The Family Research Council hosted its annual Values Voters Summit over the weekend. Politico reports that a straw poll taken there finds that Mike Huckabee is the front-runner for President in 2012 among the religious right.
Also from that straw poll, FiveThirtyEight.com explains how passionate opposition to gay marriage is waning among Evangelicals.
Is that why former President George W. Bush refused to talk about it in the end? The Huffington Post reports on more Bush Administration dirt from the new book by Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer.
Meanwhile, the AP reported updates on Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-SC) re-election prospects over the weekend.
And President Obama appeared on all 3 network Sunday morning talk shows. Here are some of the highlights:
Showing posts with label Joe Wilson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Wilson. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Top Stories: 9/18/09
Politico reports on the Deeds-McDonnell debate last night in Virginia.
Paul Krugman discusses the Baucus healthcare bill in his column.
The Huffington Post reports that in a press conference, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius scolded NBC White House Correspondent Chuck Todd for improperly sneezing.
Andrew Gellman at FiveThirtyEight.com relays an interesting new Pew survey on public opinion towards the news media.
And Thursday night SNL returned yesterday with this skit about the GOP planning Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie!" outburst:
Paul Krugman discusses the Baucus healthcare bill in his column.
The Huffington Post reports that in a press conference, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius scolded NBC White House Correspondent Chuck Todd for improperly sneezing.
Andrew Gellman at FiveThirtyEight.com relays an interesting new Pew survey on public opinion towards the news media.
And Thursday night SNL returned yesterday with this skit about the GOP planning Rep. Joe Wilson's "you lie!" outburst:
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Top Stories: 9/16/09
All of this morning's stories are continuations of things we've posted about already!
Rep. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson (R-SC) - as it is now well known - was slapped with a Resolution of Disapproval by the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday.
Jimmy Carter speaks out about conservative protesters, saying race is very much a factor. "Those kind of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care," he said. "It's deeper than that."
Renard Sexton at FiveThirtyEight.com updates us on the Afghan Election.
And there's yet another New Media leak in the Obama-Kanye story! The celebrity gossip news source TMZ has obtained an audio clip (below) of what the president said.
Rep. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson (R-SC) - as it is now well known - was slapped with a Resolution of Disapproval by the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday.
Jimmy Carter speaks out about conservative protesters, saying race is very much a factor. "Those kind of things are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care," he said. "It's deeper than that."
Renard Sexton at FiveThirtyEight.com updates us on the Afghan Election.
And there's yet another New Media leak in the Obama-Kanye story! The celebrity gossip news source TMZ has obtained an audio clip (below) of what the president said.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Is Obama Opposition All About Race?
One unexpected result of Rep. Joe Wilson’s (R-SC) outburst during President Obama’s speech last week has been the topic of racial anxiety among Republican - almost entirely white - voters.
Today Politico reports that many Democrats have come to see the opposition to Obama’s presidency as at least somewhat race driven.
This comes not long after the Los Angeles Times reported a growing “problem” Obama had in losing white support. Tom Schaller at FiveThirtyEight.com argued that the “problem” was being overblown for the most part, but it does seem to suggest that the divide over the 44th president’s performance is at least partially racial.
Just as they were infuriated by the Department of Homeland Security’s report that right-wing militia groups could spawn domestic terrorism, conservatives are undoubtedly becoming infuriated by the suggestion that their opposition to President Obama’s policies are due to racism. Conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh will undoubtedly say that Democrats are “playing the race card” now.
Of course, many social psychologists can easily explain what’s happening. Studies show that the image of a black man can evoke subconscious fears, anxieties, etc. in whites. Therefore, it wouldn’t be to far-fetched to assume that the unprecedented intensity of opposition coming from Tea-Baggers, birthers, and other hard-line anti-Obama conservatives is due to a little racial undercurrent.
Joe Wilson served as the perfect example. As a white Southerner (the South has by far the saddest record of race relations) he gave evidence to that theory when he made an unprecedented outburst (screaming “you lie!” of all things) during a presidential address to Congress.
