osmoothie – democrats

August 25, 2010 11:14 am

Intel CEO: Democrats’ Keynesian experiment is not working

Intel chief executive Paul Otellini offered a depressing set of observations about the economy and the Obama administration Monday evening, coupled with a dark commentary on the future of the technology industry if nothing changes.

Otellini’s remarks during dinner at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum here amounted to a warning to the administration officials and assorted Capitol Hill aides in the audience: Unless government policies are altered, he predicted, “the next big thing will not be invented here. Jobs will not be created here.”

Otellini singled out the political state of affairs in Democrat-dominated Washington, saying: “I think this group does not understand what it takes to create jobs. And I think they’re flummoxed by their experiment in Keynesian economics not working.”

August 21, 2010 7:06 pm

Dems retreat from lie that health care law will reduce costs

Politico,

Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts to defend health care legislation, abandoning claims that it will reduce costs and the deficit and instead stressing a promise to “improve it.”

The messaging shift was circulated this afternoon on a conference call and PowerPoint presentation organized by FamiliesUSA — one of the central groups in the push for the initial legislation. The call was led by a staffer for the Herndon Alliance, which includes leading labor groups and other health care allies. It was based on polling from three top Democratic pollsters, John Anzalone, Celinda Lake and Stan Greenberg

The presentation concedes that groups typically supportive of Democratic causes — people under 40, non-college-educated women and Hispanic voters — have not been won over by the plan. Indeed, it stresses repeatedly, many are unaware that the legislation has passed, an astonishing shortcoming in the White House’s all-out communications effort.

“Straightforward ‘policy’ defenses fail to [move] voters’ opinions about the law,” says one slide. “Women in particular are concerned that health care law will mean less provider availability — scarcity an issue.”

The presentation also concedes that the fiscal and economic arguments that were the White House’s first and most aggressive sales pitch have essentially failed.

August 19, 2010 10:52 am

Extreme

View FULL SIZE

August 17, 2010 10:24 pm

Obama boasts of his ‘progressive’ triumphs

The Hill,

President Obama told a Hollywood fundraiser Monday night that he and congressional Democrats have passed the most progressive legislation in decades.

“We have been able to deliver the most progressive legislative agenda — one that helps working families — not just in one generation, maybe two, maybe three,” Obama said.

Obama was joined by a number of lawmakers and celebrities at an event for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) that raised $1 million.

August 2, 2010 11:22 pm

Bill Kristol: Democrats “would have given up on WWII in 1942″

View FULL SIZE

July 27, 2010 12:59 am

Franken warns that GOP Congress would bring ‘truly dangerous agenda’

The Hill,

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), addressing a convention of liberal bloggers and activists Saturday evening, implored the left to fight to stay in power in the midterm elections.

“If Republicans take back Congress they’ll implement a truly dangerous agenda,” Franken told the Netroots Nation gathering in Las Vegas. “Everything is on the table, from repealing healthcare reform to privatizing Social Security.”

Franken singled out two Republican Senate nominees: Rand Paul in Kentucky, for his questioning of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and Sharron Angle in Nevada, “who can’t stop bringing up the prospect of armed revolt.”

July 23, 2010 10:51 am

Rangel says he’s ready to fight ethics charges

AP,

Rep. Charles Rangel, who has spent half of his 80 years as a member of Congress, says he looks forward to fighting ethics charges. Other Democrats won’t be so pleased.

The ethics trial sought by the New York congressman and former Ways and Means Committee chairman will coincide with campaign season. Democrats will have to defend their party’s conduct. If enough of them lose, the party could cede control of the House.

Republicans are already going negative, reminding voters that Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to “drain the swamp” of ethical misdeeds in Congress.

Rangel had a choice.

His lawyer had been negotiating with the House ethics committee to settle his case. But to end it, Rangel would have had to accept the allegations. Rangel had been willing to accept some, but that didn’t satisfy the committee, according to a person familiar with the talks but not authorized to be quoted by name.

July 22, 2010 6:58 pm

Harry Reid abandons climate change legislation… for now

The Hill,

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will bring a limited package of oil spill response and energy measures to the floor next week, delaying action until at least this fall on a broader proposal that would impose greenhouse gas limits on power plants, senior Senate Democratic aides said.

Aides insisted Reid’s decision is a nod to the packed floor schedule the Senate faces before it leaves in two weeks for the August recess, and that he has not abandoned plans to try and bring up a broader climate and energy plan later in the year.

But other legislative priorities and election-year politics might scuttle the wider climate and energy plan altogether.

July 22, 2010 6:55 pm

Confidence in Congress drops to 11%

Gallup,

Gallup’s 2010 Confidence in Institutions poll finds Congress ranking dead last out of the 16 institutions rated this year. Eleven percent of Americans say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress, down from 17% in 2009 and a percentage point lower than the previous low for Congress, recorded in 2008.

