Congressman Yarmuth & Precinct Convention this Saturday!

This Saturday April 5th is a GIGANTIC DAY for NKY Democrats. To start the day off, every county will be going through the process of reorganizing their local party by electing new precinct captains. Then, we'll end the day with a fundraiser for the Boone, Kenton, and Campbell county parties featuring Congressman John Yarmuth!

Fundraiser Featuring the Congressman:

This Saturday April 5th, there will be a fundraiser for the Boone, Kenton, and Campbell County Democratic parties at The Carnegie Event Center, 401 Monmouth St, Newport, KY featuring U.S. Congressman John Yarmuth. The event is from 6:30-8:00 PM. Admission is $50. Congressman Yarmuth has been gracious even to come support us even though we're not in his district. So, let's show him we appreciate him taking the time to help our candidates be successful this fall!

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO EITHER THE BOONE, KENTON, OR CAMPBELL COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU RESIDE.


Kenton County Precinct Convention:

Every four years, the Kentucky Democratic Party must go through a process of reorganization. This process is intended to allow for the growth of the party as well as the inclusion of new activists into the party structure. This Saturday, April 5th, is the day we begin that process. Anyone interested in being a precinct captain should contact County Chairman Jamie Jameson at (859) 391-9394 at your earliest convenience so that we can make arrangements to get you the information you need. For those who may have attended the training in Wilder put on by the KDP recently, you still must contact Jamie prior to the precinct elections on Saturday if you're interested in participating in this process in Kenton County.

See ya Saturday!

Robyn Blumner's latest column

Robyn Blumner has a very good column this week:

If you had any doubts that our nation's financial overseers are working for those with wealth, the evidence was on full display when the Federal Reserve rode to the rescue of Wall Street. While American families facing foreclosure are told by Washington (and John McCain) to try to renegotiate terms with their mortgage holder — if they can figure out who that is — those in the private investment world who raked in wild riches by taking irresponsible risks are being bailed out of their liquidity crisis by the taxpayer.

...What I can't get out of my head is the way we've been suckered again into believing the malarkey sold by Milton Friedman, Ronald Reagan, Alan Greenspan and a long list of conservative think tanks, that the market is our savior. It is so convenient to make government the bad guy, the one who interferes with everyone's pot of gold, and make open markets the answer to what ails, as Reagan did so often. But the historical reality is that the free market has a dark side that causes social displacement and instability, and by its nature it is an uncaring thing.

...somewhere along the way, we started to buy Reagan's line that "the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.' "

Funny, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers didn't think those words were so scary. Reagan and his ideological partners steered us wrong. They convinced the middle class to mistrust the only friend it has that is bigger than the free market bully.

Dems pushing for renewable energy

UPI posted this story about this week's Democratic radio address:

WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- Rookie U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., said Saturday Democratic lawmakers are focusing their efforts on renewable energy despite opposition in Washington.

The Illinois politician, who won a special election this month to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert until the winner of a full term is elected in November, used the weekly Democratic radio address to detail how Republican President George Bush is opposing a renewable energy plan offered by Democrats.

"Democrats have a plan to extend essential tax credits that will support the production and use of renewable energy, like ethanol," Foster said, according to a transcript of his speech provided by Fox News. "Unfortunately, President Bush opposes this plan and is instead working to protect taxpayer subsidies for big oil companies."

You can read a transcript of Foster's radio address by clicking here.

Jack Westwood: Obstructionist

The Enquirer's Dennis Hetzel takes Jack Westwood to task over his obstructionism regarding casinos:

I have a suggestion for Sen. Westwood, because I'm not grasping how any fair-minded person can oppose letting the [casino referendum] process go forward. All of Kentucky needs to know either way, and casino gambling will have a huge impact on Northern Kentucky.

Westwood could clearly support the concept of letting the voters decide without being for or against casino gambling itself. He could actively work to see that a referendum bill with good wording gets through the Senate sooner rather than later. He could match his concern for fetal development with greater concern for economic development.

It's time for leadership. The only reasons to postpone this referendum are bad ones.

Jack Westwood has shown time and time again that he lacks leadership. Luckily, we have a chance to replace him in November with Kathy Groob.

Spin of the Day

I thought I'd heard every kind of right-wing spin already. But this is beyond anything I've ever thought possible. They're claiming that the increase in violence in Iraq is a sign of success:

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Pentagon on Wednesday said an eruption of violence in southern Iraq, where US-backed government forces were battling Shiite militias, was a "by-product of the success of the surge."

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said it showed that the Iraqi government and security forces were now confident enough to take the initiative against Shiite extremists in the southern port of Basra.

"Citizens down there have been living in a city of chaos and corruption for some time and they and the prime minister clearly have had enough of it," he said at a Pentagon press conference.

So to recap... a decrease in violence in Iraq means we're winning, but an increase in violence also means we're winning.

Good thing we have that "clear strategy" in Iraq, huh?

