Jennifer Skalka Category Archives
Pres. Obama officially nominated Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) this afternoon as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, wrapping up a sometimes-rocky Cabinet selection process and filling a hole created by former Sen. Tom Daschle, who was forced to back out of the nomination process when reports emerged indicating he owed back taxes.
Daschle is a master of the legislative process, a skill necessary in navigating what is expected to be a complicated health care proposal through Congress. He had Hill relationships invaluable to such an undertaking. But Sebelius has other assets. She hails from the nation's red state Heartland, and as the daughter of a former Democratic governor and daughter-in-law of a former Republican congressman, boasts ties to both parties. She also served for eight years as KS insurance commissioner, a job that brought intimate familiarity with the agendas of the nation's health care companies.
"As a governor," Obama said today, "she's been on the front lines of our health care crisis."
Sebelius today called the nomination to head the 65,000-employee agency, "a responsibility I could not refuse."
"Mr. President, I share your passion and personal commitment to health care reform," she said during a press conference. "I share your belief that we can't fix the economy without fixing health care. The work won't be easy, but bringing about real change rarely is."
Sebelius endorsed Obama early in the presidential campaign, backing the first-term Illinois senator over Hillary Rodham Clinton. They are close friends, and as Obama noted today, he, too, has Kansas roots. A sign of the masterful event-staging for which the administration is becoming known, the White House welcomed former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) and incumbent junior Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) to today's announcement.
The decision to leave her job in Kansas, Sebelius said today, was a tough one. But in taking the Cabinet job, she bypasses another potential opportunity: a run for the Senate seat vacated next year by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS). She would have been the undisputed frontrunner for her party's nomination, and her decision to join Obama's Cabinet, pending confirmation by the Senate, of course, will make seizing Brownback's seat much tougher for Democrats.
Obama today also nominated Nancy-Ann DeParle to serve as Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office for Health Reform. DeParle served as commissioner of the Department of Human Services in Tennessee.
DeParle donated $2,300 to Clinton's presidential primary campaign, according to the FEC, and another $2,300 for the general election had Clinton been the party's nominee. She also gave $1,000 to Friends of Rahm Emanuel in March 2008.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
WASHINGTON -- Former AR Gov. Mike Huckabee, the 2008 runner-up for the Republican presidential nomination, told the party faithful today at the start of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that the GOP's future success depends on finding a unity of purpose between its two key factions.
"The fortunes of social conservatives and fiscal conservatives are interwoven," Huckabee said to a full balllroom of activists gathered at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. "Let's not have a divorce. Let's have a reconciliation."
In a speech peppered with his vintage folksiness and storytelling, Huckabee, the first former candidate to speak to attendees of the three-day conference, strongly criticized President Bush, who he said lost touch with the party's small government values. He said voters want to see Republicans return to their free market roots, and he debuted a phrase that sounded like a campaign slogan. The GOP, he said, should be exercising "competent conservatism."
Huckabee said Bush's support for the $700B Troubled Asset Relief Plan, or TARP, was all the proof needed that the party had strayed from its roots.
"The party of Ronald Reagan suddenly became the party of Chicken Little," he said. " ... They pulled the tarp over our eyes."
The party also lost the 2008 election, Huckabee argued, because lawmakers had grown too cozy with business executives at a time when corporate corruption scandals dominated the news. He raised Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain's big spending ways to make his point.
"We didn't lose because we wanted to keep unborn babies from ending up in a wastebasket," he said. "We lost because we were tied to too many people who wanted to spend $1,400 on a waste basket."
Pres. Obama and the Democratic Congress, he said, are growing the size of government at the nation's peril. He joked that the 1,100-page economic stimulus bill signed by the president should be renamed after a movie now in the theaters: Confessions of a Shopaholic.
He added that Tyson Foods, headquartered in Huckabee's homestate, had lost its claim to being the world's largest producer of pork.
"We all find ourselves in a very unfamiliar and a very unwelcome place," said Huckabee, who has a show on the FOX News Channel. "The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics may be dead, but the Union of American Socialist Republics is being born."
Huckabee was warmly welcomed and received several rounds of vigorous applause as he tossed out punchline after punchline. He made no mention of a future career in politics, though none was needed. His presence at the event, a fixture for conservatives, confirmed potential interest.
With much success, however, he did razz the cable network MSNBC for Chris Matthews' on-air slip up this week in which he was heard uttering "Oh God" at the start of LA Gov. Bobby Jindal's televised speech to the nation. CPAC, after all, is a crowd that loves to slam the "liberal" media. He called MSNBC "the Oh God channel."
"The one that finally found religion," he said to enthusiastic laughter.
On a more serious note, he suggested that now is a time for trust in God, not government. He said that the market will return the system to equilibrium. Members of the GOP, he said, should stand by their commitment to limited government and strong families.
"I'm still convinced America wants to like us," Huckabee said. "They want to vote for us. It's when we lose our competence that the American people lose their confidence."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
WASHINGTON -- Lenore Waggoner, a former teacher from Ashburn, VA, could have crafted the unofficial motto of this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, the annual meeting of Republican activists that began today.
"I'm hoping he'll turn this around," Waggoner said, perched on a bench in the hallway of the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
She was talking about former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, whom she endorsed for president in 2008 and will likely back again should he run four years from now. But everyone here seemed to hinge his or her hopes for the GOP's revival on any number of different political figures. So the "he" in Waggoner's sentence differed from attendee to attendee, and, of course, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's backers would've preferred "she."
In general, party loyalists expressed uncertainty about who among the next class of political leaders is best suited to rival Pres. Obama and a juiced Democratic Party. The names they mentioned are already familiar -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Huckabee, Palin and more -- but the excitement around these officials is tepid.
"I think the party right now is expectant of a great leader," said Adrian Dominguez, a Guam native living in Washington who volunteers for the Young Republicans while he is pursuing a PhD in political science. "It's not leaderless. It's just waiting."
Party members are not only waiting. They're processing November. And many are still stewing. Activists placed blame in different places. Some surprising, some not.
The party's conservative members never embraced Arizona Sen. John McCain -- he was booed during an appearance here last year -- and having lost the White House for them, they're even more displeased. He wasn't really with them on the issues, some crowed privately today. Michelle Malkin, the syndicated Republican columnist, barked during a video dispatch that McCain wasn't free market loving enough, and that he and Huckabee, in particular, have a "shared contempt for people who make profits for a living." Another panelist said with resignation in her voice that McCain "didn't really use the Internet much."
One speaker, Deroy Murdock of National Review, pointed a finger at Karl Rove, the architect of President Bush's two winning campaigns. Murdock said that Rove's "blueprints" left the party in shambles. "Rubble," Murdock said, is what remains of the GOP.
