Category Archives: Congress

Congress Should Pass the Disclose Act and End Secret Contributions

Posted on November 30th, 2010 | Comments Off on Congress Should Pass the Disclose Act and End Secret Contributions

The US Supreme Court opened the floodgates with its Citizens United decision and money poured into this year’s election from special interests, corporations, insurance companies and Wall Street. Most of it was secret because Congress has not passed the Disclose Act requiring that contributors names be made public for those engaging in trying to influence the outcome of our elections. The bill has passed the House but is stuck in the US Senate.

Such secret money of course comes with strings attached and the public has the right to know who has bankrolled political campaigns and how our elected officials voted on legislation affecting those donors.
Money spent opposing the Health Care bill passed by Congress points out the problems in detail. As a recent New York Times Editoriall points out:

According to tax records unearthed by Bloomberg News, the health insurance lobby secretly gave $86.2 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2009 to try to prevent the health care bill from becoming law. The huge contribution — 40 percent of the chamber’s spending for that year — allowed the group to run ads against the bill without tainting the insurance industry, which was negotiating with Democrats on the bill at the same time.

This year, the chamber raised nearly $33 million in secret donations for political ads in the midterm elections, almost all of which was used to elect Republicans who have vowed to repeal the health care law. Did some of that money come, once again, from health insurance companies that were unwilling to attach their names to their contributions? It’s a logical assumption, but only the donors and the chamber know for sure.

And that’s the problem with secret political donations, which played such a large role in the elections earlier this month. They cast a shadow of doubt and distrust over a huge field, raising questions about who is covertly pushing which bill and supporting which candidate, and for which self-serving purposes. Lobbying and political contributions can be perfectly legitimate practices, but only when the public can see who is pulling the strings.

Secret donors spent at least $138 million on the midterm elections, according to the latest figures, and 80 percent of that secret money supported Republican candidates. What will those donors get for their money, and who will they get it from?

Write your Senators today and urge they pass the Disclose Act. It’s bad enough having all that corporate and special interest money swamp the public discourse without also know who is funding the campaign.

OpenCongress.org describes the bill:

This is the Democrats’ response to the Supreme Courts’ recent Citizens United v. FEC ruling. It seeks to increase transparency of corporate and special-interest money in national political campaigns. It would require organizations involved in political campaigning to disclose the identity of the large donors, and to reveal their identities in any political ads they fund. It would also bar foreign corporations, government contractors and TARP recipients from making political expenditures. Notably, the bill would exempt all long-standing, non-profit organizations with more than 500,000 members from having to disclose their donor lists.

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"This is a freaking war out there"

Posted on November 17th, 2010 | Comments Off on "This is a freaking war out there"

Keith Obermann in a recent interview in the New York Times magazine apply summed up the reality facing Democrats as they head into the next big election in 2012. “This is a freaking war out there.”

The war started two years ago when Republicans in Congress decided  that their game plan was to be the Party of No.  Democrats, especially starting from the top down, need to engage in battle for what we believe in.  We need to be fighting for the American people and letting them know we are doing it.

Here is the question asked Keith Obermann by Deborah Solomon that aptly points out the current reality for Democrats.

It’s certainly true that Democrats have been criticized for not getting angry enough and wimping out. Do you think President Obama lacks vitriol?

Now we will have Mitch McConnell saying you need to repeal health care reform, you need to defund health care reform. This is a freaking war out there, and it is to me somewhat unrealistic to approach it any other way. I’m not saying that President Obama should throw off the dignity of the office and start going in and head-butting opponents.

The reality is that we will lose this war unless we speak out and engage to defend our principles and fight for doing what is right. Defending the changes that benefit the American public in the new Heath Care law passed by Congress are a given. We need to engage in setting the dialogue and not let Republicans criticize away without pushing back..

You know Sarah Palin was right in a way when she talked about “Death Panels” They exist. But its not the government that was setting them up. They already existed. They are called insurance companies.

