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There's a new advertisement for article about the New Hampshire Tea Party Coalition's plans to "crash" the President's event in Nashua today "inside and outside". You'll never guess the author:
The aftermath of Obama sending his budget to Congress Monday will be felt throughout his town hall meeting in New Hampshire as conservative and independent voters plan to crash his event inside and outside Nashua High School Tuesday.
The heaviest promotion of Obama's visit to the rock hard Granite State has been by those opposed to his budget plan for 2011. nhteapartycoalition.org has been routing people directly to the White House registration site for the event, which has been flooded with requests and closed before it's Saturday 5pm deadline.
The budget was unveiled after Donahue's unsourced implication that the the Tea People are responsible for the registration site closing on Saturday, but that's of little consequence.
The larger point is that there is a refreshing candor to the partisan leaning of her writing now. This is a step in the right direction.
Nearly three out of four Americans think that at least half of the money spent in the federal stimulus plan has been wasted, according to a new national poll.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday morning also indicates that 63 percent of the public thinks that projects in the plan were included for purely political reasons and will have no economic benefit, with 36 percent saying those projects will benefit the economy.
Time's Joe Klein agrees with Americans it was wasted alright - on them:
Indeed, the largest single item in the package--$288 billion--is tax relief for 95% of the American public. This money is that magical $60 to $80 per month you've been finding in your paycheck since last spring. Not a life changing amount, but helpful in paying the bills.
...It is very difficult to have a democracy without citizens. It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of dodos.
But Mr. Klein, I do make an effort to understand government - I look to CNN!
But political analyst Jennifer Donahue thought the [SOTU] speech was "very underwhelming."
...Donahue said the speech would have resonated better if it focused more on "tax cuts that have teeth" instead of deficit reduction over the next 10-20 years.
If solid Democratic majorities and a Democratic president fail to produce meaningful health care reform, it will be in part because of the hundreds of daily little tradmed vignettes such as the one I stumbled on by accident this morning.
CNN: AMERICAN MORNING
Aired September 17, 2009 - 08:00 ET
[Jennifer] DONAHUE:...But I'll tell you, sitting in Massachusetts this morning that front page of the "Boston Globe" is, "Health insurance coverage going up, rates going up, people paying more." The reality is, this has to be paid for. And what we have to see now is the details. Will the public accept -- and that's moderates, Democrats, Republicans -- the cost measures and how to pay for it.
CHETRY: Right.
DONAHUE: That's much more important than whether there's a public option in terms of how it's going to affect both parties in 2010. And that's all each side is looking at in how to get this moved forward.
AVLON: And there's no question, given the menu of options, this is the more fiscally responsible option. The nonprofit co-op plan that puts up in the marketplace would cost the government $6 billion as opposed to $500 billion and up for the public option.
When folks on the far left of the Democratic Party who have made the case very explicitly, they want a public option because they see it as a step towards-single payer. That is precisely what folks in the moderate majority of Americans do not want. That is a source of a lot of the anger we've seen at the town halls.
This is...
DONAHUE: Absolutely.
AVLON: If you look at President Obama, his numbers are hurting most when it comes to concerns about the deficit and health care. Those two issues are intertwined. That's why this bill is a step in the right direction.
DONAHUE: But, John, do you think is it -- it's a step in the right direction, but is there really any way to pay for a bill like this without touching the deficit or increasing taxes? Do you genuinely think that's realistic and plausible?
AVLON: The CBO actually scored this bill and said it would reduce the deficit over 10 years by $49 billion.
DONAHUE: Over 10.
When Democrats get in control of the levers of power, all of a sudden the Villagers set their phasers to "Deficits!"
But I really don't remember anyone on the TeeVee talking about that when George was pushing the invasion of a country unrelated to 9/11 that prematurely ended hundreds of thousands of lives. When he was doing that and cutting taxes on the wealthiest and waging another war.
Remove the TeeVees from your offices, public servants. Please.
An e-mail to her St. Anselm e-mail address came back with this response:
Jennifer Donahue has left the New Hampshire Institute of Politics to focus on political analysis, media and writing.
I actually see this as a win for Ms. Donahue, because now she can continue her dataless punditry guilt-free and detached from the Academy (she's going to be a "regular," e.g., on WMUR's Close Up). I'm sure we will continue to be graced with her work for many moons to come.
Now, I haven't talked to James prior to posting this, because I'm guessing he would try his best to get me not to go there.
But would someone tell me how he isn't a good fit in a number of ways?
