Sen.Manchin Says Obama's Coal Policy's Beating The Crap Out His State (Too Late Joe You Helped To Elect Him)

West Virginia knew what it was doing when it overwhelmingly voted against President Obama in the recent election, they were trying to save their jobs. The number two coal mining state in the country knew that the President's energy policy has a goal of killing the coal industry. Well not everybody in the state knew. West Virginia Democratic Senator Manchin woke up this morning and realized that the president he helped to elect is anti-Coal.

Manchin exploded over the Obama administration’s anti-coal policies during a senate hearing today. 

We’re getting the living crap beaten out of us, there has been nothing more beat up than coal.

Manchin voiced his frustrations with rules put forward by Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency which have made it more costly and difficult for coal plants and coal mines to operate. 

They just beat the living daylights out of little West Virginia, but they sure like what we produce,” Manchin added. “We could do it a lot better if we had a government working with us as a partner. 

Manchin’s remarks were made while questioning Ron Binz, Obama’s nominee to head up the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates electric grids, gas pipelines, natural gas export terminals and hydroelectric power plants.

Hopefully come election time, West Virginia voters will remember that Joe Manchin helped to elect the guy who put them out of business.  Especially when one considers it is about to get much, much, worse.

This week, the EPA is expected to finally release its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), which will set emissions standards not just for the construction of future power plants, but for existing ones also.

Via: The Lid

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Becerra Pushes Immigration Overhaul as Deficit Reducer Again

Rep. Xavier Becerra has a plan for dealing with two thorny political problems at once this fall: bring down the national deficit by passing an immigration overhaul.

It’s an idea the House Democratic Caucus chairman has been pushing for years with little success, first during the Simpson-Bowles fiscal commission and then in his capacity as a member of the doomed supercommittee on deficit reduction.

“At that point, I think people were still just focused on the budget, the regular tools for fashioning a budget,” Becerra said in a recent interview with CQ Roll Call. “The idea didn’t go very far. I raised it again, and again it didn’t go very far, probably because we weren’t having a very expanded discussion about immigration reform and a lot of people didn’t know what it would mean to have an immigration bill and how it would fit in terms of the economy.”

But things are different now, Becerra continued. There is increasing urgency to avert a government shutdown or debt limit showdown with an aim to also curb spending, and the momentum for an immigration rewrite has grown following the 2012 elections.

“Each issue is looking for some locomotion, and I certainly think any time you can add a trillion dollars of deficit reduction to fiscal negotiations, that’s pretty big,” Becerra said. “And any time you can also give a jump-start to the reluctance of some on the Republican side to move on fixing the economy at the same time, I think that’s gotta help.”

Via: Roll Call

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Former L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Angered by Questions About Still Receiving Perks

2012 DNC Chairman initially laughs at reporter: 'The beautiful thing is I don't have to answer you anymore'

Former Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may have left office weeks ago, but he still receives its perks and bristled at a journalist asking why L.A. taxpayers should pay for them, CBS2 reports.

After Villaraigosa announced his first private sector job since leaving office last week, CBS investigative reporter David Goldstein confronted him about having six months of security “chauffeuring him around, with taxpayers footing the bill.”

Villaraigosa was not pleased to see Goldstein.

“The beautiful thing is, I don’t have to answer you anymore,” Villaraigosa said, chortling.

Goldstein also asked Villaraigosa, as he got in the passenger seat of an unmarked police vehicle, why he deserved a city car and city driver as an ex-mayor.

“Why don’t you ask Chief Beck about that?” he said before slamming the door:

In a statement, Chief Charlie Beck said, “We do not discuss the protection/security arrangements for our protectees.”

“Public figures often gather threats as a result of their public service to the city,” Cmdr. Andrew Smith added.

The duo wouldn’t say if there were any specific threats, but Villaraigosa is not the first former Los Angeles mayor to get special treatment.

Jim Hahn confirmed that he also received six months of security when he left office in 2005. Former Mayor Richard Riordan, however, said he didn’t.

