Only 55 Republican bigots cast nay votes against the Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009. H.R. 1834 , passed with an overwhelming margin. 343 to 55, every Democrat voting yes and the GOP split 108 for it and 55 against it. Most of the nay votes were from the extreme fringes of the radical right, your Michele Bachmanns, Virginia Foxxes , Paul Brouns, Tom McClintocks and Mike...
To be kind, Obama's DNC head, Tim Kaine, isn't exactly from the Howard Dean mold and doesn't quite represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Generally speaking, the outgoing governor of Virginia represents the Establishment or, in Paul Krugman's words about his kind of Democrats, "corporate tools, defending special interests." What he has in common with Dean, though, is that...
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening: Vice President Joe Biden is hitting the trail for vulnerable Democratic Reps. Harry Mitchell (AV), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), and Dina Titus (NV); New York Gov. David Paterson (D) trails Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by 59 points in his reelection race, according to Siena; there's some doubt that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison...
(CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden is lending a helping hand to five Western House Democrats who may face competitive re-election races next year. The vice president attends a political event in Phoenix Monday for Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and Harry Mitchell. Kirkpatrick, a freshman, won her seat in Arizona's 1st congressional district by 17 points. [...]
Looking at the Cook Political Report’s latest competitive race chart is in itself informative - the short version is that of the top 108 competitive races, the following ratios apply: Dem GOP Likely D 45 0 Leans D 23 1 Toss-up D 12 0 Toss-up R 0 3 Leans R 1 8 Likely R 0 15 Total 81 27 …but there’s some interesting things that can be seen with a little sorting. Below is a chart of...
As posted last night in Quick Hits by Daniel de Groot, the Obama administration want to use leftover TARP funds to pay down the debt. I guess the idea is that China's economy needs more stimulating than our own: The Obama administration, under pressure to show it is serious about tackling the budget deficit, is seizing on an unusual target to showcase fiscal responsibility: the $700 billion financial...
The votes had barely been cast when the fundraising letters started flying. I'm mostly on the lists of progressives so the e-mails I got were celebratory. Yesterday we looked at the e-mails explaining the only two "no" votes from progressives -- Dennis Kucinich and Eric Massa-- who felt the bill didn't go far enough towards their goals: single payer. This morning's CQPolitics tried to answer...
by David Safier Thanks and congratulations are due to our AZ Democratic delegation to the U.S. House. All of them voted Yes on the health care bill -- Raul Grijalva, Gabriel Giffords, Ann Kirkpatrick, Harry Mitchell and Ed Pastor. Keep...
After more than 12 hours of debate on a Saturday, and nearly 100 years of delay, dallying, and outright obstruction, the House passed a significant health care reform measure. With a tally of 220 in favor, 215 against, and none voting present or not voting, H.R. 3962 passed the House of Representatives. 39 Democrats crossed over and voted with the Republicans, while 1 Republican, Joseph Cao of Louisiana,...
In a continued effort to speak out against government-run health care, NTU has launched an aggressive campaign in key Democratic districts across the nation. We will sponsor radio ads and phone banks opposing the $1 trillion health care bill, and the following Members of Congress will be targeted: Travis Childers, MS-01 Mike McIntyre, NC-07 Heath Shuler, NC-11 Dina Titus, NV-03 Ann Kirkpatrick, AZ-01...
Since Obama was elected there are a handful of neo-Confederate Blue Dogs who have voted-- on crucial substantive issues-- more frequently with the Republicans than with the Democrats, Parker Griffith of Alabama has gone so far as to promise his constituents that if they re-elect him, which isn't very likely (since Democrats have no reason to vote for him and Republicans will have their own candidate),...
Greg Sargent is reporting that House Whip Clyburn says he doesn't have the votes for the robust, Medicare Plus Five, public option. Clyburn told the assembled members at the meeting that the leadership does not have the votes to pass the robust public option, according to a House progressive familiar with the meeting. That sparked aggressive pushback from liberals, who argued that leadership - and...
A second fire has started on the public option fight, this time in the House. Greg Sargent is reporting that House Whip James Clyburn has told the Congressional Progressive Caucus that he does not currently have the votes for the "robust" (that is, Medicare +5%, in current lingo) public option. Clyburn told the assembled members at the meeting that the leadership does not have the votes to...
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be making $1,437,515 available to North Country HealthCare to help improve access to quality care in Greater Arizona. The funds are part of $851 million in grants that HHS will release to address facility and equipment needs at health care [...]
? CA-Sen : Politics Magazine takes a look at how the blowback from the launch of iCarly Fiorina's new website continues from all ends of the political spectrum, including a nice dig from SSP's own Ben Schaffer. As California's right-wingers sputter, there were also rumors circulating at the state's recent Republican convention that radio talk-show host Larry Elder -- the conservatives' preferred candidate,...
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