Free Republic

So much for draining the swamp. Several sources report that the House will not try Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) until after the November 2 elections. Rangel won the Democratic primary for his seat yesterday, barely achieving 50% of the vote against five challengers. During his House floor speech on August 10 when he was not attacking NLPC, Rangel pleaded for an expedited hearing on the 13 charges leveled against him by the Ethics Committee. This followed months of maneuvering by Rangel to delay the investigation. Earlier this year when Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were asked about the...

Last week, the member of the Senate Finance Committee told the Boston Globe, "Under no circumstances do I believe we should give a blanket extension to the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans -- it won't fix our economy and it will add billions to the long-term structural deficit." But in a late July committee meeting, Kerry said he would support a one- to two-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich, if it was part of a bill that also extended middle-class cuts for a longer period, according to person familiar with the situation.

Tim Geithner Warns: The US Is At Risk Of A 1930s Repeat Joe Weisenthal Sep. 12, 2010, 9:11 PM If the government become paralyzed -- as is arguably the case already, and is clearly a serious risk should the GOP take over -- the US risks a 1930s-like scenario. At least according to Tim Geithner. That's the standout quote from an interview in the WSJ: [The] typical error most countries make coming out of a financial crisis is they shift too quickly to premature restraint. You saw that in the United States in the 30s, you saw that in Japan...

Over the years a lot of suspicion has built up across the country about Washington and its population of opportunistic transients coming to see themselves as a special kind of person, somehow above average working Americans who don't work down in that former swamp. Well, finally, an end to all those undocumented doubts. Thanks to some diligent digging by the Washington Post, those suspicions can at last be put to rest. They're correct. Accurate. Dead-on. Laser-guided. On target. Bingo-bango. As clear as it's always seemed to those Americans who don't feel special entitlements and do meet their government obligations. We...

The United States can't afford an extension of Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, President Barack Obama said Wednesday, even as he called in a fiery campaign-style speech for tax breaks for middle-class Americans. With his party bracing for losses in the midterm congressional elections, Obama laid out a series of economic proposals and took the fight over taxes directly to Republicans, who want to extend breaks for all earners. "Let me be clear to [House Republican Leader John] Boehner and everyone else," said Obama at a community college in Parma, Ohio, across the state from Boehner's district. "We...

Obama calling for more infrastructure spending WASHINGTON (AP) - Vowing to find new ways to stimulate the sputtering economy, President Barack Obama will call for long-term investments in the nation's roads, railways and runways that would cost at least $50 billion. The infrastructure investments are one part of a package of targeted proposals the White House is expected to announce in hopes of jump-starting the economy ahead of the November election. Obama will outline the infrastructure proposal Monday at a Labor Day event in Milwaukee. While the proposal calls for investments over six years, the White House said spending would...

The $700 billion stimulus plan that was supposed to keep unemployment below 8% was just the tip of the iceberg. The actual amount of money leveraged to prop up the failing economy was closer to $12.8 trillion with a “t” ($12,800,000,000,000). This story is coming from that well know bastion of right wing conspiracy theorists known as P.B.S. It seems that our government, and by proxy each and every one of us, was on the hook for a great deal of more money than taxpayers were lead to believe. This video clip is an eye opener. You have to watch...

They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011: First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief... Personal income tax rates will rise...Higher taxes on marriage and family. Second Wave: Obamacare There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011... Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired....

Apparently New York's Mayor Bloomberg was on the short list to be named Secretary Treasurer back in 2008, and now the White House is revisiting the idea. From the NYPost: "It's been the focus of a lot of discussion," said one Democrat. "He's very well-liked and well-respected on Wall Street." At least the second half is probably true. The roots of this rumor are in Martha's Vineyard. Asked about last weekend's four-hour golf game with President Obama on Martha's Vineyard, Bloomberg told reporters yesterday, "The economy was the main subject, other than discussing golf."

Happy days here again for Kerry and PatchesBy Donna Goodison Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - Updated 4 hours ago Sen. John Kerry is still King of the Hill. The Massachusetts Democrat’s net worth increased by more than $20 million last year to at least $188.6 million, extending his reign as the richest member of Congress. Outgoing Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, meanwhile, ranked among the richest members of Congress for the first time - thanks to an inheritance from his father, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, according to The Hill. **SNIP** “Voters have had enough with the millionaires club, and...

