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(L.A.+Times+-+Politics)
Vice President Joe Biden took on a more urgent tone as he campaigned for Democrats in New Hampshire on Monday, saying the party's base needs to "stop whining" about stalled priorities and consider the impact a Republican Congress would have.
Even as Democrats work to sway independent voters, Biden told the partisan crowd that they also need to "remind our base constituency to stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives."
"This president has done an incredible job. He's kept his promises," he said.
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lol..keep them doped up and stupid...(L.A.+Times+-+Politics)
Vice President Joe Biden took on a more urgent tone as he... more
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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tarp-20100923,0,4625198.story
Reporting from Washington —
As one of the most controversial chapters in U.S. economic history draws to a close, the Obama administration and its critics are writing very different obituaries of the $700-billion fund that bailed out Wall Street and the domestic auto industry.
Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the much-maligned Troubled Asset Relief Program "succeeded in ways that none of us could have imagined." And Herbert M. Allison Jr., who resigned Wednesday as TARP's head, said the fund laid the foundation for the nation's recovery — "at a fraction of the cost that was originally anticipated."
The program formally ends Oct. 3, exactly two years after its enactment by a panic-stricken Congress as the swift-moving financial crisis threatened to plunge the world into another Great Depression.
After initial concerns that most if not all of the $700 billion in taxpayer money would never be recovered, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that TARP would cost taxpayers $66 billion.
The fund's biggest initiative, injecting $205 billion in more than 700 banks nationwide, is now projected to make nearly $10 billion in profit. Almost three-fourths of that money has been repaid along with dividends and the sale of stock options the government received with the cash injections.
Despite the deep anger over the bailout that has made TARP a four-letter word to many, the emerging consensus among economists is that the unprecedented program succeeded in helping stem the financial crisis.
"It's probably the best federal program that we've done that's been despised," said Douglas J. Elliott, an economics fellow at the Brookings Institution. "There's a huge disconnect between the public perception of it …and what it actually accomplished. It was a very important part of avoiding a true financial meltdown."
But critics charge that any losses are still too large for taxpayers, and that TARP's cost can't be measured just by dollars and cents.http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tarp-20100923,0,4625198.story
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Since the primary, the Democrat has compared Meg Whitman's campaign to a Nazi propagandist and referred to Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. Some strategists worry about long-term damage.
When gubernatorial nominee Jerry Brown blurted out his unfiltered thoughts last week, aiming barbs at a longtime rival and former president whose assistance Brown's campaign had been scurrying to obtain, the reaction from Democrats was dismay, but not surprise.
In four decades in public life, Brown has defined himself as a candidate who eschews talking points and speaks his mind, and occasionally suffers for it when he does. Already, in the three months since the primary, the Democrat has come under fire for comparing Republican rival Meg Whitman's ad blitz to that of a Nazi propagandist and, last week, taking on Bill Clinton.
The question is whether it will happen again, and what effect a pattern of such gaffes could have on Brown's chances of election.Since the primary, the Democrat has compared Meg Whitman's campaign to a Nazi... more
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http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-independent-voters-20100921,0,3993224.story
Independent voters deeply dissatisfied with Obama, poll says
Survey conducted for the nonprofit Independent Women's Voice also shows that Republicans are well-positioned to pick up independent voters in the November elections.
Independent voters, who broke heavily for President Obama in the 2008 election, have swung dramatically in the other direction and are now deeply dissatisfied with his job performance, the country's direction and the overall state of American politics, a new poll finds.
A survey conducted for Independent Women's Voice, a nonprofit, center-right group, also shows Republicans well-positioned to pick up independent voters in the midterm elections on Nov. 2.
A total of 40% of independents planned to vote Republican, compared with 18% who said they would vote for a Democrat, according to the survey, part of which was conducted Sept. 15-16.http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-independent-voters-20100921,0,3993224.story... more
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Liberals becoming more disenchanted with Democrats, USA Today/Gallup poll finds
Reporting from Los Angeles —
While the political world is fascinated by the growing conservative might that is shaking the Republican establishment, a poll released Monday shows that there is unhappiness brewing at the other end of the political spectrum as liberals are becoming more disenchanted with Democrats, whose control of Congress is being threatened in the midterm elections.
The latest USA Today/Gallup poll shows that fewer than one in five of those surveyed approve of the job Congress is doing, statistically the same as the last few months. Approval of Congress has not been above 20% since May and hasn't passed 30% since a year ago.
Disapproval of Congress has been a steady backbeat to this year's midterm elections as the GOP has sought to harness voter disenchantment by portraying Democrats as the party of big government and ineffective big spending. Democrats have countered that government spending on stimulus measures has helped create jobs, albeit too slowly, and prevented a bad situation from getting worse.Liberals becoming more disenchanted with Democrats, USA Today/Gallup poll finds... more
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate-obama-20100919,0,121971.story
Reporting from Washington —
Environmentalists say they are surprised and disappointed that the Obama administration is urging the Supreme Court to kill a major global warming lawsuit that seeks new limits on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.
