Civic Art (Open Thread)
3 hours ago
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Monday, October 27, 2008
Breaking: Stevens Found Guilty of Felony Corruption
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that tainted the 40-year Senate career of Alaska's political patriarch...
Stevens, 84, was convicted of all seven charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating Wednesday at noon.
Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced Jan. 26, but under federal sentencing guidelines, he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any.
Sen. Chuck Hagel Rips into Sarah Palin
Hagel may be the only senior Republican elected official who has publicly criticized McCain’s choice of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. “I don’t believe she’s qualified to be President of the United States,” Hagel told me. “The first judgment a potential President makes is who their running mate is—and I don’t think John made a very good selection.” He scoffed at McCain’s attempts to portray her as an experienced politician. “To try to make the excuse that she looks out her window and sees Russia—and that she’s commander of the Alaska National Guard.” He added, “There is no question that this candidate is arguably the thinnest-résumé candidate for Vice-President in the history of America.”
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Fight Michele Bachmann, Donate to Tinklenberg
First-term Minnesota Republican Representative Michele Bachmann has been in hot water lately for explicitly calling for a McCarthy-esque inquisition into which members of Congress are "pro-America" or "anti-America".
Since she made her indefensible comments over the weekend, the Democrat challenging her for her House seat, El Tinklenberg, has experienced a flood of donations -- garnering nearly $1 million in four days. I dug into my wallet and added $100 to the mix yesterday. I suggest you do the same.
Here's an ad that El Tinklenberg's new flood of cash is helping pay for:
Saturday, October 4, 2008
GOP Congressional Bloodbath Likely
Recent polling does not contain good news for Republicans trying to hold onto their seats in Congress:
The generic ballot test -- a traditional measure of broad voter attitudes -- has also moved decisively in Democrats' direction in recent days. The latest NBC-Wall Street Journal and Associated Press polls showed voters favoring a generic Democratic candidate for Congress over a generic Republican by 13 points, while a recent Time magazine poll gave Democrats a 46 percent to 36 percent edge.
GOP operatives said the party's declining fortunes are rooted in a series of events over the past two weeks, including McCain's decision to suspend his campaign in order to help broker a deal on the rescue plan and Republican opposition that doomed the bill in a House vote on Monday. Those incidents helped reinforce voter impressions that Washington is broken and that Republicans bear the brunt of the blame, the party insiders said.
In the most recent Washington Post-ABC News national poll, more than half of all voters said they were "very concerned" that the failure of the first bailout vote would cause a "severe economic decline." By a ratio of 2 to 1, they blamed the legislations' defeat on Republicans.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
David Gergen: Republicans 'Shockingly Irresponsible'
You go, David Gergen:
Here's what he said:
“It’s really the House Republicans who bear special ignamy tonight because two-thirds of them voted against it. It was House Conservative Republican member who derailed it. They had strong reasons they voted against it but let their be no doubt, if we pay a huge price like we did today, it was the house Republicans who [bear responsibility]. This business about Nancy Pelosi making a speech, yes she shouldnt have said it, yes it was inappropriate, but the fact that it changed their minds? Oh poor babyies. Yes, a few words from the House Speaker made them run and go back into their boxing corners? Come on.”
Republicans Back Off 'Pelosi Made Us Do It!' Claim
Republicans yesterday claimed that Nancy Pelosi was being mean to them and, as a result, that is why they decided to vote against the bailout bill.
The claim was so stupid and tone-deaf that even Peter Wehner of the ultra-conservative National Review Online had this to say:
I have been defending House Republicans for a week against friends who thought they were acting in an irresponsible fashion. I argued they were people with admirable free-market principles who were simply trying to improve legislation and have their voices heard, something to which they were certainly entitled. And I thought they made the bill better than it was. But yesterday’s vote, and the excuses that followed the vote, have made me reassess my judgment. Watching Boehner, Blunt, and Cantor blame the outcome on the Pelosi speech was an embarrassment.
Well, cue the frantic backpedalling:
– Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): “We are not babies who suck their thumbs.”
– Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO): “I think you don’t want to give too much blame to that speech.”
– Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ): “It was embarrassing for leadership on both parties to lose the bill, so they went out and made a stupid claim.”
– Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “That speech was not the reason I voted against the bill.” [MSNBC, 9/30/08]
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Failure of Premier Bush's Bailout Plan
Honestly, I don't know what to think of the $700 billion bailout bill being scuttled in the House today. The subject matter is so arcane to me that I don't know where to begin. When it comes down to it, I suppose this is where I come out:
ONE: Nearly every major person President Bush has hired over the last seven+ years has turned out to be a major f*ck-up.
TWO: Hank Paulson was hired by President Bush, failed to see the financial crisis coming, repeatedly claimed that he had the situation under control and is NOW telling Congress, with a gun pointed toward the American economy's collective head, that the bailout plan he proposed is the wise panacea that will magically stave off financial ruin (oh, and by the way, it needs to be passed yesterday).
Thus, THREE: From One and Two, I am inclined to believe that whatever Premier Bush's Executive Branch of Idiocracy tells me is -- at least -- a corrupt, dissembling lie. As a result -- and I may live to regret it if the American financial system really does die today -- I ultimately think the House scuttling the bailout bill today was probably a good thing. The question of whether they can come up with something better if, of course, an open question.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Lobbyists Push for No-Strings-Attached Bailout Bill
Financial industry lobbyists are, not surprisingly, telling their sycophantic Republican bootlickers in Congress to just give them the g-d money, attach no strings and DO IT NOW!
House Republican staffers met with roughly 15 lobbyists Friday afternoon, whose message to lawmakers was clear: Don't load the legislation up with provisions not directly related to the crisis, or regulatory measures the industry has long opposed.
"We're opposed to adding provisions that will affect [or] undermine the deal substantively," said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, whose members include the nation's largest banks, securities firms and insurers.
A deal killer for the group: a proposal that would grant bankruptcy judges new powers to lower the principal, interest rate or both on a mortgage as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
Quote of the Day
Here is a quote from an email sent by an unnamed Washington lawmaker talking about the legislative response to the financial crisis:
I find myself drawn to provisions that would serve no useful purpose except to insult the industry, like requiring the CEOs, CFOs and the chair of the board of any entity that sells mortgage related securities to the Treasury Department to certify that they have completed an approved course in credit counseling... I'm open to other ideas, and I am looking for volunteers who want to hold the sons of bitches so I can beat the crap out of them.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Marriage Amendment - More Republican Comedy
Republicans are up to their old tricks again. A group of Republicans introduced the anti-gay marriage Federal Marriage Amendment in the Senate this week.
You know what the funniest part is?
Most of the [sponsors] are predictable — Brownback and Inhofe, for example — but there are two others whose names stand out: Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Larry Craig (R-Idaho).
Yes, two of the principal sponsors of a constitutional amendment to “protect” marriage include one far-right Republican who hired prostitutes and another far-right Republican who was arrested for soliciting gay sex an airport men’s room.
We really need to turn the page on this kind of buffoonery.
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