• Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 17:13

    These are my links for March 9th from 17:13 to 18:25:

    • President 2012: Gov Haley Barbour adds online communications aide – James Richardson – Haley Barbour's political operation, steadily ramping up toward a full presidential campaign, has hired a communications adviser to handle its online outreach, a Barbour aide confirmed this evening.

      James Richardson, who was online communications manager for the RNC in the 2008 cycle, joins a team that already includes former 2004 RNC communications director Jim Dyke.

      Richardson has more recently been a consultant to Senator Dan Coats and to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He's also a blogger who's written quite a bit at RedState and elsewhere.

      ========

      Congrats James

    • Breaking: Without Democrats Present, Wisconsin Senate Voting on Largely-Intact Budget Repair Bill (UPDATED) | The Weekly Standard – Without Democrats Present, Wisconsin Senate Voting on Largely-Intact Budget Repair Bill
    • Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s Statement on Budget Vote | The Weekly Standard – Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's Statement on Budget Vote
    • Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s Statement on Budget Vote – Wisconsin state senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald issued the following statement on the senate's vote on the budget repair bill tonight without Democrats present:

      “Before the election, the Democrats promised “adult leadership” in Madison. Then a month and a half into session, the Senate Democrats fled the state instead of doing their job.

       

      “In doing so, they have tarnished the very institution of the Wisconsin state Senate.  This is unacceptable.

       

      “This afternoon, following a week and a half of line-by-line negotiation, Sen. Miller sent me a letter that offered three options: 1) keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 2) take our counter-offer, which would keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 3) or stop talking altogether.

       

      “With that letter, I realized that we’re dealing with someone who is stalling indefinitely, and doesn’t have a plan or an intention to return.  His idea of compromise is “give me everything I want,” and the only negotiating he’s doing is through the media.

       

      “Enough is enough.

       

      “The people of Wisconsin elected us to do a job.  They elected us to stand up to the broken status quo, stop the constant expansion of government, balance the budget, create jobs and improve the economy.  The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can’t act on our agenda.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 16:52

    These are my links for March 9th from 16:52 to 16:52:

    • Without Democrats Present, Wisconsin Senate Voting on Largely-Intact Budget Repair Bill – Update 7:33 p.m.: As I was writing this up, the state senate voted 18-1 to pass the bill described below.Update 7:38 p.m.: Wisconsin senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald confirms in a statement that the bill passed includes both the collective bargaining provisions and the requirements for state workers to pay more for their pensions and health insurance premiums:

      “Tonight, the Senate will be passing the items in the budget repair bill that we can, with the 19 members who actually DO show up and do their jobs.  Those items include the long-overdue reform of collective bargaining needed to help local governments absorb these budget cuts, and the 12 percent health care premium and 5 percent pension contribution.

      Original post here:

      According to Wisconsin GOP sources, the state senate is moving towards a vote tonight on the budget repair bill–without senate Democrats present.

      The legislation being voted on tonight has few changes from the bill as initially proposed. It would save just $30 million less than the original budget bill by stripping out a refinancing provision. But it would still save the state $300 million over the next two years by requiring state employees to contribute about 5% of income toward their pensions and by requiring state workers to pay for about 12% of their health insurance premiums. It would also save $1.44 billion by requiring public employees in school districts and municipalities to pay 5% of their salaries toward their pensions and by removing collective bargaining for benefits, thus giving school districts and municipalities the option of requiring their employees to pay about 12% for their health insurance premiums.

      =======

      Hardball

  • California,  Census,  Illegal Immigration

    California Census 2010: Hispanics RULE

    Well, not really but you get the idea – they have surged in population growth in California.

    Latino children for the first time made up a majority of California’s under-18 population in 2010, as Hispanics grew to 37.6% of residents in the nation’s most populous state.

    A new U.S. Census report showed the state’s non-Hispanic white population fell 5.4% over the past decade, a continuing trend offset by a 27.8% surge in Hispanics and 30.9% increase in non-Hispanic Asians.

    Though in decline, white Californians remained the state’s largest demographic group at 40.1%. But demographers said Hispanics were poised to take the lead.

