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August 31, 2006

The State Activation Project!

From The Hotline:

The DLCC and ActBlue announced the formation of the State Activation Project. The new organization will make sophisticated online fundraising tools available to Dem state legislative candidates in certain states.

While state legislative candidates have been hindered by high costs, DLCC exec. dir. Michael Davies says a single umbrella organization provides candidates an economy of scale that will help make fundraising more affordable.

ActBlue Pres. Benjamin Rahn says candidates in state contests in CA, IN, IA, ME, MT, OR, PA, SD, TX, UT, VA, and WI will be able to raise money online by 9/4.

Ben diaries more...

When we first met with Raghu Devaguptapu (political director at the DLCC) about activating ActBlue for state candidates he didn't say "I'm not sure this is the right ask for our donors" (translation: we only want to raise money for ourselves). And he didn't say "I think our lawyers will have some serious concerns" (translation: this is too complicated for me). And he didn't say "We'll need to take this up with the board" (translation: our old strategy won't get me fired).

Instead, looking at the whiteboard behind us detailing the balance of power in 99 legislative chambers, he said "this could make a huge difference in the landscape. Let's make this happen."

This is GREAT news for our state leg races, where strong organizing can trickle up and help every Dem on the ballot.

"You can’t trust Republicans to defend America"

The President gave a speech today. It's one of many more we'll hear in the next few days, filled with the same propaganda, talking points and empty rhetoric from an Administration that has made America less safe and allowed some of the most dangerous regimes in the world to flourish.

This is what Governor Dean had to say in response to Bush's Speech to the American Legion:

You can’t trust Republicans to defend America.

Today we only heard more of the same propaganda from a desperate Bush Administration worried more about its party's political prospects this fall than about how to protect America and fight and win the real war on terror.

It's results that matter, and the Bush White House and its rubber-stamp Republicans in Congress have not produced results when it comes to keeping America safe. President Bush said we must be patient and have resolve. The American people have been patient. We have resolve and we are patriotic Americans who because of our patriotism call on this president to change course in Iraq, face the facts on the ground, and focus on the real war on terror. This president's foreign policies have failed. Iraq is sliding into civil war.

Iran and North Korea are more dangerous than they were before Bush took office. The Taliban is coming back to Afghanistan and Osama bin Laden is still on the loose. Yet, Republicans refuse to live up to their responsibility for the fact that under their watch, America is less safe at home and around the world.

Americans are looking for new leadership and a new direction in America's foreign policy that's both tough and smart.

Speaking the Truth

Dissent is Patriotic:

Mayor Rocky Anderson came out swinging today at an anti-war protest in Salt Lake City -- demanding President Bush tell the truth about the war in Iraq.

Thousands of people gathered outside the City-County Building this afternoon as the controversial mayor gave an animated speech in protest of the war and President Bush. Anderson called the war in Iraq -- quote-- "illegal and immoral."

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Rocky Anderson cast himself in the role of truth-teller Wednesday, and Salt Lake City's mayor delivered a bravura performance.

Anderson's stage was the anti-Bush protest at Washington Square. He leveled a blistering attack on the Bush administration's dubious reasons for going to war in Iraq (Anderson called them lies), its disrespect for the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions, its arrogance, its greed, its secrecy and its multifaceted incompetence. In the main, his indictments rang true, though one could quibble with details.

Anderson's theme was the administration's prevarications, and his antidote, which he developed into a chant for the crowd, was "Give us the truth! Give us the truth!"

The news media, including this newspaper, did not escape the Democratic mayor's righteous wrath. He accused news organizations of "acting like nothing more than a bulletin board for the lies and propaganda of a manipulative, dishonest federal government." In doing so, he said, the news media have not lived up to their "sacred responsibility to ascertain and report the truth."

This latter statement appears to be the only one on which Anderson and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld might agree, given the secretary's lambasting of the press a day earlier at the American Legion convention.

Anderson, the lame-duck mayor of a rogue capital city in the most pro-President Bush state in the union, did not mince words.

"Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism. A patriot does
not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience and deference to a dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating president.

"That is not a patriot. Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience - a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular."

We have criticized the mayor more than once in the past for his blunt style and self-righteousness, even on occasions when we have agreed with him in principle.

But the debate on the Iraq war would be better focused, and the nation's policies would be better conceived, if more Americans were, like Anderson, willing to speak truth to power and demand accountability.

Read the Mayor's remarks, below the fold.

Keep reading "Speaking the Truth"

Fighting Dems

Yesterday Fighting Democrats Eric Massa and Tim Walz spoke out in response to Donald Rumsfeld's criticism of those who would question him and the Republican Administration.

Eric Massa:

"After 21 months of trying to find something I can agree with Secretary Rumsfeld on, it is true: the American people are being lied to and I totally agree with Secretary Rumsfeld," Eric Massa, a Navy veteran, said Wednesday. "What I disagree with is the fact that he's the one doing the lying."

Tim Walz:

Walz, a Minnesota schoolteacher and veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard, said the Bush administration has no effective plan to secure the country.

"This thing has disintegrated," Walz said of Iraq. "On the macro level, there's an absolute failure."

Double-talk

Ha!

Thursday Open Thread

What are you interested in today?

August 30, 2006

Countdown Open Thread

Governor Dean will be on Countdown during the 8 p.m. hour, so your T.V. should be set to MSNBC!

Don't forget to watch!

This is an open thread...

It's in the mail...

I thought I'd send a few postcards home to the ones I love with the Democratic Vision.

You can get your own postcards, here.

I showed you mine...now show me yours!

What is He Hiding?

(Governor Dean sent the following e-mail to Democrats across the country today.)

Dear Fellow Democrat,

You know the joke about how the government paid $436 for a hammer?

It's true.

So a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 -- a bill that would create a public, searchable database of all federal grants and contracts. Letting the public and the press see where the money goes would be a huge step towards eliminating ridiculous, wasteful spending.

A Google-like web site to find out where your tax dollars go -- seems like a no-brainer, right?

Think again. A Republican Senator famous for pork barrel spending placed a "secret hold" that's preventing the proposal from even getting a vote. The mystery Senator has revealed himself -- it's none other than Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who became famous for trying to waste taxpayer dollars to build a "bridge to nowhere".

It's time to ratchet up the pressure and get this bill on the Congressional agenda. Tell Ted Stevens to give this important open government measure a fair up or down vote:

http://www.democrats.org/publicaccountability

Under the Bush administration, fraud, corruption and abuse are worse than ever.

In fact, their chief procurement officer -- the guy who spends the money Congress authorizes -- was arrested and charged with being part of the web of Republican corruption surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Under Bush and the Republican Congress, the number of contracts awarded without competitive bidding has skyrocketed, as Democrat Henry Waxman on the House Government Reform Committee has documented. There are likely thousands of examples even more ridiculous than a toilet seat out there -- money wasted, stolen or misspent under this administration.

There's only one way to find out for sure, and that's by publicly accounting for which companies are getting your federal tax dollars. Send your message demanding a vote on the bill now:

http://www.democrats.org/publicaccountability

Ted Stevens, the most senior Republican in the Senate, don't want you to see the wasteful mess that he and his party have made of the federal budget.

From Iraq to our own Gulf Coast, dollars that could be saving lives are being held up, misspent, or wasted. Troops don't have the body armor they need, small businesses in New Orleans haven't received support, and across the country 45 million people go without health insurance.

We've seen the damage that Republican secrets and lies can do to our country, and enough is enough.

Tell Republican Ted Stevens that you demand accountability from the people who spend your money:

http://www.democrats.org/publicaccountability

The corruption and right-wing ideology of Republican rule has created a double nightmare for taxpayers.

Republicans have created the most expensive government in history through their corruption and out-of-control spending, but at the same time they've either refused or failed to meet the challenges of governing, like adequately preparing for disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

Democrats offer a new direction. We'll cut waste, root out corruption, and reprioritize federal spending so that it works for the people -- and we'll do it responsibly.

Remember -- only one president has balanced the budget in the last 45 years, and he was a Democrat.

One lesson learned over the last six years should be clear beyond any doubt: You cannot trust Republicans with your money.

By pressuring the Republicans to give this accountability measure and up or down vote, you can make this election about the open government and fiscal responsibility Americans deserve.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Watch It: Governor Dean on Countdown!

Governor Dean will be on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight. It airs at 8 p.m. in my neck of the woods, but check your local listings to make sure you catch it!

As it happens, Countdown is my favorite news show. So, in honor of the Countdown goodness, leave your nomination for today's "Worst Person in the World" in the comments!

Timeline of a Catastrophe

A year ago today, President Bush was playing a guitar (see it, here) while the Gulf Coast lay in ruins and the City of New Orleans drowned...

President Bush:

• Bush Continued PR Tour To Turn Around Lagging Support For Iraq At 12pm ET In Coronado, CA. "Concluding a monthlong vacation marked by antiwar protests outside his Texas home and a rising death toll in Iraq, President Bush on Tuesday invoked the anniversary of the Japanese surrender in World War II and the postwar rebirth of that country as a parallel to present-day U.S. efforts in the Middle East. Bush spoke against the dramatic backdrop of the Ronald Reagan, a 1,092-foot, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier docked at North Island Naval Air Station. The picturesque setting, enthusiastic crowd and historical references contrasted sharply with the political realities facing Bush as he returns today to Washington, where some lawmakers have begun comparing Iraq to Vietnam, a war with far more negative connotations than the Allied victory over Japan and Nazi Germany. Bush's speech Tuesday marked the latest of his several recent efforts to turn around public opinion on the war" [Los Angeles Times, 8/31/05; MSNBC, 8/30/05]

• Bush Played Guitar With Country Singer After His Remarks In Coronado, 3pm ET. "President Bush plays a guitar presented to him by Country Singer Mark Wills, right, backstage following his visit to Naval Base Coronado, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005." [AP Photo/ABC News]

The Gulf Coast:

• Looting And Chaos Take Over In New Orleans. "Law enforcement efforts to contain the emergency left by Katrina slipped into chaos in parts of New Orleans Tuesday -- with some police officers and firefighters even joining looters in picking stores clean.At the Wal-Mart on Tchoupitoulas Street, an initial effort to hand out provisions to stranded citizens quickly disintegrated into mass looting. Authorities at the scene said bedlam erupted after the giveaway was announced over the radio. 'We don't have enough cops to stop it,' an officer said. 'A mass riot would break out if you tried.'" [New Orleans Times Picayune, 8/31/05]

• Mayor Of New Orleans Warned Flood Waters Will Continue To Rise Rapidly. The catastrophic flooding that filled the bowl that is New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday will only get worse over the next few days because rainfall from Hurricane Katrina continues to flow into Lake Pontchartrain from north shore rivers and streams, and east winds and a 17.5-foot storm crest on the Pearl River block the outflow water through the Rigolets and Chef Menteur Pass..New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin warned Tuesday evening that an attempt to plug the holes in the 17th Street Canal had failed, and the floodwaters were expected to continue to rise rapidly throughout the night. Eventually, Nagin said, the water could reach as high as 3 feet above sea level, meaning it could rise to 12 to 15 feet high in some parts of the city." [New Orleans Times Picayune, 8/31/05]
  

For a full comparision, see the research document, "Timeline of a Catastrophe".

ID-LG: 25,000 Handshakes, 25,000 Stories

In July, I wrote:

(In Idaho) we find our Lt. Governor candidate, former Congressman Larry LaRocco, is within striking distance of his opponent. New polling of his GOP foe, who is currently serving as acting Governor, has less than half of voters (46%) rating his job performance positively and a mere 36% of voters committed to re-electing him. So we could likely see yet another state-wide pick-up.

Just last week, DailyKos Front-pager McJoan wrote:

A month ago, the world of political junkies was slightly rocked by the news that the GOP is worried about one of their House seats in, to quote Markos, "freakin' Idaho?" The Hill reported that the GOP "Retain Our Majority" effort was sinking a lot of money into what is supposed to be one of their safest seats.

Well all of that is still true - Idaho has the GOP worried. LaRocco's campaign is well underway and picking up steam every day. After serving two terms in the United States Congress, Larry LaRocco is working to serve the state of Idaho once again. In his quest to win the right to serve as Idaho's next Lt. Governor, LaRocco has launched his campaign to meet with 25,000 people, shake 25,000 hands and listen to 25,000 different stories.

Armed with individually numbered cards, LaRocco has criss-crossed the state, documenting stories as he goes.

Check out the videos from the launch of his state-wide tour.

How Will The Bush Administration Spin This?

A dismal outlook:

If you’re still harboring the notion that the economy is “good,” prepare to be disabused.

Even the best number from yesterday’s Census Bureau report for 2005 is bad news for most Americans. It shows that median income rose 1.1 percent last year, to $46,326, the first increase since it peaked in 1999. But the entire increase is attributable to the 23 million households headed by someone over age 65. So the gain is likely from investment income and Social Security, not wages and salaries.

For the other 91 million households, the median dropped, by half a percent, or $275. Incomes for the under-65 crowd were hurt by a decline in wages and salaries among full-time working men for the second year in a row, and among full-time working women for the third straight year. In all, median income for the under-65 group was $2,000 lower in 2005 than in 2001, when the last recession bottomed out.

Despite the Bush-era expansion, the number of Americans living in poverty in 2005 — 37 million — was the same as in 2004. This is the first time the number has not risen since 2000. But the share of the population now in poverty — 12.6 percent — is still higher than at the trough of the last recession, when it was 11.7 percent. And among the poor, 43 percent were living below half the poverty line in 2005 — $7,800 for a family of three. That’s the highest percentage of people in “deep poverty” since the government started keeping track of those numbers in 1975.

As for the uninsured, their ranks grew in 2005 by 1.3 million people, to a record 46.6 million, or 15.9 percent. That’s also worse than the recession year 2001, reflecting the rising costs of health coverage and a dearth of initiatives to help families and companies cope with the burden. For the first time since 1998, the percentage of uninsured children increased in 2005.

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Are you ready? College football starts this weekend.

This is an open thread...

August 29, 2006

Tuesday Night Open Thread

For the night owls...

Check out:

• PartyBuilder
• 100actions.com
• Remembering Katrina

Timeline of a Catastrophe

A year ago today, President Bush was attending pricey fundraisers and eating cake while the Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

President Bush:

• Bush In Arizona Campaigning Hard To “Pre-Sell” A Political Victory at 12pm ET. Bush talked to an invitation only audience of about 400 people at the Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort. The Arizona Republic said Bush came to campaign hard for his new Medicare plan. “The main focus of Bush's visit was to elaborate on the new Medicare drug benefit…Having high numbers of enrollees also will be a political victory for the president, since he pushed the Medicare reform measure through Congress in 2003. Members of the Bush administration have been on the road, going across the country to talk up the program…. ‘I think Bush would like it (the Medicare drug benefit) to play a role in the elections next year -- he's been touting it as one of the big accomplishments of his first term,’ David Mark, of Campaigns & Elections Magazine, said Monday.… Bush said Monday that he was in El Mirage ‘pre-selling’ the importance of enrolling for the benefit.” [Arizona Republic, 8/30/05]
• Bush Stopped To Celebrate McCain’s Birthday At Luke Air Force Base. “Greeting Bush was Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)… The president paused on the tarmac to help celebrate McCain's 69th birthday, but on a blazing Arizona day, the cake melted before he could taste it.” [Washington Post, 8/30/05]
• “Upbeat” Bush Continues Campaigning, Speaking Straight From White House Talking Points In Rancho Cucamonga, CA at 5:45pm ET. “An upbeat and slightly sunburned President George W. Bush chatted with the nation's Medicare chief and several locals in a casual, town hall-type setting Monday, encouraging seniors to find out more about their new prescription drug benefits. Repeatedly telling an audience of 200 invited guests at the James L. Brulte Senior Center that the new program was "a good deal,' the president also assured seniors that he sympathized with their apprehension.… Bush, who spoke for just under a half-hour, pulled talking points directly from a White House fact sheet that states Medicare has not kept up with advances in medicine…. Bush's appearance was part of a $300 million campaign to promote awareness of the program and boost interest in it.” [Whittier Daily News, 8/30/05]

The Gulf Coast

• Katrina Moves On Shore As Category 4 Hurricane. At 6am, the National Hurricane Center warned that “extremely dangerous category four hurricane Katrina preparing to move onshore newar southern Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana…Hurricane-force wind gusts occurring over most of southeastern Louisiana…and as far east as the Chandeleur Islands.” [Hurricane Center]
• At Least 55 Reported Deaths By Hurricane Katrina Throughout Gulf Coast. “Hurricane Katrina barreled into the Gulf Coast on Monday morning, its fierce winds cutting a 125-mile swath of destruction stretching from coastal Alabama across Mississippi to the French Quarter and the Superdome. At least 55 people were killed. The storm's leading edge, wielding winds up to 145 mph across the Gulf of Mexico, made landfall as a fearsome Category 4 hurricane at 7:10 a.m. Eastern time near the Louisiana bayou town of Buras, about 63 miles southeast of New Orleans. Katrina then wheeled into western Mississippi, bringing a 20-foot storm surge along the coast near Biloxi. It headed north later Monday to inundate most of the Mississippi Delta, spun off dozens of tornadoes through the South and promised drenching rains later in the week as far north as the Ohio Valley.” [Washington Post, 8/30/05]
• The flooding begins - literally. Pictures start to come in from residents and reporters as the Gulf Coast is washed away.

For a full comparison, check out the research document, Timeline of a Catastrophe.

Party Leaders on the Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Governor Howard Dean:

"Katrina and its tragic aftermath serve as a painful reminder that too many of our fellow Americans live and struggle in poverty. As we mark this anniversary, we should remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King and others who spoke on the Mall in Washington some 43 years ago calling on each one of us as individuals and our nation to honor our obligation to one another as part of the American community. As Dr. King so eloquently stated, ‘we cannot walk alone.’

“Our message to the people of the Gulf Coast is that we have not and we will not forget you. We will work hard to ensure the Gulf Coast has the resources needed to rebuild its communities, and that the people of the Gulf Coast have the resources to rebuild their lives.

“Too many Americans live in poverty, and too many Americans in the Gulf Coast are awaiting the help and resources needed to rebuild their lives. Despite the President’s rhetoric that he would work to eliminate poverty and other social and economic injustices highlighted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President Bush has abandoned the same programs he touted just one year ago. We have a long way to go in ensuring the dream that Dr. King spoke of some 43 years ago, and Republicans’ misplaced priorities are not getting us closer to making that dream a reality. We need a new direction on the Gulf Coast. We call on President Bush to honor his promise to fight poverty and restore the confidence of the American people in their government.”

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi:

“One year ago, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, causing the tragedy, and exposing another. One year later, neither the tragedy Katrina caused – the flooding of New Orleans and the devastation of the Gulf Coast; nor the tragedy that it exposed – the extent of the federal government’s failure to provide a life of security and dignity to all of our citizens – have been adequately addressed. Hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens still await the help in rebuilding their hospitals, schools, businesses, and homes that was promised last fall.

“Throughout America, today must be a day of prayer, grief, and introspection. Though it is long past due, today is the day for a new direction in the Gulf Coast, where despair and destruction are finally replaced by hope and renewal. In that vein, members of the Congressional Democratic Caucus are in the Gulf Coast this week to renew our commitment to rebuilding communities.

“On this somber anniversary, we remember the lives lost and we rededicate ourselves to help those who survived. We must recover the sense of urgency and common purpose that Katrina evoked and we must answer, finally, the challenge it placed upon our national conscience.”

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid:

“It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the Gulf Coast and ripped away the illusion that our government was prepared to respond to a national emergency. In that year, the residents of the battered region have struggled to move on and to rebuild. Unfortunately in Washington, too many have simply moved on.

