Tag Archives: McCain

Senate Votes on Financial Regulation Amendments

12 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by in bailout, Congress, Democrats, economy, financial reform, financial regulation, lobbyists, McCain, Politics, Progressives, too big to fail, Wall Street

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Any time anything passes in the Senate by a vote of 96–0 I’m suspicious. Those numbers are usually reserved for meaningless proclamations declaring ‘National Be Kind to Puppies and Kitties Day.’ But such a vote took place yesterday on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ amendment to audit the Federal Reserve.

Sanders’ original amendment would have required the Fed to submit to regular audits, but the watered-down version passed yesterday is for a one-time audit with a specific scope and time frame. This only adds to my suspicion that the newer version is more than likely toothless:

“A Fed spokeswoman declined to comment on the Senate action, but Fed leaders, who previously have objected to broader efforts to review monetary policy, have not opposed the most recent version of Sanders’s proposal.”

A more accurate gauge of where the Senate stands on REAL financial reform can be found in other amendments taken up yesterday, like the one proposed by David Vitter which called for the stronger provisions contained in Sanders’ original proposal. It was voted down 62 to 37 with only 6 Democrats voting “Yea”—Cantwell, Dorgan, Feingold, Lincoln, Webb, and Wyden.

Another amendment, proposed by Sen. McCain, called for a time frame for winding down and eventually ending the government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That failed by a vote of 56 to 43 with only 2 Democrats–Bayh and Feingold–voting “Yea.” An alternative to the McCain amendment, proposed by Chris Dodd, called for “the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study on ending the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” That passed by a margin of 63–36. Russ Feingold (I detect a pattern here) was the lone Democrat voting “Nay.”

Credit where credit is due, Sen. Shelby is right on the money (so to speak):

“Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were at the heart of the financial crisis,” Shelby said Tuesday. “How we can have basic regulatory reform, financial reform, if we’re not going to include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?”

Also set for a vote this week is Sen. Lincoln’s amendment which would place strong restrictions on derivative trading. Needless to say, Wall Street is going all out to kill this:

“…the five [largest] banks together have mustered more than 130 registered lobbyists, including 40 former Senate staff members and one retired senator, Trent Lott. The list includes former staff members for the Senate majority and minority leaders, the chairmen and ranking members of the banking and finance committees, and more than 15 other senators. In the first quarter, the banks spent $6.1 million on lobbying.”

Why are the banksters fighting so hard to stop it? Follow the money:

“The change could cost the industry a lot of money. Banks reported $22.6 billion in derivatives revenue in 2009..”

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Remember This Number Republicans: 21

28 Tuesday Apr 2009

Posted by in Politics

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Here’s a number for the Republican Party to remember for future reference, 21. Twenty-one, that’s the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as Republicans according to the latest Washington Post poll, the lowest that figure has been in 26 years.

Remember that number at the next meeting of the RNC, when you propose another stupid resolution like the one to brand the opposition as Socialists instead of Democrats.

Remember that number before you send Newt Gingrich out to say that President Obama is bowing to pressure from the “anti-American left” in considering allowing prosecution of former Bush administration officials.

Remember that when Sen. Judd Gregg says this regarding the use of the budget reconciliation process :

“I can understand shaking Hugo Chavez’s hand, but I can’t understand embracing his politics.”

Remember that number when former Senator and present radio blowhard Fred Thompson says something like this:

“And then after promising that there would be no prosecutions, [Obama] acquiesced and now opened the door for that. So I think it’s a case of naivete, ineptitude and unbelievable arrogance and lack of experience.”

Remember that number when Sen. McCain and Sen. Bond say that President Obama is turning the United States into a “banana republic.”

Remember that number the next time Congressman Eric Cantor confronts President Obama about spending cuts, then when asked by the president for a list of areas where Cantor himself would cut, responds:

“You can expect us to have something very soon.”

Ah yes, the old “we’ll get back to you” policy.

Twenty-one Republicans, great number if you’re at the blackjack tables in Las Vegas, not so good if you ever hope win another national election.

The President and the Teleprompter

26 Thursday Mar 2009

Posted by in Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized

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A recurring theme among the detractors of President Obama has been his reliance on a teleprompter. Anyone who spends time on the internet has seen it on an almost daily basis.

In the minds of some this apparently is an indicator of a lack of intelligence, as ridiculous as that is when speaking about a Harvard graduate, editor of The Law Review, and author of 2 books.

One of the bloggers on the far-right, John Hinderaker, who writes for Power Line, said this about a recent speech by President Obama in which he mis-pronounced the word “Orion.”