The wealthiest members of Congress grew richer in 2009 even as the economy struggled to recover from a deep recession. The 50 wealthiest lawmakers were worth almost $1.4 billion in 2009, about $85.1 million more than 12 months earlier, according to The Hill’s annual review of lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) tops the list for the second year in a row. His minimum net worth was $188.6 million at the end of 2009, up by more than $20 million from 2008, according to his financial disclosure form. While the economy struggled through a recession during much of...

A conservative activist and former presidential candidate says it's an absolute outrage that in the height of a recession and huge government deficits, U.S. taxpayers will soon be footing the bill for rebuilding Islamic mosques in foreign countries. According to The Associated Press, the Obama administration plans to spend nearly $6 million in American tax dollars to restore 63 historic and cultural sites around the world, including mosques and minarets in 55 countries. The projects include $76,000 for a 16th century mosque in communist China, $67,000 for a mosque in Pakistan, and numerous others. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls...

President Barack Obama is out to make sure his presence pays for Democrats, launching a three-day fundraising trip on Monday in which he will touch nearly every region of the nation and play up his economic agenda. Obama will spend the heart of his Monday in Wisconsin, raising money for gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and other Wisconsin Democrats. Barrett was an early supporter of Obama's once long-shot White House bid. He will cap his day at a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles for congressional Democratic candidates. With Congress gone and much of Washington in vacation mode, Obama is squeezing in...

A life of public service is its own reward, besides, there are a precious few that can pull off wearing ermine in August. Instead of grumbling about the first family being out of touch, let's try to...

During the early Clinton years -- 1993 and 1994 -- the first couple vacationed in Martha's Vineyard hobnobbing with celebrities and cruising on Ted Kennedy's yacht. The result was that during each of the two summers, as they dived into the surf, so they dived in the polls. The last drop, after the summer of 1994, played a role in their loss of their congressional majorities a few months later. Now Michelle Obama is making the same mistake ... and at a worse time. Voters are highly sensitive to where their elected officials vacation, especially when they themselves cannot afford...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The $700 billion U.S. bailout program launched in response to the global economic meltdown had a far greater impact overseas than other countries' financial rescue plans did on the U.S., according to a new report from a congressional watchdog. Billions of dollars in U.S. rescue funds wound up in big banks in France, Germany and other nations. That was probably inevitable because of the structure of the Treasury Department's program, the Congressional Oversight Panel says in a new report issued Thursday. The U.S. program aimed to stabilize the financial system by injecting money into as many banks...

Is the U.S. Department of the Treasury undertaking a new role? Taking its newest press release as an example, one could be excused to imagine that our Treasury Department has decided that it is now our next Department of Muslim Outreach. Today, Treasury released this statement: Treasury Department Statement Marking the Beginning of RamadanWASHINGTON – As Muslims in the United States and around the world begin their observance of Ramadan, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recognizes the importance of this period of intense devotion, reflection and charitable giving. Charitable giving and philanthropy are core American values, reflected in many...

The conventional wisdom these days is that the best shot for Democrats heading into the November elections in marginal districts is for the president to raise money and lower his profile. Just send checks. Events after 7 p.m. Closed to the press. This is not an election Democrats want to "nationalize." Better to keep it local. Better to run as your own man or woman, not as the president's best friend. Republicans, by contrast, will spend as much time as they can running against the president. If his popularity is down to his base (low 40s), that means voters in...

It's good to be the king. From US News: Obamas Plan Fifth Vacation Since July There they go again. For the fifth time since July, the first family has set plans to board Air Force One for a frilly vacation, a 10-day return trip to exclusive Martha's Vineyard where they are expected to stay at the 28-acre oceanfront Blue Heron Farm that rents for up to $50,000 a week. But first the Obamas will be traveling to the Gulf Coast of Florida for a mini-vacation as a way to encourage other vacationing Americans to head to the beaches that have...

The White House today confirmed what many islanders have been anticipating for weeks: The first family will return to Martha's Vineyard for vacation next month. President Obama and his family are scheduled to vacation on the island from Aug. 19 to Aug. 29.