Phoning it in - NRCC launches robocalls against Davis, Cooper

The Politico's Martin Kady has the story on the robocalls which are going out into 16 House districts now represented by Democrats, including Jim Cooper (TN-5) and Lincoln Davis (TN-4).

The call script apparently attacks Democrats for supporting the economic stimulus bill. But Cooper voted against it.

But who cares about truth when making stuff up is so much more fun?

Thanks, Republicans.

Convention Center and Healthcare Legislation

If Erik Cole wanted to make his point, he should have talked about the Senate's healthcare legislation, which is very unpopular in polls but ought to be very beneficial for the vast majority of Americans.

The proof is in the pudding.

Sheldon Whitehouse made that point pretty convincingly on the Senate's healthcare legislation.

Of course, Cole isn't as supportive of the convention center as Whitehouse is of the Senate legislation.

Which gives me an idea ... what concessions can Cole get for District 7 in return for his support of the Convention Center?

(I mean, the trees were great, but...)

Ponies for All!

More on the Convention Center

Emily Evans writes a withering criticism of Erik Cole on the convention center and comparisons to World War II and Civil Rights legislation.

Cole says he hasn't made up his mind.

Thankfully, he wants to listen to constituents. And he's offered a forum to do that on January 12, 6-8 PM at the East Police Precinct on Trinity Lane.

Should be interesting.

In other news (and not taking sides here), opponents of the Convention Center project have come up with a pretty solid 3-minute argument by video.

Nashville Convention Center - Leadership and Grassroots

Mike Byrd has a great post up on the Convention Center debate among Metro Council members and the public.

Erik Cole (my council member, I'm in District 7) is trying to argue that the city's leadership must sometimes make choices that are temporarily unpopular in order to guide the future direction of the city. This is a point that I basically agree with.

But Byrd makes a much more important point - that the real argument isn't about the project's popularity so much as what's in the best interests of constituents.

Is it better for our city's identity, our economic growth, our downtown urban core, and our residents to have a major capital expenditure on a project that is a HUGE act of faith in a future that's not looking terribly bright? Or is it better that we focus on doing the things we know will work (i.e., go through a referendum process, ask for specific 'buy-in' from Nashvillians, get the money squared away up front, etc.) instead of shooting first and asking questions later?

I have to say that I think our Metro Public Schools are much more deserving of our civic investment and will do more for the welfare of our city (and our property values). Nashville might be a "friendly city" but that doesn't mean we should give away the farm and spend a ginormous amount of money on a project that doesn't have a guaranteed ROI.

The real issue for Cole, Mayor Karl Dean, and the entire Metro Council is that it takes hard work and real community organization in order to build up the political will for a significant project like the Convention Center. Dean's temperament doesn't really give him the patience for this kind of hard work. If Dean and the Metro Council are serious about making Nashville a better place to live, work, and play, then they should be doing a better job of making the case and organizing through real community organization, not through hiring PR strategists to run an astroturf campaign.

PS - I'm still pissed that they closed Opryland.

A Christmas tree for Senators

New York Times has the details...

John Conyers Rallies House Progressives for Medicare-for-All

Tom P of Daily Kos has the news, including the full press release from Rep. Conyers' congressional office website.

Highlights:

I believe competition, as provided through a national Medicare-like public health insurance option and the repeal of the industry’s antitrust exemption, is a necessary component of true reform....

Relying on private insurers to police other private insurers is like asking the fox to guard the hen house.

But Conyers has not given up on reform and wants to pass the best bill, not kill the bill:

I look forward to working with the Senate and House Leadership to ensure that the final health care bill address these core principles of affordability, competition, and progressive financing.

Filibuster Abuse by GOP

Southern Beale is all over it.

I don’t see how abolishing the filibuster will do anything but give fodder to the “Democrats are totalitarian Fascists/Socialists” tea bagger set.

But here’s what I don’t get. If the Republicans insist on gumming up the works, threatening to filibuster everything from this healthcare bill, to judicial nominations to the federal appeals court (remember when "the president's judicial nominees deserve an up or down vote”?), to an extension of unemployment insurance, to whether D.C. should have House representation, well, I say: call their bluff, Democrats....

