Capitol Confidential are anonymous sources in the halls of power at the federal, state, and local levels. Big Government double-checks their stories and provides them the cloak they need to reveal the truth.
Capitol Confidential
Another EPA Power Grab in the Offing
by Capitol ConfidentialSources in Washington say Sen. Frank Lautenberg is drafting a new version of his Kids Safe Chemicals Act, which stalled out in 2008 after environmentalists complained the bill was toothless and didn’t grant the EPA enough power to regulate chemicals used to make products. Lautenberg’s new version of the bill is likely to increase the EPA’s authority to limit – or even ban – the use of common chemicals.
As the EPA’s carbon “endangerment finding” in December has demonstrated, it might not be such a good idea to vest virtually unlimited power in a single government agency, especially one that has become as politicized as the EPA.
And like the global warming hysteria the “endangerment finding” was supposed to address, the argument in favor of this aggressive power grab is thin, based on emotional, not scientific appeals, and fairly obviously designed to encroach on the free market. One organization advocating for the EPA power grab, “Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families,” is actually sponsoring a virtual Million Baby Crawl on Washington. Expect the stunts to get more ridiculous after Lautenberg’s bill drops.
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Possible O’Keefe Explanation: He Was an ACORN ‘Secret Shopper’
by Capitol ConfidentialThe recent statement published on Big Government by James O’Keefe and the existence of videotape showing the full project intended for Senator Landrieu’s office should put an end to the irresponsible chatter about Watergate Jr. or any other slanderous attacks of wiretapping by the “objective journalists” of the mainstream media.
We’re not naïve enough to believe the attacks will stop, but there is something to be said about holding your fire until you have some clue about what’s going on. The Washington Post and other outlets have been forced to walk back their outrageous statements of wiretapping and apologize for their accusations of seeking to destroy a phone system of the federal government. As amusing as it’s been to see O’Keefe’s antics demonstrate media bias, there is the concern about an obscure portion of the United States Code about misrepresenting yourself to gain access to a federal facility.
According to O’Keefe, videotape of the event will fully exonerate him. If we take that at face value, then all that is left is the charge of misrepresentation to gain access to a federal office. This may be the cause of some squirming by the four young men, because the federal government and
its officers do not like to be trifled with, and the ability to bring punishment to US citizens for minor offenses isn’t limited to smoking a joint without the benefit of having a judge as a blood relative.
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Pants On Fire Alert: Axelrod Edition
by Capitol ConfidentialDavid Axelrod, top political advisor to President Obama, was one of three White House advisors who took to the Sunday shows yesterday to plead the Administration’s case. Numerous outlets have noted that the three advisors gave three different accounts of the Administration’s record on jobs created–or ’saved’.
But, the reality was actually worse than that. Axelrod alone could keep his own spin straight:
A year ago I told the president that a year from now your numbers will be much different than they are right nowbecause of the economic forecast we were hearing,” Axelrod said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “We knew that even as the economy started growing it would take time for the jobs to follow. That’s the nature of the economy.”
FACT: The unemployment rate known “a year ago” (i.e. on January 24, 2009) was 7.2% for December 2008 (Note: The December 2008 rate has subsequently been adjusted up to 7.4% by DOL).
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Minority and Civil Rights Groups Slam Net Neutrality
by Capitol ConfidentialIn a stunning new development that observers say could significantly impact the ongoing debate regarding net neutrality, Big Government has confirmed that sixteen minority and civil rights groups recently submitted a joint filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raising red flags regarding the policy’s potential effects.
The filing, submitted on January 14, represents the collective views of the ASPIRA Association, the Black College Communications Association, the Hispanic Institute, the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the League of United Latin American Citizens, MANA, A National Latina Organization, the National Association of Black County Officials, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation-Black Women’s Roundtable, the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women, the National Puerto Rican Coalition, and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Telecommunications policy experts called the filing “historic,” in view of the sheer number of civil rights organizations participating, but also hard-hitting. The comments, written by David Honig of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, state that “[T]his proceeding implicates one of the most important civil rights issues of our time.”
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New Questions Surface About Bernanke’s Role In AIG Bailout
by Capitol ConfidentialSources on the Hill tell Big Government that the nomination of Ben Bernanke to remain Chairman of the Federal Reserve is in deep trouble. A Senior Capitol Hill Staffer said to Big Government, “if [Senate Majority Leader] Reid does not file for cloture tonight, I don’t think they have the votes to confirm him.” The Wall Street Journal thinks the vote will be “tight,” yet the White House is spinning that they have the votes. Hill sources say that this nomination is trending in the wrong direction for the Obama Administration and many on the Hill are stunned by the news that, according to CNBC, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has announced her opposition to the nomination. There is growing opposition to this nominee remaining in charge of the Federal Reserve for a second term.
