Articles of Interest 12-4-07
338 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
Newt Gingrich is going to announce his Platform for America today…watch for it. You should be able to find more information at: www.americansolutions.com
Just when you thought you could stop worrying about Granholm and Michigan Democrats spending…federal spending under a Democrat controlled Congress is out of control and the national debt is growing $1 million a minute. That’s right…$1million a minute!!!
Attorney General Mike Cox takes on Blue Cross Blue Shield’s “mission” towards a “for-profit” status.
One of our readers sent in a great suggestion for a new t-shirt:
After more than 30 years of suffering and 3 years of Complaining, Campaigning, Case-Making, e-Mailing, Speeches, Debates, Elections and Legislation to Free Michigan of the Lousy Single Business Tax, All We Got was this Lousy Michigan Business Tax!
As frustration grows among not only the business community, but also the average Michigan taxpayer, ideas like the Fair Tax continue to grow. Check it out:
The Governor appoints a “COO” instead of a Chief of Staff…as if playing word games with Michigan citizens will actually make a difference???
As Crain’s Detroit Business reported: Again and again, Granholm has appointed study committees and disregarded what they recommended because it would take tough decisions that would step on special-interest toes.
Her approach to the state budget crisis has been one largely of telling the Legislature: You guys figure it out and bring me something I'd like. If not, back to the drawing board.
Krichbaum has virtually no experience relevant to her goal of having him lead the charge to implement her economic plan or streamline government.
This latest action screams to business: This governor is in over her head.
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THE REST OF THE STORY:
Yahoo News reports: WASHINGTON - Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute.
What's that mean to you? It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.
Even if you've escaped the recent housing and credit crunches and are coping with rising fuel prices, you may still be headed for economic misery, along with the rest of the country. That's because the government is fast straining resources needed to meet interest payments on the national debt, which stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion.
GONGWERS reports: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has been granted tax benefits that other health insurers do not have in exchange for some loss of control over its customers and rates. The Blues, with legislation having passed the House, is trying to keep the benefits but get rid of the restrictions, Attorney General Mike Cox said in a series of press conferences around the state blasting the bills as a means to change the mission of the insurer.
But Blue Cross officials said the goal of the proposal was the opposite: keeping commercial insurers from overcharging individual customers.
The key bills to which Mr. Cox, AARP and the National Consumers Union objected most (HB 5282, HB 5283) would create new regulations for individual health insurance plans. The regulations would apply to all health insurers, including the Blues, except that Blue Cross could not reject applicants. And the other insurers would have to help subsidize the cost of providing coverage to high-risk persons.
Among the provisions, Blue Cross could join other insurers in implementing rate increases without prior approval of the Office of Financial and Insurance Services and Mr. Cox would lose the automatic right to object to those increases. The Blues also could increase its waiting period for covering pre-existing conditions to 12 months, double the current wait.
And he said allowing the Accident Fund Company, a for-profit subsidiary of Blue Cross, to offer other types of insurance (HB 5284, HB 5285) opened the door for the Blues to influence other insurance markets.
“They put (Blue Cross) on the road to becoming a for-profit holding company,” Mr. Cox said of the package. “What these four bills are about is dramatically changing the mission of Blue Cross.”
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/120307/loc_20071203144.shtml
GOP to make most of early primary
By CHARLES CRUMM
Of The Oakland Press
December 3, 2007
With only half the candidates appearing on the ballot, Michigan's presidential primary on Jan. 15 may be nothing more than a straw poll for Democrats. But on the Republican side, with all the candidates on the ballot, Michigan figures to attract at least the front-runners to the state - and to Oakland County. "Absolutely," said Oakland County Republican Party Chairman Dennis Cowan. "We're one of the key critical counties in the state, right in the middle of the largest media market in Michigan," Cowan said. "I'm confident we'll have a healthy dose of presidential candidates here. Someone mentioned to me that we'll all be on a first-name basis by the time the primary hits."