“One year later, it is time for a new direction. Too many across the Gulf Coast still have not seen the reconstruction they deserve, and across America, too many are still waiting for the real security they demand. Now is the time for the government to keep the promises it made after the hurricanes. It is time to put aside the failure and incompetence of the last year and change the destruction and despair across the Gulf Coast to a new spirit of hope and recovery.”

Remembering Hurricane Katrina

It's hard to believe an entire year has passed since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. As a nation, we were stunned, shocked, saddened and outraged as we watched our fellow citizens struggle, alone, for days, as the Republican Administration failed the people of the Gulf Coast.

As a nation, we came together to give to our fellow Americans in their time of need, yet there is still work to be done. The past year has tested the spirits of those left behind by this horrific storm, and the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast continues.

As Senator Landrieu said:

A year after the most powerful hurricanes in history hit America's shores, the rebuilding process is only just beginning in many communities. And as long as tens of thousands of families can't return home the work of recovery remains incomplete.

Countless neighborhoods appear as if the hurricanes were just yesterday, and they serve as harsh reminders of how our nation was so unprepared.

Unfortunately, our nation in many ways remains unprepared for major disasters, whether they be hurricanes, earthquakes, or terrorist attacks.

We've put together a resource center where you can find more information. Please check out our special coverage, and including, the "Promises Made, Promises Broken" report.

Plus - make sure you are prepared for a storm. The Red Cross has the information you need.

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning. This is an open thread...

August 28, 2006

On the Front Lines of Democracy

This week we'd like to highlight a few of the many Fighting Dems who are running for federal office. There are dozens of men and women running with a (D) next to their name for the chance to serve their country again, this time in a suit and tie instead of camo and boots.

From the Fighting Dems page:

There are a special group of Democrats who first sign up to serve their country, often in wars half way around the world, and then return home and continue to fight for the values they hold dear in the Democratic Party. Right now more than fifty veterans are running as Democrats for Congress and dozens more are running up and down the ticket.

We all know the current administration doesn't hesitate to stand in front of the troops when it comes to a photo-op, but never stands behind them when it comes to providing the armor necessary to fight in Iraq, or the benefits promised when they return home. It's time for veterans to join together and defend our country once more -- and the Fighting Dems intend to do just that. They share the Democratic Party's bold vision to ensure that for the safety and economic security of our country we change course and move our country in a different direction, from Iraq to healthcare and the budget.

Governor Howard Dean initiated the creation of the Democratic Council for Veterans and Military Families to work for and secure a strong national defense, full support for our men and women in uniform, complete care for our wounded veterans and their families and adequate services for all veterans and military families.
Many Fighting Dems are already through the primary process and will be on the ticket in November. A list of those candidates can be found here. Still more are talking with voters in their respective district as part of the Democratic primary process, and a list of those veterans -- and the other Democrats involved -- can be found here. You can learn more about the Democratic Council for Veterans and Military Families here.

So, before we get to the individual profiles, take a minute to check out the brave men and women who are proudly standing up on the Front Lines of Democracy. With so many great candidates, it's likely you'll find one in your state.

On this day, in 1963...

Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to thousands of civil rights protestors who gathered in Washington, DC:

...And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Read, watch, or listen to the full speech, here.

Action #72

Today's Action reminds us to contact unregistered voters.

Reach out to your family and friends who don't vote. Voter registration deadlines are rapidly approaching.

Deadlines vary from state to state, so it's important you know what kind of timeline you are dealing with. I find the best place to go is the website for your Secretary of State's office.

Take this action personally - we all know a few people who are politically apathetic, who shouldn't be. Whatever their excuse is - it's not good enough.

Consider it your mission to identify, and help register, new voters. Then, make sure they vote.

In 2004 it was my personal mission to make sure a friend of mine registered to vote. She was smart, and she cared about the direction of our country, but she was also busy with work and home, and didn't see something like getting registered to vote as a priority. However, I made it a priority for her. I handed her the voter registration form and sat with her as she filled it out. Together we headed to a mailbox and mailed it.

Not only did she vote in 2004 but she has been increasingly engaged in the political process since then, often asking me if I heard about this tidbit, or that news story. I couldn't be prouder!

2004 was also the first year my younger brother could vote and I made sure that he did his duty too. It was easier than I anticipated. He had been registered by the League of Women Voters during his senior year of high school (as had I, thanks to a fantastic teacher...) and he already had a pretty good inclination to Vote Democratic. Plus, I think knowing that our two votes canceled out the unwise choices of our parents was a great motivator.

So take today's action to heart. Sit down and think about your closest friends and family members. Are each and every one of them registered to vote? If not, you know what to do...

Some tools for you:

• Register to Vote
• Register to get an Absentee Ballot
• Vote from Abroad

Just Another Manic Monday Open Thread

What's the good word?

August 25, 2006

PartyBuilder

Over a year ago, a few of us here in the DNC's Internet department started talking about devolving our technology to users. After all, you're Democrats too, so why were we the only ones with a blog on Democrats.org? Well, after a lot of work by a lot of people, now you do -- along with a lot of other things.

We're pushing out a group of tools today we call PartyBuilder. A literal name for obvious reasons: the Party belongs to you, and it's built upon the work and passion so many of you have put into things like door knocking, phone banking and, yes, contributing. Now, we're giving you the tools to build it online.

There's a lot here. Social networking, grouping, a community blog, the events tool you've used for things like the 50-State Canvass or the Democratic Reunion, personal fundraising tools, and a petitions and letters section that we're going to expand on. You should take a minute to look through it...it's exciting stuff.

For those of you who are regulars here, I've already set up a group for us. The same login you use here will work there, all you need to do is click "join". The group has a listserv, a shared blog, and you have the ability to create events and assign them to the group if you want. You should also take time to build groups in your area or for your causes, too.

You'll be hearing a lot more about this in the future, so you should head over a check it out. There's a much more detailed explanation of the tools here, if you're interested. And be sure to send us any problems you might find. We're not officially launching just yet -- just testing things out for a while.

TGIF Open Thread

It's Friday! Celebrate! That's an order!

With 25 Actions down and just 75 left to go, it's important to remember to celebrate the small successes along the way.

August 24, 2006

Around the Blogosphere

I noticed a ton of great comments about Governor Dean's most recent e-mail message and Hardball appearance while I was traveling around the blogosphere. Here are some of my favorites.

On the Most Recent E-Mail from Governor Dean:

DailyKos.com

"Crazy loon---if he keeps this up he'll get us all...um, back on track??"

Daily Gotham

"Howard Dean has not only greatly improved DNC fundraising while increasing the proportion of small donors to large donors, but he just makes sense!"

"Those who label Howard and his brother, Jim Dean, "Rebels without a Clue," or as radicals are simply not paying attention. So, we are seeing excellent fundraising, a 50-state strategy that includes a wide variety of Democratic philosophies (a "big tent" in other words) and statements that are pretty right on the mark regarding issues (National Security in this case), and yet some still try to present Howard Dean as a radical who will destroy the Democratic Party. Well, if THIS is destruction, we need more of it."

Flicker Tail Journal:

"The GOP does everything it can to vilify Howard Dean. Any Democrat with real ideas to get us out of the GOP's quagmire in Iraq is dangerous to Republican power. Over half the country believes the Iraq war to be a mistake now and the Republicans aren't going to do so well in November. Democrats are the party that can deal with threats to our country more effectively and efficiently than Democrats - it's been 5 years since 9/11 and, because of Bush's war in Iraq, we have still not accomplished the mission in Afghanistan."

DailyKos.com

"Democrats on the offense. Speaking out more forcefully against this administration and the GOP…I've noticed a sea change. And it's good to hear the DNC talking tough and making sense."

On Governor Dean's Hardball Appearance:

The Blue Voice

"Like the physician that he is, Howard Dean cuts through the crap with laser-like precision"

The Tarantula Mountain

"Howard Dean knocks it out of the park"

The Spooke of the Ozarks

"More of this, please."

Vox Mia

"Just one more example of why Howard Dean is the voice of grassroots Democrats"

Space Time Curves

"Howard Dean says it, and it's about time somebody did."

J. Miller Rampant!

"Howard Dean shows the way"

Dymaxion World

"Oh, YES: Governor Howard Dean (D-My Heart)"

In case you missed it: You can watch the Hardball interview, here, and read the e-mail, here.

Playing offense for a change

(Governor Dean sent the following e-mail to Democrats across the country today.)

Dear Fellow Democrat,

Democrats have been playing defense for too long.

Over the past few months, though, something has shifted. When it comes to national security, Democrats are playing offense for a change -- and it's working.

It's not enough to respond to the daily misinformation coming out of the White House, or defend ourselves against outrageous claims from Dick Cheney. We can't let them dictate the national conversation.

We have a fundamentally different vision for our security than the Party of Bush. We want a new direction in Iraq, more competent security at home, and the restoration of America's moral leadership in the world.

And we have a plan to take that message to voters between now and Election Day with person-to-person outreach in all 50 states. We have staff on the ground ready to take a strong Democratic message to voters -- supporting candidates up and down the ballot and spreading the word that it's time for a change.

We're going to fight for the Democratic vision on national security -- will you make a contribution to help fund our plan?

http://www.democrats.org/playoffense

People trust Democrats to handle our national security. In the latest CBS News and ABC News polls, more people trust Democrats to make the right decisions on Iraq. And in the latest Newsweek poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans agree that the war in Iraq has not made us safer from terrorism.

Meanwhile, as Iraq descends into civil war and becomes a new training ground for international terrorists, cargo coming into our country still isn't being inspected.

While the Party of Bush scrambles to write its latest talking points calling anyone who opposes them "al Qaeda types", nuclear materials sit unguarded in the former Soviet Union.

While the administration organizes lawyers to try to salvage its illegal domestic spying program, Osama bin Laden continues to remain free roaming around northwest Pakistan making videotapes five years after the tragic events of September 11th.

We're strong, we're right, and the people know it. Now let's get our message our to voters in all 50 states. Can you donate to help make it happen?

http://www.democrats.org/playoffense

Republicans have won two elections by instilling fear in people, and they're trying to do it again this year.

But it's not going to work. The President's foreign policies have failed. Iraq is sliding into civil war. Iran and North Korea are more dangerous than they were five and a half years ago. And the Taliban continues to present a threat in Afghanistan.

People have had enough. This administration cannot be trusted with our security.

Democrats are going to reclaim American leadership with a tough, smart plan to transform failed policies in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world.

We will double the size of Special Forces to destroy Osama Bin Laden and terrorist networks like al Qaeda.

We will implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission proposal to secure America's borders and ports and screen every container.

And we will fully man, train, and equip our National Guard and our police, firefighters and other first responders.

Let's get this message out to Americans who need to hear it:

http://www.democrats.org/playoffense

When it comes to national security, the Republicans have not led.

We will.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Chairman, Democratic National Committee

P.S. -- We are spending $8 billion a month in Iraq. That's $2 billion each week, $267 million each day, or $11 million each hour. For what we spend in three weeks, we could make needed improvements in order to properly secure our public transportation systems. For what we spend in five days, we could put radiation detectors in all of our ports. And for two days in Iraq, we could screen all air cargo.

Can you donate to help make those things happen?

http://www.democrats.org/playoffense

Game On - Mark Your Calendars

NBC's Meet the Press 2006 Senate Debate Series announced a line-up this morning, via First Read:

September 3:
Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R) and Bob Casey (D)

September 13:
Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) vs. Jim Webb (D)

October 1:
Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine (R) vs. Sherrod Brown (D)

October 8:
Missouri Sen. Jim Talent (R) vs. Claire McCaskill (D)

October 15:
Minnesota candidates Amy Klobuchar (D) and Mark Kennedy (R)

October 29:
Maryland Senate nominees (still TBD)

FDA Finally Does the Right Thing (Sorta)

After delaying approval for years, the Food and Drug Administration has finally approved Plan B for over-the-counter sales to women over the age of 18, something that their own advisory panel recommended a long time ago, but that was left in limbo as the agency caved to pressure from the extreme right-wing of the Republican Party.

From The Washington Post:

The Food and Drug Administration approved an application today making the long-debated emergency contraceptive Plan B, commonly known as the "morning-after pill", available without a prescription to women 18 and older.

The FDA said Barr Laboratories, the maker of Plan B, could begin selling the drug.

Many social conservatives in and out of Congress have battled to keep the drug from becoming available without a prescription. Some say that could encourage promiscuity, and others say use of the pill causes a very early abortion. Their position had for almost three years trumped an overwhelming medical and scientific consensus that the drug could be safety dispensed by a pharmacist without a prescription.

...

"This is something that women's health groups have been working on for more than a decade," said Amy Allina of the National Women's Health Network. "If the decision comes out as we expect it to, that's a real victory."

Allina added that restricting access to women 18 and older is disappointing. "There's no medical or scientific reason for restricting access. It sends a message that it's somehow less safe for younger women, which just isn't true," she said.

So what caused the sudden change of heart? Our Democratic Senators played a little hardball:

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) put a hold on the nomination last year because of what they said was the agency's refusal to make a decision about the drug. They accused the administration of politicizing science regarding Plan B by not accepting the recommendations of an expert advisory panel and the FDA's own scientific staff.

Check out this post for more.

FYI: Pluto Voted Out of the Solar System

From WaPo:

Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.

After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is -- and isn't -- a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.

Thursday Open Thread

Governor Dean was on Hardball yesterday. If you missed it, you can watch the clip, here.

Then, head over to 100actions.com and tell your story!

August 23, 2006

New Calendar Increases Diversity

The new presidential nominating calendar approved last weekend at the DNC Fall Meeting has generated some buzz. The Democratic presidential nominee selection process has been changed - Nevada will hold the second caucus and South Carolina the second primary alongside Iowa and New Hampshire.

By adding Nevada and South Carolina, the Democratic Party is significantly increasing the early participation of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and labor members, as well as increasing geographic diversity by including states in all regions of the country. Also, by requiring states to adopt new Inclusion Plans for LGBT Americans, Americans with disabilities and other groups traditionally under-represented, the DNC is promoting full participation in the political process by all Americans.

Six New Democrats in the Senate

Yesterday, The Hotline posted a compilation of recent polling across the United States. According to these polls, Democrats can win back the Senate. Listed below are the six Senate seat pick ups projected by polling. Keep in mind that these polls don't guarantee Election Day votes, and that in the bottom two races, the Democratic challengers are within the margin of error. You knew that.

Missouri
Research 2000 (+/-3.5%) 6/19-6/22
Claire McCaskill (D) 49
Jim Talent (R) 43

Montana
Lake Research (+/-4.0%) 8/8-8/10
Jon Tester (D) 44
Conrad Burns (R) 37

Ohio
Columbus Dispatch (+/-2.0%) 7/11-7/20
Sherrod Brown (D) 45
Mike DeWine (R) 37

Pennsylvania
Quinnipiac (+/-2.6%) 8/8-8/13
Bob Casey (D) 48
Rick Santorum (R) 42

Rhode Island
Brown Univ./Taubman (+/-3.5%) 6/24-6/26
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) 38
Lincoln Chafee (R) 37

Tennessee
Benenson Strategy Group (+/-2.9%) 8/10-8/15
Harold Ford (D) 44
Bob Corker (R) 42

In honor of this post, please take today's action: find out if you can vote early. According to an outdated list I found online, one of the above states can vote early. You'll have to call your local election board to find out for sure.

Wyoming's Cubin Could Be Weak

CQ put out a story this AM on Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin, the great state of Wyoming's only voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. Word is she's looking a little weak.

But her underwhelming showing against a little-known opponent suggested that she could be vulnerable in November in a state that usually leans strongly to Cubin's party.

Let's not forget Wyoming has a Democratic Governor. Keep your eye on Democratic candidate Gary Trauner and the 50-state strategy in Big Sky country.

Update: DNC Chair Howard Dean had this to say about Wyoming's primary yesterday:

Gary Trauner, an accomplished small business owner, is poised to take on weak Republican incumbent Barbara Cubin. Cubin is a six-term incumbent who received only 60 percent of the vote, even after outspending her opponent 30 to 1.

Sweet.

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning!

USA Today features an op-ed this morning by Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, who is the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. The article focuses on the new presidential nominating calendar.

August 22, 2006

This Strategy Sounds Familiar

From Ohio, via the Buckeye State Blog...

Gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland, with a busload of fellow Democratic state candidates, crisscrossed Southwest Ohio Saturday, looking for votes in a part of the state that Republicans have taken for granted.

"People all over Ohio are tired of it - tired of the too-often incompetent, too-often corrupt and many times illegal behavior in Columbus," the Democratic congressman told a crowd of about 150 Democrats who gathered in Union Township Veterans Park. "Democrats, independents and even many Republicans know it. It is time for a change."

And while Strickland and other Democratic candidates were campaigning on Republican Ken Blackwell's home turf, Blackwell was an hour northeast of Cincinnati, meeting in a Fayette County barn with about 150 Republicans.

Strickland took his campaign to win back the statehouse for the Democrats into the part of Ohio that's given credit for helping George W. Bush win a second term - the counties that ring Cincinnati.

The Democratic bus that hit Clermont, Butler and Warren counties Saturday - along with a stop at Yeatman's Cove on Cincinnati's riverfront for the Black Family Reunion - was packed with Democratic statewide candidates.

They included U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, auditor candidate Barbara Sykes, treasurer candidate Richard Cordray, attorney general candidate Marc Dann, and former state Sen. Ben Espy, who is running for the Ohio Supreme Court.

Things like this are great to see. 50 states or 88 counties, you can't convince anyone if you don't go talk to them -- you just keep losing a few votes at a time, until all you're left with is a great ad campaign and a few yard signs nobody wants.

"Jumping in to fill the void..."

With a do-nothing Republican-led Congress and an Administration that has proven itself completely incompetent, is it any surprise that states are stepping in to do the heavy lifting when it comes to governing?

Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, who was one of the speakers at the DNC Meeting in Chicago, recently announced a new direction for his state's energy strategy, that is ambitious and innovative.

The details:

Pointing to high fuel costs and dependence on foreign oil, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich wants his state to overhaul its energy sources with a strategy that experts said would be among the nation’s most ambitious, including replacing half its current supply of gasoline from imported oil with that made from homegrown products in little more than a decade.

On Tuesday, Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat seeking a second term in November, will announce a five-part, $1.2 billion plan, elements of which would require the legislature’s support, aides said.

Mr. Blagojevich’s aides said he would call for financial incentives to build up to 20 ethanol plants, five biodiesel plants and four facilities that would create ethanol from wastes like corn husks and wood pulp in Illinois, where five ethanol production plants operate now and where three more are under construction.

He will seek additional incentives to increase the number of service stations selling biofuels, with the goal that all of Illinois’ 5,000 or so service stations would offer E-85 (which is 85 percent ethanol) by 2017, compared with just 130 that offer it today. And, his aides said, Mr. Blagojevich will press to build a pipeline in the state that will move carbon dioxide, created by coal gasification plants in Illinois, to the oilfields in the southeastern section of the state, where it can be used to extract more oil and gas.

Environmental advocates said Mr. Blagojevich’s proposal reached beyond similar efforts that have been proposed elsewhere. Jim Marston of Environmental Defense described it as ambitious and cautioned that others beyond the governor’s office, including automobile makers, service station owners and venture capitalists, would have to cooperate with such a plan for it to become reality.

Still, Mr. Marston said he viewed Mr. Blagojevich’s sweeping proposal as a positive step. “The states are jumping in to fill a void created by Washington,” he said.

President Clinton: How We Ended Welfare, Together

On the anniversery of the signing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, President Clinton writes an op-ed in The New York Times.

Ten years ago today I signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. By then I had long been committed to welfare reform. As a governor, I oversaw a workfare experiment in Arkansas in 1980 and represented the National Governors Association in working with Congress and the Reagan administration to draft the welfare reform bill enacted in 1988.

