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Obama takes up immigration in speech at 10:50 am ET… Why immigration reform isn't easy this year and why it won't be easier in 2011… WWJMD -- What Will John McCain Do?... Obama also will be raising Arizona in his speech today… Financial reform passed the House last night, while Senate won't take it up until the week of July 12 (due to today's remembrance of Robert Byrd and the upcoming July 4 recess)… Dems announce their four finalists for the 2012 convention… And the politics of LeBron James.
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Obama takes up immigration: Here's what else we know this Thursday morning: After completing her testimony yesterday, Elena Kagan is well on her way to winning confirmation to the Supreme Court… With last night's House vote, Congress is one step closer to clearing the financial reform legislation for President Obama's signature, though there's still plenty of Senate drama… Also last night, the Senate -- once again -- was unable to block a GOP filibuster against legislation extending unemployment benefits… And despite whatever President Obama says in his speech today on immigration reform at 10:50 am ET in DC, the legislative reality is that it won't happen this year. (Indeed, just consider how difficult financial reform, once viewed as a shoo-in for passage, has turned out to be.) So the question becomes: What are the chances next year, and is it simply a political tool for Democrats to try and create a wedge inside the GOP?
*** Immigration reform won't be easier in 2011: According to reform advocates, the prospects and the math don't necessarily get easier in 2011. For starters, there won't be that many Senate Republicans willing to back comprehensive immigration reform next year. In 2006, 23 GOP senators, including Arlen Specter, voted for the comprehensive immigration package that passed the Senate. But this year -- after the last two election cycles and after Specter's defection -- that number now stands at 11. And come next year, it will dwindle to seven (and that's if John McCain wins re-election). In addition, if Republicans win back the House this November, that would likely catapult conservative Rep. Lamar Smith (R) to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who is no champion of comprehensive immigration reform. And lastly, next year will bring us the start to the race for the GOP presidential nomination, and we're already hearing that Republicans aren't all that eager to have an immigration debate play out during those primaries because the politics will inevitably pull the primary conversation to the right. (Remember what the immigration debate did to the Republican presidential campaign debate in 2007-08.)
*** WWJMD? On the other hand, reform could end up being a win-win for everyone -- including the Obama White House (which would be looking to fulfill a campaign promise and mobilize Latino voters) and the Republican Party (which would want to make sure it wasn't digging its own demographic grave). "It's a win-win situation," Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg argues to First Read. "At some point, the Republican Party is going to have to abandon their anti-immigration views or they are going to be a minority party." Yet the key to all of this might very well be John McCain. If he wins his primary and re-election, does he once again become an important player on immigration reform? Or does he stand on the sidelines? What will John McCain do?
*** Raising Arizona: In addition to immigration reform, we're hearing that the other big component of Obama's speech this morning will concern Arizona's tough anti-illegal immigration law and the administration's likely lawsuit against the law. By the way, MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," which airs at 1:00 pm ET, will discuss immigration with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D).
*** Financial reform and remembering Robert Byrd: By a vote last night of 237-192, with three Republicans joining the Democrats, the House passed the reconciled financial reform legislation, NBC's Luke Russert reports. The Senate will take up the legislation the week of July 12 -- after the July 4 recess -- given that the chamber doesn't have the time to vote due to the memorial services for the late Robert Byrd, who lies in rest at the U.S. Capitol today. Per NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, a black-draped platform is already inside the Senate chamber this morning. As the hearse arrives outside the Capitol steps later this morning, it will be met by Byrd's current Senate staff "family." Then the coffin will be met at the top of the Capitol steps by Byrd's family. And then it's anticipated that Vice President Biden will lead his colleagues into the Senate chamber for a prayer by the chaplain.
*** 2012 watch: First Read has confirmed that the Democratic National Committee has chosen four cities to be the finalists for host of the party's 2012 convention, which will take place the week of Sept. 3. The four (in front-runner order): Charlotte, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Cleveland. Republicans have already selected Tampa, FL for their site, although that decision still must be ratified by the Republican National Committee. The GOP convention will take place the week of August 27. Everything we're hearing points to Charlotte as the front-runner -- given that it's a key city in a battleground state where the demographics are trending Democratic, while St. Louis is in a state where the state is slowly growing toward the Republicans. By the way, could the DNC find a way to use the losing convo cities in another way? One more wrench for the Democrats: They are restricting how much corporate money can be used in a city's bid and one of the four cities could end up having to drop out if they can't find the money. And here's a little trivia for you: In presidential contests, Democrats have not lost a state that hosted their convention since 1988 (Georgia), while Republicans haven't won a state that has hosted their convention since 1992 (Texas).
