Wow, Harry Reid might have a couple of angels looking after him.
"...the Tea Party has qualified as a third party in Nevada and will have a candidate in the Senate race to battle for the seat held by Majority Leader Harry Reid."
The Tea Party candidate would suck many conservative votes that would have otherwise gone to the repub candidate. If Harry is cunning, which he is, he needs to be donating/diverting as much money to this guy as he can. It would be the only way he could possibly win.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Repubs Upset for Biden Taking Iraq War Credit
It would be a real kick in the repub teeth if the Dems get credit for this.
"But as vice president, Biden is taking credit for success in Iraq. 'I am very optimistic about Iraq,' he said. 'I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration.'"
It would be a major coup to have the Obama admin taking credit for the successes of the Iraq war. We all know Bush mismanaged both wars and to give his admin some credit, the current successes in Iraq were started under the Bush but it is Obama's admin that is managing it now and if repubs want to whine about it, let them. There is plenty of cheese to go round. I would recommend a nice gouda.
Obama's Al Queida Foreign Policy
Obama seems to be stepping up the drone attacks on enemies in Iraq/Afghanistan policy.
"It was not the first air strike on Obama's watch, but it marked the first major victory in his war on terrorism, a campaign the administration believes can be waged even more aggressively than its predecessor's."
It seems that Obama isn't really out there to catch and interrogate/prosecute enemies. His policy is to just kill them. He has stepped up considerably his drone attacks in theaters of war and now he might be starting these type of attacks in countries where the United States is not at war.
"Senior U.S. officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan's tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta."
I am not sure how this will work. Dead civilians does not show well on any t.v. Regardless of country. This type of policy is tricky and needs to be handed with care but could have really good results.
"It was not the first air strike on Obama's watch, but it marked the first major victory in his war on terrorism, a campaign the administration believes can be waged even more aggressively than its predecessor's."
It seems that Obama isn't really out there to catch and interrogate/prosecute enemies. His policy is to just kill them. He has stepped up considerably his drone attacks in theaters of war and now he might be starting these type of attacks in countries where the United States is not at war.
"Senior U.S. officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan's tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta."
I am not sure how this will work. Dead civilians does not show well on any t.v. Regardless of country. This type of policy is tricky and needs to be handed with care but could have really good results.
Bush Still Blamed For Crappy Economy
Coming from NYTimes poll:
"While the president is showing signs of vulnerability on his handling of the economy — a majority of respondents say he has yet to offer a clear plan for creating jobs — Americans blame former President George Bush, Wall Street and Congress much more than they do Mr. Obama for the nation’s economic problems and the budget deficit, the poll found."
Thank god for that. Too much has been said criticizing the mop Obama has had to use to clean up the Bush/repub mess. While the economy is Obama's he's not being blamed for the problem. Obama needs to get people back to work. That, more than anything else, would be the deciding factor for his reelection in 2012.
"While the president is showing signs of vulnerability on his handling of the economy — a majority of respondents say he has yet to offer a clear plan for creating jobs — Americans blame former President George Bush, Wall Street and Congress much more than they do Mr. Obama for the nation’s economic problems and the budget deficit, the poll found."
Thank god for that. Too much has been said criticizing the mop Obama has had to use to clean up the Bush/repub mess. While the economy is Obama's he's not being blamed for the problem. Obama needs to get people back to work. That, more than anything else, would be the deciding factor for his reelection in 2012.
Could The Fillibuster Be Over
Man, if only this could happen:
"The Harkin proposal would officially amend the process by which a filibuster is broken, allowing a four-step process that could eventually allow it to be broken by a majority vote. The first vote would require 60 votes to break the filibuster, followed by motions requiring 57, 54, and finally, 51 votes."
It looks like Senator Dick Durbin (D) is supporting it as well. It is a pie in the sky effort but it really does need to be considered. Taking into account the current obstructionist repub party and how our government seems unable to govern, it might be necessary.
"The Harkin proposal would officially amend the process by which a filibuster is broken, allowing a four-step process that could eventually allow it to be broken by a majority vote. The first vote would require 60 votes to break the filibuster, followed by motions requiring 57, 54, and finally, 51 votes."