Yet when I ran for president in 1992, our system still was not working for the taxpayers or for those it was intended to help. In my first State of the Union address, I promised to “end welfare as we know it,” to make welfare a second chance, not a way of life, exactly the change most welfare recipients wanted it to be.

Most Democrats and Republicans wanted to pass welfare legislation shifting the emphasis from dependence to empowerment. Because I had already given 45 states waivers to institute their own reform plans, we had a good idea of what would work. Still, there were philosophical gaps to bridge. The Republicans wanted to require able-bodied people to work, but were opposed to continuing the federal guarantees of food and medical care to their children and to spending enough on education, training, transportation and child care to enable people to go to work in lower-wage jobs without hurting their children.

On Aug. 22, 1996, after vetoing two earlier versions, I signed welfare reform into law. At the time, I was widely criticized by liberals who thought the work requirements too harsh and conservatives who thought the work incentives too generous. Three members of my administration ultimately resigned in protest. Thankfully, a majority of both Democrats and Republicans voted for the bill because they shouldn’t be satisfied with a system that had led to intergenerational dependency.

The last 10 years have shown that we did in fact end welfare as we knew it, creating a new beginning for millions of Americans.

In the past decade, welfare rolls have dropped substantially, from 12.2 million in 1996 to 4.5 million today. At the same time, caseloads declined by 54 percent. Sixty percent of mothers who left welfare found work, far surpassing predictions of experts. Through the Welfare to Work Partnership, which my administration started to speed the transition to employment, more than 20,000 businesses hired 1.1 million former welfare recipients. Welfare reform has proved a great success, and I am grateful to the Democrats and Republicans who had the courage to work together to take bold action.

The success of welfare reform was bolstered by other anti-poverty initiatives, including the doubling of the earned-income tax credit in 1993 for lower-income workers; the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, which included $3 billion to move long-term welfare recipients and low-income, noncustodial fathers into jobs; the Access to Jobs initiative, which helped communities create innovative transportation services to enable former welfare recipients and other low-income workers to get to their new jobs; and the welfare-to-work tax credit, which provided tax incentives to encourage businesses to hire long-term welfare recipients.

I also signed into law the toughest child-support enforcement in history, doubling collections; an increase in the minimum wage in 1997; a doubling of federal financing for child care, helping parents look after 1.5 million children in 1998; and a near doubling of financing for Head Start programs.

The results: child poverty dropped to 16.2 percent in 2000, the lowest rate since 1979, and in 2000, the percentage of Americans on welfare reached its lowest level in four decades. Overall, 100 times as many people moved out of poverty and into the middle class during our eight years as in the previous 12. Of course the booming economy helped, but the empowerment policies made a big difference.

Regarding the politics of welfare reform, there is a great lesson to be learned, particularly in today’s hyper-partisan environment, where the Republican leadership forces bills through Congress without even a hint of bipartisanship. Simply put, welfare reform worked because we all worked together. The 1996 Welfare Act shows us how much we can achieve when both parties bring their best ideas to the negotiating table and focus on doing what is best for the country.

The recent welfare reform amendments, largely Republican-only initiatives, cut back on states’ ability to devise their own programs. They also disallowed hours spent pursuing an education from counting against required weekly work hours. I doubt they will have the positive impact of the original legislation.

We should address the inadequacies of the latest welfare reauthorization in a bipartisan manner, by giving states the flexibility to consider higher education as a category of “work,” and by doing more to help people get the education they need and the jobs they deserve. And perhaps even more than additional welfare reform, we need to raise the minimum wage, create more good jobs through a commitment to a clean energy future and enact tax and other policies to support families in work and child-rearing.

Ten years ago, neither side got exactly what it had hoped for. While we compromised to reach an agreement, we never betrayed our principles and we passed a bill that worked and stood the test of time. This style of cooperative governing is anything but a sign of weakness. It is a measure of strength, deeply rooted in our Constitution and history, and essential to the better future that all Americans deserve, Republicans and Democrats alike.

Tuesday Open Thread

Action 78 reminds us to reach out to our elderly neighbors and help them get absentee ballots. I would add that you should also reach out to any students you know who may attend school far from the place where they are registered to vote. Make sure they have a plan to vote too!

This is an open thread...

August 21, 2006

Democrats in Chicago: A Blog-Story

If my trip to Chicago were a book, it would read something like this:

Chapter 1: We Have Arrived

Chapter 2: Welcome to Chicago

Chapter 3: Many Hands Make Light Work, Community Service Project

Chapter 4: Playing by the Rules: The Rules and Bylaws Committee

Chapter 5: Consider the Resolution...: The Resolutions Committee

Chapter 6: W-O-M-A-N: The Women's Caucus

Chapter 7: On the Front Lines: The Executive Directors

Chapter 8: All Politics Are Local: The Regional Caucuses

Chapter 9: The Main Event: The General Session

Chapter 10: Leaving on a Jet Plane

Appendix 1: Highlights of the 2008 Rules

Appendix 2: The Resolutions

Appendix 3: Videos from the General Session

Democrats in Chicago: The General Session - Videos and More!

The main event for the 3 day-long DNC Meeting in Chicago was Saturday's General Session. The General Session brings together the full membership of the DNC to conduct the official business of the Democratic National Committee.

Governor Dean speaks with DNC Finance Chair Phil Murphy before the meeting begins.

Governor Dean gets ready to bring the meeting to order.

Governor Dean brought the meeting to order shortly after 10 a.m. and things got underway.

The officers of the Democratic National Committee during the General Session in Chicago.

There was a presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Alligence. Then, after it was determined a quorum was present, Governor Dean turned things over to Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley, who welcomed Democrats to Chicago. You can watch Mayor Daley's speech here.

After Mayor Daley spoke, we watched a video montage on the most recent national organizing event, The Democratic Reunion. You can watch that video, here.

Governor Dean then took to the stage. His speech focused on how important it is that we work together to move America in a new direction. You can view Part I of his speech, here and Part II, here.

Following Governor Dean, we heard from Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. He gave us a sneak preview when I caught up with him Friday evening, but his full speech was pretty terrific. You can watch it here, and the conclusion, here.

After all these speeches, it was time to get down to business. It was at this point that the DNC voted for the changes in the 2008 Delegate Selection Rules.

While still preserving the first in the nation status of the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary, the DNC opened the primary process up to two additional states, Nevada and South Carolina.

We believe this will better reflect the rich diversity of our Party. And, in addition to adding regional diversity to the process, we'll open up a dialogue that will engage a broader range of people to talk about a wider variety of issues. This will enable the Democratic Party to choose the strongest candidate to be our Presidential nominee.

Following this historic Rules vote, it was back to the speakers. Congressional Candidate Darcy Burner and Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Jennifer Bruner were up next. They both gave fantastic speeches.

Darcy Burner and Jennifer Bruner

Darcy spoke passionately about the importance of taking back the House this November. By entwining her personal story with her core convictions, she delivered a powerful message about the need for a new direction for America. Watch Darcy, here.

DNC Vice-Chair Susie Turnbull introduced Jennifer Bruner, who is running for Secretary of State in the battleground state of Ohio. Jennifer talked about the importance of down ballot races. She also talked about the importance of voter protection and the need to return to running free, fair, open and honest elections in Ohio. You can watch it, here.

Back stage as Jennifer Bruner speaks.

After Jennifer and Darcy spoke, the DNC officially passed 13 resolutions as presented in the report from the Resolutions Committee.

DNC Members also heard officer reports from the treasurer, announcements from the Secretary, and a brief report from newly elected National Finance Chair, Phil Murphy.

The last major speech was given by Reverand Jesse Jackson. You can watch clips from his speech, here.

C-Span was in the house, broadcasting live.

After a few short announcements and a final benediction offered by the Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, the meeting adjourned and history was made.

Monday Evening Open Thread

For the night owls...

Democrats in Chicago: Be it Resolved...

One of the pieces of official business on the agenda for the General Session was the consideration of resolutions presented by the Resolutions Committee. (You can read about the details of that committee meeting, here.)

All 13 resolutions were passed by the Democratic National Committee at its meeting on August 19, 2006.

Here are the details:

• Calling on Republicans to Stop Their Diversionary Tactics and Pass a Minimum Wage Increase
• Supports Renewing Hope Through Stem Cell Research
• Affirms the re-Authorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and Calls for Further Election Reform
Condemns Any Incident of Abuse of Prisioners of the Use of Torture by Any Agent or Agency of the United States
• Honors the Boycott of Krug-Modavi Wineries
• Thanks Senator Sarbanas for His Many Years of Outstanding Service to the People of Maryland, the Nation and The Democratic Party
• Honors the Life and Career of Llody Benston
• Honors the Life and Career of Evelyn "Evy" Dubrow
• Honors the Life and Career of James L. Humlicek
• Honors the Life and Service of Lorraine Frank
• Honors the Life and Career of Tom Manton
• Honors the Life and Career of Senator Eugene McCarthy
• Commemorates the Life of Victoria Gray Adams

Highlights of the 2008 Rules

On August 19th the members of the Democratic National Committee adopted the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The Rules govern the development and implementation of a delegate selection process by each state and territorial Party.

Some highlights of the 2008 Rules:

Calendar
Last year the Party's Commission on Presidential Nomination Timing and Scheduling issued its recommendations on the 2008 primary and caucus calendar.

The Party recognizes the need early in the nominating process to broaden participation to reflect the Party’s rich racial, regional, and economic diversity by including 2 additional states. Twelve states applied to conduct early primaries and caucuses. We believe that shows the energy and excitement for opening up the process.

The addition of 2 states early in the process will also open up the dialogue to engage a broader range of people to talk about a wider variety of issues. This will enable the Democratic Party to choose the strongest candidate to be our Presidential nominee.

The new schedule is as follows:

• Iowa holds the first-in-the-nation caucus on January 14.
• New Hampshire holds the first-in-the-nation primary on January 22.
• Nevada conducts a caucus between Iowa and New Hampshire on Saturday, January 19.
• South Carolina holds a primary 1 week after the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, January 29

The regular window will open for all other states on the first Tuesday in February -- February 5, 2008.

Presidential Candidate Sanctions on the Window
There is a new rule that imposes new sanctions on presidential candidates. If a state, any state, violates the rule on timing/the window, presidential candidates will face sanctions if they campaign in that state. Examples of campaigning include: making personal appearances in the state, hiring campaign workers, and buying advertising and so on.

Currently, the only punishment for states that violate the window was on State Parties. This new enforcement provision recognizes that presidential candidates must also bear a responsibility in enforcing the window or face sanctions.

Internet Voting
The 2008 Rules contain a new provision allowing Internet voting under certain conditions. Internet voting can only apply to State Party-run primaries and must be accompanied by in-person voting locations and vote by mail. Additionally, Internet voting must include a comprehensive outreach and education program to reach those who lack access as well as certain security and technical safeguards.

Voting Machine Equipment
The 2008 Rules contain a new provision requiring State Parties to take provable positive steps to acquire optical scan voting machines and DRE voting machines that produce a voter verified paper record.

Inclusion Programs
The 2008 Rules contain a new provision requiring State Parties to adopt and implement inclusion programs for LGBT Americans and persons with disability to achieve the full participation of these groups in the delegate selection process. Such programs, may as is already the case in a number of states, include setting goals.

Additionally there are new requirements on presidential candidates to use all their best efforts to maximize participation in the delegate selection process.

Democrats in Chicago: The Regional Caucuses

Before the General Session on Saturday, DNC Members met in Regional Caucus meetings. There are 4 Regional Caucuses: Eastern, Southern, Midwest and Western.

DNC staffers sign-in members to their respective Regional Caucuses.

Each Caucus meeting was slightly different, but at the same time, they all had some things in common.

Inside the Southern Caucus meeting, Texas Democratic Party Chairman, Boyd Richie greets fellow DNC Members.

To begin with, each Caucus heard from one of the co-chairs of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, and were briefed on the changes they would be asked to vote on during the General Session.

RBC Co-Chairman, James Roosevelt, Jr., speaks to members of the Eastern Caucus.

RBC Co-Chairwoman, Alexis Herman, speaks to members of the Western Caucus.

Each Caucus also heard about candidates running for office in their region. Sometimes these stories were shared by fellow DNC members, and sometimes, the candidates were present to share their own stories.

Congressional Candidate Dan Seals speaks with a member of the Midwest Caucus.

Christine Pelosi and Darcy Burner at the Western Regional Caucus

Finally, each Caucus heard from the newly elected President and Vice President of College Democrats of America about the importance of turning out the Youth Vote on college campuses nation-wide.

CDA President Lauren Wolfe and Vice President Awais Khaleel brief DNC Members at the Regional Caucuses.

After the Caucus meetings adjourned, it was onto the General Session for the main event.

"Fear Finally Strikes Out"

After years of using the politics of fear to hold onto power, the GOP is striking out, and their fear-mongering is being seen for exactly what it is.

Frank Rich in Sunday's New York Times:

The results are in for the White House’s latest effort to exploit terrorism for political gain: the era of Americans’ fearing fear itself is over. In each poll released since the foiling of the trans-Atlantic terror plot — Gallup, Newsweek, CBS, Zogby, Pew — George W. Bush’s approval rating remains stuck in the 30’s, just as it has been with little letup in the year since Katrina stripped the last remaining fig leaf of credibility from his presidency. While the new Middle East promised by Condi Rice remains a delusion, the death rattle of the domestic political order we’ve lived with since 9/11 can be found everywhere: in Americans’ unhysterical reaction to the terror plot, in politicians’ and pundits’ hysterical overreaction to Joe Lieberman’s defeat in Connecticut, even in the ho-hum box-office reaction to Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center…”

Dick Cheney’s credibility is also nil: he will always be the man who told us that Iraqis would greet our troops as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes in May 2005. His latest and predictable effort to exploit terrorism for election-year fear-mongering — arguing that Ned Lamont’s dissent on Iraq gave comfort to “Al Qaeda types” — has no traction because the public has long since untangled the administration’s bogus linkage between the Iraq war and Al Qaeda. That’s why, of all the poll findings last week, the most revealing was one in the CBS survey: While the percentage of Americans who chose terrorism as our “most important problem” increased in the immediate aftermath of the London plot, terrorism still came in second, at only 17 percent, to Iraq, at 28 percent…

In 2006, the tired Rove strategy of equating any Democratic politician’s opposition to the Iraq war with cut-and-run defeatism in the war on terror looks desperate. The Republicans are protesting too much, me thinks…

As the election campaign quickens, genuine nightmares may well usurp the last gasps of Rovian fear-based politics. It’s hard to ignore the tragic reality that American troops are caught in the cross-fire of a sectarian bloodbath escalating daily, that botched American policy has strengthened Iran and Hezbollah and undermined Israel, and that our Department of Homeland Security is as ill-equipped now to prevent explosives (liquid or otherwise) in cargo as it was on 9/11…

For more on fear-mongering, GOP style, check out the GOP Playbook.

Just Another Manic Monday Open Thread

Back in the office post-DNC Meeting and playing catch up.

Have you been visiting 100actions.com?

August 20, 2006

Sunday Open Thread

Don't think we're done with stories from the DNC meeting. There are lots more things to share in the next few days.

For now, check out a clip of Washington Congressional Candidate Darcy Burner, courtesy of PoliticsTV.

This is an open thread...

August 19, 2006

Democrats in Chicago: Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm sitting at Chicago O'Hare International Airport with some other DNC staffers. Everyone is exhausted, but happy. The meeting was very successful - Democrats from across the country came together to share ideas, get training and take care of the official business of the Democratic Party.

I'll have a longer play-by-play later to talk about the details of the General Session, but the biggest thing to come out of this meeting is the historic change to the primary calendar. While still preserving the first in the nation status of the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary, the DNC has opened the primary process up to two additional states, Nevada and South Carolina.

Opening up the process will better reflect the rich diversity of our Party. In addition to adding regional diversity to the process, we've opened up the dialogue to engage a broader range of people who will talk about a wider variety of issues. This will enable the Democratic Party to choose the strongest candidate to be our Presidential nominee.

In addition to the official business, Governor Dean fired up the crowd. Washington State Congressional Candidate Darcy Burner talked about the importance of taking back the House. Jennifer Bruner, Ohio's nominee for Secretary of State talked about voter protection and Democrats were welcomed to the state by the Mayor of Chicago and the Governor of Illinois.

It was an amazing experience. I hope that you caught some of it on C-Span. If you didn't don't worry - we'll have pictures and video soon enough.

For now, I'm going to join my fellow staffers for a much needed food break and I'll have more when we land in D.C.

DNC Fall Meeting Videos

The DNC Fall Meeting wrapped up today in Chicago. We've obtained exclusive access to a video shown at the meeting Saturday morning.

The videos is a review of the Democratic Reunion events that occurred across the country on July 29 events.

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Last day of the DNC Fall Meeting...this is an open thread.

Democrats in Chicago: LIVE

C-Span will broadcast the General Session of the DNC Chicago meeting tomorrow morning as it happens.

It begins at 10 a.m. CST - so that's 11 a.m. for the east coast.

Governor Dean will address the members of the DNC during the session. In addition Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Chicago Mayor Daley, New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid, Congressional Candidate from Washington, Darcy Burner, Secretary of State Candidate, from Ohio, Jennifer Bruner, and Jesse Jackson are all expected to address the General Session.

The DNC will consider the Rules and Bylaws Committee proposals for changes to the primary calendar and delegate selection process as well as a variety of other items.

Democrats in Chicago: The Executive Directors

The 50-State Strategy is all about building a national infrastructure for The Democratic Party. The first step in doing that is to strengthen all of our State Parties. Before the 50-State Strategy was implemented, many states were struggling to find the resources to run their organizations 365 days a year each and every year. The 50-State Strategy changed all that, and the Executive Directors are our first line of defense. As Neel Pender, Executive Director of the Oregon Democratic Party said:

The Chairman has lived up to all his promises. It really makes a difference to have staff year-round.

and to Governor Dean, Neel said:

We appreciate you having our backs. We want you to know that we've got yours.

In partnership with the State Chairs, these individuals are tasked with executing the 50-State Strategy. They manage and direct the DNC-funded staffers in their states alongside the rest of their staff and have been instrumental in building strong local parties.

It has been a privilege to be able to meet so many of these individuals and to get the opportunity to talk with them about the challenges they face. But even more inspiring was hearing their success stories and praise for the 50-State Strategy, which is at the heart of the Democratic National Committee belief system under Governor Dean.

At the Executive Directors meeting the EDs got a chance to provide feedback on DNC strategy, like the recent national organizing events. They also got to brainstorm and share best practices for success with each other.

August 18, 2006

Democrats in Chicago: The Women's Caucus

This afternoon a number of different caucus meetings were held. They included the Women's Caucus, LGBT Caucus, Asian American Pacific Islander American Caucus, Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Ethic Coordinating Committee and the Native American Coordinating Council.

In order to attend the meeting with the Executive Directors I was only able to attend the Women's Caucus, which was scheduled one hour prior to all the others, and did not overlap.

Women's Caucus

The Women's Caucus meeting was less of a meeting and more of a discussion forum. After announcements were made by the Chair of the Caucus, the floor was opened to the caucus members. Some of the women were candidates, others were activists or state party staff, all were committed to Victory in 2006 and beyond.

One thing that was noted several times was that there are huge numbers of women running for office up and down the ballot. Also celebrated was the fact that, not only are there women running everywhere, but that there are many women of color running. Simone Ward, who overseas African American outreach for the DNC, shared information about some of these great women and invited everyone to the upcoming African American Leadership Summit. This year's summit will have a special focus on young women of color, and Simone encouraged the women present to spread the word about the summit to their friends, colleagues and especially to any up-and-coming young women they know.

Then, Jennifer Brunner, who is in the race to be Ohio's Secretary of State, spoke about the importance of clean, honest elections. Following that, DNC Vice Chair, Susie Turnbull, spoke about the DNC's voter protection efforts.

