Stand By Me*

*Rock classic co-written by --surprise--Carole King.

Just few brief notes on a 100degree Saturday. This is Jim Inhofe's idea of a cold spell.

Yesterday President Obama looked almost bedraggled as he called an impomptu news conference to recite the accomplishments of the last week--Wall Street Reform, Unemployment Extension and a small bill, which would end the Government from paying phony bills and people. The latter will actually save the Government $38 billion a year. No small potatoes. But President Obama clearly felt he had to do this press opportunity because the last several news cycles had been focused on the firing, rehiring and smearing of Ms. Sherrod. So here's the President of the United States begging for recognition of some major accomplishments. I felt bad for him.

By late afternoon, Senator Landrieu threw a tantrum and shamed the Senate into finally passing the bill to provide small businesses loans, claiming these loans are likely to create 1 million jobs and make the Government money. This seems to be a hidden theme for some of the Democratic accomplishments this year--making money for the taxpayers. The TARP program made money, the auto bailout made money, the small business loans make money, the healthcare bill makes money and even the BP disaster made money. When was the last time this ever happened?

Last night I watched Van Jones address the Netroots meeting in Las Vegas. Van Jones chastised liberals and progressives for criticizing President Obama. "This guy volunteered to be the Captain of the Titantic after it hit the iceberg." Nice line. Van Jones made the best presentation yet by an Obama person on the clean energy strategy for transforming our economy. If you get a chance, review the video because it synthesizes the various aspects of energy policy and how it impacts the society at large. You'll also get some idea why Glenn Beck felt he needed to smear him. He is a very inspirational and effective speaker.

This morning President Obama seemed to have his mojo back with his weekly address to the Nation. Here he recounted the essence of the Wall Street Reform bill but added talking points of all the tax cuts this Administration have given the American taxpayer and small businesses. Then he zeroed in on John Boehner's alleged plan, pointing out that all the laws Boehner and the Republicans want to repeal contain all these tax cuts and will even deepen the deficit. In short, he called out the Republicans on actually wanting to increase taxes and the deficit. He is beginning to sharpen the Demmocrats' approach to the mid-terms.

In mid-morning Nancy Pelosi gave a strong defense of the House Democrats' record, which, in my opinion, has passed more "progressive" legislation in a short time than any other Congress. So Speaker Pelosi was in good shape before the Netroots. Then she switched and introduced a video feed from President Obama, which was considered a surprise. The nice part of the feed was when he hit the line about accomplishments, he cut to a video insert of Rachel Maddow just listing act after act after act, and then he concluded his address. As Rachel Maddow said, no one has done so much for the country since the days when alcohol was illegal. While he admitted change has not come as fast as he would even have liked, he promised more and warned that the country can not be allowed to go backward.

One small fact that no one has been mentioning and I completely forget. The bulk of American forces will really be gone from Iraq in August as President Obama promised in his campaign. Only he has mentioned this while no one in the press has even made a peep about it.

Another little note in the money-making territory. Nancy Pelosi mentioned in her speech a manufacturing and raw resource bill--in typical congressional fashion. Not to make it complicated, this little bill creates over 100,000 jobs and the GOP had tried to block it. It's this type of thing the Democrats have to make plain in words that the average citizen can understand.

The real bad news is that unemployment will remain at 9% through 2012, which makes the President vulnerable to demagoguery. The Bookings Institute this past week released a report on why unemployment will remain at these levels for the foreseeable future unless we transform the basis of our economy. Here I again urge you to listen to Van Jones, who outlines how that transformation is envisioned by President Obama. If the Democrats could speak as plainly about this as he, it would serve them well.

As Joe Biden told a fund-raiser in South Carolina, the heavy lifting is done and the Big Building Blocks are in place. Now is the time to explain this to the American voter.

There is a sense that the Democrats are more organized and getting their acts together just in time for the election. The question for Republicans is whether they peaked too soon and whether they have anything to offer other than a protest vote against the President. Charlie Cook , who has been beating the drums for a Republican takeover of the House, today ran a piece called "Adding Up The Democratic Math". Cook decided that he owed equal time to the Democrats.