Before passage of the current legislation, insurance companies could deny coverage for “pre-existing” conditions. They could refuse to insure you. They could drop your coverage if they didn’t want to pay for needed medical expenses. They could refuse to pay  for certain procedures. These death panels ruled based on their bottom line of profits.  They made life and death decisions based not on health care needs of people like your Grandmother or Grandfather but on the financial return to their investors.

Republicans want to repeal the health care legislation passed by Democrats. They want to once again give life and death decisions back to the Death Panels hidden behind the corporate boardrooms of large insurance companies.
Democrats and others need to speak out against this attempt to undo the historic legislation passed by Democrats. We don’t need to go back to the past nor can we afford to. The choice is simple. It’s a choice between corporate profits or making health care a right for everyone, not a privilege that only the wealthy can afford.

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Paul Krugman Rightly Critical of Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

Posted on November 12th, 2010 | Comments Off on Paul Krugman Rightly Critical of Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

In a column in today’s New York Times, Paul Krugman assails President Obama’s “National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.” Calling it “The Hijacked Commission“,  Krugman is responding to the recently released comments by the Commission’s Chairs entitled “Guiding Principles and Values”.

Krugman’s analysis – “Under the guise of facing our fiscal problems, Mr Bowles and Mr Simpson are trying to smuggle in the same old, same old – tax cuts for the rich and erosion of the social safety net.”

Here is part of Krugman’s analysis:

“…what the co-chairmen are proposing is a mixture of tax cuts and tax increases — tax cuts for the wealthy, tax increases for the middle class. They suggest eliminating tax breaks that, whatever you think of them, matter a lot to middle-class Americans — the deductibility of health benefits and mortgage interest — and using much of the revenue gained thereby, not to reduce the deficit, but to allow sharp reductions in both the top marginal tax rate and in the corporate tax rate.

It will take time to crunch the numbers here, but this proposal clearly represents a major transfer of income upward, from the middle class to a small minority of wealthy Americans. And what does any of this have to do with deficit reduction?”

In a poll of Midterm Voters done by Democracy for America they asked to pick between the following choices and got the following response:.

1. Congress should make up for possible budget gaps by cutting Social Security benefits?
agree – 4%
2. Congress should make up for possible budget gaps by changing the social security tax to also apply to income above $108,000, which currently is not taxed by Social Security?
agree – 55%
3. Congress should not make any changes to Social Security?
agree – 31%
Not sure – 11%

Clearly proposals to cut benefits for working families and retired citizens whatever their political persuasion are not going to be popular. They are not solutions that would benefit most Americans.

As Nickolas D Kristoff writes in a column in the New York Times entitled “Our Banana Republic”,  the solutions to our fiscal state in America will not be solved by right wing proposals supported by corporations and the wealthy. America is becoming the land of opportunity only for the wealthy and proposals for more tax cuts for the wealthy makes it harder for working families in America to survive.

While Republicans and Tea Party Conservatives argue for extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, they do so in the face of the ugly reality that the rich in America are accumulating more and more of America’s wealth. Working class families struggle and find it harder and harder to make ends meet.
As Kristof  points out,  the wealthy are accumulating more and more of our country’s wealth.

The richest 1 percent of Americans now take home almost 24 percent of income, up from almost 9 percent in 1976. As Timothy Noah of Slate noted in an excellent series on inequality, the United States now arguably has a more unequal distribution of wealth than traditional banana republics like Nicaragua, Venezuela and Guyana.

C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001. Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent.

That’s the backdrop for one of the first big postelection fights in Washington — how far to extend the Bush tax cuts to the most affluent 2 percent of Americans. Both parties agree on extending tax cuts on the first $250,000 of incomes, even for billionaires. Republicans would also cut taxes above that.

The richest 0.1 percent of taxpayers would get a tax cut of $61,000 from President Obama. They would get $370,000 from Republicans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. And that provides only a modest economic stimulus, because the rich are less likely to spend their tax savings.

Republicans are arguing that taxing the rich will hurt small businesses because they will not have the money to spend on reinvesting in their business.  This is nonsense, because any money invested in their business is pre-tax money. It gets written off as a business expense and would not count toward calculation of any income tax owed. To me it seems that more investment is likely in small business if personal income  taxes are higher on the wealthy because then they can spend the full amount on their business without having to pay tax on it.

