Conservative Democratic Group (CDG)
About the Author
In American politics, Conservative Democrat is a term referring to a member of the Democratic Party who holds some conservative political views.
Conservative Democrats of the twenty-first century are similar to their progressive Republican counterparts, in that both became political minorities after their respective political parties underwent a major political realignment starting in 1964. Prior to 1964, both parties had their liberal, moderate, and conservative wings, each of them equally influential in both parties. During this period, conservative Democrats formed the Democratic half of the Conservative Coalition. After 1964, the conservative wing assumed a greater presence in the Republican Party, although it did not become the mainstay of the party until the nomination of Ronald Reagan in 1980. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, has included both liberal and middle-of-the-road wings. This political realignment was mostly complete by 1980. After 1980, the Republicans became a mostly right-wing party, with conservative leaders such as Sam Brownback and Wayne Allard, while the Democrats became a mostly left-wing party, with liberal leaders such as Edward M. Kennedy and Jerry Brown. However, both parties have a notable centrist wing, with moderates such as Bill Clinton and Joseph Lieberman in the Democratic Party, and moderates such as Rudy Giuliani and John McCain in the Republican Party.
Since 1994, conservative Democrats have been organized in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Blue Dog Democrats. Another coalition of moderate Democrats within the United States Senate is the Democratic Leadership Council, which promotes center-right[1] [2] social/cultural positions on political issues and neo-liberal fiscal issues.
My fellow Democrats, like you, I am quite encouraged by all of the polling data we've seen in the past few weeks. Click on the "Read More" link for current polling data from ElecotralVote.com. I firmly believe that if the election were held today we'd clear 300 electoral votes easily. But the election is not today. It is four weeks from today. There are two more debates and, of course, the proverbial October Surprise to get through. And we all know that four weeks is a long time in the world of politics.
Please do not become complacent. Keep working at your local campaign offices. Keep making donations if and when you can. Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has not given up yet and we will not let up. This election is too important and we've come to far to do anything less. Our very future is at stake.
In closing, we have all come a long way here. We should take some solace in what we've accomplished but not let up one single iota. The party is as unified as it's going to get. We are on the cusp of beginning to recover from the worst presidential administration in American history. The best way to accomplish that is to elect Senator Barack Hussein Obama our forty-fourth POTUS and to elect sixty Democratic Senators for a filibuster proof majority. Four more weeks, my fellow Democrats, four more weeks... Read More »
Please do not become complacent. Keep working at your local campaign offices. Keep making donations if and when you can. Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has not given up yet and we will not let up. This election is too important and we've come to far to do anything less. Our very future is at stake.
In closing, we have all come a long way here. We should take some solace in what we've accomplished but not let up one single iota. The party is as unified as it's going to get. We are on the cusp of beginning to recover from the worst presidential administration in American history. The best way to accomplish that is to elect Senator Barack Hussein Obama our forty-fourth POTUS and to elect sixty Democratic Senators for a filibuster proof majority. Four more weeks, my fellow Democrats, four more weeks... Read More »
Soros floats alternative bailout plan with Dems
By Alexander Bolton
Posted: 09/30/08 11:19 PM [ET]
The billionaire financier George Soros, a major Democratic financial backer, is floating his own rescue plan among Democratic lawmakers who are uncertain what to do in the wake of a surprise defeat of a proposed $700 billion rescue package proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Soros has outlined his plan in an opinion editorial in the Financial Times and circulated a concept paper among decision-makers.
Specifically, the liberal philanthropist has proposed that government funds should be used to recapitalize the American banking system by purchasing equity in banks and investment firms.
Democratic Rep. Jim Moran (Va.) scheduled a meeting Tuesday afternoon with Robert Johnson, a former manager of the Soros Fund Management, to discuss the proposal.
Moran compared the proposal to Warren Buffet’s $5 billion investment in the investment firm Goldman Sachs Group in return for preferred stock and warrants to buy common stock at a discount.
Soros has also contacted Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) presidential campaign to share his views on the financial crisis and the best way to solve it.
Soros described the plan he outlined in his concept paper in an opinion editorial that appeared in the Financial Times early Wednesday morning, Greenwich Meridian Time.
“Instead of purchasing troubled assets, the bulk of the funds ought to be used to recapitalize the banking system,” Soros wrote.
“The Treasury secretary would rely on bank examiners rather than delegate implementation of [the Troubled Asset Relief Program] to Wall Street firms,” he wrote in reference to the plan first crafted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. “The bank examiners would establish how much additional equity capital each bank needs in order to be properly capitalized according to existing capital requirements.”
“The recapitalized banks would be allowed to increase their leverage, so they would resume lending,” he wrote.
Soros has emerged as a harsh critic of the Treasury Department, especially of Paulson’s proposal for the government to buy $700 billion of distressed mortgage-backed securities to restore the flow of credit in the financial markets.
It is unclear whether his entry onto the debris-strewn field of the debate will help lawmakers reach agreement on an alternative proposal or further anger House Republicans, who blew up a compromise plan on the House floor Monday...
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/soros-floats-alternative-bailout-plan-with-dems-2008-09-30.html Read More »
Some may believe that is harsh or ill-advised. They are certainly entitled to their opinion. But, IMHO, the worst thing we could do is to bailout these stupid, conservative, money-worshipping, fat cats. Bailing out an industry who was prone to make loans to people who had virtually no chance of being able to pay back said loans and even worse, were not intelligent enough to fully comprehend the terms of the agreement is just plain wrong.
The banks who made these loans are as much at fault as the dumba**es who accepted the loans. If you're a loan manager and a person comes to you wanting to buy a $250K house and makes $30K a year; what the hell are thinking authorizing that loan? Furthermore, if you're making $30K a year and a bank offers you a loan where the first year, or two, you only pay $500 a month but, in the next year the ARM kicks in and you're paying $1500 a month, what the hell are you doing accepting those terms? Are you planning on hitting the lottery? Perhaps you were waiting for a rich relative to die? More than likely, it was someone trying to ride the market up and flipping the house to some sucker who was going to pay 25% to 100% more than the actual property was worth.
