Democratic Incumbents Stronger Than Republicans

In its polling, Democracy Corps "uses the actual candidate names in each congressional race (and generic language in cases where there is no clear nominee), providing a level of specificity lacking from any other national measure of the congressional contest." Here are the striking results:

• In contests where a Democratic incumbent is running for re-election (199 House seats in this database), the Democratic candidates enjoy a 26-point advantage and claim a strong majority of the votes (57 to 31 percent)
• In open seats with no incumbent running in this cycle (20 House seats), the Democratic advantage is even higher -- a remarkable 63 to 28 percent
• Most importantly, in races where a Republican incumbent is running for re-election (217 House seats), the Republican candidate leads by just 4 points (42 to 46 percent) and fails to claim majority support -- a sharp contrast from the strong position of Democratic incumbents.

Bush's PR Stunt Is Too Little, Too Late

So President Bush woke up today and suddenly gave a damn about gas prices. Mr. 32% spent this morning calling for a investigation into possible cheating, price gouging or illegal manipulation in the gasoline markets. He also will asked the EPA to ease clean air restrictions, and he temporarily stopped deposits into the strategic petroleum reserve, a move that will have only a "negligible" impact on gas prices. The media are lapping it up, but they refuse to mention that Bush is forced to face the consequences of his own failed energy policy.

Where has the President been for the last three years or so, as we've seen gas prices skyrocket? First, he promised the Iraq War would lower gas prices. As his senior economic adviser stated in 2002:

"The key issue is oil, and a regime change in Iraq would facilitate an increase in world oil," which would drive down oil prices, giving the U.S. economy an added boost.

It turns out that the Iraq War didn't increase world oil, only oil profits. So, then, President Bush promised that his energy policy (which included massive tax breaks for the oil industry) would help our energy crisis. Well, it did not help, but that result is to be expected when our nation's energy policy is drafted by the oil industry.
So where has the President been? Obviously, his administration does not shoulder all of the blame for high gas prices. But his deliberate absence and incompetence on this issue have only made the situation worse.

Meanwhile, while the President has ignored the issue of high gas prices (stepping up now only because the outrage has reached a fever pitch and his approval numbers have reached a record low), Democrats have been trying to lower gas prices for years now, primarily by pushing a policy that reduces our dependence on oil altogether. You can see a detailed description of the Democrats' actions for energy independence here. And while the President has been twiddling his thumbs as gas prices increase, Democrats have been calling for accountability and a responsible energy policy (click to enlarge).

Bush Suspends Environmental Regulations for Oil Companies

From AP:
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the pump. He also halted for the summer the purchase of crude oil for the government's emergency reserve.

Any bets on how long a "temporary suspension" will last?
And is anyone else detecting a pattern here?
In the wake of Katrina, Bush suspends prevailing wage laws.
In the aftermath of 9/11, Bush basically suspends the Fourth Amendment and, at Gitmo, the right to a fair trial.

There is no tragedy, crisis or concern in this country that will go unmet by this administration ... with a boon to cronies or a bolstering of executive power.

Americans Disillusioned with Congress

From a new Pew Research poll: "The American public is angry with Congress, and this is bad news for the Republican Party. The belief that this Congress has accomplished less than its predecessors is markedly higher than at any point in the past nine years, and by a wide margin Republican leaders are blamed for this. Many more voters than in the recent past say the issue of partisan control of Congress will be a factor in their vote in November. And as has been the case since fall, voters are significantly more inclined to vote for Democrats than Republicans -- by a 51% to 41% margin."

"The public's strong appetite for change in Washington is seen both in the majority of voters who say they would like to see most members of Congress defeated in November (53%), and in the sizable minority who wants to see their representative turned out in the midterms (28%). Both measures reflect anti-incumbent sentiment not seen since late in the historic 1994 campaign, just before Republicans gained control of Congress."

Meanwhile, President Bush's job approval stands at 35%.

The Worst President Ever?

