Weekly Update (2/15/08)

US House Holds White House Staff in Contempt
Yesterday, the House voted to hold White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in contempt for their refusal to testify about the White House's involvement in the firing of US Attorneys. The vote total was 223-32 and the citations charge Miers with failing to testify and both her and Bolten of refusing Congress' demands for documents, including emails related to the firings.

The Washington Post notes that Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey "has told Congress that current and former White House officials who have refused to testify in a congressional inquiry probably did so based on the Justice Department's ruling that Bush's assertion of executive privilege was proper. That means that the Justice Department cannot now criminally charge someone for defying Congress based on its own previous legal advice, he said."

The New York Times says the vote "moved House Democrats closer to a constitutional showdown with President Bush." This is an important step for the Democratically controlled Congress to make. It demonstrates that Democrats can stand up to Bush and his administration in certain areas. If there were a greater number of progressive Democrats in the House then they could stand up to Bush in more areas as well. Help make this a possibility by donating to DAPAC today.

Democratic Presidential Campaign News
Two new polls out yesterday from Quinnipiac University show Hillary Clinton to be the early front runner in both Ohio and Pennsylvania—two of the three most important upcoming races. In Ohio, Clinton leads Barack Obama 55%-34%, while in Pennsylvania, Clinton leads Obama 52%-36%. Ohio women back Clinton by 56 to 30 percent, while men back her 52 to 42.

According to these polls, in general election trial heats Clinton also out-performs Obama against John McCain. In Pennsylvania, Clinton leads McCain 46%-40%, and Obama leads McCain 42%-41%. In Florida trial heats McCain tops Clinton 44%-42% and he tops Obama 41%-39%. Quinnipiac surveyed 1,009 likely Florida voters; 1,748 likely Ohio voters; and 1,419 likely Pennsylvania voters from February 6-12.

Obama does appear to have the momentum though, winning eight straight primaries and caucuses. In addition, he also just picked up the endorsement of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which should help him in the upcoming primaries as well. The UFCW has 1.3-million members nationally, and for the March 4th Primaries it has 69,000 members in Ohio and 26,000 in Texas. We, at DAPAC, are eagerly anticipating the results of the Democratic primaries, but remember, no matter who the Democratic nominee is, it is crucial that we get a greater number of progressive Democrats into Congress in order for the next President to be able to sign progressive legislation into law.