The Republican party really think that voters are stupid.  The GOP honestly believe that the American people have forgotten the disasterous eight years of Republican rule.  Not only do they think voters have forgotten but they also believe that they do not need to offer up anything so far as a plan for the American people to put them back in control of Congress.  You remember when the GOP controlled Congress?  They shut down the government (think the current situation in California).  Republicans also spent millions of taxpayer dollars investigating a Democratic president that resulted in nothing more than a slap on the hand.  Republicans did recently announce that they plan to launch several investigations of the current administration for things like the alleged job offer to Joe Sestak; the new black panthers ridiculousness; repeal health care and wall street reform and virtually everything that has been accomplished by this administration in the last two years.   So no ideas of its own just repeal all the laws that have been passed in the last nineteen months by Democrats and cut more taxes for wealthy Americans.  To hell with the ballooning deficit that it was critical to decrease when it came to extending unemployment benefits for the nation’s most vulnerable.  But rich folks must be able to pay for that extra luxury car.

You see, the GOP believes that all the large companies need to stop hoarding money and start hiring is more tax cuts.  Because when we lowered interest rates for banks borrowing money from the Fed they went straight out and started lending to small businesses and homeowners?  They didn’t???  What..the Fed is basically giving banks free money in an effort to stimulate lending and the banks are not following through and lending it to small businesses?  We are shocked, shocked that gambling is going on in here! (Casablanca). 

We have played the game of giving corporate America more money through tax breaks and they will hire.  Heck..George W. Bush gave unprecedented tax cuts to corporate America and he had the worst job creation record in history in addition to driving the country/economy into the ditch!  Yes we remember!  How about we not encourage the rich to take money out of their businesses by way of tax breaks but instead raise their taxes so that they are incentivized to invest profits into their business by way of innovation and expansion?  It is clear that corporations are not going to do anything that does not make sense for their business.  The President is onto something by making business expansion more desirable than hoarding through a tax increase.  If the GOP thinks that all of a sudden because Wall Street got tax breaks it is suddenly going to start hiring the people who make up the grand old party are delusional.

Yes, our memories are still fresh from twenty months ago.

NOTE:Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors.  Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management.  Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com

We direct this post to the President but it is about a statement recently made by a senior White House official about the Arkansas senate runoff.  Politico reported that a member of the President’s senior staff made the following statement about organized labor’s support of Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s primary challenger Bill Halter, “[o]rganized labor just flushed $10 million of their members’ money down the toilet.”

When asked about the statement press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed the sentiment by saying the following:

“[W]hile the president might not have agreed with the exact characterization, I think that whether or not that money might have been better spent in the fall on closer elections between somebody — between people who cared about an agenda that benefited working families and those that didn’t, that money might come in more — more handy then,”

Seriously Mr. President?  The Executive Office is suppose to be the grown up or at least more politically astute.  Was this comment about organized labor really necessary?  Labor is one of your biggest and loyal supporters do you really want to piss them off?  Secondly, it’s a bit premature to start popping the champagne corks when Lincoln has not won the general election.  Many of the polls show that Bill Halter had a better chance of beating the GOP in the fall making Lincoln’s win a mere temporary reprieve with the death knell to be delivered in November.  Such comments were not only premature but they don’t mean anything.  If Blanche Lincoln loses in the fall does that mean that the White House backed the wrong candidate causing Democrats to lose the Arkansas senate seat?

In addition and most importantly, the statements have simply exacerbated an open womb and forced organized labor to come out and make strong and definitive declarations of  non support  not only for Blanche Lincoln but for ALL blue dog Democrats in the general election. 

“If that’s their take on this, then they severely misread how the electorate feels and how we’re running our political program. When we say we’re only going to support elected officials who support our issues,” said AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale. “When they say we should have targeted our money among some key house races among Blue Dog Democrats — that ain’t happening.”

“Labor isn’t an arm of the Democratic Party,” Vale said. “It exists to support working families. And that’s what we said tonight, and that’s what we’re gong to keep saying.”

So one of the most loyal and lucrative supporters of Democrats has come out and said that it will not be supporting blue dogs in an undesirable, to put it mildly, election year for Democrats.  Lets take a quiz…will that decrease or increase Lincoln’s and blue dogs chances of winning in the fall?  This fight could have ended last night in Arkansas but because of  the self-serving comments of WH staff it has been extended to Lincoln’s general and all blue dog campaigns around the country.  Not to mention a repeated negative media meme for very lazy pundits every time labor comes out against a blue dog incumbent.  Not very disciplined and not smart politically. 

Finally, chances are that the comments and confirmation have pushed Arkansan progressives further into their corners of nonsupport for Lincoln because now they have a vested interest in being right and proving the White House wrong.  Let’s see…..pushing Arkansan progressives into a contest where they are competing to be right about Lincoln or cozy up to them after a hard fought and divisive campaign to try and unify the party.  Which approach is likely to increase the chances of a Lincoln victory in the fall? 

“I told you so” comments like those made merely push progressives and labor into a position of ensuring that Blanche Lincoln loses in the fall.  Is that where we want to be?  Better yet…was the two seconds of satisfaction worth it?

Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors.  Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management.  Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com

Bill Halter is currently leading in his primary challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Alabama.  Thus, in rides Lincoln’s savior, Bill Clinton, trying to save the embattled Senator from her very competitive opponent Halter. My question is that Pennsylvania was not that long ago has Bill Clinton forgotten what happened there?  Democrats do not like former or current presidents telling them how to vote….hence Joe Sestak, not Obama endorsed Arlen Specter, is the Democratic senate nominee for Pennsylvania.

Democrats have a long memory even though with the Internet they don’t need one.  Progressives, and other types of Democrats,  remember Blanche Lincoln threatening to filibuster healthcare reform if it contained a public option as well as her speaking out against the Employee Free Choice Act.  Thus, a former President riding in proclaiming his support for dear Blanche will not erase her track record of putting up road blocks circumventing the Democratic agenda in favor of the corporatocracy.  Not even smooth talking, “I feel your pain,” southern drall accented, Bill Clinton.

This primary is Tuesday June 8th.  If you live in Alabama make sure you go out to the polls and show Blanche how you feel about her representation.

