Democrats Work to Avert Republican Credit Crisis
In the US, the housing market is in its largest slump in 16 years. This news is especially frustrating because the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, which has created widespread economic problems, could have been avoided. As Rep. Barney Frank, the Chair of the House Financial Services Committee explained, the crisis could have been averted had the Republican-led Congress passed a bill last year that would have prevented predatory lending practices. DAPAC hopes that such a bill can be passed in the future, and we ensure that our candidates for Congress will support such legislation before we issue our endorsement.
The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market created chaos in Great Britain this week, as a run on the Northern Rock Bank led to $2 billion in withdrawals. This forced the Bank of England to issue an emergency loan to the bank, which is the eighth-largest mortgage lender in Britain. This is the first time in 15 years that a bank has had to be bailed out by regulators in the UK.
In other economic news, Jim Nussle, the new Director of the Office of Management and Budget, was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on CNBC on Tuesday. When asked how the US should correct fiscal problems, Nussle seemed intent on continuing President Bush's agenda, namely by cutting entitlement spending, like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This continues to be the administration's remedy for fixing the economy, while the real issues are ignored.
Political Turmoil Escalates in Iraq
Earlier this week, followers of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdrew from the leading political alliance in Iraq. These politicians are leaving their posts because they are unhappy with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's leadership, and they are not alone in those feelings – almost half the members of Maliki's Cabinet have left their positions. The followers of Sadr are especially at odds with Maliki over his refusal to set a timetable with the US for troop withdrawal.
These events illustrate once again the absence of progress in Iraq. The Iraqi government lacks cohesion and leadership, and because of this, the work of our troops in Iraq can do little to improve the situation. DAPAC supports immediate steps to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home.
Poll of the Week
To explore what Americans want in their next president, Gallup asked those polled to rate 20 characteristics as either desirable or undesirable traits for the next president to have. The most desirable trait found was: will bring about change in Washington, followed by has been successful in business, has personally served in the military, has served in the US House or Senate, and has a lot of experience in Washington. The most undesirable traits were: has worked as a government lobbyist, is 70 years of age or older, has limited experience in Washington, has a strained relationship with his/her children, and has changed positions on issues over time. A majority of respondents did not care one way or another on characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, religion, or whether the candidate has been divorced. You can see the full results of the poll here.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Weekly Update (9/14/07)
Bush Plans More of the Same for Iraq
When General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker appeared before Congress this week to give their much-anticipated report on Iraq, much of what they had to say was vague and disappointing. They were unable to argue that the troop surge had made significant improvements in Iraq, would not estimate how many years US troops would be present in Iraq, or when training of Iraqi troops would be complete. When asked if the efforts in Iraq had made Americans safer at home – which has been a long-standing argument of the Bush administration – Petraeus had to answer with, “I don't know, actually.”
President Bush will address the nation Thursday evening as a follow-up to these reports, and is expected to announce few changes to his war plan. Most likely, Bush will plan to draw down troops to pre-surge levels by next July, leaving 130,000 US troops in Iraq. In effect, this means that the level of troops will be the same one year from now as they were one year ago. Actually, troops could be at even higher levels – in an interview with NPR, Petraeus indicated that the numbers of troops sent home could be less than 30,000, depending on brigade size, and that they still needed to “do the math” to come up with exact figures. This vagueness, coupled with confusion over whether some troops, who are supposed to be part of the surge, are still on their way to Iraq, show just how deceptive Bush's plans are. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responded that Bush's approach is “an insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
The American public has been told too many times that we must hold out a bit longer to see progress in Iraq. We have been waiting, but little has changed. Clearly, Congress cannot accept Bush's arguments and plans – we need real change in Iraq, with the priority on bringing our troops home. All of the candidates that DAPAC endorses for Congress agree to support these goals and will work to end the war now.
This Week's Poll
Americans remain unhappy about the situation in Iraq, and believe that the surge has not worked, according to a new poll released by the New York Times/CBS News this week. Of those polled, 62% believe that it was a mistake getting involved in Iraq, while only 34% said it was not a mistake. When asked about the surge, only 35% believed that the additional 30,000 troops had made the situation in Iraq better, while 12% believed the situation was actually now worse, and 45% did not think the surge had made any difference. Many respondents were also disappointed with the Iraqi government – 70% said that it is not doing all that it can realistically be expected to do to bring about stability in Iraq.
When General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker appeared before Congress this week to give their much-anticipated report on Iraq, much of what they had to say was vague and disappointing. They were unable to argue that the troop surge had made significant improvements in Iraq, would not estimate how many years US troops would be present in Iraq, or when training of Iraqi troops would be complete. When asked if the efforts in Iraq had made Americans safer at home – which has been a long-standing argument of the Bush administration – Petraeus had to answer with, “I don't know, actually.”
President Bush will address the nation Thursday evening as a follow-up to these reports, and is expected to announce few changes to his war plan. Most likely, Bush will plan to draw down troops to pre-surge levels by next July, leaving 130,000 US troops in Iraq. In effect, this means that the level of troops will be the same one year from now as they were one year ago. Actually, troops could be at even higher levels – in an interview with NPR, Petraeus indicated that the numbers of troops sent home could be less than 30,000, depending on brigade size, and that they still needed to “do the math” to come up with exact figures. This vagueness, coupled with confusion over whether some troops, who are supposed to be part of the surge, are still on their way to Iraq, show just how deceptive Bush's plans are. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responded that Bush's approach is “an insult to the intelligence of the American people.”