Rove, who is still appearing on television and writing op-eds with advice for the GOP, needs to "clam up, fly back to Texas, crawl inside a cactus and contemplate how he wrecked our party and our movement," Murdock said.
Unthinkable words just four years ago from any member of the party faithful.
Others targeted Palin for hurting the 2008 ticket.
"She's not ready for primetime," said Bill Lynch, a lawyer from Paoli, PA. "She made a bad first impression. It's like Dan Quayle. It's very hard to recover from that."
Still, the conference was packed. Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, wandered the halls in jeans and a flannel shirt, signing autographs, giving interviews. A guy dressed as Ben Franklin browsed the hallways of the trade show segment of the event. There he, or anyone not in colonial garb, could visit booths sponsored by NRA News, the American Council for Immigration Reform, Young Americans for Liberty, something called Regular Folks United and the Poker Players Alliance, among many others.
Despite his roundly panned performance this week giving the Republican response to Obama's address before Congress, Jindal's name was raised in repeated conversations with activists as someone who could hold the future of the party in his hands.
"I think people are hoping Bobby Jindal will be the Republican Barack Obama, if you will," Dominguez said.
And though activists are down, they're banking that they won't be out for long. One reason -- the faces in this year's crowd were young. A sign of hope perhaps, change even, that the demographic that voted overwhelmingly for Obama hasn't completely ditched the GOP.
Zach Briggs and Nick Grady, both 18, flew in from Lafayette, IN, to attend CPAC. Rising freshman at Purdue University, the pals said they're looking for a leader who shares their conservative values but can also communicate well.
"John McCain did not have the conservative views or the speaking skills," said Briggs, a self-described penny pincher who tapped his $1,000 savings to make the trip. "Barack Obama is a great speaker. We really need to counter that."
Briggs said he likes Romney and Jindal, even though the Louisiana governor appeared "anxious" during his nationally televised address. Grady echoed the Romney pick but also mentioned Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL).
At 27, Schock is the youngest member of Congress, and he wouldn't be eligible to run for president for at least two cycles.
But maybe Grady's on to something. Schock is a fresh face. A blue stater. And given the retrospection happening today, it could take the party that long to regroup.
Perhaps at the outset of a panel titled Conservatism 2.0, Bill Whittle of Pajamas Media, offered what should be the motto for this year's CPAC convention -- and, for that matter, the GOP in the short-term. "Let's get this Grand Old Party started," he bellowed.
Or jumpstarted.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
LA Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) gave a partisan, predictable response this evening to Pres. Obama's call for innovative thinking, tough decision making and unity of purpose as the nation confronts a massive economic crisis.
Perhaps Jindal's task tonight was too multifaceted. He had to introduce himself to many voters who haven't yet had reason to know the 37-year-old governor. He had to cast the president -- who gave a speech this evening both stirring at times and plainly practical -- as a political actor working from a traditional Democratic playbook to increase taxes and grow government. And he had to delineate the differences between his party's vision for addressing the country's problems and the Democrats'.
And instead of reaching for something new, Jindal looked to reliable past GOP lines of attack.
"We oppose the national Democratic view that says the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government," he said. "We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, to empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs."
The GOP can't afford to try to define the next four years with traditional political arguments. The crisis facing the nation -- the woes afflicting the housing market and the banks, the auto companies and manufacturers -- will not be solved by doing nothing. Obama is attempting to push lawmakers and citizens to look beyong the next four years. How does the nation aim for energy independence? How do we educate our young people so they can be competitive in a global marketplace? How do we manage the health care needs of an aging boomers and younger Americans? How do we not just prepare for the war on terror but change the perceptions of our nation around the globe?
"Those of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in extraordinary times," Obama said during a speech that prompted ovations from members on both sides of the aisle. "It is a tremendous burden, but also a great privilege - one that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans. For in our hands lies the ability to shape our world for good or for ill. I know that it is easy to lose sight of this truth - to become cynical and doubtful, consumed with the petty and the trivial."
Jindal spoke tonight of the trivial. Obama, while touching on those familiar themes and issues that echoed throughout his 20-month campaign for office, attempted to do something larger. The GOP will have to answer his call -- or find a way to inspire a different but equally proactive course of action. Given the challenges of the day, the party's small government, low taxes mantra seems stale and inadequate.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Five conservative Democrats, most are members of the Blue Dog Coalition, flipped their votes today to support the $787B stimulus package backed by party leadership and Pres.
Obama. The members opposed the proposal during a preliminary vote late last month.
Changing their votes were:
Allen Boyd (D-FL);
Brad Ellsworth (D-IN);
Paul Kanjorski (D-PA);
Jim Cooper (D-TN); and
Frank Kratovil (D-MD).
Note that Obama visited Boyd's district this week -- and he and Ellsworth flew on Air Force One with the president.
Ellsworth said today that he opposed the original version of the bill because it "contained far too many provisions that would have provided little to no economic stimulus." The conference committee, he said in a statement, "made great strides to direct funds toward putting Americans back to work and strengthening our long-term capacity for economic growth." And he called the bill "vastly improved," adding that it will create 75,000 jobs in Indiana.
"As I was making this decision, I thought about the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and their homes, and the millions more who are worried about pink slips and foreclosure notices," Ellsworth said. "The retirees who called my office after seeing their life savings disappear overnight. The parents who lie awake wondering how they'll ever provide for their children and save for college too. They are depending on us; not to do everything, but to do something to start to turn things around."
Cooper, meanwhile, described the bill as "more targeted" and "closer to the president's original request."
"Congress has a lot to learn from President Obama about transparency, accountability, and bipartisanship, but this is a vote to keep that dialog open," Cooper said in a statement. "We have even bigger challenges ahead of us, and we have to build trust and legislative capacity as soon as possible."
Seven Democrats opposed both versions of the bill: Reps.
Bobby Bright (D-AL);
Parker Griffith (D-AL);
Walter Minnick (D-ID);
Collin Peterson (D-MN);
Gene Taylor (D-MS); and
Heath Shuler (D-NC). Rep.
Peter DeFazio (D-OR), who backed the initial bill, voted against the final version.
Rep.
Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) was the only member today to vote 'present.'
