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Blog Entries by Chris Weigant from 02/2009

Democrats Need to Frame the Stimulus Better

| Posted 02.02.2009 | Politics
Read More: Bush Recession, Welfare, President Obama, Framing, Jobs, Democrat, Obama, Congress, Democratic, Stimulus, Democrats, Barack Obama, Republican, Payroll Tax, Income Tax, The Bush Recession, Chris Weigant, Stimulus Package, John Kerry, Tax Cuts, Job Creation, Politics News

President Obama has proposed a tax cut on payroll taxes. Republicans are against it, and even have taken to calling it "welfare." Excuse me? Welfare? Tax cuts are now welfare in Republicanland?

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Demand An Up-Or-Down Vote

| Posted 02.04.2009 | Politics
Read More: Cloture, President Obama, Democrat, Filibuster, Democratic, Obama, Democrats, Stimulus, Recovery Act, Barack Obama, Republican, Chris Weigant, Stimulus Package, Harry Reid, Up or Down, Up or Down Vote, Senate, Politics News

Democrats are obviously having problems framing the issues in the ongoing debate about the stimulus package. The bill is now in the Senate, and Repub...

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Friday Talking Points [64] -- Populist Rage!

| Posted 02.06.2009 | Politics
Read More: Barbara Lee, Wall Street Bonuses, CEO Pay, Autoworkers, Populism, President Obama, Mccaskill, Economy, 20000, Jobs, Daschle, Obama, Salary Cap, President, Dean, Howard Dean, Tax Deductibility, Bailout, Bonus, Populist, Midotw, Tom Daschle, Tom the Dancing Bug, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Pitchforks and Torches, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Hhs, Auto Worker, Draconian, Stimulus Package, Union, Tarp, Auto Companies, Taxes, Job Losses, Robert Reich, Populist Rage, House, Tax Dollars, Executive, Lucky Ducky, Stimulus, Barack Obama, Lee, 500000, Mddotw, Wall Street, Taxpayer Dollars, Tax, Chris Weigant, Ceo, Uaw, Democratic Senators, Claire McCaskill, Executive Compensation, Jobs Lost, Up or Down Vote, Senate, Executive Pay, Reich, Draco, Wonderland, Bastille, Politics News

Truth be told, it's actually been kind of a "talking points week" for me this week. On Monday, I wrote about how the Democrats need to frame the stim...

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Where Is Our $78 Billion?

| Posted 02.09.2009 | Politics
Read More: Paulson, Kucinich, Wall Street, 78 Billion, Bailout, TARP II, Chris Weigant, Dennis Kucinich, Taxpayer Money, Banks, Treasury, Wall Street Bailout, Tarp, Politics News

While Barack Obama is making all the news headlines today for (finally!) doing some cheerleading for his recovery package (as it wends its way through...

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The New Deal Lesson Republicans Are Ignoring (At Their Peril)

| Posted 02.11.2009 | Politics
Read More: House of Representatives, Historical Revisionism, House, New Deal, Progressives, Democrat, Democratic, Obama, 1930s, Bush Recession, Democrats, Barack Obama, Republican, Fdr, Progressive, Chris Weigant, Socialist, Socialism, Depression, Senate, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Great Depression, Socialists, Farmer-Labor, Politics News

Barack Obama is our first post-baby-boom president. He was supposed to usher in a new era, where we wouldn't have to fight the social battles of the ...

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Friday Talking Points [65] -- The Sausage Race

| Posted 02.13.2009 | Politics
Read More: Bush Truth Commission, Polls, President Obama, Sausage, Pat Leahy, Patrick Leahy, Economy, Truth Commission, Jobs, Outreach, Takes Two to Tango, Failure, Obama, Democratic, Beltway, Geithner, Bush, Pelosi, Illegal, Rnc, Midotw, Nancy Pelosi, Tax Cuts, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Treasury, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Legislative Victory, Stimulus Package, Reid, Republican National Committee, Time Geithner, Baseball, House, Budget, Dick Durbin, Democrat, Congress, Durbin, Bipartisan, Obama Stimulus Package, Laws and Sausages, Democrats, Stimulus, Sausage Race, Barack Obama, Valentine, Mddotw, Chris Weigant, Wiretapping, Political Capital, Victory, Leahy, Harry Reid, Republicans, Bipartisanship, Robert Gibbs, Senate, Torture, Politics News

About a week ago, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs got off a good line about the progress of the stimulus package: "The sausage race is the be...

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The Failure Of Lincoln's Bipartisan Outreach

| Posted 02.16.2009 | Politics
Read More: Fort Sumter, First Inaugural Address, President Obama, Divorce, Ronald Reagan, Honeymoon, Secede, Obama, Civil War, Bush Recession, Slave, President, Reagan, Corwin Amendment, Revolution, Union, Slavery, Abraham Lincoln, Hair, Abie Baby, Sumter, Better Angels of Our Nature, Lincoln, Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, Bipartisan, Barack Obama, Birthday, Inaugural Address, Constitution, Chris Weigant, South, Amendment, First Inaugural, President's Day, Bipartisanship, Politics News

Happy birthday, Abie baby,Happy birthday to you!Happy birthday, Abie baby,Happy birthday to you!-- "Abie Baby" from the musical "Hair" Since it's the ...