Via: WFB

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Mood turns somber for Democrats in 2014 contest for Senate control

President Obama talked earlier this year of a Democratic takeover of the House, but instead his party is now in danger of losing the Senate.

The latest blow to their hopes of keeping the upper chamber came from former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D),who opted out of a race to replace retiring Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.)

Schweitzer’s decision deflated the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s annual retreat on Martha’s Vineyard, where many senators heard the news.

“People were very upset,” said a Democratic donor who was there.

That party seems likely to lose seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia, where it cannot find find strong candidates.

The GOP will probably need to capture six Democratic seats in 2014 to grab the majority, as Newark mayor Cory Booker is well positioned to win the seat held by interim Sen. Jeff Chiesa (R-N.J.) in a special election. Democrats hold a 54 to 46 advantage, counting two independents who caucus with them.

But they must also defend four vulnerable incumbents and the seat soon to be vacated by Sen. Tom Harkin (D) in Iowa, a swing state.

Sens. Mark Pryor and Mark Begich, Democrats from Arkansas and Alaska, where Obama lost badly in 2012, are in greatest danger. Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a three-term survivor perpetually on the GOP target list, and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who had a solid lead in a recent Public Policy Polling survey, will also have competitive races.

Pryor is seen as the most vulnerable, though Begich is a close second.

Via: The Hill

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NBC/WSJ poll: NRA more popular than entertainment industry

As Washington prepares for a political battle over the Obama White House's proposals to curb gun violence after the Newtown, Conn., shootings, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that the National Rifle Association is more popular than the entertainment industry.

Forty-one percent of adults see the NRA -- the nation's top gun lobby -- in a positive light, while 34 percent view it in a negative light.

By comparison, just 24 percent have positive feelings about the entertainment industry, and 39 percent have negative ones.

The NRA's fav/unfav score is virtually unchanged from its 41 percent-to-29 percent rating in the Jan. 2011 NBC/WSJ poll, nearly two years before the Newtown shootings.

"That seems to me to be a pretty remarkably stable figure," says GOP pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted this survey with Democratic pollster Peter Hart.

But it's a substantial improvement from the 1990s, when the NRA's negative ratings outweighed its positive ones in the NBC/WSJ survey.

The current poll also shows a sharp divide between attitudes among gun owners and non-gun owners.

Among those who own a gun, 62 percent view the NRA favorably. But that percentage drops to just 25 percent among those who don't.

The full poll -- which was conducted Jan. 12-15 of 1,000 adults (including 300 cell phone-only respondents), and which has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points -- will be released at 6:30 pm ET.

Via: First Read

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Dem Rep Moves to Block Obama's Congressional Pay Increase

A Democratic member of Congress is moving to block President Barack Obama's congressional pay increase. The move, led by John Barrow of Georgia, is to prevent the pay increase that Obama issued through an executive order from going into effect.

"At a time when American families face real hardship, it would be irresponsible to allow Congressional pay to increase," says Barrow in a statement. "Too many families face uncertainty in the New Year for Congress to get a bonus. Folks expect us to be looking out for them, not ourselves, and we should be working to lower taxes, cut spending, and get our nation's debt under control. Congress should get to work, and I urge the House leadership to do anything and everything possible to stop this pay increase for Members of Congress right away."

Barrow's office explains: "The Executive Order called for a pay increase for Members of Congress and other elected officials of 0.5 percent after March 27, 2013. During tonight's votes, Congressman Barrow will urge his colleagues to sign his letter to House Leadership urging them to bring legislation to the floor to block the pay increase."

Here's the letter Barrow is circulating to send to House leadership:

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, Leader Pelosi, Whip Hoyer,

We oppose the pay increase for Members of Congress granted by Executive Order on December 27, 2012. The Executive Order would raise our salaries by $900 per year, beginning March 27, 2013.

We believe that it is inappropriate for Members of Congress to receive a pay increase of any size while American families and taxpayers continue to face tough economic times.

We urge you to bring legislation to the floor to stop this pay adjustment as soon as possible.

Via: Weekly Standard

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Leader Reid rules out Senate vote on 'Plan B'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday the Senate will not vote on Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) "Plan B" to extend tax rates for family income below $1 million.

