Say goodbye to the Senate.
"Gloom in West Virginia coal region ominous for Democrats; Workers’ plight could spell loss of Senate control" by Jessica Meyers | Globe Staff October 13, 2014
GILBERT, W.Va. — A Marilyn Monroe statue still beckons travelers to Happy Days Diner, a reminder of boom times in this Appalachian town at the heart of West Virginia coal country — an area long viewed as reliably Democratic.
The restaurant is now shuttered, along with a string of other storefronts on the two-lane road that snakes through town.
And while Marilyn harkens back, the town’s fading fortunes tell a political tale that could determine the Democratic Party’s future in West Virginia, with ramifications far beyond the state’s borders.
Here in Mingo County, which has lost hundreds of coal industry jobs, a 12.1 percent unemployment rate leads the state and is twice the national average. As a result, a half-century after John F. Kennedy worked to address West Virginia’s poverty and after Democrats have directed billions of dollars in “earmarks” to boost local fortunes, the party faces its biggest challenge here in generations.
Democrats had hoped to make economic opportunity a central theme in November’s election, but it has failed to resonate in places like Gilbert. This disconnect could cost Democrats control of the Senate.
“We’re fed up,” said Randall Lester, a coal miner who grew up, met his wife, and raised his two boys in Gilbert. He has watched the Larry Joe Harless Theater close and the region’s children take jobs elsewhere. After four decades in the mines, Lester lost his own job two weeks ago. A registered Democrat, he plans to vote for Republican candidates.
“Don’t tell me” about change, he said. “Show me.”
His disenchantment goes farther than these southern West Virginia hills. A recent Associated Press-Gfk poll showed nine of out 10 voters consider the economy America’s biggest problem. Democrats have tried to tap into these concerns with a focus on raising the minimum wage and eliminating the gender pay gap amid close races in Kentucky, North Carolina, Alaska, Georgia, and Louisiana.
The $hit-$how fooley of corporate politics is no longer working.
Natalie Tennant, West Virginia’s secretary of state, embodies that strategy. She is the party’s nominee for the US Senate seat to replace retiring Senator John “Jay” Rockefeller, a Democrat whose name is synonymous with the economic elite but who focused his three-decade career on helping the less fortunate.
Then why are there so many more of them?
Tennant has struggled to follow. A recent poll conducted by RealClearPolitics shows she trails her Republican opponent, Shelley Moore Capito, a multiterm congresswoman, by some 17 points.
Republicans need six seats to win the Senate and have made West Virginia key to their takeover strategy.
Tennant, who runs a media consulting company, frames herself as a small-business owner and her opponent as a shill for rich bankers.
Both parties protect the banks.
She has accused Capito of working for Wall Street by voting for CEOs to keep bonuses during the financial bailout of 2008. She also targets Capito, the daughter of a former governor, for voting against bills that would increase the minimum wage and reduce the gender pay gap.
“West Virginians see and know that this is a real West Virginia issue — income inequality,” Tennant said in an interview.
Trotted out every two years to make us feel we have a choice as to who controls this country.
Capito’s message is simple. “My opponent is supporting the president, who is putting people out of jobs,” she said during a recent debate in Charleston. Capito declined requests for an interview.
The Obama drag.
President Obama has never been popular in West Virginia, least of all Mingo County. Residents in 2012 gave more votes to a convicted felon.
Critics blame Obama’s policies for the demise of coal jobs, although the rise of natural gas and increased use of mechanized mining also play a role.
Even Democratic leaders here are critical of the Obama administration.
“The federal government has done nothing to help southern West Virginia,” said Justin Marcum, a Democrat who represents Mingo County in the state’s House of Delegates. “Poverty has grown here due to the war on coal.”
Uh-huh.
See: Obama Coal Kochs Colorado Environmentalists
Obama’s energy policy is hurting fellow Democrats’ campaigns
Also see: Obama Unwanted by Democrats
No one wants him anymore.
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“You don’t see the JFKs anymore,” Marcum said, pulling up a digitalized photo of the former president shaking hands.
Blowing off his head was an effective message then.