*** The politics of LeBron James: Here's a little Thursday fun, given LeBron James' free-agency, which is now official: He has turned into a political football, er, basketball. Keeping him in Cleveland has become an issue in Ohio's gubernatorial race (remember that Gov. Ted Strickland participated in that "We are LeBron" song). And the debate about the economic impact to downtown Cleveland is real. Also, what happens if James heads to Obama's Chicago? Or to Miami in the battleground state of Florida? New York Post even took a shot at New York politicians about the Miami prospect, since the one benefit for LeBron by signing with a Florida team is no state income tax.
Countdown to AL run-off: 12 days
Countdown to GA primary: 19 days
Countdown to OK primary: 26 days
Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 33 days
Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 40 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 124 days
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While there has always been discourse between parties, the level at which we find ourselves today is beyond comprehension. The turning point can be traced back to when Gore lost the election and the hatred for Bush sky rocketed as a result. During those 4 years, the hatred of the left knew no bounds and the vote for the next President was driven by blind hatred to the degree that it mattered not who or what the candidate was. Except for the fact that this President is motivated by selfishness rather than love for this country and thereby ruining it, I am glad that the left has had a chance to be in power as it has opened my eyes and many others like never before. It has exposed the true liberal agenda and highlights their hypocrisy each and every day. It was ooh so easy to be President and judge accordingly from the sidelines, but now that they are President and in power they ask for that which they denied Bush….reason, understanding and so much more.
Volumes could be written about the daily hypocrisies of the left starting with the amount of money spent on inauguration day Bush’s $42m being unacceptable to Obama’s $120m wonderful. Bush was crucified by the time he played his 10th game of golf, yet not a single lib has the integrity to either apologize for that petty indiscretion or admit that their President is equally guilty based on the fact his time on the course exceeds that by Bush a hundred fold. Rather than be honest, their response is to ignore and divert the issue by pointing out some Bush vacation at the Ranch, which has nothing to do with golf.
And so it goes, every day is more hypocrisy of the left using their hatred for Bush as an excuse and justification for their behavior, mistakes, corruption and lies. Now the hatred of the right grows from the hatred of the left after 8 years of inexcusable abuse and the daily hypocrisy and blind worship of their messiah who is less than perfect. We now find ourselves at an impasse, as the minions of America come on this blog to convince the other that the greed, corruption, adultery and lies of their politician, party and ideology is nonexistent, excusable or somehow better then the other’s. Without either side willing to concede an iota to the other, the cycle will continue until one day we all lose.
Really? Spending almost a quarter of a BILLION dollars to back Bill Clinton into a corner to hide an affair didn't have anything to do with it? Shutting down the entire federal government in a failed attempt to make political points didn't have anything to do with it? Stepping between a dead woman on life support and her husband wasn't over the line? Telling all of us who realized that war in Iraq was a bad idea treasonous didn't contribute? I stand corrected and find myself unworthy to kiss the hems of the altar robes worn by the holy Republican party.
test
With pleasure guys, If ever General Beck needs a chief of staff to handle his logistics, I'd be proud to serve. But I know you Disastocrats would regret it bitterly. I'd be worse than General Beck. He is too easy on you Disastocrats. The first time you see me on TV , you'd shut it off. No I won't abuse you or anything like that. But I'd be after you with frauds like Senator Oprah, Senator Jarrett, Barney Frank, Creeping Tom Gore and his sex massage. He couldn't get his climate change, so he tried to get an OIL change! I like that one. We had Gorelick ,now we have Goresuck. Kinda funny ain't it? that President Clinton had his Monica, and his Vice President Gore now has his Honica. This is a world record for the President and Vice President of the United States, each a sex pervert! Only the Disastocrats can achieve this , no one else. So DINOS let's hear you discuss Goresuck and all the other frauds you are hiding in your folders.
Congratulations, you are just the type of republican they expect on this site, and the "general Beck" (who NEVER served) rhetoric is pure gold. It would be great if you and a few of your left-wing doppelgangers could find their own site to endlessly insult and chase each other like that original Star Trek episode with Frank Gorshin...and leave sane people alone...
Dear Moderators: Why is this type of vulgarity allowed? I don't mind people that disagree with me, I do mind this kind of vulgarity. This poster makes a habit of this sort of thing. Are there ways to manage his egregious behavior? I am, of course, referring to Juven.
@Nashville_Fan and @Houston
Anderson cooper played a clip which was compilation of all of his requests for someone from BP to come on his show. Almost everyday he was requesting for it and he was willing to work on London timezone, but no one from BP show up.
New Marist Poll...independents continue to lose faith in the current adminsitration...
http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/view_online.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmaristpoll.marist.edu%2Fwp-content%2Fmisc%2Fusapolls%2FUS100617%2FObama_Oil_Spill%2FComplete%2520June%252030%2C%25202010%2520USA%2520Poll%2520Release%2520and%2520Tables.pdf
One other point I wanted to raise today--can it really be possible that Glenn Beck could be given a permit to have an event at the Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech? And an event that will line his pocket yet?
