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February 28, 2007

From the Home Office....

John McCain is missing votes on the implementation of the 9/11 Commission's findings to appear on David Letterman tonight. In honor of his appearance, we present....

The Top 10 Reasons John McCain Doesn't Really Want to be President

• 10. Harder to sleep during the State of the Union if you're at the podium.
• 9. Won't get to miss votes that are politically inconvenient.
• 8. Harder to keep Jerry Falwell on his side while aiding in "satan's attempt" to curb global warming.
• 7. His plan for Iraq was already implemented...by Bush.
• 6. Couldn't blame Iraq war failures on Rumsfeld anymore
• 5. Would have to turn his back on campaign finance reform he championed. (Oh wait, he already did.)
• 4. Would have to duck calls from Charles Keating for pardons.
• 3. Would hate to lash out angrily at White House correspondents dinner.
• 2. Enjoying his new job as Mayor of Crazy Base Land.

And the #1 Reason John McCain Doesn't Really Want to Be President:

• 1. It would be too tough to turn around the Double Talk Express in the White House driveway.

This Is What Oversight Looks Like

This morning The Army Times reported that patients at Walter Reed were being ordered not to speak to the media. There's more:

A report today that soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are being told not to speak with the press is apparently just the latest move in a recent effort to tighten restrictions on journalists' access to many military facilities, according to the president of Military Reporters and Editors.

James Crawley, a military reporter with MediaGeneral and MRE president, said today's revelation by Army Times that Walter Reed patients had been barred from speaking with reporters is not the first case of tightened restrictions. In recent months, he says several MRE members have reported similar crackdowns. What's worse, many of the denials are apparently in reaction to the potential negativity of a planned story.

"It is starting to look like it is becoming a policy in some areas where they are not allowing reporters on the base unless it is an absolutely positively good news story," said Crawley. "The military is making it harder and harder to do stories on bases, as far as doing man on the street interviews."

This may have been acceptable in the past, to just clamp down on stories when the news doesn't seem cheery enough for the Administration, but it's not going to fly with a Democratic Congress that takes seriously its oversight responsibilities. In fact, Speaker Pelosi's office is already reported on field hearings scheduled to address the issue of Walter Reed.

In addition, Congresswoman Slaughter blasted back at reports that the Pentagon was trying to silence its critics:

"Last Friday, Secretary of Defense Gates publicly stated that the situation at Walter Reed was, in his words, unacceptable," Rep. Slaughter said. "The accountability he seemed to embrace was demanded by common decency and welcomed by the public."

"The only acceptable course of action for our military and civilian leaders to take is to fully and openly address any and all concerns regarding veterans' facilities nation-wide," Congresswoman Slaughter continued. "Any attempt to silence the very soldiers who brought their own mistreatment to light, or to hide ongoing abuses from the public eye - if such attempts are occurring - would be morally reprehensible. It would be an abdication of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of our government: the protection of those who have fought to protect us."

"Secretary Gates should act on the same principals of accountability and responsibility he so recently advocated and address these reports immediately. As a nation, we need to be honest about the care our veterans are receiving. Their enormous sacrifice demands nothing less."

Amen.

Service Members Ask Congress to End Iraq War

Via NYT:

In a small but growing sign of dissent, a group of active-duty military personnel and reservists, including many who have served in Iraq, is denouncing the war and asking Congress for the prompt withdrawal of troops.

The service members, who number more than 1,600, have sent an Appeal for Redress to their Congressional representatives, a form of protest permitted by military rules. Most of those who signed the appeal, at www.appealforredress.org, are enlisted soldiers in the Army, from the lowest to the highest ranks.

“There is a sense of betrayal,” said Specialist Linsay Burnett, 26, who recently returned from Iraq with the First Brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. The division is readying for its third deployment.

“These soldiers stand up to fight, to protect their country, but we are now on the fifth reason as to why it is we are in Iraq,” added Specialist Burnett, who has served as a public affairs specialist and as a military journalist focusing primarily on the infantry. “How many reasons are we going to come up with for keeping us over there?”

The Appeal for Redress reads: “As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.”

The protest, which was started in October by two active-duty service members and is sponsored by three antiwar groups, initially drew 65 signatures, growing to more than 1,300 by February. This week, after the CBS News program “60 Minutes” reported on the appeal, about 300 more active-duty soldiers joined the campaign, said Petty Officer Third Class Jonathan Hutto of the Navy, a co-founder of the group behind the appeal.

While the 1,600 make up a tiny part of the armed services, the appeal is one of the first official signs of protest from people within the military. An estimated 70 percent of those who have signed it are on active duty; the rest are members of the Reserves or the National Guard, and about 100 officers have signed it.

(emphasis added)

CBS News reported on the Appeal last Sunday's edition of 60 Minutes. (watch the video.) Lara Logan, (whose report on the "Battle for Haifa Street" made news when she sent an e-mail to colleagues asking them to help get the report on the air instead of just on the web, saying "“not too gruesome to air, but rather too important to ignore") interviews a number of men and women who have signed the appeal. These are courageous men and women, not just because of their extraordinary service to our nation, but also because they have dared to speak out when few in their position would.

Oddball

What's stranger - being quoted anonymously as a "Senior Administration Official" and then talking about yourself in the third person or being quoted anonymously as a "Senior Administration Official" and than talking about yourself in the first person?

Why do I ask, you ask? Check out Chicago Tribune reporter, Mark Silva's blogging. He got the honor of following around the Vice President on his week-long international excursion, and it definitely wasn't an episode of The West Wing.

Congress Honors Governor Ann Richards

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a resolution in honor of the late Governor of Texas, Mrs. Ann Richards. The bill was introduced by Rep. Solomon Ortiz to recognize Governor Richards, "extraordinary contributions to Texas and American public life.":

"Growing up as a son of migrant workers in segregated South Texas, I was painfully aware of the power dynamic in place that placed those of privilege high above the working poor.

Ann Richards sought to turn that tide. During her service as Governor of Texas, she appointed more females and minorities than any other governor by far. It was Ann's spunk and her dedication to the people of our beloved state-all the people-that earned her the love and admiration of millions of Americans."

You can read the full text of the resolution, here.

A Linky Thread

• Kagro X kindly offers the NRCC some advice on what to do with the thousands of dollars they took from the guy who was also giving loads of money to terrorists!
• Wow. More Than 1 in 4 U.S. Women Aged 14-59 is infected with HPV, an STD and the virus that causes cervical cancer..
• Over at MyDD, a helpful Iowan offers up a great diary on how the Iowa Caucuses work. It's part of a series, so keep your eyes peeled for more.
• UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has an op-ed in the Washington Post on the Darfur crisis.
• Governor Dean e-mailed you today about the importance of The Employee Free Choice Act, learn more about it from the good folks over at the AFL-CIO Blog.

This is an open thread...

Changes at Walter Reed

When The Washington Post unveiled a multi-part investigative report into the disturbing conditions at Walter Reed, the premiere medical post for the U.S. Army, it caused a flurry of activity as calls for change echoed on throughout Washington.

Yet, I don't think this is exactly what most people had in mind:

Walter Reed patients told to keep quiet

Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit say they have been told they will wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m., and that they must not speak to the media.

“Some soldiers believe this is a form of punishment for the trouble soldiers caused by talking to the media,” one Medical Hold Unit soldier said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

It is unusual for soldiers to have daily inspections after Basic Training.

Soldiers say their sergeant major gathered troops at 6 p.m. Monday to tell them they must follow their chain of command when asking for help with their medical evaluation paperwork, or when they spot mold, mice or other problems in their quarters.

Read the full article from The Army Times.

Smooth Talking Mitt - The PowerPoint!

This week, the leak of a secret PowerPoint presentation outlining Mitt Romney's strategy for smooth talking the voters into ignoring his real record sent shockwaves through Camp Romney. Since PowerPoint presentations are all the rage at the Romney headquarters, we thought we'd show you the real smooth talking Mitt slide show.

(Click on the presentation to advance)
To download the entire PowerPoint presentation (with nifty animation included!) click here.

DAILY FLIPPER ... INAUGURAL EDITION

TOP HEADLINE: Romney Advisor Castellanos Loses Track of His PowerPoint

Former Jesse Helms advisor summarizes Romney strategy: “"You need that job and are the best qualified, but they want to give it to the French." (Then insults *others* intelligence…)
[In case you don’t get that joke … link ]

John McCain condemns religious attacks on Romney, then has his surrogates do his dirty work.

Days before presidential candidate John McCain visits Utah, his campaign says the Arizona senator condemns any attack against his opponent, Mitt Romney, over his Mormon faith.

South Carolina state Rep. Gloria Haskins, who backs McCain, has raised concerns about the Mormon faith in media interviews. And The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., reported last month that the McCain camp once circulated comments from evangelical leader James Dobson questioning any presidential candidate who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And in September, Cyndi Mosteller, the GOP chairwoman of Charleston County, S.C., and a member of McCain's steering committee in 2000, "bombarded" Romney with questions about blacks and polygamy after a party meeting, according to a report in the National Review. The LDS Church did not allow black men to hold its priesthood until 1978.

Keep reading "DAILY FLIPPER ... INAUGURAL EDITION"

Rev. Otis Moss Speaks at a Black History Month Event

Yesterday, Dr. Rev. Otis Moss, III spoke in Washington, DC in honor of Black History Month. The event, a joint production of the Democratic National Committee's American Majority Partnership and Faith In Action team was entitled "Engaging a New Generation of Prophetic Leadership." It was a truly a remarkable speech that discussed the intergenerational dynamics of political activism within the Black Church Community. Reverend Moss spoke with great passion about the challenges facing the faith community in the years ahead as politics and time change circumstances. You can watch the video below, about 50 minutes in its entirety, and completely engaging.


Flash Player 8 is required to view this presentation. You can download it here.

Beyond Yellow Ribbons

USA Today:

Rushed by President Bush's decision to reinforce Baghdad with thousands more U.S. troops, two Army combat brigades are skipping their usual session at the Army's premier training range in California and instead are making final preparations at their home bases.

Some in Congress and others outside the Army are beginning to question the switch, which is not widely known. They wonder whether it means the Army is cutting corners in preparing soldiers for combat, since they are forgoing training in a desert setting that was designed specially to prepare them for the challenges of Iraq.

Army officials say the two brigades will be as ready as any others that deploy to Iraq, even though they will not have the benefit of training in counterinsurgency tactics at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., which has been outfitted to simulate conditions in Iraq for units that are heading there on year-long tours...

...A spokesman for the brigade, Lt. Col. Randy Martin, said the soldiers lose nothing by the switch, while shaving about two weeks off their pre-deployment training schedule.

"It's realistic training," he said. "I don't think that anyone would say readiness is affected" negatively. He noted that another brigade from his division underwent similar home-station training before it deployed in January.

What I find hard to believe, and it seems others do as well, is that anyone believes what Lt. Col. Martin is saying could possibly be true. It's not as if the army is known for its whimsical decision making. Surely training in the Georgia mountains instead of the California desert is going to put those soldiers at a disadvantage? I don't believe the Iraq landscape is dotted with live oaks - I'm pretty sure it's lots of sand, a blistering hot sun and vicious wind storms, which would mean that training at Ft. Stewart is radically different than training at Ft. Irwin, and that the Army likely had a reason why they wanted to simulate conditions before sending soldiers to Iraq.

Republicans love to parade their "support the troops" rhetoric, but I'm reminded of something my 5th grade teacher would often quote, "Your actions speak so loudly I can't hear what you say." Sending soldiers into battle without the training and equipment they need is not "supporting the troops".

The President's poor planning (and I hesitate to even characterize it as such, since it implies he actually had a plan), is to blame for this. Using handpicked facts and an overly optimistic scenario (, the President failed to plan ahead for success in Iraq and our soldiers are the ones who are paying the price for his mistakes. Representatives Murtha and Obey have issued a report in which they detail the state of troop readiness, and the facts are clear - our military is stretched way too thin by this war of choice, and the men and women who serve so honorably are being asked to shoulder the burden of the President's failures.

Rep. Murtha and Obey:

As we have come to expect, the U.S. Army is imbued with a “whatever-it-takes” spirit of commitment and hard work; it has been given a mission and it will complete that mission. Yet, it is becoming increasingly apparent that that level of commitment has not been met by the civilian officials charged with overseeing and assuring the well-being of our military. The mere fact that roughly one-half of the entire U.S. Army is reported to be at the lowest level of military readiness speaks volumes in this regard. Perhaps most troubling to many of the Army’s senior uniformed leaders is the lack of national attention to the Army’s plight. To suggest that the Global War on Terror will last for years, yet fail to even acknowledge – let alone take steps to address – the Army’s readiness, equipment, and personnel shortfalls, is viewed as short-sighted at best. At worst, the future security and deterrent power of the United States is dangerously at risk.

Yesterday Tony Snow was asked about reports on the state of the military, which:

...confirmed the decline in overall military readiness. And a report that accompanied Pace's review concluded that while the Pentagon is working to improve its warfighting abilities, it "may take several years to reduce risk to acceptable levels."

Tony tried to wiggle his way out of the question by not accepting the premise that our troop readiness levels were in jeopardy (despite the cold hard facts, as presented by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to the contrary), but he ended up making my point:

Do you send any forces into battle that are not fully ready? And the answer is no.

Wednesday Open Thread

Good Morning, Democrats! What's happening in your world?

February 27, 2007

In Progress - Senate Hearing on Iraq Funding

Right now the Senate Appropriations Committee is holding a hearing on $93.4 billion in supplemental funding that Bush has requested for Iraq and Afghanistan. The webcast of the hearing, while it is still going on, can be viewed here. Front and center is $100 billion President Bush requested to escalate the war in Iraq

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, testifying in front of the committee, is actually attempting to claim the escalation of the war is consistent with the Iraq Study Group. Yet as we all know, the bipartisan commission headed by Bush family adviser James Baker recommended that we begin to withdraw combat troops -- "a central recommendation Bush apparently has chosen to ignore."

Also appearing in front of the committee today is Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and General Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Senator Byrd, chairman of the committee, said it best in his opening remarks: "Congress is not a rubber stamp." He continued, also stating that "Congress cannot continue to fund failing policies and failing strategies... Under the president's plan, there is no end, I say, no end in sight."

Women's Health Takes a Retaliatory Hit from Bush Politics

For over two years, women's health advocates fought to get emergency contraception available over-the-counter so that women would have access to the drug outside of business hours, in, say, an emergency. The Bush Administration and its foot soldiers in the Food and Drug Administration fought this tooth and nail. Shenanigans occurred for two full years. And, I must add, this pill is ineffective if someone is pregnant. It's not an abortion pill, it's contraception.