Democrats need to play some hardball here, instead of constantly capitulating to the minority party. If the Republicans are going to insist on breaking our system, then for crying out loud, make them own it.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse fights back against GOP scare tactics

(h/t to TPM for editing and posting the video)

Impotent GOP set to retool strategy at lunch today

Bob Corker reports that Senate Republicans, licking their wounds from a failed attempt to block the Senate's version of the healthcare reform bill, will try to find a new strategy at lunch today.

Huckabee Doesn't Heart the Stimulus

Mike Huckabee argues that the stimulus package is "anti-religious" - whatever that means. (h/t Greg Sargent)

Stimulus Bill Overcomes GOP Senate Filibuster

The Collins-Nelson amendment passed 61-37, and the stimulus bill now moves through to conference committee. A committee of House and Senate members (to include Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid) will seek a bicameral compromise.

Center for American Progress has a great blog explaining why the House version will create more jobs than the Senate version.

ProPublica has a side-by-side comparison of the bills.

Jim Cooper on the stimulus package

Glenn Thrush reports that Blue Dogs are sitting down this afternoon with President Obama's team.

I look forward to hearing how that goes. After contacting James Lueschen in Cooper's Washington DC office, I got this response from Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) about the stimulus bill:

Thank you for contacting me about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

President Obama gets high marks for trying to bring change to Washington, but Congress isn't living up to its end of the bargain. In the face of millions of lost jobs and an economy that continues to shut down, the House passed a bill loaded with pet projects that won't provide the jobs Americans need.

Let me be clear: our economy needs immediate stimulus. That's why I called for Congress to pass President Obama's plan to cut regressive payroll taxes, invest in the nation's infrastructure and extend social insurance for Americans going through hard times. That plan would provide an immediate, much-needed jolt to our economy.

Unfortunately, some longtime House members saw the recovery plan as an opportunity to advance parochial political agendas. Some of these may have been good ideas, some may have been bad ideas-but we didn't get a chance to discuss them, and they weren't designed to help our economy recover in the short term. (Many of them contained new, long-term commitments.) President Obama delivered a bipartisan, win-win proposal, and Congress turned it into the rare lose-lose: a plan that may fail to stimulate the economy while saddling our children and grandchildren with unprecedented debt.

The Senate is taking up this bill today, and already its price tag is growing. It will be a mistake to add more ornaments to this Christmas tree. Instead, we should pass the timely, targeted bill President Obama proposed: one that helps America start recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

(I bold-faced key passages)

A couple notes...

1. Obama specifically said yesterday that the bill contained no earmarks or "pet projects," which directly contradicts the rhetoric from Rep. Cooper's letter. There appear to be differences of opinion on this.

2. Cooper is right about the need for timely, targeted stimulus that works to create jobs and increase spending. But I wonder if he's missing the reinvestment part of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act".

You've gotta give Cooper bonus points for standing his ground. While Heath Shuler (D-NC) got a rebuke from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's assistant Jim Manley, Cooper's more low-key approach has been conciliatory and progress-oriented.

Expect this to be a trend from the Obama Administration - working with Blue Dogs in the House and fiscal conservatives like Kent Conrad in the Senate to change the way Congress works and create a culture of fiscal discipline and accountability. Obama promised it as a key part of his campaign platform.

Live Blogging the State of the State

6:03 - Thanks Jimmy Naifeh for his service as speaker. Also thanks Lois DeBerry and wishes her a speedy recovery

6:05 - Acknowledges Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Supreme Court has a majority of women

6:05 - Honoring "Tennessee heroes" serving in armed services to loud and sustained applause

6:06 - Recognizes Katherine Roberts of Lebanon, wife of David Roberts who serves as MP and security forces in SE Afghanistan. Also acknowledges Hutch Moore from Lawrenceburg, who commanded unit after Katrina and was deployed as 1175th Transportation Company leader in Iraq.

6:08 - 251st Military Police Company also recognized - notes deployments and asks for prayers

6:09 - Bredesen looks like he's gained some weight back.

6:10 - "Everyone knows people who fear losing their jobs, healthcare, homes ... we are living in tough times.... If it's tough for us, it's much tougher for millions of Tennesseans that we work for. Leadership happens from the front."

