Daily Kos

President Obama at daily White House press briefing

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:21:27 GMT

Earlier today, President Obama made a surprise appearance at the daily White House press briefing. (Watch it and read the full transcript on DKTV or view it at the bottom of this post.)

Here's a brief summary of some of the major topics he covered:

Bipartisanship: During the briefing, President Obama offered his wholehearted embrace of bipartisanship, but before you go jump off a cliff, he made it clear that to him bipartisanship doesn't mean caving into Republican demands on every single issue. President Obama said bipartisanship meant finding common ground where possible, and not letting petty partisan politics get in the way of progress on important issues. He acknowledged that both parties won't always agree on substantive policy issues, and he said that was a healthy thing, but came down hard against politically motivated obstruction such as the abuse of "holds" on his administration's appointees. "I won’t hesitate to embrace a good idea from my friends in the minority party, but I also won’t hesitate to condemn what I consider to be obstinacy that’s rooted not in substantive disagreements but in political expedience," he said. "We talked about this as well, particularly when it comes to the confirmation process."

Recess appointments: President Obama condemned the abuse of "holds" on White House nominations, singling out Shelby's "blanket hold." President Obama criticized such practices as petty politics and said they were getting in the way of governing. If the practice does not cease, he said he would be forced to use so-called recess appointments to get around Senate obstructionism. "If the Senate does not act — and I made this very clear — if the Senate does not act to confirm these nominees, I will consider making several recess appointments during the upcoming recess, because we can’t afford to allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government."

Deficits: President Obama continued his focus on reducing the budget deficit, but instead of buying into the Republican framework on "cutting spending," he emphatically pointed to the biggest long-term structural budget problem: health care. "Everybody out there who talks about deficits has to acknowledge that the single biggest driver of our deficits is health care spending," he said. "We cannot deal with our deficits and debt long term unless we get a handle on that. So that has to be part of a package."

Health care reform: President Obama said he remained committed to seeing health care reform pass into law, outlining his three key goals: (1) Reduce costs, both for government programs and families and business; (2) Provide consumer protections so that nobody can be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition; and (3) expanding coverage to insure more Americans. Obama said he was willing to "start from scratch" in the sense that he would once again give Republicans the opportunity to offer proposals to accomplish those goals, but that without a serious plan to accomplish the goals of health care reform, Republicans would effectively be choosing to stand on the sidelines. "What I will not do, what I don’t think makes sense and I don’t think the American people want to see," he said, "would be another year of partisan wrangling around these issues; another six months or eight months or nine months worth of hearings in every single committee in the House and the Senate in which there’s a lot of posturing."

Watch the briefing (transcript):

NH-Sen, NH-01, NH-02: UNH Polls

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:50:03 GMT

UNH/WMUR has a new round of polls of the New Hampshire races.

NH-Sen:
UNH for WMUR. 1/27-2/3. Likely voters. MoE 4.7%. (10/09 results)

Kelly Ayotte (R) 41% (40)
Paul Hodes (D) 33% (33)

Ovide Lamontagne (R) 29% (28)
Paul Hodes (D) 38% (37)

Jim Bender (R) 27%
Paul Hodes (D) 36%

Bill Binnie (R) 30%
Paul Hodes (D) 34%

NH-01:
UNH for WMUR. 1/27-2/3. Likely voters. MoE 6.2%.

Carol Shea-Porter (D) 33%
Frank Guinta (R) 43%

Carol Shea-Porter (D) 33%
Rich Ashooh (R) 36%

Carol Shea-Porter (D) 33%
Bob Bestani (R) 36%

NH-02:
UNH for WMUR. 1/27-2/3. Likely voters. MoE 6.2%

Ann McLane Kuster (D) 28%
Charlie Bass (R) 39%

Ann McLane Kuster (D) 25%
Jennifer Horn (R) 28%

Katrina Swett (D) 30%
Charlie Bass (R) 37%

Katrina Swett (D) 30%
Jennifer Horn (R) 26%

Well, that's a lot to discuss. First off, my very serious issues with UNH polling are well documented, so the grains of salt I take any of their polls with are measured in the tens of thousands. (The same was true when the UNH poll of the MA-Sen special election was the most positive for Coakley.)

Also, note the monster margin of error in the House match-ups.

That said, the results for the Senate race are similar to those in the recent Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos, and that fits the general picture of the race. Kelly Ayotte is, for now, in the lead by a relatively small margin.

Things don't look great for Democratic incumbent Carol Shea-Porter in NH-01. Shea-Porter is a fighter and she has a history of exceeding expectations on election day, but she also has a target on her back painted not just by the Republican party but by the heavily Republican press in her district. Neither Ashooh nor Bestani is at all well-known, so in a sense those match-ups represent Shea-Porter vs. a generic Republican.