Then, to top it all off, some nitwit conservative gets the idea of, "Hey, let's sell this worthless paper to some sucker and we're outta here!" This is the schmuck, now rich schmuck, the SEC should've been on guard for.
I do not feel sorry for Lehman Bros., Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, or any of the rest for being so stupid as to not check the validity and security of these so-called mortgage backed securities. They let their greed get the best of them. Why? Because they took out loans based on their holding of these worthless mortgage based securities and when they proved to be worthless they had no way to pay back the money they borrowed against the securities because the $30K guy woke up one morning and realized he had $4000 of bills, now that gas is nearly $4 a gallon as is milk and his personal property taxes are through the roof for his overvalued house, in one month and only $2500 of income. Oops! This is what happens when you let stupid people run things.
And then someone warns, "But we won't be able to get credit to buy cars and houses and fancy Made in China clothes". To those people I would say, here's a novel approach; cash and carry. And that concept is interest free! Save your money. Make some small investments, if you dare, in this economy. Walk into the car dealership or a realtor, stroke a check, and drive out. I'm sure GM or Century 21 wouldn't mind having all of that money up front. Then they don't have to worry about whether or not you're going to get fired, the economy is going to tank, again, you get divorced and your income drops 30% to 70%, or any other unforseen calamity. Read More »
The banks who made these loans are as much at fault as the dumba**es who accepted the loans. If you're a loan manager and a person comes to you wanting to buy a $250K house and makes $30K a year; what the hell are thinking authorizing that loan? Furthermore, if you're making $30K a year and a bank offers you a loan where the first year, or two, you only pay $500 a month but, in the next year the ARM kicks in and you're paying $1500 a month, what the hell are you doing accepting those terms? Are you planning on hitting the lottery? Perhaps you were waiting for a rich relative to die? More than likely, it was someone trying to ride the market up and flipping the house to some sucker who was going to pay 25% to 100% more than the actual property was worth.
Then, to top it all off, some nitwit conservative gets the idea of, "Hey, let's sell this worthless paper to some sucker and we're outta here!" This is the schmuck, now rich schmuck, the SEC should've been on guard for.
I do not feel sorry for Lehman Bros., Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, or any of the rest for being so stupid as to not check the validity and security of these so-called mortgage backed securities. They let their greed get the best of them. Why? Because they took out loans based on their holding of these worthless mortgage based securities and when they proved to be worthless they had no way to pay back the money they borrowed against the securities because the $30K guy woke up one morning and realized he had $4000 of bills, now that gas is nearly $4 a gallon as is milk and his personal property taxes are through the roof for his overvalued house, in one month and only $2500 of income. Oops! This is what happens when you let stupid people run things.
And then someone warns, "But we won't be able to get credit to buy cars and houses and fancy Made in China clothes". To those people I would say, here's a novel approach; cash and carry. And that concept is interest free! Save your money. Make some small investments, if you dare, in this economy. Walk into the car dealership or a realtor, stroke a check, and drive out. I'm sure GM or Century 21 wouldn't mind having all of that money up front. Then they don't have to worry about whether or not you're going to get fired, the economy is going to tank, again, you get divorced and your income drops 30% to 70%, or any other unforseen calamity. Read More »
LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she's excited about a landmark trip she will make to Libya on Friday, becoming the highest-ranking American official to visit the North African country in more than a half-century.
"I am very much looking forward to it," she said here before leaving for Tripoli, where she will meet and shake hands with Moammar Gadhafi and close a nearly three-decade era of bitter animosity between the United States and Libya.
"It is a historic moment and it is one that has come after a lot of difficulty, the suffering of many people that will never be forgotten or assuaged, Americans in particular for whom I am very concerned," Rice told a news conference in Lisbon.
"It is also the case that this comes out of a historic decision that Libya made to give up weapons of mass destruction and renounce terrorism," she said. "Libya," she added, "is a place that is changing and I want to discuss how that change is taking place."...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080905/D930HSA00.html
Now what the hell is Secretary Rice doing in Libya when the Russians are invading Georgia, Iraq is still a mess, Afghanistan is neglected, and so on? Then I read on...
...As the first secretary of state to visit the former pariah, oil-rich country in more than a half-century, Rice's visit will represent a foreign policy success for a Bush administration badly in need of one in its final months...
It's all about the oil, again. COL Ghaddafi should feel fortunate in one respect. We didn't send the Marines in to "negotiate" as we did in Iraq.
Two months from yesterday, we will elect the United States' forty-fourth POTUS. This POTUS will be responsible for cleaning up the affairs of the Bush Administration, the most incompetent since the days of Herbert Hoover and to restore America's standing in the world. It is a daunting task.
Some have argued that this election will pit young against old, black versus white, religious against secularist. They are correct. And they have been correct since the inception of American elections over two centuries ago.
So how do we win? Read More »
Some have argued that this election will pit young against old, black versus white, religious against secularist. They are correct. And they have been correct since the inception of American elections over two centuries ago.
So how do we win? Read More »
Location: Wilmington, DE
My Story: Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings in an Irish-Catholic family. The family later moved to a middle-class neighborhood in Delaware. At age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate. Right after being elected, his first wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. People rallied around him, and for the next five years, he raised his two sons as a single parent, never forgetting family comes first. He never forgot where he came from. While most Senators live in Washington, he commutes home every night using public transportation to be with his wife of almost 30 years, Jill, a school teacher, and his now 89-year-old mother. They have three children - Beau, Hunter, and Ashley - and five grandchildren.
Birth Date: November 20th Issues: Civil Liberties; Civil Rights; Economic Growth; Education; Election Reform; Energy Policy; Environment; Good Government; Healthcare; Military Issues; National Security; Retirement Security
Registered to Vote: Yes
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Political Identification: Progressive
"History says, Don't hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme." - Seamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy"
http://www.democrats.org/page/dashboard/public/gHskf
Also, here are some more links regarding Sen. Biden's service and career:
http://biden.senate.gov/senator/
http://biden.senate.gov/senator/timeline/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26010055/
Location: Wilmington, DE
My Story: Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings in an Irish-Catholic family. The family later moved to a middle-class neighborhood in Delaware. At age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate. Right after being elected, his first wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. People rallied around him, and for the next five years, he raised his two sons as a single parent, never forgetting family comes first. He never forgot where he came from. While most Senators live in Washington, he commutes home every night using public transportation to be with his wife of almost 30 years, Jill, a school teacher, and his now 89-year-old mother. They have three children - Beau, Hunter, and Ashley - and five grandchildren.
