Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Unemployment Claims Up - so much for the good news ringing in the new year. The latest figures from the U.S. Labor Department indicate filings had risen to a six week high, further illustrating the economy remains fragile. Reuters.com has more here.

---

Obama Campaign Raises 68 Million Last Quarter - anyone for campaign finance reform? 42 million was raised for the campaign, 25 million for the Democratic National Committee and 1 million for state parties in key states.

Overall, the Obama campaign raised over 220 million in 2011. in contrast, the Republican frontrunner; Mitt Romney's campaign raised 56 million in 2011.

The Obama campaign raised 750 million for the 2008 election, fueling speculation one billion will be raised for the 2012 election. You can read more here.

---

Red, White and Blue Fund To Spend 600K To Support Santorum in S. Carolina - the super-pac will spend the money on ads supporting Rick Santorum in the state.

CNN.com has more here.

Anyone for campaign finance reform?

---

Bolton Endorses Romney - former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton has endorsed Mitt Romney for president.

“I think Gov. Romney is the person who can best lead the party, best articulate our conservative principles and is most likely to beat Barack Obama.”

Politico.com has more here.

---

Romney-Bain and the Republican Party - interestingly, it was Romney's statement "I enjoy firing people" which has drawn the most attention in the Republican primary to date. Leading candidates trailing the eventual Republican nominee to criticize Romney for his capitalistic statement.

Newt Gingrich reacted by saying “I think, there's a real difference “between people who believed in the free market and people who go around, take financial advantage, loot companies, leave behind broken families, broken towns, people on unemployment”.

Problem is, this has been a long time Republican Party mantra. It makes for interesting times when you have a Newt Gingrich, who is battling for the conservative vote in S. Carolina, take a Democratic Party position on an issue.

It is doubtful attacking Romney over firing people will win you votes from the conservative voters in S. Carolina.

Democratic party operatives have to be smiling....

E.J. Dionne Jr. has a good read in The Washington Post today.

---

Keystone XL Pipeline - The Next Battle - the agreement on the two month payroll tax extension included a provision President Obama decide within the 60 days on whether to move forward on the controversial pipeline.

Republican leaders plan to exploit the split between Obama backers. Union leaders say the project will create jobs while environmentalists say the project is fraught with problems.

TheHill.com has more here.

---

U.S. Needs To Stay Focused On Pakistan - a critical country and fragile ally in a world region beset by change. Who's in charge is the volatile question to be decided.

The NY Times has an excellent editorial here.

---

To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below

Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Romney Hard To Beat - after back to back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, it is clear Mitt Romney will be difficult to beat in the race for the Republican Party nomination for President. On top of a solid (39%) win in New Hampshire, the Romney campaign reported raising 25 million in the last quarter of 2011.

While Romney is downplaying his chances of winning the next Republican primary in S. Carolina, reminding everyone he came in fourth there last time, all of the other candidates staying in the race will benefit Romney.

Santorum's hope for a bounce after a close second showing in Iowa turned out to be a thud as he finished fifth (9.3%) in New Hampshire finishing closely behind Newt Gingrich (9.4%) as they battle for the conservative mantel.

Texas Governor Rick Perry should have stuck with dropping out after Iowa, finished with less than 1% of the vote, banking on a good showing in S. Carolina.

Huntsman finished a weak third with 17% and should have dropped out. Instead, he said the showing was a "ticket to ride" to S. Carolina, where he is likely to fare as Perry did in New Hampshire.

Ron Paul, by finishing second with 23% continues to be an annoyance, who has no chance of securing the Republican Party nomination.

If, Romney wins conservative S. Carolina on the 21st, it will be hard to stop him. At this point, none of the other candidates are positioned to stop Romney, leading the anti-Romney folks to scramble for another candidate.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign is smiling.

Stay Tuned....

---

Obama Hosts "Insourcing Jobs Forum" - today, at the White House, President Obama will hold a forum with business leaders and experts to discuss what can be done to insource jobs to America. WhiteHouse.gov has more here.

---

Maryland General Assembly Opens Session - away we go on a 90 day session sure to garner the attention of voters. Raising taxes, especially the gas tax and Democratic Governor O'Malley's push to pass gay marriage in Maryland will surely catch the ire of some voters in the state. Also, the controversial PlanMaryland, implemented by the governor by executive order along with proposed limits to home construction with septic systems will also receive discussion. The Washington Post has a good preview of the session here.

---

First Lady Denies White House Feuds - in response to a book out by NY Times reporter Jodi Kantor who wrote Michelle Obama was often at odds with advisers to the president. She said she is tired of being portrayed as "some kind of angry black woman". The NY Times has more here.

---

Car Bomb Kills Iran Nuclear Scientist - Iran has blamed Israel for the attack, ratcheting up the tension surrounding the fear Iran is developing a nuclear arms program. Reuters.com has more here.

---

Pakistan Fires Defense Minister - adding to the turmoil in this nuclear armed country. Tensions between the army and government remain high as parliamentary elections in March near. You can read more here.

---

Arab Monitor Resigns and Leaves Syria - expressing his dissatisfaction of the monitoring process. You can read more here.

