Two former presidents kick off game four of the World Series
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush, made an on-field appearance Sunday night in game four of the World Series in Arlington, Texas.Â
The younger Bush, in a Rangers jacket, threw out the first pitch to Hall of Famer and Texas Rangers President Nolan Ryan, while his father watched.Â
The 86-year-old elder Bush needed a hand climbing out of a golf cart but he smiled and joked his son and Ryan for a few minutes.Â
As Ryan headed to home plate to take up his position he asked Bush, "You want me behind the plate?" Bush laughed and said "Yeah, that's fine," in what seemed like question of whether Bush could reach the plate with the pitch.Â
He reached easily.Â
Both former presidents were accompanied by their wives Barbara and Laura, who were shown taking photos of their husbands from their seats.Â
The younger Bush once held a stake in the Rangers, who are making their first-ever appearance in the World Seri! es. He became managing in 1989 and held at least a minority stake until 1998, when the team was sold.Â
Former Kennedy speechwriter, biographer dies
Ted Sorensen, who served as President John F. Kennedy's adviser and primary speechwriter, died Sunday in New York City of complications from a stroke he suffered last week. He was 82.
Sorensen's passing comes only days before the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's election as president.Â
It was Kennedy's inaugural speech that remains one of his greatest collaborations with Sorenson including its famous line, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."Â
Sorenson said that Kennedy wrote the line, calling on Americans for self-sacrifice and involvement in the nation's future. The well-know address also promised to spare no effort to preserve liberty, 15 years after the end of World War II and before the height of the Vietnam war and a string of high-profile assassinations, including Kennedy, his brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jr.Â
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall ! pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
The scary reality of our cyber vulnerability (Sen. Tom Carper)
When for-profits target low-income students
Low-income students graduate at very low rates, and with few or no viable employment options. The current policy debate over federal regulation of for-profit higher-education institutions has generated a lot of heat, but very little light.
Vote for hope
The electorate is bitter and angry. It’s no wonder. Foreclosures rise while Wall Street bankers, whose recklessness caused this grave recession, grab million dollar bonuses. Unemployment is stuck at 9.5 percent, but corporations continue to ship jobs overseas.
The Big Question: Which race says the most about U.S. mood?
Some of the nation's top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer insight into the biggest questions burning up the blogosphere today.
Today's question:
Which congressional race says the most about the nation's political climate?
Darrell Issa as a crystal ball
Seven days from now the nation will have spoken, sort of, through the election booth. This coming week is the time when the elusive “undecided voter†makes his or her decision about voting for and against candidates for public office.
Rally crowd estimates reach 215,000
More than 200,000 people showed up Saturday on the National Mall for the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear."
The crowd reached about 215,000, according to an estimate commissioned by CBS News on Sunday.Â
The company AirPhotosLive.com based the rally attendance on photos taken from above the Mall, with a margin of error of plus or minus 10 percent, CBS reported today.Â
Rally participants such as Jon Stewart estimated the tally at about 150,000, although he joked that 10 million people were in attendance. His cohort in political-comedy crime, Stephen Colbert, jokingly made early predictions of 6 billion, roughly 700 million short of the world's estimated population of 6.69 billion, according to World Bank figures.Â
Palin pounces on State Department over Ahmadinejad birthday tweet
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley tweeted a sardonic birthday wish to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday.
Oregon in 2010: A blue state flirts with red
Oregon’s Republican tradition â€" from the civil war until roughly the eighties, for more than a century, in parallel with New England â€" has declined in the past twenty years or so. The last Republican governor was elected in 1982 and statewide offices are now completely dominated by Democrats.
King: Obama administration handled terror threat 'perfectly'
The ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, who has never pulled punches in his criticism of what he believes to be national security shortcomings in the Obama administration, simply had praise for the White House's work in the foiled parcel bomb plot.
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who will likely become committee chairman if Republicans take control of the House on Tuesday, said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that the administration handled the threat "perfectly."
"In this particular matter, I think the administration has handled it perfectly," he said, acknowledging his history of calling out the administration.
Intelligence sharing was done right as was interagency cooperation, he said, "and they continue to do it right."
The close call, however, is a reminder that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a "major force in the Islamic terrorist world."
If it wasn't for the Saudi tip that led to the unraveling of the plot, ! King said, "at least two planes go up" if the bombs had detonated mid-flight as officials have speculated was the intention.
An open letter to the 112th Congress from Americaâs architects
The Big Question: Should Obama end 'Don't ask, don't tell' during the lame-duck session?
Some of the nation's top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer insight into the biggest questions burning up the blogosphere today.
Today's question:
Would it be a good idea for President Obama to end "Don't ask, don't tell" during the lame-duck session?
National tides in the land of mountains
The bulk of attention this political season is on powerful tides that could transform the national political landscape, reversing the Democratic surge of ‘06 and ‘08. But the vagaries of the electoral calendar, the varied targets of voter discontent, and local conditions affecting turnout may act as breakwaters in many states, including Montana.
TIPS
Something happened yesterday in the financial markets that hasn't occurred in over 50 years.
Creditors were paying to lend money to your federal government.
Investors were paying a negative .5 percent on Treasury inflation protected securities, known as TIPS.
Gender pay gap takes on added significance in tough economic times
While the gender wage gap has been a fact of life in America for decades, the issue rarely rises to the forefront in public policy debates â€" much less elections. That may be changing. As the economy has tumbled and more women have become the primary or sole breadwinners for their families, pay inequity may finally be getting the attention it deserves.
Keeping our eyes on the (economic recovery) prize
Democratic party still disenfranchising & oppressing votes
Before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Democrats in the South conspired to intimidate and disenfranchise the African American vote. Democrat machines, like those run by then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, conspired to steal elections starting with Johnson’s own first election to the Senate where dead people voted in alphabetical order and all other types of vote fraud took place.
Democrat party still disenfranchising & oppressing votes
Before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Democrats in the South conspired to intimidate and disenfranchise the African American vote. Democrat machines, like those run by then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, conspired to steal elections starting with Johnson’s own first election to the Senate where dead people voted in alphabetical order and all other types of vote fraud took place.
A common sense solution to defective voting
Tired of waiting, conservatives ride to Washington
For the past decade, the federal government has spent beyond its means, centralized control and minimized individual liberties. And during the last two years, those trends have only increased, creating a real sense of crisis throughout the nation. For many Americans, managed decline is not an option.
Barb Boxerâs Indian tribe take
For the past 10 years Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has been playing a game that would make Jack Abramoff blush, a game that can best be described using the language of “Get Smart’s†Maxwell Smart as “the ole family-profiting-off-of-the-Indian-tribe-that-you-created trick.â€
Here’s the story.
Dreaming the impossible ozone dream
The Environmental Protection Agency is on a quixotic quest, pursuing dreams that could turn into a national nightmare.
