Top Political News: June 8, 2012

Obama Warns Eurozone Crisis Could Drag Down U.S.

In a news conference Friday morning, President Obama urged Congress to act on his proposals to create jobs. He also warned of the risks Europe could pose to the U.S. economy.

U.S. Military's Green Energy Criticized By Congress

The White House and military brass are calling for the development of alternative energy. One goal is cutting dependence on foreign sources. Another is reducing the carbon footprint of the largest fossil fuel consumer in the world. But now some on Capitol Hill are blocking the effort to green the military.

Top Political News: June 7, 2012

New Farm Bill Focuses On Reaping, Not Sowing

A $970 billion bill, covering everything from food stamps to crop insurance, passed a key procedural hurdle in the Senate today, and it did so with overwhelming bipartisan support. The measure, known as the Farm Bill, comes up for renewal every five years.

There's More Secret Money In Politics; Justice Kennedy Might Be Surprised


But despite what Kennedy said, secret money has become the real growth area in campaign politics.
Crossroads GPS, co-founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove, joined with a handful of other conservative "social welfare" organizations, spent more than $30 million on ads attacking President Obama through the end of May.
Crossroads then announced a new ad buy of $25 million.

Top Political News: June 6, 2012

Seattle Catholics Divided On Repealing Gay Marriage

Wednesday is the deadline in Washington State to get a ban on same-sex marriage onto the fall ballot. The legislature legalized gay marriage earlier this year. One of the biggest proponents of the repeal is the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle. It wants all of its parishes to actively campaign against same-sex marriage, but some are refusing.

The Deleted Tweets Of Politicians Find A New Home

Everyone is prone to make gaffes on Twitter, including angry statements made in the "tweet" of the moment. But a new project aims to keep an eye on politicians who try to delete those gaffes.


California Primary Sets Up Same-Party U.S. House Contests In November

While some results remained unofficial Wednesday morning, five congressional districts were certain to have Democrat-vs.-Democrat races on Nov. 6, while a sixth looked likely; two districts could have Republican-vs.-Republican contests.

Top Political News: June 4, 2012

With many conservatives already suspecting that he is a conservative of convenience, Mitt Romney apparently hasn't done himself any favors in their eyes with the man he chose to lead his presidential transition.
But some of Leavitt's experience has been of the wrong kind, according to some conservatives. Since leaving public service, Leavitt has worked as a consultant who as advocated for the health care insurance exchanges central to the Affordable Care Act, known by detractors and supporters alike as ObamaCare.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/06/04/154293359/romney-rekindles-conservative-doubts-with-white-house-transition-pick?ft=1&f=1014


Even those who would seek to level the playing field by allowing candidates and parties to raise more money directly believe that the genie may already be out of the bottle. Many rich donors have come to like superPACs, which allow them to control their own messages.
"I do think the current system will get worse until we have significant reforms," says Nick Nyhart, president of the Public Campaign Action Fund, which favors fundraising limits.
"As bad as things are in 2012, they will continue to get worse in 2014 and 2016 unless we have some change," Nyhart says. "The current system cannot hold.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153914560/big-money-and-the-ballot-box?ft=1&f=1014


Think "grass-roots politics," and what's the first thing that comes to mind?
How about two dozen multimillionaires with open checkbooks?
That's what an NPR analysis of annual IRS filings by Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies shows. Despite its name and the repeated use of the word "grassroots" in those documents, nearly 90 percent of the $77 million raised by the Karl Rove-founded group in its first 18 months came from donors who gave at least $1 million.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/06/01/154168293/npr-analysis-crossroads-gps-funded-heavily-by-1-million-plus-donations?ft=1&f=1014



Top Political News: June 2&3, 2012 (Weekend Edition)


Obama has called for more federal spending on public works projects and local government, which might have prevented last month's loss of 28,000 construction jobs and 13,000 government jobs. But Congress never approved that spending.
Bernstein, who's now a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says lawmakers have added their own measure of uncertainty with their refusal to compromise on taxes, spending targets and the debt ceiling.
"I think the political gridlock, or dysfunction, if you will, has made things even worse. Now we're talking about going over this fiscal cliff and having another debt ceiling fight," he says. "That's obviously exactly the wrong medicine for the current economy. So it's not just that Congress isn't helping; it's that they're actively hurting."
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/02/154191028/analysts-smell-fear-after-lack-of-job-growth?ft=1&f=1014

Voters in Wisconsin will decide Tuesday whether or not to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. It's been one of the most expensive statewide races in American history, and the stakes in that election could have national implications, for unions, for deficit hawks, for businesses, even for President Obama's re-election.
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/03/154251865/wisc-recall-a-trial-run-for-the-presidential-race?ft=1&f=1014

