Month: April 2009

Rising Star

The New York Times has a pretty good profile of Rep. Chris Murphy, one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party and a politician who will likely be the first part of a new generation of leadership from my home state of Connecticut. I think Murphy is the first clear successor to Chris Dodd, John Larson, and Rosa DeLauro.  Since Connecticut is a state that has only seven federal offices, people tend to spend a lot of time waiting for the previous generation to move along. A new generation is coming and Murphy has a bright future in front of him.

Educating on Employee Free Choice, Part 27

Back in February, Senator John Kerry had a great op-ed in The Herald News on how the Employee Free Choice Act will be a boon for small businesses around the country. Today small business owner Terri Monley has an op-ed in the Denver Post making the case for Employee Free Choice as a tool for rebuilding the economy. Monley writes:

Small Business Administration data show that small businesses are less likely to go bankrupt in states with higher unionization, and that’s a big reason why I support the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s a simple formula for me and my business: When more workers have better jobs with higher wages, then more money is going into the local economy. That’s more money that will go to my business, and more money that I will then spend with other small businesses in Colorado.

The middle class is disappearing in this country as top executives keep most of the money for themselves. CEOs are making 344 times more than the average worker. In the United States, productivity is up nearly 20 percent between 2000 and 2006, profits have doubled, and yet most workers have not been able to share in that prosperity. It doesn’t do me or my business any good for some executive at AIG to make another $1 million. But when average workers are doing better, then they are going to spend that money locally. That’s how we improve our economy.

…

Under the Employee Free Choice Act, federal labor law exemptions for many small businesses will not change. But if more workers in the community are in unions, those are workers who are in better jobs. They’re also customers who will be spending more in their local economies, where we need help the most.

Monley’s piece is a good reminder that while Big Business is deploying a dozen anti-American worker outfits to scare people about the Employee Free Choice Act, the people who are paying attention know this is about the sort of economy we’re building in America. It’s a question of whether all the power should be in the hands of the CEOs at big corporations or if workers and small businesses should have the ability and opportunity to succeed too. Fundamentally this is a question of who the rules that govern the economy should work for: the powerful executives or the workers who drive the American economic engine?

Her Uppance May Come

Via Todd Beeton, there’s a nice follow-up twist on the calls from some Alaska Republicans for Senator Mark Begich to resign so Ted Stevens can have a special election. Congressman Don Young thinks the seat is Begich’s to keep and there’s no recourse for him to be removed now. But Young suggests that his long-time colleague should close out his career with a run for Governor:

“Personally I’d like to see him run for governor, and that’s my personal feeling,” Young told the Alaska Public Radio Network on Thursday. “So, we’ll see what happens down the line. He probably won’t, but I think that would be a great way to cap off a great career as being the governor of the state of Alaska.”

The back story is that this statement from Young is about Sarah Palin getting her come uppance.  Palin came to power in Alaska riding a wave of reformist criticism of Alaska’s old guard Republican elected officials. Last cycle she targeted Young’s seat by having her Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell primary Young. Palin was strongly behind Parnell and obviously Young took it personally. Don Young, despite being surrounded by clouds of scandal of his own, beat Parnell by 304 votes in the GOP primary last August.

Stevens and Palin have had a rocky relationship of their own. This press conference from July, in which Palin dodges endorsing Stevens and Stevens points out that they don’t really like each other, is a classic. Arjun Jaikumar points out that Palin called on Stevens to resign his Senate seat following being convicted of seven federal felony corruption charges. So there’s no love lost between Palin and Stevens — but her call for Begich to resign is probably a lame effort to repair her bad relationship with Stevens.

Frankly, I think if Stevens does run for Governor (which I don’t think he’ll do), he could give Palin a tough race. There will undoubtedly be a lot of sympathy for Uncle Ted, while Palin wears out her welcome with national campaign stops on the state clock.

Marriage Equality in Iowa

This is fantastic news. The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional a law from 1998 that limited marriage to being between one man and one woman. This ruling ensures that there will be total civil marriage equality in the state of Iowa.

