In his first weekly address since being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, President Barack Obama discussed how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will jump-start the economy.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Lawsuit Could Kill The Blogosphere
This lawsuit would change the blogosphere as we know it. It kill most of the aggregator, opinion, and commentary sites like the ones shown in the left sidebar of this blog, as well as this blog itself:
A copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit filed last month against The New York Times Co., owner of The Boston Globe and its Boston.com website, is being watched closely by news organizations, Internet researchers, independent bloggers, and companies that aggregate news online by linking to a variety of news sites.
At the heart of the complaint, lodged by GateHouse Media Inc., which publishes 125 community newspapers in Massachusetts, is the question of whether Internet news providers will be able to continue the practice of posting headlines and lead sentences from stories they link to on other sites.The case has been scheduled for trial in US District Court in Boston as early as Monday.
"This is the first case where these intellectual property issues have come to a head," said David Ardia, director of the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society in Cambridge. "If the judge was to rule for GateHouse on every point, it would have far-reaching implications for the news and information ecosystem that underlies the Web as we know it." The case could result in new guidelines for how much, if any, content from one website can be used by another. "This is standard procedure across the Internet now," she said. "Newsrooms adopted the procedure from other practitioners."
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Texas Sen. Cornyn Blocks Clinton's State Confirmation
The confirmation of Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state will be held up for at least a day due to the objection of a single senator. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he wants "a full and open debate" about possible conflicts of interest from Bill Clinton's charitable foundation's acceptance of donations from foreign countries and companies.
If Cornyn blocks a unanimous consent floor voice vote, there will be a roll call vote Wednesday or Thursday which will give several Republican Senators an opportunity to go on record with a "ney" vote. Some Republicans likely see a "ney" vote on Clinton's confirmation as an "accomplishment" that they can tout to their base during the next election cycle.
Cornyn has also joined with other Senate Republicans to hold for one week the confirmation vote on Attorney General designate Eric Holder. Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania are seeking more information on whether Holder would pursue criminal prosecutions of "intelligence personnel" involved in interrogations after he said last week that water boarding is torture.
Related Postings:
If Cornyn blocks a unanimous consent floor voice vote, there will be a roll call vote Wednesday or Thursday which will give several Republican Senators an opportunity to go on record with a "ney" vote. Some Republicans likely see a "ney" vote on Clinton's confirmation as an "accomplishment" that they can tout to their base during the next election cycle.
Cornyn has also joined with other Senate Republicans to hold for one week the confirmation vote on Attorney General designate Eric Holder. Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania are seeking more information on whether Holder would pursue criminal prosecutions of "intelligence personnel" involved in interrogations after he said last week that water boarding is torture.
Related Postings:
Monday, January 19, 2009
Collin County Inaugural Gala
The Dallas Morning News:
Democratic women's big gala in Collin County symbolic of suburban gains
11:11 PM CST on Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Dallas Morning News / By THEODORE KIM
Republicans often mislabel the Democratic Party as the Democrat Party to convey their disdainful disrespect for those affiliated with the Democratic Party.
Note the difference in the DMN online headline, "Democratic women's big gala in Collin County symbolic of suburban gains" originally posted at 11:11 PM CST on Sunday, January 18, 2009 verses the headline "Democrat women's big gala in Collin County has symbolic significance" as updated at 12:00 AM CST on Monday, January 19, 2009.
The DMN does not want to be left open to a charge of "liberal media bias."
Democratic women's big gala in Collin County symbolic of suburban gains
11:11 PM CST on Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Dallas Morning News / By THEODORE KIM
A fledgling Democratic women's group in [Collin] county is hosting what is believed to be the largest Obama inauguration gala in North Texas.
The $15,000 event, to be held at the Plano Centre, is black-tie optional. It will feature live music, a silent auction, a buffet and even a life-size cardboard cutout of Obama. About 400 people are expected.
"Women always get things done," said Barb Walters, president of the Texas Democratic Women of Collin County. The group is hosting the event with the local Obama campaign. "We want this to be a beginning, not an ending."
. . .The event is the latest signal that Dallas' affluent and politically important northern suburbs are becoming more competitive.
. . .Democrats, of course, still have their work cut out for them in Collin County, which for decades now has served as a base of power and resources for the GOP.