Historian Sean Wilentz makes the case in Rolling Stone:

"George W. Bush's presidency appears headed for colossal historical disgrace. Barring a cataclysmic event on the order of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, after which the public might rally around the White House once again, there seems to be little the administration can do to avoid being ranked on the lowest tier of U.S. presidents. And that may be the best-case scenario. Many historians are now wondering whether Bush, in fact, will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history."

Ranking the Senators

Survey USA has released its latest poll of the nation’s senators. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) received the highest net approval ratings at +54 while Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) pulled in the rear with a net approval rating of -14.

MyDD has some additional findings.

Democrats Look to Clinton and Spitzer for Help in Winning House

From Bloomberg:
The Democrats' prospects for winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November may rest with two high-powered New York politicians who aren't even running for seats: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Eliot Spitzer.
Clinton, who's likely to win easy re-election to the Senate, and Spitzer, the state attorney general who is leading in polls to become the next governor, might help the Democrats pick up as many as six New York congressional seats -- more than one-third of the 15 they need nationally to gain a House majority.
The two are so strong politically that they may lift Democratic candidates across the state, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. Spitzer, 46, led potential Republican candidates by margins ranging from 18 to 66 percentage points in a Qunnipiac University poll last month; a Marist poll earlier this year found that 54 percent of New Yorkers ``definitely'' plan to vote for Clinton, 58.

Montana Turning Progressive?

Montana is becoming an unlikely testing ground for bipartisan, progressive policy initiatives. This week's Newsweek highlights the state's response to the meth problem, building treatment centers for both men and women, rather than incarcerating them.

From NEWSWEEK:
By placing meth users in intensive treatment programs and isolating them from convicts who can teach them new criminal skills (like check forging), state officials hope to reduce high recidivism rates among addicts. "Just being in jail isn't going to fix this," says Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. "Jail doesn't get the demons out."

War is McCain's biggest problem in 2008

The real barrier to John McCain’s presidential ambitions "may be his unswerving, unstinting and unnuanced support for an unpopular war in Iraq," reports Bloomberg."

With only 38 percent of Americans in the Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll saying the war is worth fighting, McCain's advisers are trying to make a virtue of his stance, saying it shows he is genuine, courageous and un-political."

Says McCain: "I do understand it could be a political liability."

**McCain also needs some Red Bull to get that "I just came out of a hospital" look off his face.

Online Political Ads Increasingly Effective

"Political candidates increasingly are turning to Internet political ads to help them stand out from the crowd, personalize their message and boost their fund raising -- at a fraction of the cost of traditional radio and television ads," according to Stateline.org.

"Pioneered during Jesse Ventura’s successful gubernatorial bid in Minnesota and Howard Dean’s unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination two years ago, campaign Web sites have evolved into a means of raising money, communicating with supporters and organizing activities cheaply and quickly. Now, they’re quickly becoming tangible expressions of the candidate’s personality and an avenue for visual media."

McCain, Moving to the Right, Loses Ground to Hillary

From MyDD
I've been extremely skeptical about John McCain's ability to win over the Republican base in the next two years, which would likely be required for him to pick up the GOP presidential nomination in 2008. But Senator McCain has been intent on doing this, moving ever further to the right -- a difficult move given how conservative he already was.
For all of the talk of how successful or unsuccessful McCain has been in wooing over the more regressive segments of the GOP base -- and given his anemic showing at the SRLC, it doesn't look like he's been so succussful yet -- the great factor missing in the debate is how this overt selling out to the right wing might affect him should he make it into the general election. The Charlie Cook, the ultimate insider's insider, polled this exact question last week, however, and came out with some very interesting data:

