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Sometimes stories happen because of planning; other times serendipity intervenes, which is how we got to the conversation we'll be having today.
In an exchange of comments on the Blue Hampshire site, I proposed an idea that could be of real value to unions, workers...and surprisingly, employers.
If things worked out correctly, not only would lots of people feel a real desire to have unions represent them, but employers would potentially be coming to unions looking to forge relationships, and, just to make it better, this plan bypasses virtually all of the tools and techniques employers use to shut out union organizers.
Since I just thought this up myself, I'm really not sure exactly how practical the whole thing is, and the last part of the discussion today will be provided by you, as I ask you to sound off on whether this plan could work, and if so, how it could be made better.
It's a new week...so let's all put our heads together and rebuild the labor movement, shall we?
I just wanted to make sure you all saw the latest video from my campaign, which is about my time on the trail this week and my upcoming statewide tour:
(Great advice from Tim, veteran canvasser and state rep candidate for Goffstown/Weare! - promoted by Jennifer Daler)
Clipboard in hand, I pause for a moment. Check the name, age, party affiliation. Take a deep breath, smile, and press the doorbell.
Between now and November 2nd, most of us will knock on hundreds, if not thousands of doors. It is essential that we do so. Ads, mailers, events, blogs and viral video are all important parts of political campaigning today, but we all know that the foundation of any campaign is the ground game. Nothing compares to face to face conversations with voters. Yet many candidates and volunteers are reluctant to go door to door. It's intimidating, some say. Some procrastinate, say it's a waste of time, find other ways to fill their schedule.
I'd like to share my personal experiences and hopefully inspire these reluctant door-knockers to not only tolerate and endure canvassing, but take pleasure in it.
The Bloomberg poll(pdf warning) released yesterday was interesting in that it highlighted where the advantage is for Democrats this election cycle. The economy is painfully slow in recovering and people feel it.
71% of respondents believe we're still in a recession and by almost a 3-1 margin (70-28), respondents believe it is more important to reduce unemployment than to reduce the deficit. Dems would do themselves a big favor by not running scared from the deficit hawks. There's also interesting results on SS. Don't mess with SS, raise the cap on FICA.
The economy stinks, people are out of work, and someone will pay. Probably Dems - but I'd like to see a coordinated effort to hammer the Republicans on this. Unless people feel that their concerns are being addressed, they will be punishing pols in November.
According to the Huffington Post, former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe told MSNBC today that Bill Clinton has been talking to the Obama political team about where he will be campaigning in the fall for Democratic candidates. One of the three states mentioned in the HP story - New Hampshire!
We all know how popular Bill Clinton is in the Granite State; we also all know how Hillary Clinton surprised all the pundits and talking heads with her 2008 primary victory. In other words, New Hampshire is Clinton territory, so this is excellent news for all of our candidates, It sounds like the focus of the NH stops will be Paul Hodes and the senate race (but any campaigning by Bill Clinton will help the entire ticket).
This news also tells me that the White House, the DSCC and the DNC recognize that New Hampshire is a key state, and that Democrats have a clear path to victory from the top of the ticket to the bottom and back up again.
And something tells me the Republicans won't be inviting George W. Bush to town anytime soon.....
It's been a while since we had to have a real heart-to-heart, the Obama Administration and I, and last time it was because Rahm Emanuel had been a bit snippy toward those of us who are carrying the water for this Administration.
We need to have another one of those conversations today; this time the circumstances are a lot more positive-in fact, if the Administration follows my suggestions here, we have a real chance to put the Democrats on the road to victory, not just this November, but also in 2012.
What I'm proposing will create hundreds of thousands, if not millions of jobs, and it will stimulate millions more as we create a national source of discount electrical power that can be used by business and consumers alike.
Here's the best part: it's no "pie in the sky" promotion I'm offering here; we've already done the same thing before, it's been working out well for almost three quarters of a century...and even better than all that...my idea first pays for itself, and then...it actually makes the Federal Government a profit, forever after.
Over the past six months, my opponents have constantly reminded me of how crucial this race is. Whether it's a woman's right to choose or a family's right to affordable health care - they've shown us time and time again what we all stand to lose if Kelly Ayotte, Bill Binnie, or Ovide Lamontagne wins.
