Dog the blue dog

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

Grassroots advocacy groups are launching an offensive against conservative Democrats in Congress who are opposing President Obama’s legislation. Campaign for America’s Future has launched a program called “Dog the Blue Dogs”, which is aimed at persuading members of the Blue Dog Coalition into voting for President Obama’s legislation. The Blue Dog Coalition is a group of moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Bob Borosage, President of Campaign for America’s Future, said that several Blue Dog Democrats are conspiring with the Republicans to be obstructionists of the president’s agenda, and are partnering with the likes of talk show host Rush Limbaugh to try to make Obama fail all together. The response from Borosage and groups like USAction is going to be a ground offensive against these Democratic members of Congress. The plan is to run ads in each member’s home district, informing the constituents of how their congressional representatives voted against the President. Borosage said that the campaign is about educating the public, not partisanship.

Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) has been painted with a target for his position on the president’s budget. William McNary, President of USAction and part of Unity 09, said that his organization was going to be mobilizing grassroots efforts in Bayh’s home state of Indiana during the upcoming congressional recess, but could not elaborate on what specific strategies would be used. McNary said that if Senator Bayh wants some specific changes made to the Obama budget, he should express that in a clear and articulate manner, instead of simply voting against the bill.

McNary said that the public should not let members of Congress get “cold feet” about change. Borosage believes this reluctance by some members is because of the power of entrenched interests, rather than individual political stances. He continued that these legislators must “be heard by their constituents, not just their contributors”.

Borosage denied planning this with any of the Congressional Leadership, and said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel was also not involved.

"Are We Going To Vote For Iraqi's Or Americans?"

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Today, during a heated debate over the $789 billion economic stimulus
bill, the House of Representatives expressed why they did or didn't
support the bill.

The Representatives stated their concerns throughout the debate and
Representative Tom Cole (R-OK.) who voted against the measure said, "It's
unfocused, bloated, and its self defeating." He went on to say that it
fails in tax cuts and that it does nothing for protecting those who
are fighting for our freedom. "We can do better than this!" he said.

On the other side of the debate were those who stated why they were for the
bill, such as Representative John Boccieri (D-Ohio) who said, "You are walking
away from America and Americans in her greatest time of need. I
remember as a C-130 pilot flying missions in and out of Iraq, how much
money we were spending over there to rebuild roads and bridges in Iraq
and to make sure that every man, woman and child in Iraq had universal
health care coverage. You didn't bat an eye to vote for them, you
didn't bat an eye to bail out $700 billion dollars for Wall Street.
This is about investing in America...Are we going to be leaders or
blockers? Are we going to vote for Iraqi's or Americans?"

The vote will be delayed consequent to a procedural vote to extend
debate for 90 minutes.

Barney Frank says that Federal Government sending "Mixed Message"

Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) says that the Federal Government is sending "Mixed Messages" to the lending institutions, because the the government wants increased lending but also safety. He says that the goal is to find a balance between the two of them

Congress criticizes military for sexual assault cases

Members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had harsh words for Department of Defense officials at a committee hearing on sexual assault in the military. Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) said "there is a clear problem within DoD." John Tierney (D-Mass.) said the Defense Department had not done their job as far responding to accusations of sexual assault. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said that sexual assault and rape must be prosecuted equally in civilian life and in the military. Currently, she said, the two contexts are different.

Director of the Defense Capabilities and Management for the U.S. Government Accountability Office Brenda Farrell said that according to survey data, 6.8 percent of women and 1.8 percent of men in the military had experienced "unwanted sexual contact," during the last 12 months. She said that the majority chose not to report it. In a survey to 14 bases, 103 service members said they were sexually assaulted. Farrel said that the GAO concluded that the Defense Department had made progress, but they had " not adequately addressed some important issues," such as encouraging a system that supports reporting of sexual assault. Farrell said that in the GAO survey, 91 to 98 percent of those polled felt that their direct supervisor would address sexual assault.

Director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office for the Department of Defense Kaye Whitley said that Feb. 13, 2004, the Defense Department created a sexual assault task force. She said that the Pentagon knew of the problem of sexual assault, but that the commanders must report it, and deal with it harshly. Whitley had been subpoenaed for an earlier hearing date in July but the Defense Department advised her not to testify. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) criticized Whitley, "We don't want someone weak in this office, we want someone who shakes it up and gets in trouble...It feels like your being abused in a different way."

Republicans and tourists: A History Lesson

As the talkathon on the House floor continues, Republicans addressed an unusual crowd compared to their Democratic opponents: Tourists in t-shirts and shorts coming from as far away as Texas.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) explained the historical parallel between the Republicans and the famous lawmakers portrayed on the walls above the House floor. Lawmakers like Napoleon made the right decisions when the time came, Barton said.

Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Republicans are sending a letter to House Democrats interested in debating the offshore drilling ban. Democrats need to interrupt House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's book tour and begin debating, said Blunt.

"Our speaker is not showing tolerance," said Barton (R-Tx.). Barton said he has a "real problem" with Pelosi not letting the Democratic bill on offshore drilling come to the floor when other Democrats like Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) are willing to work with Republicans. Drilling on a 3 square mile area of Alaska would give us 11 billion barrels of oil, said Barton.

Barton pointed to the Daniel Webster quote etched on the wall above the House press gallery and read the words "let us develop our resources" out loud. He called for the United States to acknowledge that quote and drill on American soil.

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said the energy crisis is only an annoyance for wealthy Americans, but it is a severe problem for the poor. 68 percent of oil drillers are small companies, and they need to continue to drill to survive, Bishop said.