On June 26, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 219-212 in favor of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). Only eight Republicans - we'll call them the "Enlightened Eight" - voted "aye." These Republicans were Mary Bono-Mack (CA-45), Mike Castle (DE-AL), John McHugh (NY-23), Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), Leonard Lance (NJ-7), Mark Kirk (IL-10), Dave Reichert (WA-8), and Christopher Smith (NJ-4).
Republicans voting for cap and trade in the year of the Tea Party? You'd think that they'd be dumped in the harbor by now. Instead, they're all doing fine. In fact, to date, not a single one of these Republicans has been successfully primaried by the "tea party" (or otherwise). Instead, we have two - Castle and Kirk - running for U.S. Senate, one (McHugh) who was appointed Secretary of the Army by President Obama, and five others - Bono-Mack, LoBiondo, Lance, Reichert, Smith - running for reelection.
Rep. Lance actually was challenged by not one, not two, but three "Tea Party" candidates. One of Lance's opponents, David Larsen, even produced this nifty video, helpfully explaining that "Leonard Lance Loves Cap & Trade Taxes." So, did this work? Did the Tea Partiers overthrow the tyrannical, crypto-liberal Lance? Uh, no. Instead, in the end, Lance received 56% of the vote, easily moving on to November.
Meanwhile, 100 miles or so south on the Jersey Turnpike, Rep. LoBiondo faced two "Tea Party" candidates - Donna Ward and Linda Biamonte - who also attacked on the cap-and-trade issue. According to Biamonte, cap and trade "is insidious and another tax policy... a funneling of money to Goldman Sachs and Al Gore through derivatives creating a carbon bubble like the housing bubble." You'd think that Republican primary voters in the year of the Tea Party would agree with this line of attack. Yet LoBiondo won with 75% of the vote.
Last but not least in New Jersey, Christopher Smith easily turned back a Tea Party challenger - Alan Bateman - by a more than 2:1 margin. Bateman had argued that "Obama knows he can count on Smith to support the United Nations' agenda to redistribute American wealth to foreign countries through international Cap & Trade agreements and other programs that threaten our sovereignty." Apparently, Republican voters in NJ-4 didn't buy that argument.
Across the country in California's 45th District, Mary Bono-Mack won 71% of the vote over Tea Party candidate Clayton Thibodeau on June 8. This, despite Thibodeau attacking Bono-Mack as "the only Republican west of the Mississippi to vote for Cap and Trade." Thibodeau also called cap and trade "frightening," claiming that government could force you to renovate your home or meet requirements before you purchase a home. Thibodeau's scare tactics on cap-and-trade clearly didn't play in CA-45.
Finally, in Washington's 8th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Dave Reichert has drawn a Tea Party challenger named Ernest Huber, who writes that Cap and Trade "is widely viewed as an attempt at Soviet-style dictatorship using the environmental scam of global warming/climate change... written by the communist Apollo Alliance, which was led by the communist Van Jones, Obama's green jobs czar." We'll see how this argument plays with voters in Washington's 8th Congressional District, but something tells us it's not going to go over any better than in the New Jersey or California primaries.
In sum, it appears that it's quite possible for Republicans to vote for comprehensive, clean energy and climate legislation and live (politically) to tell about it. The proof is in the primaries.
Sometimes I think America is the proverbial child-star-gone-bad of nations: we have a crippling addiction, but we still won't go to rehab.
We are hooked on burning dirty fossil fuels like cavemen, and no matter how many times we hit rock bottom -- deadly coal mining accidents, the uncontrolled oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and American soldiers risking their lives overseas -- we won't embrace the safer, smarter, cleaner path of renewable energy.
Change shouldn't be this hard.
That is the message behind a new ad campaign launched by NRDC's Action Fund this week. The ad urges senators from both sides of the aisle to put America back in control of our energy future.
Americans want change: a recent poll found that seven in ten Americans think clean energy legislation must be fast-tracked in the wake of the catastrophic Gulf oil spill.
Yet our elected officials haven't delivered the clean energy that voters want. Too many lawmakers fear that if they vote for a clean energy future, they will fall prey to populist mood swings come November. But they are mistaken and here is why:
1. Support for clean energy and climate action is not a flash in the pan. President Obama made clean energy one of the three planks of his platform. His energy policies have been vetted, reviewed and fleshed out through the longest presidential campaign in history and into his administration.
