Tag: DNC

May 20 2011

The Flipping of NY-26

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Oh those family values Tea Partying Republicans. Last February newly elected US House Rep. Christopher Lee (R NY-26) posted bare chested photos of himself on Craig’s List and claimed to  be a 39 year old divorced lobbyist. A couple of problems emerged for him since he is in his 40’s and married with a child, so he tendered his immediate resignation from the House on Feb.9, leaving the seat open for a special election. Historically, the district in Western New York has been solidly Republican but, as fortune would have it, that may just that, history.

Since the vote in this House on straight party lines for the Ryan budget plan that would scrap Medicare and decimate Medicaid, the district may now flip to blue. There is a three way race that has pretty much become a two way with the Tea Party candidate, Jack Davis, siphoning votes from the Republican, Jane Corwin, which has given the edge to the Democrat, Kathy Hochul. Despite the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee flooding the district with money, advertising and big name supporters, Corwin can’t shake the spectrum of the “grandma off the bridge” image of killing Medicare. Hochul has been on the offensive hitting all the hot buttons, like foreign aid which many voters think is much higher than it is while Corwin is back pedaling making blatantly false claims about Hochul in her latest campaign ad.

And where, you ask, is Tea Party candidate, Jack Davis? “Spoiler” Davis, who is running on the Tea Party line, has caused a split in among the regional and national Tea Party groups with the national group backing Corwin. He wasn’t at last night’s final debate but has been lurking on the sidelines since gaining national attention last week after a video of a scuffle with Corwin’s youthful chief-of-staff, Mike Mallia. The confrontation between Davis, 78, and the much younger man started out as a verbal confrontation that ended when Davis shoved backed. A short clip of the video was released by the Republicans but Davis claimed that he only pushed the camera out of his face and charged he was being harassed. It has gotten even more amusing when Corwin was confronted and disclaimed any knowledge of her aide’s activities. The aid has since resigned, making claims on the internet that he is being “hunted by militiamen” and fears for his life since the incident with Davis who is a veteran. Needless to say this backfired badly for Corwin and pushed Hochul ahead in the polls.

David Weigel of Slate has been following this race closely reported today that independent spending on this campaign has past seven figures with $1.5 million being poured into TV ads from unions and PAC’s. The election is May 24, so expect things to get hot and heavy as the Republicans struggle to hold the district.

Oct 13 2010

Stop the Anonymous Hit Men: Make Shadowy Campaign Money the Issue

I’ve been going door-to-door canvassing, and it’s not that bad — really. It’s actually kind of fun. But only because I’ve found a way to break through people’s cynicism.

No wonder people are cynical. Crashing from the sky-high hopes of two years ago, people are worried about jobs, the economy and their own uncertain futures, about the wars we’re bogged down in and the threats to our planet. They don’t like where America is headed, don’t like most politicians or candidates, and are often uncertain whether their vote even matters. But when I talked about the takeover of our politics by destructive corporate interests, culminating in the barrage of anonymous attack ads unleashed by the Supreme Court’s ghastly Citizens United decision, they quickly became willing to listen.

Oct 10 2010

Foreclosures: Just In Case You Didn’t Get Which Side They’re On

Don’t worry, they have full control of the situation.  It’s okay if the paperwork is in order. Really.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

“It is a serious problem,” said David Axelrod, who contended that the flawed paperwork is hurting the nation’s housing market as well as lending institutions. But he added, “I’m not sure about a national moratorium because there are in fact valid foreclosures that probably should go forward”   because their documents are accurate.

Axelrod said the administration is pressing lenders to accelerate their reviews of foreclosures to determine which ones have flawed documentation.

“Our hope is this moves rapidly and that this gets unwound very, very quickly,” he said.

Aug 10 2010

Monday Humor: Over Hill, Over Dale, As We Hit the RustBelt Trail

The highly esteemed chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tim Kaine, gives The Hill and the Democratic Congressional candidates a pep talk before the August recess, and was allegedly sighted on the NBC’s Today Show with Matt Lauer this morning.  


http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-…

“If you distance yourself from the president, you can pour cold water on the excitement about what he is doing,” said Kaine, who alluded to Democrat Creigh Deeds’s problems

“What is the alternative?” he said. “When the – when the Republicans were in control during the Lost Decade, Americans lost 8 million jobs. We gained 700,000 private-sector jobs this year. We’re growing again.”

