322 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
It appears the Democrats are mailing out a “special message” in their state funded newsletters to warn citizens against signing potential “scam” petitions because they might be used for identity theft?!?
I guess the recalls are working and now the latest “bad boy” for the Democrats is the right to work proposal. Getting your address is as easy as picking up a phone book…no warnings there?!?
These are NOTHING more than scare tactics on the part of Democrats to discourage citizens from exercising their constitutional rights…when the Democrats abuse theirs by raising taxes and increasing wasteful spending.
Citizens beware…but I would fear the tax and spend Democrats more than the citizen petition gatherers!!!
VOTER VAULT – NOTICE: Voter Vault 2 is being converted to Voter Vault 3 starting tomorrow, December 21st. Voter Vault will be offline and down for at least the next 7 days. More information will be sent to our State Committee and County Chairs. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) honored me by adding me to this year’s list of “Who’s been naughty? Who’s Nice?” To see the full list go to:
http://friendsofatr.blogspot.com/2007/12/whos-naughty-whos-nice.html
Recall efforts continue statewide…to find more info, see the links below.
As I sign off with the last official “Articles of Interest” for the year, I want to tell you what a privilege it has been to serve as your Chairman. Together, we have accomplished much and have set the foundation for a great Republican year in 2008.
We face a lot of challenges but also a lot of opportunities. We just finished our annual report that I will be sending out to you that summarizing what we have done to prepare for ’08. As always, I appreciate your input, support, efforts and commitment to our cause.
Keep the faith and Merry Christmas to all and happy holidays.
Give a Gift this Holiday Season that Will Last a Lifetime!
The Michigan Republicans moved their headquarters to the Secchia-Weiser Republican Center in 2006 and plan to install a legacy site to honor those who have served the party and the citizens of Michigan. The legacy site will create a well-deserved tribute to honor Michigan’s past, present, and future Republican leaders! Buy a brick to celebrate, to inspire, or to commemorate friends, family, or yourself this holiday season! They are a great way to honor others in memoriam, birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion. Your honoree will receive a certificate commemorating their personalized brick. Choose from our four different options and be a part of the Michigan Republican Party Legacy!
To order your personalized Legacy Brick please visit www.migop.org/legacy, or contact Erin Meteer, Major Donor Program Manager at emeteer@migop.org.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- Recall efforts start & grow….see UPDATE “Tax Hiker Portraits” by RightMichigan:
Robert Dean: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/2/105439/416
Steve Bieda: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/3/10332/0059
Mike Simpson: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/4/92924/1118
Marc Corriveau: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/8/93248/2721
Terry Brown: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/10/101539/45
Mary Valentine: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/9/6253/0133
Kate Ebli: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/11/55455/873
Marty Griffin: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/15/94238/961
Kathy Angerer: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/16/14040/296
Aldo Vagnozzi: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/17/103640/75
John Espinoza: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/30/93255/658
Joel Sheltrown: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/31/103434/30
Mike Lahti: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/6/10250/0225
Kathleen Law: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/7/104242/595
Fred Miller: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/13/101018/55
Barb Byrum: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/12/19/105233/62
How does a recall work: http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/how-to-run-a-re.html
No further commentary until after the New Year…Merry Christmas!
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/NEWS06/712200339/1008
Petitions OK'd to add health, cut Legislature STATE ISSUES
But tax repeal drive is not approved
December 20, 2007
BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Petition drives to create a part-time Legislature and provide universal health care to Michigan residents were given the green light Wednesday by a state elections panel.
The Board of State Canvassers said the petition for a third proposal, to give voters veto power over tax hikes including those passed in the last six months, needed to be reworked.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200352/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Petition forms receive go-ahead
Backers can gather signatures to put legislature, health care plans on '08 ballot.
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Petition forms calling for a part-time Legislature and mandating universal health care in Michigan won approval Wednesday of a state elections panel, paving the way for circulators to begin gathering signatures next month.
Both measures would go on the general election ballot in November of 2008.
The Board of State Canvassers voted 4-0 to approve the part-time Legislature petition, which calls for a constitutional amendment that would slash the legislative session schedule from year-round to four months, reduce lawmakers' salaries and limit their benefits.
http://noise.typepad.com/election_countdown/2007/12/a-question-of-h.html
December 18, 2007
A question of honor
In the Michigan Senate, the families of our fallen soldiers and those missing in action are allowed onto the floor to receive a tribute. In the House, that honor is refused them. Why?