    Underlying the demographic shifts, California grew at its slowest pace in the past decade in more than a century. The population rose 10% to 37.3 million, an increase in line with the national average.

    As in California, Hispanics are gaining ground in many other states, such as North Carolina, as whites are on the verge of becoming a minority among all newborn children in the U.S.

    What does this mean for California politics when these Hispanic children mature and start to vote? Just as it is now for the very Blue Democratic California – TOUGH.

    Since past electoral history has shown a propensity for Hispanics and Latinos to vote anywhere from 60-75% for Democratic Party candidates, the GOP will be at a demographic disadvantage. There are, of course, districts both Congressional and Legislative where their population numbers will not have as great an impact. And, with redistricting by an impartial commission, the GOP will have a chance there.

    So, what happened and why did this growth of Hispanics occur?

    Easy- the illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America of the 1980’s to present had children born in the United States as middle-class whites either died or migrated out of the state to Nevada, Arizona or other states like Colorado.

    Mr. Frey said the decline of whites and blacks in the decade, as well as the slowdown of Hispanic growth, is partly attributable to more middle-class families leaving pricey California for more affordable places elsewhere. (…)

    “I think it’s a middle-class flight,” Mr. Frey said. “California is still very pricey, so to the extent people can get affordable housing they leave.”

    But, California is now a no-growth Democratic state which by the way heavily regulates business.

    Good luck with solving that California state budget shortfall.

    And, the Republicans? They will be a dwindling minority party like in New York, Massachusetts and Maryland.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 15:22

    These are my links for March 9th from 15:22 to 15:28:

    • California Census 2010: Where the Children Aren’t – Children are a disappearing presence in the Bay Area, the 2010 census shows, with slow growth or a net loss of the under-18 set in the region's nine counties, as families with young children move to areas with cheaper housing and better job opportunities. But diversity of the youth population is increasing as white and black families leave and are replaced by Asian and Latino families with young kids.

      The drop in the overall population of children in the Bay Area would have been greater if not for the increased numbers of two particular groups: Asians and Latinos. In several counties, in fact, the loss of black and white children was mostly balanced out by the increase of Asian and Latino children.

      ======

      Not too many children in San Francisco with all of the gays who have migrated there either.

    • CA GOP issues formal invite to Jerry Brown: Come out from "behind your picnic table" and debate Norquist – In a move that ramps up a high profile battle of words over the state budget, the California State Republican Party has formally issued an invitation to Gov. Jerry Brown to "come out from your office picnic table" and attend the party's upcoming state convention in Sacramento — to debate anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist.

      We just got hold of the letter being delivered to Brown's office from state party chair Ron Nehring, who says Americans for Tax Reform President Norquist has already agreed to debate the governor, if it can be arranged at the three day state GOP convention scheduled March 18-20 at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. Democrats, including Brown and state party chair John Burton, have been engaged in a verbal tug of war with Norquist over the issue of a special election to let voters decide on tax extensions.

      ========

      Jerry Brown just might do it but I would rather have John Burton since he would try to fight Grover after the word exchange. and, I would like to see that.

    • Will Another Dream Fade? Obama Should Endorse Same-Sex Marriages for Immigration Purposes – The way out of this inequity is the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). UAFA would allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration to the United States. In the last Congress, UAFA was introduced in the House by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Mike Honda (D-CA) and in the Senate by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Over 120 co-sponsors signed on in House and more than 20 co-sponsors in the Senate.

      UAFA would amend the immigration laws by simply adding the term "permanent partner" in sections where "spouse" appears, thus ensuring that a non-citizen permanent partner may receive the same immigration benefits that a non-citizen spouse now receives.

      In the lame-duck session of Congress this past December, the DREAM Act that would have legalized undocumented youngsters who have graduated from high school in the United States went down in a disappointing defeat. The Obama Administration's late, but strong, support for the measure proved insufficient. With little hope for comprehensive immigration reform on the horizon, will the administration at the very least step forward to announce support for UAFA and get the ball rolling on this important effort? Let's hope so.

      =======

      It is called the Defense of Marriage Act and unless it is repealed or SCOTUS declares it uncosntitutional, it is the law of the land.

