• Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2010-12-03

    • Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Friday predicted a Senate vote on the DREAM Act will be held next week.

      "Sen. Reid is going to call it," Durbin told The Hill shortly after the chamber adjourned at 3:30 p.m. Friday. Two procedural votes are scheduled for Saturday morning on competing plans to address the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
      ++++
      Harry Reid wants a vote to pay back the Latinos who supported him in the last election.

      If there is not a tax rate deal and START has been voted upon, Republicans will simply filibuster.

    • Democrats hoping to move forward with legislation other than tax cuts shouldn't look to centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to break the logjam.

      Collins said again on Friday that, while she would vote with Democrats to end the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, she wouldn't do so until a debate over tax cuts has been resolved.

      "Once the tax issue is resolved, I have made it clear that if the Majority Leader brings the Defense Authorization bill to the floor with sufficient time allowed for debate and amendments, I would vote to proceed to the bill," she said in a statement.

      The statement is a sign that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (Ky.) Republican conference hasn't fractured in its insistence that the expiring tax cuts be dealt with prior to action on any other legislative business.

      ++++++++
      Another sign that the votes scheduled for tomorrow will fail and are really just Kabuki Theater

    • Mr. Kyl later softened his public stance somewhat. In an interview on Fox News on Thursday night, he said that if Democrats cut a relatively quick deal with Republicans over extending Bush-era tax cuts and dispense with some other priorities for the lame-duck session, “then there might be time” to vote on the treaty. Still, he also held out the prospect of pushing it to the next Senate, with more Republicans, suggesting an agreement to bring it to a vote in early March.
      ++++++
      But, conservatives like Sen. Jim DeMint may filibuster anyway.

      Nine Republicans must join 58 Dems to pass the treaty

      (tags: START)
    • On Thursday, the California High Speed Rail Authority board unanimously approved the 65-mile "train to nowhere" that would link two tiny towns at a cost of $4.15 billion, all because the state didn't want to lose $2 billion in federal stimulus funds.

      The rail line would connect two central California towns, Borden and Corcoran, with a combined population of 25,000. But that's merely an estimate from Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza, an opponent of the plan. In reality, the San Jose Mercury News notes, Borden "is an unincorporated community for which the U.S. Census Bureau doesn't even keep official population estimates."

      The line is supposed to be the first part of an ambitious $43 billion project aimed at linking San Francisco and Anaheim, but the decision to start in such a low population density area even had members of the rail authority scratching their heads earlier this week.
      +++++
      Big Government strikes California again.

      (tags: California)
    • President Barack Obama's bipartisan deficit commission failed to reach consensus on a far-reaching, tough-medicine deficit-cutting plan, falling three votes short of a 14-vote goal that might have pressured congressional leaders to vote on the sweeping bipartisan proposal as a package to bring down the massive federal debt.

      With all three House Republicans voting no and Democratic lawmakers split, the 11-7 vote on the plan – which would cut $3.9 trillion from the debt over nine years through a combination of tax increases, entitlement cuts and a proposal to raise the retirement age past 65 – meant it is unlikely to get a vote on the floor of either the House or Senate.
      +++++
      And, the report will probably not be heard of again.

    • We mock economists for using the adverb “unexpectedly” in response to almost every bit of bad news over the past two years, but today’s news that unemployment is back up to 9.8 percent seems genuinely surprising. About a half-hour after this morning’s numbers were released, one CNBC anchor closed a segment, “After the break, we’ll have your e-mails about signs of economic recovery,” the he paused and chuckled, motioning to the unseen teleprompter. “Yeah, that was written before 8:30.”

      One of the economists made a compelling case that as the “discouraged workers” start looking for work again, the official size of the workforce will increase, and we’ll see the unemployment rate go above 10 percent sometime this winter.
      ++++++
      Not good news for the holidays

      (tags: unemployment)
  • Barbara Boxer,  Carly Fiorina

    CA-Sen: Barbara Boxer Outspends Carly Fiorina in Senate Race

    fiorinaboxerb CA Sen Poll Watch: Is Carly Fiorina Beginning to SURGE in the Polls?