At issue is a deep dispute over how best to fight climate change: through new government rules only or through lawsuits against polluters.
Though the administration seeks new limits on carbon pollution from Congress or through the Environmental Protection Agency, it says courts should step aside. But some environmentalists call this one-track approach shortsighted and a mistake.
Environmentalists last year won a major victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York in a global warming suit brought on behalf of eight states, including Connecticut and California. It sought new limits on greenhouse gases from power plants throughout the Midwest and South.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate-obama-20100919,0,121971.st... more
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Jerry Brown has spent much of his race for governor assaulting the character of his Republican rival Meg Whitman. But now, in a jaw-dropping bit of rhetoric, he's extended his criticism to a former Democratic president, Bill Clinton. And he did so by referring obliquely to Clinton's dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
“Meg Whitman. She stops at nothing. She's even got Clinton lying about me. That's right. No, did you see that? Where he said I raised taxes. It's a lie,” he told a crowd at an East Los Angeles event Sunday. “… I mean Clinton's a nice guy but whoever said he always told the truth? You remember, right? There's that whole story there about did he or didn't he. OK, I did… I did not have taxes with this state.”
The last line was a play on Clinton’s defense against the brewing scandal in early 1998 that he had a relationship with Lewinsky. At the time, Clinton asserted, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” Clinton subsequently admitted to an improper relationship with her and faced impeachment proceedings.
Brown and Clinton have a tense history because of the 1992 presidential primaries, during which they tangled as they vied for the nomination. After Clinton racked up enough delegates for the nomination, Brown declined to endorse him at the party’s convention. Last year, Clinton returned the favor by endorsing Gavin Newsom in the California Democratic gubernatorial primary. Newsom quickly dropped out because he couldn't raise enough money to compete with Brown, a fixture on the California political scene for four decades.
Clinton became an issue in the gubernatorial contest last week, when Whitman began airing a 30-second television ad that features 1992 footage of Clinton, then a presidential candidate, trying to refute Brown's claim that he lowered taxes as governor. The video came from a Democratic primary debate that featured both men.
"CNN. Not me, CNN says his assertion about his tax record was, quote, just plain wrong," Clinton says in the ad. "He raised taxes as governor of California…. He doesn't tell the people the truth."
As the Times reported Friday night, the CNN report was based on erroneous data.
The Brown campaign has called on Whitman to take down the ad; the Whitman campaign has refused, saying it remains factually correct because taxes on average did go up during Brown’s tenure as governor from 1975 to 1983.Jerry Brown has spent much of his race for governor assaulting the character of his... more
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The swing voters who turned out in droves to support the president aren't likely to back his party in November. Even core supporters express unhappiness with Democrats.
Reporting from Washington — Nearly two years ago, the political world could only marvel at the breadth of voter support for Barack Obama.
The new president had won over voters once thought to have abandoned his party for good. He'd found new reservoirs of support among groups many thought were tapped out.
He energized a coalition — made up of blacks, women, Latinos, young voters and large numbers of suburbanites — that some believed would keep Democrats in power for years to come.
A scant 20 months later, the Obama coalition is frayed and frazzled.
A majority of those who voted for Obama still approve of the job he is doing. But that number is eroding.The swing voters who turned out in droves to support the president aren't likely... more
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Baghdad is buying American military gear and weapons, which have yet to arrive. U.S. forces must stay to train Iraqis on how to use them, Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi says.
Some form of U.S. military presence will be needed in Iraq at least until 2016 to provide training, support and maintenance for the vast quantity of military equipment and weaponry that Iraq is buying from America, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi said.
In addition, Iraq will continue to need help with intelligence gathering after 2011, and the fledgling Iraqi air force will require U.S. assistance at least until 2020, the date by which Iraq aims to achieve the capability to defend its airspace,
The comments were made in an interview a week after President Obama declared the end of U.S. combat operations and reaffirmed America's commitment to pull out all its troops by the end of 2011, under the terms of a security agreement reached by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government in 2008.
"Maybe endlessly," said Obeidi when asked how long U.S. support may be necessary. "As long as I have an army and I'm a Third World country, and I can't pretend that I'm better than that … I will need assistance."Baghdad is buying American military gear and weapons, which have yet to arrive. U.S.... more
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Reporting from Washington —
President Obama this week will call for tax incentives that would allow businesses to write off 100% of new capital investment through 2011 — moves that the White House says could save businesses $200 billion over two years.
The far-ranging tax proposal is one of a series of economic measures the White House planned to release this week. The first came Monday when Obama called for a $50-billion boost in spending on the nation's roads, runways and railroads, his latest effort to respond to the stubbornly sluggish economy in a political climate turning against his party.Reporting from Washington —
President Obama this week will call for tax... more
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Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer meet with union members and leaders who will be the party's phone callers and foot soldiers heading into election day.