The Gallup poll was conducted July 8-11, shortly before Congress passed a major financial regulatory reform bill, which President Obama signed into law this week.

Underscoring Congress’ image problem, half of Americans now say they have “very little” or “no” confidence in Congress, up from 38% in 2009 — and the highest for any institution since Gallup first asked this question in 1973. Previous near-50% readings include 48% found for the presidency in 2008, and 49% for the criminal justice system in 1994.

July 19, 2010 3:51 pm

Democrats’ mystery candidate Alvin Greene delivers his first speech at NAACP

View FULL SIZE

July 16, 2010 12:51 am

Financial reform bill on the verge of passage

My Way News,

A sweeping overhaul of the nation’s financial regulations stands on the verge of reaching President Barack Obama’s desk after a year of partisan struggles and delicate cross-party courtships that promised more and delivered less.

Only three Senate Republicans say they will vote for the bill during a key vote Thursday that will set the stage for final passage. But the bill bears the fingerprints of many others in the GOP.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., negotiated several provisions with key committee Republicans such as Richard Shelby and Bob Corker. Neither, though, intends to vote for the bill.

That those bipartisan talks even occurred was remarkable in the highly politicized atmosphere in Congress. That they failed to expand the bill’s base of support illustrates how much things remain the same.

July 16, 2010 12:50 am

Nancy Pelosi predicts Democrats will keep the House

The Stakeholder,

Speaker Pelosi just sent this message to DCCC supporters:

Friend –

Here is what will happen in November. Democrats will keep control of the House. Period.

While some Washington pundits are claiming that Republicans have the momentum, I remain more confident in our chances for victory as long as we have our secret weapon — you.

Next Sunday, July 25th, marks 100 days from the fall elections. I have set a goal of raising $1 Million in grassroots contributions to send a powerful message to the media and to the world that we will keep control of the House and we will continue America’s New Direction!

Please stand with me to send an overwhelming message of grassroots strength. If you contribute today, you will receive a special invitation to join me on our National Campaign Kickoff Conference Call.

July 15, 2010 9:31 am

House Democrats vent anger over Obama’s lack of support

The Washington Post,

House Democrats are lashing out at the White House, venting long-suppressed anger over what they see as President Obama’s lukewarm efforts to help them win reelection — and accusing administration officials of undermining the party’s chances of retaining the majority in November’s midterm elections.

In recent weeks, a widespread belief has taken hold among Democratic House members that they have dutifully gone along with the White House on politically risky issues — including the stimulus plan, the health-care overhaul and climate change — without seeing much, if anything, in return. Many of them are angry that Obama has actively campaigned for Democratic Senate candidates but has done fewer events for House members.

The boiling point came Tuesday night during a closed-door meeting of House Democrats in the Capitol. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) excoriated White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’s public comments over the weekend that the House majority was in doubt and that it would take “strong campaigns by Democrats” to avert dramatic losses.

“What the hell do they think we’ve been doing the last 12 months? We’re the ones who have been taking the tough votes,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (N.J.) said in an interview Wednesday.

July 15, 2010 9:29 am

Ed Schultz: Harry Reid is ‘ball-less’

View FULL SIZE

July 14, 2010 11:57 pm

The Democratic Party: Keeping Blacks Down Since 1964

Human Events,

Shortly after President Lyndon Baines Johnson announced an “unconditional war on poverty” in his State of the Union Address in 1964, his administration embarked on an expansion of bureaucracy rarely seen in American history.

Moreover, within two years of signaling the start of that war, LBJ interwove it with civil rights initiatives so that opposition to the War on Poverty could be branded “racism” by Democrats running against opponents of big government.

Time has shown that if there was any racism attached to the War on the Poverty it was the racism which Democrats brought to the table.
What but “racism” could describe using the federal government to take money from well-to-do citizens of any color and giving it to poor blacks so they would vote Democratic in return?

July 14, 2010 12:55 am

Limbaugh on Scott Brown

Politico,

The Republicans are only as strong as their weakest link. Now, here’s an illustration, and herein lies the problem with Republican governance because Republican governance is different from conservative governance. There’s a story, MSNBC, Scott Brown, the Republican who won Ted Kennedy’s seat, is going to vote “yes” on financial reform. There is no conservative anywhere who would vote “yes” on financial regulatory reform. It is a fraud of a bill. It should not come close to even passing. But here we have a Republican voting for it, and if you read the story, he makes arguments that sound very much like liberal arguments, that it does all these wonderful things, that it’s got a consumer bill of rights in it, it’s gonna make sure that big, fat cats on Wall Street don’t get to screw anybody anymore when in fact it does not do that, and it cannot do that, and it will not do that. So this is going to be up to the Republicans, what they do with this victory in the House that even the White House now appears to be hoping for.