The Truth Lies Before Us If We Only Take the Time to Accept It

This past Saturday morning at a gathering of Georgia Republicans; congressman and candidate for governor Nathan Deal introduced the GOP's latest 'hate speech' when he spoke of "Ghetto grandmothers," who lack birth certificates as just another cynically framed phrase that easily traces it's lineage back to the Reagan era and it's holier than thou reference to "welfare queens."

Ronald Reagan, the godhead of modern conservative politicians

Both terms are despicably aligned to sustain a politics of an us versus them mentality that fractures the American public and employs all of the sophistication of a club indiscriminately used against the Democratic opposition.

But lets return to our latest purveyor of hit and run hate speech, Nathan Deal, who said just a few days ago: “We got all the complaints of the ghetto grandmothers who didn’t have birth certificates and all that. We wrote some very liberal language as to how you can verify it. My mother was born in 1906 and she didn’t have a birth certificate. They didn’t give birth certificates back then. But we got her one, because you can do it under the proper procedures of your state.”



Republican hate speech extends beyond bashing ghetto grandmothers and regularly seeks out opportunities to attack gays. Oklahoma State Representative, Sally Kern has made her contempt well known



and identifies with the true Republican party, also known as the Party of Jesus.

Perhaps Paul Krugman sums it up best when he reflects on today's Republican Party and its all out war against President Obama as he remarks: "How did one of our great political parties become so ruthless, so willing to embrace scorched-earth tactics even if so doing undermines the ability of any future administration to govern?

"The key point is that ever since the Reagan years, the Republican Party has been dominated by radicals — ideologues and/or apparatchiks who, at a fundamental level, do not accept anyone else’s right to govern.

"Anyone surprised by the venomous, over-the-top opposition to Mr. Obama must have forgotten the Clinton years. Remember when Rush Limbaugh suggested that Hillary Clinton was a party to murder? When Newt Gingrich shut down the federal government in an attempt to bully Bill Clinton into accepting those Medicare cuts? And let’s not even talk about the impeachment saga.

"The only difference now is that the G.O.P. is in a weaker position, having lost control not just of Congress but, to a large extent, of the terms of debate. The public no longer buys conservative ideology the way it used to; the old attacks on Big Government and paeans to the magic of the marketplace have lost their resonance. Yet conservatives retain their belief that they, and only they, should govern.

"The result has been a cynical, ends-justify-the-means approach. Hastening the day when the rightful governing party returns to power is all that matters, so the G.O.P. will seize any club at hand with which to beat the current administration.

"It’s an ugly picture. But it’s the truth. And it’s a truth anyone trying to find solutions to America’s real problems has to understand."

Joe Wilson, Heckling Republican Congressman from South Carolina and His Fellow Members of the GOP Didn't React in Such a 'Grand' Style to President Obama's Speech on Health Care Reform

"President Obama sought to reframe the contentious debate over health care on Wednesday, asking a divided Congress and a skeptical nation to reach consensus on legislation to expand coverage to millions of Americans and lower costs through an ambitious overhaul that has eluded lawmakers for generations."

Photo: Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

 

"The speech was an effort by Mr. Obama to regain his political footing on health care, the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. After months of insisting he would leave the details to lawmakers, he presented his most detailed outline yet of his own plan, which he said would provide "security and stability" to those who have insurance and cover those who do not, all without adding to the federal deficit."

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

At 8:40 pm, last night, during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress about his health care program, the American people were given yet another example of the ongoing deterioration of relations between the nation's two political parties.



"You Lie!" shouted Representative Joe Wilson a Republican back bencher from South Carolina in response to the president's remarks about illegal aliens. President Obama had just "vowed to lawmakers that his health-care reform proposals would not provide benefits to illegal immigrants."

"Murmurs of "ooh" filled the stunned chamber. Nancy Pelosi's chin dropped. Obama moved on to the next sentence in his speech, about how no federal money would be used to fund abortion. "Not true!" came another shout."

Wilson's breach of decorum was imitated by other Republicans: "There was booing from House Republicans when the president caricatured a conservative argument by saying they would "leave individuals to buy health insurance on their own." They hissed when he protested their "scare tactics." They grumbled ... when Obama spoke of the "blizzard of charges and countercharges."

"Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, leaning forward, received criticism for yelling, “You lie!” at the president."

"Democrats said, according to Carl Hulse of The New York Times that "it showed lack of respect for the office of the presidency and was reminiscent of Republican disruptions at recent public forums on health care.