Most everyone in this county of nearly 26,000 people — where “sweet pea” and “honey” are common greetings — knows someone who works in the mines. Marcum wants the region to focus on diversifying and doesn’t see either candidate proposing an adequate solution.
That is where I am.
Obama’s administration doesn’t always get due credit. An expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has meant coverage for about 147,000 people statewide.
But the president’s latest message — the economy’s improvement — is a hard one for people here to grasp.
The West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy estimates 5,000 jobs have disappeared from the southern coal fields since 2011. The state’s unemployment rate hit 6.6 percent this August, up from 4.1 percent at the same period in 2007.
And those numbers are official government garbage because the rates are far higher.
“It’s pretty clear that’s going to impact the Senate race,” said Neil Berch, an associate professor in West Virginia University’s political science department.
Democratic voters have dropped to below 50 percent in the state. If Capito wins, she will become the first Republican senator from West Virginia in more than a half-century. The state GOP hopes to take control of the House of Delegates for the first time in over 80 years.
It's going to be part of the national wave.
Many Mingo County residents, reflecting a national frustration, don’t plan to go to the polls. Marcum predicted 13 percent of the county’s residents would vote.
They know there is no point and the elections are rigged.
In this climate, lawmakers must prove economic populist ideas are somehow different than policies of the past.
“The sense that there are solutions that would work hasn’t quite taken hold yet,” said Heather Boushey, executive director of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a research organization that examines economic inequality.
She doesn’t see the answer in traditional divisions between Democrats who campaign on federal benefits for the poor and Republicans who see the solution in fewer regulations.
“That debate is far too narrow,” she said.
Stephanie Harrison scrapes by on as many hours as she can get at the Gilbert community center’s front desk. The job starts at minimum wage. Her husband, a high school coach, makes $3,000 a season. With four kids, there’s always an unpaid bill.
Harrison, who supports Tennant, believes the town needs more than politics.
“You adapt,” she said, her voice echoing through the empty atrium, “and pray it will get better.”
Yup, can't do nothing but pray. Lat thing you want to do is take matters into your own hands.
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I just want to remind voters that Democrats had a filibuster-proof majority for two years, and all we got was a lousy corporate health plan. Inequality was never addressed.
Speaking of money and politics:
"After weeks sidelined, Obama set to hit the trail" by Darlene Superville | Associated Press October 12, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO — President Obama wrapped up a week Saturday that saw him raise campaign money for Democrats on both coasts.
Part of his job(?).
Obama attended a ‘‘round table’’ discussion at the home of Democratic donor and Zynga founder Mark Pincus and his wife, Ali, with about 25 supporters who paid up to $32,400 for the privilege, according to Democratic officials.
He passed the hat, did he?
It was Obama’s fourth California fund-raiser in three days and was closed to media coverage.
This coming week brings more of the same for the president, including his long-anticipated first appearance at a campaign rally this election season.
Oh, yeah? Who wants to be seen with the spinchter?
At an event Wednesday in Bridgeport, Conn., he will help boost Governor Dannel Malloy and state Democrats. Malloy is in a tight reelection race in a state Obama won easily in 2012.
Related: Di$connect in Connecticut
Obama has worked hard all year to raise money for Democratic congressional and gubernatorial candidates. But his dismal approval ratings — in the low 40s, according to recent polls — so far have sidelined him from the campaign trail as candidates have avoided appearing with him, especially those from states where Obama lost in past years.
And even those he won:
Ad is offensive, false, Scott Brown tells Jeanne Shaheen
Group sends fliers falsely claiming Scott Brown opposes abortion
This is getting old.
Related: Scott Brown Surges Past Jeanne Shaheen
And Republicans were not even planning on winning there.
But it has been expected that Obama, unpopular or not, would have to step up his involvement in the final weeks before the Nov. 4 elections, in which control of the Senate will be the night’s biggest prize.
His presence is only going to hurt candidates.
Democrats are currently in charge of the chamber, but Republicans can regain control by picking up six seats.
The political party that controls the White House historically loses seats in Congress in the midterm election of the president’s second term, history that hardly favors an incumbent nearing the end of six years in office.
