bobbyw24
05-13-2009, 04:40 AM
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22398.html
Sessions: Obama to 'kill' capitalism
By: Glenn Thrush
May 12, 2009 04:13 AM EST
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen is spanking his GOP counterpart for suggesting that President Barack Obama is intentionally scuttling the economy as part of a “divide and conquer” strategy.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions told The New York Times on Monday that he thought the administration intended to “diminish employment and diminish stock prices” and “to inflict damage and hardship on the free enterprise system, if not to kill it.”
Van Hollen responded in a statement: “The latest remarks by NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions have no place in our current economic debate and reflect a party more preoccupied with offering bizarre conspiracy theories than offering credible solutions to get our economy back on track. Families coping with the loss of a job, their home or their health care need solutions from Washington, not more of the same broken politics embodied by Chairman Sessions and the Republican leadership in the House and talk show host Rush Limbaugh.”
19 Dems Support Audit of the Fed
Ron Paul’s bill proposing an independent audit of the increasingly powerful Federal Reserve seems to be tapping the bipartisan zeitgeist.
The measure doesn’t stand much of a chance in the House, but 19 House Democrats from across the ideological spectrum are now listed among 143 co-sponsors of the bill, introduced by Paul, the libertarian ex-GOP presidential hopeful.
Members of Congress are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s aggressive intervention — moves that were necessitated, in part, by congressional aversion to passing new bank bailouts. Fed chairmen are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate but are otherwise unaccountable to elected officials.
Paul’s bill would instruct the U.S. comptroller general “to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.”
Lawmakers on board include Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), John Adler (D-N.J.), Eric Massa (D-N.Y.), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Michael Michaud (D-Maine), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Steve Kagen (D-Wis.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), head of the progressive caucus.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has introduced a similar measure in the Senate, with no co-sponsors thus far.
Israel May Jump In
Rumors have been swirling that New York Rep. Steve Israel will announce he’s challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in next year’s primary.
Israel will make some kind of an announcement soon. But I’m hearing from New York Dems that he’s likely to set up an exploratory committee instead of announcing flat-out that he’s running. It’s a technical point — but it gives him an out if things don’t work out.
Manhattan Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Joint Economic Committee, is considering a similar move.
The ambitious Israel, a prodigious fundraiser, was a supporter of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in his battle against Pelosi pick Jack Murtha in the 2006 majority leader race.
That means he’s not in Pelosi’s circle of love, despite rising steadily in the ranks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It also means he might not have a lot of incentive to linger in a relatively low-paying congressional gig that keeps him away from his family for half the year.
Israel raised a surprisingly modest $282,032 during the first quarter — $200,000 less than Maloney’s haul. Gillibrand raised $2 million in the same period — but her approval rating is still in the dumps and she remains an enticing target. Overall, Gillibrand has $2.2 million in the bank, compared with Israel’s $1.7 million and Maloney’s $1.3 million.
Anti-gun activist Carolyn McCarthy, another Long Island Dem, has already said she’s considering a run — but has hinted she would back off if someone else (possibly Israel) took up the challenge.
One potential impediment for Israel seems to have been removed: Chuck Schumer, who is supporting Gillibrand despite his disdain for picking sides in intraparty squabbles, has apparently backed off his prediction that his junior senator won’t face a primary.
Schumer now says he won’t interfere if someone else wants in, according to N.Y. Daily Newser Liz Benjamin.
Chuck Pops a Cork for Locals
Kirsten Gillibrand isn’t the only New York senator running for reelection next year.
Chuck Schumer has just cut a deal with the U.S. Golf Association mandating that all wine and produce at next month’s U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park be Long Island-grown.
Sessions: Obama to 'kill' capitalism
By: Glenn Thrush
May 12, 2009 04:13 AM EST
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen is spanking his GOP counterpart for suggesting that President Barack Obama is intentionally scuttling the economy as part of a “divide and conquer” strategy.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions told The New York Times on Monday that he thought the administration intended to “diminish employment and diminish stock prices” and “to inflict damage and hardship on the free enterprise system, if not to kill it.”
Van Hollen responded in a statement: “The latest remarks by NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions have no place in our current economic debate and reflect a party more preoccupied with offering bizarre conspiracy theories than offering credible solutions to get our economy back on track. Families coping with the loss of a job, their home or their health care need solutions from Washington, not more of the same broken politics embodied by Chairman Sessions and the Republican leadership in the House and talk show host Rush Limbaugh.”
19 Dems Support Audit of the Fed
Ron Paul’s bill proposing an independent audit of the increasingly powerful Federal Reserve seems to be tapping the bipartisan zeitgeist.
The measure doesn’t stand much of a chance in the House, but 19 House Democrats from across the ideological spectrum are now listed among 143 co-sponsors of the bill, introduced by Paul, the libertarian ex-GOP presidential hopeful.
Members of Congress are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s aggressive intervention — moves that were necessitated, in part, by congressional aversion to passing new bank bailouts. Fed chairmen are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate but are otherwise unaccountable to elected officials.
Paul’s bill would instruct the U.S. comptroller general “to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.”
Lawmakers on board include Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), John Adler (D-N.J.), Eric Massa (D-N.Y.), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Michael Michaud (D-Maine), Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Steve Kagen (D-Wis.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), head of the progressive caucus.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has introduced a similar measure in the Senate, with no co-sponsors thus far.
Israel May Jump In
Rumors have been swirling that New York Rep. Steve Israel will announce he’s challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in next year’s primary.
Israel will make some kind of an announcement soon. But I’m hearing from New York Dems that he’s likely to set up an exploratory committee instead of announcing flat-out that he’s running. It’s a technical point — but it gives him an out if things don’t work out.
Manhattan Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney, chairwoman of the Joint Economic Committee, is considering a similar move.
The ambitious Israel, a prodigious fundraiser, was a supporter of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in his battle against Pelosi pick Jack Murtha in the 2006 majority leader race.
That means he’s not in Pelosi’s circle of love, despite rising steadily in the ranks of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It also means he might not have a lot of incentive to linger in a relatively low-paying congressional gig that keeps him away from his family for half the year.
Israel raised a surprisingly modest $282,032 during the first quarter — $200,000 less than Maloney’s haul. Gillibrand raised $2 million in the same period — but her approval rating is still in the dumps and she remains an enticing target. Overall, Gillibrand has $2.2 million in the bank, compared with Israel’s $1.7 million and Maloney’s $1.3 million.
Anti-gun activist Carolyn McCarthy, another Long Island Dem, has already said she’s considering a run — but has hinted she would back off if someone else (possibly Israel) took up the challenge.
One potential impediment for Israel seems to have been removed: Chuck Schumer, who is supporting Gillibrand despite his disdain for picking sides in intraparty squabbles, has apparently backed off his prediction that his junior senator won’t face a primary.
Schumer now says he won’t interfere if someone else wants in, according to N.Y. Daily Newser Liz Benjamin.
Chuck Pops a Cork for Locals
Kirsten Gillibrand isn’t the only New York senator running for reelection next year.
Chuck Schumer has just cut a deal with the U.S. Golf Association mandating that all wine and produce at next month’s U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park be Long Island-grown.