Republicans often mislabel the Democratic Party as the Democrat Party to convey their disdainful disrespect for those affiliated with the Democratic Party.Note the difference in the DMN online headline, "Democratic women's big gala in Collin County symbolic of suburban gains" originally posted at 11:11 PM CST on Sunday, January 18, 2009 verses the headline "Democrat women's big gala in Collin County has symbolic significance" as updated at 12:00 AM CST on Monday, January 19, 2009.
The DMN does not want to be left open to a charge of "liberal media bias."
Voter ID Legislation To Pass Texas Senate In 2009
Updated January 19, 2009 11:00 AM
Republican members of the Senate voted to exempt voter photo ID legislation from the two-thirds rule, similar to the way Congressional Redistricting was exempted by Republicans in 2003, over strong opposition from Democrats. Under the change, voter ID legislation can be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor with the approval of only 16 senators, not the 21 required under the customary two-thirds rule. Democrats could block votes under the usual two-thirds rule — and did so on the voter ID bill two years ago. Debate over voter photo ID in 2007 paralyzed the State Senate for weeks before the bill was rejected.
Wednesday's change to Texas Senate two-thirds rule will only apply to the voter ID bill; redistricting was dropped from the two-thirds exemption resolution before the final vote. Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to amend the voter ID two-thirds rule exemption resolution to also include exemptions on legislation for fully funding child health insurance, improved benefits for veterans, restoring funds to unemployment compensation, insurance rate regulation, foreclosure protection, tuition re-regulation and public education priority — to get the same majority-vote treatment as on voter ID. Republicans, as a block, voted against each program - a fact that that will surely be an issue that Democratic candidates can use against their Republican opponents during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
With the Texas House made up of 74 Democrats and 76 Republicans, after the 2008 election, the Voter ID bill will face a tougher fight in the Texas House. Republican Joe Straus, who is taking over the Speaker's Chair from hard right-winger Tom Craddick for the 2009 legislative session with the support of of every Democrat in the Texas House, commented to reporters on Friday, 16 January 2009, that he favors Voter Photo Identification:
Republican Joe Straus, who is taking over the Texas House Speaker's Chair from hard right-winger Tom Craddick for the 2009 legislative session with the support of of every Democrat in the Texas House, commented to reporters on Friday, 16 January 2009, that he favors Voter Photo IdentificationThe Texas Senate on Wednesday, 14 January 2009, voted 18-13, along party lines, to exempt voter identification legislation from the longstanding “Two-Thirds” Rule. This rule requires that 21 senators must support a measure before it can be brought to the floor. Only one Republican, State Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas), broke ranks to join 12 Democrats in the near party-line vote to oppose the change to the two-thirds rule. The other 18 Republicans voted to exempt any bill brought forward in the Texas Senate that would require voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls before being allowed to vote.
Republican members of the Senate voted to exempt voter photo ID legislation from the two-thirds rule, similar to the way Congressional Redistricting was exempted by Republicans in 2003, over strong opposition from Democrats. Under the change, voter ID legislation can be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor with the approval of only 16 senators, not the 21 required under the customary two-thirds rule. Democrats could block votes under the usual two-thirds rule — and did so on the voter ID bill two years ago. Debate over voter photo ID in 2007 paralyzed the State Senate for weeks before the bill was rejected.
Wednesday's change to Texas Senate two-thirds rule will only apply to the voter ID bill; redistricting was dropped from the two-thirds exemption resolution before the final vote. Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to amend the voter ID two-thirds rule exemption resolution to also include exemptions on legislation for fully funding child health insurance, improved benefits for veterans, restoring funds to unemployment compensation, insurance rate regulation, foreclosure protection, tuition re-regulation and public education priority — to get the same majority-vote treatment as on voter ID. Republicans, as a block, voted against each program - a fact that that will surely be an issue that Democratic candidates can use against their Republican opponents during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
With the Texas House made up of 74 Democrats and 76 Republicans, after the 2008 election, the Voter ID bill will face a tougher fight in the Texas House. Republican Joe Straus, who is taking over the Speaker's Chair from hard right-winger Tom Craddick for the 2009 legislative session with the support of of every Democrat in the Texas House, commented to reporters on Friday, 16 January 2009, that he favors Voter Photo Identification:
Straus, who voted for the Voter ID bill in 2007, stated he thinks another examination of whether photo IDs are needed to combat voter fraud is appropriate. He said he does not yet know whether there are sufficient votes in the House to pass a bill.Read on: No Evidence Of Voter Fraud
The Voter ID bill, introduced in the House during the 2007 legislative session, (HB 218) passed by a vote of 76 to 69 when the House was made up of 69 Democrats and 81 Republicans. Two Republicans voted against HR 218. The voter ID bill introduced in the Senate during the 2007 legislative session was successfully blocked from advancing to the floor for a vote by Senate Democrats.