6:11 - Reminds assembly of principles used in 2003 to fix budget. 1. "Family budget" Honestly appraise how much money is coming in, live within your means. "Being governor is about stewardship." 2. "Always stay focused on the basics." Long-term success. Education, jobs, healthcare. 3. Bipartisanship. "As I watch our federal government struggle unsuccessfully," notes that the job is to "do the public's business" and calls for people to overcome disagreements.

6:12 - Ready to prepare budget based on cut of $900 million in "deep, difficult cuts". Notes that House passage of stimulus bill and Senate bill will probably be passed soon. "It's clear that we will have a substantial amount of money" to deal with budget shortfall. Makes no sense to do budget with cuts when we know that federal action likely to get aid out by end of February.

6:13 - "No panacea" or "silver bullet".

6:14 - No desire to push the problem back a few years. Reminder of need for long-term plan. Recognize stimulus as temporary help, and develop multi-year plan for long-term beyond 2011. "Soften the landing, not to ignore the hard ground that is there."

6:15 - "I worry about a lot of my fellow Tennesseans tonight... Jobs are so important." Concern about healthcare for the jobless - add'l people will qualify for TennCare, Cover TN will cover others. "We need a national solution for health insurance." Applause line.

6:17 - Education important priority. Both K-12 and college/university spending has grown. TN has received recognition across the nation in this regard. Need to reset NCLB benchmarks to make a smooth transition rather than putting large group of schools in failure list. Set high standards, support teachers, and "We will do just fine."

6:20 - Notes trip to VW plant - robotics but "very few people". Called it "the Ghost Hall". "The lesson here is not that factory work is obsolete." 54K employed in good high paying jobs. Focus on design, invention, logistics, programming, etc. These skills are needed more than industrial labor. "If you wanna work in a factory and build things..." it's a good thing and honorable work but "You need a good education to play."

6:22 - Focus on children's welfare. Note that kids in DCS custody has dropped from 10,000 to about 7,200. Talks about Books from Birth program success. "If I could have a third term," says he would focus on higher education. Capital investments haven't helped raise number of students with post-secondary degrees. "We have such a wealth of opportunities right now, and it would be a tragedy" to fail to use these opportunities. Time to fix colleges/universities.

6:24 - Freedom of Boards of Trustees and Regents is good, but call for working with General Assembly and Governor to fashion a "true 21st century higher education system in our state."

6:25 - Focus on job creation. "We're in a strong position right now and we need to capitalize on it." Notes VW and Hemlock successes - "a lot of interest in Tennessee right now". Low taxes, low business costs make TN a good place to go. Clean energy technology is a "toehold" where TN has an advantage. Great opportunity in all business sectors to make use of green technology.

6:27 - Call for development of a "solar institute" making TN a leader in making solar energy possible. Uses example of Cavendish Institute, Princeton, Bell Labs, etc. "Solar power today is a tiny part of the power equation". Ripe for breakthroughs. Cellulosic ethanol leadership already established. Photo cell leadership, as well as research tools in Oak Ridge. Sees green energy leadership potential as a long-term opportunity (Al Gore must be smiling!) to take a leadership.

6:30 - Will send "conservative" budget in March. Sound and well-managed state will be passed along to the next governor and the next legislature. "I ran my company better when times were tough."

Obama Town Hall on Economic Recovery Plan

Jed L at Daily Kos has the video and a transcript.

Info on compromise proposal by working group

Greg Sargent has the internal memo.

Cuts food stamps, pre-K, and schools.

Increases for military procurements.

I'm not a fan at the moment...

This goes totally contrary to my moral values as a Christian.

Wonder what Richard Land will say?

Why we need to do better

The Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center is a top-notch center for treatment and research, created in memory of Bronson Ingram, the late husband of Ingram Industries chair (and noted philanthropist) Martha Ingram. (Martha has served as the chair of Vanderbilt's board of trust and helped lead their billion dollar capital campaign) Orrin, the son of Bronson and Martha, has been instrumental in promoting the work of the center and raising funds for the work at Vanderbilt.

