Governor Beshear's weekly address

On this day 45 years ago...

The Republican Tea Party Contract on America

From the DNC's blog:

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and Democratic members of Congress held a press conference today to highlight the real Republican agenda for America, unveiling "The Republican Tea Party Contract On America." For the better part of the past year, Republicans have tried to come up with a new agenda for the American people with mixed results. However, with the Tea Party now the most potent force in Republican politics, the Republican agenda has become clear.

Chairman Kaine summed up the Republican Tea Party Contract on America:

“We’re here to offer a helpful suggestion. Republicans and their Tea Party supporters can take a break from the town halls and relax because we have distilled their agenda for the American people into a handy ten point blue print for how they would govern that we are calling the ‘Republican Tea Party Contract on America.’ This wasn’t hard to come up with so were a little bit at a loss as to why this has been difficult for Republican leaders. We literally have just listened to what their leaders and candidates have been saying – people who have been increasingly influenced by the Tea Party.”

The Republican Tea Party Contract on America is a compilation of GOP leaders’ top priorities, providing Americans with a clear outline of just what the Republican Party will have to offer this fall. Republican leaders and Tea Party-supported Republican candidates from Nevada to Utah and Kentucky to Florida can now rally around the Republican Tea Party Contract on America.

The DNC also released this web ad:

Keeping Politics in the Shadows

Be sure to check out the editorial in today's New York Times:

Free speech implies responsibility. The Supreme Court said earlier this year that corporations and unions have the First Amendment right to spend whatever they want on independent political ads, but many businesses don’t want the responsibility that comes with that new right. They want to make their unlimited donations anonymously so the public will not know who is flooding the airwaves. On Tuesday, the Republicans in the Senate voted to let them get away with it.

In a party-line vote, Senate Democrats were unable to break the Republican filibuster of the Disclose Act, which would have required the biggest contributors to identify themselves. The bill, which had already passed the House, will probably be revived later this year, but not in time to affect the Congressional campaigns — for which the big checkbooks are now being readied.

...by blocking the bill on Tuesday, opponents made clear that their real problem was disclosure itself. They want the right to poison the political atmosphere without being held accountable for their speech. During the coming onslaught, Tuesday’s vote will be worth remembering.

Bunning's chorus line

There's an excellent editorial in today's Courier-Journal. Here's an excerpt:

The national Republican Party has become a Jim Bunning karaoke act. A few short months ago, the lame duck senator stood by his lonesome in opposing jobless benefits for out-of-work citizens if the benefits weren't paid for in the budget. Never mind that Republicans had voted for such supports under former President George W. Bush, and that such expenditures are considered emergency responses to hard times. Now most of Mr. Bunning's party sisters and brothers in Washington have joined his chorus. They're betting your farm that more knees will jerk over “deficits” than “unemployment benefits” in November.

That won't happen if voters remember these things: The checks are in the mail this week because Democrats voted to bring some much-needed assistance to two-and-a-half million Americans whose jobless benefits had expired in June. Beyond the humanitarian aspects of the benefits extension lays an economic ripple effect: Those who receive the help actually spend the money in their communities; some analysts say there's a $1.74 impact for every dollar of unemployment benefits.

Will Rand Paul flip-flop once again?

Today the DSCC issued this press release:

On the anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, extremist Rand Paul remains staunchly opposed to the landmark legislation that represented a giant leap forward in the rights of Americans who suffer from physical disabilities. Coincidently, Jeb Bush, whose father, former Republican President George H.W. Bush signed ADA into law, is holding a closed-door fundraiser for Paul today in Louisville. Will Rand Paul stick by his position as establishment Republican Jeb Bush comes to town or will he once again backtrack on his position?

“From civil rights to Mitch McConnell to the bailout, Rand Paul has proven he will bow to pressure from establishment Republicans. With Jeb Bush raising money for him in Louisville today, will he do it again and change his position on the American Disabilities Act?” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy. “Rand Paul will either backtrack on his principles, or push his extreme philosophical agenda over what’s best for Kentucky. Either way, the people of Kentucky deserve better.”

Rand Paul continues to flip-flop and walk back his previously held convictions. A month after saying the Civil Rights Act shouldn’t apply to private business and refusing to say he would have voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act, Paul backtracked on his positions, saying the federal government was right to impose civil rights on private business. Paul committed the same politically expedient move after he defended BP after the oil spill, calling criticism of the company “Un-American.” Under fire for his remarks, Paul went back on his comments, saying government regulations of offshore drilling were not adequate. Paul has also gone into hiding with the media, refusing to conduct interviews and forcing journalists to submit all questions in writing despite “offering detailed answers on just about any topic during his primary campaign.” Paul recently held a fundraiser in Washington DC with the same establishment Republicans he railed against on the campaign trail.

Paul Said He Opposes Americans With Disabilities Act. Asked at a May 2010 campaign stop what he thinks of the Americans With Disabilities Act, Paul said he opposed it because businesses shouldn’t be told what to do. He said: “You know a lot of things on employment ought to be done locally. You know, people finding out right or wrong locally. You know, some of the things, for example, we can come up with common sense solutions. Like, for example, if you have a three-story building and you have someone apply for a job, you might get them a job on the first floor if they’re in a wheelchair as opposed to making the person who owns it put an elevator in, you know what I mean? So things like that aren’t fair to the business owner. […] I don’t like the idea of telling a business owner that they have to put an elevator in vs. not making accommodations to work on the first floor. It’s a very emotional issue for people, you know.” [YouTube, 5/16/10; Think Progress, 5/17/10]

Paul Repeated Opposition To ADA. Using the Americans With Disabilities Act as an example, Paul said the government shouldn’t interfere with private business. “I think a lot of things could be handled locally. For example, I think that we should try to do everything we can to allow for people with disabilities and handicaps. You know, we do it in our office with wheelchair ramps and things like that. I think if you have a two-story office and you hire someone who's handicapped, it might be reasonable to let him have an office on the first floor rather than the government saying you have to have a $100,000 elevator. And I think when you get to the solutions like that, the more local the better, and the more common sense the decisions are, rather than having a federal government make those decisions.” [NPR, All Things Considered, 5/19/2010]

President Obama's weekly address

Following the signing of historic Wall Street Reform legislation, the President contrasts his economic plan focused on the middle class and moving America forward with the Republican plan focused on the very wealthiest Americans and moving us backward.

Addicted to Bush

Today's column by Paul Krugman is a must-read:

For a couple of years, it was the love that dared not speak his name. In 2008, Republican candidates hardly ever mentioned the president still sitting in the White House. After the election, the G.O.P. did its best to shout down all talk about how we got into the mess we’re in, insisting that we needed to look forward, not back. And many in the news media played along, acting as if it was somehow uncouth for Democrats even to mention the Bush era and its legacy.

The truth, however, is that the only problem Republicans ever had with George W. Bush was his low approval rating. They always loved his policies and his governing style — and they want them back. In recent weeks, G.O.P. leaders have come out for a complete return to the Bush agenda, including tax breaks for the rich and financial deregulation. They’ve even resurrected the plan to cut future Social Security benefits.

...Republicans aren’t trying to rescue George W. Bush’s reputation for sentimental reasons; they’re trying to clear the way for a return to Bush policies. And this carries a message for anyone hoping that the next time Republicans are in power, they’ll behave differently. If you believe that they’ve learned something — say, about fiscal prudence or the importance of effective regulation — you’re kidding yourself. You might as well face it: they’re addicted to Bush.

We can't afford any more of the old agenda

Governor Beshear's weekly address