No Evidence Of Voter Fraud
In Indiana and six other states, unless you have a valid government-issued photo ID, of the type that Texas Republicans seek to make mandatory for would be Texas voters, you can not vote for anything. That’s a lesson a group of Indiana nuns learned in 2008 when they tried to vote in Indiana’s presidential primary.
Ten sisters, all in their 80s and 90s, from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend were turned away from their polling place by a fellow sister because they presented outdated passports or had no photo ID at all. A rule requiring a photo ID to vote in Indiana became official following an April 28, 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court deeming it constitutional.
While Texas proponents of voter ID legislation argue that it's needed to combat voter fraud, there is no evidence that the type of fraud that these requirements address has occurred at any point since records have been kept.
Voter Fraud is the claim that large groups of people knowingly and willingly give false information to establish voter eligibility, and knowingly and willingly vote illegally or participate in a conspiracy to encourage illegal voting by others.
Twenty-five states require identification at the polls for all voters and seven states - Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana and Michigan now require or can request a government-issued photo ID. In Arizona voters may present two non-photo documents such as a bank statement and a utility bill in lieu of a photo ID. Arizona's list of alternative IDs is similar to the list of IDs that Texas voters may present in lieu of a voter registration certificate.
Even as additional states seek to pass more restrictive voter ID legislation, mounting evidence suggests that stricter voter ID laws actually do very little to ensure polling-place integrity.
While there is no actual evidence of voter fraud, many studies, such as conducted by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, find that U.S. citizens of Latino, Asian American and African American heritage are less likely to vote as a result of increasingly restrictive voter ID requirements.
The Eagleton study examined the 2004 election and concluded that in states requiring voters to present an ID at the polls, 2.7 percent fewer citizens were likely to vote than in states where voters were merely required to register so that their name and address appears in the voting precinct poll book on election day.
According to the Eagleton study Latinos are 10 percent less likely to vote, Asian-Americans are 8.5 percent less likely to vote and African Americans are 5.7 percent less likely to vote.
Each of the groups listed in the Eagleton study tend to vote for Democratic candidates and are a growing percentage of Texas voters. The success of Democratic voter registration drives among these Texas groups in 2008 threatens to tip the balance of power away from the Republicans. As the tide of Democratic voters continues to grow across Texas, voter ID legislation would be an effective way for Republicans to hold back the tide.
Consequently, the use of baseless "voter fraud" allegations to promote voter ID legislation has become such an urgent priority for Republicans in the 2009 legislative session that Republicans in the Texas Senate felt compelled to change long standing Senate rules to advance the legislation.
The Eagleton Institute research is supported by findings from a November 2006 poll conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
The Brennan Center poll found that as many as 11 percent of American citizens, more than 21 million individuals, do not have a current, government-issued photo ID. Elderly, poor and minority Americans are more likely to lack government-issued ID.
Voting rights advocates say that requiring photo identification threatens to disenfranchise many older Americans, a voting bloc with traditionally strong turnout. Senior citizens are less likely to have driver’s licenses or birth certificates, which are often needed to obtain a government ID.
Brennan Center research suggest six million elderly Americans do not possess a government-issued photo ID. Additionally, 15 percent of voting-age citizens earning under $35,000 a year do not possess such ID and fully 25 percent of voting-age African Americans do not possess this ID.
Further, according to the Brennan Center, as many as 13 million U.S. citizens, or seven percent, do not have ready access to citizenship documents of the type required by most state voter id legislation. This makes the requirement to obtain a government-issued photo ID in order to vote an unduly onerous equivalent of a "Jim Crow" poll tax.
Texans already must request and be granted a voter registration card from their county Election Registrar's office thirty days in advance of an election. New registration applicants must provide their current address and Driver's License number or their Social Security Number on the voter registration application.
The applicant's county Election Registrar along with the Texas Secretary of State are required to authenticate citizenship and all other information given on the voter registration application against Texas motor vehicle records or the U.S. Social Security Administration before approving the application and granting "active" voter registration status.
Further, county Election Registrars and the Texas Secretary of State actively track registered voter change of address and death notices and other official record updates to automatically suspend a voter's registration on any change of status.