Pindell's pretty much devoted the majority of his professional career to New Hampshire politics. He is unassociated with a print publication at the moment. He's young and energetic, and likely has a NH political rolodex a mile long.
I could easily envision him keeping NH Political Report up and briskly running while teaching classes at NHIOP and making it a beehive of New Hampshire political activity.
Just my two cents. (I'll be anxiously awaiting an email from him now wherein James smacks me over the head.)
Update: Some other bright lights that quickly come to mind: Dante Scala, Dean Spilliotes, John Gregg. Heck, can we get Lauren Dorgan to come back for this?
Update 2X: OK, I was wrong. James emailed me back, but no smack on the head. More like a 2X4 to the head, repeatedly. There goes my free trial period registration, I'm afraid!
Former Republican press secretary and current Political Director at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, Jennifer Donahue:
News today of House ethics investigators looking into dozens of members and staffers is a huge news bomb that will effect everything that happens between now and the 2010 election.
...It may not have an electoral outcome that is measurable in 2010, or it may.
Leaving aside the non-analysis for a minute: it is really interesting how the Villagers automatically skip past the Abramhoff et Alii Culture of Corruption 21st century era and dive straight into the Gingrich glory days. That pre-internet, cable news hey-day, Lewinsky era must have been fun times for the gatekeepers.
Alternate Title: My Repeated Attempt to Marginalize the Popular Public Option Having Failed, Here's a New Story to Create a "Dems in Trouble 2010" Narrative.
(And don't forget to hang out at Susan's place now and then. Great stuff there. - promoted by Dean Barker)
this was published as an op-ed in the 10/23 edition of the Conway Daily Sun
Ah, New Hampshire. This year we had a long, cold, wet spring; a cold, wet summer, and a glorious fall with spectacular foliage. It was a rancorous year in the NH legislature, with the budget being a particular thorny issue. Mel Thomson and William Loeb still dictate our tax policy from the grave, and Judd Gregg voted in favor of rape. It was a year blissfully free of electoral politics for most of us, but the end of the year is drawing near. Next year we'll be voting for 2 Congresscritters, one US Senator, the entire NH legislature, the Executive Council, and the Governor.
The NH GOP is unhappy about losing their divine right to run our state. Despite steady losses in the last 4 years, they have not been able to come up with a new message. They're still saying "no taxes and cut spending." It was a great message in 1910. In 2010 the reality is somewhat different. Things cost more, an elementary concept that the NH GOP is unable to embrace. Sure, there are ways to spend less money. At a time when many states are eliminating the costly death penalty as a way to save millions, NH is the only state looking to begin executions. The budget for lead paint testing has been cut recently, but we'll be building a death row and an execution chamber.
"She's not really viewed by most people as an activist or an outsider," said Jennifer Donahue, political director for The New Hampshire Institute of Politics. "She's part of the establishment, and I think she faces more scrutiny than before."
She's smart, she's connected, but she has never run for statewide office before. She is liked by the Republican establishment, and has worked as AG for both Republican Governor Craig Benson, and Democratic Governor John Lynch.
She may not be a professional politician, and neither is Palin (wink, nod.) But they have something many of their male counterparts may not. They are outsiders. They have a different perspective. Sotomayor put it on the record: a perspective different than that of white males.
Like Obama, they don't have to talk the talk of change. They are change.
Is there anything bereft of data she won't say to get in print or the TeeVee?
An instant classic of the High Broderism style, from former Republican press secretary Jennifer Donahue, currently Political Director, New Hampshire Institute of Politics:
Two Parties of 'No' and a Silent Majority
It is not only Republicans throwing out toxic talk. Democrats and those who call themselves liberal seem to have a zero tolerance policy for other views as well.
How has the health care debate become so polarizing? Each side making the "public option" issue the line in the sand. What if Obama has determined health care has to be done incrementally? Last January, many Democrats thought that was the best strategy. Now, somehow, it must be all or none, furthering the tension, and in some ways, reducing the likelihood of passage of the bill, or even something akin to the public option as a stand-alone bill but perhaps with compromise measures and costs further addressed.
...The silent majority now is the voice of the "independent", which, if you listen past the yelling to hear the voices, the ground of most Americans.
Why is it so hard for Democrats to pass a bill with a robust public option, something that gets commanding majority support among Americans in poll after poll after poll?
Partly because of durable Villager narratives, such as holier than thou, tone deaf pieces like this which, without any data whatsoever, take on the mantle of what the "silent majority" of "independent" Americans want.
Adding: and remember, this isn't the first, or second, time Donahue used the American people to push for burying the public option.