“I was embarrassed for the chamber and a Congress I love,” Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “It demeaned the institution.”

"Biden said that he had not spoken to President Obama since the speech. But, “knowing the president, I’m sure he accepted the apology,” The Associated Press reported.

"After the speech, Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff who sat a few rows in front of Mr. Wilson, said he immediately approached senior Republican lawmakers to encourage them to identify the heckler and urge him to issue an apology quickly.

“No president has ever been treated like that. Ever,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Carl Hulse also reported in The New York Times that: "Other Democrats said they did not want to dwell on the outburst or allow it to overshadow what they saw as an effective address by the president. But they also said it bolstered their contention that some Republicans were not interested in constructive dialogue, and they noted that Democratic plans specifically barred coverage for illegal immigrants." 

After the speech, Carl Hulse reported that: "Republicans also said the heckling was out of line. “I think we ought to treat the president with respect,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, “and anything other than that is not appropriate.”

"Republicans held up their own version of a health care bill in protest on Wednesday night during President Obama's address, in which he vowed to cap costs at $900 billion. Mr. Obama made clear in his speech that he would have little tolerance for Republicans who were determined to defeat him. "I will not waste time," he said, "with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it."

Photo: Luke Sharrett/The New York Times

"And the House Republican whip," Carl Hulse reported that: "Eric I. Cantor of Virginia, told ABC on Thursday: “Obviously, the president of the United States is always welcome on Capitol Hill. He deserves respect and decorum.” He said that Mr. Wilson’s apology “was the appropriate thing to do.”

By Thursday, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the House Democratic leader was calling for Representative Wilson "to apologize to the House," Carl Hulse reported.

Later Thursday, Congressman Wilson's office released a statement that read in part: "This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”

Richard Simon of the LA Times reported that: "House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, a Democrat from Wilson's home state, said that he planned to push for a resolution expressing disapproval of the incident unless Wilson issued a public apology on the House floor.

Simon also added that: "Rob Miller -- the Democratic challenger for Wilson's House seat -- raked in 14,000-plus contributions totaling more than $500,000 since the Wednesday night outburst, according to the House Democratic Campaign Committee. The committee also has cited the shout-out in a fundraising appeal: "Calling the president of the United States a liar in front of the nation is a new low even for House Republicans."

"Robert Oldendick, Simon added; "a political science professor at the University of South Carolina, on Thursday described reaction within the state to Wilson's outburst as "surprise and strong disapproval."

"But whether it will hurt the lawmaker at home is uncertain," explained Simon in his reaction to Oldendick's assessment.

"There are 14 months for people's memories of this to fade before the election -- although I'm sure they'll be reminded by opposition campaign ads," Oldendick said. "While the reaction here has been pretty strongly negative, I don't get the sense that Wilson will be severely damaged.

"And he may, over time, be able to turn this mistake into his 'passionate opposition' to a plan that he felt was so wrong," Simon quoted Oldendick.

"For Mr. Obama, the speech was a go-for-broke moment; there is no more dramatic venue for a president than an address to a joint session to Congress. For many Democrats, the speech evoked memories of a similar health care address by President Bill Clinton, 16 years ago this month. Mr. Clinton called for "security, simplicity, savings, choice, quality and responsibility" - the same broad themes Mr. Obama evoked Wednesday night."

Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

National Republican Party May Finally Becoming Cognizant that they may be too Negative

"Richard N. Bond, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee," recently stated: “Some days you’re rolling the barrel, and some days you’re rolling in the barrel. The fact is that right now, Republicans are rolling in the barrel.” The former chairman's observation was intended to provide some context to the recent hard times being faced by the GOP.

Adam Nagourney has observed that: "The latest round of intramural debate came on Sunday when Dick Cheney,"

"the former vice president, assailed not only President Obama, but also Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, a Republican who endorsed Mr. Obama.

"Mr. Cheney said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program that he would prefer Rush Limbaugh,"

"the conservative radio commentator, to Mr. Powell, a member of the shrinking class of moderate Republicans, as spokesman for his party. Within hours, the Democratic National Committee had used video from that interview — along with other Sunday morning appearances by Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and Senator John McCain of Arizona, last year’s Republican presidential nominee — to produce a mocking Web advertisement that sought to portray Republicans as negative, out-of-touch and mired in the past.

President Obama and his administration have successfully keep the GOP off balance with well coordinated attacks since last November's presidential election. At first, the Democrats pointed out the Republicans complete failure to come up with a plan; any plan, that was "forward-looking" to challenge the Democrat's agenda. Now the GOP is in a quandary regarding: "How to say it."

