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LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of February 10, 2008

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CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT LIST OF EVENTS

Updated on a regular basis

The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at Democratic Headquarters,           

640 Barret Avenue .

 

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VOTERS, YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT

DITCH MITCH

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  REMEMBER, CHECK TO DONATE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

  ON YOUR STATE & FEDERAL TAX RETURNS

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McConnell ads featuring U of L doctors continues to draw fire

U of L's President Ramsey said he initially believed the videos would be used only on a McConnell Web site.

Had he known they'd be broadcast more widely in televised campaign commercials, he said, he would have handled things differently.

"I should have known that anything that goes on the Web is public domain and could be used in an ad, but I just didn't think about that," he said.

Justin Brasell, a representative for McConnell's campaign, declined to comment. "We don't have anything to say that would be of benefit," he said.

John Drees, U of L's associate vice president said in an e-mail to Ellen de Graffenreid, a spokeswoman for the school's health sciences campus, "I will not recommend that we do anything to take on the senator." At this point, we just want this to go away and not become an issue during the legislative session."

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DID MITCH STRIKE AGAIN?

 

London drops out of 2nd Congressional District race

 

7 Years of Bush: The Walls Came Tumbling Down  by Mike Hall  

The economy is not the only thing crumbling around President Bush. After years of near neglect, so is the nation’s infrastructure.

He admitted Monday in his State of the Union address that there is “real concern” about the economy. But just as he did in his economic stimulus proposals, he made no mention of the nation’s deteriorating roads, bridges, dams, water and sewer systems.

Ed Wytkind, president of AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), says Bush once again:

failed to provide leadership regarding our nation’s crumbling transportation infrastructure, for the eighth time in a row.

The Minneapolis bridge collapse in August was a horrific and vivid example of our infrastructure’s state of disrepair. How many bridges have to fall down before we make our transportation infrastructure a priority?

According to a recent report at Stateline.org, one-quarter of the nation’s 600,00 bridges need significant repair; one-third of the country’s major roadways are in substandard condition; and more than 3,300 dams are at risk of failure, with more than 1,300 of those being considered “high hazard” risks.

Donald F. Kettle, director of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania tells Stateline.org:

Much of America is held together by Scotch Tape, baling wire and prayers.

A move to repair and rebuild can provide both a short-term and long-term economic boost by putting people to work. An editorial in the Youngstown Vindicator notes Bush missed a golden opportunity:

He could certainly have boosted the morale of the American people by announcing a forward-thinking initiative to create jobs, such as a nationwide road and bridge-rebuilding program.

Many independent studies have pointed to the deterioration of America’s transportation infrastructure….such a rebuilding program would create the kinds of jobs that would certainly spur the economy.

The AFL-CIO’s economic stimulus proposal called for acceleration of ready-to-go public investment in school renovations and bridge repairs. But so far that has been left out of House and Senate proposals. Says Wytkind:

Investment in our nation’s transportation infrastructure is an important component of any economic stimulus package. By investing in the country’s infrastructure, we would not only put thousands of people to work but also address a critical need.

AFT President Edward McElroy says that if Bush’s

priorities included job creation, strengthening our infrastructure and better educational opportunities, we would expect to see a stimulus package that addresses our nation’s $100 billion backlog in school repairs.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), whose district includes the I-35 bridge that collapsed in August, killing 12 people, also backs an economic stimulus package that includes the money to create the jobs to repair the infrastructure.

Our bridges are literally falling down in America. Mr. President: Our country needs an economic stimulus package that will result in something more than pocket change for most working families and would put hard-working Americans’ tax dollars to use building American schools, roads, jobs, hospitals and small businesses.

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Comments to the Editor:  

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DAILY GRILL        

"I'm not sure which government does their budget work better -- ours or theirs [Iraq's]."  -- President Bush, 1/31/08

VERSUS

"President Bush's budget for 2009, which will be released Monday, will total more than $3 trillion, the first time that barrier has been broken. ... The budget plan projects big increases in federal budget deficits, to about $400 billion." -- Wall Street Journal, 2/1/08

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"[T]he bill sends hundreds of millions of dollars to people who do not pay federal income taxes, including residents of Puerto Rico and territories like Guam. I do not believe American taxpayer funds should be sent to foreign citizens who do not pay taxes." -- Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), 1/29/08