The Democratic leader blasted Boehner for wasting time on "fiscal cliff" legislation that will not see floor time in the upper chamber.

“We are not taking up any of the things that they’re working on over there now,” Reid told reporters. “It’s very, very, very unfortunate the Republicans have wasted an entire week on a number of pointless political stunts.” 

“The bill has no future, if they don’t know it now, tell them what I said,” he added.

Reid said Boehner should schedule a House vote on the Senate-passed bill to extend the Bush-era tax rates for family income below $250,000.  

“The Senate bill is the only one that will be signed into law. We could protect middle-class families tomorrow,” Reid said. “The Speaker refuses to bring our bill to the floor because it would pass.”

Republicans argue the Senate-passed bill is not a solution to the stalemate because it would allow tax rates on inheritances and dividend income to rise dramatically.

Democratic leaders say the GOP plan will not see the light of day in the upper chamber because it raises taxes on middle-class families, does not extend the college tuition tax credit, the earned income tax credit or the child tax credit and includes an “unrealistic proposal” for the estate tax. 

Boehner’s plan would keep the top estate tax rate at 35 percent. It is scheduled to rise to 55 percent without congressional action.

Via: The Hill

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House Democrats Declare The Tea Party Has Been Defeated…

MADISON, Wis.—The tea party, at least its widespread influence on Republican congressional candidates, "is over," declared the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the party group charged with electing Democrats to the House.

"House Republican incumbents—and their candidates—are running as far away from the Tea Party as they can," a pre-election DCCC memo provided to Yahoo News reads. "Regardless of whether [Republicans] win or lose, the Tea Party of 2010 is over. They've been forced on defense in the message fight all cycle long, and now those who win will have done so by giving up on the Tea Party."

The memo argues that Republican lawmakers who arose from the tea party are now promoting bipartisanship and willingness to compromise in their re-election bids instead of embracing the hard-line messages that propelled their campaigns two years ago.

It is possible, of course, that this Democratic declaration is premature. Tea party-backed candidates dominated Republican primary contests across the country in 2012, launching what could be a new class of future Republican leaders. In Texas, Ted Cruz defeated the establishment candidate backed by Gov. Rick Perry, and in Indiana, Richard Mourdock forced longtime Republican Sen. Richard Lugar into early retirement. Looking to 2013, tea party groups who are begrudgingly backing Mitt Romney have vowed to press him, should he become president, toward conservative positions.

The tea party, a grass-roots network of conservative activists, drove many Republican House and Senate candidates to victory in the midterm elections two years ago, but its influence seems to be overshadowed in 2012 by the presidential election. Still, the infrastructure that was built since the movement launched in 2009 has been used to promote Republican congressional candidates and serve as a backup ground game for Romney's presidential campaign.

Regardless of the health of the tea party's influence this election cycle, Republicans are widely expected to retain control of the House.

Via: Yahoo

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Obama campaign now buying ads in … Detroit

Via Mark Halperin and Jim Geraghty, who points out that Detroit’s TV market doesn’t reach Ohio. This is all about defending Michigan, which would have seemed crazy a month ago but now, in a world where The One is under 50 percent in Oregon, makes lots of sense. This is, after all, a state capable of electing a Republican governor (by a landslide) and a Republican legislature, and there’s a native son at the top of the GOP ticket. The last poll of Michigan — taken one week ago — showed a dead heat. I wonder what those Hopenchange internal numbers are showing right now. From Halperin:

An Obama aide tells me this on the Michigan ad buy:

“Restore Our Future went up with a $2 million buy in Michigan. We’re matching states where they go up. We’re not going to let them make a play anywhere.”

Both sides have enough money for these end-game ad forays. The real issues remain candidate time/visits, the psy-ops involved here, and the belief of some Republicans that a combination of Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania could surprise on Election Day.

