Category: Democratic

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Democratic Mitch McConnell Politics Republican

McConnell Signals President Will Give Up More For A Deal

We’ll hope not, but hearing McConnell’s statement today, and seeing his jubilant mannerism is telling. The message I gather from his and Boehner’s press conference is that the President and Democratic Congressional members are beginning to give up even more to the Republican minority.

The press conference happened about 3:45PM today, and it featured Boehner and McConnell making a brief statement about their commitment on ‘no compromise’. But when McConnell took the podium, he broke the news that he’d been talking to President Obama “within the past hour.”

Of course, that could be a  good thing, but when McConnell, in the midst of telling reporters how strongly he feels about holding his ground and criticizing the plan the Democrats have brought forward, then says he has spoken to the President and is “optimistic” that a deal is going to happen real soon, it is hard not to think the President is again, going to yield to the minority demands.

Meanwhile, news broke that the President summoned Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid and Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to the White House for a private meeting.

With 3 days left before a deal is reached, we will find out exactly what McConnell knows about this “deal” that’s making him so happy.

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Barack Obama Democratic democrats Politics

President Obama – I Cannot Invoke The 14th Amendment

So you think President Obama has the authority to invoke the 14th Amendment and raise the Debt Ceiling all by himself? Think again. According to the President himself, the debt ceiling is a statutory rule, not a constitution rule.

Speaking at an event in Maryland on Friday, the question of invoking the 14th amendment arose. President Obama responded by saying;

“There’s a provision in our Constitution that speaks to making sure that the United States meets its obligations, and there have been some suggestions that a president could use that language to basically ignore this debt ceiling rule, which is a statutory rule; it’s not a constitutional rule.

“I have talked to my lawyers … They’re not persuaded that that is a winning argument.”

Republicans have already suggested impeaching President Obama if he tries to use the 14th amendment to get the debt ceiling raised. Based on the President’s own words, it will seem this is a moot point.

The 14th amendment states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.” Many have suggested this to mean that President Obama has all the authority he needs to raise the debt ceiling if Congress fails to do their job.

Republicans have shown a preference to allowing the United States to default on its debt if it means the rich will loose some of their tax loopholes. They have been fighting the president and Democrats, who have suggested that the only plausible way to move forward on raising the debt ceiling would be to raise revenue along with spending cuts.

The debt ceiling now stands at $14.3 trillion, and the United States will run out of the ability to continue paying it’s debt if the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2nd.

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Democratic Republican United States Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker Admits He Made A Mistake

Scott Walker and his Republican goons instituted some of the most radical right winged policies Wisconsin has ever seen, but what caused the Republican governor to admit he made a mistake was not the policies themselves – policies that caused hundreds of thousands to protests on a daily basis and to takeover the assembly house for weeks – Walker admitted to being sorry about the method in which he implemented his agenda.

“Aside from criticism by those who thought Walker was unfairly undercutting state worker rights, he and his fellow Republicans came under fire for tactics seen by some as bullying and not allowing for sufficient debate or possible compromise.

“The mistake I made early on is, I looked at it almost like the head of a small business: identify a problem, identify a solution and go out and do it,” Walker told Reuters at the National Governor’s Association meeting in Salt Lake City.

“I don’t think we built enough of a political case, so we let … the national organizations come in and define the debate while we were busy just getting the job done,” he said.

It’s not how you forced your policies on the people of Wisconsin that have you polling among the lowest governors in America Mr. Walker, its your policies themselves.

Six Republicans who helped Walker push his union busting policy on Wisconsin’s middle class are facing recalls in August. Walker himself must serve one year before he is eligible for recall, that happens in January of 2012.

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Barack Obama Democratic Politics Republican United States White House

Obama To Republicans – I Will Not Fold!

President Obama called the Republicans’ bluff today, when he stated clearly that he will not sign any short-term deal on the debt ceiling. When asked whether he would veto such a deal, the President replied, “I will not sign a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day extension.”

He then accused the Republicans of having a “my way or the highway” stance on the debt ceiling. He also gave this warning – “I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge. Period!”