Overruled Blog has a great, key passage from the ruling.

Iowa Code section 595.2 is unconstitutional because the County has been unable to identify a constitutionally adequate justification for excluding plaintiffs from the institution of civil marriage. A new distinction based on sexual orientation would be equally suspect and difficult to square with the fundamental principles of equal protection embodied in our constitution.  This record, our independent research, and the appropriate equal protection analysis do not suggest the existence of a justification for such a legislative classification that substantially furthers any governmental objective.  Consequently, the language in Iowa Code section 595.2 limiting civil marriage to a man and a woman must be stricken from the statute, and the remaining statutory language must be interpreted and applied in a manner allowing gay and lesbian people full access to the institution of civil marriage.

I’d bold the whole paragrah because it’s so powerful, but that doesn’t really help things. Basically the Iowa Supreme Court is saying that homophobes and bigots have zero standing to put people in a separate class based on their sexual orientation.

The Alaska Comedy Brigade

The stand up comedians of the Alaska Republican Party were out in force.

AK GOP Chair Randy Ruedrich:

The Alaska Republican Party further believes that current Senator Mark Begich should resign his position to allow for a new, special election, so Alaskans may have the chance to vote for a Senator without the improper influence of the corrupt [Bush] Department of Justice.

The only reason Mark Begich won the election in November is because a few thousand Alaskans thought that Senator Ted Stevens was guilty of seven felonies. Senator Stevens has maintained his innocence and now, even the Department of Justice acknowedges [sic] it’s [sic] wrong doing.

A special election will allow Alaskans to have a real, non-biased, credible process where the most qualified person could win, without the manipulation of the Department of Justice.

“We’ll look forward to the complete story presenting itself and clearing Senator Stevens name.,” Ruedrich said.

Gov. Sarah Palin:

Gov. Palin is with Ruedrich. “I absolutely agree,” she said in a written statement through a spokeswoman.

Shorter Alaska Republicans:

Thanks to the Obama administration’s commitment to honoring the rule of law by voiding the indictment of Ted Stevens, it is only right and fair that Senator Mark Begich ignore the rule of law, void his election and resign.

The really funny thing? Even Alaska’s Republican senior Senator Lisa Murkowski disagrees with Palin and Ruedrich’s laugh-lines. She responded to these statements: “that is not an option.”

DSCC Hits Simmons

Rob Simmons was an unpopular, Bush-loving congressman when he was ousted from office in 2006. Dodd’s numbers may not be great right now, but it’s fair to say that people have not given Simmons’s negatives the same degree of attention as they have of Dodd. This sort of ad will remind Connecticut voters that Simmons is a George W. Bush Republican and that he has not changed since he was booted from office.

Obama Raises Tibet with Hu Jintao

President Barack Obama apparently raised the issue of human rights and Tibet with Chinese Communist Party chairman Hu Jintao while meeting during the G-20 summit. From the White House press office:

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: “They also discussed human rights and Tibet.”

“On Tibet, President — the President said that it’s — that human rights are an essential aspect, central component, of U.S. foreign policy; that we are going to speak frankly about differences as well as about areas of cooperation.

“But this is an area of difference. He expressed concern over the human rights situation in Tibet. He recognized that — you know, stated our view that Tibet is a part of China, but that we are concerned from a human rights point of view, and said he hoped that there would be progress in dialogue between the Dalai Lama’s representatives in China to address these concerns.”

Floor Debate Dominance

Barney Frank just whips the hell out of Republican John Culberson while debating HR 1664, the Pay For Performance Act, on the floor yesterday. It’s really fun to watch an old school legislator show such complete mastery of the subject under debate and why the protestations from Culberson and other Republicans against limiting the compensation of TARP company executives are complete bunk. Frank is one of the members of the Democratic caucus who we see this kind of dominance from most frequently and it’s always a pleasure to watch.

It’s also nice to see him praising Senator Chris Dodd for his work to stop executive bonuses back in February.