Obama was blocked by Republicans from passing so many bills. Romney doesn’t seem to know that.

In 2010, Mitch McConnell set the Republican Senators’ goal to make sure Obama didn’t get the legislation he promoted approved. Both the Senate and House Republicans set working AGAINST Obama as more important than working FOR America.

Here’s the Republican record for the past 3.5 years:

1. Tax companies that ship jobs overseas – BLOCKED (Source)
2. The Dream Act – BLOCKED (Source)
3. Political Ad disclosure Bill – BLOCKED 2x (Source)
4. Small Business Jobs Act – BLOCKED 2x (Source)
5. Anti- Rape Amendment – BLOCKED (Source)
6. Benefits for Homeless Veterans – BLOCKED (Source)
7. Affordable Healthcare for America – Voted 33x to Repeal (Source)
8. Healthcare for the 9/11 First Responders – BLOCKED (Source)
9. The Jobs Bill – BLOCKED (Source)
10. Wall Street Reform – BLOCKED (Source)
11. Oil Spill Liability – BLOCKED (Source)
12. Immigration Reform – BLOCKED (Source)
13. Fair Pay Act of 2009 – BLOCKED and DEFEATED (Source)
14. Unemployment Extension Bill – BLOCKED (Source)

In 2012 they want you to think that Obama is to BLAME!! What do Americans think? If your neighbor blames Obama, pass this list on and let them know the way the GOP congress has acted.

Related articles

• Poll: Hispanics in Florida favor President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney, 61-31 (tampabay.com)
• If Obama Won’t Defend the Last Four Years, Why Would America Give Him Another Four Years? (swampland.time.com)
• Obama Blames GOP, Economy for His ‘Biggest Failure’ (commentarymagazine.com)
• I Don’t Need a Reporter to Tell Me That Obama Won the First Debate – and on His Anniversary !!! (bonjupatten.com)
• Barack Obama: Says 50 million people would lose their health insurance if Obamacare is repealed. (politifact.com)
• Obama zings Romney: Are you keeping your plans secret because they’re too good? (rawstory.com)
• Mark Gongloff: Romney’s Dodd-Frank Comments Shock Bewildered Bankers (huffingtonpost.com)

800,000 Kids Caught In Immigration Limbo rescued by Obama – and he shuts down a right wing heckler:

We can be proud of the Prez!

While the DREAM Act is currently stalled because of a contentious and uncooperative Republican majority in Congress, Obama has announced a new decision from the Department of Homeland Security that will provide relief to an estimated 800,000 kids living in risk of deportation. Watch:

Related articles

• Obama Seizes Legislative Authority Under the Guise of the DREAM Act (independentsentinel.com)
• Obama’s Stance On Immigration Is Justifiable and Humane (newstalkcleveland.com)
• Obama Announces He Won’t Prosecute DREAM Kids; Cue the Right-Wing Freakout (crooksandliars.com)
• U.S. to Stop Deporting Some Immigrants (nytimes.com)
• Obama To Spare Young Illegal Immigrants From Deportation (newstalkcleveland.com)

The Flipper is trying to get back in the good regard of Latinos…

… but he may have moved so far to the right that his move to center is not believeable. Take it’s position on Immigration and the Dream Act.

From the NY Times:

The Flipper - Flopped

The Romney campaign appears to have begun shifting to the center on immigration, after staking out a position to the right of opponents like former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.

During the primary fight, Mr. Romney said he would veto the existing version of the Dream Act, or the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would grant illegal immigrants brought into the country as children by their parents a pathway to citizenship. He labeled it a magnet for illegal immigration. And he criticized Mr. Perry for granting young illegal immigrants in-state tuition to Texas universities.

On Thursday, campaign aides said Mr. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, was not referring to the most draconian portions of Arizona’s immigration law when he said during a debate that Arizona could be a model for the nation. He was referring specifically to the “E-Verify” measure that requires employers to check the legal status of job applicants electronically.

Romney is looking at getting illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the country, too. He’s a real pal to folks who are both a large work force and a growing voting block.

 

 

 

Related articles

• Marco Rubio Pushes His Own DREAM Act (abcnews.go.com)
• Romney immigration ‘adviser’: No GOP Dream Act (politico.com)
• Romney Immigration Adviser Kris Kobach Says Mitt Romney Won’t Support GOP DREAM Act (thinkprogress.org)
• Rubio’s Dream Act proposal gets flak from Romney adviser, er ‘supporter’ (tampabay.com)
• Rubio beats back VP rumors, hails immigration plan (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• How Marco Rubio can help Mitt Romney without spot on GOP ticket (csmonitor.com)
• “What A Revolting Development This Is”: Romney’s Immigration Adviser Says Mitt Won’t Support GOP DREAM Act (mykeystrokes.com)

A Florida Question: Can Republicans Capture Latinos

In the National polls concerning Latinos, it doesn’t look good for Mitt or Newt or the rest:

Washington Post national poll, December 28, 2011:

Obama 68
Romney 23

ImpreMedia/Latino Decisions, 9/30-10/9:

Obama 61
Generic Republican 17

PPP, 9/30:

Obama 67
Romney 29

Latinos are, in general,  disappointed in the lack of progress on immigration reform. But they saw who voted against the DREAM Act in Congress (Republicans), and they see who is still campaigning against the DREAM Act (Republicans). They see who is demagoguing Mexico and kowtowing to the notorious Latino-hating Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Republicans), and they see who is passing anti-immigrant laws in places like Arizona and Alabama (oh yes, Republicans).