The President and Democratic leaders have proposed a deal to Republicans totaling $4 trillion in spending cuts over a period of 10 years, in exchange for a few hundred billion in tax revenue. Republicans however, called this a “non-starter,” because taxes would be imposed on millionaires and billionaires. Led by House Speaker John Boehner, Republicans are demanding a smaller, short-term increase in the debt ceiling of about $2 trillion.

The President did not budge, saying “this is the United States of America. And, you know, we don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments.” And referring to those Republicans who have already said they would not support raising the debt ceiling, the President said, “It’s irresponsible. They know better.”

Of course, Boehner continued his call for the middle class to bear the weight, while the rich skates through for free!

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Democrat Democratic hypocrites Politics Republican washington

Bill Clinton Blames Republicans For Present Economic Woes

Former President Bill Clinton blamed Republicans in Congress for the state of the economy. Mr. Clinton called out the  GOP as hypocrites for implementing massive tax cuts and increased spending during the Bush administration, policies that directly contributed to the present recession.

Speaking to a group of liberal group activists in Washington, Clinton said, “”Partly because the Republicans who control the House and have a lot of pull in the Senate have now decided, having quadrupled the debt in 12 years before I took office and doubled it after I left, that it’s all of a sudden the biggest problem in the world.”

The former President, who opposes spending cuts in a downward economy, again expressed his concerns with the present budget talks, and he referenced the United Kingdom and their mistake of cutting spending at a time when spending should have been increased. Clinton continued;

“In the current budget debate, there’s all this discussion about how much will come from spending cuts, how much will come from tax increases, and almost nobody is talking about one of the central points – that everyone who’s analyzed the situation makes, including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission, which said you shouldn’t do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering.

“Because if you do things that dampen economic growth, and the U.K. is finding this out now, they adopted this big austerity budget, and there’s a good chance that economic activity will go down so much that tax revenues will be reduced even more than spending is cut, and their deficit will increase.”

President Obama meets today with both Republican and Democratic leaders to discuss the debt ceiling. Democrats have offered about $3 trillion in defense and other spending cuts and they have asked Republicans to agree on closing some tax loopholes that benefits millionaires and billionaires. Republicans have so far, dismissed this proposal and have demanded Democrats leave these loopholes alone.

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Barack Obama Democratic Politics Republican United States

Presidential Press Conference – Obama’s Speech On The Economy

The President used the bully pulpit today and did what many progressives were asking for –  to stand up and tell the Republicans that although spending cuts will be necessary, revenue must be raised and the rich must pay their fair share. That statement is exactly what made Eric Cantor walk out of negotiations with Vice-President Biden earlier this week, but hearing the president reiterate that very point got rave reviews from Progressives nationwide.

Watch the Presidential Press Conference below.

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Democratic Politics Republican United States Wisconsin

Wisconsin Republican Put 6 Impersonators In Recall Elections

And so the games in Wisconsin continue. It’s amazing that elected officials are allowed to act so immature, but these days in politics, this seems to be the norm.

Weeks after secret meetings where Republicans were trying to come up with ways to negatively affect the recall elections, they are now acting on what was discussed — to install false Democrats into the recall race, to prolong the elections and cost Democrats more in primary elections.

The Associated Press is reporting that as much as six false Democrats are being used by Republicans to run against official Democratic candidates.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — State election officials have finalized the list of candidates who are challenging six Republican state senators in recall elections this summer.

The Government Accountability Board said Friday it had received the necessary paperwork from 12 challengers. None of the nomination papers was challenged, so the GAB has now locked in the election dates.

All six races will start with a Democratic primary on July 12. According to the final paperwork, each primary will include one Democratic candidate and a “fake” Democrat, part of a Republican strategy that forces Democrats to spend more resources per race.

The primary winner will face the Republican incumbent in a general election Aug. 9.

Three Democratic state senators are also being targeted for recall. If there are primaries in those races they’d be on July.

Meanwhile, real Americans continue to lose jobs, homes, retirement investments… real Americans are paying the price!

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Anthony Weiner Democratic House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Politics Republican United States

David Vitter Has A Job, But Anthony Weiner Decides To Retire

We called it here first. Moments after Anthony Weiner went infront of the podium and proclaimed that he was responsible for the tweet that started the so-called Weinergate – where his apparent sin was texting, then lying to the almighty press, claiming he didn’t have any idea who sent the personal text messages to different women –  we predicted that the next time Weiner gives a press conference, it will be to state his resignation.

Meanwhile, Republican David Vitter, the man who paid for sex from prostitutes while still a member of congress, still has a job as a member of congress.

Although we hoped to be wrong on that prediction, reports out today suggests we were right. Anthony Weiner is getting ready to announce his retirement from the House of Representatives. Chalk this one up as a win for the Republicans.

There was only so much Mr. Weiner could take. Pressure to retire was coming from both sides of the political divide, and his Democratic “friends” and leaders in congress all but turned their backs on their out-spoken Democratic congress member. From Leader Pelosi, who announced her intention to investigate Weinergate, to a Republican freshmen who called Weiner a “distraction,” to political talking heads like Ed Shultz, who seemed to be on a personal mission to get Mr. Weiner to resign.

But when President Obama earlier this week joined the chorus and suggested that “if it were me, I would resign,” Mr. Weiner saw the writing on the wall and realized that his fate was sealed.

We said it before and we’ll say it again. Losing Anthony Weiner is a major blow to the Democratic voice in Congress. He was an out-spoken member, and stood his grounds for the people of his district and for America’s middle class in general. Yes, chalk this one up for the Republicans, their job to eliminate the middle class without objection just got a little easier with Weiner out of the picture.

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Anthony Weiner Democratic New York Tid Bits twitter

Anthony Weiner Leans Left. His Naked Weener Pic Revealed

It was bound to happen. Andrew Breitbart, the same guy who just a few days ago claimed that he wanted to protect Anthony Weiner by not releasing this photo of the congressman’s erect penis, went on Opie and Anthony’s radio show today and passed the picture on his cellphone around for all to see.

According to the description  given to explain how the photo was captured, a video camera in the studio caught the image, and voilà – it is spreading on the internet for all to see, and yes, it seems that the congressman – an avid left leaning Democrat – leans left in more ways than one.

The official explanation of how the photo was captured is shown in the video below:

And below is the picture, as captured by the camera in the studio.

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Anthony Weiner Democratic Politics twitter

Weiner Will Forever Be Remembered As Sending His Covered Weener On Twitter

The unfortunate part of this whole Weiner episode is that now, he will forever be remembered as the man who sent a picture of his covered weener on Twitter, instead of being remembered as the great Democratic voice in Congress.

Will Anthony Weiner survive this? No. We expect another press conference where Weiner will announce his resignation.

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Democratic Politics Republican Wisconsin

Wisconsin Republicans Sue Because They Were Wrong

Something must be wrong with these Republicans. It seems that when they do things in the dark, everything is fine. But when these things are brought to the light, Republicans want to sue the person who turns on the light switch.

Oh the nerve of these Wisconsin Republicans.

In a secretly taped conversation recently released and first reported by the La Crosse Tribune , Wisconsin Republicans were overheard talking about planting a spoiler Democrat into the recall elections of Republican Sen. Dan Kapanke.

On the recording, Julian Bradley – the La Crosse County Republican Vice Chairman is heard recalling a conversation he had with Wisconsin Executive Director of the State’s Party, Mark Jefferson. Here’s what was said;

“We are actively keeping our ears to the ground and if anybody knows anybody for a candidate that would be interested on the Democratic side in running in the primary against Jennifer Shilling … if anybody knows any Democrats who would be interested, please let us know.”

The recall election for Republican Dan Kapanke –  one of the Senators that voted for the controversial law that will take away the collective bargaining rights of Wisconsin union members – is scheduled for July 12th. Republicans were attempting to plant this spoiler Democratic challenger into the race to delay the recall election, as primary elections will be held first. A scenario, they believe, will cost Democrats more money. The official Democratic challenger in the recall election against Dan Kapanke is state Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse).

But what’s even more unbelievable is the proposed law-suit. Yes, the party that has fabricated information and videos against Democrats are now planning to sue the person who secretly recorded the Republican meeting. The report claims,

The La Crosse County Republican Party plans to sue the person who made a secret recording of the group’s monthly meeting last week, when party officials discussed running a spoiler candidate against Democrat Jennifer Shilling.

Party chairman Bill Feehan said he met with an attorney Friday and would file a suit soon.

“I had to seek legal counsel regarding the illegal taping of our meeting,” Feehan said. “We’ve now been told it’s a violation of a state statute regarding wire tapping.”

You do right and you should have nothing to worry about. But the nerve…! You do wrong, and you want to file suit because your wrong-doing was brought to light?

Simply amazing!!!

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Democratic House of Representatives Medicare New York Paul Ryan Politics Republican United States

A Republican Shellacking Like No Other In N.Y-26

Remember this Republican dude? You know… the one who was caught emailing half-naked pictures of himself to women on Craigslist? Yeah, him. He immediately resigned his position in congress after the story broke because he didn’t want to bring embarrassment to his wife and kids.

Yeah, that’s the dude. He represented a district in New York that many consider to be the most conservative district nationwide. This district, called New York 26, made history yesterday. In a special election to replace the shirtless Republican dude with the red phone, a Democrat won! I’ll say that again… a democrat won in a district that should have went Republican even if no Republican names were on the ballot.

This is huge news… HUGE! (the way The Donald would say it)! And the thanks for this Democratic victory goes to another Republican named, Paul Ryan.

This Republican Paul Ryan dude is very wicked… wicked and sinister! How wicked is he? This dude is so wicked, that he created a budget infamously called, The Paul Ryan Budget. In this budget, which was agreed to by just about every Republican in the House of Representatives, Paul Ryan advocates for the biggest transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class, to the richest 2% of Americans. If his budget is ever enacted, over $3 trillion dollars would be taken from the middle class and given to the rich over a period of 10 years.

But that’s not all the Ryan Budget does, no not by a long shot! Hear this… The Ryan Budget also wants seniors to give up Medicare as they know it today, and in its place, take a $6,000 voucher instead. These seniors are then expected to use this voucher and shop for health insurance on the private market. The question seniors are asking these Republicans is to name one private insurance company who will insure seniors with a $6,000 voucher, considering the many ailments affecting this segment of society, and considering the for-profit nature of private insurance. So far, no Republicans – including the clean-cut but sinister Paul Ryan himself – have answered their concerns.

This brings us back to NY-26.

The Democrat in the special election Kathy Hochul,  disagreed with The Paul Ryan Budget and promised her district that if she won, she will fight the Ryan Budget with all her might. The Republican candidate on the other hand – Jane Corwin, fell in lockstep with the Ryan Budget and agreed with its drastic measures wholeheartedly, and even had the big-wigs from Washington campaign on her behalf. John Boehner, an ardent supporter of The Ryan Budget, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and the third in line to be President of The United States if anything happens to the President or Vice-President, went to NY-26 and told the Republican conservative district to vote for his candidate.

But last night, Democrats, Republicans and Independents in NY-26 went to the polls and elected the first Democrat in over 50 years.

Democrats are calling this victory a referendum on Republicans and their quest for ultimate control over the lives of free thinking Americans. Republicans on the other hand will try to come up with all sorts of excuses to explain why they lost NY-26. One reason already being pushed is the claim that votes cast for the third candidate, a Teaparty favorite, would have given the Republican candidate the win, had the Teaparty candidate not entered the race.

Sure. This was a shellacking! No two ways about it. The American people have spoken. The Republican quest to control every aspect of our lives and turn that control over to the Corporate élite has been put on notice.

If NY-26 is any indication, expect nothing less than a Republican whipping in the 2012 elections.

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