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Opening Statement of Senator James Inhofe Senate Environment and Public Works Full Committee An Update on the Science of Global Warming and its Implications Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Madame Chairman, I am very disappointed to see that this Committee is once again beginning its deliberations on global warming in the wrong manner.  Rather than focusing on substantive issues that would be helpful to the debate on global warming legislation, this Committee is choosing to engage in more political theater with a predetermined outcome.  The rushed process and the complete lack of understanding of the policy implications of the Lieberman Warner doomed...

Sen. Tom Coburn spoke on the floor for more than an hour Monday evening to protest the plan by Majority Leader Harry Reid to call up — possibly during the weekend — a yet-to-be-unveiled package of smaller measures held up by the Oklahoma Republican’s opposition.

Thursday, July 17, 2008 Paging Dr. Sauerberg by Curt Mercadante I have long held that underdog political campaigns should - must - put together an aggressive e-strategy. That strategy starts with introducing yourself (or your candidate), reaching out and building your base support online during the primary, and then transitioning through the general election campaign to build your broad coalition online to win. A comprehensive e-strategy can help you raise money, inexpensively recruit volunteers online (helping equalize your inability to pay for costly field staff) and communicate your message to tens of thousands at the click of a button....

An unidentified Chinese man has been threatening to jump from the seventh floor of the Senate Hart Office Building's inner atrium since around 5:45 p.m., according to U.S. Capitol Police. Police negotiators are conversing with the man through a Chinese translator and are attempting to coax him off of the shallow ledge on the outside of the glass wall overlooking the office building’s atrium. “We don’t know very much right now,” said Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer. “We don’t know what his issue is or what office he visited. The police are trying to calm the situation and see...

There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling. Just this week, the president lifted the executive order banning drilling that George H.W. Bush put in place in 1990. And he's asked Congress to lift its own moratorium on oil exploration on the outer continental shelf -- which includes coastal waters as close as three miles from shore. This would be a terrible mistake. It would put our nation's precious coastlines in jeopardy and...

Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz - Republican nominee for the U. S. Senate, Dr. Steve Sauerberg, on abortion, trade, Earmarks, immigration, O'Hare airport expansion, No Child Left Behind, parental choice in education, the Iraq War, the Terrorist Surveillance Program, tax cuts and much, much more. Republican nominee for the U. S. Senate, Dr. Steve Sauerberg, debates and discusses with show host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz whether we should have more or less; government restrictions on abortion, free trade, Earmarks, legislators bringing home the bacon," immigration, O'Hare airport expansion, No Child Left Behind, parental choice in education, Iraq War,...

In June I commuted for an hour and a half each way and learned what the radical increase in gas prices means. One day while stopped at a busy intersection, two demonstrators came out with signboards strapped to them. One said something like: Al Gore fell on his head at birth. Drill for oil now! The appearance of such demonstrators is a sign of the times. John McCain for President and Steve Sauerberg for U.S. Senator from Illinois are calling for nuclear power as well as more domestic oil drilling. Meanwhile, Democrats Obama and Dick Durbin do nothing on drilling....

A Reminder of Mark Warner's 2001 "No Tax Pledge" "The voters of Virginia know all too well as evidenced by the 2001 gubernatorial debates, where Mark Warner repeatedly pledged to the working families of Virginia that he would not raise taxes, that he broke that promise upon taking office and instead gave Virginians a $1.4 billion tax increase, the largest in Virginia history, despite there being a significant budget surplus of $324 million."

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faced more pressure to ease a congressional ban on expanded offshore drilling for oil, as both Republicans and Democrats sought to show they are responding to high energy prices in an election year. Sen. Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said he is ready to move a bill targeting what he called "greedy speculators," which would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission greater authority to regulate energy futures, particularly over-the-counter swaps markets and foreign exchanges operating in the U.S. But Republicans said they may try to block that legislation if it doesn't include measures to...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Both of the major candidates in this year’s U.S. Senate race in Louisiana report raising more than $1.5 million in the last three months, although the incumbent has a big advantage right now in cash on hand. Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s campaign reports cash on hand of $5.5 million. State Treasurer John Kennedy, a Republican, has $2.7 million for his campaign to unseat Landrieu. The figures are from press releases distributed by the campaigns. The campaigns’ reports were due with the Federal Elections Commission Tuesday but had not been posted on the FEC Web site as...

