Top Democrat dismisses Beck’s ‘non-political’ rally as blatant politics
A Washington rally that will be hosted by Fox TV’s Glenn Beck and feature conservative power broker Sarah Palin drew the wrath on Friday of the chairman of the House Democratic campaign committee.
Chris Van Hollen rejected organizers’ assurances that the “Restoring Honor Rally” — expected to draw thousands of members of the conservative Tea Party movement — would be “non-political.”
In fact, Van Hollen predicted the rally would be partisan and could turn off many voters.
The event, to be held on Saturday on the National Mall — between the U.S. Capitol and Lincoln Memorial — is billed as an opportunity to “celebrate America by honoring our heroes, our heritage, our future.”
But with Beck and Palin on stage before a crush of enthusiastic followers, the rally seems ripe for partisan bashing.
“Let’s call it what it is. It’s a blatant political effort,” Van Hollen told reporters at the National Press Club where he also said his party would prove many analysts wrong and retain control of the House in the Nov. 2 election.
“You’ve seen Glenn Beck and a lot of the talk show hosts on Fox News out there talking about this election for the last 15 months,” Van Hollen said.
Hecklers halt Obama remarks
A persistent band of hecklers knocked President Barack Obama off message Monday night as he spoke at a fundraiser for the Democratic party and California Senator Barbara Boxer in Los Angeles. Obama was interrupted just after he launched into remarks praising Boxer as a senator who cares about the environment and is passionate about fighting for Californians.
Some folks in the audience apparently wanted to talk about something else as a group of protesters demanding the immediate repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” kept heckling him. ” What about don’t ask, don’t tell?” one protester shouted. “We are going to do that,” Obama said at one point in response to the heckling, an apparent reference to his intention to repeal the policy restricting gays from serving in the military.
Obama tried to talk over the protesters. Then he invited them on stage. Supporters chanting “yes we can” tried to drown them out. Heckled again, a visibly irritated Obama said: “Can I just say, once again, Barbara and I are supportive of repealing don’t ask don’t tell so I don’t know why you’re hollering.”
But the heckling continued, bringing Obama’s remarks to a halt. Supporters responded, shouting “yes we can!” over the protesters and Obama was soon back on message talking about Boxer and U.S. economic challenges.
About 1,400 people paid between $100 and $2,500 to attend the event at the California Science Center. The protesters were from GetEQUAL, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group that also orchestrated protests outside the fundraiser. The group was also behind a protest last month at the White House.
Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Obama on stage at fundraiser for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer in Los Angeles)
Now a U.S. senator, Scott Brown is ready to take on Obama
Fresh from a stunning election victory that shook the confidence of the national Democratic Party, Scott Brown says he’s ready for a showdown with President Barack Obama — on the basketball court. Brown, known only a few weeks ago as a dude with a truck, says he challenged Obama to hoops when the two spoke by telephone on the night the Massachusetts Republican won Teddy Kennedy’s dyed-in-the-wool-Democratic-blue seat in the U.S. Senate. “The only time I spoke to him was election night and I did challenge him to pick his best, and I’ll take my daughter Ayla who plays for Boston College, and we’d challenge him to a little 2-on-2. I think we’d have the upper hand,” Brown said in an interview with TV comedian Jay Leno. “He looks like he’s in great shape. It’d certainly be a tough game,” he said. Brown didn’t mention how the president responded. Obama, a hard-core hoophead, has shot baskets on the campaign trail, with U.S. troops in the field and with kids on the South Lawn of the White House. At 48, he would have a two-year advantage over the 50-year-old Brown. But as Sports Illustrated magazine notes, the president can’t dunk and doesn’t have a hoopster nickname. Brown does have a nickname. At Tufts University, he was known as “Downtown Scotty Brown,” possibly for his long-distance jumpshots. And that’s not all. In a given week, Brown told Leno, he swims close to 2 miles, bikes about 95 and runs 15 or 20 miles.
If Obama’s really looking for ways to reach out to Republicans, a friendly game of basketball might make a nice change from all the ankle-tripping, elbow-jabbing, floorboard-thumping contests on Capitol Hill.
Photo Credits: Reuters/Brian Snyder (Brown Victory); Reuters/Mario Anzuoni (Leno); Reuters/Jim Young (Obama and Young Hoopster)
Scott Brown can`t hold a candle to President Obama. Scott Brown would fare much better in a nude matchup for Playgirl with Levi Johnston,( Bristol Palin`s baby daddy )…. Obama is much too intelligent for the likes of Scott Brown, or any other of those right wing knuckle dragging neanderthals . After the drubbing Obama gave those idiots at that republican retreat, it`s no wonder the party of NO, hitches their wagons to light weight untelligent fools like Sarah Palin,and Joe the Plumber.