California's Democratic candidates marked the start of the fall campaign Monday in the embrace of their most committed supporters — hundreds of union workers who gathered at rallies across the state to pledge thousands of hours of calls to voters over the eight weeks before election day.
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why is the state broke??Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer meet with union members and leaders who will be the... more
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The security company Blackwater Worldwide formed a network of 30 shell companies and subsidiaries to try to get millions of dollars in government business after the company faced strong criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday.
The newspaper said that it was unclear how many of the created companies got American contracts but that at least three of them obtained work with the U.S. military and the CIA.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has asked the Justice Department to see whether Blackwater misled the government when using the subsidiaries to gain government contracts, according to the Times.WASHINGTON (AP) — The security company Blackwater Worldwide formed a network of... more
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Democrats this week are firing back against the conservative Americans for Prosperity Foundation and an affiliated group that are emerging as big players in midterm elections.
First, Democratic Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland lashed out at the group at a speech this morning at the National Press Club, reports USA TODAY's John Fritze.
"Americans for Prosperity is not interested in America's prosperity," Van Hollen said. "They're interested in the prosperity of the corporations and individuals who benefited greatly from the Bush economic agenda."
Then, news emerged that Democrats had filed a formal complaint against the foundation with the IRS, alleging that it has violated its tax-exempt status with its political advertising. (Non-profit groups, such as the foundation, can run ads to educate voters on issues but are barred from staging campaigns to elect or defeat candidates.)
The criticism comes as the foundation announced it was spending $1.4 million on TV ads in four states -- Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- to criticize "wasteful government spending." That's on top of $4.1 million in ads announced earlier this month in 13 states.
The group also is holding its annual "Defending the American Dream" summit in Washington today.
Foundation President Tim Phillips said the Democrats' complaint is without merit.
"President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the rest of their allies are scared of the impact AFP is having," Phillips said in a statement. "The American people are fed up with the Obama/Pelosi failed policies that are destroying our nation and that is why AFP has grown to almost 1.2 million activists with over 70,000 individual donors."Democrats this week are firing back against the conservative Americans for Prosperity... more
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vernon-20100820,0,284929.story
Bell isn't the only city that has paid huge salaries: In neighboring Vernon, a former city administrator who now serves as a legal consultant has topped the $1-million mark for each of the last four years, records show.
Eric T. Fresch was paid nearly $1.65 million in salary and hourly billings in 2008, when he held the dual jobs of city administrator and deputy city attorney, according to documents obtained by The Times through the California Public Records Act.
Described by city officials as an experienced finance attorney, Fresch was paid nearly $1.2 million last year, records show. Through July 31 of this year, he has earned about $643,000 as "outside legal counsel."
Other highly compensated employees include Donal O'Callaghan, who was paid nearly $785,000 last year as city administrator and director of light and power, overseeing Vernon's city-owned utility. He now earns $384,000 a year overseeing capital projects for the utility after stepping down July 20 as city administrator.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vernon-20100820,0,284929.story
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The United States and international community needs to step up efforts to keep flood-ravaged Pakistan— a central battleground in the U.S. war on terrorism — from destabilizing, according to humanitarian aid groups.
Raymond Offenheiser, the president of the international relief group Oxfam America, described international and private donors' assistance for Pakistan as "anemic" in the aftermath of the country's worst flooding in 80 years.
The United Nations has collected about half of the $460 million it says it needs to provide food, water and shelter to 6 million Pakistanis.
About 17 million Pakistanis have been affected by the flood, and roadways, homes and billions of dollars of crops have been destroyed.
With heavy rains forecast for the weeks ahead, Offenheiser said Pakistan's plight could become only more complicated in the weeks ahead.
"It really does have the potential of pushing people to migrate into other areas, destabilizing rural populations and leading to violence and struggles over access to basic assets and food in ways that could threaten the Pakistani state," Offenheiser said. "I don't think that's in the interest of any nations in the world. And I think that's on the minds of the people in the administration."
Pakistan is vital to the U.S. military's fight against terrorism. Huge swaths of northwest Pakistan, including some of the areas that have been hard hit by four weeks of rain, are under control of the Taliban and other militant groups fighting the U.S. military in neighboring Afghanistan.
Frank Ruggerio, the State Department's deputy representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said on Tuesday that militant groups have been providing aid to flood victims, but he downplayed the significance of their efforts. "We think that the support that the international community can provide is on such a scale beyond what can be provided by organizations such as that," Ruggerio said.
The United States has stepped up as the most significant donor and has arguably been more effective than the Pakistani government in the relief and rescue operation, experts say.