Jennifer Bruner

Newly elected President of College Democrats of America, Lauren Wolfe, addressed the room as well. She spent some time reminding the Caucus of the importance of the youth vote, and how critical it was in 2004. Lauren shared some information on the latest College Democrats activities. She also noted, with only a hint of a smile, that College Republicans have never elected a female President. Why am I not surprised?

Lauren Wolfe

For more information on Women's issues check out the Women's Section of Democrats.org and sign-up to receive a special Week in Review newsletter from Christy Agner, Director of the Women's Vote Center at the DNC.

Democrats in Chicago: The Resolutions Committee

The Resolutions committee met to consider recommending 12 separate resolutions to the General Body. The meeting was chaired by Maria Escheveste who ran a tight ship, moving quickly through the agenda and getting down to business within moments of entering the room.

Members of the Resolutions Committee discuss the upcoming agenda.

Up for consideration, Resolutions:

• Calling on Republicans to Stop Their Diversionary Tactics and Pass a Minimum Wage Increase
• Supports Renewing Hope Through Stem Cell Research
• Affirms the re-Authorization of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and Calls for Further Election Reform
• Condemns Any Incident of Abuse of Prisioners of the Use of Torture by Any Agent or Agency of the United States
• Honors the Boycott of Krug-Modavi Wineries
• Thanks Senator Sarbanas for His Many Years of Outstanding Service to the People of Maryland, the Nation and The Democratic Party
• Honors the Life and Career of Llody Benston
• Honors the Life and Career of Evelyn "Evy" Dubrow
• Honors the Life and Career of James L. Humlicek
• Honors the Life and Service of Lorraine Frank
• Honors the Life and Career of Tom Manton
• Honors the Life and Career of Senator Eugene McCarthy

Members of the Resolutions Committee

All of the resolutions that were up for consideration were adopted. There was some discussion about small changes to the language in the re-authorization of the Voting Rights Act resolution and on the resolution condemning torture.

Resolutions can be proposed by any member of the DNC to the Committee, which then considers them before they move onto the full committee. The resolution on the hope and promise of stem cell research was proposed by Governor Dean. The VRA Resolution was proposed by DNC Member Donna Brazile. The Wineries boycott was proposed by Chris Stampolis.

The resolution condemning torture was proposed by Michael Ceurvorst, chair of Democrats Abroad. Democrats Abroad is an organization dedicated to representing the interests of the overseas vote. As such, they have a special understanding of the consequences of U.S. foreign policy, which can easily turn into their local politics. Mr. Ceurvorst spoke during the meeting about his strong feelings on the issue and was joined by several other members from the DNC Democrats Abroad delegation.

Democrats Abroad Chairman Ceurvorst presents an amendment.

After it was adopted, Resolutions Committee member Christine Pelosi commended Democrats Abroad for their work on the resolution calling Democrats Abroad the "everyday face" of American foreign policy to the world.

The next stop for these resolutions is tomorrow's General Session. There they will be voted on by the full Democratic National Committee.

Democrats in Chicago: The Late Night Open Thread Edition

Ahhh, the sweet freedom of wireless. After a morning of spotty coverage, I have finally gotten a signal back! It was torture.

When I last left you I was attending the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. Following that I attended the Resoultions Committee, the Women's Caucus, the meeting of Democratic Party Executive Directors, the Association of State Democratic Chairs Meeting, a staff meeting, the Executive Committee Meeting and two different receptions.

It's been quite a day. I have a ton of pictures to upload and some stories to tell. Tomorrow Governor Dean and the full DNC meet at the general session. It's been a whirlwind, but lots of fun.

For now, use this as an open thread...

Friday Night Open Thread

Have a good one.

Democrats in Chicago: Rules and Bylaws Committee

I'm sitting in the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. At the moment he committee is considering new language for Rule 6.A of the Delegate Selection Rules.

The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meets in Chicago.

The discussion is currently around the following rule. The proposed changes are bolded and underlined.

Rule 6. Affirmative Action

A. The promises of a democratically elected government and the right to vote have not always been extended equally to all Americas. Historically, certain groups of Americans have been explicitly denied the right to vote or have been subjected to discriminatory and exclusionary practices with the intended effect of denying them voting rights. In recognition of this past history of discriminatory denial of franchise and in order to encourage full participation by all Democrats in the delegate selection process and in all Party affairs, the national and state Democratic Parties shall adopt and implement affirmative action programs with specific goals and timetables for African Americas, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific americans and women.

The committee is debating this change.

RBC Members study the proposed changes

[Update 9:41 a.m. CST]: The changes to the Rule 6.A were adopted.

Committee co-chair Jim Roosevelt said, ""The language in 6.A is intended to recognize the reality, and I would call it shameful reality, of history."

In addition the committe moved and quickly adopted changes to Rule 6.H and 6.I which deal with the Delegrate Secection Rules and the obligations of Presidential candiates regarding affirmative action.

The committee also adopted Rule 7 which reads:

Rule 7. Inclusion Program

The Democratic National Committee recognizes that other groups of Americans in addition to those described in Rule 6 may be under-represented in party affiars. These groups include members of the LGBT community and people with diabilities. The National and State Parties shall adiot and implement 'Inclusion Programs' in order to achieve the full participation of members of these and other groups in the delegate selection process and in all party affiars, as indicated by thei rpresence in the Democratic electorate. As is already the practice in some states, State praties may use goals to achieve these ends; however, in no event may such participation be accomplished by the use of quotas.

The committee is now considering an amendment to rule 6.I which has been propsed by State Party Chair Mark Brewer and reads:

State parties may reject slates of pledged candidates for delegates and alternate for failure to comply with rule 6 and 7 established by the State's selection panel.

Watch It: Welcome to Chicago

Last evening Illinois Governor Blagojevich took a minute to welcome Democrats to the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago as the DNC meeting kicked off.

Watch the video here.

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning. This is an open thread...

August 17, 2006

Democrats in Chicago: Community Service Project

The first item on the agenda after landing in Chicago was to head out to the Greater Chicago Food Depository for a few hours of community service. When I heard this was our project for this meeting, I envisioned a soup kitchen-esque operation. Boy, was I wrong!

Inside the Greater Chicago Food Depository Warehouse

The Greater Chicago Food Depository serves the entirety of Cook County. Over half a million people receive assistance through this amazing organization, and 37% of those are children.

Before we headed into the massive warehouse we heard a little bit about the organization's mission. First and foremost the mission of the Depository is to provide food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in their community. In partnership with 600 qualified nonprofit member pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, seniors and children programs, the Depository and their volunteer force feed Chicago's neediest.

A staffer from the GCFD explains the organization's mission

DNC staff, members and even a few executive directors all made the trip to the depository today. Our task was simple, to take cartons of strawberries that had been donated and sort the good from the bad, and even the ugly. We then repackaged the good strawberries which were headed out on trucks for distribution tomorrow.

Getting down to work

Separating the good from the bad

It was an amazingly efficient operation. As we worked alongside some Chicago natives and plucked the good strawberries, we heard some great stories from fellow volunteers. The couple I stood next to was taking a day off of work to perform their community service. Their company allows them to take a few days each year in order to give back to their community. I thought that was pretty fabulous.

Many hands make light work..."

In addition, I also had the chance to talk with the Washington Democratic Party Executive Director. Jaxon raved about the accomplishments of Grassroots Democrats in his state and shared with me some of their best practices.

All in all, it was informative and inspiring to be able to land in a new town and immediately do something that would help the people who live in this great city.

The meeting is just getting underway. The real action starts bright and early tomorrow morning. I'll have updates throughout the day and hopefully pictures and videos along the way too.

Thursday Night Open Thread

Have you sent your letter to the editor yet? Our action of the day is to fight back. Help us call out journalists who have allowed defamatory and un-American suggestions to infect their coverage of the news.

If you don't know about the "al Qaeda candidate," get more info here.

This is an open thread...

Democrats in Chicago: We Have Arrived

I just checked in to the Chicago Hilton where the DNC Meeting is being held. This is my first DNC meeting, so I am quite excited. I ran into DNC Vice Chair, Susie Turnbull, in the lobby on my way to my room and then I shared an elevator with Florida Democratic Party Executive Director, Luis Narvarro.

This afternoon I am headed over to the Greater Chicago Food Depository for our community service project before things get underway with caucus meetings and training sessions.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a not for profit food distribution center. Volunteers will assist with a variety of tasks, which may include sorting donated items, food recovery, and repacking food for distribution.

Also this afternoon, DNC members and activists will be participating in a training session led by Parag Mehta, DNC Training Director, on The Democratic Message.

I'll have more for you late tonight and all day tomorrow as we continue the DNC Meeting Coverage.

Till then...

White House More Secure than Airports

AMERICAblog is talking about White House security, namely that their security is better than at our airports. What?

From the Boston Globe:

Since the early 1990s, AS&E has made SmartCheck, a $50,000 low-intensity X-ray scanner that can spot a bottle of organic compounds in a passenger's pocket.

But is the liquid an explosive, or a batch of baby formula? Ahura says its $30,000 handheld laser scanner, the First Defender, can answer the question. The device can ``see" through glass or plastic bottles and identify any of 2,500 different chemical compounds in about 15 seconds. The FBI and New York City police already use the Ahura system, which went on sale about a year ago.

Joe Reiss, AS&E's vice president of marketing, said his company's SmartCheck systems are used at the White House and the US Supreme Court. But they're not widely used in airport security. TSA agreed last year to conduct tests of the system. But Reiss said those tests had not yet begun.

Aravosis connects the dots:

And just let the White House tell us that these systems aren't really proven technology. Then why is the White House using them at all?

Why has the Bush Administration underfunded aviation security? Is the tired Republican fear-mongering ploy working so well that the White House and the Supreme Court now need "state of the art" security systems beyond what we have at our nation's airports?

Democrats Eye State Races

Looks like Democrats have momentum heading into the upcoming elections - momentum that may help Democrats make gains in state legislative seats across the country this November. Part of the DNC's 50-state strategy and 2006 election strategy focuses on these critical races and widening the 21-seat advantage that Democrats currently have in state legislative seats.

The AP reports the GOP is playing defense in these state races.

[UPDATE (Sean Floyd): One of the most powerful (if not the most powerful) players in every state directly linked to the election process is the secretary of state. When it comes to election regulations, they can control everything from who votes to how votes are counted, and Democrats understand more and more the vital role that this position can play in the election process.

"There's a growing concern about whether votes are cast and, if so, whether they're properly counted. We have to restore people's confidence in the system."

After the election "issues" in Florida (2000) and Ohio (2004), the Party is paying close attention to secretary of state races during the '06 election season. States like Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio all may be critical in the 2008 presidential election. There are at least three political action committees who have committed themselves to monitor secretary of State candidates.]

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Tracy is in Chicago for the DNC Fall Meeting.

People are talking this morning about the classified report mentioned in a New York Times article. The August 3rd report by the Defense Intelligence Agency details worsening security conditions inside Iraq and describes how the country risks sliding toward civil war.

This is an open thread...

August 16, 2006

Evening Open Thread

Some light posting today as the office prepares for the Democratic National Committee Fall meeting, which kicks-off tomorrow and goes until Saturday in Chicago.

Chairman Howard Dean will address the general session Saturday along with Governor Rod Blagojevich, Mayor Richard Daley, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Jennifer Brunner, and Washington Congressional Candidate Darcy Burner, among others. In Chicago, DNC members will hold constituency and regional caucus meetings, and vote on proposed resolutions and the 2008 Delegate Selection Rules.

It should be exciting.

This is an open thread...

'The al Qaeda Candidate'

(DNC Executive Director Tom McMahon sent an e-mail to Democrats about deeply irresponsible journalists repeating ridiculous smears.)

Dear Fellow Democrat,

Here's what a CNN Headline News anchor asked a Washington journalist on Friday during an interview about the British terror arrests:

"How does this factor into the Lieberman-Lamont contest in Connecticut? Might some argue, as some have, that Lamont is the al Qaeda candidate?"

You would expect this kind of disgusting and inappropriate suggestion from someone more like Dick Cheney. In fact, it was Dick Cheney who said last week that electing people who question the Republican war in Iraq encourages "the al Qaeda types".

The anchor later apologized to Lamont for misquoting Cheney -- but then went on to question Lamont about the same ridiculous accusation. He's not alone -- commentators and journalists have mindlessly repeated Cheney's remarks over and over again, reporting on it or inquiring about it over the past week as if it's a real question for debate.

Journalists have a responsibility to do more than regurgitate the most desperate and most extreme talking points. When journalists allow these defamatory and un-American suggestions to infect their coverage of the news, we have to act swiftly to call on them to stop it.

Democrats offer a new direction. We'll do a better job of fighting the war on terror by taking the target off the backs of American troops in Iraq; we'll get serious about capturing or killing Osama bin Laden; and we'll be ready for threats to our safety and security here at home, whether it's terrorism or hurricanes. We'll sit down with journalists and answer the tough questions about our nation's security any time -- but there's no excuse for resorting to repeating desperate Republican talking points.

Write to your local newspaper and let them know where Democrats stand, and that we're not going to allow our party and our candidates to be smeared.

http://www.democrats.org/speakout

The American people have woken up.

Everywhere people are saying, "Enough is enough" -- rejecting the extremist ideology and total incompetence of the Bush administration, and rejecting their desperate, scorched-earth political tactics.

Democrats are energized and ready for change. We want this administration to get serious about protecting America, our troops and our citizens.

It's deeply irresponsible for journalists to repeat these ridiculous smears. Democrats are going to do a better job at keeping America safe, and you can tell them so in your own letter:

http://www.democrats.org/speakout

Thank you,

Tom

Tom McMahon
Executive Director, Democratic National Committee

Nevada Primary Results

Nevada held primary elections yesterday and has a fresh slate of Democratic nominees, including Gubernatorial nominee Dina Titus.

From the Reno Gazette-Journal:

[T]his is a good opportunity for a Democrat to break though this year," Damore said. "I think this year poses the best chance for a Democrat to win in quite some time."

...

Titus, a Democrat, has been elected to four terms as a state senator and has been the Senate Minority Leader since 1992...Titus, 56, whose childhood in rural Georgia imbued her with an unshakable Southern accent, has been a Nevadan since 1977, building a career as a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

She's also spent 18 years in the Nevada Legislature.

As governor, Titus said, she would position Nevada to become a leader in renewable energy production. That would help protect the environment and would fuel an economic development plan to bring businesses with high paying jobs and strong benefits to the state.

On the federal side, AP has the story:

Nevada voters picked a former first son to take on an incumbent Republican U.S. senator, set up an intriguing governor's race and delivered a razor-thin victory to a GOP candidate hoping to fill the state's only open U.S. House seat.

Democrat Jack Carter, son of former President Carter, on Tuesday easily advanced to a November general election race against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada.

Carter said Ensign has been too cozy with the White House. "You know, he's voted for the Bush administration 96 percent of the time," Carter said.

...

The balloting for the open House seat resulted in a narrow victory for Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller -- whose office will oversee a recount if conservative Sharron Angle demands it after her loss to him by only 428 votes, out of nearly 50,000 cast.

If the tally holds up, Heller will face Democrat Jill Derby, an 18-year member of the state Board of Regents who was unopposed.

Tessa Hafen, ex-press secretary for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, won her party's nomination to face incumbent Republican Rep. Jon Porter in the 3rd Congressional District.

Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley cruised to victory with 91 percent of the primary vote in her 1st District. She'll face Republican Kenneth Wegner, an unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate in 2004 who won Tuesday night with 51 percent of the vote.

For more information on Senate nominee Jack Carter, check out his excellent website (don't forget the blog!). Nevada Democrats can also check out the Nevada Democratic Party.

Here's an interesting tidbit: If Democrats sweep Nevada's Congressional elections, it would mean an all-female delegation in the House of Representatives. Yesterday 7 women made it onto the ballot for federal or state-wide office. More information on those women in a special post-primary report courtesy of Democratic Party's Women's Vote Center.

The Case That Must Not Be Named

So only 24% of Americans can name 2 Supreme Court justices, I wonder how many know that it was the Supreme Court's ruling in Bush v. Gore that handed George W. Bush the Presidency in 2000.

According to The New York Times it's the case no body talks about...

The ruling that stopped the Florida recount and handed the presidency to George W. Bush is disappearing down the legal world’s version of the memory hole, the slot where, in George Orwell’s “1984,” government workers disposed of politically inconvenient records. The Supreme Court has not cited it once since it was decided, and when Justice Antonin Scalia, who loves to hold forth on court precedents, was asked about it at a forum earlier this year, he snapped, “Come on, get over it.”

There is a legal argument for pushing Bush v. Gore aside. The majority opinion announced that the ruling was “limited to the present circumstances” and could not be cited as precedent. But many legal scholars insisted at the time that this assertion was itself dictum — the part of a legal opinion that is nonbinding — and illegitimate, because under the doctrine of stare decisis, courts cannot make rulings whose reasoning applies only to a single case.

Bush v. Gore’s lasting significance is being fought over right now by the Ohio-based United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, whose judges disagree not only on what it stands for, but on whether it stands for anything at all. This debate, which has been quietly under way in the courts and academia since 2000, is important both because of what it says about the legitimacy of the courts and because of what Bush v. Gore could represent today. The majority reached its antidemocratic result by reading the equal protection clause in a very pro-democratic way. If Bush v. Gore’s equal protection analysis is integrated into constitutional law, it could make future elections considerably more fair.

The heart of Bush v. Gore’s analysis was its holding that the recount was unacceptable because the standards for vote counting varied from county to county. “Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms,” the court declared, “the state may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another.” If this equal protection principle is taken seriously, if it was not just a pretext to put a preferred candidate in the White House, it should mean that states cannot provide some voters better voting machines, shorter lines, or more lenient standards for when their provisional ballots get counted — precisely the system that exists across the country right now.

I highly recommend the full article.

Wednesday Open Thread

Today's action is easy peasy for this crowd...

Chat away...

August 15, 2006

Stacking the Deck

Republicans are good at stacking the deck. Getting their conservative judges confirmed to the highest courts in the land for lifetime appointments is just one way they do it.

It seems the judges qualifications don't matter all that much, as long as he or she is a reliable conservative. From The New York Times:

Any message about the importance of interparty cooperation has not reached the White House’s judicial selection team or Republican leaders in the Senate. The latest judicial nominee they have dug in their heels to defend is a far-right lawyer who received a unanimous “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association. The Bush administration should withdraw his nomination and four others that are in limbo, and replace them with nominees who do not appeal exclusively to the most extreme wing of the Republican Party.

Michael Wallace, a former lawyer for Senator Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican, has been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans. Mr. Wallace has a long record of insensitivity to civil rights. He argued in favor of letting Bob Jones University, which discriminated on the basis of race, keep its tax-exempt status, and he has a troubling record on voting rights. When the A.B.A. interviewed 69 lawyers and judges who knew him, it heard repeatedly that he was hostile to poor people and minorities. Of the 69, more than one-third expressed “grave concerns” about his judicial temperament.

The A.B.A. has been generous, indeed too generous, in its evaluations of President Bush’s nominees, the overwhelming majority of whom have received ratings of “qualified” and “well qualified.” Given that track record, a unanimous finding of “not qualified” should set off alarm bells. Instead, Senator Arlen Specter, the Judiciary Committee chairman, has been trying to make the A.B.A. the focus. Disturbingly, he is talking about requiring it to divulge to the Senate the confidential interviews it conducts about nominees. That could undermine the A.B.A.’s ability to evaluate judges, since it could discourage lawyers from speaking freely. In any case, the Senate has no business rifling through materials the A.B.A. does not want to provide.

With the Senate in recess, Mr. Wallace’s nomination has been returned to the White House, along with others that the Senate wisely declined to confirm. Those nominees include William Haynes II, a chief architect of the administration’s detainee policies. The White House should replace those men with nominees worthy of these important posts.