JuvenBachan
Por tu,
You better stop listing to FOX NOISE about Blago and that corrupt trial in Chicago. Senator Oprah, Senator Jarrett is NOT two phantoms wanted for the Senate. FYI :his title is President, Not your disrespectful epithet boy Bammy
All you 5th graders on the right wing; each one being dumber than the next, are on your jihadist mission have falsely claimed there is a correlation to Blago. The only correlation there is that each of visually and developmentally impaired morons you listen to FOX Noise’s echo chamber. The Chicago Sun-Times reported… Obama returned his call from Tom Balanoff later that night.
"Tom, [Balanoff] I want to talk to you with regard to the Senate seat," Obama told him.
Balanoff said Obama said he had two criteria: someone who was good for the citizens of Illinois and could be elected in 2010.
Obama said he wasn't publicly coming out in support of anyone but he believed Valerie Jarrett would fit the bill.
"I would much prefer she (Valerie Jarrett remain in the White House) but she does want to be Senator and she does meet those two criteria," Balanoff said Obama told him. "I said: 'thank you, I'm going to reach out to Gov. Blagojevich.
The Craig report acknowledges that in various conversations with transition staff and others, the President-Elect expressed his preference that Valerie Jarrett work with him in the White House. He also stated that he would neither stand in her way if she wanted to pursue the Senate seat nor actively seek to have her or any other particular candidate appointed to the vacancy." Balanoff himself testified that Obama "would much prefer" Jarrett work with him at the White House, but said that she met his qualifications for the post. Read it. If you can’t read you can Google the Chicago Tribune and listen to the tapes. Too bad you morons are so intent upon implicating the President when there is none. BTW: that call and tape is proof that the wishes were to take Valerie Jarrett with him to Washington and NOT to lobby for his old Senate seat. Get it?????
http://www.c-span.org/pdf/blagojevichreport.pdf
Eric, my friend, your argument doesn't make any sense.
If the "corrupt conservatives" are hiring illegal immigrants to save money, then why are the conservatives all for this law? According to you, conservatives should be against this law, yet, strangely, a majority of them are for it. How do you explain that? I'm just wondering.
Thanks!
Simple analogy, Chris:
They are trying to have their cake and eat it, too.
Here's another one:
You don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.
Simple Chris, there is no monolithic Conservative Movement, anymore than Liberals all believe exactly the same thing. Big business conservatives are all about cheap labor and illegals are a great way to get that. Cultural conservatives fear the changes that all these new immigrants might bring to our country. Oops.
Chris, Cranbury, NJ
That's easy. Conservatives should be against this law, yet, it's nothing strange about the majority of capitalist exploiting immigrants for cheap labor to continue to pad thier pockets. In fact, you should wonder why are these cold -blooded greedy, crooks and liars against fair wages for anyone in America as Hilda Solis said. And why are they gung ho for illegal Minute Men?
Instead of immigration, I wish the President would focus on jobs, jobs, jobs! What doesn't he understand about the negative economic data that keeps coming out????
“When it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!” We all understand that warning; well how about when what they say is so much BS it is impossible? The Republicans infer that they are going to reduce taxes while they reduce the deficit, they are going to cut spending while they create jobs and they are going to resolve all of the problems … all without any clue how as they are just using clichés to perpetuate a con. Common sense tells us that those things can’t all be achieved quickly and at the same time, so common sense also is saying that they are just telling the lies they think will manipulate public opinion. They constantly just fault Obama, who didn’t cause the problems and who is actually aggressively addressing the problems while they refuse to help, and they never have any answers, only just bold and arrogant efforts to disguise a return to more of the same that got us the problems. As the warning goes, be skeptical of those promising only positives and put more trust in those who tell the truth, even when identifying some negatives. We really can’t afford to be conned into going back to ‘more of the same’.
First off, let me say good day to both friends and foes alike; I hope all is well.
I also want to extend my condolences to the families, friends, and officers of the Tampa Bay Police Department, where two of their officers were slain in the line of duty on 6/29/10. I pray that God's Justice be done when they get him.
Looks like Financial Reform has passed. Bravo Zulu!!! I pray it has enough teeth to keep Wall Street and the Banking Industry in check.
Looks like more Americans are coming around, and are supporting the passage of Health Care Reform. Granted, it's not perfect, but it's a start. More to follow on that in the coming days.
