Thursday, March 22, 2007
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Compiled by Stephen Bach CNN Washington Bureau Making news today... The sources would not disclose the exact nature of the announcement, but they did say that the couple is not going before the press to say that "everything is OK." CNN will have live coverage of the event. Full story at CNN.com " Philip de Vellis, a strategist with Blue State Digital, the firm that designed Obama's Web site, acknowledged that he is 'ParkRidge47,' creator of the ad." (San Francisco Chronicle) "Obama's campaign repeated its denial of any involvement in the matter." Blue State Digital said de Vellis "was 'terminated' Wednesday; De Vellis said he resigned." (Los Angeles Times) It was "a revelation that stunned the Obama campaign and could damage his presidential prospects." (New York Daily News) President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: Tonight, Giuliani holds his "biggest Washington area fund-raiser, a reception at "millionaire lobbyist Peter Terpeluk's mansion in suburban Chevy Chase, Md." (Novak, 3/18) ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) "AN ACT OF DEFIANCE TOWARD PRESIDENT BUSH": A House panel authorized subpoenas yesterday for top White House and Justice Department aides, including White House counselor Karl Rove, setting up a constitutional clash with the Bush administration over the U.S. attorneys investigation. With the Senate Judiciary Committee poised to authorize a similar batch of subpoenas today, the House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law also issued a broad-based subpoena for documents and e-mails related to the prosecutor firings from Rove, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten, former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers and a trio of other aides. The subpoenas served as an act of defiance toward President Bush, coming less than 24 hours after he warned Democrats against engaging in a "partisan witch hunt" and vowed to embark on a legal battle to shield his staff from public testimony under oath. Washington Post: House Panel Authorizes Subpoenas Of Officials PELOSI'S "FIRST KNOCK-DOWN, DRAG-OUT LEGISLATIVE BATTLE": Nancy Pelosi's honeymoon is over. Gone are the elegant celebrations of the first female House speaker, the popular bills that sailed through early with bipartisan support, the news conferences touting her victories for the middle class. The California Democrat faces the first knock-down, drag-out legislative battle of her short tenure as speaker as early as Friday, when she and her leadership team move to push through a closely divided House a $124 billion emergency wartime spending bill. And on the eve of what has been building for weeks as an epic congressional showdown over the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, she still lacked the votes for victory. Nearly all Republicans were expected to side with President Bush and oppose the bill, charging that its collection of military readiness conditions, Iraqi benchmarks and waivers amounts to "micromanagement" of the war. The Politico: After Honeymoon, the Fight OUTCOME OF IRAQ VOTE "FAR LESS CERTAIN THAN LEADERS HAD HOPED": As the House prepares to vote Friday on a $124 billion Iraq spending bill, which calls for American troops to come home before Labor Day of 2008, an intensely private and anguishing debate has played out for many lawmakers through handwritten letters, telephone calls and conversations. Dozens of representatives have traveled to Iraq, even as antiwar activists staged protests in their district offices or at their homes. The consternation among Democrats on the left and the right has made the outcome of the vote far less certain than leaders had hoped, particularly after respected figures like Representative John Lewis, a liberal Georgia Democrat, declared his opposition, saying, "I will not and cannot vote for another dollar or another dime to support this war." New York Times: House Democrats Weigh Plan for Iraq Withdrawal LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION AMONG GOP "IS AT AN 11": When a group of Senate GOP leaders assembled before the microphones last Thursday to crow about their defeat of Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) Iraq resolution, they thought they had a shot at finally getting out in front of a winning issue this Congress. But just as soon as their faces met the bright lights of the cameras, BlackBerrys began to buzz with breaking news e-mails reporting that White House aide Karl Rove was being implicated in the widening U.S. attorney-firing scandal. "There goes the news cycle," one Republican staffer thought to himself. That botched presser illustrated a greater issue facing Senate Republicans these days: Every time they think they have turned a critical public relations corner on Capitol Hill, they find themselves back in the unpleasant position of having to deal with the latest White House snafu. And, at least privately, many GOP Senators and aides say they've hit their boiling point. On a scale of one to 10, "The level of frustration is at an 11," offered one Senate Republican aide. Roll Call: GOP Frustrated by White House REPS. KICK OFF IMMIGRATION PUSH: Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will introduce