The Presidency of America's Maverick

[OSR stands with Israel]

CNN: Election Night in America 2005:



Source: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/haRo8uLQNok/hqdefault.jpg

7:00:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rchmoqssrQw&t=0s

Blitzer: Good evening and welcome to CNN’s coverage of the 2005 Off Year election. We will be watching the results in Virginia, New Jersey and the city of New York to see who will be elected governor and mayor of those places and we will also discuss whether these results have national implications. The polls have just closed in Virginia and currently we are unable to make a projection. Here is the CNN map for tonight and keep in mind while the state of New York is colored in green , it does not stand for the state of New York tonight but the city of New York .

Schneider: So far no surprise given the fact this race was very close but I will say we should have some key indication in an  hour . If the independent candidate is say not hitting the 3 percentage mark then the Republican Jerry Kilgore will likely win but if the independent candidate is say going over the 5 percentage mark then the Democrat Tim Kaine will likely win tonight.

Greenfield : One thing I am interested in seeing is the Virginia house of delegates where currently Republicans hold 64% of the  seats there and the democrats goal this time has been to bring the republicans under the 60% mark while  Republicans hope to get a 2/3 majority there but both scenarios according to the experts is unlikely . With us is one of the experts Larry Sabato who can tell us more about that

Sabato: Yes I would definitely like to and seeing some of the numbers going in I’d say that the democrats probably will make gains though probably not enough to get the GOP under  the 60% mark . As for the gubernatorial race I’d say another key is if Mr.Kaine can flip either Loudoun or Prince William counties as if he does he will almost certainly win . If not he needs them to be under 5 points for him to have a realistic path to victory tonight

8:00:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rchmoqssrQw&t=0s

Blitzer : The polls have just closed in New Jersey and CNN Right now can project The Democrat, Acting Governor Richard Codey, will win a full term on his own and thus the democrats will control the gubernatorial mansion in New Jersey for another 4 years . Right now in Virginia, currently the Republican candidate hold an lead there though but some good news for the Democrat Tim Kaine is the independent candidate is so far winning over 4% of the vote .

Schneider : Well no surprise in New Jersey and from the looks at it Virginia is gonna be really close

Greenfield : Yes I agree , the results so far in Virginia do confirm what the polls were saying and that it will be very tight .

Sabato : So far I’d say if I had to say who has the edge , it’s the democrat Tim Kaine who has it though it’s too early to say for sure . The reason I say that is the independent is getting 4% of the vote which does hurt Mr.Kilgore plus the way Prince William and Loudoun are coming in that once the more democratic areas of those counties come in , those areas will be within 5 points

Blitzer : In a Republican state like Virginia why is Mr.Kilgore struggling so much

Sabato : Well there are multiple factors  one being that Mr. Kaine is a moderate to conservative democrat and is running to succeed a very popular governor who fits that label as well . Second Mr.Kilgore alienated many republicans during the primary by refusing to debate any of the candidates and that explains the third party vote there as well.


9:00:

Blitzer : The polls have closed in New York City and we can now project that the Republican,  Mayor Bloomberg, will be re-elected as mayor of the largest city of the nation . This will be the 4th consecutive win for the republicans in this traditionally very democratic city at least in national and state elections . In Virginia Mr.Kilgore leads but his margin has now dropped under 5 points showing it could be very close their tonight indeed

Schnider : Again no surprise here as Mayor Bloomberg is indeed extremely popular that even the editorial board of the New York Times that generally endorses democrats , endorsed him for reelection . I also wouldn’t look much into their streak as keep in mind both then Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg are more liberal than the GOP as a whole on many issues like abortion , guns and others .

Greenfield : Yup , and also keep in mind that it’s a local race and the fact is crime has gone down drastically in New York City over the past 12 years following  the preceding 10 to 12 years when crime was viewed as out of control . So when you have things like that happen, the party in power tends to benefit justifiably or unjustifiably and the Republicans definitely benefited from that .

Blitzer : Larry what are you hearing in Virginia so far

Sabato : Well in the house of delegate it does look like Democrats will make gains but not enough to get the Republicans below that 60% mark but we are told that they can get them down to as low as 60% though 61 or 62 percent seem more likely . In the gubernatorial race I don’t think much as changed and we will have to wait and see till all the results are in too see how wins that race

Blitzer: Ok our decision desk has agreed that it will likely be until after midnight till we have results so we will send it back to normal programming for now and then be back once we can make a decision here to discuss about it .


12:53

Blitzer: Basically all the votes have come in Virginia and CNN can now project that the Democrat Tim Kaine will be the next governor of the state defeating his Republican opponent 47.9% to 47.6% with the independent getting 4.3% of the vote .