In the latest example of this, millions of Americans could lose their jobs and the U.S. economy could be crippled by trillions (yes, trillions) of dollars in mandated compliance costs in the decades ahead if extreme and unrealistic anti-smog regulations proposed by EPA take effect in January.
Proud to support the rule of law and immigration, too (Rep. Luis Gutierrez)
One of the reasons we have not made progress in reforming our immigration system is that one side of the debate thinks of itself as the law and order side and frames those of us who have proposed comprehensive immigration reform as opposed to the rule of law. That shuts down the debate and makes it harder to arrive at a compromise, and it doesn't happen to be true, either.
DNC launches national ad as midterms quickly approach
The Democratic National Committee launched a new quick-hit ad Saturday with President Obama outlining what Republicans will do if they take over at least either the House or the Senate.Â
The president said Republicans will fight for the next two years to reduce accountability on Wall Street, cut education funding and give more power to oil and insurance companies.Â
The 30-second spot is hitting national cable stations as Democrats face losing their majority in the House in the mid-term elections on Tuesday.Â
Republicans could gain upwards of 50 seats in the House but, according to the most recent estimates today, aren't expected to take control of the Senate, although they could make gains of five to seven seats.Â
DNC launches national ad mid-terms quickly approach
The Democratic National Committee launched a new quick-hit ad Saturday with President Obama outlining what Republicans will do if they take over at least either the House or the Senate.Â
The president said Republicans will fight for the next two years to reduce accountability on Wall Street, cut education funding and give more power to oil and insurance companies.Â
The 30-second spot is hitting national cable stations as Democrats face losing their majority in the House in the mid-term elections on Tuesday.Â
Republicans could gain upwards of 50 seats in the House but, according to the most recent estimates today, aren't expected to take control of the Senate, although they could make gains of five to seven seats.Â
Voicemail from Crist to Meek surfaces
A voicemail from Gov. Charlie Crist to Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek from earlier this week emerged on Saturday, suggesting Crist asked Meek to withdraw from the three-way race.Â
The existence of the voicemail comes a day after questions arose about whether former President Bill Clinton pressured Meek to give up his bid and back Crist.Â
Meek says Clinton discussed the topic but didn't press him to exit the race. Instead, Meek has said it was Crist who asked him to withdraw.Â
In a voicemail message left for Meek by Crist at 5 a.m. Monday, Crist asks Meek to ! meet sometime that day after a political event where the governor asked the Democratic congressman face-to-face to bow out.Â
Reports by the St. Pete Times say Crist was calling Meek frequently in an effort to get Meek to drop out of the race.Â
Obama fires back at AIDS protesters, tells them to hassle GOP
Report: Republicans unlikely to take over Senate majority
Republicans chances winning a majority in the Senate looked increasingly unlikely on Saturday, according to a new report.Â
The Cook Political Report readjusted downward on Saturday its outlook on Senate races, predicting a net gain for Republicans of five to seven seats, meaning the GOP won't win enough slots to take over the Senate.Â
Today's estimate is down from Cook's initial prediction of six to eight seats, according to the updated report.Â
"This new outlook means that the odds of Republicans winning a majority in the Senate are now non-existent," the report said.Â
Crowd estimates for Stewart-Colbert rally uncertain, but Mall was packed
Jon Stewart estimated a crowd of 10 million. Stephen Colbert, Stewart's partner in Saturday's political-comedy rally tweeted his early guess of 6 billion.Â
Later in the afternoon, Colbert pondered on Twitter: "What a fantastic turnout at my rally! That settles it -- when I get back to New York, I'm moving into a 150,000-seat theater."
Colbert and Stewart held their “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,†on the National Mall on Saturday with crowd estimates ranging about 150,000, mostly coming from participants on stage.Â
The "Mythbusters" Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage got the crowd of 150,000, in their estimation, to laugh, cry, jump, cheer and be silent on command.Â
Investigation into bomb attack continues, one suspect arrested in Yemen
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed Saturday morning that the investigation is ongoing into who is responsible for trying to send explosives to the United States on a cargo plane in a plot thwarted Friday.Â
"Well, it's certainly an ongoing investigation," Napolitano said this morning on CNN. "And in addition to the two packages that we had specific information about, we have put in place enhanced protections for cargo and passengers emanating from Yemen and making sure that we identify particularly all packages that are coming from there."
She said federal authorities weren't aware of any other packages left to be found but said the were acting with "an abundance of caution."
Napolitano said authorities haven't been able to determine how the explosive devices, which were apparently directed at two synagogues in Chicago, were going to work.Â
"That is an unanswered question," she said.Â
The Big Question: What should be done about outside spending?
Some of the nation's top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer insight into the biggest questions burning up the blogosphere today.
Today's question:
Campaign spending by outside groups has topped $257 million. What reform, if any, should be passed on spending by outside groups?
EPA regulatory lunge could result in 2011 economic plunge
What's the matter with New York?
Obama's supreme pre-election arrogance
Obama’s arrogance continues to astound.
I honestly don’t think he can see the coming Republican tsunami. He does not think this election is a referendum on him or his policies; rather, the electorate is just being fussy.
Today he is calling unions and urban radio stations encouraging them to vote because if they do in the same numbers as ’08, Dems will win easily. Well, guess what Mr. President, even your once-biggest supporters aren’t keen to see your agenda enacted.
California congressman: Republicans need a 'royal flush' to win Senate
A California congressman said Friday that Republicans need to "draw a royal flush" on Election Day to control the Senate.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), a 37-year-old four-term lawmaker from the state's Central Valley, said on Fox Business Network that a GOP majority in the House represented control of "only half of one-third of government," but that a Republican majority in the Senate would be "a difficult path."
"We have to basically draw a royal flush," Nunes said. "We have to win every race and even then we'd only have a one-seat majority."
Without the 60-seat majority, he said, his party would have trouble advancing legislation.
"I know there are a lot of people depending on the Republicans to turn back this radical move to the left that we've taken in this country the last couple of years, but it's going to be a very tough fight," Nunes said.
"I think what we have to do is we have to put real plans out on the table even if President Obama balks at the plans or ridicules us, we do have a responsibility to put real plans out there," he added.
Gorby speaks out
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, has been giving the North Atlantic Treaty Organization some home truths about Afghanistan this week.
With reports from Brussels highlighting possible future Russia-NATO cooperation in Afghanistan, to be announced at next month’s NATO summit, Gorby gave a TV interview warning that the war against the Taliban is “unwinnable.†He said that Obama is right to be drawing down the 100,000 U.S. troops in the country and said there is no alternative to withdrawal to avoid “another Vietnam.â€
So you want to privatize (Rep. Jim McDermott)
Last week, former President George W. Bush emerged from his Texas mansion to declare that the biggest failure of his presidency was not privatizing Social Security. President Bush should take a good look around because he failed at a number of things, but failing to gut one of America's most effective programs was, in fact, a huge success for the American people. Nevertheless, Bush's dream of putting our retirement benefits into the reckless hands of Wall Street hasn't died, and Republicans have made it clear that privatizing Social Security and Medicare is among their top priorities.