Netroots Nation will be in Las Vegas in just a few weeks; with that in mind we are going to play "piano bar" and fulfill a couple of requests, one today and one tomorrow, from folks who would like to bring a couple of things to your attention.
Today's topic: climate change.
As you know, there is a lot of legislation floating around Capitol Hill that would begin to use some sort of market-based mechanism to reduce the amount of carbon we emit.
None of it will move unless it moves through the Senate, and today, that's what we'll be talking about.
(Thanks for stopping by Congressman. Only 160 days until we get to vote for you to be the next Senator from the great state of New Hampshire. - promoted by Mike Hoefer)
For 43 days, thousands of barrels of oil have been spilling into the Gulf Coast. 43 days of environmental disaster because big oil companies were given a blank check on offshore drilling with little regulation and poor oversight.
Now, with the recent failure of the "top kill" strategy, there is no end in sight to the amount of oil that is spilling into the Gulf. This spill is poisoning our waters, suffocating our plants and wildlife, and jeopardizing the health of our citizens - threatening jobs, businesses and communities along the Gulf Coast.
My thoughts and prayers are with the people and communities down on the Gulf, who are dealing day and night with the devastating aftermath of the spill.
This disaster was a warning sign. When government puts the profits of Big Oil first, when politicians listen to special interests instead of the people they are supposed to represent - then we put the safety of our workers, communities and economy at risk.
Fletcher Features
The Impact of Shale Gas Technology on Geopolitics
Dr. Daniel Fine of MIT discusses how new technology in extracting gas will impact geopolitics and the environment
Dr. Daniel Fine of the Mining and Minerals Resources Institute at MIT addressed Fletcher students at a talk sponsored by the International Security Studies Program and offered his insights into how the development of new technology will allow the United States to tap vast, previously inaccessible, resources of natural gas that will impact everything from the price of gasoline to the ability of Chinese companies to buy equity in Russian natural gas fields.
The United States has a monopoly on "hydro-fracing" technology. The technology, short for hydraulic fracturing, releases natural gas trapped in shale deposits by injecting the deposits with high-pressure water mixed with sand and small amounts of chemical additives.
According to Dr. Fine, the "cloud over gas" used to be "do we have enough gas?" In 2003, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan declared that the United States did not have enough natural gas, and that it would be necessary to import liquid natural gas (LNG). This, said Dr. Fine, was clearly a mistake in the light of the new hydro-facing technology, not only because importing LNG poses a security risk to the United States, but because tapping natural gas from shale represents an economic "bonanza" in "the most [economically] repressed parts of the country:" western New York, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, areas which suffer from high rates of unemployment, and are estimated to host 490 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The thousands of jobs that could be created in these areas could stand in the way of President Obama's pursuit of subsidies for renewable energy.
Another excellent article on Energy Security and Regulation! Enjoy!
Energy Security and the Regulation Imperative in a New Economic Era
Did the economic crisis stabilize oil prices? What is the future of energy security? Has China bypassed the United States in the green energy revolution? How will the global community approach the "fourth corridor" pipeline in relation to Iranian power and Russian resurgence?
Dr. Daniel Fine, research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Mining and Minerals Resources Institute, addressed a diverse set of energy-related questions at The Fletcher School on September 15. The presentation was part of the International Security Studies Program Global Speaker Series.
Dr. Fine indicated that Saudi Arabia views the current price of oil, roughly $70-75 per barrel, as reflecting a price that is both fair and natural. The 2007-2008 price spike, which increased the per barrel price 220% over its 2005 level, was accompanied by a mere 2.5% increase in consumption. According to Dr. Fine, this undermines the oft-cited argument that consumption spikes drive price increases.
The real story of runaway oil prices, Dr. Fine said, lies in the enormous amount of available credit in the 2007-2008, which allowed speculators to buy and hold massive reserves, disturbing traditional forces of supply and demand. Combined with a global finance system that neglected deposits and encouraged rampant buying and a lack of regulation, this perfect storm brought the financial world to its knees in September 2008.
As the global economy shows signs of recovery, Dr. Fine urged the audience to ignore speculators. So-called "geopolitical analysts" on major news shows, he said, are often self-interested frauds with no actual training in geopolitics, serving only to promote a product (oil, gas, or energy) and make faulty predictions.