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1196579939254330.xml&coll=6
Remind me: Who does early primary benefit?
Sunday, December 02, 2007
By Peter Luke
Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are discovering what everyone else in the state knows all too well: The Michigan Legislature couldn't organize a broom closet. On the surface, the two candidates would appear to be the winners from last week when lawmakers put the finishing touches on the mess that is the Jan. 15 presidential primary. Or maybe not. A full slate of Republicans will appear on the ballot local clerks are hastily assembling after weeks of legislative dithering. On the other side, the Democratic choices will be considerably more limited, thanks to the decision of Joseph Biden, John Edwards, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson to terminate their Michigan candidacies earlier this fall.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/OPINION03/712040385/1022/POLITICS
Dem primary falls short of single women
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Laura Berman
Jan. 15 issues cost party chance to connect with untapped voting bloc. An early Michigan primary won't test Sen. Barack Obama's strength among Michigan Democrats. It won't even test Sen. Hillary Clinton's appeal with her constituency, since she is the only viable candidate on the ballot. And it won't validate -- or disprove -- the party strategy of trying to mobilize a disaffected, or exhausted, but potentially powerful group of voters: single women. The 2008 presidential election is being touted by political pollster Stan Greenberg as, potentially, the year of the single woman.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/POLITICS/712040310/1022
Mich. in middle in elections quality
The Detroit News
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
An Ohio State University study of the quality of elections in five Midwest states finds Michigan in the middle -- with Ohio at the bottom and Minnesota at the top. The study, to be released today by the OSU Moritz College of Law, applauded recent Michigan election reforms, but said its Qualified Voter File has "close to a million inactive or invalid entries." It also questioned the training of poll workers. "The problem is that local jurisdictions are responsible for maintaining the database, and they often lack the resources to make it accurate," said Steven Huefner, one of the researchers.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071202/EMAIL/312020008/-1/newsletter02
Gov's COO pick shows poor judgment
Crain’s Detroit Business
From the issue of December 3, 2007
She just doesn't get it. Tapping an experienced nonprofit leader from Detroit to be her COO will not solve the massive problems Gov. Jennifer Granholm has created for herself. Dan Krichbaum is a respected leader known for being a consensus builder. But when business executives begged the governor to appoint an experienced COO to help manage state government, Krichbaum is not who they had in mind. They wanted a turnaround specialist, or a corporate leader skilled in the political process. Someone who could help Granholm cut to the chase. Instead, she appointed someone whose experience is in building consensus and diversity. Those are good skills, but the state is in crisis. It needs action.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/OPINION01/712040307/1007/OPINION
Two-year tax chaos maims Michigan
Elected officials create the one thing businesses hate most: uncertainty
John Bebow
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Three years ago, momentum began to build to overhaul Michigan's business tax system. Conventional wisdom held that our old Single Business Tax was too complicated and inhibited the ability to attract, retain and grow business. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The result was more political twists and turns than anybody could count: dozens of tax proposals, a new business tax arguably as complicated as the old one, threats of government shutdown, tweaks to the new business tax before the ink was dry and numerous threats of tax repeal.
Repeal of tax illustrates why so many voters frustrated
Battle Creek Enquirer
December 4, 2007
Nearly as soon as they voted in October to create a 6 percent sales tax on certain services, many state lawmakers realized they had made a mistake. The tax, part of a last-minute deal to balance the state's new budget, drew howls of protests and warnings that it would drive business out of the state. Yet even with many lawmakers from both parties supporting repeal of the unpopular and confusing tax, it actually became law for a few hours Saturday before politicians finally could agree on how to get rid of it and replace the estimated $600 million it was expected to raise.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS01/712040330/1001/news
Service tax battle frustrating for many
Prior to repeal, some paid fees to lawyers, CPAs
David Eggert
Associated Press
Published December 4, 2007
It was ugly. Facing widespread pressure to repeal a tax on more services before it took effect first thing Saturday, the Legislature got the job done - barely. But not before the tax became law, although lawmakers said businesses could ignore it. Not before the business community faced two months of uncertainty in Michigan's already troubled economy. Not before some companies racked up attorney and accountant fees to comply with the 6 percent sales tax on services. Not before legislators seemed to spend as much time blaming each other for the tax as they did trying to craft a replacement. When the House sent a repeal-and-replace bill to the Senate late Wednesday and left town for three days, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, called it the "lowest point yet."