Reed’s war chest continues to expand PROVIDENCE — While the national media swirls with speculation concerning Sen. Jack Reed’s chances of being Barack Obama’s running mate, Reed continues to pile up the campaign contributions for his reelection run against Republican Bob Tingle.Federal campaign reports for the 90-day period ending June 30 show that Reed harvested another $450,000 in campaign cash to bring his total war chest to $3.8 million.Reed, running for his third term in the Senate, faces a rematch with Republican Bob Tingle of Westerly. Reed crushed Tingle in 2002. Reed is considered by Washington, D.C.-based campaign experts...

After his visit to the Heathsville Farmers Market Saturday, former governor Gilmore's bumper stickers may become more frequently seen. Although GilmoreÕs campaign gave local Republican leaders only a day's notice of his intention to visit Heathsville, "On short notice, we didn't have a bad turn-out," Northumberland County GOP chairman Jeanne Kling said. About a dozen GOP stalwarts, including Lee Ann Washington, who ran unsuccessfully against Albert Pollard for the House of Delegates in February, were at the Republican tent at the market to greet Gilmore. Gilmore had intended to stay in Heathsville only about a half an hour before going...

Jesse "The Body" or "The Governor" Ventura is making his announcement tonight on Larry King Live if he will be running for Senate from Minnesota against Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqIlXfkylD4“If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime - Pol Pot or others - that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case.”Sen. Dick Durbin on the Senate Floor

Whether effective or not, the energy proposals coming out of Congress have caught fire on the campaign trail. That's why former Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore, a candidate for U.S. Senate, has been visiting gas stations around Virginia collecting anecdotes from consumers struggling with soaring energy costs. Gilmore, who rode into the governor's mansion on a "no car tax" slogan, has a new one for his Senate race: "Drill here. Drill now. Cut gas prices." "I believe drilling for oil now is critical," Gilmore said. "I think that will drop prices immediately. International oil markets are very sensitive." His opponent, former...

Senator John Cornyn has forwarded a post commenting on John Hinderaker's "Democrats sucking wind on energy policy." Senator Cornyn writes: . . . Nancy Pelosi promised an effective new energy plan before the 2006 election -- that's about 809 days ago -- and we're still waiting. They're now postponing votes because some Democrats fear reality has finally set in -- and Congress may actually approve more domestic exploration for new energy. We've put ourselves in an irrational box. We've put 85 percent of our prime energy exploration lands off-limits. The U.S. is the only country in the world that refuses...

We welcome Senator Alexander to the blog, and applaud his action to improve our energy situation. - Jon Henke Americans are feeling the pain at the pump. Hundreds of my constituents have written me with their stories of how record-high fuel costs are affecting their family budgets. One Tennessean who wrote to me is a diabetic who is having trouble paying for her insulin shots due to rising gas prices. She says: "Gas for work or insulin to live. That is the decision I have had to make several times daily." It's time for Congress to take action. Forty-four Senate...

Political Pulse: Jim Gilmore on the Issues   U.S. Senate candidate Republican Jim Gilmore made his way through the region this week. We sat down with him for a one-on-one chat to talk about the big issues. Everything from the economy to the war in Iraq and homeland security were up for discussion. Gilmore, an army veteran, says there is a great deal of danger to the U.S. and this is no time to for people inexperienced in foreign policy to lead the country. "We need to do something to protect the people of this country. I'm certainly well equipped...

Democrat Frank Lautenberg, seeking a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, can breathe a little easier this month. The incumbent leads Republican challenger Dick Zimmer 49% to 36% in the latest Rasmussen reports telephone survey in New Jersey. When “leaners” are included, Lautenberg leads the Republican 50% to 37%. Last month, the two candidates were virtual tied, with Lautenberg on top by just a single percentage point. That poll was taken just days after Lautenberg survived a primary challenge that raised questions about whether he was too old to serve. Still, while the new poll provides better news for the...

Jim Gilmore On Message in the Valley  Jim Gilmore pounded home the message that basically the Democrats have failed to deliver on energy after taking over Congress in 2006, and responds to critics of drilling in the ANWR, or off-shore.The SNL highlights his Governor Jim Gilmore's visit to Waynesboro, and his message:"What I'm seeing now is the best thing that I can do as a United States senator is to address these economic issues, which are quite specific in the minds of the people; and that means you've got to have a decisive energy policy, and that means you've got to drill in...