“Everyone knows that Barack Obama is lost without his teleprompter, but his latest blunder, courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, via the Corner, suggests that the teleprompter may not be enough unless it includes phonetic spellings.

So evidently we have to add astronomy to history and economics as subjects of which Obama is remarkably ignorant. I’m beginning to fear that our President has below-average knowledge of the world. Not for a President, but for a middle-aged American.”

 

Just as a point of reference, this is the same Mr. Hinderaker who wrote this shortly after last year’s election:

“Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. In this regard, President Bush is an excellent model; Obama should take a lesson from his example. Bush never gets sloppy when he is speaking publicly. He chooses his words with care and precision, which is why his style sometimes seems halting. In the eight years he has been President, it is remarkable how few gaffes or verbal blunders he has committed. If Obama doesn’t raise his standards, he will exceed Bush’s total before he is inaugurated.”

 

But you know, the more I think about it, the more I tend to agree with Hinderaker and others. Only a complete idiot would have to rely on a teleprompter when speaking to the country. Right, Senator McCain?

 mccaitele

 

Right, Governor Palin?

 palintele

 

Right, Sean?

hannitytele 

 

Oh no, say it ain’t so.

 reaganteleprompter

 

Oh well, I guess it’s back to the birth certificate nonsense.

How Will President Obama Govern?

14 Friday Nov 2008

Posted by in Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized

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There was much written and said during the recent presidential campaign about the supposed “mystery” surrounding now President-elect Barack Obama. Senator McCain and Governor Palin, along with the Republican Party spokespersons and their allies on talk-radio, often raised the question, “Who is the real Barack Obama?”

Their contention was that his thin record as a United States Senator gave us no clue as to what kind of president he might be or how he might govern if elected. The right threw around buzz words like “the most liberal member of the Senate” and pointed to Obama’s “radical associations” in an attempt to portray him as a far-left ideologue who would carry that ideology into the Oval Office.

As is brought out in a post on today’s Moderate Voice, there is a much better guidepost to how President-elect Obama will govern than his time in the Senate, and that is his tenure as president/editor of the Harvard Law Review.

According to the post:
“The environment at Harvard during Obama’s matriculation was rife of protests and peaceful sit-ins of the Dean’s Office and other faculty. Divergent activist groups of blacks, Hispanics and others demanded more diversity among the composition of law professors.

In this divisive setting, Obama was selected to join The Harvard Review, the most prestigious publication of any law school in America. His peers elected him president/editor of the group his third and final year at Harvard.

Juan Zuniga (a law student one year behind Obama) said Obama’s emergence in the selection process was “a neutral, middle-ground, non-threatening, non-ideological candidate.”

His (Zuniga’s) impressions of Obama from friends on the Harvard Law Review and faculty were “that he was not perceived as an ideologue by those who knew him. Rather, he has an incredible facility to listen to other people, consider their positions, respect their positions when making a decision and then use his own intellect to reach his own conclusion. He draws talented and respectful people to himself. He makes responsible decisions based on merit and not ideological principles. It is very much worth noting that in many ways he keeps himself above the fray.

“While a bunch of us were out there trying to take over the Dean’s office, Barack was never a meaningful presence at any rallies. I have no doubt he believed we needed a more diverse faculty, but he also knew that the role he had as Editor in Chief of the Law Review meant he could accomplish so much by approaching his task with professionalism without raising an ideological torch and being a rabble rouser.”

I had my own skepticism about then Senator Obama at first. That was due mostly to listening to the characterizations of him in some of the media. But as I listened to him, I didn’t hear a strident, far-left ideologue, I saw what his fellow students at Harvard saw, a pragmatist, with reasonable solutions to the problems facing our country. And that is how I expect President Obama to govern beginning on January 20, 2009.

McCain Mailer Evokes Images of 9/11

23 Thursday Oct 2008

Posted by in Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized

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As the McCain campaign sinks lower and lower in the polls, the level of their desperation grows greater and greater. Case in point, a mailer they are sending out in Virginia and Missouri which evokes memories of 9/11 and makes shameless accusations against Barack Obama.

This is the front of the mailer:

Inside is this. Notice the statement at the bottom:“Islamic extremists want our laws changed, our culture destroyed and our families converted. We don’t. What is there to talk about?” The implication being that either Barack Obama wants to do the same, or is sympathetic to those that do.

And what did Senator McCain say when asked if he was proud of this piece of garbage? “Absolutely.”

Just more of the “respectful” campaign we have come to expect from the Republican nominee.

The Barracuda Is Now An Albatross

22 Wednesday Oct 2008

Posted by in Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized

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Two new polls released yesterday, one by Pew and one by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, show that John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate has turned into an unmitigated disaster. Her negatives are rising at an alarming rate and, if you can believe this, the list of voter’s biggest concerns about McCain’s candidacy now has Sarah Palin at No. 1, and continuing George Bush’s policies at No. 2.