Build a coalition of the willing
It's pretty simple. Voters will not so much as vote Republicans in as they’ll vote Democrats out.
They want to make Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) the Speaker of the House to simply goad and get even.
On Tuesday they will vote for Republicans to govern, and to govern well. That means not worrying about what Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) of Maryland or Rep. Henry Waxman (D) of California says or does in committee, but simply bearing down on important legislation and getting the job done.
New reports reinforce need to expand biofuel production
Given the latest news from two government reports, we need to start changing the “drill baby drill†chant to “distill baby distill.†One study, from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory recently concluded in a soon-to-be-published paper, that indirect land use change (ILUC) resulting from expanded corn ethanol production over the past decade has likely been “minimal to zero.†A second study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) revised downward by 90 percent oil reserves in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from a 2002 estimate of 10.6 billion barrels to slightly under 900 million barrels today.
LeMieux notes anniversary on Twitter
Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) took a break from politics on his Twitter account Thursday to express thoughts on his anniversary.
"Ten years ago today my wife Meike said 'I do,'" he tweeted. "Still remember how beautiful she looked walking down the aisle! I am a blessed man."Â
LeMieux met Meike, née Detassis, at his 10-year high school reunion. They have four children.
Breathless myths and stodgy realities of the 2010 Election
The 2010 midterms are finally upon us.  While in some ways, we have borne witness to a wild, unpredictable, chaotic, and exciting election season, the 2010 midterms are shaping up to look exactly as political scientists expected them to look back in July, long before any declarations of in-Tea-pendence, witchcraft, write-in-candidacies from incumbent senators, and Democratic candidates telling the Democratic president to “shove it.† The candidate and media-created claims about why the election is shaping up as it is are generally the stuff myths are made of while the reality of the 2010 election results is not that electrifying.
Overreacting to election night
No matter what else happens on Election Day, one thing is certain: a lot of the punditocracy will completely overreact.Â
Divided government is bad for Obama
The likely onset of divided government -- with Democrats in control of the White House and probably the Senate but Republicans in control of the House -- has occasioned a lot of contrarian thinking. In this telling, divided government is somehow good for Obama. Divided government is no less productive than unified government, the contrarians say. And, moreover, Republicans will be just as accountable as Obama for whatever happens between now and the 2012 election. Some go as far as to suggest that Obama has a better chance of winning in 2012 with Republicans ruling the House than he does if Democrats retain control.
Respecting life â and the truth
American Catholics observe each October as Respect Life Month. It’s a time when the church calls its members to reflection and action on the importance of such issues as abortion, euthanasia, and caring for the sick. The observance reminds Catholics that they can and always should do more for the vulnerable and the weak, especially the “least of these†as Jesus phrases the law of charity in the New Testament.
Biden lambastes 'stupid ideas' from GOP
Vice President Biden sharpened his rhetoric toward Republicans on Friday, calling their ideas "stupid."
Biden, during a rally in Iowa on Friday afternoon for Rep. Bruce Braley (D), hit on themes he's used throughout the fall campaigns, but added an edge to his comments as the closing weekend of the campaign kicks into gear.
The vice president told Democrats at the rally to take Republicans' ideas seriously, a variation on what he's said at over 100 other fundraisers for Democratic candidates and incumbents this fall.
"Don't take these stupid ideas lightly," Biden said in Dubuque. "They mean it."
He also riffed off another bit of campaign rhetoric, in which he's mocked Republican rhetoric about fiscal responsibility by pointing to the budgetary management of President George W. Bush and the Republican Congress during the last decade.
"Next time a Republican tells you anything about fiscal responsibility, laugh at them! ," Biden said.
With weekly address, Boehner gets chance to make closing argument
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) will make part of his closing argument to voters on Saturday when he delivers the last Republican weekly radio address of the election season.
The House Republican Conference released a photo of Boehner, the lawmaker likely to become Speaker in the event the GOP retakes the House following Tuesday's elections, recording the address on Friday.
The actual contents of Boehner's address won't be available until Friday evening, and are embargoed until 6 a.m. on Saturday morning. But Republicans' choice of Boehner as the national voice of the party going into the final week of the campaign says a lot about the party's priorities going into Nov. 2.
President Obama will also release his weekly radio address on Saturday, in which he's al! most certain to speak to the impending election, a theme he's hit on frequently in his recent addresses.
Obamaâs problem with âvulgarâ Bill Clinton
The telling moment was Harvard Professor Henry Louis “Skip†Gates Jr.’s kerfuffle with Sgt. James Crowley. Obama unfortunately appeared to reflexively weigh in on behalf of Harvard Yard instead of Fenway Park. Obama is without question Harvard’s current favorite. Indeed, the idolatry of Mile High Stadium that has waned in the world at large still reigns at cloistered Harvard. And those little “I miss Bill†bumper stickers of Harvard’s dowagers are beginning to peel off.
But this is breaking the Democrats in half. The Clintons do not like Obama. They think they should be speaking to the minions at Mile High stadium. Now Harvard’s James Kloppenberg tells The New York Times that there is a primal difference between Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Kloppenberg disparages the “vulgar pragmatism†of that hunka hunka burnin’ love that is Bill. He praises Obama’s “philosophical pragmatism.â€
Rival schools unite to campaign for Brown
Jerry Brown's (D) campaign in California is healing more than just old political wounds.
According to a TwitPic (below) posted Friday, students from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) have united to phone-bank for the prospective governor.
The schools, located 12 miles apart in urban Los Angeles, are the only two Division 1 football programs in a major Bowl Championship Series conference to share a city. Their rivalry dates back to the 1920s.
Brown currently leads Republican opponent Meg Whitman by 10 points.
Both Bushes to throw out first pitch at World Series
Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush will take to the baseball diamond this weekend to throw out ceremonial first pitches at the World Series.
The ex-presidents will appear at the Ballpark in Arlington on Sunday to toss out the pitches at Game 4 of Major League Baseball's championship series between the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.Â
The younger Bush â€" a former Texas governor â€" was part-owner of the Rangers until 1998, two years before his presidential run.Â
He famously threw out a ceremonial first pitch at Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium, just over a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.Â
Bush again took to the mound in 2008, the last full year of his presidency, to throw out the first pitch at then-brand-new Nationals Park in southeast Washington, D.C.
RGA chief gibes Va. governor for missing morning jog
In the final days before an election, it's hard to catch a break.
This was true for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) on Thursday after he apparently missed a morning jog with Republican Governors Association (RGA) Executive Director Nick Ayers.Â
"Perfect weather for a 4 mile run thru Chicago this AM," Ayers tweeted. "Had a gov bail on doing it with me but I won't rat McDonnell out."