Top Political News: June 1,2012

In Tallahassee, a federal judge has blocked state elections officials from enforcing tough restrictions on groups that conduct voter registration drives.
And in Washington, the Justice Department has sent a letter to Florida telling it to immediately halt efforts to purge from the voting rolls people suspected of being noncitizens.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/06/01/154135685/judge-justice-department-weigh-in-on-who-can-vote-in-florida?ft=1&f=1014

Top Political News: May 31, 2012


Bill Internicola, a 91-yar-old World War II veteran, was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and now lives in Florida's Broward County. He recently received a letter from county elections officials asking him to show proof he was a U.S. citizen or be removed from the voting rolls.
Internicola says he was "flabbergasted."
"To me, it's like an insult," he says. "They sent me a form to fill out. And I filled out the form and I sent it back to them with a copy of my discharge paper and a copy of my tour of duty in the ETO, which is the European Theater of Operations."
"Why is this happening less than three months before an election?" Deutch said. "Why is there only a 30-day period for people to be able to respond? It looks like there is an effort to purge a large number of voters from the rolls whether they're eligible voters or not."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/05/31/154020289/world-war-ii-vet-caught-up-in-floridas-voter-purge-controversy?ft=1&f=1014


The White House, most Democrats, abortion rights groups and some Asian-American organizations opposed the bill, saying it could lead to racial profiling of Asian-American women and subject doctors who do not report suspected sex-selection abortions to criminal charges.
"The administration opposes gender discrimination in all forms, but the end result of this legislation would be to subject doctors to criminal prosecution if they fail to determine the motivations behind a very personal and private decision," White House spokeswoman Jamie Smith said in a statement. "The government should not intrude in medical decisions or private family matters in this way."
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/31/154074122/ban-on-sex-selection-abortion-up-for-house-vote?ft=1&f=1014


Poised to triumphantly clinch the Republican nomination for president, Romney instead was upstaged Tuesday by supporter Donald Trump's new birther-on-steroids shtick that stole the headlines and the candidate's big moment.
Then on Thursday, ready to embarrass President Obama by holding a "surprise" press event in front of Solyndra, the Obama-touted California solar energy company that failed after getting a $535 million government loan guarantee, Romney was upstaged yet again.
This time, by not one, but two events the cable news channels carried live during and after his photo-op event: Obama hosting former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush for the unveiling of their official portraits — a good humored affair that was just the second time the former president has been back in the White House since his term ended.
And then? Wall-to-wall coverage of a potential verdict in the John Edwards' political corruption trial.
The news Thursday was also filled with reports that a federal appeals court had found unconstitutional the Defense of Marriage Act that bars same sex marriage.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/05/31/154086783/romneys-week-upstaged-time-and-again?ft=1&f=1014

Retail giant Wal-Mart became the latest, and possibly highest-profile corporation to drop its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council. The conservative group helped replicate Florida's Stand Your Ground gun law in other states.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/31/154093271/wal-mart-to-leave-conservative-legislative-group?ft=1&f=1014


In 2008, Powell endorsed Barack Obama. He has not endorsed anyone yet this election cycle, but he was unabashedly critical of Romney.
"For example, when Gov. Romney not too long ago said the Russian Federation is our No. 1 geostrategic threat — well, c'mon, Mitt. I think that isn't the case," Powell said.
Powell also criticized Romney for filling his campaign with neoconservative advisers.
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/31/154085970/romneys-foreign-policy-views-comfort-unsettle-gop?ft=1&f=1014


Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Wednesday night he expects that the court has already had second thoughts about parts of its controversial Citizens United ruling that eased restrictions on corporate spending in political campaigns.
The sharply divided court ruled that independent spending by corporations does "not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption." Stevens, who dissented from that 2010 decision, said that at some point the court will have to issue an opinion "explicitly crafting an exception that will create a crack in the foundation" of that ruling.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57444204/stevens-second-thoughts-likely-in-citizens-united/

The setup of the 17-country euro currency union is unsustainable, the head of the European Central Bank has told EU leaders, warning they must quickly come up with a broad vision for the future to get the bloc through the current financial crisis.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9V3RA5G0.htm

The U.N. human rights chief is calling for an independent investigation into last week's slaughter of dozens of civilians in the Syrian town of Houla, as activists on Friday reported the killing of at least 12 more civilians. 
http://www.voanews.com/content/un-rights-body-discuss-syrian-slaughter/1145957.html