“I think there’s still time to get something big done,” [White House budget director Jack] Lew said. . . .
Lew said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that the president “made clear he wants the largest deal possible.”“He wants to do the most we can to reduce the deficit,” Lew said. “But he also said that if we can’t get the most done, then in addition to extending the debt we should do as much as we can.” House Republicans are preparing to vote this week on allowing an increase in the government’s borrowing limit through 2012 as long as Congress approves a balanced-budget constitutional amendment.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., called that proof that Republicans are willing to compromise and “hardly a radical idea” but the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said that bill doesn’t have the needed support in the Senate.
“This notion that we have to change the Constitution to do what we were elected to do is just plain wrong,” Durbin said. Both senators spoke on “Meet the Press.”
Lew, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” also did not like the idea.
“What these ideas do is say let’s kick the can down the road so that others will deal with it,” he said. “The challenge is for Washington now to do the job the American people sent us here to do.”
Three words: Bipartisan kabuki dance.
Making the debt-ceiling increase contingent on passing a balanced budget amendment is the kind of meaningless symbolic gesture that will deceive no one with enough intelligence and knowledge to actually comprehend what the current debate is about.
“This is a blueprint — this is an engraved invitation to investigate,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said Thursday of a new report documenting taxpayer-funded abuses by the nation’s largest abortion provider. “Planned Parenthood has never been adequately investigated,” he said.
Smith, a veteran pro-life leader in Congress, was one of several House Republicans who called for hearings during a Capitol Hill press conference about a new 181-page report by Americans United for Life, The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood.
Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) called the AUL report “groundbreaking,” and said: “The American people want accountability for how tax dollars are being spent. . . . If there is any question of abuse, misuse or fraud, we need to bring that forward. That is our responsibility as members of Congress.”
“The issue today is, should American taxpayer dollars be going to pay for abortions?” said Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.). “Overwhelmingly, we’ve heard from the American people that they don’t want to see their funds going that way. . . . The money can be much better spent elsewhere.”
“By Planned Parenthood’s own accounting, $363 million — one-third of its budget annually — comes from the American taxpayer,” said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life. “While Congress is discussing going deeper in debt and raising the debt ceiling. . . our government is quietly subsidizing the world’s largest abortion provider with $1 million a day.”
A House hearing has not been set, the members said. However, Rep. Cliff Stearns, Florida Republican and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said in a statement that he is considering holding a hearing on Planned Parenthood. . . .
The Government Accountability Office has reported that Planned Parenthood spent $657.1 million in federal funds from 2002 to 2008, but Americans United for Life researchers found that Planned Parenthood reported more than $2 billion in “government grants and contracts” during that time, [Dr. Yoest] said.
Reacting to a new report about the taxpayer-funded activities of Planned Parenthood, Rep. Renee Ellmers has warned her House colleagues of “systemic fraud and abuse” by the nation’s largest abortion provider.
In a letter to fellow Congress members, Ellmers wrote:
“I invite my colleagues to review the findings of this Report and to join us on Thursday as we voice our concerns about the issues raised by AUL’s Report and express our renewed commitment to seeking accountability for taxpayers and for investigating whether taxpayers are funding an organization that misuses government funding and violates state laws.
“I will be hosting a press conference on Thursday, July 14, 2011 together with Rep. Randy Hultgren to discuss the AUL Report’s extensive documentation of the systemic fraud and abuse inherent within Planned Parenthood and the need for Congress to investigate how Planned Parenthood is using federal money.”
Thursday’s noon press conference in room 2360 of the Rayburn House Office Building is expected to be the first step toward congressional hearings into taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
UPDATE 12:09 a.m. Pacific (3:09 a.m. Eastern): Hahn’s margin of victory was less than 10% in a district that Obama carried by 30% in 2008, perhaps indicating the “Obama fatigue” noted in a recent poll of the district.
Democrat Janice Hahn defeated Republican Craig Huey in a bitterly contested Southern California special election marked by stinging attacks from both sides. . . .
