A recent Politico article reports that the DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL IS ABOUT TO “SUSPEND OPERATIONS” FOR LACK OF FUNDS. The DLC was a group founded in 1985 to try TO MOVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO THE CENTER. Among its founders was then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, who became the most successful of the DLC-affiliated New Democrats. DLC-supported ideas were one of the sources of the Clinton Administration’s relatively pro-market policies on various issues, including welfare reform, free trade, and spending restraint.
TODAY, THE DLC AND ITS IDEAS ARE OUT OF FAVOR IN LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC CIRCLES. It is telling that the organization is failing for lack of funds at a time when most of the issues it used to emphasize are as important as ever. Certainly, we have a much more serious spending problem today than in the 1980s and 90s. THE POLITICO ARTICLE INDICATES THAT THE DLC’S ROLE WILL NOW BE FILLED BY THE PROGRESSIVE POLICY INSTITUTE, THE THINK THANK WHICH WAS AFFILIATED WITH THE DLC UNTIL A RECENT SPLIT. But the article also notes that PPI has only two fellows and eleven paid staff — a very small size for a major DC think tank. Evidently, there is very little donor support available for centrist Democratic organizations…..
http://volokh.com/2011/02/10/the-demise-of-the-democratic-leadership-council-and-the-future-of-liberaltarianism/
It’s no wonder the Democrats keep saying that the Republicans, the TEA Party, etc. are out of the mainstream. The Democrat Party has swayed so far left, that the center looks absolutely reactionary to them.
Why have spies when you have CNN?
…..Mr. Obama watched Mr. Mubarak’s speech on board Air Force One, returning from a trip to Michigan, the press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said. As soon as he arrived at the White House, Mr. Obama huddled with his national security aides. THE ADMINISTRATION APPEARED AS TAKEN ABACK BY MR. MUBARAK’S SPEECH AS THE CROWDS IN TAHRIR SQUARE. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon E. Panetta, testified before the House of Representatives on Thursday morning that there was a “strong likelihood” that Mr. Mubarak would step down by the end of the day.
AMERICAN OFFICIALS SAID MR. PANETTA WAS BASING HIS STATEMENT NOT ON SECRET INTELLIGENCE BUT ON MEDIA BROADCASTS, which began circulating before he sat down before the House Intelligence Committee….
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/world/middleeast/11diplomacy.html?_r=1
Now is this a case of Obama lied and democracy died?
Duffy: Use Unspent Stimulus to Reduce Deficit
Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wisc.) introduced a bill today that would require unspent and unobligated stimulus funds to be used to reduce the deficit.
“I simply disagree with the governing philosophy that the stimulus represents: that we can grow our economy by growing the size of government,” said Duffy in a statement.
THE WHITE HOUSE ESTIMATES THAT $7 BILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDS HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN SPENT OR BUDGETED. THERE IS ALSO $161 BILLION THAT HAS BEEN MARKED FOR OTHER PROJECTS BUT HAS NOT YET BEEN SPENT.
“Rescinding the remaining stimulus funds and sending it back to the Treasury for deficit reduction would send an important message to the private sector that there has been a fundamental shift in the People’s House from pushing big government policies to pro-growth policies that will empower the private sector to innovate and invest,” Duffy added…..
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/259524/duffy-use-unspent-stimulus-reduce-deficit-katrina-trinko
Well not spending the remaining $168 billion would dwarf the $775 million the administration made hard choices about to cut by a factor of 216 times. This is a no brainer and should be immediately passed by congress.
The former vice president reached out to Olbermann
LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER KEITH OLBERMANN ANCHORED HIS LAST EDITION OF COUNTDOWN ON JAN. 21, AL GORE PLACED A CALL TO HIS FRIEND INVITING HIM TO JOIN CURRENT TV….http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/al-gore-offered-keith-olbermann-97680
….A contract was quickly hammered out. But IT WAS GORE WHO CONVINCED OLBERMANN TO JOIN THE NETWORK, SAY SOURCES. The former vice president and co-founder of Current was a fan of Countdown where he had also been a guest in the past. RELATED: Tim Goodman's analysis of the move.