Now, before we come down too hard on the House Democrats in leadership, an explanation of the rules is in order. House rules state that the only guest a representative may have on the floor with them is a member of their own family. The speaker (currently Redford Democrat Andy Dillon), by rule, may invite whomever he wants - a policy he has used on at least one occasion.
But, to the frustration of many GOP representatives, that honor isn't being extended to the parents of Michigan soldiers missing in action.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200342/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Capitol report
New rule to boost unions' PAC fundraising
Gary Heinlein / The Detroit News
LANSING -- Despite opposition from Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, the state Civil Service Commission approved a rule Tuesday that gives state workers the right to contribute to political action committees through payroll deductions.
Cox had issued a formal opinion that such deductions are a violation of Michigan's campaign finance law and also told the commission he believes they would violate the state constitution.
"The purpose of the commission is to prevent and be an obstacle to political involvement by state employees (while at work)," said Matt Frendeway, a spokesman for Cox, after the vote. "By approving this rule, it's permitting political involvement."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/OPINION01/712200322/1007/OPINION
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Editorial rebuttal
Copy other firms, allow political donations
In The Detroit News' zeal to once again attack unions, the Dec. 12 editorial about the state as an employer participating in collecting voluntary political action committee contributions for workers is misleading ("State shouldn't collect union political funds").
Plenty of employers and unions "are in a position to negotiate payroll deductions for their particular PACS."
The Big Three auto companies handle voluntary political action committee deductions for both their management and union (a negotiated benefit) workers.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/OPINION01/712200326/1007/OPINION
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Editorial
Health costs are real threat to public budgets
State pensions are reasonably well funded; retiree health care costs grow
The Detroit News
The Pew Charitable Trusts, a public policy foundation, has examined Michigan's public pension liabilities and raised an alarm. The pension systems deserve concern, but the bigger shark in the water is the liability for public retirees' health care costs.
It's true that in terms of total dollars, the state's unfunded pension liability has grown. The total unfunded liability for the state employee pension system in 2006 was about $2.7 billion, up from $1.3 billion in 2003. For the school employee retirement system, the 2006 unfunded liability was $9.2 billion, up from $6 billion in 2003. The school liability total represents an improvement over 2005, however, when it was $9.9 billion.
The funding ratio, or share of the total needed to meet all liabilities, is also down on an actuarial basis. In 2006, the school retirement system on an actuarial basis was 81 percent funded, compared with 86.5 percent in 2003. The state workers system was 79 percent funded, compared with about 89 percent in 2003.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/OPINION01/712200316/1007/OPINION
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Editorial
Universal health proposal lacks many essential details
The Detroit News
Signature seekers will soon be moving across Michigan with petitions calling for the state to provide "affordable and comprehensive" health insurance for all its residents.
That's a very attractive pitch. Who wouldn't be for greater access to health insurance for all?
But the Health Care for Michigan group leaves out some key details from its ballot proposal. Like how's Michigan going to pay for universal health care, when it doesn't have the money to cover the basic services it already provides?
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/BUSINESS06/71219065/1008/NEWS06
Michigan's jobless rate sees 'slight reduction' in November
December 19, 2007
BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
After a year of bad news in the labor market, Michigan got some slightly better news today as the state’s November unemployment rate declined and state employers added a modest 3,000 jobs last month.
The November jobless rate fell to 7.4% from October’s 7.7% rate, according to the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth. Even the improved rate could be high enough to leave Michigan with the worst rate in the nation, as it was in October.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200375/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Decision 2008
GOP warming up to 'green' issues: Candidates link environment to security, economy
Deb Price and Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
Frank Lautner, an avid bird watcher from Clinton Township, is troubled by the dwindling number of birds he finds on his frequent bird-watching outings.
Lautner, who says he's likely to vote in Michigan's presidential primary, will be thinking about those birds when he decides for whom he'll vote Jan. 15.
"I can see the same kinds of birds, but the numbers are down quite a bit," Lautner said. "The positions of candidates on environmental issues really matter to me."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/AUTO01/712200355/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Fuel rules set Big 3's future
Automakers must adjust to tighter emission standards while building next generation of cars.