Huey, who stunned political observers by upending Democratic Secretary of State Debra Bowen in the May primary, attempted to run mostly on a message of austerity. Hahn consistently framed Huey as a “right-wing extremist” whose views were out of place in the district, likening him to Sarah Palin.
Having defeated California Secretary of State Debra Bowen in a multi-candidate “jungle primary” in May, Hahn underperformed in Tuesday’s special election in a district where Harman had won re-election with 59% of the vote in November. And Hahn may be vulnerable when she comes up for re-election next year. “The district will be redrawn, along with others in California, before then, and most expect it to be at least somewhat less Democratic,” the Los Angeles Times noted.
Ok, I know it’s customary to downplay results from “our side”, but I can honestly say I knew this was going to happen. I would have been absolutely shocked if we won here. Seriously folks, this is f–ing California. And with all apologies due to our native California morons, f– California. Seriously, pardon my french, but f– California. We don’t need that POS state. As the country went crimson red in 2010, California kept going further and further left, the only state to do so. Let the lib-f–s who live there enjoy thinking they are our betters, as jobs continue to leave the state in droves and it continues going down the tubes.
If you’re a moron who happens to live in California, LEAVE THE STATE ALREADY. Seriously, what are you waiting for? Your vote is just being wasted. And if you happen to own a business, make the move even sooner. Your profits will be up overnight and you’ll be providing less and less welfare to feed the liberal sh–hole that California has become.
Look, I get it — you love California. You’ve probably got some fond memories even. But be honest with yourself — you love what California USED to be, and hate what it’s become. And it’s only going to become more of what you hate going forward. It’s way too late to save it. Stop trying. Stop being in denial.
Tell your once great (and now sh–y state) to go pound sand and move out. Take my advice and thank me later.
“Phil” was utterly discredited when it was revealed he lived in the right-wing bastion of — wait for it — Illinois.
Say what you will about the political, demographic and economic trends in California, it’s got a lot more sunshine and palm trees than Illinois.
UPDATE 11:25 p.m. Pacific (2:25 a.m. Eastern): It appears that Democrat Janice Hahn is cruising to a solid win. With 127 of 261 precincts reporting:
PREVIOUSLY: Polls close at 8 p.m. Pacific time (that’s 11 p.m. Eastern) in California’s 36th Congressional District and we’ll have all the results here. This special election is to replace retiring Democrat Rep. Jane Harman, and Guy Benson at Townhall summarizes:
President Obama won this district by thirty points in 2008, and Harman sailed to a comfortable win in 2010. This should be a slam dunk, blow-out hold for Democrats — and yet, they’re reportedly worried.
As voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide a hard-fought special congressional election in the South Bay area, attorneys for Democrat Janice Hahn filed complaints alleging that supporters of her opponent, Republican Craig Huey, were trying to suppress turnout of her voters.
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Los Angeles County district attorney, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and the California attorney general, Hahn lawyers Stephen J. Kaufman and Steven J. Reyes asked for immediate investigations into “voter suppression actitivies” in the 36th Congressional District race.
The attorneys said several voters reported receiving telephone calls Monday night telling them the election had been postponed to Wednesday at Hahn’s request ,and others were given wrong polling place addresses.
Within the last 36 hours [Janice Hahn] and her staff . . .
• Falsely claimed a political endorsement from a local hero;
• Then lied about it when confronted with the truth that he didn’t endorse her;
• And then posted a stalker video of one of her “trackers” (Democratic agents who follow opponents around night and day, video cameras in hand) tailing Craig Huey in a parking lot as a process server tries to hand him some documents about a bogus back payment he supposedly owed.
UPDATE III: Polls have now closed, but While still awaiting the first results, I was reading Mickey Kaus about how the Daily Kos was trying to spin their final poll in CA-36. Look, if Hahn wins by less than 10 points, that’s a huge GOP victory in this heavily Democrat-leaning district. If the margin is less than 5 points . . . Well, that’s hard to imagine. If Huey should somehow win, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
The exchange came as national women’s groups accused the Huey campaign of trying to discourage women from voting in the South Bay-based 36th Congressional District and the National Republican Congressional Committee touted an “update” of a discreditedFox News report that accused Hahn and a city gang intervention program of hiring and supporting active gang members. Hahn vigorously denied the report again Thursday. . . .