Artur Davis

Now lets move on to Artur Davis who recently lost his bid to be the Democratic nominee in Alabama’s gubernatorial race.  Okay, so Davis, who is currently a Congressman, lost to his fellow Democratic opponent by over twenty points even though Davis was up by double digits a couple of months prior.  The Congressman lost his own majority African-American district that he represents in the House.  Why you ask?  Because he decided to become a Republican in a Democratic primary.  This guy voted against the President’s number one domestic legislative priority, health care reform, while his caucasian opponent, Ron Sparks, came out strongly in favor of HCR.  First mistake.  Take a look at a direct quote from Davis that came right out of GOP talking points:

Health care reform could be accomplished “at half the cost without a 3,000-page, near trillion-dollar overhaul of the system.” Without offering any alternative, Davis said that he voted the way he did because “we can’t just keep throwing a trillion dollars toward the problem.” 

Davis’ second mistake was taking black folks for granted. Davis has been reported not to have courted the African-American vote at all.  African-Americans make up 60 percent of the Alabama Democratic primary electorate!!!!!!!  Not to mention that by making the above statements he threw his current constituents under the bus and backed it up a couple of times.  We guess he just bought into the tea partiers rhetoric and assumed that all black people would vote for him just because he’s black.  Not so much bruh.  Davis lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary by an embarassing 24 points!  You are not entitled to the vote of black folks simply because you are black!  Did Clarence Thomas teach you nothing?  Authenticity and character mean something when it comes to all Democrats not just African-Americans.  We are a “thinking bunch.”

Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors.  Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management.  Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com

Sometimes it amazes me how clueless the main stream media pretends to be or maybe it really is clueless.  The MSM tried to make a huge story out of the whole Joe Sestak job offer.  Apparently, the White House offered Joe Sestak a position to drop a potential primary challenge the he was considering waging against Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania.  Though the media knew that there was no there there it continued to demand that the White House disclose exactly what took place during the exchange.  Why…slow news week?  It turns out that Pres. Bill Clinton was the intermediary who presented the offer of an advisory, VOLUNTEER,  position to Sestak.  End of story.  No smoking gun, nope, nothing, nada.  Politics as usual…you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours.  Anyone who claims this does not happen throughout Capitol Hill is definitely smoking something.  DC runs on the what can you do for me mentality.  Where was all the uproar from Darrell Issa (R-CA) when Judd Gregg (R-NH) secured a promise from the White House that the Governor of New Hampshire appoint a Republican to replace Gregg in the Senate if Gregg took the Secretary of Commerce job offered to him by the Obama Administration?  Issa was strangely silent at the time.  FDR offered the vice presidency to John Garner for garnering Texas support.  Dwight Eisenhower offered Earl Warren the Supreme Court for securing Republican delegates in California.  President George W. Bush offered Rep. Benjamin Gillman (R-NY) a job with the United Nations in exchange for him not running for re-election. 

So what does Chris Matthews of MSNBC do upon learning that there was no there there upon release of Bob Bauer’s,  White House Counsel, memo about the incident?  He rants against the White House for not offering Sestak more meat on the bone.  First he accuses the WH of impropriety then gets ticked off when it turns out to be perfectly legal.   Seriously!!  So are you upset that the White House failed to supply you with an actual story by way of breaking the law and offering a measurable and monetary bribe to a public official?  Matthews went on and on missing the point and completely embarrassing himself as a pundit.  Then David “stretch” Gregory, being the astute, seasoned, and hard hitting, journalist that he is (NOT), chimed in saying that the White House didn’t get what they wanted out of this.  Completely clueless.  We will attempt to break it down for them.  How about the following possibility?  Is it possible that  the reason the White House did not offer Sestak a position of real substance is first because it would be illegal and it is a bit smarter than that and second because they didn’t care whether Sestak challenged Specter because Specter is a loose cannon and would not be considered a reliable Democratic vote.  Lets see, you have Sestak who is a reliable vote for the Democrats and you have a a former Republican of forty years who decided to switch to the Democratic  party ONLY because he was being challenged in the Republican primary and had zero chance of beating his fellow Republican opponent.  If you were the White House who would you be rooting for despite the fact that you promised the Republican turned Democrat that you would support him if he supported your legislative agenda?…..hmmm tough one.   There is something called keeping up appearances and that is exactly what the WH did when it offered Sestak that pittance of a role to deter him from challenging Specter.  The WH was merely making a surface gesture so as to appear that it was keeping its deal with Specter. 

And if the MSM were not pushing its own agenda it would mention the possibility.

Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors.  Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management.  Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com

Wise words from the current Governor of Virginia Tim Kaine:

Kaine said the key to victory for Democrats in a highly competitive Virginia is recognizing that party members need not be “apologetic” about their affiliation to find success. He noted that about 200,000 more people voted in the Democratic primary for president on a frigid February day in 2008 than cast ballots for Deeds this year, and said McDonnell successfully spooked Deeds by suggesting that Virginians had grown anxious about the Democratic agenda.

“I think the issue of being nervous about the Virginia electorate was overdone and I think Creigh did exactly what the McDonnell campaign hoped he would do, which was distance himself from the president and national issues,” Kaine said.

We could not agree with Governor Kaine more.  The gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey a couple of weeks ago was a lesson to Democrats who take their base for granted.  This year’s gubernatorial races boasted the lowest turnout in modern government races.  Virginia turnout was less than half the percentage of the 2008 election and the lowest in forty years in the Commonwealth.  As for turnout of specific groups, Governor Kaine pulled 38 percent African-American turnout whereas Deeds only managed 27 percent.

Here are the stats from the Deeds vs. McDonnell contest: 

• Conservative turnout increased from 11 percent in 2008 to 21 percent in 2009
• Young adults turnout dropped from 20 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2009
• African-American turnout went from 20 percent in 2008 to 15 percent in 2009
• 3.7 million people turned out for the 2008 election as compared to 1.97 million turnout for 2009
• President Obama received 2 million votes to McCain’s 1.7 million in 2008.  Deeds only received .8 million votes total or 1.2 million votes less than Obama in 2008.  Deeds lost by 345,000 votes. 
• The Obama’s winning coalition in Virginia consisted of 40 percent African-American votes, 59 percent Caucasian votes and .5 percent Hispanic vote

Looking at the above statistics one would think that because Obama’s winning coalition relied heavily on the African-American vote that this would be a group high on the Deeds campaign’s priority list.  However, when we approached the Deeds campaign a few weeks prior to the election to inquire about its African-American outreach we heard crickets.  The Deeds campaign did not have any sort of task force in place to help galvanize the minority community.  As a result, black folks along with other Democrats stayed home. Never take a Democratic base for granted or you will be disappointed.

At least 45 percent of the Virginia electorate turned out for the 2005 gubernatorial race whereas only 40 percent turned out in 2009.  Deeds did not persuade Democrats that he deserved their vote and voting for him would be much better than not voting or allowing McDonnell to win.  Instead Deeds presented himself as a less capable version of Bob McDonnell.  Why vote for a fake Republican when you can have the real thing and a person to blame with impunity when it all goes wrong.  