"A party that has over the years been the home of a series of optimistic figures in American politics — from Ronald Reagan"

"to Jack Kemp, who died last week, to (at times) George W. Bush — is increasingly coming across as downbeat or angry. And it is something that has Republicans increasingly worried."

Nagourney asks: "How important is this? Certainly, the Republican party’s first task obstacle is finding compelling leaders to make the case against the Democrats, as it builds itself back up for the elections of 2010 and 2012. And of course it has to hone an agenda that offers specific alternatives to Mr. Obama’s far-reaching shifts in economic, social and national security policy.

"Yet tone matters, Nagourney explains. Time and time again, Americans have responded to optimism, delivered even in — indeed, particularly in — the most dire times, and even when that sunny message cloaked an attack. In many ways, Reagan’s presidency was symbolized by one 1984 reelection advertisement, “It’s morning again in America,” just as Bill Clinton’s was by his choice of Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” as a musical reminder that he was “thinking about tomorrow.”

"Mike Murphy, a one-time senior adviser to Mr. McCain, argued that Mr. McCain’s hopes of winning the presidency were doomed when he lost the “Happy Warrior” stance that had defined his political persona for so long, and simply went on the attack last year. “Tone is important,” he said.P

“Ultimately, the message has to be about big things,” said Mr. Murphy. “But tone is how you wrap it.”

"The Republicans’ task would not be an easy one even in the best of times. In Mr. Obama,"

"they face a very popular president who, benefiting from big legislative majorities, has generally not needed to spend much time attacking Republicans himself, leaving that job to aides and surrogates. It is certainly not lost on Republicans that there has been a sharp uptick in the number of Americans who think the country is headed in the right direction — the best measure of optimism — since Mr. Obama has taken office.

"By contrast, the Republican Party in general — and leaders like Mr. Cheney in particular — are viewed unfavorably by a significant majority of Americans. That makes for a tough environment to break through and get a hearing. And it can become a spiral: going on the attack typically has the effect of making Americans sour on the attacker as well.

"Mr. Bond said that to return to power, Republicans have “to play error-free ball” and hope for what he described as the inevitable overreach by a party now so firmly in control of government. The real complication, he said, is coming up with “strong public alternatives” to make the case against Democratic policies, without appearing to be obstreperous or angry, or feeding the Democrats’ attempt to paint Republicans as “the party of ‘no.’

“They have to avoid being stigmatized as a bad bunch of people,” he said of the Republicans.

Nagourney explains: "The Democrats took obvious delight in the new round of attention paid to Mr. Cheney, Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Limbaugh, none of whom, it seems fair to say, are graduates of the Happy Warrior school of politics. Mr. Murphy said the influence of people like Mr. Limbaugh is overrated — “He doesn’t have that much power; he has the power to make a lot of noise” — and that over time, less-known leaders are going to develop the voice the party needs.

Nagourney uses Mike Murphy's observations to sum up: “We have a mix of the same old party dogma, but then you see new people popping up: Huntsman, Cantor, Jeb Bush,” said Mr. Murphy, referring to Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, and Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the Republican Whip, and Mr. Bush, the former governor of Florida. “You have to pick through all of that to hear the right ideas.”

But it is not only figures from the party’s past. For many Republicans, the party struck the wrong tone when Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina — who also is frequently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2012 — refused a portion of the stimulus money authorized for his state as part of the economic recovery package.

"That high-profile act of defiance drew Mr. Sanford national attention, as well as sharp attack by many people in his own state, including Republicans. It was a reminder, if Republicans needed one, of the challenges the party faces in the months ahead.

“It’s definitely going to be a work in progress,” Mr. Bond said.

Obama Talks Tough and Constructively About Auto Industry While GOP Congressional Leaders Attack Obama for Firing GM Head, Wagoner

While Senate Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid praised President Obama for the president's "firm resolve" when he has dealt with the auto industry: "The Administration's decision to send GM and Chrysler back to the drawing board was driven by three critical and commendable goals: protecting taxpayers' investment, moving America more quickly toward energy independence, and ensuring these two companies and the American auto industry as a whole can survive and as many workers as possible can keep their jobs," Reid said in a statement. "As we have maintained since the earliest days of this crisis, if these companies do not develop strong plans to remain viable in the long term, they will lose our support."