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
When President Bush signed a landmark energy bill into law Wednesday, he set into motion what consumers will drive in the coming years and what automakers will build.
The legislation requires automakers to increase fuel efficiency requirements by 40 percent to a fleet-wide industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Raising fuel efficiency requirements means all carmakers will have to adjust. Some vehicles will get smaller or lighter, truck-based SUVs could become relics and more fuel-saving technology will make its way under the hood of every vehicle. All will likely get more expensive.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/AUTO01/712200376/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
EPA blocks Calif. fuel rules
Carmakers win reprieve from tough emissions laws
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency late Wednesday rejected a request by California and a dozen other states to impose their own strict controls on vehicle emissions, a major victory for automakers.
The EPA's decision came the same day President Bush signed a landmark energy bill that hikes fuel efficiency standards 40 percent by 2020 to an industry fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon. Meeting California's emissions rules would require raising fuel economy to an average 43.7 mpg for cars and 26.6 mpg for light trucks by 2016, a more aggressive requirement for automakers.
"The Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution -- not a confusing patchwork of state rules," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson said in denying California a waiver under the Clean Air Act to set emissions standards as a way to cut pollution. "I believe this is a better approach than if individual states were to act alone."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/AUTO01/712200341/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Higher gas prices helped prod fuel bill
Pelosi calls new gas economy rules a holiday gift to consumers
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Escalating gas prices and a Democratic takeover of Congress made the difference in winning approval for the first increase in fuel economy requirements for passenger cars in more than two decades, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday.
"What changed this year is the American people are paying a price at the pump that is debilitating to them," Pelosi said in an interview with a small group of Washington reporters. "What changed this year is that Democrats took control of the Congress."
In an hour-long interview, Pelosi crowed about winning the battle over increasing fuel efficiency standards, calling it "a Christmas present for the American people."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/OPINION01/712200318/1007/OPINION
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Opinion
What higher fuel economy rules mean for U.S.
The following are comments on the energy bill President Bush signed into law Wednesday that would require the auto industry to average 35 miles per gallon by 2020:
Automakers pecked to death
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township: This bill attacks the domestic auto industry because they're an easy target. It's just the weak chicken scenario, and all the other chickens in the barn yard, including the oil industry, natural gas, utilities and coal, are pecking the domestic auto industry to death, because by doing so, they can avert any sanctions against themselves.
And I mean that literally, since it is estimated that the cost to comply with the new corporate average fuel economy mandates are $85 billion -- $85 billion from an industry that is struggling just to survive right now, with all the unfair trade practices and legacy costs they face.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200356/1022
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Environment in the spotlight
Democrats co-sponsor Great Lakes bill
Candidates also cite plans for nuclear waste, global warming; key states crucial for election.
Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau
The three Democratic presidential candidates representing Great Lakes states in Congress are co-sponsors of legislation that would restore the unique water body by cleaning up toxic hot spots, upgrading sewage systems to reduce accidental and emergency overflows, expanding wetlands and stopping invasive species.
They are Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
In addition, Clinton and Obama recently signed a pledge designed by a bipartisan group of members of Congress to fund the Great Lakes cleanup, estimated to cost at least $20 billion, and appoint a Cabinet-level official to oversee the effort.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119810092342540425.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
Ahead of Iowa,
Republican Race Is Wide Open
By JOHN HARWOOD
December 20, 2007; Page A1
WASHINGTON -- Two weeks before the Iowa caucus, the race for president, while tightening among Democrats, is wide open on the Republican side, highlighting the unusual fluidity of the first campaign for the White House in over a half-century that doesn't include an incumbent president or vice president.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that Rudy Giuliani has lost his national lead in the Republican field after a flurry of negative publicity about his personal and business activities, setting the stage for what could be the party's most competitive nomination fight in decades.
America's President Deserves Thanks And Respect
By Mitt Romney
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
As Americans prepare for the holidays with their families and loved ones, we have many challenges to face but also many reasons to be thankful. We are thankful we live in a nation that is still a land of freedom, hope and opportunity. And we can be thankful that President Bush has kept us safe. Too often our politicians in Washington and on the campaign trail seem to have forgotten this simple fact.
