At an outdoor rally today, the president described the health-care debate as a referendum on the “character” of the country, and I do believe he was correct. The president is pushing legislation that a clear majority of the people dislike, and whose details neither he nor his supporters can explain in simple language. Its ends-justify-the-means passage will require legislative gymnastics that border on the unconstitutional, and in Orwellian fashion are designed to reassure its sheepish supporters that they can appear not to be voting for the bill they vote for. And to achieve a House majority, Obama must offer an...
Unlike George W. Bush and the Republicans in 2002, Reagan did not try to divert the electorate’s attention away from the economy. Foreign policy and national security played almost no role in the election. Nor did abortion or school prayer. The election was very much a referendum on Reagan and his economic policies. Many Republican candidates wanted to run on local issues, but Reagan knew that he and his economic policies were going to be more important--in the final tally 70 percent of the voters told pollsters that they were voting “for or against Ronald Reagan”--and he wanted to confront...
Seeking to overturn the city's medical marijuana ordinance even before it takes effect, a loose-knit coalition of Los Angeles collectives is quietly gathering signatures to force a referendum on the law. The scrappy, largely volunteer effort faces a Monday deadline to turn in 27,425 valid signatures. "We're getting down to the wire here," said Dan Halbert, who runs Rainforest Collective in Mar Vista and has coordinated the campaign. "It's going to be close."
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer went on the defense Monday night after U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl and former Scottsdale congressman J.D. Hayworth said they opposed a temporary 1-cent sales tax hike to deal with budget deficits. Brewer said if voters do not approve the May 18 referendum, Arizona will have to cut $1 billion from schools and public safety. “The Arizona Legislature and I have already adopted the largest permanent spending reductions in state history – well over $2 billion permanently reduced, out of what was once a $10 billion annual budget, with the adoption of this year’s...
The Metropolitan Transit Authority intends to issue an estimated $2.6 billion in bonds in the next four years to help pay for five new light rail lines, about four times the debt capacity voters authorized in a 2003 referendum, Metro officials confirmed Tuesday. Metro leaders insist the borrowing will not exceed the $640 million debt ceiling set by voters because the agency is allowed other borrowing capacity by state law, and much of the bonds will be paid with money from ridership fares. But critics sharply criticized the plans as going far beyond what voters approved, noting that revenues from...
Voters in Iceland have overwhelmingly rejected proposals to pay back debts to the UK and the Netherlands in the wake of the collapse of the Icesave bank. With a third of results counted, 93% of voters said "No" in Saturday's referendum.
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Icelanders overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would saddle each citizen with $16,400 of debt in protest at U.K. and Dutch demands that they cover losses triggered by the failure of a private bank, first results show.
About 75 per cent of Iceland is expected to vote “no” in an emotionally charged referendum to be held tomorrow. Despite last-minute negotiations with the UK and the Dutch finance ministry, the referendum looks a lost cause. -SNIP- A “no” vote could be an existential decision for Iceland, cutting it off from global markets. An Icesave settlement is needed to free up funds from its $10 billion IMF rescue package.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to endorse Dawn Johnsen, Barack Obama’s nominee for Justice Department legal counsel, after a heated debate Thursday over Johnsen’s past statements about abortion and George W. Bush’s national security policies. Johnsen’s nomination heads to the Senate floor on a 12-7 committee vote amid repeated and intense GOP attacks that she would bring "partisan" and "extremist" views to her role as counsel. Johnsen’s nomination has already been blocked once by the Senate. The back-and-forth between Republican and Democratic senators Thursday was as much a referendum on Johnsen's qualifications for the Office of Legal...
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that Republicans running in this fall's midterms will campaign on repealing the Democrats' healthcare reform bill should it pass. McConnell held a press conference at the Capitol soon after President Barack Obama urged lawmakers to take a final "up-or-down vote" on the health bill, but did not use the word "reconciliation." "I assure you that if somehow this bill is passed, it won't be behind our Democratic friends it will be ahead of them because every election this fall will be a referendum on this issue," McConnell said. "And there's an overwhelming...
Friday, March 19, 2010
0 Comments