McDonnell was in Chicago along with fellow Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal (La.) and Haley Barbour (Miss.) to stump for Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady.
Barbour and McDonnell were later joined in Pennsylvania by GOP Senate candidate Pat Toomey and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at events for governor hopeful Tom Corbett.
Ayers will continue on the campaign trail into the weekend with events in Ohio, Michigan and Oregon.
He tweets at @nick_ayers and has 2,369 followers.
Key Republican: GOP could win as many as 59 seats
Republicans could win as many as 59 seats on Tuesday, their chief of recruiting candidates said Friday.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), the GOP's chief deputy whip and National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman for recruitment, said Republicans could pick up as many as 20 more seats than the net gain of 39 they need to win back control of the House.
"A lot of things are trending well for us, but I do believe we'll capture the majority," McCarthy told Bloomberg TV's "Political Capital With Al Hunt," set to air over the weekend. "We could post as high as 59.â€
McCarthy said he wasn't entirely sure Republicans would score those kinds of overwhelming gains, but suggested it was within the realm of possibility for Republicans to generate such a wave.
If Republicans win back the majority, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is likely to become Speaker, while Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) could slide up a! spot to become majority whip.
McCarthy said he'd decide whether to make a run to become majority whip after the election.
“The worst thing that happens in politics [is when] people measure the drapes ahead of time. We're going to take this day by day," he said. "That's a decision that gets made after the election. That job won't even be there if you don't get a majority. So if you don't look at winning the election first, there's no use of wondering about something else happening.â€
McConnell: 'Real stretch' for GOP to win Senate
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday that his party only has a slim chance of winning control of the Senate.
It would be a "real stretch" for Republicans to win the 10 seats necessary to achieve a majority in the upper chamber, McConnell told reporters in Louisville, according to The Associated Press.Â
The AP reported that McConnell "predicted that after Election Day, the GOP will have a strong minority that can force solutions into the center."
Most election handicappers agree with McConnell and say that with only 41 senators, the GOP will likely not make enough gains to have a majority. Republicans, however, are expected to win back the House, according to The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll.Â
Despite earlier predictions that the GOP could take back the Senate in a wave election, the results of primary elections in states such as Delaware and Connecticut have made the prospects of a GOP Senate majority less likely.Â
That has not dampened the enthusiasm of some Senate Republicans like James Inhofe (Okla.), who told The Hill on Friday he has a "sure-win list" and predicted his party would take control of the upper chamber.
Former Rep. Foley weighs in on Fla. elections
Former Florida Rep. Mark Foley (R) predicted on Twitter Thursday that reports of former President Clinton asking Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) to drop out of the three-way Florida Senate race would damage Democratic turnout in Tuesday's election.
He also said that Gov. Charlie Crist, the independent in the race, would likely caucus with Democrats should he win.
"Mark my word. The Clinton/Meek/Crist conversation just cost [Democratic gubernatorial nominee Alex] Sink and Democrats a 10 point drop off of turnout and could elect Crist," Foley tweeted on Thursday night. "I think NOW we know who Charlie [Crist] will caucus with ... Bill Clinton would not engage unless a deal has been struck ... STAY TUNED."
Of Crist, who is of Greek descent, he added, "Don't be surprised if Obama's next Ambassador to Greece isn't Charlie Crist."Â
Foley later took a moment to give advice to incoming House freshmen.
"Warning to New Members of Congress.this will be a shorter honeymoon than a Las Vegas wedding," he said. "Be prepared to hit the ground running."
Foley left his seat in fall 2006 amid reports that he had sent sexually explicit instant messages to at least one former male House page.
He has 221 followers on his account, @markfoleyfla, and tweets with a mix of personal and political comments.Â
Rep. Driehaus won't commit to backing Pelosi
Ohio Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) became the latest House Democrat to refuse to commit to supporting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for another term.
In a chat with readers on Cincinnati.com, the endangered freshman said that "I expect Speaker Pelosi will have a challenge within the caucus. And I will hold my vote until I know who’s running for Speaker."
{mosads}Driehaus is the 17th incumbent House Democrat who will not commit to supporting the Speaker, six others have said flat out they will not back Pelosi for another term as the top House member.Â
Like other Democrats running in tough races in swing and Republican districts, Driehaus, who voted for the healthcare reform law, is attempting to distance himself from the unpopula! r Speaker as part of his closing argument to voters before Election Day Tuesday.
Former Rep. Steve Chabot (R), Driehaus's opponent, has attempted to tie the freshman to Pelosi, arguing in ads he has voted with her 94 percent of the time.
Other members have gone to extreme lengths to distance themselves from Democratic leaders. Mississippi Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor said he voted for Republican nominee John McCain -- not Barack Obama -- in 2008 and conservative Blue Dog Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) said he would consider running for Speaker himself.Â
Driehaus framed his decision as letting him consider all the options on the table.
“So that I can make an educated decision … I can’t make a choice with regard to the Speaker vote without being able to assess the alternatives. Last session, I was faced with only one choice â€" Pelosi or Boehner. That was an easy decision.â€
A poll from September showed Chabot leading Driehaus and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as lean Republican. Obama won Ohio's 1st district in 2008, but a majority of voters there supported President Bush in 2004 and 2000.Â
Chamber maintains favorable impression with voters after attacks
Half of likely voters have a favorable opinion of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a new poll found Friday.
After withstanding a month of being besieged by President Obama and Democrats, voters still saw the business advocacy group in a positive light.
Fifty percent of likely voters said they had a favorable opinion of the Chamber, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll released Friday. Twenty-three percent of likely voters had an unfavorable opinion of the group, while 15 percent had no opinion about it.
The poll suggests that Democrats' protracted attacks against the group, which has been one of the larger organizations spending money on behalf of Republicans in this fall's elections, might not have been as effective a strategy as the White House might have hoped.
Democrats, led by Obama, have loudly criticized the Chamber and GOP-aligned groups like American Crossroads (and its affiliate, Crossroads GPS) for accepting large amounts of money to spend against Democrats without having to disclose their sources of funding.
Polls have shown that voters agree with the concept that groups should be forced to disclose their sources of funding, an end that had been sought by congressional Democrats but was blocked by Senate Republicans.
Eighty-one percent of U.S. adults said in a New York Times/CBS News poll on Thursday that it was "very" important that those groups ! be force d to disclose their funding sources, while another 11 percent said it was "somewhat" important.
Additionally, 72 percent of Americans said the money that outside groups like the Chamber spend on elections should be limited by law.
But the Fox poll suggests a disconnect between the principles behind Democrats' attacks and the actual effect they've had on the Chamber. The group still benefits from a net-positive rating from Democratic registered voters in the Fox poll; 47 percent of registered Democrats view the Chamber favorably, while 22 percent hold an unfavorable opinion of the business group.
