By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) welcomed the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai to the U.S. Capitol today for a meeting with the bi-partisan leadership of the House of Representatives.
Speaker Pelosi said: “The relationship between the United States and Afghanistan began as one of importance to our country and it continues to be so.”
By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) welcomed the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai to the U.S. Capitol today for a meeting with the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives.
Boehner said: “This is an important period in our relationship with the Afghan government and with President Karzai.”
By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service
The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai arrives at the U.S. Capitol for a meeting with the bi-partisan leadership of the House of Representatives.
President Karzai said: “The Afghan people with the journey that they began with the United States after the tragedy of September 11, have really seen that this friendship pays off.”
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Israeli President Shimon Peres spoke today in favor of peace in the Middle East, but some in the audience likely couldn’t hear his call, as protesters within the room shouted him down. Three eruptions of protesters in the audience were stopped by police. The protesters shouted from tabletops and waved signs saying “stop the occupation” and “free gaza.” This all transpired at the Washington DC Convention Center, at a conference led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Peres spoke of his commitment to the peace process, saying that one of the big challenges they all faced was to “disconnect religion from terror”, so extremists are not killing in the name of a higher power.
“History is on the side of peace… history’s on our side,” Peres said. He continued that the extremists leading Iran “are on the wrong side of history.” Peres acknowledged that most Iranians are good people whom he respects, but pointed his finger at extremists like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as being the problem.
“Iran is not threatened by anybody,” Peres said, and continued that Iran’s new missile programs are unnecessary. He said that Iran’s missile development and nuclear program are a threat to Israel “and the global community at large.”
Peres said that he trusts President Obama to make meaningful bilateral negotiations, and to contribute significantly to the peace process.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Democratic Leadership will stick by Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter through thick and thin. The remarks came at a power breakfast on Capitol Hill, where Reid addressed, among other things, Specter’s recent defection to the Democratic Party.
President Obama, Vice President Biden and Reid have all pledged to support Specter when he comes up for reelection in 2010. When asked today whether or not that support was dependent on Specter voting a certain way, Reid said that it wasn’t.
“I’m not going to be in a forever, never position, but the facts are that he’s going to vote with us most of the time,” Reid Said. “I can’t foresee him doing anything that would be so mean spirited that Obama, Biden, and Reid would turn against him.”
If Al Franken wins the Senate Seat in Minnesota, which is still being contested in court, Specter would be the 60th Democrat in Congress, the number needed to stop a Republican filibuster.
“I don’t think [Specter is] going to be an automatic vote, but I don’t have any automatic votes,” Reid said. He was referring to fears from the right that Specter will be the key vote in stifling Republican policy.
Critics believe that Specter is going to help the Democrats steamroll through radical legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has called the filibuster-proof Senate a “threat to the country.” He it would allow the Democrats to “have whatever it wants, without restraint, without a check or a balance.”
Specter’s defection became a reality when he was assured by Reid that his seniority in the Senate would not be compromised. Reid has publicly stated that no members of Congress will be “bumped” from a committee position to make room for Specter.
The deal struck regarding Specter’s seniority was that upon defecting, he would be treated as though he had been elected a Democrat in 1980.
Not this Congress, at least.
Reid left open the door to moving Specter up in the ranks next Congress, and said, “We’ll work something out,” adding that in every new session of Congress, committee positions are worked out at the beginning of the term and restructured as necessary, and that the next Congress will not be an exception.
By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
One-time giant Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection today, but President Obama says he has every confidence it will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.
After speaking with the President today, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) said that the auto industry is important to the U.S. defense industrial base and the economic power of Northern Ohio. “Most important are the 30,000 jobs saved at Chrysler,” said Kaptur.
Kaptur said that the auto industry was brought down by Wall Street and it deserves to flourish. “The government will stand behind the working capital for Chrysler in the form of working capital and loans,” said Kaptur.
Striking comparison with other bailouts, Kaptur said that if you look at who got the big money, “the AIG gets 70 billion, one company?” She went on to say that TARP should have been opened up for vehicle sales
and for the financing of dealership showroom floors. Instead, there was a total credit strangle hold, which still is impacting this industry, and unemployment started to tick up all across the country.