    Republican Nominee Carly Fiorina and California Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer

    No surprise here as Barbara Boxer had no Democrat Primary opponent, was a long-time incumbent U.S. Senator and had almost $ 8 million in the bank before her campaign began. Unfortunately, there is a lag in the FEC online reporting internet posting and I do not have a link to each of the candidates’ reports as of yet.

    But, the Los Angeles Times has a fairly good precise.

    In final campaign reports filed with the Federal Election Commission a month after Boxer’s victory, the senator reported raising just over $28 million and spending almost all of it over the course of the campaign. Fiorina raised $22.6 million and spent more than $22 million, including a $1-million personal loan to the campaign that was repaid.

    Fiorina’s tally also included more than $5.5 million that the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive gave to her campaign during the contested GOP primary. Without a primary opponent, Boxer was able to spend most of her money during the general election campaign.

    What is the most interesting fact in the reporting is that Carly Fiorina limited her personal wealth damages to around $5 Million, unlike unsuccessful California GOP Gubernatorial canddidate Meg Whitman who blew over $100 plus Million.

    Boxer’s campaign had believed that one of their biggest threats was Fiorina’s personal wealth, estimated at between $27.7 million and $121 million in reports filed with the secretary of the Senate. Boxer campaign manager Rose Kapolczynski said one of the biggest surprises of the campaign was that Fiorina “never wrote the really big check.” The $1-million loan was made during the general election, but was paid back before the end of the campaign.

    Without major personal spending by Fiorina, Boxer ended up with an advantage over her foe on television despite the more than $8.8 million in outside ads targeting Boxer that her campaign tracked.

    But, Fiorina’s failure to write the “really big check” and to pay herself back $1 Million in loans to the campaign, instead of spending the money on television ad buys will create some angst in Republican circles.

    The LA Times reports that Fiorina, who has substantial personal wealth, padded a $5.5 million loan to herself made during her contested primary with a $1 million loan made during the general election. But the second loan was “paid back before the end of the campaign.” Keep in mind: the National Republican Senatorial Committee poured money into that race in the final weeks, including a $2 million buy in the last days.

    Apparently, Fiorina had a stop limit on what she was personally going to spend on this race, regardless of the polls, etc. I mean, $ 5 plus Million personal expenditure, is enough money for most couples to comfortably live happily ever after in retirement. If anything, Carly was prudent and political blind ambition did not overcome her common sense – unlike Meg Whitman.

    But, pundits will harp that Fiorina should have spent her last dime on the race to beat Boxer – and it would not have made a damn bit of difference. Fiorina lost the race by 10 points ( a million votes) and Whitman who spent many times more on television ads lost by even more. I have discussed the reasons why previously and more television ads may have made some diffference but……probably not.

    With her well-financed treasury, Boxer’s campaign was able to spend about $14 million on television advertising during the general election phase — more than half of it in the Los Angeles media market — compared with the $4.8 million spent on ads by Fiorina’s campaign, the final reports indicated.

    Carly lost Los Angeles County by almost 700,000 votes (62.2% to 32.2%) and whether a concentrated and DIFFERENT television ad campaign would have made a difference is really speculative.

    I do think the national GOP has learned from this California November election disaster though.

    Ultimately, all those groups helped Boxer cement her 10-point margin of victory — raising questions about whether Republican groups will be as willing to pour money into another California Senate race, given that they were unable this year to take advantage of the odds in their favor .

    “I think we are starting to feel like California is an island nation,” said UC San Diego Professor Thad Kousser. “The national groups have gone back and forth on whether to spend money in California because it costs so much more…. This is yet another example of why national Republican money can simply be wasted in California — and you have wasted a lot of it.”

    It is arguable whether a few more $ Millions spent in California would have been BETTER redirected to states like Washington and Nevada where the money would have had a broader reach in smaller media markets with less population. The Washington and Nevada Senate races were certainly closer in outcome than Fiorina Vs. Boxer.