Schnider : Looks like Virginia will continue its streak of electing a governor of a different party than the party that holds the White House , which is a streak that goes all the way back to 1973.

Greenfield: Also for republicans before they blame the independent Russ Pots , that it was the fault of their Republican candidate for being unable to unite the party and not the fault of Mr.Pots or even Republican voters who didn’t back Mr.Kilgore as it’s the job of the Candidate to appeal to voters while it’s not the job of voters of their party to vote for them .

Sabato: Fully agreed with that sentiment but for any of you interested in the house of delegates, the final numbers are expected to be 61 republicans to 39 democrats a gain of 3 for the Democratic Party tonight. Those gains came from seats in Fairfax county which democrats here  after seeing that Senator  Biden won that county , put in resources to flip marginal seats held by the republicans here .

Blitzer : All right that does it for our coverage of election night 2005

[2016]

Virginia flipping must make Senator George Allen very, very nervous.
Republicans are in for a rough Midterm Night in 2006. I don't think they will lose 30 Seats like in the OTL but likely 15 - 17 Seats and Democrats might narrowly snatch the House.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

Virginia flipping must make Senator George Allen very, very nervous.
Republicans are in for a rough Midterm Night in 2006. I don't think they will lose 30 Seats like in the OTL but likely 15 - 17 Seats and Democrats might narrowly snatch the House.

It's only 0.4% that he lost by IOTL. With McCain not being Bush and given that Kaine won by five OTL I think Allen will make it (even though I hate him with a passion).

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: Antonin Scalia and Paul Clement sworn in by outgoing acting Chief Justice Sandra Day O'Conner after being confirmed by the United States Senate



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9PIf1rkrmo

Blitzer: Just a few moments ago Justice Antonin Scalia was sworn in by outgoing acting Chief Justice Sandra Day O'Conner who was temporarily appointed by President McCain to ensure the Supreme Court has 9 justices during this confirmation process and now he will officially be moving up from Associate Justice to Chief Justice.

Schnider: Yes and keep in mind while many prominent liberals opposed his nomination, given the fact he was already an Associate Justice did make this process easier and as you can see in the nearly 2/5 of the Democratic caucus voted for this appointment. Now on the other hand for Mr.Paul Clement who will be taking over Chief Justice Scalia's spot as Associate Justice faced a pretty grueling confirmation process.

At first these confirmation hearings got delayed, as many senators who were on the fence wanted to wait to receive more information before the hearings began which is why this process has dragged out to mid-Novemeber. The reason for that is while Paul Clement does have a great legal background, he never has been a judge before and the fact that he was a Solictor General made many senators question over and over again if he could be unbiased in cases involving the White House and the adminstation in general. In the end though 7 Democratic Senators: Inez Tenenbaum, Ben Nelson, Evan Bayh, Tim Johnson, Mary Landrieu and Robert Byrd voted for cloture which meant even though Republican Senators like Jim Jeffords, and Lincoln Chafee didnt , there was more than the 60 votes required to break a filibuster. So due to that he now will be one of the youngest Associate Justices ever at age 39 though there have been justices in the past who have been younger.

Blitzer: What does this mean for the ideological composition of the court

Schnider: On paper it really shouldnt doesn't change given the late Chief Justice Rehniqust was personally very conservative, and in fact before he became chief justice had a more conservative judicial record than Justice Scalia ever has had before he more or less became more or less pragmatic when he moved up from Associate Justice to Chief Justice. From the evidence we have, it seems like it likely will happen with now Chief Justice Scalia too given that Scalia has moderated over the years and has shown more of a pragmatic side over the years.

Similarly with Justice Clement, ideologically he is considered to be similar to Justice Scalia but again given he never has been on the court before, he more or less could be a wildcard. It is very possible he could end up like say Justice Thomas and be this very ideologically conservative but he could also end up more moderate like Justice Kennedy so its hard to know how he would change the court really.  I would say overall these picks just upheld the status quo but I will say that the Scalia Court overall will likely end up being more conservative than the Rehnquist court given Justice Cook is definitely more conservative than Justice O'Conner.

[2016]

Virginia flipping must make Senator George Allen very, very nervous.
Republicans are in for a rough Midterm Night in 2006. I don't think they will lose 30 Seats like in the OTL but likely 15 - 17 Seats and Democrats might narrowly snatch the House.

It's only 0.4% that he lost by IOTL. With McCain not being Bush and given that Kaine won by five OTL I think Allen will make it (even though I hate him with a passion).