And all the while, clean energy has remained popular with American voters. So much so that Tea Party candidates now talk about it themselves. Most of their claims are bogus, but it is revealing that they haven't left clean energy on the cutting room floor.
2. Tea Party candidates are like the streaker at a football game. They get a lot of attention for their bold, rebellious positions, but after you get a closer look, you want to turn your head away. Their catchphrases simply don't hold up to scrutiny, never mind a 24-hour news cycle.
Rand Paul sounded good in his 30-second campaign spots, for instance, but just days after he won the primary, he started saying business owners should be allowed to kick people of color out of their establishments. After seeing Paul on The Rachel Maddow Show or Sarah Palin being interviewed by Katie Couric, viewers start to realize that Tea Party slogans don't always make for sound governing policy.
3. The Tea Party is today's rebranding of conservative Republican voters. It baffles me that people talk about the Tea Party as if it were something new, when in fact it is just the latest packaging of the radical right. We have seen this before and we know how it ends: people who identify with the radical group of the day are people who already vote and who will continue to vote for the most conservative candidate. This is not a new batch of voters up for grabs, and therefore, there is no point in pandering to them.
4. Angry voters may scream the loudest, but that doesn't make them powerful. It is human nature to pay attention to the loudest person in the room, but that doesn't mean you have to like them. The official Tea Party page on Facebook has only 200,000 fans. The "Can this poodle wearing a tinfoil hat get more fans than Glenn Beck" Facebook page has 280,453 fans.
Right now, every politico is trying to figure out how to win in November, and some are getting distracted by the noise of the radical right. The truth is that these people have been angry for a long time and they will be angry long after lawmakers leave Congress. It is how they live their lives. And while they have extra visibility right now, it looks like most elections will be decided on issues particular to each state, not Tea Party anger.
5. People will vote for lawmakers who create jobs, growth and security. In the end, winning elections and governing the nation is about making people's lives better. Passing clean energy and climate legislation will do that. It could generate nearly 2 million jobs, put America at the forefront of the global clean energy marketplace, strengthen national security and reduce dangerous pollution.
Now is not the time to be bullied. It is the time for lawmakers to stand up and put America on a path to a cleaner, better future. This kind of change isn't hard at all.
If you look at any of the 24X7 news shows or even the Today Show, you will see everyone proclaiming that there is an anti-incumbent mood spreading across America. There is good reason to say that as evidenced by the size of Tea Party rallies and even a few of the races last Tuesday. But, my personal opinion is that this is less about an anti-incumbent mood and more about a "pro-change" disposition. Voters are angry about the current state of blame and stall politics. They expect elected officials to keep their promises - and that extends to clean energy and climate legislation.
Even though clean energy and climate issues are rarely at the heart of the anti-incumbency rhetoric, the frustration with all things Beltway could block comprehensive energy legislation this year.
President Obama's leadership is the only force that can change that.
You see, when the electorate turns anti-Washington, Congressmen freeze up. They get scared of taking bold steps and they start saying "no" to everything.
Even on a good day, the odds of passing any bill in Congress--no matter the issue--starts at about 5 percent. Smart gamblers always bet the no vote in Congress.
But being a naysayer becomes even more attractive to politicians when they think their job is at risk. Voting "no" on a big, transformative bill allows them to give the illusion that they are "playing it safe" and to keep the bull's-eye off their back for potential mid-term popularity contests.
"No" may be an easy decision for politicians, but it is the wrong choice for the American people.
We need to say yes to a clean energy and climate bill that will generate nearly 2 million jobs, put our nation at the forefront of one of the biggest markets of the 21st century, end our reliance on oil, and reduce dangerous pollution. Yet so many lawmakers are in a panic over elections that they can't see these benefits.
They need to snap out of it. In a movie, this is the moment when someone would come along and slap the panicking person in the face. In politics, that slap is leadership.
President Obama must take charge of clean energy and climate legislation. The only major bills that pass through Congress are the ones with White House support. We are fortunate that President Obama backs climate action, but given this anti-incumbent mood, we need him not just to support it; we need him to lead it.