Obama has chastised core Democratic constituencies for turning away from politics in nonpresidential election years but also has urged them to snap out of their midterm election slumber and vote next month.
‘‘There’s a congenital problem that we have as Democrats, and that is, in nonpresidential elections, in midterm elections, we don’t vote. We don’t vote,’’ he told about 300 supporters at a Democratic National Committee event at a San Francisco hotel Friday night.
OMG, now being a Democrat is an INHERITED TRAIT!
How PATHETIC!
‘‘But the main thing that I need right now is votes. We’ve got to mobilize. We’ve got to organize. We’ve got to knock on doors. We’ve got to make phone calls,’’ he said. ‘‘If young people vote, if women vote, if people of color vote, if people who care about the environment vote, if people who care about LGBT rights vote, that’s a majority.’’
Then I will go back to forgetting about you again and doing what Israel and my money ma$ters want.
The best thing Obama could do for Democrats? Keep his mouth closed and get out of sight!
Obama was returning to the White House on Saturday after spending the past three days in California, mostly for fund-raising. He also raised money last week in New York City and Greenwich, Conn., and has similar events scheduled in the week ahead.
On Tuesday, he will help raise money in the Washington area for Democratic House candidates.
On Wednesday, before heading to the Connecticut rally, Obama planned to stop in Union, N.J., to help raise money for Democratic Senate candidates.
On Thursday, he travels to New York’s Long Island to headline a Democratic National Committee event.
What's the carbon footprint on all the taxpayer-funded campaigning, $phincter??
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"At $486b, federal deficit is lowest in Obama’s tenure" Associated Press October 09, 2014
WASHINGTON — The federal government’s budget deficit has fallen to $486 billion, the smallest pool of red ink of President Obama’s six-year span in office, a report said Wednesday.
As if half-a-trillion dollars more debt is somehow a good thing.
The Congressional Budget Office’s latest estimate shows better results than earlier projections by both the CBO and the White House budget office.
So what, are we being lied to again?
Obama inherited a trillion-dollar-plus deficit after the 2008 financial crisis, but that has improved as the economy has recovered. Last year’s deficit registered at $680 billion. The deficit hit a record $1.4 trillion in 2009. The government’s budget year ended Sept. 30.
The Treasury Department and White House budget office will issue an official report on the budget in the next week or so, but their findings are likely to mirror the CBO’s data.
The good news may be temporary. The CBO and budget hawks warn the retirement of baby boomers will swell deficits in coming years unless Washington can curb the growth of programs like Medicare.
Leave aid to Israel, Wall Street, and the war machine alone.
While the numbers are large, economists agree the truest measure of the deficit is to compare it to the size of the economy. By that measure, the 2014 deficit was less than 3 percent of gross domestic product, which economists say is sustainable.
So they say!
But the CBO and others warn that long-term projections may be unsustainable as more and more people claim Social Security and Medicare benefits. The growth in health care spending, however, is down, and long-term estimates have often proven unreliable.
Fancy way of saying you were lied to, and the premiums are headed up!
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At least Obama raised your pay:
"Wage and overtime protections are delayed for home-care workers" New York Times October 08, 2014
NEW YORK — With numerous states pushing for a delay, the Obama administration said Tuesday that it would put off enforcement of its plan to extend minimum-wage and overtime protections to the nation’s nearly 2 million home-care workers.
Pfffft!
A year ago, the Labor Department said the wage protections would take effect nationwide Jan. 1, 2015, but the department said Tuesday that it would not enforce the rule for six months — until June 30. For the second six months of the year, the department said, it would “exercise its discretion” in whether to bring enforcement actions against any employers that decline to pay minimum wage or overtime....
Yeah, it all comes down to the enforcement.
Numerous states, already facing budget strains, complained to the Obama administration about the cost.
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Related: Economists’ long-held beliefs make income inequality worse
What a $urpri$e!
"Convict appeals case tied to Reid funds" Associated Press October 07, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO — A former Nevada lobbyist asked an appeals court Monday to toss out his conviction for illegal campaign fund-raising for US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
A lawyer for F. Harvey Whittemore argued the $133,000 that he transferred to family, friends, and employees in 2007 and that wound up in Reid’s campaign coffers were gifts with no strings attached.