New surcharge on MBT to hit some businesses hard
By Amy Lane
December 3, 2007
Businesses that face a tax liability under the Michigan Business Tax will see even more expense as a result of the new surcharge added over the weekend to the MBT. The 21.99 percent surcharge, crafted to replace Michigan’s now-scuttled service tax, will be assessed on whatever tax a business might owe under the MBT, prior to the application of any tax credits. The MBT begins Jan. 1. It’s a scenario that’s been debated in past weeks, as lawmakers worked to find a way to repeal and replace Michigan’s 6 percent tax on services.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071202/EMAIL/312020002/-1/newsletter02
Is it all just a lot of smoke and mirrors?
Keith Crain:
December 3, 2007
I happened upon a disturbing piece of information last week that I guess was generally known by everyone except me. The state of Michigan budget for next year is going to increase by $600 million. That's right, by $600 million. When Michigan companies are laying off thousands of employees, when families are cutting back with their own expenses, our state government is increasing its spending by a considerable amount. All that is going on while there will be a significant increase in taxes. Is all this a bit screwy?
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071203/OPINION01/712030340/1085/opinion
Too late: Legislative opposition to MSP project won't benefit taxpayers
A Lansing State Journal editorial
Published December 3, 2007
It's time for taxpayers to face a frustrating fact: An office building will be constructed on downtown Lansing's Triangle site. It will house the new headquarters of the Michigan State Police, under a lease/buy contract between the state and developers Gary Granger and Joel Ferguson. That's not the best use of the site. That's not the best use of precious tax dollars. That's probably not even the intention of Michigan voters. Still, the moments to halt this project - and they did arise in 2007 - have passed. A legislative bid to get around the contract now carries with it constitutional concerns.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/OPINION01/712040313/1007/OPINION
More defined role would hamper State Police
Col. Peter C. Munoz
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The Nov. 20 editorial titled "Role of State Police should be clarified" and Nov. 19 article "Reps question State Police role" lack understanding of the purpose of the Michigan State Police. Public safety is a core function of state government; all residents have a right to basic police service. In Michigan, this service is provided by the State Police. The State Police is not subject to in-state jurisdictional boundaries, allowing troopers to respond not only to homeland security threats and emergencies throughout the state, but also criminal investigations, emerging crime trends and traffic safety needs.
http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/120307/opi_20071203146.shtml
Petition drive for part-time Legislature deserves support
The Oakland Press
PUBLISHED: Monday, December 3, 2007
Many people and newspapers, including The Oakland Press, have suggested that a part-time Legislature might just cure some of the ills that seem to stagnate our representatives in Lansing. A proposal needs to be drafted and a petition drive instituted to place it on the ballot. During the petition drive and leading up to the election, it needs to be studied closely. Worded properly, it might just be worth a try. And Henry Woloson, of Clarkston, is taking the talk one step further. The president of Security Financial Management in Clarkston has initiated a campaign to place a proposal for a parttime Legislature on the state ballot in 2008.
