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2008 Calendar
Iowa is holding its Statutory Caucuses Monday night. However, in 2008 the
caucuses may be a lot earlier. While the Democrats on the special committee
to make recommendations on the Democrat nominating process sold out New
Hampshire, there is a long standing agreement between Republicans and
probably the next Governor of Iowa to hold firm on Iowa then New Hampshire.
The Manchester
Union Leader reports that legislation is making its way through the New
Hampshire legislature to defy the Democrat National Committee’s changes to
the calendar in 2008:
New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner has said he will move the
date of the primary ahead of new caucuses placed between Iowa and New
Hampshire. Regardless of any party rule, he would act under a state law
mandating the primary be held seven days or more before any similar
election.
Gardner has also said he would probably not set the date of the primary
until late in 2007.
You well could see Iowa’s caucuses in 2008 happening in December.
Rice for President
The forces wishing to draft Condoleezza Rice as the Republican nominee will
be raising their flag in a big way in Iowa at Monday night’s caucuses.
Polk County is holding their caucuses at the new Des Moines convention
center for all the precincts instead of in a hundred different meetings in
each precinct. This is sure to attract the Rice troops and the cameras for
an excellent photo opportunity.
Dessert with Tancredo
Colorado Sen. Tom Tancredo is hosting a dessert reception in Des Moines,
Iowa with Polk County Republicans following the caucuses tonight in Iowa.
Reid’s spin
"Not a single Democrat, including Harry Reid, received 5 cents from Jack
Abramoff," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said. "This is a Republican
scandal. When the Justice Department completes its investigation, this will
all be Republicans involved criminally." This is Sen. Reid’s spin as quoted
by the Associated Press in the
Las Vegas Sun.
Reid received at least $68,941 from Abramoff’s clients, and Reid has refused
to return the funds.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) was reported by the Associated Press as being under
investigation for corruption in the Abramoff scandal as well. Harkin let
Abramoff’s Democrat associate draft a letter on behalf of Indian gambling
interest and soon there after received $17,000 in contributions. It was
recently reported that Harkin received a total of $45,750 from Abramoff’s
interest. Harkin also failed to reimburse for the use of Abramoff’s
Washington skybox until recently.
Another aspect of this story is the fact that the
Associated Press is reporting that few Americans are paying much
attention to this matter:
Fewer than one in five Americans, 18%, say they are paying very close
attention to the scandal around Abramoff, who pleaded guilty and is
cooperating in a wide-ranging probe that could involve up to 20 members of
Congress and their aides, according to the Pew Research Center for the
People & the Press.
Of course Reid’s spin has even more difficulty holding up given the obvious
scandal brewing with the Democrat New Orleans Congressman covered by the
Washington Post:
A former aide to Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) pleaded guilty yesterday
to bribing the congressman to promote high-tech business ventures in Africa.
Brett M. Pfeffer, 37, of Herndon, a former president of a McLean investment
firm, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to conspiracy to
commit bribery of a public official and aiding and abetting the bribery of a
public official in 2004 and 2005.
Alito’s wife distressed
Judge Samuel A. Alito’s wife Martha left the confirmation hearing room in
tears because of the character assassination that Sen. Ted Kennedy
attempted. The tears did not begin until Sen. Lindsey Grahm (R-NC) offered
apologies to Alito’s family for the misbehavior of Democrats during the
hearings.
One senior Republican in the hearing room said of the situation: "After
three full days of attacks against her husband’s character, Mrs. Alito had
enough. Democrat behavior during this hearing has not only been wrong, it’s
been embarrassing. Ted Kennedy is nothing but a bully."
Kennedy was not able to bully the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman. An
exchange erupted over whether Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., had received a
letter from Sen. Kennedy asking that the committee seek certain papers
related to Concerned Alumni of Princeton.
Kennedy said he sent it.
Specter said he didn't receive it.
Kennedy said he must have received it.
"I take umbrage at your telling me what I received," Specter said. "I don't
mind your telling me what you mailed. But there's a big difference between
what's mailed and what's received. And you know that."
Kennedy demanded the committee go into closed session to vote on subpoenaing
the documents from the Library of Congress.
"And if I'm going to be denied that," Kennedy thundered, "I'd want to give
notice to the chair that you're going to hear it again and again and again
and we're going to have votes of this committee again and again and again
until we have a resolution."
"Well, Senator Kennedy, I'm not concerned about your threats," interrupted
Specter. "I'm not going to have you run this committee and decide when we're
going to go into executive session."
With that, Specter turned his head, banged the gavel and opened another
round of questions.
Blunt declares victory
"I've counted a lot of votes in my seven years in the whip's office, and
this was a well-fought fight on all sides," Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said in
announcing victory in the race for Majority Leader of the U.S. House.
Rep. John A. Boehner (R-OH) did not believe Blunt’s assessment of the race.
Boehner called on Blunt to resign from his current position as Majority
Whip.
Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) said that Blunt’s count couldn’t be correct because
he had already taken in defectors from Blunt’s side in the race for Majority
Leader. Shadegg just recently entered the race and is known as a staunch
conservative.
Democrats’ new money man
Carl D. Chidlow, the finance director for Grassroots Democrats, will take
over the Democrat National Committee's vacant fundraising post at the start
of next month. Grassroots Democrats is a state fundraising organization.
Chidlow served as deputy finance director for Massachusetts Sen. John F.
Kerry's (D) presidential campaign, a post in which he was in charge of the
care and feeding of deep-pocketed donors. Chidlow quit the Kerry campaign in
November 2003 after the firing of campaign manager Jim Jordan.
Democrats are doing poorly in the fund-raising department versus the
Republicans. There is some hope that Chidlow will bridge the high dollar gap
that has existed in the DNC since Howard Dean became chairman.
Specter and the "I" word
When asked what could happen if lawmakers find Bush in violation of the law
concerning the current spying activity, Specter answered: "Impeachment is a
remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the
principal remedy ... under our society is to pay a political price."
Senator Sam Brownback, who also serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee,
has announced that he did not agree "with the legal basis on which they are
basing their surveillance."
Clinton & Belafonte
Sen. Hillary Clinton and Harry Belafonte are both slated to appear at The
Children's Defense Fund's 2006 Winter Benefit awards luncheon.
Recently, Belafonte said that George W. Bush is the world's greatest
terrorist.
Outsourcing
Sen. Max Baucus, ranking minority leader of the U.S. Senate Finance
Committee, said Friday that outsourcing white-collar jobs to low-wage
countries such as India has become a global fact of life — and that America
must learn to live with it.
Baucus is traveling in India with Sen. John Kerry in India. During the 2004
presidential campaign, Sen. John Kerry said U.S. companies that shifted
white-collar jobs overseas were "Benedict Arnolds"
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