    As I have said before, I don’t think too many Republican donors are going to waste their time and money with any California statewide races anytime soon.

  • Carly Fiorina

    Carly Fiorina Said To Be Looking At Run For Chairman of California GOP?

    "I’ve spoken to two sources close to the Carly Fiorina who says she is seriously considering running for chair of the California Republican Party.

    The former Hewlett-Packard CEO waged a valiant, consistently conservative campaign against the execrable Sen. Barbara Boxer, and although she lost by 10 points, there is general agreement she ran a much better, more principled campaign than Meg Whitman.

    If she decides to go for it, count me as a supporter for Fiorina for CRP Chair. The state party is a wreck, GOP registration numbers are in the basement, and we desperately need a conservative of stature who can reach out and build a center-right coalition, speak the language of conservatism while not alienating independents — and not least, possesses the credibility to convince donors to fund a state party that is a financial shambles. Although, one advantage of taking the helm of the CRP now is there is nowhere to go but up."

    Why?

    The California Republican Party is a disaster and the Chairperson has NO real power. California is a solid blue state and will be for the foresseable future – maybe even decades.

    Carly should take my advice and become a Fox Business Network contributor and get back to business where she is the strongest.

    If she is interested, there will be a number of Republican candidates who will be running for President that will need a finance chairperson as well.

    Hello, Sarah Palin.

    But, for Carly to run for a meaningless state position that has no real gravitas or future is well – fruitless.

    tags: Carly_Fiorina California_GOP

    Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

  • Dream Act

    DREAM Act: Latinos Going Rogue

    "P.S.:—The Power of the Latino Power Meme: Passing DREAM would also seem to confirm the idea of unstoppable Latino political power. Why is that unfortunate? Well, in my most recent diavlog with Bob Wright I don’t give a very complete answer when he asks why potential immigrants, now living in Mexico and Central America, etc., might be incentivized to illegally enter the U.S. by an amnesty for which they and their children do not technically qualify. My answer is that they think they’ll qualify for the next amnesty. What I didn’t say is what provides the basis for this belief that there’ll be a next amnesty: growing Latino voting strength, and the hype surrounding it.

    It’s not as if immigrants from the South don’t know that Latino-Americans are increasing in numbers in the Southwest. The Spanish language press has been known to mention it on occasion, con orgullo. Potential illegal immigrants might be quite rational in thinking they’ll qualify for some future amnesty–because they believe Latino voters will (after their numbers have been augmented by previous amnesties) be able to deliver it. The DREAM Act would be Exhibit A for this Latino Power meme—even as evidence mounts that in fact Latino-Americans are shifting on the immigration issue….

    We’re never going to discourage illegal entry from Latin America if immigrants from those countries think, rightly or wrongly, that if only they get across the border, their fellow Latinos who are voters will take care of them. (The Latino situation is dissimilar, in this respect, from the situation of non-Latino illegal immigrants, who can’t expect to be similarly protected by their co-ethnic voters simply because there aren’t enough of them. But they can expect to be protected by any amnesty laws Latino crusaders like Rep. Gutierrez succeed in enacting.)"

    Mickey Kaus, a California Democrat, has it right on DREAM, illegal immigration and the rsisng expectations of Latino voting power. So, read the entire piece.

    What he does not mention is how his party has become dependent on African American, Jews and Latinos to fuel their electoral victories while alienating everyone else. The Democrats may win in California and Nevada but will have a harder time in the Midwest and South – states where there is no contiguous border with Mexico.

    The Tea Party Movement will assure that the GOP places legislative emphasis to secure the southern border by the 2012 elections.

    Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

  • Harry Reid,  Poker

    Updated: Senator Harry Reid Pushes Legalization of Online Poker – Even the Left is Dissatisfied

    +++++Update+++++

    Catch this piece over at HuffPo and note the sarcasm.