He says that Democrats feel they will pick up 4 Republicans seats, with a chance at 8. Cook gives them the 4, which would mean the Republicans would need 43 just to get to a 218-217 control of the House. Of the 16 most vulnerable Democrats, the Democrats believe they would lose 8, which means they are down only 4 at that point. Now 35 Democrats would have to lose. Several dozen threatened incumbents have a massive financial edge over the Republicans, who can't make up the difference in time for the elections. The vulnerable incumbents can count on television and radio ads where the opponents can't. He cites several cases where Republicans are broke. In terms of organization, the DCCC is 14-3 in special elections, which Cook says demonstrates they are professionals. This tracks with what I wrote on Republicans yesterday. Their organization is fractured and ineffective and their finances are scattered and so far under the Democrats. The New York Times wrote today that the Democrats have already made a $25 million television buy for near election day.

You get the sense that even though he has been battered and bruised, President Obama has grit and still has energy. From the recent forays into the campaign mode, you also have a sense that Democrats have a sense about what they are doing. On the other side, you really sense alot of lazy bowhards, repeating the same lines about Democrats we have heard since 1980. Mark Pence tried to convince everyone that we are about to have the largest tax increase in history. Only if the Republicans filibuster tax cuts for the middle class. I got the sense the Democrats are not going to allow this nonsense to happen. The real sense I get from the Republicans is that they are truly brain dead and so intellectually lazy they don't recognize it. They are totally dependent now on the hate groups and the Right-wing echochamber for their electoral success. Given the recent polls showing independents basically splitting their vote, compared to earlier this year, this strategy seems to be backfiring. Then you have to wonder how Michele Bachman saying that all Republicans are going to do after the election is investigate the Obama administration will play with the average voter. Do people have fond memories of the circus surrounding the Clinton investigations? I would think and hope not.

Tom Tancredo provided the comic relief yesterday when he penned an op-ed for the Washington Times calling for President Obama's impeachment because he is more dangerous to this country than Al Qaeda. Even Fox News in their interview with him said, "You have to be kidding." But then the woman interviewer hadn't watched Glenn Beck declare the day Wall Street Reform passed, "was the day the American Republic died." Beck obviously watches Keith Olbermann because he now has taken to throwing papers at the camera--this time they were blank papers, which he pretended were the text of the bill. And this morning I received a new article from an extreme rightwing person calling for Obama's resignation yet again for taking the country to progressive socialism. I guess that's different from regressive socialism.

Countdown to Rapture

Carol Bauer issued her Capital Prayer Alert asking her prayer group at American Values to try and persuade Christians who are waiting for the imminent return of Jesus Christ not to simply give up and wait but also to vote. "You can be a modern Esther 'for a time like this'. Also you can donate.

Bryan Fischer writes for the website Rightly Concerned a piece entitled, "Would Jesus sign the Arizona immigration law? In a heartbeat." Fischer is the policy director of a Beltway Christian values organization. Clearly, he must be a compassionate conservative.

Whatever Jesus may or may not sign, Latinos are abandoning the Republican party in droves. Obama enjoys a 68% approval rating and Democrats enjoy a 54-21 approval/disapproval rating. the Republicans are now at 22% approval and 44% disapproval. In 2010 races, Democrats are topping their 2008 high in getting the Latino vote--now 58%. Polls are showing White in Texas is gaining Latino support and Democratic Senatorial candidate in Arizona Glassman is now seizing the majority.

Libertarians feel betrayed by Rand Paul and are thinking about running a candidate against him in Kentucky. Mitch McConnell said that Paul has "talked enough."

One of the Republicans 'Top Gun" recruits for this year--Vaughn Ward-- lost his primary race to Raul Labrador in Idaho's 1st District. Vaughn had announced his candidacy by literally repeating Barack Obama's speech at the 2004 Convention. It was also discovered that all his policy positions had been lifted verbatim from the websites of other candidates around the country. In his debate with Labrador, Ward did not know whether Puerto Rico was a country and suggested we did not want it as part of the United States. It was thought that Ward would be a shoe-in against Democrat Walt Minnick, who won in 2008. Sarah Palin flew into the state to endorse him but actually faced demonstrations by Republicans.

Sarah Palin's other big pick Nikki Haley, candidate for governor of South Carolina, really was naughty and had an affair with Will Folks, a Republican operative and blogger. In the e-mails discovered by the press, it appears there is even a photo. The e-mails also document that Nikki asked Will how to handle this issue with the media. What is strange by now is that neither party is denying the e-mails. But Haley is denying the affair.

Dino Rossi has entered the Republican field in Washington State after months of arm-twisting by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. They believe he can beat Patty Murray, who currently has about an 8pt lead over him. But teabaggers aren't taking this lying down and vow to run a candidate against him. Dino Rossi has run perpetually as long as I can remember.