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A Republican Campaign Joke or a Deception?

Posted on November 2nd, 2010 | Comments Off on A Republican Campaign Joke or a Deception?

Last night my answering machine recorded a Republican robo-call. The call said that “A lot of people are upset with Washington DC because nothing gets done. Patty Murray is part of the problem” The joke/deception of course is that they expect the public to believe it. Republicans by obstructing and stopping  a lot of legislation from being passed by the US Senate through their threat of the filibuster, prevented many things from getting done. The joke/lie is that the Republicans expect  us to believe it is the Democrat’s and Patty Murray’s fault. Is enough of the public really gullible enough to believe it’s the Democrats fault? And when one looks at what Democrats accomplished in Congress over the last two year’s (see below) it’s obvious the Republicans are lying about what Congress did.

Unfortunately with the country still fairly evenly divided politically it doesn’t take a lot of voters to change the makeup of Congress. The answer in the current political climate is that enough people will believe the Republican joke/deception/lie such that Republicans will be even more able to obstruct Democrats from moving the country forward with needed reform.

The right wing free market and corporate deluging of the media has been intense. The public is being fooled by the Republican storyline because voters are looking for a scapegoat for the country’s problems.  It is a lot easier to blame someone – like the Democrats- because they are in power, than it is to work for solutions. And the Republicans have been more intent on demonizing the Democrats for political gain than they have been on advocating for solutions that will benefit the majority of Americans that are not wealthy.

Democrats inherited a colossal problem  It  is for multiple reasons they are not faring well in this election. There will be endless discussions of this over the next few days.  Reasons listed will include the Democrats not boasting about their accomplishments enough, Obama not providing a clear vision of his future for America, the question whether the Government is responsible for the state of the economy or whether it is private enterprise and Wall Street greed driving things, the issue of  the news media preferring to cover conflict rather than resolution, the huge influx of hidden corporate and special intererest money and a Republican noise and propaganda machine that set the agenda for what this election was about rather than the Democrats.

Obama’s role in the Democrat’s plight can somewhat be explained  when he publicly said he was concentrating on getting things done rather than  dealing with politics and outreach to the public. The deactivating after his election of his grassroots organization that helped him get elected was obviously a serious mistake. It’s re-activation in this Election season comes too little and too late for many Democrats.

There are many candidates and elected officials that have had good ideas but who did not see them come to fruition. It is not enough to be “right”. You must also bring the people along with you. And you must keep them with you. It is not enough to win a legislative battle if you do not win the public perception battle that this is progress and is good for them.

A few reports by the news media note that both Congress and the President have accomplished a lot in the last two years. But it is too little recognition too late. The reports are true but the Republican death song has been going on too long to really get people’s to stop and look.

If some people perceive that Congress couldn’t act these last two years, they certainly will see much more inaction with more Republicans in Congress. And you will see the Republicans continue to blame the Democrats of course for any inaction, regardless of  Republican inaction or their obvious intent to do as little as possible to pass anything the Democrats or Obama wants..

The Republican plan of action will be to obstruct most everytihing unless they get exactly what they want.  The reality is it doesn’t matter what Obama does as long as the Republican goal is power and not solving our nation’s problems. Their goal as Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said is to make Obama a one term President. And they will not give or do anything that they think will make Obama look good.

While much was watered down that Obama and the Democrats passed, like financial reform and health care, a lot else did get done from a Democratic perspective. Two female Supreme Court Justices The Lily Ledbetter Act for equal pay for women.  More student loan money. Withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.  But so much is in what people think, not the reality. The reality is that Congress did get a lot done, despite what the majority of the voting  public may believe.  If people perceived that Congress couldn’t act, they certainly will see much more inaction with more Republicans in Congress.

Actually here’s a list of 42 things Democrats and Obama accomplished. It’s unfortunate that the Republicans have been able to spin a false picture to the American voters.  Regardless of the vote today, this list stands. It remains to be seen what will get done with more Republicans in Washington. This will be the record to compare with two years from now. Thanks to rescue truth. for this list of “Democratic Accomplishments you may not Know About”.

