Cornyn Approves Iraqi Gov. Sitting On America's Oil Money In The Bank

A new Government Accountability Office study reports (GAO report PDF) that the soaring price of crude oil will yield the Iraqi government a cumulative budget surplus of as much as $79 billion by the end of 2008. While paying $4 per gallon of gas for every fill up at the pump, American taxpayers have also spent a total of ### for the war in Iraq, and the meter is still running. That large sum includes the $42 billion American taxpayers have spent, so far, for the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq. (That large sum does not in the cost of benefits the U.S. government will pay to military veterans over the next fifty or more years.) In contrast, the Iraqi government has spent less than $4 billion on the country's reconstruction while the government banks profits on its crude oil sales to America and the international markets.

During an appearance last Sunday on a CNN program with Wolf Blitzer, Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) said he believes it's a positive thing that American taxpayers are sending money to Iraq simultaneously out of two pockets while the Iraqi government banks its massive $79 billion oil profit surplus by not spending the money to rebuild its own country. The video of Senator Cornyn's appearance on CNN can be viewed at Think Progress.

Texas State Legislator Rick Noriega is the Democratic Candidate challenging incumbent John Cornyn for the U.S. Senate Seat for Texas.

A Reason To Vote Democratic in 2008 - Episode 2

Moving this video up near the top of the list again because it states so concisely why Americans should vote for every national and local Democratic Candidate on the ballot this fall!!!

Video Submission to Howard Dean's Democratic National Convention
"Why Am I A Democratic"
Video Contest:

Hillary Clinton Affirms Support For Barack Obama

In a call for party unity, Senator Hillary Clinton again affirmed her support for Barack Obama's presidential candidacy during a public appearance on Friday. Senator Hillary Clinton will headline the second night of the Democratic National Convention, the Obama campaign announced Sunday. The second day of the Convention, Tuesday, Aug. 26, is the 88th anniversary of the women's right to vote.

Associated Press News Video

Presidential Debates Set

PBS will host two of the four presidential debates with Jim Lehrer hosting the first debate and Gwen Ifill hosting the only Vice Presidential debate. NBC and CBS will host one debate each with Tom Brokaw hosting the NBC debate and Bob Schieffer hosting the CBS debate. ABC is noticeably left out the presidential debate line up this year.

1. First Presidential Debate: – Date: September 26 – Site: University of Mississippi – Topic: Foreign Policy & National Security – Moderator: Jim Lehrer – Staging: Podium debate – Answer Format: The debate will be broken into nine, 9-minute segments. The moderator will introduce a topic and allow each candidate 2 minutes to comment. After these initial answers, the moderator will facilitate an open discussion of the topic for the remaining 5 minutes, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment.
   


2. Vice Presidential Debate – Date: October 2nd – Site: Washington University (St. Louis) – Moderator: Gwen Ifill – Staging/Answer Format: To be resolved after both parties’ Vice Presidential nominees are selected.
   


3. Second Presidential Debate – Date: October 7 – Site: Belmont University – Moderator: Tom Brokaw – Staging: Town Hall debate – Format: The moderator will call on members of the audience (and draw questions from the internet). Each candidate will have 2 minutes to respond to each question. Following those initial answers, the moderator will invite the candidates to respond to the previous answers, for a total of 1 minute, ensuring that both candidates receive an equal amount of time to comment. In the spirit of the Town Hall, all questions will come from the audience (or internet), and not the moderator.
   


4. Third Presidential Debate – Date: October 15 – Site: Hofstra University – Topic: Domestic and Economic policy – Moderator: Bob Schieffer – Staging: Candidates will be seated at a table – Answer Format: Same as First Presidential Debate – Closing Statements: At the end of this debate (only) each candidate shall have the opportunity for a 90 second closing statement.

Change

Are You Voting Republican In 2008?

Texas Observer - Big Bland John - Cornyn

The Texas Observer has a new story on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is being challenged for re-election by Democrat Rick Noriega.

