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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Entries Tagged as 'Power Hungry'

Lame Duck Session: Dems passing any bill they can before they loose their power

December 23rd, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within, Treason

A lame-duck session with unexpected victories

By Perry Bacon Jr. Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 22, 2010; 4:34 PM

When the lame-duck session of Congress started more than a month ago, President Obama looked defeated and deflated, publicly acknowledging the “shellacking” his party had taken in the November midterm elections.

Now, a six-week session that was expected to reflect a weakened president has turned into a surprising success. On Wednesday, Obama signed into law the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members, and the Senate approved a new nuclear treaty with Russia that the president had declared a top priority.

Those accomplishments come after Obama successfully negotiated a free-trade agreement with South Korea, reached a deal with Republicans that extended unemployment benefits and prevented a tax hike for millions of Americans and signed a bill that will make school lunches healthier.

This blitz of bill signings completes a dramatic first two years for the nation’s first black president that included the enactment of arguably the most major liberal policies since the Johnson administration but also the Democrats’ biggest loss of House seats in 72 years.

After the election defeats and bitter battles over the health care and financial regulation legislation, the next two years were widely expected to be tied up by gridlock between the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic president. But the past month suggests the future could be different.

Obama and his team reinvented their political approach over the past several weeks to win key Republican votes, no longer relying mainly on the huge Democratic majorities in Congress that they won’t have in the new year.

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Reid plays school yard games as he seeks votes that are sure to fail: Not fit for Congress

December 8th, 2010 · Accountability, Democrats, Dissention, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Non-Transparency, Terrorism from Within

Reid salutes America...Not fit for Congress!

In political gamble, Reid seeks votes that are sure to fail

By David A. Fahrenthold Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 5:17 PM

On Wednesday afternoon, the most powerful man in the U.S. Senate did something that sounds odd: He set himself up to lose an important vote.

Then he planned to do it again, on another key issue.

And then another.

And then another.

Four times in the same afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) planned votes where his favored bills were expected to fail. For Reid, failure is actually the point. He wants to put Republicans on record as blocking all four – which deal with immigration rules, police and firefighters’ unions, health benefits for responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and seniors’ benefits.

These “test votes” are a sign of the sclerotic state of Congress, clogged by filibuster threats. Usually, it is the people out of power who resort to grand, futile gestures.

Now – in a political gamble – it’s the guys in charge.

“Just because the party of ‘Just say no,’ has been blocking all these initiatives, it doesn’t mean we’re not going to try,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid. “At some point, you’ve got to take a stand, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Senate Democrats, who hold a majority in the chamber, held their last “test vote” on Saturday. That proposal called for an end to tax cuts, passed under President George W. Bush, on income greater than $250,000 for a family.

Democrats needed 60 senators to agree. They got just 53.

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‘Soul-searching’ Obama aides: Democrats’ midterm election losses a wake-up call

November 14th, 2010 · Accountability, Change of Power, Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Ethics, Government Control, Greed, Non-Transparency, Obama Exposed, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within

"Soul Searching" or "Tee Time"?

By Anne E. Kornblut Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 14, 2010; 12:41 AM

After nearly two weeks of introspection, President Obama‘s top advisers have concluded that the “shellacking” Democrats took on Election Day was caused in large part by their own failure to live up to expectations set during the 2008 campaign, not merely the typical political cycles and poor messaging they pointed to at first.

While the president has been on a trip to Asia for the past 10 days, all but a few of his top aides stayed behind to figure out what went so wrong and what to do about it. Wearing casual clothes and with the White House to themselves, they determined that the situation they face is serious and will take significant adjustments to reverse.

The advisers are deeply concerned about winning back political independents, who supported Obama two years ago by an eight-point margin but backed Republicans for the House this year by 19 points. To do so, they think he must forge partnerships with Republicans on key issues and make noticeable progress on his oft-repeated campaign pledge to change the ways of Washington.

Even more important, senior administration officials said, Obama will need to oversee tangible improvements in the economy. They cannot just keep arguing, as Democrats did during the recent campaign, that things would have been worse if not for administration policies.

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New cigarette warnings unveiled: Government Control Gone TOO Far

November 10th, 2010 · Government Control, Terrorism from Within

By Rob Stein

Federal health officials on Wednesday announced plans to require cigarette packs and ads to carry bigger, much more prominent and graphic health warnings, including images of dead bodies, cancer patients and diseased lungs.

The Health and Human Services Department, which announced the new initiative, called the new warnings “the most significant change in more than 25 years” in cigarette packages and advertising. The warnings will cover half of a cigarette pack, the government said.

One warning, for example, is, “Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.” It is shown with the picture of the feet of a dead body in a morgue. Another, “Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease,” shows a man apparently having a heart attack. A third, bearing the warning, “Smoking can kill you,” shows what appears to be the head a chest of a corpse. The chest is bisected by a large surgical scar.

The Food and Drug Administration said it is using its newly enhanced powers to regulate tobacco products to require the more prominent warning statements and color graphic images “depicting the negative health consequences of smoking.”

