But today, Politico reports that Schumer has decided Senate Democrats will have an entirely different focus: “political weapon[s],” “fodder for a campaign ad,” and “campaign-style attacks.”Politico writes, “New York Sen. Chuck Schumer believes he has found a political weapon in the unlikeliest of places: the Violence Against Women Act. Republicans have several objections to the legislation, but instead of making changes, Schumer wants to fast track the bill to the floor, let the GOP block it, then allow Democrats to accuse Republicans of waging a ‘war against women.’
“It’s fodder for a campaign ad, and it’s not the only potential 30-second spot ready to spring from Senate leadership these days. From his perch as the Democrats’ chief policy and messaging guru, Schumer wants to raise taxes on people who earn more than $1 million, and many Democrats want to push the vote for April 15, a move designed to amp up the “income inequality” rhetoric just in time for Tax Day. Schumer has a plan for painting Republicans as anti-immigrant as well. He’s called the author of the Arizona immigration law to testify before his Judiciary subcommittee, bringing Capitol Hill attention to an issue that’s still front and center for Hispanic voters.
“None of these campaign-style attacks allow for the policy nuances or reasoning behind the GOP’s opposition, and some of the bills stand no chance of becoming law. But that’s not really the point. The real push behind this effort is to give Democrats reasons to portray Republicans as anti-women, anti-Latino and anti-middle class. In the aftermath of a fight over a payroll tax cut for American workers and an Obama contraception policy, Democrats are ready for this next set of wedge issues.”
Politico notes, “The move carries some risk. The economy is still struggling, with the jobless rate above 8 percent and millions seeking work. Gas prices are skyrocketing. And Schumer himself said last Sunday that Democrats would focus like a ‘laser’ on the economy, a comment Republicans giddily pointed out as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pushed for judicial confirmations this week. Schumer and Reid have also shown little interest in bringing forward a budget resolution this spring, saying that overall spending levels have already been agreed upon. That has opened them up to Republican charges they are steadfastly avoiding tough votes on the budget in favor of election-year point scoring. Republicans see the latest chatter in the Senate as a political ploy by Democratic leaders to steady the ship in the face of a shaky political landscape. ‘Sounds like all politics all the time,’ said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of his party’s leadership who also serves on the Judiciary Committee.
We knew they were lying then and the Congressional Budget Office confirms it now. Here’s flashback video of Rusty back in 2009 lying through his teeth about Obamacare and all of it’s supposed benefits:
The gross costs of the national healthcare law rammed through Congress by President Barack Obama will reach an estimated $1.76 trillion over 10 years – nearly twice the amount originally projected.
The figure, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revealed on Wednesday, is bound to cause embarrassment to the administration as it comes just as debate on “Obamacare” is starting to heat up again, two weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.
Original White House estimates said the gross cost of the healthcare act would be $940 billion over a decade, but the CBO’s new figures raise that figure to a shade under $1.5 trillion. For the 10 years from 2013-2022 that increases even further to $1.76 trillion. Read more…
Anchor Soledad O’Brien then asked Sen. Talent about the message that all of that outspending sends. “So, outspending Rick Santorum, over $2 million is what your campaign spent on TV ad spending,” O’Brien said, “to Rick Santorum’s just under $400,000, at some point there’s a different kind of math, maybe not delegate math, that says ‘That’s bad math. He won and spent under $400 million. We took a $2 million hit.’”
“I think the numbers are something like the campaign spent $55 million, campaign alone, I’m not talking about super PAC money, $55 million as of January 31st,” she added.
“The other way of looking at that,” Sen. Talent responded, “is that if you can’t raise any money, it has a bearing on whether you’re a good candidate, and whether you can beat Barack Obama. It’s all part of being a good candidate, having an organization, having a strong message, being energetic on the stump, raising money.”
