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Politics : American Presidential Politics and foreign affairs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sandintoes who wrote (34604)	4/4/2009 1:49:14 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Daniel Hannan on Sean Hannity, 2nd April 2009 youtube.com Daniel Hannan MEP on Europe's Marxist Common Agricultural Policy youtube.com

To: sandintoes who wrote (34604)	4/6/2009 9:18:28 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Reid Blames Cornyn for Franken-Coleman Deadlock Thursday, April 2, 2009 7:09 PM By: David A. Patten Upping the ante in his crusade to anoint Democrat Al Franken the next senator from Minnesota, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is blaming Senate Republican leader John Cornyn for the impasse that has left Minnesotans minus one senator for five months now. Responding to rumblings that Democrats might try to steamroll Franken’s coronation, Cornyn has threatened to start “World War III” unless Coleman is allowed to exhaust all of his legal options -- including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Texas Senator also has warned that Republicans will filibuster any premature attempt to seat Franken. Reid spokesman Jim Manley told Politico.com on Thursday: “It’s not fair to the people of Minnesota to be represented by only one senator, and it’s about time a senator from Texas stop telling the people of Minnesota what’s best for them. Enough is enough.” Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., say they are just trying to ensure no Minnesota citizens are denied their right to have their votes counted. On Tuesday, the three-judge panel hearing the election contest dealt a crushing blow to Coleman’s chances of retaining his former Senate seat, restricting the counting of new ballots to no more than 400. Coleman’s legal team asked that 1,388 ballots be counted. Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg described the ruling as “an unprincipled decision that is not supportable by the law.” Reid has previously suggested Democrats might try to seat Franken before Coleman’s Minnesota appeals run their course. He has since backed down, conceding that Democrats will have to wait for a certificate of election to be issued by the state before it could add Franken to its 58-seat majority in the upper chamber. Another battle appears to be looming: Reid wants Franken seated immediately once Minnesota’s highest court has ruled on his appeal, and prior to any federal case being filed. The three-judge panel hearing the election contest will make more rulings next week, and has yet to declare a winner in the race. Franken’s official lead is 225 votes. Legal scholars disagree over whether Franken would have to wait until federal appeals are exhausted as well. On Tuesday, Ginsberg said during a media conference call that the legality of issuing a certificate of election prior to a federal appeal is “an open legal question.” newsmax.com

To: sandintoes who wrote (34604)	4/28/2009 11:29:23 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71588

Specter's Switcheroo When principled politics gets too tough. APRIL 29, 2009 In his 1970 book "From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor," advertising legend Jerry Della Femina tells the story of trying to see Philadelphia District Attorney Arlen Specter: "'Are you crazy?' his people said. 'Nobody gets to meet Arlen Spector [misspelling in original]. We can't even see him.' 'All right,' I said, 'what's Arlen Specter for?' 'Arlen Specter is for getting elected.' 'All right,' I said. 'What is Arlen Specter against?' 'Arlen Spector is against losing.'" That more or less sums up the Pennsylvania Senator's announcement yesterday that he will quit the GOP and seek re-election next year as a Democrat. "I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans," said Mr. Specter. And perhaps he does, to the extent Mr. Specter has a philosophy. But it's also true that the 79-year-old finds himself trailing former Congressman Pat Toomey, his GOP primary opponent for 2010, by 21 points in the latest polls. By running as a Democrat, he will avoid a tough fight for the nomination and increase his chances of winning in his home state, which has been trending Democratic in recent elections. Mr. Specter no doubt cut a deal to avoid any serious Democratic challenge, and he joins a Senate majority that is now within grasp of a filibuster-proof 60 seats. One bitter irony is that, while Mr. Specter has long styled himself as a "moderate," his defection means that it will be that much more difficult for Republicans to moderate the most liberal Washington agenda since the 1960s (see above). Mr. Specter said yesterday he'll continue to oppose union card-check legislation, having already flipped from his vote in the previous Congress. But on health care, taxes, spending and most other things, he's likely to be a reliable vote for Democratic priorities. Republicans have cause to consider this a betrayal, especially after President Bush helped him win a GOP primary against Mr. Toomey with a final-days endorsement in 2004. Rick Santorum, the state's other GOP Senator at the time, also endorsed Mr. Specter over Mr. Toomey, a move that harmed Mr. Santorum's own re-election chances in 2006. So much for loyalty in politics. On the other hand, Republicans shouldn't follow South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and welcome Mr. Specter's defection as an ideological cleansing. "I would rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who really believe in principles of limited government, free markets, free people, than to have 60 that don't have a set of beliefs," Mr. DeMint said yesterday. We believe in all of those things, but 30 Senate votes merely gets you the same fate as the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, without the glory. A minority party that wants to become a majority needs convictions, but it also needs coalition builders. online.wsj.com