“Today marks an important milestone in protecting our children and the health of the American public,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

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In emotionally charged times, calls arise for impeachment of a justice or two

November 1st, 2010 · Accountability, Ethics, Supreme Court

By Robert Barnes – Monday, November 1, 2010

All across the country Tuesday, political incumbents are bracing for judgment from an angry electorate. So perhaps members of the Supreme Court should not be surprised that they are in somebody’s sights, as well.

Justices, of course, can’t be voted out. They serve for life, or as the Constitution puts it, “shall hold their Offices during good Behavior.”

But that hasn’t stopped calls from the left and the right recently for the House to open impeachment hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

None of the complaints is gaining traction, but they do seem to indicate a desire to do something about the court’s rulings or recent developments that some say violate testimony given at justices’ confirmation hearings.

“These are sulphurous times,” said Dennis Hutchinson, a Supreme Court scholar at the University of Chicago law school. “And the only stick you can wave at a federal judge is impeachment.”

He quickly noted that such demands almost never get very far.

The only justice ever served with impeachment was Samuel Chase, accused in 1805 of being overtly partisan. He was cleared by the Senate and served another six years.

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While economy is down midterm campaign funds exceed $2 BILLION.

October 26th, 2010 · Congress, Deception, Economy, Government, Greed, Politics

House and Senate shatter fundraising records for midterm election and may exceed $2 billion

By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 26, 2010; 12:04 AM

House and Senate candidates have already shattered fundraising records for a midterm election and are on their way to surpassing $2 billion in spending for the first time, according to new campaign finance data.

To put it another way: That’s the equivalent of about $4 million for every congressional seat up for grabs this year.

The frantic fundraising by candidates has largely been overshadowed in recent weeks by a tide of spending by outside interest groups, most of it targeting vulnerable Democrats. Such groups could spend $400 million or more by Nov. 2.

But the latest Federal Election Commission data, along with a new study from a campaign watchdog group, show that most of the money sloshing around the 2010 elections is being raised and spent by the candidates themselves.

As of last week, House and Senate campaigns reported taking in more than $1.5 billion, exceeding the total collected by congressional candidates in 2006 and in 2008, FEC data show. Most of that money already has been put toward advertising and other expenses.

The Public Campaign Action Fund, a watchdog group, will release a study Tuesday predicting that House candidates alone could spend nearly $1.5 billion by the time the dust settles on Election Day. The calculation is based on previous elections in which about half of a campaign’s money was spent in the final month of the contest.

Senate campaigns are also on track to exceed the $550 million mark from 2006, bringing the likely total to $2 billion or more by the time the ballots are counted.

The surge is driven in part by the unusually broad battlefield in the House, where an estimated 90 seats are in play, almost all of them held by Democrats. Many Democratic incumbents are emptying their coffers in an attempt to win the message wars against GOP-allied interest groups.

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Despite successful U.S. attacks on Taliban leaders in Afghanistan’s northwest, insurgency remains in control

October 25th, 2010 · Deception, Defense, Democrats, Federal Spending, Foreign Policy, Government Control, Homeland Security, National Security, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Terrorism from Within, Terrorist Threat, Treason, War on Terrorism

By Joshua Partlow Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, October 24, 2010; 1:34 AM

MAQUR, AFGHANISTAN – October has been a calamitous month for the Taliban guerrillas waging war from sandy mountains and pistachio forests in this corner of northwestern Afghanistan.

The first to die was their leader, Mullah Ismail, hunted down and killled by U.S. Special Operations troops. Next came the heir apparent, Mullah Jamaluddin, even before he could take over as Taliban “shadow” governor. Within a week, several other top commanders were dead, a new governor had been captured and the most powerful among the remaining insurgents had lit out for the Turkmenistan border – all casualties of the secretive, midnight work of American commandos.

And yet what has happened here in Badghis province also shows how large a gap remains between killing commanders and dismantling an insurgency. Nearly half of the province remains under insurgent control, an Afghan intelligence official estimated. A new Taliban governor has already been dispatched to the province, Afghan officials say, even though NATO portrayed Mullah Ismail’s killing as a “huge blow” that would “significantly reduce Taliban influence throughout the region.”

“Fighting in Afghanistan is like hitting coals with a stick, it just spreads to other places,” said Delbar Jan Arman, who as provincial governor is trying to stave off the Taliban advances. “It will continue.”

The barrage launched against the Taliban by Special Operations forces here in recent weeks is part of a broader American effort that is clearly succeeding. As other U.S. goals in Afghanistan have faltered – reforming the government, winning hearts and minds – Gen. David H. Petraeus and his new troops have so far succeeded at killing their enemies. American officials have held up the example of the onslaught against the Taliban leadership as a clear sign of progress, a development sure to factor into President Obama’s December review of the Afghan campaign.

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Obama’s Incoherent Closing Argument : While the economy is the No. 1 issue, the president constantly changes the subject.