25 Tax Cuts Passed By Obama & Democrats

Individuals

1.“Making Work Pay” tax credit

2.Earned Income Tax Credit increased

3.Increased Eligibility for Refundable Portion of Child Credit

4.“American Opportunity” Education Tax Credit

5.First-time Home Buyer Credit

6.Temp. Suspension of Taxation of Unemployment Benefits

7.Tax Credits for Energy-Efficient Improvements to Existing Homes

8.Sales Tax Deduction for Vehicle Purchases

9.Premium Credits for COBRA Continuation Coverage for Unemployed Workers

10.Economic Recovery Credits to Recipients of Social Security, SSI, RR Retirement, and Veterans Disability Compensation Benefits

11.Computers as Qualified Education Expenses in 529 Education Plans

12.Plug-in Electric Drive Vehicle Credit

13.Tax Parity for Transit Benefits

14.Health Coverage Tax Credit Expansion

Small Business

1.Extension of Enhanced Small Business Expensing

2.5-Year Carryback of Net Operating Losses for Small Businesses

3.Extension of Bonus Depreciation

4.Exclusion of 75% of Small Business Capital Gains from Taxes

5.Temporary Small Business Estimated Tax Payment Relief

6.Temporary Reduction of S Corporation Built-In Gains Holding Period from 10 Years to 7 Years

Other Business

1.Advanced Energy Investment Credit

2.Tax Credits for Alternative Refueling Property

3.Work Opportunity Tax Credits for Hiring Unemployed Veterans and Disconnected Youth

4.Delayed Recognition of Certain Cancellation of Debt Income

5.Election to Accelerate Recognition of Historic AMT/R&D Credits

Fun Fact: 1/3 of the $862 billion stimulus was for tax cuts, something Republicans claim to support … although they still stand against stimulus. I suppose it depends on who gets the tax cuts.

Women’s Rights

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Protection against pay discrimination

Restores interpretation of Title VII of Civil Rights Act that protected women and other workers

Financial Rights

Credit CARD Act

Prevents retroactive rate increases

Requires companies to provide 45 days notice before changing rates and other contract provisions

Additional restrictions placed on fees

Prevents companies from taking advantage of students

Ends unfair double-cycle billing practices

Financial reform bill

Establishes Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which seeks solely to ensure financial institutions are being fair to consumers, and improvement in the simplicity in contracts

Prevents taxpayer bail out of financial institutions

Allows the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve

Various mortgage and derivatives reform, etc.

Education

Student loans[1]

Ends “socialistic” federal subsidies to banks and other financial institutions (Interestingly, Republicans are okay with the kind of socialism that redirects taxpayer money to banks and other financial institutions.)

Eliminates unnecessary “middle-man” in student loan process, which placed financial burden on taxpayers while banks took in profits

Annual student loan payment capped at 10% of income

Saves an estimated $61 billion over 10 years

Health Care

Children’s health insurance bill[2]

CBO said bill will allow states to cover more than four million uninsured children by 2013, in addition to seven million already covered

Requires states to provide dental and mental illness coverage to children

Tobacco regulation

Provides graphic warnings on tobacco use risks

Restricts advertising to prevent marketing to minors

Health care reform

Insurers cannot cancel coverage when a person gets sick

Requires health insurance corporations to cover preexisting conditions

Eliminates lifetime limits

Allows insurance purchase across state lines

Allows young adults to stay on parents’ health insurance policy until 26

Crime & Civil Rights

Hate crime legislation[4]

Provides protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people

Tribal Law and Order Act

Provide additional means to reduce high rates of violent crime, including rape & sexual assualt within Native American reservations

View the rescuetruth.com post on the Tribal Law and Order Act

Other

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

Expands service and voluteer opportunites

Benefits education, health care, energy, etc.

Stimulus

Cash for Clunkers successfully contributed to 680,000+ vehicle sales in summer 2009

Largest clean energy investment ever made

Reduced deficit by $122 billion[5]

Reduced federal spending by 2%[5]

What didn’t get passed because of Republican obstructionism?