VERSUS

"Puerto Ricans were made American citizens in 1917, almost two decades after the United States invaded the island during the Spanish- American war." -- Orlando Sentinel, 2/4/08

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"I would say the security situation is good." -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 1/30/08, on Afghanistan

VERSUS

Afghanistan is facing "a growing insurgency, increasing violence and a burgeoning drug trade fueled by widespread poppy cultivation." -- Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike McMullen, 2/6/08

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Quotes of the Day     

"If I believe the country will suffer with either Hillary, Obama or McCain, I would just as soon the Democrats take the hit . . . rather than a Republican causing the debacle," he said. "And I would prefer not to have conservative Republicans in the Congress paralyzed by having to support, out of party loyalty, a Republican president who is not conservative." Limbaugh on McCain

Bill O'Reilly: "Look, I think both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton understand the Fox News Channel is the dominant force in cable news, and in prime-time news in this country. If you dodge the Fox News Channel -- which has treated both candidates fairly, by the way -- if you dodge us, it is at your peril."

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Recent Senate Votes 

ECONOMY -- SENATE CONSERVATIVES BLOCK ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE: Senate conservatives on Wednesday blocked an economic stimulus package that included "$600-$1,200 rebate checks for more than 100 million Americans," as well as "$44 billion in help for the elderly, disabled veterans, the unemployed and businesses." The measure was backed by unlikely allies including automakers Ford and General Motors, home builders, realtors and mortgage bankers, and the AARP. The plan "attracted the votes of all 51 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, as well as of eight Republicans," but the measure still fell one vote short of the 60 needed under Senate rules to move forward. Both Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) returned from the campaign trail for the Senate debate. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly told audiences that that the "first thing we gotta do is pass the stimulus package through the Senate" and promised to vote for the measure. Yesterday, however, he decided to skip the vote, even though his plane landed in Washington, DC in time. McCain said he had been "too busy."

 

FISA Amendments Act of 2007 - Vote Rejected (48-45, 7 Not Voting)

The Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed to end debate on this intelligence surveillance bill.

Sen. Mitch McConnell voted NO

Sen. Jim Bunning voted NO

 

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Recent House Votes 

 

Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008 - Vote Passed (385-35, 1 Present, 10 Not Voting)

The bipartisan economic stimulus package passed the House last week with overwhelming support.

Rep. Ron Lewis voted Not Voting

Rep. John Yarmuth voted YES

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HUMOR      

"John McCain was the big Republican winner. One pundit said McCain's lucky nickel was working. He carries a lucky nickel. It must be lucky - six months ago, that was his campaign war chest." --Jay Leno

"Mitt Romney has dropped out of the presidential race, leaving John McCain as the Republican frontrunner. The GOP likes to call itself the Big Tent Party. Mike Huckabee, he'd be the Revivalist Tent. Ron Paul would be the Circus Tent. And John McCain is the Oxygen Tent." --Jay Leno

“They say Romney spent $37 million of his own money on the campaign. That’s amazing. I was able to not win the Presidency for free. It didn’t cost me a dime." --Jimmy Kimmel

"Big day for Hillary Clinton. She won in Samoa. And coincidentally that's where she's hiding Bill." --David Letterman

"Hillary Clinton is having money problems. To keep her campaign alive, she had to spend $5 million of her family's money. Bill Clinton was very upset. Five million dollars is two months at the strip club. ... He said, "Damn it Hillary I want that money back ... and I want it in singles." --Craig Ferguson

"John McCain says that he's been tested, re-tested and tested again. And that's just his prostate." --Jay Leno

"Mitt looks like a guy modeling briefs on a package of underwear … Mitt looks like a guy who said he met Marge on eHarmony … Mitt looks like a guy who goes to the restroom when the check comes … Mitt looks like a guy who tries to sign you up for Herbalife … Mitt looks like a Beverly Hills cop … He looks like a golf commentator fired for an off-the-cuff remark … Mitt looks like a guy who forgot to remove his teeth whitening strip … Mitt looks like the maitre d' who tells you your table's not ready." –David Letterman (Read more of Letterman's Mitticisms)

"The GOP candidates are still sniping at each other. You've been following this? Romney wants Huckabee to quit. Some think McCain is too liberal. Others think Romney is too conservative. Remember the good old days when the Republican Party was united against the poor? What happened?" --Jay Leno