But can Democrats admit it openly?
So far, it’s been liberal pundits and Democratic activists that have been ready to call their conservative counterparts out on the issue of race - politicians have known better.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we relayed an article from the New York Times explaining how then President-Elect Obama had been “an omnipresent icebreaker” for racial anxiety.
But Obama took a bit of a hit in the polls earlier this summer when he said that the Cambridge, MA police had acted “stupidly” in their arrest of an African-American Harvard professor. There was a huge racial divide on that subject - blacks supporting the professor, white’s supporting the arresting officer - and Obama’s mismanaged reaction resulted in a small (even just temporary) drop in the polls.
So far, neither the Obama Administration nor the Democratic Party will speak directly to the question of race in this debate. And that’s exactly what they want to do. Affirming the speculations of race-driven opposition will only hurt Obama among moderate whites while denying the speculations would hurt his position with progressives and minorities.
So the opposition to this president is (very likely) partially driven by racial anxiety. Unfortunately we can’t really admit it.
Today Politico reports that many Democrats have come to see the opposition to Obama’s presidency as at least somewhat race driven.
This comes not long after the Los Angeles Times reported a growing “problem” Obama had in losing white support. Tom Schaller at FiveThirtyEight.com argued that the “problem” was being overblown for the most part, but it does seem to suggest that the divide over the 44th president’s performance is at least partially racial.
Just as they were infuriated by the Department of Homeland Security’s report that right-wing militia groups could spawn domestic terrorism, conservatives are undoubtedly becoming infuriated by the suggestion that their opposition to President Obama’s policies are due to racism. Conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh will undoubtedly say that Democrats are “playing the race card” now.
Of course, many social psychologists can easily explain what’s happening. Studies show that the image of a black man can evoke subconscious fears, anxieties, etc. in whites. Therefore, it wouldn’t be to far-fetched to assume that the unprecedented intensity of opposition coming from Tea-Baggers, birthers, and other hard-line anti-Obama conservatives is due to a little racial undercurrent.
Joe Wilson served as the perfect example. As a white Southerner (the South has by far the saddest record of race relations) he gave evidence to that theory when he made an unprecedented outburst (screaming “you lie!” of all things) during a presidential address to Congress.
But can Democrats admit it openly?
So far, it’s been liberal pundits and Democratic activists that have been ready to call their conservative counterparts out on the issue of race - politicians have known better.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we relayed an article from the New York Times explaining how then President-Elect Obama had been “an omnipresent icebreaker” for racial anxiety.
But Obama took a bit of a hit in the polls earlier this summer when he said that the Cambridge, MA police had acted “stupidly” in their arrest of an African-American Harvard professor. There was a huge racial divide on that subject - blacks supporting the professor, white’s supporting the arresting officer - and Obama’s mismanaged reaction resulted in a small (even just temporary) drop in the polls.
So far, neither the Obama Administration nor the Democratic Party will speak directly to the question of race in this debate. And that’s exactly what they want to do. Affirming the speculations of race-driven opposition will only hurt Obama among moderate whites while denying the speculations would hurt his position with progressives and minorities.
So the opposition to this president is (very likely) partially driven by racial anxiety. Unfortunately we can’t really admit it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Top Stories: 9/11/09
Eight years have passed since the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. Below is a live feed of the ceremonies marking this day:
The DCCC says that Rob Miller - Rep. Joe "the Heckler" Wilson's (R-SC) challenger - has now raised over $750,000 since the incumbent's outburst Wednesday night, according to Politico.
Politico has also launched a new page: "CLICK" - filled with all sorts of DC gossip and fun political stories.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says that unemployment will "absolutely" be down one year from today.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) says that the 10th Amendment could be used in a constitutional argument against healthcare reform.
Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com explores what effect President Obama's speech will actually have on public opinion regarding healthcare.
And Letterman gives Rep. Wilson's top ten excuses for disrupting the speech:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
The DCCC says that Rob Miller - Rep. Joe "the Heckler" Wilson's (R-SC) challenger - has now raised over $750,000 since the incumbent's outburst Wednesday night, according to Politico.
