Just POlitics

2008: Condi versus Hillary?

Dick Morris in The Hill suggests the contest for President is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice against Sen. Hillary Clinton:

As she tours the continent after her Senate confirmation, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is like a rock star — her every movement, her every meeting covered by an adoring media.

America’s first black female secretary of state is doing in public what she has always done in private — speaking frankly about America’s priorities and the realities of the post-Cold War world. As she jokes with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, loosening up his dogmatic anti-American policies, lectures Russia about freedom and warns Israel of tough decisions ahead, one thing is obvious: A star is being born.

Democrat disarray on Social Security

One day after news articles by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated that they were not going to offer alternatives to Bush’s Social Security proposal, rank and file Democrats are defying their orders and offering individual plans.

The Washington Times reports:

Rep. Dennis Moore, Kansas Democrat, and Rep. Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Democrat, have each crafted versions of "lock box" bills aimed at ensuring that Social Security trust fund money is not diverted for other uses.

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat, has been shopping the idea that Congress could pay for Social Security's projected shortfall over the next 75 years simply by refraining from extending some of Mr. Bush's tax cuts.

Rep. Allen Boyd of Florida is the only Democrat who has co-sponsored legislation that includes private accounts.

Blocking Social Security to Mexico

Two Republican Congressman -- Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., Virginia, and Rep. J.D. Hayworth, Arizona -- are introducing a resolution that would block a totalization agreement on Social Security benefits with Mexico.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) signed an agreement in June with the Mexican government. Under the agreement, American companies who employ Americans in Mexico or Mexican companies employing Mexicans in the United States would not have to pay retirement-security taxes to both nations.

Totalization also allows for the combining of retirement taxes paid into different countries to be combined to increase the calculation of retirement benefits.

In 2001, the SSA paid $173 million in benefits to 89,000 former workers living abroad — an average benefit of $162 per month, compared with $825 per month to 45 million Social Security beneficiaries living in the United States.

The United States has signed 20 totalization agreements with other nations, including most of Western Europe.

Bush’s Black outreach

"We will continue to enforce laws against racial discrimination in education and housing and public accommodations," President Bush said. "We'll continue working to spread hope and opportunity to African Americans with no inheritance but their character — by giving them greater access to capital and education."

President Bush launched his outreach to Blacks from the White House and minutes later RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman followed up with his own meetings with Black leaders.

President Bush increased his percentage of Black votes in 2004 to 11 percent compared to 9 percent in 2000.

Gay Marriage ban

There are likely to continue to be votes on the ballots to ban gay marriage during the 2008 election. Other states will continue to do what Virginia did in passing a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Virginia’s House voted 78-18 in passing the amendment, which also bans same-sex civil unions. The legislature must pass the amendment again next year before it is sent to voters in Nov. 2006.

Airport screeners are back

The Washington Post covers the President’s proposal to privatize airport screening. The Homeland Security bill was held up by Democrats who insisted that the screeners be federal employees:

The Transportation Security Administration, the primary government agency entrusted with protecting travelers from terrorist attacks aboard commercial airliners, faces a large-scale dismantling under President Bush's 2006 budget proposal.

If approved by Congress, the proposal would strip the TSA of its biggest and most high-profile programs and leave it largely as a manager of 45,000 security screeners at a time when airports may now elect to replace the federal screeners with those employed by private companies.

The Bush budget calls for the Department of Homeland Security to create an office called Screening Coordination and Operations that would absorb some programs of TSA and other divisions. The office would oversee records on millions of Americans and foreigners in vast databases that contain digital fingerprints and photographs, eye scans and personal information from travelers and transportation workers. The move is meant to prevent overlap among the various programs now scattered across the department and improve efficiency.

Congress’ Medicare wake-up call

Congress is in a dither because the new budget bill shows that the new drug bill will cost between 1.2 trillion to 720 billion over the next ten years. When Congress passed the legislation, the cost was estimated to be $534 billion over ten years.

What some Congressman are now beginning to realize is that the drug benefit legislation for seniors has virtually no cost in the first two years before the legislation takes effect. Now, the budget shows the full cost per year for the estimated drug benefits.

Providing prescription coverage for more than 41 million seniors in 2014 and 2015 will cost more than $107 billion annually.