In the framework of energy security, Dr. Fine cited President Obama's speeches in Cairo and on Wall Street, as evidence of the administration's movement away from hard power "oil politics" and toward Joseph Nye's conception of soft power. Dr. Fine cited President Obama's Cairo speech as the backbone of a new regional policy in which the United States will move away from energy independence and toward energy interdependence, working alongside the global community and with regulators to ensure transparency.
The new geopolitics, Dr. Fine noted, focus on the location of and environment that surrounds oil supplies. He indicated that this symbolizes a shift from "great salesmanship" to true political geography with an associated acknowledgement of the reality of sector specific risk. In this context, Dr. Fine discussed the "fourth corridor" pipeline route, popularly known as Nabucco, which will stretch across the Caspian Sea to Austria. Turkey's attempts to claim 15% of the overall revenue would, if successful, render the proposed pipeline uneconomic, while the tumult in Georgia poses enormous political risk to the project. Russia, which holds a virtual monopoly on European natural gas supply and is dabbling anew in great power politics, is vehemently opposed to Nabucco. This is one of the reasons, Dr. Fine stressed, that Russia does not want to see regime change in Iran; the current anti-Western hard line ensures Iran's illegitimacy in the West and thus prevents Iranian oil sales to Western powers.
Dr. Fine also touched on China and its crucial coal factor. China will inevitability decline the carbon emissions cap to be proposed at COP15, and India, along with other developing powers, will follow suit in rejecting emissions caps. But Dr. Fine argued that China's emphasis on carbon capture synchronization, or CCS, demonstrates its relative advantage over the West in certain green energy issues.
Dr. Fine concluded by citing President Obama's recent hard-line regulation speech on Wall Street as an outline of future policy. If regulation fails, Dr. Fine indicated it is likely that a pricing bubble will return in concert with a buying surge. But with regulation, and with stringent enforcement by both the U.S. and Europe, a permanent cap on oil prices can be established that will maintain transparency and coincide with the fair and natural price.
Concord - Foster's Daily Democrat ran an op-ed by Ray Buckley, the New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman, in honor of 'Tax Day,' April 15th. The op-ed contrasts the reckless Republican record of spending increases over the past thirty years with the responsible and balanced approach taken by Democrats and Governor Lynch.
Foster's Daily Democrat: Numbers tell the story on Tax Day
New Hampshire Republicans have expertly spread the myth that their party is the party of fiscal responsibility and low taxes. The problem is that this claim is only that - a myth. The numbers don't lie.
According to the right wing think tank the Tax Foundation, when Republicans are in control in New Hampshire taxes go up. Over the last three decades, when a Republican was in the corner office, taxes increased by an average of 7 percent per person every year.
This is an astronomical sum compared to Gov. Lynch's record of fiscal responsibility and low taxes. Under Gov. Lynch, New Hampshire has the second lowest state tax burden per capita in the country.
And the Republican record on spending is as dismal as their record on keeping taxes low. Cutting general fund spending is something that John Sununu, Judd Gregg, and Craig Benson never did as governor, but it is something Gov. John Lynch has already done. Twice.
Over the past 30 years, Republican governors in New Hampshire have increased spending by an average of 17 percent per biennium - more than double the rate of Democratic governors.
And many of the most prominent members of today's Republican Party are the worst offenders. Current Republican chair and former Governor John H. Sununu increased spending by an average of 22 percent per biennium as governor and left the state budget in deficit.
John Stephen, the leading Republican candidate for Governor, has been just as irresponsible with the state's finances as his mentor John H. Sununu. Stephen asked for a half-billion dollar increase in his budget when he served as Health and Human Services commissioner. Stephen also double-counted revenue, creating a $70 million budget hole, and today the state is facing a federal audit from his years as commissioner.
The New Hampshire Republican Party's lack of fiscal responsibility shouldn't come as a surprise. We've seen the same thing on the federal level. President George W. Bush took the largest surplus in U.S. history and turned it into the largest deficit we have ever seen. He then ignored all the warning signs and drove the economy into the ground creating the worst recession and highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression.