The one really intriguing nugget of data in the new Cook Political Report/RT Strategies poll has to do with 2008. Thus far, when Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., have been matched up in hypothetical ballot tests, McCain has won each easily. Now that McCain has embarked on a grand repositioning of himself in the political marketplace, moving from the independent, moderate maverick to a mainstream Republican team player, it raises the questions of what he gains, what he loses, and what is the net effect.
While the truth is that on most important, substantive issues, as opposed to process issues (e.g. campaign finance reform), McCain's voting record has always been very conservative and there is no shift. Indeed, his strong support of the war in Iraq has not wavered one bit. On measures of style, rhetoric and political positioning (e.g., going to Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University to give the commencement address), though, McCain is clearly moving. As McCain begins to solidify himself on the right, does he sacrifice support in the middle?
It is far too soon to say, but comparing the late February Cook Political Report/RT Strategies numbers to the newest ones, McCain has gone from a 10-point, 47 percent to 37 percent advantage, to a five-point, 44 percent to 39 percent lead. Among registered voters, McCain's advantage has had a smaller drop from a 12-point margin (48 percent to 36 percent) in February to a 9-point margin (46 percent to 37 percent). [emphasis added]

Cook rightly notes that it's a bit hasty to draw hard and fast conclusions from two polls; after all, there could have been statistical noise in either one of the recent surveys that actually accounted for the fairly noticeable shift in the head-to-head matchup between Senators McCain and Clinton. That said, it is not inconceivable that the data are correct -- that as a result of McCain's posturing to the extreme right the general public is much less enamored with him. If this is indeed the case, as might be borne out in data from future surveys, McCain might ironically be poised to emerge from the Republican primary unelectable in a general election on account of his far right views.
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Desperate Republicans Turn to "Social Issues"

Do Nothing Republicans
From MYDD:
Despite increasing their majorities in both the Senate and the House in 2004, the Republican Party has shown a stunning inability to govern in an effective manner during the current Congress. President Bush's Social Security privatization scheme was dead on arrival. There has been scant oversight of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent in Iraq and the Gulf Coast. It increasingly appears that the Congress will not be able to pass a budget this year. Immigration reform seems to be stuck in the mud, as does the pension reform bill. And what ever happened to the legislation funding stem cell research, which passed in the House of Representatives but has yet to see the light of day in the Senate?
With such a lackluster record of success, what can the Do Nothing Republicans do to distract the American people from their inability to govern effectively? Turn to social issues, naturally. Laurie Kellman has the story for the Associated Press.
Protection of marriage amendment? Check. Anti-flag burning legislation? Check. New abortion limits? Check.
Between now and the November elections, Republicans are penciling in plans to take action on social issues important to religious conservatives, the foundation of the GOP base, as they defend their congressional majority.

In order not to get trounced this fall, GOP candidates need the most regressive elements of their base to turn out en masse, and these pieces of social legislation -- which have little to no chance of being enacted into law -- might help bring an ultra-conservative or two to the polls on November 7. But playing not to lose -- which is a last resort in a time of weakness -- is not the same thing as playing to win.

According to the most recent Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll (.pdf), there is an astoundingly large 26-point gender gap on the generic congressional ballot question, with men narrowly favoring the Republicans by a two-point margin while women support the Democrats by a whopping 28-point margin. Trying to pass legislation that would restrict women's right of choice -- particularly after approving of two anti-choice Supreme Court Justices and countless more appellate judges -- isn't going to decrease that killer gender gap one bit.

In a time of great weakness, the Do Nothing Republicans in Washington are resorting to their last option -- fairly trivial social legislation with no hope of passage -- to ensure that even if they are beaten this fall, their loss won't be catastrophic. But by playing not to lose badly, they are essentially conceding that they cannot win this year. Not the type of message a party's leadership usually sends out to its voters during an election year.

Political Quotes

"I have been an advocate of restoring voting rights to felons for many years. I think DeLay will enjoy my representation."

-- Virginia Delegate Brian Moran (D), quoted by the Connection Newspapers, on retiring Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) who has said he'll change his permanent residence to Moran's district. Hat tip: Raising Kaine.

GOP Turns To Laura Bush

While President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "remain popular in most Republican circles and many candidates or office holders would be delighted to host them," reports the Chicago Tribune, "there also are districts in some parts of the country where GOP political strategists are fashioning a backup plan to build upon a successful strategy from the 2004 campaign: Send Laura Bush."