Bush’s devolution

The Washington Post seeks to characterize President Bush’s presidency as a more powerful government. The Post argues that Bush’s agenda of intervening in bringing accountability to schools, capping lawsuits, making class action suits under federal courts, and etc… are all an activist overpowering government approach. The Bush Administration sees it as devolution:

"We have moved from devolution, which was just pushing back as much power as possible to the states, back to where government is limited but active," said John Bridgeland, director of Bush's domestic policy council in the first term. Bridgeland and current White House officials see Bush's governing philosophy as a smart way to modernize the government, empower individuals and broaden the appeal of the GOP.

Reid is an obstructionist

Analysis by: Roger Wm. Hughes

Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid doesn’t seem to like his new moniker of obstructionist. Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have sent word not to offer counter proposals to the Bush proposals. They have been obstructionist in every sense of the word since the election of President Bush. Reid has done nothing to stop the unprecedented filibuster of judicial nominees. He has failed in offering any positive word to the President or any proposal that was a compromise.

Clearly, Sen. Reid -- from the red state of Nevada -- is concerned about former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s fate. Reid is pompous if he believes that he is not an obstructionist or that he can escape getting ‘Daschled’ if he does not mend his ways. Despite this fact, Reid seems to be bent on trying to do both.

"I want the boys at the White House, the girls at the White House, the men and women at the White House, everyone to understand that I haven't lost one wink of sleep over the attack," said Sen. Reid.

The flack comes from the Republican National Committee sending millions of letters to Bush Supporters regarding Reid’s obstructionist behavior.

Nevada, like Daschle’s home state of South Dakota, will not stand for someone who says one thing in the home state and does something else in Washington.

[NOTE: Sean Hannity offers an insightful look at Sen. Reid here.]

Force controversy

The NY Times covers the conflict with the Pentagon and Congress over the permanent need to increase the Army’s force structure:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the Army's senior leadership have agreed to delay at least until 2006 a decision on whether to expand the Army permanently, senior Pentagon and Army officials said Tuesday.

The move could set up a confrontation with influential members of Congress who have been pressing Mr. Rumsfeld to agree to an increase in the size of the Army, which has been under strain because of the continuing deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hillary’s vote effort

Hillary Clinton has zig’d to the right but she always zags back to the left. This is the impeccable timing of Sen. Clinton. Her most recent e-mail pairs her with Sen. (I am Liberal) Barbara Boxer. The e-mail is over the Democrat conspiratory theory of stealing elections. Here is her e-mail:

Dear Friends,

It's time to tell those who celebrate elections and voter participation in countries around the world that we must make sure every vote is counted in elections right here at home!

That's why I am asking you to sign on now as a citizen co-sponsor of vitally important election reform legislation.

Sign the petition:
http://activate.friendsofhillary.com/t?ctl=B7E7C5:1F0AD46

Next week, I will introduce the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer. This comprehensive election reform bill will:

- Provide a verified paper ballot for every vote cast in electronic voting machines;
- Set a uniform standard for provisional ballots, so that every qualified voter within the state will know their votes are treated equally and will be counted; and
- Require the Federal Election Assistance Commission to issue standards that ensure uniform access to voting machines and election personnel in every community. It's outrageous that some people in predominantly minority communities had to wait up to 10 hours to vote, while people in other communities often voted in minutes!

In 2004, I introduced legislation similar to the Count Every Vote Act. But, it never saw the light of day. I couldn't even get a hearing for my bill before the Senate Rules Committee. We can't allow this new legislation to suffer the same fate.

The Republicans who control Congress don't want to address this issue. So, we've got to build grassroots momentum to make sure they don't have any choice but to act. That's why I am determined to keep moving forward - on the Hill, with advocacy groups, and with all of you!

Sign the petition:
http://activate.friendsofhillary.com/t?ctl=B7E7C5:1F0AD46

Will you join me in calling for action to Count Every Vote? Will you sign up to become a citizen co-sponsor of this bill, so that we can demonstrate that the American people won't sit still for inaction on legislation so essential to our freedom?

Please forward this e-mail to your friends, and ask them to join us. And then, consider making a contribution to Friends of Hillary to help us keep this important project going.