Today I endorse another Republican for office. Young Boozer--really his name--for Treasurer of the Great State of Alabama.

The Republican mayor of Reno, Nevada, the city made famous in the television series RENO 911, proclaimed his friendship with Chicken Lady Sue Lowden but insisted on calling her Suicidal Sue.

While Obama bounces around between 48-52% approval rating, the generic lead for Democrats in congressional races now clicks in at 4-6% over Republicans. Even Tan Man Boehner admitted to Fox News that taking over the house will be a "heavy lift". This is a dramatic change of tone from just two weeks ago when he said that the GOP could pick upwards to 70 seats and that over 100 were in play. Yesterday, he suggested that Republicans could pick up 30.

While the majority of Americans believe the stimulus package didn't work, the CBO has a new report out today that says it created upwards of 2.8 million jobs and meant between 1.7-4.1% higher in the GDP. By September, the report says that the total jobs created will be 3.7 million, which exceeds President Obama's predictions.

For such a screw-up, President Obama seems to have the Midas touch. He made money from the bank bailouts. He got paid back with interests on the GM loans. And even with the disasterous BP oil spill, it looks like the government will make over $30 billion in fines. And his stimulus package will have created 700,000 more jobs than he promised. What a loser.

It looks like DADT will finally come to a close by the end of this week. A CNN poll shows that 78% of Americans support open gays serving in the military. Even 60% of Republicans support the idea.

Large majorities of Americans now support immigration reform, even among Republicans.

While James Carville was screaming at President Obama to come to Louisiana, (which he's doing on Friday)the President has sent 22,000 people to the Gulf and has over 1,000 vessels out at sea near the leak. A few weeks ago he sent Steven Chu to Houston with a team of hand-picked scientists to figure out a solution. One of these scientists was an expert on the engineering problems involved with Mars. Apparently, they are comparable to the operations 5,000 feet below the sea.

The Senate Republicans invited President Obama to lunch to talk policy. However, it has been reported that the exchanges were heated. We know about them because the hosts within minutes of the lunch breaking up repeated verbatim what they said to the President. But no one reported on what the President said. The last time this happened, Obama ate the House Republicans for lunch because it was aired on television. This time the Southern Senators made sure they got the final word. A pretty rude display considering they invited the President of the United States. But then again he is black and they are Southerners, who know how to handle these things.

Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions says that he may delay the Elena Kagan hearings until he has read all the memos she wrote in the Clinton Administration. Interesting statement. He's not the chairman and he can't dictate the schedule. And the Boy won't wait for you either.

Elena Kagan doesn't cross her legs like a lady when she sits. That passes for thought around here.

If you listen to Baked Alaska, Glenn Beck and watch Drudge, there is a creepy writer snooping around the Palins. He's even rented a house near them in Wasilla. He's like a stalker even though it was Sarah Palin who took a photo of the author reading on his deck. Beck has demanded Random House cancel the author's contract or his viewers will boycott them. Who is the mysterious creep--none other than Joe McGinness! Random House issued a statement vouching for the record and accomplishments of their long-time author, including his book on Alaska. Apparently, Baked Alaska never read it. Afterall, her father last week said pointedly that "she doesn't make any decisions." I wonder who around her does.

Glenn Beck is concerned that Christians don't understand that they will lose their religious freedoms. He says that Barack Obama is orchestrating an advertising boycott of his show to silence him. Anthony Weiner, the SEIU, the AFL-CIO, Van Jones, and others are in on the plot and meeting regularly with Barack Obama to discuss this. He says that Barack and Michelle Obama listened to Jeremiah Wright about the issue of religious freedom. And, I am sure, Glenn, he said to shut down the churches.

The name Jeremiah Wright is what they call "the tell" in gambling. Jeremiah Wright is known in certain Christian circles as being one of the leading crusaders against the so-called "Gospel of Wealth". You know the people that say Jesus doesn't want you poor, he wants you rich. He has been battling the in-roads they have made in the black community and been trying to get black churches to affirm their historical mission. While people remember the Republicans playing Wright's "Chickens have come home to roost" sermon, they do not realize how connected the Wealth Gospel people are to Republicans. That is why Glenn Beck tells everyone to leave any church which has a social gospel. The only ones without one are these well-paid Elmer Gantrys,peddling get rich schemes.


