The Barber Shoppe Gazette: Monday, October 23, 2006

Monday, October 23, 2006

Anticipating A Democratic Blowout

POLITICS / ELECTION 2006: ANTICIPATING A DEMOCRAT BLOWOUT

Times Watch

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Documenting and Exposing the Liberal
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Smiley Flag Waver "There is something unusual bubbling in Democratic political waters these days: optimism.

"With each new delivery of bad news for Republicans -- another Republican congressman under investigation, another Republican district conceded, another poll showing support for the Republican-controlled Congress collapsing -- a party that has become so used to losing is considering, disbelievingly and with the requisite worry, the possibility that it could actually win in November.

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Monday, October 23, 2006

Today in TimesWatch:

Anticipating A Democratic Blowout

The Democrats (And The Times) Are Getting Giddy Together As November 7 Looms

~ Posted By: Clay Waters
10/23/2006 1:51:21 PM

The Democrats and their media allies are getting a bit giddy as the congressional elections loom, all but declaring victory before the opening whistle.

You can almost taste the anticipation in the headline to Sunday's front-page story by Adam Nagourney and Robin Toner, "With Guarded Cheer, Democrats Dare to Believe This Is Their Time," just one of several pro-Democratic stories to appear over the weekend and Monday.

"There is something unusual bubbling in Democratic political waters these days: optimism.

"With each new delivery of bad news for Republicans -- another Republican congressman under investigation, another Republican district conceded, another poll showing support for the Republican-controlled Congress collapsing -- a party that has become so used to losing is considering, disbelievingly and with the requisite worry, the possibility that it could actually win in November.

Democrats seem free to speak freely among sympathetic media types: "'I’ve moved from optimistic to giddy,' said Gordon R. Fischer, a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party. 'I really have.'

"Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, who is in line to become chairman of the Financial Services Committee in a Democratic House, offered wry evidence of the changing perception of the race. His office, Mr. Frank said, has been contacted by a portrait-painting firm offering to talk about possibilities for the traditional committee chairman’s painting, one of those perks of power long absent from the lives of House Democrats.

"'I’ve acquired a lot of new friends this year,' Mr. Frank said. 'And I haven’t gotten any nicer.'

"For Democrats these days, life is one measure glee, one measure dread and one measure hubris. If they are as confident as they have been in a decade about regaining at least one house of Congress -- and they are -- it is a confidence tempered by the searing memories of being outmaneuvered, for three elections straight, by superior Republican organizing and financial strength, and by continued wariness about the political skills of President Bush’s senior adviser, Karl Rove."

They conclude: "All this has put Democrats in an unfamiliar place, but one they seem to be enjoying. 'I’m a congenital pessimist,' said Howard Wolfson, a consultant advising Democrats in several competitive contests in upstate New York. 'But I’m as bullish on our chances as I have been at any time over the last 12 years.'"

There are more hoorays for the Democrats in Saturday's A1 story by congressional correspondent Carl Hulse, "Open Seats Lift Democratic Hopes in the House." That echoes a September 28 story by Robin Toner, "New Hope for Democrats in Bid for Senate."

Surveying a House race in Colorado, Hulse opines: "This year, there are 33 open House seats, including three that are vacant at the moment but had been held steadily by one party, and polls suggest that Democrats have a good chance to capture enough Republican-held districts to put them well on their way to tilting the balance of power in Washington."

Hulse implies that Republican issues are stern fear-mongering, while painting Democratic positions in more flattering terms: "In their closely watched race, Mr. O’Donnell has sought to emphasize a hard line on immigration and raise the specter of Democratic tax increases while Mr. Perlmutter has pressed the need for change in Republican-controlled Washington and emphasized stem-cell research, an issue he has personalized, saying it represents the potential for treatment of his daughter’s epilepsy."

Another story on Saturday from Joyce Purnick sees Democratic gains in the Republican state of Indiana ("In a G.O.P. Stronghold, 3 Districts in Indiana Are Now Battlegrounds").

Then there's Sunday's story by correspondent Lizette Alvarez, "In Two New Mexico Towns, Voices of Concern About the Party in Power."