The American public has been told too many times that we must hold out a bit longer to see progress in Iraq. We have been waiting, but little has changed. Clearly, Congress cannot accept Bush's arguments and plans – we need real change in Iraq, with the priority on bringing our troops home. All of the candidates that DAPAC endorses for Congress agree to support these goals and will work to end the war now.
This Week's Poll
Americans remain unhappy about the situation in Iraq, and believe that the surge has not worked, according to a new poll released by the New York Times/CBS News this week. Of those polled, 62% believe that it was a mistake getting involved in Iraq, while only 34% said it was not a mistake. When asked about the surge, only 35% believed that the additional 30,000 troops had made the situation in Iraq better, while 12% believed the situation was actually now worse, and 45% did not think the surge had made any difference. Many respondents were also disappointed with the Iraqi government – 70% said that it is not doing all that it can realistically be expected to do to bring about stability in Iraq.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Weekly Update (9/7/07)
Commission Report from Iraq Shows Limited Gains
This week, an independent commission created by Congress reported on the state of the Iraqi army and police force, predicting that it will take at least 12 to 18 months before the Iraqi units can take charge of their country's security. The commission found that the Iraqi army is improving but still suffering from “limited operational effectiveness,” while the Iraqi police force has been even less successful.
In response to the report, a Pentagon spokesman said that the administration remains committed “to stay as long as it takes to get the Iraqi army back on its feet.” Meanwhile, Democrats continue to stand up for our troops in harm's way. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) said, “Our military has done everything we have asked them to do, but we cannot expect them to stay in Iraq indefinitely to train security forces that are loyal to sectarian militias rather than the Iraqi government.”
These findings were released just before the report from General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the ambassador to Iraq, is scheduled to be released next week. Congress hoped that by creating this commission an independent and objective report on Iraq could be obtained.
Programs to Rebuild Iraq from the Provincial Level Failing
In other news from Iraq, Congress heard this week that the program to rebuild Iraq from the provincial level is suffering. The program has had three directors in the past four months, and many other program employees have been leaving Iraq as well. The failures have been blamed on the system in which the program operates, and not the people who work on the provincial restructuring teams. These teams are civilian-dominated, but must coordinate with the military to provide security – this coordination has been widely nonexistent. This has left the teams unable to travel to many of the areas they are assigned, making the teams largely ineffective. Others involved in the program argued that the attempts to work from the provincial level came too late to have any real value.
This Week's Poll
As Congress returns from its summer recess, members should take a look at the latest Gallup poll exploring the publics' thoughts on their work. With Congressional approval at very low levels – 18% last month – the poll asked those who disapprove the open ended question: What are some of the reasons why you disapprove of the job Congress is doing? In all, 67% of those who disapprove cited some form of Congressional inaction (not doing/passing anything, not making progress in ending the war in Iraq, not paying enough attention to the needs of the people, and not standing up to the president enough were common responses). Also, 9% wrote that Democrats were not doing what they were elected to do. Hopefully Democrats can take these results as a lesson that Americans want action and results during their coming session.
This week, an independent commission created by Congress reported on the state of the Iraqi army and police force, predicting that it will take at least 12 to 18 months before the Iraqi units can take charge of their country's security. The commission found that the Iraqi army is improving but still suffering from “limited operational effectiveness,” while the Iraqi police force has been even less successful.
In response to the report, a Pentagon spokesman said that the administration remains committed “to stay as long as it takes to get the Iraqi army back on its feet.” Meanwhile, Democrats continue to stand up for our troops in harm's way. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) said, “Our military has done everything we have asked them to do, but we cannot expect them to stay in Iraq indefinitely to train security forces that are loyal to sectarian militias rather than the Iraqi government.”
These findings were released just before the report from General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the ambassador to Iraq, is scheduled to be released next week. Congress hoped that by creating this commission an independent and objective report on Iraq could be obtained.
Programs to Rebuild Iraq from the Provincial Level Failing
In other news from Iraq, Congress heard this week that the program to rebuild Iraq from the provincial level is suffering. The program has had three directors in the past four months, and many other program employees have been leaving Iraq as well. The failures have been blamed on the system in which the program operates, and not the people who work on the provincial restructuring teams. These teams are civilian-dominated, but must coordinate with the military to provide security – this coordination has been widely nonexistent. This has left the teams unable to travel to many of the areas they are assigned, making the teams largely ineffective. Others involved in the program argued that the attempts to work from the provincial level came too late to have any real value.
This Week's Poll
As Congress returns from its summer recess, members should take a look at the latest Gallup poll exploring the publics' thoughts on their work. With Congressional approval at very low levels – 18% last month – the poll asked those who disapprove the open ended question: What are some of the reasons why you disapprove of the job Congress is doing? In all, 67% of those who disapprove cited some form of Congressional inaction (not doing/passing anything, not making progress in ending the war in Iraq, not paying enough attention to the needs of the people, and not standing up to the president enough were common responses). Also, 9% wrote that Democrats were not doing what they were elected to do. Hopefully Democrats can take these results as a lesson that Americans want action and results during their coming session.
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