http://blog.mlive.com/saginawnews/2007/12/state_lawmaker_cut_my_pay.html
State lawmaker: Cut my pay
Posted by BARRIE BARBER
THE SAGINAW NEWS
December 03, 2007 08:02AM
A mid-Michigan legislator says state lawmakers should take a 5 percent pay cut sooner rather than later. State Rep. Kenneth B. Horn, a Frankenmuth Republican, has sponsored legislation that would mandate the State Officers Compensation Committee -- the body that sets elected leaders' salaries -- to meet more than a year early to act on his plea. The panel next meets in 2009. Horn wants them to meet next month. He will formally introduce the bill Tuesday. State representatives and senators collect $79,650 annually, among the highest pay for legislators in the nation. Lawmakers should set an example by taking a wage cut, especially if the state approaches labor unions next year to reopen contracts, Horn said.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071203/NEWS06/71203025/0/BUSINESS01
Cox blasts bills that would let Blue Cross raise rates
December 3, 2007
By PATRICIA ANSTETT
FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and two consumer groups called on the Legislature today to defeat four bills, promoted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, that they said would allow the insurer to significantly hike rates for seniors and sicker people and increase profits for an already financially prosperous nonprofit. "These changes promote profits over people," said Cox, in a statement released prior to news media briefings today in Detroit and Lansing. "They should be stopped. Every change in this package of bills is aimed at increasing profits for a benevolent charity that already is making record profits now."
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS01/712040321/1001/news
2 additional state worker unions reject tentative pacts
Cases expected to go to panel; commission to get final say
Chris Andrews
Lansing State Journal
Published December 4, 2007
Two unions representing more than 11,000 state government workers rejected tentative contracts Monday. Members of the 8,800-member Michigan Corrections Organization - representing corrections officers and forensics officers - turned down a three-year pact by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin, according to MCO executive director Mel Grieshaber. The 2,400 workers represented by AFSCME Council 25 narrowly defeated their pact, 51 percent to 48 percent, with the other ballots spoiled. The union represents housekeepers, licensed practical nurses, food service workers and others.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS06/712040384/1008&theme=RICKYHOLLAND122007
After Ricky, state closes hole in rules
December 4, 2007
BY JACK KRESNAK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Before the Ricky Holland case, Child Protective Services workers were not required to interview the person who made a complaint of suspected abuse or neglect. In Ricky's case, a Jackson County CPS investigator did not speak with Susan Honeck, the therapist who reported that Ricky had told her his foster parents were tying him to the bed at night and using handcuffs to restrain him.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS05/712040303/1001/NEWS
Airport executives spend big while fliers pay the tab
They ring up thousands wining, dining worldwide
December 4, 2007
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
As economic development director for the Wayne County Airport Authority, Jack Vogel has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars traveling the world and eating in the finest restaurants -- all in the name of drumming up business for Detroit Metro Airport. But most of his entertainment expenses listed coworkers -- not potential airport clients -- as his dining companions.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071203/NEWS01/712030305/1002
DeVos to speak at security forum
By Christopher Behnan
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos will be the keynote speaker this week talking about the business side of homeland security — an area Michigan is taking a lead in, experts said. DeVos will speak about investment and ideas in homeland security Tuesday at the second annual Michi-gan Homeland Security Venture and Angel Capital Symposium at Cleary University's Genoa Township campus.
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1196700398114250.xml&coll=4
CMU student could face expulsion in quest to remove endowed professor
Monday, December 03, 2007
By JUSTIN ENGEL
MOUNT PLEASANT - A Central Michigan University student who has waged a semester-long campaign against a college professor also running for U.S. Congress could face expulsion. Dennis G. Lennox II said the college is accusing him of violating three student codes of conduct in his quest against Gary C. Peters, the college's Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government and a Democratic candidate in 2008 for Oakland County's congressional district. Lennox, the 23-year-old spokesman for Students Against Gary Peters, said CMU officials are alleging he provided false information to a university official, did not comply with a university agent and violated university policy regulating the distribution of printed materials.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/POLITICS/712040387/1022
White House threatens veto of energy bill
Wrangling over key provisions imperils hike in fuel economy standard to 35 mpg by 2020.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The White House threatened to veto a bill to improve energy efficiency Monday, putting in serious doubt the fate of the first increase in fuel economy standards in more than two decades. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, agreed late Friday on a deal that would increase fleetwide corporate average fuel economy mandates to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40 percent increase over the current average. Automakers also had agreed to the framework of the legislation.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/POLITICS/712040353/1022/POLITICS
Levin hearing targets credit card interest
Companies that raise rates when cardholders' scores decline will come under scrutiny today.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
It's tough enough to pay off an $8,300 credit card balance, but Janet Hard was trying. But last year, the Freeland, Mich., nurse saw the interest rate on her Discover card soar from 18 percent to 24 percent -- even though she paid all the bills on time. What changed was Hard's credit score -- a complicated mathematical tally of her credit history that can drop for such innocent reasons as simply canceling another credit account. Credit card companies that routinely hike interest rates when cardholders' credit scores decline will come under scrutiny today in the Senate, when Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, holds a hearing he hopes will prod card issuers into halting the practice.
