If you're a regular reader, you know I know better than to even attempt anything relating to sports, but I actually DO know the difference between basketball and golf. Mostly because of the clothing: my recollection is that basketkball players have very long legs and very tight short shorts. Golfers [...]
Every time I write about the economy, I feel there is something I'm missing that I just cannot put my finger on. I may be closing in on the elusive bit based on a conversation I saw a few days ago between two people who are related to one another [...]
Yesterday I met a young man who has never registered to vote. Nice guy. Decided against registering when the table was set up in high school, now a few years later, he sees no reason to vote. NO REASON TO VOTE! You might think this is a standard "I don't" [...]
From WaPo:
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces ethics charges he broke state laws more than three dozen times by violating rules on airplane travel and campaign money, according to details of the allegations released Monday.
It's up to the state attorney general to decide whether to file criminal charges. [...]
We know that Blanche Lincoln came through on Saturday night, but her vote on future bill progression is anything but assured. So what's really going on?
First, she's facing a tough re-election campaign, and there are at least seven Republicans challenging or considering challenging her. Most lack statewide name [...]
I mentioned on Saturday night that I thought Senator Menendez's speech was the very best, and the argument we should use as the process moves forward. Imagine him as the face of progress and what it means to be a Democrat working for all Americans.
Sorry it took so long [...]
Over the last week, I have received a lot of emails from people who I am in contact with rarely, at best. A couple were from people with whom I've worked on campaigns over the years. Mostly distant friends whose sole relationship with me involves the exchange of holiday wishes. [...]
In this week’s address, President Barack Obama described the progress made during his trip to Asia, and detailed steps the administration is taking to spur job creation. The President explained how increasing exports to Asia Pacific nations can create hundreds of thousands of jobs in America and described the upcoming [...]
The next time Matt updates the Senate rankings, you'll notice that my Florida ranking has been changed from "Leans Republican" to "Solid Republican." I had held some hope that maybe, just maybe, we could take the seat, but that was predicated on Charlie Crist winning the GOp primary, and that [...]
The vote is in, and the Reid bill has passed on to debate by a vote of 60 - 39. And we don't even need to write the list, we can name them by memory. Debate will begin following the Thanksgiving break.
I watched the last several hours of discussion, and [...]
It appears that things are still on for later today at the Senate.
Question 1: has anyone seen Max Baucus? I don't know that he's back in DC.
Question 2: has anyone seen Robert Byrd?
These should be two "yes" votes, but you have to play to win, and they need to [...]
Following seemingly quickly on the heels of the mammogram recommendations, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published their pap smear data yesterday.
Immediately, people were up in arms about this being some sort of "plot".
Untrue.
The pap smear guidelines raise the age for the first screening to 21, say [...]
Huge news for health care reform:
Sen. Ben Nelson announced Friday he will vote for a cloture motion Saturday that clears the way for Senate debate on health care reform.
Nelson, a centrist Democrat who holds one of the key votes required to prevent a Republican filibuster, said the Senate needs to [...]
WHO WILL YOU ENDORSE IN FLORIDA SENATE RACE?
Will You Endorse Stimulus-Supporting, President Obama Hugging Charlie Crist Or Club For Growth Endorsed Marco Rubio?
Dear Governor Palin,
I noticed that you will be in Florida next week to promote your new book Going Rogue. As you know, Florida is home to [...]
Earlier this week, the US Preventive Health Services Task Force published a report which concluded that the benefits to women under age 50 from mammograms were limited, and therefore regular mammograms for women age 40 - 50 should be discontinued for women without certain risk factors.
This was NOT a financial [...]
While Doug Hoffman is going off the deep end in NY-23, charging that ACORN stole the election for Democrat Bill Owens, (I mean this is so ludicrous - almost all the charges leveled against ACORN have been about voter-registration fraud, of which there have been a few minor cases, [...]
Interesting interview with Obama's campaign Manager David Plouffe...
PR.com: Tell me a little bit about the Superdelegate situation. During the campaign a lot of people were confused by it because it almost seemed like two separate races.
David Plouffe: This has never really factored into an election, because Kerry and Gore, [...]
There's a good chance you don't qualify, since this situation has only been attained by 158 men so far. (To the best of my information, no women, but that's not directly sexist, due to the base requirements.) What do you get?
A base "salary" of between $100,000 and $300,000 a year.Between [...]Notwithstanding anything that is or is not in the bill Harry Reid wants to bring to the floor, we want it to pass. This is because in spite of the abortion provision, the opt-out provision, the problems with the tax issue, and everything else we don't like in it, health [...]
