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The Language of Financial Reform, Democrat-style

by Karoli on February 3, 2010

What follows are some ideas I had for setting the tone of the debate on financial reform. Just as with health reform, conservatives have already got their financial reform talking points from Frank Luntz, propagandist-in-chief. Following his format, I decided to put together a few talking points of our own, which coincidentally, happen to be grounded in truth, a word Luntz really doesn’t understand. (Full memo here (PDF))

When addressing the financial crisis, never forget it happened while on President Bush’s watch.

Yes, feel the pain. We’re all feeling pain. But never, ever forget that it was President George W. Bush who was in charge when it happened. Never forget that “deer in the headlights” look on his face when he announced the need for TARP, and by all means, remind voters of that every time you discuss the need for financial reform.
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Twitter Tidbits: Scott Brown, Dawn Johnsen, Questiontime and more

by Karoli on February 3, 2010

There’s all sorts of little interesting stories swimming in the Twitter stream today that will likely be big stories tomorrow. Remember, you heard it here first:

  • Scott Brown wants to move up his swearing-in ceremony by a week. He’s requested that the Massachusetts certification of his election be hand-delivered to him so he can be sworn in tomorrow. Why? Because the Senate is scheduled to confirm Dawn Johnsen Craig Becker as Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Office of Legal Counsel. to the NLRB. Becker is qualified, but a union guy, and Republicans really, really hate unions. Republicans have blocked this confirmation for a year. Sending Scott Brown to the Senate a week early means a cloture vote can be blocked, and her nomination stalled some more.

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Kill the filibuster? Be careful what you wish for

by Karoli on February 2, 2010

It’s easy to call for filibuster death when one backs the party in the majority; less so when in the minority. In legislation, the filibuster is one of the few means the minority party has to be heard. The problem isn’t the filibuster; it’s the Republicans.

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Obama, the Republicans and the Fifth Guy

by Karoli on January 30, 2010

Part of the magic of yesterday’s 90-minute real-time conversation with the Republicans in Baltimore was the spontaneous rise of attention. Within minutes, Twitter is abuzz. Everyone is transfixed. Everyone. It was some of the best political theater I’ve seen, ever. I call it theater because all of the drama, timing, dialogue and personalities were there, but it was more than that. This was a substantive discussion between the President and representatives of the minority party about far more than policy. Policy was the foundation for a far more meaningful exchange about personal conduct in public discourse. [click to continue…]

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President Obama and House GOP: Better than the Super Bowl

01.29.2010

What a remarkable hour and a half. The President addressed House Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore, then took questions for about an hour. His goal? To try and ratchet down the tone, address concerns head-on. Did he succeed? You decide.
Here’s the video via YouTube:

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New myth: Your retirement belongs to Wall Street

01.29.2010

I’m seeing a revival of undead themes again. This weeks’ winner comes from the left, claiming there’s danger ahead for 401k plans and retirement savings. I’ve written extensively on the right-wing version of this theme before; namely, that the government will take over your 401k (NOT!). Before that post, I wrote about the same topic, [...]

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