In spite of tremendous advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, we're seeing that access to care is still limited for many cancer survivors.



As the home to HCA and countless healthcare organizations, Nashville has an opportunity like few other cities in the United States to take leadership on comprehensive healthcare reform. But it won't come from corporations or from the government.

We need to take action through the private sector. It is only by changing public opinion that we will see the changes needed to end the inhumane neglect of serious neglect. If we are serious about being pro-life, then we need to ensure that we provide an adequate safety net of healthcare. Pro-life means all life, not just the unborn.

Healthcare reform can be completed this year. There's no time to waste.

A simple question

If Lamar Alexander supported the TARP, why does he oppose the stimulus?

Does he support bank bonuses and bailouts, but not jobs for working Americans?

All of this looks very bad when it's evaluated over the past 6 months and you look at how our senior Senator has voted.

Lamar Alexander = Out of Step

Lamar Alexander is off-message.

As payrolls plunge by more than 598,000, Sen. Alexander lambasted the US Senate stimulus package.



Here's an economist's view.

Oh, and by the way ... it does create and save jobs.

TNDP goes up on Twitter

A journey of a thousand miles...

Tennessee Democratic Party is all a-Twitter.

New look is more Google and less, well, less static for sure.

CBO Says Doing Nothing Better than Stimulus, Looking Long-Term

The Washington Times states that a Congressional Budget Office report suggests that the long-term impact of the stimulus package will be negative for growth - moreso than doing nothing.

This suggests that the nonpartisan government budget group is saying, "Don't make a long-term mistake for a short-term gain."

Is the stimulus package short-sighted? And if so, why is the consensus among economists that we should do a Keynesian-style stimulus package?

I don't understand this very well. But it seems that the long-term impact on economic growth will be problematic.

Maybe the reason we are arguing for passage is because we're trying to avoid greater long-term problems related to the onset of an economic depression.

I'm open to suggestions.

Update 2/6 at 11:04 AM: Here's the actual letter from CBO. It doesn't read the way the Times article suggests that it reads - much more hedging and hesitation and non-committal stuff in there, including statement that this is uncharted territory and we really don't know how the stimulus package will work. The CBO estimate is purely hypothetical and trajectory, but is based on past experience that gov't spending can, in the long-term, lead to private-sector contraction (see: Great Society, Bush Recession #1).

Of course, given this fact, we have to ask why we ran up ginormous deficits during the Reagan and Bush years (41 & 43). Blaming Democrats is a bit too easy... the bills passed and they were signed into law.

I'm still pretty convinced that the GOP approach is pure obstructionism.

Obama tells it like it is.

Note from US Army Paratrooper

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/5/7253/63857/218/693386

I've also gotten to know a number of the interpreters. Some of them are actualy US nationals that migrated from Iraq. It's kind of an odd feeling. We bombed the crap out of them, invaded their country and here we are laughing, telling jokes, playing games and hanging out like friends.
Another thing, they all risk their lives working for us... especially the interpreters. Whether it's out of necessity or ideology (or both), every single one puts themselves at risk.

And it got me to thinking. Us troopers receive all kinds of care packages and letters from organizations. We receive so many that we're almost numb to it. But some of the Iraqi workers go crazy over free shit, even simple stuff like candy. Why aren't there organizations who send them letters of appreciation and care packages?

Why we should invest in government

I hear a lot of talk from the do-nothing cynics in my former party of choice. They talk about ideologies and complain about "big government". They call for more tax cuts for the wealthy and seem not to care about the way that the rich have exploited their wealth to oppress the poor.

I hear a lot of talk. I don't see real solutions.

Let me tell you something - there is nothing wrong with the ethical use of power. And a democratically elected government has the right to act on behalf of the people who elected them.

This is not "socialism". This is government of, by, and for the people. It's Democracy 101. And at this point, it's the only way to protect our capitalistic system from crumbling.

Government serves a purpose. That purpose is to protect the people and to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all.

I saw a note today from someone that said, "Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." (Turns out that was a quote from Napoleon, of all people...) Why is it that we reward people in our American culture for acting without a conscience and without concern for the common welfare of our fellow citizens?