Said a senior Republican strategist: "Is the first lady more popular in suburban districts and the Northeast? Yes. While the average donor in Cincinnati might have six pictures of the vice president, they may not have any of her and they'd be excited to see her."

pitful, just pitful.......

10 Words To Define The Democratic Message

From: Hotline On Call
Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) asked members of his Heartland PAC community to come up with ten words that defined what the Democratic Party stood for. Stands for. Believes in. Message. Etc.
5,000 submissions were considered.

Today, the PAC announced the 10 finalists and their words. (Vote for your favorite, here.)
We're not going to comment on them, except to say that we're very glad not a single one of them incorporated a Shrumian "fighting for" formulation.
The finalists:
"The Democratic Party: People are our only 'Special Interest.' "Stacy, Iverness, FL
"Effective, honest government, serving the needs of all its citizens."Matt, O Fallon, MO
"Working for millions of people, not millions of dollars."Matt, Santa Monica, CA
"A Strong Nation and Economy through Fairness, Reason, and Community."Drew, Blairsburg, IA
"Government led by people who believe good government is possible."Cathy, Columbus, OH
"Equal opportunities, better lives, and honest government for all Americans."Rob, Decorah, IA
"The Democratic Party- Tackling problems and finding practical solutions."Don, Letts, IA
"Leadership that will restore the American Dream to all Americans."Bill, Stewartstown, PA
"Common sense for the common good."Jason, Chicago, IL, Brenda, Wakefield, RI, and Robert, Timonium, MD
"The Democrats highest ideal: Help people achieve their full potential."Gary, Tulsa OK

TSA officer charged in boy's kidnap attempt

From: MSNBC
Authorities in Idaho say they aren’t sure of the true identity of a Transportation Security Administration officer charged with attempting to kidnap a 10-year-old boy because they found personal identification documents — including Social Security numbers — for five separate individuals in his possession.
KTVB-TV, NBC’s Boise affiliate, reported that the TSA officer was charged with second-degree kidnapping Tuesday under the name of Robert Joe Harrison Jr. Fifth District Magistrate Ted Israel set bail at $500,000.
The station said the man known as Harrison has worked as a TSA officer at the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey since November 2005. It said he has been suspended without pay pending investigation of the kidnapping charges.

AZ Governor Vetoes Anti-Abortion Fetal Pain Bill

From Daily Kos:

As anti-choice and radical fundamentalists push states further and further back in time with bans on abortion and barriers on a woman's right to choose, we see how important it is to have Democratic governors in place who can stop politically motivated legislation.

Take Arizona, for example, and H.B. 2254. The bill requires doctors to inform a woman seeking an abortion after 20 weeks that the "unborn child" can feel pain. "It is agreed by most scientists that a fetus can feel pain during some portion of the pregnancy," reads the bill. The bill mandates that a doctor tell a woman that the unborn child has the physical structures to feel pain; that as its prodded by instruments, it will draw away in pain; that if she takes pain killers that won't make the pain go away; and that (and the language is priceless here) she has "right to choose to have anesthesia or drugs administered directly to the unborn child."

Not only does a woman have to sit through this lecture, but she has to sign an acknowledgment form. If a doctor fails to inform her about the fetal pain, he can have his license suspended or revoked. There are exceptions for the life and health of the woman.
The state House and Senate approved of the bill. Yesterday, Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed the measure. (article here)
In her brief letter (pdf), she explained her reasons for the veto:
"This bill represents an unwarranted intrusion by politicans into the doctor-patient relationship. The legislature should not attempt to substitute its judgment for that of trained physicians with respect to professional advice given to patients".

Fetal pain bills are the newest tactic of the anti-choice movement, meant to establish fetuses as "unborn children" and meant to psychologically and unduly influence a woman as she makes the decision to terminate a pregnancy. Since 2005, fetal pain measures have been introduced in 23 states. Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota have passed the legislation.
In Wisconsin, a fetal pain bill passed, but was vetoed by Governor Jim Doyle--a Democrat, in January. Like Napolitano, Governor Doyle stated that the bill intrudes on the doctor-patient relationship; he also stated that the research underlying the bill was not proven.

