First thoughts

Posted: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 9:45 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: First Thoughts

From Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
*** War Games: Politics begins to return to normal today when Bush and congressional leaders sit down at the White House to discuss the contentious Iraq supplemental. Since a compromise between Bush and congressional Democrats doesn’t appear to be likely, the questions on our mind are: 1) What will the eventual House-Senate conference bill look like? 2) Will that bill be able to pass both chambers? 3) And what will Democrats do after Bush vetoes the legislation? A new Gallup poll shows that 57% support a timetable for withdrawal. Democrats seem to have public opinion on their side, but they seem hesitant to test the depth of that support.

*** To the Rescue: Fred Thompson meets today with about 50 House GOP members to discuss a possible White House bid, and is expected to hold a press availability afterwards. Is he Ronald Reagan with a drawl? Or the next Wes Clark? One thing is for certain: There is a hunger among many Republicans for someone else.

*** Go Ahead, Make My Day: On Thursday, House Democrats plan to bring up the legislation that would award a member of Congress to Washington, DC -- daring Republicans to again attach a repeal of the District’s gun ban to the legislation, this time just days removed from Virginia Tech shootings. Will Republicans blink?

*** Think Imus Will Come Up? Al Sharpton’s National Action Network confab begins today in New York -- with a speech tonight by Edwards. And he won’t be alone: Richardson, Biden, and Dodd speak on Thursday; Gravel and Clinton go Friday; and Kucinich and Obama address the group on Saturday. Meanwhile, Sharpton has cancelled an event that would have honored the head of a music group, whose roster includes the rapper Ludacris. “We don’t want to be inconsistent,” Sharpton said.

*** Labor Parties: The AFL-CIO has announced its own forums for the Democratic hopefuls -- including town halls for the individual candidates, plus a group forum in early August. Despite labor's mixed record of success in recent Democratic presidential primaries, there isn't a labor group that the field has turned down. By the way, has anyone counted up the number of debates and town halls that are scheduled for 2007?

*** On the Trail: Huckabee stumps in New Hampshire; Richardson, in New York, gives a speech to the Asia Society; Dodd (as part of his Senate job) has a media availability on Capitol Hill after holding a closed-press homeownership summit; and McCain, in South Carolina, does two town halls and a finance event.

*** And on a Lighter Note: Will Florida Gov. Charlie Crist light the fire of Doors fans and pardon Jim Morrison for an infamous indecent exposure charge in Miami?

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Comments

Oh to hell with Bush. We should just cut funding immediately. If the commanders in the field keep sending troops out without supplies and support, we can convene a war-crimes trial to have those commanders put to death. I'm getting REAL tired of this BS.

Sean, Torrington CT (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:10 AM)

Fred Thompson sounds good to me. He should go with Pee Wee Herman as a running mate. Pee Wee could act as his hired brain, illiminating the need for a Rove counterpart. He would be even funnier than Cheney, and I figure a team like that would scare the crap out of Ahmadinejad.

JIrby, Colorado Springs (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:16 AM)

On the subject of labor unions , for the anti-unuion folks out there your job is next to be shipped overseas or else its you who will be laid-off and your job given to someone who will work cheaper.

retired union man,ibew (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:36 AM)

retired union man - you may be right. I wish I had a union like those at Ford or GM. They have not only kept their jobs but have gotten wage and benefit increases. None of their jobs have gone overseas or been offered to lower pay workers. If only I was in a union then I would feel much more secure about my job. (Please note the sarcasm in the post.)

Ryan, Michigan (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:57 AM)

That's why I don't work for union companies. The Hormel strike of 20 years ago taught people that no matter how petty the issue is(60 cents an hour difference), you don't put your family on the firing line when you go on strike. If you don't like your job, change your job or get educated!

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:02 AM)

Ryan you and your grand old republican party won't be happy until everyone(except you guys of coarse)is working for minimum wage with no benifits.Thats why nothing has been done about the ileagle allien problem,you guys want to keep up the cheap labor orgy.It would be an abomination of biblical proportions if working people actually had a voice in any form cocerning their livlihoods would it not?I hate to tell you Ryan but your way of thinking has pretty much eliminated the middle class,so I guess the repub's have acheived one of the goals it set out so vigourosly to obtain, of coarse it has failed miserably on everything else. All hail the republican elite for they are great and all knowing.

