The Louisville, Kentucky, Jefferson County Democratic Party

The Louisville/Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:00 pm at 901 Barret Avenue .

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@louisvilledem.com

Democratic candidates who want pictures of their fund raisers, activities, events, etc to be posted on this website, e-mail them to rcrider@louisvilledem.com.

Senate conservatives "effectively killed a measure that would have let Americans buy prescription medicines from foreign suppliers, which sponsors said could have saved consumers billions of dollars." A 'poison pill' amendment from Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) passed 49-40 in a "major victory for the pharmaceutical industry." McConnell & Bunning voted "WRONG"

A Kentucky author once wrote, "If we can all abandon the politics of self-interest, we can together build a stronger America."

Okay, that author was me. And the book was "The Compassionate Community," available in bookstores near you and in paperback this fall.

And the sentiment -- that politicians must put aside their selfish ambition to build a stronger community -- is at the core of my beliefs.

That's why today I announce that I am withdrawing from the Governor's race and endorsing Steve Beshear.

Lisa and I have thoroughly enjoyed the last six months of campaigning across the state. In our journey, we have met thousands of Kentuckians, who have shared their homes, their hearts, and their dreams for the future. That journey was made all the more fulfilling and enjoyable by my partnership with Irv Maze. I have long respected Irv and his public service, but it was in the past six months that I have grown to understand what a truly outstanding human being he is, as well as his wife Peggy.

It was a long road, but a good road. And with two weeks left before the primary, this is a very competitive race, one I felt that I had a real chance of winning.

But the odds are, if I stayed in the race, there is a real possibility that the Democratic primary would produce a nominee who was unelectable in the fall. A nominee whose baggage would be picked apart and exploited by the Fletcher media machine.

And Kentucky simply cannot afford four more years of Ernie Fletcher. As a loving and proud Kentucky native, I cannot bear to watch us continue to slide. We need strong, effective leadership. We need someone who will bring honesty, integrity and the right kind of experience to Frankfort. We need Steve Beshear.

While I have known Steve for most of my adult life, I have been privileged to get to know him even better in the last six months. And I have learned that our common values and principles far outweigh our differences. As any debate observer can attest, Steve and I share a commitment to affordable higher education, health care for all of Kentucky's children, universal preschool, and the will and honesty to pay for these needs.

Steve Beshear will make an excellent Governor. And while I have asked for nothing in return for my endorsement I look forward to supporting his ticket with all of my heart this spring and fall.

I want to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to all of my friends and supporters, old and new, to our phenomenal campaign staff and volunteer corps who dedicated so many hours to our cause, and especially, to the Miller and Maze families, who gave us strength and continued to remind us of why we are in this important journey.

And I want to emphasize, that while we did not accomplish our ultimate goal, we made a real difference. As the papers today illustrated, we were the first gubernatorial campaign in memory to make the environment a centerpiece issue. I look forward to working with Governor Beshear to help bridge the divide on the issue of mountaintop removal mining, bringing together all parties to promote a solution that allows the coal economy to thrive while we take more special care of our environment and natural resources.

And, on an even more exciting note, we are the first gubernatorial campaign in recent memory, to have energized our next generation of leaders, our young Kentuckians, to become involved in political life, and to begin to take leadership in their communities.

My political journey started as a 19-year-old volunteer for Al Gore. But even a few months before that, I was able to cast my first vote for Governor. I remember the excitement of entering the voting booth. And I remember the candidate I voted for. He was a young two-term constitutional officer, around the age of 40, who offered progressive ideas for the future of Kentucky. And while Steve Beshear did not win that time, I look forward to voting for him again - in fact, three more times this year - to ensure that his political journey ends in the Governor's Mansion.

And, while it's not yet time for a Miller, you will see this Miller doing everything he can to ensure that this man is the next Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Steve Beshear.

Announcing the Launch of the Ditch Mitch KY store May 2nd, 2007 Matt Gunterman

We want to have this store associated with DitchMitchKY and we want to promote it here because the great merchandise that it offers (all union made, by the way) is a fantastic tool for you to get the word out about our common cause.

So, visit the Ditch Mitch KY store and happy shopping (click the image below)!

Carl Bensinger will receive the the prestigious Jefferson Community College Outstanding Community Service Award for 2007 on May 10^th.