Eventually, the FDA succumbed to overwhelming public opinion and allowed the pill available OTC for women age 18 and over. Case closed?

Nope. Now the Bush Administration has stealthily cut the budget for women's health at the FDA for the rest of the entire year. What??? Yeah, that's right: retaliation, Bush style.

WashPost: That office, which was at the center of a politically damaging storm over the emergency contraceptive "Plan B," just had more than one-quarter of this year's $4 million operating budget quietly removed, insiders say.

The office funds research on male-female biological differences to ensure that women receive the most appropriate drug doses and treatments. It also produces heavily requested health information about menopause, pregnancy, birth control, osteoporosis and other topics.

The administration had requested -- and Congress had budgeted -- $4 million for the office in fiscal 2007, just as they have for several years running.

Last week, however, word came down that the FDA intends to withhold $1.2 million of that, apparently for use elsewhere in the agency. Because the remaining $2.8 million has already been spent or allocated for salaries and started projects, the office must effectively halt further operations for the rest of the year, according to a high-level agency official with knowledge of the budget plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official is not authorized to speak publicly.

The worst part is that this may be the first step in a plan to eliminate the Office of Women's Health from the FDA altogether. Read the article. Unbelievable.

Digg It

A few notes on some changes you've probably already noticed...

1. Today we added a "Digg This" link across the site. Digg is sort of like a democratically controlled news site (small "d"), where users vote on -- or digg -- things they like. By clicking the link, you can directly submit content from our site to Digg to put it up for digging. Don't have an account? You can get one here.

2. You'll notice that our names now link to our PartyBuilder profiles. Not really a big deal, but we hope to eventually roll this out for you as well.

3. You've probably noticed Mike Gehrke's name popping up around here in the last week or so. Mike is our new research director (and a former research director, for that matter). He's the guy who is responsible most for dealing with the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, and we've handed him the keys to Kicking Ass for all things related to 2008 Republican research. We're working pretty closely with our research team and you'll notice that more and more as we get deeper into the race.

That's all for now. Tracy is out today, so sorry for the low-volume.

Cali Asians Show the Country What's Up

About three years ago, I had a conversation in San Francisco with a high school friend and some of his friends from college. All except me were Asian American, and all of us were very into politics. Our conversation centered around how to get more California Asian Americans into voting, given that the Asian American and Pacific Islander population in California was extremely large.

We agreed on the basics -- with no common second language, it was hard to create materials in languages other than English and expect to reach the majority of the group. Asian Americans had very diverse views on the issues of the day, and there wasn't really a key issue that would turn out Asian Americans to vote. There weren't well-known groups that organized Asian Americans around political issues. And finally, most Asian American voters were Democrat, we all agreed, without even knowing that the Democratic Party was the party that welcomed the first Asian American and Pacific Islander Presidential Cabinet member, the first AAPI governor on the mainland, and the first AAPI member of Congress.

Well, since that time, our party organized the largest AAPI voter mobilization effort in the history of the United States in 2004, as well as an AAPI pilot project targeting key districts in 2006.

And it's having an effect, according to the New York Times:

California's 4.4 million Asians constitute the state's second-largest ethnic minority group (after Latinos) and the largest Asian population in the country, but they have been underrepresented in elected office. Now they are moving beyond fund-raising, where they have long been a force, to elect representatives of their own.

Last year for the first time, Asian candidates across the state were supported by a major political action committee, the Asian American Small Business P.A.C. In addition, the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, a coalition of Democratic legislators of Asian ancestry, helped organize crews of bilingual volunteers to knock on doors and make sure Asian voters made it to the polls.

Go California. And GO BRUINS!!!

Democrats Call Out RNC's Silence on "Catch An Illegal Immigrant"

In an attempt to stun the country with its offensiveness, the Republican National Committee brushed off calls this week to put a halt to the College Republicans' "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" events across the country.

Just now, the Democratic National Committee delivered a letter to RNC Chairman Mel Martinez decrying the game. Our pictures from the delivery are below.

A key paragraph from a letter DNC Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Hispanic Caucus Chair Ramona Martinez sent to Martinez:

Mr. Chairman, we know that as an immigrant, you have a particularly personal understanding of what it means to come to a new country in search of a better life, by choice or otherwise. When you took the Chairmanship of the RNC you said there was no "question that the tone of the immigration debate was wrong" and that you expected to "be a voice...not an attack dog." Your voice is needed today. The RNC can and should speak out on this issue, but above all proactively engage the College Republicans to stop and prevent these vile activities that do nothing to create a constructive dialogue. Lastly, we call on you to join Democrats in our commitment to achieving the type of comprehensive immigration reform that's consistent with America's best traditions.

The New York Times reports the story:

College students from Michigan to Florida have found a new way to get attention, offend others and make a right-wing statement all at once. It's a game with a name that says it all: "Catch the Illegal Immigrant."

The game is a variation on hide and seek: one player poses as the immigrant, and everyone else tries to find that person. There's a prize, usually $200 or less, which is not much, but enough to celebrate the cheap exploitation of a fellow human.

"Catch the Immigrant" is the brainchild of an intern with the College Republican National Committee, who lost her post after coming up with this and other campus recruitment gimmicks. Another game, called "Fun With Guns," invited young Republicans to fire BB guns or paint balls at cardboard cutouts of Democratic leaders. Republican Party leaders have tried to distance themselves from the games, but seem to have done little to stop them.

Seriously uncool.

Tom DeLay: For earmarks before he was against them, before he was for them?

In today’s Politico, former Republican House Majority Leader/ethics violator extraordinaire Tom DeLay pens an interesting column entitled: The Power of the Purse: Banning Earmarks is Not the Right Reform. The column takes the reader through the winding road of Tom DeLay’s position on earmarks, in which he concludes, well, it’s not really clear.

DeLay begins the article, “Earmarks are a bigger and smaller problem than people make them out to be.” He goes on to say that earmarks that those really big earmarks are bad, “The ones that cost hundreds of millions of dollars are worse than the ones that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars; but they're all bad just the same.” He must have been a math major.

There’s something distinctly ironic about the man of the billon dollar earmark arguing that mere million dollar earmarks are “undeniably bad.” DeLay also notes that Republicans will have to closely monitor the earmarks that Democrats attempt to insert into legislation, given that they know control both houses of Congress. Perhaps he has forgotten that under Republican control, Congress increased earmarks more than 850% in one decade. [Washington Post, 1/26/06] No, don’t worry, he touches on this, but blames it on the political atmosphere created by the Clinton administration. “Earmarks grew so much in the 1990s because of divided government. The Republican Congress was given a mandate to fund certain priorities -- missile defense, for instance -- that the Clinton administration had no intention of following.”

The most interesting thing about this article is that it does nothing; it puts forth no policy proposals, no theories, and comes to conclusions. Just a collection of random rantings from the former beloved leader of the ethics circus.

Tuesday Open Thread

How's your morning?

February 26, 2007

A MEMO FOR MITT

This weekend, a polling memo from Romney campaign strategist Alex Gage seeking to lower expectations was "leaked" to the media. With Romney not getting much traction with the voters, DNC Research Director, Mike Gehrke, has prepared his own memo to help out Mr. Smooth Talking Mitt Romney and give him some much-needed insight into his polling problems. The memo is below. Consider it "leaked".

TO: ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT LEADERSHIP

FROM: MIKE GEHRKE, DNC RESEARCH

DATE: FEBRUARY 26, 2007

RE: GOV. ROMNEY IN THE POLLS

At first I thought that you might all be very upset that your internal strategy memorandum “leaked.” But after reading it carefully, I realized that it must be a careful strategic misdirection. Gov. Romney’s standing in the polls among Republicans may have edged up as his identification goes from zero to slightly above that, but his standing among the rest of Americans is bound to drop as they see him abandon mainstream positions under the pressure of political ambition.

People who want to be President normally wouldn’t run AGAINST the well-established mainstream opinions of American voters – especially where it meant repeatedly changing positions from right to wrong in the eyes of most of the voters. If Gov. Romney had not been taking that exact approach, most observers would be left to conclude that your memo was a cruel hoax.

Take for example Gov. Romney’s position on stem cell research. Fifty-six percent of Americans favor government funding of embryonic stem cell research. [Associated Press, 1/3/2006] So, apparently, did Gov. Romney until he began running for President. Running for Governor in 2002, Romney backed embryonic stem cell research and said that he would lobby the president to embrace it. [Boston Globe, 2/11/2007] But last week, running for President, Romney told a gathering in Utah that he opposed embryonic stem cell research.[KSL-TV, 2/21/2007]

More bad news is ahead for Romney when it comes to Social Security. Even though the Bush Administration’s efforts to enact Social Security cuts and privatization have been roundly rejected, here is what Romney said prior to his speech to the Detroit Economic Club:

He is weighing a cut in the top individual tax rate from the current 35 percent; a reduction in the corporate income tax; and deep cuts in automatic-benefit programs such as Medicare and Social Security.[Bloomberg, 2/7/2007]

So our first preview of the Romney economic plan is big tax cuts for the wealthy and deep cuts in Medicare and Social Security for everybody else. A real strategist probably doesn’t need a poll to tell you that deep cuts to Social Security are a bad idea, but here’s one anyway: A survey released last week by AARP found that efforts to raise the retirement age, change the longevity index, cut benefits for new retirees and implement modified price indexing were opposed by large margins. [Politico, 2/7/2007] In fact, only 2 percent of respondents favored reforms that would solely cut benefits. [Palm Beach Post, 2/22/2007]

The old Mitt Romney, incidentally, stood firmly on the 98-percent side of the issue, promising he would not cut Social Security when he was running for U.S. Senate in 1994.

In other comments yesterday, Romney said he would not cut Social Security to meet his goal of balancing the federal budget. "I don't think you go back and rewrite the contract the government has with people who've retired." [Boston Globe, 10/17/1994]

Finally, there’s the issue of health care, and that’s not good news for the Governor either. Eighty-five percent of Americans regard it an important issue for politicians to address. [Associated Press, 1/22/2007] However, Americans aren’t buying whatever it is Republicans have to offer on the issue. Democrats currently have a stunning 22-point advantage on the issue. And when asked about Gov. Romney specifically, Americans say they don’t trust him to reform the health care system by a two-to-one margin. [Wall Street Journal Online, 2/21/2007 ]

Romney, ironically enough, "has begun to distance himself" from his own health care plan – one he recently called "a conservative victory.”[Boston Globe, 2/3/2007; Business Week, 4/4/2006]

Folks, smooth talk only gets you so far. It is only a matter of time before Republicans – and the rest of America – notice the cynical way that Gov. Romney is changing his positions to square with his personal ambition rather than their best interests. Your pollster might be telling you that is what will work in the Republican primary. It won’t work in November 2008.

When the President Fails to Lead...

Tired of waiting, a handful of Governor's take action into their own hands:

Governors from five Western states agreed Monday to work together to reduce greenhouse gases, saying their region has suffered some of the worst of global warming with recent droughts and bad fire seasons.

The governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington state agreed that they would develop a regional target to lower greenhouse gases and create a program aimed at helping businesses reach the still-undecided goals.

"In the absence of meaningful federal action, it is up to the states to take action to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in this country," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat. "Western states are being particularly hard-hit by the effects of climate change."

The agreement is being called The Western Regional Climate Action Initiative.

More:

During the next 18 months, the governors will devise a market-based program, such as a load-based cap and trade program to reach the target. The five states also have agreed to participate in a multi-state registry to track and manage greenhouse gas emissions in their region.

As Al Gore said last night when An Inconvenient Truth won the Oscar for Best Documentary, we have the tools we need to confront the climate crisis, we just need the will to act. If the President can't or won't find will, other won't wait. A group of eastern states has already entered into a similar arrangement.

"A Political Purge"

The New York Times chimes in on the U.S. Attorney purge:

Three theories are emerging for why these well-qualified U.S. attorney were fired — all political, and all disturbing.

1. Helping friends. Ms. Lam had already put one powerful Republican congressman in jail and was investigating other powerful politicians. The Justice Department, unpersuasively, claims that it was unhappy about Ms. Lam’s failure to bring more immigration cases. Meanwhile, Ms. Lam has been replaced with an interim prosecutor whose résumé shows almost no criminal law experience, but includes her membership in the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group.

2. Candidate recruitment. U.S. attorney is a position that can make headlines and launch political careers. Congressional Democrats suspect that the Bush administration has been pushing out long-serving U.S. attorneys to replace them with promising Republican lawyers who can then be run for Congress and top state offices.

3. Presidential politics. The Justice Department concedes that Mr. Cummins was doing a good job in Little Rock. An obvious question is whether the administration was more interested in his successor’s skills in opposition political research — let’s not forget that Arkansas has been lucrative fodder for Republicans in the past — in time for the 2008 elections.

The Times also digs up the following factoid:

The Congressional Research Service has confirmed how unprecedented these firings are. It found that of 486 U.S. attorneys confirmed since 1981, perhaps no more than three were forced out in similar ways — three in 25 years, compared with seven in recent months.

Read the full article, here.

Trust

Americans trust congressional Democrats over Bush to handle the situation in Iraq by a margin of 54 percent to 34 percent.
- The Washington Post, Feb. 22 and 25, (MoE +/-3)

Monday Open Thread

Let's chat...

February 25, 2007

Oscar Sunday Open Thread

Who's your favorite Oscar nom? More importantly, who will Al Gore be wearing?

February 24, 2007

Saturday Open Thread

We're open for Saturday business...

February 23, 2007

John McCain Voted Against Walter Reed Vets

Recently, an investigation by the Washington Post found deteriorating conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, including a “dilapidated” and roach-infested outpatient facility, and complaints that “a nightmarish bureaucracy has left wounded veterans in need.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the conditions “unacceptable” and called for an immediate investigation. [ABC News, 2/23/2007]

2008 Presidential contender Senator John McCain, one of the most outspoken supporters of Bush’s plan to send more American troops to Iraq, was equally outspoken about Walter Reed. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McCain repeated harsh criticism of Donald Rumsfeld and told Georgia Legislators that "the fruits of Rumsfeld's policy were on display at Walter Reed military hospital in Washington... It's well chronicled that the war was mismanaged" [Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2/22/2007]

Why then, did McCain vote last year against providing more money for military and veterans hospitals? In February 2006, McCain voted against a Senate amendment that would have provided for at least $19 billion for these facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthiest earners. [Senate Roll Call Vote 7, 2/2/06].

Another example of John McCain caring more about jumping on the bandwagon than the tune hes been carrying all along.