It's true that's only 0.4 but you really have to take into account the big Demographic Changes in NoVa which happened between 2004 and 2006 in the OTL which would massivly affect the 2006 VA Senate Race even in this slightly more GOP-lean TL. VA will probably the closest Senate Race in 2006.

And whomever the GOP Nominee is in 2008 will have huge problems holding VA, OH, CO, NV and NM.

[OSR stands with Israel]

White House releases outline of corporate tax reform plan they would like to see passed in Congress   

Blitzer: The White House today released an outline of a tax plan which we are told isnt that detailed so what is in the outline

Dobbs: So the crux of this plan to reform the corporate tax rate is one to slash rates from 35% to 25% a cut that many experts believe would reduce tax revenues by around a trillion dollars over the next 10 years and right now their plan is to make up for that revenue by making Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax Rules stricter and limiting other deductions such as the NOL deductions. Now there aren't many exact details released in this plan on how they plan to recoup most of the trillion dollars but what we are told is that that the reason for that is the President and his team is very flexible in that regard so we will have to wait and see what exactly they will do in that regard.

Blitzer: We are told that Paul Ryan did have a lot of influence over this

Dobbs: Yes absolutely we are told though he wanted to cut the rate all the way down to 20% and potentially impose a border adjustment tax which is something the President did not want to do which is why the rate is at 25% instead.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Iraqi elections take place with high turnout and relatively low violence

Blitzer: Earlier today voters in Iraq went to the polls to elect their first-ever Democratically elected government and we are told that it was indeed a success as there was a relatively high turnout with over 60% of citizens voting and with very little violence as well. President McCain and outgoing Defense Secretary Tom Ridge called it a great day for the people of Iraq and hope it can lead to more nations becoming democracies as well in the future.

Foreign Affairs Correspondent: Yes it is indeed a great day but keep in mind the President also said the work is not over as now whoever the Iraqi Prime Minster must show the Iraqi people that Democracy can work in improving people's lives as well .


Senate Confirms Robert Gates to be the next Secretary of Defense and Bill Bratton to be the next Secretary of Homeland Security following Secretary Ridge’s resignation

Blitzer : The Senate earlier today confirmed that Homeland Security Secretary to the Position of Secretary of Defense following Secretary Ridge’s official resignation and then confirmed Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to the Position of Secretary of Homeland Security. Both of them received unanimous support from the senate like expected for there positions and now we will see if they can meet the President and the senate’s expectations for that role .

Schneider: One thing I’d like to add is Tom Ridge probably will go down as one of the greater Secretary of defense since that position was created in 1947 and he goes out with praise from leading members of both parties which makes sense given that he’s always been relatively a pragmatist even as governor of Pennsylvania.

Blitzer: There are rumors he may run for president in 2008 , how true are those rumors

Schneider: I think he definitely may run but as long as Governor Giuliani wins re-election next year as polls say he almost certainly will and runs , I believe Governor Giuliani will most likely be the main Republican candidate from the moderate wing in the primary .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Federal Reserve Chair Greg Mankiw reconfirmed by the Senate despite tough questioning on his decisions to raise interest rates:



Blitzer: Federal Reserve Chair Greg Mankiw was reconfirmed by the Senate earlier today meaning he will remain as head of the Federal Reserve until January of 2010. Lets Go to Bill Schnider for more detail about this

Schinder: Keep in mind that Mr.Mankiw did initially face a lot more opposition by many senators from both parties then most nominees to the Federal Reserve usually do and that was due to the fact the effective federal fund rate has been raised to over 6%. Many senators from both parties were worried that it was slowing down economic growth and many are worried about a potential slow day and maybe recession in the near future due to this as well. His answers seem to have satisfied enough senators that he was able to be reconfirmed .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Excerpts from President McCain's 2006 state of the union address:



Souce: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/app/uploads/2019/02/RTX6LFXE-1024x683-e1549455385158.jpg


Speaker Hastert: Ladies and Gentleman , its my high honor to welcome to you , the President of the United States!!

Congress Floor: Standing Ovation

President McCain: Mr. Speaker, Vice President Danforth, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: I want to start out by congratulating the people of Iraq for creating a strong constitutional democratic system in October and electing a democratically led government in December and let the people know that it was an inspiring sight to see(Standing Ovation). It is a reminder also to all of us here that Democracy and a government that adheres to the needs of the people first is worth not only fighting for but worth continuing improving as well(Applause). It is why I am proud of the many reforms we have made over the past few years to improve our democratic system as well(Applause). We also must continue to fix issues facing our nation in general to ensure that our nation's system remains the envy of the world(Applause).

