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 News Chatter 4-7-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama is on his way home after a very successful overseas trip - On the last day of his trip, the president attended a town hall meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. He spoke of building new bridges instead of new walls as he discussed future relationships with Turkey. ThePage.Time.com has his entire remarks and a video clip here.

Earlier, Obama met with Religious Leaders in Istanbul and also visited several Mosques. The president is expected to arrive in Washington D.C. at 5:30 PM ET.

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Obama makes unannounced stop in Baghdad - on his way home, he stops in Baghdad, Iraq to meet with General Odierno and troops. He is expected to personally award medals of honor to about a dozen soldiers. He will also call the Iraq President and Prime Minister as it is reported the visibility is too tough for Helicopter travel. Reuters.com has more here. The surprise visit is also most likely due to security concerns.

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Congressional delegation meets with Raul Castro in Havana - they were there to discuss future U.S - Cuba relations. You can read more here. Recently, a bill was introduced in the senate to allow for easier travel for U.S. citizens to Cuba. It is expected to pass by the time President Obama attends the Summit of Americas in Trinidad on April 17. CNN.com has more here. The current U.S. embargo of Cuba has been a failure for over 50 years and it is time to revisit U.S. policy in this area.

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On the home front, the federal budget deficit for the first six months of fiscal year '09 hits 953 Billion - for the same period in '08, it was 313 Billion. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. The deficit for fiscal year '09 will probably double over the next six months as the Stimulus bill and more TARP funds are spent. Reuters.com has more here.

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Tedisco ahead in NY special election - the latest tally by the NY Board of elections shows Republican Jim Tedisco ahead by 97 votes with 76,914 to Democrat Scott Murphy with 76,817. The state supreme court ruled yesterday the election officials must begin counting the 6,780 absentee ballots tomorrow. Politico.com has more here.

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In another special election, Democrat Mike Quiqley is expected to win easily the Illinois 5th District Congressional seat - this is the seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel when he became White House Chief of Staff. The 5th district is heavily registered Democrat so Republican challenger Rosanna Pulido is not expected to win. You can read more here.

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In Minnesota, the Senate vote count continues today - five months after the election another 387 absentee ballots will be counted today as a result of a resent court decision. Democrat Al Franken has a 225 vote lead over republican Norm Coleman. It is doubtful, Coleman can pick up enough votes with these absentee ballots to take the lead. However, Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will not certify the election until the appellate process is complete. This indicates future appeals by the Coleman campaign. You can read more here.

As I have commented before, this has become ridiculous as there remains a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. If need be, legislation should be passed to ensure certification of a election be complete within sixty days from the date the election is held.

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Democratic Chatter 3-4-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama expresses need for engagement with Russia - this statement came yesterday during a photo-op with British prime minister Gordon Brown. At issue was a planned missile shield deployment in Poland and other countries by the George W. Bush administration that has been fiercely opposed by Russia. The concern is over future nuclear missile development by Iran. MSNBC.com has more here.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will address a joint session of Congress this morning.

Tonight, the President and First Lady will host a Dinner at the White House for chairs of congressional committees.

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Vice president Joe Biden will head to Brussels, Belgium next week to meet with NATO officials - the vice president will be discussing Afghanistan and Pakistan with allies. This is part of the strategic review ordered by President Obama. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be there this week in preparation for the NATO conference planned in April. CNN.com has more here.

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WSJ/NBC Poll shows Americans believe Democrats better to get U.S. out of the economic mess we find ourselves in - Answering who was best suited to lead the country out of the recession, participants in the poll responded: Democrats - 48%, Republicans - 20%, Neither - 16%, Both - 8%. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

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As auto sales drop steeply, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm asks President Obama for help for the industry - The decline is sales from February 2008 were across the board as reported losses for the last year were : GM - 53%, Ford - 48%, and Chrysler - 44%. The NY Times has more here.

Michigan Governor Granholm met with the Obama administration auto industry task force and requested help for the industry. GM and Chrysler have requested an additional 21.6 billion in government loans and the auto suppliers have requested 25.5 billion. You can read more here.

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Mike Quigley leads in Democratic primary in race to replace Rahm Emanuel vacant Illinois House seat - the special election Democratic primary had 12 candidates. Cook County commission Mike Quigley was leading with 22% of the vote and around a 2300 vote lead over his nearest competitor. This with 80% of the precincts reporting. It is estimated 50,000 votes were cast. The Democratic party nominee is heavily favored in this Democratic district to beat Republican Rosanna Pulido on April 7. TheHill.com has more here.

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