There is no evidence of voter fraud in the Lone Star State.
In the late nineteenth century, when newly freed black Americans were swept into electoral politics to become a voting majority, white Southern Democrats threatened by the loss of power justified the so called "Jim Crow" voting laws by alleging "voter fraud" by black voters.
Many 20th Century "Jim Crow" Southern Democrats switched to the Republican Party after President Franklin Roosevelt, President John Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson championed voters' rights and the elimination of "Jim Crow" type laws.
Cross Posted at DMN Trail Blazers Blog
Related links:
Ten sisters, all in their 80s and 90s, from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend were turned away from their polling place by a fellow sister because they presented outdated passports or had no photo ID at all. A rule requiring a photo ID to vote in Indiana became official following an April 28, 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court deeming it constitutional.
While Texas proponents of voter ID legislation argue that it's needed to combat voter fraud, there is no evidence that the type of fraud that these requirements address has occurred at any point since records have been kept.
Voter Fraud is the claim that large groups of people knowingly and willingly give false information to establish voter eligibility, and knowingly and willingly vote illegally or participate in a conspiracy to encourage illegal voting by others.
Twenty-five states require identification at the polls for all voters and seven states - Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana and Michigan now require or can request a government-issued photo ID. In Arizona voters may present two non-photo documents such as a bank statement and a utility bill in lieu of a photo ID. Arizona's list of alternative IDs is similar to the list of IDs that Texas voters may present in lieu of a voter registration certificate.
Even as additional states seek to pass more restrictive voter ID legislation, mounting evidence suggests that stricter voter ID laws actually do very little to ensure polling-place integrity.
| The Politics of Voter Fraud Study by Lorraine Minnite PDF | According to Barnard College Professor Loraine Minnite, the available state-level evidence of fraudulent voting, culled from interviews, reviews of newspaper coverage and court proceedings, shows that only 32 people were convicted of or pleaded guilty to illegal voting in the U.S. between 2002 and 2005, an average of eight people a year. |
While there is no actual evidence of voter fraud, many studies, such as conducted by the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, find that U.S. citizens of Latino, Asian American and African American heritage are less likely to vote as a result of increasingly restrictive voter ID requirements.
The Eagleton study examined the 2004 election and concluded that in states requiring voters to present an ID at the polls, 2.7 percent fewer citizens were likely to vote than in states where voters were merely required to register so that their name and address appears in the voting precinct poll book on election day.
According to the Eagleton study Latinos are 10 percent less likely to vote, Asian-Americans are 8.5 percent less likely to vote and African Americans are 5.7 percent less likely to vote.
Each of the groups listed in the Eagleton study tend to vote for Democratic candidates and are a growing percentage of Texas voters. The success of Democratic voter registration drives among these Texas groups in 2008 threatens to tip the balance of power away from the Republicans. As the tide of Democratic voters continues to grow across Texas, voter ID legislation would be an effective way for Republicans to hold back the tide.
Consequently, the use of baseless "voter fraud" allegations to promote voter ID legislation has become such an urgent priority for Republicans in the 2009 legislative session that Republicans in the Texas Senate felt compelled to change long standing Senate rules to advance the legislation.
The Eagleton Institute research is supported by findings from a November 2006 poll conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
The Brennan Center poll found that as many as 11 percent of American citizens, more than 21 million individuals, do not have a current, government-issued photo ID. Elderly, poor and minority Americans are more likely to lack government-issued ID.
Voting rights advocates say that requiring photo identification threatens to disenfranchise many older Americans, a voting bloc with traditionally strong turnout. Senior citizens are less likely to have driver’s licenses or birth certificates, which are often needed to obtain a government ID.
Brennan Center research suggest six million elderly Americans do not possess a government-issued photo ID. Additionally, 15 percent of voting-age citizens earning under $35,000 a year do not possess such ID and fully 25 percent of voting-age African Americans do not possess this ID.
Further, according to the Brennan Center, as many as 13 million U.S. citizens, or seven percent, do not have ready access to citizenship documents of the type required by most state voter id legislation. This makes the requirement to obtain a government-issued photo ID in order to vote an unduly onerous equivalent of a "Jim Crow" poll tax.
Texans already must request and be granted a voter registration card from their county Election Registrar's office thirty days in advance of an election. New registration applicants must provide their current address and Driver's License number or their Social Security Number on the voter registration application.