Tough, Smart

Representative Pelosi:

“They are not Swift boating us on security,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader in the House.

Harry Reid:

“During the 2002 and 2004 elections, Republicans tried to sow fear in the American public by claiming that they were the only ones who could keep America safe,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said in an e-mail message to supporters. “This from the same crowd that has driven Iraq to the brink of disaster, left Osama Bin Laden on the loose to attack again and continues to ignore our security needs at home.”

Republicans have led us into a dangerous conflict in Iraq, created a whole new breeding groud for terrorists and failed to make us any safer. This election is going to be a wake-up call for the Republican Party, who have, for too long, deluded themselves into believing their own empty rhetoric.

Democrats are going to lead America in a new direction, where real security depends on telling the truth to our citizens and our soldiers. Real security means being honest with our allies. Real security means being tough, but also being smart - having a plan, looking at the evidence presented and listening to the our military leaders instead of acting purely on pure ideology.

Senator Allen Made to Apologize for Racially Demeaning Remarks

At a campaign rally last Friday, in a stunning display of racial insensitivity, Virginia Senator George Allen (R) singled out and made demeaning remarks about an Indian-American staffer from the Webb campaign:

"This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca, or whatever his name is. He's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere. And it's just great. We're going to places all over Virginia, and he's having it on film and its great to have you here and you show it to your opponent because he's never been there and probably will never come."

And later:

"Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia."

See the incident here.

The Webb staffer was named S.R. Sidarth - not "Macaca". The son of Indian immigrants, Sidarth was born and raised in Fairfax, VA and is a senior at the University of Virginia. He hardly needs welcoming to America or Virginia. For a candidate on a "Listening Tour" of Virginia, Senator Allen appears to have done more talking than listening.

Senator Allen's remarks display a level of ignorance that has no place in the Senate. We join with Indian-Americans like Sidarth in supporting Jim Webb, a candidate who will respect and honor diversity instead of using our differences to divide us.

On September 7, the Indian American Republican Council of New York will feature Senator Allen at a gala evening in Washington DC. We look forward to finding out whether Senator Allen will be able to refrain from calling any of his check-writing Republican friends "Macaca".

See Washington Post story on this incident.

Listen Up: Senator Dorgan Speaks Out

Senator Bryan Dorgan was the most recent guest on the DNC podcast.

The Senator talks with host Shripal Shah about his new book, "Take This Job and Ship It" and the issues facing the modern American worker.

From the podcast:

"There is no social program in the country as important as a good job that pays well.

Listen to the full interview, here.

Quiz Time

How many can you name?

From The Washington Times:

In a survey released yesterday, veteran political pollster John Zogby determined that although 77 percent of us can identify two of the Seven Dwarfs, only 24 percent could name two Supreme Court justices.

...

Should such findings be worrisome? Surveys that bemoan the demise of scholarship in America are common. Research released in May by the National Geographic Society, for example, found 88 percent of our young adults can't find Afghanistan on a world map, evidence of a geographic illiteracy that "isolates us from the world," society President John Fahey said at the time.

Syracuse University communications professor Robert Thomson, who designed the questions on the Zogby poll, is not quite so concerned.

"These results are not about how 'dumb' Americans are, but how much more effective popular culture information is communicated and retained by citizens than many of the messages that come from government, educational institutions and the media," Mr. Thompson said. "There are important lessons to be learned here."

I agree that this is a lesson in communication. It's important that information be fun and accessable, which will in turn make it memorable.

So how many Justices can you name? How many Dwarfs? Answers in the extended entry.

Keep reading "Quiz Time"

Tuesday Open Thread

There are 84 days until Election Day. That means there are 84 days to reach out and talk with your friends and neighbors about the importance of voting for Democrats for office up and down the ticket.

Today, we're on action #85 over at 100actions.com - for two weeks we've provided an action a day to help work towards a new direction for America. How have you done? Use today to evaluate your progress, formulate a plan or pat yourself on the back for the work you've already done.

It's important to celebrate the small victories along the way to the larger goal. What are you celebrating today?

This is an open thread...

August 14, 2006

Summer Reading

When did the President start reading? He was so well-known for not reading that this new I-read-for-the-fun-of-it President is a complete stranger to me. (No pun intended)

Well, I'm happy he's picked up a book, even if it's one I read in Mr. Levin's 10th grade English class:

From Slate.com:

On his summer vacation in Crawford, Texas, George Bush read Albert Camus' novel The Stranger.

...

Whatever the reasons, Camus' story line is ripe for geopolitical literary misinterpretation. The main character, Meursault, spends much of his life as the young George Bush did, engaging in escapades that demonstrate little drive or motivation. On a visit to the beach with friends, he gets into a fight with some Arabs. Later, he finds one of the Arabs and without much further provocation shoots him repeatedly. During the circus-trial that follows, and the long hours Meursault spends in jail, he is remorseless and unable to engage in contemplation. On the day of his execution, he has a flickering thought that he might have lived another life. But mostly he's excited about the day and hopes that everyone will cheer for his death.

Unhappy tales of East meets West are found in the papers every day, so presumably the president was looking for more, but his aides will not tell us what he made of the story of a remorseless killer of Arabs. White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush "found it an interesting book and a quick read" and talked about it with aides. "I don't want to go too deep into it, but we discussed the origins of existentialism," said Snow.

Some more reading suggestions for the President.

By the Numbers

Chris Bowers:

In the eight generic ballot polls that have been released over the past month, Democrats hold an average lead of 50.4%--36.5%, or just under 14%

...

If you want to know why Republicans are worried and losing it, this is why. The situation they face right now is much worse than the situation Democrats faced in 1994.

Go read the full post for a wonky look at what the numbers mean, how they compare to past polling and to see a cool graphic representation.

Political Exploitation

In today's New York Times, Bob Herbert:

I wonder if Americans will continue to fall for the political exploitation of their fears of terrorism, or if voters will begin to show some awareness of the fact that they have been cynically manipulated, and that our current policies have been disastrously counterproductive.

The disrupted plot to blow up as many as 10 passenger jets bound for the United States was a reminder, as if we needed a reminder, that the threat of terror remains both real and imminent. And it was a reminder that the greatest danger to Americans here at home continues to be an attack by a group affiliated with, or inspired by, Al Qaeda.

That being the case, what in the world are we doing in Iraq?

There was something pathetic about the delight with which Republicans seized upon the terror plot last week and began trying to wield it like a whip against their Democratic foes. The G.O.P. message seemed to be that the plot foiled in Britain was somehow proof that the U.S. needed to continue full speed ahead with the Bush administration’s disastrous war in Iraq, and that any Democrat who demurred was somehow soft on terrorism.

The truth, of course, is that the demolition derby policies of the Bush administration are creating enemies of the United States, not defeating them. It cannot be said often enough, for example, that the catastrophic war in Iraq, which has caused the deaths of tens of thousands, was a strategic mistake of the highest magnitude. It diverted our focus, energy and resources from the real enemy, Al Qaeda and its offshoots, and turned Iraq, a country critically important to the Muslim imagination, into a spawning ground for terrorists.

Watch It: Governor Dean on Meet the Press - The Video

For all of you folks who slept late on Sunday and missed the Governor on Meet the Press...

You can watch the full video, here.

Just Another Manic Monday Open Thread

Friends don't let friends vote Republican! Make sure your friends know where you stand - visit 100actions.com today!

August 13, 2006

Sunday Open Thread

Did you catch Governor Dean on Meet the Press?

The show usually repeats during the evening hours on MSNBC. Check your local listings if you missed it!

This is an open thread...

August 12, 2006

Saturday Open Thread

Have you done today's action?

www.100actions.com

August 11, 2006

Get Local: Best of the State Party Blogs

Here are my picks for best news from the blogs of State Democratic Parties:

In Nebraska: Details on the 1st Senate debate for the state and how you can listen in.

In Colorado: A look at the Tuesday primaries.

In Oklahoma: Honoring the Bill of Rights.

In California: A Democratic Reunion story.

In North Dakota: Dems execute the 50-State Strategy and plan for a visit from Governor Dean.

In Ohio: Dems on the radio!

Add your favorite local blog coverage in the comments...

Watch It: Meet the Press

Governor Dean will be on Meet the Press this Sunday.

Don't miss it!

Almost the Weekend Open Thread

A round-up of linky goodness...

• Rep. Slaughter weighs in on the President's plan to fight Kleptocracy.
• Markos points out that Ron Klein, candidate for Congress in FL-22 is cool. And he's got a great new ad.
• Chris reminds us why we need to work hard every single day.
• Exactly.
• RBH gives us a detailed look at rural strategy in Missouri

Desperatation and the Politics of Fear

So true:

There is nothing Americans want more than to win the war on terror, to come to a place where people no longer feel it is a fine thing to forfeit their own lives and the lives of innocents in order to make the world notice their anger and frustration. It is a point on which the country is absolutely undivided. It is one matter about which subway commuters, airline passengers and mall shoppers feel no irony or cynicism whatsoever.

On September 11, 2001 I was riding a bus to class on campus when I overheard news of what had happened in New York. I was confused, the details were sketchy. When I got to the class I was supposed to be in, our teacher was informed the campus was going into lock-down. I sat alongside twenty of so other students, confused and horrified, as we waited for news of what was happening. There was no TV in that classroom - we were very isolated in a basement classroom beneath the school's theatre. An hour later someone finally came to the door and told us all to go home. Classes were canceled. As I walked out of the performing arts centre, my normally bright, busy campus was silent, deserted.

At home I turned on the TV and watched the towers burn, tears streaming down my face, trying to understand what was happening. I was horrified, terrified. I was born in New York, most of my extended family lives and works there. For days I couldn't be pulled away from the 24-hour news coverage. I had to know what was happening.

Last year, when London was attacked, I had much the same reaction. The bus that exploded did so on a street where I lived for a year while I studied abroad.

So yes, I agree with the editors of the New York Times, when they say:

It comes like a punch to the gut, at times like these, when our leaders blatantly use the nation’s trauma for political gain. We never get used to this. It never feels like business as usual.

Yet, political game what the Republicans are all about. Specifically, the politics of fear:

Wednesday: Days after the White House learns that the London terror plot will be uncovered, Cheney says Lamont victory will encourage "al Qaeda types."

7:42 a.m., Today: The White House announces that the threat level has been raised to ‘Red.’

10:54 a.m. (CDT): The President announces, on his way to a Wisconsin fundraiser for congressional candidate John Gard, that the arrests in London are “a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.”

12:26 p.m.: The RNC sends out a fundraising email penned by Rudy Giuliani saying “In the middle of a war on terror, we need to remain focused on furthering Republican ideas more than ever before… Please make your commitment felt with a financial contribution for $500, $250, $100, $50, $35 or $25 to the Republican National Committee today.”

2:53 p.m.: Bush official celebrates the terror plot. The AFP reports, "‘Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big,’ said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't ‘look as appealing’ under the circumstances.”

4:22 p.m.: The RNC follows with a statement attempting to elevate the war on terror above those who would crassly use it for politics sake: "On a day when American authorities are working with our allies to stop a global terror plot, instead of focusing on political attacks, we should focus on the fact that we are at war and need every tool to win the War on Terror.”

This tactic, the same-old GOP fear-mongering that they have used every year since 2001 is an insult. While they talk big, the reality is they have failed to make America any safer. In the years since 9/11 I feel less safe. The Bush Administration fought the 9/11 Commission and has failed to implement their recommendations. They've voted against allocating the necessary funds to homeland security, including funding for aviation security, border security, port security and for first responders.

With a record like that, and a nation overwhelmingly disapproves of their actions, it's all they have - desperate smear tactics and the politics of fear.

Harvest Change

I've never worked out west. I did a brief stint in Alaska, but that's it. I was so very close to joining the Montana Coordinated campaign, but timing is a funny thing and I ended up in Texas and then in DC. If If things had worked out differently, I'd likely be in Montana right now - working to "Harvest Change" with Jon Tester and the Montana Democratic Party.

Jon Tester is working to move Montana foward - but this week, he's got another task to do. From an e-mail from the Tester camp:

This week, Jon Tester is splitting his work on the campaign trail with long hours on the combine at home.

He’s in the fields west of Big Sandy, working hard to bring in the harvest to make ends meet for his family, on the same land his grandfather and father farmed.

That’s why I’m asking you to join Jon and work twice as hard this month – to help Jon’s campaign Harvest Change this November.

The fact is, Jon Tester is a working man. If he’snot in the field this week, his crops will be left unharvested.

Please, take action today and help Jon bring in the harvest – and help keep our momentum going while Jon is working on the farm.

I've no doubt that Jon Tester is going to be the junior Senator from Montana next year. He has worked amazingly hard to build a strong team across Montana and the Montana Democratic Party has put together an amazing team to amplify those efforts.

If you want to Harvest Change - in Montana, check out the Tester website for a myriad of ways you can help.

If you want to Harvest Change in your state, check out 100actions.com where you will find a host of resources you can use to contact your friends and neighbors - via e-mail or snail mail, with web goodies or with a letter to the editor - there are actions we must all take each and every day to make this November a success in all 50 states.

33%

No surprise:

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted this week found the president's approval rating has dropped to 33 percent, matching his low in May. His handling of nearly every issue, from the Iraq war to foreign policy, contributed to the president's decline around the nation, even in the Republican-friendly South.

More sobering for the GOP are the number of voters who backed Bush in 2004 who are ready to vote Democratic in the fall's congressional elections - 19 percent. These one-time Bush voters are more likely to be female, self-described moderates, low- to middle-income and from the Northeast and Midwest.

Two years after giving the Republican president another term, more than half of these voters - 57 percent - disapprove of the job Bush is doing.

But there's more...

On the generic question of whether voters would back the Democrat or Republican, 55 percent of registered voters chose the Democrat and 37 percent chose the Republican, a slight increase for Democrats from last month.

TGIF Open Thread

It's Friday! And there are actions to do! 100actions.com

August 10, 2006

Governor Dean: America's Safety Must Come First

Governor Dean:

"Today's events are a troubling reminder that we are living in dangerous and trying times. These are times that call for real leadership. Not posturing, or name calling.

"As Americans we must be unwavering in our commitment to fighting and winning the war on terror. We need a new direction in our national defense policies that's tough and smart. That means tracking down terrorists and providing our troops and agencies with the tools they need to stop future attacks, implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations to close the gaps in our security, securing our ports and borders, chemical and nuclear power plants and properly equipping our first responders and our national guard.

"It also means we have to be honest about the failures of our current foreign policies, which have let Iraq slip into civil war, enabled Iran to increase its nuclear capabilities, failed to address the growing threat posed by North Korea, and Afghanistan has seen a resurgence of the Taliban. Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda's mastermind, is still on the loose, and the Middle East is deep in crisis.

"We must put America's security ahead of politicking and come together as Americans. I urge President Bush, the Commander in Chief, to return to Washington to address the problems we face today."

CA-Gov: Bloggers for Phil

California Democrats have a new place to turn to for news about Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides: GovernorPhil.com

The site is a group project of local California Bloggers who, "created this site to serve as a place where California voters could learn more about Phil and engage in the 2006 Governor’s race, and we invite you to join the discussion and debate."

If you are in Cali, check it out!

Try not to laugh...

Today, the White House Press Office released a statement which details the President's plan to fight kleptocracy, a funny word that basically means "Culture of Corruption"

From dictionary.com

klep·toc·ra·cy
n. pl. klep·toc·ra·cies

A government characterized by rampant greed and corruption.

Anyway..

The President's statement says:

"For too long, the culture of corruption has undercut development and good governance and bred criminality and mistrust around the world. High-level corruption by senior government officials...is a grave and corrosive abuse of power and represents the most invidious type of public corruption. It threatens our national interest and violates our values."

The statement then goes on to announce a new strategy to fight public corruption...overseas. Well, maybe that's the only way the White House could get Bob Ney, Tom DeLay, Bill Frist, Roy Blunt, Grover Norquist, Dennis Hastert, and Ralph Reed and the rest of their corrupt cronies to sign-off.

Democrats know that fighting the culture of corruption begins at home - and begins by ridding America of the Republican Culture of Corruption that has plagued government.

So while it's great that the Bush Administration has a new strategy to fight corruption in other countries, another good step would be for the White House start fighting it here at home.

For a start, the White House could stop fighting the Democratic Party's FOIA request seeking Secret Service records detailing the White House visits made by associates of convicted former Republican superlobbyist Jack Ambramoff: Grover Norquist, Patrick Pizzella, Ralph Reed, Michael Scanlon, and David Safavian .

Just a suggestion.

Afternoon Open Thread

Big news of the day is the airline plot Britain thwarted.

Discuss that, or anything else on your mind.

GOP Tactics to Supress the Vote

The latest front: Missouri

From The New York Times:

Missouri is the latest front in the Republican Party’s campaign to use photo ID requirements to suppress voting. The Republican legislators who pushed through Missouri’s ID law earlier this year said they wanted to deter fraud, but that claim falls apart on close inspection. Missouri’s new ID rules — and similar ones adopted last year in Indiana and Georgia — are intended to deter voting by blacks, poor people and other groups that are less likely to have driver’s licenses. Georgia’s law has been blocked by the courts, and the others should be too.

Even before Missouri passed its new law, it had tougher ID requirements than many states. Voters were required, with limited exceptions, to bring ID with them to the polls, but university ID cards, bank statements mailed to a voter’s address, and similar documents were acceptable. The new law requires a government-issued photo ID, which as many as 200,000 Missourians do not have.

Missourians who have driver’s licenses will have little trouble voting, but many who do not will have to go to considerable trouble to get special ID’s. The supporting documents needed to get these, like birth certificates, often have fees attached, so some Missourians will have to pay to keep voting. It is likely that many people will not jump all of the bureaucratic hurdles to get the special ID, and will become ineligible to vote.

Not coincidentally, groups that are more likely to vote against the Republicans who passed the ID law will be most disadvantaged. Advocates for blacks, the elderly and the disabled say that those groups are less likely than the average Missourian to have driver’s licenses, and most likely to lose their right to vote. In close elections, like the bitterly contested U.S. Senate race now under way in the state, this disenfranchisement could easily make the difference in who wins.

The new law’s supporters say its purpose is to deter fraud. But there is little evidence of “imposter voting,” the sort of fraud that ID laws are aimed at, in Missouri or anywhere else. Groups in Missouri that want to suppress voting have a long history of crying fraud, but investigations by the Justice Department and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, among others, have refuted such claims in the past. If the Legislature really wanted to deter fraud, it would have focused its efforts on absentee ballots, which are a notorious source of election fraud — and are not covered by Missouri’s new ID requirements.

Because of the important constitutional issues these laws raise, courts will have the final say. Federal and state judges have already blocked Georgia’s ID law from taking effect, and although Indiana’s law was upheld earlier this year, that ruling is on appeal. Missouri voting-rights advocates recently filed suit against their state’s law.

Unduly onerous voter ID laws violate equal protection, and when voters have to pay to get the ID’s, they are an illegal poll tax. They are also an insult to democracy, because their goal is to have elections in which eligible voters are turned away.

Some more information about shameful GOP tactics in:

Missouri: Dean Denounces Harmful Republican Voter ID Law in Missouri
Indiana: Dean Response to Indiana Court Ruling on Voter ID
Georgia: Court Ruling to Block Georgia's Restrictive Voter ID Law

Thursday Open Thread

Have you visited 100actions.com today?

August 9, 2006

Watch It: Governor Dean on TV

Wake-up to Governor Dean tomorrow morning and make sure to catch these TV apprearances:

- ABC "Good Morning America" at 7:05 AM
- CNN "American Morning" at 7:30 AM

Open Thread

Talk. Discuss. Opine. Vent. Think.

Have You Had Enough? - The Mp3

From the brilliant folks over at Blue America, here is some music to take action to.

Listen to the mp3, here.