The Republican-wing of the Tea Party led by Mark Williams, our Nixon dirty trickster, has vowed to defeat Scott Brown because he betrayed the Tea Party. The more I listen to the teabaggers I get the distinct impression that their ideal of America existed under the Articles of Confederation. During a Connecticut tea party led by Dick Armey, the audience enthusiastically called for secession from the United States and a convention of states, which would withhold federal incomes taxes from the national government until it capitulated to its demands. One of the big fights against our Constitution was brought about because states feared a national government. I get the sense these people did time travel back to that debate. Unfortunately, for them, many of the states like Texas, which have suggested secession, get far more in federal spending than they give. To Dick Armey's credit, he tried to put a damper on such discussion. You get a distinct feeling that the tea baggers are no longer useful and are an embarassment to Republicans. But it's too late.

Tom Tancredo wants to organize rallies in Arizona in favor of their immigration bill. But William Gheen of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC has pulled out of the June 5th rally because its being organized by a man named Dan Smerglio, who has links to neo-Nazis and skinheads. On Smeglio's Facebook page , he lists as his favorite band SAGA, the Swedish Neo Nazi Rock band. Gheen is no angel himself because he called on Lindsey Graham to come out of the closet and admit his homosexuality. Gheen suggested people were blackmailing Graham so he would support immigration reform. You can imagine what these rallies will look like.

Who Let The Dogs Out?

The Facebook group that prays for Obama's death reached 1 million "friends".

The RNC is accusing Obama of not considering any black nominees for the Supreme Court. This has already gone viral. I guess Judge Sears doesn't qualify as black. She's actually a friend of Clarence Thomas so maybe that disqualifies her.

Kris Kobach, the man who drafted the Arizona anti-immigrant law, is running for Secretary of State in Kansas. An old protege of John Ashcroft, who came out and backed the law,Kobach has secured a contract from the state of Arizona to train police in how to recognize illegal immigrants. He also put in the bill that citizens can sue Arizona if the law isn't enforced. His front group is already set up to act as attorneys for the citizens. The C in Conservative stands for cash.

Republicans are going nuts over the law. Even Johnny Reb, Bob McDonnell, the Governor of Virginia, has condemned it. Former Governor Ridge has condemned it. Karl Rove has condemned it because he knows that his 40-year Reich depended on the Ladino vote. Bob Barr has condemned it for its violations of civil liberties. Barry Goldwater's biographer, Lee Edwards over at Heritage claims Barry would have condemned it. Jeb Bush has dropped everything to race up to Washington to lobby for immigration reform. The GOP sees the fastest growing minority in America escaping from their grasp.

A sign of this was Drudge started the morning with a big photo spread of millions of demonstrators and claiming Hispanics would be marking May 1 in 70 cities. Within an hour everything disappeared concerning the Hispanic marches. Los Angeles is reporting they expect the march there to far exceed the 2007 march when they were demanding immigration reform. I'm hoping they are a rousing success and have demonstrators who are carrying arms in the open. That would make the white open carry geezers have a heart attack. Let's see what kind of coverage they get from Fox--same as teabaggers?

The GOP quickly morphed into Flip Wilson and "The Devil Made Me Do it" excuse. John McCain led the pact with Sarah Palin not far behind saying that it was the fault of the Obama Administration and Congress not to enforce the laws that made Arizona to adopt the statute. When pressed on when is the right time to pass immigration reform, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner said it couldn't be done this year. Lindsey Graham, once a supporter of comprehensive reform, claims it can't be done until 2012.

President Obama in Iowa told a townhall meeting what his basic outline is for immigration reform and said that it had to be done with Republican support. He also thought the will wasn't there in Congress. However, today Senator Harry Reid and Charles Schumer indicated they would move forward, even without Republican support.

ARIZONA ICE TEA wants everyone to know they have nothing to do with the state of Arizona. The CEO of the New York-based company claims they are being slaughtered by the Arizona boycott. So buy one of their Arnold Palmers--half lemonade, half ice tea--to rectify the problem.

The Mayor of Phoenix is suing the state because he says the city can not afford to lose another $300 million like they did during the whole flap over Martin Luther King Day. In 2008, Arizona took in $18.5 billion in tourist dollars and even a drop in a percentage of this will severely hurt the state. Mexican tourists contribute a few billion of this.

Texas Republican Debbie Riddle is introducing an identical law in Texas. Tennessee Republicans are doing the same with a birther bill thrown in. Oklahoma legislators said they will not because their 2007 anti-immigrant law cost the state $1.8 billion in revenues.

Shakira and Linda Ronstadt are showing up for a concert in Arizona and Shakira promises to make statements against the law while there. But remember Jan Brewer says she was chosen by God to lead Arizona during this trying time.