The applicant's county Election Registrar along with the Texas Secretary of State are required to authenticate citizenship and all other information given on the voter registration application against Texas motor vehicle records or the U.S. Social Security Administration before approving the application and granting "active" voter registration status.
Further, county Election Registrars and the Texas Secretary of State actively track registered voter change of address and death notices and other official record updates to automatically suspend a voter's registration on any change of status.
There is no evidence of voter fraud in the Lone Star State.
. . .Steve Raborn, elections administrator for Tarrant County, said a two-year investigation by his office of questionable voter registrations in 2004 and 2005 found only three noncitizens on the county voter rolls, and they were later removed.There is a long history in America of certain groups using allegations of voter fraud to restrict and shape the electorate.
. . .The county officials said voter fraud was difficult to carry out in Texas because each applicant must submit a driver's license number or Social Security number, which is entered into a statewide electronic database and checked by the secretary of state's office. Applicants are sent a voting card and officially added to the rolls only if there are no discrepancies and the secretary of state's office approves the application.
In the late nineteenth century, when newly freed black Americans were swept into electoral politics to become a voting majority, white Southern Democrats threatened by the loss of power justified the so called "Jim Crow" voting laws by alleging "voter fraud" by black voters.
Many 20th Century "Jim Crow" Southern Democrats switched to the Republican Party after President Franklin Roosevelt, President John Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson championed voters' rights and the elimination of "Jim Crow" type laws.
Cross Posted at DMN Trail Blazers Blog
Related links:
- TDP: Senate Republicans Make Vote Suppression Their Singular Priority
- Voter ID bill will spark huge fight
- Local groups oppose voter ID bill
- Seen Big Foot lately? Then you've probably seen undocumented workers using a fake ID to vote too
- Voter-ID issue brings back partisan struggle
- State senators should tackle the real problems facing Texas
- Lots Of New First Time Voters In Collin County
- Election Officials Reject Report Of Illegal Immigrants Registering To Vote
- Republicans move to avoid Texas Senate Rules
Friday, January 16, 2009
A Rush To Fill Hutchison's U.S. Senate Seat
Updated 01/16/09 at 10:00 AM
Talking Points Memo (01/15/09) - GOP Surprisingly Nervous About Texas Senate Seat -
Under Texas law, Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, would appoint a short-term replacement for Hutchison until a special election can be held. If Hutchison doesn't resign until shortly before the 2010 election, the special election for her open Senate seat could be held concurrently with the November 2010 general election, ensuring maximum turnout - a likely benefit for any Republican senatorial candidate. A special election would likely be held in November 2009 if Hutchison resigns before September 28, 2009. If she resigns later in 2009, the special election wouldn’t be held until May 2010. If Hutchison doesn't resign until after the November 2010 general election the special election for her open Senate seat wouldn’t be held until May 2011.
There are now six people in the race for Kay Bailey Hutchison's U.S. Senate seat with at least five (or six) more believed to be considering throwing their hat in the ring too. And, speculation on U.S. Senator John Cornyn's comments in Roll Call suggests Attorney General Greg Abbott, one of the next five, may be throwing his hat in sooner rather than later.
Candidates: (Left to right) Houston Mayor Bill White (D), former State Comptroller John Sharp (D), Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams (R), State Sen. Florence Shapiro (R), former Secretary of State Roger Williams (R) and Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones (R)
Potential Candidates: (Left to right) Rep. Kay Granger (R), Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R), US Rep. Joe Barton (R), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R), Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) and TX State Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio)
Pictures from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Related Postings:
Talking Points Memo (01/15/09) - GOP Surprisingly Nervous About Texas Senate Seat -
Do Republicans think they could actually lose a seat in Texas, of all places? One Texas Republican source seemed surprisingly concerned, telling Election Central that the state Dems are "going through a bit of a renaissance," and have two decent candidates lined up for the eventual Senate race in Houston Mayor Bill White and former Comptroller John Sharp. "If Sharp and Bill White come back, there will be national Democratic Party money put back in Texas, and I think Republicans are gonna have to be on their A-game," the source said. Another on the record source, Mike Baselice, a local Republican pollster who works for GOP Gov. Rick Perry, told TPM, Democrats would have a low probability of winning a special election for the Senate.The Hill.com (01/15/09) - Removing some doubt about her intentions to run for governor,
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) has transferred nearly her entire federal campaign account to her gubernatorial exploratory committee. Hutchison’s first filing with Texas elections officials shows that the senator had transferred just shy of $8 million from her Senate account to her statewide account.Fearful that a special election for U.S. Senate could result in a Democratic victory, Congressional Republicans appear to be pressuring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison not to resign unless and until she is elected governor. Republican insiders are increasingly indicating Hutchison will not resign at all if she is unsuccessful in her bid for the Governor's office.