Alvarez leads off with several paragraphs profiling the paper's favorite kind of Republican -- an ex-Republican: "Jerry Eller, a Republican engineer who built his own house in this small town with big mountain views, voted twice for President Bush.

"But his disenchantment with the Republican Party cuts so deeply that if the 2004 presidential election were being held this year, Mr. Bush would not get his vote. 'If Kerry was running this time,' said Mr. Eller, 53, referring to Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee in 2004, 'I would vote for him.'''

Abby Goodnough reports from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in Monday's "Running on Experience, a Longtime Incumbent Finds Himself on the Defensive," on Republican Rep. Clay Shaw Jr.'s race with Democrat Ron Klein: "But whether Mr. Shaw’s strategy will save him or sink him on Election Day is anyone’s guess.

"Mr. Klein has called Mr. Shaw a lackey of President Bush, prompting Mr. Shaw to emphasize his differences with the president, whose popularity four years ago helped Mr. Shaw beat back another tough challenger."

The tone is more negative and foreboding when it comes to a story on Republicans trying to take over a Democratic stronghold, West Virginia. Ian Urbina writes from Charleston, in Sunday's "Wealthy Coal Executive Hopes To Turn Democratic West Virginia Republican." (As opposed to those impoverished coal executives, we guess.)

"Don L. Blankenship is not the governor of West Virginia. But here in coal country some say he may as well be, considering the power he wields.

"Mr. Blankenship, the chief executive of the state's largest coal producer, Massey Energy, has promised to spend 'whatever it takes' to help win a majority in the State Legislature for the long-beleaguered Republican Party in a state that is a Democratic and labor stronghold.

"In a state where candidates who win typically spend less than $20,000, Mr. Blankenship has poured more than $6 million into political initiatives and local races over the past three years. Mr. Blankenship has spent at least $700,000 in his current effort to oust Democrats, and the state is awash with lawn signs, highway billboards, radio advertisements and field organizers paid for by him."

Urbina brings up unrelated personal issues: "Mr. Blankenship, who received about $34 million in compensation last year (roughly four times the industry standard) runs the company from a double-wide trailer just across the state line in Belfry, Ky. In April, Mr. Blankenship’s personal housekeeper filed a lawsuit seeking unemployment benefits in which she accused him of responding with angry fits to infractions like getting the wrong McDonald’s order or stocking the freezer with the wrong ice cream."

Urbina lets Democrats paint Blankenship in unflattering terms as a union-buster and despoiler of the environment, while letting Republicans praise him as a combination of Karl Rove and political donor Richard Mellon Scaife, making the GOP come off rather cynical.

TimesWatch is a division of the Media Research Center.

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Supreme Court Rejects Scouts Constitutional Rights

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW & RIGHTS / U.S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS BOY SCOUTS / SEA SCOUTS FIRST AMENDEMENT RIGHTS TO EXPRESSIVE ASSOCIATION

Another In The Bush, Republican Party, Liberal Supreme Court Appointee, Christian / Conservative Betrayals ... A Liberal, Democrat-Controlled House And Senate In 2007 Will Guarantee A Deluge Of The Same ...

Thomas Moore Law center Mast Head

Smiley Flag Waver The United States Supreme Court, in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, recognized that the Scout’s policy was an exercise of expressive association protected by the First Amendment. In the aftermath of Dale, the City of Berkeley demanded that the Sea Scouts repudiate its association with BSA’s policy and, when the Sea Scouts’ failed Berkeley’s litmus test, the City stripped the Sea Scouts of the free berth extended to public service organizations. The California Supreme Court rejected the Sea Scout’s claim that Berkeley’s decision to strip them of free berths violated their First Amendment right to expressive association.

“It is disappointing that the Supreme Court did not take this opportunity to reverse an outrageous example of how homosexuals use the powers of government to discriminate against an outstanding youth group in order to force compliance with their worldview on sex, marriage and religion.”

