Thursday, September 6, 2012
Presidential politics Clinton Hits a Home Run
Posted by Jay Barth on Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 1:53 AM
A very healthy looking President Bill Clinton's nomination speech to the DNC was incredibly effective inside the Time Warner Cable Arena and, by all accounts, on television as well. While running long, the speech accomplished a lot of tasks: a full-throated endorsement of President Obama's reelection, a clear analysis of the economic challenges facing the country when Obama arrived on the scene and how he has dealt with them, and a hard-edged rejection of key charges made by the Romney-Ryan ticket (on Medicare and welfare reform). It wasn't a poetic speech, but it was a speech that simultaneously fired up the party base and yet reached to the middle with its focus on "cooperation."
While there were some strong speeches peppered throughout the evening, Day Two of the DNC lacked the top-to-bottom punch of Day One. Perhaps most effective were a speech by Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of the Roman Catholic Social Justice Organization NETWORK—a rare speech by a Catholic nun to a partisan body—and that of Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, who has become a real rock star among Democratic activists. In section of her speech that most thoroughly fired up the crowd, Warren critiqued Mitt Romney's notion that "corporations are people": "People have hearts. They have kids. They get jobs. They get sick. They cry, they dance. They live, they love, and they die, and that matters."
On the Arkansas delegation front, it's interesting that the three folks most-mentioned as Democratic gubernatorial candidates for 2014 have all been visible in Charlotte. The activities of AG Dustin McDaniel have been mentioned before, but both Bill Halter and John Burkhalter have made appearances at Arkansas events here. Halter attended the state Democratic Party's fundraiser with Clinton yesterday and Burkhalter attended an Arkansas delegation party Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking of...
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Timing of lawsuit filed by state, feds against Exxon surprises experts
June 19, 2013The speed with which Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil is unusual, according to pipeline experts InsideClimate News rounded up. /more/
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Open Line
June 15, 2013*PROJECT LOON: Internet-beaming, giant helium balloons: Google's plan to get the entire planet online. *DARR FOR THE COURSE: Our current lieutenant governor joins candidate Dianne Curry (that's two n's) in condemning John Burkhalter for not attending the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival. /more/
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UPDATED Ross and Burkhalter endorse each other
June 15, 2013Democratic candidate for governor Mike Ross and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor John Burkhalter will make a joint announcement at 4 p.m. "about the future of Arkansas." /more/
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State, feds file lawsuit against ExxonMobil
June 13, 2013Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer have filed a joint complaint against ExxonMobil seeking civil penalties. /more/
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Attorney General gives okay on "private option" referendum
June 11, 2013Who’s ready to debate the “private option” all over again? Attorney General Dustin McDaniel today approved the popular name and ballot title for a proposed referendum on the healthcare legislation passed by a super-majority in the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Mike Beebe last April. /more/
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John Burkhalter will run for lt. governor
June 11, 2013Roby Brock reports that Highway Commissioner John Burkhalter will announce this afternoon that he is running for lieutenant governor. /more/
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UPDATE: Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, Bill Clinton on lawyer suspension list
May 17, 2013On March 8, the Supreme Court suspended the license of state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson for nonpayment of dues. /more/
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James Lee Witt endorses Mike Ross for governor
May 16, 2013Does the endorsement of James Lee Witt, Bill Clinton's FEMA director, now a bigtime lobbyist/consultant, help Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross? /more/
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State gets $5.1 million for Medicaid in settlement over adulterated drugs
May 14, 2013Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has announced that Arkansas will get $5.1 million, including federal matching funds, for its Medicaid program as part of the $500 million settlement of a lawsuit against Ranbaxy, a drug manufacturer in India that provided subpar generic drugs. /more/
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Tuesday topics
May 7, 2013The line is open. Final words: * THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT HAS DESIGNS ON ARKANSAS: Church and State magazine reports on plans by the American Renewal Project, a Religious Right organization, to politically target 12 states including Arkansas in 2014 to "restore America to its Judeo-Christian heritage." /more/
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Re: The open line — spanking wives for Jesus
Also, from the same website- Pope Benedict is gay!
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