Archive for December, 2009
Nevadans are NOT supporting Democrat Senate Majority leader Harry Reid for re-election next year, according to the latest polling.
The survey of 625 registered Nevada voters by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research suggests the promotional bombardment that Reid launched more than six weeks ago has yet to hit its target.
“I’d be worried,” said Michael Franz, an assistant professor at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, who studies political advertising. “I’d stop if I had aired ads for two or three weeks and it wasn’t moving the needle.”
According to the poll commissioned by the Review-Journal, 49 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Reid, while 13 percent were neutral.
“We’ve always said we will run an aggressive campaign that includes early television, and this is just the beginning,” said Reid campaign manager Brandon Hall. “Senator Reid is fighting to make Nevada stronger every day, and his leadership position is particularly important during these tough economic times. We’re confident that as voters begin to understand the clear choice between his leadership for Nevada and Republican candidates with no new ideas, they will ultimately decide that Nevada is best served by re-electing Senator Reid next November.”
Among nine Republican candidates vying to challenge Reid in November only three had support levels in double digits: businesswoman and former GOP official Sue Lowden, attorney and businessman Danny Tarkanian, and former Nevada assemblywoman Sharron Angle.
If the Republicans can unite behind a strong candidate, Senator Reid WILL be voted out of office next year.
And, it cannot happen too soon.
Technorati Tags: Harry_Reid, Polling
Tags: Polling
Comments Off
Day By Day by Chris Muir
The problem with Barack Obama as a POL has been his policy statements always come with an expiration date. But, now, after having been in office almost a year, the President must actually be held accountable for the policy decisions he and his Administration have made.
And, the American public is NOT happy with Obama.
Look at the latest polling with 40 per cent strongly disapproving of the way Barack Obama is performing his role as President:
Today, the national unemployment rate improved 0.2 per cent to a national average of 10.0%. If the economy improves, so will President Obama’s popularity. But, economic forecasters are saying economic prospects for the coming year are unfavorable.
The economy will have to improve in a major way and quickly, if the Congressional Democrats wish to maintain their majority in the Congress next year. As for the President, his re-election is currently at risk.
Previous:
The Day By Day Archive
Technorati Tags: Day_By_Day, Barack_Obama
Comments Off
-
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, scrapped plans late Thursday to turn the Senate's attention to an amendment that would ban federal funds from being used for abortions after the author told Reid he was not yet finished crafting it.
The decision to delay action on the controversial amendment from Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, came after Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who is co-sponsoring the amendment, complained that Reid was rushing debate on it.
"He (Nelson) is being pushed very hard by his side to bring it up before it's ready to be brought up," Hatch said. "To do really good legislation around here, you need to make sure people who agree with you are on board and the outside groups feel good about it. There's a lot of work I need to do and he needs to do."
Nelson said he did not feel rushed by Reid and blamed the delay on the complexities of writing the highly technical abortion language.
-
The defeat of his amendment would be politically significant because Nelson has pledged to vote with Republicans to filibuster the health bill if it did not include the Stupak language.
“I’ve said at the end of the day if it doesn’t have Stupak language on abortion in it I won’t vote to move it off the floor,†Nelson told reporters.
Stupak’s measure would restrict women who receive federal subsidies from buying abortion coverage on insurance exchanges set up by the government.
Without Nelson, Democrats would need to pick up a Republican — most likely Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) or Susan Collins (Maine) — to pass the landmark bill through the Senate.
-
Democrats have been cheering the recent AARP endorsement of health reform legislation, with good reason. The group represents roughly 40 million Americans, granting it plenty of lobbying clout and power around election time. But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) isn’t impressed. Branding AARP as “that liberal, Democratic group,†McCain today urged members to quit the association, arguing that its support for the scaled-back Medicare spending in the Democrats’ bill is a stab in the back to seniors.
“Take your AARP card, cut it in half and send it back,†he said. “They’ve betrayed you.â€
-
It's looking less likely that California voters will take up the issue of gay marriage in 2010.
Some gay rights activists planned to ask voters next year to repeal Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage that voters approved last year. But this week, a key organization backing the 2010 effort said it needed more time to develop a successful campaign.
A Los Angeles Times/USC poll released in November found a small majority of California voters supports the right of gay couples to marry, but a much larger portion of voters opposes efforts to place the issue on the ballot in 2010.
-
The state's largest doctors group is opposing healthcare legislation being debated in the U.S. Senate this week, saying it would increase local healthcare costs and restrict access to care for elderly and low-income patients.
The California Medical Assn. represents more than 35,000 physicians, making it the second-largest state medical group in the country after Texas.
Its executive committee met last week to discuss the Senate legislation proposed last month by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Association leaders plan to announce their opposition later this week before a vote is taken in the Senate, spokesman Andrew LaMar told The Times.
They join a handful of other state medical associations that have opposed the bill in recent weeks, including those in Florida, Georgia and Texas.