Some Democrats had raised questions about the strategy of using the Chamber as an election-year lightning rod earlier this month.
"I think attacking the outside money, and specifically attacking the Chamber, is of very limited value to the White House," former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), who once headed the Democratic Congressional Camp! aign Committee (DCCC), told The Hill at the time. "I don't think it makes much difference in the election."
The Fox poll, conducted Oct. 26-28, has a 3.5 percent margin of error for likely voters. Registered Democrats have a 5 percent margin of error. The Times/CBS poll was conducted Oct. 21-26 and has a 3 percent margin of error.
Franken: On Nov. 3, breakfast should 'taste like victory'
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) penned a fundraising letter for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) on Friday asking voters to consider the morning after the election.
In one scenario, Franken wrote, it's "8 a.m. You stumble out of bed. Make some oatmeal. Turn on the TV to find out what happened in that Senate race, the one that was too close to call all night. But you gave $5 to the DSCC … And, lo and behold, your favorite Democrat ... pulled it out by a few votes. Oatmeal never tasted so sweet."
"But there’s another way it could go," he went on. "8 a.m. Oatmeal. TV. But in this example, you DIDN’T give to the DSCC. And, by a few hundred votes, some Tea Party extremist is now a U.S. Senator-elect â€" and Republicans have captured the majority. How’s that oatmeal taste now?"
"On November 3, I don’t! want my oatmeal to taste like regret. I want my oatmeal to taste like victory."Â
The DSCC outraised the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) by nearly double in September, but lost that edge in the first two weeks of October.
It now reports $14.4 million cash-on-hand to the NRSC's $11.8 million.
Palin pounces on State Dept. over Ahmadinejad birthday tweet
When State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley tweeted a sardonic birthday wish to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday, he likely assumed it would be interpreted for the substance of its intent: a wish that for his birthday, Ahmadinejad would release imprisoned American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer.
According to her most recent tweets, however, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) didn't catch the drift.
On Friday, she took to Twitter to blast the Obama administration for "kowtowing" and "coddling" enemies.
"Happy B'day Ahmadinejad wish sent by US Govt. Mind boggling foreign policy ... Obama Doctrine is nonsense," she tweeted, adding that the birthday greeting after Ahmadinejad's "call 4 Israel's destruction" speaks "volumes."Â
Crowley's original tweets had read:
Happy birthday President #Ahmadinejad. Celebrate by sending Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer home. What a gift that would be.
Your 54th year was full of lost opportunities. Hope in your 55th year you will ope! n #Iran to a different relationship with the world.
So far, there's been no response from him on Twitter.
Cantor: Biden, Pelosi should stump for Perriello, too
Now that President Obama is campaigning for endangered Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello (Va.), Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should too, a top Republican said Friday.
Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the second-ranking House Republican, said that the freshman Virginia Democrat has voted in lockstep with the Obama administration, a choice he says will hurt Perriello among voters in the state's traditionally Republican 5th congressional district.
{mosads}{mosads}"I'm disappointed he's not bringing in Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi too," Cantor said on a conference call with reporters.Â
Cantor's comments came hours before Obama is set to headline a Charlottesville, Va., campaign event for Perriello, who backed the White House on several major legislative items over the past two years.
Perreillo's race has been one of the most closely watched House contests this cycle, and Obama's visit has thrust it further into the spotlight. Democrats hope that the president will drum up enthusiasm among voters that helped carry Perriello to a narrow victory in 2008.Â
Perriello voted for the stimulus, healthcare reform and cap-and-trade energy legislation, but voted against the financial regulatory reform bill, saying it did not go far enough. Unlike other endangered Democrats, Perriello has not shied away from his voting record, which contains votes for key Obama agenda items.
Republicans, however, are pouncing on the stop, saying that it shows the desperate position Democrats are in to hold on to control of the House and using it to tie Perriello to Obama and Pelosi, who are unpopular with the public.Â
"We are looking at [Obama's] visit as something that really brings into focus the real question in this race," Cantor said.Â
State Sen. Robert Hurt, Perriello's Republican foe, called the visit a "Hail Mary pass in the hopes of energizing his base," though he predicted "it will have the effect of energizing our base."
The Democratic Party of Virginia criticized Cantor and Hurt in advance of the call and said GOP policies would damage the economy.
"Most of what you’ll hear from today’s conference is more of the same, which is fiting cause most of what’s offered by Cantor-Hurt Congress is more ! of the same policies already rejected by voters," the party said in a statement.
The Hill 2010 Midterm Election Poll, conducted a month ago, found Perriello trailing Hurt by just one point.
ThinkBull
ThinkProgress, the left-wing, anti-capitalist, George Soros-funded attack machine put little old me in its crosshairs, accusing me of being a paid toady of the Chamber of Commerce:
Paying for Television Pundits: GOP lobbyist John Feehery has appeared on cable television to attack ThinkProgress’ reporting, taken to Twitter call President Obama a “business-hating socialist†for calling attention to this story, and even penned an article in The Hill newspaper to defend the Chamber and lie about our investigation. Feehery never mentioned the foreign corporate direct donations to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6). But more importantly, neither The Hill nor any of [the] television outlets Feehery appears on disclosed the fact that Feehery’s public relations firm, The Feehery Group, counts the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as one of its clients. Shortly after our story broke, Feehery was hired by another public relations/lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie, which is also a client of the Chamber. Moreover, Fox News’ parent company is an active member of the Chamber, and hate-talker Glenn Beck met with the Chamber’s second in command earlier this year to plot the 2010 election. While Fox hosts and Beck have endlessly defended the Chamber’s secret money, there has been no disclosure of the network’s financial ties to Chamber lobbyists.
Nice try.
Grassley partakes on National Chocolate Day
Add chocolate to marathon running, University of Northern Iowa sports and tweeting on the list of things that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) enjoys.
"Today is National Chocolate Day. So I'm celebrating," he told his 22,000-some followers on Thursday.
Spokeswoman Beth Pellett Levine elaborated.
"He celebrated by having chocolate, of course! It was a Dove chocolate bar because it was the only chocolate bar we could find in downtown Webster City, Iowa!"
She added, "Generally, the chocolate of choice are Hershey's Nuggets, although he isn't picky!"
Grassley held a meeting with supporters alongside Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) in Webster City, where he plugged the political benefits of social media.
"Whether you do social networking or e-mailing or not, you probably know a lot of people who do. I believe that the person who mastered this is now the president of the United States," he said. "If he hadn't mastered this tool of social network, he wouldn't be president now. It helped elect him and raised millions of dollars."
"We aren't asking you to raise any money," he continued. "But we are asking you to use this social networking, this Internet, this e-mail to tell all the people you can why there needs to be changes in Washington."