What would that look like? We saw it in the heath care debate. President Obama went into campaign mode and stumped on that bill every single day. He called in political chits. He got people in the same room to negotiate. He dragged it over the finish line because he went farther than asking for change. He demanded it.
That is what we need him to do for a clean energy and climate bill. Because let's be frank: either we see some leadership or we call it a day.
If we don't pass the bill this year, we won't get another chance for years. Dave Robert's painted the grim prospects for national climate action given the likely outcomes of future election cycles in his Grist blog this week. It doesn't look good for another eight years - at least.
We need to get America moving right now toward a clean energy future, and we need President Obama to lead the way.
This week, Robert Redford appeared in a television ad for the NRDC that has already been written about in the Washington Post and New York Times. Interestingly, he didn't call on Congress to take clean energy and climate action. He called on President Obama.
The president is the one with the bully pulpit. Tell him to use it on behalf of clean energy and climate solutions. Securing our future depends on it.
Woo-hoo. The healthcare bill is done. People will see many of the provisions go into place immediately and then they can decide how they feel about these reforms based on reality instead of frenzied, uninformed rhetoric. Let's just take a moment to recognize this historic occasion.
There has been a lot of talk the past few weeks about the false possibility of health care rationing in the current storm of discussions surrounding President Obama's health care reform plan, as well as options put forth by Congressional Democrats such as Senator Max Baucus.
While rationing may be a popular topic - particularly among the conservative and right leaning blogosphere, it is, at its core, a health care myth. Unlike the health care debate in 1994, where Harry and Louise were lamenting government rationing on behalf of the insurance companies, rationing has no place in current health care reform bills.
According to the American Medical Association, "The health reform plans being debated in Congress ensure that health care decisions will be made by you and your doctor - no one else."
Just found this forwarded message in my inbox. I don't have my own vehicle and the meeting location is not on the bus line, so I won't be able to make it. I hope other's out there will be able to.
I [Mike Pence] will be hosting a town hall meeting Tuesday, August 4th. Please join me at this open forum to discuss current issues in the 111th Congress or to voice your opinion on any issue affecting you or your family.
Tuesday August 4
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Westminster Village
5801 W. Bethel Ave
Muncie, IN 47304
According to a column by Mary Ann Akers in the Washington Post, our own Dan Burton has once again fallen into the realm of paranoid fantasy.
Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) is still tilting at windmills, or large fruit as it were. Burton, whose infamous conspiracy theories during the Clinton years earned him the nickname "Watermelon Dan," is at it again.
Last night he tried to offer one of the wackier amendments to the legislative branch appropriations bill - a measure that would order a cost benefit analysis of building a transparent shield around the House chamber to protect members from getting killed.
"What this bill does is it would authorize a study to look at enclosing the chamber, the gallery chamber, with Plexiglas so that somebody can't throw a bomb down on the floor and kill a lot of us," Burton explained in testimony before the House Rules Committee.
That's right, our Indiana Dan wants to wrap the House gallery in Plexiglass to protect the members from mad genius bombers.
As some of you may recall, Indiana Dan is no stranger to nutty conspiracy theories. One of my favs, tho not often publicized, was a TV clip that showed how a terrorist could smuggle in a suitcase nuke. Honestly, it was almost a how-to-do-it for terrorists, assuming they could get a suitcase nuke in the first place.
This is just the latest in a series of incidents that led former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to call Burton an "embarassment" in 1998. And yet, wacky Indiana Dan is still around, goofy as ever.
Perhaps this is why Indiana Dan has 4 Republican primary challengers at last count? I wish that a well-funded Democrat would find his or her way into this race, but that seems unlikely.
While I typically focus on Senate races, the special election in New York's 20th Congressional district is an excellent opportunity to stick it to the Republican Party.
NY-20 is a Republican leaning district in voter registration, but has been recently represented by now-Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and even narrowly supported now-President Barack Obama over John McCain.