For the Vice President

For our Vice President...

con·sen·sus [kuhn-sen-suhs] –noun, plural -sus·es

1. majority of opinion: The consensus of the group was that they should meet twice a month.
2. general agreement or concord; harmony.

So, even though you "aren't a scientist", you should know that when you make statements this this...

JONATHAN KARL: Where is the science on this? Is global warming a fact? And is it human activity that is causing global warming?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Those are the two key questions. I think there’s an emerging consensus that we do have global warming. You can look at the data on that, and I think clearly we’re in a period of warming. Where there does not appear to be a consensus, where it begins to break down, is the extent to which that’s part of a normal cycle versus the extent to which it’s caused by man, greenhouse gases, et cetera.

...You are just plain wrong. Ask a scientist, like those at the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change):

In its most recent assessment, IPCC states unequivocally that the consensus of scientific opinion is that Earth's climate is being affected by human activities: "Human activities ... are modifying the concentration of atmospheric constituents ... that absorb or scatter radiant energy. ... [M]ost of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations" [p. 21 in (4)].

And others agree, including the National Academy of Sciences Report, The American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Politicians, economists, journalists, and others may have the impression of confusion, disagreement, or discord among climate scientists, but that impression is incorrect.

Any questions?

Pelosi Walks the Walks

So says the Philadelphia Inquirer:

In her first month as House speaker, Nancy Pelosi is demonstrating the spine and skill that prove she is no female lummox of the left.

Sorry, GOP, she's not just another nothingburger Dennis Hastert in a skirt.

Based on her performance, she is much smarter than her undistinguished Republican predecessor, who was little more than a superficially amiable front-man for the narrow-minded right-wingers who really ran the party.

She is more collegial, focused on getting serious things done. And heaven knows, she has far more in the way of personality, energy and collegial instincts to keep her diverse caucus moving...

Not only has she kept the Democratic Caucus moving, but she's kept the House moving. The first 100 Hours delivered on 6 smart campaign promises that Democrats made to the American people.

Speaker Pelosi then moved on to tackle the Iraq issue, giving the American people a chance to see every Member of the House speak their piece before voting on the legislation that expressed the House's support for our troops and opposition to the President's proposed escalation.

In addition, she has been working to reform the way the House does business - with a series commitment to the fact that it is indeed, "The People's House" - ethics reform was just the beginning. Now her office has moved on to aggressively pursue making the process of governing open, honest and transparent via the Open House Project.

It's very impressive, and just another reason I'm proud to see Nancy Pelosi in the Speaker's chair.

As the Inquirer said:

It takes a tough politician to be a great speaker, and so far she's got the goods. Hastert never came close.

For more from Speaker Pelosi, check out her site and her new blog, The Gavel.

Senate Democrats Move On Iraq

Via AP:

Determined to challenge President Bush, Senate Democrats are drafting legislation to limit the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq, effectively revoking the broad authority Congress granted in 2002, officials said Thursday.

While these officials said the precise wording of the measure remains unsettled, one draft would restrict American troops in Iraq to combating al-Qaida, training Iraqi army and police forces, maintaining Iraq’s territorial integrity and otherwise proceeding with the withdrawal of combat forces.

The officials, Democratic aides and others familiar with private discussions, spoke only on condition of anonymity, saying rank-and-file senators had not yet been briefed on the effort. They added, though, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to present the proposal to fellow Democrats early next week for their consideration.

The plan is to attempt to add the measure to anti-terrorism legislation that scheduled to be on the Senate floor next week and the week following.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid, declined to discuss the deliberations, saying only, ”No final decisions have been made on how to proceed.”

Any attempt to limit Bush’s powers as commander in chief would likely face strong opposition from Republican allies of the administration in the Senate and could also face a veto threat.

The decision to try to limit the military mission marks the next move in what Reid and other Senate war critics have said will be a multistep effort to force a change in Bush’s strategy and eventually force an end to U.S. participation in the nearly four-year-old war.

Read the full article, here.

TGIF Open Thread

Let's have some fun today...

• A friend sent me this, which reminded me that I found Planet of the Apes very disturbing.
• This Sunday, the wait is over!
• My favorite non-political blog? The Grey's Writers Blog. Simply fantastic. And the fact that last night's episode was penned by one of my favorite Buffy alums. Even better.

And with those fun tidbits, dive on in. The water is fine...

February 22, 2007

Answer: Nothing

Hotline's Blog asks:

Overlooked: What's The Matter With NC?

NC is the only southern state which holds its GOV elections during presidential election years. This would presumably be a boost for most GOP GOV nominees, yet NC hasn't elected one since '88, while every other southern state has had a GOP governor at some point over the past 6 years.

As it happens, Democrats in NC are rockin' the 50-State Strategy! Way to go North Carolina! Keep up the good work!

Watch It!: The 2007 DNC Winter Meeting Video

The 2007 Democratic Winter Meeting brought together Democrats from all across America and featured presentations from the Democratic Presidential contenders on their ideas for America's future. Check out our video recap!

Also available via YouTube.

Pelosi: Cheney's Latest Attack is Beneath the Office of the Vice President

Earlier this month, it was the President who said:

"I welcome debate in a time of war and I hope you know that."

Well, it seems that Dick Cheney didn't get that memo. Yesterday he attacked Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Murtha and the Members of Congress who have voted against the President's plan to escalate the war.

Via ABC:

"I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we'll do is validate the al Qaeda strategy," Cheney told ABC News.

In a news conference later in the day, Pelosi said:

"You cannot say as the president of the United States, 'I welcome disagreement in a time of war,' and then have the vice president of the United States go out of the country and mischaracterize a position of the speaker of the House and in a manner that says that person ... is acting against the national security of our country,'' Pelosi said in a news conference at the San Francisco Labor Council offices.

Speaker Pelosi later released a statement:

Vice President Cheney continues to question the patriotism of those of us in Congress who challenge the Bush Administration's misguided policies in Iraq, but his latest attack is beneath the office of the Vice President, especially at a time of war.

Mischaracterizations by the Vice President will not dissuade Congress from developing, on a bipartisan basis, a responsible new direction for U.S. policy in Iraq that brings our troops home safely and soon. I hope the President will repudiate and distance himself from the Vice President's remarks.

Today, when asked if the Vice President was out of line the White House responded:

Absolutely not.

It would seem the President has no intention to follow through on his previous calls for bipartisanship and debate. What a surprise.

Congressman Tim Ryan gave a great speech during the Iraq debate that seems appropriate to reference right now. Check out the video and you'll see what I mean.

Open Thread

Come on in, the water is fine...

February 21, 2007

Live from Carson City...

The AFSCME Democratic candidates’ forum is just wrapping up. While the Republicans spent the day squabbling and dumping dirt, the Democratic candidates addressed problems facing the country like health care, workers rights and the war in Iraq. The forum confirmed that Democrats have fielded a strong team ready to take on Republicans in 2008, and more importantly ready to lead.

Republicans are missing Nevada and they're missing out. They keep running to the right, flip-flopping and trimming their records, while Democrats broaden their base and campaign aggressively throughout the country.

You’ll be able to watch the forum online on ABCNews Now or CSPAN. In the meantime, you could also watch what the other side has been up to:

Recently for example:

• The New Smooth Talking Mitt Romney has been working to “evolve” his position on abortion, but continues to be dogged by the positions of the Old Smooth Talking Mitt Romney … like this video from his 2002 Gubernatorial campaign...
• John McCain was caught trying to explain why he supported Dick Cheney before he opposed Dick Cheney. Or maybe it was the other way around. In McCain’s eyes, Cheney went from “the most capable, experienced, intelligent and steady vice presidents this country has ever had.” In July 2004 to badly serving the president in January 2007. Dick Cheney says that McCain’s apologized though… “John said some nasty things about me the other day and then next time he saw me ran over to me and apologized.”
• And meanwhile, with Health Care becoming the dominant domestic issue, Americans showed that they have practically no confidence in Republicans to deal with that issue. A Wall Street Journal Poll showed that Americans favor Democrats over Republicans on the issue by a 22 point margin -- 50-28.

Michael Gehrke is in Carson City, Nevada for the Democratic Presidential Forum, he is the DNC's Director of Research and is currently coordinating the Democratic Victory 2008 Project.

Governor Dean: The Bush Administration is Still Out of Touch On Iraq

Today British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that Great Britain will begin to redeploy its troops out of Iraq - a major blow to the Bush White House as it faces mounting criticism to its plan to escalate the Iraq War.

The White House is trying to spin this as good news. Today Vice President Cheney called the decision an "affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well." But the American people disagree. According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 24 percent of Americans approve of how Bush is handling the war.

Governor Dean:

"Today's announcement is a clear setback for an Administration that is just simply out of step with our allies who are clearly moving in a very different direction in Iraq," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "After ignoring the lessons of history, the American people, military leaders and bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate, they are now trying to ignore the question as to why thousands of additional troops are being sent to Iraq at the same time that our allies are planning to leave. More troops should not be sent to police a civil war in Iraq, and they certainly shouldn't be sent without the proper lifesaving equipment and training. Like our allies, the Bush White House needs to acknowledge the facts on the ground and provide for a new direction in Iraq."

Democrats on TV

C-Span has live coverage of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Forum that is taking place today in Nevada. Tune in.

Feel free to use this as an open thread to talk about Forum specific stuff...

On Walter Reed

This weekend, The Washington Post blew the whistle on the "Other Walter Reed" - the one that you don't see when the President is in need of a photo op - the one where soldiers are left to fend for themselves under piles of paperwork, where they are housed in rooms contaminated with mold, mice and roaches, where their families are left out in the cold, without guidance or assistance from the military bureaucracy that has been overwhelmed and understaffed.

It was a shockingly sad report on the conditions that our soldiers face when they return home, especially given the huge sacrifices they have made while serving.

Many members of Congress have commented on the reports of neglect at the post, but it was Congresswoman Slaughter'sand Congressman Murtha's words that seemed to most closely echo my own sentiments.

Louise Slaughter:

"Supporting our troops begins with giving them a mission that makes sense and that doesn't needlessly jeopardize their lives," the Congresswoman continued. "It ends with an unconditional commitment to men and women who have made sacrifices few of us can fully appreciate. If this Administration is going to order soldiers into battle, then it has no right to stand on the sidelines when they come home. We need a serious evaluation of the care being given to our veterans, and must immediately address holes and gaps in a system that can't afford either."

"Critics of the President's escalation of the war are told that they can't both support the troops and oppose their mission," Rep. Slaughter added. "I think that you can't support the troops if you send them into battle without proper armor, or deny them critical medical care and counseling after they are injured. That is the definition of hypocrisy, and our wounded soldiers are paying the price."

Congressman Murtha (via The Gavel):

“It is a disservice to those who have bravely sacrificed and it is a dishonor to their brave service to expose them to these conditions,” Murtha said. “Those who are responsible must be held accountable and immediate rectification must be aggressively pursued.”...

“We owe our men and women in uniform a debt of gratitude and the best care possible. They have more than held up their end and have sacrificed so much. Our government must hold up its end. The troops deserve to know that if they come home wounded that they will get the care and the best possible facilities that they deserve.”

Today, the Washington Post reports on developments at the Walter Reed:

Walter Reed Army Medical Center began repairs yesterday on Building 18, a former hotel that is used to house outpatients recuperating from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan and that has been plagued with mold, leaky plumbing and a broken elevator.

The facility's commander, Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman, said Army staff members inspected each of the 54 rooms at the building and discovered that outstanding repair orders for half the rooms had not been completed. He said that mold removal had begun on several rooms and that holes in ceilings, stained carpets and leaking faucets were being fixed...

...Walter Reed and Army officials have been "meeting continuously for three days" since the articles began appearing, Weightman said. A large roundtable meeting with Army and Defense Department officials will take place at the Pentagon early this morning to continue talks about improvements in the outpatient system, he added.

Weightman said the medical center has received an outpouring of concern about conditions and procedures since the articles appeared and has taken steps to improve what soldiers and their families describe as a messy battlefield of bureaucratic problems and mistreatment.

"We're starting to attack how we'll fix and mitigate" some of the problems, he said.

Social workers will now be stationed around the clock at Mologne House, the 200-room hotel on the post where many of the outpatients live. Plans are being developed to better train other staff members who deal with outpatient needs.

The Gavel, also has new information from the House Armed Services Committee Chairman, Congressman Ike Skelton.

Mitt Romney's Extreme Makeover

The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus looks back at Mitt Romney's positions on some hot-button issues circa 2002.

It was also hard to see how a man with deeply held convictions on abortion rights -- either for or against -- could take a position so calibrated and inconclusive. Listening to Romney that day was like watching a chameleon in the fleeting moment that its color changes to suit its environment.

It would seem that his multiple positions and political posturing is the one thing that has been consistent over the years.

Update: I had forgotten about this WaPo column from the weekend, which has an even better title, "The Talented Mr. Romney".

Wednesday Open Thread

More on Britain's Iraq news:

In sharp contrast to the American troop buildup in Baghdad, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced today that Britain will withdraw up to 1,600 of its roughly 7,100 British troops in southern Iraq in the next few months.

What is on your mind? This is an open thread...

February 20, 2007

Evening Open Thread

• Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to the BBC, is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq.

• Helen Thomas is losing her front-row seat after 46 years. Thomas: "I've had a good run in the front seat."

• In an effort to fight global warming, Australia plans to phase out incandescent bulbs.

• White House Spokesman Tony Snow says President Bush was "aware of the conditions in the wards" at Walter Reed.

Use this as an open thread.

Pulling the Rug Out

The Democratic Policy Committee put out a new report showing the failure of the president to address issues important to the African American community. It all amounts to paying lip service by touting a desire to reach out while distracting from their actual shoddy record.

Among the findings:

The Black community, however, experienced higher rates of uninsurance, at 7.2 million, or 19.6 percent. [...] Even in the face of this reality, President Bush proposed cuts to vital health care programs that benefit low-income African American families, including children and seniors.

The President's budget proposal fails to adequately fund critical programs that provide educational opportunities for African American students. [...] The President's budget would cut Department of Education discretionary funding by $2.3 billion, or 3.9 percent.

The Bush budget would reduce funding for housing programs that assist African Americans in need.

The Bush budget would cut funding for employment and job training programs that benefit hardworking African Americans.

The Bush budget eliminates key funding for African American small businesses. [...] Supporting these businesses is not only vital to the success of the African American community, it is vital to the success of our nation.

Democratic National Committee Spokesperson Amaya Smith said it best in a statement today, pointing out that "President Bush and Republicans keep touting their desire to reach out to African Americans. Yet, whenever they get the chance they are pulling the rug out from under African American families. The President's misguided and misplaced budget priorities are no different and just offer more of the same."