Democratic strategists in Texas have been telling anyone who will listen for the past year that they can defeat John Cornyn, the state’s junior U.S. senator, in November. This is big talk for a party that hasn’t won a statewide race since 1994 and hasn’t held Cornyn’s senate seat in 47 years. But they have some fancy polling data to back it up. More than a third of Texans wouldn’t know their junior senator if he fell on them. They call this “name ID” (or lack thereof) in the political consulting business. Cornyn’s is abysmal for a politician who’s served as a Texas Supreme Court justice, state attorney general, and, for the past six years, U.S. senator. Of those who do know Cornyn, fewer than 50 percent view him favorably—dangerous territory for an incumbent seeking re-election. Some of those same polls show him running closely with Democratic opponent Rick Noriega. But you don’t need polling data to know that Cornyn can be beaten. Just watch him give a speech. “Dull” is an understatement . . . . . . Cornyn often votes with a small group of two-dozen arch-conservatives in the Senate, and in opposition to the more moderate, and more popular, Hutchison. In July 2005, for example, he was one of 26 senators to vote against an amendment requiring gunmakers to install child safety locks on their weapons. In exchange for protecting children, gunmakers received immunity from lawsuits. Hutchison and McCain backed the proposal “He’s very much seen as a partisan Republican,” says Allen of Congressional Quarterly. “There are a fairly limited number of issues where he’s reached across the aisle.” He also has surrendered to political expediency. In 2006 and 2007, Congress nearly self-immolated over immigration ahead of the midterm elections. Cornyn made clear he opposed construction of a border fence. He told reporters at the time that walling off the entire border was a 20th century answer to a 21st century problem, that the wall wouldn’t stem illegal immigration, and that it was too expensive. “I’m not sure that’s the best use of that money,” he told reporters in early October 2006. Three weeks later, he voted for the Secure Fence Act—a vote he later described as symbolic support of border security. He said he didn’t think the fence would ever receive funding. (The funding, of course, did come through, and construction began this summer.) His vote for the wall has infuriated some mayors along the border who are fighting the federal government’s efforts to build the fence. Read the full Texas Observer article

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A Rick Noriega Campaign Video

Proud To Support Our Democratic Candidates

I'm Barbara Walters, a member of the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County; OK, I'm the President! On Monday night, July 28, our organization donated $6000 to 8 candidates.

$1,000	- Rick Noriega, candidate for US Senate
$1,000	- Tom Daley, candidate for US Congress, District 3
$1,000	- Glenn Glenn Melançon, candidate for US Congress, District 4
$1,000	- Jim Jordan, candidate for Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice
$500	- Susan Strawn, candidate for Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 3
$500	- Don B. Chae, candidate for 5th Court of Appeals Justice, Place 3
$500	- Victor Manuel, candidate for Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 3
$500	- Eric Roberson, candidate for US Congress, District 32 (not in Collin Co.)

Our hard work over the last two years paid off. We organized, we raised money, we studied the positions of the candidates, we voted to endorse them, and then we invited them back to accept the checks! There was a full house of about 60 people and a wonderful amount of energy and excitement filled the room.

Pictures of Each Candidate Who Received a Contribution
With Barbara Walters, President Of
The Democratic Women of Collin County

Stephen Sargent accepting on behalf of Rick Noriega, candidate for US Senate	Tom Daley, candidate for US Congress, District 3
Glenn Melancon, candidate for US Congress, District 4	Jim Jordan, candidate for Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice
	Picture Not Available
Don B. Chae, candidate for 5th Court of Appeals Justice, PL3	Susan Strawn, candidate for Court of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 3
Victor Manuel, candidate for Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 3	Eric Roberson, candidate for US Congress, District 32 (not on Collin Co. Ballots)

You can review responses to a position questionnaire submitted by the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC) to each of these candidates. Discover why the TDWCC endorses each for elected office.

We barely have time to celebrate, though, because we need to organize more, raise more money, and get out the vote to get our candidates elected in November.

The organization of Texas Democratic Women of Collin County are conducting multiple phone banks per week, voter registration drives, and having our second annual fundraiser dinner on Sept. 28. I f you want to know more, check out our website.

Democratic Candidates Showing Strength In Southern States

The Republican fortress in the South, which started with the Goldwater campaign in 1964, has been an impregnable voting block of conservatives for 40 years. Now, the Democratic Party is running its most competitive campaign across the South in 40 years, fielding potential winners along a rib of states stretching from Louisiana to Virginia. As recently as July 2006, the year Democrats took control of Congress, a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll showed Southern voters bucking national sentiment, saying they preferred Republicans over Democrats by 47% to 40%. In early 2007, both parties expected only 35 to 40 House seats out of 435 to be truly competitive. However, in the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll, conducted last month, Southern voters said they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress over a Republican one by a 44% to 40% margin, a reversal of the long-term historical patterns.

Presidential Election Results Collin County Year GOP DEM 2004 71.2% 174,435 28.1% 68,935 2000 73.1% 128,179 24.4% 42,884 1996 63.0% 83,750 28.5% 37,854 1992 47.0% 60,514 19.0% 24,508 1988 74.3% 67,776 25.1% 22,934 1984 81.6% 61,095 18.2% 13,604 1980 67.9% 36,559 28.2% 15,187 1976 60.0% 21,608 39.0% 14,039 1972 78.0% 17,667 21.1% 4,783 1968 39.9% 6,494 36.4% 5,918 1964 29.8% 3,341 70.0% 7,833 1960 42.2% 3,865 57.1% 5,229

In the spring of 2008, Democratic candidates won special elections for U.S. House seats in heavily Republican parts of Mississippi and Louisiana.