It was disheartening when Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) questioned the sworn testimony of General David Petraeus, the troop commander of our forces in Iraq, when he reported on the success of the surge. A disbelieving Senator Clinton said reports of progress require "the willing suspension of disbelief." We now know beyond any reasonable doubt that Senator Clinton was wrong and General Petraeus was right, and yet to this day she has refused to apologize for her unwarranted attack on the integrity of one of our finest soldiers. Even in my own party, Governor Mike Huckabee criticized President Bush by accusing him of "an arrogant bunker mentality" in dealing with other nations around the world. Just like Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee has refused to apologize.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071219/D8TKQETG2.html
Romney Aligns Himself With Bush in Iowa
Dec 19, 6:19 PM (ET)
By LIZ SIDOTI
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - Republican Mitt Romney aligned himself squarely with President Bush and his national security policies Wednesday, reaching out to GOP loyalists who hold the president in high regard, back the Iraq war and could sway the high-stakes nomination race.
"I support our troops, and I support what our troops are doing. I also support our president. I believe that the president has acted in good faith and out of a desire to protect this country to do everything in his power to keep America safe," the Republican presidential candidate said. He spoke after touring the Army's Rock Island Arsenal near this eastern Iowa river city.
http://www.glennbeck.com/news/12192007c.shtml
Romney ‘disgusted’ by Time choice
DECEMBER 19, 2007
GLENN BECK PROGRAM
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT
GLENN: Give me your thought on Petraeus not being Time magazine's man of the year but instead Vladimir Putin.
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Oh, you are kidding. Did they put Vladimir Putin on the cover?
Putin, Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
Huckabee and Giuliani tied in 2008 Republican race
Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:24am EST
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Mike Huckabee has surged into a virtual tie with front-runner Rudy Giuliani in the national 2008 Republican presidential race two weeks before the first contest, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.
Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas whose campaign has caught fire in recent weeks, wiped out an 18-point deficit in one month to pull within one point of Giuliani, 23 percent to 22 percent.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200311/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Homing in on Huckabee
GOP hopeful draws support from Iowa home-schoolers
Paul Vitello / New York Times
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Christine and Chuck Hurley have raised and home-schooled their 10 children here, and five of those children will be eligible to vote in the Iowa caucus on Jan. 3.
If the Hurleys have anything to say about it -- and they do, being evangelical Christians who have imbued their children with the mandates of the Ten Commandments, not least the one about honoring thy father and mother -- those will be five votes for Mike Huckabee.
"Five votes -- count six, if we get my son-in-law to the caucus," said Christine Hurley, 47. "That's eight votes right there, with my husband and I."
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071219/D8TKQFK80.html
Huckabee Counts on Pastors for Iowa Help
Dec 19, 6:20 PM (ET)
By LIBBY QUAID
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Republican Mike Huckabee, the former Baptist preacher, is depending on more than a leap of faith to win the Iowa caucuses.
Leading in polls, Huckabee is determined to make up for his skimpy organization in the state by enlisting national evangelical Christian supporters to rev up Iowa pastors and coax voters to the Jan. 3 caucuses.
Word of mouth in churches and among Christian groups can be a powerful force in Iowa politics. Christian believers make up the core of Huckabee's support in the state, said Rick Scarborough, a well-known Texas preacher who has endorsed the former Arkansas governor, though he adds that "it's not his only constituency."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/19/AR2007121901856.html
Baptists Not on Board
By Robert D. Novak
Thursday, December 20, 2007; Page A29
When Mike Huckabee went to Houston on Tuesday to raise funds for his fast-rising, money-starved presidential candidacy, a luncheon for the ordained Baptist minister was arranged by evangelical Christians. On hand was Judge Paul Pressler, a hero to Southern Baptist Convention reformers. But he was a nonpaying guest who supports Fred Thompson for president.
Huckabee greeted Pressler warmly. That contrasted with Huckabee's anger two months ago when they encountered each other in California. The former governor of Arkansas took issue then with comments by Pressler, a former Texas appeals court judge, that Huckabee had been a slacker in the war against secularists within the Baptist church.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/12/mccain_man_of_the_year_should.asp
McCain: Man of the Year Should Have Been Petraeus
Today McCain conducted another in his series of blogger calls. More to come later, but in response to Time snub of General Petraeus in favor of Vladimir Putin as Man of the Year, McCain had this to say:
Time has named Vladimir Putin as their Man of the Year and of course you know he has named his successor. We knew the puppet show was going on, we just didn't know who the puppet was. And my nominee for man of the year would have been one David Petraeus. I think he clearly deserved it because of his success.
