Just POlitics

Air America no more?

The Government is investigating a serious breach of comity by an opening skit for talk radio host Randi Rhodes on the liberal radio network, Air America. The skit portrayed the sound of gunfire being directed at President Bush. The script is reported as follows:

The announcer: "A spoiled child is telling us our Social Security isn't safe anymore, so he is going to fix it for us. Well, here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp: [audio sound of 4 gunshots being fired.] Just try it, you little bastard. [audio of gun being cocked]."

"What is with all the killing?" Rhodes said, laughing, after the clip aired.

Joking about shooting the president is a crime. To do so over public air waves could clearly put the station’s license in jeopardy and place Rhodes under criminal prosecution.

Bolton investigation

With Republican Sen. Voinovich, who was absent from John Bolton’s hearings on appointment to Ambassador to the U.N., stopping the moving of Bolton’s nomination to the Senate floor, Democrats have increased their digging for reasons to stop his nomination. The NY Times reports on their progress:

In a widening of the inquiry into John R. Bolton's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee intends to conduct formal interviews in the next 10 days with as many as two-dozen people, Congressional officials said Tuesday.

Those to be interviewed include a former deputy director of central intelligence and a former assistant secretary of state. The two officials, John E. McLaughlin and John S. Wolf respectively, have not spoken publicly about Mr. Bolton's nomination, but both have been described by others as having clashed with him on personnel matters related to intelligence.

The list, which Democratic officials said had been broadly endorsed by Republican panel members, also included Thomas Hubbard, a former ambassador to South Korea who clashed with Mr. Bolton over a speech on North Korea.

The White House has increased its efforts to confirm Bolton and an official stated that even if the vote is tied nine to nine with one Republican defecting, they plan to move the nomination to the floor where they have the necessary votes to confirm Bolton’s appointment.

"A vote for John Bolton will be a vote for change at the United Nations," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "A vote against will be for the status quo. The president believes the status quo is unacceptable and wants a person . . . who will be an agent for change."

Pelosi declares victory

"I think they just took the heat," Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said upon hearing that Speaker Dennis Hastert would retreat from the House rules’ changes. "I think there's been an editorial in every paper in the country saying this is wrong," she said.

Hastert had been holding closed session meetings with Republicans. Following one such meeting Hastert told reporters that his intention earlier in the year had been to create a new set of rules that were fair to all lawmakers, regardless of party. Given Democratic criticism, he said, "I'm willing to step back."

Hastert hopes to bring the rule change to a vote today.

The rule changes make it so that no one political party could conduct a witch hunt without the support of one person from the other party. With the retreat on rules, it can be expected that there will be a number of new ethics charges brought against members of the House. The committee is sure to be a hot bed of partisan "gothca" politics.

One simple fact that demonstrates that will be more than true is this: Since 2000, more than $16 million in private money has been spent on 5,410 trips for about 600 members of Congress, according to an analysis by PoliticalMoneyLine, an online political data service. The study found that just over half the trips were financed by tax-exempt and other groups that are under no obligation to disclose sources of their funding.

ABC News has a graphic map that allows viewers to click to see the cost of privately funded trips by their congressman.

Trade Rep’s bumpy confirmation

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee unanimously backed President Bush's choice of Ohio Congressman Rob Portman to be the next U.S. trade representative, but the nomination faced delay on the Senate floor.

Democrat Sen. Evan Bayh placed a "hold" on the nomination, thereby blocking Portman from being confirmed in time to represent the United States at a trade meeting early next week in Paris.

Bayh wants Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to schedule a vote on a China trade bill strongly supported by U.S. manufacturers and many other lawmakers in exchange for dropping his hold.

The bill Bayh is pushing would allow the Commerce Department to put duties on Chinese imports to offset government subsidies. This would enable U.S. companies to file cases with the Trade Commission charging China with subsidizing exports.

Dems’ Social Security drum beat

Democrats demonstrated their ability to stay on message and continue to bring down the possibility of fixing Social Security.

"Personal accounts unravels the Social Security safety net in a way that makes it hard to find common ground," said Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on Social Security.

Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Committee, stated flatly that the Democrats would not participate in crafting a Social Security solution until the White House withdraws support for personal accounts.

Chairman Charles Grassley became visibly upset and challenged Democrats, "Those of you that are bad-mouthing every other suggestion out there, suggest your own plans," Grassley said.

Beyond Senate Democrats snipping at solutions in the Committee, they held a raucous rally outside the Capitol with cheering and dancing at the fact that President Bush’s efforts to gain public support for fixing Social Security had not gained public support.

Grassley commented on the political theater, "Outside the hearing room today, we have political theater and dramatic attempts to polarize Social Security along partisan lines," he said.

"I ask my fellow committee members to resist the temptation to allow such theatrics to pervade this hearing room. If there is ever going to be a bipartisan consensus for reform, the process must begin in this committee, and there's no time like the present to get started."

Polls do show a growing recognition that Social Security needs to be fixed, however.

Volcker investigation to continue

Paul Volcker, who is heading an investigation into the U.N. Oil for Food scandal, said that he may not close shop this summer after the release of his final report. He said that his committee may not disband so quickly. He is leaving open the possibility that as more Oil-for-Food allegations surface, his mandate will be extended.

Volcker made the revelation on Fox News. He also said point blank, no, that his investigation did not clear U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of wrongdoing in the Oil for Food scandal.

Fox news also quoted a source that, "Volcker committee members chose not to require that they be allowed to search for documents in Kofi's office, meaning the individuals who made the decisions of what to produce were the individuals who were under investigation," the source said.

Mr. Volcker, in the Fox News interview, said his panel "was not meant to be soft or hard" on Mr. Annan or the United Nations.

"We are out to get the facts, and I've said from the very beginning our responsibility is to follow the facts wherever they lead."

Energy plans

President Bush is calling for Congress to provide a "risk insurance" plan to insulate the nuclear industry against regulatory delays if they build new nuclear power plants. It is reported that he will also endorse giving federal regulators final say over the location of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals.

In addition, Bush is calling once again for a $2.5 billion in tax incentives over 10 years, a White House official said. Consumers would get a credit of up to $4,000, depending on the level of a vehicle's fuel efficiency, if they purchase a hybrid or clean-diesel vehicle.

Bush is also supports negotiations with communities where defense bases have been abandoned as sites for new oil refineries. The nation has not built a new refinery in 30 years.

Oh no, France

France looks as if it will stop the European Union dead in its tracks. It appears almost certain that France will defeat the adoption of the European Unions Constitution.

A "no" vote in France, E.U.'s executive Commission, Romano Prodi told a French newspaper, would not only be a "catastrophe" for France, but mean "the fall of Europe."

There is strong feeling among the French that Turkey should not be allowed to join the union and they have strong feelings that Turkey will be admitted in the future. Turkey would be the union's only Muslim member, and it would replace France as the second-largest member.

There are also strong anti-globalization feelings and fears of loss of nationalist powers that are contributing to the strength of the no vote.

Contingency plans to keep the European Union going forward include bi-passing the public and having parliaments ratify the constitution and then leaving it to heads of states to bring their countries under the European Constitution if the nation has failed to ratify the constitution.

DeLay investigation

Rep. Tom DeLay’s connections with his former employee and lobbyist Jack Abramoff continue to be fodder for the press.

AP's Sharon Theimer offers a graphic and links to documents concerning Abramoff's lobbying for the Northern Mariana Islands: AP site.

Time Magazine also reports on Abramoff’s gifts to DeLay staff members.

MoveOn.org filibuster protests

MoveOn.org is reinforcing their filibuster activities this week. Former Vice President Al Gore gives a speech at noon ET today. MoveOn.org is spending $600,000 to run two ads this week: one showing elephants stampeding the Capitol on nationwide cable; the other, "Smashing the Courts," in Virginia, Nebraska, Maine, and Oregon. MoveOn.org has sponsored 172 rallies at federal courthouses in all 50 states to protest changing the filibuster rules as well.