One of those issues is the issue of immigration where over the years its became more and more clear for over a decade that our system is broken and it is time now for us to come together to solve that issue(Applause). It is been an issue that has polarized politics in many of our border states such as California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and it is time that we stop punting that issue for those states to deal with as it is our responsibility to solve that issue not theirs(Applause). Solving this issue requires us to deal with multiple issues: One being that we must secure the border which is why I propose we allocate the funding needed to build a fence and increase border security on the vulnerable parts of the border and to create an employment enforcement agency that penalizes employers that hire undocumented immigrants(Applause). Number two we must provide a way for undocumented immigrants who have been here for 5 years or longer and have not committed any crimes since then to come out of the shadows which is why I propose creating a visa called the Z-Visa which would let them stay here while they apply for permanent residency status and they would be placed in the back of the line as well so they dont get ahead of anybody who has done it the right way(Applause).

We also must come together to continue to pass policies that help create a better economy for all of our citizens which is why I have proposed this body pass corporate tax reform(Applause). We currently have a corporate tax code that one makes us uncompetitive with the rest of the world as we have one of the highest tax rates on the planet and number two we have a tax code that is filled with loopholes that allows some corporations to get away with paying nothing while others are penalized for being too successful. It is time we fix that system by creating one a tax code that has rates that are in line with the rest of the world instead of rates that are higher than them and one that levels the playing field so less profitable corporations don't have to pay more in taxes than the ones that are more profitable(Applause). Doing so would make it possible for us to get the types of investments we need in our economy which in turn will make it easier for more and more Americans not only to get jobs but higher-paying ones as well(Applause).

It is critical that we continue to solve the problems we face at home to keep moral high when we fight to make the world a better place as well(Applause). We have been the greatest beacon of freedom the world has ever and it is my intention that we continue to be that beacon for generations to come(Standing Ovation). Thank You May God Bless You and May God Bless America

[OSR stands with Israel]

President McCain drops attempt to get South America on board with a trade deal as he submits trade deal agreed to by Central America and Dominican Republic to Congrees:

Blitzer: The President earlier today dropped an attempt to get South America on board with a trade deal that would have included all of Latin America and sent to congress the trade deal the US already has tentatively agreed to by Central America and the Dominican Republic. We are told that nations such as Brazil and Argentina made it clear they would not sign on to any such trade deal and instead of risking the entire trade deal falling apart, the President decided to formally submit a trade deal now being called CAFTA to congress.

Greenfield: Yes the phrase is that while half a loaf isnt as good as the entire loaf it certainly is better than no loaf at all is certainly applicable here. While the President wanted South America to be part of this trade deal the fact is with nations as large and influential in South America such as Brazil and Argentina being so adamantly opposed to such a trade deal, it wasn't going to happen.

Blitzer: Could it happen in the future

Greenfield: Sure it could as you remember for NAFTA originally just the US and Canada signed a trade deal and Mexico later joined on so a similar thing could happen here. Though it likely won't happen until well into whoever the next president's administration as it will take some time for the full effects of this agreement to be known and if its proven to be good then that would be something that could get South America to join this deal.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Former Iraqi insurgency leader and Notorious Terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Sentenced to Death after being convicted of multiple counts of terrorism

Blitzer: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, one of the most notorious terrorists in the world and former leader of the Iraqi Insurgency was convicted earlier today of multiple counts of terrorism and immediately sentenced to death following his conviction. Now with us is our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin to give us more details

Toobin: Yes, now many be asking wouldnt such a case usually be going to a penalty phase of a trial to decide if he receives the death penalty or not, and while that is true for almost any case it is not for this one. The reason for that is due to the Mandatory Sentencing for Terrorism Act of 2001, anyone over the age of 18 who is convicted of the types of terrorism counts that al-Zarqawi must receive the death penalty.

Blitzer: So will the appeals process be any different

Toobin: Yes one major difference in this case vs an appeal in others is unless the courts strike down this act , it is basically impossible for his sentence to be reduced to life in prison while in many other cases it usually is possible for such a sentence to be reduced. Keep in mind that the courts so far have not struck this act down and given the fact others have been sentenced under this act, its unlikely that it will be struck down. Now al-Zarqawi will still be given the opportunity to appeal his conviction and most likely his lawyers will do so .

[President Johnson]

Looks pretty good so far. I hope the Democrats win congress in the midterms; McCain probably works well with them.