Getting Well

There appears to be more good news for Senator Tim Johnson. His office announced this afternoon that he has been discharged from the George Washington University Hospital, where he has been recovering after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

Dr. Philip Marion, the hospital's chief of rehabilitation, said in a statement released by Johnson's office that the senator has made "great progress" and a final test showed no evidence the tangled arteries that triggered the senator's hemorrhage remain.

He will continue recovering at a private rehabilitation facility, and we wish him the best. He continues working hard for the people of South Dakota. He has continued to keep working, reading memos and as the New York Times noted, co-sponsoring "a drought assistance bill."

Oh Really?

Newt Gingrich spent his Sunday with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, claiming that debate in the House and Senate over the Iraq resolution was "crippling" the president, "weakening for America," and "systematically undermining American foreign policy."

He then began telling fantastic tales of make-believe like: "I consistently was supportive of what the president was doing in Bosnia and elsewhere."

But that doesn't square with the facts.

The truth is that Newt Gingrich proposed -- and voted for -- a non-binding resolution of his own rejecting President Clinton's Bosnia policy of "about 20,000 U.S. troops" being deployed. So not only does his hypocrisy on the issue know no bounds, but now he wants to cover it up and pretend it didn't happen?

Newt Gingrich distorting his record and trying to have it both ways? I'm shocked!!!

Afternoon Open Thread

What are you reading this afternoon?

Mitt Romney Hides Record On TV

Mitt Romney repeatedly stumbled out of the gate in his attempt to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Beyond the seemingly never-ending flip-flops, there was the leak of an email from the Romney campaign seeking donors to provide corporate jets.

As our press release at the time noted, the leak was "surely an unwanted reminder of the scandal that followed Romney's decision to fly with Pfizer execs and lobbyists on the drug company's private jet when he was considering major health care proposals as governor of Massachusetts."

But now he's on television in select markets in MI, FL, IA, NH and SC stating that he believes "the American people are overtaxed and the government is overfed."

How does that match up with his record?

TAX: The state and local tax burden increased 5.1 percent during Romney's Administration.

TAX: Romney signed a measure allowing a hike in local commercial property taxes; property taxes rose to highest level in 25 years.

TAX: National Conference of State Legislatures: "Massachusetts Imposed More Fee Hikes Than any Other State in the Nation."

FED: Romney's health insurance plan "is a Frankenstein's monster of tax penalties, expanded government-insurance programs and unfunded mandates."

The ad also claims that he "turned around a Democratic state." Maybe he can explain why the Boston Globe cites Romney's "inability to lower the nation's highest unemployment insurance rate, to secure merit pay for teachers, and to reinvigorate the Republican Party." No wonder he left office with a disapproval rating hovering around 60 percent.

UPDATE: From TPM's Election Central: "Romney's campaign spokesman is refusing to detail the size and scope of the ad buy."

February 19, 2007

Open Thread

What's on your mind?

Chat away...

February 17, 2007

Weekend Open Thread

Senate Republicans cowardly blocked debate on the Iraq war again today. Talk about that and whatever else strikes your fancy...

This is an open thread.

February 16, 2007

Remaking the Justice Department: U.S. Prosecutor Edition

A few months ago we wrote about the disturbing trend in the Justice Department's Civil Rights division where career attorneys with strong backgrounds in civil rights law were being passed over in favor of attorneys who have less experience, but more conservative credentials.

Well it seems the Justice Department is at it again, engaged in "an effort to make room for rising political favorites of the Bush administration and to be rid of independent-minded prosecutors, all of whom had been appointed by President Bush."

A United States attorney in Arkansas who was dismissed from his job last year by the Justice Department was ousted after Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, intervened on behalf of the man who replaced him, according to Congressional aides briefed on the matter.

Ms. Miers, the aides said, phoned an aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales suggesting the appointment of J. Timothy Griffin, a former military and civilian prosecutor who was a political director for the Republican National Committee and a deputy to Karl Rove, the White House political adviser.

Later, the incumbent United States attorney, H. E. Cummins III, was removed without explanation and replaced on an interim basis by Mr. Griffin. Officials at the White House and Justice Department declined to comment on Ms. Miers’s role in the matter.

Paul J. McNulty, the deputy attorney general, said at a hearing last week that Mr. Cummins had done nothing wrong but was removed to make room for Mr. Griffin.

All in all there are at least 7 dismissals that are troubling. For instance:

Another United States attorney asked to resign was Carol C. Lam of San Diego, who departed on Thursday at the request of the Justice Department. Two days earlier, Ms. Lam announced two indictments, including one against a former high-ranking Central Intelligence Agency official, in a corruption inquiry that began with last year’s guilty plea by a former Republican representative, Randy Cunningham, who was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.

Yesterday, TPM Muckracker reported on activity in the Senate, where the Justice Department's actions have been scrutinized since becoming public:

Democrats had sought to push through a bill today that would restore the law on U.S. Attorneys back to its earlier form, before a change was slipped into the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act last year. That change effectively allowed the administration to permanently appoint U.S. Attorneys without Senate confirmation. The bill would set a 120 day deadline to those appointments, when a federal judge would appoint a permanent replacement if the president hadn't nominated one for the Senate to confirm -- which is the way the law was for twenty years before last year's change.

Senator Feinstein offered, "a prolonged tribute to U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, the prosecutor who sent Duke Cunningham to prison, and indicted the former #3 at the CIA on Tuesday...Her last day is today."

In her speech, Senator Feinstein recounted Lam's impressive record and expressed her distress at such a fine prosecutor being "fired without cause".

The Justice department briefed the Senators on the situation, but the Senators are not satisfied with what they have heard.

Senator Schumer:

“Yesterday’s briefing by the deputy attorney general did little to alleviate our concerns that politics was involved and, in fact, raised those concerns,” Mr. Schumer said. “Some may have been fired for political reasons because they may have not done what Justice Department wanted them to do.”

Senator Leahy:

In our hearing last week, Paul McNulty, the second in command at the Department of Justice, testified that Mr. Cummins’ dismissal was not related to how well he did his job. In fact, Mr. McNulty said he had no “performance problems,” but was removed merely to give an opportunity to Mr. Griffin, a person whom he admitted was not the “best person possible” for the job and who is reported to have been involved in an effort during the 2004 election to challenge voting by primarily African-American voters serving in the Armed Forces overseas. This was not a vacancy created by necessity or emergency. This was a vacancy created by choice to advance a political crony.

Senator Feinstein:

With the record I just pointed out, nothing that was said yesterday justifies asking this U.S. attorney to leave without cause -- nothing. That is why this is an issue. I believe their intent was to bring in people from the outside to give some of their bright young people an opportunity. This might not be wrong, if they weren’t also attempting to avoid confirmation. Without confirmation, the Department of Justice could bring in political operatives or anybody else. That is wrong.

I expect this story will continue to develop. The Bush administration has clearly forgotten what oversight is like, and the Democratic members of the United States Congress are going to have no trouble reminding them.

House Rejects Bush's Troop Escalation

The House has passed the non-binding resolution opposing the troop escalation in Iraq by a vote of 246-182. The resolution was essentially a vote of no confidence in the Bush Administration's policy in Iraq.

Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

The Senate is expected to vote on a similar resolution over the weekend.

Quick Hits

• The 50-State Strategy: New Jersey Special Election Edition.
• A Mom takes yesterday's New York Times editorial and makes it personal over at DailyKos.
• Jeffrey Feldman bravely attempts to apply rational thought to the President's speech to the American Enterprise Institution as he deconstructs the President's attempts at applying the principle of horror vacui to Iraq.
• House Democrats introduce a new Katrina Recovery Bill.
• Is Newt running? And if so, what's he waiting for?
• I know Republicans generally like to avoid scientific fact, since it gets in their way so often, but this is just beyond ridiculous.
• "Instead of a troop surge, what we need is a truth surge..." Rep. Bernie Thompson during the Iraq floor debate.
• Senator Kennedy is stepping up to make sure college is affordable for every American student who wants to seek higher education with his introduction of the Student Aid Reward (STAR) Act.

New Members Speak Out

Over at The Gavel you can see clips of our new Democratic Members of Congress speaking out against the escalation on the House floor. It's a beautiful thing.

There is also a set of clips from Democratic veterans, including Congressman Patrick Murphy, who is both a new Member of Congress and a veteran of operation Iraqi Freedom.

TGIF Open Thread

Talk about what's on your mind...

February 15, 2007

Late Afternoon Linky Thread

Also on the radar this afternoon:

• Wondering where the administration got the idea that they would be greeted with open hearts and bouquets of flowers? Maybe it was the prewar slide show that gave the administration their rose-colored glasses?
• It's not just the war in Iraq where McCain believes in following failed courses of action and not listening to the evidence. He also supports abstinence-only education, even though these programs have not been shown to protect adolescents from sexually transmitted diseases; in addition, youth who pledge abstinence are significantly less likely to make informed choices about precautions when they do have sex.
• When this story breaks, global warming doubters will seize on it as more proof that climate change is a hoax.
• Bonus from Iraq Floor Debate: Watching House Republicans like Virgil Goode show the entire nation just how ignorant they are.
• Conflict of interest much? Senior justice official buys a home with oil company lobbyist, shortly after ruling in the oil company's favor on a case that involved hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• DCCC announces their list of "Frontline" Democrats, more proof that there is no such thing as an "off-year".

This is an open thread...

Reid: Senate Will Vote on Iraq

Reid:

“For nearly four years, the Republican-controlled Senate stood silent on the President's flawed Iraq policies and watched as the situation deteriorated into a civil war. The American people have chosen to change course. Democrats have chosen to change course. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans have chosen obstruction. Almost every Republican who expressed concern about the escalation chose to block the Senate from debating the issues.

“Today, Democrats offered Republicans another chance for compromise, suggesting the Senate debate one resolution in favor of escalation and one resolution opposed to escalation. Once again, Senate Republicans refused.

“Democrats are determined to give our troops and the American people the debate they deserve, so the Senate will have another Iraq vote this Saturday. We will move for a clear up or down vote on the House resolution which simply calls on Congress to support the troops and opposes the escalation.

“Those Republicans who have expressed their concern over the Senate’s failure to debate the war in Iraq will have another opportunity to let their actions speak louder than their words.”

The Washington Post has more.

Empty GOP Threats and an Overdue Spending Bill

The Republican-dominated Congress failed to fulfill their obligations last year by putting off approving a spending bill funding nearly half the federal government. Senate Democrats, however, passed the spending plan today despite the GOP threatening to block the bill.

Despite the empty threats, the bill passed 81-15. The Washington Post cited the failure of the Republican Congress to approve the appropriation bills:

Congressional Democrats blame Republicans for leaving them a fiscal mess from last year, when Congress approved just two of the 11 appropriations bills and forced them to craft an omnibus bill that would fund a large chunk of the government for the remainder of fiscal 2007.

"Today's action is another step towards cleaning up the fiscal mess left by the 109th Congress," said Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

So it appears there will be no "showdown." This is a victory not only for the Senate Democrats who stood up to Republican empty threats, but also for the American people. Here's more information from the Washington Post about the bill that passed in the Senate:

The spending plan would maintain funding for most federal agencies at their 2006 level, but it would add billions of dollars in funding for Democratic priorities such as veterans' health care and Pell grants for higher education.

The additional funding for Pell grants would mean an increase of $260 per year, up to $4,310, for students, according to congressional estimates. The National Institutes of Health will have an additional 500 research grants to administer because of almost $620 million in increased funding.

The Republicans were wise not to block the bill and shut down the government because of their own failure to resolve this in the 109th Congress.

Culture of Corruption, Hangover Edition

I bet you thought that the corruption files had been closed. After all, we did get rid of the do-nothing rubberstamp Republican Congress. Well, it would seem these things linger, like a hangover, and are still around the next day.

Take Nevada Governor, Republican Jim Gibbons:

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons accepted unreported gifts or payments from a company that was awarded secret military contracts when Mr. Gibbons served in Congress.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether any gifts or payments violated federal contracting rules or were offered in exchange for official acts by Mr. Gibbons, people briefed on the investigation said. Mr. Gibbons, a Republican, represented Nevada for five terms in Congress, where he served on the House Intelligence and Armed Services committees, and was sworn in as governor last month.

The close ties between the congressman and the contractor, Warren Trepp, were disclosed in a Nov. 1 Wall Street Journal article, which revealed that Mr. Gibbons accepted private jet flights and a Caribbean cruise from the software-company owner. Mr. Gibbons says accepting the cruise and flight didn’t violate House ethics rules.

New evidence has emerged that includes emails to Mr. Trepp — the majority owner of eTreppid Technologies LLC and the former chief trader for convicted junk-bond dealer Michael Milken — discussing a payment or gift to then-Rep. Gibbons. They also show Mr. Gibbons repeatedly using his congressional office to help the firm seek classified military and civilian contracts.

The emails show that since at least 2003, Mr. Trepp maintained close ties to Mr. Gibbons, who helped eTreppid get no-bid software contracts from the Air Force, U.S. Special Operations Command and Central Intelligence Agency. Messrs. Trepp and Gibbons have denied any wrongdoing, and no charges have been filed; indeed, such investigations sometimes end without official action.

On March 22, 2005, days before Mr. Trepp and his wife embarked on the Caribbean cruise with the congressman and his family, Jalé Trepp sent a reminder to her husband. “Please don’t forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn,” referring to Mr. and Mrs. Gibbons. Minutes later, Mr. Trepp responds, “Don’t you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!” Mr. Gibbons failed to disclose the cruise and travel on Mr. Trepp’s leased private jet, as required by House ethics rules. He later asked the House Ethics Committee for an exemption, but left office before any action was taken.

(Emphasis added)

This is the second major story the Wall Street Journal has published raising questions about whether Gov. Gibbons used his position in Congress to help a contributor secure contracts.

Gibbons has been in office just less than two months, but already he has embarrassed the state with a bizarre midnight swearing-in, little understanding of his own budget, a baffling energy program and an investigation into whether his top campaign advisor tried to pressure a woman into dropping assault charges against Gibbons. The string of gaffes has earned him the nickname among some bloggers as "the nation's worst governor."

There is some good news in the story, if not for Jim Gibbons, at least for the American people:

The FBI declined to comment on the investigation, which appears to be in a preliminary stage. The bureau has stepped up its pursuit of public-corruption cases, and says it now has about 620 agents working on federal, state and local cases, compared with 260 in 2002.

As we said post-election 2006, RIP Culture of Corruption.

Watching the Privacy Watchdog

In keeping with the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, some lawmakers in Washington seek to make the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board more independent from the president. According to the Washington Post, the House version would "remove the board from the Executive Office of the President but keep it within the executive branch and give it subpoena power."