legislation today that is expected to serve as the basis for a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House. The measure kicks off this year's immigration debate in Congress - a debate House Democratic leaders shied away from due to its potential to split key allies among labor unions and endanger Democrats from conservative districts. Gutierrez, the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus's task force on immigration, and other House Hispanic leaders criticized Democratic leaders last year for not mentioning immigration in "New Direction for America," the campaign document Democrats unveiled before the election as a general guide to their policy priorities. The Hill: Immigration on deck GORE TELLS CONGRESS WORLD FACES "TRUE PLANETARY EMERGENCY": Former Vice President Al Gore yesterday called on Congress to create a polluter tax and immediately freeze carbon emissions during a much-hyped appearance before House and Senate panels tasked with finding ways to halt climate change. The Democrat, who starred in the Oscar-winning global-warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," outlined a 10-point plan to preserve the environment for future generations. "We do not have time to play around with this," Mr. Gore said. "Our world faces a true planetary emergency." He acknowledged that "the phrase sounds shrill," but insisted that it is no exaggeration. Washington Times: Gore turns heat on Congress SC BILL WOULD REQUIRE ABORTION PATIENTS TO VIEW ULTRASOUND: Women seeking abortions would have to see a fetal ultrasound before the procedure under a bill given key approval in the S.C. House Wednesday. After three hours of passionate debate, the House voted 91-23 to require women to sign a statement swearing they had seen an ultrasound image of their fetus before getting an abortion. A half-dozen other states offer ultrasound images to abortion patients, legislative staffers said. But those states do not require abortion patients view them. Supporters of the measure hope that image will spur more women to forgo abortion. Opponents called the bill "emotional blackmail." Third and final approval of the bill in the House could come as early as today, sending the bill to the Senate. There, the proposal faces stiffer opposition; individual senators hold great power to delay or derail legislation. The State: S.C. House: View fetal image prior to abortion EARLY VOTING COULD SHAKE UP PRIMARY STRATEGIES: Early voting poses an under-the-radar challenge to Iowa and New Hampshire's long-prized status as the first in the nation to decide presidential preferences. Voters in a number of the states that are circling the Feb. 5 presidential primary date - including California, Oregon and Montana - could begin casting ballots as early as Jan. 5, nine days before the Iowa caucuses. In at least 10 of the possible Feb. 5 primary states, estimates are that more than 30 percent of voters cast their ballot before Election Day in November 2004, some in person at county elections offices, and some via mail-in ballots. Political analysts say the early voting trends in those states could force presidential candidates to recalibrate their strategies and resources in an already crowded primary season. AP via Yahoo! News: Early voting could upend 2008 primaries "1984" YOUTUBER COMES FORWARD: The creator of a controversial YouTube clip that attacked Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was an employee of the Internet strategy firm on the payroll of the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). "I made the 'Vote Different' ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process," Phil de Vellis wrote on the liberal blog Huffington Post. De Vellis resigned from Blue State Digital, an Internet strategy firm, once his identity became known. The Obama campaign had previously insisted that no one affiliated with the campaign had anything to do with the ad, a position that spokesman Bill Burton reiterated last night. "The Obama campaign and its employees had no knowledge and had nothing to do with the creation of the ad," Burton said. Washington Post: Man Behind the Clinton Clip Worked for Obama's Net Strategists FULL STATEMENT FROM PHIL DE VELLIS (via Huffington Post) "STUMBLE" OVER PACE COMMENTS SHOWS TOUGH BALANCE FOR CANDIDATES: Chicago lawyer Coco Soodek has given $2,300 to Sen. Barack Obama's presidential primary campaign, the most allowed under federal law. But in recent days, she has questioned her contribution, just as she has questioned the candidate's commitment to gays and lesbians. "His inability to make strong, declarative sentences in support of our issues is disheartening and sometimes makes me question my donation," she said this week. "I hope he shows a little bit more moral courage for his friends." The subject of Soodek's anger: Obama's initial statements when asked whether he believed gay acts are immoral, a view asserted a few days earlier by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when asked by the Tribune about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Obama, like his chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), was criticized for initially dodging the question. Chicago Tribune: Stumble over gay issue dogs Obama |
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