The Democratic nominee, Scott Murphy, has turned a deficit in the polls into a narrow four-point lead over Republican Jim Tedisco. Momentum is on our side! A victory in this special election wouldn't just be a nice Democratic hold, but, since it is a Republican-leaning district, it would also be a major embarrassment for Republicans, particularly new RNC Chair Michael Steele.
How desperate are Republicans in this race? Well, they're very literally reduced to going with a noun, a verb, and 9-11 in flailingly attacking Murphy. And how loathsome is the Republican nominee? Even the Libertarian candidate, who was booted from the race after - it would appear - Republicans made a concerted effort to get enough Libertarian ballot signatures overturned, has endorsed Scott Murphy. (And it's one hell of an endorsement.)
The special election is this Tuesday! So what can you do to help?
This is a special election, so GOTV is everything. On Monday or Tuesday, if you can spend literally one single hour making calls, that could be the difference in a Republican pick-up versus a Republican embarrassment.
Periodically, someone will tell me our Congressman in the 9th district,Baron Hill, is "SO LIBERAL". I just have to laugh and wonder what hate-filled blow hard they've been listening to on the radio! In this last election, one of our local "Democrats" tried to tell me this, so I had to go dig up the information about our good Blue Dog Democrat, Congressman Hill. This guy was convinced that Hill was listening to his liberal friends in Indy who had lots of money rather than listening to Hoosier sensibilities.
Now that we have all had a chance to recover from the election madness and have begun to return to normal it is easy to forget about some of the candidates who lost their races recently. I am writing this diary today to ask for you all to consider diverting your attention to an urgent matter which needs our attention from this fine community at Blue Indiana.
Mary Etta Ruley was the Democratic nominee for Congress from the 5th District of Indiana and lost her race against Dan Burton despite obtaining 36% of the vote, a record in that particular race where previous candidates would register percentages of the vote measured in the teens and twenties. She was largely self funded in her campaign due to a lack of support from the state party and DCCC who ignored repeated requests for assistance and was at a severe financial disadvantage in the campaign.
As a result, her campaign has incurred a debt load which must be cleared before her campaign can be officially ended by FEC regulations. I am asking you all to please help Mary Etta Ruley clear her campaign debt by making a donation via ActBlue today and to pass this along to as many people as you can to help her. Mary Etta fought a good fight and is in need of her fellow Hoosier Democrats' help to erase the debts incurred fighting the evil Dan Burton.
It is important for Hoosier Dems to take care of their own in situations such as this. Mary Etta took no special interest contributions and the funds she did raise came from direct appeals to supporters, small events and donations made by everyday folks like yourself.
The pundits and insiders wrote her candidacy off despite the fact she received the endorsement of the Indianapolis Star in her bid to unseat Burton because she proved the viability of her candidacy when she appeared before the Editorial Board of the Star. Had she been able to fund advertising to put her name and her experience out to the voters of the 5th District we could have been represented by an experienced economist and former Congressional staffer.
Please click through now to make a donation via ActBlue to help retire Mary Etta's debt. On behalf of Mary Etta Ruley, thank you for your generosity and have a happy Thanksgiving holiday.
Democratic candidate for Congress Mary Etta Ruley will hold her second and final Virtual Town Hall this Sunday evening, November 2nd at 6pm from her campaign website at MaryEttaRuley.com. Last Sunday Mary Etta had a great experience taking calls from listeners from Blue Indiana and so as a second chance for those who missed the first time we decided to hold a second one on her main campaign site this Sunday evening to give you all another chance to speak with her about her campaign against Dan Burton.
You can listen to the previous town hall using the player below as well as on her profile at BlogTalkRadio, accessible via the button below. Bookmark that page for Sunday night as it is where you can tune in to hear the show live at 6pm EDT. More information is available on BlogTalkRadio and on her website. We hope to hear from you Sunday night and will speak with you then!
(The Indianapolis Star really, really hates Dan Burton. I've never been a big fan of the statewide congressional endorsements from the Star, but considering the large swath of the 5th CD that reads the paper -- and is within the Indianapolis area -- this is definitely encouraging. - promoted by Thomas)
The Indianapolis Star has taken the step of endorsing Democratic Candidate Mary Etta Ruley against 13-term incumbent Dan Burton! Here is the text of the endorsement:
5th district The Star's Editorial Board took the rare step of expressing a preference in a congressional primary election last spring, touting John McGoff as the best hope for ousting 13-term Rep. Dan Burton. A fresh round of embarrassments, capped by Burton's vote against House ethics legislation that passed 430-1, prompted our move and fueled McGoff's candidacy.