[UWS]

Great to see the Iraq War heading in the right direction.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: House Passes Immigration Reform Bill After Months of Debate:

Blitzer: The House today passed a sweeping immigration reform bill with these major provisions

What it does to prevent new illegal immigration:

- Would allocate funding to construct a Fence across the entire southern border

- Would allocate funding to increase border patrol agents at the border as well

- Would significantly increase penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, with repeat offenders facing higher penalties including jail time

Legal immigration Reforms :


- Creates blue card program which will allow for more agriculture workers to immigrate to the US

- Requires companies who apply for the program to prove they are unable to fill jobs with American citizens and residents first

- Let’s Kids of Immigrants who have been here for more than 10 years to stay in the nation after they turn 21 even if their parents haven’t gotten green cards yet


Schnider: One thing that does jump out is this bill does nothing to address the issue of the over 10 million illegal immigrants already here in the US which is one of the major issues about immigration. It also pretty is much stricter border security wise than the President's proposal

Blitzer: What are the chances this passes into law

Schnider: Probably not high given many Senators from both side, and the President himself have made it clear that immigration reform also must address the issue of the over 10 million illegal immigrants here and the fact that it does not do that means its very unlikely in my opinion this bill passes. Now that does create another problem as getting a bill that includes a pathway to citizenship       will be very hard to pass in the house, but at the same time a bill without that likely would have hard time passing the senate as well.

Blitzer: Would this bill have implications for the upcoming midterms

Schinder: Yes we are told Republicans are very worried about what implications this could have for key gubernatorial races such as Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and in battleground house races in the southwest in general. Keep in mind immigration is an issue that can alienate multiple groups of voters Republicans need in those areas such as Hispanics who may be get alienated by tough on immigration rhetoric and some very conservative voters who may think it doesn't go too far enough and not turnout due to that. This is why the President and party leaders so far have kept negotiations of this bill private as Republicans believe a public confrontation over this issue is more likely to hurt them than whatever the actual bill turns out to be itself.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: President McCain announces the US will impose stricter sanctions on Iran


Blitzer: Earlier today President McCain announced the US will impose stricter sanctions on Iran in hopes of stopping their nuclear project and to force the government of Iran to liberalize as well. Here is his statement from earlier today

McCain: The Government of Iran for the past 27 years has operated as a rogue state by sponsoring terrorism all around the region and the world. They have also brutally repressed its citizens for that time with its medieval theocratic policies and it is high time and now they have made it clear they want nuclear weapons. That in my opinion is unacceptable and it is high time the world comes together to tell their government enough is enough, and it is time they 1: End their nuclear project 2. Respect basic human rights of its citizens and 3. To stop being a state sponsor of terrorism. We though will not wait as if we being the beacon of freedom and liberty don't take a stand, who will which is why the United States will increase our sanctions on Iran as well as the enforceability of its sanctions.

Breaking News: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stopped the President from launching an airstrike against Iran



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPeTKSlMQY

Blitzer: A Leak from the White House Earlier today showed that the President was very close to authorizing a potential air strike on Iran but was stopped from doing at the last minute by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. So John are there any truth to these rumors

King: Yes the President's Press Secretary was asked about this and he basically confirmed that it was partially true. Lets play a clip from that

Press Secretary: Well the President has made it clear multiple times that one that all options will always be on the table, and two that he views members of the cabinet as not only his advisors but people who should be obviously part of the decision making. Secretary Gates made it clear that he believed Sanctions were the best way to deal with the Iranian Government at this moment.

Media Member: Was the President close to launching airstrikes though or not

Press Secretary: Listen, the President for the past few years has made it clear that no option should be taken off the table while that option may have been discussed between the President and Secretary Gates, they decided that it wasn't the correct option

[OSR stands with Israel]

House passes Corporate Tax Reform Bill:

Blitzer: The House today passed a sweeping corporate tax reform bill that cuts taxes and one will limit how much corporations will be allowed to deduct in taxes

- Top rate will be cut from 35% to 25%

- NOL Deduction will be limited to up to 75% of net income

- Corporations have less than 20 million dollars of Taxable Income(before NOL Deductions) will no longer need to calculate their tax liability under AMT

- Corporations that make more than 20 million dollars of Taxable Income(before NOL deductions) will be only allowed to deduct up to 80% of any taxable income(before NOL deductions) over 20 million dollars for AMTI calculations


Schnider: Yes and to explain more for our viewers say a corporation as 21 million dollars of taxable income(before NOL deduction) and say 21 million dollars worth of qualified deductions under AMT then they will be able to fully deduct the first 20 million dollars worth of that and then for the remaining million only be allowed to deduct 80% of that.