More than half the food provided to flood victims has been distributed by USAID, and Americans have delivered more than $90 million dollars in aid to Pakistan, according to the State Department. The World Bank has pledged $900 million to help rebuild Pakistan.The United States and international community needs to step up efforts to keep... more
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WASHINGTON (AP) — New applications for unemployment insurance benefits reached the half-million mark last week for the first time since November, a sign employers are cutting jobs again as the recovery slows.
The Labor Department says initial claims for jobless benefits rose 12,000 last week to 500,000, fourth increase in the past five weeks. Economists had forecast that claims would drop.
The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose 8,000 to 482,500, highest since December. A Labor Department analyst says there were no special factors that distorted the numbers in the latest week.
Jobless claims declined steadily last year from a peak of 651,000 in March 2009. Employers reduced layoffs and began hiring. But after flattening earlier this year, claims have begun to grow again.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be publishedWASHINGTON (AP) — New applications for unemployment insurance benefits reached... more
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Now, those first-term House Democrats are fighting for their political lives, the once-popular Democratic governor is in trouble and Obama's popularity within the state has tumbled. Republican challengers, many of them former members of Congress, are poised to take advantage.
The most obvious culprit is the economy. Joblessness in Ohio has increased since Obama's win, from about 6% to more than 10%, higher than the nationwide average. The state faces a huge budget shortfall. Republicans are eager to blame the ambitious Democratic agenda on Capitol Hill.
Wednesday marked the president's ninth trip to the state, underscoring Ohio's importance.
The president spent the morning in the backyard of a residence in a middle-class neighborhood north of the city, taking questions from a friendly crowd of about 40. He lauded the effectiveness of his $787-billion stimulus package, financial regulatory reform and the healthcare overhaul. And he asked for patience.Now, those first-term House Democrats are fighting for their political lives, the... more
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President Obama tonight endorsed building an Islamic community center and mosque a few blocks from the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, saying that "Muslims have the right to practice their religion" just like anyone else.
"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances," Obama said at an Iftar dinner at the White House honoring the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. "This is America."President Obama tonight endorsed building an Islamic community center and mosque a few... more
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In a private meeting in the Capitol just now, a dozen or more House liberals bluntly told Nancy Pelosi that there was no chance that they would vote to pass the Senate bill in its current form — making it all but certain that House Dems won’t opt for this approach, a top House liberal tells me.
“We cannot support the Senate bill — period,” is the message that liberals delivered to the Speaker, Dem Rep Raul Grijalva told me in an interview just now.
Some had hoped Pelosi would push liberals to get in line behind this approach, in hopes of expediting reform, but that didn’t appear to happen in this meeting. Pelosi mostly listened, Grijalva said, adding: “We didn’t get any declarative statement from her.”
The meeting, which was polite but blunt in tone, underscores the degree to which Dems are scrambling to figure out a way forward on health care in the wake of last night’s loss. The unwillingness of liberals, and some in labor, to support passing the Senate bill means House Dem leaders need to find another way forward — fast — and leadership aides are scouring procedural rules as we speak.
Tellingly, House liberals also urged Pelosi to consider passing individual pieces of reform through the House as individual bills, and sending them to the Senate to challenge the upper chamber to reject them, Grijalva tells me. Liberals said this approach would be preferable to passing the Senate bill.
For instance, Grijalva said, why not send the Senate individual bills that would, among other things, nix the “Cadillac” tax or close the donut hole, pressuring the Senate to deal with each provision separately?
“If the Senate chooses not to close the donut hole, that’s their damn problem,” Grijalva said. “They’ve had it too easy. One vote controls everything. Collectively, we’re tired of that.”In a private meeting in the Capitol just now, a dozen or more House liberals bluntly... more
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gibbs-20100811,0,7297603.story
By Peter Nicholas and Tom Hamburger, Tribune Washington Bureau
August 11, 2010
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Reporting from Washington —
Festering tensions between the White House and liberal activists flared Tuesday, with presidential Press Secretary Robert Gibbs scolding what he called "the professional left" for its vocal objections to President Obama's record.
In an interview with the Hill newspaper, the president's chief spokesman voiced disdain for liberal critics who've likened Obama to former President George W. Bush.
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"These people ought to be drug tested," Gibbs said. "They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we've eliminated the Pentagon. That's not reality. They wouldn't be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president."
Later in the day, Gibbs put out a statement saying he had spoken "inartfully."
"I watch too much cable, I admit," he said.
Still, the dust-up underscored the tough political position in which the president finds himself. Left and right are unhappy with him, narrowing the political base that Obama needs to pass legislation and avoid losses in the November midterm election.
Until this point, Obama and liberal activists have largely minimized their disagreements in public. But Gibbs' comments could strain the uneasy alliance, ushering in a period where mutual disenchantment is voiced more openly.
The backlash against Gibbs was swift.http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gibbs-20100811,0,7297603.story... more
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