Burton survived the GOP primary, however; and historically he has not faced strong general election opponents in the heavily Republican district.
This fall, that's different. Mary Etta Ruley of Gas City has a rich background in small business, education, congressional staff service and national public policy research. She was a member, along with Alan Greenspan and Milton Friedman, of the President's Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force.
An energetic campaigner, Ruley deserves bipartisan support from a constituency too long ill-served by Burton's eccentric, selfish conduct.
Please pass this on to every voter you know in the Fifth District, and go to Mary Etta's campaign web site, www.MaryEttaRuley.com, and offer your support, or make a donation.
Below is a re-print of a diary my wife posted on Daily Kos last night. It is an interesting read. Also, we are in a contest as she mentions at the end. PFAW and Howie Klein are sponsoring it and we are trying to get as many one dollar donations as possible, so as tedious as it will be, instead of giving twenty dollars, give one dollar twenty times. The one with the most donors gets DCCC money and we can use that for targeted cable ads. Help if you can and spread the word about the contest. Thanks BW
Mary Etta Ruley relaunched her website today in a final push for votes in the tangle with Dan Burton for control of the Indiana 5th District Congressional seat. Mary Etta has been canvassing the district person to person and has been working hard to convince the voters of the reddest district in Indiana (some say the entire country) to turn this district blue and help get rid of the noxious Dan Burton, a man who barely survived a primary challenge by Dr. John McGoff back in May.
With voter sentiment very sour on Danny Boy, Mary Etta has been running a grassroots campaign effort that has been finding supporters from all over the district and anti-Burton allies from all over the state. She hopes to take advantage of the Obama Effect and it is looking like Obama coattails will be rather long in the district's population centers in Hamilton County, Kokomo, Marion, Gas City and Greenfield.
We need your help though, and we need it ASAP. We are in need of funds to push her message to voters via cable TV ads and direct mailings, yard signs and more. Please visit our new website at MaryEttaRuley.com where you can donate via ActBlue, sign up to volunteer, order yard signs and get updates directly from Mary Etta herself.
"I am pleased to be running for Congress to provide the voters of the 5th District something they have not had for 26 years - effective representation. I plan to restore integrity to the office and will serve the interests of the people from my district well in Washington" said Ruley.
Stop by today and help us out in any way you can. We need volunteers to help Mary Etta walk the district over the next few weeks and most of all we need your help financially.
Below is an op/ed that we are releasing to the traditional media later this evening. This will be cross posted on other blogs but is here first. Also feel free to cross post on your own blogs if you desire.
Thanks
Can anyone tell me why or how Dan Burton has stayed in Congress for 26 years? Thirteen terms in the House. And what has he DONE in those thirteen years?
I did some checking, and since 1993, of all the bills Burton has sponsored, only eight have become law. That's all. What has he been doing for those 26 years?
We probably all have heard about him missing votes to go play golf, usually paid for by special interests. But wait, maybe we WANT him to be gone. When he is present and voting, he does things like being the ONLY member of the House to vote against ethics reform. The only one. And he made a national fool of himself in the baseball steroids hearings.
The Republican Party finally started to get wise, and a very credible opponent showed up in the 2008 primary, Dr. John McGoff. Dr. McGoff actually BEAT Burton in Marion and Hamilton counties, the two most populous in the Fifth District, but lost pretty much everywhere else.
So the Republicans blew their chance to replace Burton with someone more credible. Now it is the Democrats turn at bat. Enter Grant County resident Mary Etta Ruley, a former Congressional staffer, think-tanker, and Grant County business woman.
Ms. Ruley has positive ideas for growing the economy and putting people to work, for alternative technology, and for national defense. Quite a contrast to "Indiana Dan", whose chief claim to fame is being pro-gun, pro-life, and pro- any lobbyist who wants to throw cash his way. Remember the Pakistani lobbyist flap about 10 years ago that got buried?
