Blog
Apr 22, 2004
Not These Jerks Again
Yup, it’s your good friends at the Coalition for the Future American Worker, who as we have discussed before, are some rabid, racist anti-immigration folks who have been running ads against Democratic candidates, most notably Martin Frost in TX-32. Well after being more or less run out of town down there, they’ve taken their rancor up to South Dakota (presumably to stop the influx migrant Canadians): A television ad claiming that Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has introduced a bill …
Read More »Apr 22, 2004
3 Days Until the March - We Need YOU!
We still need activists to help us recruit the hundreds of thousands of folks at the March for Women’s Lives here in DC. These hundreds of thousands of people are committed folks, and we need YOU to get the word out to them with us. We are offering the usual incentives - snazzy limited edition Tshirts, food, you get to see the DNHQ, but most importantly, each one of YOU who help us out can turn into THOUSANDS of …
Read More »Apr 21, 2004
Major Pelosi Speech on Iraq
Given to the American Society of Newspaper Editors: Iraq “Today, I would like to talk with you about two issues of great consequence for our nation—the war in Iraq and the budget deficit. “For more than a year and a half, your headlines have been dominated by Iraq. Through the reporting of your newspapers and brave embedded reporters, we have seen the inspiring service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform, civilian aid workers, and indeed …
Read More »Apr 21, 2004
Join us at the March for Women’s Lives!
This is from our Volunteer Outreach Director, the lovely and talented Jay Vincent. ——————————————————————————————- Fellow Activists and Organizers: We are looking for D.C. area based Activists to join us on Sunday April 25, 2004 at the March for Womens’ Lives to recruit thousands of folks to help us fight the GOP! There will literally be hundreds of thousands of activists from all across this country rallying on the National Mall and this is our chance to introduce the Campaign …
Read More »Apr 21, 2004
Told You So
We told you our fundraising was exceptional, but you thought we were just blowing hot air didn’t you? Well CQ Politics Daily confirms: Republicans are favored to retain control of the House this year in part because party has an upper hand over Democrats in overall fundraising. But in some districts, Democratic candidates reported surprisingly strong fundraising numbers in the first three months of this year — boosting party leaders’ confidence that they might be able to …
Read More »Apr 21, 2004
Blog Round-Up
Via Atrios, David Sirota discusses the case for illegality in the transfer of $700 million from Afghanistan to Iraq (see this previous post as well): - BUSH REQUIRED TO TELL CONGRESS, IF DREW FUNDS FROM THE 9/11 SUPPLEMENTAL: While the President was given discretion to direct $10 billion of the post-9/11 Emergency Supplemental bill, the legislation specifically obligated the President to “consult with the chairmen and ranking minority members of the Committees on Appropriations prior to the transfer” of …
Read More »Apr 21, 2004
Hoyer on Overtime
“It’s nearly incomprehensible that with the loss of more than 2 million jobs since President Bush took office and the highest rate of long-term unemployment in 20 years that this Administration has chosen to aggressively focus its energy on eliminating overtime pay for hardworking Americans. “But that’s precisely what the Bush Administration did today, when it issued new regulations that would strip workers of overtime pay. “The Administration claims that today’s regulations - which were slightly revised from earlier …
Read More »Apr 20, 2004
Pelosi on Overtime
Democratic Leader Pelosi: “While President Bush cuts taxes for the wealthy, he wants to eliminate the right to overtime pay for millions of workers—money these workers need to put food on the table, to make ends meet, to buy a home, and to send their children to college. The President just does not understand that middle-class families need their overtime pay more than ever in this stagnant economy. “Bush Administration officials have lost all credibility on this issue. They …
Read More »Apr 20, 2004
Airport Security
One of the rubberstamps we have our eye on this year is John Hostettler (R-IN8) : Rep. John Hostettler of Indiana was briefly detained Tuesday when airport security workers found a handgun in his briefcase as he was going through a checkpoint on a trip back to Washington. The five-term Republican congressman was preparing to board a US Airways flight at Louisville International Airport when the gun was found, said his press secretary Michael Jahr. “Apparently the congressman had …
Read More »Apr 20, 2004
Clean Air Bad
Stone Phillips interviews former EPA official Bruce Buckheit (via Kevin Drum): Phillips: “What’s the biggest enforcement challenge right now when it comes to air pollution?” Buckheit: “The Bush Administration. An opportunity to reduce pollution just as we saw in Tampa is being foregone.” Phillips: “Are you saying this administration just doesn’t care about air pollution?” Buckheit: “Yes. I’m saying this administration has decided to put the economic interests of the coal fired power plants ahead of the public interests …
Read More »Apr 20, 2004
Woodward’s $700 Million
From CQ Today- Defense: Appropriators Probing Report That Anti-Terror Funds Used for Iraq Invasion By Andrew Taylor, CQ Staff Lawmakers scrambled Monday to figure out if the White House adequately informed Congress of its spending decisions following a report that the Pentagon diverted $700 million from the war on terrorism to prepare for an invasion of Iraq. According to Bob Woodward, assistant managing editor of the Washington Post and author of “Plan of Attack,” the administration in July 2002 …
Read More »Apr 20, 2004
Vile Secrecy and Overtime Pay
Dana Milbank: In April 2002, for example, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Apopka Little League team of 11- and 12-year-olds would visit the White House on May 5 to watch a T-ball game. The source: the team manager and parents. “The White House would not confirm the invitation,” the paper reported. And that’s just the funny part. On another note, we won a solid victory today on overtime. Bush has agreed to up the number of people eligible, …
Read More »Apr 19, 2004
Politicization
Congratulations Tom DeLay: The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission denies panel members are grandstanding or showing partisanship but says they plan a more low-key approach as they put together recommendations for a final report. And what was the central citation for the “partisanship” of the Democratic Comissioners? Democratic commissioners Bob Kerrey and Richard Ben-Veniste used time for questioning to voice personal opinions about potential military action prior to Sept. 11 or comment on the significance of an Aug. …
Read More »Apr 19, 2004
Outrages of the Week
In another little known fact about our “traditional” site, we have a regular feature entitled “Outrage of the Week.” Normally it’s a short, under-the-radar, entertaining nugget, good for killing some free time. I used it this week to write a bit a of an extended analysis on the prevalence of the “partisanship” charge that the GOP has adopted as a catch-all response to anything the slightest bit disloyal to the greater cause of their reelection. I was inpired by …
Read More »Apr 19, 2004
This Could be Interesting
Congress wants answers, says the LA Times: An increasingly anxious Congress has summoned Bush administration officials to testify this week on their plans for quelling violence in Iraq and for handing power over to Iraqis by June 30. Three congressional committees have scheduled hearings that Republican lawmakers hope will produce information they need to explain President Bush’s Iraq policy to increasingly restive constituents. Democrats say the hearings will provide a forum for criticizing what they say have been the …
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