In NH-02, name recognition is really the name of the game. As the district's congressman from 1995-2007, Charlie Bass has much higher name recognition than anyone else in this race. Katrina Swett ran in the district in 2002 and briefly ran for Senate in 2007, and Jennifer Horn ran for this seat in 2008; they have very similar name recognition. Trailing all of them is Ann McLane Kuster, who has not previously run and is unknown by 87% of respondents. Given that, these head-to-heads really just show a wide-open race.

Midday Open Thread

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:00:04 GMT

In case you missed the reference in today’s Abbreviated Pundit Round-up, Bob Herbert reminds us who is getting smacked the worst by the Great Recession.

To add emphasis to that analysis, the latest (December) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows that separations slightly exceeded hires that month.

HealthAmerica okayed the cheap experimental cancer treatment for 5-year-old Kyler Van Nocker, but the expensive experimental treatment? No way. That’s prompted a lawsuit. But it is just one especially egregious case. The California Nurses Association, a nurses’ union and health care advocacy group, comprehensively studied the six largest health insurers in California. For the first half of 2009, 47.7 million claims – 21% of the total – were rejected.

Nuclear Snowmageddon! Vice President Biden's big non-proliferation speech tomorrow has been postponed due to snow.

A billboard on I-35 in Minnesota displays a grinning George W. Bush with the message Miss Me Yet?" The short answer: No. -- Steve Singiser

In the new paper, Immigration and Wages, Economic Policy Institute economist Heidi Shierholz finds that recent immigration has boosted relative weekly wages for native-born workers at all levels of education, including those with less than a high-school education.

Bryan Lentz, candidate for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District talks about the need for high-speed rail.

Tim D'Annunzio, a Republican running for Congress against Larry Kissell in NC-08, is having a unique fundraiser this week -- a machine gun social. Customers will pay $25 to shoot a variety of submachine guns. The event promises to go on "until the ammo runs out!" -- Steve Singiser

Chris Bowers says there is no need for clever explanations on Obama's approval rating decline. It’s about a word much heard in Washington these days: jobs. "Over the past sixty years, rapid, 12-month increases in unemployment have caused five other President's to suffer rapid declines in approval rating."

Michelle Obama’s push against childhood obesity is already getting some pushback..

Laura Flanders as GRITtv reports:

Lest we forget, US service people are not supposed to be dying in Pakistan. It's not Iraq, it's not Afghanistan. There's no agreement for combat troops to operate. Until recently, U.S. officials have repeatedly officially denied having any combat troops in place. This month's killing exposed that lie -- so what were the US troops doing there?

Katherine Ling asks: What Does $36B in Nuclear Loan Guarantees Buy Democrats?

Foot, mouth, Michael Steele

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:10:04 GMT

Via Greg Sargent, Michael Steele suggests that media coverage of his tenure as RNC chief is motivated by racism (emphasis added):

"I don't see stories about the internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation. Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is the chairman?"

It is true that Newt Gingrich said that some Republicans aren't comfortable with Steele because he's African-American, but Steele is attacking the media with his rhetorical question.

Moreover, Steele himself has spent much of the year attacking Democrats for playing "the race card" to defend President Obama. Media Matters points to some examples:

STEELE: I'm kinda sick and tired of the left and Democrats in this country when they get in trouble and don't get their way and their backs are up against the wall on legislation or whatever it is their trying to do, they go to that card, they play that race card, that slavery card, that civil rights card.

Proud Americans, black and white, fought for too long and too hard to have the claim of racism be used in such a cavalier fashion. Blind charges of racism, where none exist, not only are an affront to those who have suffered the effects of racism, but it weakens our efforts to address true acts of racism and makes them more difficult to overcome.

I don’t play the race card, I don’t play the race game, the way some tend to want to do.

This isn't to minimize Michael Steele's complaint. If he really believes he's the victim of racism on the part of the media. he's got every right to make that accusation.

But when he repeatedly attacks Democrats for playing "the race card" whenever their backs are up against the wall, it smacks of uber-hypocrisy for him to do the same when he also in a tight spot.

TX-GOV: Tea Party candidate surges with Ron Paul's support

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:43:21 GMT

According to a new poll from PPP, right-wing tea party candidate Debra Medina, making her first bid for public office, is nipping at the heels of incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas Republican gubernatorial primary.

Medina, who wasn't even on the radar before the recent gubernatorial debates, is now within 4 points of Hutchison and 15 points of Perry. Perry clocks in at 39% support, Hutchison at 28%, and Medina at 24%.

If no candidate wins 50% of the vote -- a prospect that seems increasingly likely -- there will be a run-off between the top two finishers. This poll is the first indication that Medina has a decent shot of ending up in the top two positions.