Health Care for 9/11 Emergency Responders

DISCLOSE Act (transparency in elections, specifically campaign financing)

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal

Removal of $75 million cap on oil spill payouts

Elimination of tax incentives for companies shipping American jobs overseas, and creation of tax incentives to businesses bringing jobs home

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Lack of Timely Congressional Public Disclosure is an Insult to the Voters

Posted on September 28th, 2010 | Comments Off on Lack of Timely Congressional Public Disclosure is an Insult to the Voters

The latest campaign contribution and expenditure figures for Congressional races reported by the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) are dated from the end of July 2010 for a report only through June 30, 2010. In an age of electronic and computer nimbleness when news can circulate the globe in a matter of seconds, campaign finance disclosure by candidates running for the US Senate and the House seem to be in the pre-telegraph era.

This antiquated campaign disclosure system hurts the democratic process by denying the public access to campaign spending and contribution information.  It is an insult to the public and benefits special interests trying to obscure and cloud the impact money is having in Congressional races. The public has a right to know who is contributing to candidates and how much is being spent. The current system is a failure for timely disclosure.

And this is not even discussing the most recent insult – the unfettered and unrestricted flow of special interest and corporate dollars flowing into committees and organizations, including those that are filed with the IRS as 501-c-4 organizations that are not required to disclose their donors at all.  This is all the result of the conservative faction put on the US Supreme Court which in their 5 to 4 decision of Citizens United vs the Federal Elections Commission ruled that money and free speech are one and the same.

Current reporting to the FEC by US Senate and House candidates is on a quarterly basis.  Reports are due April 15, July 15, Oct 15, and Jan 31.  There is an additional Pre-Primary and Pre-General Election report. The Pre-General Election report covers Oct 1 -13 and is due Oct 21.

Meanwhile amazingly, Presidential campaigns are required to report monthly as are Party organizations and PAC’s.  Monthly reports are due on the 20th of the following month.

If you haven’t yet figured it out, its Congress who set the reporting requirements for Congress to only report quarterly.  And a further delay is that while the House and Presidential campaigns file directly electronically with the FEC,  the Senate adds additional delay in reporting by first requiring that a PAPER copy be filed with the US Senate which then forwards that to the FEC. Yes the word PAPER is correct. Talk about being behind the times.

Meanwhile here in Washington State  reports for candidates are filed with our Public Disclosure Commission monthly, electronically and the deadline is the 10th of the following month.  This includes races for statewide office like Governor which encompasses obviously the same geographical area as a US Senate race.

Two separate bills are before Congress to increase public disclosure that deserve public support. The first is a perennial bill to require Senate candidates to file electronic copies of their reports. This is Russ Feingold’s bill,  the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. He notes it would save taxpayers $250,000.  As Feingold states,

Under the current paper filing system, the FEC’s detailed coding, which allows for more sophisticated searches and analysis, is completed over a week later for Senate reports than for House reports. This means that the final disclosure reports covering contributions made during the first two weeks of October are often not subject to detailed scrutiny before the election. Detailed campaign expenditure information is never available electronically because the FEC does not enter that information into its databases.

Help urge the US Senate to join the electronic computer era. Send an e-mail to your Senators urging they join the digital revolution in reporting campaign contributions. Click on the link to email Washington State’s Senators:

Senator Maria Cantwell
Senator Patty Murray
To e-mail Senators in other states go to the US Senate website.

The other legislation that Republicans have blocked to date is the DISCLOSE Bill.  As noted in a citizen co-sponsor website at http://www.discloseact.com/

The DISCLOSE Act legislation will address seven major points:

1. Enhance Disclaimers

Make CEOs and other leaders take responsibility for their ads.

2. Enhance Disclosures

It is time to follow the money.

3. Prevent Foreign Influence

Foreign countries and entities should not be determining the outcome of our elections.

4. Shareholder/Member Disclosure

We should allow shareholders and members to know where money goes.

5. Prevent Government Contractors from Spending

Taxpayer money should not be spent on political ads.