The bill was passed 246-183 with no Republican support. A Senate vote is expected this evening.
| |
DISTRICT | HOUSE
VERSION | FINAL
VERSION | BLUE
DOG? | 2008
WIN % | MEDIAN
HH INCOME |
| Allan Boyd | Fla.-02 | N | Y | Y | 61.9 | 46,195 |
| Bobby Bright | Ala.-02 | N | N | N | 50.2 | 37,289 |
| Jim Cooper | Tenn.-02 | N | Y | Y | 65.8 | 46,861 |
| Peter DeFazio | Ore.-04 | Y | N | N | 82.3 | 41,714 |
| Brad Ellsworth | Ind.-08 | N | Y | Y | 64.7 | 43,252 |
| Parker Griffith | Ala.-05 | N | N | N | 51.5 | 43,832 |
| Paul Kanjorski | Penn.-11 | N | Y | N | 51.6 | 44,345 |
| Frank Kratovil | Md.-01 | N | Y | N | 49.1 | 66,802 |
| Walt Minnick | Idaho-01 | N | N | N | 50.6 | 47,595 |
| Collin Peterson | Minn.-07 | N | N | Y | 72.2 | 44,311 |
| Heath Shuler | N.C.-11 | N | N | Y | 62 | 41,103 |
| Gene Taylor | Miss.-04 | N | N | Y | 74.5 | 38,800 |
(
JENNIFER SKALKA)
I spoke with former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu recently about his reasons for emerging from political retirement to take the helm of the foundering state Republican Committee. During our talk, Sununu, 69, hinted that his son -- former Sen. John E. Sununu (R-NH), who was defeated last fall in his re-election bid -- has not ruled out a run for the seat likely vacated by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) in 2010.
The entire interview with the elder Sununu, who was White House chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, ran in this week's National Journal. Click through for the full conversation and an audio excerpt.
Here are a few snippets:
NJ: Over the last four years, the New Hampshire Republican Party has seen the once reliably GOP state vote for two Democratic presidential nominees, a Democratic governor, and two Democrats for Congress. The Democrats have seized majorities in the state House and Senate for the first time in a century. And, of course, your son, one-term Senator John Sununu, lost his 2008 rematch against Jeanne Shaheen.
Why would you, after all you've accomplished, decide to take over the New Hampshire GOP at such a challenging time?
Sununu: The results you just listed are quite scary, aren't they? And this is too special a state to let it become a clone of Massachusetts. The Democratic Party really has campaigned very well and governed very badly in the state of New Hampshire. And we are drifting to mimic all the bad habits of our sister states in New England: fees and taxes and centralization of government; loss of local control; no fiscal discipline; [and] an explosion of unfunded liabilities in our state employee and public employee retirement systems. It really is a change in policies, a change in results. If the Republican Party doesn't stand up and do better than it has been able to do in the last few election cycles, what has made New Hampshire special will be gone forever.
NJ: Democrats, including Representative Paul Hodes, are already lining up to run in 2010 to replace Gregg. Who are the most qualified Republicans to make a bid for the job? And is your son perhaps one of those folks?
Sununu: If I had a list, I wouldn't tell you. And I don't have a list.
NJ: Well, speaking of your son, what's next? Do you think that he should give it a go?
Sununu: He's officially been out of office about one month. The beginning of January is when the official transition took place. So he's taking it slowly, evaluating what he wants to do with this period in his life. And I think taking it slowly is the right process. I'm sure he's giving a little bit of thought to private-sector opportunities. I can't afford him, so there are other people who would pay him a lot more than I could to come work for them. I'm sure he has on his list of options some of the opportunities coming back into the political process. But he's got to evaluate it on his own with his wife and kids and make a family-oriented as well as a state- and a nationally-oriented decision.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Sen. Judd Gregg's decision to withdraw his nomination for Commerce Secretary has wide-ranging political ramifications.
The move interferes with Pres. Obama's efforts to secure congressional support for his stimulus package and forces the administration to find yet a third person to lead the agency; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, the first nominee, withdrew amid rumblings of a pay-to-play scandal in his home state. The Obama team will also likely have to answer questions about a key point of difference between the administration and Gregg -- how best to manage the highly-political Census.
The Census, which falls under the auspices of the Commerce Department, is used in the redistricting process, and fearing that their political power would be marginalized or diminished, several minority groups had stepped forward to issue their discomfort with that responsibility falling to the Republican senator from New Hampshire. The White House responded by noting that the Census chief would report to the administration, not Gregg. But conservatives were miffed by the news, calling the move a blatant attempt to fold the redistricting process into the Democratic White House.
Moving forward, isn't the Obama administration providing conservatives with a major talking point if a Democrat is selected for Commerce and the Census is then "returned" to its once rightful place within the department? Or is Team Obama damned either way -- even if they pick a Democrat and stand firm by the decision to give the White House oversight? Then they're still co-opting the process -- and giving Republicans an opening to say that despite the Obama administration's promise of a new kind of politics, it's business as usual at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Meanwhile, Gregg took pains today to say in his statement that nothing had emerged in the vetting process to influence his decision, and he cited the Census disagreement as well as the stimulus package as points of difference between the camps that could not be overcome.
"It's all about the Census," said Republican strategist John Feehery. "Obviously the White House's decision to bring this in-house was the last straw for Gregg."
So Obama will fight the good stimulus fight for the next several days and return to square one to find a fitting Commerce Secretary. What of Gregg?
Some Granite Staters say he took the Commerce job as an easy and appealing way out of the Senate, to which he was elected in 1992.
"It's possible he took the appointment as a graceful way to leave the Senate with good travel," one Washington polical watcher tells On Call.
Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report in Washington, said she thinks the whole episode will serve Gregg well when he returns to newly left-leaning New Hampshire. She said he resumes his position in the Senate with the "Obama Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." Gregg, should he decide to run again when his term expires in 2010, has now proven to Granite State voters that he is acceptable to a Democratic president.
"It'll be harder for (Democratic Rep. Paul) Hodes to push him too far to the right, harder to wrap President Bush around his neck," Duffy said.
Hodes, who has already announced his candidacy for Senate, issued a statement this afternoon affirming that he'll run no matter what Gregg decides.
"I am surprised and disappointed at this sudden withdrawal," Hodes said. "Senator Gregg would take us back to the years of George W. Bush rather than moving forward with the change agenda that the American people clearly want. ... I will be a candidate for the United State Senate in 2010. I look forward to working every day to stand up for New Hampshire as we come together to confront the economic crisis facing our nation."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said today that the outlook for 2010 is already strong for Democratic Senate candidates but that Republican opposition to Pres. Obama's economic stimulus package will help them make their case by amplifying voter dissatisfaction with the GOP.
"They are, in essence, betting against the nation doing better," he added, calling the party's 'no' votes a "signature" George W. Bush move. "I think that's an incredibly wrong and dangerous proposition for Republicans."
During a noon briefing with reporters at the Democratic National Committee, Menendez added: "The early evidence seems to show that Republicans haven't changed their brand."