• MS Democrat Travis Childers beat Republican Greg Davis 54% to 46% in a U.S. House special election in a red Republican district.
• LA's 6th district Democrat Cazayoux Woody Jenkins, won a special election 49% to 46%, for a seat held by a Republican for two decades.

Plus, last year, while not a southern race, it is significant that Democrat Bill Foster won the suburban Chicago House seat held for 21 years by Republican Dennis Hastert, the former House Speaker.

Democratic voter turnout consistently outpaced Republicans across the South in this year's presidential primaries, often by wide margins, even in Texas. In the 20 largest counties in Texas, 19 had more Democrats turnout than Republicans. Democrats outvoted Republicans in Republican strongholds like Collin County and Williamson County by at least 20,000 votes.

During the 2008 Democratic Primary more people voted on the Democratic Primary Ballot in Collin Co. than voted for John Kerry (68,935 votes for Kerry in Collin Co.) in the 2004 Presidential general election. More than 20,000 people attended the Democratic Party's 2008 Precinct Conventions on March 4th all across Collin County and approximately 4,000 people attended the Democratic Party's 2008 County Convention in Collin County. These are all historic record turnouts for the Democratic Party in Collin County.

In the 2008 election cycle several Republican-held House seats across the South, including rural districts in Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana and South Carolina, that were once considered "safe" are looking more competitive as election day approaches. That could increase Democratic advantage of 19 House seats in the current Congress to an advantage of possibly up to 75 House seats over Republicans in the next Congress.

That edge could grow even larger if Collin County Democrats can turn out in large enough numbers to help Tom Daley, age 44, Democratic Candidate for the U.S. 3rd Texas Congressional District win against Republican incumbent Sam Johnson, age 78, and Glenn Melançon, age 42, Democratic Candidate for the U.S. 4th Texas Congressional District win against Republican incumbent Ralph Hall, age 85.

Read more about "The New Southern Strategy" in The Wall Street Journal.

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Bush Admin Seeks to Redefine Birth Control Pill as Abortion

As reported in the Wall Street Journal OnLine, "The Bush Administration's Department of Health and Human Services writes a draft regulation that defines most birth-control pills and intrauterine devices as abortion because they work by preventing fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus."

The regulation considers that such contraception approaches - destroys the life of a human being. By its expansive definitions, the draft furthers a key goal of the religious right - to define single-cell fertilized eggs as legal people with full legal rights. If the regulation is enacted, insurers, hospitals, HMOs and other institutions could decline to provide or cover contraception pills and IUD devices.

If Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, it is conceivable that even the common birth control pill and IUD device could eventually be ruled to be a type of abortion by a very right leaning Supreme Court of the United States. The next President will likely appoint as many as three new Supreme Court Justices to the bench. Long after the next president is gone, his appointments will be sitting on the bench, making decisions that impact our rights and liberties.

McCain has repeatedly stated that he opposes abortion and has said that he would appoint Supreme Court Justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark court decision from the 1970s that legalized abortion, whereas, Obama supports the current Roe v. Wade position.

Which Presidential candidate do you want to appoint the next three Supreme Court Justices? John McCain or Barack Obama?? The choice is up to you - the voter!

A message from Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. It seems like the [other] person who doesn't want to discuss this issue is Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt. A few days ago, health care blogger Scott Swenson asked Secretary Leavitt whether it will be "HHS policy that the 98 percent of Americans who use contraception at some point in their lives are terminating rather than preventing pregnancy." Leavitt's reply: no comment. We deserve answers from Secretary Leavitt on this secret plan to radically change family planning funding rules, and we need you to help us get those answers. Here's what you can do: First, leave a comment on Secretary Leavitt's blog urging him to respond to Swenson's question and growing concerns that the Bush administration's proposed rule would severely threaten women's health care. Just leave a comment on his most recent blog post. Leavitt uses his official blog to communicate about government policy — it's time he came clean on this issue. Second, let us know you left a comment. Because the blog comments are moderated, some may be blocked from visitors to the site. We need a way to keep track of the growing outcry about the Bush administration's proposed attack on women's health care — we can't let them keep this quiet. Please, help us stop this proposed rule change before it can harm the people who most desperately need access to quality, comprehensive health care. The first step is to get straight answers from Secretary Leavitt. And don't forget to tell us what you said to Secretary Leavitt. Thank you for standing with us, and please keep an eye out for future updates on this vital issue. P.S. Our best chance of stopping this assault on the fundamental health care rights of women is to raise a massive public outcry. Help us get a head start by urging your friends to contact President Bush. Click here.