Keystone Progress Blog

Friday, July 8, 2011

AAM Response to Jobs Report

Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) statement on this morning's latest monthly jobs report:

The nation’s jobless rate rose to 9.2% in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment rose by only 18,000 last month. Manufacturing employment rose by 6,000, which means that sector has stopped generating significant job gains over the past two consecutive months.

Said Scott Paul, Executive Director of AAM:

“This is a lousy jobs report. Any momentum we’ve seen in manufacturing has stalled. I think it is fair to say that we are at a crossroads now: could we be headed toward years of stagnation, or will Washington do what it takes to help spur private sector job growth?"

"While the American people want a jobs plan, and the data bear out the challenge, Washington seems tone deaf. Making drastic cuts in investments like infrastructure and research will only deepen the jobs crisis."

"The metric for President Obama and congressional leaders must now be the number of jobs we create, rather than the amount of deficit reduction we see. We’ve offered a plan for American manufacturing job growth that would garner bipartisan support. Why isn’t Congress listening?”

Please see the following charts on manufacturing job trends:

To schedule an interview with AAM Executive Director Scott Paul, please contact Alison Burke at aburke@aamfg.org or (202) 393-3430 x6

The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) is a unique non-partisan, non-profit partnership forged to strengthen manufacturing in the U.S. AAM brings together a select group of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers to promote creative policy solutions on priorities such as international trade, energy security, health care, retirement security, currency manipulation, and other issues of mutual concern. For more information, please visit www.americanmanufacturing.org.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Today's News Clips, July 7, 2011

News Clips from America Votes

Thursday, July 7, 2011

News Clips

COLORADO: APNewsBreak: Colorado pot campaign starts Thursday

The Associated Press

DENVER—The anticipated campaign to legalize marijuana in Colorado is about to begin.

Backers of a suggested ballot measure to make pot legal for adults in small quantities say they'll start gathering signatures Thursday afternoon in Denver. The backers were waiting for final clearance Wednesday from a state board that certifies language before it can be placed on ballots.

Colorado has one of the nation's lowest thresholds for putting items on a ballot. Pot backers need about 86,000 valid signatures to go to voters.

FLORIDA: Carlos Gimenez, Miami-Dade’s new mayor, pledges reforms and cuts

Martha Brannigan for the Miami Herald

Newly minted Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez pledged before a packed house at his ceremonial installation Wednesday to serve “with honesty, integrity and transparency,” and urged county commissioners to join him in putting “meaningful and comprehensive charter reform” on the 2012 presidential primary ballot for a broad section of county voters to consider.

Despite the rain, County Hall gave its new chief executive a welcome Wednesday with all the pomp and circumstance of an honor guard, a choir belting out the national anthem and invocations from a rabbi and a Baptist minister.

But when the no-nonsense Gimenez took the lectern, he was all about the work ahead. He reiterated that next fiscal year’s proposed budget — which he must present to county commissioners by July 15 — would reverse the immensely unpopular property-tax rate hike that his predecessor, Carlos Alvarez, pushed through last year. That will mean a yawning budget gap that Gimenez said would require “shared sacrifice” and a focus on “preserving essential services.”

MICHIGAN: Serpentine, oddly shaped district proposals will be decided in court

Jocelyn Benson for the Detroit News

Last month, Michigan's Republican-controlled Legislature enacted their configuration of Michigan's congressional districts for the coming decade. The map is arguably the most oddly shaped in Michigan's history, with districts swirling around Southeast Michigan like colors in a Willy Wonka lollipop.

The map's defenders claim the federal Voting Rights Act compels such bizarrely shaped districts. That act is widely interpreted to require Michigan to maintain two congressional districts where African-Americans comprise over 50 percent of the voting population.

But critics argue that this requirement in no way entails the creation of such contorted districts. As evidence, they point to a wide array of alternative maps — including one drawn by the president of the College Republicans at Central Michigan University — that meet VRA standards with compact districts that also guarantee population heavyweights like Oakland County the opportunity to send one of its own residents to Congress.

http://detnews.com/article/20110707/POLITICS02/107070345/Serpentine--oddly-shaped-district-proposals-will-be-decided-in-court#ixzz1RQEBLRDS

MINNESOTA: Hennepin County prepares for ripples from shutdown

Kevin Duchschere for the Star Tribune

Seven days into the state government shutdown, Hennepin County is ready for anything while at the same time hoping that nothing will happen.

Notices of possible layoffs have been sent to 1,200 county employees, nearly all of them in the Human Services and Public Health Department. Road projects will continue for now, and service centers are still open for vehicle tabs and the like.

