Democratic Chatter 2-6-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Welcome to Washington, Mr. President - President Barack Obama is finding his first weeks in office to be anything but easy. He has had Cabinet nominees withdraw due to tax issues and others have their confirmations delayed due to questions that should have been addressed during the vetting process.

Now, the 900+ Billion Stimulus bill vote in the Senate is being delayed due to lack of consensus. It was expected to be voted on last night. But, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could see the writing on the wall and postponed further discussion until today. A major question from both sides of the aisle is the low level of funding in the bill for infrastructure improvement across the country and questions surrounding funding a myriad of other items unrelated to what had originally been proposed.

Reid is saying if the bill does not come to a vote today, he will get the necessary 60 votes on Sunday to call for the vote to pass the bill. Expect many changes and compromises to have transpired overnight. Reuters.com has more here.

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598,000 Jobs lost in January adds urgency to pass Stimulus bill - unemployment now is 7.6%, the highest since September 1992. The number of jobs lost in the last four months now exceeds 2 million. The NY Times has more here.

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President Obama to name Economic Advisory Board today - we reported yesterday that Paul Volcker, a former Treasury Secretary was in a little bit of of a snit as he had not been named to head the special committee appointed by the President to offer advise on getting the country out of the economic mess it is in. Well, today, he gets his time in the spotlight when he appears with the President. Let's hope he and the committee gives good advise. CNN.com has more here.

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On Monday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will spell out new Economic Stability Plan - this will be a revision of (TARP) the Troubled Assets Relief Program which the remaining 350 Billion was recently authorized by for the Treasury to spend. Expect more help to go to troubled mortgages to help Homeowners with more transparency and accountability to be included in the revisions put forward by Geithner. What is unknown is whether he intends to up the current budgeted amount of 350 Billion and ask Congress for more funds. CNN.com has more here.

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Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis confirmation delayed - taxes pop up once again for a nominee for the President's Cabinet. This time it pertains to the husband of the nominee. Solis is already facing opposition due to her support of Labor so this recent issue is not so surprising to have popped up at this late date. Politico.com has more here.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has pancreatic cancer - she had surgery yesterday in what has been said to be very early stages of cancer. She is 75 years old. During the Presidential campaign, due to the age of some of the Justices on the Supreme Court, it was often discussed that the next President could easily be responsible for appointing several Supreme Court Justices. Let's hope for a rapid recovery for Ginsburg. The Wall Street Journal has more here.

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Meanwhile, the Minnesota Senate race saga continues - the state mandated recount resulting in the canvassing board verifying Democrat Al Franken the winner by 225 votes. Then incumbent Republican Norm Coleman filed suit asking for additional previously rejected absentee ballots be counted. The court just recently said up to 4800 ballots could be argued to be counted by the Coleman campaign.

Now, the Franken campaign is asking the court for more previously rejected absentee ballots to be counted. The issue of contention is where the ballots are from with some areas favoring conservative and other areas, more liberal candidates. How about just reviewing all the remaining 20,000 rejected absentee ballots? Just a thought. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has more here.

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Democratic Chatter 2-4-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama will announce $500,000 pay limit for executives of companies receiving bailout funds - He will hold a press conference this morning at 11:00 AM ET. Joining him will be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who will spell out additional rules for the remaining $350 Billion of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Reuters.com has more here. This comes after revelations surfaced of no accountability on how the first 350 Billion was spent, executives receiving million dollar bonuses, and expensive Jets and office renovations taking place by companies who had received bailout funds.

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Speaking of the Bailout bill, how about helping homeowners in distress? - this is what everyone was led to believe the 700 Billion TARP bill was intended to do. Instead, the first 350 Billion went with no strings attached to financial institutions. Now, both Republicans and Democrats are looking at ways to provide funds to help distressed homeowners and the housing market. The NY Times has more here.

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"I screwed up" - was one of many statements made by the President last night as he made the rounds appearing on the major television networks. The scheduled interviews had been set up for President Obama to explain the importance of passing the Stimulus Bill. Instead, he was apologizing for the withdrawals of two of his nominees; Nancy Killefer and Tom Daschle due to tax issues. ThePage.time.com has some videos of the interviews here.

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How about Howard Dean for HHS Secretary? - the former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee chair also happens to be a doctor. Now that Daschle has removed himself, how about considering Dean for the position? The question was posed by Chris Matthews on MSNBC "Hardball" last night. Dean, who as chair of the DNC, successfully implemented a 50 state strategy that helped Obama win the Presidency. Since the election, he has been replaced by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and mostly snubbed by the Obama administration. He deserves consideration for the position.

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Remember the Minnesota senate race? - a Minnesota court ruled yesterday to consider an additional 4800 of the 12,000 previously rejected absentee ballots. Republican Norm Coleman's campaign was pleased with the ruling and democrat Al Franken said it was good to have clarity. The Franken campaign also intends to ask the court to instruct Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie to issue a temporary election certificate. They have refused to do so until all legal challenges have been decided. Franken won by 225 votes in the state mandated recount. CNN.com has more here.

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Bonnie Newman named to replace Judd Gregg as Senator in New Hampshire - as we reported previously, Democratic Governor John Lynch announced the appointment today. This keeps the seat as a Republican after Gregg was nominated to be Commerce Secretary by the President. In what appears to be a little bit of wheeling and dealing, Newman will not run in 2010 and she will not endorse a candidate in that race. Politico.com has more here.

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