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Saturday, May 25, 2013
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The Senate immigration reform bill yesterday died in the Senate when supporters failed to muster the 60 votes needed to end debate on the measure. The bill's widely-reported demise on a 46-53 vote was portrayed by the media as a defeat for President Bush, who was unable to persuade more than 12 members of his own party to support it.
The story was the lead on CBS, and was reported prominently by the NBC and ABC, garnering a combined 11 and a half minutes of network tv coverage. The CBS Evening News reported, "The Senate killed the immigration overhaul. And members of the President's own party deserted him." A "new CBS News poll shows only 13% of Americans thought the Senate should pass the bill. 35% said no." In a second story on the CBS Evening News, news analyst Douglas Brinkley was shown: "Failure of the immigration bill means that George Bush is beyond being a lame-duck President. He's a dead-duck President." NBC Nightly News reported, "It's a big loss for President Bush, who pushed hard to revive this bill, only to see it lose big today." In an analysis story on NBC Nightly News, Washington bureau chief Tim Russert said, "I think there's a growing sense, a strong sense, that Washington is just broken." Immigration reform is now "dead. Finito, mort. It is over, Brian, for this cycle legislatively." ABC World News reported, "A grim President Bush today came before the cameras to bury the immigration reform bill, not to praise it." President Bush: "A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find common ground. It didn't work."
Fox News Special Report reported, "Not only did the Senate immigration bill go down today, it was swamped. It sank so deep, it's not likely to come back in this Congress or in this presidency."
The Washington Times said it was "a devastating defeat for President Bush, who invested a tremendous amount of political capital into immigration reform."
The AP reports the Senate "vote to drive a stake through the delicate compromise was a stinging setback for Bush - who had made reshaping immigration laws a centerpiece of his domestic agenda - engineered by members of his own party." The New York Times notes Bush "placed telephone calls to lawmakers throughout the morning. But members of his party abandoned him in droves."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff "said the administration will continue trying to enforce existing immigration laws, building border fences and beefing up border patrols. But, he said, without the additional resources in the bill and its much more stringent system to verify the legality of job applicants, the flood of illegal immigration is not likely to recede." Lou Dobbs said on his CNN program that Secretary Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez "said that they're disappointed the Senate failed today to proceed with this legislation. Incredibly, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security declared that this legislation would have made it easier to enforce security at our borders and our immigration laws."
McClatchy said "conservative grassroots organizations who denounced the bill as amnesty cheered its defeat while pro-immigrant advocates -- and immigrants themselves -- said the Senate's failure means further hardship for millions of undocumented families." The Los Angeles Times reports in a front page story that the "vote also revealed deep fissures within the GOP."
The Wall Street Journal says that within "minutes of yesterday's defeat in the Senate, Democrats were discussing how to salvage pieces of the immigration bill, including farm-labor provisions that could be attached to this summer's farm bill."
The Politico says a "small group of conservative senators succeeded in drawing out the debate for more than a month, allowing time for opponents to mobilize -- or, in their view, get a close look at legislation that they ultimately rejected." The Hill called the defeat a "dramatic political blow to the White House."
USA Today says eleven senators "four Democrats and seven Republicans -- who voted in favor of last year's Senate immigration bill, which died in the House, voted against this year's version. All of them are up for re-election in 2008."
The Financial Times reports Senate Republicans "delivered a crushing political blow to" President Bush, and the defeat "exposed Mr Bush's dwindling authority over his own party and increased the probability his troubled second term will end without a significant legislative achievement."
The Washington Post reports in a front page story that President Bush "did something he almost never does: He admitted defeat." USA Today reports Bush "on Thursday watched the breakdown of what seems destined to be his last major domestic initiative. Making the sting of defeat worse: The opposition was led by fellow Republicans." The Los Angeles Times said in "a remarkable reversal for a president who once commanded nearly unflagging loyalty from lawmakers in his party, those most responsible for his setbacks are Republicans."
Bush Approval At New Low In Fox Poll Fox News Special Report reported, "The latest Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, meanwhile, finds President Bush at a new low point with the American people, showing a 31 percent approval rate. That is the lowest he has ever had in this poll. But Americans are handing out bad grades all around. Only 36 percent approve of the job Democrats are doing in Congress."
The ruling by the US Supreme Court yesterday striking down race-based student assignment plans in Louisville, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington schools received prominent coverage in the major news sources. It was universally described as one of the court's more significant rulings in recent years and as showing the "ideological" division of the court.
ABC World News reported the justices "took the gloves off. They were angry." Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court and Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a "scathing 77-page dissent." The CBS Evening News reported the ruling "will force many public school districts to rethink their plans for achieving diversity in the classroom." NBC Nightly News called it a "history-making ruling" that "made it much tougher for school districts to control the mix of children in American classrooms based on race." The AP says the ruling "leave[s] public school systems with a limited arsenal to maintain racial diversity."
The New York Times reports the plans struck down "were similar to plans in place in hundreds of school districts around the country." The Washington Post reports the ruling of "a divided Supreme Court...could sharply limit integration programs across the nation." USA Today reports "the justices revealed in a new case Thursday their profound disagreement about the value of diversity in schools and the relevance of racial identity." On its front page, the Wall Street Journal called it "one of its most bitterly divided rulings of recent years...reflecting deep disagreements over the meaning of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision."