What happens next in the state's largest county largely depends on recommendations on funding requests expected as soon as Thursday from Special Master Kathleen Blatz. The former state chief justice was assigned by Ramsey Chief District Judge Kathleen Gearin to decide which state services should continue during the shutdown.

NEVADA: With districts not drawn, election calendar pushed back

Anjeanette Damon for the Las Vegas Sun

Although most voters might not have noticed — or wanted to — the state’s U.S. Senate race is in full swing. Republican and Democratic candidates entered the race this year and are aggressively campaigning.

Not so for the state’s legislative or congressional races. Why? No one knows exactly what those districts look like yet.

The Nevada Legislature’s failure to pass a redistricting plan has disrupted crucial off-election year planning, potentially jeopardizing Republicans’ chances for taking over the state Senate and complicating Democrats’ efforts to reclaim the U.S. House.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: RGGI, title loan bills are vetoed

Kevin Landrigan for the Nashua Telegraph

CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch vetoed separate bills Wednesday, one that would get the state out of an anti-greenhouse gas program and another that let title companies raise interest rates on short-term loans.

Lynch said the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative supported energy efficiency projects as well as stimulating economic growth.

“I am vetoing this legislation because it will cost our citizens jobs, both now and into the future, hinder our economic recovery, and damage our state’s long-term economic competitiveness,” Lynch wrote in his veto message.

NEW MEXICO: Clerk: No resources for ranked voting

Julie Ann Grimm for the New Mexican

Santa Fe's next city election is set to feature a new public campaign finance system, although another election change that voters requested four years ago is less likely to be implemented soon.

City voters in 2008 approved public funding of campaigns and also called for ranked-choice voting in municipal elections. Also called "instant runoff," the ranked-choice plan is to allow individual voters to list candidates in order of preference instead of picking only one.

Proponents say the system keeps a candidate from getting elected without support from a majority of those who cast ballots. When few candidates seek an office, however, even backers of instant-runoff voting say it's not as important.

OHIO: Ohio Tea Party groups seek ballot measure to reject new federal health care law

Joe Guillen for the Plain Dealer

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A coalition of Tea Party and constitutional rights activists submitted more than half a million petition signatures Wednesday in an effort to block a requirement in President Barack Obama’s national health care law that mandates everyone buy health insurance.

The group wants to put on the Nov. 8 ballot a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would preserve Ohioans’ right to choose their health care.

"This is a serious effort at quarantining government power in its rightful place," Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, said at a news conference at the Statehouse. "The best way to do that is to leave people alone and let them choose for themselves."

PENNSYLVANIA: Dad's donation riles state Democrats

Laura Olson for the Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- The day before Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer was unanimously confirmed by the state Senate, his father donated $25,000 to the State Republican Committee.

State Democratic Party operatives on Wednesday condemned that action after they discovered the donation on a campaign finance report. But the elder Mr. Krancer contends that the timing is nothing more than coincidence.

Neither the size of that check nor its recipient are unusual for Ronald Krancer, a major GOP donor in southeastern Pennsylvania. He contributed $150,000 to Gov. Tom Corbett's gubernatorial campaign, as well as donating tens of thousands to GOP power-broker Bob Asher's political action committee and at least $125,000 to the state Republican Party since 2008.

WISCONSIN: Two Democrats raise more than their GOP challengers in recall elections

Tom Tolan for the Journal Sentinel

Two Republican senators targeted for recall trail their chief Democratic opponents in the latest campaign finance reports, both in money raised and in cash on hand.

The reports, filed late Tuesday, paint a contrast with earlier contests reported in Wednesday's paper.

Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Allouez) reports collecting $100,522 so far this year, trailing the amount collected by his main Democratic opponent in the 2nd Senate District, Nancy Nusbaum of De Pere. She reported $177,300 in receipts in a campaign report filed Tuesday.

Cowles trails Nusbaum even more in the amount of cash on hand; Cowles has $62,168, while Nusbaum has more than double that, $133,682.

WISCONSIN: Recall incumbents were allowed to receive unlimited donations while writing budget

Jason Stein and Patrick Marley for the Journal Sentinel

Madison - Driven by recall elections and rules that allow unlimited contributions, members of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee received huge campaign donations in recent months while they were writing the state budget.

For instance, Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), co-chairwoman of the committee, raised $30,000 this year from a single contributor. Normally, state senators can't receive more than $1,000 from a single donor, but since she was facing a recall Darling was able to raise unlimited amounts for a period of time because of a quirk in state law.

Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), another member of the budget committee and a challenger in a recall election, couldn't raise those unlimited amounts but still snagged 29 maximum $1,000 donations.