Birth Date: November 20th
Issues: Civil Liberties; Civil Rights; Economic Growth; Education; Election Reform; Energy Policy; Environment; Good Government; Healthcare; Military Issues; National Security; Retirement Security
Registered to Vote: Yes
Party Affiliation: Democrat
Political Identification: Progressive
"History says, Don't hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime the longed for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme." - Seamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy"
http://www.democrats.org/page/dashboard/public/gHskf
Read More »LENEXA, Kan. -- After weeks of speculation and days of intense rumors, the answer to who Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would name as his running mate may have come down to a bumper sticker printed in Lenexa.
KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported that the company, which specializes in political literature, has been printing Obama-Bayh material. That's Bayh as in U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana. Word leaked out about the material as it was being printed up by Gill Studios of Lenexa. The Obama campaign had said it would make the announcement by text message on Friday.
Gill Studios, would not confirm information about the material. They would not deny it either. The company president would not comment when asked by Mahoney about the reports. But at least three sources close to the plant's operations reported the Obama-Bayh material was being produced.
Bayh has a reputation as a fiscally conservative Democrat. Bayh endorsed Hillary Clinton and it is believed that he could help the Obama ticket by delivering a key battleground state.
Obama has arranged a joint appearance for Saturday with his running mate at the state capitol in Springfield, Ill...
http://www.kmbc.com/politics/17267009/detail.html Read More »
Michelle was born on January 17, 1964, to Marian and Fraser Robinson on Chicago's South Side and graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago's West Loop. After high school Michelle went on to Princeton University where in 1985 she graduated with a B.A. in sociology and a minor in African American studies. After college, Michelle continued her education at Harvard Law School, where she earned her degree in 1988. For three years after law school, Michelle worked as an associate in the area of marketing and intellectual property at Chicago law firm Sidley and Austin, where she met Barack Obama. She left the corporate law world in 1991 to pursue a career in public service, serving as an assistant to the mayor and then as the assistant commissioner of planning and development for the City of Chicago. In 1993, she became the founding executive director of Public Allies - Chicago, a leadership training program that received AmeriCorps National Service funding and helped young adults develop skills for future careers in the public sector. Michelle began her involvement with the University of Chicago in 1996. As associate dean of student services, she developed the University's first community service program. Michelle also served as executive director of community and external affairs until 2005, when she was appointed vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She also managed the business diversity program. Michelle has fostered the University of Chicago's relationship with the surrounding community and developed the diversity program, making them both integral parts of the Medical Center's mission. Barack, Michelle and their two daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, live on the South Side of Chicago.
http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet.php#michelle
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid474445759?KeepThis=true&
DETROIT -- Judge Ronald Giles sent Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to Wayne County Jail for failing to notify the court of his trip to Canada and violating the terms of his bond.
Despite Kilpatrick's humble apologies to the court beforehand, Giles said he needed to treat Kilpatrick as an ordinary citizen and sent him immediately to jail.
Giles revoked Kilpatrick's bond and suspended all travel.
"What matters to me though is how the court overall is perceived and how if it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in that seat, what would I do? And that answer is simple," he said.
Kilpatrick's attorneys said they immediately will appeal the ruling.
"The judge did what he thought was right. We don't agree," said defense lawyer James Thomas...
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/17120142/detail.html Read More »
Despite Kilpatrick's humble apologies to the court beforehand, Giles said he needed to treat Kilpatrick as an ordinary citizen and sent him immediately to jail.
Giles revoked Kilpatrick's bond and suspended all travel.
"What matters to me though is how the court overall is perceived and how if it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in that seat, what would I do? And that answer is simple," he said.
Kilpatrick's attorneys said they immediately will appeal the ruling.
"The judge did what he thought was right. We don't agree," said defense lawyer James Thomas...
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/17120142/detail.html Read More »
Just west of El Paso, near where Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in 1598, construction crews have completed a steel fence authorities say is a new model for border security. The five-meter (18-foot) tall fence has a mesh woven so tightly that feet and fingers cannot grab hold, but it still allows people to see through. Steel pylons are set close enough to stop a truck from bursting through, and two meters of reinforced concrete underground deters any tunneling. The structure is designed to push would-be illegal immigrants and drug smugglers out into the desert where they are more easily caught, said Border Patrol Agent Martin Hernandez. "Will it completely stop them from coming across? Of course not," Hernandez said. "Rest assured, there will eventually be holes in parts of the wall made by people trying to get in. But it buys us valuable time." The US Department of Homeland Security is racing to meet a December 31 deadline to raise 670 miles of steel fences and vehicle barriers along the 3,200 kilometer (2,000 mile) long southern border. About half has been completed, including this six kilometer (four mile) segment at New Mexico's Santa Teresa Port of Entry. But DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff faces a flurry of lawsuits by environmentalists and border communities that could stop construction cold... http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080805132655.d1bc5iw6&show_article=1 Read More »
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is due in federal court to answer charges that he lied about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from an oil services contractor.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stevens is the Senate's longest-serving Republican and has been a dominant figure in congressional politics for a generation. After being indicted on seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms, Stevens was ordered to surrender in federal court and appear before a judge Thursday.
Stevens has said little about the corruption investigation that has dogged him for more than a year. Thursday's court hearing was expected to be no different. He was expected to plead not guilty, but initial appearances are usually brief affairs.
The indictment is a blow to the senator's re-election bid. Once a seemingly invincible political figure, he now faces both Democratic and Republican challengers who hope his legal woes make him vulnerable to defeat.
Though some GOP colleagues have distanced themselves from Stevens, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence, and his campaign has pledged to continue.
To do so, he would have to ask U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for permission to travel. Stevens was expected to remain free while he campaigns and attends to Senate business, but Sullivan was to decide what rules the senator must abide by while he awaits trial.