Of course, the money will be there for whomever the nominee is, and although fundraising certainly can be an indicator of support, this isn’t the year to make the case that it trumps the enthusiasm of grassroots voters. The Romney campaign needs to come up with better answers than these, if such answers exist. Read more…
Today, Senate Democrats and President Obama showcased their misplaced priorities after they pushed for a long series of cloture votes on district court judges instead of moving forward on a bipartisan House-passed bill that would create jobs.
The Hill writes today, “Senate GOP leaders attacked their Democratic counterparts on Tuesday for scheduling action on judicial nominees instead of acting this week on a jobs bill. But the White House came out in strong support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) decision to invoke cloture to break a Republican filibuster to confirm the 17 court nominees. . . . Fresh off the overwhelming passage of the House-backed JOBS Act last week, McConnell called on Reid to forgo the ‘manufactured crisis’ over 17 judges, and move on the JOBS Act. ‘We have a way of dealing with judicial and other appointments in the Senate — this effort to have 17 cloture votes in a row is manufactured crisis. … This is a needless exercise and waste of the Senate’s time,’ [Senate Republican Leader Mitch] McConnell told reporters. Reid noted that he liked the House-passed bill and said it would be acted on in the near future but, at this point, he was resolved to move the judicial nominations.”
The Wall Street Journal noted the choice Democrats are making, asking “Are jobs more important than getting federal judges confirmed?” Even a Los Angeles Times opinion piece backing the Democrats acknowledged, “Jobs bills are arguably more urgent than judicial nominations . . . . Compared to, say, someone laid off because of the recession, a judicial nominee waiting for confirmation isn’t a particularly poignant figure.”
Apparently, President Obama’s White House has decided to give “a ringing endorsement” to Reid’s move, despite the president’s insistence that he’s focused on jobs. White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler went so far as to tell reporters on a conference call, “What the president is really asking — what he’s demanding — is that the Senate do its job on behalf of the American people.” The president is “demanding” that the Senate put jobs on the back burner and instead have show votes on district court judges?
Recall that Democrats’ messaging chief, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that “Democrats are focused like a laser on jobs, the economy, and the middle class.” It’s hard to see how setting aside a jobs bill that has support from both political parties in both houses of Congress and the president in favor of a long series of votes on judges.
According to the USA Today piece, “Rising gas prices are hurting President Obama, and he knows it. ‘Well, look, as long as gas prices are going up, people are going to feel like I’m not doing enough,’ President Obama told WFTV of Orlando, one of a string of television interviews he did Monday to promote his energy policy. ‘And I understand that,’ Obama added, ‘because people get hurt when they’re going to that gas station and seeing those prices rise everyday.’ Obama’s approval ratings are falling in the face of higher gas prices. He is down to 41% in one survey, the New York Times/CBS News poll.”
Politico adds, “The White House on Monday launched an all-of-the-above press strategy designed to contain the damage from high gas prices. Thus far, the administration’s message hasn’t worked: According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published Monday, 65 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Barack Obama is dealing with high gas prices. Obama attempted to counteract that by sitting down for several local TV news interviews on Monday, including visits with anchors from the electoral battlegrounds of Cincinnati, Denver, Des Moines, Las Vegas, Orlando and Pittsburgh.”
Roll Call reports that the Obama White House and Democrats in the Senate have decided they want to do something about rising gas prices: raise taxes on American energy producers. “Senate Democrats and the White House are feeling the heat over rising gas prices and are preparing a legislative response to blunt GOP criticism. After coordinating with the White House, Senate Democrats expect to consider, likely before the end of the month, legislation that would repeal tax breaks for oil and gas companies, a senior Senate Democratic aide said. . . . Republicans, who see a political opportunity in the gas price issue, contend that raising taxes on energy companies would simply lead to even higher gas prices. . . . A senior GOP aide also noted that the Senate last voted on a similar measure in May. The proposal — which would have eliminated a raft of tax breaks for the five largest oil companies — failed to win the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle to move forward.”
Democrats have trotted out this tired proposal every time gas prices go up, yet they never seem to be able to explain how making it more expensive to produce energy in the United States is supposed to help lower gas prices.