A Texas congressman said that Barack Obama was a judgement of God on the United States. So, I guess that means Mike Huckabee is right,"America is a miracle of God's." So Obama must be the blessing. Abraham Lincoln once commented that he didn't worry about whether God was on his side but whether he was on God's side.

Am I good or not? Ben Nelson did admit today he talked to Berkshire Hathaway about their views on the financial reform bill's regulation of derivatives and they said they were against. Ben was just protecting the $6 million I reported yesterday. Kudos to Ezra Klein, who reported what I said in-house here yesterday--the Republicans caved on filibustering the bill because Mitch McConnell wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby and didn't want late night voting to interrupt his plans. And, if you know the Senate, you know that's true. You have to have a real sense of priorities.

How did "Drill, Baby,Drill" turn out? Actually, quite fantastic, the first such off-coast well has been producing 5,000 barrels a day. The only problem is that it's all leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. This has prompted Governor Crist to reverse his position on off-shore drilling; the President to call the governors of all states near the spill and declaring the Administration might put the whole policy on hold.

You know the Right has gone coco-loco when Glenn Beck criticized President George W. Bush for being a "progressive". He also complained about Arizona being criticized for adopting Nazi-like laws, saying this diminished the crimes of Hitler. It seems to me he does that already by likening President Obama to Hitler.

The financial reform debate is actually just heating up. Goldman Sachs and the banks have unloaded millions to be funnelled through some of the front organizations that handled the healthcare reform debate. So, watch for the teabaggers to get their marching orders soon. Frank Luntz' interim memo is to aim at wavering Democrats by saying the bill is bad for them. We'll wait for the second memo when the debate gets in the open.

There are two things in my mind that one should watch--the regulations of derivatives and the consumer protection agency. There will be a full-court press to water these provisions down. And root for Senator Bernie Sanders' amendment to cap credit card rates at 15% like credit unions. As he pointed out three American banks issue two-thirds of all credit cards.

It's nice to see the head of the AFL-CIO Richard Trumpka out and about. Today's he's marching on Wall Street. But Trumpka has been the most visible AFL-CIO chief since Lane Kirkland and George Meany. It's good to see their public presence.

Barack Obama fled the capital to visit with the white folks in Iowa. After rhubarb pie (my favorite) and coffee, he held a townhall meeting to a thunderous reception. During the long presentation, he flagged the next political debate in the country. He warned the audience that we will be forced to make tough decisions in the months and years ahead. He emphasized that people who want government to do things must be aware of what these activities cost. He pointed out that his three year freeze on discretionary spending and some other measures he's taken will pay for everything during his first term, including the stimulus package. But he warned that the structural deficit he inherited will take years to address. He pointed out why the belief you can cut foreign aid simply doesn't touch a drop of our deficit. He emphasized that the deficit was composed of equal parts Social Security, Medicare and the Defense Budget.

Barney Frank is convening his own study on the deficit and explicitly aiming at the Defense Budget. The problem with the military/ terrorism budget is that it has doubled since 1998 and is considerably higher than during the Cold War when we had conventional enemies. Barney Frank is bragging his group is bipartisan but this means he has included the CATO Institute, which proposes cutting defense in half. At least, it's not the House Republican Plan to privatize social security and Medicare.

Doubts have arisen about the Deficit Commission appointed by President Obama because it is composed of Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats and not progressives. Erskine Bowles, a former Clinton official, said the Commission would be going after social security and Medicare like gangbusters. With the exception of Andy Stern, I don't see anyone including military expenditures in the mix. And that would be dreadfully wrong.

The great state of Oklahoma--where the wind...--is being sued for its mandatory sonogram anti-abortion bill by physicians. For the past year, women's rights have taken a beating in the U.S. of A. where dozens of states have been inching to restricting access to abortion and contraceptives. That's why I thought the Iranian police chief who said he would arrest women with suntans might have been from Arizona. Florida just passed yesterday by three votes a bill that would force women, even those raped, to watch an ultrasound of the fetus before agreeing to any abortion procedure. The feminist should mount up for one last ride--against the American Taliban.

But Oklahoma, home of Dr and Senator Tom Coburn, who opposed the healthcare bill, seems to have set the record for budget shortfall this year. As a result, they have dropped to 49 in healthcare--just one step ahead of Haley Barbour.

Tom Tancredo finally discovered the truth. Obama is deliberately hiding his birth certificate to drive conservatives nuts and make them look like they're crazy to the public.