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2011年6月27日星期一

Obama, GOP radio duel over government debt ceiling (The Christian Science Monitor)

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Washington – Saturday's radio addresses by President Obama and a Republican legislator offered a preview of the challenge the White House faces next week in restarting stalled talks over raising the federal debt ceiling and averting an August government shutdown.

Congressional Republicans last week pulled out of debt reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden citing their opposition to any tax increases being included in a final plan. House Speaker John Boehner warned of “job killing tax hikes.” White House spokesman Jay Carney countered that “millionaires and billionaires and special interests” should have to contribute to cutting the deficit.

On Monday, President Obama is slated to meet separately with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada and with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky to try and restart the talks. So it is not surprising that the Saturday addresses from both parties continued the on-going debate about government fiscal policy.

President Obama’s address was recorded Friday during his trip to Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute in Pittsburgh. Speaking in front of a display of robots used to find leaks and breaks in water and sewer pipes, Obama said “advanced manufacturing can help spur job creation and economic growth across the country.”

His remarks on the debt ceiling debate – and related efforts to trim the massive federal budget deficit – were pointed.

“I am committed to working with members of both parties to cut our deficits and debt,” the president said. But he added, “We can’t simply cut our way to prosperity.”

Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina gave the Republican response, criticizing the Obama administration for wanting to raise taxes. Ellmers, who owns a small medical practice with her husband, accused the Obama administration of wanting to "stay the course, keep spending money we don't have, and raise your taxes – all in the name of 'stimulus.'"

She added that “The job creators we hear from, they don’t have their hand out. They don’t want a bailout. All they ask us to do is get government out of the way.”

The economy’s continuing weakness remains a major concern for the Obama administration.

Weak economic growth, high unemployment, and a lagging housing sector are major factors in the president’s poor approval ratings. The latest Real Clear Politics average of major polls shows 47.7 percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing while 47 percent disapprove. An approval rating under 50 percent generally indicates tough re-election prospects for an incumbent.

The war of words over economic policy will continue Saturday evening when Vice President Biden speaks at the Ohio Democratic Party’s annual state dinner. Biden has been a frequent defender of the administration’s economic policies, speaking of the economic challenges his family faced when he was a boy.

“He obviously has deep, deep roots in the industrial Midwest running from Pennsylvania right across and he’ll be very valuable there,” the Associated Press quoted Obama strategist David Axelrod as saying in Chicago last week.


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2011年6月26日星期日

Top GOP fundraiser: 'There's not too much money in politics' (The Christian Science Monitor)

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

Washington – Is politics awash with too much money?

Mike Duncan, chairman of American Crossroads, doesn't think so. His group, which solicits money to spend on behalf of conservative politicians, aims to raise $120 million to support GOP candidates in the 2012 election.

“There is not too much money in politics,” Mr. Duncan said Friday, in defense of his group's goal.

IN PICTURES: Will these Republicans run in 2012?

It is a matter of context, Duncan said at a Monitor-sponsored breakfast with reporters. "Our $120 million is in relation to a couple billion [dollars] on the other side.... We will probably be outspent as a party in this election.a€

In 2008, the Obama campaign raised $750 million. The Obama team is expected to spend more than that trying to get the president reelected in 2012.

American Crossroads, a Republican-backed independent group, was launched by Karl Rove, President Bush's former political adviser, among others. Mr. Rove acted after a 2010 Supreme Court decision, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, made it permissible for "super PACs" to raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, and unions, as long as the donors are disclosed and the groups do not coordinate their spending with federal candidates.

The $120 million goal includes funds that would be raised by American Crossroads, a tax-exempt 527 organization under Internal Revenue Service rules, and its affiliate, Crossroads GPS, a 501(c)4 group. Under the law, Crossroads GPS is not required to disclose donors' names to the public.

Crossroads President and CEO Steven Law said labor unions reported spending $400 million in support of Democratic candidates in the 2008 election. He expects similar spending by labor groups in 2012. Of his organization’s $120 million goal, Mr. Law said: “We are going to need every penny of it to have a chance of keeping up with the much larger dollars that we expect to be poured in by the left.”

IN PICTURES: Will these Republicans run in 2012?


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Karl Rove 'super PAC' won't favor any 2012 candidate during primaries (The Christian Science Monitor)

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中,找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件,或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。

Washington – Supporters of Mitt Romney, the front-runner in the Republican presidential field, have launched a “super PAC” to raise money to promote his candidacy, even as leaders of American Crossroads, the biggest of the Republican super PACs, promised Friday to remain neutral during the primary season.

That signals that American Crossroads intends to save most of its fire for the general election, when the GOP nominee will be up against a well-funded President Obama, and will not choose a horse in the GOP nominating race.

The wrinkle in that scenario is that the new pro-Romney PAC and American Crossroads share a key executive – an overlap that had reporters closely questioning the Crossroads leaders about the neutrality assertion when they appeared Friday at a Monitor-sponsored breakfast gathering.

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Since the 2010 Supreme Court decision that opened the door to campaign spending by a wider array of contributors, so-called super PACs (political action committees) have been springing up. It's now permissible for these super PACs to raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, and unions, as long as the donors are disclosed and the groups do not coordinate their spending with federal candidates.

According to a Washington Post report, Romney supporters have launched Restore Our Future PAC. It is not known how much Restore Our Future has already raised to support the Romney campaign.

American Crossroads, a group founded by Karl Rove, former President Bush's political adviser, among others, insists it will remain neutral during the 2012 primary season.

“It is important for us to clearly state that Crossroads … will not be involved in the Republican presidential primary. We are just not going to do that,” said the group's chairman, Mike Duncan. Though the group says it will not spend money to advance the cause of any primary candidate, it might spend as the primary season ends if Democrats attack the GOP's presumptive nominee, its executives said.

Reporters asked Mr. Duncan and Steven Law, the group’s president and CEO, pointed questions about American Crossroads' neutrality. The Washington Post story about the pro-Romney super PAC noted that its board of directors includes political operative Carl Forti, who was political director for Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign. Mr. Forti is now political director of American Crossroads.

“Carl is a contract employee with American Crossroads. He has other clients; we knew he had other clients. But clearly none of us are going to be involved personally in presidential campaigns. And he is not either,” Duncan said.

“The only thing I would add to that,” said Mr. Law, “is the work that Carl does for us is work that every contender for the Republican nomination would be supportive of, which is that he is helping find ways to make sure President Obama does not return to office.”

Getting bin Laden and five other boosts to Obama's reelection bid


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