Roll Call notes, “The energy debate will continue Tuesday when the Senate will vote on a Republican amendment to a transportation bill . . . which includes a provision to approve the 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline. The proposal is being offered by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) . . . . Republicans see the approval of Keystone as imperative to creating jobs, increasing energy production and helping reduce gas prices. They argue that Democrats should get behind the proposal’s approval instead of looking to raise taxes on energy companies. ‘Instead of returning again and again to tax hikes that increase consumers’ costs, the administration and its Democrat allies in Congress should open their eyes to the opportunity presented by the Keystone XL pipeline,’ McConnell said in the statement.”
If Democrats and President Obama are really concerned about high gas prices, their responses to this problem that affects every American family are strangely disconnected. Democrats are proposing, yet again, to raise taxes on American energy companies and last week voted down a Republican amendment that would have authorized construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, thanks in part to the personal lobbying of President Obama. How are raising taxes and blocking jobs and secure energy supplies supposed to help lower the price at the pump?
The Washington Post’s Dan Balz and Jon Cohen write today, “Disapproval of President Obama’s handling of the economy is heading higher — alongside gasoline prices — as a record number of Americans now give the president ‘strongly’ negative reviews on the 2012 presidential campaign’s most important issue, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. . . . Gas prices are a main culprit: Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the situation at the pump, where rising prices have already hit hard. Just 26 percent approve of his work on the issue, his lowest rating in the poll. Most Americans say higher prices are already taking a toll on family finances, and nearly half say they think that prices will continue to rise, and stay high. . . . [T]he survey — conducted Wednesday through Saturday — finds 59 percent of Americans giving Obama negative ratings on the economy, up from early last month. Now, 50 percent give him intensely low marks, the most yet in a Post-ABC News poll, and a jump of nine percentage points.”
ABC News notes, “Americans by a broad 65-26 percent disapprove of how the president is handling the price of gas, which has gained 49 cents a gallon this year to an average $3.79. Strong critics outnumber strong approvers by nearly 4-1. And it’s important: A vast 89 percent are concerned about the recent run-up in gas prices; 66 percent are ‘very’ concerned about it.”
Another ABC story points out, “Rising gasoline prices have surpassed the federal budget deficit as Obama’s single weakest issue, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, which shows 65 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling the rising price of gas, while just 26 percent approve.”
The president’s actions on Friday can’t have improved most Americans’ views of his handling of gas prices, since he “personally lobbied” Senate Democrats to block an amendment that would have authorized the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. As The Wall Street Journal wrote in a Saturday editorial, “Thursday night’s 56-42 Senate vote to kill an amendment to fast-track the $7 billion, shovel-ready Keystone XL pipeline contains a wealth of information about President Obama and the Senate Democrats’ priorities. . . . On Thursday Senate Republicans voted unanimously for Keystone, which would bring 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Alberta, Canada, to interconnections in Oklahoma and refineries on the Gulf Coast, easing supply constraints and creating thousands of much-needed jobs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sees the world through a different lens: He didn’t want to let Republicans ‘appease the Tea Party or big oil companies.’ President Obama, of course, would have vetoed the measure had it ever reached his desk. But any such straightforward expression of his own beliefs would have put him on the wrong side of unionized workers the pipeline would have employed or voters worried about the unemployment rate. Hence the White House phone calls to the Senate this week to on the one hand urge Harry Reid to block the bill . . . . And so the result was that the Keystone pipeline died yet again . . . . Republicans have vowed to introduce the Keystone amendment again and there’s no reason not to do so. With the President and Senate Democrats dancing merrily on every side of the energy debate, it’s always a good time to identify the Keystone Democrats.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell put it well when he said on Thursday, “At a moment when tensions are rising in the Middle East, millions of Americans are struggling to find work and millions more are struggling with the rising cost of gas, Democrat opposition to this legislation shows how deeply out of touch they are with the concerns of middle-class Americans. President Obama’s personal pleas to wavering Senators may have tipped the balance against this legislation. When it comes to delays over Keystone, anyone looking for a culprit should now look no further than the Oval Office.