Earlier today, the Boston Herald reported earlier comments by McCain on the Russian president and soon to be prime minister that played off Bush's famous remark in 2001 that he'd looked into Putin's eyes and gained "a sense of his soul." McCain sees something different:
“I looked into his eyes and saw three letters: a K, a G and a B."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TL0VNO1&show_article=1
Giuliani Admitted to St. Louis Hospital
Dec 20 01:44 AM US/Eastern
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republican Rudy Giuliani was admitted to a hospital Wednesday night for flu-like symptoms, his campaign said.
The former New York City mayor felt the symptoms while campaining for the Republican presidential nomination in Missouri, and they soon became worse, campaign spokeswoman Katie Levinson said. The mayor decided to go to a St. Louis hospital and spend the night there, she said.
"The symptoms worsened as the day wore on and shortly after taking off from Chesterfield, Missouri, for New York the mayor became uncomfortable enough that our plane returned to the airport in Chesterfield," Levinson said. "To be on the safe side, the mayor consulted with his personal physician in New York and made the decision to go to the Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for routine tests."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121802184_pf.html
For Clinton, A Matter of Fair Media
Senator's Camp Insists That the Press Holds Her To a Tougher Standard
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 19, 2007; C01
DES MOINES, Dec. 18 -- After weeks of bad news, Hillary Clinton and her strategists hoped that winning the endorsement of Iowa's largest newspaper last weekend might produce a modest bump in their media coverage.
But on Sunday morning, they awoke to upbeat headlines about their chief Democratic rival: "Obama Showing New Confidence With Iowa Sprint," said the New York Times. "Obama Is Hitting His Stride in Iowa," said the Los Angeles Times. And on Monday, Clinton aides were so upset about a contentious "Today" show interview that one complained to the show's producer.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TL2LJG0&show_article=1
Kerrey Apologizes to Obama Over Remark
Dec 20 03:39 AM US/Eastern
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey has apologized to Barack Obama for any unintentional insult he committed by raising the Democratic presidential candidate's Muslim heritage while endorsing rival candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Kerrey sent a letter to Obama on Wednesday, lauding the Illinois senator's qualifications to be president and saying that he never meant to harm his candidacy. Kerrey told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he sent the letter on his own and had not spoken to Clinton or her campaign about the comments he made Sunday in Iowa.
Rush to Judgment
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: December 19, 2007
One of my male colleagues was explaining why men age better than women.
“It’s evolutionary,” he said. “As we wear out our wives, who are running around taking care of the kids, we know we’re going to have to get another younger wife, so we stay good-looking.”
He was kidding. (I think.) We were discussing Hillary’s latest hurdle: the Old Hag routine.
When men want to put down a powerful woman in a sexist way, they will say she’s a hag or a nag or a witch or angry or hysterical.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110011015
The Endless Campaign
Why we need longer primaries--but a shorter process.
BY KARL ROVE
Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
The Iowa caucuses are 14 days away, with the New Hampshire primary five days later. And what follows from there won't be pretty. The way Americans are selecting our presidential candidates in 2008 is, frankly, a mess.
The first problem is the overall length of the campaign. There are few more demanding physical activities than running for president, other than military training or athletics at a very high level--and this will be the longest presidential contest on record. The first candidate this season announced Dec. 12, 2006; virtually all the Democrats declared by late January, and almost every Republican by mid-March. So next fall we'll elect a president who's spent two years rocketing around the country in an aluminum tube and sleeping in strange hotel rooms on a brutal, exhausting campaign trail.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200304/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
N.H. independents have partisan cast
Studies show many of the 44 percent who identify as 'undeclared' often lean to left or right.
Alec MacGillis / Washington Post
CONCORD, N.H. -- As Sen. John McCain, a Republican running for president, touted the endorsement this week of Sen. Joe Lieberman, a maverick Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, it seemed designed to capture a legendary brand of New Hampshirite, a state icon on par with the moose: the independent voter.