Senators have made public statements indicating that there may be non-public information that is hurting this nominee. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) said that “the Fed continues to stonewall Congress and the public.” Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) referenced “ongoing examinations by Congress and the GAO of the Fed’s AIG bailout” and that there are “unpleasant facts for the Fed and Chairman Bernanke” that will come out after “full public disclosure of all information about the AIG bailout” that has only been shared with “select Congressional Committees and the GAO.” Senator David Vitter (R-LA) said, “it is vitally important that Congress has the ability and time to adequately review the Federal Reserve’s bailout of AIG. Although some of our offices have had time to review some of the documents, not all are available at this time and Congress should wait until GAO’s review before proceeding with his nomination vote.” (more…)
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Why Is This Woman Handing Out Absentee Ballots?
by Capitol ConfidentialThe folks at Election Journal caught up with Isabel Melendez handing out absentee ballots in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She also helpfully explains how she can mark the ballot for the voter:
“My candidate is Martha…so I can mark it”
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White House Backs Away from Net Neutrality; Hard Left Interest Groups Plod On
by Capitol ConfidentialWith the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expected to conclude this week a comment-seeking exercise relevant to net neutrality rules proposed last fall by Julius Genachowski, top telecommunications and tech policy observers are claiming that the FCC Chairman could be set to receive a major blow. Not only is the momentum in the net neutrality debate increasingly shifting away from proponents, but a number of experts say the White House itself is souring on Genachowski’s plans—a major knock that could signal the death of efforts to advance net neutrality, at least for now.
Historically, net neutrality had been treated as a top policy priority by President Barack Obama, a former classmate and friend of Genachowski. But recently, that has appeared to change.
In October, Susan Crawford, a strong supporter of net neutrality, resigned from the White House. It has since been rumored that economic adviser Larry Summers wanted her gone due to concerns about her facilitating the tagging of Obama advisers as overly radical by virtue of her own agenda.
Numerous Democrats (including 72 in the House) have raised questions about the policy and/or spoken out against it.
In addition, multiple groups with strong connections to Democrats and progressives, including minority and women’s organizations, have begun to raise flags regarding the possible impact of net neutrality rules.
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Hey, Speaker Pelosi, Where Are the Jobs?
by Capitol ConfidentialIn August 2003, then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a press statement demanding to know from President Bush, “Where Are the Jobs?” The statement was released in response to the monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report, which, at that time showed that over 400,000 Americans had given up looking for work and had left the labor force. It should be noted that today, every job measurement she cited is worse now than it was in 2003. We must have overlooked her similar question for President Obama.
From Pelosi’s statement:
Washington, D.C. — House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ announcement that 470,000 people abandoned their job searches in July and that 3.2 million private sector jobs have been lost since President Bush took office:
Of course, in December 2009, almost twice as many (929,000) had “abandoned their job searches” on Speaker Pelosi’s watch and with a Democrat in the White House.
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FCC Misses Deadline for Broadband Plan: They’ll Do Great With More Power
by Capitol ConfidentialFederal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski is a big advocate of net neutrality. The agency is considering implementing rules that would greatly advance this goal.
Opponents have described the effort as a government plan to take over and manage the internet. However, it seems Genachowski actions are raising questions about the FCC’s ability to regulate with any degree of competence. On Wednesday, Genachowski requested a one-month extension of the deadline for the FCC to formulate a national broadband plan. Under current law, the FCC is supposed to hand over its national broadband plan to Congress on or before February 17.
According to Colin Cromwell, a senior adviser to Genachowski, the Agency needs more time to:
“fully brief commissioners and key members of Congress, to get additional input from stakeholders, and to fully digest the exhaustive record before the agency”
However, publicly and privately, critics are slamming Genachowski for mismanagement and an apparent inability to get things done on time. Robert McDowell, a Republican member of the FCC said in a statement this week:
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The Left Continues to Break: More Cracks in Net Neutrality Front
by Capitol ConfidentialWith the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set to make a decision on proposed net neutrality rules later this year, the fight between supporters of the controversial policy and its opponents continues to heat up.
Yesterday, a group of minority and women’s organizations reportedly called on the FCC to give serious consideration to the impact that net neutrality could have on what has been termed the “digital divide”—the widening of which, opponents argue, constitutes a potential unintended consequence of the policy, and one which has become a primary focal point of net neutrality critics’ concern. In a letter and a proposal to the FCC, the groups—which include minority organizations that have previously spoken out regarding the net neutrality issue such as the Asian American Justice Center—have asked for a field hearing and workshop addressing the topic.
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Google: Openness for Thee, But Not For Me
by Capitol ConfidentialIn the ongoing fight over proposed rules that would institute net neutrality, a major proponent of the policy is taking fresh heat from critics. Google, arguably the world’s biggest name in tech, a major source of campaign donations to President Barack Obama, and one of the most prominent advocates of an “open internet,” is taking heat for alleged hypocrisy and rent seeking.