Dave Weigel explains Medina's surge:

Medina owes at least some of her support to Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who has employed her on his electoral bids and with his Campaign for Liberty, and who tipped off his supporters to her candidacy in September. While the challenge Paul is facing from three Tea Party candidates reveals that the movement is much more hawkish and traditionally Republican in federal elections, the 10th Amendment argument is clearly a winner with state voters.

And how much further to the right is Medina than the other candidates? While Perry edged away from his apparent endorsement of secession at an April 15 Tea Party, Medina spoke in August at a "sovereignty or secession" rally.

You know the GOP is losing its grip on reality when Rick Perry's pro-secession antics might not be right-wing enough for them.

Update (10:40AM): We're polling this race (actually, we've just sponsored it...Research 2000 is conducting it). In addition to the multi-candidate primary, we'll be testing potential run-off matchups between both Perry and Hutchison as well as Perry and Medina. While Hutchison probably can't beat Perry in a run-off, it will be very interesting to see if Medina's Tea Party credentials gives her a shot at unseating Perry.

Responding to Ransom Notes

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:30:04 GMT

Ezra thinks that the White House should give into Boehner's and Cantor's demands, "even the ones that don't make any sense," in return for an agreement on up-or-down votes in both the House and Senate--with no procedural tricks and delays--on the final bill. A clean vote, yes, but why even enter into negotiations with these guys?

There's little advantage in giving in to the demands of hostage-takers. I like John Cole's advice, couched as a memo to the White House, much better.

I know you all won’t do it, but this really is a gimme. Set up the room with a side for the Democrats, including nameplates, one for the Republicans, including nameplates, and hold the summit no matter what. If they come, you can have the summit. If they don’t, then you can have the summit without them, and can use the time (as the camera pans over their empty seats) to promote the positive aspects of the current bill all while discussing the only GOP plan out there- the Paul Ryan bill. I’d suggest panning the room a good bit.

And if the Republicans don’t take a hit in the polls for refusing to show up, and if the media does not rip the Republicans apart, then you all can take out a shovel, beat bipartisanship in the back of the damned head until dead, and bury it in the WH yard, and start acting like you have large majorities.

The President announced a meeting, and extended the invitation. He's the President, and unless he's negotiating a peace treaty with a foreign head of state, he gets to set the rules. Which, as Greg Sargent points out, is recognized even by Republicans as how this works.

The basic view is that the President would have to say or do something dramatic and eye-popping that would give Republicans an unequivocal pretext for pulling out. GOPers doubt Obama will be clumsy enough to do this, given that the White House clearly wants the summit to happen for its own political purposes.

“I don’t see anybody pulling out at this point,” one senior GOP aide says. “You would have to have something serious to point to as a reason to pull out.”....

A senior GOP leadership aide involved in plotting party strategy added that Republicans were unlikely to pull out because it would make their own intransigence, rather than Obama’s efforts at a course correction, the story. “After a year of demonstrating a commitment to a partisan agenda it’s on the White House to prove otherwise,” this aide said. “We aren’t interested in doing their work for them.”

“We don’t make a habit out of turning down invitations from the President regardless of the merit of the exercise,” the aide continued. “Although we’re not excited about filming an infomercial for the President’s new `bipartisan’ PR campaign.”

That's a nice bit of insight into the GOP mindset--bipartisanship isn't an actual tool of governance, but a PR campaign. Gives kind of a hint as to the potential outcome of this summit, huh? It's not going to bring Republicans on board. Nothing at this point will bring Republicans on board, they're not going to abandon their strategy of "no" in an election year.

So if this thing is going to happen, use it to shine a bright light on Republican intransigence, and as John says, "start acting like you have large majorities," and use them.

Washington Times: GOP lawmakers privately admit stimulus created jobs

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:42:03 GMT

If there's one thing that unites the Republican Party it's that the stimulus bill was a job-killing piece of legislation that was the worst thing in the whole entire world for the economy, right? Or maybe that's just what unites them in public, because in private the Washington Times reports they've been working overtime to get their hands on job-creating stimulus cash.

Sen. Christopher S. Bond regularly railed against President Obama's economic stimulus plan as irresponsible spending that would drive up the national debt. But behind the scenes, the Missouri Republican quietly sought more than $50 million from a federal agency for two projects in his state.

...

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Mr. Bond noted that one project applying to the USDA for stimulus money would "create jobs and ultimately spur economic opportunities."

Bond isn't alone. Remember Joe "You Lie" Wilson?

Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican who became famous after yelling, "You lie," during Mr. Obama's addresses to Congress in September, voted against the stimulus. Nonetheless, Mr. Wilson elbowed his way into the rush for federal stimulus cash in a letter he sent to Mr. Vilsack on behalf of a foundation seeking funding.

"We know their endeavor will provide jobs and investment in one of the poorer sections of the Congressional District," he wrote to Mr. Vilsack in the Aug. 26, 2009, letter.