Mr. Deeds also billed himself  a “Creigh Deeds Democrat” as opposed to an “Obama Democrat.”  The former candidate perpetuated this view with Virginia Democrats by distancing himself from Obama whenever possible.  One major rejection of the President’s policy agenda was when Deeds said that as Governor of Virginia he would opt out of the health care reform bill if given the opportunity.  One quick lesson to all Democrats and first stated by a freshman Congressman from Florida: You do not beat Republicans by becoming one.  And you certainly do not motivate the Democratic base or folks that voted the President into office a year prior by rejecting that same president’s policy agenda.  Are you listening Congressman Nye, Blue Dogs, and Conservadems?  Reject the policy agenda of the Democrats in favor of the special interest and there is a high probability that you will be looking for a new line of work come November 2010.

Remember fellow Democrats that if you water down this health care reform bill so that it is “reform” in name only or kill it via the Stupak (abortion) amendment you are jeopardizing your seat in Congress.  The same goes for financial reform.  President Obama said it correctly in New York when he said that Democrats “are an opinionated bunch.”   While the other side tends to do what they’re told, Democrats think for themselves.  Therefore, just because President Obama, as the head of the Democratic party, must campaign for you, free-thinkin Democrats will not vote for you if your words and deeds do not inspire us to do so.  We don’t show up just because you have a “D” next to your name.  Ask Mr. Deeds.

Today is President Obama’s 48th birthday and we have some good news to deliver from Gallup.  The number of states that are solidly or leaning blue is:

37

That’s the number of states that are either solidly or leaning Democratic in a series of Gallup tracking polls conducted over the first six months of 2009. Only eight states are solidly or leaning Republicans in that same data.

The numbers, which are based on party identification of adults in national tracking polls, paint a stark portrait of the challenge facing Republicans not just in the 2010 midterm election but also in the 2012 presidential race.

With 67% of precincts reporting and the numbers measuring up as follows:

Governor – 67% reporting

Deeds – 50% [96,466 votes]
McAuliffe – 26% [50,549 votes]
Moran – 24% [46,281 votes]

Lt. Governor – 66% reporting

Wagner – 74% [129,888 votes]
Signer – 22% [38,033 votes]
Bowerbank – 5% [7,978 votes]

We’re going to call it for Creigh Deeds and Jody Wagner the new Democratic Governor and Leutenant governor nominees for the Commonwealth.  Democrats get ready to fall in line for the fight against GOP Governor and Lieutenant governor nominees Robert (Bob) McDonnell and Bill Bolling.  Deeds is McDonnell’s worst nightmare given his conservative blue dog bent.  McDonnell had his sight set on running against “carpetbagger” Terry McAuliffe.  Congratulations  Mr. Deeds for a well won victory.

So here is the Virginia Democratic line-up for November 2009:

Governor: Creigh Deeds          Lieutenant Governor: Jody Wagner          Attorney General: Steve Shannon

I guess all the trash talking Sen. Arnel Specter has been doing, “I will not be a loyal Democrat,” “I will not back the Employee Free Choice Act,”  “I will not be an automatic 60th vote” “still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner,”  has had an effect on Senate Democrats. Last night in a modified resolution approved on the Senate floor it was resolved that Sen. Specter would enter the Democrat caucus as the most junior member of all committees but one.  Yes, Specter will be second in seniority only on the Special Committee on Aging despite promises from Sen. Harry Reid that the former Republican senator would retain the same seniority he would have earned had he entered the Senate as a Democrat 29 years ago.  As a Republican, Specter was the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee and a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, as well as ranking member of the panel’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.  In fact, Specter lost seniority on five committees in all which will severly limit his influence.  So even though Specter retains seniority in the Senate generally he has lost it where it counts. 

Perhaps now the Pennsylvania Senator will realize that he has switched parties and there are consequences for Senators who switch parties in name only.  Specter’s comment that he is “entitled” to seniority this past weekend baffles this writer.  My question to Specter is have you been fighting for democratic causes for the 29 years that you have been in the Senate?  Voting with Democrats a mere 35 percent of the time does not “entitle” you to leap frog over those Senate Democrats who vote Democrat 80 to 90 percent of the time.  You’re not that valuable.  Not to mention the fact that you have benefited greatly throughout the past 29 years as a Republican member of the Senate primarly because the GOP has controlled the body for the majority of that time.  Senate Democrats have been in the minority for a long time, it seems unfair that all you need to do to usurp their earned power and influence is to cross to the other side of the isle.  Especially because you switched, by your own admission,  simply because you are unelectable as a member of the Republican party and not for any real ideological shift. 

It is unclear whether Sen. Specter will recoup his seniority IF he is reelected.

Most will be celebrating President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office today but some Democrats believe that the celebration for this milestone began yesterday when Sen. Arlen Specter delivered him a blue iced cake by announcing that he would be switching his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.  The change will provide Senate democrats with a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority once Al Franken of Minnesota is seated.  Specter did caution democrats yesterday that they should not expect him to be an “automatic 60th vote” nor should they expect his vote on the current version of the Employee Free Choice Act.  The soon to be former Republican in fact reiterated his opposition to EFCA by saying that it was “a bad bill.”  However, it does not mean that he would not support the bill if it was tweaked a bit considering that he has supported it in the past. 

Sen. Specter began his political career back in the 60′s as a Democrat but switched to the Republican party in the 70′s.  As for Specter’s voting record, the Pennsylvania Senator voted with the Republican party 65 percent of the time this year.  While two other moderate Republicans senators Olympia Snow and Susan Collins of Maine only voted with their party 54 percent and 59 percent of the time respectively.  Democrats should not be overly excited about Specter’s switch and should remember that he voted AGAINST the Democrats 65 percent of the time and WITH the Democrats a mere 35 percent of the time.  The term that comes to mind is “Conservadem.” Democrats may be able to count on Specter for healthcare reform and probably climate change legislation but they had his support on those two issues prior to the switch.

The move by Specter is more devastating for the Republican party because it demonstrates the decreasing size of the Republican tent in terms of tolerable views outside those of the far, far, conservative right.  Specter in fact joined the other 200,000 Pennsylvanian Republicans who switched to the Democratic party within the last year.  Diversity of ideas or thoughts appears to be a deal breaker and as a result is the cost of admission and acceptance to the GOP.  Specter said yesterday that the reason he switched is because he did not want the far right electorate making the senatorial candidate decision for the entire state of Pennsylvania by supporting a right wing potential Republican candidate (Pat Toomey of Club For Growth fame) that planned to challenge him in the 2010 Pennsylvania primary.  Pat Buchannan said it best yesterday, the GOP is  “a heavily white party.”  This writer will add to that statement that the Republican Party is turning into a right wing fringe, isolationist sect incapable of offering credible and reasonable opposition.