Tony Newberry, President of Jefferson Community College announced the award and made the following statement about Mr. Bensinger:

“The award was created to honor leaders who have contributed to the community. Carl has exemplified the spirit and determination we hope to instill in the students. He has made a positive impact on the JCTC as well as the community through his leadership.

President Newberry stated he cannot think of more deserving than Mr. Bensinger to receive this award.”

Carl is an attorney who has practiced for over 40 years. He has served the Democratic Party his entire life.

He is a hard worker for the Democratic Party and deserves this distinguished award for his community wide service.

I love it. I love it. I love it., Matt Gunterman

The Republican civil war — the one that’s manifest in the Kentucky GOP primary between Governor Ernie Fletcher and former Congresswoman Anne Northup (who is the sick-o-phant of Senator Mitch McConnell in the race) — is hotting up, to say the least. You can best get a sense of how things are shaping up with the latest round of attack ads from both candidates (the Herald-Leader PolWatcher blog has them up).

I love it. My money’s on Fletcher winning the primary with over 40 percent of the vote; thus the runoff would be avoided. But, no matter who wins on the Republican side, there will be deep bitterness. In fact, the most prolonged bitterness — and thus the worst case scenario for the Kentucky GOP in the long run — would likely result from a Northup win. Knowing his personality and the recent history of his political operation, a defeated Governor Fletcher and his organization would do pretty much all they could to undermine a victorious candidate Northup. I don’t see Fletcher and Rudolph suddenly falling into line behind McConnell and the Northup bandwagon. That hasn’t been their style so far.

So, if a Northup win is the worst thing for the Kentucky GOP as an institution, why am I not cheering for her, as some in the Democratic blogosphere in Kentucky most plainly are? I’m not because the best thing for the Kentucky Democratic Party is a Fletcher win. I want the Democrats to take back the governor’s mansion, and Fletcher will be the easiest candidate to beat. Certainly, I’d like to see a weakened Republican Party in the state, but I’d rather see a strong and energized Democratic Party first.

No matter the outcome in the Republican primary on May 22, the result will leave a good number of Republicans bitter, and that bitterness will hurt Mitch McConnell in 2008. Source

"This university, its students, its alumni and the faculty serve as an example of Dr. Robertson's dedication to strengthening and then nurturing the pillars of this community and our country: education, fellowship, and advancement." -- Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA), 5/5/07, in the commencement address to Pat Robertson's Regent University

VERSUS

"I believe it's motivated by demonic power. It is satanic and it's time we recognize what we're dealing with. ... [T]he goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world domination." -- Robertson, 3/14/07, on Islam

"There are thousands of names, tens of thousands of phone numbers, and there are people there at the Pentagon, lobbyists, others at the White House, prominent lawyers -- a long, long list." -- ABC correspondent Brian Ross, 4/28/07, reporting on the D.C. Madam list

VERSUS

"As usually is the case in Washington, much of it is dull. There are no members of Congress we can find in these phone numbers, no White House officials. Quite frankly, but for the few exceptions, most of the men on this list just aren't newsworthy." -- Ross, 5/4/07

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." -- President Bush, 5/1/03

VERSUS

"It's game time." -- A senior administration official briefing reporters on Vice President Cheney's "message" in Iraq, 5/9/07

"Well, Iraq's looking good. ... I think we've turned the corner, if you will." -- Vice President Cheney, 12/18/05

VERSUS

"[W]e've got a long way to go." -- Cheney, 5/9/07

"Odd, I only thought it was the radical left in our own nation which enjoys likening the United States to Nazi Germany." -- Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), 5/10/07

VERSUS

"[L]iberals have finally joined the ranks of scoundrels like Hitler." -- DeLay, in his book No Retreat, No Surrender

Quotes of the Day

Analysis of Anne Northup’s Attack Ad

Northup’s negative but slick TV ad serves two purposes. Not only does it criticize Gov. Fletcher, it takes a broad swipe at Democrats by stating if a Democrat is elected they will raise your taxes and be a liberal. This ad comes after Northup told voters she wants all of us to be less partisan. It is another lie to make Democrats look bad even though no Democratic candidates are suggesting broad tax increases. One has said he would not rule out a modest cigarette tax increase but that was probably out of honesty instead of being part of an agenda. Republicans don’t seem to value honesty in campaigns and we already know they don’t in civil service.