And because of that, Menendez said, solid Republican candidates aren't opting to run for Senate next cycle. Menendez mentioned former Gov. Jeb Bush, who decided not to run for the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Mel Martinez.
"It's difficult to energize voters when your candidates are reluctant to run," Menendez said.
Meanwhile, he noted that Democrats have already jumped into 2010 contests in key swing states: Robin Carnahan in MO and Rep. Paul Hodes in NH.
With four new Democratic senators appointed by their governors (IL, NY, DE and CO), Menendez was asked if the DSCC will back the incumbent in each state over a viable primary challenger.
"Any of the appointed candidates who decide to run will have the support of the committee," he said.
He hedged slightly, however, when asked about IL Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a young, affluent Democrat toying with a bid against Pres. Obama's replacement, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL). Menendez said he knows Giannoulias, 32, from his work with the Greek community.
"We'll see where it goes," Menendez said.
All told, how many seats will the Democrats win next cycle? "As many as we can," Menendez said.
An overview of the landscape, as provided by the DSCC chairman:
Illinois
Menendez said that Burris -- chosen by embattled and now impeached former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Obama -- has not decided yet if he will run in 2010. The committee, he said, has not imposed a deadline on Burris to make that determination.
(On Call Aside: Not publicly, at least.)
New York
The newest addition to the United States Senate is, of course, former Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, whom Gov. David Paterson appointed to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Gillibrand has met much resistance from downstate Democrats, who reject her pro gun stance, in particular, and there are some members -- Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Carolyn McCarthy -- who have said they are weighing a primary challenge.
Menendez was enthusiastic about Gillibrand, calling her "a hard charger."
"She is working extremely hard to both understand and represent the diverse nature of New York state," he said. By the time the primary rolls around, he said, "she will have convinced her fellow Democrats that she deserves their support."
Pennsylvania
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) broke ranks this week with his party to back the economic stimulus package pushed by Democratic congressional leaders and the White House, but that doesn't buy him any points with the party establishment when it comes to his re-elect. The gloves will be off in 2010.
Menendez noted that PA Democrats have a 1.2M registration advantage. "That's a daunting task to start off with," he said.
He also said that the state -- which already has a strong incumbent Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, and popular junior senator, Bob Casey -- proved that it is trending away from the GOP in giving Obama a big win over Sen. John McCain.
"I think that's a tide that is very difficult for Sen. Specter," he said.
Missouri
MO Secretary of State Carnahan, the daughter of a former MO governor and U.S. senator announced her intention to run for the seat vacated by retiring Sen. Christopher Bond, a Republican. She could face a challenge, however, from another state figure with a well-known family name, GOP Rep. Roy Blunt. Menendez said Blunt will have to explain his leadership in the House.
"I'm not dismissing him," Menendez said. "I'm looking at the reality of Robin Carnahan."
Kansas
It's a sign of the nation's political evolution over the last presidential cycle that Democrats see opportunity in the retirement of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS). One rumored contender is Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has also been mentioned as a potential head of Health and Human Services.
Menendez suggested that she is still in the mix for Senate.
"Clearly, if Gov. Sebelius were to run, she wins," he said. "And I don't discard that possibility."
Florida
Gov. Charlie Crist is reported to be seriously considering a bid for the Sunshine State seat vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez. If he runs, he would be the biggest name on either side of the ticket. Democrats already lining up for a primary fight include: State Sen. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek.
But Menendez said that with Florida's economic woes and housing crisis, Crist might not be such an appealing candidate.
"I'm not sure that Floridians will feel that they're well-served by him in leaving them in that lurch," he said.
Connecticut
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has seen his popularity wane following news that he took a questionable home mortgage loan. He's in Republican crosshairs. Menendez stood by Dodd, who is serving his fifth term, saying that he has taken on tough issues and succeeded and that he's been in the eye of the storm before. He said he has heard the GOP's rumbling that they'll take on Dodd but that so far it's all talk.
"I see a lot of paper moving around with the Republicans," Menendez said. "I don't see any candidates against him."
North Carolina
Menendez said that Kay Hagan's win over incumbent GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole last year bodes well for the Democrats in the Tar Heel state. He said that he believes Sen. Richard Burr is "vulnerable."
"I believe we will have a great candidate in to challenge him," he said without naming names.
Texas
And finally, a sign of the chairman's confidence, perhaps, is his willingness to pitch Texas as a possible get for Democrats, should Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison run for governor, as is likely. "No place is a bridge to far for Democrats," Menendez said. "If that happens, we will have a great candidate in Texas."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
(photo, UPI)
WH Press Sec. Robert Gibbs signaled this afternoon that the Obama administration is sticking by the newly-embattled nomination of former Sen. Tom Daschle to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. At least for now.
"No one in this building or in this administration is insensitive to the report that was given this weekend about Sen. Daschle," Gibbs said during his daily briefing. "I think that includes Sen. Daschle. He discovered a mistake. ... He has paid now what he owed and paid interest on that."
The Senate, Gibbs said, "will examine not just one mistake in a career but look at that three decade career of public service."
The president believes that Daschle, who it was revealed over the last few days owed more than $140K in back taxes, "is the right person for the very important job," Gibbs added.
Daschle knew he owed money but did not pay up until last month when his confirmation hearing loomed large. So here's the rub in the Daschle situation. Despite his three decades of public service, this particular misstep kills Obama's messages of transparency and good government. If Daschle's nom isn't pulled by the administration, if he's confirmed by the Senate, he will also step on a key mantra of the long Obama campaign, that with his election cronyism would be a thing of the past.
Daschle wasn't the only Obama nom with a tax problem. New Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner owed back taxes. And Obama's first appointee to lead the Commerce Dept. -- NM Gov. Bill Richardson -- withdrew from consideration because of a brewing pay-to-play scandal in his home state.
Just curious ... But what would've happened had one of Obama's female nominees failed to pay taxes on home help or a nanny? Would that have been loaded enough -- smacked of Bill Clinton's early trouble appointing an AG without nanny troubles -- to speedily dump that candidate?
Double standard? Or simply poor practice?
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
WASHINGTON -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrigh said today that the 2012 Republican Party nominee will emerge from "a wide open field" -- but he suggested that AK Gov. Sarah Palin would have a "substantial advantage" in Iowa, the first-in-the nation caucus state, where she has "a very big base."
"If Sarah Palin seeks out a group of sophisticated policy advisers and spends time developing a series of fairly sophisticated positions," Gingrich said during his 33rd visit to the Christian Science Monitor breakfast series, "she is very formidable."