On the national level, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) has introduced S.51, the "Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2005." It has 34 Republican co-sponsors.

Having Democratic governors who respect the right to privacy and the doctor-patient relationship is crucial as anti-choice foes step up their state efforts to curtail women's rights. It was Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich who issued an emergency rule a year ago requiring pharmacies to fill birth control and morning-after prescriptions.

Where state legislatures have given in to the anti-choice agenda or where anti-choice activists are affecting women's daily lives, these Democratic Governors--Napolitano, Doyle, Blagojevich, and others--have proven that they are committed to protecting a woman's right to privacy and her right to assert control over her own body.

How Democrats Can Finally Win Over Sportsmen

A Field and Stream editorial gives more evidence Democrats can split the Republican base: "Rod and gun in hand, and backing the Second Amendment right to own firearms, President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have won the hearts of America’s sportsmen. Yet the two men have failed to protect outdoor sports on the nation’s public lands. With deep ties to the oil and gas industry, Bush and Cheney have unleashed a national energy plan that has begun to destroy hunting and fishing on millions of federal acres throughout the West, setting back effective wildlife management for decades to come."

Christian Coalition a disaster

"The once-mighty Christian Coalition, founded 17 years ago by the Rev. Pat Robertson as the political fundraising and lobbying engine of the Christian right, is more than $2 million in debt, beset by creditors' lawsuits and struggling to hold on to some of its state chapters," reports the Washington Post.

Financial problems "and a long battle over its tax status have sapped its strength, allowing it to be eclipsed by other Christian groups, such as the Family Research Council and the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention."

John McCain and the Far Right

It's only April 2006, but John McCain isn't wasting any time in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes. For months, the Republican from Arizona has been blitzing the country, meeting with donors, lending his star power to Republican candidates, building his political team, and courting constituencies who spurned him in 2000. And as a sitting senator with his name on controversial immigration legislation, he's faced some boos.
As the early front-runner for the GOP nomination, Senator McCain is no longer the outsider, nipping at the heels of his party's anointed presidential successor. He's the main show. The question is, can he maintain his image as a straight-talking maverick, with broad appeal to independents and some Democrats, even as he reaches out to religious conservatives and raises hackles on both the left and right with moves that his critics call "unprincipled"?
His speech on May 12 at Liberty University, at the behest of religious leader Jerry Falwell, whom McCain once called one of the "agents of intolerance," has raised eyebrows.
"It seems what McCain is doing is the classic move that Richard Nixon patented, run right during the primaries, then run center for the general," says Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. "He's doing what he has to do. To a purist it doesn't smell right, but find me someone who hasn't done that who won."
Source: CBSNews.com
There's a name for people like this: liars, and greedy assholes. McCain is no maverick, that's for sure.

A Bush Cartoon

Rudy Making Plans For 2008 Race

Rudy Giuliani (R) "is taking several steps that could lay the groundwork for a presidential bid, strengthening alliances with Republicans nationwide and especially with conservative leaders of the party," the New York Times reports.Giuliani's advisers "say he will decide around the end of the year whether to seek the Republican nomination for president in 2008... but they say he could enter the race at the start of 2007, or even later, and still assemble a team and raise tens of millions of dollars in a relatively short time."

Democrats Approve of Leadership

The National Journal's Congressional Insiders Poll finds Democrats giving their leadership on Capitol Hill above average marks for dealing with President Bush and 56% rating their performance an "A" or a "B."
However, Republicans are not as pleased with how the White House handles congressional relations with 78% rating the administration's performance a "C" or below

Bush Planning To Attack Iran

The New Yorker: "The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack. Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups. The officials say that President Bush is determined to deny the Iranian regime the opportunity to begin a pilot program, planned for this spring, to enrich uranium."

Here we go again!