-
Your humble correspondent has been checking the Huffington Post Green section every day since the ClimateGate scandal exploded. After all, that Green section is pretty much predicated on the theory that the earth is warming dangerously and that Man is the cause of it. At first, the Green section had a few relatively minor stories attempting to dispute the revelations of the ClimateGate scandal. However, today the Huffington Post went into a complete panic mode on this topic. Bigtime.
The Green section now features a huge story at the top of the page by Katherine Goldstein which features a slideshow supposedly exposing "The 7 Biggest Lies About the Supposed 'Global Warming Hoax'." However, even many of their own readers aren't buying the lame excuses presented as you will see here.
-
The Washington Times, which gained a strong foothold in a politically obsessed city as a conservative alternative to much of the mainstream media, is about to become a drastically smaller newspaper.
Nearly three decades after its founding by officials of the Unification Church, the Times said Wednesday it is laying off at least 40 percent of its staff and shifting mainly to free distribution.
In what amounts to a bid for survival, the company said the print edition will focus on its core strengths: politics, national security, investigative reporting and "cultural coverage based on traditional values." That means the Times will end its run as a full-service newspaper, slashing its coverage of local news, sports and features.
-
The scientist who convinced the world to take notice of the looming danger of global warming says it would be better for the planet and for future generations if next week's Copenhagen climate change summit ended in collapse.
[download]
James Hansen talks to Suzanne Goldenberg Link to this audio
In an interview with the Guardian, James Hansen, the world's pre-eminent climate scientist, said any agreement likely to emerge from the negotiations would be so deeply flawed that it would be better to start again from scratch.
"I would rather it not happen if people accept that as being the right track because it's a disaster track," said Hansen, who heads the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.
-
Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.
Boxer, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said that the recently released e-mails, showing scientists allegedly overstating the case for climate change, should be treated as a crime.
"You call it 'Climategate'; I call it 'E-mail-theft-gate,'" she said during a committee meeting. "Whatever it is, the main issue is, Are we facing global warming or are we not? I'm looking at these e-mails, that, even though they were stolen, are now out in the public."
2 Comments »
Day By Day by Chris Muir
The LEFT and political elites often ridicule organized religion unless it suits their own political agenda. This is the Saul Alinsky way. Remember Karl Marx? “Religion is the Opiate of the Masses.”
Another example of this sort of analysis is Marx’s understanding of religion, summed up in a passage from the preface[29] to his 1843 Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right:
| “ |
Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. |
†|
| |
— (Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right)
|
As a line of attack against Sarah Palin, I remember a video made public during the 2008 Presidential campaign of her attending a fuindamentalist Assembly of God service and the pundits comparing her to a snake charmer or something of that sort. Of course, if such a comment had been made against fundamental Islam, Judaism or atheists, all hell would have broken loose.
But, attacking Sarah Palin’s religious beliefs is OK because it is only Christianity.
A double or triple standard you say?
You betcha…… Previous:
The Day By Day Archive
Technorati Tags: Day_By_Day, Sarah_Palin
1 Comment »
-
Yesterday Ace mentioned the two Republican primary candidates out here in California competing for the chance to unseat Senator Ma'am Boxer. He wrote that his impression based on limited facts is that DeVore is the true conservative and Fiorina is closer to the squishy moderate.
That's what DeVore wants you to believe, but it's far from clear that it's the truth. DeVore wasted no time attacking her for being pro-choice…even though she says she is pro-life. I asked Chuck's campaign consultant to explain where he got the idea that she was pro-choice and his explanation was less than convincing (I discuss it at "BTW").
And so it has gone since August. I haven't really come to a preference for either candidate so far. I like DeVore and I think he's a good guy. He'd make a good senator. He's been at this longer and his campaign is certainly better organized and better positioned to win the primary than Fiorina's. But I'm disappointed at the sleazy campaigning.
-
A new measure on the public option will be unveiled next week, which Senate Democratic leaders hope will break the logjam on healthcare reform.
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has been tapped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come up with a Plan B approach to the public option controversy that has divided Democrats, has been working closely with liberal and conservative Democrats, as well as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).
In an interview, Carper acknowledged that Reid’s “opt out†public option bill does not have 60 votes necessary for passage, even though it cleared a procedural hurdle last month.
-
Kirk is one of a growing group of Republican candidates flip-flopping away from cap and trade as they stare down more-conservative primary challengers. Republicans who once flouted their green bona fides are tacking right, to the point of questioning the science behind global warming, believing it’s politically toxic within the conservative base to favor anything Democrats want to do about the climate.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who built his maverick reputation on crafting climate legislation, has emerged as a vocal critic of the Democratic bills. Charlie Crist, the Florida governor once known as “Gov. Green,†canceled his climate summit this year and has dropped most of his environmental initiatives. And even in California, considered to be at the forefront of environmental policy, Republican candidate Carly Fiorina urged lawmakers to have the “courage†to re-examine the scientific basis of global warming.
-
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is calling on Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to conduct hearings on a possible conspiracy between some of the world’s most prominent climatologists to, among other things, manipulate data on so-called global warming.