The federal bankruptcy court will ultimately determine Chrysler’s immediate future, but Jeeps might still get a chance to four-wheel over mountains.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
>House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called congressional voting cards “the most dangerous credit card in the history of the world”, because then enable Congress and the president to engage in reckless spending. This was not Boehner’s first criticism of Obama, but his statement came on the 101st day of the Obama Administration, a time which Boehner has criticized as being pock marked with excessive borrowing, reckless spending and a massive growth in government.
Boehner said that Democrat’s “record on spending and debt is staggering, but our economy is growing weaker, and it’s not going to get any better by growing the size of the government here in Washington.”
Boehner believes that the Democratically controlled Congress has enabled and contributed to the recklessness, and thinks it is up to the Republicans to put a stop to it. Republicans must be “the party of better solutions” if they are going to stand up to the Democrats in Congress, Boehner said, adding that he hopes Democrats will be committed to a bipartisan policy approach..
Citing the elections of 2008, Boehner said “out brand has been tarnished”, but to help the party serve the American people, Republicans must stand up to the Obama Administration when disagreements arise, and to offer alternative solutions.
Leader Boehner applauded President Obama on his strategy towards Afghanistan and Iraq, but showed concern at Obama’s greater national security policy.
“The big question continues to be: what is the Administration’s overarching plan to fight terrorism? Judging from their recent decision to release 30 terrorist detainees with no plan on where to put them, it continues to beg the question,” referring to Obama’s closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention center without knowing where the detainees will be sent.
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) expresses concern at President Barack Obama’s national security approach, and questions the wisdom of releasing detainees from Guantanamo Bay without knowing where they will be sent. (00:44)
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Regarding Arlen Specter changing parties, Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) said that it’s better for the constituents of Pennsylvania to decide which candidate should win the primary. He feels like the Democratic National Party backing Specter may be giving him too much of an advantage in the Pennsylvania primary. President Barack Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have already committed to personally supporting Specter in his 2010 election. (00:47)
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Senator Arlen Specter (Penn.) says that he left the Republican Party because they had stuck their nose into party affairs to the point of breeding extremism. Ironically the Democrats are doing the exact same thing to their newest member. Micromanaging from the highest level doesn’t seem to be exclusive to the Republicans.
Yesterday Specter walked away from the party he has been with for nearly four decades, because he felt they were ignoring moderate voice. Specter announced his decision to defect to the Democratic Party, only the twenty-first time that a Senator has done such a thing since 1890.
President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have both said they will fully support Specter in his 2010 election, but Congressman Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) was not sure that the party establishment should be backing Specter in this way.
“If decisions and candidates are being chosen in Washington, you may just reemphasize that divisive barrier that’s between the parties,” Sestak said. “I think we cannot afford to have a decision that is so important to Pennsylvanians be decided by the party establishment,” and that the voters should be the ones to choose their candidate.
Sestak is rumored to be considering running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, and would come up against Specter in the Democratic primary. When asked directly, Sestak said he had not decided yet whether or not he would run. Another contender, Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-Penn.) said today that she would not run for the seat.
The republican response has ranged from anger to confusion. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steel likened Specter to Benedict Arnold.
“Clearly, this was an act based on political expediency by a craven politician desperate to keep his Washington power base – not the act of a statesman,” Steel said. “Arlen Specter handed Barack Obama and his band of radical leftists nearly absolute power in the United States Senate.”
Specter responded, “I have not represented the Republican Party, I have represented the people of Pennsylvania.” He was referencing the fact that in the past months there has been an exodus from the Republican Party in Pennsylvania, where over 100,000 individuals changed their party registration from Republican to Democrat.
Specter is defending his position as being one of riding with the tides of his constituency, instead of bowing to the will of a national political party. Critics see it as a survival move of a desperate politician.
Speaking today with President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, Specter said that staying in the Senate would allow him to carry forward important initiatives for his constituents, speaking specifically about expanding medical research.
Specter would prove to be the 60 Democrat in the Senate, provided that comedian Al Franken prevails in his court case for the Minnesota Senate. Sixty votes, called a supermajority, is enough to override a Republican filibuster. Specter said previously, though, that he was not going to simply back the Democrats automatically, and President Obama acknowledged that, saying, “I don’t expect Arlen to be a rubber stamp.” According to Obama, he and Specter agree in the areas of health care, education, medical research