A Political Storm is Coming

With Rep. Tom DeLay's (R-TX) resignation, USA Today asks, "Is a tidal wave gathering?"
"Three of the five key ingredients of the 1994 turnaround are in place,including broad public dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, dismalapproval ratings for the president and the taint of scandal in Congress. Butthere are differences, too: The number of competitive House districts is muchsmaller than 12 years ago, and the opposition party has yet to articulate aunified, positive message."

Charlie Cook has the most ominous quote: "We know that there's a hurricane coming, and it's going to hit the Republicans in November. We're just trying to figure out how big this thing is."

The Wall Street Journal: "In 1994, powerful Democrats didn't respond to signs that their party had lost touch, and as a consequence lost control of the House that year to Republicans. It is unclear whether House Republicans are moving aggressively to head off similar political currents in an election year."

Inside the Tom Delay Resignation

A "high-level Republican operative" tells Ankle Biting Pundits that Rep. Tom DeLay's resignation was planned even before his recent Texas primary victory.

"DeLay deliberately waited until after the primary had run its course to dropout of the race for Congress. The reason being: so that party higher-ups coulddecide who the GOP nominee would be, not the Republican primary voters. You see,now that the GOP nominee slot will be vacant, Texas Republican honchos canhandpick the new and improved nominee -- in the proverbial smoky backroom, nodoubt."

Meanwhile, CQ Politics says replacing DeLay may take months.

President Bush Authorized CIA Leak

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney’s former top aide told prosecutors President Bush authorized the leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case.
Before his indictment, I. Lewis Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on information and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. According to the documents, the authorization led to the July 8, 2003, conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller.
There was no indication in the filing that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Valerie Plame’s CIA identity. But the disclosure in documents filed Wednesday means that the president and the vice president put Libby in play as a secret provider of information to reporters about prewar intelligence on Iraq.
Libby’s testimony also puts the president and the vice president in the awkward position of authorizing leaks — a practice both men have long said they abhor, so much so that the administration has put in motion criminal investigations to hunt down leakers.

Source:MSNBC

Conservatives Want to Stop McCain

Movement conservatives are spooked at the possibility of the McCain candidacy -- a campaign that can draw many independent and casual Republican voters lured by the myth of McCain's "straight talk".
In an effort to stymie McCain's efforts, those conservatives are making moves to change many western and midwestern primaries into caucuses -- where organized core activists will have a greater say in the allocation of delegates.

A good piece in the Manchester Union Leader looks at whether Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has "sold out" his maverick appeal "in trying to appeal to the GOP mainstream and the religious right."
However, even if McCain thinks a relationship with Jerry Falwell will patch things up with the right wing of his party, The Hotline suggests he's still got trouble brewing. "Under nearly everyone's radar, conservative activists in a handful of mostly Western and Midwestern states are edging closer to providing their base voters with a much greater say in choosing presidential candidates."
In short, they want to replace primaries with caucuses. "Why? Caucuses favor organized interests. Primaries dilute them. (Soccer moms don't vote in caucuses. Either do investment bankers. Moral conservatives usually do.)" And those people are considered less likely to vote for McCain.
Great news for any Democrat in 2008! If McCain is gone, it
drastically increases the chance of a Democrat being in the White
House.

Democratic Strategy on Abortion

From: The Hill

"The Senate Democratic leadership says it has found a wedge issue to strengthen the party's position on abortion rights, which top strategists think has become a liability in recent years.
The wedge is legislation expanding access to contraceptives and sex education, which polls show a majority of Americans support but which Democrats are betting will be difficult for social conservatives in the Republican base to accept.
Democratic strategists say the time is right for action because women who support abortion rights but are not politically engaged are alarmed by the confirmation of Samuel Alito as Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement on the Supreme Court and by the passage of legislation strictly curbing the availability of abortion there".