Under Texas law, Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, would appoint a short-term replacement for Hutchison until a special election can be held. If Hutchison doesn't resign until shortly before the 2010 election, the special election for her open Senate seat could be held concurrently with the November 2010 general election, ensuring maximum turnout - a likely benefit for any Republican senatorial candidate. A special election would likely be held in November 2009 if Hutchison resigns before September 28, 2009. If she resigns later in 2009, the special election wouldn’t be held until May 2010. If Hutchison doesn't resign until after the November 2010 general election the special election for her open Senate seat wouldn’t be held until May 2011.
There are now six people in the race for Kay Bailey Hutchison's U.S. Senate seat with at least five (or six) more believed to be considering throwing their hat in the ring too. And, speculation on U.S. Senator John Cornyn's comments in Roll Call suggests Attorney General Greg Abbott, one of the next five, may be throwing his hat in sooner rather than later.
Candidates: (Left to right) Houston Mayor Bill White (D), former State Comptroller John Sharp (D), Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams (R), State Sen. Florence Shapiro (R), former Secretary of State Roger Williams (R) and Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones (R)
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Potential Candidates: (Left to right) Rep. Kay Granger (R), Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R), US Rep. Joe Barton (R), Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R), Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) and TX State Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio)
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Pictures from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Related Postings:
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
ADP Employer Services has just completed their jobs survey for December of 2008. They are predicting that when the Federal Jobs Report comes out in a couple of days that it will show a loss of 693,000 in the month of December alone.Add that number to the 533,000 jobs lost in November and that adds up to 1,226,000 jobs lost since election day 2008 and 11,026,000 jobs lost in all of 2008. Let that enormous number sink in for a minute. Job losses were large and widespread across every major industry sector in 2008. (Chart 1 - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The US unemployment rate, now at 6.7 percent, is forecast by many economists to rise above 8 percent, or even higher, by the end of 2009. IHS Global Insight, a Waltham, MA forecasting firm, projects the jobless rate will hit 9.4 percent by the end of 2009, a level not seen since 1982, when unemployment hit a post-World War II high of nearly 11 percent.
President elect Obama is calling for "swift and bold" bipartisan action on his "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan" to stop the hemorrhaging of the economy. Politico.com reports he is looking for as many as 80 votes in the Senate, requiring that more than twenty Republicans support his recovery program. He's not only invited congressional Republicans to offer their ideas, he is including tax breaks into his plan so that Republicans will find it easier to support.
But waiting for Republicans to support the recovery program insures only one thing -- delay. We now know that Republican members of the 111th Congress are planning to place ideology above action for the American people. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner have already dismissed the need for "swift and bold" action, with both McConnell and Boehner calling for drawn-out "hearings in the appropriate committees." This is unacceptable!
How many more millions of American workers will lose their jobs before the Democratic majorities in both houses of congress overcome Republican foot-dragging and McConnell's threat to filibuster the Senate?
This is not the time for the Congress to be conducting business as usual. If you have never called or written your representatives in the U.S. House and Senate, now is the time to start. Write, call or email both U.S. Senators for Texas, John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, and your Representative in U.S. House and tell them this is a very real crisis for the American people and they must support President Obama's "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan."
| You can find the contact information for your representatives in the U.S. House and Senate at the following links: | |
| U.S. Senate | U.S. House |
There are two congressional districts in Collin County: Map
For a little more to think about read: The Price of Consensus: Obama and Congressional Republicans
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
State Senator Seeks To End Straight Ticket Voting
| Houston Chronicle AUSTIN — Republican Tx state senator Jeff Wentworth from San Antonio has said he will introduce a bill to eliminate the straight-ticket voting option, even after Texans hit a 10-year high in the percentage of ballots sticking entirely with one party. Wentworth introduced the same bill in 2007, but the bill died without advancement. Texas Democratic Party spokesman Hector Nieto said straight-ticket voting was “a good thing for both parties” and accused Republicans of trying to disrupt the inroads Democrats have made in urban counties, notably Harris and Dallas counties. “It’s clear Republicans have seen Democrats organizing in a better manner and using straight-ticket voting to our advantage,” Nieto said. “Instead of competing, they just want to do away with it.” Full Story |
A Blue Collin Co.