Republican leaders have gone out of their way to criticize the president's efforts to right the badly listing automobile manufacturers. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell contradicted the Majority Leader when he said that Republicans have been the leader for seeking to create reform of the auto industry.

"Republicans in Congress called for true reform before bailouts last year; automakers were given billions instead," McConnell's statement read in part. "Republicans said that taxpayer money set aside to strengthen the economy by preserving the flow of credit shouldn't be used for bailouts of individual businesses and unions; it was doled out anyway. And Republicans called for an end to funding enterprises that refused to demand reform from management, labor and investors; each refused."

McConnell ended his grab for attention by saying Republicans agreed with the notion that reforms must "be taken seriously or the taxpayer bailouts will end" but that that should have happened "tens of billions of dollars ago."

Te most severe critic of the president and Democrats position on the auto industry concentrated on Corker's criticism about te firing of Mr. Wagoner, the former head of GM. It should be remembered that Senator Corker was one of the GOP's leading voices last December when Republicans called for drastic wage cuts against blue-collar employees.

Senator Corker a Senator from Tennessee said the "Wagoner firing was a "sideshow" meant to distract people from what he called the lack of progress made since aid first went to automakers last year and cast the administration's moves as a "major power grab" and a threat to free enterprise."

Corker continued his rant: "With sweeping new power the White House will be deciding which plants will survive and which won't, so in essence, this administration has decided they know better than our courts and our free market process how to deal with these companies."

Former GOP presidential standardbearer, John McCain said: "the Administration's removal of GM CEO Richard Wagoner "remarkable" and "unprecedented," and suggested it would have a chilling effect of other corporations. "So instead of sending General Motors and Chrysler into the pre-packaged bankruptcy they deserve, now have taken the unprecedented step of firing the CEO of General Motors," he said. "A remarkable move by the federal government. I think unprecedented in the history of this country."

McCain retorically asked: "What does this signal send to other corporations, financial institutions about whether the federal government will decide to fire them as well."

GOP Struggling to Reach Consensus On An Alternative Economic Budget

To date, House and Senate Republicans may be undertaking a "coordinated political assault on President Obama’s budget," but they are failing to develop an "alternative to the" Democrats economic blueprint the The GOP has "been shredding as irresponsible."

House and Senate Republicans have failed to agree on a comprehensive "counterproposal to Mr. Obama’s sweeping $3.6 trillion spending" plan, "a decision that will spare them from outlining potentially painful decisions required to bring federal books more in line with their call to hold down spending, cut taxes and reduce the deficit." In other words, the GOP is content with engaging in attack politics rather than working to develop alternatives or supplements to Democratic proposals.

Republicans have been content to hide behind remarks and observation such as those made by GOP Senator Jud Gregg: “The responsibility of the majority is to produce the budget,” said Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, senior Republican on the Budget Committee, “and we think it is more constructive to point out how we would improve their budget.”

With a month to go before Congress is supposed to pass a budget resolution, Democrats say the absence of a competing Senate Republican plan makes Republican complaints about the Obama approach ring hollow. Would Republicans, they ask, continue to keep the costs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan off the books? Account for the costly annual change to protect middle-class taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax? Set up a disaster fund to prepare for emergencies?

“They are long on criticism and short on a plan,” said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff. “They have a communications strategy instead of an economic one.”

House Republicans keep threatening "to deliver a comprehensive alternative to the Obama plan to show how they would respond to the federal government’s deepening fiscal difficulties" but to date they have not been prepared "to provide details."

Republicans have attempted to "portray themselves as guardians of fiscal discipline after their own years of deficit spending, Republicans have been providing a steady stream of complaints depicting Mr. Obama’s plan as spending too much, taxing too much and borrowing too much."

Discussing the Republicans strategy; Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 Republican in the House explained: “Republicans in the House and Senate, with some degree of cooperation and collaboration, are going to attempt to both challenge the assumptions and the content of the president’s budget.”

Democrats are having no trouble exploiting the Republican's lack of a viable economic plan; and have created "a Web page with a clock counting the hours since the Obama budget was introduced on Feb. 26 with no Republican alternative put forth. It lampoons Republicans as the “Party of No.”

"With their majorities in the House and Senate lost, Republican leaders say that an effective communications strategy is their best hope. They say they have little ability to influence the legislative debate, particularly in the House, if Democrats are determined to press ahead with Mr. Obama’s plan to take on health care, climate change, education, transportation and other major issues.With their majorities in the House and Senate lost, Republican leaders say that an effective communications strategy is their best hope. They say they have little ability to influence the legislative debate, particularly in the House, if Democrats are determined to press ahead with Mr. Obama’s plan to take on health care, climate change, education, transportation and other major issues."