October 21st, 2010 · Democrats, Economy, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US

Associated Press

By Karl Rove

At an April 2008 fund-raiser in San Francisco, Barack Obama let loose with his famous “they cling to guns or religion” line. Last Saturday at a West Newton, Mass., fund-raiser, the president said, “facts and science and argument [do] not seem to be winning . . . because we’re hard-wired not to always think clearly when we’re scared.”

Memo to White House: Calling voters stupid is not a winning strategy.

The economy and jobs are the No. 1 issue in every poll. Yet Mr. Obama of late has talked about immigration reform and weighed in (unprompted) on the Ground Zero mosque. He devoted Labor Day to an ineffective Mideast peace initiative. He demeans large blocs of voters and now is ending his midterm pitch with attacks on nonexistent foreign campaign contributions and weird assertions that “the Empire is striking back.”

Meanwhile, Republicans have talked about little else than the economy—drawing attention to lackluster job growth, the failed stimulus, out-of-control spending, escalating deficits and the dangers of ObamaCare.

On Sunday, White House senior adviser David Axelrod promised that the administration’s focus next year would be “to generate more growth and jobs” and “on our fiscal situation.” That must have left congressional Democrats—battered for months by the GOP’s message discipline—wondering why there’s been no focus on that up to now.

Much of the blame lies with the president, who has left his party with an incoherent closing argument 12 days before the election.

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Felon voting rights expanded in 23 states: With the right vote, maybe they will no longer be felons.

October 20th, 2010 · Corruption, Politics, Selling Out the US, Terrorism from Within

Headshot of Reggie Mitchell, the central figure in a story about outreach to ex-offenders who can now vote in Florida. (Courtesy Of Reggie Mitchell)

By Krissah Thompson Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 19, 2010; 1:37 PM

A study of felony disenfranchisement laws has found that 800,000 former felons have been returned to the voter rolls in the past decade.

A push by criminal justice advocates and civil rights groups to rewrite state laws that sometimes place lifetime voting bans on felons has resulted in 23 states amending their policies since 1997 to expand voter eligibility, according to a report out by the Sentencing Project.

Nine states repealed or reduced their lifetime voting bans, and eight states made it easier for former felons to appeal to have their voting rights restored.

Those changes were made despite “political challenges that hinder reform and can make it difficult for elected officials to extend civil rights to persons with felony convictions,” said Nicole Porter, author of the report and the Sentencing Project’s state advocacy coordinator.

Existing policies vary from state to state, with Kentucky and Virginia denying ex-felons the right to vote – even after they have completed parole or probation sentences. Both states require individuals to apply to the governor for restoration of civil rights.

Other states have changed those policies. Rhode Island repealed a state prohibition on parolees voting, resulting in the restoration of voting rights to more than 15,000 people. Maryland made a similar change resulting in 52,000 ex-felons regaining the right to vote.

Changes to voting laws have come from both Republicans and Democrats.

In Florida, black state legislators led the fight for a decade before populist Republican Gov. Charlie Crist pushed through the change shortly after being elected in 2006. The legislation permits many nonviolent felons to vote as long as they have no charges pending, have paid restitution and have completed probation. About 152,000 ex-felons are now on voter rolls there.

Then-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) restored voting rights to almost 100,000 ex-felons, and New Mexico’s repeal of a lifetime voting ban for felons affected 69,000 people.

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Obama may be on his own if he wants big changes: Still grasping at straws.

October 18th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Federal Spending, Government Control, Obama Exposed, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US

By Scott Wilson Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 17, 2010; 12:31 AM

As the tumultuous first two years of Barack Obama‘s presidency draw to a close, the president and his advisers have begun to puzzle over a difficult question: Now what?

There are many things Obama has said he would like to accomplish in the next two years of his term – overhauling the nation’s immigration laws, passing energy and climate-change legislation, and shrinking the federal deficit, to name a few. Yet doing so may be exceptionally challenging, if even possible, given the skeptical mood of the public and the coming shake-up in Washington.

Next month’s midterm elections will leave the president with fewer friends in Congress, and possibly a Republican majority in one or both chambers emboldened to thwart his plans.

In White House strategy sessions, Obama’s senior staffers are debating their options. They have not yet settled on a specific plan, and the president has not spelled one out. How Obama approaches the coming years will depend in part on whether Democrats lose Congress or survive with narrower majorities. Yet no matter how the elections turn out, a consensus has emerged in the West Wing that Obama will have to set out goals that do not rely as much on Congress to advance his unfinished reform agenda. Even with his party now in control on Capitol Hill, Obama has had difficulty winning approval for big initiatives such as health care and financial regulation. After the grueling midterms, and with diminished ranks, Democrats will probably return for the new Congress in January more cautious.

“Clearly the agenda carried out by the administration in the first two years – the agenda that it wanted to do rather than had to do – will be smaller these next two years,” said William A. Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who was a policy adviser in the Clinton administration. “But there is still an agenda of necessity with Congress and the administration will not be able to just avoid it entirely.”

One senior administration official said that the courts may play an expanded role in the next two years, as the president defends his health-care and financial-regulation reform laws against legal challenges brought by opponents who hope to undo them or dial them back.

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