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Democrats Should Just Say No To Budget Filibusters

| Posted 02.18.2009 | Politics
Read More: Blue Dog, President Obama, Budget, Appropriations, Filibuster, Democrat, Obama, Federal Budget, Omnibus, Democrats, Filibuster Proof, Barack Obama, President, Chris Weigant, Parliamentarian, Bills, Harry Reid, Obstructionist, Obstructionism, Byrd Rule, Republicans, Bill, Reid, Senate, Reconciliation, Politics News

A little-known rule in the Senate may dramatically change the balance of power between the parties during the upcoming budgetary process.

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Friday Talking Points [66] -- MSNBC's Faux Populist Rage

| Posted 02.20.2009 | Politics
Read More: Axelrod, White House, Roger Simon, Populism, The Verdict Is In, Burris, President Obama, Pat Quinn, Clinton Cat, David Gregory, Obama, Democratic, Illinois Legislature, Governor, Taxpayer, Republican, California, Blagojevich, Cnbc, First Cat, Bailout, Populist, Press Secretary, Midotw, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Rick Santelli, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Senate Seat, Illinois, Socks, Abel Maldonado, Gibbs, Budget, RIP Socks, Eugene Robinson, Nbc, Roland Burris, Democrat, Socks Clinton, Democrats, Brian Williams, Barack Obama, Meet the Press, Lawmakers Pay, First Cat Socks, Ron Brownstein, Mortgage, Mddotw, Wall Street, Chris Weigant, David Axelrod, Santelli, Hillary Clinton, Robert Gibbs, Socks the Cat, Senate, Maldonado, Quinn, Politics News

We'll get to Rick Santelli, his CNBC rant, and the White House's reaction in a bit, I promise. But I've got to start with a rant of my own, over what...

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Solving The Buffett Conundrum On Taxes

| Posted 02.23.2009 | Politics
Read More: Populism, President Obama, Capital Gains Taxes, Income Taxes, Buffet Secretary, Secretary, Million, Obama, Tax the Rich, Bush Tax Cuts, Bush, Reagan, Clinton, Tax Policy, Millionaire, Capital Gains, Inequity, Fairness, Unfair, Taxes, Hedge Fund Manager, Buffett, Budget, Hedge Fund, Tax Rate, Barack Obama, Buffett Conundrum, Wall Street, Tax, Chris Weigant, Bracket, Warren Buffett, Santelli, Hillary Clinton, Billionaire, Politics News

Obama has leaked his first budget outline, and it appears he is serious about attempting to fix this tax policy travesty.

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Return Of The Son Of The Great Communicator

| Posted 02.25.2009 | Politics
Read More: Polls, President Obama, Speech, Ronald Reagan, Obama, Majority, Great Communicator, Power, President, Over the Heads of Washington, Reagan, Clinton, Return of the Son Of, Great Communicator II, Stimulus Package, State of the Union, Frank Zappa, Bill Clinton, House, Shut Up and Play Your Guitar, Carter, Congress, Newt Gingrich, Public, Barack Obama, Shut Up N Play Yer Guitar, The People, Approval, Over the Heads of the Media, Chris Weigant, Obama Speech, Sotu, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, Minority, Senate, Zappa, Politics News

The "Great Communicator," for our younger readers who were not exposed to him, was what the media eventually decided to call President Ronald Reagan. ...

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Friday Talking Points [67] -- Washington At Warp Speed

| Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics
Read More: New Orleans, Troops, Burris, Do-Everything, President Obama, Pat Leahy, Speech, Republican Obstructionism, Honesty, Do Everything Congress, Warp Speed, Iraq, Jindal, Democratic, Obama, Withdrawal, President, Bush, Republican, Reagan, Hurricane, Pelosi, Unemployment, Clinton, Socialist, Sofa, Midotw, Glenn Greenwald, Nancy Pelosi, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Obstructionism, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Volcano Monitoring, State of the Union, Withdraw, Trust, House, Bobby Jindal, Unemployment Benefits, Socialism, Budget, Status of Forces Agreement, Roland Burris, Democrat, Conservative, Congress, Whitehouse, Durbin, Stimulus, Democrats, Barack Obama, Sheldon Whitehouse, Mddotw, Rachel Maddow, Chris Weigant, Obama Speech, Leahy, Volcano, Senate, DC House Seat, Politics News

We open today's column with a mental image -- a gigantic metal turtle-bot, inching its way along. Clomp, clomp, clomp... it moves forward so slowly y...

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