WMUR doing a fantastic job of populating their political shows with a real cross-section New Hampshire's political representation:
10am, WMUR-TV's Close-Up: House Republican Alliance members Reps. Robert Mead, William O'Brien, Nancy Elliot and then NH Institute of Politics Political Director Jennifer Donahue.
Jennifer Donahue, Political Director, New Hampshire Institute of Politics continues her long march to... something at the Huffington Post:
After a summer of yelling, fear, and no compromise, it is very hard to tell what the public thinks about the pubic option or many other aspects of health care reform legislation being considered. We know people want insurance, and health care. That is what we knew a year ago, and that is pretty much all we know now.
...A public option would make the bill acceptable to Democrats alone. Amidst criticism, the President has signaled willingness to sign legislation with or without this divisive, hot-button element.
It is so very, very hard to tell what the public thinks about this "divisive, hot-button element":
There continues to be support for a government-run health insurance plan, or government option, with 65 percent of Americans saying they are in favor of the plan and 26 percent opposing it. In August, 60 percent were in favor of the plan, and 34 percent opposed it.
Because writing a meme-pusher article about civic participation from first-time general election voters at the slowest time of the year in the slowest year of the four-year political cycle is fair for people of any age:
Tough political realities quiet youth 'Obamamania'
By MARTHA IRVINE
...Since the election, though, that fervor has died down - noticeably. And while young people remain the president's most loyal supporters in opinion polls, a lot of people are wondering why that age group isn't doing more to build upon their newfound reputation as political influencers.
"It's one thing to get excited about a presidential candidate. It's another thing to become a responsible citizen," says Jennifer Donahue, political director for the New Hampshire Institute Of Politics. She and other political analysts thinks [sic] they have yet to prove themselves.
I love the subject-verb disagreement. It makes me thinks the second subject, "other political analysts" was added as an afterthought to give more authority out the data-less vacuity of the statement. Or at least that's what a lot of people are wondering. You know, some people do say...
Read the whole thing. The only reference to actual data about youth civic participation is a poll buried down deep that youth voters support health reform by a 2 to 3 ratio, but are unsure about the current proposals. The rest is personal anecdote that favors the title.
As a teacher, I have over the years really come to appreciate youth concerns about being pigeon-holed by the conventional wisdom of adults. To me this is exhibit A of why they feel that way. It's also a self-fulfilling Exhibit A of how to turn young people off to civics.
Of course, the AP isn't alone here; in fact, it looks like they are piggy-backing on this Republico piece whose author actually thought...
Getting old and sick isn't a hot conversation topic for much of generation Y, an age-phobic group that fights time with Botox, suffers quarter-life crises and actually hosts Over the Hill parties for 25th birthdays.
...from Jennifer Donahue, former Republican press secretary and current Political Director of the New Hampshire Institute Of Politics:
After months of missed opportunities, tense town hall meetings, and an American public with too little information on what a health care overhaul would look like, President Obama today brought the freshly finished plan from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus straight to the people.
I suppose by way of an explanation to that crazy, she includes further down (emphases mine):
Obama talked about the public option, clarifying it, but not tying himself to it. "Let me be clear. ... This would just be an option. No one would be forced to choose it," the President said. He went on to explain that the public option would offer more choices, and put pressure on private insurers to make policies better. This furthers the soft implication of last week's address to Congress, when he offered support for the public option, but did not make it a centerpiece of his message. The message appears to be that House and Senate Democrats can negotiate the public option. But Obama is not holding out for it, and he won't let the issue bring the legislation down.
Now, here's a fuller version of what the President said about the public option:
And here's Jed's take on it (boldface mine):
Note that unlike his recent statements public option, President Obama didn't include language suggesting he is open to alternatives. That doesn't mean he's insisting on it as an absolute must-have, but it is noteworthy that at least before this audience, President Obama felt comfortable giving the public option his unqualified support.
But he's not a political director or on Hardball and stuff, so whatever. The Village will take the meme it wants to take. And with the murder-by-spreadsheet industry shelling out over 700,000 dollars per day on keeping the status quo, money that could instead be going to provide coverage, is it any surprise?
The senator from Massachusetts also had a reputation for connecting with young people in person, even when he was older and in failing health. Jennifer Donahue, political director at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, observed that when he spoke with Obama at an appearance in her state.
"He was the lion. Proof to me was watching these young people respond to him the way he did. It transcends party and politics," she says. "It's the kind of inspiration that can light someone up for life. That is not easy to do when you're standing next to Barack Obama."
I'm hoping someone here in this politically astute community can help me out.