Also Thursday, fallout from a since-discreditedFox TV news report again roiled the campaign. An “update” of the controversy — stemming from allegations Hahn and the city of L.A. gave money to active gang members — featured a gang member saying Hahn had intervened on his behalf when he was arrested, plus a statement from a city attorney who asked not to be identified.
The Huey campaign has distributed copies of the original report and the National Republican Congressional Committee told The Times’ it has spent about $5,000 and sent text messages to voters directing them to the website it created about the updated report.
Notice two things: Not only does Merl repeat the word “discredited,” but she also twice calls this a “Fox News” or “Fox TV news” story — clearly attempting to convey the impression that the investigative reporting by Chris Blatchford was done by the national cable-TV news network, rather than by the news department of the local Fox affiliate in Los Angeles, KTTV.
Readers of Jean Merl’s article might certainly be excused for thinking that this “discredited Fox News report” had been proven false. But Blatchford’s story — both the 2008 story and his 8-minute updated report Thurday — cited facts regarding the gang-intervention program that have been reported by other news organizations, including the local tabloid L.A. Weekly. Here, watch the entire eight minutes yourself, if you have not already done so:
Joy –
There are only five days left until the special election in California’s 36th Congressional District on Tuesday. With this race coming down to the wire, every one of those days will be crucial to our efforts to help Democratic nominee Janice Hahn pull out a victory.
OFA California volunteers will be making calls for Janice from now until the election. One of the phone banks is in Pasadena on Sunday — can you make it?
Here are the details:
What: Make calls for Janice Hahn
[then the address is listed–it’s in Pasadena proper]
When: Sunday, July 10th, 3:00 pm — RSVP now
If you can’t make that phone bank, we’ll be making calls at each OFA California office every day from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. — find and RSVP for one of those events here.
Janice is running a campaign to create new jobs, invest in clean energy, and stop the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it. When she gets to Congress, she’ll be a great voice for California and a strong ally for President Obama and other Democrats in Washington.
Join us in Pasadena on Sunday: http://my.barackobama.com/Calls-for-Janice-Hahn
Thanks,
Mary Jane Stevenson
During a debate at KPCC Thursday, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn — a Democratic candidate for Congress — found herself fending off charges she helped a gang member get out of jail. . . .
An earlier report by Fox 11 TV news that Hahn pushed for the release of an active gang member has been dogging the South Bay Democrat. Fox reporter Chris Blatchford quoted an unnamed Los Angeles City Attorney who said Hahn’s office played a role in the release of convicted felon P.J. Steve, who’d ostensibly worked as a gang interventionist.
“I never worked on behalf of a known convicted gang member to get them out of jail,” Hahn said. In response to a question from KPCC’s Larry Mantle, she added that the man’s distraught mother visited her office, and that she did make a call.
“The only call I ever made was just to say ‘what was the purpose of the arrest of this person?’” she said.
Blatchford (quoting an unnamed deputy city attorney) said he was “told Hahn’s office called and said P.J. Steve worked for her and because he was a gang intervention worker for her they asked for an O.R. release and it was granted.” An O.R. release is a release on an defendant’s own recognizance.
If readers haven’t followed this story closely, they can be forgiven for not understanding what is being alleged, what is being denied, what is now confirmed and whether or not Blatchford’s report is “discredited.”
The Crips gangster “P.J. Steve” presented at his trial a certificate of appreciation signed by Janice Hahn — this is a fact that no one has disputed. Now we have Hahn’s confirmation that she placed a call to police on behalf of “P.J. Steve” after the gangster’s arrest on rape charges. An attorney in the prosecutor’s office told Blatchford that “P.J. Steve” was released on his own recognizance based on Hahn’s call.