The Democratic Party of Collin County need only look at how the Harris County Democrats organized to elect a long slate of Democrats in a county long dominated by Republicans. Like Harris County, Collin County Can Turn Blue With Smart Leadership.
The Texas Progressive Alliance selected the Harris County Democratic Coordinated Campaign as its “Texan of the Year” for 2008:
Democratic candidates need more than the support of just their own circle of friends and supporters. Candidates need competently orchestrated local party support, as provided in Harris County for the 2008 election cycle, to overcome the advantage that Republicans now enjoy in the county.
As a starting point, Collin County Democrats should be closely analyzing the 2008 election data and gathering other voter information to prepare for the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. Democratic candidates need the same advantages that Republican candidates now enjoy in the county.
Micro-target marketing applied to political organizing and Get Out The Vote is a big part of how the Republicans turned Texas, Collin County and most of the U.S. so red over the last 20 years. They pulled info from official voting records and various commercial marketing data sources on who subscribed to what magazines, who were members of what organizations, church affiliations and so forth to populate their equivalent to VAN.
On election day 2008 there were 424,821 registered voters in Collin County out of an eligible voting age population of approximately 540,000. So, there were up to 115,179 people of voting age that never registered to vote. Of the 424,821 registered voter number, 56,968 were in "suspend" status leaving 367,853 active voters. 298,647 people voted in the 2008 election in Collin County which means that 69,206 active voters did not vote.
So, adding the total of 126,174 active and inactive voters who did not vote to the 115,179 eligible voters who have never registered to vote, we have a "non-participating voter" population of 241,353 people in the county. Plus, between election day 2008 and election day 2010 some 2,500 teens will mature beyond the voting age threshold and additional eligible voters will move into the county.
It is among these "non-participating voters" that Democrats will likely find the margin of extra votes to turn Collin County blue in future elections. The problem before us is to figure out how to identify progressive-leaning non-participating voters and then motivate those voters to contribute money and vote for Democratic candidates. Some of the questions that must be answered to begin to qualify these "non-participating voters" as Democratic supporters include:
It might be easier for the Democratic Party to attract full slates of high caliber Democratic candidates to run in Collin County if potential candidates know they can count on fully orchestrated local party support, such as the Harris County Democratic Party provided in 2008.
Related Links:
The Texas Progressive Alliance selected the Harris County Democratic Coordinated Campaign as its “Texan of the Year” for 2008:
The Harris County Democratic Coordinated Campaign faced a daunting task in 2008: Take Texas' largest county, which hadn't elected a Democrat to any county wide office in over a decade and which went for George Bush by ten points in 2004, and turn it blue. And they had to do it amid the high expectations that followed Dallas' fabled blue sweep in 2006, with the Harris County GOP knowing they were being targeted. And they had to start from scratch, since there hadn't been any kind of effort like it in anyone's memory. Oh, and in the middle of it all they had to abandon their headquarters and move to a new location thanks to the damage that Hurricane Ike wrought [and creation of a campaign'08 website].Locating good Democratic candidates to run in Collin County is a only half the battle to turn the county blue. As in Harris County, Collin County candidates need a Democratic support infrastructure built and managed by the local Democratic Party to support the candidates and help get them elected.
The key was strong leadership, starting with the vision of people like Party Chairman Gerry Birnberg and Dave Mathieeson, the operational know-how of Executive Director Jamaal Smith and Bill Kelly, and the coordination and hard work of many, many people. They developed a plan, matched it with a budget and coordinated with all the candidates. They opened branch offices all around the county and drew on the energy of Democrats new and old. They knocked on doors, made calls, sent mail, and spread the message of Democratic change everywhere.
And in the end, they succeeded, with Democrats winning 27 of 34 county wide races. They boosted turnout in the traditional Democratic areas, and improved performance all across the county. They relentlessly pushed an early-vote message, which translated into leads of 50,000 votes or more for most candidates going into Election Day. They stressed the importance of voting Democratic all the way down the ballot, which minimized under voting in the lower-profile races. They brought in new voters and brought back those who had given up hope, and got them all on the same page.