OLBERMANN'S CURRENT SHOW WILL LIKELY PREMIERE IN LATE MAY, WHEN THE NON-COMPETE CLAUSE IN HIS EXIT AGREEMENT WITH NBC UNIVERSAL WILL HAVE REACHED ITS CONCLUSION.
Sources tell THR that that agreement also stipulates THAT OLBERMANN CANNOT WORK FOR ANY NETWORK CONSIDERED A COMPETITOR.
"He had no choice but to go to a place like Current because his non-compete excluded just about every other place," said an MSNBC insider.
CURRENT AVERAGED 18,000 HOMES IN PRIMETIME FOR FOURTH QUARTER 2010, lower than any other network measured by Nielsen.
"Contract terms never stipulated Current TV as one of the targeted outlets," the source added.
As I said when Olbermann’s move to Current TV was announced, this is a good move by Gore and a bad move by Olbermann.
The ‘Judicial Activism’ Ploy
Now that two different federal courts have declared Obamacare unconstitutional, THE ADMINISTRATION’S ANSWER IS TO CALL THE COURTS GUILTY OF “JUDICIAL ACTIVISM.”
Barack Obama has a rhetorical solution for every problem. Remember the repeated claims of “shovel-ready” projects that needed only federal stimulus money to get started? Last year, the president quietly admitted that there were not many “shovel-ready” projects, after all…..
…. THE NEW DEFINITION OF “JUDICIAL ACTIVISM” DEFINES IT AS DECLARING LAWS UNCONSTITUTIONAL….
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/259209/judicial-activism-ploy-thomas-sowell
This does seem to be the left’s definition of judicial activism and it is a win-win for them. They believe in a living Constitution where judges can change it based upon their opinion. Judicial activism to the left is something to be admired. But the right abhors it. A living Constitution is NO Constitution. So by redefining the word, the left hopes to burn the right with their own words. After all, “everyone is doing it.”
High-speed rail: Obama's gift that nobody wants
President Obama sent his vice president, "Amtrak Joe" Biden, to Philadelphia's 30th Street rail station earlier this week to announce the administration's latest gift to the American people: A six-year, $53 billion government subsidy for the mass transit industry in order to give "80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years." And therein lies the fundamental problem - OBAMA, BIDEN AND LIBERAL DEMOCRATS IN GENERAL CAN'T RESIST GIVING THE REST OF US THINGS WE DON'T WANT. And they almost always use our money to pay for them, whether we like it or not.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/02/high-speed-rail-obamas-gift-nobody-wants
I have an idea that the Obama Administration might want to buy into. It would create jobs while providing progress for the country. We would set up a mail system where we have horseback riders stationed every twenty miles. They would take the mail and as fast as they could move it across the country. We would call it the Democratic Pony Express.
Right wing hatred and incivility
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJ7OGl4CGw
Shocker: Gallup shows worries over unemployment highest since …
AND IN OTHER NEWS, WATER IS WET — but there actually is some news to this latest Gallup poll. Public concern over unemployment has peaked at the highest level since we last had a jobless rate over 9%, which should surprise no one. WHAT MAY SURPRISE SOME IS THAT THE CONCERN IS INCREASING, DESPITE ARGUMENTS FROM THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION THAT THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN CREATING JOBS FOR THE LAST YEAR:
Thirty-five percent of Americans name unemployment as the most important problem facing the U.S., the highest percentage since the economic slowdown began and higher than at any point since October 1983 (41%). Unemployment is the most important problem for the second month in a row, with the economy ranking second and healthcare third.
From the beginning of the economic slowdown through 2009, mentions of “the economy” in general were consistently the top issue. In the past year, as the government’s unemployment rate has stayed in the 9% range, the economy and specific mentions of unemployment have traded the top spot several times. This month, mentions of unemployment increased to 35%, and it now leads mentions of the economy by a significant margin.
The partisan breakdowns will surprise a bit, too. The reassuring talk from the White House has failed to assuage the concerns of their own party most of all. Forty-one percent of Democrats call unemployment the most important problem with the general economic environment second at 29%. Independents split 32/27, while Republicans break 31/32, putting the general economy slightly ahead of joblessness.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/11/shocker-gallup-shows-worries-over-unemployment-highest-since/
It appears Democrats are more concerned about the economy than are Republicans or Independents.
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