Read the story of making some beautiful music over at FireDogLake.

Then, in the comments add your playlist for inspiration.

Five Years Ago Today

Five years ago today President Bush stood before America and declared his intention to limit federal funding of stem cell research. The scientific community had lobbied him aggressively on the issue, bringing before the administration and the Congress evidence of the promise the research had to offer and the hope for cures for millions of Americans.

The President decided to use his first prime time speech, not to announce a forward-thinking hopeful investment into scientific research for millions of Americans, but to cater to the extreme religious right-wing of his Republican Party. He limited research to a few select lines of cells that were already in existence, a limitation that has hindered progress and discovery.

This year the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved of legislation that would have expanded the President's narrow-minded decision of 2001. For five years Americans have continued suffer from some of the worst diseases of our time, like Diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer’s, while scientific research has been held back. The lines of cells that President Bush designated have proven contaminated and unusable.

A national poll, conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation, found that 72 percent of Americans support embryonic stem cell research, up from 68 percent in 2005. Despite this wide-spread support, despite the possibilities and the hope this research offers, the President vetoed this legislation to please a minority of the extremely conservative religious right-wing of the Republican party. He put politics before science, before the welfare of the American people. He used his first veto to kill this life-saving legislation.

Congresswoman Degette responded to his veto during the Democratic Radio address saying:

The President exercised the first veto of his presidency on this law. President Bush has signed bills to give subsidies to Big Oil, to give tax cuts to the wealthiest few, and subsidies to HMOs, but he could not find it in his heart to give hope to America's families, proudly boasting that he was protecting America from crossing a 'moral line.'

I, too, want to talk about morality. A moral society has an ethical imperative to help cure diseases that affect 110 million Americans and their families. We owe that to the child with Type I diabetes, the brother with Parkinson's, the police officer paralyzed by a criminal's bullet.

I am tempted to point out the obvious - the President's veto had nothing to do with morals. It had everything to do with cold, calculated, cynical political gain - the kind of politics that snuffs out the candle of hope, and that condemns the disabled and the sick.

Governor Dean also spoke out, in an e-mail to millions of Americans he wrote:

As a medical doctor I'm offended at the political meddling in potentially life-saving research. All of our families could be touched by hope found through stem cell research: from juvenile diabetes to Alzheimer's, it offers the opportunity for new cures. Yet this important research has been dwindling because of restrictions put in place by Bush five years ago.

That's half a decade we have lost. How much longer will those suffering and their families have to wait?

People can disagree in good faith on this issue, but Bush's extraordinary action doesn't meet that threshold -- it smacks of political calculation. The opportunity to save lives of people with debilitating diseases, and to reduce suffering for them and their families, requires that a president respect the will of the people and the Congress.

The bottom line is that the President, and Republicans, can not be trusted to put the best interests of the American people first. Whether it is giving huge tax breaks to oil companies or drug companies that make billions in profit, or caving in to a minority of ultra-conservative extremists - the Republican Party has nothing to offer the vast majority of Americans but empty rhetoric and hollow leadership.

Changes to the War Crimes Act Proposed

From The Washington Post:

The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a war crimes law that would eliminate the risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel for humiliating or degrading war prisoners, according to U.S. officials and a copy of the amendments.

Officials say the amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties governing military conduct in wartime. The conventions generally bar the cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment of wartime prisoners without spelling out what all those terms mean.

The draft U.S. amendments to the War Crimes Act would narrow the scope of potential criminal prosecutions to 10 specific categories of illegal acts against detainees during a war, including torture, murder, rape and hostage-taking.

Left off the list would be what the Geneva Conventions refer to as "outrages upon [the] personal dignity" of a prisoner and deliberately humiliating acts -- such as the forced nakedness, use of dog leashes and wearing of women's underwear seen at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq -- that fall short of torture.

Read the full article, here.

Governor Dean on Yesterday's Primary Elections

Governor Dean:

"Across the country yesterday, strong turnout sent a powerful message. Democrats are energized as we head to the November elections.

"In Connecticut, Democratic voters exercised their most fundamental right as Americans, choosing Ned Lamont as the Democratic nominee. We congratulate Mr. Lamont and look forward to working with him both to ensure his victory in November and as a United States Senator. Senator Joe Lieberman has served the people of Connecticut admirably for the last 18 years and always stood up for what he believed in. It was a hard fought campaign, and the Democratic voters of Connecticut have made their choice. I also want to congratulate Mayor John DeStefano who will make the people of Connecticut proud as their next Governor.

"In Missouri, Claire McCaskill's strong primary victory once again proves that she is a strong opponent for President Bush's rubber stamp in the Senate, Jim Talent. Jim Marcinkowski is ready to send ethically-challenged Republican Mike Rogers home in the 8th Congressional District, and Sharon Renier showed decisively that she can win the 7th in Michigan. In Colorado, heavy turnout in the 7th Congressional District proved that Coloradoans are tired of Bob Beauprez's failed legacy and want a Congressman like Ed Perlmutter who will put their interests first. In another hard fought contest in Georgia, Hank Johnson, an accomplished litigator and community leader, emerged as the Democratic nominee for the 4th District and will make a terrific member of Congress. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney ran a strong campaign following many years of dedicated service to the Democratic Party and the people of the State of Georgia.

"As we look towards November, the message is clear: Democrats offer a new direction for America. Voter turnout across the country yesterday was a testament to how Democrats will win in November by offering the American people real change, not taking a single vote for granted, and standing up for what we believe in."

Wednesday Open Thread

After such an exciting primary night, there is no time like the present to write a letter to the editor.

Not only will you be taking today's action, but you will also be helping give Democrats a voice. Just like door-to-door contact is the best way to get out the vote, hearing from Democrats who are also your friends and neighbors speaks volumes.

August 8, 2006

Late Late Night Open Thread

Here you go. Chat away...

Open All-Night Primaries Thread

Let's all move onto new threads!

:)

Listen Up: Ask Senator Dorgan a Question

This week, I'm hosting Chairman of the Senate's Democratic Policy Committee, North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan on the DNC Podcast.

We'll talk to Senator Dorgan about his new book, "Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America," which discusses corporate outsourcing, the United State's trade deficit, and it's impact on Americans.

Got a question for the Senator? Send it to us via e-mail or post it in the comments selection below and we'll use the best one, announced during the podcast to be released on Thursday, August 10th.

War on Poverty

Nathan Newman explains.

Afternoon Open Thread

There are 5 primaries today! If you live in Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia (primary run-offs), Michigan or Missouri GO VOTE!

If you don't live in one of those states, but know someone who does, call them and remind them to vote.

This is an open thread.

1 Year Later Americans Are Paying the Price

On August 8, 2005 the President signed the Republican Energy Bill into law. While the bill didn't do much to help hardworking Americans - it did manage to give $8 billion in tax breaks to energy companies who have seen their profits sore this past year. At the same time Americans have felt the pain at the pump - gas prices have increased 65% since January 2005.

It's no surprise that Republicans in Congress once again decided to serve their special interest friends. It's what they do. It's what they live for.

The Energy bill was written by and for the energy companies - not the American consumer.

Some facts from the DNC Research Department in the extended entry.

Keep reading "1 Year Later Americans Are Paying the Price"

Mirror Images

From The Washington Post:

Most Americans describe themselves as being in an anti-incumbent mood heading into this fall's midterm congressional elections, and the percentage of people who approve of their own representative's performance is at the lowest level since 1994, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

...

Eighty-one percent of Democrats say the war was not worth fighting, and 70 percent feel that way "strongly." A majority of Democrats, 54 percent, say a candidate endorsing Bush's Iraq policy would be less likely to get their vote, compared with 37 percent for whom it would not make much difference. Two in three Democrats say it is time to begin decreasing troop levels in Iraq, although only one in four supports immediate withdrawal.

Especially worrisome for members of Congress is that the proportion of Americans who approve of their own representative's performance has fallen sharply. Traditionally, voters may express disapproval of Congress as a whole but still vote for their own member, even from the majority party. But 55 percent now approve of their lawmaker, a seven-percentage-point drop over three months and the lowest such finding since 1994, the last time control of the House switched parties.

...

The poll mirrored results of surveys at this point 12 years ago, just three months before Republicans swept out Democratic majorities from both houses of Congress. Fifty-three percent now call themselves anti-incumbent, while 29 percent describe themselves as inclined to reelect lawmakers -- almost precisely the same percentages as in June 1994.

In another echo of 1994, the poll showed Congress remains broadly unpopular, with six in 10 Americans disapproving of its performance. The only consolation for members is that the 36 percent who approve represents a slight bump up from May, when the institution hit a 10-year low.

The generic ballot question, asking voters in general which party they would support in November, remained unchanged from the spring, with 52 percent favoring Democrats and 39 percent supporting Republicans. The lead narrows to 10 points among those who say they are closely following their local races.

TPM has more:

Deep in the guts of that big Washington Post poll today is a startling number that didn't make it into the Post's accompanying article. It reads: Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling the U.S. campaign against terrorism?

The answer: Democrats 46%, Republicans 38%

That's right: this poll's respondents preferred Dems not just on Iraq, but on the broader war on terror. If this number accurately reflects the electorate's mood, this may represent a watershed moment at which Americans have stopped reflexively believing the GOP is better on terrorism in general. Two questions: Will future polls show the same? And how much longer will media commentators keep saying that the GOP automatically has the advangage on national security issues?

DeLay to Stay on Ballot

After a series of legal challenges, Texas Republicans received the final decision about the fate of Tom DeLay as a candidate in Texas' 22nd Congressional District.

From The Houston Chronicle:

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rejected a request from Texas Republicans on Monday to allow the GOP to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on the general election ballot.

"In terms of legal options, they are exhausted," Republican lawyer James Bopp Jr. said. "The order will stand requiring Tom DeLay to stay on the ballot."

The best efforts of the Texas Republican Party and Tom DeLay to avoid following the rule of law, have failed:

State law does not allow a party to replace an official nominee who withdraws from the race if another party also has a nominee for the office. Otherwise, Sparks said, a party could always replace a weaker candidate with a stronger one.

Five judges, both Republican and Democrat, have come to the same conclusion regarding this case, Democratic nominee Nick Lampson said in a statement.

...

"The people of this district have been without a member of Congress for long enough. It's time for the voters to decide who will represent them in Congress," Lampson said. "I look forward to a strong issue-based campaign against Tom DeLay."

It will be interesting to see if DeLay decides to cut and run from the race or stay and try to justify his defection from Sugarland to Virginia.

On the web: Nick Lampson for Congress and Fun multimedia from the Lampson Campaign.

Tuesday Open Thread

Spread the Democratic Vision with fun printable postcards!

August 7, 2006

Late Night Open Thread for the Fighters

Late Night Open Thread Mystery Quote:

"Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do. And we can do it together."

Election Day 2006: Plan Ahead!

In this morning's open thread I wrote that today's Action Item on 100actions.com was really important. It is. I wanted to expand.

Take a Vacation Day

Start planning for Election Day by taking November 7th off work. You can't help get out the vote if you have other obligations, so take a minute to clear your schedule early.

Election Day is November 7, 2006.

That is just 92 short days away. It's a Tuesday. If you have the time and can manage it, plan to take off Monday, November 6th too. I promise you your local campaign will love you. Too often some of the best volunteers end up being unavailable on Election Day, which will break a field person's heart. So start planning to be available now.

Example:

Last November, during the Virginia Election, one of my best volunteers, a precinct captain, didn't remember that she had scheduled a doctor's appointment on Election Day until she got the reminder call from a nurse the Friday before Election Day. She'd made the appointment a year in advance.

So please, check your calendar now and, if you are can manage it, plan to take that day off and volunteer for your local Democratic campaign. When it gets to crunch time, the advertisements are bought, the direct mail has been sent, the real difference in made by the person-to-person contacts that are made on Election Day.

Election Day needs are many are varied, beginning as early as 5 a.m. with a morning lit drop (leaving a reminder to vote on their doorknob so you see it as you leave for work in the morning) to a late night stint at the Board of Elections while the votes are counted.

In between we need volunteers on the phones, at the doors, at the polls, at busy intersections with signs and smiles, on the road driving voters to and from the polls, running between precincts delivering "care packages" to fellow volunteers, etc...

If you are able to work on Election Day there is a job that will need to be done.

So, if you want to score that gold star early in the campaign season, call up your local field office today and confirm to your field director that you will work all-day on Election Day.

Obviously

Shocker:

President George W. Bush's hopes of attracting a new generation of voters to the Republican Party may be fading, as younger Americans are far more critical of his job performance than the broader population.

A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll of Americans age 18 to 24 found Bush's approval rating was 20 percent, with 53 percent disapproving and 28 percent with no opinion. That compares to a 40 percent approval rating among Americans of all ages in a separate Bloomberg/Times poll.

Seriously? You mean young people don't approve of a President who sends their friends off to fight a war that was based on lies, has cut federal funding for higher education, has tried to gut social security, generally ignores scientific evidence in favor of extreme right-wing ideology, is presiding over a ever-expanding deficit (which young people will have to pay back) and purposefully trys to scapegoat entire groups of people to win elections?

What a surprise.

Nebraska Democrats Moving Up

Nebraska Democrats Moving Up:

Working their way back. Nebraska Democrats have been at it since a disastrous 2002 election when they were buried by record margins in Senate and gubernatorial races.

Road kill.

In 2004, they made great strides in terms of organization, fund-raising and candidate recruitment, but had no breakthrough victories to show for it.

But Democrats approach the 2006 general election in a strong position to help Ben Nelson defend his Senate seat. And they’re fielding competitive candidates in the gubernatorial scrap and in at least two House contests.

(We wrote about those candidates and their growing momentum, here.)

Nebraska Democrats have been organizing a 93-County Strategy in their state and doing the hard work necessary to turn every county blue.

This week they released their "State of the Party" report for 2006 to detail their progress.

Some achievements to celebrate:

• Since 2002 the NDP has tripled its budget.
• The NDP has managed to revitalize the local party infrastructure. 95% of Nebraska Democrats live in counties with county parties.
• County Parties have held 68 local conventions in 2006 - up from 36 during the 2004 Presidential cycle. In the past year they've also identified over 3,000 new volunteers!
• The NDP has also made investments in their technology - growing their e-mail list exponentially, developing a top-notch and popular web site, compiling an up-to-date voterfile and a growing database of donors and activists.
• The NDP is now a resource for candidates throughout the state, providing a full range of tangible services, including: strategic planning, an automated in-house call center, and assistance with direct mail and message development.

The success of the Nebraska Democratic Party is a testament to the 50-State Strategy and the benefit of investing in the infrastructure of the Democratic Party from coast to coast.

For too long we have ceded territory to the GOP, and focused our efforts on a handful of battleground states. It was time for a change. Governor Dean's belief in supporting a nationwide infrastructure is only the beginning of a resurgence of The Democratic Party in places like Nebraska, where common sense Democrats now have a support system for their campaigns and local activists have a place to turn.

We've seen similar patterns emerging in Wyoming, where Gary Trauner is surprising everyone with his campaign for the state's sole Congressional seat. We've seen the success of Democrats in Kansas and Montana as well - two states that seem redder than red, but that have wildly popular Democratic Governors and increasingly strong, active state parties.

This is just the beginning.

MO-Sen: Is that Slander? Libel? Or Both?

Jim Talent is so desperate to make Claire McCaskill look bad that he has to make things up.

Republican Ney Will Not Run

Embattled Republican Representative Bob Ney of Ohio, linked with now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has announced he will not run for re-election. Ney and his former staff have been under increasing legal scrutiny for their role in a corruption scandal. Zack Space is the Democratic nominee.

From Zack Space's campaign:

"Bob Ney represented the culture of corruption in Washington and Joy Padgett represents the culture of corruption in Columbus," said Joe Shafer, campaign manager for Zack Space. "Joy Padgett is tied at the hip to the most corrupt politicians in Ohio: Bob Ney, Bob Taft and Jim Petro. For Joy Padgett, being handpicked by Ney and appointed by Taft is quite an indictment."

Shafer noted that in a story today Padgett admitted that she was "flattered" that Ney asked her to run for his seat. Padgett has contributed to Ney's campaigns, received nearly $8,000 in contributions from Ney and had endorsed the corrupt congressman’s candidacy even after countless instances of influence peddling were revealed. Governor Bob Taft, who was convicted of violating state ethics laws, appointed her to the state Senate.

To-Do List for a Do-Nothing Congress

You may have heard or read about this Congress being compared to the do-nothing Congress of 1948. Then, as now, we have seen a Republican led Congress that has failed to serve the American people.

Wonder Why? USA Today has the answer:

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has found it more important to fritter away scarce time on an obsessive quest to repeal the estate tax and on blatant pandering to social conservatives with proposed constitutional amendments on flag-burning and gay marriage.

What's more, they've put together a handy To-Do List, which includes addressing the real issues of the day:

• Immigration

A bipartisan majority backs tightening border security and dealing humanely with the nearly 12 million immigrants here illegally. Yet House Republicans are blocking any compromise with the Senate.

• Ethics

It's inexcusable that in one of the worst years in memory for congressional corruption and money-related scandals, Congress still hasn't tightened rules governing the incestuous relationships between lobbyists and lawmakers.

• The War in Iraq

The mission of many of the 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq is shifting from fighting insurgents to trying to avert all-out civil war...Yet Congress left Washington trading hoary sound bites rather than engaging in the serious debate warranted by the new situation on the ground.

• The Bush Administration's Abuse of Power

The Supreme Court slapped down the Bush administration's plans to try detainees before special military commissions; it's up to Congress to construct a process consistent with the Constitution and U.S. values.

• The Minimum Wage

GOP leaders finally offered to back a long overdue minimum wage increase, but only if Democrats agreed to link it to estate tax relief for a handful of the nation's richest families. Fortunately, this cynical coupling failed in the Senate at the end of last week. When Congress returns, it should give America's poorest workers a raise and forget about giving its wealthiest heirs a fat tax break.

• Budget Bills

Will this Congress measure up? Will it do anything to rein in the $300 billion federal deficit, or will it continue irresponsible spending increases and tax cuts?

Manic Monday Open Thread

• So it appears the Culture of Corruption has claimed another victim. Bob Ney won't be running for re-election in Ohio's 18th Congressional District.
• There are a bunch of primaries tomorrow: Colorado, Connecticut, Michigan and Missouri.
• Today's action is REALLY important!

August 5, 2006

Weekend Open Thread

100actions.com wants you!

August 4, 2006

100Actions Free Stuff!

Here is just one example of the web goodies awaiting you at the 100actions.com page-o-fun! We've got widgets and images that you can use to spread the word about Election Day, 100actions.com and the Democratic Party. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Senate Democrats Foil GOP Plan to "Fool Voters"

Democrats in the Senate successfully blocked Republican efforts to blackmail them into voting to gut the estate tax by combining the measure with an increase in the minimum wage - an issue Democrats have repeatedly tried to bring up for a vote, but have been stymied by Republican Congressional leaders.

The bill, a "trifecta" of legislation, was clearly seen as a political ploy by the Republicans who are panicking during a midterm election.

From The Washington Post:

Under the bill, "8,100 of the wealthy and well-off hit the jackpot, while millions of working families get $800 billion in [federal] debt," said Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who led the opposition to the measure.

...

Rejecting the measure will be easy to explain "when you have all of labor saying they don't like it," said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who is campaigning to keep his seat in November. "It comes down to taking care of a lot of wealthy people" whose estate tax reductions would have prompted reductions in social spending, he said. By one estimate, the plan would have lowered federal tax revenue by $268 billion over 10 years.

Gerald W. McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said, "This was a transparent attempt to dangle a minimum-wage increase for families struggling to make ends meet to secure yet another Texas-size tax handout for the wealthiest."