I admit to being a member of the "anyone but Dan" club, pretty much anyway, there have been some odd ones run against Dan. But Mary Etta Ruley seems the real deal.
Check her out at www.MaryEttaRuleyforCongress.com. If you have a question not answered there, email her at the address shown on the web page.
(This playlist includes videos featuring Nels Ackerson, Mary Etta Ruley, John Barnes, Stephanie DeKemper and Ken Kern)
The HobNob candidate gathering held every year in an election year was last night at the Indiana State Museum and my videographer Karen Sensney and I were there to capture as many candidates as we could on video and photo. We were able to catch up with 5 candidates on video including (in order of appearance) Congressional candidates Nels Ackerson (D-CD04) and Mary Etta Ruley (D-CD05), along with Indiana House candidates John Barnes (D-HD89) and Stephanie DeKemper (D-HD92) and Indiana Senate candidate Ken Kern (D=SD32).
Below you will find a mosaic of photos taken at HobNob 2008. Mouse over a square to see a larger clickable view to take you to the full size photo. Special thanks to Karen Sensney for her yeoman's work on the camera at this event.
82% of Americans think our health care system needs a "major overhaul." On top of that, over 90% of Americans [pdf] think the next President and Congress should improve the quality and affordability of health care.
With the worsening economy continuing to be the top issue for most Americans, this hope for change isn't hard to understand. American health care spending is projected to reach a full 1/5th of our GDP by 2015, which means by then, we'll be spending twenty cents of every dollar we make on health care. Health care premiums have risen 86% between 2000 and 2006 while wages only rose 20%, putting the strain on working families. Health care costs continue to be the #1 cause of bankruptcy in America.
"Rapidly rising health care costs are not simply a federal budget problem," the GAO report says. "Growth in health-related spending is the primary driver of the fiscal challenges facing state and local governments as well. Unsustainable growth in health care spending also threatens to erode the ability of employers to provide coverage to their workers and undercuts their ability to compete in a global marketplace."
Quite simply, with rising health care costs (including $50 billion per year to pay for insurance industry advertising) being born out by working families and American businesses, health care is a top economic concern. To keep American workers at their best, and to keep American business competitive in the world, something has to change.
Nancy Pelosi has recently declared health care expansion to be #2 on her list of legislative priorities, right after ending the Iraq war. In the past month, tens of thousands of Americans have told us they want quality, affordable health care for all. Now it's time to ask Congress.
So, Congress, which side are you on? Are you with us for quality, affordable health care for all? Or are you with the insurance companies, working to preserve our broken system?
We've set up a quick and easy way for you to contact your Members of Congress and ask them if they support our vision for health care reform. Just click here and enter in your phone number and address. Choose the elected official you want to talk to and in a few moments, we'll call your phone and connect you automatically.
Over the next few weeks, we want to make 100,000 calls to Congress, asking every Member which side they are on. We need your help to do it, so please click here to call!
Once your done with your call, tell us what happened so we can keep track of where Congress stands. As of today, we're proud to announce Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), are with us. The rest, so far, are unknown. You can see the full list here.
Health care is a priority for the American people. It's a priority for Nancy Pelosi. It's up to us to make sure it's a priority for Congress as well. Please take a moment, call your Members of Congress, and ask them which side they are on.
Oh, and if you have a blog or website, you can help spread the word about this campaign by embedding the widget you see above on your site. Just copy and paste the code here.
William Greider writes in The Nation about "America's Economics Free Fall" and documents and details how Washington worked in an incredible show of bi-partisian effort to completely cave in to the interests of Wall Street and excuse and reward the incompetency of failing institutions and, even worse, proposed plans that will continue to encourage this reckless behavior by Wall Street at the expense of all Americans.
ALL Indiana Congressional Representatives should be forced to explain why they keep bailing out these financial institutions without consequence!
In another move that suprised absolutely no one, the House of "Representatives" today voted down H.R. 6604, the House version of the energy speculation bill, by a vote of 276-151. Wait, you ask, how do you lose a vote with more people voting 'yea' than 'no'? Those sneaky foxes brought the bill to the floor under "suspension of the rules," which changes the requirements to now force a bill to have a 2/3 vote to pass.
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