Obama was famous in the Illinois Senate for avoiding tough votes by voting “present.” This tactic, of course, is the last refuge of linguini-spined, unprincipled politicians. His voting record is at Project Vote Smart, and you can search the database by issue to check particular votes. Check out how many "NV" (No Vote) entries there are, compared to the "Y" or "N" votes. Here's one sample page. If this guy worked for a private company he would have been fired long ago for not getting his lazy ass into work to do his job. Could it be that he was...

The famous quote goes, “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 20, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 30, you have no brain.” If you embrace gun rights, proactive military policy, and stricter abortion requirements while pushing for crippling taxes and universal healthcare at 46, you’re Barack Obama–and the question of your deficiencies remains an open one. Obama’s move to the right is not a tactical ploy designed to siphon off McCain voters or undecided independents. Opening up the general election with a 12-point lead over John McCain (including an 8-point lead among...

There's nothing better than being propelled into the weekend on a laugh, and Rep. John Conyers from Michigan is in a giving mood. Conyers has a piece at the Huffington Post entitled "Karl Rove, the White House, and the Rule of Law." The rule of law?That's right; a Conyers is actually pointing the finger at somebody else's ethics. Some members of Congress have no shame. The only way this could be topped would be for Amy Winehouse to write a HuffPo piece chastising Courtney Love's drug habit. John Conyers, with the two staffers who accused him of using taxpayer money...

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2008 – The Senate has confirmed Army Gen. David H. Petraeus as commander of U.S. Central Command and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to receive his fourth star and succeed Petraeus as commander of Multinational Force Iraq. The full Senate confirmed Petraeus by a vote of 95-2 and Odierno by a 96-1 margin. Odierno is the Army’s 3rd Corps commander and served as commander of Multinational Corps Iraq for 14 months. The changes put Petraeus -- who implemented the U.S. surge into Iraq -- in charge of U.S. military forces in a dangerous part of the...

WASHINGTON — More than two and a half years after the disclosure of President’s Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program set off a furious national debate, the Senate gave final approval on Wednesday afternoon to broadening the government’s spy powers and providing legal immunity for the phone companies that took part in the wiretapping program. The plan, approved by a vote of 69 to 28, marked one of Mr. Bush’s most hard-won legislative victories in a Democratic-led Congress where he has had little success of late. And it represented a stinging defeat for opponents on the left who had urged Democratic leaders...

In an interview with NPR's David Welna that ran today former Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura, Ind-Minn., says he will run for Senate, challenging incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whom Ventura defeated for governor in 1998, as well as Democratic nominee and former Saturday Night Live humorist Al Franken. Ventura, born Jim Janos, tells Welna that the main reason he's running is because of Coleman's support for the war in Iraq. "That's the reason I run," he says. "I run because it angers me...All you Minnesotans take a good hard look at all three of us. And you decide: if...

YouTube -- the instant internet video service -- has played an odd role in the 2008 campaign. First -- thanks to CNN -- it provided cheesy snowmen to question Republicans in one primary debate. Now, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), YouTube has become a news service. Last week, the dour Reid faced a Fox News camera and said, “The one thing we fail to talk about is those costs that you don't see on the bottom line. Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It's global warming. It's ruining our country. It's ruining our world. We've...

“I’m a strong opponent of illegal immigrants,” he said. “We’ve got to secure our borders.” Wicker, who has voted to increase funding to build a fence along the southern border and to add more border patrol agents to protect the border, said enforcement is a key. “We need to enforce the law and protect the border,” he said. “We should be able to tell businesses if someone is an illegal immigrant and then hold them accountable if they hire them after they have been informed.” Wicker said, however, he thinks one of the most important issues facing Americans is the...

WASHINGTON -- Mississippi, one of the nation's most conservative states, has not elected a Democratic senator in a quarter-century. It has voted for Republican presidential candidates in the last seven elections. But this year, there is a real chance that the state will send a Democrat to the Senate. Democrats are running strong Senate campaigns in states such as Mississippi, Alaska and North Carolina that Republicans have long taken for granted. ...The stakes for Obama in the Senate races are high. If he is elected president, the biggest obstacle to his goals could be in the Senate, where parliamentary rules...