Granholm revokes Hamtramck's emergency financial status
12/3/2007, 2:45 p.m. EST
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has revoked the declared financial emergency status in the city of Hamtramck. The state ran the city's finances from November 2000 until February 2006. City officials since have shown that the books are balanced and they are using sound financial practices. Granholm signed the executive order on Monday, more than a year after state treasurer Robert Kleine made the recommendation.
http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1196696594247540.xml&coll=2
Answers blowing in the wind?
If Sylvan, Lima Twps. agree, test poles will be put on farms
Monday, December 03, 2007
BY LISA ALLMENDINGER
Wind as a power source in western Washtenaw County will be tested in coming months if two townships approve ordinance changes to allow for the installation of monitoring towers. It's part of a county initiative to determine if Washtenaw is windy enough to support installation of wind turbines - a green source of electricity. Two viable test sites - ones with good wind, open space and access to transmission lines - were found in Sylvan and Lima townships, and the farmers who own the property support the testing.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/us/politics/03web-nagourney.html?8dpc
With One Month to Go, the Battle Lines Are Drawn
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: December 3, 2007
DES MOINES, Dec. 3 — There has probably never been a presidential campaign quite as challenging to track as the 2008 race, given the sheer number of candidates and the shifting calendar of nominating contests. But with less than a month to go before the voting starts, it’s becoming clear that Iowa has become the prime battle ground for Democrats, while New Hampshire has become the main stage for Republicans.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/03/giuliani-gets-praise-from-norquist/
Giuliani gets praise from Norquist
CNN
December 3, 2007
WASHINGTON (CNN) — He still won’t sign the pledge – but Republican Rudy Giuliani is on the receiving end of some very kind words from a conservative activist prominent in GOP battles over taxes and spending. Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform said this in a letter to the former New York mayor on Monday: “In looking at the records of all the Republican candidates, yours clearly stands out. You cut the income tax, business taxes, sales taxes, property related taxes and nuisance taxes. You are the most successful tax cutter in modern New York history and, on balance, the most successful tax cutter in the Republican field today.”
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2007/12/3/giuliani-shows-his-claws-on-spending.html
Giuliani Shows His Claws on Spending
December 03, 2007 03:55 PM ET
Pethokoukis, James
Rudy Giuliani shifts from military hawk to budget hawk in a commentary piece in today's Wall Street Journal. Among his ideas to cut spending:
1) Save $21 billion a year by rehiring only half of the 42 percent of federal civilian workers due to retire over the next decade.
2) Direct all federal agency heads to find savings of 5 to 10 percent.
3) Save $29 billion by ending earmarks.
4) Convene a Government Waste Commission, such as the one that closed military bases. "It can require Congress to vote up or down on a whole package of recommended cuts, beginning by considering the 3 percent of programs currently rated 'ineffective' by the federal government itself," he writes.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/73272
Chuck and Huck: GOP's Delta Force?
Now that the Gipper is gone and Charlton Heston is in his 80s, Chuck Norris has emerged as a dream celebrity 'get' on the Republican side.