As a side note:  Specter has built up a $6 million dollar campaign war chest as a Republican party candidate and has said in a statement released yesterday that he will return any donations made prior to the announcement upon request.

The President and Vice President will hold a press conference with Sen. Arlen Specter this morning welcoming Specter to the Democratic Party.

It is very easy for someone to say that a plan will not work and criticize it excessively.  It is much more difficult to offer sound alternative solutions in the light of such criticism.  Every time I hear the President speak I walk away feeling completely confident of our eventual recovery.  So I pull up my bootstraps and head out to do my part by using a small amount of purchasing power to help in the cause.  Just as I’m about to head for the door, I hear someone from the GOP screaming ‘oh my goodness…..the sky is falling….the sky is falling.’  So what do I do instead….I go out and buy an umbrella. 

The GOP has been all over the Sunday shows and the political spectrum shouting that the budget proposed by President Obama spends too much and will impose insurmountable debt on future generations.  Such an argument confuses the immediate priorities.  Who amongst us would forgo an opportunity to provide our starving child with food knowing that it will result in a larger credit card bill next month even if there was a possibility that the grocer may not accept credit and you may walk away empty handed.  In times of emergency all reasonably viable opportunities must be pursued.  Besides, give a child a fish and he/she will eat for a day. Teach a child to fish and he/she will eat for a lifetime. It is a much better proposition to sacrifice the funds now and clean up the ocean so that future generations can eat for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, the GOP have failed miserably at offering any plausible alternatives to the president’s budget that have not already been tried during the eight years of the Bush administration.  In spite of the fact that the GOP has all of a sudden got fiscal religion, lets revisit history for a moment in terms of its fiscal track record.  The budget was balanced for the first time in 30 years under President Bill Clinton.  That means that the four Republican presidents preceding Clinton (Reagan, Bush 41, Nixon, Ford) and the single democratic president (Carter) could not balance the budget.  Lets also remember that President Bush and a republican controlled Congress entered office with a 86.4 billion dollar surplus.  President Bush, with the help of a GOP controlled Congress six out of his eight years in office, left the presidency and the country with a staggering $638 billion dollar deficit.  One wonders if on the Titanic the GOP were the ones bailing water into the ship. Needless to say, the Republican party has absolutely no credibility when it comes to debt left to future generations or fiscal discipline in general.

The President proposes that the best way to bring down our deficit is to have a budget that leads to broad economic growth. It also makes sense that the president’s budget is inseparable from our economic recovery because it lays the necessary foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.  The administration plans to create a new foundation for the economy by creating a new health care system, new energy technology, and achieving great progress in education so that it will enable us to become a much stronger competitor in the global economy.  There is an enormous need to counter the incredible drop in demand currently plaguing the nation and pull us out of this crisis.  The only sector with money to do so is the government.  That means that the government is the liquidity source of last resort right now. It must spend to stimulate demand and prevent us from sinking into a depression. As a matter of fact, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan body, says that the adoption of the Reinvestment and Recovery Act will help to end the recession by fall of this year. 

We must make the necessary investments in education, health care, and renewable energy infrastructure now in order to equip future generations for future and sustained prosperity.  So instead of just putting a band-aid on the broken economy this administration has opted to confront it, operate, and heal it.  The biggest drain on future funds is health care.  More specifically, Medicare and Medicaid.  Therefore, investing in an information technology system to make the health care industry more efficient will also contribute significantly to decreasing our deficit. Now that all the relevant players in the health care industry now recognize that the industry must be reformed including the majority of the GOP, twelve years later, but at least they are on board now, now in the time to do it.  We must face the fact that we as a people must make a tectonic shift in how we move throughout or day to day lives.  During this challenging time it will be inconvenient and we will have to make sacrifices now in order to secure a prosperous future.

Other obstructionist arguments offered by the GOP.

 The GOP argues that the small businesses will be hurt most by a tax increase on Americans making over $250,000 a year.

According to Politifact, a small business would have to ”make” $250,000 in net profit after deducting all his expenses (employees pay, supplies, and other legitimate business expenses) to be subject to the tax increase.  The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says that only two percent of small businesses will be subject to the tax increase.  Which means that 98 percent will more than likely receive a tax cut.

Charities will lose by a decrease in the deductions allowed for charitable giving by the wealthy.  There will be a cap on such deductions for those earning $250,000 or more a year.

The best way to encourage and enable charitable giving is to have a flourishing economy. When the economy is booming people are much more charitable. In addition, a significant amount of charitable giving comes from low income people through religious institutions etc.

Requires a Cap and Trade or energy tax on all Americans.  

The cap and trade plan is designed to reduce green house emissions and address climate change in addition to investing in necessary infrastructure building. Further, building such infrastructure will enable us to decrease our dependence on foreign oil.  The plan will also move toward providing us with alternative sources of energy and provide millions of green jobs in the process.  Not to mention that it will help us to become an energy producing rather than an energy consuming economy.  This part of the president’s budget is a necessary investment in our infrastructure, by way of updating the electric grid among other things, for the jobs of the future.  Our outdated electricity grid is costing the U.S. over $100 billion dollars a year.  It wastes twice as much energy as it did thirty years ago.  We need to update and modernize our energy grid.  The GOP has criticized this part of the budget by referring to it as an energy tax. Why you ask? Because the GOP is significantly dependent on oil company money and it is not in the interest of the oil industry for the U.S. to become less oil dependent.  Why you ask?  Because the cap and trade plan will result in consumers using less energy (driving less)which cuts into oil industry profits.

Repealing tax credits to the oil and gas industry that may result in putting the industry at a competitive disadvantage.

Exxon Mobil shatters U.S. records in January 2009 by reporting profits of 45.2 billion for 2008.   Nuff said.

Where is the GOP’s budget you ask? They don’t have one.

In 1992 George Bush Sr. ran against William Jefferson Clinton when it was “the economy stupid.”  The last market crash was during the Reagan administration in 1987 when market indexes dropped 43% in seven days.  George Bush 41 also left the nation in a recession when he left office in 1992.  It took democrat Bill Clinton to bring us out of  that recession.  Like father, like son, Bush 43 has twice upped his father by leaving the country in dire straights while he leaves office with his tail between his legs.  It was Republican control of all three branches of government that got us into this mess, now it’s time for the Democrats to come in and clean up. Putting a Republican in charge is like

Since 1929, Republicans and Democrats have each controlled the presidency for nearly 40 years. So which party has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole? Well, here’s an experiment: imagine that during these years you had to invest exclusively under either Democratic or Republican administrations. How would you have fared?  SEE results

As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index* would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to $300,671 at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years.