---

To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

First in The Nation Primary Underway - following the caucus in Iowa by one week, New Hampshire voters will participate in an open primary where voters can cast a ballot for candidates in any political party.



The question is now by how much will Mitt Romney win, and who will come in second. His comment at a morning event "I enjoy firing people" will haunt Romney, but not likely to be seen in this election as it came just before the voters go to the polls.

Anything, less than second place and you can say good-bye to the Huntsman campaign. Then, it becomes bragging rights for who claims the conservative mantel between Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Texas Governor Rick Perry may surprise with a better showing than expected, but very doubtful. Ron Paul will also be battling for the second place prize, but with no chance of securing the Republican Party nomination, he remains an annoyance.

The next primary in S. Carolina will be significant as the battle for conservative support will be intense and with 11 days to campaign, the candidates will be doing their best to damage each other.

First Results in from New Hampshire from Dixville Notch where nine votes were cast just after midnight. Romney and Huntsman each received 2 votes, Paul and Gingrich each had 1 vote and President Obama won with 3 votes. The voter party registration was 4 Undeclared, 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats.

Stay tuned...


---

Romney Leading in Gallup Polls - showing a majority (59%) of conservatives and moderate liberals favor Mitt Romney. Gallup.com has more here.

This follows two days after a Gallup poll showing 6 of 10 believe Romney will win the Republican nomination.

---

Daley Out as Chief of Staff - in an expected move, William Daley has resigned and Jack Lew has been named to replace him. Replacing Rahm Emanuel has proven to be difficult for the president and Obama has to hope Jack Lew, who was the OMB Director, will be the answer during an upcoming difficult election year.

Replacing Lew will be difficult as Senate Republicans are angry over the Cordray recess appointment. The Washington Post has more here.

---

Supreme Court Hears Texas Redistricting - lost, in the clamor surrounding the republican presidential primary race is how the redistricting in Texas is playing out. Texas received 4 new seats in the House based on the Census and where they will fit in the state and which political party will benefit is at issue. Politico.com has more here.

---

To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Interesting Times at City Hall

George Wenschhof

One has to wonder these days, what is going on in city hall in The City of Frederick, Maryland?

Republican Mayor Randy McClement followed his bizarre scheduling of a city workshop on an ill advised discussion on a vote by mail election, held days before Christmas, with an equally disturbing request for $28,000 to pay for a lobbyist, held just days after the New Year celebration.

Advancing the idea of a hotel/convention center to be built in downtown Frederick is a good idea. It has the support of the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Frederick Partnership as well as Frederick Tourism.

In addition, a symbolic memorandum of understanding was reached between the city and county governments; the signing of which was a mere formality. Bipartisan support is also there from the Frederick County state delegation, signaling strong support to assist in obtaining available state funding for the project.

However, once again the Mayor has clearly shown an inability to effectively advance an issue by consistently failing to communicate with his board of aldermen and with the voters who put him in city hall.

The latest request for money to pay for a lobbyist was hastily put together and poorly justified, with the belief the votes were there for quick passage. Interestingly, the lobbyist job duties listed by the mayor were mostly administrative in nature and easily handled by existing staff.

The renegotiation of existing airport leases to bring them to market rate is but one of the administrative duties listed to justify the hiring of a lobbyist. This is a federal requirement for the release of 13.6 million in federal funds for the planned airport expansion. This requirement has been known for some time and the fact this has not been done reflects poorly on the mayor.

With the Frederick county state delegation already on board, a lobbyist is not needed for this project.

Standing in the way of quick approval for the lobbyist request was Alderman Karen Young, who in spite of support from her three Democratic colleagues on the board, cried foul and asked the simple question; “Why was this needed”?

A good question considering the wheels had already been greased for advancement of a hotel/convention center in downtown Frederick.

When I spoke with Alderman Young she told me she had never been talked to in regard to the hiring of a lobbyist. Young has made no secret she is weighing the possibility of running for mayor in 2013. All the more reason Mayor McClement should have spoken to her.

What is needed, more than a lobbyist, according to multiple sources is an update of the feasibility study for the project which was done several years ago. At a cost of around twenty-five thousand, the update is needed to help secure available state funding for the project.

The mayor would be wise to drop the ill advised request for a lobbyist and instead clearly explain the need for an update of the feasibility study, asking for private and public funds to pay for it.

Two years into his first term, Mayor McClement continues to shun the media, refusing to hold press conferences and only communicating with his board of aldermen by holding individual monthly meetings with his executive assistant always present.

This is a less than satisfactory manner, to accomplish anything of merit, for the citizens of Frederick. Instead, his approach has led to many questionable outcomes.

Whether, it was the long dragged out clumsy Request For Proposal for the lease of Harry Grove Stadium which resulted in a less than satisfactory lease for city taxpayers, the lengthy and inconclusive Fraternal Order of Police negotiations, a bicycle path to nowhere on W. Seventh Street, a highly questionable vote by mail proposal, the inability to secure millions in federal funds for the airport expansion and now a unexplainable need for a lobbyist, the mayor continues to fail to exhibit the basic management skills required of his office.

The City of Frederick deserves better leadership - voters should demand it.

---

To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.