General Petraeus is in, General McChrystal's out. Look folks, before McChrystal took over combat operations in Afghanistan, he already had one strike against him over the Pat Tillman Fiasco, culminating into strike two when it was discovered that he was the one that was leaking information to the press about troop increases, losing favor with not only with President Obama and his administration, the boys and girls on The Hill, but also with the troops that were serving under his command. Two things to take from this, gang: 1) NEVER, EVER talk with a journalist that is known to have a reputation of ruining professional careers; AND 2) YOU NEVER, EVER violate Article 88 of the UCMJ, ESPECIALLY if you are a flag officer in a command position, ESPECIALLY DURING A TIME OF WAR!!! BTW- Bravo/Zulu on capturing one major Al-Qeada Commander, and LITERALLY putting a toe tag on the other. Looks like "That One" had the right strategy, after all. Now, GET ME BIN LADEN!!!
Time after time, I have posted my reasons, and gave examples of why I'm against this Anti-Illegal Immigration Law that Arizona has passed, as have many others in here, ranging from it being racist to pointing out the Amendments to the U.S Constitution it has violated. As a result, the clock is now ticking; 28 days until it becomes ENFORCED.
My Condolences to the Family and Colleagues of the Late Senator Robert Byrd. May God grant you comfort in your time of bereavement. To those that want to harp on the fact that he was an Ex-Klansman, please feel free, but know this: Not everyone gets a second chance to turn things around in his life to do good for his fellow man, and I can think of 3 people right off the top of my head who had that chance: Former Alabama Governor George Wallace, after a failed assassination attempt; Malcolm X, after he came back from his pilgrimage in Mecca. For the third one, open your Bible to the New Testament and look in the Book of Acts, and there you will find the story of Saul, who we now know as the apostle Paul. People and history might not forget and/or forgive what these men have done, but a person, a single individual, has the choice to forgive and/or forget.
I know I'm going to get beatdown by my PROLIBDEM Brothers and Sisters who blog here daily, but I'm going to give you Republican/Conservatives/Tea Partiers some advice: If you DO NOT want/like to be called a racist, THEN CHANGE YOUR CHARACTER, CHANGE YOUR TACTICS, because, as an African American, I'M JUDGING YOU, AND YOUR GROUP AND ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE, based off of those two criteria, and it doesn't mean a damn IF you have Black Americans in your group, because if they see or know something occured at your events that is/was distasteful AND NOT SAY OR DO anything about it, then they are just as culpable as their White Counterparts, for all I know, they could've just been paid actors . Also, DO NOT QUANTIFY HOW MANY ARE THERE!!!
It's been a little over two months, and this oil spill STILL darkens our doorstep (Pun intended). I can't count the number of times we have gone round and round about why President Obama ordered a moratorium on drilling, giving you a list of EPA Acts this spill has violated, we've listed alternatives that we can use for our infratructure, and products that can be used by everyday consumers, NOT to mention the inventions that came up in the early 20th Century that used NO PETROLEUM PRODUCTS/ BY-PRODUCTS, and STILL, some, NOT ALL, of you Conservative Bloggers on here DO NOT GET the point that WE, BOTH YOU AND I, CONS AND LIBS, REPUBS AND DEMS, are chemically damaged BECAUSE OF OUR ADDICTION TO OIL. Soooo, I pose this question to you: WITHOUT USING A ANSWER INVOLVING INSHORE OR ONSHORE DRILLING, what can we do about our energy problem?
WELL, that concludes my weekly update. Tomorrow, I'm going to start my Independence Day Weekend early. Until next time, Essayons (Let Us Try).
You know Disastocrats, I can't help laughing about President Clinton and Vice President Gore , two DINOS
perverted creeps. It can only come from the DINOS.
Beverly in Chicago, You are such nice and sweet fellows in ole Chicago. The good old boy network of which Bammy boy is the big kahuna. First of all, Beverly, your dirtly linen is being hang out to dry in Chicago. Its amusing to hear that Oprah will be a Senator as well as Botox faced Jarrett. I could smell you Chicagoans even through the computer. YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF GANGSTERS STINKING UP THE CONTINENT. As well as that one who walks on water and who pretends that the gulf waters is still in a pristine state. I will call him anything I want. Thanks for the gulf memories.
Dear Juven=There is no reason for such an awful and nasty post. I wonder how you would feel if someone said that to you. You sound like a very angry and unhappy person. Perhaps you should consider counseling?
Brutus & Spanky
Are you going to pick out fruits and vegetables, bus our tables? Here's the problem, your both saying they'll be put into the Healthcare plan, when the plan states they cannot be entered into it. And second, most Americans I know feel that the jobs these people are doing, and the conditions and wages they are made to work in, that their employer have for them, are you saying you'd do those jobs?
We are all responsible but so easy to blame someone else. We all expect something for nothing. I do think the corporations are at the base of a lot of the problems but we have voted for people who make us feel good and don't pay atttention to what they believe and do. No one is perfect and no one can create miracles. I wish we would all start asking what can we do!