First, the continued meme of the Right that it was the democrats support of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that caused this economic meltdown is bogus.  What Republicans conveniently forget is that George W. Bush warned and pushed for more oversight of Freddie and Fannie back in 2001.  Did I mention that the Republicans were in control of Congress at the time and for five whole years after Bush’s clarion call.  Oh, and by Republican control, I include Sen. John McCain in that group.  Yes, McCain sat in Congress for five years after the leader of his party sounded the alarm about Freddie and Fannie and did absolutely nothing.  Did I further mention that the Republican party controlled Congress for 12 years prior to the Democrats winning the majority just two years ago in 2006.  And, five months after Democrats took control of Congress, Democrats passed a bill regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Nuff said.

It was the private sector, not the government backed entities that caused the subprime meltdown.  Freddie and Fannie were not at fault for this disaster 

Federal Reserve Board data show that:

• More than 84 percent of the subprime mortgages in 2006 were issued by private lending institutions.
• Private firms made nearly 83 percent of the subprime loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers that year.
• Only one of the top 25 subprime lenders in 2006 was directly subject to the housing law that’s being lambasted by conservative critics.

There are exactly 10 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes, to the minute before the first polls open on November 4th. My question to all of you is….what are you doing to make history?  What will you tell your grandchildren that you contributed to this historic event?  Will you tell them that you phonebanked for Obama through his revolutionary Internet phonebanking tool?  Will you tell them that you canvassed for Obama in the battleground  state of Virginia and turned Virginia blue for the first time in 44 years?! Will you say that you helped get at least five people to the polls on Election Day?  Will you say that during this historic election you lent your skills as an attorney to Obama’s voter protection program?  Will you say that you donated to Obama’s historic, built from the ground up, campaign?  What exactly will you say that you did to help create this historic movement for change?  This is the last stretch, do not take anything for granted, regardless of what the polls say, it is up the you to put Sen. Barack Obama over the finish line.  Volunteer at your local Campaign For Change  office and help to Get Out The Vote on November 4th.  100 billion more registered voters mean nothing if people do not come out, with their patience, and VOTE.  Volunteer to entertain people who are waiting in line to vote….bring water or snacks to folks who are waiting in line to vote.  This is our opportunity to experience what they experienced in the Sixties, our opportunity to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves, our opportunity to contribute to something so much more important than we ever thought it could be, our opportunity to return America to the shining beacon to the world that it once was.  This is our time, this is our moment,  DO YOUR PART to make this happen.  www.Barack.Obama.com

Speaking at a rally in North Carolina on Sunday, Sen Obama gave his requirements for any bailout for the financial industry.  Bush appointed Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson seems to want Congress to sign a blank check for 700 billion dollars giving him full discretion to spend it anyway he chooses.  When asked on Meet the Press on Sunday as to whether he would curtail excessive CEO compensation, Paulson opined such a requirement may discourage companies from participating in the program.  Not so much.  Meanwhile he is asking for 5% of the gross national product to spend as he pleases.  Hasn’t he been at the helm this entire time and could have raised the alarm about the potential of this happening years ago…..now he wants the Americans to just trust that he will prudently spend 700 billion in the best interest of the the majority.  I think not.  So, Mr Paulson, you and the other republicans keep saying how this needs to be a “clean bill.”  Well, if by “clean bill” you mean no oversight and no safeguards and assistance for the American taxpayers/main street………you’re on something.  As for Mr. Paulson’s objectivity, one reader summed it up perfectly:

Reuters reports today that “The incoming Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., was awarded an $18.7 million cash bonus for half a year of work as the chief executive of the Goldman Sachs Group.” The massive bonus was, not surprisingly, approved by Goldman Sachs at the very same time Paulson was both CEO and Treasury Secretary designate. This raises a very simple question: What is Goldman Sachs buying with this brazen payoff to someone they knew was headed to one of the most powerful government posts in America?
 

Sen. Obama insists that the following conditions must be included in any financial industry bailout.

Excerpt from Sen. Barack Obama’s speech in North Carolina on Sunday Sept 21, 2008 

The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has led us to a perilous moment. They said they wanted to let the market run free but instead they let it run wild. And now we are facing a financial crisis as profound as any we have faced since the Great Depression
 
But here’s the truth:
 
Regardless of how we got here, we’re here today.  And the circumstances we face require decisive action because your jobs, your savings, and your economic security are now at risk.
 
We must work quickly in a bipartisan fashion to resolve this crisis to avert an even broader economic catastrophe. But Washington also has to recognize that economic recovery requires that we act, not just to address the crisis on Wall Street, but also the crisis on Main Street and around kitchen tables across America.
 
As of now, the Bush Administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan. Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering.  And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform.

First, there must be no blank check when American taxpayers are on the hook for this much money.

Second, taxpayers shouldn’t be spending a dime to reward CEOs on Wall Street.

Third, taxpayers should be protected and should be able to recoup this investment.

Fourth, this plan has to help homeowners stay in their homes.

Fifth, this is a global crisis, and the United States must insist that other nations join us in helping secure the financial markets.

Sixth, we need to start putting in place the rules of the road I’ve been calling for for years to prevent this from ever happening again.

And finally, this plan can’t just be a plan for Wall Street, it has to be a plan for Main Street.  We have to come together, as Democrats and Republicans, to pass a stimulus plan that will put money in the pockets of working families, save jobs, and prevent painful budget cuts and tax hikes in our states.

Currently, as this Republican president is about to leave office, our country is 9.7 trillion dollars in debt, the unemployment rate is 6.1%, we have a $357 billion dollar budget deficit, and gas is $4 a gallon.  We are also on our way to a fifty year high deficit.  Eight years ago, when President Bill Clinton, a democrat left the office, we had a 4.2 unemployment rate, $281 billion dollar budget surplus, we were only 5.7 trillion dollars in debt, and gas was $1.46  a gallon.  In addition, last month alone America lost 84,000 jobs.  McCain, in his attempt to re-brand himself,  claims that the Republicans have lost their way.  This is a proven falsehood, the last six Republican Presidents have been fiscal spendthrifts.