Perhaps one of our Democratic candidate’s ad should put fear into voters too by suggesting if a Republican is elected, all family values must take a back seat to greed and selfishness. If a Republican is elected, corruption will continue and those who make over $200,000 per year will get more breaks. If a Republican is elected, the red ink and wasteful spending will continue to multiply.

That kind of commercial would shout “we are finally learning how you do it Republicans!”

-from a local elected official

This car was seen at the May Metro Dem Club meeting. Care to guess who it belongs to.

"President Bush's approval rating has dropped to an all-time low of 28%. Here's my question: Is 28% still technically an approval rating?" --Jay Leno

"Vice President Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq today. Great. The one place we need him firing off his gun, he doesn't bring it." --Jay Leno

"The Washington Post reports that Senator Hillary Clinton is trying to win the Democratic nomination by reaching out to women. After hearing this, Bill Clinton said, 'Oh sure, when she does it, it's okay.'" --Conan O'Brien

"This is the week that Congress sent the president a bill to bring the troops home, which, of course, as he promised he would do, vetoed it. The president said setting a deadline for withdrawal was setting a date for failure. And we all know, this is a president who likes his failures unplanned and spur-of-the-moment." --Bill Maher

"In a commencement speech over the weekend, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told students they should all get married. But he said, 'Not like Giuliani. Don't go overboard'" --Jay Leno

"The 2008 presidential election is heating up. We have narrowed down the field to 18 candidates. 19, if you count Hillary's emotional baggage." --Stephen Colbert

"This week, former President Bill Clinton wrote the clues for the New York Times crossword puzzle. Which explains why the clue for number 9-Down is 'Synonym for pain in the ass rhyming with Millary.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Paris Hilton is going to prison. Paris Hilton's fans have contacted Governor Schwarzenegger to ask for a pardon for Paris Hilton. The reason they want the governor to pardon Paris Hilton is because she brings beauty and excitement to their lives. There's a precedent for this -- that's exactly why Ford pardoned Nixon." --David Letterman

SCIENCE -- THREE CONSERVATIVE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SAY THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION: During last night's Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Library in California, a reader of Politico.com asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for a yes or no answer on whether he believed in evolution. McCain paused for a second before answering "Yes." Politico's Jim VandeHei, one of three moderators for the night, then opened up the question to the other nine candidates. Three candidates -- Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) and Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AK) -- raised their hands to say that they do not believe in evolution. While the three politicians' lack of belief in evolution is shared by a slim majority of Americans, "outside of the precincts of the religious right, though, the scientific consensus about evolution is very close to unanimous." The National Academy of Sciences, "the nation's most prestigious scientific organization," declares evolution "one of the strongest and most useful scientific theories we have." President Bush's scientific adviser John Marburger has called it "the cornerstone of modern biology." But for years, conservative activists have been seeking to push evolution out of school classrooms in order to replace it with "intelligent design," a theory that posits extra-natural, non-scientific phenomena as its basis. Despite McCain's expressed belief in evolution, he appeared recently as the keynote speaker for the most prominent "intelligent design" advocacy group in the country, the Discovery Institute.

MILITARY -- MCCAIN CLAIMS 'OPEN SEXUALITY' IN MILITARY IS 'INTOLERABLE RISK': In a letter released yesterday by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) expressed his support for the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that bans lesbians, gays, and bisexuals from serving openly in the military. McCain said he staunchly opposes openly gay servicemembers, asserting that “open sexuality within military presents an intolerable risk to morale, cohesion and discipline” and national security. McCain’s personal beliefs are antiquated and ill-informed. The overwhelming majority of the military supports equal rights for all servicemembers. Last December, a poll of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan found that 73 percent were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992. Furthemore, 55 percent of Americans believe “gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.” Since Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was instituted, at least 11,000 servicemembers, hundreds of whom had with key speciality skills such as training in Arabic, have left the military. The military could attract as many as 41,000 new recruits if gays could serve openly.

