698 Days until Election Day
December 4, 2008
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"The greatest danger they (Obama's national security team) will face is in their own belief that hard work and methodical pragmatic decision making can substitute for strategic planning and institutional reform."
- Newt Gingrich
MORNING UPDATE:
ATR & ACU CONFERENCE...yesterday we had "center-right" representatives from across the country gather for a discussion about the elections and share best practices with each other. Topics covered were how to bring in Ron Paul supporters, African-America, Latino, and Asian-American voters, as well as various technology uses, state and local organizational ideas etc. It was a great first day with lots of valuable information. I'm looking forward to today's sessions.
AMERICAN SPECTATOR DINNER...last night I was an invited guest of the NRA to the American Spectator Foundation annual dinner where Justice Alito was the guest speaker. It was a great night with lots of conservative leaders from across the country. What a great way to cap off a fantastic day of conservative activities and learning.
Optimism, with a dose of reality, for our future was abound!
TWITTER...anyone can follow my daily activities and impressions throughout the day by joining and following along. Twitter.com is another social networking site most easily described as a type of instant messaging - but with tons of people. You can follow the 'tweets' of others - and they follow you and what you write. The catch is that your posts are limited to 140 characters. But for many, that's enough to say the important things. To follow me click here.
FACEBOOK...is a great "social networking" tool that many Republicans are using. This is particularly popular with College Republicans, Teenage Republicans and Young Republicans. If you would like to become a "friend" join me here.
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TODAY'S TOP STORIES
The following stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.
Andrea Billups (Contact)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The industry as they know it is sure to come undone.
Without a loan, they cannot continue. Even with it, change will come quickly and with that the pain of not only restructuring, but likely loss.
"They're anxious, frustrated, scared and angry," says Brian Fredline, a United Auto Workers Local 602 president who has worked for General Motors Corp. for 23 years. He was describing the mood of his 3,000 members who assemble crossover sport utility vehicles like the Acadia at GM's sprawling Delta Township plant near Lansing.
It is more, he confides, than simply jobs drying up, although after 23 years, he has worries for his own family and union membership. For many like Mr. Fredline, whose grandfathers put in more than 40 years each and whose own father worked 37 years in the factory, it's the evaporation of a generation of history and legacy. That in itself brings sadness that a larger family of sorts is dying.
California wants to raid Big 3 bailout cash for green cars
Taxpayers should be wary of bailing out unviable electric carmaker
Henry Payne
Think the $25 billion is to help save the Big Three automakers and preserve manufacturing facilities essential to national security? Think again.
Detroit automakers' best hope for Washington aid is a bipartisan plan to speed the release of $25 billion in already-approved loans under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). But long-simmering hostilities between the California and Michigan delegations on auto issues threaten the deal. California legislators want that money to subsidize their own Silicon Valley-based auto industry, which they argue is the future of American transportation.
The Detroit Three automakers have driven the perception that the $25 billion package to help pay for "retooling" factories to make more fuel-efficient cars under increased gas mileage standards and a possible additional $25 billion bridge loan are rescue packages meant for Detroit alone. But a letter from U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., on Thanksgiving Eve makes clear what few taxpayers know: The billions in auto loans are a giant honey pot intended for any auto manufacturer in the nation.
UAW offers concessions to help Big Three
Automaker execs take appeal to Congress
Andrea Billups (Contact) and David R. Sands (Contact)
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The president of the United Auto Workers said the union is willing to revamp its contract to pressure Congress on a $34 billion federal bailout loan for the crippled industry, as Big Three executives prepared to resume their case in Washington on Thursday.
But the appeal faces massive customer resistance in Congress, where many lawmakers are finding little public support for the bailout of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
Macomb County sheriff forms an exploratory committee for a possible campaign in 2010.
MOUNT CLEMENS -- Saying he would appeal to voters who want the "fresh perspective" of a former blue-collar worker, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel said Wednesday he's exploring a bid for the governor's office in 2010.