Stevens, 84, is accused of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts and home remodeling services he received from VECO Corp., a once powerful contracting firm. Two top VECO executives have pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers. The executives cooperated with the FBI and provided information about Stevens.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on each of seven counts.
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is due in federal court to answer charges that he lied about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from an oil services contractor.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stevens is the Senate's longest-serving Republican and has been a dominant figure in congressional politics for a generation. After being indicted on seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms, Stevens was ordered to surrender in federal court and appear before a judge Thursday.
Stevens has said little about the corruption investigation that has dogged him for more than a year. Thursday's court hearing was expected to be no different. He was expected to plead not guilty, but initial appearances are usually brief affairs.
The indictment is a blow to the senator's re-election bid. Once a seemingly invincible political figure, he now faces both Democratic and Republican challengers who hope his legal woes make him vulnerable to defeat.
Though some GOP colleagues have distanced themselves from Stevens, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence, and his campaign has pledged to continue.
To do so, he would have to ask U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for permission to travel. Stevens was expected to remain free while he campaigns and attends to Senate business, but Sullivan was to decide what rules the senator must abide by while he awaits trial.
Stevens, 84, is accused of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts and home remodeling services he received from VECO Corp., a once powerful contracting firm. Two top VECO executives have pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers. The executives cooperated with the FBI and provided information about Stevens.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on each of seven counts.
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
[This is not a very good article; but if you read 'in between the lines' you can 'see the writing on the wall']
by Steve MacDonald
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- News of the indictments against U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens comes at a time when he was already fighting for his political life.
Many polls prior to Tuesday's indictments show that the race between Stevens and Democrat Mark Begich is already close.
Without a doubt, Tuesday's announcement from the Department of Justice will have its effect on the election. But what effect it will have depends on who you ask.
It was already shaping up to be one of Stevens's toughest political campaigns ever, and the news out of Washington, D.C. could make his reelection bid even more difficult.
"Partisan politics should play no part, either in what charges we bring or in things like the timing of indictment or that type of thing," said Mark Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general. "That policy has been followed to the letter in this case."
Art Hackney, one of Stevens's long time campaign advisors, is questioning the timing of Tuesday's announcement.
"I think like most Alaskans, (I'm) flabbergasted and taken aback," Hackney said. "One cannot help, in this business, but be a little bit jaded to say it's kind of ironic. The one-year anniversary of the raid on the house, and to drop this bomb just a month before a primary election."
One person keeping his distance from the indictment is the man who perhaps could gain the most from it -- Mark Begich, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
"I think it's a sad day in Alaska, but we're going to keep focused on the future of this great state," Begich said.
Begich refuses to speculate on how Stevens's legal trouble will impact the election.
"It will always be close, at the end of the day I don't think it's really appropriate to talk about the campaign," Begich said. "It's an issue that Sen. Stevens will have to go through and it will go to where it goes."
While Begich is being guarded in his comments, others are not.
"I think he has a chance of winning the primary -- I don't think he has a chance to win the general," said Dave Cuddy, a Republican candidate for Senate running against Stevens in the upcoming primary.
Cuddy believes his chances of wrestling the Republican nomination away from Stevens in next month's primary just went up.
"As Republicans and Independents, as conservatives start to realize that if Sen. Stevens is the nominee, it's likely that Mark Begich will be the ultimate winner in the general," Cuddy said. "They have to start thinking about whether that's a scenario that they want to support."
In a written statement, Stevens says he's vowing to stay in the race. Most polls show Stevens and Begich are running neck and neck.
The question now is this: Can Stevens survive the news out of Washington, or will he become the latest to fall in the ongoing VECO scandal?
Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign said the senator's reelection bid continues to "move full steam ahead." He said their office was flooded with calls and emails urging Stevens to press on.
None of Stevens' challengers say they picked up any new support as a result of today's indictment, but Cuddy said he expects to begin picking up what he calls "quiet support" from Washington, D.C., in other words, people who wanted to support his campaign but were afraid to anger the incumbent, Stevens.
Contact Steve MacDonald at stevem@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
by Steve MacDonald
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- News of the indictments against U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens comes at a time when he was already fighting for his political life.
Many polls prior to Tuesday's indictments show that the race between Stevens and Democrat Mark Begich is already close.
Without a doubt, Tuesday's announcement from the Department of Justice will have its effect on the election. But what effect it will have depends on who you ask.
It was already shaping up to be one of Stevens's toughest political campaigns ever, and the news out of Washington, D.C. could make his reelection bid even more difficult.
"Partisan politics should play no part, either in what charges we bring or in things like the timing of indictment or that type of thing," said Mark Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general. "That policy has been followed to the letter in this case."
Art Hackney, one of Stevens's long time campaign advisors, is questioning the timing of Tuesday's announcement.
"I think like most Alaskans, (I'm) flabbergasted and taken aback," Hackney said. "One cannot help, in this business, but be a little bit jaded to say it's kind of ironic. The one-year anniversary of the raid on the house, and to drop this bomb just a month before a primary election."
One person keeping his distance from the indictment is the man who perhaps could gain the most from it -- Mark Begich, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
"I think it's a sad day in Alaska, but we're going to keep focused on the future of this great state," Begich said.
Begich refuses to speculate on how Stevens's legal trouble will impact the election.
"It will always be close, at the end of the day I don't think it's really appropriate to talk about the campaign," Begich said. "It's an issue that Sen. Stevens will have to go through and it will go to where it goes."
While Begich is being guarded in his comments, others are not.
"I think he has a chance of winning the primary -- I don't think he has a chance to win the general," said Dave Cuddy, a Republican candidate for Senate running against Stevens in the upcoming primary.
Cuddy believes his chances of wrestling the Republican nomination away from Stevens in next month's primary just went up.
"As Republicans and Independents, as conservatives start to realize that if Sen. Stevens is the nominee, it's likely that Mark Begich will be the ultimate winner in the general," Cuddy said. "They have to start thinking about whether that's a scenario that they want to support."