    Basically, this is Harry Reid taking a moment during the frantic lame duck session to pass the So Long And Thanks For All The Money I Used To Defeat The Crazy Lady Running Against Me Act of 2010. Reid had hitherto been opposed to online poker — not because the industry preys on “the young, the weak and the vulnerable in the name of new revenues to cover more government spending,” as Alabama Representative Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) complains — but because the rise of online poker would impact the business of the people preying on the young and the weak and the vulnerable who come out to Las Vegas’ blasted heath of foreclosed homes to help prove the adage “the house always wins.” So why is he suddenly going to the mat for online poker?

    According to the draft of the bill reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Reid’s office is considering language that would allow only existing casinos, horse tracks and slot-machine makers to operate online poker websites for the first two years after the bill passes, which could limit the ability of other companies to enter the market.

    Only existing establishments, eh? Be assured that the casinos went all in for Reid. Ryan Grim put Reid on the couch in a profile around Election Day: “Reid’s opacity masks what is, at bottom, a simple approach to life. It may seem odd that a Mormon convert and a teetotaler who doesn’t gamble has been elected to represent Las Vegas for decades. But Las Vegas is an explicitly transactional town, with cash and connections as currency, from the bell hop and the call girl to the mine owner and hotel/casino magnate. It’s a place where status and political power can be purchased for a price, regardless of the buyer’s background, upbringing, pedigree or criminal record. Washington is, at root, the same, although with a gloss of sophistication to make it appear a high-minded civic pursuit.”

    ++++++++++++

    In another attempt to pay back constituencies that helped him win re-election in November, Nevada Senator and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has proposed legislation legalizing online poker.

    Staffers for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are circulating a bill to legalize poker playing on the Internet that’s backed by large casino interests.

    The Nevada casino companies pushing the measure were among the Democrat’s biggest donors during his fierce re-election fight. They argue the bill would provide consumer protection for poker players and would provide some tax revenue for federal and state governments.

    On Wednesday, three Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Mr. Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) opposing any efforts to pass Internet poker legislation during the lame-duck session.

    “Congress should not take advantage of the young, the weak and the vulnerable in the name of new revenues to cover more government spending,” Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.), the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee and others wrote.

    Dingy Harry Reid is paying back Harrah’s, now Caesar’s Entertainment, who mounted a massive GOTV effort during his November campaign. Caesar’s owns the World Series of Poker brand and already has online real money poker sites in Europe and Canada. They are poised to enter the American market should enabling legislation be enacted.

    Alan Feldman, a spokesman for MGM Resorts International, a large Las Vegas-based casino company, said he hoped such a bill had a possibility of rushing through in the next few weeks. “A lot of things happen in this kind of time frame,” he said.

    Internet gambling has been a top priority for the Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp., which recently changed its name from Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. and is the largest casino company in the world by revenue. The company owns the popular World Series of Poker brand that it hopes to parlay into online success to make up for anemic growth in its U.S. casino markets.

    So, what will the proposed bill do?

    1. Overturn UIGEA.

    2. Provide legislation for poker-only.

    3. Limit legal internet gaming to allow only existing casinos, horse tracks and slot-machine makers to operate online poker websites for the first two years after the bill passes.  Its unclear what they are proposing to do with Full Tilt, Poker Stars, Ultimate Bet and the like rogue offshore sites during the time-out.

    4. Outsource oversight of internet gambling to the *state* government.

    5. Earmark revenue on wager to both state and federal governments.

    BJ Nemeth poker photographer extraordinaire has his analysis here and raises the obligatory questions, particularly about the existing off-shore poker sites, where all Americans play illegally.

    I think the odds of this bill passing are remote since the Democrats are playing games with the Bush era tax rates and no Senate action will proceed until this issue is resolved.

    Could this legislation be rolled into the continuing resolution which is necessary to continue the government?

    Possibly as a compromise provision, especially if Harry Reid gives up something like the DREAM Act. But, the DREAM Act is another pay back from Reid to another Nevada constituency which was instrumental in his re-election – the Latinos.

    So, stay tuned…..