New Hampshire law allows people who are registered as "undeclared" to vote in either party's contest in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, a fact that has led political strategists to speak with awe of the swing voters who wait until the last minute to decide which party's primary to vote in, thereby exerting an outsized, and unpredictable, effect on the outcome.
Such voters are expected to make up at least a quarter of the vote Jan. 8, and all the candidates are in hot pursuit -- McCain is touting his appeal among centrists such as Lieberman, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is offering his mix of social moderation, fiscal conservatism and hawkish anti-terrorism rhetoric, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois is promoting his reach across the political divide, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas argues there is nothing more independent than his grass-roots libertarian crusade.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200314/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Democrats end year with few gains
In Congress, they lacked strong majorities to foster change in military, foreign policy.
Anne Flaherty / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Even though public opinion is overwhelmingly on their side, Democrats are winding up the year with little accomplished on the military and foreign policy issues that helped propel them to power in the last election.
They have been unable to bring troops home from Iraq or force President Bush to accept a nonbinding timetable on the war. Guantanamo Bay prison remains open, despite a Democratic-led effort to close it. And the legal rights of military detainees are the same as the Republicans left them last year -- subject to harsh interrogations without access to federal courts or an automatic right to legal counsel.
Also intact is Bush's ban on aid to international family planning groups that offer abortions, even though Democrats say the policy has enabled the spread of HIV and cost U.S. influence abroad.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200310/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Comic is serious on this tour
In his bid for a chance to unseat GOP senator in Minn., Al Franken angles for gravitas, not laughs.
Paul Farhi / Washington Post
BECKER, Minn. -- Al Franken, U.S. Senate candidate, is telling a joke:
Some years ago, he tells a crowd of about 150 at a meet-the-candidates spaghetti lunch, his daughter had to write a school essay about how her parents met. So Franken told her: He spotted his future wife, Franni, across the room at a freshman mixer in college. He asked her to dance. They talked. He bought her a ginger ale. Afterward, he walked her back to her dorm, where he asked for a date. End of story.
His daughter, Franken says, wrote up the innocent tale this way: "My dad asked my mom to dance, bought her a drink and took her home."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/OPINION03/712200315/1007/OPINION
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Michael Barone
Taxes become sore point for Dems
It's been a while since taxes were a potent political issue. It was almost 20 years ago that George H.W. Bush invited voters to "read my lips" and a baker's dozen years since Republicans captured Congress by decrying the Clinton tax increases. George W. Bush did promise to cut taxes, but it didn't help him much in 2000, and the ensuing economic recovery didn't help him much in 2004.
But taxes could be an issue in 2008, as the federal tax structure is poised to change in the next few years.
First, the Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2010, and the Democrats, who seem almost sure to hold or expand their majorities in the next Congress, seem determined not to extend some or all of them. So taxes at least on high earners are likely to rise.
Second, the alternative minimum tax, passed in 1969 to prevent a handful of millionaires from avoiding income tax, is now slated to hit more than 20 percent of taxpayers. And that percentage is due to rise every year because the AMT is not indexed for inflation.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200321/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
House fix blocks AMT expansion
Jim Abrams / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Congress acted in its final hours Wednesday to block growth of the alternative minimum tax, putting off an economic hardship affecting more than 20 million taxpayers.
The House voted 352-64 for a one-year fix of the AMT, a four-decade tax originally meant only to touch super-rich tax dodgers but now hitting millions of middle- and upper-middle income level households.
Without that fix, those subject to the tax would have risen from 4 million in 2006 to about 25 million in 2007, with the average levy of $2,000 a taxpayer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200359/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Bill lifts taxes on forgiven mortgage
Deb Price / The Detroit News
WASHINGTON -- President Bush will sign a bill today that will help struggling homeowners by no longer requiring them to pay taxes when their lender forgives part of their mortgage.
The change, says U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, means more Michigan families will be able to keep their homes during difficult times.
"This guarantees that someone who loses their home in foreclosure or is forced to refinance at a rate below their mortgage does not have insult to injury added by getting another tax bill," said Stabenow, who authored the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and will attend the signing ceremony.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/OPINION03/712200320/1007/OPINION
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Kathleen Parker:
Race-ness in America
In the politics of race, black and white isn't so black-and-white anymore.
Rather than a matter of skin tone and pigmentation, race has become a question of blackness and whiteness -- a calculation of attitude, experience and cultural identity.