She is also losing the support of women that she was allegedly put on the ticket to attract, and is turning off independent voters at an ever-increasing rate. And if that wasn’t enough, Gov. Palin has made McCain’s age an issue that it wasn’t in previous polls. In baseball terminology that is known as the golden sombrero, Sen. McCain, 0 for 4.

Here’s how the numbers break down. From Pew:

* 49% now have an unfavorable view of Gov. Palin, up from 32% in mid-September.

* 60% of women under 50 now have an unfavorable view, up from 36% in mid-September.

* 53% of all women have a negative view of Gov. Palin, up from 38% in mid -September.

* 56% of independent women have an unfavorable view of Palin, up from 28% in mid-September.

* 27% of all independents have a very unfavorable opinion of Palin, up from 10% in mid-September.

* Gov. Palin has maintained her support among the Republican base, you know, the “real Americans” with the same 83% approval she had in previous polls.

* 34% now say McCain’s age is an issue, up from 23% in mid-September.

 

From NBC News/Wall Street Journal:

* 55% say Palin is not qualified to serve as president if the need arises.

Just as an aside to all the “guilt by association” zealots out there, on the list of the top 4 concerns about Obama, his relationship with people like Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright ranks dead last. See, I told you so.

Apparently Governor Palin’s vast knowledge of foreign policy by virtue of being able to see Russia from her front porch, and her rather unique interpretation of the Constitutional powers of the vice-presidency is not impressing the voting public.

Who could have seen that coming?

Palin Out Of The Loop On Iraqi Agreement

18 Saturday Oct 2008

Posted by in Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized

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This article from the Examiner says all we need to know about the regard, or lack thereof, in which Sarah Palin is held by those in D.C. when it comes to foreign policy matters.

Three of the four presidential and vice-presidential candidates were notified this week of the progress in the negotiations on the Status of Forces Agreement between our government and the Iraqis. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called John McCain, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice phoned Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Do you notice a name missing there? You betcha, that would be vice-presidential nominee, Gov. Sarah Palin.

According to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack:

“Senator Obama is the Democratic presidential nominee and, obviously, is an important political figure in the United States. (Either) one of Senator McCain or Senator Obama are going to be president come January. And so just in terms of the courtesy and protocol aspects of this and the practical aspects of this, we thought it was appropriate to make those calls.”

I take that to mean that Gov. Palin is not an “important political figure” as far as the State Department is concerned. I think that’s what critics of Sen. McCain’s choice for a running mate have been saying all along.

I Told You So, Republicans

15 Wednesday Oct 2008

Posted by in Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Politics, Uncategorized

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I hate to say I told you so, Republicans (not really) but I told you so. Your attacks on Barack Obama’s associations aren’t working. In fact, the opposite is true. McCain and Palin’s unfavorable ratings are rising and Obama’s favorables are at an all-time high since the attacks began. Thanks, GOP.

Before we go any further, these numbers are taken from a poll done by the New York Times and CBS, so I know some will dismiss it immediately as “liberal media bias.” You are free to leave at this point.

Now back to the polling data. About McCain’s attempts to tie Obama to William Ayers, the Times found this:

“After several weeks in which the McCain campaign sought to tie Mr. Obama to William Ayers, 64 percent of voters said that they had either read or heard something about the subject. But a majority said they were not bothered by Mr. Obama’s background or past associations. Several people said in follow-up interviews that they felt that Mr. McCain’s attacks on Mr. Obama were too rooted in the past, or too unconnected to the nation’s major problems.”

 

On the issue of favorability:

“Mr. McCain was viewed unfavorably by 41 percent of voters, and favorably by 36 percent. Ms. Palin’s favorability rating is now 32 percent, down 8 points from last month, and her unfavorable rating climbed nine percentage points to 41 percent. Mr. Obama’s favorability rating, by contrast, is now at 50 percent, the highest recorded for him thus far by The Times and CBS News.”

To show how poorly this attack strategy has worked, Palin’s favorable rating is now only 8 points ahead of President Bush, who is at an all-time low of 24%. Nice job Republicans, keep it up.

To show you how out of touch Republicans are at this point, take a look at this chart showing voter’s responses when asked which candidate has spent more time explaining his positions or attacking his opponent:

 

 

 

Almost half of the Republicans surveyed actually think that McCain has spent more time explaining his positions, talk about living in an alternate reality.

But then again, these are the same Mensa members that we see in line at McCain/Palin rallies, never mind.