In a written statement, Stevens says he's vowing to stay in the race. Most polls show Stevens and Begich are running neck and neck.
The question now is this: Can Stevens survive the news out of Washington, or will he become the latest to fall in the ongoing VECO scandal?
Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign said the senator's reelection bid continues to "move full steam ahead." He said their office was flooded with calls and emails urging Stevens to press on.
None of Stevens' challengers say they picked up any new support as a result of today's indictment, but Cuddy said he expects to begin picking up what he calls "quiet support" from Washington, D.C., in other words, people who wanted to support his campaign but were afraid to anger the incumbent, Stevens.
Contact Steve MacDonald at stevem@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
by Jason Moore
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Sen. Ted Stevens on seven felony counts Tuesday.
The charges allege that Stevens accepted more than $250,000 in gifts from VECO Corp. and its CEO Bill Allen and deliberately failed to report those gifts on disclosure statements.
"Earlier today, a federal grand jury here in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging United States Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska with seven felony counts of making false statements," said Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general, announcing the indictments Tuesday.
Most of the gifts concerned the renovation of Stevens' Girdwood home, where the FBI served a search warrant one year ago.
Prosecutors say VECO employees did most of the work, and Allen paid most of the bills.
"These items were not disclosed on Sen. Stevens' financial disclosure forms, which he filed under penalties of perjury, either as gifts or as liabilities," Friedrich said. "And further, that Sen. Stevens did not reimburse or repay VECO or its chief executive officer for these items."
In the past, Stevens said he paid the bill he received for the project. According to the Seattle Times, Stevens says he spent $130,000 on the renovation.
The indictment claims Stevens received more than $250,000 from VECO and Allen.
Reaction to the charges against the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate spanned the country.
"I've known Ted Stevens for 28 years, and I've always found him to be impeccably honest," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania. "I don't know that anything, that any stronger comment could be made, and that's my comment."
Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in.
"The news today rocks the foundation of our state, and I certainly share Alaskans concern and dismay over the turn of events today," Palin said.
Sen. Stevens Tuesday released a statement.
"It saddens me to learn that these charges have been brought against me," Stevens said. "I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. Senator."
"The impact of these charges on my family disturbs me greatly," Stevens said. "I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that."
"I talked to the senator personally," said Aaron Saunders, Stevens campaign spokesman. "He was upbeat, and the senator's been fighting for Alaska for a long time and this is another fight and he's going to keep at it."
It was eerily quiet at the senator's campaign office Tuesday. One supporter strolled in to write him a note, summing up the feeling of many.
"I was shocked by it," said John Strachan. "It's a great surprise to me. I was here for the earthquake, and I'm here for Ted's indictment, and of the two I'd rather see an earthquake. This is a disaster."
While prosecutors say Stevens did certain actions to help VECO during the time he was receiving the gifts, the indictment does not allege bribery, which would require prosecutors to prove a formal agreement that Stevens would make official acts in exchange for benefits.
Since the federal corruption investigation began in Alaska, there have been seven convictions, including three lawmakers, former Gov. Frank Murkowski's chief of staff, a lobbyist, and two VECO executives.
Prosecutors say Bill Allen is cooperating with the Justice Department in this case.
Contact Jason Moore at jmoore@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
ADDENDUM (by Brett A. Encelewski):
Can we let this man possibly sit in the U.S. Senate another Decade longer? He has been corrupt for years; this is merely the first time he has been CAUGHT. The F.B.I. and the Federal Grand Jury would not indict him if they had not collated some pretty astonishing evidence against him... what I think is compelling is that they skipped his son (Ben Stevens--who was named in the VECO trials) and went straight for the big man himself) ...the writing is on the wall. Let us Unite, join the 'crusade'; join the United Democrats for the Epic Defeat of Sen. Ted Stevens.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Sen. Ted Stevens on seven felony counts Tuesday.
The charges allege that Stevens accepted more than $250,000 in gifts from VECO Corp. and its CEO Bill Allen and deliberately failed to report those gifts on disclosure statements.
"Earlier today, a federal grand jury here in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging United States Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska with seven felony counts of making false statements," said Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general, announcing the indictments Tuesday.
Most of the gifts concerned the renovation of Stevens' Girdwood home, where the FBI served a search warrant one year ago.
Prosecutors say VECO employees did most of the work, and Allen paid most of the bills.
"These items were not disclosed on Sen. Stevens' financial disclosure forms, which he filed under penalties of perjury, either as gifts or as liabilities," Friedrich said. "And further, that Sen. Stevens did not reimburse or repay VECO or its chief executive officer for these items."
In the past, Stevens said he paid the bill he received for the project. According to the Seattle Times, Stevens says he spent $130,000 on the renovation.
The indictment claims Stevens received more than $250,000 from VECO and Allen.
Reaction to the charges against the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate spanned the country.
"I've known Ted Stevens for 28 years, and I've always found him to be impeccably honest," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania. "I don't know that anything, that any stronger comment could be made, and that's my comment."
Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in.
"The news today rocks the foundation of our state, and I certainly share Alaskans concern and dismay over the turn of events today," Palin said.
Sen. Stevens Tuesday released a statement.
"It saddens me to learn that these charges have been brought against me," Stevens said. "I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. Senator."
"The impact of these charges on my family disturbs me greatly," Stevens said. "I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that."
"I talked to the senator personally," said Aaron Saunders, Stevens campaign spokesman. "He was upbeat, and the senator's been fighting for Alaska for a long time and this is another fight and he's going to keep at it."
It was eerily quiet at the senator's campaign office Tuesday. One supporter strolled in to write him a note, summing up the feeling of many.
"I was shocked by it," said John Strachan. "It's a great surprise to me. I was here for the earthquake, and I'm here for Ted's indictment, and of the two I'd rather see an earthquake. This is a disaster."
While prosecutors say Stevens did certain actions to help VECO during the time he was receiving the gifts, the indictment does not allege bribery, which would require prosecutors to prove a formal agreement that Stevens would make official acts in exchange for benefits.
Since the federal corruption investigation began in Alaska, there have been seven convictions, including three lawmakers, former Gov. Frank Murkowski's chief of staff, a lobbyist, and two VECO executives.