I know, you were expecting to see that I'd read the Reid bill since last night. Um, no. But I will have a posting a couple hours about the political calculus of the upcoming vote.
Often there is the evil empire of health insurers who deny claims that shouldn't be denied [...]
A month and a half ago, FHQ posted a link to and discussed a presidential election forecasting model built on candidate biographical information. The benefit of this model -- and it performs quite well stacked up against other forecasting models -- is that the biographical data exists now. In [...]
Our flurry of stories last week regarding the 2012 Republican National Convention and the 2012 Democratic National Convention got picked up by Hotline on Call from the National Journal.
The Hotline story adds some names to the list of cities invited to bid by the DNC and [...]
If you don't live in Pennsylvania, you might not be keeping up with the indictments.
By way of background, Tom Corbett is the current Attorney General of the state. He's squeaky clean, to the best of my knowledge. He's also running on the GOP side for governor. As prognostications go, I [...]
Think back to the race last year: sitting Congressman Vito Fossella gets drunk in DC, crosses the bridge into Virginia, blows a red light, blows twice the legal limit on a breathalyzer, gets hauled to jail, calls not his wife, not his chief of staff who lives walking distance away, [...]
I have seen a lot of CNN lately. If you read my stuff, you probably know that I don't know which channel on my TV is CNN, so there must be something else going on. And there is.
But I've seen CNN, in bits and pieces. possibly more in the past [...]
Do you know these guys?
Yup, actually, you do.
This is the list of the 20 ostensibly pro-choice Democrats who voted for the Stupak amendment. Over at 538, Nate did a nice chart. The Planned Parenthood rating relates to pro-choice, the NRTL ranking is anti-choice. All [...]
WASHINGTON – With the investigation into the tragedy at Fort Hood ongoing, President Barack Obama used his weekly address to call for a careful and complete review of what happened before the tragedy.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
November 14, 2009
Full text after the jump.
This [...]
Note: if you remember how Obama went to Cairo early in his presidency and talked truth to the middle east, you'll want to read this. While this speech lacked the fanfare of the Cairo speech, it is still important, as he talks to truth to Asia, including addressing Burma and [...]
Or maybe she's thinking her chances of winning the primary in Texas aren't looking so good:
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) will announce she is delaying her resignation from the Senate so that she can continue to represent Texas in the Senate while pursuing the Republican nomination for governor in [...]
And so it begins, don't say I didn't warn you.
When the Stupak amendment banning payments for abortions from the Public Option, even if someone paid the premiums themselves with no government stipend, there was a hue and cry from the conservative wing of the Democratic Party that this was okay. [...]
In this country, the freedom of the press to say or write just about anything is well protected by the First Amendment to the constitution. But things can be much more restrictive in other countries. However, here are two examples of how technology is working to defeat those press restrictions.
In [...]
Dick Durbin says:
Last month Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced a merged Senate health care bill -- a bill that includes a public option. And last weekend, the House of Representatives passed an historic health care reform bill that included a robust public option as well.As threatened yesterday morning, I have read the USA Today again. Sadly, my coffeemaker is still non-functional. I have a coffee story, and I put it after the jump. And yes, it's true.
The gem I would have missed had I not bought the paper has to do with political downsizing. [...]
Lou Dobbs has hung it up.
I think I know where he might be going: Hazelton, Pennsylvania. It appears that Lou "Get Every Immigrant OUT of here" Barletta is planning on challenging Paul Kanjorski. Again.
Barletta is the mayor of Hazelton, has been for almost a decade. He's the one, [...]
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON VETERANS DAY
Memorial Amphitheater
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
Thank you, Secretary Shinseki, for the generous introduction -- more importantly, the extraordinary bravery in service to our country, both on and off the battlefield. I want [...]
If you remember third grade civics, a bill in the Senate doesn't just get voted upon, it goes through a process. First, the Senate Majority Leader puts the bill on the calendar, and then calls for a motion to proceed. This is a procedural tool used to start debate.
Harry Reid [...]
Yesterday we showed you four groups that were created to help bring the 2012 Republican National Convention to their city.
While the RNC should prove to be much more newsworthy, the 2012 Democratic National Convention will also be closely watched.
So far two groups have been created to bring the convention [...]
Last night, the City Council of the 125th largest city in America passed legislation which bars discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transgendered people. The law covers job and housing protections. Yes, it's not gay marriage, but it's still a step. And here's the odd thing: the 125th largest city [...]
Welcome to the latest edition of the 2010 DemConWatch Senate Forecast, a summary of the best Senate forecasts in an easy overview table.
