IL-06 Duckworth

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Sunday December 18, 2005 · 11:52 AM PST

2005/12/18 · 11:52

Released from SoapBlox/Chicago

Well the George Stephanopoulos interview went off this morning. Good for ABC, they made me get up and watch it when I never would have otherwise. Overall, I thought Duckworth came off well. She does seem like a nice person and her positions seem plausible, even if not as far left as I would like.

But then you take a guess and sure enough http://www.duckworthforcongress.com/ is up and running. First we'll take a look at the content then a little bit of geek-speak below the fold. Read More

Oppose the Reauthorization of the Patriot Act

ltsply2

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Thursday December 08, 2005 · 3:55 PM PST

2005/12/08 · 15:55

Released from SoapBlox/Chicago

The AP reports that House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement to extend the PATRIOT act. The reauthorization will extend the provisions authorizing roving wiretaps and permitting secret warrants for hospital and library records. According to the AP, "Most of the Patriot Act would become permanent under the reauthorization."

Needless to say, the President considers this a victory, with spokesperson Scott McClellan saying, "The president urges both houses of Congress to act promptly to pass this critical piece of legislation."

More Republican comments, some dissent, and what you can do below the fold. Read More

Obama on Iraq

ltsply2

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Wednesday November 23, 2005 · 9:59 AM PST

2005/11/23 · 09:59

Released from SoapBlox/Chicago

On Tuesday, Barack Obama gave a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. In it, he discussed the Iraq war and its handlers. The speech combined the two facets that have come to define Obama's first year as Senator: His pragmatism and disdain of partisanship. He began and ended the speech with derision for the partisanship that has perverted any attempts to find an actual solution to what has become the Iraq quagmire. In between, he offered his view on what the road to success in Iraq will look like (making it very clear that these ideas come from the combined work of many, including other senators and foreign policy experts).

More on the plan, articles covering the speech, and the full text of the speech below the fold. Read More

Obama on voting reform

ltsply2

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Wednesday November 09, 2005 · 4:54 PM PST

2005/11/09 · 16:54

Released from SoapBlox/Chicago

Yesterday Barack Obama offered legislation aimed at discouraging voter intimidation.

The bill, titled "The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2005" would impose a fine of $100,000 and/or 1 year in jail on anyone caught trying to prevent voters from casting their ballots using deceptive practices. Perhaps as importantly it tasks the Attorney General with following up on these complaints and rectifying their effects.

This should be good news to all Democrats, and indeed all Americans, who remember the "Milwaukee Black Voters League", the Ohio mailings, the postings in Alabama, or the fake letter from the NAACP in South Carolina.

It's a start, and one that all Americans should have no trouble getting behind.

Impact of the Electoral College on the 2004 Presidential Election Campaign

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Wednesday November 02, 2005 · 11:20 AM PST

2005/11/02 · 11:20

Released from Soapblox/Chicago

From Eric Zorn's weblog Change of Subject and his pun-tacular Land of Linkin' comes a pointer to FairVote's Who Picks the President.

It should come to noone's surprise that nearly 75% of all money spent on television advertising during the 2004 presidential election was in only five states. Nor should it surprise anyone that more than 75% of that was spent in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Would it surprise you that more money was spent on television advertising in Florida than in 45 other states and the District of Columbia combined?

Pie graphs and analysis after the jump. Read More

Obama on Roberts and Advocacy Groups

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Friday September 23, 2005 · 5:08 PM PDT

2005/09/23 · 17:08

Update [2005-9-23 20:8:45 by Armando]: From the diaries by Armando, with some additions. My reaction may surprise some folks, because I have been deeply critical of Leahy. I like that Obama is standing up for his fellow Dem Senator. Too often, Democratic elected officials spend time criticizing each other. I think they should find ways to express disagreement without going after each other. I think folks like us and advocacy groups are a different story. And I think, on the merits, Obama's comment is way off the mark. But still, I respect his impulse to defend a fellow Dem Senator.

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) released a press release yesterday stating that he will oppose John Roberts' nomination to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In it he is also critical of "largely Democratic advocacy groups" that came down hard on Senatory Leahy following his announcement that he would vote for the nomination.

ltsply2

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Tuesday September 20, 2005 · 10:24 AM PDT

2005/09/20 · 10:24

Well SurveyUSA has released it monthly survey on Governor Approval Ratings. Perhaps coming as a surprise to nobody, Gov. Rod Blagojevich is down. Again. His approval rating is 36% and his disapproval rating is 56%. This places Blagojevich as the least popular Democratic governor in the nation and the sixth least popular governor overall.

Cross-posted at SoapBlox/Chicago. Read More

Melissa Bean (D-IL) on her CAFTA "Yea" Vote

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Friday July 29, 2005 · 9:40 AM PDT

2005/07/29 · 09:40

I wrote to Melissa Bean regarding her crossing the aisle on CAFTA. I was surprised to see as I opened my e-mail this morning that she had already responded. Well, sort of...

In her letter to constituents she basically parrots the Republican talking points on CAFTA: expand markets, reduced tariffs, level playing field. Her spin is to include local companies as examples. She also repeats what is becoming her mantra on these sort of votes; that she is voting in the best interests of her district regardless of the national party's wishes.

The full letter and more discussion can be found in a Soapblox/Chicago diary. If you are interested in Chicago/Illinois/Midwest politics and more stop by.

Union of Concerned Scientists on Bush Budget

ltsply2

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Tuesday February 22, 2005 · 3:05 PM PST

2005/02/22 · 15:05

First diary so forgive me...

This is the text of the e-mail sent out by the Union of Concerned Scientists regarding the recent Bush budget. This is a non-partisan group that works to bring responsible science to Washington.

Of particular interest, I think, is the information on the backdoor attempts to open up ANWR and the cuts to the Endangered Species program.

Entire letter below the fold... Read More

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