Prosecutors say Bill Allen is cooperating with the Justice Department in this case.
Contact Jason Moore at jmoore@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
ADDENDUM (by Brett A. Encelewski):
Can we let this man possibly sit in the U.S. Senate another Decade longer? He has been corrupt for years; this is merely the first time he has been CAUGHT. The F.B.I. and the Federal Grand Jury would not indict him if they had not collated some pretty astonishing evidence against him... what I think is compelling is that they skipped his son (Ben Stevens--who was named in the VECO trials) and went straight for the big man himself) ...the writing is on the wall. Let us Unite, join the 'crusade'; join the United Democrats for the Epic Defeat of Sen. Ted Stevens.
Fellow Democrats, I ask this question for a very good reason. Exactly, who is reading this post? Those of us who post here on a regular or semi-regular basis know there are about a hundred, or so, of us that fall into one category or the other. We average anywhere between five and twenty posts per day. Most are fairly innocuous. We’ll give our take on the news of the day, bash the Republicans as they bash us on their web sites, and forge relatively strong professional respect and bonds with our fellow bloggers. Of course, we do not agree all the time. Someone once said politics is like ordering pizza for a large group of people. While you’ll agree that your proverbial pizza will have a crust and cheese, all the other toppings are open for debate and you’ll never be able to make everyone happy.
But who else is reading this post? The DNC, to the best of my knowledge, does not post statistics relative to the amount of visitors to this website. I do not see a counter of any sort. Therefore, we bloggers don’t know exactly. And that bothers me.
If we knew that this was a private access blog, that no one could read this without an access code(s) that would be one thing. We wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, have to worry about what we said under those circumstances because, it would only be us here or it would have little or no bearing in the real world just like the conversations you have with your friends or loved ones. But that is not the case.
Before I go any farther, let me state for the record that I, or any of the rest of us bloggers, to the best of my knowledge, are not fully sanctioned members of the DNC. We are simply here to express our views and support the Democratic Party and or its ideals. We created our accounts and, to date, the moderators have not sent us away into the vast depths of cyberspace. Having said that, we are posting on the web log of the Democratic National Committee and that should carry some responsibility.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, perception is everything. In a nation where over half of the electorate does not know their two U.S. senators and over 75% do not know their House Representative, is the average person who comes here really going to distinguish us bloggers from the DNC? I think not. For those that disagree, go watch a segment of “Jaywalking” on the Tonight Show or listen to Glenn Beck’s Moron Trivia. Granted, they air the worse case scenarios however, I would point out that these people displayed have the same right to vote in the United States that you and I do. It’s darn scary, isn’t it?
Therefore, I would ask my fellow, regular DNC bloggers to be mindful of what you post over the course of the three months, or so. The primaries are over. We have our presumptive nominee. And while the General Election is not scheduled until November, every vote counts. Before you click that Post button you should ask yourself two questions. Could this post get any potential votes? How many potential votes will this post lose? Like it or not, agree with it or not, we DNC bloggers are the de facto faces of the DNC to the lurkers who do not comprehend that we are ordinary citizens like them posting on one of millions of web logs. It is my recommendation that, when we get fed up with President Bush’s latest assault on reason or Vice-President Cheney’s latest attempt to subjugate the planet, we vent our anger on a partisan blog such as DailyKOS or Atrios. I have an account at the Politico. They are more fitting places to call an a**hole an a**hole. Here at the DNC blog, we should try to take the same tact that our elected leaders do. We can respect the offices without respecting the office holder. We should show some civility to our fellow Americans, when deserved. Trolls deserve no civility because they do not give such.
In the four years that I have posted here, I have found that most of my fellow Democratic bloggers are thoughtful, intelligent people who want more than anything else, a better America to leave to their progeny. That is the goal of every decent American citizen. It would appear that half of us have one way to accomplish that and half have another. Such is the nature of politics. We settle our disagreements on strategy in the voting booths across this great nation of ours. And because we settle those agreements in the voting booth, every vote counts.
Today, I challenge my colleagues to take their political commentary to a new level. Let’s leave behind the cheap shots and name-calling and replace it with the thoughtful, insightful dialogue we are capable of. Let’s give new bloggers the benefit of the doubt and engage them in a respectful manner until they actually say something that is not respectful. And let’s kick the snot out of the GOP in 2008! After all, the world is watching…
But who else is reading this post? The DNC, to the best of my knowledge, does not post statistics relative to the amount of visitors to this website. I do not see a counter of any sort. Therefore, we bloggers don’t know exactly. And that bothers me.
If we knew that this was a private access blog, that no one could read this without an access code(s) that would be one thing. We wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, have to worry about what we said under those circumstances because, it would only be us here or it would have little or no bearing in the real world just like the conversations you have with your friends or loved ones. But that is not the case.
Before I go any farther, let me state for the record that I, or any of the rest of us bloggers, to the best of my knowledge, are not fully sanctioned members of the DNC. We are simply here to express our views and support the Democratic Party and or its ideals. We created our accounts and, to date, the moderators have not sent us away into the vast depths of cyberspace. Having said that, we are posting on the web log of the Democratic National Committee and that should carry some responsibility.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, perception is everything. In a nation where over half of the electorate does not know their two U.S. senators and over 75% do not know their House Representative, is the average person who comes here really going to distinguish us bloggers from the DNC? I think not. For those that disagree, go watch a segment of “Jaywalking” on the Tonight Show or listen to Glenn Beck’s Moron Trivia. Granted, they air the worse case scenarios however, I would point out that these people displayed have the same right to vote in the United States that you and I do. It’s darn scary, isn’t it?