Since the moment he took office President Obama has been working hard to fix these problems. Over the past 14 months, the job market has improved dramatically. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month when Bush left office, but just last month over 160,000 new jobs were created. He's done this while also passing a series of tax cuts targeted to help middle class families and those struggling to stay afloat in these difficult economic times.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included the largest tax cut for the middle class in United States history. It contained 25 individual tax cuts for American families - from the 'Making Work Pay' refundable income tax credit, to the 'American Opportunity' tax credit for education costs, to the giving three quarters of small businesses relief from the Capital Gains Tax. And it was passed despite the support of only three Republicans in the Senate and no Republicans in the House of Representatives.
We can't afford the Republican ideas of fiscal responsibility - turning surpluses into deficit, 22 percent increases in state spending, and taking money away from middle class tax cuts to provide corporate tax breaks. The myth that Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility should end today.
Ray Buckley is the Chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
Link: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100415/GJOPINION_0102/704159765/-1/FOSOPINION
Key Facts on Democrats' Record of Fiscal Responsibility and Republican Recklessness
Nearly all the taxes in New Hampshire were created by Republican governors and Republican legislatures.
Unlike how Democrats are responsibly handling the budget today, in the last major recession Republicans imposed a 3 percent communications services tax, increased the Real Estate Transfer Tax from $4.75 to $6 per thousand, imposed a 2 cent per gallon tax on all motor fuels, plus a $5 process fee for diesel fuel users and hazardous waste transporters. And these are just a few of the dozens of taxes and fees that were increased that year.
Over the past 30 years Republican governors have increased spending more than twice as much as Democrats. And more than three times the rate of Governor Lynch.
Republican governors increased spending by an average of 17% compared to less than 8% for Democrats. And 5% for Governor Lynch.
One of the worst offenders is Governor Sununu who increased spending an average of 23% per biennium and almost doubled state spending during his time as Governor, increasing it by 87.2%.
Governor Lynch and Governor Shaheen, have been the two most fiscally responsible governors in New Hampshire history.
Cutting general fund spending is something that John Sununu, Judd Gregg, and Craig Benson never did as governor, but it is something Gov. John Lynch has already done. Twice.
New Hampshire has the fourth lowest spending of any state government per capita. And New Hampshire's current tax burden ranks 5th lowest in the nation, 3.1% lower than the national average.
Under Democratic Leadership Granite Staters get the best bang for their buck. New Hampshire is the safest state in the nation according to the FBI, ranks among the top five states in key measures of reading and math, New Hampshire is the number one place to raise a family according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and CQ Press Ranked New Hampshire as the most livable state in the nation for the fifth year in a row.
President Obama and Democrats in Congress cut individuals' federal tax bills for this year by approximately $173 billion. And over the life of the Recovery Act, Americans can expect to save around $300 billion in taxes. Families are receiving record tax refunds - on average $266 more than last year.
John Stephen's Record of Fiscal Incompetence
During his five years at the Department of Safety, that agency's budget more than doubled, increasing 103 percent - or over 12 percent a year.
In 2004, in his first budget as Health and Human Services Commissioner, John Stephen asked for an 11 percent increase in general funds.
Just weeks before the budget was to be presented to the legislature in 2005, John Stephen confessed that he had double-counted $70 million in federal funds - opening up a huge new hole in his department's budget.
In his second budget as Health and Human Services commissioner, John Stephen requested a 13 percent increase in his budget.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General is demanding the state repay $35 million from 2004, claiming improper use of federal funds during the time John Stephen was commissioner.
Former Republican Congressman and current state senator, Jeb Bradley called John Stephen, a "big spending bureaucrat."
(Posted by Harrell Kirstein, deputy press secretary for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.)
40 days from today - on May 18 - we will see two HUGE primaries for U.S. Senate. Even though these races aren't in New Hampshire, they impact Democrats across the country and, well, the entire country as a whole.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak will try to upset Republican-for-decades Arlen Specter.
In Arkansas, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter will try to upset corporate lackey Blanche Lincoln.
These two races are tremendously important to defining who and what the Democratic Party is and what we will be fighting for.
If you can volunteer for these candidates (or encourage friends and family in Pennsylvania and Arkansas to do so), that would be amazing.