News Alert

Thomas More Law Center Decries Supreme Court Refusal To Review Decision Penalizing Sea Scouts For Policy Excluding Gays And Atheists

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, expressed its disappointment that last week the United States Supreme Court declined to review a California Supreme Court decision allowing the City of Berkeley, CA to deprive the Sea Scouts of free berthing privileges given to other nonprofit organizations because the Sea Scouts refused to repudiate their association with the Boy Scouts of America and its policy requiring exclusion of gays and atheists.

The Sea Scouts are a public service organization that serves local youth by teaching them to sail and learn other skills such as carpentry and plumbing. It is associated with the Boy Scouts of America and must abide by BSA’s policy excluding gays and atheists.

The Law Center had filed a friend of the court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case of Evan v. City of Berkeley. The Law Center’s brief argues that Berkeley’s decision to strip the Sea Scouts of a benefit extended to other public service organizations because the City disagrees with BSA’s policy places an unconstitutional condition on receipt of public benefits that violates the First Amendment.

Patrick T. Gillen, the Thomas More Law Center attorney who authored the brief, observed that Berkeley’s policy is a blatant effort to penalize the Sea Scouts for an exercise of their First Amendment rights. “The Supreme Court’s decision lets a truly tragic injustice stand. In this case militant homosexual activists have victimized the underprivileged in a vindictive effort to punish anyone associated with the Boy Scouts of America.”

The United States Supreme Court, in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, recognized that the Scout’s policy was an exercise of expressive association protected by the First Amendment. In the aftermath of Dale, the City of Berkeley demanded that the Sea Scouts repudiate its association with BSA’s policy and, when the Sea Scouts’ failed Berkeley’s litmus test, the City stripped the Sea Scouts of the free berth extended to public service organizations. The California Supreme Court rejected the Sea Scout’s claim that Berkeley’s decision to strip them of free berths violated their First Amendment right to expressive association.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “It is disappointing that the Supreme Court did not take this opportunity to reverse an outrageous example of how homosexuals use the powers of government to discriminate against an outstanding youth group in order to force compliance with their worldview on sex, marriage and religion.”

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

Thomas More Law Center 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive
P.O. Box 393
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
© 2006 Thomas More Law Center
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Democrat-Sponsored Bills Reveal Liberal Agenda

POLITICS / DEMOCRAT-SPONSORED BILLS REVEAL A LIBERAL AGENDA

CNS News Mast Head

Smiley Flag Waver
Democrats keep criticizing the Republican agenda, so let's look at some -- just some -- of the bills introduced in 2005 or 2006 by House Democrats, the Republican Study Committee says.

Politics

Democrat-Sponsored Bills Tell A Liberal Story

~ By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
October 20, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - Democrats keep criticizing the Republican agenda, so let's look at some -- just some -- of the bills introduced in 2005 or 2006 by House Democrats, the Republican Study Committee says.

(The Republican Study Committee is a group of about 110 House Republicans organized for the purpose of advancing a conservative social and economic agenda in the House of Representatives. It says it is dedicated to limited government, a strong national defense, the protection of individual and property rights, and the preservation of traditional family values.)

What follows is straight from the Republicans' press release:

Justice for the Unprotected against Sexually Transmitted Infections among the Confined and Exposed Act (JUSTICE) Act (Lee, D-CA)-H.R. 6083. Requires community organizations to be allowed to distribute sexual barrier protection devices (e.g. condoms) in federal prisons. Also prohibits a federal prison from taking adverse action against a prisoner who possesses or uses a sexual barrier protection device.

Crack-Cocaine Equitable Sentencing Act (Rangel, D-NY)-H.R. 2456. Eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for crack-cocaine convictions.

Tupac Shakur Records Release Act of 2006 (McKinney, D-GA)-H.R. 4968. Enshrines copies of government records concerning rapper Tupac Shakur in a specially created collection at the National Archives.

Antibullying Campaign Act (Nadler, D-NY)-H.R. 3787. Creates a new federal grant program aimed at reducing bullying in public schools "based on any distinguishing characteristic of an individual."

To provide for coverage under the Medicare and Medicaid Programs of incontinence undergarments (Frank, D-MA)-H.R. 1052. Makes adult diapers a covered item under Medicare and Medicaid.