Politico has also launched a new page: "CLICK" - filled with all sorts of DC gossip and fun political stories.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says that unemployment will "absolutely" be down one year from today.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) says that the 10th Amendment could be used in a constitutional argument against healthcare reform.
Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com explores what effect President Obama's speech will actually have on public opinion regarding healthcare.
And Letterman gives Rep. Wilson's top ten excuses for disrupting the speech:
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Will Wilson be the Next Bachmann?
Last night President Obama delivered what might have been a game-changing speech on healthcare. Focus groups and polls taken before and after the address suggest that he may have significantly shifted public opinion.
But all that anyone can seem to focus on today - at least in the blogosphere - is the outburst by a nationally-obscure politician, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). When the president said his proposal was not open to illegal immigrants, Wilson shouted “You lie!” at the Commander-in-Chief.
Watch the outburst here (start at about 1:15):
Almost immediately following the outburst, a swarm of activity began among the nation’s political activists - both to the left and to the right.
Facebook groups like “Defeat Congressman Joe ‘the Heckler’ Wilson (R-SC)” have sprung up within Democratic circles. Wilson’s Democratic opponent, Iraq-War veteran Rob Miller, has raised over $350,000 (more than seven times his war chest previously) from over 5000 donors since the disruption. And the House Majority Leader and Whip are pushing for a censure of the incumbent Republican.
On the other side of the spectrum, Wilson’s Facebook page is littered with compliments from supporters, congratulating Wilson for “calling it like it is” and so on. Although it hasn’t been reported yet, chances are that Wilson’s campaign has brought in some extra cash since he yelled at the president.
While it’s hard to say for sure at this point, all this buzz about Wilson might not go away any time soon - at least not during this election cycle. Eleven months and a General Election have gone by since Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) gave this troubling interview with Chris Mathews that made her an infamous target of liberals:
She still beat her opponent handedly in the conservative district she represents, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) - which is really the deciding force behind whether or not a GOP incumbent will have an active race - continues to target Bachmann as a darling for the left to hate.
Word is that the DCCC is now considering action to target Wilson’s seat. After all the attention his outburst generated, it might still be targeted for some time to come.
UPDATE: After Wilson released this video to supporters, his campaign raised over $200,000 - about double what he had in his war chest.
It looks like the plot thickens.
But all that anyone can seem to focus on today - at least in the blogosphere - is the outburst by a nationally-obscure politician, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). When the president said his proposal was not open to illegal immigrants, Wilson shouted “You lie!” at the Commander-in-Chief.
Watch the outburst here (start at about 1:15):
Almost immediately following the outburst, a swarm of activity began among the nation’s political activists - both to the left and to the right.
Facebook groups like “Defeat Congressman Joe ‘the Heckler’ Wilson (R-SC)” have sprung up within Democratic circles. Wilson’s Democratic opponent, Iraq-War veteran Rob Miller, has raised over $350,000 (more than seven times his war chest previously) from over 5000 donors since the disruption. And the House Majority Leader and Whip are pushing for a censure of the incumbent Republican.
On the other side of the spectrum, Wilson’s Facebook page is littered with compliments from supporters, congratulating Wilson for “calling it like it is” and so on. Although it hasn’t been reported yet, chances are that Wilson’s campaign has brought in some extra cash since he yelled at the president.
While it’s hard to say for sure at this point, all this buzz about Wilson might not go away any time soon - at least not during this election cycle. Eleven months and a General Election have gone by since Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) gave this troubling interview with Chris Mathews that made her an infamous target of liberals:
She still beat her opponent handedly in the conservative district she represents, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) - which is really the deciding force behind whether or not a GOP incumbent will have an active race - continues to target Bachmann as a darling for the left to hate.
Word is that the DCCC is now considering action to target Wilson’s seat. After all the attention his outburst generated, it might still be targeted for some time to come.
UPDATE: After Wilson released this video to supporters, his campaign raised over $200,000 - about double what he had in his war chest.
It looks like the plot thickens.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