"Did you all see Barack Obama and Hillary last night at that debate? Did you see them sitting side by side, staring at the camera? They looked like one of those bad local eyewitness news teams. 'Let's go to Barack for the weather. Thank you, Hillary.'" --Jay Leno

"Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton locked horns for a debate that was broadcast on CNN. The tone was much more friendly than their last meeting. In fact, they even shared a room together afterwards. That would be great revenge on Bill for Monica Lewinsky -- Barack and Hillary making sweet, hot, post-debate love. How furious would Oprah be?" --Jimmy Kimmel

"Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race. I will miss Rudy Giuliani as a comedian. I will miss the arguments he had with Mitt Romney. It was like a Halloween costume debating a mannequin." --Bill Maher
 

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RADICAL RIGHT -- RIGHT-WING CONVENTION BANS COULTER: At last year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), right-wing pundit Ann Coulter infamously used an anti-gay slur to refer to former North Carolina senator John Edwards. At the time, the American Conservative Union, which co-sponsors CPAC, not only refused to condemn Coulter's statement, but also stayed silent on whether or not she would be invited back for the next event. U.S. News reports that this year, CPAC organizers have decided to "cut her from the list of speakers at the February 7-9 conference expected to draw 6,000." The conservative Young America's Foundation (YAF), however, is disappointed in CPAC's decision and will host a speech by Coulter at the same conference venue as CPAC. "She's a powerhouse for young people and one major reason that CPAC is so successful," said Ron Robinson, president of YAF.

HOMELAND SECURITY -- U.S. MILITARY NOT PREPARED FOR A HOMELAND ATTACK: A new report by the Commission of the National Guard and Reserves "determined that 88 percent" of National Guard units are not prepared for a catastrophic attack on the country. The 400-page report "concludes that the nation 'does not have sufficient trained, ready forces available' to respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear weapons incident, 'an appalling gap that places the nation and its citizens at greater risk.'" Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, head of U.S. Northern Command, said about 4,000 Guard and Reserve troops would be trained over the next year to be "assigned to a three-tiered response force." Bush's escalation last spring has left the U.S. military overstretched. Earlier this week, Gen. David Petraeus "said the Pentagon wants to bring troops home quickly to reduce the strain on the armed services." Last fall, Army Chief of Staff George Casey said it would take "three or four years" for the military "to put ourselves back in balance" after the Iraq war. 

ECONOMY -- BIG OIL COMPANIES ANNOUNCE RECORD PROFITS: Last week, Royal Dutch Shell announced that profits for the company soared to $26.7 billion in 2007, a record-breaking figure for a European company. The next day, The New York Times reported that "Exxon Mobil's performance last year was a blowout." The oil giant revealed last Friday "that it beat its own record for the highest profits ever recorded by any company, with net income rising 3 percent to $40.6 billion." Exxon Mobil's sales exceeded the gross domestic product of 120 countries. From the beginning of President Bush's tenure in office, the combined profits of the big five oil companies have skyrocketed from just under $40 billion in 2001 to $120 billion in 2007. As Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz recently noted in Vanity Fair, "The soaring price of oil is clearly related to the Iraq war. The issue is not whether to blame the war for this but simply how much to blame it." 

RIGHT-WING S.O.S.: Some members of right-wing radio recognize that they need to change their tactics in order to stay relevant. Michael Medved, who started out by hosting Limbaugh's show, recently wrote, "The big loser in South Carolina was, in fact, talk radio: a medium that has unmistakably collapsed in terms of impact, influence and credibility because of its hysterical and one-dimensional involvement in the GOP nomination fight." The Washington Post wrote this morning that the more moderate positions of some of the GOP candidates will hopefully be able to "save the party from some of its worst and most self-destructive instincts." Harold Meyerson, a Washington Post columnist, called the success of many of the GOP candidates a "direct affront to the Republican strategy devised by Karl Rove."

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Think Fast         

President Bush's 2009 budget "will total more than $3 trillion, the first time that barrier has been broken." "The budget plan projects big increases in federal budget deficits, to about $400 billion for both fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009." Bush's "trail of deficits and debt" will "sharply constrain his successor."

Germany has rejected Defense Secretary Robert Gates's "urgent" request to send more troops to Afghanistan. Germany's response was in reply to an "unusually stern" letter from Gates last month, demanding combat troops, helicopters, and paratroopers.

"The cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined could rise to just under $900 billion by next spring and could near the $1 trillion mark by the end of 2009." Congress has authorized $691 billion in war spending since 2001.