The "The Prevention First Act" requires health plans to cover "contraceptive drugs, devices and outpatient services" if they cover the cost of other prescription drugs and outpatient services.
More on the bill:

"It would also require the secretary of health and human services to disseminate information on emergency contraception to healthcare providers and require hospitals receiving federal money to provide emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault.
The bill would also mandate that federally funded programs provide information about contraceptives that is medically accurate and includes data on health benefits and failure rates".

An overwhelming majority of Americans support access to contraceptives and sex education. This bill will force Republicans to go on record: do they really want to prevent abortions, or is all their anti-abortion talk the empty rhetoric of pandering politicos?

Homeland Security Official Busted in Sex Sting

Washington -- Sheriff's detectives in Polk County, Fla., never know what they're going to find when they fish for sexual predators by creating bogus profiles on adult Internet sites.
But they were stunned last month when they ran across a man representing himself as an official of the Department of Homeland Security -- complete with lapel pin and a government telephone number -- and looking to connect with a 14-year-old girl.
Prosecutors prepared Wednesday to extradite Brian Doyle -- a senior public information officer in the Homeland Security Department in Washington who faces 23 felony counts of using a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor.
Homeland security press secretary Russ Knocke said the department is cooperating fully with the criminal investigation in Florida, adding that Doyle's security clearance, employee badge and facility-access permissions have been suspended.
The sheriff's office, which serves an area in central Florida east of Tampa, alleges that Doyle, who turns 56 Friday, used the Internet to start conversations with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl about sexual activities he said the two would engage in.
Doyle also allegedly sent pornographic movies and nonsexual photos, including one of himself wearing a Homeland Security lapel pin and a lanyard that says "TSA." Doyle previously worked for the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the Homeland Security Department.
Source: San Francisco Gate

Bill Clinton Supports Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy

From the Hotline On Call:
Will Howard Dean's Democratic National Committee be ready for the November elections? Party leaders and congressional campaign strategists are nervously pressuring Dean to stop spending money to staff organizers in states and instead commit to transfer the bulk of the DNC's kitty to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
At a tense meeting in February, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid urged Dean to give to the Senate committee the same amount as the Republican National Committee was expected to transfer to the GOP's Senate committee. Reid argued that the DSCC's historically rare fundraising advantage could be wiped out with a single check from RNC chairman Ken Mehlman. If Republicans shuffled their cash, Reid said, the outcome of several critical Senate races might be jeopardized.
According to three sources familiar with the meeting, Dean said no. Of course, he said, the DNC will spend millions on the midterms. His argument was this: While the DSCC and DCCC's role is rightfully incumbent protection, Dean, on the other hand, was elected chair to tend to overall health of the party. And that includes his responsibility to hundreds of non-federal candidates as well. His investment in state parties, Dean promised Reid and House Min. Leader Nancy Pelosi, would pay off and the benefits would accrue to Democrats at all levels.
Though the DNC has raised a record amount of hard money for an off-year cycle, it trails the RNC by several car lengths. Overall, the GOP will have more to spend on its races in the fall as the DNC has sent much of its money to state counterparts. (It's not as if the money is going into a hole. The DNC organizers are using it to find new voters and to update voter files and prepare coordinated campaigns for 2006.)
Both Dean's admirers and his critics blame the money gap on the priorities of major donors, who are race-and-cycle centric. And Dean, in the words of one of his friends, "never sucks up to donors" and is "clinical" when he discusses politics with them.
A new DNC hire -- finance director Carl Chidlow -- was brought aboard to help bridge the two cultures. Chidlow was deputy finance director for Sen. John Kerry's record-setting presidential bid and considered one of the party's best professional fundraisers.
A friend says Chidlow decided to accept Dean's job offer after finding evidence that Dean truly was committed to competing everywhere. One of Chidlow's prime tasks today: to evangelize Dean's state-based efforts to major donors.
And Dean has one supremely important new ally who, when he goes public, will almost certainly help with donors. In late February, Dean traveled to Harlem and sat down with former President Bill Clinton, often said to be privately disparaging of Dean.
But as Dean walked Clinton through his 50-state capacity-building project, Clinton became a convert. He vowed to help Dean win the attention of donors.