Democrats are under siege as they mark the first anniversary of health care reform Wednesday — and they won't get much help from the star-studded, $125 million support group they were once promised.
WAL-MART WATCH FOUNDER ANDREW GROSSMAN UNVEILED THE HEALTH INFORMATION CAMPAIGN WITH GREAT FANFARE LAST JUNE. Tom Daschle and Ted Kennedy's widow, Vicki, were expected to lead the effort. They'd have help from former White House Communications Director Anita Dunn. They'd have an office in Washington with 10 or 15 operatives backing the Affordable Care Act and those who supported it.
And they'd have money to spend: GROSSMAN HOPED FOR $25 MILLION A YEAR FOR FIVE YEARS.
BUT NINE MONTHS LATER, THE HEALTH INFORMATION CAMPAIGN HAS ALL BUT DISAPPEARED. Its website hasn't been updated since the end of last year. Its executive director and communications director are gone. There's no sign that it has any money. And neither Daschle nor Dunn will return calls asking about it.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51778.html#ixzz1HQFbID00
One year later and Obamacare is in “critical condition.”
Obama and Libya
QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR MILITARY ACTION IN LIBYA, AND IN PARTICULAR WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA DID NOT SEEK CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT FOR IT, ARE REVERBERATING AROUND THE CAPITAL. Congressmen and Senators across the political spectrum are complaining about the administration's handling of the crisis. In particular, the fact that Obama sought the approval of the United Nations, but not Congress, has made many in the latter institution unhappy.
Of course, President Obama isn't around to answer those questions; he is in South America. POLITICO ASKS, "DID OBAMA LOSE CONGRESS ON LIBYA?" National security adviser Tom Donilon stood in for Obama and tried to explain the administration's failure to involve Congress. Here is part of what he had to say:
First of all, consultation with Congress is important, as I said. Secondly, the administration welcomes the support of Congress in whatever form that they want to express that support.
So OBAMA HAS GONE FROM 1) THE PRESIDENT HAS NO AUTHORITY TO UNDERTAKE MILITARY ACTION IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES WITHOUT PRIOR CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL, TO 2) THE PRESIDENT--AS LONG AS IT IS OBAMA--"WELCOMES THE SUPPORT OF CONGRESS IN WHATEVER FORM THEY WANT TO EXPRESS THAT SUPPORT," after the fact. The arrogant presumption of the Obama administration never ceases to amaze.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/03/028660.php
Has any president been shown to be as crass as this one regarding what he said on the campaign trail and what he’s done after coming into office?
The Left and Libya
I remember sitting by a pool in August 1990 with my friend Fred Siegel discussing George H.W. Bush’s “drawing a line in the sand” after Iraq had invaded Kuwait. “My comrades on the left can’t be against this,” I announced to Fred, but I was dead wrong. Within days, my own publication, In These Times, and others had raised specters of another Vietnam and of U.S. imperialism. I have had a similar experience of shock and awe today as I LOOKED AT VARIOUS BLOGS AND WEBSITES THAT AIR OPINION ON THE LEFT. WITH SOME NOTABLE EXCEPTIONS (LIKE JUAN COLE), ALL I HAVE FOUND IS OPPOSITION TO THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S DECISION TO INTERVENE IN LIBYA.http://www.tnr.com/article/world/85559/libya-intervention-american-left-wrong
It appears the left and the proud tradition they used to have regarding opposing oppression is gone forever. They are consistent, but it appears they are consistent in their isolationism.
Write off the GOP field at your own risk
In a story released Tuesday, the Associated Press examined the emerging Republican presidential field and concluded that it's "deeply flawed" and that "[E]ACH OF THOSE WEIGHING BIDS HAS AT LEAST ONE ISSUE THAT LOOMS AS AN OBSTACLE TO WHITE HOUSE AMBITIONS, AND THAT COULD DERAIL THE CANDIDATE IF NOT HANDLED WITH CARE."
It's hard to argue with this observation; we've documented plenty of the GOP pack's flaws here. But it's also not nearly as significant as it sounds.
AS A GENERAL RULE, WHENEVER PRESIDENTIAL FIELDS ARE DISMISSED AS UNUSUALLY WEAK OR FLAWED, it's a good idea to think back to late 1991 and early 1992, when virtually the entire political universe was convinced that the Democratic pack contained nothing but certain November losers.
http://www.salon.com/news/2012_elections/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/22/republicans_2012_field
Of course the current occupant of the White House has his own flaws, the big one is that people actually know him this time.
“We Are at War” – NEA’s Plan of Attack
With the situation in Wisconsin stabilized, if not settled, there is time to examine the National Education Association’s strategy for its short-term future. Though reasonable arguments can be made that the collective bargaining measures in Wisconsin, Ohio and Idaho aren’t significantly different from the status quo in other states, there should be no mistake about it – NEA SEES THEM AS A THREAT TO ITS VERY EXISTENCE.
The reasons are not hard to understand. NEA HAS ENJOYED SUBSTANTIAL MEMBERSHIP AND REVENUE GROWTH DURING THE DECADES-LONG DECLINE OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT. It is now the largest union in America and by far the largest single political campaign spender in the 50 states.
But after some 27 years of increases, NEA MEMBERSHIP IS DOWN IN 43 STATES. The union faces a $14 million budget shortfall, and the demand for funds from its Ballot Measure/Legislative Crises Fund is certain to exceed its supply. Even the national UniServ grants, which help pay for NEA state affiliate employees, will be reduced this year.
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2011/03/22/we-are-at-war-neas-plan-of-attack/
It’s not just the NEA. Most public sector unions feel a similar sense of foreboding. Perhaps the worst thing the Obama Administration could have done was to use so much of the stimulus package to shore up public employees. While the rest of the country suffered, these folks were protected from the ravages of the recession and in fact was the one area that was growing. That has now changed.
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