  • Election 2012

    2012 Poll Watch: Massachusetts Not Likely to be Competitive

    "Mitt Romney is no longer a popular figure in Massachusetts and Barack Obama wouldn’t have too much trouble winning the state for reelection even if he had to face a home town nominee.

    51% of Massachusetts voters have an unfavorable opinion of Romney to only 40% who view him favorably. Republicans like him for the most part (a 75/14 favorability) and independents narrowly do so as well (50/44). But for a Republican to be popular in a deep blue state requires a lot of appeal to Democrats and that Romney has little of, with only 16% seeing him positively to 76% with an unfavorable opinion. Romney is no Scott Brown as far as appeal across party lines goes.

    " He’d certainly be better off than the rest of the possible Republican contenders though. Massachusetts voters have an extremely dim view of the other leading candidates. Mike Huckabee’s favorability is a -19 spread (29/48), Newt Gingrich’s is -31 (27/58), and Sarah Palin’s is -41 (27/68). Given those numbers it’s no surprise Obama trounces the rest of the field in hypothetical contests. He leads Gingrich and Huckabee by identical 57-33 margins. That 24 spread is similar to what he won in the state in 2012. Against Palin that advantage extends to 29 points at 61-32, an even more lopsided showing than Obama received against John McCain.

    No real surprise here. The Democrats have become a regional party with Massachusetts being one of the big three with California and New York leading the pack.

    tags: Barack_Obama Mitt_Romney

    Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

  • Dream Act

    DREAM Act Costs Equal $6.2 Billion a Year

    Activists from a group called the Student Immigrant Movement march from the Boston Statehouse en route to the office of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. , to deliver
    1,500 letters asking for his support for a federal immigration law known as the Dream Act

    The costs of the DREAM Act are now out.

    A group advocating for tighter immigration laws estimates that a hotly debated bill that would give tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military a path to legal status would cost taxpayers $6.2 billion a year and “crowd out” U.S. students in the classroom

    A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies says the so-called DREAM Act, which would give more than 2 million young immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16 a chance to become legal residents, could erode the educational opportunities available to U.S. citizens.

    The report, “Estimating the Impact of the DREAM Act,” comes as Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, seeks an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office of the legislation’s cost before there’s a vote. King, who issued a letter Wednesday afternoon to CBO, claims Senate Democrats are hiding an analysis that shows the legislation will cost upwards of $20 billion.

    But Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday the CBO scored the current version of the bill in the House as neutral.

    Not so fast, Big Sis. The costs are neutral?

    Uh No.

    But, then again, we are used to CBO spin from the ObamaCare misrepresntations and outright lies.

    At the time I filed the column yesterday, the CBO had yet to release its score of the Dems’ latest iteration of the illegal alien DREAM Act bailout. The score — and as we know from the CBO Obamacare cooked numbers, these analyses need to be taken with a huge grain of salt — is now out and was apparently leaked to a pro-DREAM Act group first here. It reports that the current DREAM Act legislation, S3992 — and as you know from the Obamacare debacle, what’s written in these massive Democrat bills differs greatly from reality — would “increase revenues by $2.3 billion over 10 years,” but “would increase net direct spending by $912 million over the 2011-2020 period.” While CBO writes that “implementation by DHS would have no significant impact on spending subject to appropriation,” it goes on to estimate “that the bill would increase projected deficits by more than $5 billion in at least one of the four consecutive 10-year periods starting in 2021.” And that doesn’t include the costs of all the unlimited family members that the millions of DREAM Act beneficiaries would be able to bring to the U.S.

    Just say NO to the DREAM Act.

    With the machinations of the Obama Administration and the Senate Deocrats, it is unclear whether the DREAM Act will come to the Senate floor for a vote. But, melt the phones anyway and tell your Representative and Senator to vote NO.

    Stay tuned…..

  • Harry Reid,  Poker

    Senator Harry Reid Pushes Legalization of Online Poker

    In another attempt to pay back constituencies that helped him win re-election in November, Nevada Senator and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has proposed legislation legalizing online poker.

