Archive for the ‘National Politics’ Category
Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney Political Biography
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947)
Political Career/Connections
Party Affiliation: Republican
1994: Republican candidate for U.S. Senate for Massachusetts (lost to Senator Ted Kennedy 58 % to Romney’s 41 %)
2002: Republican candidate fo r Massachusetts governor. (Won 50% to 45%)
2003-20007: Governor of Massachusetts
2008: Candidate for the Republican Presidential Nomination (Lost to John McCain)
2011-2012: Candidate for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination
Jan. 3, 2012–Mitt Romney won a very close race to win the Iowa Caucuses, narrowly beating Rick Santorumby eight votes.Jan. 10, 2012–Romney won the New Hampshire primary.
George McGovern, the 89 year-old former Democratic Presidential Candidate in 1972, fell and was hospitalized in South Dakota. McGovern is best known in American Political History as the liberal candidate who lost in a landslide to President Richard Nixon in the 1972 Presidential Election.
http://yhoo.it/m2phfz George Will has a theory on Weiner sex scandal.
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Sargent Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenneger
Sargent Shriver
(1915-2011)
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American politician and activist. Referred to as Sargent Shriver or just Sarge, he is best remembered as part of the Kennedy family and as the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps. He was also the Democratic Party’s candidate for U.S. Vice President, replacing first nominee Thomas Eagleton, who resigned from the ticket, during the 1972 U.S. presidential election. Sargent Shriver died at the age of 95 on January 18, 2011.Sargent Shriver’s life is a testament to the belief that public service is a high calling for those wishing to serve their country. He entered the political sphere in 1940, founding the anti-war organization “America First,” along with future President Gerald Ford, and future Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. Despite his belief that America should not enter the World War, he volunteered for the U.S. Navy out of a conviction that citizens must serve to protect the nation. He suffered shrapnel wounds at the Battle of Guadalcanal, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant.
After the war, he was chosen by Joseph Kennedy to manage Merchant Mart, a major department store in Chicago. In his service to the Kennedy financial empire, he became acquainted with Eunice Kennedy, who he married in 1953. In 1960, Sargent Shriver was a major player in the campaign of Eunice’s brother, John Kennedy. During the Kennedy Administration, Shriver became the first Director of the Peace Corps. Under Kennedy’s successor, President Johnson, Shriver became the first Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, where he oversaw the creation of VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), Head Start, Community Action, Foster Grandparents, Job Corps, Legal Services, Indian and Migrant Opportunities, and Neighborhood Health Services. Sargent and Eunice Shriver played a significant role in the creation and acceptance of the Special Olympics.
In 1968, Shriver became the U.S. Ambassador to France during a turbulent period in American foreign relations. He ran for Vice-President as George McGovern’s running mate.
Shriver is perhaps best known in the 21st Century as the father of Maria Shriver and the father-in-law of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger.
Shriver lost his beloved wife in 2009, and he lost his long battle with Alzheimer’s on January 18, 2011.
Gay voters angry at Democrats could sway election (AP) http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101024/ap_on_el_ge/us_gay_voters
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Dino Rossi Inches Closer to Challenging Patty
Murray in Washington State
In a speech on May 21, 2010, Republican Dino Rossi
spoke of policy and politics, but came just short of
saying he will challenge incumbent Democratic Senator
Patty Murray, who is up for re-election this November.
Speculation has centered around Rossi, who has valuable
state-wide name recognition and respect among
conservative voters after two failed, but close,
campaigns against Washington Governor Christine
Gregoire. Other Republicans have softly criticized
Rossi, saying he must make up his mind soon, since many
funding and endorsement decisions stakeholders are
awaiting news as to whether or not Rossi is indeed in the
race. Already declared Republican candidates include
businessman Paul Akers, ex-NFL football player Clint
Didier and state Sen. Don Benton.
Rossi
at Senate Starting Gate: Will He?–by Joel Connely,
Seattle P-I, May 21, 2010
Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden gave up his long-time position as Delaware’s senior Senator, and the Governor of Delaware, Ruth Ann Minner (D), picked an old political crony and senior adviser of Biden’s to replace the new Vice-President. Ted Kaufman has worked with Joe Biden for decades in Washington D.C. as Biden’s Chief of Staff, and Kaufman had already declared that he will not run for re-election.
