always, remember to check your local listings for time and channel.

NBC "Meet The Press" - David Gregory will interview Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Tx.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.). The roundtable discussion will include Erin Burnett, Steve Forbes, and Mark Zandi.

ABC "This Week" - George Stephanopoulos will have Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), Google executive Eric Schmidt and FedEx executive Fred Smith. The roundtable will include Bob Woodward, George Will, Martha Raddatz, and David Sanger

CBS "Face The Nation" - Bob Schieffer welcomes Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) and NY Times David Brooks.

Fox News Sunday - Chris Wallace scores newly elected RNC chair Michael Steele. Also appearing will be Senators Jon Kyl (R-Az.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

CNN "Sate of The Union" - John King will have Governors Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) and Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.). Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.) and John Ensign (R-NV). Also former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and Grover Norquist.

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