That's why I think we should invest in government. As Hobbes said 400 years ago:

During the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that conditions called war; and such a war, as if of every man, against every man.

To this war of every man against every man, this also in consequent; that nothing can be unjust. The notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice have there no place. Where there is no common power, there is no law, where no law, no injustice. Force, and fraud, are in war the cardinal virtues.

No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death: and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.

"Inaction is not an option"

President Obama spoke today at the US Department of Energy regarding needed reforms and government leadership that's way overdue.

"This isn’t some abstract debate. Last week, we learned that many of America’s largest corporations are planning to layoff tens off tens of thousands of workers. Today we learned that last week, the number of new unemployment claims jumped to 626,000. And tomorrow, we’re expecting another dismal jobs report on top of the 2.6 million jobs we lost last year..."

"The time for talk is over. The time for action is now. Because we know that if we don’t act, a bad situation will become dramatically worse. Crisis could turn into catastrophe for families and businesses across our country. I refuse to let that happen. We can’t delay and we can’t go back to the same worn ideas that led us here in the first place."

Contact Sen. Alexander.

Contact Sen. Corker.

Faith in Action

"But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know. " - President Barack Obama, National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, DC, February 5, 2009

White House releases info on job creation

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/jobs_in_all_fifty_states/

Key note:

"Just a couple of weeks ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for America's Infrastructure issued an overall grade of D. From Katrina to the Minnesota bridge collapse, our nation's failure to take this infrastructure crisis seriously is blatant, and unacceptable. By making long overdue investments in our roads, bridges, transit, ports, and air security, this plan will put
people back to work while making our nation safer and more prosperous in the future."

I'd question the validity of a professional trade organization's claims about the need to spend money on their profession, but it's probably accurate.

One thing I know for sure: the TVA spill in December proves to all of us that there are huge consequences to doing nothing. You can also remember the Minneapolis bridge collapse of I-35 and the burst levees in Iowa and Missouri. And of course, there's always New Orleans...

Mark Halperin on Journalism

I have no idea how much money Mark Halperin makes.

But I do know this: paid journalists are paid by somebody. And in most cases, the way that newspapers, TV, radio, and magazines make money is through ad buys.

And the ads don't have to be journalistically valid or accurate. Ads can lie. Ads can intentionally mislead or stretch the truth.

When we're honest, we know that every decision to put something into writing is a decision NOT to say something else. And it's often what's left unsaid - what's denied, distorted, or hidden - that is most important.

This makes it easier for absolutists or fundamentalists or ideologues to refuse to hear anything that refutes their viewpoint. The problem with Americans' decision making isn't a lack of information - the truth is out there and the information is available.

We have American military and CIA committing acts of torture - but then covering it up. We have pundits and PR firms working for millions of dollars, who spend every day telling Americans that they shouldn't believe their "lying eyes" - and that evidence of injustice is inaccurate.

When paid journalists are paid to distort, or to create a "preferred reality", our politics suffer. The willingness of our media to "go along" with distortions is a problem.

And while I agree that Mark Halperin and other paid journalists provide valuable services, I also think that the group Halperin derisively refers to as "kids with Cheetos" provide a valuable service. People who don't get paid are helping to document their experience and enrich our lives. They're not paid by Time Magazine or Fox News or NBC, but they are valuable.

A group of progressive bloggers in Tennessee are running laps around the paid media these days. They're committed because they believe in empowering people with the truth. And they're committed to confronting the broken-down empty promises of both sides of the political aisle, in order to help our nation grow stronger.

They're committed to Democracy. They're committed to equal protection under the law. They're committed to fighting injustice and inequality that keeps the poor poor. They're committed to telling the truth which is covered over by power brokers.

And that's what freedom of the press is all about. The guy eating Cheetos has just as much validity and just as much right to share his experience as the guy on national television. (In fact, I would suggest more validity than the guy on national television, because Cheeto-guy isn't getting paid by advertisers.)

Jim Cooper Explains Bailout, Oversight, and Stimulus Plan

http://www.liberadio.com/audio/liberadio20090202part2jimcooper.mp3

TN Progressive Bloggers Announce "Chip In" for the TNDP

Learn more here:

http://actblue.com/page/chipin