ETHICS -- REPORT: KARL ROVE'S POLITICIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: In March, the Washington Post revealed that General Services Administration (GSA) chief Lurita Doan and Karl Rove deputy Scott Jennings held a video conference earlier this year to devise "ways to help Republican candidates." The Progress Report has produced a report that documents the fact that GSA is only one of many federal agencies that the Bush White House has infiltrated for partisan purposes. Politicization of the federal government has been illegal for decades. The 1939 Hatch Act specifically prohibits partisan campaign or electoral activities on federal government property, including federal agencies. But in 2005, Ken Mehlman, formerly one of Bush's top political advisers, outlined the White House's strategy of utilizing government resources for partisan gain. "One of the things that can happen in Washington when you work in an agency is that you forget who sent you there. And it's important to remind people that you're George Bush people. ... If there's one empire I want built, it's the George Bush empire," said Mehlman (One Party Country, p. 102). With that imperial partisanship in mind, the Bush White House has engaged in an unprecedented quest to politicize the federal government, giving briefings and PowerPoint presentations everywhere from the Interior Department to NASA on how to secure Republican victories. Said one Interior Department manager, "We were constantly being reminded about how our decisions could affect electoral results" (One Party Country, p. 103). Bush loyalists in federal agencies have also helped generate millions for favored political candidates. The Progress Report's analysis highlights the pervasiveness of the White House's politicization efforts since 2001.

IRAQ -- FOX NEWS PUNDIT ADVOCATES ETHNIC CLEANSING POLICY IN IRAQ: Roll Call executive editor and Fox News contributor Mort Kondracke wrote yesterday that if President Bush's escalation plan doesn't work, his Plan B should be "winning dirty," which involves "accepting rule by Shiites and Kurds, allowing them to violently suppress Sunni resistance and making sure that Shiites friendly to the United States emerge victorious." Kondracke explained that "winning dirty" entails ethnic cleansing: "Winning will be dirty because it will allow the Shiite-dominated Iraqi military and some Shiite militias to decimate the Sunni insurgency. There likely will be ethnic cleansing, atrocities against civilians and massive refugee flows." He revealed that at least one member of Congress agrees with his plan. "No one has publicly advocated this Plan B, and I know of only one Member of Congress who backs it -- and he wants to stay anonymous," Kondracke wrote. "But he argues persuasively that it’s the best alternative available if Bush's surge fails."

ETHICS -- CONSERVATIVES REPLACE SCANDAL-PLAGUED DOOLITTLE WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED CALVERT: On Wednesday, the House Republican Steering Committee voted to seat Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) on the Appropriations Committee, "filling the vacancy left by embattled Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA)," who is under investigation by the FBI for his longstanding ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. According to Roll Call, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) "has sought to enforce a tougher ethical standard in the 110th Congress," and thus called on Doolittle to immediately resign his committee seat in the wake of corruption charges. The choice of Calvert as Doolittle's replacement shows that Boehner's rhetoric is merely a PR stunt. Named one of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress," Calvert has a history of abusing his power just as much as Doolittle. In 2005, Calvert pushed through an earmark to secure over $9 million for freeway and commercial development near property he owned in California. After the development of the area, Calvert sold his property for a 79 percent profit. "In another deal, a group of investors bought property a few blocks from the site of a proposed interchange, for $975,000. Within six months, after the earmark for the interchange was appropriated, the parcel of land sold for $1.45 million. Rep. Calvert's firm received a commission on the sale." Also in 2005, Calvert helped pass at least 13 earmarks, adding up to over $91 million, sought by Copeland Lowery, a lobbying firm currently "enmeshed in a federal investigation of Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)." The lobbying firm has been Calvert's largest campaign contributor. Despite Calvert's controversial history, Boehner maintained that a simple interview was enough to erase his past in the eyes of House conservatives. "Congressman Calvert answered every question asked of him by the Steering Committee," Boehner said. "It was a candid and frank conversation, and the members of the committee were satisfied with his answers."

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

Fox New's Bret Baier told Dick Cheney, "You are portrayed by your opponents and some in the media as this sinister figure, as this cold-blooded warmonger who doesn't care about the number of body bags going back." Cheney said that he regrets the casualties, but added, "Obviously, the President bears the major part of the burden. He's the man with the authority to commit the force."

"European leaders have told the Bush administration that Paul D. Wolfowitz must resign as president of the World Bank in order to avoid a vote next week by the bank's board declaring that he no longer has its confidence to function as the bank's leader."

