Thanks Theo67
Posts Tagged ‘democrats
05
Aug
11
wisconsin
27
Jul
11
“what the heck is this?”
At first I thought Harry had called them “Rethugs” at 0:51 and I was about to send him roses. 
Mother Jones
Thank you Meta
06
Jul
11
out on a limb
SenateDemocrats
29
Jun
11
work-shy
The Hill: House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a 2011 schedule that will keep lawmakers in the nation’s capital for shorter periods of time, allowing them to travel home more frequently. The schedule represents a major change from how Democrats have run the lower chamber over the last four years.
Under the new calendar, House members will have a cycle of being in session for two weeks in Washington and then spending the following week in their home districts. Incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the new schedule would create “certainty” for members.
… Intent on winning back their majority, Democrats will be targeting many Republican freshmen in the new Congress. Politically, Republicans believe that allowing members to go home to their districts more will keep them in touch with the needs of constituents and increase their chances of reelection in 2012.
… “In total, it contains 123 days and 32 weeks of session,” Cantor said … Democrats countered Cantor’s announcement by pointing out that the House was in session for 152 days in 2007 and 148 days in 2009.
More here
Thank you Ladyhawke
Does this give the the Republican majority in the House of Representatives even less time to introduce zero jobs bills?
21
Jun
11
rino?
Steve Benen: ….I can appreciate all of the reasons to take Jon Huntsman seriously as a candidate ….. but Huntsman is a moderate in an era when Republicans don’t like moderates.
Huntsman believes “health care is a right” …. He believes climate change is real and endorsed a cap-and-trade plan to address is …. He supported an individual mandate as part of health care reform … Republicans are on the opposite side of all of these issues. .. Oh, and he’s also a former member of the Obama administration who called President Obama a “remarkable leader.”
The Republican base has gone to great lengths to target so-called RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) … We’re to believe this same base will tolerate a moderate as their presidential nominee? Sure, Huntsman will start engaging in Romney-like flip-flops and try to reinvent himself. And sure, the media’s sycophantic adulation will give the guy a boost his rivals probably won’t enjoy.
But when push comes to shove, what are the chances Republican voters will nominate a former member of Obama’s team who doesn’t even want to describe himself as conservative? Strange things happen, but I’m hard pressed to imagine how anything this strange happens.
More here
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According to GOPolitico, Fox News was the first to cut away from Huntsman’s ‘big’ announcement today - half way through his speech. So, they’ll treat him with as much as respect during his campaign as they do the President.
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Thanks Ladyhawke
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More on Huntsman at The Reid Report
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Loriah just alerted me to Huntsman’s Google (Images) problem:
18
Jun
11
he’s losing the base!
Gallup
Thank you Lisa
14
Jun
11
“fight back harder”
Democrats.org
Thank you GGail 
12
Jun
11
‘party to leave the party’
Broward Palm Beach: Next month the Broward County Police Benevolent Association is holding a “Party to Leave the Party” - an event coordinated with the Supervisor of Elections where police officers and the general public can switch their voter registrations from Republican to Democratic or Independent.
The reason for the switch? The association, which serves as the bargaining union for the county’s law enforcement officers, is unhappy with the leadership of Governor Rick Scott and the results of the past legislative session, including changes to the Florida Retirement System that will require the workers to pay more of their own wages into retirement savings.
The PBA may be a union, but it’s not traditionally a bunch of liberals … “I think most of our police officers and stuff are Republicans,” says Broward PBA President Patrick Hanrihan. Well, until the party-switching party, that is. “We’ve been supporting Republican governors for the past 20 years,” Hanrihan continued.
But this one’s antics may be too much for the traditionally red-voting, gun-wielding, meat-eating, hippie-busting (OK, we’ll stop) cops to stomach. “[Governor Scott's] union dues deduction bill is a flat-out union-busting bill,” says Hanrihan. “Under the law, a government agency wouldn’t be allowed to collect union dues if it was involved in political campaigns.” He notes that Scott had “no problem” taking money from the police union in the past election….
More here
Thank you HopeFruit
Gallup: In May, 45% of Americans identified as Democrats or said they were independent but leaned Democratic, compared with 39% who identified as Republicans or leaned Republican. The six-percentage-point Democratic advantage represents a slight increase from the four-point advantage Gallup measured in April, which matches the 2011 average to date.
….the current six-point Democratic edge is the largest measured in Gallup Daily tracking since October 2009, when the gap was seven points … the recent increase coincides with Americans’ more positive evaluations of President Obama, who averaged 50% job approval in May, compared with 44% in April.
Greg Sargent (Washington Post): Obama and Dems winning the battle over Medicare - A new Post polling out this morning demonstrates this in the clearest terms yet. The poll finds that Obama holds a double digit lead over Republicans on who is most trusted to do a better job “protecting the Medicare system,” 49-35…..
That’s not all. The poll also finds that less than a third of Americans, 32 percent, support the GOP Medicare plan, even though the question merely says it would “change” Medicare, not end it, and specifies that the plan would not change the status of those over 55, a key GOP defense of the proposal. Forty-nine percent oppose it.
Still more: A plurality, 49 percent, believe the GOP plan will force future generations of Medicare recipients to pay more for health insurance, while barely more than a fourth, 27 percent, thinks things would stay the same. Though Dems have been widely accused of demagoguing the GOP Medicare plan, it just may be that the public has rejected it on the merits.