    Staffers for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are circulating a bill to legalize poker playing on the Internet that’s backed by large casino interests.

    The Nevada casino companies pushing the measure were among the Democrat’s biggest donors during his fierce re-election fight. They argue the bill would provide consumer protection for poker players and would provide some tax revenue for federal and state governments.

    On Wednesday, three Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Mr. Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) opposing any efforts to pass Internet poker legislation during the lame-duck session.

    “Congress should not take advantage of the young, the weak and the vulnerable in the name of new revenues to cover more government spending,” Rep. Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.), the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee and others wrote.

    Dingy Harry Reid is paying back Harrah’s, now Caesar’s Entertainment, who mounted a massive GOTV effort during his November campaign. Caesar’s owns the World Series of Poker brand and already has online real money poker sites in Europe and Canada. They are poised to enter the American market should enabling legislation be enacted.

    Alan Feldman, a spokesman for MGM Resorts International, a large Las Vegas-based casino company, said he hoped such a bill had a possibility of rushing through in the next few weeks. “A lot of things happen in this kind of time frame,” he said.

    Internet gambling has been a top priority for the Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp., which recently changed its name from Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. and is the largest casino company in the world by revenue. The company owns the popular World Series of Poker brand that it hopes to parlay into online success to make up for anemic growth in its U.S. casino markets.

    So, what will the proposed bill do?

    1. Overturn UIGEA.

    2. Provide legislation for poker-only.

    3. Limit legal internet gaming to “allow only existing casinos, horse tracks and slot-machine makers to operate online poker websites for the first two years after the bill passes.”  It’s unclear what they are proposing to do with Full Tilt, Poker Stars, Ultimate Bet and the like “rogue” offshore sites during the time-out.

    4. Outsource oversight of internet gambling to the *state* government.

    5. Earmark revenue on wager to both state and federal governments.

    BJ Nemeth poker photographer extraordinaire has his analysis here and raises the obligatory questions, particularly about the existing off-shore poker sites, where all Americans play illegally.

    I think the odds of this bill passing are remote since the Democrats are playing games with the Bush era tax rates and no Senate action will proceed until this issue is resolved.

    Could this legislation be rolled into the continuing resolution which is necessary to continue the government?

    Possibly as a compromise provision, especially if Harry Reid gives up something like the DREAM Act. But, the DREAM Act is another pay back from Reid to another Nevada constituency which was instrumental in his re-election – the Latinos.

    So, stay tuned…..

  • American Economy,  economics,  Unemployment Rate

    Unemployment Rises to 9.8 Per Cent – Highest Rate since April 2010

    Matt Drudge is not giving President Obama kind treatment this morning showing his damaged basketball lip with the news that the economy under his Administration continues to struggle.

    The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in November and the unemployment rate rose to its highest level since April, underlining the continued weakness in the labor market 17 months into the recovery.

    Nonfarm payrolls rose by 39,000 last month as private-sector employers added only 50,000 jobs, the Labor Department said Friday. The October number was revised up slightly to show a 172,000 increase from a previous estimate of 151,000.

    The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate household survey, unexpectedly rose to 9.8% last month. More than 15 million people who would like to work can’t get a job.

    I would suggest that the Senate Republicans and Obama Administration should speedily agree to a compromise Bush era tax rate/cut bill and give stability to the financial markets.  They can extend them for one year if they wish and revisit the issue.

    But, do SOMETHING for small business, so they can put Americans back to work.

  • Al Franken,  Day By Day

    Day By Day December 3, 2010 – Fronk-N-Steen

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    I really didn’t understand the voters of Minnesota when they first elected the FAR-LEFT Al Franken to the United States Senate. But, then again, those same folks elected wrestler and movie actor, Jesse Ventura, to Governor.

    The GOP will probably target this seat when Franken comes up for re-election in four years. However, a lot of politics can happen, including a Presidential campaign, in the meantime.

    But, Senator Al Franken, has to continue to be viewed as an embarrassment to a Democratic Party which is reeling from two years of an Obama Administration.

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