Hum.... Could Scalia And Thomas be tied into the flood of foreign money being laundered by the Chamber of Commerce? What Role Have Scalia And Thomas Played In The Koch Money Machine? At the very least, however, Scalia and Thomas should publicly disclose exactly what role they played in supporting Koch’s secret fundraising network. These fundraising meetings exist for the purpose of eliminating laws and regulations that corporate America does not like, and a sitting Supreme Court justice can do a great deal to advance this purpose (indeed, Scalia and Thomas both already handed an enormous gift to the Koch’s corporate network by joining the egregious decision in Citizens United v. FEC). The two justices’ attendance at these events raise serious questions about whether Scalia and Thomas are deciding cases impartially — or whether they are pushing the exact same agenda as all the Koch events’ other attendees.
If Breyer and Ginsburg were found to be attending Moveon.org fundraisers would you say the same thing?
Election Day is over for millions of early voters WASHINGTON – Election Day is already over for more than 3 million Americans, and a surprising number of them are Democrats. Republicans clearly are gaining ground in turning out early voters compared with their showing two years ago, but figures from the first batch of states that offer clues about 2010 early voting patterns still give Democrats an edge in a number of states and big counties. "If people thought the Democrats were just going to roll over and play dead in this election, that's not what we're seeing," said Michael McDonald, a George Mason University professor who tracks early voting nationally. "They've got to be feeling a little bit better with the numbers that they're seeing." Other snapshots of early voting: _In Iowa, more than 175,000 people have cast ballots, about 46 percent of them Democrats and 38 percent Republicans. That's a somewhat narrower gap than the Democrats' 11-point advantage in registered voters. _In Maine, about 31,000 people have voted, roughly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, although Democrats have a 5-point advantage in registered voters. _In North Carolina, more than 174,000 people have cast ballots. Democrats account for 44 percent of votes cast so far, about matching their overall voter registration percentage. Republicans comprised 39 percent of votes cast through Tuesday, outpacing their 32 percent representation in the entire electorate. The Democratic numbers fall far short of two years ago, when Democrats cast 51 percent of all early votes. _In Maryland, about 3,200 people have voted, about 59 percent of them Democrats and 31 percent Republicans. _In Ohio, Democrats lead Republicans 59 percent to 26 percent in Cuyahoga County, while Republicans lead Democrats 42 percent to 33 percent in Hamilton County. In Franklin County, the two sides are virtually tied. Some 212,000 people have voted in those three counties.
Here's an example of an ad Dems should be running: <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/f0U_dfD_7pc&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/f0U_dfD_7pc&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object> Reaches a broad target demographic (women), positive message, stands up for popular parts of legislation she helped pass. Unfortunately, it's being run by a Dem who's blowing out her opponent and at no risk of losing. It's the other Dems that should be running things like this.
via TPM -- After CBS News reported today that Democrats are showing strong numbers at early voting polls, FreedomWorks CEO Dick Armey offered his theory as to why: Those Dems are committing voter fraud. You know...those blacks in the inner cities... <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rdpbiXuBDZ0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rdpbiXuBDZ0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>
Well, another Democrat feels the same way I do and is doing something about it. Former president Clinton on mission to rescue Democratic Party in fall elections By Philip Rucker Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, October 21, 2010; 8:51 PM Bill Clinton is baffled. The former president's friends say he is in disbelief that in the closing weeks of the midterm campaigns Democrats have failed to articulate a coherent message on the economy and, worse, have allowed themselves to become "human pinatas." So Clinton is deploying himself on a last-ditch, dawn-to-dusk sprint to rescue his beleaguered party. And as the only president in modern times who has balanced the federal budget, he is leveraging his credibility to become one of the most fierce defenders of President Obama's economic policies. "To hear the Republicans tell it, from the second President Obama took his hand off the Bible taking the oath of office, everything that happened after that was his fault," Clinton said this week at a campaign rally for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). "I'd like to see any of you get behind a locomotive going straight downhill at 200 miles an hour and stop it in 10 seconds." If there was any doubt that Clinton remains the Democratic Party's North Star, it has been erased over the past few weeks as he has packed legions of supporters into basketball arenas, college quads and airport hangars. He is the Democrats' most in-demand messenger and, unlike Obama, he is summoned everywhere - no matter