Yesterday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), "a loyal Republican who's always voted with the president on Iraq issues," said he will "draft a bill that implements the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group Report...which included benchmarks and a timeline for troop withdrawal."

Slate's Dahlia Lithwick notes that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's role in the U.S. Attorneys scandal has shifted to that of a "decoy." "He's the guy who runs out in front of the hunters and draws their fire so nobody pays any attention to what's happening at the White House."

Filmmaker Michael Moore "is being investigated by the Treasury Department over a trip he made to Cuba for his new film, 'Sicko.'" The department is "investigating whether he had violated restrictions on travel to Cuba when he accompanied sick workers seeking free medical care as part of a documentary on America's health care industry."

"Senators who raised millions of dollars in campaign donations from pharmaceutical interests secured industry-friendly changes to a landmark drug-safety bill." The senators pared back the FDA's power to monitor the safety of drugs and helped defeat "efforts to curb conflicts of interest among FDA advisers and allow consumers to buy cheaper drugs from other countries."

"Larry Wilkerson, an aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, said in a radio interview on Thursday that the 'high crimes and misdemeanors' of the Bush Administration make the offenses for which President Bill Clinton was impeached 'pale in comparison.'"

Summers in the eastern United States will be "much hotter than originally predicted with daily highs about 10 degrees warmer than in recent years by the mid-2080s, a new NASA study says."

A 20 percent increase in "drug abuse among children and youths in Iraq is worrying specialists who say continued violence is responsible for the rising number of users -- something that is compounded by the easy availability of different narcotics."

"Attend at your own risk!" Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will be speaking at an upcoming political training seminar offering "explicit discussions of ethics." DeLay "resigned last year after being indicted on campaign finance abuses in Texas and who remains under federal scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal."

"The Pentagon has placed unprecedented restrictions on who can testify before Congress, reserving the right to bar lower-ranking officers, enlisted soldiers, and career bureaucrats from appearing before oversight committees or having their remarks transcribed."

59 percent: The proportion of black respondents who described their lives as "disrupted" more than a year after Hurricane Katrina, "double that of whites who said the same (29 percent)."

Congress plans to "introduce a bill this morning that would increase by at least 20,000 the number of Iraqi refugees eligible for resettlement in the United States in 2007 and 2008. It would also admit 15,000 'special immigrant status' Iraqis and their families for each of the next four years."

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was given until Friday evening -- two additional days -- to make his case in writing against charges of misconduct before the Bank board decides his future. In the meantime, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been lobbying European foreign ministers, expressing her support for Wolfowitz.

A report released by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) yesterday revealed that four Education Department officials "who helped oversee a federal reading program for young students have pocketed significant sums of money from textbook publishers that profited from the $1 billion-a-year initiative."

The House Armed Services Committee is considering a measure would cut $160 million from funds for President Bush's missile defense program. A statistical analysis conducted by the Center for American Progress bolsters the case for funding cuts, finding the threat from ballistic missiles has steadily declined over the past 20 years.

Yesterday, President Bush toured tornado-ravaged Greensburg, KS. The AP reports that in the midst of the solemnity, Bush was able to joke around. "He briefly grabbed a chain saw, ripping it into action for the cameras and other media that accompanied him. 'How are you all?' Bush asked as he moved among residents. 'Stylish looking hat,' he joked to a man in a green fedora."

"Sen. Kit Bond's staff, worried about a potential scandal over Missouri's fee offices, suggested two years ago that the Bush administration should consider replacing then-U.S. Attorney Todd Graves." Graves eventually resigned in March 2006, roughly one year after Bond's office communicated its concerns, and was replaced by Bradley Schlozman.

"Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) on Tuesday said he won't veto a bill that would block state officials from following his order" requiring mandatory vaccinations against HPV, a virus that causes cervical cancer.

Six Muslim men "were charged Tuesday with plotting to attack Fort Dix" in New Jersey "with automatic weapons and possibly even rocket-propelled grenades." The men were not connected to an international terrorist group and their plot "was alternately ambitious and clumsy."

"Leading governments of Europe, mounting a new campaign to push Paul D. Wolfowitz from his job as World Bank president, signaled Monday that they were willing to let the United States choose the bankâ€™s next chief, but only if Mr. Wolfowitz stepped down soon."