As the commission's vice chairman, Lee H. Hamilton, said yesterday: "We felt that you had to have a voice within the executive branch that reached across all of the departments of government with strong powers to protect our civil liberties."

But the five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is resisting proposals that would dramatically change its composition and powers. The battle is another sign of the changed political landscape, with the Democratic-controlled Congress pushing for stronger oversight of the Bush administration's counterterrorism programs.

The board, which took office in March 2006, made news in December when they held their first public meeting, where they "refused to answer any questions from the press, and stonewalled privacy advocates and academics on key questions about domestic spying."

Wired News:

Raul acknowledged in a roundabout way that the [warrantless wiretapping] data existed, but said it was too sensitive to release. Graves then asked if the board had pushed to have that data made public, as the Justice Department is required to do with typical spy wiretaps.

Raul declined to say. "It is important for us to retain confidentiality on what recommendations we have and haven't made," he said.

"Congress put us in the office of the president, we didn't," Davis said. "Had Congress wanted us to be an incensement agency, it would have made us independent."

So now there is a push from the Congress to make the body more independent from the president. Because the Bush administration has frequently misled the American people on privacy issues, such as the domestic spying program collecting information on law-abiding citizens, some are looking to this board to serve as a watchdog.

CDA: There's Something Happening Here

Wondering what College Dems are up to? Well you don't have to wonder for much longer. First, College Democrats have recently debuted their very own YouTube channel - CDA TV. Check out CDA President Lauren Wolfe in the latest installment where she talks about the College Democrats organization and what it's like to be President of the organization.

Then check out their blog, Smart Ass, where Lauren blogged about the College Dems experience at the DNC Winter Meeting, where in addition to attending the meeting, College Dems held their national Leadership Summit:

The College Democrats had their strongest showing ever at the DNC's Winter Meeting last weekend. Over 300 students had the opportunity to hear from all the Democratic presidential candidates and student leaders were given extensive training on how to build a better state federation. CDA unveiled its plan for a new website, we launched our new fundraising program, and we were able to highlight our New Media Team. College Dems were able to contribute to the DNC Caucus Meetings, cheer in the general session and take part in exciting events throughout DC!

Also at the meeting, CDA Communications Director, Ethan Porter, sat down with Matt Stoller of MyDD and chatted about about the organization's latest steps. Matt observed:

College students have turned Democratic quite strongly, and college Democrats are beginning to capture this group. Porter is saying that there is a national field plan for college Democrats, but also that chapters themselves create field plans unique to their localities. Bard College, in Gillibrand's district, increased turnout on their campus by 100%. In UConn, students increased turnout substantially in Joe Courtney's district, a district that Courtney won by 67 votes. Joe Sestak found help from college students, as did candidates all over the map in 2006. The compelling new piece of information here though is that college Democrats themselves are planning and executing field programs...

...Dean himself is creating a more open and respected place for college Democrats at the DNC. There are for instance 450 DNC members here, and 200 college Democrats with space reserved for them. Dean is also pushing money to college field plans, so that students have what they need to execute.

It's exciting to see the work that is happening to mobilize college voters and to engage them in the political process, not just in blue states, not just in an election year, but every year and in every state. Lauren told me that her goal is to see a CDA chapter on every campus in America that is active and organized. It's a great goal and one that is completely possible.

If you want more info on College Democrats, check out their website at http://www.collegedems.com.

Employee Free Choice Act Clears House Committee

Just last week the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House of Representatives, and already it has cleared one significant hurdle: the House Education and Labor Committee.

From the AFL-CIO blog:

The House Education and Labor Committee beat back attempts to weaken or kill the Employee Free Choice Act, then voted late Wednesday to send the bill to the full House for a vote in the coming months.

The committee vote was 26-19 in favor of advancing the legislation (H.R. 800), which was introduced Feb. 5 and has the bipartisan support of 233 co-sponsors.

[...]

The most significant of several amendments offered by Republican opponents of the bill would keep workers from forming a union by majority sign-up even when their employer agrees. It would force workers to continue to try to win a voice at work through the flawed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election procedures.

Not surprisingly, the Republican opponents offered up amendments that would gut the Employee Free Choice Act. Another reason to be thankful for a Democratic majority in the House -- committee majorities. Most bills must be voted on by a House committee before a final vote in the full House of Representatives can take place. We expect the final House vote on the Employee Free Choice Act to occur in the next few months. At that time there will surely be more shenanigans by House Republicans.

If It Weren't For Those Pesky Facts...

Over at Talking Points Memo, Greg Sargent covers the GOP's obsession with the "liberal" media. It's actually a really great deconstruction of how those GOPers, who are always bent on the so-called bias against them, think.

A taste:

The problem with the liberal media, according to these two top Republicans, is that it's enabling Americans to understand the consequences of the war. But the media's bias is preventing it from reporting the "consequences" of not doing what the President wants.

And just in case you have any doubt as to any bias in the media, check out Media Matters, which documents the media distortions daily.

Go Figure...

This morning on CBS News during the segment where they were discussing yesterday's press conference (the one that left us with a whole lot of more questions), reporter Bill Plante said:

Mr. Bush seemed irritated at the suggestion that his government was relying on faulty intelligence.

He seemed irritated? At the suggestion that his administration was being questioned about doing something again that they had already done once before?

The nerve of some reporters...

Must Read: Not Supporting Our Troops

Yesterday Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid wrote a letter to the President expressing their concern over his decision to send additional troops to Iraq when the Pentagon is not prepared to provide them with the equipment they need to safely do their jobs.

Today The New York Times chimes in with an editorial entitled, "Not Supporting Our Troops":

How do you explain to the thousands of American troops now being poured into Baghdad that they will have to wait until the summer for the protective armor that could easily mean the difference between life and death?

It’s bad enough that these soldiers are being asked to risk their lives without President Bush demanding that Iraq’s leaders take any political risks that might give the military mission at least an outside chance of success. But according to an article in The Washington Post this week, at least some of the troops will be sent out in Humvees not yet equipped with FRAG Kit 5 armor. That’s an advanced version designed to reduce deaths from roadside bombs, which now account for about 70 percent of United States casualties in Iraq.

The more flexible materials used in the FRAG Kit 5 make it particularly helpful in containing the damage done by the especially deadly weapon the Bush administration is now most concerned about: those explosively formed penetrators that Washington accuses Iran of supplying to Shiite militias for use against American troops.

Older versions of Humvee armor are shattered by these penetrators, showering additional shrapnel in the direction of a Humvee’s occupants. The FRAG Kit 5 helps slow the incoming projectile and contains some of the shrapnel, giving the soldiers a better chance of survival.

Armor upgrades like this have become a feature of the Iraq war, as the Pentagon struggles to keep up with the constantly more powerful weapons and sophisticated tactics of the various militia and insurgent forces attacking American troops. But the Army, the National Guard and the Marine Corps have been caught constantly behind the curve.

Unglamorous and relatively inexpensive staples of ground combat, like armor, have never really captured the imagination and attention of military contractors and Pentagon budget-makers the way that “Top Gun” fighter jets, stealthy warships and “Star Wars” missile interceptors generally do.

The Army says it is now accelerating its production of FRAG Kit 5 armor and handing it out to Baghdad-bound units on a priority basis. But it acknowledges that the armor upgrading project will not be completed until summer. Right now, it’s February, and the new American drive in Baghdad has already begun.

That’s a shame, if not an outright scandal, because up-to-date armor is essential for saving American lives.

Emphasis mine

Until the summer? How many American soldiers will lose their lives between now and then because their unit wasn't high enough on the list of priorities? How many mothers will lose their sons? How many husbands will lose their wives? How many children will have to learn what it means when goes to heaven?

It's simply unacceptable and one more reason why the President's plan for escalation must not be permitted. Today the House continues the debate on the topic. Already at least a dozen Republicans have decided to do the right thing and stand up to the White House. We'll see how many more will follow as more Members take to the floor. If you haven't already, add your name to the petition we've put together to help Republicans find the courage to say no to this dangerous escalation.

Then consider speaking out locally. The Letter to the Editor tool is a handy resource you can make use of to make your voice heard in your community. Just click here to get started.

Thursday Open Thread

Chat away...

February 14, 2007

Speaker's Office Blogs

Just got word that Speaker Pelosi's office has launched its official blog, "The Gavel". Go check it out!

Use this as an open thread...

Today's Presser: More Questions Than Answers

Today, President Bush had an opportunity to set the record straight about the real influence of Iran in Iraq, whether Iraq is in the midst of a civil war, and his White House's involvement in the leaking of a covert CIA agent’s name during a time of war. But, as usual, instead of offering clear answers, the President dodged tough questions and refused to explain contradictions in his Administration’s stances.

Here are just a few examples...

NOW: Bush Can’t Confirm That Assertion; It’s “Prepostorous” To Assume We’re Making Up Evidence.

“We know the Quds force is a part of the Iranian government. We don’t know who picked up the phone and said Quds force, do this … The idea that somehow we're manufacturing the idea that the Iranians are providing IEDs is preposterous, Ed.” [President Bush, Press Conference, 2/14/07]

Even General Pace Downplayed The Assertion:

“Security analysts and critics of the Bush administration are questioning the quality of intelligence presented by three unidentified US officials in Baghdad on Sunday to demonstrate the Iranian government's ties to sophisticated explosives that have killed 170 US soldiers in Iraq. … General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also downplayed accusations against the Iranian government. He told reporters yesterday in Indonesia that although material from Iran had been used in the bombs, ‘That does not translate that the Iranian government per se, for sure, is directly involved in doing this.’” [Boston Globe, 2/14/07]

THEN: Three Days Ago: U.S. Officials Said The “Highest Levels” Of Iranian Leadership Are Arming Militants In Iraq.

“U.S. military officials on Sunday accused the highest levels of the Iranian leadership of arming Shiite militants in Iraq with sophisticated armor-piercing roadside bombs that have killed more than 170 American forces.” [AP, 2/12/07]

NOW: Bush Doesn’t Know Whether Iraq Is In The Midst Of A Civil War Because He’s Living “This Beautiful White House.”

QUESTION: Do you believe it's a civil war, sir?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I can only tell you what people on the ground whose judgment - it is hard for me living in this beautiful white house to give you an assessment, a firsthand assessment. I haven’t been there. You have. I haven’t.” [President Bush, 2/14/07]

THEN: Bush: “I’m The Decider.”:

“I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best.” [President Bush, 4/18/06, www.cnn.com]

NOW: Bush Refused To Talk About The Leak Or A Potential Pardon For Libby, Even After Promising To Fire Anyone Involved.

QUESTION: Sir, we've now learned through sworn testimony that at least three members of your administration other than Scooter Libby leaked Valerie Plame's identity to the media. None of these three is known to be under investigation. Without commenting on the Libby file, could you tell us whether you authorized any of these to --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thanks, Pete. I’m not going to talk about it.

QUESTION: They're not under investigation, though.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Peter, I won't talk about it.

QUESTION: How about a pardon, sir?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm not going to talk about it, Peter. Would you like to think of another question?” [President Bush, 2/14/07]

THEN: September 29, 2003: McClellan Said Leaker Would Be Fired.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan:

"If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration." [White House Press Briefing, 9/29/03]

September 30, 2003: Bush Said That If There Was A Leak In His Administration They Would Be "Taken Care Of.":

President Bush reiterated stern treatment for the culprit, saying, "if there was a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of...And so I welcome the investigation...I have told our administration people in my administration to be fully cooperative. I want to know the truth." [ White House, Bush Travel Pool, 9/30/03]

Employee Free Choice Battle Heats Up

Last week, the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced in the House. The bill would make it less difficult for workers to unionize. Democrats support the legislation, but Republicans don't like it one bit. Why?

MSNBC.com's First Read gives us a big hint:

"Deep-pocketed corporate lobbying groups have joined together to defeat the proposal, today announcing the launch of a new coalition to coordinate their activities...

To counter, the AFL-CIO will be holding over 60 events next week in Congressional districts nationwide to highlight the importance of passing this bill.

For more on why the Employee Free Choice Act is urgently needed in this day and age, read my last post on it.

Dear Mr. President

Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid send a letter:

Dear Mr. President:

As you know, conditions in Iraq continue to deteriorate at a rapid pace. The brunt of the problems in Iraq stem from long-standing sectarian differences, as well as the failure of Iraqi leaders to make the compromises necessary to reach a sustainable political settlement. In such an environment, current and former senior military leaders have concluded that additional military force will not end the civil war in Iraq, it will only inflame it.

That is why we oppose your plan to deepen our military involvement in Iraq with the deployment of more than 20,000 additional troops. We regret that despite the broad bipartisan opposition to your plan in the Congress and in our nation, you have chosen to proceed with this unwise escalation. With this latest troop surge, you have delivered exactly the wrong message to the Iraqi regime, namely that our military commitment is open-ended and there will be few if any consequences for their failure to make progress toward a national political reconciliation.

As Iraqi leaders bicker, the violence in Iraq continues to inflict casualties on our troops at unacceptably high rates. Equally disturbing is the fact that thousands of the new troops you are sending to Iraq as well as those already there will apparently not have the armor and equipment they need to perform the mission and reduce the likelihood of casualties.

According to recent news reports, the Army lacks thousands of advanced armor kits for Humvees that could protect against roadside bombs, the cause of 70% of American casualties in Iraq. In addition, we understand that existing shortages of trucks and other crucial equipment such as jamming devices, radios and other gear will only be exacerbated by the troop surge. Lodging and logistical support is also reportedly in short supply for the newly deployed forces. We hope these reports are wrong, but we suspect they are not.

Mr. President, it is wrong to deploy troops to the Iraqi theater until they have the up-armored Humvees, equipment, lodging, training and other support required to carry out their mission. We hope you will work with us to make sure that they do. Our troops and their families deserve nothing less.

Thank you for your consideration of our views on this important matter.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House

Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader

Note: The linkage is my addition.

The fact that the President is stubbornly insistent on continuing down the same old path in Iraq, without regard to the opinions of experts, military leaders, Congress or the American people is maddening.

In January the DOD released a report noting shortages of "equipment, such as up-armored vehicles, electronic countermeasure devices, crew-served weapons, and communications equipment."

And knowing this, he would still send our troops into a combat theater without the protection they need. It is outrageous. Why would the President insist on sending up to 48,000 troops to Iraq without the equipment they need to safely do their jobs?

Like many Americans, someone very important to me is serving in uniform. He is expecting to be deployed to Iraq shortly. The idea of him, or of any American, being sent to war without the protection and the equipment they need leaves me so angry that I am speechless.