how hostile the territory. By Election Day, Clinton will have traveled to more than 100 events, including one Thursday in Maryland, where he appeared with Gov. Martin O'Malley. Some Democrats are troubled that Clinton, who left office a decade ago, is a bigger draw than Obama and the party's current leaders. "Bill Clinton is not going to live forever, and it's time for the Democratic Party to develop other voices," said Bob Rucker, a journalism profressor, as he left a recent Clinton rally at San Jose State University. But even with his party out of favor, polls show Clinton is among the most popular national political figures in the country. His newfound popularity among Republicans is a notable reversal from 16 years ago - when, two years into his presidency, a GOP resurgence cost Democrats both chambers of Congress. "Look, folks, I've seen this movie before, in 1994," Clinton said at the rally in Everett, Wash. "I called the president the other day, and I said: 'Relax. They haven't said anything about you they didn't say about me. The only reason they're being nice to me right now is because I can't run for anything any more.' " 'Keep on being mad' Clinton's pitch is rooted in empathy and delivered off the cuff. In Everett, he laid out what he said is the Republican argument: "I know you're angry. I know you're scared. . . . So let's make this a referendum on everything that's bothering you about life right now - take everything that's not working right now and put Patty Murray's face on it and make it a referendum." "It is not a referendum. It. Is. A. Choice," he continued, pausing between each word for emphasis, "a choice between two different sets of ideas." Clinton exhorted the crowd to "keep on being mad. But concentrate your anger so that it clarifies your judgment instead of clouding it. . . . The worst thing you can do right now is bring back the shovel brigade to start digging the hole again." No other Democrat has so consistently given voice to the mood of this year's volatile, angsty electorate. Where other politicians speak of the housing crisis in staid terms - "Mortgages? I understand homes are underwater," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said in a debate last week - Clinton talks about bad mortgages as if his family were shackled with one. "More than 10 million of us are living in houses not worth as much as our mortgages, and we can't move like we used to do because our credit would be toast for a decade," Clinton said at a stop in Espanola, N.M., never betraying that he is a millionaire many times over and the owner of multiple properties. Clinton connects with "how normal 'walking-around' folks are feeling," said Paul Begala, a confidant and top strategist. "Both the right and the left have mocked that I-feel-your-pain empathy, but Americans have always liked it. It's the core of him, even more than the brain. It's real." Over the past two weeks, Clinton has had one day off, Saturday, which he spent in Northern California with his close friend Terry McAuliffe. The two stayed up late, playing cards and drafting new talking points for Democrats to trot out on the trail. "He literally sat down with a yellow legal pad," said McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, adding that Clinton told him: "Make sure, Terry, you get these talking points out to every candidate." It was then, McAuliffe said, that Clinton confided that he has been frustrated with the Democrats' message. "He is just baffled and bewildered about why there has not been a more coherent message talking about what the party has done, why we allowed ourselves to become human pinatas," McAuliffe said. "I think he is agitated that Democrats haven't put their best foot forward in explaining to the American public what they've actually done." Student-loan policy Clinton reserves time near the end of his speeches to talk about student-loan policy change, an Obama accomplishment he says isn't getting its due on the campaign trail. Clinton bemoans that the United States has fallen from first to ninth in the world in the percentage of adults with a four-year college degree - because too many students drop out for fear that they can't repay their loans. Democrats overhauled student-loan policy to cap monthly repayments at 10 percent of discretionary income - a law Clinton says Republicans want to repeal. "Do you know how many working families there are where people go home at night now, men and women and the children they love better than life, and they're sick with worry, they think they'll never be able to send their kids to college?" Clinton said in Everett. "Oh, yes, you will," Clinton continued. "Do not let this bill be repealed. If the young people of America show up, we will vote for the future and the bill will be secured. That's why you've got to vote for Patty Murray. These are real choices here - real, serious choices." Clinton, taking time off from running his global charitable foundation, is in the midst of a two-week swing that has taken him from the Mississippi Delta to the Pacific Northwest and seemingly everywhere in between. It took him across California, where he put a rivalries aside to join hands with Jerry Brown, running to reclaim his old job as governor. Aides said Clinton might return to the road next week to visit the battlegrounds of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Some assume Democratic leaders in Washington are orchestrating