Add it all up, and the new year will bring new Democratic judges, a new Sheriff, a new County Attorney, a new District Clerk, and two new County Department of Education trustees. For that, and for the promise that 2010 will bring even more success and help pave the way towards turning all of Texas blue, the Texas Progressive Alliance is proud to name the Harris County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign its Texan of the Year for 2008.
Democratic candidates need more than the support of just their own circle of friends and supporters. Candidates need competently orchestrated local party support, as provided in Harris County for the 2008 election cycle, to overcome the advantage that Republicans now enjoy in the county.
As a starting point, Collin County Democrats should be closely analyzing the 2008 election data and gathering other voter information to prepare for the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. Democratic candidates need the same advantages that Republican candidates now enjoy in the county.
Micro-target marketing applied to political organizing and Get Out The Vote is a big part of how the Republicans turned Texas, Collin County and most of the U.S. so red over the last 20 years. They pulled info from official voting records and various commercial marketing data sources on who subscribed to what magazines, who were members of what organizations, church affiliations and so forth to populate their equivalent to VAN.
Micro-targeting direct marketing data-mining techniques and predictive market segmentation (cluster analysis) is use by Republicans to identify and target voters, both committed and potential.The Democratic Party of Collin County should be attempting to answering a few basic questions about the 2008 general election as the first step to building its own micro-targeted Collin County voter database.
That means not just looking at voting history, but finding out about their lifestyles, buying habits, and even how they spend their free time. In the words, "It's not where they live, it's how they live.”
Republicans have stockpiled millions of names, phone numbers and addresses with consumer preferences, voting histories and other demographic information.
The information allows Republican campaigns to target individual households with various means of communication including direct mail, phone calls, home visits, television, radio, web advertising, email, text messaging, etc. The targeted communications convey messages tailored to issues the resident is believed to care about to build support for fundraising, campaign events, volunteering, and eventually to turn them out to the polls on election day.
Micro-targeting tactics rely on transmitting a tailored message to a targeted subgroup of the electorate determined by the unique information data-mined about individuals of that special interest subgroup.
On election day 2008 there were 424,821 registered voters in Collin County out of an eligible voting age population of approximately 540,000. So, there were up to 115,179 people of voting age that never registered to vote. Of the 424,821 registered voter number, 56,968 were in "suspend" status leaving 367,853 active voters. 298,647 people voted in the 2008 election in Collin County which means that 69,206 active voters did not vote.
So, adding the total of 126,174 active and inactive voters who did not vote to the 115,179 eligible voters who have never registered to vote, we have a "non-participating voter" population of 241,353 people in the county. Plus, between election day 2008 and election day 2010 some 2,500 teens will mature beyond the voting age threshold and additional eligible voters will move into the county.
It is among these "non-participating voters" that Democrats will likely find the margin of extra votes to turn Collin County blue in future elections. The problem before us is to figure out how to identify progressive-leaning non-participating voters and then motivate those voters to contribute money and vote for Democratic candidates. Some of the questions that must be answered to begin to qualify these "non-participating voters" as Democratic supporters include:
- Who are the 56,968 registered voters in "suspend" status and what will it take to make them not only active voters again, but active Democrats?
- Who are the 69,206 active voters did not vote this year and why didn't they vote? Are they disaffected Republicans? What issues might motivate them to vote in 2010 and what kind of Democratic candidate might they find attractive?
- Why didn't 115,179 people of voting age register to vote this year - who are they?
- Who are the 108,208 (36.6%) people who voted for Obama.
- Who are the teen agers in 2008 non-voting age segment of the population that will turn 18 by election day 2010 and 2012 and how can the DPCC start to pull them into organizing events asap?
It might be easier for the Democratic Party to attract full slates of high caliber Democratic candidates to run in Collin County if potential candidates know they can count on fully orchestrated local party support, such as the Harris County Democratic Party provided in 2008.
Related Links:
- Politics Is No Longer Local - It's Viral
- GOTV Consideration - Young Democrats Use Cell Phones and the Internet
- Can Texas Go Blue Like Colorado?
- Republican Party Looses As Democratic Party Gains In Texas
- The Incredible Shrinking Republican Base In Texas
- Republican Brand Growing Weak In Texas
- County By County Texas Presidential Voting Results
- Web Based Political Networking
- More Videos on Web-Based Networking and Communication
- DNC blunts GOP Micro Targeting Lead
- A Stake In The Heart Of The Center-Right Hype
- Gov. Perry Making Abortion A Centerpiece Of 2010 Texas Politics...
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