Hackel, a Democrat who recently won his third term as the county's sheriff, announced the formation of an exploratory committee on Wednesday. It includes prominent local businessmen and is being led by Damian Kassab, chairman of Warren Bank, Hackel said.
Hackel, 46, started out with the Macomb County Sheriff's Office in 1981 as a dispatcher and rose through the ranks until he was elected sheriff in 2000.
Seniors, farmers, cops could lose in Macomb County cuts
BY STEVE NEAVLING • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • December 4, 2008
More than 60,000 seniors in Macomb County could lose home-delivered meals, prescription drug and dental discounts and counseling for family and emotional problems.
Educational services would end for farmers, child care providers and families facing foreclosure.
And more than 130 county government workers, including seven sheriff's deputies, would lose their jobs.
All of these changes come under recommended cuts revealed Wednesday to help the county dig out of a $21-million deficit for next year. Still, the suggested $6.8 million in reductions falls far short.
Obama hijacks GOP language on key issues
Federalist message to governors appeals to Republicans
Stephen Dinan (Contact)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Borrowing a line from the Republican-revolution playbook of the 1990s, President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday told the nation's governors that he wants them to reassert states as the laboratories for solutions to the nation's big problems.
"That's the spirit that I want to reclaim for the country as a whole," Mr. Obama told the National Governors Association, gathered in Philadelphia. "One where states are testing ideas, where Washington is investing in what works, and where you and I are working together in partnership on behalf of the great citizens of this nation."
Showing fealty to the Founding Fathers' concept of federalism and states' roles in a divided government is the latest statement of humility and outreach from Mr. Obama during his transition. It's one olive branch Republicans said they hope to grab as Mr. Obama seeks to make good on his campaign pledge of change.
Anxiety among Democrats as Pelosi tightens her grip
By Mike Soraghan
Posted: 12/02/08 08:13 PM [ET]
Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) moves since the November elections have shaken up some of her colleagues, with some looking over their shoulders and others worried about how the Speaker will lead her expanded majority in 2009.
Next year is regarded as the biggest legislative opportunity for Democrats since 1993, the last time they controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress.
By Steve Chapman
Times of emergency produce demands for action, and Barack Obama does not need to be urged twice. Weeks before taking office, he wants Congress to pass a fiscal stimulus bill costing half a trillion dollars or so, and his allies on Capitol Hill will undoubtedly give it to him. Amid a recession that some fear will spiral into a depression, no one wants to be accused of doing too little.
Obama's plan is expected to call for a host of remedies -- including extended unemployment benefits, aid to state governments, more infrastructure spending and a middle-class tax cut. It brings to mind the character in Stephen Leacock's humorous novel "Gertrude the Governess," who "flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions."
Florida: Jeb Bush Shows Interest In Senate Seat
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 4, 2008
Former Gov. Jeb Bush said he was interested in the seat Senator Mel Martinez is giving up, and the field of possible candidates could quickly narrow to make way for him. Mr. Bush, 55, left, the president's younger brother, won praise from Democrats and Republicans alike for leading the state through eight hurricanes in two years. He used standardized testing to overhaul the education system, was credited with making government more efficient and cut taxes to make Florida friendlier to business. Mr. Martinez, who served in President Bush's cabinet and supported an immigration proposal unpopular with Republicans, has struggled to improve his approval ratings because of his close ties to the president.
Campaign Promises on Ending the War in Iraq Now Muted by Reality
By THOM SHANKER
Published: December 3, 2008
WASHINGTON - On the campaign trail, Senator Barack Obama offered a pledge that electrified and motivated his liberal base, vowing to "end the war" in Iraq.
But as he moves closer to the White House, President-elect Obama is making clearer than ever that tens of thousands of American troops will be left behind in Iraq, even if he can make good on his campaign promise to pull all combat forces out within 16 months.
"I said that I would remove our combat troops from Iraq in 16 months, with the understanding that it might be necessary - likely to be necessary - to maintain a residual force to provide potential training, logistical support, to protect our civilians in Iraq," Mr. Obama said this week as he introduced his national security team.