The criticism comes as the company continues to advocate for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose net neutrality rules that would target internet service providers (ISPs) while opposing so-called “search neutrality” that would impact both the company and its revenues in a manner that observers of the debate say could be particularly adverse to Google.
Last week, in a post on the official Google blog, the company’s senior vice president for product management, Jonathan Rosenberg, wrote that while Google’s “goal is to keep the Internet open,” it opposes the concept of “openness” where it would apply to its own search and ad products.
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EXCLUSIVE: Transvestites, Mao And Obama Ornaments Decorate White House Christmas Tree
by Capitol ConfidentialWhy let a holiday season come between the White House and making some political statements? The White House pegged controversial designer Simon Doonan to oversee the Christmas decorations for the White House. Mr. Doonan, who is creative director of Barney’s New York has often caused a stir with his design choices. Like his naughty yuletide window display of Margaret Thatcher as a dowdy dominatrix and Dan Quayle as a ventriloquist’s dummy. For this year’s White House, he didn’t disappoint.
These photos of ornaments on the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room were taken just days ago. Of course, Mao has his place in the White House.
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Code TEA: Tea Parties, Go Home! All Politics Is Local
by Capitol ConfidentialTEA Parties nation-wide have found that calling, writing, and showing up in person in D.C. has the same impact as a hiccup in a hurricane. After turning out thousands of citizens at rallies, overwhelming the Senate phone lines and crashing Congress’ e-mail system, our elected representatives are poised to enact the greatest expansion of government in history. The TEA Parties followed the direction of national organizations and associations. They answered the call, but were sent over the trench-line without an actual plan or support. (See, for example, Somme, Battle of) It is time for the TEA Party movement to turn inward. In the words of the age-old adage, “ All politics is local “.
Stories like the ACORN tapes have massive national legs, yet they do not destroy the local farm team of tax-and-spend big government. Fighting for Liberty and the ability to live the American dream requires getting your hands dirty far closer to home.
For the TEA party and 9-12 groups to become effective, they must evolve again, and this time the Gadsden Flag will be a marker laid down to far more personal targets. People find the mundane of daily life and local news forgettable, yet this is how the TEA party can enact meaningful change.
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Net Neutrality Supporters Have First Amendment Upside Down
by Capitol ConfidentialWith the onset of the holiday season, Washington, D.C., is getting quieter by the day. However, opponents of net neutrality—which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering implementing—are not taking a break from tough policy debate quite yet. With the FCC expected to reach a decision on net neutrality early next year, one major foe of the policy spoke out against it again last week in harsh terms, suggesting that if net neutrality rules were implemented, they might fall afoul of the First Amendment’s intent and purpose.
Kyle McSlarrow, President of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said at a lunch held last Wednesday by the Media Institute that the implementation of net neutrality rules “would ultimately decrease the overall amount of speech on the Internet, thus harming, not helping, First Amendment interests.” Furthermore, he argued, net neutrality proponents who claim the policy is needed to protect First Amendment rights have their facts “upside down.” McSlarrow went on to add, “By its plain terms and history, the First Amendment is a limitation on government power, not an empowerment of government. Making these arguments is, ironically, almost proof that First Amendment rights are being implicated…let’s not forget that the First Amendment is framed as a shield for citizens, not a sword for government.”
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Bob Creamer, Architect of ObamaCare, and His Pattern of Corruption
by Capitol ConfidentialBefore left-wing activist Bob Creamer escorted his wife, Illinois Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to the Obama state dinner, before he penned his blue print for the socialist agenda from his federal prison cell, before he committed felony bank fraud and was indicted on 34 counts involving misuse of $2.4 million, this Saul Alinsky disciple reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars from a campaign finance scam that illegally funneled money from deep-pocket Democrat donors and labor unions to targeted congressional campaigns.
Creamer left his position as head of the ACORN-affiliated Citizen Action/Illinois in 1997 after financial irregularities at the activist organization garnered the attention of federal investigators. Despite the ongoing federal investigation, Creamer turned to political consulting, bringing his bare-knuckle ACORN tactics to bear on behalf of numerous Democratic candidates like indicted former Governor Rod Blagojevich. In the 2002 election cycle, Creamer’s Strategic Consulting Group was paid over half a million dollars by the Blagojevich campaign. Strategic Consulting also did campaign work for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and others, all while the feds pursued their criminal investigation.
During the period when Creamer was running Strategic Consulting Group the firm served as the primary vendor for several identically-structured campaign committees formed for the express purpose of supporting Democrat candidacies in circumvention of federal campaign laws.
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ObamaCare: HCAN Proudly Suppressing Dissent
by Capitol ConfidentialSuppressing dissenting viewpoints is so natural for the Left that they don’t even mind if people tape them encouraging it.