If the economy is still "a mess" a year from now, however, then Gov. Mitt Romney's business experience might become more relevant, Gingrich added. The former Speaker also mentioned another possible contender, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is expected to run for Texas governor.
Gingrich, who is running a policy organization called American Solutions, didn't make a pitch for his own candidacy.
"Nobody knows today who is going to fill the vacuum," he said, comparing this cycle with 1977, in particular, when Ronald Reagan was one of many well-known GOPers seeking the party's nomination.
Gingrich sharply critictized the Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders for not involving Republicans in the drafting process of the stimulus bill. He called the proposal, which the House approved last week without a single Republican vote, "a bad bill."
"If Nancy Pelosi wants to run a one-party dictatorship then she should run it with Democratic votes," Gingrich said.
With Republican input, Gingrich said the bill would have included additional tax cuts, more infrastructure spending and less money for welfare programs.
"You would've had a substantially different bill," he said.
Gingrich also suggested that the Obama bailout actually echoes the Bush administration's spending proposal.
"This is not change you can believe in," he said. "This is more of the same."
The former House leader, whose Contract with America swept Republicans into power in 1994, also suggested that former Bush Treasury Sec. Hank Paulson and Obama Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner have ties to Wall Street that make them predisposed to support economic policies friendly to the nation's banks.
"I think Geithner is fronting for the banks," Gingrich said.
The nation's economic slowdown will last between three to five years, Gingrich predicted, noting, too, that the White House's plan bails out businesses that are already laying off tens of thousands of workers. The government, he said, shouldn't be "cushioning" the failures of industry.
"You can't have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down," he said.
Gingrich also hammered the Democrats for supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the card-check bill. The proposal would make it easier for workers to join a union.
"I don't think the Democrats understand yet how unpopular this is going to be," he said.
Putting policy aside, however, Gingrich praised the Obama team. "It is as disciplined and strategic an effort as we've seen in our lifetime," he said.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Former MD Lt. Gov. Michael Steele told the national press today during his first availability as Republican National Committee chairman that his election to the post is "bold step" in the evolution of the GOP -- and he noted that he looks forward to sparring with Pres. Obama.
"I think it's a remarkable moment, some say it's historic, but it's just one more bold step that the party of Lincoln has taken since its founding," said Steele, the party's first black chairman.
Steele's selection followed six rounds of balloting over a period of six hours, a very public show of the party's labored soul searching. His win signals a desire within the GOP establishment to recast the party's image, which was damaged during eight years of the Bush administration as public opinion of the president plunged to record lows.
It was also an answer, several RNC members said privately, to the election of Pres. Obama, the nation's first black president. Diversity, others cautioned, was not the driving issue but an element of Steele's selection.
"I think it was important, but I don't think it was a single deciding factor," said Robin Smith, TN GOP chairwoman and a backer of SC GOP chairman Katon Dawson, today's runner up.
Steele, a former head of the MD GOP, sought to distance himself from statements he made during a failed 2006 U.S. Senate bid criticizing his party and President Bush. Running in the left-leaning state, Steele said at the time that being a Republican was like donning a Scarlet 'R'.
"That was then, and this is now," Steele said. "And this is a new moment for our party. And we can take that Scarlet badge off and wear a very proud 'R' on our chest."
Steele was not reluctant, meanwhile, to make the connection between his election to lead the Republican Party and the new Democratic president.
"It's going to be an honor to spar with him," he said of Obama.
When asked his plan for rebuilding the party, Steele, who served one term as MD's lt. gov., said he'll rely on the states to tell him what they need.
"I said to the members of the committee during this process is that my expectation is that they are going to come to me with ... a plan,' he said.
Steele bypassed an opportunity to criticize Rush Limbaugh for saying on the air recently that he hopes Obama fails, saying that Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, "has a First Amendment right to speak."
"Rush Limbaugh is a conservative voice in this party that clearly people must pay attention to," Steele said in response to a reporter's question. "Rush will say what he has to say. We will do what we have to do."
Not everyone appeared pleased with the outcome of voting. Some argued that they wanted someone with more grassroots organizing experience. The desire to choose one of their own members was another variable for many voting today.
"I wanted leadership from within the committee," said Donna Lou Gosney, a WV committeewoman who backed incumbent chairman Mike Duncan.
VA Gov. Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, issued a statement wishing Steele well:
"Together, we have the honor of leading our respective Parties during one of the most important periods in our country's history. I look forward to working with Chairman Steele as we set out to put partisanship and the politics of the past aside to get our economy working again. The American people have sent a clear message that the challenges we face are too great for us to get bogged down by outmoded ideological divides. They have challenged us to work together to find practical solutions that will put this country back on the right track. President Obama and the Democratic Party are answering that challenge, and I hope Chairman Steele will join us."
Steele said its time for the GOP to "get back in the game" and he called on "the next generation of Republican leaders across the country" to get involved. The new chairman, too, faces very real challenges though in raising money for key 2009 and 2010 races and in building an Internet operation to rival the one created by Obama last year.
"Let's get ready," Steele said, "it's going to be a new day."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Former MD Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele won the Republican National Committee chairmanship today on the sixth ballot.
The final vote: Steele, 91, and SC GOP chairman Katon Dawson, 77.
Steele, 50, also defeated the incumbent RNC chairman, Mike Duncan, who withdrew earlier in the contest.
"As a little boy growing up in this town, this is awesome," Steele said, addressing members of the RNC. "It is with a great deal of humility and a sense of service that I accept and appreciate and thank all of you for the opportunity to serve as the next national chairman."
Steele, the first African American chairman of the RNC, serves as head of GOPAC. He is perhaps best known, however, for his regular appearances on FOX News.
The final two candidates marked a critical choice for the GOP between the party's past and present: Dawson, the socially conservative southerner who recently resigned membership from an all white country club, and Steele, who was raised in Washington, D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood and found his way to Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown Law.
"To those who stand in difference with us, it's time for something completely different," Steele said to applause. "And we're going to bring it to you. We're going to bring this party to every corner, every board room, every neighborhood and every community. And we're going to say to friend and foe alike, we want you to be a part of us. ... And to those of you who will obstruct, get ready to get knocked over."
The party's members broke with the GOP's past as well by choosing a non member and a Yankee. Steele, many concluded in private conversations before and during the voting process, presented a fresh new face for the party, serving as an able messenger with a national profile.
He also provides racial diversity, of course, after Democrats elected the nation's first black president. And today he promised to help the GOP compete across the country, especially in regions dominated by the Democrats last cycle.