Speaking to a crowd in Florida over the weekend, Karl Rove admitted that he was a "bit of a hothead" while working for President Bush. Rove also compared Bush to President Lincoln in his ability to "get to the nub of the thing." 

President Bush's budget failed to provide any funding for the FOIA Ombudsman's Office in the National Archives and Records Administration and attempts to shift the responsibilities of that office to the Department of Justice. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that putting the Justice Department in charge of transparency in government is a conflict of interest.

Britain's Prince Andrew, who is fourth in line to the throne, yesterday "launched a sharp attack" against President Bush for "failing to listen to Britain during the conflict in Iraq." He added that since the Iraq war, Britons have been left with a "healthy skepticism" toward what is said in Washington.

"Businesses that rely on seasonal workers are scrambling to fill positions, and some are shutting down, because there are fewer visas for the foreign workers who usually fill the jobs."

President Bush's budget, released yesterday, would slash funding for the Environmental Protection Agency "by $330 million from fiscal 2008 to $7.1 billion, with significant drops in spending on clean-water projects. The proposal calls for an overall decrease of almost $600 million from EPA spending in 2007 and the elimination of five programs."

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said yesterday that "Al Qaeda is gaining in strength from its refuge in Pakistan and is steadily improving its ability to recruit, train and position operatives capable of carrying out attacks inside the United States."

In prepared testimony, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "says U.S. forces are "significantly stressed' by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan." "The pace of ongoing operations," says Mullen, "impacts our ability to be ready to counter future threats."

The U.S. Forest Service "has approved a permit allowing a British mining company to explore for uranium just outside" the Grand Canyon. "If the exploration finds rich uranium deposits, it could lead to the first mines near the canyon" in nearly two decades.

"U.S. drivers could enjoy a drop of up to 50 cents per gallon in gasoline prices by this spring as high fuel prices and the threat of a recession force them to conserve, experts said on Wednesday."

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INTERESTING      

The AFL-CIO has filed a lawsuit against Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, claiming that new Labor Department disclosure rules "should be held unlawful and set aside." In a report last year, Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Scott Lilly described how the new rules are part of an effort "to undermine the reputation of the labor union movement."

Right-wing pundit Glenn Beck took a shot at Keith Olbermann, stating, "If I saw Olbermann standing on the subway [platform], I might think for a moment about pushing him, but I wouldn't." Olbermann responded: "The subway remark summarizes who Glenn is. If he (or anybody else) fell in front of a train, I hope I'd have the courage to emulate Wesley Autry and try to save him."

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Bush Set to Cut Medicare, Medicaid by Payson Schwin, Jan 31, 2008

Some 47 million people in this country have no health insurance. The baby boom generation is approaching retirement. Health care costs and premiums are soaring. And employer-provided health benefits are harder than ever to come by—for both current workers and retirees.

But rather than strengthen the programs the aging U.S. public increasingly depends upon—Medicare and Medicaid—Bush wants to slash these programs—$91 billion over five years for Medicare and $14 billion for Medicaid.

Edward Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, says: 

President Bush is attacking the most vulnerable—seniors who need Medicare to afford to see a doctor—while at the same time giving billions in subsidies to insurance companies to run privatized Medicare plans. And while many retirees continue to pay more for their prescriptions, the administration bans Medicare from negotiating volume discounts with the big drug companies. Is this what Bush meant by being a “compassionate conservative?” 

Bush’s final “lame-duck” budget proposal, targets hospitals and other health care providers:

Most of the Medicare savings in the budget would be achieved by reducing the annual update in federal payments to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, ambulances and home care agencies.[…]

In the next five years, the largest amount of Medicare savings, by far, would come from hospitals: $15 billion from an across-the-board reduction in the annual updates for inpatient care; $25 billion from special payments to hospitals serving large numbers of poor people; and $20 billion from capital payments for the construction of hospital buildings and the purchase of equipment.

(As Bush spends his “lame-duck” year doing his best to make our health care system worse, the AFL-CIO union movement is fighting to secure, high-quality health care for all. Learn more about the campaign here, and tell us your health care story here.)

Eviscerating provider payments will only hurt those who count on Medicare and Medicaid coverage. Here’s what Families USA said about a similar Bush effort last year:

Cuts in provider payments will make participating in Medicare less attractive for many providers, thus reducing beneficiaries’ access to needed care. Providers will likely also respond by reducing services or by passing costs on to beneficiaries and private payers.…The end result will be reduced access and lower quality of care or continued rising costs for beneficiaries and employers—or both.