{Historical footnote for Kaine’s spotty memory.  Creigh Deeds ran for the Governor of the state of Virginia.  Creigh Deeds actually was against the Public Option in the health insurance bail out bill, just like President Barack Obama turned out to be.  He lost.  

I believe the saying is, re Blue Dogs trying to be relabeled Republican Lites,  if you are presented with the choice of an imitation or an original, if they cost the same, voters will pick the original every time. }

From the transcript of the Today Show Mon Aug 9, 2010


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/…

Matt Lauer NBC:

so the president is out there campaigning for some candidates. others don’t want anything to do with him. i want to take you back to election night 2008 in that scenic grant park when the president walked out onto that stage. i mean, you had to hope — democrats had to hope — this was going to be a president who was going to open up new political territory for the party. and here you’ve got a president and some candidates don’t want to be seen with him. what happened?

Tim Kaine, DNC Chairman:

well, i think the candidates who are worried about it are making a mistake because i think this president still is doing the great work that the americans expect of him. the president and i met a month after that in grant park , and we talked about the fact that midterms will be very tough because they always are. since teddy roosevelt was president, the average midterm involves the party in power losing 28 house seats, losing 4 senate seats. and look, it’s a tough time economically, and that means it’s volatile. but the democrats have been doing the work necessary to get the nation going again. as the president says, the car was in the ditch. we’re getting it out of the ditch with job creation , with a new energy strategy, with infrastructure investments.

Matt Lauer:

here’s what frank rich wrote in the paper over the weekend concerning the democrats’ prospects for the midterm elections . he said, quote, they are doomed to fall short if they don’t address the cancer in the american heart , and that’s joblessness. we saw the latest figures come out. 9.5% unemployment as of friday. even if there is a series of small miracles between now and the midterm elections , governor, you know that number is going to be unacceptably high when people go to the polls. so why shouldn’t they hold democrats accountable?

Tim Kaine:

because, matt, what is the alternative?

/snip

well, i think, matt, what they mostly want to hear is the record of accomplishment. and so whether it’s health reform that helps the middle class with medical bills, credit reform, wall street reform or recovery that’s investing in green energy and made in america jobs, we always lead with the things we’ve done.

Mar 13 2010

Here’s the DCCC talking points & plan for h/c vote

Since the Democrats intend to actually vote on the health insurance bail out next week, now that Speaker Pelosi has repeated that the Public Option is Off of Our Table, and said,

 “I’m quite sad that a public option isn’t in there. ”  

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpoin…

Sad in the Baby Seal Syndrome way, as she also said she was for single payer, herself  (eyeroll icon ΓΈΓΈ),

….   they’ve sent out a memo with the schedule (try not to laugh too hard at the thought of the them sticking to one) and some talking points for Congresspeople to take back to their districts during the Easter vacation.   They also told the members to just shut up on reconciliation:

http://www.politico.com/news/s…

http://www.politico.com/livepu…


“At this point, we have to just rip the band-aid off and have a vote – up or down; yes or no?” the memo said. “Things like reconciliation and what the rules committee does is INSIDE BASEBALL.”

“People who try and start arguments about process on this are almost always against the actual policy substance too, often times for purely political reasons.”

I take it they are going to do everything in their power to prevent just that – an up or down vote – from occurring with the Senate and the Public Option, so look for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ proposed amendment to mysteriously and quietly vanish into the ether.  

Jul 30 2009

Baucus/Conrad did NOT win the election. No more $ w/o Public Option

Simulposted at Daily Kos

   Simply put, I voted for Obama/Biden, NOT Baucus/Conrad. If these fools want to try to squander away our electoral victories through Bipartisanship with the party of “No/Birthers”, I will not give one more cent to any organization that might fund Baucucrat Senators.

    Tell your Senator:     If there is no public option in health care reform, there is no public option in our Democracy.

    I am NOT holding my breath and hoping this Senate will hold Baucus/Conrad and others accountable. They didn’t do shit when Liberman sided against Obama and with McCain, they won’t do it now.

    In my opinion, the ONLY way to force these Baucucrats accountable, the only way to force Senate Misleadership to do something is to hit em in the one place they care about, their election funds.

