The Budget Process

As advocates for the common good in the political process, one thing we should all be aware of is the budget process. Jim Wallis, author of God’s Politics, has repeatedly labeled a budget as a “moral document,” a list that telegraphs to outsiders and our progeny what we considered to be priorities.

David Waldman, at Congress Matters (a spin-off of Daily Kos), has provided a list of various tools we can use to look into the budget process, as well as a reference guide detailing its flow.

As this blog seeks to further the common good, I think it’s important that this list be shared with you. We all have the right to know, and an obligation to follow, how our government is allocating our tax dollars. Thanks to the internet and the resurgence of an emphasis on civic responsibility in our government, the process is more accessible than ever. It’s up to us to take advantage of it.

Interviewing

I’ll be on the road for a grad school interview starting today, so posting may be lighter than normal over the next few days.

I should be back to posting more regularly on Sunday or Monday.

Jindal’s Response, Pt. II

I don’t get it.

What Jindal seemed to be asserting is that right now, in the middle of the biggest economic crisis we’ve faced in eighty years, the government should be viewed as evil.

Viewing this from a patriotic perspective, I don’t see how this works.  As President Obama pointed out in his speech tonight, anytime this country has been in a major crisis, government activism has spurred a rebound.  To ignore that is simply too partisan for the good of the country.  So much for country first, huh?

Viewing this from a rational-efficent political perspective, the GOP better be doing a heck of a lot better than what Bobby Jindal said tonight.  Jindal’s words tonight formed a message that maybe appealed to 30 percent of America — what’s left of that Republican base (the deep south combined with Appalachia, Utah, and Oklahoma).  As David Brooks pointed out on The News Hour’s recap of the speech, the message of no government is not where the country is going:

JIM LEHRER: Now that, of course, was Gov. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, making the Republican response. David, how well do you think he did?

DAVID BROOKS: Uh, not so well. You know, I think Bobby Jindal is a very promising politician, and I oppose the stimulus because I thought it was poorly drafted. But to come up at this moment in history with a stale “government is the problem,” “we can’t trust the federal government” – it’s just a disaster for the Republican Party. The country is in a panic right now. They may not like the way the Democrats have passed the stimulus bill, but that idea that we’re just gonna – that government is going to have no role, the federal government has no role in this, that – In a moment when only the federal government is actually big enough to do stuff, to just ignore all that and just say “government is the problem, corruption, earmarks, wasteful spending,” it’s just a form of nihilism. It’s just not where the country is, it’s not where the future of the country is. There’s an intra-Republican debate. Some people say the Republican Party lost its way because they got too moderate. Some people say they got too weird or too conservative. He thinks they got too moderate, and so he’s making that case. I think it’s insane, and I just think it’s a disaster for the party. I just think it’s unfortunate right now.

Hell, even Fox News didn’t like it.

Brit Hume:  “The speech read a lot better than it sounded.”

Of course, I think ol’ Brit’s giving Jindal too much credit there, but it goes to just how phony this speech sounded.

Bobby Jindal’s Response

The Republicans have asked Lousiana governor Bobby Jindal to give the response to President Obama’s speech to tonight’s joint session of Congress.

Marc Ambinder has some excerpts from the response.

“Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy.  What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt.  Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need?  That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did.  It’s irresponsible.  And it’s no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.

“As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country – and they instilled in me an immigrant’s wonder at the greatness of America.   As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad.  Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty.  And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: ‘Bobby, Americans can do anything.’  I still believe that to this day.

“Republicans are ready to work with the new President to provide those solutions.  Here in my state of Louisiana, we don’t care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people.  We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation’s capital.  All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper.  So where we agree, Republicans must be the President’s strongest partners.  And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.

“The strength of America is not found in our government.  It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens.

“To solve our current problems, Washington must lead.  But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians.  The way to lead is by empowering you – the American people.  Because we believe that Americans can do anything.

“Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy.  What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt.  Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need?  That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did.  It’s irresponsible.  And it’s no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.

“In recent years, these distinctions in philosophy became less clear – because our party got away from its principles.  You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility.   Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington.   Republicans lost your trust – and rightly so.

“A few weeks ago, the President warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said ‘we may not be able to reverse.’  Our troubles are real, to be sure.  But don’t let anyone tell you that we cannot recover – or that America’s best days are behind her.”

It’s pretty daring to paint Obama as cynical.  But it appears that is what Jindal is going to do tonight.

Obama’s Birth Certificate

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) isn’t sure whether President Obama can actually be our president.  From the Cullman Times, via Political Wire:

“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president.”

I keep hearing this refrain from these conservative crazies.  Ask yourself this — how many birth certificates do we actually see in our lifetimes, unless one actually works in an office that deals with these documents?  I would guess very few.

And if the conservatives got on the tubes more often, they’d find what they’re looking for:

Obama’s Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama discusses the process of implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, while recapping his plans this upcoming week, including the hosting of a fiscal summit to determine how best to cut into the national debt.

Enjoy!

Congressional Republicans Sink Lower in Popularity

Is there really a question anymore as to what direction the country wants to go? In Daily Kos/Research 2000’s latest weekly tracking poll, the Democrats continue their gradual upticks, while the Congressional Republicans’ approval continues to fall.