Because I can't for the life of me remember any time that Ted Kennedy "spoke with Obama at an appearance" in New Hampshire.
I emailed Jack All-Things-Obama-NH Mitchell, thinking he would surely remember. But he came up blank too, except for helpfully pointing me to Jonny's diary about Ethel Kennedy. And the always quick thinking elwood reminded me that Ted Kennedy endorsed Obama on January 27th - several weeks after the primary. I was at one of the few events Obama did here in the general election after the primary, but no Ted Kennedy there either.
Can someone point me to what I'm missing? I will happily update this with what you find. And if we can't find anything, I suppose I'll email this as a query to Martha Irvine, the reporter for the piece linked above.
Former Republican press secretary (during the Clinton health care push) and current Political Director, New Hampshire Institute Of Politics, Jennifer Donahue, HuffPo:
Watching bad strategy play out is frustrating, mainly because it undermines the genuine philosophical beliefs of voters and lawmakers, and partly because so often it repeats past mistakes.
President Obama is repeating the mistakes Hillary Clinton and President Clinton's administration made when they rolled out health care. The mistakes recurring are: 1) letting both the House and Senate write numerous forms of legislation and in so doing, exposing every desire of the industries and lobbyists involved;
Member of Reality, Ezra Klein, WaPo:
Barack Obama's strategy to pass health-care reform seems based on a simple principle: Whatever Bill Clinton did, do the opposite.
Where Clinton and his team crafted their health-care reform plan in the executive branch, Obama has left the details of his effort almost entirely to Congress.
Having Ezra Klein around at WaPo to counter Jennifer Donahue at HuffPo? Priceless.
Saint Anselm College has appointed Neil Levesque to serve as the next director of the school's New Hampshire Institute of Politics.
Levesque, who served Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass for 13 years, will be taking over one of the most prestigious positions in the state's political community next week.
Now, before you get excited, that's Executive Director, a different position than that of former Republican press secretary and current NHIOP Political Director Jennifer Donahue.
Now, folks in the know tell me Levesque is a really nice, stand-up guy. So let me be clear that I'm not knocking him. I wish him every success at the job.
It's just that we have a Democratic governor, executive council, senate, and house. Three of four of our federal delegation is Democratic. Should they be going to St. A's NHIOP for functions, when it's basically run by Republicans?
By the way, my choice wouldn't have been partisan. It would have been Dante Scala. I have no idea if he would want such a job, but I think he's the most gifted (and non-partisan) political analyst in the state.
Jennifer Donahue, Political Director, New Hampshire Institute Of Politics, says in her latest that we wouldn't be talking about the Gates thing if he weren't such a high profile black man. To persuade us of this she quotes multi-millionaire impresario celebrity entertainer Jay-Z.
Money quote:
No one is right, no one is wrong. If Crowley had gone to law school with Gates, he would have known not to arrest him too. Any person, white or black, who harshes out on an officer knows there's a downside.
I'm worn out. I've lost the capacity to push back against Political Director of the New Hampshire Institute Of Politics Jennifer Donahue's fact-free, sloganesque punditainment. So instead, Dear Reader, I offer a representative paragraph from her latest...something without comment.
Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi can talk about health care until they are blue in the face, but only a contract between the President and the people will lead to meaningful reform. As the Congressional Budget Office spelled out last Friday, Congress isn't there yet in drafting cost-effective legislation. Perhaps the numerous groups with a vested interest in turning a profit have too much influence. Or perhaps Congress isn't thinking outside of the box. One thing is for sure: if the legislation is as ambitious as the 1993 Clinton legislation, a backlash will occur. That was a primary reason for the 1994 GOP takeover of Congress after Democrats ruled the Hill for 40 years.
Have fun hacking through the bramble. And for the really adventurous, there are several more grafs like it at the link.
A shorter version of the latest from Jennifer Donahue, Political Director, New Hampshire Institute Of Politics at St. Anselm:
When I went on vacation to the Cape, I noticed it wasn't so crowded. Therefore the rest of us are happy Bush and Wall Street wrecked the economy and made us all poorer.
In Donahue's world, Republicans are always above average:
"Add in the fact that it's an open Senate seat (NH-Sen) in a midterm year when Republicans are likely to have pickups in either the House, the Senate or both - people get motivated," Donahue said.
Here's the evidence Donahue cites for these "likely" pickups:
Of course, virtual NHGOP Chair and Senator Judd Gregg is retiring, so in the unfortunate circumstance of a Republican victory, there would be no pickup, but whatever.