In 1981 the gross national debt, compared to the nation’s annual income, reached its lowest point since 1931. Despite his claim to hate the debt, Reagan instituted unprecedented peacetime deficit spending.  This is not partisan politics, this is straight off the White House web site.   Bush II repeated Reagan’s performance and turned the debt upward again. Bush II’s own Office of Management and Budget provides all the data.  See graphs and facts here 

As to the question….are you better off today than you were 8 years ago?  When Bill Clinton left office eight years ago, we had a budget surplus and the economy was thriving.  Things have turned abyssmal during the Bush administration.  Further objective evidence is that by every economic performance metric, except one, democratic presidents have out-performed republican presidents.  In the last fifty years, the democrats have done much better in terms of economic growth, reducing the deficit, and strengthening the middle and working class than republicans.  Therefore, logic dictates that if as a voter you are really interested in turning around this sinking economy and putting more money in your pocket, it is the democratic party that has the track record of doing just that. History further demonstrates that the republican claim that it is the party of fiscal conservatism is a myth.  No President has been more proof of such myth than George W Bush.  And, given the fact that the majority of the McCain campaign staff have made a beeline from Bush to McCain there is no CHANGE in sight if McCain has his way.  On NPR’s All Things Considered in April this year McCain claimed:

“I can eliminate $100 billion of wasteful and earmark spending immediately–35 billion in big spending bills in the last two years, and another 65 billion that has already been made a permanent part of the budget.”

The problem is that the Office of Management and Budget only identified $16.9 billion total in appropriations bills for 2008.  “The figure includes such items as $4 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which could not be eliminated without halting hundreds of construction projects around the country. Another big chunk goes to military construction, including housing for servicemen and their families, which McCain has also promised not to touch.”  Sooo…exactly how does McCain cut 35 billion dollars in spending from 16.9 billion?  Sounds like “voodoo economics.”  Just goes to further demonstrate that the Arizona senator just doesn’t get it.

Listen, the leaders and big-time players of McCain’s campaign staff  were hired directly from the Bush unemployment line.  There is absolutely no chance that a McCain administration will be any different than Bush.  More fiscal irresponsibility and no accountability.  Especially if McCain gets away with dressing the emperor in new clothes and claiming he’s a different emperor.  Even Karl Rove now admits that he gives strategy advice to the McCain campaign.  Bush-McCain are exactly the same.  Please pay attention to history.  It clearly shows that the McCain and republican claim of  owning fiscal conservatism is imaginary.  History is our best guide as to which party is best equipped to get us out of this mess and history shows that that party is the democratic party.  Think about it folks, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.  Don’t be distracted by the lipstick………vote your interest and your pocketbook

Larry Bartles of Princeton University

My examination of the partisan politics of economic in equality…….reveals that Democratic and Republican presidents over the past half-century have presided over dramatically different patterns of income growth. On average, the real incomes of middle- class families have grown twice as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans, while the real incomes of working poor families have grown six times as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans. These substantial partisan differences persist even after allowing for differences in economic circumstances and historical trends beyond the control of individual presidents. They suggest that escalating in equality is not simply an inevitable economic trend— and that a great deal of economic in equality in the contemporary United States is specifically attributable to the policies and priorities of Republican presidents.

Any satisfactory account of the American political economy must therefore explain how and why Republicans have had so much success in the American electoral arena despite their startling negative impact on the economic fortunes of middle- class and poor people. Thus, in chapter 3, I examine contemporary class politics and partisan change, testing the popular belief that the white working class has been lured into the Republican ranks by hot-button social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Contrary to this familiar story, I find that low- income whites have actually become more Democratic in their presidential voting behavior over the past half-century, partially counterbalancing Republican gains among more affluent white voters. Moreover, low- income white voters continue to attach less weight to social issues than to economic issues—and they attach less weight to social issues than more affluent white voters do. The familiar image of a party system transformed by Republican gains among working- class cultural conservatives turns out to be largely mythical.

Today is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.  On this historic day Senator Barack Obama will officially accept the Democratic Party nomination to be the party representative in the general election to become the President of the United States.  And ProgressPolitics will be there.  This marks the first time that an African-American has ever achieved this high honor and this writer predicts that there will not be a dry eye in the house.  As an African-American that will be sitting in the audience during this once in a lifetime experience, it is impossible to explain the range of emotions that are going through me right now.  Pride, Excitement, Optimism, and Joy are just a few of the adjectives that come to mind.  There are many people who have worked tirelessly for Sen Barack Obama because of his vision, his character, and his plan to return America to its former greatness.  All we can say is that this is the first step for many of us.  For many African-Americans who have never seen a person that looked like us in such a position, I would say that the predominate emotion is pride.  Sen. Obama has reached this great milestone not by changing who he is but because of who he is.  As a African-American male raised by a single mother, this is an all to common way that many African-Americans start out.   Witnessing someone who came from such humble beginnings achieve this great thing sends a message to every African-American child that anything and everything is possible regardless of how you start out.  The pundits may decide to try and spin this, by pundits I mean the Right (Fox, Limbaugh, Hannity), because of the size of the stadium and the aestetics of the venue but the truth is that Sen. Barack Obama is a candidate of the people.  It is the blood, sweat, and tears of millions that will have put Sen. Obama on the Invesco Field stage tonight.  The idea that it is a mistake to allow them to partake in this historic occasion is absolutely ludicrous.  There are thousands upon thousands of people who want to witness this historic event and to limit it to only a few people would be an injustice to all the volunteers and voters who are responsible for Sen. Obama being there.  For the first time in history we have an African-American of a major party as an official contender for President of the United States.   We are in the beginnings of a “dream” realized.

Ladies and Gentleman we give you Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!        

Progress.

GOP members are acting out an alleged protest in the House during this Congressional recess.  The GOP and Sen. John McCain are insisting that House leader Nancy Pelosi call Congress back from recess to vote on its “drill now” bill proposing off-shore drilling.  The GOP or McCain fails to mention that the leader of their party, Pres. George W. Bush, also has the power to call Congress back from recess to vote on the GOP proposed bill.  The grand old party consistently and conveniently forgets to mention that GOP House members asked Pres. George Bush to call Congress back from recess and the president refused.  So, ask yourself…..why would they expect a member of the opposing party to do what the leader of their own party has refused to do?  Also, why is the GOP not protesting against Pres. Bush, he has more power than Pelosi?  Why…..because it is a political stunt, nothing more, nothing less.