Pointless

After opining for the need to "stay the course" Tom Friedman admits it's time for a new strategy in an piece in The New York Times:

When our top commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, tells a Senate Committee, as he did yesterday, that “the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I’ve seen it,” it means that three years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means “staying the course” is pointless, and it’s time to start thinking about Plan B — how we might disengage with the least damage possible.

also...

...we can’t throw more good lives after good lives.

Since the Bush team never gave us a Plan A for Iraq, it at least owes us a Plan B...

...The longer we maintain a unilateral failing strategy in Iraq, the harder it will be to build such a coalition, and the stronger the enemies of freedom will become.

Have your own thoughts about the need for a new direction? Write your own Op-Ed or Letter to the Editor this weekend.

We didn't have a "dickens of a time".

Yesterday Secretary Rumsfeld claimed that he had “never painted a rosy picture” of the sitution in Iraq. He claimed one would have a "dickens of a time trying to find instances where I have been overly optimistic.”

Well we looked and we didn't have a dickens of a time coming up with several instances.

In 2002:

"Think of the faces in Afghanistan when the people were liberated, when they moved out in the streets and they started singing and flying kites and women went to school and people were able to function and other countries were able to start interacting with them. That's what would happen in Iraq ."

In 2002:

"The Iraqi Army knows what kind of a regime Saddam Hussein is running," Donald Rumsfeld said. "They know what the damage that's done to the people of Iraq . They know the truth that the United States of America doesn't covet the land of any other country...I think that there would be -- in fact, there was one instance where hundreds and hundreds of Iraqi soldiers surrendered to a journalist who didn't even have a gun. So, the idea that it's going to be a long, long, long battle of some kind, I think, is belied by what happened in 1990."

In 2003:

Appearing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Donald Rumsfeld was asked about the cost of a war in Iraq. "The Office of Management and Budget estimated it would be something under $50 billion," Rumsfeld said. "Outside estimates say up to $300 billion," Stephanopoulos replied. "Baloney," said Rumsfeld.

In 2003:

Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz criticized the Army's chief of staff, General Eric Shinseki, after Shinseki told Congress in February 2003 that the occupation could require "several hundred thousand troops." Wolfowitz called Shinseki's estimate "wildly off the mark." [USA Today, 6/2/03]

Still not convinced? ThinkProgress has even more.

TGIF Open Thread

The Senate did the right thing and voted down the horrible Republican minimum wage bill!

Today, you can do the right thing. Action #96 is live!

August 3, 2006

More Perilous Conflict

With no end in sight to the violence in Iraq and nothing but failed strategy and empty rhetoric on the part of the President, today's hearings before the Senate confirm the worst about Iraq.

From CNN.com:

Under tough questioning from U.S. senators, the head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. John Abizaid, acknowledged Thursday that Iraq could descend into civil war.

"I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war," he testified at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Fueling this possibility, he said, was the combination of "sectarian violence, al Qaeda terrorists, insurgents and Shia militants."

"Failure to apply coordinated regional and international pressure ... will further extremism" and could lead to a widening and more perilous conflict, he said.

From AP:

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the panel, "We do have the possibility of that devolving into civil war." He added that this need not happen and stressed that ultimately it depends on the Iraqis more than on the U.S. military.

"Shiite and Sunni are going to have to love their children more than they hate each other," Pace said, before the tensions can be overcome. "The weight of that must be on the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government."

"The weight of that must be on the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government," he said. So why is President Bush's response to send more troops into Baghdad, to "stay the course" and continue to follow a path that has led us down a road of ever-increasing violence?

Reject an Election Year Stunt

(Governor Dean sent the following e-mail to urge Democrats across the country to urge the Senate to reject the shameful giveaway to ultra-wealthy Republican donors and have a fair vote on the minimum wage.)

Dear Fellow Democrat,

Here's the question that the right-wing extremists who control the Republican Congress will put before the Senate:

"Over seven million Americans can have a raise of $2.15 an hour by raising the minimum wage, but only if we give a tax cut to 7,500 ultra-rich people at a cost of $753 billion dollars."

It's despicable, it's wrong, and we need to stop it.

Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist has said that this will be the only vote he will allow on a minimum wage increase this year.

Enough is enough. Contact your Senators and tell them to reject this shameful bill by signing this petition:

http://www.democrats.org/realminimumwage

Democrats have been fighting for a minimum wage increase, but Republicans won't allow a straight up-or-down vote on it.

Now Frist and his right-wing allies say they will allow a vote on the minimum wage -- but only in the form of a bill that includes a huge giveaway to ultra-wealthy Republican donors.

We want folks to do well, but America shouldn't have to sacrifice billions of dollars to give only a small group of millionaires a tax break while millions of hard working Americans - some with two or more jobs - are barely able to make ends meet.

What's more, the Republicans' so-called minimum wage increase contains provisions that would actually strip wages from over a million people in seven states where they earn that state's minimum wage in addition to their tips.

This isn't responsible government -- and we're not going to take it.

Let your Senators know that they should reject it:

http://www.democrats.org/realminimumwage

This is the kind of sad, twisted game that the Republican-controlled Congress has played for years.

We have troops at war without proper armor, a faltering reconstruction on the Gulf Coast, and a president openly defying the laws they pass -- and the Republican Congress gives us things like this.

Republicans have managed to find time to vote multiple times on raising their own salaries, though -- to the tune of over $35,000 during the 10 years since the last time they raised the minimum wage. Democrats, on the other hand, are opposed to Congressional pay increases until there's an increase in the minimum wage.

The Republican leadership's priorities are backwards and out of the mainstream. Even one moderate Republican Senator called the tactics around the minimum wage bill "unbecoming of the Senate".

It's up to the rest of us to stop this right now. Sign this petition opposing this sham bill:

http://www.democrats.org/realminimumwage

I'm tired of a do-nothing Republican Congress that plays games with people's lives.

There's work to be done, and it's clear that the Republicans won't do it. But we're going to take these issues to the people and in less than 100 days Americans will have an opportunity to change course.

Thank you for being a part of making it happen.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

P.S. -- Here are some simple facts that can't be ignored:

• Someone working full-time for the $5.15 federal minimum wage makes just $10,700 a year. A single mom with two kids who works full-time for the minimum wage is about $6,000 below the poverty line.
• The federal minimum wage has been stuck at the same rate since 1997. Since then, Republican leaders have raised the salaries of Senators seven times. Salaries of lawmakers have gone up by $35,000 -- almost three times the entire yearly income of someone on minimum wage.
• The real value of the minimum wage is more than $3.00 below what it was a generation ago, and right now has its lowest buying power in over 50 years.
• The minimum wage is the lowest it has been in over 50 years relative to the average wage.
• Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour adds up to more than one year of groceries, over 9 months of rent, a year and a half of heat and electricity, or full tuition for a community college degree.

Please do what you can to help call attention to this vitally important issue.

The world's richest and most powerful country must do better.

In the Senate's Hands

On Friday, the House passed a disastrous bill, coupling an increase in the minimum wage with a revision in the estate tax that would give a tax break to a few thousand of the richest families in America. The bill is now in the hands of the Senate, where it will live or die.

Despite their claims of concern for the millions of hardworking Americans who make a scant $10,700 a year, the real reason behind their sudden fervor to raise the minimum wage is, in fact, the revision of the estate tax, which they have tried to eliminate in the past, only to fail.

Another horrible factor in the GOP bill? Workers who rely on tips will actually see their wages cut.

Rep. George Miller explains:

The legislation, H.R. 5970, guts states laws that require employers to pay employees the state minimum wage and, on top of that, allow them to keep their tips from customers. It replaces these state laws with a much weaker federal law for tipped workers. Under that federal law, U.S. employers must pay their tipped employees a base wage of $2.13 per hour. If tipped employees receive enough in tips to bring their average hourly wage during the week to $5.15 per hour – the federal minimum wage – then their employers are not required to pay more than that $2.13. But if workers do not receive enough in tips to reach $5.15 per hour, then employers are required to make up the difference.

If passed into law, the provisions approved by the House on Saturday morning would likely lead to wage cuts for hundreds of thousands of tipped employees – like waiters and waitresses, hairstylists, baggage porters and bellhops, and others – in Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Guam.

House Republicans knew exactly what they were doing when they packaged this bill. They've included other sweet tidbits in the legislation aimed at Senators who have voted against the repeal of the estate tax in the past, trying to box them into a corner and force their vote.

That's why today's action is so important. Republicans are using the minimum wage vote as an election year ploy to fool voters and hide from their complete and utter lack of accomplishments.

Call your Senators, urge them to vote against the Republican bill and instead urge them for a clean bill on the minimum wage.

More on the web over at ThinkProgress.

The Justice Department Plays Politics (Again)

The news of changes in the policies of The Justice Department justs keep getting worse. Not only are they replacing career civil rights professionals with political appointees, but they are actively subverting the Democratic process.

From The New York Times:

Alabama is one of many states that have been late in meeting a federal requirement to create a computerized statewide list of voters. Secretary of State Nancy Worley says the delay is due to factors outside her control. Her critics disagree. But whatever the reason, the Justice Department has every right to try to speed things along. The trouble is, rather than work with Ms. Worley to get the job done, it decided to go to court to take away her authority and hand it to Gov. Bob Riley.

Sadly, a federal judge agreed yesterday to do just that, in a one-sided proceeding that felt a lot like a kangaroo court. The Justice Department and the Alabama attorney general, Troy King, both argued that Governor Riley should control the voter database. Mr. King, a Republican, was appointed to his job by Governor Riley after serving as his legal adviser, and when Ms. Worley realized that Mr. King would not represent her interests, she asked him to let her hire a lawyer to argue her side. He refused. The Alabama Democratic Party tried to intervene in the case, so it could argue against giving control of the voter rolls to the governor. The judge, who was recently named to the bench by President Bush, would not let the Democrats in.

The Justice Department’s request to shift Ms. Worley’s powers to Governor Riley is extraordinary. Normally, the government would seek an order telling a state official what to do, or it would ask to have a nonpartisan person appointed as a special master. And the Justice Department’s aggressive stance stands in stark contrast to the forgiving approach it has taken to Republican secretaries of state. After Katherine Harris removed eligible voters from the rolls in Florida in 2000, and Kenneth Blackwell tried to block eligible people from registering in Ohio in 2004, the Justice Department made no effort to limit their powers.

Controlling the voting rolls can yield important advantages, as Ms. Harris proved in 2000. The Justice Department’s actions in Alabama appear to be less about enforcing the law than about wresting control of the voter rolls from the opposition party, and making a Democratic secretary of state who is up for re-election in a few months look bad.

It would not be the first time the Bush Justice Department seemed to play party politics with elections. Political appointees approved the pro-Republican Congressional redistricting plan in Texas and a voter ID law in Georgia, despite objections from staff lawyers that the plans violated the Voting Rights Act.

The Justice Department has enormous power over state elections. It is important that this power be used in a way that appears — and is — nonpartisan. Undercutting a Democratic secretary of state, and taking the extraordinary step of handing her powers to a Republican governor, meets neither test. The Justice Department is giving the impression that it is less concerned that elections be lawful and fair than that they come out a particular way.

Real Leadership on Global Warming

New York Times' Columnist Bob Herbert writes today that it's "time to aggressively counter the dangerous nonsense" of those who dispute the threat posed by Global Warming.

Examples:

Senator Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), Chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment:

“[M]an-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”

Senator Burns (R-Montana):

“You remember the ice age? It’s been warming ever since, and there ain’t nothing we can do to stop it.”

"There ain't nothing we can do to stop it." Great example of someone who doesn't belong in the Senate. That is the lack of leadership being offered by Republicans who are content to ignore evidence, cherry-pick their facts (sounds so familiar...) and continue to serve their special interest friends.

Herbert points out:

You can’t blame any single weather event on global warming. But with polar bears drowning because they can’t swim far enough to make it from one ice floe to another; with the once-glorious snows of Kilimanjaro about to bring down the final curtain on their long, long run; with the virtual disappearance of Lake Chad in Africa, which was once the size of Lake Erie, it may be time to get serious about trying to slow this catastrophic trend.

And, some facts from the article:

• The first six months of this year were the warmest ever recorded in the United States.
• This summer, according to the National Climatic Data Center, more than 50 cities in the continental U.S. have set records for high temperature.
• Of the 21 hottest years ever measured, 20 have occurred within the last 25 years. And the hottest year of this recent hottest wave was last year.
• "In northern California, it was hotter for longer than ever on record, hitting 110 degrees four consecutive days in the nine-county Bay Area.”
• In recent years, the U.S. has had more than three times its normal share of extremely hot summer nights. “That is a particularly dangerous trend,” Mr. Borenstein wrote. “During heat waves, like the one that now has a grip on much of the East, one of the major causes of heat deaths is the lack of night cooling that would normally allow a stressed body to recover.”

But there is hope...

Unlike Senator Burns, there are people who understand that there are things we can do to mitigate the worst effects of global warming. We’d better do something fast. We’re no longer waiting for the tragedies predicted to result from extremely high temperatures, extreme weather events, storm surges and so forth. We’re already enduring them.

Remember New Orleans? And the thousands who died from the heat in Chicago and elsewhere in the Midwest in 1995? And, as incredible as it still seems, the 35,000 killed by a monster heat wave in Europe in 2003?

I think the single most effective thing most ordinary Americans could do to become more informed about global warming — and the steps we need to take to fight it — is to go see Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and read his book of the same title.

It would be a shame if it turns out that Americans have been so deprived of leadership for so long that they fail to recognize it when it’s offered to them.

ClimateCrisis.net has information about the Sound Science of An Inconvenient Truth.

Sierra Club has a wealth of information, including a list of 10 ways you can do your part.

Fighting Dems Stand Up Against "Vicious Right Wing Smears"

The newest target of a swift boat attack? Rep. John Murtha, who is being sued for speaking out against some of the worst atrocities in Iraq.

As Glen Greenwald writes:

The lawsuit filed yesterday against Murtha based on his comments about the shootings of 24 civilians at Haditha is frivolous for multiple reasons. But worse than its legal inanities is the fact that its goal is so clearly to punish Murtha not for any supposed defamation, but because he is a prominent and effective political critic of the administration and of the war. He must therefore be smeared and punished, and that is clearly what this lawsuit is intended to accomplish.

The most damning fact about the motives behind lawsuit is that it is Rep. Murtha -- and only Rep. Murtha -- who is being sued for the alleged defamation, despite the fact that countless other public figures, including a sitting Republican Congressman, Bush loyalist Rep. John Kline, voiced similar and even more extreme accusations about the Marines in Haditha. And yet none of them has been named in this lawsuit. That's because, plainly, this lawsuit is about punishing Murtha for his political views and attempting to deter anyone from publicly criticizing the war and the Bush administration.

Well it's not going to be that easy to tarnish John Murtha. He is fighting back and so are his brothers-in-arms. Former U.S. Senator Max Cleland, who was himself the target of vicious Republican attacks in 2002, will travel to Pennsylvania during the next two days to defend U.S. Rep. John Murtha.

"I am not going to let vicious right wing smears against a good man go unanswered. I am honored to support my fellow Vietnam veteran as he runs for his 17th term in Congress," Cleland said. "I am outraged at elements of the Republican Party who still believe that defaming an opponent''s character is the best way to disagree with him. I am tired of men who never fought in combat, accusing men who bear the scars of war, of acting unpatriotically just because they disagree with our president. This type of politics is un-American and needs to stop."

From the Tribune-Democrat:

Rendell said the anti-Murtha faction will meet opposition at today’s press conference.

“Boy, are they in for a surprise,” he said. “If they attack Jack Murtha, they are going to be attacked back.”

Dozens of veterans groups from the region are planning to attend.

Terry Menear, from the Somerset Vietnam Veterans Association, will be there.

“I think they ought to stay where they belong,” he said. “I am all for John Murtha.”

Murtha said critics are trying to take attention away from his mission to redeploy troops away from Iraq.

“I try not to be distracted from my mission, which is to change the direction of our country,” he said.

“It’s great to see so many people support me in my district.”

Dot Helsel, a resident of Stonycreek Township, supports Murtha and believes most residents in Johnstown still do.

“I think he’s done an outstanding job for the Johnstown region,” she said. “You don’t always agree with somebody, but I would say most people in this area like him.”

Helsel said she does not think protesters or negative attention will affect Murtha’s campaign.

“He’s been there too long now,” she said. “You can disagree with somebody but you don’t have to be disagreeable.”

Mary Miller of Johnstown, national president for the Association of Vietnam Veterans of America, said Murtha protesters have taken his words out of context.

“A lot of these people who are outing him have never served in the military and they don’t understand what it’s like,” said Miller, whose group is a service organization for the Vietnam Veterans of America. “It’s just upsetting, really. He’s always been for the veterans and the families. He’s done a lot.”

This isn't the first time Rep. Murtha has come under fire for his views on the war. It isn't the first time fellow soldiers have come forward to defend him, and it won't be the last.

Thursday Open Thread

There are 96 days to take action before Election Day!

Today's action is time-sensitive. Check out 100actions.com today!

August 2, 2006

Almost Is Not Good Enough

Yesterday Governor Dean made his first trip to Delaware since becoming Chairman of the DNC. A crowd of activists from three counties attended a grassroots fundraiser to benefit the Delaware Democratic Party by contributing $50 for the 50-State Stategy.

Here is what The News Journal had to say about the event:

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean brought a message familiar to every Delaware candidate in a Tuesday visit to rally the local party forces he is helping finance.

Person-to-person politics beats big media campaigns when it comes to winning over voters.

"You can't win a campaign with just expensive TV ads," Dean said. "You've got to go out and make yourself known. ... You have to go to people who didn't vote the way you voted and convince them of your position."

And that's why Dean has pressed through criticism to follow through on a "50-state" strategy for building stronger Democratic voting in all states, whether they are currently red or blue on the political map.

Extra funding from the national party has allowed the state party to hire a full-time communications manager and two field directors.

Now some would consider a state like Delaware, where Democrats hold almost every statewide office, pretty "blue" and doing ok by Democratic Party standards. Well almost isn't good enough for Governor Dean:

"We only have seven of nine [statewide] offices," said Dean, former governor of Vermont. "We're not 100 percent Democratic here yet. We still have work to do right here."

And the Delaware Democratic Party is doing that work, to make sure that we don't take any state for granted and we win races from the top of the ticket down:

Support from the national party is helping in a big way. The two-year DNC commitment means the party has five full-time people, and that translates into better organizing efforts and the ability to reach down below statewide and legislative races.

"It gets us beyond just being able to do triage and gives us the ability to go out, get the party organized and mobilized," she said. "And we know it's long-term -- at least through '08 -- so we can plan further ahead."

DelawareLiberal blogger Jason attended the event too, and gives his impression of Governor Dean:

[Dean's] common sense message is lost among people who want Dean to be a Democratic savior (like me) and people who want him to be the liberal bogeyman whose every utterance is used for the next GOP fundraising letter.

The bottom line is Dean is niether the savior nor the bogeyman that people make him out to be. He is what he has always been, a man who is using his position to say "what's so funny about honest and open government? What is so traitorous about a strong national defense that rests on telling the truth? And what is so crazy about health care system for everyone?"

There is nothing funny, traitorous or crazy about the Democratic Agenda, or our values. And no one is going to stop working - from the reddest of red states to the bluest of blue, until we set America in a new direction, starting with a Democratic Congress in November.

CHCI Interns & Governor Dean

This afternoon Governor Dean sat down with interns from offices of the Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for a Q & A session. The Governor opened with some brief remarks. Right off the bat he was urging these young Democrats to run for office themselves. He then began talking about the importance of simply asking people for their vote and not taking any vote, voter or group for granted. "You gotta ask for the vote, even if it's your Grandma. You have to ask," he said.

Wednesday Afternoon Open Thread

• DSCC unveils The Fudge Report.
• The Missouri GOP displays their family values.
• Yeah! Sound Science beats Extreme Ideology
• Darcy Rocks!