We are told Republicans were reluctant to add that provision in as it would make the tax code in that way more complicated but also wanted to ensure that the bill doesn't add this much to the deficit which is why they took the direction they did.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Congress approves Sweeping Trade Deal with Central America and the Dominican Republic



Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic%E2%80%93Central_America_Free_Trade_Agreement

Blitzer: Congress earlier today approved of a trade deal between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States. With us now is former OMB Director John Kasich to discuss this in further detail

Kasich: Wolf this trade deal will eliminate 80% of all tariffs that have been placed on our goods by these nations will be eliminated immediately and the rest will be eliminated by 2015. Number two this deal will also ensure more transparency in the trade arena as well and three will protect our intellectual property rights. These 3 provisions are provisions I think that Americans and American owned businesses will find most beneficial and I believe that this passing is a good thing for our nation.

Blitzer: We are told that the President was disappointed though that it couldn't include all of Latin America

Kasich: Well, the fact is you don't get everything you set out to do, and my hope and I believe the President as well is this trade deal working out well so South American nations in the future join it and help create a trade deal across Latin America.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Midterm outlook 6 months out

King: With the midterms now less than 6 months out , the campaign for control of Congress is heating up and while conventional wisdom is that Republicans pretty much have a lock on control of congress things can change. Keep in mind that until 1994 nobody believed Republicans ever had a chance of winning back control of the house until it happened and while for the past 12 years it seems like Republican firewall seems unbreakable, things in politics can change swiftly.

Now that doesn't mean it will be an easy task for the Democrats as while the out of party usually tends to make gains in midterms, it hasn't been true for the past two midterms and also keep in mind that in 4 of the past 5 midterm elections the party not controlling the White House has failed to even gain 10 seats. So James, how do you think Democrats are doing so far in developing a strategy to both defy the recent history of midterms and their own over the past 12 years.

Carville: Well one I think DNC Chair Howard Dean has done so far an excellent job in developing a strategy to potentially creating a path for us to make significant gains and potentially even taking back the house. First keep in mind the debate in Washington for many years has been whether Democrats should run a national strategy or local one  and the problem is you cant do one or the other. Running a purely national strategy in a time when neither the economy is in a recession, or there has been a real foreign policy blunder is a strategy doomed for failure as number 1 the fundamentals arent there and two given how different many districts are from each other , it doenst allow you to create a distinct local brand for you to win. The issue with a purely local strategy is it can fail to provide voters a reason why they should vote for change and that usually benefits incumbents.

King: So how are they doing a so-called hybrid strategy

Carville: Well one the Democrats are hammering the Republicans on the fact that since they have been given all this power they have used it for one reducing the power of consumers to hold big corporations accountable and two are now on the verge of giving a 500 billion dollar tax cut to corporate America. I am of the belief that the voters wont be a fan of those actions and democrats should hammer the Republicans over it. Now Mr.Dean is also running a 50 state strategy where he has recruited people to run as Democrats who while they may disagree with the national party on issues like welfare and guns they hold the values of voters in their districts which is very important as voters wont vote for you unless you can clearly show that you represent them as well.

King: So do you think it can give your party a majority in the house

Carville: Well I am not sure about that as gaining 30 house seats in one cycle is very difficult and doesn't happen much but I believe it can result in us potentially picking up more than 20 seats and also even helping us create a pathway to taking the house in 2008.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Senate Passes different Immigration Reform Bill sending Immigration issue to the conference committee:


Blitzer: The Senate earlier today passed an immigration reform bill that is remarkabley similar to the proposal put out by the President a year ago and since the House Bill was not similar, it means this bill will head to the conference committee where the house and senate will have to reconcile their differences otherwise attempts at immigration reform will fail.

What it does to prevent new illegal immigration:

- Would provide funding to construct a Fence on the most vulnerable parts of the Southern Border

- Would provide funding to increase border patrol agents at the border as well

- Would increase penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, with repeat offenders facing higher fines and sanctions

How it would deal with illegal immigrants already in this nation:

- Would deport illegal immigrants who have been here for 5 years or less, and those who have committed crimes after coming to the US

- Would grant Z visas to illegal immigrants who have been here for 5 years or more which would let them stay in the US and apply for permanent residency status but would be put in the back of the line

- Would also require those illegal immigrants to pay fines before they would be eligible to receive Z Visas

Legal immigration :

- Creates blue card program which will allow for more agriculture workers to immigrate here

- Requires companies who apply for program to prove they are unable to fill jobs with American citizens and residents first

- Let’s Kids of Immigrants who have been here for more than 10 years to stay in the nation after they turn 21 even if their parents haven’t gotten green cards yet


Blitzer: As you can see the main provisions are basically identical to the President's proposals. So Jeff what are the chances the differences can be reconciled