You see the pattern? Slam the stimulus in public, but in private, ask for stimulus funds to create jobs. For example, Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah:

On Feb. 13, 2009, Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, issued a statement criticizing the stimulus — but two days earlier, he privately forwarded to Mr. Vilsack a list of projects seeking stimulus money.

"I believe the addition of federal funds to these projects would maximize the stimulative effect of these projects on the local economy," he wrote.

And here's even more quotes uncovered by the Washington Times in private letters written by Republican lawmakers seeking stimulus funds from the Agriculture Department:

Sen. Mike Johanns, Nebraska Republican: "The proposed project would create 38 new jobs and bring broadband to eight hospitals, five colleges, 16 libraries and 161 K-12 schools"
Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican: "It is anticipated that the project will create over 200 jobs in the first year and at least another 40 new jobs in the following years."

Rep. John Linder, Georgia Republican: "the employment opportunities created by this program would be quickly utilized"

Kudos to the Washington Times for having done the leg work of filing the FOIA requests to expose these examples of Republican lawmakers talking out of both sides of their mouths, publicly lambasting the stimulus as a job-killing measure, but privately conceding that it actually created jobs. It's hard to imagine a more effective way of demonstrating Republican hypocrisy on the question of whether the stimulus bill creates jobs, and Dems should remind them of it every waking day.

Shelby drops blanket hold, but still blocks Air Force nominees

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:50:03 GMT

Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama has dropped his "blanket hold" on all Obama administration nominees:

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has dropped all but a handful of the 70-plus holds he placed on President Obama's nominees last week. Shelby's office told TPMDC today that the goal of the blanket holds had succeeded three days after it was reported and roundly attacked by Democrats and the White House.

Shelby's hold had effectively blocked the confirmation of every Obama administration appointee, a move he had hoped would give him leverage in his effort to win an Air Force aerial refueling tanker contract for EADS, the European aerospace giant, which would assemble the tankers in Alabama.

Although Shelby is no longer blocking every single nominee, he's still leaving his hold in place on three Air Force nominees.

Moving forward, Graffeo said Shelby has placed holds on the following nominees: Terry Yonkers, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force; Frank Kendall, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; and Erin Conaton, Under Secretary of the Air Force. Graffeo said the holds will continue until the Obama administration agrees to reexamine the air refueling tanker contract and improvised explosive device lab that led to Shelby's controversial wider holds.

I guess it's "good" that Shelby was shamed into dropping his blanket hold, but that doesn't mean his current gambit is reasonable or acceptable. Sure, it's patently absurd to block everything under the sun, but why should one Senator have the power to extort a massive federal defense contract from the adminisration by holding any of the administration's nominees?

Shelby is still obstructing the nation's business for parochial concerns, and it should stop. It remains a golden issue for Democrats -- but only if Democrats are willing to give up the practice themselves. Any Democrat who truly wants to clean up the way the Senate works has got to keep up the pressure on Shelby. Letting him off the hook would be saying yes to the corruption of our current system.

GOP Won't Play if They Can't Win

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:02:03 GMT

Via John Aravosis, GOP House leadership says that if Obama won't agree to starting over from scratch, they won't come to his meeting. They are obviously trying to up the ante on this bill, calling for Obama to rule out using reconciliation to pass it.

In a tersely worded letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Monday, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wrote that Republicans “would rightly be reluctant” to participate in the Feb. 25 bipartisan health care meeting if the White House refused to consider scrapping the current health care reform bills.

“Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said [Monday] that the President is ‘absolutely not’ resetting the legislative process for health care,” Boehner and Cantor wrote. “If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate.”

....

In their letter, Boehner and Cantor called on Obama to take reconciliation off the table as a “show good faith” to the GOP.

“Eliminating the possibility of reconciliation would represent an important show of good faith to Republicans and the American people,” the letter said.

The White House response from Robert Gibbs is strongly worded in its support for the current bills.

The President is adamant that we seize this historic moment to pass meaningful health insurance reform legislation. He began this process by inviting Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House on March 5 of last year, and he’s continued to work with both parties in crafting the best possible bill. He’s been very clear about his support for the House and Senate bills because of what they achieve for the American people: putting a stop to insurance company abuses, extending coverage to millions of hardworking Americans, getting control of rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and reducing the deficit.

The President looks forward to reviewing Republican proposals that meet the goals he laid out at the beginning of this process, and as recently as the State of the Union Address. He’s open to including any good ideas that stand up to objective scrutiny. What he will not do, however, is walk away from reform and the millions of American families and small business counting on it. The recent news that a major insurer plans to raise premiums for some customers by as much as 39 percent is a stark reminder of the consequences of doing nothing.

Taking anything more off the table than has already been lost has to be out of the question for the White House. Given the churlishness of this back-of-the-hand response from Cantor and Boehner, Obama should either proceed without Republican participation, or call the whole thing off.