More from the so-called 'liberal media'

Media Matters documents a head-scratcher of a comment from CNN's Lou Dobbs:

Lou Dobbs introduced the March 21 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight by announcing: "Tonight, Senator [Barack] Obama wins the endorsement of the nation's only Hispanic governor, Bill Richardson. Is Obama pandering to ethnocentric special interests again? We'll have complete coverage." The subsequent report included no discussion of whether Obama is "pandering to ethnocentric special interests."

Obama is "pandering to ethnocentric special interests" because Richardson is Hispanic? Utterly ridiculous. I suppose McCain was "pandering to Jewish special interests" when he accepted Joe Lieberman's endorsement?

And still right-wing blowhards like Bill Cunningham remain convinced that the media is biased against Republicans. Unbelievable.

McCain Debates McCain

This is priceless!

Democrats Making Big Inroads In Party Identification

Good news from CQ Politics:

The Democratic Party has increased its margin in voters who identify with it rather than Republicans, and going into this year’s election has increased its advantage among independent voters and in swing states, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted during the first two months of this year.

Pew says voters now favor the Democrats by a “decidedly larger margin” than the previous two election cycles.

Voters who identify themselves as Independents actually occupy first place at 37 percent, followed by Democrats at 36 percent and Republicans at 27 percent. That’s a 3 point gain for Democrats since 2004 and a 6 point drop for Republicans, putting them at their lowest ebb in 16 years.

Democrats Call on Bush to Change Course, Report Costs in Iraq

Bloomberg reports on this week's Democratic radio address:

President George W. Bush should change direction on the Iraq war and provide a clear assessment of its costs and consequences, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez said.

The war, which is entering its sixth year, has strained the resources and morale of the U.S. military and weakened the nation's ability to battle al-Qaeda and finish the fight in Afghanistan, the senator from New Jersey said in delivering the Democratic party's weekly radio address today.

"The war hasn't made us any safer, but it certainly has made us poorer," Menendez said. "We've already spent more than $600 billion on a war that President Bush claimed would cost 1/10th that much."

You can listen to the entire radio address by clicking here.

Democrats' Budget Will Stimulate Economy, Conrad Says

From Bloomberg:

Democrats' Budget Will Stimulate Economy, Conrad Says

March 15 (Bloomberg) -- The $3 trillion budget plan Congress approved this week will stimulate the economy, create jobs and offer tax relief to the middle class, Senator Kent Conrad said today.

The Democratic proposal is aimed at curbing the mounting job losses, record foreclosures and rising gasoline prices that are squeezing American families, said Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, in the party's weekly radio address.

"The Democratic plan sets us on a new fiscal course," said Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. "And it takes immediate action to strengthen the economy, create jobs and make America safer."

AP Poll: More Say They're Democrats

Good news from the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — More people say they are Democrats than said so before voting started in this year's presidential contests while the number of Republicans has remained flat, a survey showed Thursday.

The Associated Press-Ipsos poll had additional bad news for the GOP: The number of independents and moderates satisfied with President Bush and the country's direction has dipped to record or near-record lows.

...The poll showed 52 percent call themselves Democrats, up from 45 percent in an AP-Ipsos survey in mid-December. Thirty-five percent say they are Republicans, about the same as December's 37 percent.

More Republican hypocrisy

The Republicans are up to their old tricks once again; they're using scare tactics in an attempt to paint Democrats as weak on national security. On Thursday, the Enquirer printed a guest column from House minority leader John Boehner:

While you are reading this, somewhere in the world, a terrorist group is making fresh plans to attack the United States or our allies. And those charged with gathering information about their plans are barred from doing anything about it without needless and dangerous delays.

If this sounds dramatic, that's because it is. Until midnight on Feb. 17, our nation's intelligence officials were able to freely monitor foreign communications of suspected terrorists overseas, such as key al-Qaida leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan, to protect our nation and our interests. But today, they cannot - and they will not be able to until Congress returns to them all the tools they need to gain critical new surveillance information that could save American lives.

I have a question for John Boehner -- If the Protect America Act is so vital to keeping us safe, then why did you vote against a 3-week extension of the Act?

Today's Enquirer brings us a similar propaganda piece from Mitch McConnell. Mitch proves that he's also willing to distort the truth for political gain:

The director of national intelligence oversees 16 intelligence agencies and advises the president and Congress on how best to detect terrorist plots. A large part of this effort involves intercepting the communications of terrorists overseas. These intercepts provide vital information that keeps our nation safe.

At least, they did - until a law authorizing our intelligence officials to use this crucial element of our national defense to the fullest extent expired in mid-February. It expired because the U.S. House, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic leadership, refused to act.

The truth? Just yesterday, Mitch's fellow Republican, Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, blocked a Senate bill that would extend the Protect America Act for 30 days.

It's clear who the Republicans are really looking out for, and it's not us the American people. Their true agenda is protecting their big donors in the telecom industry.