I went with Joel Pollak to Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s town hall meeting on August 31, 2009. I didn’t expect to see anything outrageous, just wanted to see how she would handle real people with real concerns. Joel wasn’t a candidate at that point, just a constituent. What we saw there, however, pushed him to challenge Jan Schakowsky for the privilege to represent the people of the 9th district of Illinois.
We got there two hours early, and a long line had already formed, so we dutifully took our places at the back. ”Health Care for America Now” organizers (HCAN) were walking up and down, passing out lapel stickers to everyone there. The line was already packed with Schakowsky’s supporters, who had been told to come early to fill up the place before people got off work and came over.
We conveniently made ourselves unavailable whenever they passed by. I didn’t want to take a sticker, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it either. Since I was surrounded by stickered people, I knew that my refusal would start something. I hadn’t come to cause problems, just to watch.
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Comcast-NBC Deal: Does the Merger’s Approval Rest on Health Care?
by Capitol Confidential
I’ll be the first to admit that anti-trust law is not my strong suit. The myriad implications of cable giant Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC are complexities beyond the grasp of most mortals. Legions of attorneys will put legions of children through college with the fees that this transaction will generate. This is the kind of stimulus that will inject much-needed capital into the private country club sector of the economy.
But beyond the regulatory and legal minutia that technically govern this proposed deal, one obscenely crass, downright offensive action by Comcast’s CEO warrants the application of withering scrutiny to the merger.
A day, one single day, after the two media giants announced their deal, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts proudly weighed in to strongly support the Senate Democrats’ health care reform bill.
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Biden Recycles Speeches With a Twist
by Capitol Confidential
Vice President Biden keeps recycling his unemployment speeches – except he keeps confusing suburbs of his hometown of Scranton:
1. On October 19, he used Minooka:
My pop — my grandpop used to say — there was a suburb of Scranton called Minooka. He said, “When the guy in Minooka’s out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When your brother- in-law’s out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” Well, it’s a depression — it’s a depression for millions of Americans, through no fault of their own.
2. On October 30, 2009, he used Dickson City (the correct spelling):
My grandpop used to have an expression. We’re from Scranton. He’d say — and I mean this literally. It wasn’t viewed as a joke. He said, “Joey, when the guy in Dixon City,” a small town above Scranton, “is out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When you’re brother-in-law is out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” And it’s a depression for millions of American people.
3. On December 3, 2009, at the White House jobs summit, he used Throop:
There used to be an expression, and I’m not joking, my grandfather always used it. He was from Scranton, Pennsylvania. He said, “When the guy from Throop is out of work, it’s an economic slowdown. When your brother-in-law is out of work, it’s a recession. When you’re out of work, it’s a depression.” And it is a depression for over 10 million Americans…
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FCC Playing the Wrong Tune: New Opposition to Net Neutrality
by Capitol ConfidentialFederal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski is facing fresh opposition in his push for controversial “net neutrality” rules, it emerged Monday.
The Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) announced that its President, Rick Carnes, and well-known songwriters Phil Galdston and Gordon Chambers, had recently testified before the New York City Council in opposition to a resolution expressing support for net neutrality. The trio, each prominent figures within the arts community, are concerned that net neutrality rules would do little combat online music piracy.
According to an SGA release, “Net Neutrality rules… would restrain Internet service providers from fighting illegal file sharing on their networks.” Furthermore, according to the release, “70% of the volume of traffic on broadband networks is Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing, generated by 5% of network users. An astonishing 90% of such traffic represents stealing of copyrighted works.” The SGA blames such file sharing for noteworthy declines in the songwriting industry, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data as well as anecdotal evidence obtained by Carnes himself. According to Carnes, “Every major music publisher tells me they have laid off at least half, and sometimes all, of their songwriters.”
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St. Louis County Counselor Redington: Gladney Beating ‘Has Not Been Swept Under the Rug’
by Capitol ConfidentialThe story of Kenneth Gladney may finally be getting somewhere. County Counselor Patricia Redington, after waiting three months, has been forced to come out and defend her office in emails and in an interview with KMOX, a local St Louis radio station. We’d say it was quick work, but waiting to look into charges of political violence until after healthcare reform comes to a vote seems to be the plan. In previous columns, we identified a time difference for assault charges of 3 months versus 2 days. 3 months to start looking if you’re a black man beaten by union thugs and 2 days if you’re a Republican running for Congress against Dick Gephardt.
Redington is now responding to emails saying she is looking into the events, the investigation is still under review, and her office is interviewing witnesses. This is one of her responses to a St Louis county resident about the affair.
There were several incidents at this event which required police intervention, and our office is reviewing the police report and has been interviewing various witnesses before making a final decision on what charges may be issued.
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