MK,MO (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:46 AM)

jerry/cc==I have read your posts where you call people stupid and lazy for not having a job. Do you ever watch the news on Thursdays when the report comes out on the number of first time claims for unemployment benifits are reported? So do you really think about 300,000 people per week are stupid or lazy? This figure of 300,000 is for each week.

Seattle Sue (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:03 PM)

MK - Of course you didn't answer the questions posed by my sarcasm in my previous posts. You instead lash out with typical left of center talking points: "All Republicans are evil", "All the rich people are Republican", "Republicans hate the middle class", etc. I for one don't want anyone working for minimum wage. I am against the minimum wage and I believe that it is detrimental to the poor and the young workers in this country. I work for a living. I'm not management. I make between 45k and 50k a year. I work 45-50 hours a week. But, I guess since I don't whine and complain about my situation I'm not considered middle class or a "working person".... P.S. I have noticed a couple times that people on this site have spelled the word "illegal" "ileagle". Please tell me this is either on purpose to make some sort of point or a typo of some sort. It pains me to think that that is how some people think that word is spelled. I, by no means, am some spelling expert but I usually know when something might be wrong and I note it. Also, it is my opinion that the vast majority of adults should know how to spell "illegal" I suppose if I'm wrong in that assumption I would have to look no farther then our wonderful education system to find the reason.

Ryan, Michigan (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:36 PM)

Ryan and Jerry want to give all power to the corporations and big government. They hate giving the average worker any kind of voice. Ryan and Jerry want big busines and big government to control all their activities and lives. They are afraid of unions and freedom. In their world we would be a military state just like good old Russia. Remember the kremlin stated that the reason the average russian citizen did not have freedom was for their own safety. The same reasons bush uses to increase big government spying, going through bank/phone statements, torture and what the hell,freedom in general: Bush is trying to take away. Jerry and Ryan would be the first people in line to give up their freedoms. Typical scared republican. They love Big Business to be able to do anything they want without consequences. But oh start a union that can help the common man , that is where they draw the line. People should not have rights or freedoms in Ryan and Jerry's world. They want to give all the power to government and big business. Remember republicans hate the middle class and the working class. They are not Bush's people and since Bush took office, name one law he has passed that helps the average american. Do not bring up the crap about tax cuts. First Bush's tax cuts created 0 jobs. The tax cut just gave money back to bush's people, the very rich. Example: 70% of the tax cuts went to the top 30% income earners. If you did not pay any income taxes, you did not get a tax cut. So Jerry and Ryan 50% of americans did not receive any tax break. But oh that millionaire, now has an extra $200,000 to spend. Jerry and Ryan love nothing more than to take away all freedoms and give all tax cuts to the rich. They do not give a damn about the average american. They can't their republicans.

bobf (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 1:28 PM)

Seattle Sue: NEWS FLASH: for the size of our economy, the 300,000 figure/week IS A NORMAL NUMBER. Yes, NORMAL. Didn't take any economic courses in College, Did ya?

jtb (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 1:48 PM)

Good man bobf. Hopefully changes will be made in the next few years to reserect the working class so those who want can make a living, the people who were not fortunate enough to obtain a higher education need to live a dignified life if they are willing to work. The U.S.A. likes to claim it's the greatest nation in the world but when it's citizens can't afford to live a decent life , can't afford to become ill because they do not have health insurance and are going to have to work untill they die or live in poverty because they have no retirement benifits that statement really should not be made.

MK,MO (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:08 PM)

Mark - Did my post get lost in the shuffle? Or was it user error again? Thanks.

Ryan, Michigan (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:19 PM)

jbt===As usual you either can't read/comprehend postings or you just twist them to suit yourself. I did not say the 300,000 was not normal, I asked jerry if he thought all these people were stupid and/or lazy. I can tell you have been to college and you must have graduated in the top of the How to Be A Jerk 101 class.

Seattle Sue (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:21 PM)

Ryan, Should be up now... It got buried under other posts. Thanks for the heads up.

Mark Murray (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:25 PM)

hey jtb, what's normal about being out of work, I am sure the 300,000 new claims don't thinks so, what you flunked humanity classes.

hollywood2007 (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:33 PM)

Just a thought. If more people voted in elections, I would hope we have more politicians that reflect the will of the people. As it stands now, it seems that most votes in elections are by the hard core base on either side with independents making the difference. Non-participation in the process is a serious problems with our system. We often say we have no power where national policy is concerned. I think that we do have some power remaining and we should use it to make the changes in our society we want. It would be interesting to see if we as a nation are more "liberal" or more "conservative" insteading of depending on the "spin" fed to us via the political parties and the media. I for one want to know what the "quiet" people are thinking.