President Obama now enjoys a 69 percent approval rating, one point up from last week’s number. Harry Reid’s and Nancy Pelosi’s approval ratings have each bumped up a point, while Reid also lowered his disapproval rating by a point (Reid’s is at 33 percent, while Pelosi’s is at 43 percent). The overall Democratic Party continues to be popular with Americans, earning a 57 percent approval rating. That gain was absorbed, though, by the one point increase in disapproval rating.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are sinking. McConnell and Boehner do not move at all in the latest poll. McConnell sits at a 23 percent approval rating, while Boehner sits at a 17 percent rating. The Congressional Republicans enjoy the lowest amount of support, falling to 18 percent support among Americans (as a comparison, the Congressional Democrats earn a 41 percent approval rating, a bump of two points from last week).

Here’s a visual representation of the congressional numbers, thanks to Daily Kos:

In the echo chamber that surrounds DC, politicians are having trouble, it seems, understanding what the public wants. This poll serves as the latest reminder that they want the Democrats to take charge.

Who cares if the Republicans are united? They have the lowest number of representatives in over a decade, and their agenda was obliterated by voters in November and in November 2006.

GOP with Young Voters: It’s the Medium, Not the Message

Along came a story yesterday, incited by Meghan McCain — daughter of losing candidate John McCain — zeroing in on the Republicans’ poor use of the internet. The first daughter hopeful penned a piece on the Daily Beast titled, “Why Republicans Don’t Get the Internet,” in which she castigates her dad’s campaign and the GOP for technological ineptness.

I wanted to ask some of the people who have been doing online work for the Republican party if they could somehow explain—or even admit—what has gone so wrong. But when I started calling around asking for people to comment, I discovered most did not want to talk to me. Instead, they told me that not having enough money was a huge factor in our loss—not our misuse of the Internet. Others were just plain angry, blaming the liberal media, and not the party’s shortcomings online. Of course, there is truth in some of this. But denial only amplifies the stereotypes about Republicans being disconnected.

[...]

…Although Rebuild the Party is an interesting attempt to reestablish the party’s image-and communicating the reasons why one should join-using the Internet, the website is about as provocative as a blue suit, white shirt, and red tie. At the time that I write this, the video on the homepage features various individuals, most of them I would guess between the ages of fifty and sixty, explaining why they consider themselves Republicans. Had I still been an independent, there is nothing about this website or video that would sway me as a twenty-four year old woman to join the GOP. (I was an Independent until I registered as a Republican for Father’s Day last May.)

Until the Republican party joins the twenty-first century and learns how to use the Internet, its members will keep getting older and the youth of America will just keep logging on to the other side.

McCain makes many good points in this piece, but I tend to agree with Sarah at Future Majority, who repeats what many young progressives have been saying about the technological development and the GOP for a while. The problem with developing sophisticated technology intending to reach and attract youth is the faulty message.

I would argue that technology is a big part of this because its where we spend our time, but I think having a message, political philosophy, and strong outreach in person as well as online is key to capturing the youth of America. That was the problem with STORM – its not enough to know that youth are on SN’s its about knowing them well enough to understand where they are.

Where they are does not include conservative philosophy. Take a peek:

Even if the Millennials do exhibit more family values — a conservative frame — there’s a large difference.  Millennials like family so much that they want as many people as possible — yes, even gay people — to experience it.  And so while abortion numbers have actually remained constant among Millennials, it’s not based on any moralistic, judgmental viewpoints.

It’d be a shame if the Republicans put buku bucks behind their grand technological redevelopment plan and then saw a tired message fall flat while reaching more people.

Obama Solidifies Commitment to Gulf Coast Rebuilding

President Obama announced today that he would extend the work of the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding and that he would be sending two cabinet members — Homeland Security Secretrary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan — to the region to personally evaluate and assess the rebuilding effort.

From the release:

“The residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast who are helping rebuild are heroes who believe in their communities and they are succeeding despite the fact that they have not always received the support they deserve from the Federal government,” the President said. “This executive order is a first step of a sustained commitment by my Administration to rebuild now, stronger than ever.”

Unfortunately, the White House made an error in the important facts at the bottom of the post.

* This August will mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
* Mardi Gras is this Tuesday, Feb. 24.
* New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin was among 85 mayors gathered this morning at the White House

This August will actually be the fourth anniversary of the hurricane, not the fifth.

Health Care Talks in Place

The New York Times reports that Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has initiated “stakeholder talks” around the formation of a new health policy, based on universal health care.

Many of the parties, from big insurance companies to lobbyists for consumers, doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, are embracing the idea that comprehensive health care legislation should include a requirement that every American carry insurance.

While not all industry groups are in complete agreement, there is enough of a consensus, according to people who have attended the meetings, that they have begun to tackle the next steps: how to enforce the requirement for everyone to have health insurance; how to make insurance affordable to the uninsured; and whether to require employers to help buy coverage for their employees.

The talks, which are taking place behind closed doors, are unusual. Lobbyists for a wide range of interest groups — some of which were involved in defeating national health legislation in 1993-4 — are meeting with the staff of Mr. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, in a search for common ground.

Mr. Kennedy is fighting brain cancer, and participants in the talks said his illness had added urgency to the discussions.

The article goes on to point out the difference between this process and the process the Clinton administration led in the early ’90s, when it demonized health insurers and accused them of price gouging.

And while it’s an awful price to pay, it’s fitting that the health care debate is actually being accelerated by Ted Kennedy’s illness.

There seems to be a good amount of momentum here, and while certainly not anywhere near complete, this consensus building is a great step.  I’m very hopeful we’ll see large developments fairly soon.