WISCONSIN: Donors to Walker's campaign exceeded limit, group says

Emma Roller for the Journal Sentinel

Madison - Ten donors to Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and the campaign itself may have exceeded state limits on political contributions, according to a statement issued by an advocacy group Wednesday.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign filed a complaint with the state Government Accountability Board, in which the group found 10 donors to Walker's campaign donated more than the $10,000 state limit for individual contributions to gubernatorial candidates.

The Democracy Campaign tracks campaign spending and advocates for public financing of campaigns.

IDAHO: Idaho redistricting commission hopes to finish on July 27, but members see four major hurdles

Dan Popkey for the Idaho Statesman

After 13 public hearings, members of a bipartisan commission have high hopes they can redraw Idaho’s political map well ahead of their Sept. 4 deadline.

Co-Chairman Allen Andersen, a Pocatello Democrat, said hearings across Idaho were a success.

“Looking at the lack of flexibility that we have, there’s not going to be a lot of room for negotiation,” Andersen said Tuesday. “My sense is we’re pretty much on the same page.”

WASHINGTON: GOP budget slashes EPA, Fish & Wildlife

Staff for the Seattle Post Intelligencer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency faces an 18 percent cut in its budget, and severe restriction on what it can do to limit greenhouse gases, under an appropriations bill unveiled Wednesday by House Republicans.

The EPA’s new budget of $7.15 billion is $2.1 billion below the past fiscal year, and $3.8 billion below what President Obama requested. Much of the reduction would come in clean water programs.

The budget slashing does not stop there. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would see its funding cut by 21 percent or $315 million. The National Park Service would receive no increase in funds, even to cover maintenance backlog or the cost of inflation.

OREGON: Oregon taxpayers will spend $1.3 billion on prisons -- and it won't be enough

Les Zaitz for the Oregonian

Oregon's most modern prison sits empty, unused since it was finished three years ago.

Though the state borrowed $120 million to build the medium-security unit at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, it hasn't had the money to guard, feed and otherwise care for inmates the prison was supposed to hold.

It still doesn't.

Oregon taxpayers over the next two years will put more money than ever into the state prison system, but it won't be enough. And the need will only grow as the state braces to add nearly 1,500 prisoners over the next four years.

MAINE: Challengers' resources pale next to Snowe's

Jonathan Riskind for Maine Today Media

WASHINGTON — Scott D'Amboise, a Republican primary challenger to three-term U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, raised $117,394 during this year's second quarter, according to his campaign.

Snowe, facing tea party-affiliated challengers D'Amboise of Lisbon Falls and Andrew Ian Dodge of Harpswell, took in just over $1 million during the second quarter and had more than $2.74 million on hand as of June 30, according to her campaign. In the first quarter of the year, Snowe raised more than $877,000.

The deadline for campaign finance reports is July 15, but it is typical for campaigns to release bottom-line numbers early. Dodge has not yet released any fundraising totals.

FLORIDA: Former President Clinton blasts new voting restrictions in Florida and elsewhere

Travis Pillow for the Florida Independent

Florida got a special shout-out from former President Bill Clinton for its efforts to limit access to the polls. Speaking before the annual gathering of the liberal student activist group Campus Progress, Clinton railed against what has become a national trend.

As reported by Politico:

“I can’t help thinking since we just celebrated the Fourth of July and we’re supposed to be a country dedicated to liberty that one of the most pervasive political movements going on outside Washington today is the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time,” Clinton said at Campus Progress’s annual conference in Washington.

“There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today,” Clinton added.

Clinton mentioned Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s move in March to overturn past state precedent — including under former GOP governors — that allows convicted felons to vote once they’ve served they’ve finished probation periods.

That last bit refers to the state cabinet’s decision earlier this year to roll back voting rights for felons. The rebuttal, from Chris Jankowski of the Republican State Leadership Committee, includes talking points that will be familiar to anyone who followed the debate surrounding Florida’s House Bill 1355, perpetuating the notion, which seems to lack supporting evidence in Florida, that frauds and criminals are swarming the polls on election day:

FLORIDA: Rubio and Ros-Lehtinen’s ‘hopelessly complicated’ abortion bill

Ashley Lopez for the Florida Independent

Florida GOP lawmakers recently introduced federal legislation requiring each state to uphold other states’ parental notification before abortion laws in both chambers of Congress. The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (aka CIANA) was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in an effort to correct a “loophole” in abortion laws that allows a minor to cross state lines in order obtain an abortion without notifying her parents.

Critics of the bill claim that it is “hopelessly complicated,” as well as unnecessary.

Ros-Lehtinen has introduced this bill many times before. According to a press release from her office, CIANA “has been previously passed by both the House and the Senate but it has never been sent to the President for his signature.”