Today in Congress. Maybe.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:18:03 GMT

In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Majority Leader Hoyer Statement on House Floor Schedule

WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement tonight on the schedule for the U.S. House of Representatives:

"Due to the weather affecting the ability of Members to travel to Washington, DC, there will no votes in the House tomorrow. We remain focused on completing our work for the week, but will assess the state of the weather tomorrow and move forward accordingly."

In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:

Convenes: 2:00pm

Executive Session to debate concurrently the nominations of Joseph Greenaway (US Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit) and Craig Becker (Member of the National Labor Relations Board) until 5:00pm, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees.

Votes:
At 5:00pm the Senate will proceed to a series of 2 roll call votes in relation to the following nominations:

Confirmation of the nomination of Joseph Greenaway, of New Jersey, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; and

Cloture on the nomination of Craig Becker, of Illinois, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Does that Senate schedule look familiar? Well, the schedule for Monday changed during the day yesterday, and now reads:

The Senate will convene for a brief session in order to change the order of the previously scheduled roll call votes. There will no longer be no roll call votes during Monday's session of the Senate. We expect to move the votes to 5pm Tuesday.

Given what we have from the House Majority Leader's Office, though, it doesn't look like that's a great plan, either. This snow thing is nuts, man.

By the way, did you know that if the Senate moves simply to go to executive session, that motion is non-debatable and therefore not subject to filibuster, but the later motion to actually bring up a nomination is debatable and can be filibustered, but if the Senate moves to go to executive session for the purpose of considering a particular nomination, then the motion is non-debatable and automatically makes the nomination the pending business on adoption of the motion?

Neat trick, eh? Robert Byrd came up with that one in 1980.

Someone should ask him about his 1977 move that killed the post-cloture filibuster loophole and his 1987 maneuver that shut down the GOP's dilatory games in messing with the Journal approval. I think someone will want to know about those if Judd Gregg continues to fantasize about filibustering a reconciliation bill with endless b.s. amendments. Just sayin'.

Today's committee schedule appears below. As of last night, those still listed were still on, though some cancellations and postponements now seem likely. The heavier Senate schedule may stick, since Senators were already back in town, whereas House Members are still returning and may find their plans altered by the weather. We'll have to wait and see.

Cheers and Jeers: Tuesday

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:06:46 GMT

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

Notes other famous people wrote on their hands:

Lincoln:

4score + 7 yrs ago = Baby USA
Civil War still goin' on, but...
Perish? Us? Balderdash!

FDR:

No fear
'cept ~~spiders~~ fear itself
Belief pretty firm on that

Bush II:

Words are on teleprompter
Read ~~right to left~~ left to right
Ride 'em cowboy! Love, Condi

JFK:

Don’t ask:
Country ---> You = bad
You ---> Country = good

Hitler:

Today: Poland
Tomorrow: World
~~Toodles!~~ Heil!

MLK:

Best dream evuh!
~~Paper~~ ~~Scissors~~ Character beats color
Freedom = Ding dong!

Arnold:

"Cali"
"Forn"
"Yuh"

Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:58:10 GMT

Tuesday opinions, pundit-style. And prepare for more snow. For Californians, it's like mud, only colder.

WaPo:

Area braces for punch; government closes again.

Was it ever open?

Bob Herbert:

While there is now, finally, a great deal of talk among the politicians and in the news media about unemployment, there is still almost a willful refusal to focus on just who is suffering the most from joblessness and underemployment.

NY Times:

[J.D.] Hayworth hopes that by standing at the intersection of opportunity and timing, he can lure enough Tea Party sympathizers fresh off their convention in Nashville, seducible independent voters (Arizona has an open primary) and conservative Republican grass-roots activists, who have long been disenchanted with Mr. McCain.

I 'm sure that Mark Halperin would agree that this is good for John McCain (because everything always is.) In the meantime, let's see how vigorously the media covers teabaggers who lose.

Mark Blumenthal:

My column this week looks at the controversy over a series of surveys conducted by SurveyUSA for the liberal web site Firedloglake. Please click through to read the whole thing.

Lost in the attack memos and other questions raised is an important question facing nearly every telephone survey conducted in House, Senate and Gubernatorial races this year: Are we at the point where the majority of true "likely voters" under the age of 35 are out of reach of landline telephone samples? And at what point is simply "weighting up" those younger voters that pollsters can still reach inadequate to solve the problem?

Eugene Robinson:

Anyone sitting in a dank, fetid Haitian jail for any reason probably deserves at least a measure of sympathy, so in that sense I feel sorry for the Baptist missionaries from Idaho charged with kidnapping 33 "orphans" and trying to take them out of the country. But what the do-gooders allegedly did was not just misguided. It could be criminal, and Haitian authorities are right to hold them accountable.

MedPage Today:

Older women are more likely to give birth to a child who develops autism than younger women, but the father's age is a factor only when moms are younger, a large case-control study showed.