If Ronald Reagan was the sunny and optimistic face of modern conservatism, the uncompromisingly defiant exemplar of it was Jesse Helms, who died yesterday at age 86. While Reagan has undergone a revisionist makeover by many historians who now recognize his accomplishments, Helms is still the conservative liberals most love to hate. But while they still disdain his views, many liberal groups are now using their own forms of the rhetorical and campaign techniques that Helms honed to perfection. Jesse Helms was an influential television commentator in North Carolina when he decided to leave the Democratic Party, winning a U.S....

The UK government has committed itself to some ambitious green energy plans. It sounds good, but is it all hot air? Eoin Gleeson reports Why the scramble for wind power? Pressure from Europe. Last year, Britain made a commitment to meet 15% of its total energy consumption from renewable energy by 2020. But with all but one of the UK’s ten remaining nuclear stations facing closure over the next 15 years, Britain will also have to replace 40% of its generating capacity over the next six to eight years. So the Government is hoping to stave off blackouts by boosting...

Imagine that you were the CEO of large automobile manufacturer and last night the plant that manufactured the transmissions for your product was destroyed in a massive fire. What would you do? Would you...

Thank you for contacting me regarding high fuel prices. As someone who also finds this to be unacceptable, I appreciate hearing from you. I understand your frustration with high fuel prices, which are causing hardship on consumers in New Hampshire and nationwide. Households and businesses are seeing a growing share of their money being eaten up in fuel costs. Hearing about the real life hardships that you and many other hard-working Americans face due to escalating energy costs helps to emphasize the urgency of this problem and illustrate why we must continue to work on finding real solutions. Unfortunately, the...

In an attempt at a bipartisan solution to high gas prices, Senate Republicans Thursday unveiled The Gas Price Reduction Act (GPRA) of 2008, which would simultaneously open the way for production of more domestic oil and reduce energy consumption overall. As gas prices creep toward $5/gallon in most states, Democrats have nixed tapping into America’s domestic oil reserves via offshore drilling and other accessible methods. The GPRA considers environmental concerns by excluding the option to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) -- also opposed by Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain -- and instead proposes what Senate Minority...

NEW YORK TIMES: "About that Mortgage, Senator . . ." It turns out that the chieftain of Countrywide -- which is smack in the middle of the mortgage mess -- extended privileged borrowing status to two Senators, Chris Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, and Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota. Both Senators deny any ethical violations.   The disclosure of the V.I.P. arrangments by the political website Politico.com left constituents angry and suspicious -- particularly because the revelations came just as Congress was rousing itself to do something about the mortgage foreclosure crisis.   It would be nice to think that...

From the National Republican Senatorial Committee. http://www.nrsc.org/multimedia/details.aspx?ID=81When there's a problem, Jeanne Shaheen goes back to her old standby -- raising taxes. Failed polices and more taxes are not the answer. They're the problem. More at http://www.TheShaheenRecord.com.

he sale of Countrywide Mortgage to Bank of America absorbed another blow this week as three states took legal action against the lender. The attorneys general of California and Illinois and the Washington State department that regulates financial institutions all filed lawsuits against Countrywide on Tuesday alleging variations on the theme of mortgage fraud. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, California's attorney general Edmund G. Brown, Jr. charged that Countrywide used "misleading marketing practices" to steer home buyers into inappropriate loans and that Countrywide was driven by a desire to boost market share and fill demand from...

Hillary Clinton returned to the Senate today with cheers from her Democrat colleagues. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) led the way with chants of “we need you!” Mikulski was not alone in her praise as fellow New Yorker Chuck Schumer was part of the small contingent of senators that welcomed back their junior colleague. Striking was that Clinton made her entrance on the east side of the capital in the door that is rarely used. Not even good ole Dick Cheney uses that door! As the Politco reported today Clinton was greeted with a standing ovation during the Democrats weekly luncheon...

What happens when the "fact-checkers" don't check facts and the "watchdogs" don't watch? Consider the case of those who claim to be watching politicians for lies and deceptions and pretend to analyze Senator Barack Obama's new patriotic "Country I Love" television ad, airing in 18 states. The Annenberg Political Fact Check, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz have written analyses of the Obama ad. But they are as flawed as the ad itself.

In fact, Representative Maurice Hinchey stated that “we (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.”

Warning: The following contains extreme vulgarity by a candidate for the U.S. Senate. In the razor-close and nationally important Senate race in Minnesota, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is presented with a unique political problem. Should he raise in his ads the issue of comedian Al Franken's offensive vulgarity? Or would this risk a backlash against Coleman for coarsening the public conversation? Remember that when Ken Starr detailed Bill Clinton's most repulsive antics -- stained dresses and such -- it was Starr who was accused of sexual obsessiveness. Franken's defenders explain that his edginess is the result of being a "satirist"...

