Senate hopefuls attempt to set themselves apart
RALEIGH — The Democratic Senate primary took on a slightly sharper tone Wednesday night as the Senate hopefuls sought to draw clearer distinctions among themselves at a candidates forum.
Ken Lewis, the Chapel Hill lawyer who is portraying himself as the heir to the Obama coalition of two years ago, suggested he was the Democrat whose election in the primary May 4 would mark a significant change in the Senate.
“We can’t change a broken Senate by sending a career politician to Washington,” Lewis told about 175 people at a dinner sponsored by the Wake County Democratic Women. Read more.
Incumbents Beware: Term Limits Resurrected by Disaffected Voters
WASHINGTON — Politicians are staying in Congress longer and longer, but in an election year with a noticeably anti-incumbent mood, some Washington outsiders are challenging the idea of making a career out of public service.
“We need folks coming in from the outside who have paid taxes and created jobs and lived under the regulations that these career politicians have created,” said Jim Rutledge, a Republican attorney running to unseat Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who has 33 years in Congress between the House and Senate.
Rutledge is typical of the outsiders running this year, who know statistics are not in their favor.
Between 1789 and 2002, 13.9 percent of House members and 21.9 percent of senators served 12 years or more, according to the Congressional Research Service. Read more.
Obama plays recess with Senate Republicans
As he made final preparations for his trip to Afghanistan over the weekend, President Obama also took a long-expected poke at the Republicans with a slate of 15 recess appointments.
In announcing appointments, Obama said Republican senators are trying to score “political points” in holding up his nominations, and, “I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government.”
Senate Republicans said Obama’s actions will only make things more tense, after Democrats used a legislative budget process known as “reconciliation” to pass the health care bill. Read more.
Labor May Gain, Business Sends ‘Red Alert’ on Becker
March 29 (Bloomberg) — Efforts by labor unions to expand employee organizing may gain after President Barack Obama, rejecting objections from Republicans and business groups, appointed Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board.
Obama announced plans on March 27 to name Becker, a lawyer and Democrat who represented the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, using executive powers to bypass confirmation by the Senate, which had blocked a vote this month.
Becker, opposed by groups led by the National Association of Manufacturers, will be named along with lawyer Mark Pearce, a Democrat, providing a quorum to clear a case backlog including disputes with casino owner MGM Mirage and auto-parts maker Dana Holding Corp. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put business on “red alert” for “radical changes” while unions cheered the action. Read more.
With Every Intervention, Concerns Build Over Size of Federal Government
Health care. The auto industry. Real estate. Wall Street.
As the Obama administration increases regulation and pumps up taxpayer aid in these sectors and beyond, critics say the president is expanding the federal government to unprecedented levels.
Sure, protesters have been on the National Mall for months holding signs about bloated budgets. But it’s not just the Tea Party crowd that’s concerned. With every step, like the signing of the health care bill last Tuesday, the view that Obama is making historic shifts in the role of Washington becomes more widespread. Read more.
Obama blames the Tea Party
WakeUpAmerica.com responds to this immature allegation saying, “it is not only the Tea Party Movement that opposes his bullying tactics of pushing through his own agenda, but Americans at large. He just cannot come to grips with the fact that his agenda is very unpopular with an overwhelming majority of the American people.”
In the recent Rasmussen poll results released today shows Obama’s approval rating at a dismal 47%; and 54% of the American people most likely want the Healthcare Bill Repealed, compared to 42% say it is OK the way it is. Just two examples of America’s displeasure with Obama and his agenda.
In addition, President Obama has broken numerous campaign promises including transparency and bipartisanship. His actions clearly underscore the old cliche – ” it is his way or the highway.” Read more.
Sarkozy Reveals Rift in U.S.-European Relations
Did it really happen, right there in the East Room? Could such a question be asked just one year after a nearly rapturous Europe welcome to President Obama and his promised era of engagement and mutual cooperation? Could Obama’s word actually be a topic of debate among Europe’s top leaders?