Greenfield: Well it wont be easy as keep in mind the house bill doesn't even provide a pathway to legalization for illegal immigrants living here while the Senate bill provides a pathway to citizenship. That is a major major difference and the fact is it won't be easy for both sides to reconcile their differences

Blitzer: We are told Republicans mostly do want to keep these negotiations private, why is that

Greenfield: Well the fact is it is election season and immigration is a very polarizing issue among Republicans so getting into a public fight over this would risk alienating a lot of their own voters on either side of the debate

[OSR stands with Israel]

Senate Passes House Tax Bill using the reconciliation process as no Democrats vote for Tax Bill. President McCain signs bill as it goes to his office


Blitzer: The Senate Earlier Today Passed the House version of the corporate tax reform bill using the reconciliation process due to the fact they didnt have the 60 votes neccessary to pass it through without using that process. The reason for that is no democrats supported the bill and 3 republicans including Jim Jeffords, Lincoln Chaffee, Olympia Snowe all voted against the bill.  Senate Minorty Leader Harry Reid did release this statement

Reid: The Republicans today decided to give a 500 billion dollar tax cut to the largest corporations in America which is a tax cut that will be paid by our kids and grandkids. This irresponsibility goes against their so called claims they would be the party that fights against special interests and it is time to hold them accountable for that failed promise by voting them out of office this November

Blitzer: So it seems like Democrats will make this an issue in 2006 Jeff

Greenfield: Oh Absolutely as the fact is the fact that this was passed using the reconciliation process means either all the credit or all the blame for this tax bill will go towards the Republicans. We will have to see whether the argument Senator Reid is making will win out or the argument Republicans make that economic growth from this bill will win out.

Blitzer: Yes we will have to see and now let's head to the oval office to get a statement from the President right before he signs this bill

McCain: After many years of having a broken corporate tax code, Congress has finally decided to fix the issue and it is a bill that I believe will be great for our nation. One it will help us be more competitive with the rest of the world by bringing our rates down to the level that will make us competitive with the world and by getting rid of some of the deductions that let large corporations get away from paying any tax at all. Thank You now I will sign this bill so it officially becomes law


President McCain signs bill

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: President McCain announces the US has launched multiple airstrikes at WMD locations in Syria:



Note: Photshop done by DPK

McCain: My Fellow Americans , after careful consideration and consultation with Defense Secretary Gates along with other military leaders of ours I have ordered our forces to launch multiple air strikes against WMD sites in Syria including a site on a a suspected nuclear reactor their as well. The Syrian Government for years has been a state that has harbored terrorism for years,  oppressed its people and has caused chaos to its neighbors as well. It is clear that they are a regime that cannot be trusted to possess Weapons of Mass Destruction and god forbid Nuclear Weapons which is why will destroy those sites. I want to thank the hard work of our intelligence agencies along with the intelligence agencies of our allies who helped locate these sites as it is thanks to their hard work we were able to remove their WMD capability . May God Bless America and May God Bless our Troops

Russia and Iran Condemn US Airstrikes against Syria calling it a gross violation of international law


Blitzer: The Governments of Russia and Iran today called the US airstrikes against Syria a gross violation of international law and asked the UN to condemn the US for the airstrikes. Secretary Lieberman responded to both these statements by saying "The US doesn't ask permission from autocratic regimes on how we should conduct our foreign policy and we never will" . He also said "The US will remain a defender of freedom and stability all around the world and we will not abandon that great principle".

Majority Of Americans back strike though skeptical about further action:

Blitzer: While a majority of American do approve of the Syrian Airstrikes, a majority of them are also opposed to taking any further option at this moment with 65% of Americans opposing taking actions at this moment.

Approval of Syrian Airstrikes:

Approve: 60%
Disapprove: 35%

Should Any further action be taken against the Syrian Regime:

Yes: 32%
Not for at least a few more years: 24%
No: 41%


Schnider: A lot of this is that as time goes by since the September 11th attacks, the nation's level of hawkishness will decrease to more or less normal levels. A similar thing happened in reverse when as time went on from the defeat in Vietnam, the level of hawkishness increased. Now this doesnt mean most Americans are now dovish cause polls do show that most Americans do approve the way the President has handled the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and believe we still do need to stay the course in those places due to that.