6. Provide the Lowest Unit Rate for Candidates and Parties

Special interests should not drown out the voices of the people.

7. Tighten Coordination Rules

Corporations should not be able to “sponsor” a candidate

Please also urge your Senatore to pass this bill. The House has already done so.

For previous discussion of these issues see also:

US Senators Still Trying to Figure out Computers and Internet

Republicans in US Senate Stop Campaign Disclosure Bill

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Republicans Blowing Smoke on Economy According to Newsweek

Posted on August 31st, 2010 | Comments Off on Republicans Blowing Smoke on Economy According to Newsweek

In an article in Newsweek’s The Gaggle on Press, Politics and Absurdity, Arthur Romano details how the Republican agenda for the economy doesn’t hold up when examined. The article is entitled “Estimates Say Fewer Jobs, Larger Deficits if Republicans Were in Charge”. Romano examines and calculates the figures based on stated Republican positions and actions they have proposed.

The article notes:

As House Minority Leader John Boehner put it in a “major economic address” on Tuesday, President Obama is “doing everything possible to prevent jobs from being created” while refusing to do anything at all “about bringing down the deficits that threaten our economy.” Elect Republicans in November, Boehner assured his audience, and we will put an end to this insanity.

There’s only one problem with Boehner’s message: so far, the things that Republicans have said they want to do won’t actually boost employment or reduce deficits. In fact, much the opposite. By combing through a variety of studies and projections from nonpartisan economic sources, we here at Gaggle headquarters have found that if Republicans were in charge from January 2009 onward—and if they were now given carte blanche to enact the proposals they want to—the projected 2010–2020 deficits would be larger than they are under Obama, and fewer people would probably be employed.

It is good to finally see some response from the media to questioning the absurd pronouncements and posturing by Republicans beyond merely quoting their phony claims. Anyone can repeat the nonsense that many Republicans and Tea Party fanatics have been spouting. It’s something else to actually look beyond the heated rhetoric and rantings of the right wing and analyze what putting these folks and their friends back in power would actually mean.

As just one example of why people should read the Newsweek article to understand just how ridiculous the Republican claims are, let’s look at the claim that extending the Bush Tax cuts for the very wealthy will help small business create more jobs.

As Newsweek notes:

“…it’s unlikely that extending the cuts for the richest Americans would have much of an effect on small-business hiring, which is a claim that Republicans make with some regularity. Why? Because of the taxpayers that report running small businesses on their taxes, only 2 percent fall into the top two income brackets.* The other 98 percent of small-business owners make less than $250,000 a year and wouldn’t pay higher taxes under Obama’s plan.

History isn’t on the GOP’s side, either. If keeping the top marginal tax rate at 35 percent—the rate under Bush, and the rate that Republicans are fighting to preserve—spurs so much hiring, why didn’t America experience any job growth at all during Bush’s time in office? And if a top marginal tax rate of 39.6 percent—the rate under Bill Clinton, and the rate that Democrats are fighting to restore—is such a job killer, why did payrolls grow by 20 percent during the 1990s?”

I urge you to read the article to get more details and understand better why the Republican economic
rantings are just a lot of smoke obscuring the reality that things would be worse off, not better if Republicans gain control of either House of Congress.  If you thought we had gridlock and weren’t getting enough done now, expect nothing to get done if Republicans get back control of either house.

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Conservatives Plan to Spend Mega Millions to Win Congressional Lottery

Posted on August 28th, 2010 | Comments Off on Conservatives Plan to Spend Mega Millions to Win Congressional Lottery

Conservatives are betting heavily that they can bring back their nefarious philosophy of corporate control of America by spending mega millions of dollars this year to convince conservatives and independents to get out and vote for right wing candidates to help takeover the US House and Senate. Think Progress reports that right wing spending for the November Election will drastically rise to around $400 million.

Under such well known previous players like the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association are also all American sounding names like Americans for Job Security and Americans for Prosperity.