Clinton's campaign activities, but he is deployed by no one but himself. Democratic candidates of all stripes are funneling requests and seeking advice through his top aide, Douglas Band. Clinton prioritizes politicians who helped his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in her 2008 presidential campaign. (As secretary of state, she is banned from political activity.) He also has paid special care to loyal friends such as Rep. Kendrick B. Meek (D-Fla.), who, despite running a distant third in his Senate race, has drawn Clinton for more than a half-dozen visits, most recently this week. The White House and congressional leaders do not coach him on what to say. Clinton does not read from a prompter and only rarely refers to his notes at the lectern. He gives no interviews with local or national reporters and on most days races in his motorcade from airport to rally to airport again. Clinton speaks infrequently with the candidates - in some cases not at all before showing up for an event. Clinton always has been a voracious consumer of news, especially political news, and aides say he stays up to speed on their races. This is evident in his speeches. He devotes a substantial portion to the local issues defining specific races. In Washington state, he mused repeatedly about a Boeing tanker deal. In New Mexico, he riffed at length about water use and encroachment from neighboring Texas. At each stop, Clinton waxes nostalgic, as if he were revisiting an old haunt. At San Jose State: "In 1992, when I ran for president the first time, the best rally we had in all of California was here at San Jose State." In New Mexico: "When you voted for me twice, I got to know this state and know its people, and know the unique heart and soul and dreams, and know the way you accommodate all this diversity and build a common sense of humanity here. It means something to me. You're special to America." After every speech, he flings off his suit jacket and works the crowd. He wraps his arms around folks and listens for cues about what ails America. Clinton's speeches are bookended by thumping tunes - a Motown classic in Everett, a Kanye West hit at San Jose State's arena, a mariachi folk song in Espanola. "I keep thinking I'm too old for this," Clinton quipped to a crowd of 5,000 as the sun set behind him over the open-air Plaza de Espanola at a rally for New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish. "No! No! No!" the crowd cried out. "Then I got out here and started stirring around and realized a lot of people were mad and even more confused, and I didn't want it on my conscience," Clinton said. "So I sort of loaded up and started strolling around." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/21/AR2010102106553.html
I expected a slight Dem surge near the end because it doesn't feel like 1994 (for a lot of reasons). But these mid-terms will still end up being a slam dunk for Republicans, who will probably take the House and will dominate governorships in charge of redistricting. Speaking of a runaway locomotive, maybe the Dems plow off a cliff going 80 mph instead of 100 mph. Either way, it's going to be a bad train-wreck.
Its not like the insurance companies are not doing those things just for the heck of doing it. They are doing it because of some actuarial tables that say that this is the risk for this group and base their rates accordingly. That is why all that will happen is the rates go up on everyone to cover the difference. That is why we needed a public option so we can take the profit motive out of it. Unfortunately the democrats didn't deliver a real solution, just made a bad one worse. I think the democrats had a lot of political capital yet they keep blowing it.
i like this one: <object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OTSQozWP-rM?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OTSQozWP-rM?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object>
First off, that's besides the point as to whether it's a good ad campaign or not. But beyond that, what you said is not accurate. Either these women are already covered or not. If they are, rates wouldn't have to go up on everyone - if anything, they would go up for guys and down for the women; there's no new cost for insurers there. If they aren't covered, then having them covered may raise the cost of insurance if their cost is higher than the average we pay now - but it also will reduce the number of uninsured, meaning we pay less in taxes and other payments that we currently pay to subsidize the uninsured; and since they still get emergency care now, it would cut those costs for the rest of us as well. The reality is that 300MM Americans were getting health care a year ago; 300MM Americans will be getting health care 5 years from now. The system will be more efficient by reducing the amount of emergency health care, and the costs will be spread over all 300MM people instead of the 200-250MM that are paying it right now.
Clinton's right the Dems need to articulate their message better but other than that I don't think any other politician can do what Clinton does. The man is quite possibly the greatest natural politician of the last 45 years.
So you are saying we should be more like the PRC? FYI if you think our stimulus plan and domestic spending is too large keep in mind the PRC also has $456 billion stimulus bill too and are spending far more than we are on domestic infrastructure.