"Patricia Roe, Rep. Rick Renzi's (R-AZ) chief of staff, has quit her fundraising duties for the lawmaker to spend more time concentrating on her Congressional job while her boss is engulfed in legal troubles." Roe's husband, Jason, who was formerly the chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), also recently resigned from the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"Congressional leaders from both political parties are giving President Bush a matter of months to prove that the Iraq war effort has turned a corner, with September looking increasingly like a decisive deadline." Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) said, "I do think this fall we have to see some significant changes on the ground."

"The rebuilding effort in tornado-ravaged Greensburg, KS, likely will be hampered because some much-needed equipment is in Iraq, said that state's governor. Governor Kathleen Sebelius said much of the National Guard equipment usually positioned around the state to respond to emergencies is gone."

"All of us believe that in the next 90 days, you'll probably see an increase in American casualties," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's Task Force Marne, said yesterday. Eight American soldiers were killed in roadside bomb attacks Sunday, one of the highest single-day death tolls this year.

"Gasoline prices have surged to a record nationwide average of $3.07 per gallon, nearly 20 cents higher than two weeks earlier," analysts say. "The previous record was $3.03 per gallon on Aug. 11, 2006."

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), "a Bush loyalist and ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee," says he has lobbied the White House to stop using the term "war on terror." "Language is important...and I think the 'war on terror' is a terrible idea," Hoekstra said, arguing that it "elevates mass murderers to the status of a standing army."

"The weekend blitz of tornadoes in Kansas and the Plains puts 2007 on track to be one of the busiest and deadliest tornado years in a decade, severe-storms meteorologists said Sunday. 'Even if the year stopped right now, it would be the deadliest year we've had since 1999,' said Greg Forbes, severe-weather expert for The Weather Channel."

"The Army is fixing the doors of every armored Humvee in combat in Iraq because they can jam shut during an attack and trap soldiers inside, Pentagon records and interviews show."

"Abandoning the business lobby's traditional resistance to healthcare reform, a new coalition of 36 major companies plans to launch a political campaign today calling for medical insurance to be expanded to everyone along lines Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing for California."

"Some of the most celebrated levee repairs by the Army Corps of Engineers after Hurricane Katrina are already showing signs of serious flaws," one expert says, warning that heavy storms may cause "tear-on-the-dotted-line levees."

Over the past year, as the Afghan government "has sought to counter growing public dissatisfaction, it has tried to impose more controls over the news media. ... Parliament is now considering amendments that the critics warn could undo many of the gains made since the fall of the Taliban."

Gingrich To Conservatives: Don’t Talk About Iraq, Katrina, Walter Reed, Attorneys, Or Bush

This morning on CBS’s Face the Nation, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich advised fellow conservatives not to talk about President Bush’s record. “President Bush is not the future. He’s not a solution. He doesn’t solve Social Security. He doesn’t solve Medicare. He doesn’t solve the economy. He doesn’t solve the environment. He doesn’t solve education. He’s a current fact,” Gingrich said.

It’s also a “current fact” that the conservative agenda has failed to “solve” these important issues over the past six years.

Gingrich went on to say that conservatives “have to say, this is not what we want to debate. It’s not in Baghdad, it’s not in Katrina, it’s not at Walter Reed, it’s not with the U.S. attorneys, but I have a better plan for a better solution that fits your values.” When Host Bob Schieffer suggested that Gingrich seemed to advocating steering clear of President Bush, Gingrich responded, “Well, I think that’s clear.”

Gingrich’s “hush-hush” list will only grow as the American public learns more about the fallout from policies that the administration has pursued. And as the Congress continues to provide the type of aggressive oversight that uncovers these administration failures, it becomes more obvious that conservatives have served as silent enablers, refusing to correct course when they had the opportunity to do so.

Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland signed the nation’s first statewide living wage bill yesterday, giving fresh momentum to a movement that seeks to raise wages through legislation.

Under the law, employers with state contracts will generally have to pay workers a minimum amount — $11.30 an hour in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and $8.50 an hour in the rural counties, where wages and prices are usually lower.

The Maryland state minimum wage is $6.15 an hour, one dollar above the federal minimum.

“This law lifts tens of thousands of families out of poverty and into the middle class,” said Tom Hucker, a first-term Democratic delegate to the Maryland House and before that the executive director of Progressive Maryland, the main group backing the bill. “Today Maryland shows the rest of the country a good way to honor work and fight poverty.”