One of the tragedies of focusing on the now-discredited vaccine-autism link is the dearth of studies looking elsewhere. That's now being rectified. More research on this important topic should be ongoing.

ScienceInsider:

Since his first day on the job last August, [Francis] Collins has repeatedly emphasized his five "themes" for NIH: high-throughput technologies, translational science, health care reform, global health, and reinvigorating biomedical research. This week, Collins put his money where his mouth is. The portfolio of each NIH institute has been "mapped against the five themes," he said, with bigger increases for the priority areas.

Open Thread and Diary Rescue

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:16:04 GMT

Tonight's Rescue Rangers are shayera, Lousiana 1976, Alfonso Nevarez, dopper0189, jennyjem and grog.

In the history of corporations pt 5, Lenny Flank focuses on the nature of corporations during the New Deal and through WWII. (Alfonso Nevarez)

DParker takes us back 80 years to the unlikely events that marked the start of the civil rights movement in Great moments in criminal defense: the Scottsboro boys. (grog)

goinsouth offers some thoughts on how to Change Your Life -> Change the World. (shayera)

indiemcemopants doesn't think that certain Americans should have to bide their time until they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and says, Just wait? NO. (jennyjem)

erratic pens an evocative story of work with kids in low-income public housing: On positive conflict: James the Baptist. (grog)

Disgusted by the barrage of Super Bowl Ads intended to convince viewers that men are hopelessly oppressed, cabaretic argues that Contrary to Some Voices, Masculinity is Not Under Attack. (Alfonso Nevarez)

American Pie spots something suspicious in Defense Secretary Robert Gates rebidding of the contracts: Is Robert Gates Protecting a Criminal Enterprise? (dopper0189)

SisTwo gives us her engrossing personal account of how and why she became The Salt-Free Me. (Louisiana 1976)

jotter gives us the day's High Impact Diaries: February 7, 2010, while virgomusic has Top Comments - A Heap of Coolness Edition.

Shamelessly self promote your diary or pimp for a friend in this Open Thread!

Polling and Political Wrap-Up, 2/8/10

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:30:05 GMT

For those of you who have gone into campaign minutiae withdrawal, there is good news: The Wrap is back. With primaries on the horizon and the real world (aka my day job) interfering a bit, it looks like the Wrap will be a three day a week feature for the next few months. So, expect to see the Wrap on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

And, on this particular Monday, there is MUCH to see....

THE U.S. SENATE

FL-Sen: High-Ranking GOP House Member Sides With Marco Rubio
In the latest sign that the GOP candidacy of Governor Charlie Crist is circling the drain, high-ranking House Republican Mike Pence has thrown his endorsement to insurgent GOP candidate Marco Rubio. Pence, you will recall, flirted with a Senate bid of his own earlier this month before standing down.

IN-Sen: The Coats Rollout Continues to...Well...Amuse
Former Republican Senator Dan Coats, who has decided to challenge Democrat Evan Bayh, is taking heavy incoming fire as he rolls out his campaign. Bad enough that the Senator-turned-lobbyist's firm lobbied for Yemen, but the DSCC quickly got on the board with an ad, complete with video, of Coats singing the praises of his home state...of North Carolina.

NV-Sen: Tarkanian, Now the Frontrunner, Makes Flub Caught on Tape
Recent polls, including one from Rasmussen late last week, make clear that Danny Tarkanian is the leading Republican in the race against Senator Harry Reid. Given that status, he probably doesn't want to get caught, on tape, accidentally getting Harry Reid and Ronald Reagan mixed up.

NY-Sen "A": Charles Schumer Likely To Get Serious GOP Opponent
To this point, all of the Empire State Senate talk has revolved around the seat held by freshman Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. That might change now, with the news that CNBC talking head Larry Kudlow is increasingly likely to make a Senate bid against Charles Schumer. Schumer, seeking his third term, might sweat at Kudlow's notoriety, but the recent polling (PDF) from Marist seems to put Schumer in good shape: they have him leading Kudlow 67-25.

OH-Sen: New Ras Poll Shows Dems Gaining on GOP Frontrunner
Republican standard bearer Rob Portman has a huge cash edge over both Democrats (Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner). His polling edge, however, might be dissipating. A Rasmussen poll released today has Portman leading either Fisher (43-39) or Brunner (42-38) by the same four-point margin. Brunner was closer than Fisher the last time Rasmussen polled the race, but Brunner's campaign is reeling a bit from the news that she raised less than six figures in the last quarter of 2009.

WA-Sen: Murray May Have Legitimate Oppo in 2010 From The GOP
Patty Murray has been confronted with a series of second-tier Republicans up to this point, but that may well be about to change. Don Benton, who has served Southwestern Washington in the state Senator for years and ran for Congress over a decade ago, is looking to get into the U.S. Senate race.