Our first hint that the race card had found a new game was when Nobel Prize-winning writer Toni Morrison called Bill Clinton "our first black president."
"Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200357/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Blaze hits Cheney's office suite
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Thick smoke billowed from a fire Wednesday in Vice President Dick Cheney's suite of offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House.
Cheney's office, known for its historical furnishings and ornate decorations, was damaged by smoke and water from fire hoses, officials said. There was concern about water damage to the floor, made of delicate woods.
The adjacent office of the vice president's political director, Amy Whitelaw, was heavily damaged by fire, Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200367/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Officials knew of tapes in '04
CIA director says White House lawyers were briefed, caution about destroying tapes urged.
Michael Abramowitz and Joby Warrick / Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- CIA Director Michael Hayden told lawmakers privately last week that three White House lawyers were briefed in 2004 about the existence of videotapes showing the interrogation of two al-Qaida figures, and they urged the agency to be cautious about destroying the tapes, according to sources familiar with his classified testimony.
The three White House officials present at the briefing were David Addington, then Vice President Dick Cheney's chief counsel; Alberto Gonzales, then White House counsel; and John B. Bellinger III, then the top lawyer at the National Security Council, according to Hayden's closed-door testimony before the Senate intelligence committee.
When told some high-ranking CIA officials were demanding that the tapes be destroyed, the White House lawyers "consistently counseled caution," said one U.S. official familiar with Hayden's testimony. Another source said that Harriet Miers, another White House lawyer, followed up with a similar recommendation in 2005, making her the fourth White House lawyer "urging caution" on the action.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200369/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
CIA agrees to release papers about tapes, let lawyer testify
Scott Shane / New York Times
WASHINGTON -- The CIA has agreed to make documents related to the destruction of interrogation videotapes available to the House Intelligence Committee and to allow the agency's top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, to testify about the matter, congressional and intelligence officials said Wednesday.
But it remained unclear whether Jose A. Rodriguez, who as chief of the agency's clandestine service ordered the tapes destroyed in 2005, would testify. Officials said Rodriguez's appearance before the panel might involve complex negotiations over immunity at a time when the Justice Department and the CIA are reviewing whether the destruction of the tapes broke any laws.
The agreement marked at least a partial resolution of a standoff between the Bush administration and Congress.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/12/opposing-view-3.html#more
Opposing view: We balance security, privacy
Immunity for telecoms is critical to efforts to protect the nation.
By Michael B. Mukasey
We all want to protect our country against terrorists and other foreign threats while preserving the privacy of Americans. The Senate Intelligence Committee bill, crafted in a careful, bipartisan manner, would achieve both of these goals.
The bill appropriately retains a requirement to seek court orders to conduct surveillance of persons in the USA. It also contains other extensive privacy safeguards, including court review of the procedures we use to protect information about Americans.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071219/D8TKQ7LO0.html
House Approves $70 Billion More for War
Dec 19, 6:03 PM (ET)
By ANDREW TAYLOR
WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress approved $70 billion Wednesday for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bitter finish for majority Democrats who tried to force a change in President Bush's war policy.
The House's 272-142 vote also sent the president a $555 billion catchall spending bill that combines the war money with money for 14 Cabinet departments.
Bush and his Senate GOP allies forced the Iraq money upon anti-war Democrats as the price for permitting the year-end budget deal to pass and be signed. But other Democrats were eager to avoid being seen as not supporting troops who are in harm's way - and avoid weeks of bashing by Bush for failing to provide that money.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071220/POLITICS/712200364/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Women join in Iraq rapes claim
More of American contractor's employees accuse their co-workers, congressman says.
Suzanne Gamboa / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A woman who claims she was raped by a fellow employee while working for a U.S. contractor in Iraq told House lawmakers Wednesday that her case is far from unique.
A Texas congressman agreed, saying several other women have come forward with reports of sexual harassment and assault while employed in Iraq for Halliburton's former subsidiary, KBR.
The women have given lawyers and Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, accounts similar to the allegations of Jamie Leigh Jones of Conroe, Texas, who says she was raped in July 2005 by a co-worker who drugged her. She said she awoke groggy and confused the next morning, bleeding and bruised. She said a KBR representative kept her in a shipping container so she wouldn't report the assault.