Nationwide, 145 cities and counties have enacted living-wage bills, which generally require businesses that receive government contracts — and sometimes those that receive subsidies — to pay an amount above the federal or state minimum wage. The highest living wage in the nation is $14.75 an hour in Fairfax, Calif.

In 1994, Baltimore became the first city in the country to require a living wage for city contracts.

Earlier this year, it looked as if the Maryland living-wage effort might founder because many businesses and Republicans had bitterly opposed the bill when it called for a uniform living wage of $11.95 an hour. They said it would inflate businesses’ costs and cut into profits.

But Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, was able to win support by creating two wage levels and by reducing the top level to $11.30. Last month, the State Senate passed the bill 31 to 16, while the House approved it 91 to 49.

“This is a history-making day for us in Maryland,” said Delegate Herman L. Taylor II, a Democrat who was the main author of the legislation. “Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, but one in 10 Marylanders is in poverty. This should help reduce poverty, and this is important because it helps fight poverty without using public assistance programs.”

Some Republicans criticized the legislation, saying it put residents of rural areas at a disadvantage by relegating them to a lower living wage.

When Maryland’s previous governor, Robert Ehrlich, a Republican, vetoed a living-wage bill in 2004, he criticized it because it set a uniform statewide living wage when there were substantial differences in the cost of living across the state.

Some Republicans and business leaders said the law would increase state spending when Maryland was facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit.

Ellen Valentino, the state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said her group strongly opposed the legislation but was glad to secure an exemption for businesses with 10 or fewer workers when they received contracts worth less than $500,000. The law also exempts nonprofit groups.

“We think wage decisions are best left to business owners,” Ms. Valentino said.

Jen Kern, director of the Living Wage Resource Center for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, said the new law might prompt other states to seek to enact statewide living-wage laws.

“A lot of organizations have been focused on increasing state minimum wages over the past couple of years,” Ms. Kern said, “but now with this becoming law in Maryland, some people are asking, ‘Why isn’t this on our state legislative agenda?’ ”

Last night, 10 Republican presidential candidates gathered for their first debate at the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library in California.

Beneath a full-size replica of Air Force One, the candidates tried their best to claim they were the rightful heirs of the Reagan legacy. (A legacy, let’s not forget, that was strongly anti-union, and included the firing of striking air traffic controllers during his first year in office.)

Yet the candidates rarely mentioned issues important to working families—health care, good jobs, trade policy, education and retirement security. Also not talked about much was President Bush, “who was seldom mentioned by name and whose policies were, in general, treated as an albatross to the 2008 field,” according to Politico.com.

The majority of the debate focused on foreign policy issues—such as Iraq, Iran and terrorism—but there were moments when other topics arose.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted what he called “socialized medicine,” and said while our health care system “needs to be fixed,” it is still the “greatest health care system in the world.” (Note to Giuliani: America’s health care system is broken.)

“The market can work to solve our health care needs, and that’s the great, exciting news,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney claimed. Romney echoed Giuliani’s attack on universal coverage as “socialized medicine” and a “government takeover.”

There was a specific moment in the debate when a candidate spoke directly to a topic on the minds of millions of working families.

The most important thing a president needs to do is to make it clear that we’re not going to continue to see jobs shipped overseas, jobs that are lost by American workers, many in their 50s who for 20 and 30 years have worked to make a company rich, and then watch as a CEO takes a hundred-million-dollar bonus to jettison those American jobs somewhere else. And the worker not only loses his job, but he loses his pension. That’s criminal. It’s wrong.

To read more, check out the full transcript of the debate here. And watch the debate online here.

Become a part of the 2008 discussion at the AFL-CIO’s new interactive website, Working Families Vote 2008. The site’s features include videos, candidate positions on working family issues and a Forum for expressing your thoughts on the candidates and priorities for the presidential race. Right now at The Forum, answer the question, “What Issues Will Get You to the Polls in November 2008?”

LOUISVILLE /JEFFERSON COUNTY

DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEWSLETTER

Week of May 13, 2007

Announcing the Launch of the Ditch Mitch KY store May 2nd, 2007 Matt Gunterman

I love it. I love it. I love it., Matt Gunterman

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