Hahn denies exercising that kind of influence with LAPD, but ask yourself: If you were a cop and a powerful city council member called your office “just askin’ questions” about a suspect’s arrest, what impression would such a phone call make on you?
A good friend of mine tosses his hat into the ring to take on Democrat Rep. Brad Miller in North Carolina’s newly re-drawn 13th District, sending this e-mail to supporters:
Dear Friend,
Several months ago, running for public office was the furthest thing from my mind. Then I was approached by several folks who started discussing the “what if’s” of the new Congressional District maps. After seeing the maps on Friday, I’ve decided that with the current economic and social crisis destroying our great nation, now is the time to run for the North Carolina 13th Congressional District.
The deciding factors for my decision to run for Congress were: the direction the nation has taken under the Obama Administration and the Democrats in both houses of Congress, and the need to return to conservative values that buttress a capitalist system that can create opportunities for every American.
My main focus will be jobs, jobs, jobs. We must cut taxes and regulations on business owners, and we must lower our dependency on foreign oil. We must also reestablish the moral fiber of our society.
It’s time for principled leadership in Washington that follows the Constitution.
You have my word that I will work hard during this campaign. I want to hear your thoughts, concerns and questions. I want to earn your prayers, support and vote. . . .
Conservatively Yours,
Nathan Tabor
Nathan is a businessman with extraordinary New Media savvy, having run the Web design firm TCV Media and a successful news and opinion site, The Conservative Voice, which he subsequently sold to Salem Communications, which merged it into Townhall.com. Nathan is the author of The Beast on the East River: The U.N.’s Threat to America’s Sovereignty, and I’ve known him and his lovely wife Jordan since we met at a CPAC reception in 2007. You can read his biography here.
Keeping up the conservative momentum from 2010 means challenging vulnerable incumbent Democrats with strong Republican candidates. Re-districting makes Brad Miller vulnerable, and Tabor is certainly a strong challenger. He’s also my friend.
I’m proud to support Nathan’s campaign, and I hope you will, too.
[July 1] the Federal Election Commission issued the last Campaign Finance Reports before the election.
Democrat Janice Hahn has $323,348 “Cash on Hand.” Subtracting the $323,304 Ms. Hahn owes in debts leaves her with $44 once her debts are paid.
Her opponent, Torrance businessman and Tea Party Republican [Craig Huey] has largely financed his own campaign. . . .
Ms. Hahn has received over a million dollars in campaign contributions, almost entirely from unions and individual contributors who receive taxpayer dollars.
Janice Hahn perfectly exemplifies her party’s commitment to deficit spending. And what has she been spending all that money for? Scaring people about that dangerous “radical right-wing extremist” Republican, Craig Huey. According to Ladd Ehlinger Jr., Hahn has sent out nine separate mailings with messages like these:
(You can click on the images to see full-size.) Did you notice the use of Sarah Palin’s picture? Believe it or not, Hahn actually used pictures of Rush Limbaugh, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in one of her mailers:
Hahn has gone so far as to run TV ads portraying Craig Huey as Sarah Palin’s ideological soulmate:
“The fact of the matter is, we have on the table all kinds of revenue raises that they keep calling tax increases. How do you call closing loopholes to oil companies that are making billions of dollars in profits, closing up these loopholes that would generate $40 to $50 billion in revenue, how do you call that a tax hike? That is no tax hike. You only hike taxes when you raise rates. We are not asking anybody to raise anybody’s rates. We want us to have an effective tax collection and close these loopholes, stop giving billions of dollars in breaks to millionaires and billionaires.”
— Rep. James Clyburn, South Carolina Democrat
When I heard this Sunday morning on “This Week,” I was amazed. Under no circumstance will any Democrat ever agree to any meaningful cut to any federal spending program. And so their only answer to budget issues is always: Raise taxes.
Yet they are now trying to finesse the rhetoric, so that tax increases aren’t really tax increases. No, it’s “revenue raises” and “closing loopholes” — as if Americans are too stupid to understand that, call it what you will, Democrats are still the party of tax-and-spend.