Prosecutor Elizabeth White countered that ‘‘what we have here are blatant, straightforward campaign contributions . . . it’s no coincidence that all of these people were financially dependent upon him.’’
Whittemore, 61, is serving a two-year prison sentence at a minimum-security prison in California. Last year, a federal jury convicted him of making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another, and lying to federal agents.
Reid, a Nevada Democrat, was not accused of any wrongdoing, although he was required to amend his Federal Election Commission reports.
Whittemore’s legal woes began in Feb. 19, 2007, when he met with Reid at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. Reid asked the once-influential developer and lobbyist to quickly raise $150,000 for his reelection campaign.
What a $cum is Reid.
A month later, Whittemore gave family members, employees, and friends a combined $145,000. The recipients gave most of that money to Reid’s campaign.
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Also see:
"Polls suggest a tight race between Jason Carter and Republican governor Nathan Deal, and Democrats look to woo former Democrats back to a party that many left more than a decade ago for both the governor’s race and a fierce battle for the state’s open US Senate seat as critical to laying the foundation for Georgia to become a presidential swing state in 2016."
Delusional.
Clinton, Romney to campaign for gubernatorial candidates
Christie: GOP can win Rhode Island governor’s race
Related: Rhode Island Rejects Democratic Establishment
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
"Rhode Island SWAT team arrests man after standoff
A Rhode Island State Police SWAT team arrested a man accused of threatening officers with a weapon. Police stormed a house just before midnight Saturday and took Michael W. Neugent into custody, according to the Westerly Sun. The incident began with a call to Hopkinton police from a neighbor reporting a domestic disturbance. Police say a woman told them the 42-year-old Neugent held her down and choked her with both hands. An hours-long standoff ensued after Neugent said he had a weapon, police said. Shortly before midnight SWAT officers stormed the building, police said, and Neugent was arrested. He was charged with domestic assault, domestic disorderly conduct, and threat to a public official. He also faces state charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest."
Also see: Cianci’s health questioned by opponent
"Unions rally to support Conn. Governor Dannel P. Malloy" by Susan Haigh | Associated Press October 14, 2014
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Organized labor is devoting millions of dollars and countless man-hours to reelect Governor Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, a Democrat considered an important ally of unions despite a 2011 clash with unionized state employees in which he threatened massive layoffs during a budget impasse.
What I like about unions is they like being lied to and then turn and spread cheek for more.
Of course, it is always better to have a Democratic friend stab you in the back with an arm around your shoulder than a Republican to come at you straightforwardly and plunge it into your heart. That's the illu$ional narrative of politics in AmeriKa today.
Malloy, who is in a tight race against Republican businessman Tom Foley, is reaping benefits as one of the few governors to show outspoken support for issues dear to unions, including collective bargaining rights, paid sick leave, and minimum wage increases.
They love the lip service.
****************
Unions that oppose Foley have seized on a statement he made last year when he told a newspaper that Connecticut was in need of a ‘‘Wisconsin moment.’’
The Hartford Courant reported that Foley, referring to the Republican takeover of the Democrat-controlled Wisconsin legislature and governorship, said, ‘‘I keep talking about ‘When is the Wisconsin moment going to come to Connecticut?’ ’’
Democrats in Connecticut now control the state’s General Assembly, governor’s office, constitutional offices and all US House and Senate seats — a situation that Foley says is unhealthy for Connecticut.
We have the same thing up here.
Unions claim the comment is a sign that Foley wants to change workers’ rights....
‘‘This is what unions and Democrats do,” Foley said. “They try and drive a wedge issue.’’
My new$paper does the same thing to distract and divert when the people agree on so much.
****************
While some state employees may remain bitter over the 2011 battle with Malloy, internal polling conducted this year gave Malloy the edge over Foley.
Oh, some of them don't like dropping trou, huh?
Connecticut AFSCME leaders have been pointing out to their members that he supported a higher minimum wage, additional payments to the pension fund, and a reduction in health care liabilities. For ASCME’s members who work for cities and towns, the union has pointed out how Malloy increased state aid to municipalities.