      End of story.

      This legislation will never become law with a GOP House – thank goodness.

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 11:53

    These are my links for March 9th from 11:53 to 12:44:

    • Todd Spitzer Set to Announce Run for Supervisor Seat – Will Chuck DeVore Run – Todd Spitzer, a former OC prosecutor, state assemblyman and county supervisor, will announce later today his intention to run for his former seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
      That seat, now held by County Supervisor Bill Campbell, opens up next year.
      Spitzer has told supporters that he's running for the seat because he has the experience to hit the ground running and help the county manage it's way through one of the toughest economic conditions in history.
      Spitzer's run will be well-funded — he has more than $1 million in his state assembly campaign accounts that can be transferred for use in a local race.
      Spitzer made news last year when he was fired by as assistant district attorney by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. The episode became a political firestorm after it was revealed that Spitzer was fired for looking into a case being handled by Orange County Public Administrator/Public Guardian John Williams.
      The Board of Supervisors has since hired an executive to take Williams' responsibilities as public administrator and stripped him of his public guardian job. Supervisors are currently in negotiations with Williams regarding his resignation.
      Spitzer's early endorsements include: Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche (who had been rumored as a front runner for the Third District seat), Sheriff Sandra Hutchens supervisors Pate Bates and Janet Nguyen and Orange County Business Council President and CEO Lucy Dunn.

      =======

      Todd Spitzer has some endorsements and $1 million in the bank. will DeVore want to buck Spitzer in a bruising campaign?

    • MO-Sen: Claire McCaskill spent $76K in Public Funds on private plane flights – Sen. Claire McCaskill has been aggressive in promoting oversight and transparency for congressional travel, introducing a reform bill that cracks down on overseas travel for lawmakers.

      But when it comes to her own domestic flights, the Missouri Democrat has enjoyed friendly skies: She’s spent nearly $76,000 in public funds since 2007 to fly on a charter plane she co-owns with her husband and other investors, a POLITICO analysis of public records show.

      As a senator, McCaskill has flown at least 89 flights chartered by Sunset Cove Associates LLC — a company incorporated in 2002 by her husband, St. Louis businessman Joe Shepard, according to records kept by the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. All of those flights were paid for from McCaskill’s Senate office budget, raising questions about whether the first-term senator and her husband are using public dollars to partially subsidize their aircraft.

      ===============

      Probably no Ethics hearings here and she reimbursed the funds, but there will be political blowback.

    • President 2012: Newt Gingrich planning May presidential announcement – In a conference call Wednesday with former staffers and supporters former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said "we are leaning toward a yes" on a presidential run, CNN has learned.
      Leaning heavily.

      He revealed he hopes to announce a presidential bid in late May at noon in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall. He asked the group for help building a national audience for that event on the internet and through local media.
      In response to a question, Gingrich told the group "corporate PACs can give $5,000 and obviously we'd be thrilled to have as many of them sign up as early as possible."
      In an apparent reference to the Contract with America that helped make him speaker in the 1990s he told the group "the campaign I want to build would have a contract in late September of 12" and help "build the party across the board."
      Several times Gingrich pointed out that "for legal reasons" he can't say too much – "we are still in the exploratory phase," but he has lined up the beginning of a campaign rollout. He expects former Georgia Senator Zell Miller to be a co-chair "once we put the campaign together." He says his campaign would be headquartered in Atlanta.
      He also said he is talking to and trying to recruit supporters in key states, such as he did in Iowa earlier this week. A Gingrich aide said he's planning direct mail solicitations starting next week and telemarketing efforts beginning this week.
      In addition to doing well in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, Gingrich said he hopes to "seal off Georgia as a favorite son." He added that given the way primary timing may shake out "Florida may suddenly loom very, very large.

      ===============

      No big surprise but an announcement after the May 2nd Presidential debate which may as well be postponed since there will be nobody participating.