WaPo: GOP is Desperate to Hold Power

Meyerson:

Every time congressional Republicans are compelled by public pressure to address a serious issue, they retreat to their laboratory and emerge with Frankenstein-monster legislation designed primarily to reward their campaign donors and stick it to the Democrats, and only secondarily to fix the problem.

And along came the minimum wage, an issue Democrats had been fighting for and tried to move for a vote on repeatedly, but were rebuked. Facing an increasingly tough political atmosphere and on their way out of town for a summer recess, vunerable Republicans begged their leadership to bring the issue to a vote, so they wouldn't take a beating at home.

So the story continues:

Republicans had to respond, and they did so in their inimitable cynical fashion. Appended to the minimum wage hike that the vast majority of them opposed was a provision genuinely dear to their hearts: a cut in the estate tax that chiefly benefits the super-rich and that will reduce government revenue over the next decade, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, by $753 billion. The shortfall could well lead to offsetting cuts in programs that benefit the same working poor that the minimum-wage increase would help. But who cares about the poor? The whole point of the exercise was to come up with a bill that might force some Democrats to vote for an estate tax cut they would otherwise oppose, and enable Republicans to claim they weren't really the Dickensian grotesques that many of them in fact are.

Their hearts are not pure. Their charade, sham, facade - call it what you will - makes clear their true motives.

Republicans' midnight orations in favor of raising the wage bore minimal resemblance to, say, the Sermon on the Mount. Their tone was best captured by Tennessee Rep. Zach Wamp, a Mayberry Machiavelli if ever there was one, who could not restrain himself from telling House Democrats, "You have seen us really outfox you on this issue tonight."

A quick thanks to Rep. Wamp for making it so perfecly clear, what their intentions were...

Wamp's taunt can serve as the credo for this entire Republican Congress, which legislates only when, and because, it can outfox the Democrats. It is the credo of the Bush administration as well, which views even its signature policy -- its war on terrorism -- as its foremost wedge issue against the Democrats. Combine this hyper-partisan ethos with a far-right ideology that sees no role for the government even as our corporate welfare state crumbles and our planet turns to toast, and you get a more do-nothing government than Harry Truman could have even imagined.

The moral of this story:

Republicans are desperate to hold power. Not to govern, mind you, just hold power.

The end.

Tennessee Primary Tomorrow

And so far turnout has been up:

While turnout varied considerably from place to place in early voting across Tennessee, the statewide total is up and likely means that Thursday's election will produce a record turnout for an August primary, an official says.

Statewide, 447,910 Tennesseans voted early, an increase of about 10 percent over the last comparable August primary in 2002, according to the state Division of Elections.

And while Republicans slug it out in a bloody primary battle, Democratic Senate nominee, Harold Ford, Jr. will be capping the evening off at a "Road to Victory" event with President Clinton in Nashville.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair, Bob Tuke:

"Democrats are energized for these elections. It's important that we show how strong we are by turning out in the primary."

Thosands of Words

The Democratic Reunion, in pictures.

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

There are 98 days (and millions of ways!) to take action before Election Day!

August 1, 2006

"Just Regular Folks"

There have been several Democratic Reunion tales around the blogosphere. Today I found one from Georgia, complete with pictures.

Here is a preview:

These people are the reason I became a Democrat in the first place; just regular folks who want America to be a better place than we found it. Regular folks who care enough to get involved and help decide the direction of their communities, their state and their nation.

Saturday, I got to talk to fellow Democrats about issues important to Glynn County (education, home ownership) and the nation (Iraq, the Middle East). I got to talk to fellow Democrats about new media (email, internet, blogs). I got to talk to fellow Democrats about college football (which is never, ever wasted time). And, in the end, I get to broadcast this out onto the internet for everyone to see.

Go read the rest...

The Democractic Reunion: New Mexico

Chili's and a new direction are sure to fire up a crowd!

In Roswell, New Mexico:

With just more 100 days until the November election, politicians and supporters alike enjoyed hot dogs, chips and soft drinks while getting to know one another as Chaves County Democrats began voter contact activities with a cookout.

Two very young Democrats baked cookies in the shape of the party’s animal symbol, the donkey, and sold them, raising $18.55 for the party.

Before the candidates and incumbents took the microphone Friday at Cahoon Park, Kristine Trujillo, daughter of County Commissioner and overseas National Guardsmen Michael Trujillo, sang the national anthem.

Cookies for Sale!

DNC-funded Field Organizer, Angela, shares her Reunion Experience:

We held events in New Mexico last weekend. One of which was in Santa Fe County where New Mexico First Lady Barbara Richardson was a happy attendee. We also had a good turn-out in Grant and Taos Counties. There is another event coming up on August 5th, which the Lt. Governor, Diane Denish, will attend. Chaves County has been my biggest success.

An earlier event, for Democrats from Socorro and Valencia Counties, was rained out, so I called county party members and then drove to their homes (the ones which weren’t in flooded areas) delivered door hangers and spent about half an hour with each volunteer explaining the importance of reaching 100 voters in the next 100 days.

In Roosevelt County the local Party Chairman hosted a BBQ and distributed about 500 door hangers. Members of the Curry County party were also in attendance, which was a great way to bring the two groups together. The two counties plan on joining forces in the next few months and The Democratic Reunion was only the beginning!

Tuesday Evening Open Thread

Republican's-R-Liars-Hypocrites-&-Crooks

• Frist is in hot water again. Americablog explains.
• Markos tips me off to this stunt by the Indiana GOP
• Oh, please! This is ridiculous. Up there with "the dog ate my homework!"
• Ethics, anyone?

It's a Family Thing

In Lee County, Mississippi, The Democratic Reunion was a family affair. One Mom desribed how her whole family pitched in to make the event a success and how her daughter is growing up "blue":

It was a typical sticky Mississippi afternoon, but we enjoyed an area with lots of shade and a cooling southern breeze. My husband set up the sound system and from a flatbed trailer adorned with antique quilts and American flags we listened to bluegrass music like its never been played before.

My daughter, 11, volunteered her time and talent doing face painting. She went to Boston to the Convention with me in 2004 and sang on stage with 49 other kids. The experiences she had there continue to motivate her She's a natural Democrat, a true activist, wants to be governor, and has already served two terms on Student Council at school!

Pulling this event together took effort from so many people. I can't wait to do another one so we can get together again!

The Dixie Chicks Were Only The Beginning

Music Row Democrats are making some beautiful noise:

Country music, as it turns out, is not 100 percent Republican.

With radio stations across the nation boycotting their music and outraged commentators predicting walkouts at their concerts, the Chicks were made to seem like very lonely liberals in the love-it-or-leave-it world of country. In hindsight, however, the group set off a political bombshell of an altogether different sort: They blew open the door for a remarkable number of closeted Music Row Democrats.

In fact, that's the name of a high-powered Nashville advocacy group that sprang up in the wake of the controversy. The blackballing of the Dixie Chicks was a prime motivation in the founding of the left-leaning political action committee, says co-founder Bob Titley, a prominent talent manager (Brooks and Dunn, Kathy Mattea) and a confirmed Democrat. "There was a failure in our community to step up to their defense," he says.

The Music Row Democrats now claim more than 1,300 members, including key Nashville executives, songwriters and artists such as Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell. "The organization grew spectacularly fast," says country music historian Robert K. Oermann, a founding member. "People were hiding in corners, afraid to come out. Now the community is more mobilized."

Bobby Braddock sees the connection between country music and The Democratic Party:

Country music is the music of everyday people. Why would we NOT belong to the party that sympathizes with the underdog? Country music is the music about families and mommas and babies. Why would we NOT belong to the party that cares about health care for seniors and children? Why would people in the music of wide open spaces and green green grass NOT be in the party that wants to protect God's green earth from the polluting global-warming big shots that the Bush administration loves and defers to?

Mobilized and in sync with the 50-State Strategy, according to a recent DailyKos Diary:

Earlier this summer we met with Howard Dean to discuss coordinating with his 50 state strategy. He believes strongly that the South is essential to restoring the Democratic party to the majority. Some believe we should abandon the South and pool our resources in safety zones. This is both bad for the Democrats, and bad for the country.

It is also a failed strategy.

So we have launched a new campaign, a new community blog and a new fundraising drive so we can run ads in the South this season.

Check out their website and blog!

Cuba Question?

Lots of questions are being asked over what is happening in Cuba as Fidel Castro relinquished power for the first time in decades because of illness.

From CNN.com:

Fidel Castro has temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul due to intestinal surgery, Cuban television reported, the first time the communist leader has ceded control of the island nation in 47 years.

Castro's secretary, Carlos Valenciaga, read a letter Monday night that he said was from the president announcing the news. In it, the Cuban leader said that stress had forced him into surgery and that he would be in bed for several weeks after the operation.

Castro, who has led Cuba since the 1959 revolution, turns 80 on August 13.

Raul Castro, 75, is the first vice president of the country and designated successor to his brother. He also assumes control over the armed forces and leadership of the Communist Party, according to the statement.

The news sparked celebration across the Straits of Florida in Miami, home to Cuban-American exiles for more than four decades since Fidel Castro's rise to power.

Speculation over an end to Castro's Rule has many Cuban-Americans cheering:

South Florida's Cuban-American community of about 800,000 is the largest segment of the state's fast-growing Hispanic community and its influence is felt across Florida. Cheering crowds waving Cuban flags celebrated the news of Castro's illness late Monday and into early Tuesday.

...

"This is a celebration of people of hope returning to their home country, something that is 40-something years in the making," said Joe Martinez, chairman of Miami-Dade County commissioners, who was born in Cuba.

FL-Sen: With Friends Like These

Who needs a Democratic opponent?

It looks like the FL GOP has thrown Katherine Harris under the bus. In a letter sent to her campaign, FL GOPpers wrote:

Dear Katherine,

...Katherine, though it causes us much anguish, we have determined that your campaign faces irreparable damage...We feel that we have no other choice but to revoke our support...

...Additionally, while we have marveled at your fundraising prowess in the past, this campaign has not seen the same success. Combined with a tenuous relationship with the media, turmoil within your campaign, and a lack of support nationally, we feel that these obstacles, in the aggregate, will prove to be insurmountable...

...The polls tell us that no matter how you run this race, you will not be successful in beating Bill Nelson, who would otherwise be a vulnerable incumbent if forced to face a stronger candidate...

In typical Katherine-go-lightly reponse, she said:

"I am in the race to stay. I will win the primary. We're excited, we have great momentum and we'll win the general as well."

Will the FDA Finally Stop Putting Politics ahead of American Women?

That's the question on everyone's mind after the FDA suddenly announced they would resume consideration of Plan B this week.

From The San Francisco Chronicle:

Plan B has come to symbolize what many critics of the Bush administration say is a wide pattern of politics trumping science.

An FDA advisory committee -- whose advice the agency virtually always accepts -- recommended approval of over-the-counter sales of the drug for women of any age more than two years ago.

Dozens of professional societies, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, also came out in favor of nonprescription sales, saying there is no evidence backing conservatives' claims that easier access to the drug would lead to an increase in promiscuity.

Yet in an apparent break from its tradition of hewing strictly to science, which a recent Government Accountability Office report termed "unusual," the agency repeatedly refused to approve the switch.

So what could be prompting their change of heart? It looks like someone needs to be confirmed...

The letter from acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach to Duramed Research Inc. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., came just one day before von Eschenbach's Senate confirmation hearing, scheduled for this morning.

The timing led many of the drug's supporters, including several members of Congress, to discount the FDA's announcement as a political ploy timed to defuse what was widely anticipated to be a difficult interrogation of von Eschenbach.

The timing "is not a coincidence," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., who, with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has promised to block a vote on von Eschenbach's confirmation until the FDA makes a decision on Plan B.

For three years American women have waited for the FDA to move on this issue. The same Administration that caved to the extreme religious right-wing of the Republican Party and denied millions the hope that federally funded stem-cell research could provide, has refused to follow the advice of it's own agency and denied women access to this drug, in another act of putting their politics before sound policy.

In the meantime, American women will continue to wait.

This is what a Rubber-stamp Republican Congress Gets You

Talking Points Memo has a copy of a report by Congressman Conyers, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, entitled "Constitution in Crisis" and calling for real checks and balances instead of a Rubber-stamp Republican Congress.

From the report:

[Correction]: The Committee will release a new very detailed and extensive report on Thursday. The above is from the final version of an earlier report of Presidential rule-breaking.

Kansas Primary Day

It's Primary Election Day today in Kansas. And, once again, the Kansas Democratic Party will open the primary to unaffiliated voters. Democrats in Kansas have been more and more successful bridging the red/blue divide with a common sense approach to government that is working for the people of Kansas and growing the Kansas Democratic Party.

KDP Chair Larry Gates:

I believe that allowing unaffiliated voters to join Democrats as we choose our candidates will strengthen our candidates and continue our long tradition of inclusion as a Party. I feel this decision is consistent with the long-time reputation of Democrats as the Party of inclusion, welcoming opportunities to involve potential new members in the Democratic process.

While the Republican Party becomes more polarized, Kansas Democrats continue to provide independent, commonsense candidates. As Kansans have more opportunity to choose, we believe they will look to the Democratic Party for leaders who will work to find solutions to the issues of education, health care, jobs and safe neighborhoods.

Kansas Democrats have become a real force in what most have considered a completely "red" state. Governor Sebelius is leading that charge - putting progress ahead of partisanship, and the best interests of the people of Kansas ahead of anything else.

If you are in Kansas, go vote!

Need a ride to the polls? Call the Democratic Party at 316-262-7534.

No End in Sight...

A bloody day yesterday in Iraq, as more died:

From Reuter's:

A boy, about 12 years old, stood in the street sobbing and tearing his shirt after seeing his dead mother.

"My mother, my mother, my mother," he screamed, as people held him back from reaching her corpse.

Yesterday Democrats called for phased redeployment of U.S. forces before the end of the year, to transform the U.S. mission, and to launch a real diplomatic and reconstruction effort to help stabilize Iraq.

"Staying the course" clearly isn't working:

"We should carry guns to protect ourselves. If we expect Iraqi security forces to protect us we will burn, just like those innocent people," said kiosk owner Abu Fadhil, surveying charred bodies.

"The government is useless. Only days ago we suffered from a huge blast here. The interior minister has to admit they lost the war against the terrorists."

"Stay the Course" is not a solution, it's not a strategy and it's not acceptable. In following the same course of action the President has completely failed us. He sent our troops to war without the equipment they needed, based on false pretenses. He ignored evidence and cherry-picked facts to suit his purpose.

What is our plan to succeed in Iraq and at what point can our troops begin to return home? These are the questions the American people have been asking and the questions the President has no answer to.

Will the President ever admit that? Will Republicans in Congress hold the President and his Administration accountable for the mess they have made?

Don't Be Fooled by the So-Called Minimum Wage Bill

What House Republicans forced through the Congress after midnight last Friday is really a tremendous tax-break for the richest of the rich.

Today, the Washington Post calls the GOP on their actions and lays out the reasons why the Senate should reject this horrendous legislation:

Unrelenting in their zeal to cut taxes for the richest Americans and unabashed about employing the most cynical of maneuvers to achieve this goal, House Republicans left town this past weekend for their five-week August recess -- after shipping over to the Senate a noxious package that combines an increase in the minimum wage with an outrageous near-repeal of the estate tax and an extension of expiring tax breaks. The House GOP win-win political calculation here is obvious: Marrying a tax break for the rich with a wage hike for the poor dares senators in an election year to cast a vote against increasing the minimum wage. That, combined with some extra goodies, might be enough to get the estate tax cut over the 60-vote Senate hurdle that has so far, fortunately, blocked congressional action. If not, Republican leaders wager, they've at least given nervous House members cover to assert (however insincerely) that they backed a minimum wage increase, only to be stymied by Democrats.

But this is a bad bargain -- unaffordable, unnecessary and, as usual, dishonestly presented. Senators shouldn't be snookered, or intimidated, into going along with it.

...

The estate tax cut is being peddled as a less-expensive version of one already passed by the House and rebuffed by the Senate. Senators: Don't buy the new model. It's just a gimmick-laden version of the old one. Backers of the cut, which would raise the size of estates free from any tax to $10 million per couple and lower the tax rate on estates under $25 million to the capital gains rate, now 15 percent, argue that it would cost a mere -- mere ! -- $268 billion between 2007 and 2016, $15 billion less than the previous incarnation.

This is misleading on numerous levels. Because the cuts wouldn't actually kick in until 2010, that 10-year estimate is deceptively low, under either the old or new versions. The cost over the long term would be far greater: at least three-quarters of the cost of eliminating the estate tax entirely. From 2012 through 2021, according to estimates by the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the new House measure would cost $599 billion, or $753 billion if the cost of extra interest payments on the national debt was factored in. And that's a low-ball estimate, because the new measure employs the now-familiar gimmick of phasing in cuts to make costs appear lower; the full effect of the change wouldn't be felt until 2015.

Oh, and did we mention how this bill will actually cut the wages of some minimum wage works? Nathan Newman explains that part over at DailyKos.

Democrats have tried to bring a real minimum wage bill to the floor over and over, only to be rebuffed by House Republican leaders. If Republicans in Congress were truly concerned about raising the wages of millions of American workers they would bring that bill to the floor for a clean up or down vote, and not use millions of Americans as political cover for November's elections.

The Greatest Generation vs. Big Drug Companies

Who do you think deserves to benefit?

This is what happens when you let Republicans pass a bill that caters to big drug companies instead of America's seniors.

Columbia resident Mary Ann Anderson, 81, was caught by surprise even though she had carefully reviewed the plans. She knew she had to choose wisely given the long list of medications she is taking after having double bypass surgery in December.

"It was a huge success," she said of the operation. "But not having the drugs could kill me."

This month, Anderson went to the store to pick up three refills. With her coverage, the bill had been about $125 a month. Suddenly, it had more than doubled.

"You hit the limit," the pharmacist told her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, bewildered.

She quickly learned. She also learned that the $14,952 she nets from Social Security annually made her ineligible for many assistance programs, including those offered by pharmaceutical companies. She spent five days on the phone trying to find alternatives, taking detailed notes of each conversation. She contacted elected officials, federal and state, and Howard County's Office on Aging. She asked her cardiologist for samples.

Anderson is managing for the moment, thanks in part to two drug vouchers her doctor supplied and a discount card she obtained through the county. Yet she worries. Unless she can switch to a plan without a gap -- and afford its higher premiums -- she'll face the same math all over again Jan. 1.

"I'm just one of many," she said.

Campaign for America's Future has the facts:

• Nearly 7 million Americans will fall into the doughnut hole this year.
• Seniors hit with a coverage gap like the doughnut hole are 22% more likely to die than seniors who aren't forced to pay the sort of out-of-pocket expenses required by Part D.
• More than half of the seniors who fall into the doughnut hole each year will never get out, since they cannot afford the expenses necessary to resume their benefits.
• The doughnut hole will increase Medicare's costs by causing additional emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
• Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices would save enough money to eliminate the doughnut hole entirely with no extra cost to the taxpayer.

That last one is really the most egregious to me. Medicare is not allowed to negotiate with drug companies under this bill - it's illegal. That's right - while big companies like Walmart can get a deal on perscription drugs, the government can't.

Democrats have a "Perscription for Change", which calls for Medicare to negociate for lower prices and:

• Affordability: Reduce the cost of prescription drugs;
• Simplicity: Allow individuals to choose a plan administered directly through Medicare; and
• Reliability: Provide uninterrupted access to prescription drugs.

More information on how huge of a give-away this is to Republican special interests, here.

Tuesday Open Thread

There are 99 days to take action before Election Day!

Plus, the President gets a check-up today. News at 11. Why is this such a story every time it happens?

Feel free to discuss that and anything else on your mind.

This is an open thread.