Rubio, a former Ros-Lehtinen intern, co-introduced the bill with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

MINNESOTA: Laid-off union workers to rally at Capitol against all-cuts budget

Jon Collins for the Minnesota Independent

Laid-off public employees plan to gather at the State Capitol Wednesday evening to put in some hard work building a town from the ground up. They’re naming the fantasy city Downeyville in honor of Edina Republican Rep. Keith Downey, who authored legislation that would eliminate the jobs of 5,000 state workers and threaten collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Jennifer Munt, public affairs director for AFSCME Council 5, said the event will include street signs for places like Beard Boulevard, named for Shakopee Republican Rep. Mike Beard, who has proposed an 85 percent cut to Metro Transit.

“We’re trying to make sure people understand what’s at stake with an all-cuts budget,” Munt told the Minnesota Independent. “The shutdown gives people a taste of what that would be like, but the Republican budget proposals as they stand today are far worse than the shutdown for the average person in Minnesota.”

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Today's News Clips, July 6, 2011

News Clips from America Votes

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

News Clips

COLORADO: Pot, booze analogy sparks CO ballot complaint

Associated Press

DENVER—Should a question on 2012 ballots about legalizing marijuana compare pot to alcohol? A state title board is deciding the question Wednesday.

A marijuana activist challenging proposed language for the ballot measure says it's a flawed description because there's no limit on how much alcohol people can buy, but the ballot proposals suggest a marijuana possession limit. The objector says pot should be compared to medical marijuana already in Colorado, not alcohol.

Other legalization supporters argue it's too much of a stretch to think Colorado voters would approve pot with no limits.

The state title board is charged with clearing language for possible ballot measures before supporters can start gathering enough signatures to make the ballot.

FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott's net worth drops by $115 million

Michael Bender and Adam Smith for the St. Petersburg Times

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott's net worth dropped by $115 million in 2010, but his income soared nearly 40 percent in the sluggish economy.

The hospital executive-turned-investor earned $11.5 million from investment income, interest and consulting fees, according to a recently filed financial disclosure form.

That's more than the $8.3 million he reported in 2009 and the $3.7 million he earned in 2008.

MICHIGAN: State to fight ruling against ban on race in college admissions

Jennifer Chambers, Robert Snell and Oralandar Brand-Williams for the Detroit News

Detroit— Michigan's voter-approved ban on race and gender preferences in college admissions and government hiring was overturned by a federal appeals court Friday, a ruling the state quickly vowed to appeal.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he will fight the decision that struck down the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative by making a formal request for a rehearing with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

It's a move that will keep the initiative in place — at least temporarily.

In a 2-1 decision, an appeals court panel ruled that the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The judges, in their 59-page ruling, in particular objected to the inclusion of the voter-approved ban in the Michigan Constitution.

"Proposal 2 reorders the political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests," said Judges R. Guy Cole Jr. and Martha Craig Daughtrey.

MICHIGAN: Booze, cigarette tax targeted

Paul Egan for the Detroit News

Lansing — Now that the state budget is balanced, some Michigan lawmakers say it's time for tax cuts, including cuts to the "sin taxes" on booze and cigarettes.

"It's amazing to me that government thinks that alcohol and tobacco are so bad, but government is so tied to the revenue," said Sen. Joe Hune, R-Whitmore Lake.

In a 38-0 vote, the Senate recently approved Hune's bill to repeal a 1.85 percent tax on the sale of liquor for off-premises consumption.

The bill is now before the House.

MINNESOTA: 'Same gulf' divides Dayton, GOP

Rachel Stassen-Berger, Eric Roper and Mike Kaszuba for the Star Tribune

Hopes for a deal to end the state budget stalemate dimmed Tuesday, with Republicans saying they have reverted to a $34 billion, no-new-revenue budget proposal.

"That's the only thing that we have on the table right now," House Speaker Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, said after emerging from a brief resumption of negotiations after the holiday break.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton confirmed that after meeting with GOP leaders, "We've got the same gulf between us that we've had all along." Dayton has repeatedly said that a $34 billion budget is "draconian" and wants to spend about $2 billion more.

NEVADA: Nevada Supreme Court rejects open ballot in special election in 2nd Congressional District

Anjeanette Damon for the Las Vegas Sun

One Republican and one Democrat will vie in the September special election to replace U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, under a ruling today by the Nevada Supreme Court that rejected Secretary of State Ross Miller’s open ballot rules.

In a 6-1 decision, the court agreed the state law governing the special election for the U.S. House is ambiguous. But the court decided that if the 2003 Legislature had intended the special election be a free-for-all, it would have explicitly said so when it originally wrote the law.

In the absence of a strong legislative record, the court deferred to past practice and other state statutes that allow political parties to nominate their candidates. The court also cited the fact the secretary of state’s office never wrote the required regulations for conducting a special election.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: City tax caps back in place as Lynch signs new law

Tom Fahey for the Union Leader

CONCORD - Manchester's tax cap, rejected by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in early 2010, is back in place.