THE U.S. HOUSE

AZ-03: Field Firming Up in the Shadegg Open Seat
One of the final dominoes in the Arizona 3rd has fallen with the news that Shadegg staffer Sean Noble will not see his old boss' seat in Congress. The GOP field was probably too full, at any rate, with three state legislators and Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker already in the race. On the Democratic side, Jon Hulburd has already raised an impressive amount of cash as the only announced Democrat in the field, while Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is still mulling it over.

CO-03: Dusty GOP Poll Says This Could Be Close Race
Here is a potentially interesting catch from DC's Political Report: a poll conducted back in December by Tarrance Group had three-term Democratic incumbent John Salazar only up two points on Republican state legislator Scott Tipton (46-44). Salazar has won easily in his last two House bids, but this is a district (on Colorado's Western Slope) which is pretty amenable to Republican candidates at the federal level. Also, the former GOP Congressman from the region, Scott McInnis, will be on the ballot as the likely GOP gubernatorial nominee, which might boost GOP turnout.

HI-01: Main Dem Contenders Stands At Two With Espero Announcement
Democrats got a break of sorts over the weekend with the news that Democratic State Senator Will Espero will not run for Congress. This is not intended as a slight to Espero, but is based on the peculiarities of Hawaii election law--the Spring's special election is an all-candidate affair, meaning that the Republican in the field (councilman Charles Djou) could emerge victorious given enough division in the Democratic Party's support.

KS-03: Democrats Suffer Major Recruiting Setback in Moore Seat
This has to be defined as a major blow for Democrats: when former KCK (Kansas City, Kansas) Mayor Carol Marinovich declined a Congressional bid a few months back, the assumption was that her successor, Joe Reardon, would make the race. Only he has also now declined to run, as well. This sends Democrats back to the drawing board in a race that is an open seat in swing territory.

NH-01: Has Guinta's Fade Opened the GOP Playing Field?
For most of 2009, the assumption was that the NRCC had coalesced around former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta in his bid to take out sophomore Democrat Carol Shea-Porter. His weak campaign (most clearly marked by anemic fundraising) has apparently inspired a lack of confidence in his bid. One Republican, businessman Rich Ashooh, is already in, and now comes word that former GOP Committeeman Sean Mahoney is eyeing the race, as well.

RI-01/RI-02: Poll Paints Different Pictures For R.I. Dems
A new poll out today from Fleming and Associates for WPRI-TV shows that one Democratic incumbent in Rhode Island is in good shape, while the other is in seriously perilous shape. The safe Democrat is the 2nd district's Jim Langevin, whose re-elect stands at 42%, with his "replace" figure at just 14%. For longtime Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, however, the picture is a little less certain. Just 35% say they'd re-elect Kennedy, while 31% are interested in replacing him.

TN-09: Cohen Again Target of Racial Campaign Appeal
Not that he isn't already somewhat familiar with the tactic, but Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen (who is white) is again being hit by an opponent eager to use race as a campaign rationale in the heavily-black Memphis-based 9th district. Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, who is making a somewhat quixotic bid against Cohen, said that African-Americans living in Tennessee should find it wrong that the state's Congressional delegation is all-White. He also seemed to strongly imply that fairness dictated that the 9th distict's representative should be African-American. Cohen dealt with similar issues in his last Democratic primary against Nikki Tinker.

RACE FOR THE HOUSE: Republican Girl Power!
Women make up a slight majority of the population and the electorate. Despite that, they only make up roughly 15-20% of the Congress in any given year. But those are huge numbers compared to the number of women in the NRCC's vaunted "Young Guns" program for campaign challengers. At present, that number stands at a cool 6.3%. That's right, just 4 of the 64 names on the list are women.

THE GUBERNATORIAL RACES

CO-Gov: Rasmussen Sees A Democratic Leader in Colorado
Rasmussen polls with Democrats in the lead are practically "Stop the Presses!" moments by now, so take note of this one. In the state of Colorado, Rasmussen has Democrat John Hickenlooper, Denver's Mayor, with a four-point lead over likely GOP challenger Scott McInnis (49-45). McInnis routinely led incumbent Democratic Governor Bill Ritter, and had a three-point lead over Hickenlooper in a January poll taken just after the Denver Mayor announced his candidacy.

MI-Gov: Dem Field Grows With Commitment From Bernero
It looks like Democrats are finally coming off of the sideline in the high-profile open-seat Governor's race in Michigan. Virg Bernero, the forty-something mayor of Lansing, has announced that he is running for Governor. Bernero is often referred to as a "populist", which might be a good approach in this campaign cycle. Other Democrats eyeing the race including House Speaker Andy Dillon and UM Regent Denise Ilitch.