“As I told my colleagues, we don’t have enough votes to legislate,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader. “We are not in the majority. We are not kind-of in the minority; we are in a hole. They ought to get the idea out of their minds that they are legislators. But what they can be is communicators.”

"Compared to Republicans in the Senate, it will be easier for those in the House to push forward a competing spending plan because so many of them represent conservative areas where cuts in federal spending are less of a political liability."

"Senators have broader constituencies and a budget that meets Republican fiscal goals could be a difficult vote for some Republicans."

"House Republicans offered an alternative to Mr. Obama’s economic stimulus that they said was less costly and created more jobs, though economists and others challenged the Republican economic assumptions and claims. Mr. Pence and Mr. Boehner said House Republicans believed they needed to propose their own budget to bolster the credibility of their criticisms of the Obama plan."

“It is incumbent for us to get out there and make sure people understand we have a better solution,” Mr. Boehner said

"Republicans are taking a political risk in offering such relentless resistance to Mr. Obama’s agenda, given his popularity and the gains Democrats made in Congress last year."But they say they believe the public is becoming alarmed at the level of spending being pursued by Democrats. They intend to use the next month of budget debate to reinforce that impression.

“The question before the American people is whether the American family can afford the Democrats’ spending, the Democrats’ taxing and the Democrats’ borrowing,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate. “We have four weeks to make that case.”

Limbaugh Still a thorn In the Republicans Side

So the Republicans have had enough of the black shirted, bellicose CPAC speaker, and self declared leader of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh; or at least the one's who consider themselves moderates and blamed the White House (on) Sunday (Talk shows) for orchestrating the conflict."

Speaking for the moderate 'voice' of the GOP, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said on CBS's "Face the Nation" with a new found concern for fixing problems he had a hand in creating: "This was a distraction created by the White House to divert people's attention from the spending binge they've been on the last six weeks."

Yeah, right, spending binge; I wonder how many 'fiscal conservatives' remember Mr. Boehner's over dramatized behavior when he shed tears in the well of the House accusing Democrats of not spending enough to keep the 'necessary war in Iraqi terrorism alive' when Democrats had balked a few years ago regarding throwing good money after the Republican's failed invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Then there's the genius of political hatchet jobs and political bomb thrower extraordinaire, Newt Gingrich, who appeared on "Meet the Press," the NBC public affairs show who declared of Limbaugh; he is "not the leader of the Republican party," and then went on to scold President Obama for allowing his administration to 'focus on "small things." Well Gingrich should know about focusing on small things because if I remember correctly the former member of Congress once declared women should not be allowed in foxholes as combat soldiers for something i believe having to do with sanitary napkins or for some other similar lamebraied reasoning.

Gingrich choose his appearance on "Meet the Press" to once again demonstrate his myopic partisan vision when he one of his 'insightful' political observations: "The president promised to focus on large things not small things," Gingrich said. "He promised to bring us together, not divide us. And I'm assuming here that he is not responsible for the Limbaugh game, I'm assuming it's Emanuel."

Interestingly, none of the Republicans who appeared on the Sunday talk circuit could find any fault with Limbaugh's role in the controversies he has created, including his malicious remarks about Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who is bravely fighting brain cancer "won't live to see its passage, telling his audience that: "Before it's all over, it'll be called the Ted Kennedy memorial health care bill."

Despite the GOP smokescreen that it's really the White House; and in particular Obama and Emmanuel who are demonizing Limbaugh by using him for "target practice for more than a week, with no letup in sight."

But what really irks the GOP is that the targeting of Limbaugh and making him the face of the Republican Party is working.

"By the poll numbers, crowning Mr. Limbaugh, the bombastic radio host, as king of the Republican Party has worked as well as any election maneuver that Rahm Emanuel employed in helping Democrats win back majority status as chairman of their House campaign committee," John Harwood explains.

What Emmanuel and his fellow Democratic operatives have succeeded in doing has been to establish the GOP as "the party of no."

Of course the other critique the Republican moderates are rolling out has to do with the fact that the demonizing of Limbaugh will chase moderates away from supporting Obama's agenda. The only thing wrong with this cockamamie critique is that moderate Republicans benefit when Obama's agenda succeeds; because for the most part moderate Republicans hail from Obama -won blue states.