Gov. John Lynch signed a bill Tuesday that clears the way for cities, towns and school districts to adopt caps on local tax increases, and restores caps that may have had legal problems.

Senate Bill 2, which took effect immediately, states that any tax cap that voters elected to make part of their charter is now valid, whether or not it was legal to adopt the cap at the time it passed.

NEW MEXICO: Susana Poll Numbers Looking Good

Steve Terrell for the Santa Fe New Mexican

In the most recent numbers released by PPP, Gov. Susana Martinez is enjoying a 52 percent approval rate, with 37 percent of those polled disapproving.

In the PPP blog, poll honcho Tom Jenson says, "Most of the Republicans elected Governor in Obama states last November have quickly become very unpopular. Not so in the case of New Mexico's Susana Martinez ... A female Hispanic Governor who's maintaining her popularity as she governs a blue state? Martinez would be at the top of my VP list for next year if I was a Republican strategist."

Of course, Jenson is not a GOP strategist. PPP is a Democratic polling firm.

OHIO: New lobbyists in Ohio have strong Republican ties

Mark Naymik for the Plain Dealer

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When Republicans swept Democrats from office in Columbus last November, they triggered a political ritual among the Capitol Square crowd.

Special interests -- from business associations to gaming companies -- rushed to hire lobbyists with ties to the new government. Lobbying firms beefed up their rosters to feature GOP players. And political operatives in the winning party set out their shingles.

More than 375 new lobbyists have registered with the state since Republican John Kasich defeated Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland and the GOP regained control of the House and improved its grip on the Senate, according to a comparison of 2010 and 2011 lobbying registration rolls.

PENNSYLVANIA: Another Republican Passes on Casey Challenge

Thomas Fitzgerald for the Philadelphia Inquirer

I'm just back from a camping trip to Paradox Lake, N.Y., and am catching up on emails and news that I missed while out of range of cellular networks and, for that matter, electricity.

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Jr. continues to look even more like a bright spot for Democrats in 2012 as they struggle against an unkind map to keep control of the U.S. Senate, as another leading Republican decided not to challenge the freshman.

That's despite the recent GOP-red trends in the state, a putrid economy and Casey's close association with some of the Obama administration policies that have proved unpopular here. Top Republicans, led by state chairman Rob Gleason, continue to argue that the race is winnable, though the party has not been able to find a top-tier challenger to Casey, who is personally popular, polls say.

WISCONSIN: State budget cuts transit funding, but it could have been worse

Larry Sandler for the Journal Sentinel

Less bus service. Higher fares. No more regional transit authorities. No more planning for new commuter rail lines. And dim prospects for new public transit funding.

That's what the new state budget could mean for transit systems across Wisconsin.

By this time next year, hundreds of thousands of Summerfest patrons may no longer be able to ride buses to the festival grounds. The rest of the year, many more area residents could have a harder time getting to work and school.

MONTANA: Hill, Bullock have biggest campaign war chests

Charles Johnson for the Billings Gazette

HELENA — Former former Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Hill and Democratic Attorney General Steve Bullock have stockpiled the most money of any 2012 gubernatorial candidates, although Bullock hasn't said whether he'll run for that office or for re-election.

Campaign reports filed Tuesday with the state political practices commissioner's office showed Hill had more money left in the bank than any candidate for governor, but only slightly more than Bullock.

Hill's cash-on-hand balance — the total amount raised minus the money spent — as of June 30 was $197,634 to Bullock's $196,439.

Since his entry into the race last fall, Hill has raised $285,686 to lead the pack, while Bullock, who has not announced for any office yet, has raised $230,554.

WASHINGTON: Sonntag stays put — won’t run for governor

Staff for the Seattle Post Intelligencer

Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag is staying put. The Democrat who sometimes endorses Republicans announced Monday that he will not run for governor.

“The Office of State Auditor continues to be a good fit and the place where I can best contribute and focus on my values: Advocating for open and accessible government; holding government accountable to citizens; valuing public employees as a primary resource,” Sonntag said in a statement.

Sonntag has long indicated interest in the state’s top executive position and put his name in the running when it was speculated that Gov. Chris Gregoire would be named solicitor general in the Obama administration.

OREGON: Oregon businesses join with unusual allies to press for comprehensive immigration reform

Charles Pope for the Oregonian

WASHINGTON - With Congress edging back into the battle over immigration reform, the leading House proposal is drawing opposition from a surprising place - Oregon businesses.

The Coalition for a Working Oregon, an organization of 22 Oregon business groups is fighting the proposal, putting members at odds with both Republicans and some other business groups.