My only question: How likely is it that any of those three states comes through for Romney if Ohio doesn’t? And if Ohio comes through, why do we need any of those states? Seems like maybe the Romney Super PAC’s ad buy is less about stealing Michigan to capture the presidency even if Ohio falls through than it is (a) forcing Obama to divert money to a formerly “safe” state, and (b) increasing the odds of a big red wave if there’s a final small tilt towards Romney nationally (or regionally) over the next seven days. In that case, he wouldn’t “need” Michigan to win but it’d be lovely to have it as proof of a mandate to govern, and that’ll come in handy in twisting Democratic arms during those fiscal cliff/deficit reduction negotiations.

Elsewhere in “painting the map red” news: Romney just went up with his first ad in Pennsylvania, a state that ABC moved from “safe Democratic” to “lean Democratic” just yesterday — along with Minnesota. In the northwest, Team Mitt may be eyeing not only Oregon but even Washington state(!) as having turned more purplish than anticipated. And here’s a new ad from Citizens United that’s going up in Wisconsin and New Hampshire — a.k.a. Romney’s Plan B — but it’s not aimed at drumming up GOP turnout. In fact, it’s airing not on Fox News but on CNN and MSNBC. When you watch, you’ll understand why.

Via: Hot Air
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IS VOTER FRAUD BEING COMMITTED IN OHIO?

Somali's Invade Polling Stations in OHIO accompanied by Democratic Interpreters.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two volunteer poll workers at an Ohio voting station told Human Events that they observed van loads of Ohio residents born in Somalia — the state is home to the second-largest Somali population in the United States — being driven to the voting station and guided by Democratic interpreters on the voting process. No Republican interpreters were present, according to these volunteers.

While it’s not unusual for get-out-the-vote groups to help voters get to the polls, the volunteers who talked to Human Events observed a number of troubling and questionable activities.

A source, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a volunteer outside the Morse Road polling center.  She has witnessed Somalis who cannot speak English come to the polling center. They are brought in groups, by van or bus. The Democrats hand them a slate card and say, “vote Brown all the way down.” Given that Sherrod Brown is the incumbent Democrat Senator in Ohio, one can assume that this is the reference.

Non-English speaking voters may use an interpreter. The interpreters are permitted by law to interpret for the individual voting; however, they are forbidden from influencing their vote in any way. Another source who also wishes to remain anonymous has seen Democrat interpreters show the non-English speaking Somalis how to vote the Democrat slate that they were handed outside. According to this second source, there are not any Republican Somali interpreters available.

The logical follow-up question is whether a non-English speaking person is an American citizen. Although Republican leadership in Ohio passed a voting reform law, it was repealed by the legislature itself after the Democrats threatened a referendum. According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s web site, someone wanting to vote early in Ohio must supply one of the following in writing on the absentee ballot form, whether voting early by mail or in person: an Ohio driver’s license number; the last four digits of the social security number; or a copy of a current and valid photo identification, military identification, or a current — within the last 12 months — utility bill, including cell phone bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the person’s name and address in addition to the voter registration acknowledgement.

Via: Human Events

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JUST MORE WORDS: They Said It! Dem Pollster Says “Voters Still Don’t Know” What Obama’s Plans Are

Rasmussen Reports, the first polling outfit to release a survey from Ohio taken after the third and final presidential debate, shows that Mitt Romney has now pulled even with President Obama among the state’s likely voters — at 48 percent support apiece.  This is the first time since the summer that Rasmussen doesn’t show Obama ahead in Ohio.  In four previous polls released this fall, Rasmussen had always shown Obama ahead in the Buckeye State — by one point each time. 

Today’s release is the first Ohio poll in which Rasmussen shows each of the two candidates’ net favorability ratings, which can sometimes seem to provide an early indication of future polling movement.  The poll shows Romney with a net favorability rating of +5 points (51 percent favorable, 46 percent unfavorable) and Obama with a net favorability rating of zero points (49 percent favorable, 49 percent unfavorable). 

Ohio voters trust Romney over Obama on the economy (51 percent trust Romney more; 44 percent trust Obama more).  

In addition, as Ohio voters have shown in the past, they can’t stand Obamacare — which could give Romney an advantage if he presses that case (in person and especially on the airwaves) in the final fortnight of the race. 

Via: Weekly Standard

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