The Citizens United Supreme Court decision and Tea Party fanaticism and continuing libertarian ideals and free market advocates are all contributing factors stirring up a whirlwind of right wing dollars. Also contributing and giving these fanatics hope are polls that suggest the waning of the  idealism and fervor of new voters and others that helped to elect Obama and put Democrats in control over the last several national elections. They are hoping these Democrats and independents don’t make the effort to vote this year.

All I can say is WAKE UP to those that thought electing Obama was the end of the need to fight for the future. Wake Up to the reality that what we won is in danger of being lost.  Wake up to the realization that despite all the problems inherited from Bush and the Republicans that much progress has been made for a better future.  Maybe its not all you wanted but it is a hell of a lot considering where we were.

I say to those not yet energized to vote this year  – Are you willing to just roll over and play dead and ignore the damage to our future that this right wing fanaticism and greed will bring to us all? I hope not. I urge you to get engaged in this year’s elections and help battle off the attempt by the right wing to bring back the Bush/Cheney/Rove corporate greed machine that puts profit over people lives and dreams and hopes for a better future.

This election year is too important to sit out! Vote and urge your family and friends to vote. Give money to candidates you support and volunteer for their campaigns.

To give an idea of the magnitude and scope of the spending by conservatives here is the list of right wing groups and their proposed spending as tabulated by Think Progress. Do you really want these folks back in charge?

– Chamber of Commerce has pledged to spend $75 million

– American Crossroads has pledged to spend $52 million

– Americans for Prosperity has pledged to spend $45 million

– Republican State Leadership Committee has pledged to spend $40 million

– American Action Network has pledged to spend $25 million

– American Future Fund has pledged to spend up to $25 million

– Club for Growth has pledged to spend at least $24 million

– National Republican Trust PAC has pledged to spend at least $20 million

– An unnamed health insurance industry coalition has pledged to spend $20 million

– National Rifle Association has pledged to spend $20 million

– Faith and Freedom Coalition has pledged to spend $11 million

– FreedomWorks has pledged to spend $10 million

– Americans for Job Security has pledged to spend $10 million

– Susan B. Anthony List has pledged to spend $6 million

– Our Country Deserves Better (Tea Party Express) has already spent $5 million

– Tax Relief Coalition has already spent $4 million

– Republican Majority Campaign has pledged to spend $3 million

– Campaign for Working Families has pledged to spend $2 million

– Heritage Action for America has pledged to spend $1 million

– Financial Services Roundtable has already spent $0.5 million

– Family Research Council has raised $0.5 million

– Citizens United Political Victory Fund has pledged to spend $0.2 million

TOTAL: $399.2 million

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Obama, Democrats Score Another Victory with Passage of Financial Reform Bill

Posted on July 16th, 2010 | Comments Off on Obama, Democrats Score Another Victory with Passage of Financial Reform Bill

President Obama and the Democrats in Congress (with the help of a few Republicans) passed another piece of major legislation. Give credit where credit is due. Despite the never ending negativity of the Republican leadership, Democrats prevailed in passing a major bill to reform financial practices in America. The legislation is a significant reversal from past  policy decisions pushed by free market Republicans to deregulate the financial industry. These policies failed as demonstrated by our current depressed economy and loss of jobs.
 By a Senate vote of 60 to 39, Democrats overcame a continuing filibuster threat by the Republican leadership intent on trying to stop Congress from passing any reform legislation and then blaming Obama for not getting anything done. Voters this November need to keep in mind that it is the Democrats who are working to clear up the messes left by the last Republican Administration and that Republicans continue to obstruct needed change.

As the New York Times notes:

The vote was the culmination of nearly two years of fierce lobbying and intense debate over the appropriate response to the financial excesses that dragged the nation into the worst recession since the Great Depression.

The result is a catalog of repairs and additions to the rusted infrastructure of a regulatory system that has failed to keep up with the expanding scope and complexity of modern finance.

The bill subjects more financial companies to federal oversight, regulates many derivatives contracts, and creates a panel to detect risks to the financial system along with a consumer protection regulator.

A more detailed analysis of some of the provisions of the legislation and comments by some NW Senators can be found on the NPI Advocate.