One of the leaders, Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, calls the legislation introduced by House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith, R-Tex., "a recipe for disaster, not only for agriculture but for the national economy."

FLORIDA: Florida Watch Action ties Haridopolos to Scott in new video clip

Casey Levey-Baker for the Florida Independent

In a new YouTube clip titled “Mike Haridopolos–Pink Slip Puppet,” the progressive group Florida Watch Action uses a series of short sound bites to tie Florida Senate President and U.S. Senate hopeful Haridopolos to Gov. Rick Scott, specifically highlighting his positions on education funding, offshore drilling and high-speed rail. Check it out here: http://floridaindependent.com/38061/florida-watch-action-mike-haridopolos-rick-scott

MICHIGAN: Glenn: Companies Shouldn’t Hire Gays

Ed Brayton for the Michigan Messenger

Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, not only doesn’t think that gays and lesbians should be protected from discrimination, he thinks that companies should not hire them at all.

In an interview with Linda Harvey of Mission America, Glenn makes his argument on the basis of alleged health concerns…

MINNESOTA: The politics of the anti–gay marriage amendment: A primer

Andy Birkey for the Minnesota Independent

Activists on both sides of Minnesota’s anti–gay marriage amendment battle have made claims about the politics of the ballot initiative that don’t square with recent research on the issue. For example, conventional wisdom and assertions by DFLers that marriage amendments bolster Republican chances at the ballot box are not borne out by the data. On the other side, Claims that 31 states have passed marriage amendments by anti-gay marriage activists are also overblown. Here’s a primer on the political issues surrounding the proposed constitutional amendment.

Legalizing same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Minnesota. In 1971, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that Minnesota marriage laws, though not explicitly barring same-sex marriage, could be interpreted as limiting marriage to one man and one woman. In 1997, the DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature passed the Defense of Marriage Act which said “lawful marriage may be contracted only between persons of the opposite sex” and explicitly bans “marriage between persons of the same sex.” Republican Gov. Arne Carlson signed it into law.

Friday, July 1, 2011

SPEAK UP FOR JOBS as the Congressional Listening Tour comes to SW PA

MONDAY JULY 18TH AT 6:30 PM in Pittsburgh

KINGSLEY ASSOCIATION 6434 Frankstown Ave, Pittsburgh PA

Community Rally & Picnic starting at 5:00pm

The Congressional Listening Tour is coming to South Western PA and we need YOU to speak out for our communities.

Our communities need jobs, but congress is giving tax breaks to millionaires and oil companies.

Join us for a chance to speak out and speak up for JOBS as the Congressional listening tour comes to Pittsburgh to hear what we have to say.

Congressman Mike Doyle, Congressman John Conyers and Congressman Raul Grijalva will come to LISTEN TO US as we tell them that we need Congress to invest in citizens, not corporations.

MONDAY JULY 18TH at 6:30 PM

KINGSLEY ASSOCIATION 6434 Frankstown Ave, Pittsburgh PACome early and join the Community Rally with FREE FOOD and speakers from 5:00 to 6:30 across from the Kingsley Association.

Don't miss your chance to be heard!

The Congressional Listening Tour includes 18 stops in cities across America to give the people a chance to speak out about how the economy is affecting them. Members of Congress will listen to everyday citizens like us and take that back to Washington as they fight to restore the American DreamRSVP on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/weareonewpa

Today's News Clips, July 1, 2012

News Clips from America Votes

Friday, July 1, 2011

News Clips

COLORADO: Judge affirms Interior’s right to reject federal oil and gas leases due to environmental impacts

David Williams for the Colorado Independent

Conservation groups were elated Wednesday by a U.S. District Court decision in Wyoming affirming the Interior Department’s ability to weigh environmental impacts when issuing oil and gas leases on public lands – as long as it does so in a timely fashion.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by the oil and gas industry over a backlog of U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leases in Utah and Wyoming. She ruled the DOI can consider impacts to air, water, land and wildlife habitat when deciding whether or not to issue oil and gas leases, but must do so within 60 days of the lease auction.

“This underscores the importance of balanced safeguards put in place by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to ensure that the public gets a say before our lands are put up for sale to the oil and gas industry,” said Bill Eikenberry, a Wyoming rancher and former associate state director of the BLM in Wyoming.

FLORIDA: At first GOP Senate debate, 'Crist' tossed around like a dirty word

Adam Smith for the St. Petersburg Times

ST. PETERSBURG — He has been off the public stage for nearly seven months and yet Charlie Crist's shadow still looms over the Florida GOP.

The main Republican candidates for U.S. Senate held their first debate Thursday, and it sometimes felt like a game of who could sound most disdainful of the ex-governor.