‘‘There’s a clear picture of a guy who has worked very hard to make things better for everyday working people,’’ said Larry Dorman, a spokesman for Connecticut AFSCME.
Yeah, somehow the tax-$ucking public $ervants are now working class heroes.
Look, I used to believe in good government in AmeriKa, but that time has long since passed. Too many lies, for far too long, and truly monstrous and evil lies that has led to the deaths of millions to enrich a $elect few. Too much $elf-$erving corruption regarding well-connected intere$ts. Even when they claim they are doing it for you they never are now. There is always some ulterior, agenda-pushing motive that comes out at some point.
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Meanwhile, up north:
"Vermont governor boasts record, future goals on the trail; Shumlin pushes health care plan" by Wilson Ring | Associated Press October 13, 2014
MONTPELIER — After almost four years on the job, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has presided over the recovery from the state’s worst natural disaster in almost a century, pushed to make his state the first in the country to create a single-payer health care system, and sought to wean the state from fossil fuels.
The two-term Democratic incumbent now running for a third, two-year term isn’t shying away from the bold changes he is convinced are critical to the state’s long-term success. Indeed, he is making them the centerpiece of his campaign.
Never mind the state’s health care website that is part of the federal Affordable Care Act is offline, plagued with technical problems and that — despite one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country — the number of Vermonters living in poverty is continuing to go up and the median income is falling.
In an interview, Shumlin talked of the thousands of jobs that have been created since he took office in early 2011, how he’s working to revitalize the state’s once-forgotten downtowns, and how Vermont is sure to lead the nation if it can successfully create its single-payer health care system, critical to the state’s long-term success.
‘‘We’ve led in many areas, my point is if you are still struggling to find a job, or your income hasn’t gone up, none of that matters,’’ Shumlin said. ‘‘We have more work to do.’’
Shumlin is being challenged in next month’s election by Republican Scott Milne, Libertarian Dan Feliciano, and four other candidates.
While Shumlin calls for bold change, Milne has been campaigning with the goal of slowing things down, making Vermont more, as Milne put it in a recent debate, boring.
Feliciano, tapping into a vein of political thought unhappy with Milne’s GOP candidacy, wants government to get out of the way.
Related: Milne is the Man in Vermont
If you think lack of money and propaganda pre$$ coverage means anything; otherwise, vote third party. I suggest the Libertarian, but you also have four other choices.
Shumlin’s push for bold change comes while local education costs are continuing to rise, which translates to rising property taxes across Vermont at a time when the number of schoolchildren in the state continues to decline.
Shumlin has three main goals to keep his agenda moving forward: reducing property taxes, which are being driven by local education costs; reduce health care costs; and continuing to invest in downtowns and renewable energy.
The top of Shumlin’s list has bedeviled Vermont leaders for decades, how to keep local education costs in check and reduce property tax increases.
‘‘We have a school spending problem. We’ve seen our student count drop over 30,000 students — it’s going to continue to drop — and we have not right-sized the ship,’’ he said.
He says the state now has the data to show what will happen to costs over time.
‘‘When you see those numbers in many of our small rural communities, it’s pretty frightening,’’ he said.
He wants state education officials to work with local communities to find ways to save money, be it school consolidation, combining classes, or other locally designed savings.
‘‘The point is what works for Barton might not work for Brattleboro,’’ Shumlin said. ‘‘You’ve got to be sure that it is designed locally, it’s a partnership, and we come up with solutions together to both improve education quality and reduce property taxes.’’
Despite Vermont’s much-discussed woes with the current health care system, Shumlin remains convinced a single-payer health care system is the route to Vermont success.
He originally called for it to be ready by 2017. Now he says ‘‘as close to 2017 as we can get.’’
When asked whether that’s a change, Shumlin answers, ‘‘I’ve learned from the Affordable Care Act, don’t pick dates you can’t meet.’’
The state is on the path to switch the health care system to one where health care professional are paid for each service they provide to paying them to keep people as healthy as possible, he said.