Mike, Chantilly, VA (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 2:59 PM)

Thanks Mark, I know you guys are ultra busy. Don't worry about it... In regards to the unemployment claims, it seems like I have to go over this at least once a month on this blog. The claims announced on Thursday morning are not all new claims. The number is the amount of people that filed for unemployment benefits during the past week. That means that someone who becomes unemployed and files for benefits for 13 straight weeks is counted in each of those 13 weeks. You are not counted if you have exhausted your benefits. So, the number is a combination of ongoing claims and new claims received in the past week.

Ryan, Michigan (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 3:05 PM)

"Its in every one of us To be wise Find your heart Open up both your eyes We can all know everything Without ever knowing why Its in every one of us By and by"- It's In Every One Of Us-John Denver

Still Crazy After All These Years (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 3:07 PM)

Ryan the fisrt part of your post was pretty accurate until about the minumum wage part then it kind of heads down hill, thanks for the spel check I obviosly don't brother whith that.

MK,MO (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 3:56 PM)

I would think a system which allows other people to profit at the expense of those less fortunate or able would be inherently evil in the eyes of Jesus Christ. In fact, there are many instances where this is stated in the New testament. However, here we are in one of the most capitalistic economies in the world and arguably the most Christian nation. Did I miss something here? Whatever happened to the "what you have done to the least of us you have also done to me" Where is the clamoring to bless the peacemakers? I'm just askin'. Seems to me there are a lot of people with a lot of answers who don't even begin to understand the questions.

Robert Catalano, Salem, OR (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 3:59 PM)

Robert - I don't even begin to pretend that I speak for Christ or even know what his thought are. My thoughts on the manner are this; I agree with most of what you said. I just don't believe that it is governments responsibility. I believe that it is the people's responsibility. My belief in regards to the role of government vs. the role of the citizen is the primary difference between my view on most things and the views of the vast majority of the other posters on this blog....MK, no problem, your not the obly one that has done that. I figured you would agree with my left of center talking points :)

Ryan, Michigan (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 4:33 PM)

A song for the Supreme Court-"The old folks say ya gotta end your date By ten But if you're out on a date don'y you Bring her home late cuz its a sin You know there's no excuse."-Your Mama Don't Dance-Loggins and Messina

Still Crazy After All These Years (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 5:41 PM)

Ryan==Google the unemployment claims. The article I read said, (The Department of Labor said that NEW applications for unemployment benifits) Did you see the word New? I hate to cause you so much trouble every month but check your facts, I have been under the impression for years that when they report these numbers it is for NEW applications. But I will read the report tomorrow and see if it is NEW applications.

Seattle Sue (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 6:56 PM)

On a lighter note, why would Jim Morrison's fans be worried about his infamous indecent exposure charge being pardoned?

Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:25 PM)

Ryan, in your second post, you forgot your period (.) after your last "illegal." You forgot your comma (,) after your last "assumption." You used "then" instead of "than" in your last sentence. If someone can punctuate correctly, they are considered smart. When you said "the number is the amount of people..." in your fourth post, you should remember that "amount" is used for measurement and "number" is used for counting. If you would have gotten rid of the period (.) in front of your "the," and added a comma(,) and "but instead" and then gotten rid of "is the amount of" your sentence would have been grammatically correct, with the addition of changing the "that" to "who" in refering to "people." In the same post, the "in" after the word "counted" is not necessary in the sentence starting with "That means." I, too, am annoyed when people misuse the English language. We are alike in that regard.

Jane, Southern Mississippi (Sent Wednesday, April 18, 2007 10:55 PM)

I don't recall back in school where I was taught that companies owe you anything. The idea is that you work hard and move up in the ranks. If the company doesn't care about you, find another job. Job loyalty went out with I love Lucy. You work hard, you play by the rules, you will get ahead in life. I don't need a union to tell me that.

jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Thursday, April 19, 2007 9:35 AM)

Jim Morrison "people are strange". Fits these blogs to a T

Jerry/corpus christi texas (Sent Friday, April 20, 2007 12:25 AM)

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