"I never supported Charlie Crist in his U.S. Senate race despite a lot of pressure to do that,'' stressed state Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

MICHIGAN: Michigan Senate tightens teacher tenure

Karen Bouffard for the Detroit News

Lansing— The Legislature ended its first 180 days in session late Thursday, altering teacher tenure rules and passing a bill that caps how much taxpayers can pay on health care for public workers and elected officials — including state lawmakers.

Teachers will be easier to fire and demote under the four-bill package passed by the Senate and swiftly approved by the House over strenuous objections from Democrats and teachers.

The reforms roll back decades of union-won protections for teachers, who milled in the halls outside the Senate chamber and thronged the gallery as the votes were cast late Thursday.

MINNESOTA: Broken deals, bitter words and a state shuts down

Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba, Eric Roper and Rachel Stassen-Berger for the Star Tribune

Talks imploded Thursday between DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders in the final hours before a midnight deadline, and Minnesota began a historic government shutdown.

"This is a night of deep sorrow for me," Dayton said in an address at 10 p.m. that was punctuated by jeers and hisses from Republicans, including some lawmakers.

The governor said his last offer would have raised income taxes only on those earning more than $1 million a year -- an estimated 7,700 Minnesotans, or 0.3 percent of all taxpayers, according to the Revenue Department.

NEVADA: State budget, more than 230 bills take effect today

Cy Ryan for the Las Vegas Sun

Carson City — A state budget and more than 230 bills passed by the 2011 Legislature take effect today, as the government’s fiscal year begins.

The effects will be far-reaching, as state agencies get their first infusion of the $3.1 billion annual budget.

State and university workers will be paid less. Counties will begin to shoulder the cost of programs that the state had funded in the past.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: EDITORIAL: Stop sugar-coating the education cuts

Concord Monitor

To downplay the impact that devastating budget cuts will have on higher education and the state's students, Republicans have had to employ some tortured logic.

Consider Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Morse's argument that it's unfair to blame the Legislature for the financial troubles afflicting New Hampshire's university system, since state funding accounts for such a small share of college budgets. That's a bit like telling a starving man that, since all we ever give you is a slice of bread anyway, giving you half a slice won't make much difference.

New Hampshire was already dead last in the percentage of funding its public universities get from state government before the current budget cut. The $10.2 billion biennial budget, which became law without Gov. John Lynch's signature, cuts annual funding for the university system by $48.4 million or roughly in half.

OHIO: Gov. John Kasich signs two-year state budget, but vetoes seven items first

Joe Guillen for the Plain Dealer

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. John Kasich put the finishing touches on the state budget Thursday, using his veto power to carve out several provisions from the bill before signing it into law.

Kasich's vetoes did not drastically alter the two-year spending plan, but they will play a role in the future sale of six Ohio prisons, the state's fight against childhood obesity and the Ohio Lottery Commission's spending.

In all, the Republican governor vetoed seven items from the $112 billion state budget that is packed with policy changes and is $2 billion lighter because of cuts to schools and local governments.

PENNSYLVANIA: Corbett signs budget

Tracie Mauriello and Laura Olson for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- With 13 minutes to spare, Gov. Tom Corbett signed a $27.15 billion state budget package into law late Thursday night, narrowly finishing his first spending plan by the June 30 deadline.

While the governor and the Republicans in control of both legislative chambers campaigned on reversing the last administration's pattern of budget fights dragging into the summer, it took lawmakers until the final moments to complete all of the measures that Mr. Corbett required of them.

With the spending, revenue and other budget bills headed to his desk, the governor told lawmakers that they would not be signed into law until he received a measure aimed at constraining the ability of school districts to increase property taxes.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11182/1157489-505.stm#ixzz1Qr8tgwxa

WISCONSIN:WEAC sues over law giving Walker power over DPI rules

Jason Stein for the Journal Sentinel

Madison - Members of state teachers unions sued Thursday to block part of a law giving Gov. Scott Walker veto powers over rules written by other state agencies and elected officials.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal skirmishes between the GOP governor and public employee unions.

In the case, parents of students and members of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and Madison Teachers Inc. challenge the law for giving Walker the power to veto administrative rules written by any state agency. That law wrongly gives Walker that power over the state Department of Public Instruction headed by state schools superintendent Tony Evers, the action charges.

Read more:http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/124795644.html

MONTANA: Medical pot ruling draw mixed reactions

Charles Johnson and Mike Dennison for the Billings Gazette

HELENA — Reactions were mixed Thursday to a district judge’s ruling temporarily blocking parts of more stringent 2011 medical marijuana law from taking effect Friday.

Those in the medical marijuana business were pleased that District Judge James Reynolds of Helena issued a temporary injunction blocking parts of the new law.