It looks like Senator Dick Durbin (D) is supporting it as well. It is a pie in the sky effort but it really does need to be considered. Taking into account the current obstructionist repub party and how our government seems unable to govern, it might be necessary.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Most Americans Don't Feel Palin Is Qualified
From Washington Post:
"more than seven in 10 Americans now saying she is unqualified, up from 60 percent in a November survey."
Glad to hear that. While Palin might be trying to become the leader of the Tea Party, I hope repubs realize she is a liability. Also in the article:
"Two-thirds of Americans are 'dissatisfied' or downright 'angry' about the way the federal government is working"
While dems probably have some responsibility in this, I find that repubs (who don't like government, try everything they can to stop, clog, or "drown" the government) is the main reason for this. I am appalled at how the repubs ran the government into the ground from 2000-2008 then lost their asses in two elections and were at the helm when the worst recession of our lifetimes almost sank our economy, can possibly have any real say in how our government is governed. But with just 4o senators, they are basically running the show.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Palin's Palm Problem
It looks like Sarah Palin got caught cheating at a recent discussion at the Tea Party convention. Huggington Post has some great pictures of what Sara had written on the palm of her hand (not phone) in order to keep her focused on what she was talking about.
While I have no problem when people do this, it does seem a little hypocritical when she has criticized Obama of overusing a teleprompter. Check it out.
Update:
And here's the vid of her looking. It is about 44 seconds into the video where she sneaks a peak.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Obama Needs To Take A Page From Bush's Book
I hate to say it but Bush did have some efficient tactics. The problem was he abused the powers. The two powers that I think Obama needs to start reenacting are recess appointments and signing statements.
Recess appointments are appointments to posts done during a senate recess. Some positions in the government need to be vetted and voted on by the senate. If the senate is taking too long, and in order to keep government running, the president can appoint a person to a position if the senate is in recess. Like next weekend during presidents day weekend. Bush did this all the time circumventing the senate. Obama has not been doing this trying to respect the senate. The problem is that many government positions have yet to be filled. He needs to do this because the repubs are so vile in their obstructionism that one senator Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has put a blanket hold (preventing an appointee from being voted on) on ALL of Obama's appointees. Nothing is getting filled putting the U.S. more at risk
The other power needing to be reinstated is signing statements. Signing statements are done when a President signs a bill into law. They are statements that say that a president will ignore the law he's signing or they will enforce part of the law but ignore another part. The controversy during the Bush years was that he was hell bent on making a grotesquely powerful executive branch and anything that might have been construed as limiting Bush's power, Bush ignored it with a signing statement. Now, Obama appears to reversed course, limiting the power of the executive branch. Now, with our economy, job losses, and banking problems, we need some signing statements giving him more power to get the job done.
Obama needs to start bullying some people to get things done. While a lot has been done over the past year, the public doesn't see it. All the public sees is jobs being lost and houses be foreclosed on.
Recess appointments are appointments to posts done during a senate recess. Some positions in the government need to be vetted and voted on by the senate. If the senate is taking too long, and in order to keep government running, the president can appoint a person to a position if the senate is in recess. Like next weekend during presidents day weekend. Bush did this all the time circumventing the senate. Obama has not been doing this trying to respect the senate. The problem is that many government positions have yet to be filled. He needs to do this because the repubs are so vile in their obstructionism that one senator Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has put a blanket hold (preventing an appointee from being voted on) on ALL of Obama's appointees. Nothing is getting filled putting the U.S. more at risk
The other power needing to be reinstated is signing statements. Signing statements are done when a President signs a bill into law. They are statements that say that a president will ignore the law he's signing or they will enforce part of the law but ignore another part. The controversy during the Bush years was that he was hell bent on making a grotesquely powerful executive branch and anything that might have been construed as limiting Bush's power, Bush ignored it with a signing statement. Now, Obama appears to reversed course, limiting the power of the executive branch. Now, with our economy, job losses, and banking problems, we need some signing statements giving him more power to get the job done.
Obama needs to start bullying some people to get things done. While a lot has been done over the past year, the public doesn't see it. All the public sees is jobs being lost and houses be foreclosed on.
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