By Howard Fineman
Dec 10, 2007 Issue
Here's a Chuck Norris fact you may not know. If Chuck Norris endorses you and appears in one of your campaign's TV ads, you take the lead in an Iowa poll and your Web server crashes. That's what happened to Mike Huckabee, the shrewder-than-you-realize former Arkansas governor (sound familiar?) who has become a major player in the tight Republican presidential race. The ad opens with Huckabee deadpanning: "My plan to secure the border? Two words: Chuck Norris." The camera moves back to reveal the Man Himself, who praises Huckabee as a solid, gun-loving, IRS-loathing conservative. Huckabee adds a twist at the end. "I approved this message ... So did Chuck."
http://townhall.com/columnists/RichLowry/2007/12/03/hucks_daft_tax_plan
Huck's Daft Tax Plan
By Rich Lowry
Monday, December 3, 2007
Mike Huckabee is not running a substance-free campaign based on biography and applause lines. No, the former Arkansas governor has the distinction of advocating the most radical -- and politically unsalable and substantively daft -- proposal of any major presidential candidate of either party. It is the so-called FairTax. It would eliminate the income and payroll taxes and replace them with a (supposedly) 23 percent national sales tax. Not given to rhetorical understatement, Huckabee says, "When the FairTax becomes law, it will be like waving a magic wand releasing us from pain and unfairness." Waving a magic wand is about right -- since the FairTax is a bedtime story for IRS-hating conservatives.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-02-huckabee_N.htm
In unsettled GOP field, Huckabee finds footing
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
December 3, 2007
TILTON, N.H. — He's the anti-Rudy. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, the Republican long shot who in a new Des Moines Register poll has surged to the lead for the Iowa caucuses, could hardly be more different from the candidate who has led the GOP field nationally all year. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani entered politics as a big-city prosecutor; Huckabee as a rural preacher. Giuliani is out of synch with the GOP's social conservative core; Huckabee is its most consistent champion. Giuliani's calling card is his leadership against terrorism after the 9/11 attacks; Huckabee has less experience on defense and foreign policy issues than any of his chief rivals.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7143.html
Romney speech is a huge gamble
By: Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin
Dec 3, 2007 06:29 AM EST
Mitt Romney decided to deliver a major speech about his religious faith after concluding attention to his Mormonism would only intensify in potentially unflattering ways in the crucial weeks ahead. But even some of his top aides see the speech as a wildly unpredictable gamble. Aides were split over the wisdom of elevating the Mormon issue even more, and the campaign goes into the speech with barely disguised trepidation.
http://www.latimes.com/la-na-iowa3dec03,0,1312398.story?coll=la-home-center
Romney, Clinton shake up tactics
As they slide in polls, he plans to speak on his religion, while she draws pointed differences with rival Obama.
By Peter Nicholas and Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
December 3, 2007
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- -- Facing fresh polls showing their leads in Iowa disappearing, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney rolled out new campaign tactics Sunday in an aggressive push to regain lost momentum. Sen. Clinton of New York, who until recently would not even mention her rivals by name, used a news conference to question the ethics, character and "courage" of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, employing the most pointed language she has used in the campaign.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/03/paul_backers_anticipating_anot.html?hpid=topnews
Backers Anticipate Another Big 'Money-Bomb'
Jose Antonio Vargas
December 3, 2007
Rep. Ron Paul is poised to outraise the rest of the Republican field this quarter, fueled by his rock star status on the Internet. As of Monday afternoon, he has clocked in $10.5 million, mostly through the Internet. Such a showing for the Texas congressman has shocked other campaigns -- not to mention the media. Most spectacular was the $4.3 million Paul raised on Nov. 5. But the dollars have continued to roll in: Last week, following the Republican CNN/YouTube debate in St. Petersburg, Fla., Paul amassed another $531,000 on Nov. 30. Compare that to former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), whose shrewd tapping of the online community raised a total of $751,000 online during the whole of November.
