Obama takes on talkers
Barack Obama’s tongue-lashing of conservative talk-show titans Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck this week could prove a winner for both sides.
The president gets a boost with his base and may win over some independents by tying his political opponents to two of the nation’s most polarizing figures.
But the conservative talkers get presidential confirmation that they’re at the center of the political debate — together with a collection of sound bytes that will fuel their shows for days to come. Read more.
Republicans dispute course of financial overhaul
WASHINGTON (AP) – End the public lifeline for large financial institutions, Republicans are demanding as they push back against Democratic efforts to set new rules for the financial industry.
The GOP is trying to fight many of the changes that President Barack Obama and majority Democrats want. Legislation would give the government authority to split up big financial companies and force the industry to pay for its most massive failures.
Republicans have offered alternative legislation that calls for new bankruptcy proceedings to dismantle failing institutions. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said that creating more federal agencies and putting taxpayers on the hook for more bailouts will not help revive the economy. Read more.
Hundreds show president their anger, frustration
Charlotte — President Barack Obama’s motorcade, headed to Charlotte’s airport Friday, passed through an American political divide that seemed as wide as six-lane Carowinds Boulevard.
On the corner anchored by the Tilted Kilt pub, a couple of hundred tea party protesters lined the street. “Throw them out! Throw them out!” they chanted, and stabbed thumbs down as the president passed. A hand-lettered sign, one of dozens, waved: “Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot.”
Across the boulevard, a largely black crowd sprinkled with the red, white and blue of a few Obama detractors squinted into the midday sun and shouted back: “Obama! Obama! Obama!” Read more.
Senate challenges signal deep unrest
How deep does the anti-Washington sentiment run? The number of senators in both parties facing serious primary challenges this year — a figure that has grown in the past six weeks — offers a clue.
Five senators, three Democrats and two Republicans, face the real prospect of being denied their party’s nomination this year: Sens. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.).
In most cases, the incumbents are still the front-runners. But the mere fact that their challengers are within striking distance is notable, given the rarity of senators being denied renomination by their party. Read more.
White House Denies Charges of Caving to China on Currency
A prominent Democratic senator on Sunday suggested that the Obama administration was letting China slide on possible currency manipulation in exchange for help on Iran sanctions — something the White House flatly denied.
Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter, reacting to news that the White House was delaying its report to Congress on whether China is manipulating its currency, told “Fox News Sunday” he’s concerned the administration could be missing a chance to help U.S. workers get on a level playing field.
The report was originally scheduled for release by April 15, around the time Chinese President Hu Jintao is visiting Washington for nuclear talks. Read more.
US unveiling new, more restrictive nuclear policy
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is unveiling a new nuclear weapons policy that seeks to narrow the circumstances under which the United States would use such weapons while preserving long-standing assurances of nuclear protection for allies, U.S. officials said.
It is a delicate balance that the administration will describe in a policy document, called a nuclear posture review, to be released Tuesday following a full year of deliberation led by the Pentagon in consultation with allied governments.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen planned to unveil the new policy at a noon Pentagon briefing. Read more.
Berger’s Proposal
On Monday, Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger proposed a bill meant to expose patronage and misconduct in state government.
The state’s personnel law is among the most secretive in the country regarding disciplinary actions, hiring information and employment histories of public employees. North Carolina, for example, appears to be the only state that bars the public from learning pay raises and prior positions, a recent News & Observer series, Keeping Secrets, found.
The problems with the personnel law’s secrecy were exposed by investigations into the administration of former Gov. Mike Easley. N.C. State University officials, for example, cited the personnel law in not disclosing the governor’s efforts to create a job for his wife at N.C. State. The law also initially hid an improper pay deal given to NCSU Provost Larry Nielsen. Nielsen stepped down after controversy surrounded his hiring of Mary Easley. Read more.
North Carolina Candidates Gear Up in Swing Districts
RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly could look much different in 2011. At least, that’s what Republicans hope.
For the first time in over a century, the minority party has a shot at wresting control of the legislature from Democrats, and it’s banking on a string of competitive races to do it.
Retirements, resignations, and shifting political dynamics make 10 seats in the Senate and 20 in the House vulnerable to GOP challenges this year. Political experts say a sluggish economy, anger over health care reform in Congress, and corruption could propel Republican candidates into office. Read more.
Republicans Slam Obama Judicial Nominee Over 117 Omissions From Record
Senate Republicans on Tuesday slammed one of the Obama administration’s most controversial judicial nominees for failing to initially disclose more than 100 of his speeches, publications and other background materials — an omission the Republicans called unprecedented and a possible attempt to “hide his most controversial work.”
They said Goodwin Liu’s nomination to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is in “jeopardy” in light of the problem.
The complaint came after Liu, a Berkeley law professor, gave the Senate Judiciary Committee a bundle of supplemental material that contained 117 things he left out after his February nomination. Read more.
Obama Clash With Karzai Raises Concerns Ahead of Kandahar Offensive
WakeUpAmerica.com asks why President Obama is agitating and bullying the President of a country that has 30,000 US troops inside its country. Wake Up Obama. Your recent foreign policy actions have put Americans at a heightened state of risk – Israel, Russia, Iran, China, and now Afghanistan “ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS.”
Here is the story reported by Fox News.
Timing is everything. And for the out-in-the-open feud between President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the timing is very, very bad. Read more.
Iran’s president attacks Obama on nuclear “threat”
(Reuters) – Iran’s president issued a scathing personal attack on U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, calling him an “inexperienced amateur” who was quick to threaten to use nuclear weapons against U.S. enemies.
Commenting on new U.S. policy restrictions on the use of atomic weapons which sent a stern message to nuclear-defiant Iran that it remained a potential target, hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Obama that Iran would not yield to threats.
“Obama made these latest remarks because he is inexperienced and an amateur politician,” Ahmadinejad said on Iranian television. “American politicians are like cowboys. Whenever they have legal shortcomings, their hands go to their guns.”
Obama made a diplomatic overture to Tehran soon after taking office in 2009, urging it to “unclench its fist.” Read more.
Volcker on the VAT
Kudos for candor to Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman and current White House economic adviser, for admitting what other Democrats also know but don’t want to admit until after the November election: The political class is preparing to pass a European-style value-added tax. Read more.
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