Listen if you will to the convoluted logic Senator Olympia J. Snowne, from Obama-won blue state; Maine, when Snowe is forced to is forced to feign her complaint that: “It doesn’t help, frankly,” said Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a moderate Republican from Maine who serves as a fulcrum in contentious debates on Capitol Hill. “It sidetracks all the major issues they’re facing.”

"One such issue is Mr. Obama’s budget. Ms. Snowe opposes it, even though she cast a crucial vote enabling passage of the Obama stimulus package last month.

"And to achieve the consensus necessary for action on energy, health care, Social Security and Medicaid, Mr. Obama will need not only Ms. Snowe but also a broader group of Republican backers" so says John Harwood "— most of whom share more views with Mr. Limbaugh than Ms. Snowe ever will.

What Ms Snowne fails to include in her critique of the Democrats Anti-Limbaugh strategy are moments when Ms. Snowne benefited tremendously when President Obama signed the Lillian Ledbetter legislation into law which increased Senator Snowe's popularity in Maine.

"Ms. Snowe has never been a Limbaugh-style Republican," Harwood explains. "She favors abortion rights and rejects conservatives’ view that refundable tax credits for low-income earners represents socialist wealth redistribution. She has spoken out on the need for her party to shift toward the political center after two consecutive election routs.

“We’ve gotten the signal — the sledgehammer signal,” she said. Yet she insists Mr. Obama gains little by stomping on that internal Republican divide.

Suddenly there are Republicans who seek to fix the many wrongs they were responsible in the first place; and they are so committed to fixing those mistakes that they are willing to attack Obama for his exposing the unseemly underside of GOP ideologues who drove the party and hence the nation into the quandary and crisis it finds itself in today. One only need ask: Where was Snowne when Bush and talking heads such as Limbaugh were driving America into unprecedented levels of debt and using noxious rhetoric to fuel their designs?

"Not only do other potential Republican partners represent many Limbaugh fans, but Ms. Snowe herself has strong reservations about Mr. Obama’s budget.

Harwood contends that Snowe "... supports his plan to end President George W. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, a move that other Republicans attack as a tax increase.

"But, (Snowe) said of the budget, “I question whether there’s a strong foundation for true deficit reduction,” adding, “It definitely needs to be reworked.”

Harwood explains that there are two sides to the Obama attack on Limbaugh: "... Mr. Emanuel — a former Clinton White House aide and House member from Illinois — pointed to last week’s health care meeting as evidence that Mr. Obama was continuing to reach out to Republicans even as his aides were throwing darts. The participants included Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, a Finance Committee member who is personally close to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, the ailing champion of health care reform.

"Despite his reservations about White House strategy, Mr. Breaux," according to Harwood, "says Mr. Obama may yet achieve much of what he seeks, notwithstanding the rising political din.

"White House aides argue," in Mr. Harwood's estimation, "that Congress can complete action on a health care overhaul this year. Mr. Breaux considers that unrealistic, but he predicts passage in 2010 so long as Mr. Obama sustains his approach of “spreading the hurt” among different parts of the industry. (In his current role as a lobbyist, Mr. Breaux represents health care companies keenly interested in pain management.)

'Mr. Hatch, Senator Robert F. Bennett of Utah,

and Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa'

" in Mr. Harwood's estimation, "all represent important potential allies. Even asSenator John McCain of Arizona

rips “earmarks” in a spending bill Mr. Obama supports, Mr. McCain may provide crucial support on a “cap and trade” program to limit carbon dioxide emissions.

"Ms. Snowe, too, remains optimistic that the national atmosphere of crisis can break the recent pattern of “miniaturized” debates in Congress.

“I think we’re moving closer, in spite of the outward political rhetoric,” she said. “I have more hope than maybe I should have. We’ve got to leave the radio commentators to be radio commentators. Let’s do our jobs.”

GOP Alleges Democratic Stimulus Pushes Anaheim-Las Vegas Rail System as Part of a Nation-Wide High Speed Train System

Republicans seem to have abandoned all of their principles as a party and have begun to nit pick their way though the recently passed economic stimulus conference report to find anything that will provide them with something that doesn't appear in the bill but gives the GOP, room to create a media buzz: 'Look at what the Democrats are going to waste taxpayer dollars on!'

This time, the Republicans are making claims tat Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic Majority Leader has finagled earmarks into the stimulus package that will provide the funds needed to get a propose Anaheim-Las Vegas high speed Rail System successfully of the ground.