Reid Calls on GOP Senators to Stop Covering for the White House

In a statement today:

“Last week, the Senate Republican Leadership blocked the Senate from beginning a debate on President Bush’s plans to escalate the war in Iraq. This week, the House of Representatives is debating a bipartisan resolution that simply asks Congress to support our troops and oppose the escalation. I applaud the House for confronting this issue in such a straightforward manner. This afternoon, I will begin the process of bringing that same resolution to a vote in the Senate.

“The American people deserve to know where every member of Congress stands on the most important issue facing our country today; and Senate Republicans owe it to the American people to allow that debate to occur.

“Senate Republicans chose to avoid this debate, essentially giving the White House a green light to escalate the war. This next vote will serve as another opportunity for them to weigh in on the President’s flawed policy. Hopefully, this time they will put the concerns and opposition of an overwhelming majority of Americans ahead of providing political cover for the White House.”

One has to wonder what Republicans have against letting their constituents know where they stand on this important issue. It's a simple vote, Congress supports the troops and opposes the President's plan. Yes or No.

If Senate Republicans don't want to stand with the majority of the American people, that's their choice, but they should stop blocking debate on this important issue. It's long past time for a real debate on this deadly war.

Wednesday Open Thread

Happy Valentine's Day!

February 13, 2007

Help Republicans

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

Dear Fellow Democrat,

Today, House Democrats introduced a resolution that, in simple language, represents a vote of no confidence in the Bush Administration's policy in Iraq. This is the first opportunity House Republicans have had to join us and oppose the president's failed policy, and that's sending shockwaves through the White House.

Just like the overwhelming majority of Americans, many Republicans know escalation of the war in Iraq is wrong, and they're willing to break party lines to stop it. As one GOP Congressman from Maryland put it, "my internal soul goes a lot beyond my minuscule political career."

But the Republican leadership is doing everything it can to protect the President's escalation plan by working to get wavering Republicans to tow the party line. That's why we all need to speak up and remind House Republicans where the American people stand -- it's the job of Congress to represent us, and a bipartisan rejection of the White House's plan to escalate our involvement in Iraq will demonstrate just how far this president and the rest of the GOP leadership have drifted from mainstream America.

Remind them by adding your name right now:

http://www.democrats.org/noescalation

This war is no longer what George Bush sold the American people. There are no WMD's in Iraq. Saddam Hussein is dead. Our troops are mired in a deadly, full-blown civil war. And the president couldn't be more out of touch; he wants to escalate our involvement with 21,500 more brave men and women.

The vast majority -- 70% -- of Americans disagree. They demanded a new direction on Iraq in the 2006 elections, and they're demanding that Congress stops this escalation and start ending this war.

The Republican leadership in Congress has put protecting an escalation of the war at the top of their agenda. Senate Republicans refuse to even have a debate about it. For them, it's not about what the American people want -- only what the president thinks he needs. There's one powerful interest silencing Republicans in Congress right now, and it's headquartered at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Add your name now:

http://www.democrats.org/noescalation

For over a decade, the Republican leadership in Congress refused to allow serious debate on important issues, even keeping a muzzle on its members -- and the American people. Here's just a sample of what was ignored, day in and day out:

We have lost enough young people in this war, and we are not winning it with force. The money that we are pouring into Iraq could be educating our young people. They will be the ones that pay for this war.
-- Martha W., CA

President Bush created the mess in Iraq, and al Qaeda was NOT there before we invaded. We keep sending our young men there to be killed but things keep getting worse... We have to find a way for ALL the American people to wake up, see what is happening, and let their voices be heard. -- Donna M., FL

Those are just a couple of the comments we've received from thousands of Americans. What do you have to add?

http://www.democrats.org/noescalation

It's time for Americans everywhere -- no matter the party -- to stand with the Democrats in Congress and oppose escalation in Iraq.

Thank you,

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Michigan’s “Golden Boy” Romney Comes in Dead Last in State Polls…

Mitt’s back, but is he home?

In a December 2005 interview with the Boston Herald, Republican presidential candidate, ex-Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney told the paper he would have stayed in his home state of Michigan had he known he would enter a career in politics.

“Running as a Romney in Michigan is golden for a politician,” the Detroit native said. “I never would have thought about Massachusetts had I anticipated that politics was going to be in my future.”

Romney’s father served as the governor of Michigan from 1963-69.

However, Romney’s self-proclaimed “golden” status in the Wolverine state is not playing to his favor quite as he may have planned. In a statewide poll released last week by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA, Romney ranked last among GOP candidates in the eyes of Michigan voters. Only 38 percent of surveyed voters had a favorable opinion of the golden boy, with Sen. John McCain getting 59 percent, and Rudy Giuliani with 55 percent. A full 19 percent did not know who the “Golden Governor” was.

So how did Romney’s long strange trip land him as Governor in Boston instead of Lansing? In a word, ambition. In fact, Gov. John Engler publicly offered him a shot at a Senate seat in 2002:

“I have to object, though, to Mitt Romney going back to Massachusetts. He was born in Michigan. He needs to come back to Michigan. We would like to have him in our state. We have got two United States Senate seats waiting for him.”

Kidding or not, Gov. Engler had already hand-picked his favorite to succeed him in 2002 – Lt. Governor Dick Posthumous. So Engler essentially had offered Romney a shot at Sen. Carl Levin, who had waxed Mitt’s sister-in-law, Ronna Romney, in his previous race.

Having already been beaten by a Kennedy in Massachusetts, its no wonder he passed on a chance to run against a Levin in Michigan. So much for the "golden" Romney name.

Meanwhile, back in Massachusetts, Republicans cleared the way for him, easing incumbent Republican Gov. Jane Swift out of the race in his favor, setting the stage for a clear shot at a Governors mansion held by Republicans since 1991.

And that my friends is how Massachusetts got the honor of calling smooth-talking Mitt Romney their own. Of course, it's not surprising that he would change his mind about where he calls home, since he's changed his position on just about everything else.

Tuesday Open Thread

In the news:

According to USA TODAY/Gallup Poll 63% of Americans want all troops home by end of '08. In addition, Americans overwhelmingly support congressional action to cap the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and set a timetable to bring them home by the end of next year.

This is an open thread...

February 12, 2007

Oops, I Did it Again...

The Libby trial is, as always, out of control. In college, we would've called it O.O.C. for short.

It always amazes me that people leaked an undercover CIA agent's name, and yet there are no repercussions if they simply state "oops, I didn't know it was classified." I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think that's how the law works, given that I've always heard "ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law."

From the Associated Press, via CBSNews.com:

Meantime, it's become clear that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the first to disclose Plame's work to reporters _ Washington Post editor Bob Woodward and then Novak. Armitage says it was a mistake, claiming he didn't know her job was classified.

Ultimately, he, Fleischer and special presidential adviser Karl Rove all have acknowledged talking to reporters about her. According to testimony, at least six reporters were privately told by top administration officials of Plame's connection with the CIA.

The other interesting part of the trial concerns Vice President Dick Cheney's obsessive micromanaging of the leak and the justification for the war in Iraq. We are talking massively down in the weeds:

"What didn't he touch? It's almost like there was almost nothing too trivial for the vice president to handle," said New York University professor Paul Light, an expert in the bureaucracy of the executive branch.

[...]

"What was interesting to me was what appears to be the total involvement of the vice president," said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar who worked in the Eisenhower and Nixon White Houses. "If he's down to micromanaging news leaks and responses at that level, I found that quite astounding."

I'm stunned too. Too bad he didn't spend this much time and energy looking over the intelligence we had before we went to war.

[Update: Friend in law school says: if you think something is not classified, then you might not have the mens rea for the crime. Mens rea is the latin term meaning something like, guilty mind. Often to be convicted, you need to have taken a guilty action and be of a particular state of mind.]

Two Years With Governor Dean & The 50-State Strategy

Today is Governor Dean's Two Year Anniversary as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee! And thanks to Democrats all across the country who have done the hard work to make it a success, Governor Dean's vision, the 50-State Strategy, has become an integral part of helping Democrats win campaigns all across the country. In the past two years we've seen Democrats:

• Take control of the House of Representatives
• Take control of the United States Senate
• Elect the first female Speaker of the House
• Win a majority of the nation's governorships
• Increase our majority in state legislatures by winning 10 new chambers
• Revitalize Democratic State Party organizations in "red" states
• Increase participation in Democratic politics through grassroots organizing

But that's not all. We've also trained hundreds of organizers and political professionals and thousands of activists. We held a series of three national organizing events - The Neighbor-to-Neighbor National Organizing Day in April, The Democratic Reunion in July and The 50-State Turnout, which we kicked-off in October and went straight through to Election Day 2006.

We invested in strengthening the Democratic Party infrastructure with of state of the art voterfile that was used all across the country. Not only did we improve the quality of the data, but we held an extensive 3-day training session in Chicago to teach state party voterfile managers how to maximize the data.

In addition to all this, there are the personal stories - and that is where I always find the best examples of the success of the Governor's plan. Here are a few of my favorite stories from the past year:

• Oregon
• North Carolina
• Utah
• Ohio
• Nebraska
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Florida

Share you stories in the comments!

Romney a Reagan Republican?

A Note for Multiple-Choice Mitt...

Mitt, this weekend you said:

"Ronald Reagan came in in 1982 and he said, you know what, if we want America to get going, we've got to lower taxes..."

Ummm...no, Mitt. Sorry. Wrong. Reagan was elected in November of 1980, and sworn in on January 20, 1981. But we understand that it must be hard for you to remember the details of a little thing like that when you are so busy trying to remember which position you are taking on any given day.

For instance, you aggressively backed away from the Gipper in 1994 & 2002, when you claimed you were "an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush" who was "not trying to return to Reagan-Bush."

Or course these days we've noticed you've been trying to cozy up to Reagan. Now he's your "hero" and a "visionary" with "courageous leadership."

Nice try, Mitt. But it's not gonna work. Now I know it's hard for you to stick with one position, after all there are so many you could take. But facts shouldn't be as much of a problem. Especially dates. They don't change. Try that one on for size.

As the Debate Begins...

As the U.S. House of Representatives is set to begin debate on the troop escalation in Iraq, word out of Iraq is that insurgents have increased their efforts to shoot down U.S. helicopters in Baghdad. Iran is believed to be arming Shi'ite extremists terrorizing Iraq.

With debate scheduled to begin tomorrow, and a vote expected Friday, the New York Times explained:

House Democratic leaders circulated a nonbinding resolution Monday saying that Congress "disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush ... to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq."

The measure, expected to come to a vote by Friday, also says that "Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States armed forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq."

The resolution is seen as a first step towards reducing American participation in the war.

A Change In Climate

Last night the Dixie Chicks swept the Grammy awards, winning every category they were nominated for, including Song, Record and Album of the Year. Today's papers are describing it as a sweet vindication after they were shunned by their country music world for speaking out against Bush and the war in Iraq in 2003.

AP:

The standing ovations the Chicks received Sunday illustrated how much the political climate has changed regarding the Iraq war, and even Bush.

I think the ever-descending poll numbers help illustrate that too. When I watched the Chicks documentary Shut Up and Sing I was shocked to see the flashbacks to 2003 and the amount of hostility that was shown towards anyone who dared to speak out against the President and the war. I had forgotten just how successful the Bush administration had been in instilling fear in this country in order to make war more palatable.

The mood of the nation has radically changed since then. The President was wrong. He failed our nation by sending our troops into a war for which he had not planned. He failed our troops by sending them to war without the protection they required. He continues to fail our nation by ignoring the truth, the generals, his own advisors, a bi-partisan commission, the Congress and the American people.

In November, when Americans went to the polls they voted for a new direction by electing Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate. And as Speaker Pelosi has said, no where do we want a new direction more than in Iraq. So Congress is getting to work to make that desire a reality. Since the new Congress has been in session they have held 52 separate hearings on issues related to the war in Iraq.

Today the House of Representatives will take up a resolution in response to the President's plan to increase the number of troops on the ground in Iraq. The resolution will read:

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and

(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

A simple rebuke of the President's plan for escalation that shows the Congress' disapproval. Debate will commence tomorrow morning, and every member will be given the chance to speak.

We've come a long way since those early days of 2003, and we had to fight hard for the new majorities that put us in a position to finally take action. In taking the reigns from the rubber-stamp Republican Congress we can finally begin to take the long overdue first steps towards ending this war and bringing our troops home.

Monday Open Thread

What's up in America?

February 11, 2007

A Weekend in the Mile High City

I spent the weekend in Denver attending the Rocky Mountains Rootscamp. Rootscamp is kind of hard to describe. Essentially, it's a progressive post-election debrief. The idea is to bring together people who participated in the 2006 election cycle to talk about and learn from their experiences.

There have been several events across the country. In mid-November I attended RootsCamp New York - the event was well-attended, with an interesting group of tech professionals and bloggers. There were a few political professionals, but most of the participants were from outside of the traditional campaign/party structure. Then, in December, Washington, DC had an amazing weekend event with over 300 people from all areas of the progressive political process.

So when I read about the event in Denver I thought it would be a good way to round out the experience. I thought it would provide a new perspective and an insight the exiting things that are happening in the West - where we have seen some of our most amazing gains. So, on Friday afternoon, I left the DNC and hopped on a plane and to make my way towards the the mile high city.

This was my first experience with the city that will give us our official 2008 Presidential nominee and I must say that I was enchanted with it. My hotel room overlooked the Convention Center, whose famous big blue bear appears to be beating down the walls to get a look at what is happening inside. When I mentioned to some of the hotel employees that I worked for the DNC they actually clapped. They were thrilled to know that the convention would be coming to their city and started asking me a whole host of questions that I couldn't answer - because 2008 will be my first convention too! Bright and early Saturday morning I took the 16th Street Mall's free bus to Lower Downtown (LoDo). My destination -the Tattered Cover Bookstore where Rootscampers were gathering for the day.

One of the coolest things about Rootscamp is that the schedule for the day is created by the people who show up. The day is broken into blocks of time and a big blank chart is set-up in the morning. Any camper can create and host a session on whatever topic they want. Then you can pick and choose where you want to go throughout the day, and what you want to learn. I immediately picked up the nearby markers (blue and red, very patriotic) and created a session on the 50-State Strategy. Then I got to know my fellow attendees.

Another thing that is really unique about this kind of debrief is that it brings together a wide swath of people. And each location has it's own character. Denver's participants were a cross-section of campaign professionals, non-profit employees, bloggers and activists. There were even a few candidates in attendance. This gives the sessions a really good mix of ideas - because you a variety of perspectives on any given topic. For instance, in my session on the 50-State Strategy, I wanted to talk about some of the great things we've accomplished since it's inception, but I was also there to listen to the people who were on the receiveing end of that organizing, and hear how they thought things were going. It really makes a difference to hear how we what envision at the national level is being enacted at the local level. And it gives me a lot of different information to take back to DC and share with my co-workers.