Also, these cuts would shift health care costs to the states, making it more difficult for them to expand coverage to those who need it.

One way to strengthen the Medicare program is to cut payments made to private insurance companies through “Medicare Advantage.” Some 20 percent of beneficiaries have opted into these plans, even though Medicare pays 12 percent more under this arrangement than they do under traditional Medicare.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that curbing these overpayments to private insurance companies could save the Medicare program up to $150 billion over 10 years.

More important, draconian budget cuts do nothing to solve the bigger problems facing our health care system—skyrocketing health care costs, increasing premiums and the millions of uninsured.

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Senate Republicans Opposed Extending Aid to Jobless in Stimulus Package by Mike Hall, Feb 1, 2008

The economic stimulus package is stalled in the U.S. Senate. Senate Republican leaders—backed by the Bush White House—threatened a filibuster against efforts by Senate Democrats to extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for the millions of jobless workers who will run out of benefits in the next several months. 

The bill, approved Wednesday by the Senate Finance Committee, improves on the House-passed stimulus package by adding the UI extension and also providing tax rebates to more than 20 million low-income senior citizens and veterans. 

In a letter to the Senate, Bill Samuel, AFL-CIO legislative director, urged lawmakers to maintain the UI extension. 

We believe the economy is at risk of sliding into a very serious recession, and Congress must act immediately and decisively to head off the worst. There is a general consensus among economists that providing unemployment benefits is one of the most efficient ways to stimulate the economy, since jobless workers are most likely to spend their benefits immediately and pump more money back into the economy, generating more economic activity.

(Click here for the latest news on job loss.) 

The U.S. House bill ignores the growing number of workers running out of UI benefits and instead concentrates on one-time tax rebates for individuals and families, plus big tax breaks for businesses. 

In a column in the Detroit News, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger notes that 200,000 workers a week run out of unemployment benefits before finding a job. 

Unemployed workers—whether or not they qualify for a one-time rebate—will face a financial emergency when they run out of benefits. They’ll have no way to pay their bills and no capability to help the economy with enhanced spending power. 

There is near universal agreement that extending unemployment insurance and enhanced food stamp benefits is the fastest, most effective way to stimulate the economy. These benefits put money directly in the hands of those who need it—and who will spend it directly into our struggling economy. 

Along with the UI extension, the AFL-CIO has called for the stimulus bill to include a temporary increase in food-stamp benefits as one of the most efficient ways to pump money quickly into the economy. The Bush administration and Republican leaders strongly oppose both the UI and food-stamp measures. Says Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.): 

I can give you their own speech on unemployment compensation and food stamps. They don’t believe in them, O.K? So there was no way to agree when they don’t believe food stamps are important, when they believe that if you extend unemployment benefits, it only keeps people looking for a job, which is a little hard to comprehend.

When the Senate returns to the stimulus bill next week, Republicans likely will engage in a filibuster that requires 60 votes to overcome, again blocking action on the Finance Committee bill with the UI extension. If so, Democrats are expected to offer UI and food-stamp amendments to the House bill. 

The AFL-CIO has urged lawmakers to include several other important provisions that would provide quick economic stimulus and relief for working families, including fiscal relief to the states, acceleration of ready-to-go construction projects and tax rebates for low-income seniors and disabled veterans. 

Click here to read more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) and here for more from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

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There was not very much Good News this week for Working Families.

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VIDEOS      

 The Conservative Agenda For 2008 — A Third Bush Term

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NEED COMPUTER ASSISTANCE?? 

Democrat Activist Mike Bailey is now providing “Professional Computer Support.”  He can be contacted at 502-558-4026, or mikebailey2000@usa.net. 

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Notice to our Readers &  2008 Primary Election Candidates:

This newsletter will carry, in this space, any Democratic candidates' notice of events or communications (250 words or less) to our readers that the candidate provides to the editor at rcrider@insightbb.com

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Publication of Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Party Tim Longmeyer, Chairman Ray Crider, Editor 640 Barret Ave Louisville, Ky  40202 502-582-1999   Paid for by the Louisville/Jefferson Co Democratic Party Charlie Horton, Treasurer Produced & Printed In-House

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