Sometimes, what’s wrong with government in America really can be “boiled down” to a delicious metaphor – one that exquisitely encapsulates the failure of our politicians to get a handle on their insatiable “appetites.” Take last week’s news that the U.S. Senate is finally privatizing its restaurant business after losing more than $18 million over the past fifteen years – a decision it reached after taking advantage of one last $250,000 taxpayer bailout just to make this month’s payroll, of course. Sure, that amount is scarcely a drop in the bucket compared to the much larger pork smorgasbord Senators spread...

Dems Running on Empty by Sen. James Inhofe What a difference three years makes: In 2005, I led the charge against a massive global warming cap-and-trade bill. It was a lonely battle with few GOP members willing to join me on the Senate floor to publicly oppose it. Fast forward to June 2008: Not only was I joined by dozens of GOP Senators, but nearly 30% of the Democratic Senators rebelled against their leadership and opposed the Boxer Climate Tax Bill. In the end, Senator Boxer only had at most 35 Democratic Senators willing to vote for final passage on...

What do Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign have in common? The answer is that both agree, at least for now, that the Democratic Party will increase its present 51-to-49 seat advantage in the U.S. Senate after elections this November. In back to back meetings hosted by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington last week, the chairman of the DNC and head of the campaign arm for Senate Republicans differed only in the number of seats they anticipated Democrats will have after the ’08 elections. Dean told a Monitor breakfast on Wednesday,...

Sen. Christopher Dodd, a top figure in Democrats' response to the housing crisis, defended through a spokesman two mortgages he reportedly received under a special Countrywide Financial Corp. program that awarded preferential interest rates to people referred to as "friends" of the company's chairman and chief executive, Angelo Mozilo. "The Dodds received a competitive rate on their loans," said Bryan DeAngelis, Sen. Dodd's press secretary. "They did not seek or anticipate any special treatment, and they were not aware of any." He declined further comment. The news could cause headaches for the Connecticut senator, who is trying to negotiate housing...

"You know, I am a believer in knowing what you are doing when you apply for a job, and I think that if I were to seriously consider running on a national ticket I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. Now there are some people that might be comfortable doing that, but I am not one of those people. " So when did he figure out "he knew what he was doing?" 2005? 2006? Last year? What experience in the 41 months he has been a Senator showed him that he knew...

The recent "report" from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has a number of conclusions and amendments. Often, when these reports are released, many people don't have the time or tenacity to read the entire report. Instead, they literally jump to the conclusions and argue their political talking points from there. I've taken the time to go through this latest "report," cut out the conclusions, and added any amendments to those conclusions whenever possible. Readers are encouraged to read the actual report (particularly the "Additional Views" and "Amendments" sections). It appears that there are at least 150 examples in this...

The Senate Intelligence Committee finally released it's long-awaited/overdue report on their investigation into pre-war intelligence on Saddam's Iraq. This final report was supposed to look at statements made by government officials in the run up to war from 1991-2003. It was supposed to examine the pre-war marketing or threat assessment and descriptions to the public about the intelligence regarding the threat posed by Saddam's regime. Instead, the report looked at just 5 Bush Administration speeches. It completely left out any and all comments from Pres Bush Sr, Pres Clinton, anyone in his administration, and every member of the House and...

I need some information from Virginia Freepers. Ex-govenor Jim Gilmore is running for the Senate. Recently, two Virginia Republicans - Former Delegate Vince Callahan and former state Senator John Chichester - have come out and endorsed the Dem. Was Gilmore unpopular as Governor? Didn't Warner raise taxes in Virginia? I have the impression that Gilmore made a promise - to get rid of the car tax - and then fulfilled that promise. Is my impression wrong? I appreciate any information. Thank you.

As any recent television viewer can attest, the American Petroleum Institute - the main lobbying group for the oil industry - has launched a huge ad campaign designed to tell Big Oil’s side of the $4-a-gallon gasoline story. Aimed at one audience – voters – the multimedia, multimillion-dollar propaganda blitz is a necessary antidote to the misinformation and false charges we constantly hear about Big Oil from Big Media and our duly elected demagogues. We’ve all heard about the alleged sins of Big Oil, the handy media-made pejorative for the world’s largest oil and gasoline manufacturers: