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    links for 2009-09-15

    • California is home to four of the most corrupt members of Congress, according to an annual report released today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

      It's a bipartisan distinction in California. The list includes Democrats Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson and Republicans Ken Calvert and Jerry Lewis.
      Here's the list:

      Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
      Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)
      Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
      Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)
      Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
      Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
      Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
      Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
      Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV)
      Rep. John Murtha (D-PA)
      Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
      Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)
      Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
      Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
      Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

      (tags: Congress)
    • No reaction to tonight’s latest bombshell from ACORN thus far, and no further word from the House GOP about pushing to defund the organization. It’s awfully quiet out there.
      (tags: ACORN)
    • House Democrats dealt South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson a formal rebuke Wednesday, taking the rare step of passing a resolution of disapproval for his famous “You lie!” outburst last week in the House chamber.

      The vote was 240-179, falling almost exclusively along party lines.

      While Democrats said they were defending the rules of the House and enforcing the traditional decorum of the chamber, Republicans mounted a fierce attack on the resolution, saying it was a waste of time after Wilson had duly apologized to President Barack Obama for his outburst during a joint address to Congress. While a resolution of disapproval is little more than a slap on the wrist, a formal roll call vote like this — permanently entered into the Congressional Record — is extremely rare.
      +++++++\
      A waste of time and taxpayer's money.

    • The Rev. Floyd Rose called for Valdosta City School Superintendent Dr. Bill Cason’s resignation Monday night.
      During the regular Board of Education meeting Rose, president of the Valdosta/Lowndes County Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, spoke to the board about the superintendent’s decision not to air President Barack Obama’s speech on education during school hours.

      Rose and hundreds of others converged on the BOE office demanding answers for why the speech was not shown in a school system that is predominately black.

      (tags: barack_obama)
    • A weakened United States could start retreating from the world stage without help from its allies abroad, an international strategic affairs think tank said Tuesday.

      The respected London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said President Barack Obama will increasingly have to turn to others for help dealing with the world's problems — in part because he has no alternative.

      "Domestically Obama may have campaigned on the theme 'yes we can'; internationally he may increasingly have to argue 'no we can't'," the institute said in its annual review of world affairs.

      The report said the U.S. struggles against insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan had exposed the limits of the country's military muscle, while the near-collapse of the world financial markets sapped the economic base on which that muscle relied.

      (tags: barack_obama)
    • Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:

      • refer to the government as “something hated, something oppressive.”
      • refer to the President as “using legislative or judicial pork.”
      • refer to a Presidential message as a “disgrace to the country.”
      • refer to unnamed officials as “our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs.”

      Likewise, it has been held that a member could not:
      • call the President a “liar.”
      • call the President a “hypocrite.”
      • describe the President’s veto of a bill as “cowardly.”
      • charge that the President has been “intellectually dishonest.”
      • refer to the President as “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”
      • refer to alleged “sexual misconduct on the President’s part.”

    • So is Fiorina self-funding? Yes and no, it seems. Her camp says she's going to contribute "an undetermined amount" to her campaign, but won't self-finance like GOP gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner.

      Interestingly, it seems that the Democrats are preparing for Boxer to take on Fiorina, and expecting her to self-finance: "Without mentioning the leading potential GOP challenger by name, Biden suggested that Carly Fiorina could pose a threat to the Democratic incumbent with the huge personal fortune she built as Hewlett Packard's chief executive."
      +++++++
      Even if Carly contributes a little of her personal cash stash, she will be ahead of any other GOP candidate.

    • Events are fast pushing Israel toward a pre-emptive military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, probably by next spring. That strike could well fail. Or it could succeed at the price of oil at $300 a barrel, a Middle East war, and American servicemen caught in between. So why is the Obama administration doing everything it can to speed the war process along?

      At July's G-8 summit in Italy, Iran was given a September deadline to start negotiations over its nuclear programs. Last week, Iran gave its answer: No.

      Instead, what Tehran offered was a five-page document that was the diplomatic equivalent of a giant kiss-off

  • Harry Reid,  Polling

    Latest Poll Has Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Trailing Both Republican Challengers

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada takes part in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, September 10, 2009

    The latest Rasmussen poll is not kind to Dingy Harry Reid of Nevada.

    In what is currently a difficult political climate for Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid trails two potential Republican challengers seeking to unseat him as he faces reelection next year in Nevada.

    The first Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of the 2010 race shows Sue Lowden beating Reid by 10 percentage points, 50% to 40%. Lowden is chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and the preferred candidate of the Republican party establishment.

    GOP hopeful Danny Tarkanian beats Reid by seven points, 50% to 43%. Tarkanian is a former basketball player for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the son of a legendary college basketball coach.

    The economic and business climate is dismal in Nevada. Unless the economy turns around quickly, Harry Reid will be easily defeated in November 2010.


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  • Bill Clinton,  Gavin Newsom,  Jerry Brown,  Meg Whitman,  Steve Poizner

    Bill Clinton to Endorse San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for California Governor – Republicans Cheer

    San Francisco Mayor Gavin “Whether You Like it or Not” Newsom

    Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner must be dancing this morning.

    Former President Bill Clinton is backing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for California governor over state Attorney Gen. Jerry Brown, potentially upending next year’s Democratic race to succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Clinton’s decision to appear on Oct. 5 alongside one of his wife’s top backers in her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination comes at a critical time for the San Franciso mayor: Although Newsom has built a substantial Facebook and Twitter following among younger voters, Brown, a former two-term governor, has raised more than twice as much money as he has.

    Clinton’s trip to California next month is expected to include an event in predominantly Latino East Los Angeles as well as a high-dollar fundraiser.

    While the endorsement of a former president is big news in any state, the former chairman of the California Democratic Party thinks it could be especially significant in California, a state where Clinton has had a strong following ever since he beat Brown in the state’s 1992 presidential primary.

    These are delusions of grandeur on the part of Newsom and the California Far Left. Jerry Brown has the support of mainstream labor and will pillage Newsom with television ads next Spring before the June 2010 Democrat Primary election.

    California voters are disgruntled in any event(tired of decades of Democrat control of the Legislature) and the REAL race for California Governor is between the two Republicans, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. Californians will not vote for an old man retread pol or a young morally challenged San Francisco Mayor.

    Flap looks forward to the divisive Democrat primary though.


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  • Obamacare,  Polling

    Obamacare: Support Falls Back to Pre-Obama Speech Levels – 52 Per Cent Disapprove

    So says the latest Rasmussen poll.

    Following President Obama’s speech to Congress last week, support for his health care reform plan increased steadily to a peak of 51% yesterday. However, the bounce appears to be over. The latest daily tracking shows that support has fallen all the way back to pre-speech levels.

    Forty-five percent (45%) of all voters nationwide now favor the plan while 52% are opposed. A week ago, 44% supported the proposal and 53% were opposed.

    What I wonder is why the Democrats who have massive majorities in the congress, don’t just get on with it and pass Obamacare?

    Of course, we know why.

    The White House does NOT have the votes and need Republicans to provide political cover.


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  • ACORN,  Barack Obama,  Day By Day

    Day By Day by Chris Muir September 15, 2009 – The Company We Keep

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    Chris, there will be plenty of Obama CANNON FODDER for the 2010 and 2012 elections – if and only if the GOP nominates someone who will use it.

    John McCain would NOT and lost.

    Flap cannot say the same for Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin.

    We will get an inkling of what is to come by the Spring of next year when the Nevada Senate race of Harry Reid begins to heat up.

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