Missouri Roundtable For Life has just published a detailed citizen analysis of MOSIRA entitled “MOSIRA & Amendment 2: A Crime Against The Citizens And Taxpayers Of Missouri.” It details the ongoing schemes of cloner special interests to seize control of an ever-increasing stream of taxpayer funds to experiment on human embryos by buying off corrupt politicians.
“Three hundred copies of our booklet are being mailed to every legislator in the Missouri General Assembly,” said Fred Sauer in Missouri Roundtable For Life. “We want them to know the truth of what they have been doing to the citizens of Missouri. They will all be invited to a public meeting called by the taxpayers and voters to evaluate their actions, so that they will never take advantage of the taxpayers again.
Related:
Attorney General Chris Koster cited his support of stem cell research as a reason behind hs 2007 party switch.
“African American unemployment rose this month from 13.6 percent to 14.1….We were pleased when President Obama announced the Summer Jobs Initiative, which will provide $1.5 billion for high-impact summer jobs and year-round employment for low-income youth ages 16-24, as part of the American Jobs Act’s Pathways Back to Work Fund.” –Rep. Cleaver
Translation. Stimulus is obviously not working for African Americans (or most people for that matter) so let’s continue down the same path of government “make work” programs for Black youth. Think of the invaluable work skills they’ll learn by digging a holes somewhere and then filling them back in! Are these the “high impact” summer jobs the Congressman means?
As usual, Cleaver hasn’t gotten the memo and is talking about the stimulus when even the White House doesn’t mention the stimulus anymore. As evidenced by these excerpts from newspaper editorials from around the country, only the extreme Obama Kool Aid drinkers still believe that the $trillion dollar stimulus package worked.
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “If the federal government can’t responsibly manage the money it’s doling out in the name of economic stimulus, then it has no business doling out the money — period… Public investments… must be based on due diligence. Not big money politics. Not stimulus rollout timetables. Not sun-struck ideology….A nickel’s worth of business sense and a dime’s worth of caution might have saved Uncle Sam millions — and the Obama administration a heap of trouble.” (Editorial, “The Solyndra Saga,” The Chicago Tribune, 9/15/11
THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER: “At the time Solyndra received its grant, Vice President Joe Biden declared that the Solyndra investment is ‘exactly what the Recovery Act is all about.’ Events have proven Biden right. Now that Solyndra is a demonstrated failure like the stimulus package as a whole, the administration still wants to continue the waste.” (Editorial, “Solyndra Bankruptcy Shows Stimulus Failure,” San Francisco Examiner, 9/1/11)
The Missourians for Dokes campaign announced today that long time St. Charles County Republican activist Penny Henke will lead the campaign’s efforts in St. Charles County as the county coordinator. This announcement comes a week after Dokes announced an impressive list of endorsements from prominent GOP elected officials.
“I have the upmost respect for Eugene Dokes having worked with him in leadership on the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee ,” said Henke. “ I feel that there is absolutely no one that can do the job that I believe he can as a State Representative and that is why I am working with him as County Coordinator of his campaign.”
Penny and her husband of 33 years are 31 year residents of St. Charles County. She has been a member of the St. Charles County Pachyderm Club since 1984 and currently serves as the organization’s treasurer. She has served as Secretary of the Missouri Federation of Pachyderm clubs. She was also elected treasurer of the National Pachyderm organization in 2003 and continues to serve. She is an elected member and serves as vice chair of the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee (serving her 24th year). She is elected and represents the 23rd senatorial district on the state committee for the past 6 years. Penny is also a St. Charles County board of adjustment member (completing 13 years in April, 2012).
“Penny is a hard working conservative with deep community ties. She has been active for over 25 years and is still known for her motivating and energizing Republicans across the county. She was a logical, as well as the most exceptional choice for my county coordinator,” said 70th district candidate Eugene Dokes.