The First Draft: Preparing for a fall?
Are Democrats trying to soften the blow for President Barack Obama if the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, Creigh Deeds, loses in the November elections?
The Washington Post thinks so. It says in a front page story that top Democrats sense that Deeds is likely to lose in the key swing state so they’re trying to distance Obama from him.
The article cites senior administration officials who are frustrated with the way Deeds has handled his campaign, saying he refused some strategic advice. They also say he did not reach out to some key constituencies that helped Obama win Virginia in the 2008 presidential race — the first time in decades that a Democrat won in that state.
A senior administration official said Deeds badly erred on several fronts, including not doing a better job of coordinating with the White House. “I understood in the beginning why there was some reluctance to run all around the state with Barack Obama,” said the official, who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly about the race. “You don’t do that in Virginia. But when you consider the African American turnout that they need, and then when you consider as well they’ve got a huge problem with surge voters, younger voters, we were just a natural for them.”
So will this prep work help shield Obama from any fallout if the Democrat does not win the Virginia governorship?
For more Reuters political news, click here.
Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama campaigns with Deeds)
Obama tells critics to “grab a mop”
President Barack Obama fired back on Tuesday at conservative critics who say he has not accomplished enough in his first nine months in office.
He told them they should “grab a mop” to help him clean up the mess he inherited from Republican President George W. Bush.
Many Republican critics say the continued sluggishness in the economy and the rise in the unemployment rate to 9.8 percent were a sign that Obama policies on the economy were not effective.
But at a pair of Democratic fund-raisers in New York, the president emphasized the dire straits the economy was in when he took over from Bush.
“I don’t mind cleaning up the mess that some other folks made. That’s what I signed up to do,” Obama said. “But while I’m there mopping the floor, I don’t want somebody standing there saying, you’re not mopping fast enough or you’re not holding the mop the right way.”
For more Reuters political coverage click here.
Photo Credit:Reuters/Jason Reed (Obama at a Democratic party fundraiser in New York City)
Why all the personal attacks against the republicans?
Obama is steering the car now. He gets to take the complaints. Just like the democrats complained for the last eight years.
It is unlikely that all Republicans are hate filled, or praying for Obama’s failure. And even if they were, this has no bearing on whether Obama actually succeeds or not.
The reality is that if Obama fails, the faith in him was misplaced. If you are going to win an election by telling simple folk that you will fix the country, it is a bit pathetic to then complain about how hard the job is.
I feel we will see a much more humble Obama, come 2011.
What a difference a year makes
A year ago, Senator Arlen Specter was on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania — appearing for a fellow Republican senator, John McCain, who was in an intense race for the presidency against a Democratic senator, Barack Obama. The two presidential candidates both spent a great deal of time in the swing state, which ended up going Democratic in the November election.
A year later, Specter is busy on the campaign trail again in another tough Philadelphia political battle, his own bid for reelection. But this time, the former moderate Republican is a Democrat. And he wielded the Democrats’ most formidable election weapon at an evening of fundraising on Tuesday — President Barack Obama.
Specter left the Republican party earlier this year, helping to strengthen the Democratic majority in Congress. To thank the 79-year-old, Obama had said he would stand by Specter even in a primary fight to be nominated as the Democratic candidate to retain his Senate seat in 2010.
And he stood by him on Tuesday. Obama spoke at two different fundraising events in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Inquirer said the twin Specter events were expected to raise close to $2.5 million, the goal of the evening. Obama touted Specter’s record and qualities to an audience of several hundred supporters who had donated $1,000 to $4,800 each. Slightly hoarse after a day of speeches to auto workers, the AFL-CIO and Specter supporters, Obama later spoke again at a sit-down dinner for a group of big donors to Specter and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Aides said Obama posed for 100 pictures with the 200 dinner attendees, two of them at a time.
Obama hailed Specter as “a man who has always put his state before politics, before party.”
Specter praised Obama as “a transformational candidate moving toward being a transformational president.”
Specter knows about transformation.
The First Draft: Power of persuasion?
President Barack Obama has targetted healthcare reform as his top legislative priority. Now he just has to convince Congress to make it work.
Over the past week, Obama has stepped up pressure on lawmakers, speaking out each day about the need for an overhaul of the unwieldy system. He also has invited key lawmakers to the White House for a little personal persuasion.
Four Republican senators made the trip down Pennsylvania Avenue to see the president on Wednesday and today he’ll meet with Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and Democrat Ben Nelson. Yesterday Obama also took the opportunity of congratulating the newest congresswoman — Judy Chu of California — on her victory to make a special mention of healthcare and the need to reform the system and lower costs for Americans.