This actually caused a bit of controversy as it was widely assumed that Kaufman was serving as a “place-holder” for Joe Biden’s son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who was considered very likely to run for the seat in the 2010 Senate election. At the time of the appointment of Kaufman, the younger Biden was preparing to be deployed to Iraq with his National Guard unit, and took himself out of the running as an appointed replacement for his father’s Senate seat.
Joe Biden has a reputation for speaking his mind, and for being fairly honest with his opinions (for a politician), and had this to say on the speculation surrounding his son and his Senate seat:
“It is no secret that I believe my son, Attorney General Beau Biden would make a great United States Senator—just as I believe he has been a great Attorney General. But Beau has made it clear from the moment he entered public life, that any office he sought, he would earn on his own. If he chooses to run for the Senate in the future, he will have to run and win on his own. He wouldn’t have it any other way.”
With Kaufman taking himself out of the 2010 election, the early betting had a Democratic primary contest between Attorney General Beau Biden and Delaware’s outgoing Lieutenant Governor John Carney. Carney lost the 2008 Governor’s primary by 1,700 votes to Governor-Elect Jack Markell. Carney had been considered as a potential Senate candidate for whenever Biden would have moved on or retired, prior to the ascendency of a potential Biden Dynasty.
In October, 2009, Rep. Mike Castle, who is a former two-term Republican Delaware governor, announced his candidacy for Joe Biden’s old Senate Seat.
In late January, 2010, Beau Biden sent shockwaves through Delaware politics, and struck another body blow to the Democratic Party’s attempts to retain control of the Senate in the 2010 Congressional Elections when he announced that he would not run for his father’s old Senate Seat.
From http://www.historyguy.com/politics/filling_biden_senate_seat.htm
Senator Joe Lieberman and Senator John McCain are very close political allies, but Lieberman is still an economic liberal, and, well, McCain is not. Their differences popped up recently as Lieberman criticized a new McCain radio ad blasting President Obama’s economic policies.
From CNN:
“In a new radio ad released Thursday, McCain takes on the record deficit spending by the Obama administration, which has defended it as an effort to pull the country out of the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression.
“President Obama is leading an extreme, left-wing crusade to bankrupt America,” McCain says in the new ad, I stand in his way every day.”
Asked about McCain’s new ad Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, Sen. Joe Lieberman said “You know, every now and then, John McCain and I disagree.”
Kennedy Denied Communion: Is the Catholic Church Sending Message on Health Care Debate and Abortion?
The Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has denied Communion to Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island due to the Liberal Democrat’s stand on health care and on abortion. The Catholic Church is opposed to abortion, and is worried about the status of abortion in the recent health care debate.
With the health care debate heating up on Capital Hill, is this very public rebuke of a scion of the nation’s leading political family a not-to-subtle message to other Catholic lawmakers not to vote for a health care bill that includes government funding for abortions? Patrick Kennedy is a leading advocate for major health care reform, as well as a leading voice in favor of abortion rights.
It should also be noted that the news of this dispute between Bishop Tobin and Patrick Kennedy comes on the Nov. 22 anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was the uncle of Patrick Kennedy.
Sources and links:
http://www.historyguy.com/biofiles/kennedy_family_dynasty.htm#kennedyfamilydynastypatrickkennedy
President Obama Signs Emergency Declaration for H1N1 Flu
In keeping with the administration’s proactive approach to H1N1 Flu, President Obama last night signed a proclamation declaring 2009-H1N1 Influenza a national emergency. The proclamation enhances the ability of our Nation’s medical treatment facilities to handle a surge in H1N1 patients by allowing, as needed, the waiver of certain standard federal requirements on a case-by-case basis. A copy of the proclamation and the accompanying message to Congress are attached.
The foundation of our national approach to the H1N1 flu has been preparedness at all levels –- personal, business, and government –- and this proclamation helps that effort by advancing our overall response capability.
Please check Flu.gov for the most up-to-date news on H1N1, preparedness, and vaccine distribution.