Why Democrats shouldn't toy with Lindsey Graham

(News Terupdate) - Sen. Lindsey Graham is the new John McCain. Scratch that. Actually, he's the old John McCain.

That is, he's an independent Republican, often a lonely soul as he works with Democrats to get some deals on intractable issues such as climate change, immigration reform and the closing of Guantanamo Bay.

McCain used to be right there with the South Carolina Republican. Only now he's too busy (and electorally challenged) fending off a right-wing primary assault in Arizona. Seems that the 'maverick' moniker doesn't work as well when it means crossing the aisle to work with those big-government Democrats. So McCain's old Senate role became Lindsey Graham's new Senate role.

Until recently. That's when Graham went ballistic, in the finest McCain tradition, after discovering through media reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was about to pull a fast one by bringing up immigration reform before climate change.

It's not that Graham hasn't worked on both issues. He has, and mightily so. It's just that he strongly believes that climate change is:

a) Legislation that's ready to go.

b) Actually has a chance of passage.

c) Is something business actually wants to get done.

Oh, and by the way, he also believes with good reason that Reid only changed the Senate schedule because immigration reform:

a) Helps energize Hispanic voters for Democrats.

b) Helps Reid with Hispanic voters back home in Nevada.

c) Shows Hispanic voters that the Democrats tried, even if the bill fails.

That's why Graham wrote an open letter declaring that "Moving forward on immigration -- in this hurried, panicked manner -- is nothing more than a cynical political ploy." And it's also why Reid and the White House made it clear the next day that the Senate can take up both measures. In fact, now Reid has said that he's happy to do either bill that's ready first.

Here's the truth: Senators are not excited about voting on either measure before the election.

Climate change legislation could require tax increases, although one late compromise version eliminates the "carbon linkage fee" and replaces it with a plan that would allow companies to buy carbon allowances. Even so, as one aide to a senator in the Democratic leadership told me, "after stimulus, after the bailouts, after health care, the last thing Democrats want to do is vote on something that could be called a tax raiser."

But at least one version of a climate change bill has passed the House. The same cannot be said for legislation on immigration reform, which hasn't even been written. While Graham and his colleagues, Democrat John Kerry and independent Joe Lieberman, have been toiling for six months on energy, immigration reform has languished; hence, the anger of Latino groups.

So sure, Democrats would like a test vote to get out their base. But there has to be a real bill to vote on, and there isn't any. The only reality is the political reality: Renewing the call for immigration reform is a good base-builder for Democrats afraid of what may happen to them in the 2010 midterm elections.

Reid's strategy, however, is not without some risk. I've spoken with a number of Democratic strategists who shake their heads at Reid's move.

"What Democrats need to do is spend the rest of the year voting on issues where Democrats are on the same side as the public," says one Democratic strategist. "It's all going to crowd out the message of jobs, economic reform and health care reform."

In other words, with a 10 percent unemployment rate, voters may well be less hospitable to a measure that ensures that there will be more people competing for jobs.

As for the White House, it's clear that Reid's decision was not part of any coordinated strategy. In fact, just the opposite.

The administration wants to pass both measures, but neither have the votes right now. So they're preoccupied with herding the cats for both issues, not scheduling.

So where does this leave Lindsey Graham?

Angry, to be sure. He was out there on a limb, getting trashed back home for working with Senate Democrats. He even got censured by a few chapters of the South Carolina Republican Party. But he's not up for re-election until 2014 ,and no one is screaming about challenging him, at least not yet.

And that's a good thing. Because the White House needs to keep Lindsey Graham in the game, not sulking on the sidelines.

Source : CNN

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Obama pushes for Wall Street reform on Main Street tour

(News Terupdate) - Continuing to hit on environmental and economic topics, President Obama will wrap up his "White House to Main Street Tour" Wednesday with stops in Illinois and Missouri.

Obama will tour a biorefining plant in Macon, Missouri, on Wednesday afternoon and talk with workers about economic issues, according to the White House. He was expected to discuss Wall Street reform during an appearance in Quincy, Illinois.

On Tuesday, Obama told a crowd in Ottumwa, Iowa, that it is "not right" for Republicans to prevent a Wall Street reform proposal from coming up for debate in the Senate.

Senate Republicans blocked a motion Tuesday to begin debate on a bill that would overhaul financial regulations. The GOP senators say the proposal is too broad and needs to be tightened in closed-door talks with Democrats before coming to the Senate floor for debate.

In his Ottumwa appearance, Obama challenged Republicans to allow a public debate on Wall Street reforms.

"The American people deserve an honest debate this bill." Obama told the crowd. "You should not have to have to wait one more day."

The proposed reforms are intended to prevent another Wall Street meltdown like the one that led to the U.S. recession, Obama said.

"We can't let another crisis like this happen again," he said. "We can't have such a short memory that we let them convince us that we don't need to change the status quo."

Senate Democrats have accused their Republican counterparts of stalling momentum on the bill in an attempt to water it down.

Republican leaders have identified their main concern as a Democratic plan to set up a consumer watchdog agency to protect against lending abuses such as unfair credit card charges and mortgage practices.