    Therefore, I propose that we withhold ANY and ALL financial support from groups that fund incumbent Senators until a bill with a robust public option is on President Obama’s desk.  

Sep 04 2008

A Notable Discrepancy in DNC, RNC Security

Perhaps you remember the apparent assasination plot against Senator Obama that was stopped in a hotel in Denver.  Kossaks staying in the same hotel reported back on the shocking incident, as did local TV station CBS4:

Sources told CBS4 police found two high-powered, scoped rifles in the car along with camouflage clothing, walkie-talkies, a bulletproof vest, a spotting scope, licenses in the names of other people and methamphetamine. One of the rifles is listed as stolen from Kansas.

The people arrested are not going to be charged with conspiracy to kill the Senator despite an FBI request.  

Meanwhile,  eight would-be protesters at the RNC in St. Paul are being charged with “Conspiracy to Riot in Furtherance of Terrorism” based on the word of paid moles.  The house raid in St. Paul was conducted the weekend before the convention began.

Please let that combination of stories sink in for a moment.

Sep 01 2008

Do We Feel Safer Now?

A chilling report from Glen Greenwald today (Sunday 8/31/08) documents his visit to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.  He reports that as a part of the security apparatus, the local police with the help of the FBI have raided various headquarters, private homes, and meeting places of activist groups with plans to protest at the Convention.  The raids were carried out using warrants to search for “fire and code violations.”  Never mind that the Fire Marshall was never notified, the fact that ONLY the protest groups that were legally planning to demonstrations were raided highlights the real intent.  A description of one of the raids with more commentary and details below the fold:

Aug 30 2008

Roundup of ctrenta’s DNC dispatches

I thought we should have a round up of ctrenta’s excellent reporting from last week’s DNC convention in Denver-

I want to personally thank ctrenta for all the work and I hope all of you had a chance to enjoy it.

Aug 28 2008

American Indian Activism at the DNC

I would have hoped that the Longest Walk that began in February and ended six months later, would have brought the issues of the truth about the suicides on reservations, the lack of justice on reservations, climate change, alcohol and drug addiction in the American Indian population, health concerns of American Indians, and the worries of the American Indian People in general into the public domain. It doesn’t seem like it did, and the same message is being given at the DNC in the midst of all that’s happening.

Aug 26 2008

Assassins? Criminal Terrorists? Terrorists!

I had planned on putting up another post covering what’s good about people and the dedication of, but with the breaking news last night, 8-25-08, we probably are seeing a continuation of recent reports about the reality of the world we live in. A reality that’s been mostly under the surface of this countries citizens but has been rearing it’s ugly face these last few years, pushed on by what we as a society have been allowing to come across our airwaves in the name of ‘free speach’!

The story line broke, on some of the interactive boards, with an initial report from a local Denver Colo. News Channel CBS 4 Denver Colorado about the arrest of a couple of very suspicious characters and has grown from there into a possible assassination attempt on the Democratic Candidate for the Presidency at the Democratic National Convention.

Aug 26 2008

Kucinich to Address DNC Tuesday

Heads up on Dennis…

Are you in Denver this week?

Meet Dennis and Elizabeth on Tuesday

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, kicked off what promises to be a great week for Kucinich supporters as we arrived in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. We will be reporting daily from Denver so keep an eye on our website for updates!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Dennis will address the Democratic National Convention on the pressing issue of the Economy. Be sure to tune in at around 6:00pm ET.

This week too, both the New York Times Magazine (Sunday August 23) and the Washington Post Magazine (Sunday August 31) have special feature articles on your Voice in Congress, Dennis Kucinich.

Dennis will also be on a number of other shows this week including the Bill Maher Show, CNN, The Randi Rhodes Show, Hannity and Colmes. We will give you Dennis’ media appearance notifications on Twitter. (sign up to Twitter for the Kucinich feed here)

If you are in Denver this week, Dennis and I would like to meet you. We will be upstairs at the SkyLark Lounge on Tuesday night from 9pm – 10pm. It’s just going to be a fun and informal gathering.

HERE

SkyLark Lounge

140 S. Broadway

Denver, CO 80203

303-722-7844

RSVP HERE

Letter signed by Elizabeth.   (bold emphasis mine)

And check the graphic for the Skylark Lounge at the link!

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