‘‘By moving to a system that spends our health care dollars more wisely, curbs the cost of increase, and moves to a universal access to all Vermonters, we can have a significant economic advantage over our neighbors by getting that right,’’ Shumlin said.
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That read like a political ad for Shumlin, didn't it?
What struck me was not one mention of the heroin crisis, something that has faded from the coverage and attention of the propaganda pre$$ for obviou$ rea$ons.
"GOP lawmaker in N.H. calls congresswoman ‘ugly’
A Republican New Hampshire state lawmaker has called a Democratic congresswoman ‘‘ugly’’ and said the GOP opponent in her November reelection race is one of the most attractive women in politics. Manchester Representative Steve Vaillancourt called US Representative Annie Kuster ‘‘ugly as sin’’ in a blog post last week and compared her to a drag queen. He wrote that he saw a poll saying attractive candidates are more likely to win than unattractive ones. He said Kuster’s opponent, state Representative Marilinda Garcia, is ‘‘truly attractive.’’ Kuster is seeking a second term. Her campaign has declined to comment. Garcia has denounced Vaillancourt’s remarks as sexist."
And now down too Washington for more $hit-$how fooley:
"Warren criticizes Obama record on helping families, jobless" by Noah Bierman | Globe Staff October 14, 2014
WASHINGTON — Senator Elizabeth Warren, in the heat of campaigning to elect Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections, has made one of her sharper critiques of the Obama administration.
“They protected Wall Street,” Warren said, referring to President Obama’s economic team. “Not families who were losing their homes. Not people who lost their jobs. Not young people who were struggling to get an education. And it happened over and over and over.”
Warren made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with liberal columnist Thomas Frank, published Sunday in Salon.
Frank asked the Massachusetts Democrat to assess the president’s performance during the economic crisis and to respond to Obama’s critics on the left, many of whom have been urging Warren to run for president.
Warren said she sees “both halves” when assessing Obama, concluding that she would never have been able to build a federal consumer protection agency without Obama’s commitment. “At the same time, he picked his economic team and when the going got tough, his economic team picked Wall Street,” she said.
Warren has clashed with Obama’s economic advisers in the past — helping, for instance, to scuttle Lawrence Summers’s bid to become chairman of the Federal Reserve — and made some similar criticisms in her recent book, “A Fighting Chance.”
Still, the tone of the latest comments has brought new attention to Warren, who has emerged as a leading voice of the left and one of the few who could make Hillary Rodham Clinton’s path to the Democratic presidential nomination more complicated.
So Hitlery has already been anointed, huh? The primary fix is in the voting machines, isn't it? Then we will receive staged and scripted propaganda to tell us it is all real.
Warren has denied that she plans to run for president in 2016 and has promised to fulfill her Senate term, which expires in January 2019.
Warren has been a big draw on the campaign trail.
Time for me to get off the beaten path.
On Monday, she announced to her supporters that she would be campaigning for three Democrats: Senator Al Franken in Minnesota, Senator Mark Udall in Colorado, and Representative Bruce Braley, who is running in Iowa to replace retiring Senator Tom Harkin.
An Obama spokesman did not return an e-mail seeking comment.
Because it's all a political game. They probably like here saying this because it means you should elect Democrats -- as if the letter after the corporately-bought suit matters anymore.
Democratic candidates in the midterm elections have been distancing themselves from Obama at a time when his approval ratings are near the lowest point of his presidency.
Six years in and we are already sick of him. These last two years are going to seem like an eternity.
With three weeks until Election Day, Republicans are expected to retain their majority in the House. The party has to pick up six seats to take control of the Senate for the first time since it lost its majority in the 2006 midterm elections.
If they don't something went wrong inside those machines because in the mind of the AmeriKan electorate they see the R as a change right now even though we have seen this musical chairs movie of politics forward and backward already with the $ame old intere$ts being $erviced. Democrats went along with increased war budgets and cuts to social services, and never filibustered once.
Don't get me wrong, I despise both parties and will vote third party when possible, a write-in NOTA when necessary.
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You know why at bottom I don't want her anymore, right?
And look who else may be running again!