The Republicans point of contention concerns the inclusion of "$8 billion for unspecified high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects, more than three times as much as allocated in earlier versions of the legislation," The LA Times reported.

Republicans eagerly jumped on the fact that since Senator Reid was a major player in the legislation; he took advantage of his situation and used it to push funding toward his home state of Nevada.

The Republicans have begun to focus their criticism against the bill by arguing that it amounted to little more than a series of earmarks, designed to Democrats and their supporters.

"Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district," The LA Times reported that; "House Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio," as he "complained as he and all his fellow Republicans voted against the stimulus. Republicans cited the rail project in accusing Democrats of breaking their word to keep the bill free of pet projects."

Jon Summers, a spokesman for Senator Reid, according to The LA Times explained that; "the money was not being earmarked for any specific project but would be available on a competitive basis. Summers went on to explain: "This was a major priority for President Obama, and Sen. Reid as a conferee supported it."

Chairman Bruce Aguilera, of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission; said: "It's not just specifically for us." The Commission, according to The L A Times; "plans to seek a still-undetermined amount of the stimulus money for the $12-billion-to-$14-billion project."

So, the monies provided by the stimulus plan could provide an opportunity to make a more than 2o year old dream to link Los Angeles and Anaheim with passenger rail services that could travel at over 150 miles per hour with the necessary seed monies needed to initiate development of the plan according to a California newspaper. The Press-Enterprise further explains that the stimulus money "... would be tied to federally sponsored projects and does not make reference to the type of high-speed train. A number of proposed lines from Southern California to Las Vegas have been discussed in the past, including Maglev, which uses magnetic force to levitate the train above a guide line and a privately funded Desert Xpress train planned between Victorville and Las Vegas."

Victoriaville, California Councilman Mike Rothschild, who has supported high speed rail systems provides a local perspective and compares it "to the beginnings of what Eisenhower did with the federal highway system, ... It is one thing to talk about it. It is another thing to get it rolling."

The $8 billion does not specify the Los Angeles to Las Vegas route, rather it spreads the money around the nation for various projects.

Matthew Ygesias provides the best description of the high-speed references in the stimulus bill: "The Stimulus Plan includes two provisions modeled after the Act that finance high-speed rail development. First, the Stimulus Plan provides a $2 billion grant for high-speed rail projects that will remain available until September 30, 2011. The grant will be distributed among applicant states, interstate compacts, public agencies having responsibility for providing high-speed rail service and Amtrak for capital projects associated with inter-city passenger rail services reasonably expected to reach speeds of at least 110 miles per hour. The Secretary of Transportation will have discretion to award grants based on an extensive set of criteria, including the legal, financial and technical capacity of the applicant to carry out the project; compatibility with relevant national plans; and anticipated economic, environmental and transportation effects."

The map below depicts the Obama administrations nation-wide intentions for initiating high-speed rail travel throughout the nation.

Will the Election of a Black Man to Head the RNC Return the Republican Party to Power?