He we! nt on to describe what he sees as the danger of the opposing party.
"I carry with me what I call a Democrat fork. You can eat your meal with it," he said, holding up a fork with telescoping handle. "They eat their own meal with it, and then they eat your meal with it."
Grassley is leading Democratic challenger Roxanne Colin by a wide margin.
To Nevada voters
Let's forget the flim-flam of politics and consider the real choice facing Nevada voters.
Do you want a senator who is the most influential senator of all who has fought to create tens of thousands of jobs, maybe hundreds of thousands of jobs, throughout his career?
Or do you want to elect Sharron Angle, who would literally be the least influential senator of all, who boasts that it is not the job of the senator from Nevada to save or create jobs for the people of Nevada?
SEIU looks to boost female vote for Titus
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is gunning for the woman vote in Nevada.
After releasing a television ad last week attacking Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle and aimed at female voters, SEIU is finishing up a direct mail campaign in support of Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.).
Some of the mail pieces, obtained by The Hill, criticize Titus's GOP opponent, Joe Heck, for his vote in the Nevada state senate against requiring insurance companies to cover the vaccine for the human papillomavirus, a precursor to cervical cancer.
“Dina Titus is passionate about saving lives ... But Joe Heck voted to deny women life-saving treatment," reads the mailer.
The campaign included seven different mail pieces, starting September 26 with the last coming on October 29. Aimed at "persuadable" voters, according to a union official, the direct mail program in Titus's district cost SEIU $175,000.
DeMint: No regrets about pushing conservative Senate candidates
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said he had no doubts about supporting Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell and other Republicans in key primary races this year.
DeMint, the leader of the Senate Conservatives Fund, a political action committee that pushed through conservative, Tea party candidate through GOP primaries earlier this year, said he was proud of his efforts.
"I'm glad I did this," DeMint said Thursday evening on CNBC. "I came into the Senate with 55 Republicans, and I'm afraid that not enough of them believed in free market capitalism and limited government."
"Not at all," DeMint said when asked specifically if he had any regrets about supporting O'Donnell, who trails Democrat Chris Coons badly in her campaign.
The South Carolina senator, who's facing an easy re-election battle on Nov. 2, has played a major role in shaping this year's crop of GOP Senate candidates, and, potentially, the next crop of Republican se! nators.
Among the conservative candidates to unseat a Republican incumbent or establishment candidate in a primary are: Joe Miller in Alaska, Mike Lee in Utah, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Ken Buck in Colorado, Rand Paul in Kentucky, Linda McMahon in Connecticut and O'Donnell in Delaware.
Some of those candidates are cruising to victory in their states, while others, who are locked in tight races with their Democratic opponents, have prompted speculation that more centrist candidates would have run more competitive races.
If many of those conservative candidates do end up winning and making their way to Washington, DeMint's influence in the Senate might be bolstered. Some observers have wondered aloud about whether or not DeMint might challenge Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) for the position of Republican leader.
"I don't think so. Mitch and I work together real well," DeMint explained. "I think Mitch and the whole leadership team are! going to be good for the Republican Party. We share the same ! beliefs. So I'm looking forward to working with him and all the new Republicans to turn our country back from a cliff."
Reid: Media has gone 'easy' on Angle
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) accused the media on Thursday evening of being "easy" on his Republican challenger, Sharron Angle.
Reid accused Angle of speaking in "code words" in reference to some of her positions on entitlement programs like Social Security, and jabbed at the media for not fully probing her views.
"Never have I run against someone who speaks in code words that are not explainable," Reid said during an appearance on MSNBC. "And I have to say, the press has given her a pretty easy go."
Angle has deliberately avoided engaging with mainstream media, and has instead focused her efforts on meeting with constituents, and doing outreach through select conservative media. She suggested earlier this week that she might look to re-engage with traditional media after the election.
"I'm hoping that as we get into this once I get elected Senator that they will be much more civil and we will have a very civil d! iscourse," she told conservative talker Heidi Harris on Wednesday.
Reid noted Angle's partial media blackout as part of his criticism of Angle.
"You can't ask her to explain this, and she wouldn't anyway," he said.
Leading GOP senator to stump with O'Donnell
A top Senate Republican will campaign with GOP candidate Christine O'Donnell in Delaware on Friday.
GOP Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) will hold a press conference on Friday morning with O'Donnell at a restaurant in Centerville, in one of the most high-profile appearances on behalf of the Delaware candidate.
Republican leaders in the Senate have pledged their support for O'Donnell after she bested centrist GOP Rep. Mike Castle in the Senate primary. But few have campaigned with her in the conservative's uphill race against Democrat Chris Coons.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele sought to boost O'Donnell's candidacy with an appearance with her on Thursday evening.
Comedy central
President Obama makes for a bad straight man.
He was a complete bore on “The Daily Show†with Jon Stewart, as he pontificated on how great his administration’s accomplishments have been and how he knew all along that this was going to be a tough election for Democrats.
Mr. Obama’s appearance on “The Daily Show†reminds one of John McCain’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live†the weekend before the presidential election two years ago. Except McCain was very funny.
A post-election job for Congress: Resolve the net neutrality fight
At times, the political battle over net neutrality regulation recalls the tragic mythological tale of Sisyphus, who could never quite push that rock all the way to the top of the hill. When Congress shut down for re-election campaigning last week rather than consider a neutrality compromise from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), it appeared at first blush that a resolution had again slipped away. But a closer look suggests the key players are edging toward an agreement that would preserve an open Internet for consumers while also enabling continuing business investment that would expand Internet capabilities and create jobs to help the economy.
How we fix Americaâs dated drug approval process
Miracle medicines available at every pharmacy in the United States are improving and transforming lives in ways we would have never imagined just a few decades ago: they heal infections with astonishing speed, and help millions of patients treat chronic illnesses such as Cancer, Diabetes and HIV/AIDS. As the system to review and approve new drugs runs into serious problems, however, Congress, private industry, and the nation’s chief medical regulator must act to make sure that lifesaving medicines continue to flow to the market.
NPR needs to stand on own two feet (Rep. Doug Lamborn)
National Public Radio’s (NPR) recent firing of longtime news analyst Juan Williams was a wake-up call for many Americans to the political correctness and liberal bias at NPR. However, it is not so much that bias that offends me, but the fact that my tax dollars are funding it.
Long before this Juan Williams fiasco blew up with NPR, I had sponsored a bill in Congress to pull the plug on federal funding for NPR. I have long believed that the operation is fully capable of standing on its own. It is time for Congress to prioritize its spending to our nation’s most pressing needs. With the national debt over $13 trillion dollars, the government cannot continue to fund non-essential services.
Obama beating Reagan?
This will likely drive some people over the edge. Recent polling indicates that President Obama is in better shape politically today than Republican icon President Ronald Reagan was at the same point in his first term.