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President Bush on Thursday cited executive privilege in response to congressional subpoenas for documents related to the firings of Federal prosecutors, a step widely seen as prompting a "constitutional showdown" with Congress that may end up in the courts. The New York Times says Democrats accused "the White House of stonewalling and seemed to put the legislative and executive branches on a collision course that could land them in court." Meanwhile, officials said the president also intends to invoke executive privilege "to prevent two of his former top aides, Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, and Sara Taylor, the former political director, from testifying" in the matter.
On its front page, the Washington Post reports Administration officials said the White House invoked the privilege "out of confidence that it can prevail in court and weather a political storm by blaming Congress for overreaching." USA Today reports Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said Congress "will take the necessary steps to enforce our subpoenas." The Wall Street Journal /AP quotes Leahy as saying, "Increasingly, the President and Vice President feel they are above the law."
The Financial Times reports House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said Bush's assertion of executive privilege was "unprecedented in its breadth and scope" and displayed "an appalling disregard for the right of the people to know what is going on in their government."
However, The Politico reports White House officials cast the move "as a last resort after their overtures had been rejected by Congress." White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters aboard Air Force One that it was "premature" to talk about a possible court battle, noting that the President has "provided more than 8,500 pages of documents, as well as access to key players." The Los Angeles Times also reports that news.
The AP reports Vice President Cheney "won't lose his home, his office and his entertainment expense account" after the House Thursday "rejected an attempt to eliminate the vice president's executive office budget, a move that Democrats tied to Cheney's assertion that his office didn't need to comply with national security disclosure rules required of other executive branch agencies." The Washington Post reports Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, who proposed the amendment, recalled "well-known examples of Cheney secrecy" in a floor speech.
In a speech to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, President Bush defended his Administration's Iraq policy. However, as the New York Times reports, the speech was "largely overshadowed by the fight over Congressional subpoenas and the defeat of the immigration plan he had been trying to push through the Senate." The speech was seen as part of a "continuing attempt by the Administration to shore up its support" in the weeks before Congress takes up debate over military spending for the next fiscal year.
McClatchy reports while "facing eroding support for his Iraq policy, even among Republicans," President Bush's speech "seemed calculated to use lingering outrage over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bolster support for the current buildup of US troops in Iraq, despite evidence that sending more troops hasn't reduced the violence or sped Iraqi government action on key issues." The Los Angeles Times called it the President's "most detailed case to date that the troop buildup is working."
The Washington Post focuses its report on the President's remarks on the political situation in Iraq, which it called "a departure from past rhetoric," noting that he insisted "the most important form of political compromise in Iraq is not among top Iraqi politicians in Baghdad, but at the local level."
Hadley Meets With Breakaway Republican Senators. Meanwhile, in Washington, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley met with Republican Sens. Richard Lugar and George Voinovich and other GOP senators, including Chuck Hagel and John Warner. The AP reports Sen. Warner "said a defense policy bill expected to attract several war-related amendments in July was a main topic" of the talks.
And Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, The Politico reports, are expected to announce "a new coordinated effort to force votes in July to end the Iraq war," according to Democratic insiders. While Reid "has already publicly declared that Senate Democrats will offer four Iraq-related amendments to the upcoming 2008 Defense authorization bill," Pelosi is planning to announce that the House "will also vote on a bill setting a new withdrawal timetable of April 1, 2008."
The AP reports former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Wednesday was assigned an inmate number by the US Bureau of Prisons, representing "another step on the road to prison." Libby "is hoping that an appeals court will intervene and put the sentence on hold before he is ordered to surrender." Meanwhile, on MSNBC's Hardball, author Christopher Hitchens said President Bush should pardon Libby: "He's committed no crime. He's the victim of a bogus investigation into a non-offense with no victim."
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Last night's Democratic presidential debate at Howard University, a historically black college, generated a great deal of coverage today, focused mainly on the candidates' unity in their condemnation of the Supreme Court's ruling yesterday reversing long-standing policies on school desegregation. The heaviest coverage went to Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and both are generally characterized as having done well in the debate. The Washington Post reports that last night's debate, which focused on "the topics of race and poverty," "seemed to be a guaranteed fit for Sen. Barack Obama, the only black candidate in the race. ... But the audience largely embraced the other seven Democrats on stage as well, applauding" Clinton "when she called for a greater focus on AIDS research."
The AP frames its coverage of the debate in terms of the reaction of the "historically diverse field of Democratic presidential candidates" to yesterday's Supreme Court desegregation ruling, noting the candidates denunciation of the decision. Obama is quoted, "We have made enormous progress, but the progress we have made is not good enough," and Clinton "challenged those who would suggest race isn't a problem. 'There is so much left to be done, and for anyone to assert that race is not a problem in America today is to deny the reality in front of our very eyes.'"