Make a contribution:
http://activate.friendsofhillary.com/t?ctl=B7E7C7:1F0AD46

Together, we will restore the credibility of American democracy, and make sure that we count every vote.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

P.S. You have been such a good friend and supporter, and I appreciate everything you have done. The Count Every Vote Act is one of the most important bills I will ever introduce as a Senator. I hope you will be able to help me now.

Please help spread the word by forwarding this message to your friends and family!

Dems Budget talk

The Democrat National Committee is responding to the Bush budget. Here is their latest e-mail:

The proposed 2006 federal budget President Bush released yesterday would drive America deeper into debt while making cuts that will hurt veterans, farmers, and other working Americans.

Bush's budget leaves out the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, currently running at $5 billion per month. It leaves out the cost of his Social Security privatization scheme and makes other unrealistic assumptions and ignores costs in an attempt to paint the rosiest picture possible. But his budget does nothing to decrease the deficit.

Despite Bush's failure to rein in the deficit, his budget still includes cuts to programs that will hurt Americans who need the most help. Areas Bush wants to cut include:

      Medicaid

      Veterans' health benefits (forcing veterans to pay more for health care)

      College loans

      Education programs that help poor children

      Farm subsidies

      Community development grants

Bush's allies in Congress are already expressing their opposition to the cuts in his budget. One Wall Street economist called the numbers "not credible," saying they "haven't been for the last few years and they shouldn't be looked at with much seriousness now."

Take Action

Sign our petition today and tell President Bush to take his budget back to the drawing board. America needs a responsible budget that meets our priorities while making serious reductions in the deficit.

http://www.democrats.org/action

And be sure to spread the word by telling your friends about our petition:

http://www.democrats.org/action/tellafriend/

Sincerely,
Doug, Eric, Jesse, Nancy, and Josh
The DNC Internet Team

US: oust El Baradei

The U.S. is reported by the Associated Press as trying to oust the head of nuclear inspections for the U.N.:

During the same Feb. 28 meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Washington also will increase the pressure on Iran for allegedly trying to make nuclear weapons, the officials told The Associated Press.

Washington considers IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei too soft on Iran and its alleged plans to make nuclear arms and the international community ineffective in dealing with the same perceived threat.

Dayton not running

A surprising early announcement has come from Sen. Mark Dayton that he will not run for reelection in his home state of Minnesota. Republicans had made little secret of the fact that they intended to run hard at Dayton next year. The names of GOP Reps. Mark Kennedy and Gil Gutnecht had both surfaced in recent months as potential challengers.

Dayton is most notable for running away from Washington when he said it was not safe to be in Washington.

It’s the Howard Dean Scream Contest!

It all happened in Iowa... the infamous Dean Scream. And now comes the Howard Dean Scream Contest. Here’s the scoop – straight from Drudge.com:

Impersonators of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s infamous scream can finally cash in on their talent, ROLL CALL reports.

To celebrate (or desecrate) the Democratic Party’s official selection of Dean as the next party chairman, anyone who shows up at the Trover Shop book store on Capitol Hill this Thursday through Sunday and does the Dean Scream will get an (almost free) Howard Dean bobblehead doll.

The creator of the Dean bobblehead, John Edgell, asks only that each Dean screamer make a small contribution — he suggests $5 — to the Kristen Ann Carr Fund for sarcoma cancer research.

And if Dean himself appears at Trover and recreates his scream, Edgell promises to make a $500 donation in the good doctor’s name.

Doing his own version of the Dean Scream, Edgell told HOH, “We’re going to Washington, D.C., to Trover’s for a Howard Dean bobblehead, and one day we’ll take back the White House! YEEAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

To inspire would-be screamers, here is the text of Dean’s screeching moment following his loss in the Iowa caucuses:

“Not only are we going to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we’re going to South Carolina, and Oklahoma, and Arizona, and North Dakota, and New Mexico. We’re going to California, and Texas, and New York. And we’re going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan. And then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! YEEAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

Well, the infamous Dean Scream happened in Iowa, but as yet there’s no word whether anyone who actually was there in Iowa will be taking part in the competition...

Maybe the contest coordinators should take a cue from FreeRepublic.com blogger “techcor” who saw our latest cartoon (Dean Quixote) and commented, “To Scream the Impossible Scream”.