[OSR stands with Israel]

President McCain meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss potential nuclear deal:



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJJexUvjpQ8


Blitzer: President McCain earlier today met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss a potential nuclear deal. We are told that President McCain wants to ensure that India agrees to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and place all its nuclear facilities under IAEA safegaurds. With us is former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to talk more about this, so Mrs.Secretary what are your thoguhts on this

Albright : First thing to keep in mind that this process likely will take some time due to the fact that not only does it have to be approved by both the US Congress and Indian Parliament but the IAEA too and that probably means till at least 2008. Second keep in mind the Indian Government will ask for concessions to and some of them might be a bridge to far for us to take and thus this could fall apart. The concept though is good as given the size of India , placing its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, in my opinion, would be necessary but the details matter and those details likely wont come out to us until there is a tentative agreement or if things fall apart, years later when people write books about this.

Blitzer: The President later after meeting with the Indian Prime Minister went around the city of New Dehli with him, eating at a popular street food cart and talking to the people of New Dehli as well. He currently is heading to the Raj Ghat which is a memorial dedicated to  Mahatma Gandhi. Here is a statement from the President right after their conversation

McCain: I want to start out by offering the people of India and particularly Mumbai our condolences for the terrorist attacks that took place there a few days ago. Like I told the Prime Minister, we will stand with you in your fight to stop terrorism like we will stand with any nation in their fight as wiping out the threat of terrorism would not only make one nation better off but would make humanity as a whole better off.

Media Member(Screaming): How did the Nuclear talks go

McCain: I believe we had an excellent conversation about that but it isnt wise for either of us for the details of the talks to come out now so neither of us will be answering questions about that at the moment.

[OSR stands with Israel]

President McCain signs bill extending provisions of voting rights acts set to expire for another 25 years:

Blitzer: The President earlier today signed a bill that will extend provisions of the voting rights act that were set to expire at the end of this year for another 25 years. In his speech, the President thanked civil rights leaders for their effort to end Jim Crow and said we must preserve their hard work which is why these provisions should be extended. He also mentioned how it is crucial to ensuring that power remains in the hands of the people and not just the political insiders .

[OSR stands with Israel]

Despite the Unemployment rate falling to 4.3% in July, Many Economists believe recession is very possible sometime in 2007


Blitzer: Despite news that the Unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest numbers since March of 2001, many economists believe that a recession could be looming next year and it did effect the markets as the dow jones tumbled by nearly 500 points yesterday to end the week. Now with us is the host of CNN Money Lou Dobbs to talk more with us about this

Dobbs: Yes many economists believe that given how aggressively the federal reserve has raised interest rates the past 3 years and especially the past year and a half is a huge reason that has caused the economy now to grow slower than it would otherwise have happened and believed that it could lead to recession sometime next year if the trend continues. The Markets are indeed very nervous right now as the future is uncertain.

Blitzer: What would be the trigger for such a recession

Dobbs: Banks not being able to give out loans the same way they are now and economists believe we could be close to that point and what effects that could have we dont know at this point.



Republican Polling Lead Falls in Half After Economic News:

President McCain's Approvals:

Approve: 53%(-5%)
Disapprove: 44%(+4%)

House Generic Ballot Polls:
Republicans: 50%(-3%)
Democrats: 45%(+2%)


How worried are you of a potential recession:

Worried: 66%
Not Worried: 34%


Greenfield: The fact is this latest economic news has pretty much almost instantly got rid of the Republican momentum over the past couple of months that had caused them to surge to a 10 point lead and now  its down to 5 as a poll shows 2/3 of Americans are worried about a possible recession . Also I would say this once again shifts the campaign to whether the Democrats could avoid yet another election where they lose seats to back to whether they can gain up to 20 seats and maybe even more.

Blitzer: Could the House itself come into play

Greenfield: I would say at this moment given the size of this majority and given that we arent in an actual recession yet probably not but politics can change swiftly so all I will say is it is too early to make any conclusion yet.

[OSR stands with Israel]

McCain signs bill that will allocate 10 billion dollars to pro-democracy groups in Iran:

Blitzer: The President today signed a bipartisan bill that will allocate 10 billion dollars to pro-democracy groups in Iran. The President said that this bill will allow freedom fighters in Iran who are fighting for more freedoms for Iranians to be able to have a better chance at achieving their goals. He did mention that the groups who will receive that aid will not have their names released in order to keep those groups safe from persecution from the government.

Many liberal groups have called into the timing of this calling it politically motivated due to the midterms so what do you think Bill

Schnider: Well any actions that get taken this close to major elections will be viewed as politically motivated regardless of what actions they are and regardless of what administration is in power. Though while this will probably will give Republicans a one or two-week bump in the polls, I doubt it will help much in the end of the day given the fact that many Republicans have made gaffes that has hurt them in the polls. Senator George Allen for example now only has a high single-digit lead rather than the double-digit lead in the polls, and there have been house republicans who have not done a good job handling immigration questions at townhalls regardless of what side they are on that issue.