Of course, if you can help with a contribution to either or both via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page as soon as possible, it will make a big impact.
Expand the Map! ActBlue page
Joe Sestak
Facebook, Twitter
Volunteer Page
Bill Halter
Facebook, Twitter
Volunteer Page
Expand the Map! ActBlue page
Polling shows that both Specter and Lincoln are at risk of - if not likely to - hand these Senate seats over to far-right-wing Republicans. (And, even if these two retain the seats, that's not much better on many key issues.)
Congressman Sestak and Lieutenant Governor Halter winning these primaries are critical to keeping these seats in truly Democratic hands. Your support can help make that happen! Please hop over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page right away to make a contribution - an investment in the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party to pull out an old expression - and show your support.
Thanks SO much for any support you can provide. 40 Days.
Opponents of health care reform have been using the derisive term ObamaCare to describe the reform debate in an effort to sink our president. The president, to his credit, with his back to the wall (and with us behind him!)stood and went toe-to-toe for the past month, fighting for something that he believed in. In hindsight, his instincts and political acumen appear to be brilliant.
But I want to talk about, quite possibly, the most progressive and strongest Speaker of the House we've ever had. Madame Speaker held the House of Cards together after the Brown debacle, faced down Rahmbo, whipped members running for the hills, and nudged an already shifting young president toward this historic measure.
A month or two ago, CSP took some heat for joking that women run this world...she was right, and it's about time someone said it. Pelosi showed leadership on this issue that would have made most leaders crumble from the pressure. I can't think of a single person who might have had the personal courage and political chops to pull this off.
She's not the run of the mill grandmother - she won't get a lot of credit for this in the history books, but this bill is hers as much as it is anyone else.
It seems that many of those who are regular guests of this space are committed to a worldview based on some degree of reason and rationality.
That's a handy thing if the "Covert Alarm Locator Apparatus" in your Isaac Daniel® Compass Global 1000 GPS sneakers should happen to fail and you need to find your way back to where the rest of us are; sadly, not all voters are equipped with such a helpful worldview.
Luckily for them, there are lots of conservative "mouth organs" ready to fill the "information gap".
They send out lots of emails every day, spreading their Word, and as a public service I receive several of them; this to help keep track of just what's out there, exactly.
If you ever wondered why otherwise normal people believe some of the craziest things about "Obama's Secret Death Care And National Virgin Sacrifice Program", have a look at some of the things I get every single day, and it might all make a bit more sense.
When Hodes, Shea-Porter, and Lynch lose big in Manchester this November you can thank Mike Lopez, Russ Ouellette, Patrick Arnold, Joyce Craig, Dan O'Neil and the rest of the merry band of democrats on the aldermanic board and school committee that shut down MCTV. Go ahead and thank them when Ted Gatsas, Will Infantine, and Joe Levasseur are running the 3 access TV channels in Manchester and putting whatever and whoever they wish on the air!
Why don't you watch the meetings while you still can online at www.nhmanchtv.org. Watch the video on-demand of the school committee of 3/8/10 and the joint meeting of 3/10/10. If you live in Manchester watch them on TV. Watch as the merry band of democrats treat Kathy Sullivan's sister like a peice of garbage and shut down the only media that provides true transparency in government in Manchester.
Reid's letter to McConnell is a thing of rare and exquisite beauty, or as my father-in-law is fond of telling me, Go f&^k yourself. (I don't know why, but people tell me it's my shining and agreeable personality that pisses him off.) It is often said that civility is the art of telling someone to go f%^k themselves and have that someone think it's probably a good idea. That's my brand of civility, and as I've said before, we should start worrying about building bridges when the other side stops shelling us.
My favorite passage from Reid, in his conclusion: "at the end of the process, the bill can pass only if it wins a democratic, up-or-down majority vote. If Republicans want to vote against a bill that reduces health care costs, fills the prescription drug "donut hole" for seniors and reduces the deficit, you will have every right to do so."
Relatedly, good news from the NY Times, via Mark Kleiman, on student loans. Eliminating the middle men, raising Pell Grant amounts, and softening payback. Awesome. It's starting to look like Dems are flexing legislative muscle...can we hope?