That’s right. Obama at the midterm outpolls Ronald Reagan at this point in his presidency.
The National Journal/Congressional Connection poll conducted with the Pew Research Center over Oct. 21-24 found that 47 percent of the public would like President Obama to run again in 2012. While that number isn’t overwhelming, it certainly beats Reagan’s number in August 1982 â€" an underwhelming 36 percent, according to Gallup. At that point, 51 percent said Reagan should not run for reelection, and his numbers worsened after the midterm elections that year.
After the election: Can Obama find common ground with the GOP on trade?
Much campaign commentary has focused on the “horse race.†After Tuesday many will seek portents of the 2012 presidential race in the 2010 results. Yet politics is about governing as well as elections, so it is worth exploring the policy consequences of the midterm election. Given the polarization of the parties, predictions of gridlock abound. A key question will be what, if any, common ground Obama can find with the likely GOP majority in at least the House.
One area of potential cooperation is trade policy. Obama, like all presidents since FDR, favors reducing trade barriers between the U.S. and other countries. Yet while modern chief executives of both parties have favored freer trade, in Congress votes on trade often polarize along party lines. Democrats were once the pro-trade party and Republicans the protectionists, but since the 1970s GOP legislators have been more supportive of trade liberalization than Democrats. The parties’ role-reversal on th! e Hill stems from changes in the preferences of key party constituencies: labor unions that supported trade in the early postwar era felt increasingly threatened by imports while the business community became more multinational in orientation.
Democratic lawmaker: 'High probability' that GOP retakes the House
A Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday that there was a "high probability" that Republicans retake control of the House on Nov. 2.
Rep. Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat who's facing his own tough reelection battle, conceded what few other members of his party have to date: that the party could easily lose a net 39 or more seats next week, and hand control of the chamber to the GOP.
“I do think there is a high probability right now that Republicans take control of the House,†Himes told a local Chamber of Commerce luncheon, according to the Danbury News-Times.
Virtually no elected Democrat has been willing to publicly say that the party could find itself in the House minority come next January. Democrats ! are hoping to keep their supporters motivated to make their way to the polls on Election Day, and a growing sense that Republicans' victories are inevitable could depress turnout.
"Well, I'm confident the Democrats are going to retain their majority because the American people are connecting the dots between these tens of millions of dollars of secret special interest money," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), the head of House Democrats' campaign efforts, said as recently as Sunday.
Himes is one of the lawmakers Van Hollen will look to on Tuesday to prevail in his race, if Democrats are to have a chance to stave off a Republican wave.
Himes, a first-term lawmaker who unseated veteran centrist GOP Rep. Chris Shays in 2008, faces a challenge this cycle from Dan Debicella. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as a "lean Democratic" contest, but Republic! an headw inds on Nov. 2 could propel Debicella to victory.
Boehner to campaign with Nazi reenactor Iott in Ohio
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R) will appear in Ohio Saturday with Rich Iott, the Republican House candidate who has come under fire for dressing as a Nazi officer in historical reenactment events.
Photos showing Iott in Nazi garb surfaced earlier in October, drawing criticism from both Democrats and House Minority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) who denounced Iott during a recent appearance on Fox News.
Responding to another Fox News guest, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), Cantor said "She knows that I would absolutely repudiate [Nazi reenactments] and do not support an individual that would do something like that ... You know good and well that I don't support anything like that."
Still, Iott was removed from the GOP's "Young Guns" website shortly after the fla! p, although Boehner continued to solicit funds for the campaign through his own Freedom Project PAC website.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a statement condemning Boehner's continuing support for Iott.
"Not only has John Boehner recruited and financed a disgraced Nazi enthusiast running for Congress, but now even more outrageous Boehner is attending a campaign rally with him," said Ryan Rudominer, spokesman for the DCCC. "John Boehner’s stubborn embrace of this Nazi enthusiast insults the memory of the six million Jews who died during the Holocaust and our nations’ veterans who sacrificed to defend our freedom."
Freedom PAC spokesman Don Seymour responded that Boehner's appearance is meant to "support the local Republican party's get-out-the-vote efforts."
"Boehner has been on the road headlining rallies for Republican candidates in Ohio and across the country ... and he’ll continue his busy campaign schedule into the final weekend before Tuesday’s referendum on Democrats’ jobs-killing policies," Seymour said.
Iott is challenging Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) in the state's ninth district. Saturday's rally will take place in Toledo.
Pence: 'We'll let the future take care of itself'
Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), the House's third-ranking Republican, was tight-lipped Wednesday in reaction to reports he could be leaving his leadership post with eyes on a higher office.
In one of his first comments since his potential move was reported, Pence, the GOP conference chairman, said that he is focused on next week's midterm elections and will decide on his political future at some point after that.
{mosads}"I think as you can see today, we're completely focused on electing a Republican majority on Capitol Hill and giving the best governor in America the best state legislature in America," he said in an interview with WTHI television. "We'll stay focused on that until Election Day and we'll let the future take care of itself."
Pence is a favorite of conservative Republicans in a year that saw the rise of the Tea Party movement. Attendees of the Values Voter Summit, an annual gathering of social-conservative activists in Washington, in September surprisingly chose the Indiana congressman as their pick for president in a straw poll.
Other potential GOP candidates in the field included former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Sen. Jim De! Mint (S.C.).
Pence has also been rumored as a potential ! candidat e for governor and Senate.
In the weeks before Election Day, Pence has traveled across Indiana on his own behalf and in support of candidates for the State Legislature and Congress.
Pawlenty hits back at Dems with his own FOIA request
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said he'll file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with federal agencies to obtain information about Democrats' work to promote healthcare reform.
Pawlenty hit the Democratic National Committee (DNC) with his own FOIA request after ABC News reported on Wednesday that the DNC had filed similar requests with the Pentagon for information on a series of potential Republican presidential candidates in 2012, including the Minnesota governor.
"Next week's election isn't even here â€" and it will largely be a referendum on the president's failure to create jobs, out-of-control government spending and an ill-conceived healthcare bill â€" b! ut I find it ironic that they have given up the current fight and are instead so focused on the president's own reelection," Pawlenty said in a statement.
"But since they asked, and since they are so worried, I have some questions of my own about his time in the White House," he added. "For example, what was the DNC's role in selling ObamaCare? Did Obama's political advisers know the true costs of ObamaCare?"
The DNC's actions are seen as fairly typical for a party preparing for the next election â€" albeit a bit early. The party is building opposition research files against candidates, and has already taken chances so far this year to jab at Pawlenty and other 2012 contenders, like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).
Pawlenty's FOIA request will specifically target the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and "other relevant agencies" for information about the timing of ads, polling and other promotional actions taken by the! DNC to bolster President Obama's healthcare bill.