Gas Stamp Act (McDermott, D-WA)-H.R. 3712. Creates billions of dollars in gas stamps each year for people to get free gas, to be distributed to those already eligible for food stamps.

States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act (Frank, D-MA)-H.R. 2087. Allows physicians in states with medical marijuana laws to prescribe marijuana without violating federal law.

Ex-Offenders Voting Rights Act (Rangel, D-NY)-H.R. 663. Allows those convicts who are just out of prison to vote.

Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act (Kucinich, D-OH)-H.R. 3760. Establishes a U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence, as well as a Peace Day. The department would promote "human rights," international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, structured mediation, and peaceful conflict resolution.

National Health Insurance Act (Dingell, D-MI)-H.R. 15. Institutes a new 5% value-added tax on property and services and creates a board to oversee payment to any individual for medical services not covered by Medicare.

Freedom of Choice Act (Nadler, D-NY)-H.R. 5151. Creates a right to unrestricted pre-viability abortions, and late terms abortions for the life and health of the mother.

End the War in Iraq Act (McGovern, D-MA)-H.R. 4232. Defunds the War in Iraq, forcing immediate troop withdrawal.

Public Interest Lawyer Assistance Relief Act (Andrews, D-NJ)-H.R. 1753. Forgives the law school debt for attorneys working for a tax-exempt organization or the government.

A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act (Lee, D-CA)-H.R. 1050. Builds on and strengthens FDR's "Economic Bill of Rights," creating rights to "decent" jobs, income for individuals unable to work, a "decent" living for farmers, freedom from monopolies, "decent" housing, "adequate" health care, Social Security, education, work training, collective bargaining, a safe working environment, information on trends in pollution sources and products and processes that affect the well-being of workers throughout the world, voting, and personal security. The bill also requires the Attorney General to create a registry of all corporations convicted of violating state or federal law.

Social Security Forever Act (Wexler, D-FL)-H.R. 2472. Imposes a new income tax on workers, employers, and self-employed businessmen to fund Social Security.

Health Security for All Americans Act (Baldwin, D-WI)-H.R. 2133. Requires states to create programs to ensure universal health coverage, and allows states to force employers to pay for health insurance for their employees.

Universal National Service Act (Rangel, D-NY)-H.R. 4752. Makes it an obligation of every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the U.S., between the ages of 18 and 42, to perform a two-year period of national service, either as a member of an active or reserve component of the armed forces or in a civilian capacity that promotes national defense.

Living American Wage Act (Green, D-TX)-H.R. 5731. Mandates that the federal minimum wage be equal to or greater than 112% of the federal poverty threshold beginning in 2007, and states that the minimum wage should be revised every four years.

Media Ownership Reform Act (Hinchey, D-NY)-H.R. 3302. Restricts ownership of radio and television stations, forcing some owners to divest their holdings, and regulates broadcast content.

Universal Education Act (Kind, D-WI)-H.R. 3930. Creates a Universal Education Corporation that provides taxpayer dollars to foreign countries that enter into education reform agreements with the U.S.

Medicare for All Act (Dingell, D-MI)-H.R. 4683. Increases taxes on workers and employers to offer to all citizens, and other individuals legally present in the U.S., Medicare benefits equivalent to the health care plans federal employees receive.

Menu Education and Labeling Act (DeLauro, D-CT)-H.R. 5563. Regulates what certain restaurants must print on their menus.

And then there are the proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution:

-- regarding the right of all citizens of the United States to a public education of equal high quality (Jackson, D-IL)-H.J.Res. 29. Creates a constitutional right to equal public education.

-- regarding the right of citizens of the United States to health care of equal high quality (Jackson, D-IL)-H.J.Res. 30. Creates a constitutional right to equal health care.

-- respecting the right to decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing (Jackson, D-IL)-H.J.Res. 32 and Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States respecting the right to a home (Rangel, D-NY)-H.J.Res 40. Creates a constitutional right to housing.

-- respecting the right to full employment and balanced growth (Jackson, D-IL)-H.J.Res. 35. Creates a constitutional right to full employment.