The Los Angeles Times reports that in the debate's "liveliest exchange," Sen. Joe Biden said, "I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack got tested for AIDS.' At that, Obama shot Biden a you've-got-to-be-kidding glance. A television camera caught the Rev. Al Sharpton in the audience looking appalled. ... When the laughter died down and it was his turn to speak, Obama countered: 'I want to make clear, I got tested with Michelle.... I don't want any confusion here about what's going on.' Obama and his wife, Michelle, both took HIV tests on a visit last year to Kenya, a gesture meant to show there was no stigma in being screened for the virus."
The general consensus of early opinion on the debate is that both Clinton and Obama performed well, with Clinton getting overall better reviews. In his "The Fix" blog on the website of the Washington Post Chris Cillizza writes that Clinton and Obama "nicely distinguished themselves, scoring two of the most memorable moments of the night. Clinton drew a standing ovation in response to a question on the problem of HIV/AIDS in the black community; Obama's early acknowledgement that only by the work of many African American before him was he able to stand on the stage was poignant and powerful."
In his Des Moines Register column, with a headline touting Clintons' "Fine Showing," David Yepsen writes, "[s]core one for Hillary Clinton," who "turned in the single most impressive performance" of the debate. Yepsen says Clinton was "crisp, cogent and methodical in her answers. She understood better than any of the other candidates the need for terse answers when so many candidates are given so little time in which to answer questions. It's more than just a debating skill. American presidents lead the nation through television appearances, and Clinton's performance Thursday night suggests she can do that. She showed she has mastered the ability to put a lot of information into a few seconds on the tube."
Fox News Special Report said last night it was a "welcome reception" for Fred Thompson in his first swing through New Hampshire as a prospective candidate. Fox adds, "First stop, Reilly's Gun Shop, a tradition on the GOP presidential campaign trail." From there, "it was off to the Merrimack restaurant, another political landmark visited by White House hopefuls for decades. After lunch, the obligatory interview with the only statewide newspaper in New Hampshire, the conservative Union Leader."
The New Hampshire Union Leader reports, "Hinting strongly at a Presidential run," Thompson "last night urged Republicans to lead the country by returning to their founding principles and renewing their commitment to small government, individual freedom and free trade." The Boston Globe reports that as he traveled through the state yesterday, Thompson faced "an audience with questions. Conservative activists wondered whether he was the Reagan-like candidate they have been waiting to support. Members of the New Hampshire political establishment wondered whether he would be able to translate positive buzz into a traditional campaign. But underneath it all was a more basic question: Who is this guy?"
The AP reports Sen. John McCain "dismissed the notion yesterday that he would drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination because he's lagging in fund-raising and trailing in most polls. 'That's ridiculous,' McCain told reporters in the Capitol. 'Why in the world would I want to do that? It would be nuts.' McCain noted that the first primary contests are a full six months away and said voters won't start paying close attention until the fall." McCain added, "I don't know why I would even remotely consider such a thing in the month of June or July."
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A new Opinion Dynamics poll taken for Fox News shows Sen. Hillary Clinton opening a broad lead in the Democratic primary and Rudy Giuliani stretching his lead on the Republican side. The poll, conducted June 26 and 27, shows Clinton leading the field with 42%, followed by Barack Obama, 19%; Al Gore, 14%; and John Edwards, 10%. All other candidates are at 2% or less. In a similar poll conducted in the first week of June, Clinton led Obama 36%-23%. Without Gore in the race, Clinton's lead over Obama grows to 47%-21% in the current poll.
Among Republicans, Giuliani leads with 29%, followed by John McCain, 17%; Fred Thompson, 15%; Newt Gingrich, 8%; Mitt Romney, 8%; and the rest of the field at 3% or less. In the early June survey, Giuliani led McCain 22%-15%. Without Gingrich in the race, Giuliani leads with 31%, followed by McCain and Thompson tied at 18%.
In a general election trial heat, Clinton leads Giuliani 39%-37% with NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg at 7% and 17% undecided.
A second poll is out this week from California, and it again shows Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani on top of their respective primaries. The San Diego Union Tribune reports that a Public Policy Institute of California shows Clinton leading the Democrats with 41%, followed by Barack Obama, 25%; John Edwards, 12%; all other are at 4% or less. On the GOP side, Giuliani leads with 31%, followed by John McCain, 16%; Mitt Romney, 13%; Fred Thompson, 13%; and the rest of the field at 3% or less.
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Jay Leno: "The price of milk has gone up. Some experts say it could hit $4 a gallon. That's unbelievable. In fact, President Bush said today, 'If the price of milk continues to rise we may have to invade Wisconsin.'"
Jay Leno: "Last night, Republicans and Democrats in the House voted themselves a $4,400 pay raise. Well, why not? A job well done, huh? What are they at, a 14% approval rating?"
Jay Leno: "Finally Democrats and Republicans agree on something, and it's a pay raise."
Jay Leno: "And you know the Senate voted down the immigration bill. You probably know that. When he heard about it, a disappointed President Bush said, 'No way, Jose.'"
Jay Leno: "Yesterday on CNN, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa accidentally called Hillary Clinton Senator Kennedy. See, that's when you know you need to lose a few pounds before bikini season, okay, when people mistake you for Ted Kennedy."
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