Romney wants to make things so miserable for undocumented immigrants that they “self-deport,” according to speeches he has made in the primaries. Not a popular position among Latinos.

Then there was the straight attack on Cuba in the last debate. Cuban Republicans are a strong Latino group in Florida, but, like many Americans, they wonder if, after 50 years of maintaining the Cuba boycott, we might like to try something else.

Guess we wait and see. Tuesday is the Florida Primary.

Related articles

• Senior Republicans: don’t alienate Latino voters with immigration attacks (guardian.co.uk)
• GOP, don’t blow it with Florida’s Latinos (cnn.com)
• ‘Soccer mamis’ could sway Florida race, affect general election (cnn.com)
• Poll: Romney Dominating Gingrich Among Florida Latino Voters (miami.cbslocal.com)
• Latino group to challenge Rubio as GOP courts him (sfgate.com)
• Obama courts Latino vote on economic tour (ajc.com)
• Obama’s Latino Arizona Strategy (thedailybeast.com)

OK… DADT is now history… the Senate has voted it out and the bill is on its way to Obama.

So the score so far today is Democrats 1 (Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is voted out), Republicans 1 (Dream act voted down… actually, it didn’t get passed the 61 vote filibuster requirement). Tomorrow they will be debating and maybe voting on the START treaty… whoever wins on that one will break the score.

 

I hope Harry Reid can keep everyone there until the work is done.

Related Articles

• DADT Breaks Filibuster (talkingpointsmemo.com)
• Cloture Vote on DADT Repeal Passes 63-33 (themoderatevoice.com)
• So Is DADT History? (talkingpointsmemo.com)
• Six GOP-ers push DADT over the top (politico.com)
• Fate of DADT and DREAM Act decided today (dailykos.com)

Saturday Morning and the Senate is In Session…

… and I’m watching to see if Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed.

A procedural vote is expected by noon. If at least 60 senators vote to advance the bill as expected, the legislation could pass as early as late afternoon. Republicans could demand extended debate time, but early indications were that they may not draw the process out further. We’ll see.

This, if it passes, will be the completion of another 2008 election promise by Obama and a successful manipulation by Harry Reid. What Senator McCain tries in holding it off could be interesting.

Related Articles

• Multi-Tasking: Senate to Debate START Treaty & Omnibus Spending Bill In Final Year-end Flurry (blogs.abcnews.com)
• Saturday Vote For Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal (lezgetreal.com)
• Will The Clock Run Out On DADT? (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
• Clearing the way for Senate repeal of DADT (washingtonmonthly.com)
• “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Poised to Become History (cbsnews.com)
• Will the Senate Stay ‘Til Christmas? – The Atlantic (news.google.com)

The Senate Just Blocked The Defense Bill Including “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal…

This is a small triumph for the Republicans who, led this time by John McCain, filibustered the Defense Bill coming up for debate, and prevented the 60 votes (all Dems and Independents plus 1 Republican) needed by Harry Reid from happening.

Senate Majority Leader Reid needed those 60 votes to overcome Republicans led by McCain, but because he had attached debate on the DREAM Act and a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell as amendments  he was stomped. Centrist Republican senators like Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine were considered crucial to this effort — but they were unwilling to cross the aisle during today’s vote.

So this means that, for now, the basic Defense Bill, which funds the military (who needs it to just keep operating) is not on the floor. I’m watching Senator Barbara Boxer on C-Span2 right now who is complaining about the inability to debate either the DADT amendment or the Dream Act Amendment. One point she make is that the only other countries in the world that don’t allow open gays in the military are Iran, Turkey, Cuba, North Korea, Egypt and a few others… Our friends, England, Germany, Austria, Canada, France and many more, allow open gay military service. Get the idea.

The ED Show summed it up pretty well last February:

The DREAM act, which allows children who are not citizens but were brought into their country by parents, can get a leading run to citizenship… and, also, to populate our military with thousands of people currently not allowed in… has been trying to get on the agenda for the last 10 years. This is something that really should be brought back up on the agenda again and again until it is passed.

Meanwhile, we are seeing this Congress’ major problem… the inability to get things done when Senators… and that is Republican Senators… Filibuster EVERYTHING, rather than letting majority rule.

Related Articles

• Senate repeal of ban on gays in military falters (msnbc.msn.com)
• ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal Prospects Look Dim Before Senate Vote (towleroad.com)
• Dems Likely to Lose Key GOP Vote on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (politics.blogs.foxnews.com)
• Collins Equates Senate Debate With ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy (huffingtonpost.com)
• ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Becomes Hot Button Election-Year Issue (huffingtonpost.com)
• DADT Repeal Faces Likely GOP Filibuster (outsidethebeltway.com)