14 posts tagged “2008”

Roger Stone boasts about being the sleaziest man in politics and that his rules are “Attack, attack, attack—never defend” and “Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack.” As a young operative, Stone was involved in Watergate, causing him to be fired by Bob Dole. Stone was also forced to cut ties with New York Senate Republicans after he left a harassing message on the voicemail of Eliot Spitzer’s father. Even Republican Ed Rollins says Stone “always had this reputation of being a guy who exaggerated things, who pretended he did things. Roger was never on Nixon’s staff, was never on the White House staff. I don’t think you’ll find anyone in the business who trusts him. Roger was always a little rat.” Stone recently said “McCain himself should not run a slash-and-burn campaign, but a slash-and-burn campaign will have to be run by others.”

Floyd Brown, the leader of the National Campaign Fund, the Legacy Committee, Citizens for a Safe and Prosperous America and the Policy Issues Institute, once bragged he was part of the “the heart and soul of the right-wing conspiracy.” has a history of surfacing every four years to make right-wing attacks against Democrats in presidential elections. Most infamously, Brown was responsible for the racist 1988 “Willie Horton” ad against Michael Dukakis. Brown harassed the Clintons throughout Bill Clinton’s administration, with even George H.W. Bush calling his behavior in the 1992 presidential election—which included harassing the family of a recent suicide victim—“filthy campaign tactics.” After writing a 2000 book about Al Gore that went little-noticed, in 2004, Brown and David Bossie, working as the group Citizens United, make a movie called Celsius 41.11 and ran television ads attacking John Kerry.

David Bossie, who runs Citizens United, has paired with Floyd Brown for years. Bossie and Brown harassed the Clintons throughout Bill Clinton’s administration, with even George H.W. Bush calling his behavior in the 1992 presidential election—which included harassing the family of a recent suicide victim—“filthy campaign tactics.” After writing a 2000 book about Al Gore that went little-noticed, in 2004, Brown and Floyd Bossie, working as the group Citizens United, made a movie called Celsius 41.11 and ran television ads attacking John Kerry. In 1998, Bossie was fired from his job with the House Committee investigating Bill Clinton. When Bossie selectively released tapes, removing information that exonerated the Clintons, and improperly obtained phone records, even Newt Gingrich said he was “embarrassed for the conference at the circus that went on.”

Source: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/factcheckactioncenter/

Also, he plans not to tax the first $50,000 of retiree's income. That will go a long way to securing the retirement of people like me who won't make nearly that much in retirement.

Obama Annouces Proposal to Protect Social Security

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dl...

Sen. Barack Obama promised senior citizens Friday that as president, he would protect Social Security benefits and provide universal health care. To extend the life of Social Security, Obama proposed applying a payroll tax to annual incomes above $250,000, affecting the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans. The Democrat also proposed eliminating income tax for any retiree making less than $50,000. "Secure retirement is no longer a guarantee for the middle class,'' Obama said during a visit to Oakleaf Village retirement center with his wife, Michelle. "It's harder to save and harder to retire."

...and to think, this all began with hanging chads in 2000. I prefer paper and we should all dip our fingers in India ink to prove we have voted. It was good enough for Iraq.

Rep. Rush Holt to Push for Paper Ballots and Vote Count Audits for 2008 - AlterNet

http://www.alternet.org/election08/71...

A new effort to ensure the 2008 presidential election is held using verifiable paper ballots and random audits to ensure accurate vote counts is underway in Congress. Early next year, Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., will introduce the "Confidence in Voting Act of 2008," which would provide $500 million to counties and other election jurisdictions to replace controversial paperless electronic voting systems before the 2008 presidential election. The bill envisions voters using paper ballots that are marked by hand, or ballots that are printed on Election Day after voters use a computer to make their choices. An electronic scanner, like a standardized test, would then tally the ballots. The bill also provides $100 million for audits, where 3 percent of all paper ballots -- including absentee and early voting -- would be hand-counted to verify the electronic count before winners would be certified. Those audits would be public, according to the New Jersey congressman....

This is particularly interesting since the writer is a lifelong Republican. I have always had mixed feelings about what were the intentions of the writers of the Second Amendment. For example, does it give everyone the right to own a musket? Any weapon? How about atomic bombs? The courts did rule once against sawed-off shotguns which are probably illegal in most (or all) states. Why pick on that weapon if the Second Amendment protects all weapons, if that is the case?

Even though this case will decide the legal interpretation of a long-disputed Constitutional amendment, this will certainly not end the debate. It will likely only intensify the debate, as Roe v. Wade about abortion rights did three decades ago. Watch out for this issue to surface big time in the 2008 race for the White House.

Paul Helmke: The Most Significant Second Amendment Case In History - The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-he...

Over 30 years ago, the elected representatives on the DC City Council decided to enact a system of strict gun laws to help protect public safety. The people in DC strongly support these laws. The District's police strongly favor them as well.... As a lawyer and a lifelong Republican, I have deep respect for judicial precedent, for American history, and for a close reading of all the words in the Constitution. As one who served as Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana for 12 years, I also believe in the importance of local communities being able to pass the laws they believe will help keep them safe. These are common values we all share, and I am optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court shares them, as well.

Newt just announced he is not running for President. Can we have an AMEN?!

Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker whose political striptease over running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination went through even more layers of clothing than Fred Thompson, sent out a spokesman today to say that the Georgian had decided not to make the effort this time.

Barely 72 hours ago the 64-year-old Gingrich had announced that a close advisor would depart Monday on a three-week nationwide trek to gauge possible financial commitments and that if he could round up $30 million worth, Gingrich didn't see how he could resist such popular pressure to run. [LA Times]