Inhofe said the recent disclosure of emails between several prominent climatologists reveal “possible deceitful manipulation of important data and research used by the US Global Change Research Program†and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.â€
1 Comment »
Day By Day by Chris Muir
Jan and Damon congrats on your new son.
It appears Jan had an easier time passing him than President Obama did with last night’s speech announcing troop deployments in Afghanistan.
Now, Obama is being criticized from the LEFT and RIGHT.
The verdict from the court of world opinion continues to be out on whether Obama can step up and beomce a wartime President – or PASS.
Previous:
The Day By Day Archive
Technorati Tags: Day_By_Day, Afghanistan, Barack_Obama
Tags: Afghanistan
1 Comment »
-
California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Dem, issued the tersest statement of all the 2010 CA Senate candidates:
"I support the President's mission and exit strategy for Afghanistan, but I do not support adding more troops because there are now 200,000 American, NATO and Afghan forces fighting roughly 20,000 Taliban and less than 100 al Qaeda."
Boxer is in a tough spot, politically, on Afghanistan. She was one of few Democrats who voted against a resolution giving President Bush the authority to use military force against Iraq in 2002. She doesn't want to alienate the liberal, anti-war wing of the Democratic Party who adore her.
But she also doesn't want to push back too hard on Obama — she'll need him to make some California visits for her next year. Thus we have her supporting "the President's mission and exit strategy" but not a key element of it – the troop buildup.
-
Republican Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, said "Defeating the terrorist threat in Afghanistan is an imperative. I agreed with President Obama when he said in March that this would require military commitment, economic development and diplomatic energy. I also agree that Afghanistan and Pakistan are inextricably linked.
"I support the President's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan and am pleased that he is deploying them as quickly as prudently possible. I believe that any timeline for withdrawal must be sensitive to conditions on the ground, so that it does not pose a security risk for both Americans and Afghans. I also support our efforts to increase the capacity of Afghan military forces to protect their nation.
-
The number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell by nearly two percentage points in November. Added to declines earlier in the year, the number of Democrats in the nation has fallen by five percentage points during 2009.
In November, 36.0% of American adults said they were Democrats. That’s down from 37.8% a month ago and the lowest number of Democrats since December 2005. See the History of Party Trends from January 2004 to the present.
-
Britain's University of East Anglia says the director of its prestigious Climatic Research Unit is stepping down pending an investigation into allegations that he overstated the case for man-made climate change.
The university says Phil Jones will relinquish his position until the completion of an independent review into allegations that he worked to alter the way in which global temperature data was presented.
The allegations were made after more than a decade of correspondence between leading British and U.S. scientists were posted to the Web following the security breach last month.
The e-mails were seized upon by some skeptics of man-made climate change as proof that scientists are manipulating the data about its extent.
-
President Obama is sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan but plans to conclude the war and withdraw most U.S. service members within three years, senior administration officials told CNN Tuesday.
The president is ordering military officials to get the reinforcements to Afghanistan within six months, White House officials said.
Obama will travel to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, later Tuesday to officially announce his plans. It would be his second escalation of U.S. forces in the war-torn Islamic country since he came to power in January.
The president also is seeking further troop commitments from NATO allies as part of a counterinsurgency strategy aimed at wiping out al Qaeda elements and stabilizing the country while training Afghan forces.
-
Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) on Tuesday called Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) health care reform bill “quite an accomplishment,†but he said he still opposes the $848 billion package in its current form.
-
Climategate, as readers of these pages know, concerns some of the world's leading climate scientists working in tandem to block freedom of information requests, blackball dissenting scientists, manipulate the peer-review process, and obscure, destroy or massage inconvenient temperature data—facts that were laid bare by last week's disclosure of thousands of emails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, or CRU.
But the deeper question is why the scientists behaved this way to begin with, especially since the science behind man-made global warming is said to be firmly settled. To answer the question, it helps to turn the alarmists' follow-the-money methods right back at them.
Consider the case of Phil Jones, the director of the CRU and the man at the heart of climategate. According to one of the documents hacked from his center, between 2000 and 2006 Mr. Jones was the recipient (or co-recipient) of some $19 million worth of research grants, a sixfold increase
-
OK, not really. Little Green Footballs on why he flipped from right to left. The explanation is a little thin. It’s more an illustration of how he’s flipped out, from right to left. But apparently it works like this: If you disagree with any element of half of the American body politic, you disagree with the whole thing. This makes you saner, more compassionate, more embracing of diversity. Probably smarter, too.
-
On the eve of the unveiling of the nation’s new Afghanistan policy, former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Barack Obama for projecting “weakness†to adversaries and warned that more workaday Afghans will side with the Taliban if they think the United States is heading for the exits.
In a 90-minute interview at his suburban Washington house, Cheney said the president’s “agonizing†about Afghanistan strategy “has consequences for your forces in the field.â€
4 Comments »
|
Entries (RSS)