"I look forward to visiting all of you in your neighborhoods, in your backyards," he said.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
WASHINGTON -- It seems the good folks running the Capital Hilton might have considered rotating the merchandise in the hotel's lobby store. As members of the Republican National Committee gather here this week to elect a party chairman, a black t-shirt hangs out front. It is adorned with a picture of Barack Obama, arms folded across his chest, and the word "History" printed in big, bold letters.
It is a reminder to the 168 people charged with selecting the GOP's leadership that the challenge ahead is huge. They're not just tasked with resuscitating a party without message or messenger, without the White House or Congress under its wing, they're up against history, for goodness sake. The first African American president. The purveyor of all things hope and change. THE man who sparked a movement. Obamanation.
Obama, indeed, looms large over this week's chairman election, a six-way scramble to lead the party out of the deep depths of its electoral despair. Theirs is a search not to find a figurehead who could take it to Obama, because sentiment here is that's not the most important job of the next RNC leader, but to tap the right man to revamp the party's operations, from fundraising to registration to technology outreach. Nuts and bolts stuff.
"Reboot the RNC," cries out the stickers worn by advocates for Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis.
Another Anuzis supporter, a young woman wandering the hotel, punctuates that call with a sign draped across the side of her purse: "Live blogging, twittering, vlogging for Saul."
Anuzis might be making a play to be the RNC's Technology Czar, but others are looking to be the GOP's Spokesman in Chief (see former Ohio Sec. of State Ken Blackwell and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele) and others still are making what could be dubbed the Grassroots Guru appeal (see South Carolina Party Chairman Katon Dawson and the incumbent RNC chairman Mike Duncan).
And many, of course, have ambitions beyond the chairmanship (see most of the above). Fitting then that the hotel's Presidential Ballroom will host tomorrow's voting.
So in as much as members of a political party can have an identity crisis en masse, there's one afoot here. One GOPer described the race simply: "Jump ball."
Should activism prevail over personality?
"Duncan or Steele?" a guy asked former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, now the chairman of the state GOP, as he wandered the room before today's luncheon.
"I'm not even talking," barked the sometimes irascible Sununu, White House chief of staff to the first President Bush.
Campaign minions wandered about peddling campaign paraphernalia. Dawson's red stickers scream, "Katon!" Steele's signs are blue and modeled on the ones he used in his unsuccessful 2006 U.S. Senate bid, only these read "Steele, RNC chairman" not "Steele Democrat."
While consensus is tough to find around who should lead the party, most agree that tomorrow's balloting will take more than one round and perhaps several.
"There are 500 commitments on the second ballot among 168 people," said GOP consultant and television fixture Phil Musser.
Steele, for his part, appeared to be enjoying himself. "The fun is just beginning," he said to supporters perched ouside the event.
Others chirped that this frenzy represents democracy at its finest. If also its most unpredictable. Though many moments of the lunch event, featuring Wall Street Journal columnist and author John Fund, could have been pre ordained.
Duncan, in introducing Fund, hammered ACORN, a fixture of GOP attacks during the 2008 campaign, for registering Mickey Mouse in Florida and the whole of the Dallas Cowboys. He said Fund is who Bill Moyers, the journalist and former Lyndon Johnson press secretary, thinks he is.
Fund, author of "Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy," resented the complement. A person could walk through Moyers deepest work and "not get your feet wet," he said.
Maybe a quick jaunt to the hotel gift shop would provide GOPers with inspiration, guidance in their tortured decision making. The other comment on that Obama t-shirt? A quote from the newly-elected POTUS:
"For that is the true genius of America, that America can change."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
By Jennifer Skalka, editor, Hotline On Call, with reporting from Hotline writers Matthew Gottlieb, Katherine Lehr, Evan McMorris-Santoro and Steven Shepard
WASHINGTON -- Though the leadership of the Republican National Committee will meet in Washington this week to elect a chairman tasked with rebuilding the floundering party, even at this late date there is no clear frontrunner for the job, according to a recent phone and email survey of the RNC's 168 members conducted by National Journal's Hotline On Call.
While incumbent chairman Mike Duncan has an advantage among the six candidates hoping to lead the GOP, more members said they were undecided than supporting Duncan. And even more declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
Opinions varied widely about who has the best communication skills and leadership record necessary to transition the party out of the doldrums.
"We don't have the perfect candidate, but we have some who are more perfect than less perfect," said one Western region committeeman who asked not to be identified.
Duncan, who has presided over the GOP since January 2007, leads the pack with 24 committed supporters. He is trailed by Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, who is backed by 17 members; South Carolina Party chairman Katon Dawson, 12 supporters, Michigan Party chairman Saul Anuzis, 11 supporters; and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, with 10. Chip Saltsman, who led Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, does not have a solid vote, according to On Call's reporting.
Meanwhile, one member each said he or she is inclined to support Dawson, Saltsman and Steele.
By On Call's count, 29 members are undecided, and 60 did not respond. The survey was conducted over the last 10 days.
(The Massachusetts GOP is electing a new chairman this week, so that person could not be included in our tally.)
The chairman vote comes during a critical time for the Republican Party. Trounced in the November presidential contest, facing a growing technology deficit against the Democrats and an electorate weary of the contentious language and divisive politics utilized by the GOP during the Bush era, there is a call by some within the party for a new, younger and more positive leader at the helm. But that cry is tempered by the pleas of others who say that the conservative base - less than smitten with its 2008 presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona - must first be reenergized.
That balancing act is proving a challenge for the party in picking a leader. Its 168 members - who will vote by secret ballot during this week's three-day meeting at the Capital Hilton - must weigh who will best boost the party's national image with who might better handle the critical substantive tasks of growing its technology operation and helping to pitch a forward-looking policy agenda.
Many believe that dichotomy of purpose could help the soft spoken Duncan, a Kentuckian who has also served the party as general counsel and treasurer. Duncan has been a delegate to six national conventions and has worked on five GOP presidential campaigns, from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush. He has also weathered the 2008 election and knows better than anyone, supporters say, what the party needs to do over the next several years to try to match President Obama's formidable grassroots operation.
"I'm sticking with Mike Duncan," said Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "Whenever there is a disappointing election, it's easy to blame the chairman and call for change for the sake of change. ... But Mike did as good a job as one could under difficult circumstances."
Donna Lou Gosney, a West Virginia committeewoman who has also endorsed Duncan, said that he has been a "diligent" foot soldier for the party over the years and that he deserves another chance.
"Mike is one of the few in this who doesn't have an agenda," she said. "He's not running for anything. He's got one thing in mind, and that's the welfare of the party."
Duncan's supporters believe he will have to have a fine showing on the first ballot - collecting support from at least 60 members - to win reelection. If not, his backers could migrate to another candidate during the next round of voting, sensing a consensus for the incumbent might be hard to reach.