It appears so.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was asked to elaborate on his Tuesday comments in New York that the world needs an America “that listens.”
Instead of explaining whether America listens, Sarkozy talked about what happens when Obama speaks — denying a problem no one asked about — and in so doing revealed a surprising rift in U.S.-European relations. Read more.
Rancher’s Murder Exposes Deadly Gaps in Border Policing, Tancredo Says
Former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, reacting to the murder of a well-known Arizona rancher by an assailant authorities believe was an illegal immigrant, said violence on the border has spiraled out of control and the federal government seems powerless to stop it.
Tancredo, who has called on the Obama administration to deploy the National Guard in response, told FoxNews.com Tuesday that the killing shows how bad the situation has become for Americans living north of the Mexican border.
“The violence on the border is … getting worse all the time,” he said. “This is just a horrible manifestation of it.” Read more.
Patient, Doctor, and Government – Who Decides?
How will the newly enacted health care legislation’s emphasis on comparative effectiveness research (CER) affect patient choice, and the future of America’s health?
Last week, Congress enacted a nearly $1 trillion health care program – claiming it would reduce the cost of care and even lower the deficit by more than $100 billion over the next decade. But how exactly will such a costly government program cut costs? Here’s one major way: by cutting your medical treatment options. And no, that’s not just conservative rhetoric. It’s a simple case of actions (and money) speak louder than words.
The aim of comparative effectiveness research (CER) is to measure the outcomes of different treatments and medications and decide which is most effective. The information is then passed along to doctors, patients and consumers. According to a CBO report, before 2007 CER consumed less than $15 million of the total government budget for research funding.In the past two years, however, the government has poured a tremendous amount of money into CER, allotting $1.1 billion in funding CER through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read more.
Assessing Voter Partisanship: An Updated Model for North Carolina
In early 2008, the Civitas Institute premiered the North Carolina Partisan Index using data from the 2004 General Election. This year, we have updated the NCPI to reflect voters’ choices in the 2008 General Election.
Modeled after the Cook Partisan Voting Index developed for congressional districts, the North Carolina Partisan Index compares the political leanings of voters in each state house and senate district with the partisan voting tendencies of the state as a whole. The end result is a letter (D or R) followed by a number, indicating the extent to which each district leans one way or the other.
The new NCPI was developed using adjusted 2008 data on the elections for Governor and other council of state offices – Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Commissioners of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Read more.
Boxer Facing Toughest Re-Election Battle of Her Career
Ever since she was elected to the U.S. Senate 18 years ago, Barbara Boxer has faced little competition in winning another term. But this year, it won’t be that easy.
Polls indicate that the California Democrat may be about to meet her match – who will be determined in a June primary. According to one poll, Boxer is neck and neck with all three of the Republicans who hope to run against her in the general election: former Rep. Tom Campbell, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.
In the latest Rasmussen Reports from last month, Boxer led Campbell 43 to 41 percent and was beating Fiorina and DeVore 46 to 40 percent.
“She’s in for tough sledding and she’s got lots of prominent Republicans ready to go after her,” political analyst Juan Williams told Fox News. “So what I sense there is that she knows the economy in California and especially the budget, government budget, state budgets have been a huge issue and there’s a lot of discontent, particularly with her.” Read more.
Feds Approving Bogus Products as ‘Energy-Efficient,’ Investigation Finds
The federal government has been slapping “energy-efficient” ratings on products that don’t even exist — including a bogus space heater with a duster stuck to it and an alarm clock supposedly powered by gasoline.
These fake products were submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy for approval as part of an undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office.
The office wanted to see how easily the feds could be duped, since the Energy Star program used to identify products as energy savers serves as a guide to businesses looking for such modern marvels and the basis for millions of dollars in incentivizing tax credits — including $300 million from the stimulus. Read more.
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