links for 2009-08-04

The Democratic National Committee released a sharply-worded statement Tuesday accusing Republicans of colluding with "K Street Lobbyists" to incite "angry mobs" of extremists to disrupt health care town halls in congressional districts around the country.

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I thought dissent was the highest form of patriotism?

What happened Dems?

A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States over recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military.

The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets — and be poised for war.

While the United States is properly concerned whenever its citizens are abused or held hostage, efforts to protect them should not create potentially greater risks for other Americans in the future. Yet that is exactly the consequence of visits by former presidents or other dignitaries as a form of political ransom to obtain their release. Iran and other autocracies are presumably closely watching the scenario in North Korea. With three American hikers freshly in Tehran's captivity, will Clinton be packing his bags again for another act of obeisance? And, looking ahead, what American hostages will not be sufficiently important to merit the presidential treatment? What about Roxana Saberi and other Americans previously held in Tehran? What was it about them that made them unworthy of a presidential visit? These are the consequences of poorly thought-out gesture politics, however well-intentioned or compassionately motivated.

The Ten Most Purchased Vehicles (vehicle's EPA mileage)

1. Ford Focus (27-28 mpg) [domestic production, negative margin…in fact, Ford loses money on every one sold after factoring in legacy costs, see :WSJ article from earlier this year]

2. Honda Civic (24-42 mpg) [Japan origin, decent profit margin]

3. Toyota Corolla (25-30 mpg) [domestic production(?), low margin]

4. Toyota Prius (46 mpg) [Japanese production, uncertain margin (depends on discounts)]

5. Ford Escape (20-32 mpg) [USA/Canada production, decent margins depending on options, highly variable]

6. Toyota Camry (23-34 mpg) [USA production, good margins]

7. Dodge Caliber (22-27 mpg) [USA/Canada/Mexico production, negative margins, see WSJ article]

8. Hyundai Elantra (26-28 mpg) [Korean production, decent margins]

9. Honda Fit (29-31 mpg) [Japan production, good margin]

10. Chevy Cobalt (25-30 mpg [USA production, negative margin, see WSJ]

A 30-year survey of polling data by the Field Institute shows that both major parties have declined in support over the past three decades, and while the Democrats’ edge over Republicans has decreased, the most important political trend is the substantial growth in the number of independent voters.

Field also reports that while whites now represent less than half the state’s population, they still dominate the electorate, with non-Hispanic whites representing nearly two-thirds of voters. While Latinos have greatly increased their portion of the population – now 37 % – they vote in significantly lower numbers, making up only 21 percent of the electorate.

Jeff Emanuel at RedState calls attention to the new push by the White House to summon Obama-bots to monitor blog postings and “casual conversations” of health care takeover opponents — and then report them to the White House.

As I noted earlier this morning, the White House pushback on the Internet is coming from the health care czar’s office.

Nancy DeParle makes $158,500 as health care czar. Her flack, Linda Douglass, is not listed in the White House employee salary chart.

What is the budget of the health care czar’s office, which was established by executive order in April? How much are they spending on the Internet snitch brigade initiative?

Tell your congressional reps home from recess: Show us the transparency.

The Obama administration is refusing to release government records on its "cash-for-clunkers" rebate program that would substantiate—or undercut—White House claims of the program's success, even as the president presses the Senate for a quick vote for $2 billion to boost car sales.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday the government would release electronic records about the program, and President Barack Obama has pledged greater transparency for his administration. But the Transportation Department, which has collected details about 157,000 rebate requests, won't release sales data that dealers provided showing how much U.S. car manufacturers are benefiting from the $1 billion initially pumped into the program.

My syndicated column today investigates the deep pockets behind the “grass-roots” campaign for Obamacare. Chicago crony/White House senior adviser David Axelrod is, of course, the master of astroturfing. So it certainly comes as no surprise that left-wing puppetmasters are behind the government health care takeover lobby. But an informed citizenry needs to know the nitty gritty details.

This list is provided as a resource for our visitors. The information has been submitted to us from a variety of sources and has not been independently verified in all cases. Please contact the office of your representative or Senator to confirm meeting details.

If you know of other Congressional Town Hall events taking place this summer, please feel free to email us at info@cprights.org.

View the videos from the Congressional Town Hall meetings where constituents voice their concerns on healthcare reform.

Following reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has been orchestrating an effort to intimidate members of Congress and Governors who raise legitimate concerns regarding the effectiveness of the stimulus, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent a letter to Emanuel saying “While this type of scare tactic may work In Chicago, it will not work to intimidate me or other Members of the United States Congress.”

“I and others have dared to bring these facts to the attention of President Obama, the Congress and the American people,” Issa wrote. “You’ve unfortunately reacted by once again resorting to the playbook of the Chicago political machine.”

Representative Steve Driehaus (D-OH) held a town hall on health care reform. While Driehaus campaigned as a fiscal conservative, a so-called "blue dog", he voted for the Stimulus bill as well as Cap-and-Trade. Driehaus was booed, laughed at and mocked by grassroots activists at his town hall event on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner blasted top U.S. financial regulators in an expletive-laced critique last Friday as frustration grows over the Obama administration's faltering plan to overhaul U.S. financial regulation, according to people familiar with the meeting.

The proposed regulatory revamp is one of President Barack Obama's top domestic priorities. But since it was unveiled in June, the plan has been criticized by the financial-services industry, as well as by financial regulators wary of encroachment on their turf.

Mr. Geithner told the regulators Friday that "enough is enough," said one person familiar with the meeting. Mr. Geithner said regulators …

Obama administration officials are holding discussions that could result in White House counsel Gregory Craig leaving his post, following a rocky tenure, people familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Craig, the top lawyer at the White House and a close aide to President Barack Obama, has helped lead the administration's efforts on several national-security issues that once enjoyed popularity but have since become become political liabilities for Mr. Obama.

The White House on Tuesday posted a three-minute video punching back at an old clip of President Barack Obama that was featured on the Drudge Report with the headline, “Uncovered Video: Obama Explains How His Health Care Plan Will 'Eliminate' Private Insurance.”

The White House response features Linda Douglass, formerly an ABC News correspondent and now a White House official, showing Drudge’s homepage on the screen of her office computer.

Dan Pfeiffer, the White House deputy communications director, said: “We intend to use a lot of the grassroots viral Internet techniques from the campaign to beat back the campaign of misstatements and outright falsehoods about the president’s efforts to reform health insurance.”