“Th! at Tim P awlenty, who has taken more trips to Iowa and New Hampshire this year than to several counties in Minnesota â€" the state he’s supposedly governing â€" would talk to anyone about where their focus is is certainly funny," shot back DNC national press secretary Hari Sevugan. "Maybe if he were focusing on his job, rather than angling for another one, his poll numbers at home would be better."
Updated 5:19 p.m.
Democrats look to take advantage of Stewart rally
Democrats are asking attendees of comedian Jon Stewart's rally on Saturday to help the party's candidates.
Organizing for America (OFA), President Obama's political arm, asked attendees of the rally on the National Mall to head down to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to participate in a phone-banking session for Democratic candidates.
"This Saturday, October 30th, folks from across the country will be coming to D.C. for the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,'" wrote David Litt, OFA's volunteer coordinator in Washington, D.C.
"Whether or not you're planning to attend, we need folks to turn the energy from that rally into a! ction by contacting key voters across the country and making sure they have a plan to vote by November 2nd," Litt added.
The email is a clear indication that Democrats are looking to capitalize politically on Stewart's long-planned rally. The event, which could draw attendees numbering in six figures, has ironically been billed as a rejection of partisanship and shrill rhetoric in the American political process.
Viewers of Stewart's show are typically characterized as left-leaning, as are viewers of Stephen Colbert's "The Colbert Report." He will also be part of the rally on Saturday. Obama also made his pitch to Stewart's viewers during an apperance on "The Daily Show" ! on Wednesday evening.
But some liberals have previously expressed concern that the rally could distract Democratic activists, who might otherwise be out on the campaign trail, from working for candidates.
It seems, however, as though Democrats see the event as an opportunity to build momentum for the party in the last weekend of the 2010 campaign.
"Democratic headquarters is just a short walk from the rally, and making these calls is a great way to ensure that the energy from the rally makes a difference on November 2nd," Litt wrote.
Gibbs takes Twitter questions on India trip, POTUS codename
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs explained the purpose of President Obama's upcoming India trip on Thursday after a Twitter follower asked why Obama wouldn't travel to Europe to "shore up wavering support" for Afghanistan instead.
The Q-and-A â€" dubbed "First Question" and using the hashtag #1q â€" is a new venture for the White House as it seeks to improve what many believe has been a problem communicating its message effectively.
"The purpose of the India trip that the president will take at the end of next week is anchored in two economic summits that will happen at the latter end of the trip â€" ! the G-20 and the APAC, the Asian Pacific Summit," Gibbs explained in a YouTube video posted to the White House feed. "We begin in India because not only is Asia one of the fastest-growing regions of the world, but India â€" its economy is one of the fastest-growing within Asia. The president will and looks forward to working with Indian partners, but more importantly to developing some commercial relationship that helps American businesses here at home."Â
He added that the president will travel to Lisbon, Portugal, in mid-November for the NATO summit, and that Afghanistan will be "front and center on the agenda" there.
The second question, from user @NJHighlands, was more lighthearted.!
"Is it true that the new Secret Service codeword! for POT US is 'Dude'?" the question asked.
Gibbs responded that the president's codename has been "Renegade" since he gained Secret Service protection in 2007.
"First Question" will be a regular effort. The same technique has been used in recent weeks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), Hawaii House candidate Colleen Hanabusa (D) and other politicos aiming to connect directly with constituents.
DNC chief doubles down, says Dems 'nuts' to run from party
Democratic candidates who are shunning their party and its policies are "nuts," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Thursday.
In an interview with Fox News to air Thursday night, Kaine said that Democratic candidates should "be proud of accomplishments" while on the campaign trail, even though President Obama and most Democratic policies are currently unpopular with the public.
{mosads}"I do think Democrats thinking that they can, you know, hold the Democratic label at arm's length, I do think that's nuts," he said. "You put the label after your name, be proud of it."
Kaine made similar comments in August, but his most recent remarks come as several endangered Democrats have gone to e! xtreme lengths to distance themselves from the party in an effort to appeal to voters in their conservative-leaning districts.
Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.), for example, said this week that he voted for Republican nominee John McCain â€" and not Obama â€" in the 2008 presidential election.Â
In the final weeks of the midterm campaign season, President Obama and Democratic leaders have largely shied away from campaigning for endangered Democrats running in traditionally Republican states and districts, instead choosing to focus on motivating the party's base to drum up its enthusiasm about voting.
Obama is scheduled to travel to Bridgeport, Conn.; Chicago, Philadelphia and Cleveland during the final days of the campaign, all cities in traditionally Democratic or swing states.Â
Most Democratic leaders have downplayed criticism from vulnerable members. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently said, "I just want them to win."
Kaine explained that he does not tell every candidate how to run his or her own race, saying, "people have to do what they think is right for themselves and for their constituents."
But he said it would not hurt to talk up the legislative accomplishments that the party has achieved over the past two years.
"You can go into the reddest district in America and say Democrats passed equal pay for women in this country and it's a good thing," he said. "Or say, Democrats saved an auto industry that was in danger of being carved up and sold off. That's a good thing. So you can pick the accomplishments you want to highlight."
Barton 'confident' he can win fight to become Energy & Commerce chairman
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) said Thursday that he's "confident" of his ability to nab an influential House chairmanship if Republicans win control of the House in Nov. 2's elections.
Barton, the top GOP member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, suggested that he fully intends to push a bid to become chairman of that committee, despite rules and colleagues' concerns that could threaten his ability to take that post.
The most important consideration is whether Republicans win back the House, the Texas Republican said.
"If that happens, the Republican Steering Committee, which I'm a member of, would nominate to the full conference, and I am confident that I will be nominated, and I am confident, hopefully, that the conference would confirm me to be chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee," Barton explained Thursday on CNBC.
House Republicans' rules limit the number of terms a lawmaker can serve in the top position on! a committee to three terms. A member like Barton would need to apply for a waiver in order to serve again, since he's served one term as chairman, from 2004-06, and has served as the committee's ranking member from 2007-present. The GOP's rules are ambiguous, though, as to whether time served atop a committee while in the minority should count against members.
"I served as one term when we were in the majority back in 2006, and according to our rules, I'm allowed to serve for three terms as chairman, so I believe I would have two more terms that I could be chairman," Barton explained on CNBC.
But even if Barton were to win his rules challenge, he's still expected to face a competitive rac! e within the House GOP Conference. The congressman rankled Rep! ublicans after apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward during a hearing this summer, during which he called the Obama administration's $20 billion relief account it had forced BP to create a "slush fund."
"I'm a Texan, I'm an engineer, I'm an Aggie engineer, I'm an honest person, I speak the truth as I know it," Barton said of his gaffe. "Sometimes that's good. Sometimes it does ruffle feathers."
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) are all seen as other candidates for the chairmanship.
Barton said he'd had a "cordial" conversation with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), the likely would-be speaker under a Republican majority, earlier this week.