There’s a great column in today’s Seattle Times by Froma Harrop entitled “Don’t forget who created this mess”. I highly recommend people read it. (Unfortunately the column is not on the Seattle Times website yet).
Too much attention has been given to vocal strident anti-government protesters on the right. They are aligned with and being promoted by conservative Republicans who want back in power. As Harrop says:

But when they ask whether I want Republicans to take back Washington, I’ll respond: “Are you out of your mind? We’re still recovering from their last round of debauchery – their fiscal irresponsibility, servility toward wall Street, disrespect for science, contempt for the environment”. …
Dear readers, I’m a reasonable woman. I don’t care much about ideology.  My bottom line is what’s good for the country.  While the country is on a bad path, Republican voodoo is what put us on it.  Surely, many voters agree with me.

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Only 3 Senate Republicans to put Financial Reform before Politics

Posted on July 14th, 2010 | Comments Off on Only 3 Senate Republicans to put Financial Reform before Politics

Most US Senate Republicans are more intent on playing partisan politics than they are on doing their job and looking out for how to protect the American public from shady financial interests.  Too many in the financial community were more intent on making a fast buck than on providing the public with fair consumer practices and honest deals. Lack of adequate consumer safeguards contributed to our near financial disaster.

We are still trying to recover. Most Republicans under their current leadership are more concerned about how to make President Obama look bad than they are on solving our financial problems. They are more intent on playing political games that they think will help them get back into power.

So when 3 Republicans show courage in bucking the do nothing approach of the Republican leadership, they are to be commended.  So far Senators Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Maine Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe have said they will vote to prevent a filibuster from stopping passage of the proposed financial reform package.

Despite the New York Times characterization of the bill as “limping toward Senate passage“, I think garnering 60 votes in the US Senate is significant. My arithmetic saying that 60 votes is a hell of a lot more than 51 votes which would be a simple majority of  the US Senate.  The whole filibuster process stinks and its one of the factors contributing to the public low opinion of Congress. It’s time to end the filibuster.

As the New York Times notes this bill will accomplish a fair amount:

The legislation would create a system risk council comprising the most senior government regulators to try to identify potential dangers in the financial system. It would create a powerful consumer financial protection bureau to be housed in the Federal Reserve and would impose a new regulatory framework on the trading of derivatives, the complex instruments that were at the center of the 2008 downturn.

The bill seeks to avert future crises by giving government regulators the power to seize control of failing financial institutions, break them apart, sell off the assets and put them out of business, with shareholders and creditors taking losses.

The bill would also strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission by giving it new authority over credit rating agencies , hedge funds and private equity companies.

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Senator Cantwell Agrees to Support Financial Regulatory Bill

Posted on July 13th, 2010 | Comments Off on Senator Cantwell Agrees to Support Financial Regulatory Bill

It seems Democrats in Congress are on the verge of passing another major bill. As reported in the New York Times today, its “a question of when – not if – according to Senate  Democrats.” With most Republicans still plugging their ears and covering their eyes and ignoring the pressing problems facing this country, every Democratic vote is critical as 60 votes are necessary to prevent a filibuster in the Senate.

Senator Maria Cantwell had previously voiced her opposition to the bill because she was concerned that not enough was being done to address the financial risk of loosely or unregulated financial instruments like derivatives which had helped to contribute to the recent financial crisis.

Now the New York Times reports that:

Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, who originally opposed the regulatory overhaul, announced that she would support the final version. The move came after she received a letter from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about provisions relating to new regulation of derivatives, the complex financial instruments that were at the heart of the 2008 crisis. Ms. Cantwell had been concerned about potential loopholes but said she was reassured that the bill would impose a tight regulatory framework

Final passage will still depend on several Republican votes appearing and probably a temporary replacement Senator being appointed to fill West Virginia’s Senate seat held by Senator Robert Byrd who recently died.
The seat will be filled with a temporary appointment until a special election is held in November to fill the remaining two years of Byrd’s term.

One glaring omission from the bill is the lack of oversight for car dealers by the proposed Consumer Protection Agency in the bill. It is unfortunate because after buying a house, cars are one of the major expenses of US households. This would have been a popular item with consumers. .

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