  • Harry Reid

    Video: The Ballad of Harry Reid – “Spendin’ Spendin’ Spendin'” By Jon Henke

    CBS Televison’s Rawhilde – Opening and Closing

    CBS TV’s Rawhide’s opening and ending

    By Jon Henke: “The Ballad of Harry Reid (AKA: Spendin’ Spendin’ Spendin’)”

    Keep taxin’, taxin’, taxin’,

    Though the House is axein’

    Keep them taxes spendin’

    Rawhide!

    Big deficits whenever,

    Cowboy poems forever,

    Wishin’ the House was on our side.

    All the money we’re missin’,

    The spendin’ they are dissin’,

    Are waiting on the Senate side.

    Move ’em on, head ’em up,

    Head ’em up, move ’em out,

    Move ’em on, head ’em out

    Rawhide!

    Keep spendin’, spendin’, spendin’,

    Though the recession’s endin’,

    Keep those taxpayers bendin’

    Rawhide!

    Don’t try to understand ’em,

    Just rope and throw and tax ’em,

    Soon we’ll be living high and wide.

    Boy my campaign’s calculatin’

    My earmark will be waitin’

    be waiting at the end of my ride.

    Rawhide!

    Maybe Dingy Harry fancies himself after Clint Eastwood?

    You know, Cowboy poetry and all…..

  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 10:52

    These are my links for March 9th from 10:52 to 11:46:

    • California Census data will bring a big shift in Legislative and Congressional Districts – When state legislators drew new districts for themselves and their congressional colleagues in 2001, they were interested only in political impacts and largely ignored demographic changes revealed in the 2000 census.
      The bipartisan gerrymander was aimed at preserving the numerical status quo in both the 120-member Legislature and the 53-member congressional delegation by designating the partisan ownership of every district.

      The public's adverse reaction to the insider deal, however, led to a 2008 ballot measure that shifted legislative redistricting to an independent "citizens' commission" and a 2010 measure that added congressional seats to its duties.

      On Tuesday, the Census Bureau released the detailed 2010 census data that the commission will use to draw new legislative and congressional districts, as well as four Board of Equalization districts, and the numbers confirmed that big changes are in the air.

      ==========

      There will be some big shifts to the detriment of the dominant Democrats, especially in Northern California and the coastal areas.

    • Sarah Palin Would Base Presidential Campaign in Arizona – Like Goldwater in ’64? – A source tells Ben Smith that Sarah Palin would base her possible presidential campaign in Scottsdale, Arizona, close to where Bristol Palin recently bought a house.

      "Basing a campaign there would be a provocative rejection of any lingering political cost from those who connect her harsh rhetoric and Gabrielle Giffords' shooting — a traditional refusal to retreat. It's also the core of the politically contested, fast-growing new West. And it would also hark back, perhaps not to McCain, more a Washington figure than an Arizona one, but to what now stands as the iconic campaign for many base Republican voters: Goldwater '64

      =========

      Sarah's polling numbers against Obama are not very good. She may be able to win a multi-way GOP primary in some states but that is probably the extent of her campaign.

  • Polling,  President 2012,  Sarah Palin

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Sarah Palin and Arizona = Not So Much

    Just a reminder that Sarah Palin although it is rumored she is contemplating basing her Presidential campaign in Scottsdale, Arizona, she does not poll well there.

    We found last month that voters in Arizona don’t care for Palin. Her favorability there is just 39%, with 57% of voters holding a negative opinion of her. We found that she would start out trailing Barack Obama in the state by a 49/41 margin. That would make her only the second Republican to lose the state since 1948.

    In addition to having poor numbers for the general election in Arizona, Palin also lags a good deal among Republican voters. Mitt Romney’s in first place there with 23%, followed by Mike Huckabee at 19%. Palin can muster only a third place tie with Newt Gingrich at 15%.

    And, her polling in her native state of Alaska is not so good either.

    Voters in Arizona do at least like Palin better than the ones back home in Alaska do. Her favorability there is a 33/58 spread and she gets an identical 15% in the primary, which places her 4th in that state behind the triumvirate of Romney, Huckabee, and Gingrich.

    I really do not think Sarah Palin will run this year when confronted with these polls. It would be ruining her brand to run in only about 3 or 4 primary races after which she would be out.