Most of the RootsCamp Denver attendees were from Colorado, and they have a lot to be proud of. Not only did they take the Governor's mansion, but they increased their majority in the legislature and won a congressional seat. However, there were some races that they did not win, which provided a lot of food for thought. Volunteers from Angie Paccione's congressional campaign were eager to share their experiences. A local state house candidate was on hand to discuss what she had learned during her campaign, and share what she thought her mistakes were, and how she could have done better. There were also discussions about internet strategy, issue organizing and youth outreach.

A lot of really exciting things are happening on the ground all around the country. It's amazing to see what we can accomplish with the energy and excitement that grassroots activism has brought to politics. I am happy to say I think a lot of that has been due to Governor Dean's influence on the political system, and his continued crusade to change what we consider to be "business as usual" in Democratic politics. Organizing in every state, asking for votes everywhere, this has really made a difference. Not only in the number of races we have won, but in the way we have won them.

Attending these trio of Rootscamps has been not only an informative experience, but an inspiring one. I would encourage everyone who has been involved in a recent campaign to share their stories. We can learn so much from our past experiences - wins and losses - and we can take what we learn and put it to work for us in 2007, 2008 and beyond.

Sunday Open Thread

Who else is missing football today?

February 10, 2007

Weekend Open Thread

Good morning! This is the Saturday open thread.

February 9, 2007

Friday Night Open Thread

At the DNC Winter Meeting last weekend, DNC members elected the following DNC at-large members:

Hon. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Michigan, Chair Congressional Black Caucus

Hon. Joe Baca, California, Chair Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Hon. Martin Chavez, New Mexico, Mayor of the City of Albuquerque

Gerald McEntee, Pennsylvania, President of the Americans Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

Joyce Brayboy, North Carolina

Larry Cohen, District of Columbia

Moses Mercado, Texas

Use this as an open thread...

Congressman Eric "Abramoff" Cantor

Yesterday in an extraordinarily outrageous moment of grandstanding on the House floor, GOP Rep. Eric Cantor tried to paint Nancy Pelosi as one who was taking advantage of an "extravaganza of power" - referring to the non-issue of her mode of travel, and the fact that the laws of physics necessitate that she would need a larger plane than the previous Speaker in order to travel to her home district, which is in fact, much farther away than her predecessors.

I thought it was an interesting remark coming from the Republican that now convicted Jack Abramoff (Inmate No. 27593-112), the former King of power extravaganzas galore and super-lobbyists everywhere, was so close to that he went so far as to name a sandwhich after him at his restaurant, Stacks:

The “Eric Cantor” sandwich was unveiled January 23 at Stacks, Washington’s new kosher deli, at a fundraiser for the newly appointed deputy House majority whip.

But please, Congressman Cantor, lecture us some more on extravagance.

Debating the War in Iraq

Next week the House of Representatives will commence a three-day debate on the Iraq war and consider a resolution that makes clear their intention to see a new direction for Iraq. The resolution will specifically reject the President's proposal to further escalate the war by sending an additional 21,500 troops into battle.

The resolution is being described as a "first-step" towards ending the conflict in Iraq and bringing our troops home. Speaker Pelosi notes in today's New York Times that November's election demonstrated loudly and clearly that the American people want a new direction, “and no place do they want that direction to be more clear than in the war in Iraq.”

Plus there is the developing news coming out of the Senate. When Members of Congress go to vote next week they'll have new information to consider. The Senate Armed Services Committee is set to release a report from the Inspector General that explores the evidence that the Bush Administration used as their basis to go to war with Iraq, and the news is not good.

The report confirms what many have always believed - that the Bush Administration cherry-picked the facts they needed to be true in order to convince others of the necessity of war.

Via WaPo:

Intelligence provided by former undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith to buttress the White House case for invading Iraq included "reporting of dubious quality or reliability" that supported the political views of senior administration officials rather than the conclusions of the intelligence community, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general.

Feith's office "was predisposed to finding a significant relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," according to portions of the report...

Next week's debate is a long time coming. But you don't have to wait until then. You can speak out now. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, blog about it, tell your friends and your family - make it known that you support the Democratic Congress' efforts to prevent the President from sending more troops to Iraq, and to bring the troops that are there out of the civil war they are stuck in.

For more information, check out the Iraq Resource Center.

TGIF Open Thread

Chat away...

February 8, 2007

They Have Nothing To Say...

They have nothing to say to the American people about the war, the economy, global warming, and the rest. So they have this game they're playing.

- Speaker Pelosi, when asked about statements House Republicans had made in regards to the plane the Speaker of the House has been assigned by the Department of Defense.

You may have read about this non-controversy. You may have seen a cleverly titled segment on cable news titled, "Air Pelosi". You may not realize it's all absurd.

Republicans are trying to score political points by making the new Speaker look bad. But they are badly missing their mark, blatantly lying, and trying to make something out of nothing.

Rather than acting like the leaders the American people need and want in Congress, rather than addressing the pressing issues of the day - most notably the war in Iraq - Republicans are playing stupid, petty political games.

ThinkProgress fact-checked some of the more outrageous claims yesterday, but still the controversy continues.

So the Speaker herself, decided to address the issue:

Q. On the floor a couple minutes ago, Republicans were talking about the plane issue and calling it an unnecessary expense. What has the Pentagon said to you about the planes and what do you feel about you being treated differently than former Speaker Hastert because you are a woman?

Pelosi: Well first of all, let me say that all of this springs from the Sergeant at Arms office, which is in charge of security for Members of Congress and the Speaker of the House. For matters of security, the Sergeant at Arms has said that he wanted the practice to continue, that what was applied to Mr. Hastert, the Speaker of the House since 9/11, to have transportation to and from home to be provided.

I have never asked for any larger plane. I have said that I am happy to ride commercial if the plane they have doesn't go coast to coast. I'm happy to ride commercial coast to coast that way. We've never asked for a larger plane - this is a myth that [the Republicans] are talking about on the floor. They have nothing to say to the American people about the war, the economy, global warming, and the rest. So they have this game they're playing.

The question that you ask though, springs to mind concern: why would the Department of Defense be putting forth any of this information, which is misinformation and mischaracterization of a request by the Sergeant at Arms for security? I know that it is not coming from the President of the United States, because he has really been insistent that I have the security that I need. I myself would rather not have security.

But no, A, we have not asked them for a larger plane; B, this is not my request, this is a request of the Sergeant at Arms; and C, I don't know why they would say that this was necessary for the previous Speaker, but it's not necessary for you - and that's what the Department of Defense seems to be saying, so if you want to take it to place.

I'm not saying that I am being discriminated against because I am a woman, I'm just saying as the first woman Speaker, I have no intention of having less respect for the office I hold than all of the other Speakers that have come before me.

House Republicans can try and pick a fight with the new Speaker, but they will lose. Even the White House is standing by the Speaker:

"This is a silly story and I think it's been unfair to the Speaker... We think it's important that the Speaker of the House enjoy the same kind of security that we arranged for Speaker Hastert in the wake of September 11th. And like I said, I think that there's been a lot of over-hyped reporting on this." (White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, 2/8/07)

House Republicans can continue to carry on this way, but they do so at their own peril. The midterms elections showed that the American people have no tolerance this - they want change, and a Congress that is going to work for them to achieve it. That is exactly what the Speaker and House Democrats have done and will continue to do.

You can check out the Speaker's full remarks after the jump.

Keep reading "They Have Nothing To Say..."

One Simple Sentence Says It All

Summing up Bush fiscal policy in a sentence:

Government programs that serve middle-class and low-income Americans would be slashed to offset the cost of extending tax cuts that favor the rich.

Smooth Talking Mitt Strikes Again

2008 GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, The master of changing his tune, to say what people want to hear, pipes up again.

The Hill explains:

A review of Romney’s public statements from his 1994 senatorial and 2002 gubernatorial campaigns reveal that he once touted stringent campaign-finance modifications.

A Boston Globe article from July 1994 reported that Romney publicly advocated placing spending limits on congressional campaigns and abolishing political action committees (PACs)....

Romney’s past positions on campaign-finance regulation, anathema to many social conservatives who believe such rules place unconstitutional limits on free speech, could complicate his ongoing efforts to court conservative leaders.

So, smooth talker that he is, Mitt changed his tune:

[H]is condemnation of changes to campaign-finance rules struck a positive chord with the entire audience. Romney specifically criticized the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act sponsored by his rival for the GOP presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

“Referring to the bill, [Romney] called it ‘one of the worst things in my lifetime,’” one conservative Republican said. “The place erupted. That was by far the biggest applause line.”

Where I come from, we call that pandering. But it's nice that in his inconsistency, Romney is consistent. Check out some of his other "greatest hits" after the jump.

Keep reading "Smooth Talking Mitt Strikes Again"

Accountability and the Stacks of Cash

Yesterday I wrote about the hearings examining the $8 billion in Iraq reconstruction money that has not been accounted for, and today the New York Times has an editorial on the miserable failures of the Republicans to provide oversight and the exemplary job of Democrats:

Two years ago, the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction reported that $8.8 billion of the cash surge could not be adequately accounted for by the Bush administration's provisional governing authority. The Republican-controlled Congress -- which shrugged off oversight responsibilities for President Bush's failed war -- dutifully sidestepped the issue. Thankfully, the new Democratic Congress is finally investigating the disappeared billions and other aspects of the war's mismanagement. [...] Republican lawmakers at the hearing again tried to gloss over the administration's mismanagement of the war, complaining that the mystery billions were "old news." The real news is that -- at long last -- the truth about the Iraq fiasco is being pursued in public by Congressional investigators.

The Bush administration simply cannot be trusted with your money. In this case, it's in the form of cash "mostly in huge, shrink-wrapped stacks of $100 bills." Some of which, amazingly enough, was doled out from out of the backs of pickups.

As I said yesterday, accountability matters. As Congressman Waxman said, "Without strong standards, we have no way of knowing whether the cash could end up in enemy hands." But does the Republican leadership care, or is this simply "old news" like they claimed?

Supporting Our Troops

Yesterday, during a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, two top military officials offered up testimony that directly contradicts one of the administration's favorite talking points: that a debate over the Iraq war hurts troop morale.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace:

"From the standpoint of the troops, I believe that they understand how our legislature works and that they understand that there's going to be this kind of debate."

More Pace:

"As long as this Congress continues to do what it has done, which is to provide the resources for the mission, the dialogue will be the dialogue, and the troops will feel supported."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates:

"I think they're sophisticated enough to understand that that's what the debate's really about."

They are sophisticated enough to understand what the debate is really about and they are sophisticated enough to speak out. Yesterday a group of Iraq War veterans made their way to Capitol Hill where they spoke out against the President's plan for escalation, and called out the GOP Senators who refused to allow a vote on the war.

VoteVets co-founder Jon Soltz:

"I don't need some fancy Senate talk about why they can't vote," he said in an interview. "We just want a vote. We need a vote that tells the president that his strategy is not working."

In several news conferences, Soltz accused [GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell of "aiding the enemy" by allowing the Bush administration to build up troops in Iraq at the expense of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. "We are not fighting the war on terrorism, we are in the middle of a civil war," he said, referring to Iraq. "Meanwhile, the guy who attacked this country on 9/11 is living in a cave in Afghanistan."

How much longer will the Republicans in the Senate try to hide behind procedure and cover for the administration's failures? How long will they duck a vote; how long will it be before every American knows where they stand on this war?

How many more of our soldiers will die before they admit their error, admit that they allowed the President to wage this war with no oversight, no checks and no balances? How long until they finally change their course? Eventually, the time will come where they will have to answer these tough questions and be held accountable.

Senator Webb:

“As I have said before, it is inverted logic to claim that we should continue to fight this war on behalf of the troops. The fact is that they are fighting this war on behalf of the political process. They deserve political leadership that is knowledgeable, and that proceeds from an assumption that our national goals are equal to the sacrifices we are asking them to make.”...

“The bottom line of all of this is that this Administration and its supporters must understand the realities that are causing us, as a Congress, to finally say enough is enough. That the time has come for a new approach. That the answer in Iraq, and to our fight against international terrorism, and to our diminished posture around the world, is for us to show not only our prowess on the battlefield but also our leadership in the diplomatic arena. That indeed we have an obligation to the men and women who have served so selflessly on our behalf, to match their proficiency and their loyalties with the kind of thoughtful leadership that will bring this effort to a proper conclusion.”

Enough is enough. The GOP needs to stop blocking the vote.

Thursday Open Thread

It's cold. Really cold. Once I get over that, I'll have more. This is an open thread...

February 7, 2007

Wednesday Night Open Thread

Have a good one.

Employee Free Choice Act Introduced in House

Union members and supporters have something to smile about this week - the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in the House. The bill, aimed at shoring up the ability of workers to organize, is long overdue. The Bush Administration and Republicans in Congresses of yesteryear were often complicit in plots to reduce workers' rights, but no more. With Democrats in control, working families can breathe a little easier. The AFL-CIO blog has more from one of the hundreds of cosponsor, Rep. Miller:

Today the procedures for forming a union and bargaining for better wages and benefits are stacked against the workers. The Employee Free Choice Act is very simple. It says that if a majority of workers in a workplace sign authorization cards in support of a union, they get a union. That's it.

Declining workers' rights is a subject many people don't talk about enough -- but it is a huge problem. In the year 2007, workers are still harassed, bullied, and even threatened when they try to form unions or exercise their right to collectively bargain. This isn't an issue of helping out some small group of people -- workers' rights affect everyone. What happens to our teachers, our nurses, our factory workers, our friends and family and acquaintances -- this affects us all. Preventing workers from creating or joining unions can mean denying them basic rights like baseline job safety, or overtime pay.

You can read more about the Employee Free Choice Act here.

Shrink-Wrapped Stacks of Cash

House Democrats, led by Henry Waxman, grilled the former head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer, over how he doled out up to $12 billion. The Associated Press reports on the hearings:

Waxman and a hearing witness, special inspector general for Iraq Stuart Bowen Jr., criticized Bremer for failing to install accounting systems that would have forced Iraqi ministries to account for up to $12 billion in Iraq's funds. The money came from a United Nations oil-for-food program and seized Iraqi assets, but fell under Bremer's control.

"Without strong standards, we have no way of knowing whether the cash could end up in enemy hands," said Waxman.