Committee members will cast ballots until one candidate wins the votes of 85 members. While many of those voting have already offered public endorsements, their loyalties can change. Momentum is key in the balloting process, as members can select a new candidate at any point.
Running second in our survey is Steele, who, as the first African American lieutenant governor in Maryland, ran unsuccessfully in 2006 for the state's open U.S. Senate seat. Steele, who heads GOPAC, has a contract with FOX News, and his supporters believe he's the best communicator in the bunch.
"We need a new face for the party, too," said Pat Brady, the committeeman from Illinois. "I think he will be a great person to carry our message."
But Steele's detractors question his commitment to the party's core values. He ran for Senate in left-leaning Maryland by downplaying his ties to the party and President Bush. Steele's bumper stickers were blue and appeared to identify him as a Democrat. And having run on a ticket with gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Steele has never won office on his own.
Steele is one of two black Republicans in the contest. The other is Blackwell. Blackwell has made a traditional values-based pitch for the job, and, likewise, he has garnered endorsements from high profile fiscal and social conservatives, including former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, Patrick Toomey of the Club for Growth and James Dobson of Focus on the Family.
Blackwell's bid seems to be resonating with those members who believe the party's survival requires intense outreach to the base.
Oklahoma Party Chairman Gary Jones said he is supporting Blackwell because he has a history of working with groups like the National Rifle Association and Family Policy Council.
"We lost" the White House in 2008, Jones said, "because we talked as conservatives and ran as conservatives and governed differently. ... The first thing you've got to do is consolidate the base and then reach out."
Jones also said that the party needs to elevate the importance of outreach to non white voters.
"The minorities are tired of us paying lip service," Jones said. "They want to see something."
But one Anuzis supporter - Giovanni Cicione, chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party - said that race shouldn't be a defining factor in who leads the GOP.
"I think there's a lot of ways to signal change and a new path for the party, and that alone shouldn't be a litmus test either way," Cicione said.
Anuzis' backers, like Connecticut GOP Chairman Chris Healy, believe he would bring grassroots organizing experience in a vital swing state to the job of party chairman. Healy said Anuzis understands that revamping the party's online outreach and fundraising will be critical to its future success. He noted that in the process of wooing members, Anuzis has not tried to "promise something to everybody" but has stressed that the party has to grow its ranks and teach activists how to win at every level of politics.
"He understands technology better than anybody in the party," Healy said.
Healy also emphasized that victory in this week's vote will turn not just on biography or the best plan for the party's rebirth but on which candidate has built the best personal connection with members.
Though Saltsman seems to have alienated many members by circulating a CD featuring a tune called "Barack the Magic Negro," Dawson, who until recently belonged to an all-white country club, appears to remain on the radar.
Brad White, the Mississippi GOP chairman, said he is supporting Dawson for his fundraising prowess, communication skills and tactical abilities.
"I'm a very firm believer that we need new leadership," White said. "I think it's time for Mike Duncan to go."
(Contact Jennifer Skalka at jskalka@nationaljournal.com)
** Fergus Cullen is no longer NH GOP chairman. As of Jan. 17, former Gov. John Sununu took over the job. Mike Duncan's total has been adjusted accordingly in the story.
I recently interviewed Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards via email about her expectations of the policy differences between the Bush and Obama administrations on reproductive health issues and abortion rights. As thousands gather on the National Mall today -- the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade -- for the March for Life, here are Richards' thoughts about which Bush initiatives should be reversed.
JS: The Bush era has been friendly to the anti-abortion community. Over the last eight years, Bush has reinstated the global gag rule, which restricts federal funding to overseas groups that provide abortion services, and his administration has advocated for abstinence-only education efforts. During his tenure, the Supreme Court upheld the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. President Obama has said he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act, limiting restrictions on abortion procedures. The choice community is looking to undo many of Bush's initiatives restricting access to abortions. So, what are the priorities for Planned Parenthood and like-minded groups for the earlier months of Barack Obama's first term?
CR: Planned Parenthood is first and foremost a health care provider. Each year, Planned Parenthood provides approximately five million women, men and adolescents with health care and education services worldwide. And with many Americans seeking affordable health care services, the eight years of the Bush administration have been devastating. With President Obama, we have a president who will work to ensure that women's health is a priority and that women have access to comprehensive and affordable health care services.
We look forward to working with President Obama on three critical women's health priorities:
First, we need commonsense policies that reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancies. We can do this by expanding family planning programs, restoring affordable birth control for college health clinics and low-income clinics, and investing in age-appropriate, medically accurate sex education and rejecting dangerous, ineffective abstinence-only programs.
Second, we must expand access to affordable family planning and prevention care, both domestically and internationally. That means increasing funding for Title X, the nation's family planning program; investing in cost-effective preventive health care, such as breast cancer screenings and Pap tests; reversing the global gag rule and restoring funding for the UN Population Fund, which both provide valuable family planning work internationally; and overturning Bush's midnight HHS regulation that would limit the rights of patients to receive complete and accurate health care information.
Third, we need to make sure that everyone has access to affordable, quality health care, especially women. Women are adversely affected by the soaring costs of health care. According to studies, women of childbearing age spend 68 percent more in out-of-pocket health care costs than men, in part because of reproductive health-related supplies and services. Planned Parenthood is also increasingly seeing more and more women who have no health insurance and can't afford it.
JS: Obama has said that he would sign FOCA as one of his first acts in office. In the time since he made that campaign trail pledge, however, the economy has tanked, unemployment has increased and several industries sit on the brink of financial ruin. Can the President afford to tackle policy matters related to abortion, long a divisive social issue, early in his administration?
CR: President Obama understands that the time has come to bring people together around commonsense solutions to reduce unintended pregnancies. The vast majority of Americans want government to focus on solving problems, such as increasing access to affordable health care, investing in prevention care, and helping children stay healthy and safe and not become parents before they are ready.
Planned Parenthood will work with the President to address the immediate problems that women are facing: access to affordable health care, reducing unintended and teen pregnancy, and investing in preventive health care. The Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would codify and protect a women's right to choose by securing women's access to reproductive health care services under federal law. It is one item on a long list of priorities that the Obama administration will have to tackle to reverse the damage of the past eight years.
JS: What's your advice for Obama about how he should shape his health care proposal to include coverage for reproductive health services such as Pap smears and breast exams? Should he push for contraception to be covered as well? What about the morning after pill?
CR: Investing in preventive health services such as Pap smears, family planning and breast exams not only saves lives, it's a smart economic investment, particularly during these difficult economic times. President Obama understands this and we believe his health care proposal will put women's health care needs first. First, this means increasing access to high-quality, affordable care.