  • Newt Gingrich

    President 2012 Video: Newt Gingrich on God’s Forgiveness

    In the video above, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich discusses his political baggage of multiple affairs and marriages. It is a mea culpa which I believe, former New Yrok City Mayor Rudy Giuliani had done with David Brody he might have been able to compete in New Hampshire in 2008.

    Will Newt Gingrich be able to put his audultrous past behind him?

    If he can, Gingrich will be a formidable Presidentail candidate.

    Newt Gingrich: “There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.  And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn’t trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them.  I found that I felt compelled to seek God’s forgiveness.  Not God’s understanding, but God’s forgiveness.  I do believe in a forgiving God.  And I think most people, deep down in their hearts hope there’s a forgiving God.  Somebody once said that when we’re young, we seek justice, but as we get older, we seek mercy.  There’s something to that, I think.  I feel that I’m now 67 I’m a grandfather.  I have two wonderful grandchildren.  I have two wonderful daughters and two great sons in law.  Callista and I have a great marriage. I think that I’ve learned an immense amount. And I do feel, in that sense, that God has given me, has blessed me with an opportunity as a person.  Forget about all this political stuff.  As a person, I’ve had the opportunity to have a wonderful life, to find myself now, truly enjoying the depths of my life in ways that I never dreamed it was possible to have a life that was that nice.”
  • Pinboard Links

    Flap’s Links and Comments for March 9th on 09:02

    These are my links for March 9th from 09:02 to 09:16:

    • Poll Watch: 64% of Americans see U.S. on wrong track – Americans, who are suffering from high gasoline prices, believe the United States is on the wrong track by a large margin, presenting a fresh challenge for President Barack Obama, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said on Wednesday.
      The proportion of Americans who believe the country is on the right track dropped 7 points in the past month to 31 percent, and 64 percent think the country is on the wrong track.

      It was the highest number of people in an Ipsos poll who believe the country is going in the wrong direction since Obama took office in January 2009.

    • NPR exec Ron Schiller leaving immediately; will not join Aspen Institute – NPR executive Ron Schiller already accepted another job and was expected to leave the network in May. But Schiller's incendiary comments caught on a hidden camera, and released Tuesday morning, will speed up that departure. [See update]

      Schiller–who was both president of the NPR foundation and a senior vice president for development–announced Tuesday night that he's leaving NPR immediately and reflected on his controversial comments directed at Republicans and the Tea Party movement.

      "While the meeting I participated in turned out to be a ruse, I made statements during the course of the meeting that are counter to NPR's values and also not reflective of my own beliefs," Schiller said in a statement. "I offer my sincere apology to those I offended. I resigned from NPR, previously effective May 6th, to accept another job. In an effort to put this unfortunate matter behind us, NPR and I have agreed that my resignation is effective today."

      NPR chief executive Vivian Schiller—who's not related to the outgoing executive—said in a statement that "Ron Schiller's remarks are contrary to what NPR stands for and deeply distressing to reporters, editors and others who bring fairness, civility and respect for a wide variety of viewpoints to their work everyday." (Vivian Schiller also resigned shortly after this post went up).

      Update: Ron Schiller will not be joining the Aspen Institute as planned, according to a spokesman for the organization. "Ron Schiller has informed us that, in light of the controversy surrounding his recent statements, he does not feel that it's in the best interests of the Aspen Institute for him to come work here," the spokesman said in a statement to The Cutline.

      =========

      He can kiss his fundraising career good bye.

    • NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns After Board Decides She Should Go – NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller has resigned, NPR just announced.

      This follows yesterday's news that then-NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) was videotaped slamming conservatives and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding during a lunch with men posing as members of a Muslim organization (they were working with political activist James O'Keefe on a "sting.")

      Vivian Schiller quickly condemned Ron Schiller's comments, and he moved up an already-announced decision to leave NPR and resigned effective immediately. But Ron Schiller's gaffe followed last fall's dismissal of NPR political analyst Juan Williams, for which Vivian Schiller came under harsh criticism and NPR's top news executive, Ellen Weiss, resigned.

      ===========

      Not going to have to worry about that federal funding now because there will be NONE.