Therefore, I would ask my fellow, regular DNC bloggers to be mindful of what you post over the course of the three months, or so. The primaries are over. We have our presumptive nominee. And while the General Election is not scheduled until November, every vote counts. Before you click that Post button you should ask yourself two questions. Could this post get any potential votes? How many potential votes will this post lose? Like it or not, agree with it or not, we DNC bloggers are the de facto faces of the DNC to the lurkers who do not comprehend that we are ordinary citizens like them posting on one of millions of web logs. It is my recommendation that, when we get fed up with President Bush’s latest assault on reason or Vice-President Cheney’s latest attempt to subjugate the planet, we vent our anger on a partisan blog such as DailyKOS or Atrios. I have an account at the Politico. They are more fitting places to call an a**hole an a**hole. Here at the DNC blog, we should try to take the same tact that our elected leaders do. We can respect the offices without respecting the office holder. We should show some civility to our fellow Americans, when deserved. Trolls deserve no civility because they do not give such.
In the four years that I have posted here, I have found that most of my fellow Democratic bloggers are thoughtful, intelligent people who want more than anything else, a better America to leave to their progeny. That is the goal of every decent American citizen. It would appear that half of us have one way to accomplish that and half have another. Such is the nature of politics. We settle our disagreements on strategy in the voting booths across this great nation of ours. And because we settle those agreements in the voting booth, every vote counts.
Today, I challenge my colleagues to take their political commentary to a new level. Let’s leave behind the cheap shots and name-calling and replace it with the thoughtful, insightful dialogue we are capable of. Let’s give new bloggers the benefit of the doubt and engage them in a respectful manner until they actually say something that is not respectful. And let’s kick the snot out of the GOP in 2008! After all, the world is watching…
Pass it along. Don't take any crap from anti-Democratic Obama haters. Sen. McCain is the real enemy in this election cycle.
National Security Policy
1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
2. McCain insisted that everyone, even “terrible killers,” “the worst kind of scum of humanity,” and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, “deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,” even if that means “releasing some of them.” McCain now believes the opposite.
3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”
4. In February 2008, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.
5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay before he was against it.
6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He’s since come to the opposite conclusion.
Foreign Policy
7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against it.
8. McCain supported moving “towards normalization of relations” with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
9. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
10. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
11. McCain is both for and against a “rogue state rollback” as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.
13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was for it.
Military Policy
14. McCain recently claimed that he was the “greatest critic” of Rumsfeld’s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as “a mission accomplished.” In March 2004, he said, “I’m confident we’re on the right course.” In December 2005, he said, “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”
15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.
16. McCain said before the war in Iraq, “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough.”
17. McCain has repeatedly said it’s a dangerous mistake to tell the “enemy” when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.
18. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.
Domestic Policy
19. McCain defended “privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
20. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.
21. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
22. He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
23. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won’t commit to supporting a regulation bill he’s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris’ former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.
24. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.
25. McCain’s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t be “rewarded” for acting “irresponsibly.” His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite position.
26. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn’t be allowed.
27. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.
28. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol.
29. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.
30. In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both for and against creationism at the same time.
Economic Policy
31. McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was for them.
32. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of expertise for him, saying, “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues; I still need to be educated,” and “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” He now falsely denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a “very strong” understanding of economics.
33. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned his second position and went back to his first.
34. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were “too tilted to the wealthy.” By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.
35. McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
36. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a “‘read my lips’ candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?” referring to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 pledge. “No new taxes,” McCain responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, “I’m not making a ‘read my lips’ statement, in that I will not raise taxes.”
37. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview on multiple occasions.
38. McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.
Energy Policy
39. McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he’s against it.
40. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
41. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he wants the caps to voluntary.
42. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus. Shortly thereafter, he argued the exact opposite.
43. McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t.
Immigration Policy
44. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. Now he’s against it.
45. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would vote against his own bill.
46. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the borders “before proceeding to other reform measures.” Two months later, he abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he’d never made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his “top priority.”
Judicial Policy and the Rule of Law
47. McCain said he would “not impose a litmus test on any nominee.” He used to promise the opposite.
48. McCain believes the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration’s warrantless surveillance program as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.
49. McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.
Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform
50. McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn’t.
51. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving “feedback” on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that he opposes his own measure.
52. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he abandoned his own legislation.
Politics and Associations
53. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist John Hagee. Now he doesn’t. (He also believes his endorsement from Hagee was both a good and bad idea.)
54. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist Rod Parsley. Now he doesn’t.
55. McCain says he considered and did not consider joining John Kerry’s Democratic ticket in 2004.
56. McCain is both for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.
57. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks.
58. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.
59. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.
60. McCain decided in 2000 that he didn’t want anything to do with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he “would taint the image of the ‘Straight Talk Express.’” Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair for his presidential campaign in New York.
National Security Policy
1. McCain thought Bush’s warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law; now he believes the opposite.
2. McCain insisted that everyone, even “terrible killers,” “the worst kind of scum of humanity,” and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, “deserve to have some adjudication of their cases,” even if that means “releasing some of them.” McCain now believes the opposite.
3. He opposed indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.”
4. In February 2008, McCain reversed course on prohibiting waterboarding.
5. McCain was for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay before he was against it.
6. When Barack Obama talked about going after terrorists in Pakistani mountains with predators, McCain criticized him for it. He’s since come to the opposite conclusion.
Foreign Policy
7. McCain was for kicking Russia out of the G8 before he was against it.
8. McCain supported moving “towards normalization of relations” with Cuba. Now he believes the opposite.
9. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas. Now he believes the opposite.
10. McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria. Now he believes the opposite.
11. McCain is both for and against a “rogue state rollback” as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
12. McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention, even volunteering to testify on the treaty’s behalf before a Senate committee. Now he opposes it.
13. McCain was against divestment from South Africa before he was for it.
Military Policy
14. McCain recently claimed that he was the “greatest critic” of Rumsfeld’s failed Iraq policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as “a mission accomplished.” In March 2004, he said, “I’m confident we’re on the right course.” In December 2005, he said, “Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.”
15. McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq on multiple occasions, concluding, on multiple occasions, that a Korea-like presence is both a good and a bad idea.
16. McCain said before the war in Iraq, “We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” Four years later, McCain said he knew all along that the war in Iraq war was “probably going to be long and hard and tough.”
17. McCain has repeatedly said it’s a dangerous mistake to tell the “enemy” when U.S. troops would be out of Iraq. In May, McCain announced that most American troops would be home from Iraq by 2013.