In an analysis of the current state of the competition going on in the Republican National Committee between six candidates to pick a chairman, ADAM NAGOURNEY questions whether GOP leaders will choose their new party boss from a list of contenders that includes two black men; Michael Steele, whose last elected position was as Maryland lieutenant governor, or former secretary of state for Ohio, J. Kenneth Blackwell. With a crushing electoral defeat that caused the GOP to lose the presidency and fall further behind in the number of seats they hold in both the House and the Senate; the new RNC chairman will face a tough task to begin to reassemble a winning strategy that will stave off future electoral losses and party shrinkage. The GOP currently finds itself defined as a party of diminished power with a power base of elected officials primarily confined to a swath of Southern states. With a field that includes four other candidates; all of them white Southerners, and an electoral process determined by secret ballot; it's hard to accurately gauge any of the candidates chances. Despite claims made by party leaders, the race issue has arisen; having gained particularly ignominious attention from one of the white candidates, Tennessee state chairman, Chip Saltsman, who distributed CDs to various Republicans that contained the thinly veiled racial mockery of President-elect Obama entitled “Barack the Magic Negro.” Despite the continued existence of racial bigotry, public white support exists for Mr. Steele, which has been openly expressed by Jim Greer, and is found in the Florida Republican chairman's endorsement and statement: “Race is not a consideration of why a person should become chairman of the R.N.C., but if the nation can celebrate its first African-American president, I would certainly think the Republican Party could celebrate its first African-American chairman,.. There certainly is an advantage of a credible message of inclusion if you have a minority as chairman.” There is no hesitancy for Republicans to voice there party's challenges and current RNC chairman Mike Duncan has commented: “There were other valleys we’ve been in that were worse than this,.. I’m optimistic. I think we can come back from this. We are a center-right country. Only 20 percent of the people consider themselves liberal. That gives us a huge opportunity. We have to get our message refined. We’ll be back.” Whether Mr. Duncan is spinning the party line or truly believes in the resiliency of his party, Republicans have a lot of catching up to do in fund-raising efforts and in assembling greater technological prowess before they can confront the Democrats on more even terms. And while they try to repair the nuts and bolts of their party, they also acknowledge the clear need to grapple with creating a viable message that will attract voters. Joe Gaylord a former top aide to Newt Gingrich sums up the need for a dynamic message: “I haven’t heard a vision,.. If we do not become a future-oriented, solutions-oriented Republican Party, we are going to be in (the) wilderness for a long, long time.” Nagourney makes an astute observation on how low the GOP has sunken as a unified party: "Given the depth of the Republican Party’s difficulties — and the divisions over ideology and region being played out in the contest — party leaders said they did not think race would be a deciding factor in many, if any, votes." Republican strategist and technical adviser Phil Musser agrees that race is not the magic bullet that will return the GOP to power: "I don’t get the sense that race is a driver in the context of this election,... If it is, it’s a narrow minority. People are more interested in the plans for the committee and the ideological perspectives of the candidates running for chairman than they are about ethnicity.” The Republicans have suffered greatly on the race issue because of Obama's ability to overwhelmingly draw from the black vote and the GOP believes; according to Nagourney that: "it was unrealistic to expect the party to make serious gains among black voters, at least for now. Instead, they said, the party should seek to recover its standing, in particular among Hispanic voters, where Republicans lost ground this year." Speaking of the wedge issues that used to power the GOP to electoral victories, Florida chairman, Jim Greer acknowledged: "Those who want to obsess on those issues will continue to lose the American public, which is focusing on the economy and education and national security,... Values and principles are the foundation of our party. But if you are out of a job, or your 401(k) has halved in value, people are looking for leadership in those areas.” The Republicans at this point in time exist as a party in name only; with little political power; confronted by a desperate need for the repair of it's party machinery; suffering from visible fractures among issues; and lacking a stable and inspiring message to draw electoral majorities; hampered by a long struggle created by party divisions that block the GOP's return to power.

Obama to Have Meeting With House and Senate GOP Leaders

KENNETH R. BAZINET reports in the New York Daily News that: "Barack Obama will meet face-to-face Monday for the first time as President-elect with his prime GOP foils, as battle lines form over his economic stimulus package. Obama is set to powwow at the U.S. Capitol with GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell, House Republican boss John Boehner" To date, Republicans have failed to completely get behind the Obama stimulus plan. "Boehner said yesterday he was "concerned" over the price tag of the emerging proposal. And he warned Democrats against hastily ramming a measure through Congress. "Let's be clear: It is essential that this legislation be debated in a fair, open and honest way," Boehner insisted. "This is the taxpayers' money, and they deserve to know their hard-earned tax dollars aren't being wasted," he added." The Republicans clearly hope to slow down and possibly cripple the Democrats intended stimulus package. On the other hand, Democrats have hopes to have the stimulus bill ready for Obama's signature on January 20th. One of the factors that will contribute to GOP cooperation will be determined in a few days when the RNC elects a chairman and issues marching orders to the Congressional Republicans.

Obama Set for a Campaign Blitz for his Stimulus Package

Peter Nicholas of the Los Angeles Times reports: "President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to lead a full-scale marketing blitz to pass the massive new stimulus package that he says is needed to revive the slumping economy and put the nation on the course he laid out during his campaign... after he is sworn in, he will use the bully pulpit to make the case for passage of a stimulus package of up to $775 billion, an aide said." Obama and other members of his administration plan a full scale effort across the nation to "make clear to people why we need to do what we're doing, why it's the size it is, what the individual component parts are, and why they are an important part of the equation in terms of short-term recovery." Obama intends to use his strong network of grass root supporters to involve "the American people... in this discussion." The GOP will try to hinder Obama's efforts but the President-elect "doesn't want to see his first legislative initiative bog down in partisan infighting. So he will quickly strive to shape public opinion, casting the substantial stimulus package as crucial to the nation's recovery." Speaking for the incoming Obama Administration (David) "Axelrod said that the slumping economy and other domestic concerns were "front and center because it's what the American people are living with every day."