Further, for those tourist who are venturing down to the nation’s capitol to witness the GOP spectacle…..ask questions to those GOP members claiming that the domestic oil drilling will help make us energy independent.  One good question would be…..ask them if they will guarantee that such domestically produced oil will remain in the United States and not be sold to the world market?  Ask them if they can mandate that all the oil drilled domestically by the oil companies will remain here at home.  I bet you that they will either attempt to dodge the question or brush you off.  And by brushing you off I mean, they will say “that is a great idea, I agree with you.”  Then they hope that voters will forget that they asked the question.  Further, the GOP will not incorporate such restrictions because such restrictions would be against the interest of the oil companies and they do not want to lose out on all those oil company campaign contributions.  Second, they will not restrict the oil leases in such a way because oil companies are not going to allow the government to dictate to them where they can sell their product, even though said oil leases are granted by the United States government.  Such a requirement would probably reduce their profit margin significantly.  Oil companies sell to the country that logistically reaps them the most profit.  Republican members of the House are hoping that this little glitch will go unnoticed by American voters.  The GOP is well aware that drilling domestically will do very little to reduce energy dependence, but it will provide oil companies with significantly more profit potential.  Finally, ask those GOP House members whether increasing domestic production will cause OPEC members to decrease their production thereby eliminating any gains domestically except to oil companies?  They are attempting distraction to detract from real solutions that will help the majority of the American people instead of greasing the palms of a few oil companies……call them on it.

This is the latest e-mail sent to SUPERDELEGATES (remember those) by PUMA.  Originally the acronym meant  Party Unity My Ass, but it recently changed its name to People United Means Action.  These folks are the die-hard Hillary supporters who are refusing to accept her lost and are aggressively pushing for a roll-call vote at the convention.  Apparently, Clinton’s little speech in California regarding “catharsis” got them all riled up again.  First, let me say that the total group is nowhere near a representative sample of Clinton’s former supporters.  Last I heard there were about 100 of them with very big mouths.  They are widely believed to be Republican operatives acting under the auspice of Clinton supporters.  The group makes exaggerated claims about the number of  members so as to get as much press time as possible.  Second, they are still actively campaigning to change the mind of super delegates in a last ditch, desperate attempt, to give Clinton the nomination.  Yea Sen. Clinton, a “catharsis” will be very constructive (snark).  To think, this writer actually considered giving Sen. Clinton a few dollars to help toward retiring her debt.  It is stunts like these that remind all of us of all the emotions stirred up during the primary.  Further, last I checked the vast majority of Clinton supporters are now voting for Obama.  I’m very happy to hear that former governor Mark Warner of Virginia will also be speaking on Tuesday night, the same night as Clinton.  Thus Tuesday night will not be Clinton night afterall, hers will be just one of many speeches given that night.  Again, there is no need for a roll call vote.  Everyone else has moved on except the die-hard, unable to accept, legitimate defeat, PUMA people.  Below is the letter sent out to superdelegates by PUMA representatives.

From:

Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 1:19 PM
To:
Subject: Hillary in Nomination

August 11, 2008

Puma PAC

Reply TO:XXXX@pumapac.org

Dear Super Delegate,

I am a Democratic voter and member of Puma PAC, People United Means Action  We represent the more than 18 million American voters who supported Senator Clinton and who reject the selection of Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee.

Barack Obama is simply the weaker of the two final candidates for nomination. He is losing ground to Senator McCain every day.  Millions of Democrats vow not to vote for him in November because of his inexperience and unreadiness to lead.

Only Senator Clinton can win back the White House for our Party in November.

PLEASE do your job and support Senator Clinton for nomination in Denver.

The Democratic VOTERS want you to support a real winner and leader. The American PEOPLE want you to. Common Sense wants you to. A commitment to DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES wants you to.

PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING. AMERICAN DEMOCRATS AND VOTERS WILL SUPPORT YOU FOR YOUR COURAGE AND WILLINGNESS TO STAND UP TO PARTY INSIDERS BY REPRESENTING THE VOICE OF THE VOTERS.

Sincerely,

W. Kronert, San Diego, Ca.

Puma PAC democrat

Your candidate lost…..GET OVER IT!

Sen Barack Obama will be in the DC metro area next week and ProgressPolitics has tickets available for the event.  If you live in the DC metro area or will be in the area on Tuesday and would like to see Sen. Obama please send us an email at progress@progresspolitics.com.  This will be a fundraising luncheon and will probably be the last opportunity to see the Senator in the DC metro area until well after the Democratic Convention.  There are two ticket levels available: $1,000 tickets for priority seating, photo-op, and a VIP reception.  There are also $500 tickets available to encourage young professionals, students, and grassroots donors to attend.

This is not a joke, Howard Wolfson will be working for Rupert Murdoch owned Fox News as a contributor for the 2008 election!  Perhaps he is the new token liberal there to support Juan Williams (NPR and Fox News commentator)…oh wait, not sure where Mr. Williams stands these days.  Good ol Juan tends to take every opportunity to knock down Obama.  I would swear that Williams is now a McCain supporter given his recent comments regarding the presumed democratic nominee.  To this writer, the NPR contributor seems to want to sabotage Obama by consistently using the GOP talking points against him.  Perhaps Mr. Williams has bought into the rhetoric of the right?  Maybe, OR, the more likely reason, his candidate (Hillary) didn’t win the primary so now he has set out to do his part to make sure that Obama doesn’t win the general.  This was most clear the past two Sundays on Fox News Sunday when Good ol Juan took stronger positions against Obama than his ultra-conservative republican colleagues.  Nice job Juan…..good looking out.

Jim Webb allegedly took himself out of consideration for the vice presidential spot of Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy.  In this writer’s opinion, which is total speculation, I don’t think that Webb was seriously being considered because of the series of hot buttons that plagued his senate run in 2006.  If it had not been for George Allen’s “mucaca” moment and youtube I am not sure the Jim Webb would be senator today.  There is the women in the military comment, the affirmative action and confederate flag comments and situation.  These are deal breakers for some folks.  Hillary’s women would not have been happy with a Jim Webb in Obama’s veep slot.  And if the slogan “stop the drama, vote for Obama” holds true, Jim Webb brings way too much unnecessary drama.  The GOP attack machine would have a field day.  This move seems to be a face-saving move by Webb because the main stream media has been talking him up so much.  Good move.  Okay, so the veepstakes is narrowed a little further, Wesley Clark is out, Sam Nunn is out , and now Jim Webb is out……Al Gore anyone?

Senator Jim Webb’s Official Comment 

Last week I communicated to Senator Obama and his presidential campaign my firm intention to remain in the United States Senate, where I believe I am best equipped to serve the people of Virginia and this country. Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for Vice President.”A year and a half ago, the people of Virginia honored me with election to the U.S. Senate. I entered elective politics because of my commitment to strengthen America’s national security posture, to promote economic fairness, and to increase government accountability. I have worked hard to deliver upon that commitment, and I am convinced that my efforts and talents toward those ends are best served in the Senate.