NV-Gov: Reid Trails Sandoval, Leads Other GOPers
Here is another Rasmussen poll that is not particularly awful for Democrats. In Nevada, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, the only high-profile Democrat in the field, trails only former federal judge Brian Sandoval among the three Republican hopefuls for Governor that were tested. Reid trails Sandoval by a solid margin (45-33), but leads both North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon (40-36) and embattled incumbent Governor Jim Gibbons (44-35).

NY-Gov: Paterson In Trouble? He Denies It
New York Governor David Paterson became a target for some salacious campaign gossip over the weekend. Reports began to surface early in the weekend that Paterson was about to be exposed for some pretty major league personal indiscretions, with the rumor that the New York Times was working on a bombshell piece. There was even a report late in the weekend that Paterson was contemplating either resignation or retirement. Today, though, Paterson lashed out at the press, denying all rumors and implying that he was still full speed ahead on running for re-election.

RI-Gov: Former GOP-Turned-Indy Leads in Deep Blue State
Could the Democratic embrace of Lincoln Chafee when he left the GOP and endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 be biting them on the behind now? In a deep-blue state like Rhode Island, neither major Democrat running for Governor manages to lead the former Senator in the latest poll by Fleming and Associates for WPRI-TV. State Treasurer Frank Caprio comes a little closer, with Chafee edging him 31-30, with Republican John Robataille well behind. Against Democratic state Attorney General Patrick Lynch, Chafee leads 34-23, with Robataille at 18%.

Tributes to Murtha

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:50:04 GMT

The White House released this statement on the passing of Rep. John Murtha.

Michelle and I were deeply saddened today to hear about the passing of Congressman John Murtha. Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to earn the distinction of being the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. Jack’s tough-as-nails reputation carried over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of nearly 55 years, Joyce, their three children, and the entire Murtha family.

Speaker Pelosi, who was very close to Murtha, has this statement:

“Today, with the passing of Jack Murtha, America lost a great patriot. He served our country on the battlefield winning two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star. He served his country in his community winning the hearts of his constituents and served in the Congress winning the respect of his colleagues.

“On Saturday, he became the longest-serving Member of Congress from Pennsylvania, and one of the most distinguished. He is well-recognized as a champion of our national security; always putting the troops and their families first. He quietly and regularly visited our men and women serving our country who were injured to assess their needs and offer them thanks and encouragement. As proud Marine, he was always Semper Fi!

“The nation saw his courage writ large when he spoke out against the military engagement in Iraq – winning him the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. ... Dedicated to God and Country, and devoted to Joyce and their family, Jack Murtha was a giant. All who served with him were honored to call him colleague. I was privileged to call him friend.

“I hope that is a comfort to Joyce; their children, Donna Sue, John and Patrick; and their grandchildren that so many people mourn their loss and are praying for them at this very sad time.”

Roll Call has the reaction of his colleagues in Congress [sub req.]

Majority Leader Hoyer:

“Rep. Murtha served his country as a Marine in Vietnam and in Congress for more than three decades,” Hoyer said in a statement. “He worked hard for Western Pennsylvania and he consistently guarded the interests of our men and women in uniform. I offer my sincere condolences to his family.”

Chris Van Hollen:

“As a Marine who wore the uniform for 37 years, Congressman Murtha courageously fought in Vietnam. As Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Congressman Murtha worked to ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families had the support and resources they deserve,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

Minority Leader Boehner struck a dignified and kind note:

“Today, our nation has lost a decorated veteran and the House of Representatives has lost one of its own.”

Boehner also reached out to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had a close relationship with Murtha. “I also want to express my condolences to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who valued Congressman Murtha’s advice and friendship. He will be missed.”

And his fellow Pennsylvanians:

House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.) said Pennsylvanians “should be saddened by the news that my good friend Jack Murtha died suddenly this afternoon. Jack’s shoes will not be filled because he was a one-of-a-kind public servant and a rare breed of American whose love of country ran as deep as anyone I know.”

Brady recalled how he would “kiss my friend Jack on the cheek” and “share a smile” each week before Congress adjourned.

“There is no smarter, tougher, kinder, funnier or more revered Member of the House of Representatives, and I will miss seeing him each time I walk on the floor,” he said.

Rep. Joe Sestak (D), another Pennsylvanian, praised Murtha’s “unyielding commitment” to his constituents and said he most admired Murtha’s decision to run for Congress after returning from Vietnam.

“He holds my greatest respect for the courage he showed in serving as a United States Marine and subsequently becoming the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress. In doing so, he gave a voice to millions of men and women who fought in an unpopular war and were not afforded the respect and care they earned and deserved,” Sestak said in a statement.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) said Murtha was “a public servant in every sense of the word and his passing is a great loss to all of Pennsylvania.”

There will be a special election to fill Rep. Murtha's seat, likely to be held on May 18 when the state has already scheduled federal primaries. According to Pennsylvania law, the governor has ten days following a vacancy to annouce the special election, and that election can be no sooner than 60 days from that announcement.