However, they warned that the decision leaves them in no-win situation during the transition. Caregivers go out of existence at midnight Thursday and become providers under the new law.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_297ba5d2-3440-54eb-ae02-7507bdcf0a22.html#ixzz1Qr9cSrZs

WASHINGTON: Group tries again to shield names in gay rights fight

Chris Grygiel for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A conservative group trying to shield the names of more than 100,000 people who signed petitions trying to block a new law expanding gay rights in Washington state is again trying to keep the information from becoming public.

Protect Marriage Washington, which lost year lost its argument on broad First Amendment claims before the United States Supreme Court, on this week asked a federal court to prevent Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed from publishing the names and addresses of the 138,000 people who signed petitions in 2009 to put Referendum 71 on the ballot.

That measure would’ve overturned the “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law, but Washington voters upheld the new statute. Gay rights groups have said they’ll post the petition signers’ names online, and some fear harassment or threats if their names are revealed.

Read more:http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2011/06/30/group-tries-again-to-shield-names-in-gay-rights-fight/

OREGON: Oregon lawmakers close session, prepare for next year

Harry Esteve for the Oregonian

SALEM -- The Oregon Legislature wrapped up business Thursday, putting final touches on a no-frills budget and heaping praise on each other for what they called the most congenial, businesslike session in many years.

It was a rare daylight adjournment on an uncharacteristically subdued day, accented by lawmakers who strolled the Capitol in jeans, sneakers and aloha shirts, offering hugs and verbal bouquets at every chance. The last day lacked the usual drama of frantic deal-cutting and voting in the wee hours.

"We have been blessedly boring all session," summed up Rep. Vicki Berger, R-Salem.

Read more:http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/06/oregon_lawmakers_close_session.html

MAINE: Gay marriage backers to try again

Rebekah Metzler for the Portland Press-Herald

LEWISTON - Less than two years after their loss in a statewide vote, supporters of gay marriage said Thursday that they are ready to try again.

Betsy Smith, executive director of Equality Maine, told about 150 people who gathered in front of Lewiston City Hall that gay-marriage supporters "lost at the ballot, but we were not defeated."

"We intend to finish the job that we began in 2009 and bring marriage equality to Maine," she said at a news conference announcing that paperwork will be filed with the Secretary of State's Office to begin a petition drive to put gay marriage back on the ballot.

MINNESOTA: Minnesota campaign board rejects NOM attempt to hide donors supporting marriage ban

Andy Birkey for the Minnesota Independent

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board ruled today that corporate donations to groups advocating for or against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage must be disclosed. The Minnesota Family Council (MFC) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) argued that supporters of marriage equality would commit violence against their donors if they were made public. On Thursday, the board disagreed.

The campaign finance board met in mid-June to vote on how to implement new independent expenditure rules and how they would apply to the 2012 ballot initiative campaign to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution. NOM and MFC argued that no disclosures should have to be made for fear of reprisal from supporters of marriage equality.

“To require groups, non-profits like the Minnesota Family Council, to disclose their donors and make their donors names public would have a significant chilling effect on free speech. Even in Minnesota already it’s gotten heated in some respects,” Prichard told the board. “The concern is harassment, property damage, a chilling effect. If I know I have to disclose my name, I’m not going to get involved with the Minnesota Family Council.”

FLORIDA: Rick Scott’s plan to privatize Florida state parks getting national attention

Virginia Chamlee for the Florida Independent

The Rick Scott administration’s proposal to privatize portions of state parks is running up against increasing opposition. Now the issue is gaining national attention.

On a recent segment on his progressive talk show, The Big Picture, Thom Hartmann discussed a plan to turn portions of some of Florida’s most renowned state parks over to private corporations — for use as high-impact camping and RV sites.

PENNSYLVANIA: Supporters of school voucher legislation in Pa. show their disappointment

Mikhail Zinshteyn for the American Independent

After an 11th hour deal to patch together competing versions of a school voucher program failed to materialize Wednesday in the Pennsylvania Legislature, supporters of the bills expressed their disappointment.

Orthodox Union, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement:

“It’s a sad day for children and families across the Commonwealth. Those seeking greater educational opportunity and those families struggling to shoulder the financial burden of education are left waiting. While fully funding EITC at its current maximum is a positive sign after years of cuts, the compromise being negotiated would have helped thousands more. We hope for the sake of Pennsylvania’s children, the Legislature can revisit this as soon as possible and agree to help even more families in need.”

Friday, July 8, 2011

AAM Response to Jobs Report

Thursday, July 7, 2011

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Friday, July 1, 2011

SPEAK UP FOR JOBS as the Congressional Listening Tour comes to SW PA

Today's News Clips, July 1, 2012

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