“In this regard, the bipartisan legislative template we were able to put into effect through 18 months of work in order to enact the new, landmark GI Bill will serve as a prototype for my future endeavors in government. This process, wherein we brought 58 Senators from both parties to the table as co-sponsors, along with more than 300 members of the House, gives me renewed confidence that the Congress can indeed work effectively across party lines and address the concerns of our citizens.

“At this time I am also renewing my commitment to work hard to make sure that Senator Obama wins both Virginia and the presidency this November. He is a man who speaks eloquently about our national goals and calls for the practical solutions that must be put into place to obtain them. I will proudly campaign for him.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Obama gave one of the best quotes to date from a democratic presidential hopeful concerning how he will react to the swiftboat attacks of the republican right and its 527 groups.  Per the New York Times:

It was not all about pop culture. When Mr. Wenner asked how Mr. Obama might respond to harsh attacks from Republicans, suggesting that Democrats have “cowered” in the past, Mr. Obama replied, “Yeah, I don’t do cowering.”

Yea baby…we don’t do cowering.  That is exactly the attitude that democrats need to exhibit toward the misleading, unfounded, right wing attacks of yesteryear. 

Last night in Detroit, Michigan, former Vice President and former presidential candidate Al Gore endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president.  One interesting fact is that Gore announced his presidential run on June 16, 1999, exactly nine years to the day that he endorses Barack Obama for President.  In his speech, Gore spoke specifically about how important elections are to our foreign policy, our Supreme Court,  Katrina, the Iraq War, wounded veterans, food safety, tainted products from China, and the national deficit.  The former vice president and preeminent expert on climate change reiterated that we need change with respect to our government as well as to how we solve our global warming crisis.  Alluding to John McCain, Gore also stressed that a long tenure in Washington DC does not amount to “judgement, wisdom, and vision.”  This endorsement is significant for the Obama campaign for one reason, “Florida, Florida, Florida.”  After the 2000 debacle, Al Gore is the poster child for what could have been.  Gore out on the campaign stump will remind a significant portion of  Floridian voters of what happened in the 2000 presidential campaign against George W. Bush.  Given the state of the economy and the many colossal foreign policy blunders of the Bush administration, Gore will be a vivid reminder of what many believe to be the injustice of 2000.  His presence will remind Floridians how important it is that they turn out in great numbers.  Further, considering the reaction of the Michigan crowd when Gore brought up the 2000 election, there are many still hoping to right that wrong.  It doesn’t help that McCain has a 95% pro-Bush voting record thereby making it easy for Floridians to replace the GW of 2000 with the McCain of 2008 enabling them to exact their vengeance.  So though Gore did not come out when it really could have given the Obama campaign a boost, his endorsement is still very valuable to the campaign especially if he backs it up by stumping for Obama in Florida.   Si Se Puede! 

Two seconds after Obama clinched the nomination, the chattering class began punditing about who he should choose as his vice president.  Sen. Obama said as he was leaving DC that the next word that the public will hear from his campaign regarding the VP position is when he announces his vice president.  The Senator also said that his campaign will take its time deciding who will be his running mate.  Obama has also emphasized that this is one of the most important decisions that he will make and he will not be rushed in making it.  Obama confirmed that his campaign have begun the VP consideration process but such process will not be conducted in the press or through surrogates.  In addition, the Senator demonstrated just what kind of leader he intends to be yesterday.  Having just won the toughest, most protracted and contentious primary in decades, Obama did not rest on his laurels but flew to Washington DC and went to the Senate floor to introduce new legislation expanding public access to government spending.  While in DC Obama also INFORMED the party that Howard Dean would remain DNC chair.  The junior senator from Illinois and the new leader of the Democratic Party also INFORMED the Party that there will be no more lobbyist money taken by the DNC, a policy that he implemented in his campaign at its genesis.    And last but by no means least, Sen. Obama met with Sen. Clinton last night regarding beginning the process of uniting the party.  Both campaigns released the following statement,

Joint Statement from Obama and Clinton Campaign

Senator Clinton and Senator Obama met tonight and had a productive discussion about the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November.”

FINALLY, it is over!  Sen. Barack Obama is officially the presumptive democratic nominee.  After fifteen months of rigorous, high octaine, campaigning, Barack Obama finally claimed victory last night over this historic primary race.   After losing South Dakota to Clinton 55% to 45%, but trouncing her in Montana 57% to 41%, Sen. Obama made history last night by becoming the first African-American/black person in the western world to head the ticket of a major political party.   And he did it by running a positive, uplifting campaign.  The Illinois Senator said in front of a crowd of 30,000 in Minnesota “I will be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America.”  Sen. Obama ended the night with 2156 delegates and made headlines around the world.  PROGRESS.

Headlines around the World (see below) 

El Pais (Madrid): Obama se convierte en el primer candidato negro a la presidencia de Estados Unidos
^{(Obama becomes the first black candidate to the presidency of the United States)}

Financial Times (London): Obama clinches the Democratic nomination

The Telegraph (London): Obama limps over line despite Dakota defeat
^{Senator becomes the first black nominee in history despite Clinton win in South Dakota.}

Le Monde (Paris) Interrogations sur la stratégie de fin de campagne d’Hillary Clinton
^{(Questions on the ending strategy of Hillary Clinton’s campaign)}

Berliner Morgenpost (Berlin): Barack Obama lässt sich als Kandidat feiern
^{(Barack Obama can be celebrated as a candidate)}

Reforma (Mexico City): Hace Obama historia; asegura nominación
^{(Obama makes history; nomination assured)}

Clarín (Buenos Aires): Obama logró los delegados necesarios y es el candidato demócrata a la Casa Blanca
^{(Obama obtained the necessary delegates and is the democratic candidate to the White House)}

Jakarta Post (Jakarta, Indonesia): Obama seals nomination; McCain eager for battle

The Australian (Melbourne): Barack Obama claims nomination but Hillary Clinton hangs on

Al Jazeera (Doha, Qatar): Obama ‘wins Democratic nomination’
^{Illinois senator projected to become first African-American presidential candidate.}

Jerusalem Post (Jerusalem): Obama seals Democratic presidential nomination
^{Defeated Hillary Clinton maneuvers for the vice presidential spot on Illinois senator’s ticket without conceding her own loss.}

Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa): Obama first black nominee for White House
^{Clinton vows party unity}

China Daily (Beijing): Obama seals Democratic nomination
^{Barack Obama sealed the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, a step toward his goal of becoming the first black US president.}