Vulnerable Democrats See Fates Tied to Clinton
By CARL HULSE
December 4, 2007
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Nancy Boyda, a Democrat who ran for Congress in this district last year, owed her upset victory partly to the popularity of the Democratic woman at the top of the ticket: Kathleen Sebelius, who won the governor’s seat. Now, with a tough re-election race at hand in 2008, Ms. Boyda faces the prospect that her electoral fate could be tied to another woman: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Clinton is a long way from winning the Democratic presidential nomination, and over the last few weeks has struggled to hang on to the air of inevitability that she has been cultivating all year.
http://townhall.com/columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2007/12/03/hillary_the_hypocrite
Hillary the Hypocrite
By Amanda Carpenter
Monday, December 3, 2007
When Barack Obama attacked Hillary Clinton, she accused him of “abandoning the politics of hope,” but when she does it her campaign calls it “drawing contrasts.” Clinton tried to head off any criticisms Obama would make of her in the October 30 Democratic presidential debate by mocking the mocking the title of his autobiography “The Audacity of Hope.” In an October 30 memo, her campaign said “Losing ground in the polls, Senator Obama announced over the weekend that he will abandon the politics of hope and attack Hillary in tonight’s debate… One candidate is defining the ‘politics of hope’ while the others are abandoning them. Want to guess which one?”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120202194.html
Losing Ground In Iowa, Clinton Assails Obama
By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 3, 2007; Page A01
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Dec. 2 -- With a new poll showing her losing ground in the Iowa caucus race, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) mounted a new, more aggressive attack against Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Sunday, raising direct questions about his character, challenging his integrity and forecasting a sharp debate over those subjects in the days ahead. Clinton has hammered Obama recently over his health-care proposal, arguing that he is misleading voters because it omits millions of people and would not lower costs.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010937
The Oprah Factor
Don't underestimate the power of Ms. Winfrey--or Mrs. Clinton's inept response.
BY DAN GERSTEIN
Monday, December 3, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
It's tempting to write off the celebrity-endorsement bout between the Obama and Clinton campaigns--with Oprah Winfrey in Barack Obama's corner and Barbra Streisand in Hillary Clinton's--as just another episode of the Democratic Party's long-running series of superstar superficiality. But there's actually a meaningful and telling metaphor wrapped up in this fleeting game of dueling divas, one that helps explain why Sen. Obama's much-hyped yet largely unfulfilling candidacy is finally breaking through, and why the Clinton juggernaut appears (at least for the moment) to be breaking down.
http://nymag.com/news/imperialcity/41543/
La Vie en Morose
The surge is working! Yikes. Stem cells can be harvested embryo-free! Boo-hoo. A recession in the offing? Happy days are near again.
By Kurt Andersen
Published Dec 3, 2007
Whenever I’m overseas for more than a week or so, I begin reacting to the news a little differently, like a global citizen rather than a parochial American; Zimbabwe seems more awful, Denmark less boring. After I passed 40, the obituary page took on new resonance. Wall Street traders I know first register every major news story according to what it might mean for their investments. And every four years, as a presidential election looms, a more widespread warp of media perceptions occurs. It’s as if we each put on our own special pair of red plastic decoder glasses that enable us—force us, really—to read the news not as mere factual accounts of important events, but as potentially charged new electoral variables.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120201602.html
A Non-Story Remakes the Race
By Peter Beinart
Monday, December 3, 2007; Page A17
Last month, Katharine Q. Seelye of the New York Times live-blogged the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas. As the discussion bounced from subject to subject, she marked the topic and the time, then gave her thoughts. At 8:34 p.m., it was driver's licenses; 8:55, Pakistan; 9:57, the Supreme Court. By night's end she had 17 entries totaling almost 1,500 words. And she hadn't typed "Iraq" once. The candidates mentioned the war, to be sure. But it never took center stage. And with the first primaries just weeks away, that's become the norm:
http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=NzdhZmY5ZGMwNGYzNDA2NDM3MmEyYTIzYjY4NDBjYWI=
A Failed Congress
By The Editors