25
May
11
wow…….
NYT: Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.
The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether the party should rethink its commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability as 2012 elections loom.
Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser. But Ms. Hochul seized on her Republican rival’s embrace of the proposal from Representative Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, to overhaul Medicare, and she never let up.
Full article here - Thank you Sarah T
President Obama: “I want to extend my congratulations to Congresswoman-elect Kathy Hochul for her victory in New York’s 26th Congressional District. Kathy and I both believe that we need to create jobs, grow our economy, and reduce the deficit in order to outcompete other nations and win the future. Kathy has shown, through her victory and throughout her career, that she will fight for the families and businesses in western New York, and I look forward to working with her when she gets to Washington.”
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Steve Benen: … I can’t help but notice that the month of May has been awfully kind to the Democratic Party. Last night, in a major upset, Buffalo-area voters elected a Democratic congresswoman in a ruby-red district that never elects Democrats. The driving issue of the campaign: the Republican agenda in Congress …. it’s the latest in a line of recent victories.
* New Hampshire: Last week, there was a special election in a state House district where Republicans have dominated for years. The Democratic candidate won in a landslide, even after a local town clerk illegally required photo IDs to vote.
* Florida: Also last week, Jacksonville was home to a high-profile mayoral race, and the state GOP touted the election as the first warning shot of the 2012 cycle. Instead, voters elected Democrat Alvin Brown - Jacksonville’s first African-American mayor - stunning the Republican establishment statewide.
* Wisconsin: Three weeks ago, there was a special election in a Wisconsin state Assembly district that has been represented by a Republican for 16 years. In this case, the Democrat won by eight points.
* Maine: Two weeks ago, there was a special election to fill a vacancy in the state Senate, in a district that has been very competitive in the recent past. In this case, the Democrat won by a crushing 2-to-1 margin.
…. the Republicans would be wise to take a moment to realize Americans aren’t buying what the GOP is selling. Indeed, it looks an awful lot like buyer’s remorse is the most common public sentiment.
Full post here
GOPolitico: President Obama’s grassroots army, Organizing for America, played a significant supporting role in efforts to amp turnout for Kathy Hochul in yesterday’s big special election win, according to Democratic sources.
OFA’s New York chapter - joining other national groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - manned phone banks and dropped campaign lit, and some even went door-to-door in the heavily Republican upstate district.
…Tuesday’s win is critical for Obama’s 2012 narrative: That reckless Republicans are intent on wrecking Medicare – and can be stopped if Democrats band together. Just like in ’08.
OFA-NY hosted 22 phone banks in the district and in other parts of the state over the 12 days leading up to Tuesday’s election … the group also made 3,402 in-person contacts with voters out of a 53,000-contact door-knocking efforts led by local Democrats, unions and Hochul’s own field organizers.
And OFA used its vaunted email list to recruit volunteers, text likely voters and push blog posts and news stories favorable to Hochul – and whacking Republican Jane Corwin, who lost by a slim four points in a tight three-way race to replace shirtless and seat-less former GOP Rep. Chris Lee.
17
May
11
begich, landrieu, nelson
Greg Sargent: Moments ago, the Dem bid in the Senate to end tax breaks for Big Oil fell short of the 60 need votes, 52-48. The only two Republicans who voted Yes: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
The Dems who opposed it: Mark Begich, Mary Landrieu, and Ben Nelson.
Meanwhile, Senate Dems are circulating video of all the Senate Republicans who once supported ending them:
08
May
11
fair and balanced!
ThinkProgress: One week after President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, the AP reports this afternoon on who we can expect to hear from on this week’s Sunday political talk shows:
ABC’s “This Week” — National security adviser Tom Donilon; Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Husain Haqqani; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Donilon; former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff; former CIA Director Michael Hayden; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
CNN’s “State of the Union” — Donilon; Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; NATO’s secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
“Fox News Sunday” — Donilon; former Vice President Dick Cheney.
That’s right. Despite the fact that President Obama gave the order to take down bin Laden, only one Obama administration official will take part in this Sunday’s festivities. By contrast, there are 5 former Bush administration officials making appearances. In total, 7 Republicans are on the networks this Sunday versus 2 Democrats. Torture apologists have been arguing this week that Bush’s torture program is responsible for getting bin Laden. Conveniently, this Sunday, some of the Bush administration officials involved in authorizing it will get their chance to defend themselves.
Steve Benen: ……by my count, nine Republicans from Congress or the Bush administration will be on this morning, as compared to three Democrats from Congress or the Obama administration. In other words, it’s a fairly typical Sunday - even after a major success story for a Democratic White House.
TPM: With the help of 81 Democrats, the House passed legislation Thursday to fund the government through September and avoid a government shutdown. Fifty-nine Republicans defected from GOP leadership, leaving Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) woefully short of the necessary majority to pass the bill without Democratic help. The final vote was 260-167.
The fact that Boehner needed nearly 40 Democratic votes to pass the resolution and avoid a government shutdown was a stunning blow to his leadership, especially after he shut House Democrats out of budget negotiations and just a few days ago dismissed the need to secure any Democratic votes.
More here
Thank you Maji
167? But as Maji said, Rusty promised this would be a ‘no-go’ if he couldn’t get 218 Republicans to vote for it. Oh dear.
White House.gov
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