House Republicans attempted to claim it was "old news," apparently unconcerned that a House Committee report, according to the New York Times, "questioned whether some of the billions of dollars in cash shipped to Iraq after the American invasion ... might have ended up with the insurgent groups now battling American troops."

This is exactly why accountability matters. The Republican Congress ignored their oversight responsibilities when it came to this war. Now it's up to the Democrats to demand more from this administration.

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning! This is an open thread.

February 6, 2007

Be It Resolved...

The following resolutions were passed at the 2007 DNC Winter Meeting:

• Supporting and Honoring the Men and Women who Serve in our Armed Forces, Expressing Deep Concern with the Bush Administration’s Performance in Iraq and Opposing the Escalation of the War in Iraq
• A Resolution On the Need for Action in Sudan
• A Resolution Concerning the Restoration of Habeas Corpus
• A Resolution In Support of Accurate, Open, Transparent Elections in the United States of America
• A Resolution In Support of the District of Columbia Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act
• A Resolution Supporting Energy Independence and a Clean, Healthy Environment
• A Resolution Commending Governor Howard Dean for Instituting the “50 State Strategy” at the DNC
• A Resolution In Honor of Black History Month
• A Resolution Condemning the Bush Administration for Failure to Stop the Growth of Opium in Afghanistan
• A Resolution Commemorating the Life of Susan Blad Seldin
• A Resolution Commemorating the Life of Maria Leavey
• A Resolution Honoring the Life and Career of Governor Ann W. Richards
• A Resolution Honoring the Life and Career of U.S. Representative Father Robert F. Drinan
• A Resolution Commemorating the Life and Career of Molly Ivins

Follow the links to read the full text of each resolution.

GOP Block Iraq Debate

Republicans in the Senate have blocked a bipartisan resolution on Iraq - effectively shutting down the debate.

The New York Times:

Republicans on Monday blocked Senate debate on a bipartisan resolution opposing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq, leaving in doubt whether the Senate would render a judgment on what lawmakers of both parties described as the paramount issue of the day.

The decision short-circuited what had been building as the first major Congressional challenge to President Bush over his handling of the war since Democrats took control of Congress last month, and left each party blaming the other for frustrating debate on a topic that is likely to influence the 2008 presidential and Congressional races.

...

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said that “time was tenuous” and that he would not guarantee that Democrats would try again to bring up the resolution. He did promise that there would be more clashes over Iraq policy as the Senate turned to measures like the president’s request for $100 billion in emergency Iraq spending.

“You can run but you can’t hide,” Mr. Reid told his Republican colleagues on the floor. “We are going to debate Iraq.”

One has to wonder if these Republican Senators were awake during the later half of 2006 when the nation soundly rejected the President's war of choice in Iraq and the Senators and Congressman who had championed it and let the administration run amok, unchecked.

Republicans in the Senate are pulling procedural hurdles out of their well-worn playbook. Trying to play politics with policy, while every day more American lives are lost in the midst of this ongoing war. Their behavior is irresponsible and reckless. A debate on Iraq is going to happen and these Senators won't be able to hide behind Robert's Rules of Order forever. The President has proposed an escalation and that is the question before them that they must address.

As Senator Nelson was quoted saying:

“If not now, when?” he said. “If not now, do we wait for more troops to die before we oppose the president’s plan?”

Open Thread

Chat away...

February 5, 2007

Just Another Manic Monday Open Thread

Chat away...

February 3, 2007

DNC Winter Meeting: Wrapping Up

"Meet the Candidates" Part II is wrapping up and people are filing out. I think everyone here would agree that the past few days have provided a lot of food for thought. We'll have the additional candidate videos soon, plus more photos and a few more posts over the next few days...

Use this as an open thread...

College Dems at the Winter Meeting

Between various caucuses at the Winter Meeting, I sat down with Sean Smith, President of the George Washington University Chapter of the College Democrats of America (CDA). His chapter is the largest and most active organization on their campus, with over 1,000 members.

Most of my early questions dealt with new media and how CDA chapters utilize social networks like Facebook for their organizing. Sean told me how they have had success using it to promote their events and spread the word. One of the useful – and fairly new – features of Facebook is the feed, which updates users on all the actions of their friends. So when, say, 50 people sign up to come to the James Carville speaking event, 250 of their friends immediately find out their friend is going and can easily join them.

We talked about other ways their chapter is building on the past successes – implementing an alumni project and trying to build some sort of database to keep people connected after graduation, for example. These are the kinds of reforms taking place all over the country as the College Democrats (as well as the Young Democrats, who also deserve recognition) reform and rebuild.

Thanks to Sean and the rest of these emerging leaders of the Democratic Party, there's hope for the future of this Nation.

DNC Winter Meeting: General Session (Continued...)

So the last day of the DNC Winter Meeting has arrived. It's gone by in a flash. Watching all of our potential nominees come through and speak to the DNC has been an amazing thing. It's been chaotic, but in a good way, and we'll wrap up early today.

Today Senator Joe Biden, Governor Richardon, Senator Gravel and Governor Vilsack will speak and meet with their fellow Democrats. We'll wrap things up by mid-afternoon.

Keep checking out the slideshow to see new photos. You can also catch yesterday's speeches in the video section. We'll have extra video goodies soon...

DNC Winter Meeting Day Three Open Thread

Howdy politics fans! We're back for one last day of DNC Winter Meeting fun. On today's agenda: the general session resumes and 4 more 2008 hopefuls take to the stage (Vilsack, Biden, Gravel, Richardson), the DNC Members will consider some outstanding official business, another round of "Meet the Candidates" and a meeting of the Association of State Democratic Chairs.

Consider this an open thread...

DNC Winter Meeting: Women's Caucus

DNC Member Jenny Greenleaf checks-in from the Women's Caucus:

Mame Reiley, Chair, opened the meeting and pointed out a few notable women attending: Ellen Malcolm, EMILY's list and Kate Michelman, former NARAL president, were the names I caught.

We heard from Cornell Belcher, Brilliant Corners Research, who is a frequent pollster for the DNC. His presentation, titled "Bringing Women Home," (yes, we laughed) showed the shift in women's voting patterns and attitudes from the 2004 to the 2006 election. It was the significant change in the women's vote, particularly red-state Southern women, that made the difference in 2006...

Want more? Check out the whole post over at MyDD.

February 2, 2007

Senate Passes Minimum Wage

After the Minimum Wage bill was delayed in the Senate when Republicans refused to vote to increase the minimum wage without tax cuts, many were understandably frustrated. A straight minimum wage bill passed the House last month, and to add the tax cuts meant a conference committee would have to reconcile the two different bills, further delaying the increase in salary for working Americans nationwide.

Finally, on Thursday, the minimum wage bill did pass the Senate, with tax cuts for small businesses. This is the first time the minimum wage has been raised in a decade. The final vote showed a landslide of support for working families -- 94-3.

Meet the Candidates

So what happens when you take thousands of Democratic activists and a handful of amazing Democratic candidates and throw them together? Some kind of wonderful.

"Meet the Candidates" offered Democrats a chance to have some one-on-one time with the 2008 hopefuls. The set-up was like this: each candidate had their own suite to set-up as they wish. Democrats swarmed into the hall leading to the suites and popped in and out of rooms, chatting, grabbing a snack or two and sizing up each potential nominee. All-in-all it was a little bit like a greek rush week and a lot of fun.

As with everything else, check out the photo slideshow for pictures...

50 State Strategy: Vets

Early this morning, I had a chance to attend a meeting for the Veterans and Military Families Council. When I got there, Veterans Council member and Ohio state legislator John Boccieri -- who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan -- spoke about the need for every state to have its own Veterans Council so that information and leadership can rise from the bottom-up. He spoke about creating an "Action Group" and an "Army of Volunteers," so that we had the ability to win everywhere.

And that's when it struck me that he was articulating the principles that embody the DNC's 50-State Strategy -- knowingly or not. Today's Democratic Party understands that we need to build from the grassroots up, and it's extraordinary that this state legislator from Ohio is on the same page as Democrats in DC and in every corner of America.

The Bloggers Get to Work

Start looking for some coverage on your favorite blogs.

BlueJersey checks in from the Rural Council and has video on Day Two. Jerome remembers Winter Meetings past and updates folks on today's line-up...

If you have a blog post on the meeting, leave it in the comments...

Meet the Press

Besides seeing the stars of the Democratic Party, it's also fun to see some of the faces we watch on TV or read in the newspaper, like Tucker Carlson and Maureen Dowd.

Tucker:

"I haven't had a better time since the last time I was at the Playboy Mansion...I'm really glad to be here."

And, I can't really quote Maureen, since we just kind of just said hello (we go way back, having first met at YearlyKos). But it's good to know she's here - it means we can count on something entertaining this Saturday in the New York Times.

Check out the photos being added to the slideshow...

The speeches are starting...more later...

DNC Meeting: The People Arrive

I'm sitting in Blogger Alley, handing out passes to bloggers as they arrive. So far we've got a great mix - BlueJersey was on the scene bright and early, followed by MyLeftNutmeg and RaisingKaine. We've also got some folks from DailyKos and MyDD.

Upstairs the registration line is wrapping around the lobby as people clamor for credentials to see their favorite candidate. The entrance to the ballroom, where the General Session will take place, is filled with a mix of DNC members, guests, press and campaign staff. Everyone is upbeat. There is a great energy following, a definite sense of hope in the air as we get ready to officially kick-off the 2008 campaigns.

More later...

Day Two Open Thread

It's day #2 of the DNC Winter Meeting! We've got more blog posts, more photos, more fun coming your way!

This is an open thread...

Day One Comes to a Close

So the first day of the DNC Winter went by in a flash. The two major committee meetings, The Resolutions Committee and The Rules and Bylaws Committee were packed to the gills with DNC members and guests.

Today, Democrats got an up close and personal look at the inner workings of the Party. There was a lot going on. With our 2008 Presidential campaigns ramping up, today provided the first taste of what the primary season is all about. The hallways of the meeting space were lined with tables from the campaigns signing-up supporters, handing out information and offering up various stickers, buttons and signs to interested Democrats.

The excitement in the air was palpable. We have a lot to be proud of - not only do we have an amazing line-up of candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, but the glow of success from the 2006 elections still hasn't worn off. Furthermore, the meeting really offers up an opportunity to see the results of the 50-State Strategy in action. Throughout the day I ran into people who were in town from all across the country, who were truly excited about what was happening in their state.

Tomorrow Governor Dean and Senator Harry Reid will open the general session. Then we will roll right into the first batch of candidate speeches. You can catch the speeches via webcast or via C-span. Plus, we'll have the speeches archived here at Democrats.org in case you miss one or you want to watch one again!

Until then...

February 1, 2007

Oklahoma Checks in from the DNC Winter Meeting

Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairwoman Lisa Pryor has got the blogging bug. She checks-in from the DNC Winter Meeting:

Great to be here with so many Democrats from across these United States. The city has a different feel from the last time I was here...before the November elections. Everyone is excited about the great progress made by Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats but that excitement pales next to the energy going into the presidential candidates this weekend.

For more from Chairwoman Pryor and the Oklahoma delegation, check out OKBlueNotes.

We've Got Photos!

For photos from the DNC Winter Meeting, check out our slideshow. We'll update it throughout the meeting, so check back as the days progress for new photos!

Let's Get This Meeting Started

Things are getting underway at the 2007 DNC Winter Meeting. Folks are streaming into the Washington Hilton, picking up their credentials, and making their way down to the meeting area to attend the first sessions of the day.

The very first thing on the agenda was the Executive Directors’ meeting. The Executive Directors are on the frontlines of The Democratic Party’s field efforts, putting the 50-State Strategy into action across the country. Coming off of the successes of 2006, all of us at the DNC, and in the States, are looking at ways to expand and improve our operation as we gear up for future elections and continue to build-up the Democratic Party everywhere.

Next up is the Resolutions Committee. Members of this committee will debate and finalize the resolutions that will be presented to the members of the DNC during the General Session for their consideration.

After that we move straight into the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting.

I’ll have more on the Resolutions & Rules Committee later tonight.

Scooter, and the Colorado Aspen Trees

The Scooter Libby trial is just a mess. It gets worse for Mr. Libby at every turn. Who at the White House didn't know about Valerie Plame Wilson? Did Laura Bush know? What about Robert Martin? He was just a legislative correspondent in the White House, but now it seems that the White House was telling everyone about Plame's identity.

My favorite twist so far is the bizarre note Scooter sent NY Times reporter Judith Miller when he freed her from her pledge to protect her source -- him. The last lines of the letter are wacky.

The NY Times:

In the September 2005 note, Mr. Libby told Ms. Miller, who was in jail at the time, that she was no longer bound by her pledge of confidentiality and that she should testify before the grand jury. He added, cryptically, that the aspen trees in Colorado change color at the same time because they are bound at the roots.

Actually, that aspen line is a lie. Slate's Explainer says:

Do aspens really turn in clusters because their roots connect them?

No.

You may have gotten over this oddity in 2005, but...we rehash. It sounded like a love note to me, but most people are relatively certain it is a secret message that meant lie.

Questions to ponder:

• Who was ordering Libby and Rove and others to smear Wilson and his wife?
• Why hasn't the President fired Karl Rove for leaking the classified information like he promised?
• What was the involvement of Vice President Cheney in this scandal?
• Who ordered Libby to look into declassifying the information on Wilson to retaliate against him?
• How involved were other members of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) in the leak? What activities did the group engage in?
• Did Alberto Gonzales know about the leak and what if any activities was he involved in?

Losing Ivins

Those of us who appreciate strong feminists with feisty tongues have had a rough few months. Yesterday, the world said goodbye to Molly Ivins, famed newspaper columnist and author, who passed away at the age of 62, at home, surrounded by friends and family.

Her close personal friend, former Texas Governor Ann Richards, passed away late last year.

From the NY Times:

After Patrick J. Buchanan, as a conservative candidate for president, declared at the 1992 Republican National Convention that the United States was engaged in a cultural war, she said his speech "probably sounded better in the original German."

"There are two kinds of humor," she told People magazine. One was the kind "that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity," she said. "The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule. That's what I do."

Born in California, raised in Texas, and educated at Smith College, Ivins was a fierce critic of our current President and the war in Iraq.

We will miss you, Molly.

Celebrating Black History Month

Kicking off our month long celebration of Black History Month, we have a post on Maya Angelou, authored by the DNC's own Michael Link. Below is just a sample:

The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are a going-on people who will rise again.
- Maya Angelou

Click here to read about the life of Maya Angelou.

Dean on TV

DNC Chairman Howard Dean will be on TV later today. Catch his interviews at the times listed below:

1:00 PM - MSNBC Live
1:15 PM - CNN Newsroom

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning, all! What's up?