The President has also said that any comprehensive health care plan should cover contraception to reduce unintended pregnancies. Contraception is basic health care: 98 percent of women use birth control at some point in their life, and 27 states require insurance companies that cover prescription drugs to cover the full-range of FDA-approved contraceptives. [LINK] Plan B, which is also contraception, should also be covered. Planned Parenthood is also holding Women's Health Matters Conversations across the country, engaging our supporters and taking part in the grassroots effort to reform our nation's health care system and build support for a comprehensive health care plan.
JS: Is there room for abstinence education in our schools' comprehensive sex education programs?
CR: Yes. Abstinence education already is a part of comprehensive sex education. All credible studies, including one funded by Congress have shown that abstinence-only programs don't work, and don't delay when teens have sex. In our society, teens need honest and accurate information so they can make responsible decisions. As the mother of two teenagers, I know it can be difficult to talk with your kids about sex. We need education programs in our schools that will keep teens healthy -- by including information about abstinence as well as contraception, healthy communication, responsible decision making, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. It's time to put money toward real solutions that will help prevent sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancies.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
WASHINGTON -- Many Americans -- and political figures -- struggle to find the appropriate intersection of faith and government in our society. Today's inaugural remarks -- the invocation given by Pastor Rick Warren, the Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction and President Obama's speech -- show that the interweaving of God and religion in public life will not likely be tempered by this new Democratic administration but rather could be ever more prevalent -- and yet more inclusive. These three men together created a narrative of faith in the public life that turned on love.
Warren, leader of the Saddleback Church who has equated the gay lifestyle with incest and whose selection by Obama to lead the nation in prayer was met with cries of outrage from many factions of the Democrat's base, did not shy away today from references to God in his invocation before the nation.
Warren began: "Almighty God, our father, everything we see and everything we can't see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made."
He continued by asking the Lord to bless the Obama family.
"I humbly ask this," he said, "in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus (Hay-soos), who taught us to pray."
In invoking the name of Jesus in four languages, Warren's message is that Jesus is his God but also the God of many, no matter race or nationality. It seems a modest outreach perhaps from a man who has used divisive, inflammatory language to describe the lifestyles of gay Americans. But relatedly, Obama would massage a broader point of the day, describing the diversity of Americans and their beliefs as a great asset.
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness," said the nations' 44th president. "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers."
Non-believers. Had to be a first reference in inaugural history.
Obama, a Christian, also referenced Paul's letter fo the Corinthians, which explains that the embracing of deep love marks maturity, a sense of self and purpose. A message that is easily broadened to apply to the governance of this great country -- especially emerging from the less tolerant, more rigid Bush years.
"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things," Obama said. "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
His allusion is to a chapter and verse that turns on the many measures of love:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous. ... it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury."
A translation for America during these trying times is that affection for the national cause, for our neighbors, too, marks a high purpose, a call to service even.
Lowery, who referenced God or Lord eight times during his benediction, made the pitch plain. "And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance," he said.
How will the era of Obama shape the use of religion in the public life? Faith as service. Service as love. Love as devotion to country -- and countrymen.
Here's Lowery:
"Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Continue reading "The Obama Inaugural: On God And "Non Believers"" »
From my perch in a press section near the front of the Capitol grounds, I saw the famed photographer Annie Leibovitz snapping shots of the inaugural ceremony. Wearing a black cap and black ski jacket and hiking boots, she darted about, changing cameras frequently, and shooting the officials on stage as well as the grand landscape of people who filled the National Mall.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and companion Diana Taylor perched in the back of the press section. He told a colleague that he was headed back to New York after the ceremony. Via Amtrak.
A hatless Usher wandered through as well. Adding a dash of cool to the pit.
Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin stopping by Rep. Anthony Weiner's post inaugural bash in the Rayburn HOB building.
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
WASHINGTON -- Barack Hussein Obama struck a somber, cautionary note today as he was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, advising a newly optimistic American public that healing the nation's economic woes and rekindling strained international relationships will require hard work, but also promising a break from the political rancor that has marked the last eight years.
"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord," he said, standing without a topcoat on this cold morning. "On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things."
Though he thanked President Bush at the outset for his service and for easing the transition between administrations, much of Obama's speech plainly denounced the policies and governing approach of his predecessor, a man who preferred his vacation home in Midland, Texas, or the peace of Camp David over Washington and governing. Bush, just the second son of a president to win the nation's highest office, was a central figure of Obama's brief address as the new president promised to rebuild the country with the help of everyday Americans.
"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given," he said. "It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."
Without naming them, Obama also said that the constitutional freedoms that have been hampered in recent years -- including perhaps warantless wiretapping and torture -- would be restored under his leadership.
"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals," said Obama, the former law professor. "Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."
His speech -- given before a National Mall dotted with flag waving citizens as far as the eye could see -- emphasized the importance of equality for all and included a promise to restore the "vital trust" between citizens and government. He advised those who aim to harm our nation, even in this time of great domestic financial concern, that the country's "spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."
"To the Muslim world," Obama said, "we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
Ordinary Americans braved bitter temperatures -- the day dawned at 19 degrees, according to local weather reports -- as well as a local transportation system not accustomed to carrying millions of people. They wore hats and furs, babies strapped to their chests, tucked safely underneath coats, and they carried cameras to document the day they saw the first African American assume the highest office in the land. While the journeying was difficult, spirits were high.
"I went to segregated schools," Ngina Lythcott, 63, a Boston University associate dean of students, said, her eyes filling with tears as she assessed the enormity of the 2M who gathered for this quadrennial tradition. "This is a miracle."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who leads the joint congressional committee handling inaugural matters, reveled early in the ceremony in the "sweet victory of this hour," calling Obama's election a "turning point for real and necessary change." She said no one should ever again doubt the supremacy of the ballot over the bullet in this nation.
Pastor Rick Warren, who gave the day's much anticipated invocation, also noted the historic nature of Obama's election, calling America the "land of unequaled possibility."
After the ceremony, the Obamas escorted the Bushes to a waiting helicopter outside the Capitol. The couples embraced warmly. Bush ascended the steps, turned and waved one final time. The helicopter lifted and traveled back over the building, allowing the President and First Lady a final view of the packed mall. Revelers exiting the event stopped in their tracks to watch Bush fly off. They waved back at him. Many cheered his departure.
"Goodbye," one woman said, gazing toward the sky. "Finally."
(JENNIFER SKALKA)
Continue reading "Obama: "We Have Chosen Hope Over Fear"" »