18. McCain was against expanding the GI Bill before he was for it.
Domestic Policy
19. McCain defended “privatizing” Social Security. Now he says he’s against privatization (though he actually still supports it.)
20. McCain wanted to change the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of rape and incest. Now he doesn’t.
21. McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
22. He argued the NRA should not have a role in the Republican Party’s policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
23. In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes a $0.61-per-pack tax increase, won’t commit to supporting a regulation bill he’s co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris’ former lobbyist as his senior campaign adviser.
24. McCain is both for and against earmarks for Arizona.
25. McCain’s first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn’t be “rewarded” for acting “irresponsibly.” His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite position.
26. McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed, to saying gay marriage shouldn’t be allowed.
27. McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he supported it.
28. McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he’s pro-ethanol.
29. McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate flag.
30. In 2005, McCain endorsed intelligent design creationism, a year later he said the opposite, and a few months after that, he was both for and against creationism at the same time.
Economic Policy
31. McCain was against Bush’s tax cuts for the very wealthy before he was for them.
32. John McCain initially argued that economics is not an area of expertise for him, saying, “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues; I still need to be educated,” and “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” He now falsely denies ever having made these remarks and insists that he has a “very strong” understanding of economics.
33. McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer even try to reach that goal. And soon after that, McCain abandoned his second position and went back to his first.
34. McCain said in 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because they were “too tilted to the wealthy.” By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and falsely argued that he opposed the cuts because of increased government spending.
35. McCain thought the estate tax was perfectly fair. Now he believes the opposite.
36. McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a “‘read my lips’ candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?” referring to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 pledge. “No new taxes,” McCain responded. Two weeks later, McCain said, “I’m not making a ‘read my lips’ statement, in that I will not raise taxes.”
37. McCain has changed his entire economic worldview on multiple occasions.
38. McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off economically than they were before Bush took office.
Energy Policy
39. McCain supported the moratorium on coastal drilling ; now he’s against it.
40. McCain recently announced his strong opposition to a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea.
41. McCain endorsed a cap-and-trade policy with a mandatory emissions cap. In mid-June, McCain announced he wants the caps to voluntary.
42. McCain explained his belief that a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax would provide an immediate economic stimulus. Shortly thereafter, he argued the exact opposite.
43. McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation to combat global warming. Now he doesn’t.
Immigration Policy
44. McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants’ kids who graduate from high school. Now he’s against it.
45. On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008 that he would vote against his own bill.
46. In April, McCain promised voters that he would secure the borders “before proceeding to other reform measures.” Two months later, he abandoned his public pledge, pretended that he’d never made the promise in the first place, and vowed that a comprehensive immigration reform policy has always been, and would always be, his “top priority.”
Judicial Policy and the Rule of Law
47. McCain said he would “not impose a litmus test on any nominee.” He used to promise the opposite.
48. McCain believes the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in the administration’s warrantless surveillance program as a condition for retroactive immunity. He used to believe the opposite.
49. McCain went from saying he would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade to saying the exact opposite.
Campaign, Ethics, and Lobbying Reform
50. McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation from 1997. Now he doesn’t.
51. In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving “feedback” on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that he opposes his own measure.
52. McCain supported a campaign-finance bill, which bore his name, on strengthening the public-financing system. In June 2007, he abandoned his own legislation.
Politics and Associations
53. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist John Hagee. Now he doesn’t. (He also believes his endorsement from Hagee was both a good and bad idea.)
54. McCain wanted political support from radical televangelist Rod Parsley. Now he doesn’t.
55. McCain says he considered and did not consider joining John Kerry’s Democratic ticket in 2004.
56. McCain is both for and against attacking Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.
57. McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as “an agent of intolerance” in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man who said Americans “deserved” the 9/11 attacks.
58. In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of being corrupt, spending “dirty money” to help finance Bush’s presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support.
59. McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones University before he was for it.
60. McCain decided in 2000 that he didn’t want anything to do with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, believing he “would taint the image of the ‘Straight Talk Express.’” Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair for his presidential campaign in New York.
A Rasmussen Reports poll released today shows Mayor Mark Begich with an nine-point lead (50%-41%), up from a two-point deficit last month.
That's an 11 point swing!
We've been on the air in Alaska for two weeks and these ads reminding voters of Mark's strong record of success are clearly paying dividends.
To stay on the air for the month before Alaska's primary election on August 26 we need your help.
Will you help us keep our ads and message of positive change on Alaskans' televisions?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
While this is good news, we know Sen. Stevens, his DC Republican allies, and special interest friends will now throw everything from their bag of tricks at Mark in an attempt to drive down his strong favorability ratings.
Will you donate now to help us fend off this negative onslaught and keep Mark in the lead?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
Thank you for your continued commitment to electing a U.S. Senator from Alaska of whom we can be proud.
Heather Rauch
Campaign Manager
Alaskans for Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
That's an 11 point swing!
We've been on the air in Alaska for two weeks and these ads reminding voters of Mark's strong record of success are clearly paying dividends.
To stay on the air for the month before Alaska's primary election on August 26 we need your help.
Will you help us keep our ads and message of positive change on Alaskans' televisions?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
While this is good news, we know Sen. Stevens, his DC Republican allies, and special interest friends will now throw everything from their bag of tricks at Mark in an attempt to drive down his strong favorability ratings.
Will you donate now to help us fend off this negative onslaught and keep Mark in the lead?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
Thank you for your continued commitment to electing a U.S. Senator from Alaska of whom we can be proud.
Heather Rauch
Campaign Manager
Alaskans for Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
I found this non-partisan poll analysis website http://www.electoral-vote.com/ during the 2004 cycle. Also, this one http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ really breaks down the individual races and still has primary results posted for those interested. Either should be good resources for us. Read More »
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/071808/let_258680041.shtml
LETTER to the Editor printed in our local paper supporting MARK BEGICH for U.S. Senate [AK] vs. Ted Stevens. Specifically supporting 'Gun Owners For Begich.'
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