December 03, 2007, 0:00 a.m.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid return to work this week. But the Congress they lead is already a failure, no matter what they now do. When they took power, they had three major goals: to end the war in Iraq, cripple this presidency, and pave the way for a Democratic sweep next year. They have failed in all three respects. Even with public opinion behind them, they were unable to force a withdrawal from Iraq. Instead, our military got the time it needed to start making progress on the ground. The Democrats’ allies tried to discredit Gen. David Petraeus. Now the Democrats are being forced to concede that the surge is working. Jack Murtha, the leader of the House withdrawal caucus, is the latest to make that admission.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071203/D8TA00BG1.html
Congress Returning for Daunting Agenda
Dec 3, 8:07 AM (ET)
By ANDREW TAYLOR
WASHINGTON (AP) - A daunting agenda confronts lawmakers as they return Monday for an abbreviated holiday season session. Taxes, spending, paying for the war, energy, farm subsidies and wiretapping top a crowded list of items Congress will consider during the three weeks. Partisan feelings are especially intense and fights are brewing on multiple fronts between Democrats who control Congress and President Bush. Democrats' goal is to make sure they don't stumble over must-do legislation funding government agencies and programs, and preventing millions of upper middle income taxpayers from falling prey to the alternative minimum tax, or AMT.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071203/ap_on_go_ot/nation_in_debt_4
National debt grows $1 million a minute
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Mon Dec 3, 6:55 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute. What's that mean to you? It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States. Even if you've escaped the recent housing and credit crunches and are coping with rising fuel prices, you may still be headed for economic misery, along with the rest of the country. That's because the government is fast straining resources needed to meet interest payments on the national debt, which stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/OPINION01/712040308/1007/OPINION
Fix Social Security the FDR way
Amity Shlaes
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Older Americans tend to think of Social Security as something we ought to be able to afford. Indeed, many seniors tell themselves that when Washington pours extra cash into the New Deal pension program, the action is something like investing in a new Volvo. The purchase may look extravagant but is, in reality, deliciously necessary. This attitude is also held by some of our most respected pension officials. The longtime Social Security Administration commissioner Robert M. Ball wrote on the Washington Post op-ed page recently that "it's the essence of responsibility, in my view, to insist on no benefit cuts" ("A Social Security Fix for 2008," Oct. 29).
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/BIZ/712040355/1022/POLITICS
Deal near to freeze mortgage rates
Treasury Secretary Paulson is working with lenders to aid thousands of at-risk homeowners.
Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday an agreement was near on a proposal to help thousands of at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosures by temporarily freezing their mortgage rates. One of the last remaining issues to be resolved, officials said, was the exact length of time the low-teaser rates will be frozen. Speaking at a national housing conference and in later interviews, Paulson expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached very soon, possibly before the end of this week.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22080959/
High court won't hear leaked Gingrich call case
Ethics case phone call leaked to media, Rep. McDermott must pay $700K
Associated Press
December 3, 2007
WASHINGTON - The long legal fight between two members of Congress over an illegally taped telephone call ended Monday when the Supreme Court refused to review the case. The court left in place a federal appeals court ruling that Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., should not have given reporters access to the tape-recorded telephone call of Republican leaders discussing the House ethics case against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga, in December 1996. McDermott asked the justices to hear his appeal of the May ruling, which he said infringed on his free speech rights. The court did not comment on its action.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/OPINION01/712040317/1007/OPINION
High court should issue clear ruling on gun rights
The Detroit News
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear a case that is likely to determine the interpretation of the Second Amendment -- which deals with private ownership of guns -- for a generation. The court should make it clear that gun ownership is a personal right, but subject to reasonable regulation by government. At issue is a Washington, D.C., ordinance that forbids the private ownership of handguns and requires that rifles and shotguns be kept locked or disassembled in residents' homes. A private citizen, Dick Heller, sued, contending that these broad restrictions violate his personal right to keep firearms for his own protection.