The votes Monday and Tuesday on opening debate were intended to generate public pressure on the Republicans by raising awareness of their opposition to moving forward on the popular issue. A third vote on launching debate on the measure is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

One moderate Republican, Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, indicated Tuesday he would switch his vote from 'no' to 'yes' if negotiations on the bill between Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut, and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, fail to reach agreement soon.

The American people "want us to get something done," Voinovich said in explaining why he would eventually join Democrats in insisting the bill be debated on the floor.

Voinovich wouldn't say how long he would wait before switching his vote, but added, "I have an idea of how much time it takes to cut a deal." According to Voinovich, "a whole bunch" of other Republicans are likely to make the same decision.

Dodd and Shelby have repeatedly said they were close to a deal, with agreement on most of the issues. However, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, who also has taken part in negotiations, said Tuesday he was "far less optimistic" that a deal would come anytime soon.

Obama's remarks in Illinois on Wednesday will continue to focus on Wall Street reform legislation, the White House said.

In addition to the visit to a biorefining plant, Obama's time in Missouri earlier in the day will include a visit to a farm near the town of Palmyra, according to the president's schedule.

Obama kicked off the White House to Main Street tour in December with a visit to the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. Since then, the president has made stops in Lorain County, Ohio, and Savannah, Georgia.

The tour is explained on the White House Web site as an effort to "spend some time outside of Washington and talk to American families about what they are experiencing during these tough economic times."

In segments of the tour, "the President will regularly visit communities across the country and meet with members of the community and share ideas for rebuilding our economy for the long term," the Web site says.

Source : CNN

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Dems on financial reform bill: 'The games are over'

Washington (News Terupdate) - Senate Democrats called out Republicans on Thursday for what they said was the promotion of "falsehoods" on the financial reform bill and vowed to move the bill forward.

Republican leadership has "decided the best way to stop it ... is by polluting the debate with myths and mischaracterizations," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference after President Obama's speech on financial reform in New York.

"I'm not going to waste any more time. ... If they let us go to it, we'll be happy to start debate," Reid said. "The games are over."

The Senate's financial reform bill would set up new regulatory oversight of the financial industry's practices with the goal of preventing another Wall Street meltdown like the one in 2008 that launched the U.S. recession.

Approved by the Senate's Banking and Agricultural committees, the bill includes an "early warning" system intended to spot signs of another crisis, as well as a $50 billion liquidation fund created with money from banks and other finance industry corporations to ensure an orderly transition in closing down failing entities.

On Thursday, Reid filed a motion to end debate on the bill, setting up that vote for Monday. The expected outcome of the vote is too close to call.

Reid said Democrats are willing to work with Republicans if they are earnest about pushing the bill forward.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell shot back at Reid's claims, saying on the Senate floor, "here we go again."

"The majority leader is once again moving to a bill, even while bipartisan discussions on the content of the bill are still under way," he said, referring to the health care bill that was recently signed into law.

The Kentucky Republican criticized Democrats and the White House for "ramming" health care reform down Americans' throats.

He said it's important to take the time to get the bill right and said discussions should continue.

"Now, I think Americans expect more of us. I think they expect us to take the time to do it right."

But Democrats say the lesson they learned from the health care debate was to push back immediately against false claims.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said Democrats let too many health care reform "lies" go unchallenged.

"On the health care bill, we allow too many lies to get out there without rebuttal because we thought they were so obviously untrue. But we've learned our lesson," he said.

His solution: "The minute these things come out the mouths of some of our Republican colleagues, we rebut them, and we rebut them again and again."

Democrats are pushing to get a reform package approved this year. The Senate is debating the motion to proceed to the financial regulations bill, but Democrats need at least one Republican vote to get it to the floor.

Democrats believe that a handful of Republicans are in play, but none has announced their intention to vote to end debate.

The House passed its version of the bill in December.

In the meantime, Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, and Chris Dodd, chairman of the Banking Committee, say they will continue negotiations over their differences in the bill.

They do so as Democratic leaders warn that the talks may be nothing more than a stalling tactic by Republicans furious that their rivals are rushing the bill to the floor just as bipartisan talks are showing signs of life.

At one point during Reid's news conference Thursday, a video was played, highlighting what Democrats see as GOP misinformation.

In the video, McConnell said the bill "allows for tax-funded bailout for Wall Street banks. It institutionalizes them. ... It provides for an endless taxpayer bailout of Wall Street banks."

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second highest-ranking Senate Democrat, denied that there is any bailout provision in the Senate's bill.

"The taxpayers don't pay for any part of this, and at the end of it, the company is gone," he said. "There's nothing to bail out."

House Minority Leader John Boehner, in responding to Obama's speech, continued to insist that the bill is a bailout.

"While the president says he wants to reform Wall Street, the bill we have in front of us will actually provide permanent bailouts for Wall Streets and enshrine 'too big to fail,' " he said.

A video of Sen. Jon Kyl was also played in which the Arizona Republican talked about how consumer protection parts of the bill would regulate dentists and even butchers.

"Once again, not true," Schumer said. "The new Consumer Protection Agency will make sure that consumers are getting financial products ... and services that will help them save money or buy a home."

Source : CNN

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