When they’re not being wooed by the president, lawmakers will stay busy talking about healthcare on Capitol Hill today. The thorny issue of taxes will take center stage in the congressional debate.
The House Ways and Means Committee begins debate, and may vote, on proposed taxes and fees in the House Democratic healthcare proposal. Those include a tax on richest Americans to help pay for the healthcare overhaul. Two other House committees — Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor — are working on their portions of the bill.
The Senate Finance Committee meets in closed session again for debates on how to pay for the overhaul. They are considering whether to tax any portion of employee healthcare benefits.
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor heads back to the hearing room to face senators in the Judiciary Committee for the fourth day in a row. Though Republican lawmakers have tried to paint her as a judicial activist who will stamp the court with Obama’s liberal agenda, Sotomayor has held steady and remained calm with measured assurances that she is not an activist.
a lot of people are totally irresponsible,they choose to live their lives with out any consideration for their health or prevision.they would not be prepared to pay any amount of money to any health insurance if they knew that there was a possibility of getting it for free.in the past fortunately for them you had employers carrying the burden.this section of the population is a lot greater than we think,liberal thinking has always failed when it has assumed that people are grateful,but reality is most recipients of handouts take them for granted and argue that it is their entitlement.
Poll: U.S. Senate leader has problems in home state
Sure it’s a long way before the November 2010 U.S. congressional election — and a lot can happen between now and then. But at this point, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada seems to be in jeopardy of becoming the second Senate leader in a half century to be voted out of office.
A poll released on Tuesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal found that half of Nevada voters had an unfavorable view of Reid, while 38 percent had a favorable view, the newspaper said.
Reid won reelection in 2004 to a fourth term with 61 percent of the vote. But his approval ratings have since slipped. He became Senate Democratic leader in 2005, and majority leader in 2007.
“Harry Reid could be in trouble,” said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington.
Duffy said Reid faces the dangers of being a Senate leader while his party controls the White House.
“You have to be in tune with the White House as well as your constituents,” Duffy said.
because the tax increase proposals failed here in california ,they are predicting many people in the government sector will loose their jobs.guess what?bush is not getting the blame,people know what the problem is, democratic state government,their spending has gotten out of control.
from FaithWorld:
Gallup first: more Americans now “pro-life” than “pro-choice”
America may have a president and Congress that support abortion rights, but a new Gallup poll suggests that for the first time such a stance is not the majority view.
Gallup said on Friday that a new poll, conducted May 7 to 10, found "51 percent of Americans calling themselves 'pro-life' on the issue of abortion and 42 percent 'pro-choice.' This is the first time a majority of U.S. adults have identified themselves as pro-life since Gallup began asking this question in 1995."
"The new results, obtained from Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, represent a significant shift from a year ago, when 50 percent were pro-choice and 44 percent pro-life. Prior to now, the highest percentage identifying as pro-life was 46 percent, in both August 2001 and May 2002."
Underscoring how divisive the issue remains, the poll further found that 23 percent of Americans felt abortion should be illegal in all circumstances and 22 percent said it should be legal in all circumstances.
Still, it found that 53 percent held to a middle view -- that is should be legal in certain circumstances. That figure, Gallup said, has been steady since 1975.
A few other things stand out. The percentage of Republicans and those who lean to that party who lablel themselves "pro-life" rose by 10 percentage points over the past year to 70 percent. As there was essentially no shift among Democrats on this issue (33 percent said they were "pro-life," unchanged since last year) much of the shift clearly came from the Republican side. Does this suggest a hardening among the party faithful, whose numbers have also been in decline, in reaction to the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama?
Clinton has “mild allergies,” not new flu
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has twice been to Mexico in recent weeks, and so when she appeared at two State Department events on Friday with a cough and apparent cold symptoms, reporters asked an obvious question.
Did the top U.S. diplomat possibly get the new H1N1 swine flu during her trips to Mexico in late March and with U.S. President Barack Obama last month?
“You’ll be happy to know it’s just mild allergies. She suffers from mild allergies. That’s all it is,” said State Department spokesman Robert Wood when asked about Clinton’s health.
Another aide said Clinton has had allergies for a long time. The flu virus has killed up to 176 people in Mexico and since spread to the United States, where there has been one death.
For more Reuters political news, click here
Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Clinton testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 30)
“Have they started us on the path towards another civil war?”
Hopefully any Civil War will be internal to the conservatives. Hard to imagine Mormons (like Beck), Catholics, Baptists, and whatall cooperating for long without a common enemy to distract them from their critical and unresolvable points of disagreement with one another.