Media Matters

You Lie!





Beck rehashes false claims in baselessly suggesting Obama acting on behalf of bank


Glenn Beck repeated discredited falsehoods about the Community Reinvestment Act and President Obama's Chicago house while baselessly suggesting that the Obama administration is aiding a troubled, "politically connected" Chicago-based bank. In fact, the White House has denied any involvement in helping the bank. Read More

Fox baselessly declares it "a gigantic lie" that AZ law could lead to racial profiling

Fox News' Steve Doocy accused Mexican President Felipe Calderón of telling "a gigantic lie" by saying that Arizona's new immigration law introduces racial profiling into law enforcement. However, law enforcement officers have also expressed this concern and legal experts have rejected the claim that modifications made to the law eliminate the risk of racial profiling. Read More

Fox falsely suggests financial reform to blame for market drops

Fox & Friends repeatedly falsely suggested the stock market declines in the U.S. and Asia were solely in response to the Senate passing financial reform, despite the fact that guest Stuart Varney said the drops were "not about" the legislation. Indeed, the declines are largely blamed on economic instability in Europe. Read More

Special Report fails to address Stossel's call to repeal part of the Civil Rights Act

Despite reporting on the controversy surrounding Rand Paul's criticism of portions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Fox News' Special Report did not address the fact that Fox News' John Stossel called for the repeal of the portion of the act that prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation. Read More

Bossie's Post op-ed distorts Kagan on free speech

Citizens United president David Bossie took his false attacks on Elena Kagan to the pages of The Washington Post, writing an op-ed that distorted the Citizens United Supreme Court case to falsely paint Kagan as anti-free-speech.  Read More

Gingrich slams Obama admin over Blair resignation without fully disclosing his ties to Blair

Newt Gingrich has appeared on Fox News to attack President Obama over the resignation of Dennis Blair as the director of National Intelligence without disclosing that Gingrich and Blair were both members of a nonprofit defense group that reportedly benefited from a $2.4 million federal contract awarded in 2008. Read More

Wash. Times op-ed falsely claims Kagan wouldn't let "willing Harvard law students" meet with military recruiters


A Washington Times op-ed baselessly claimed that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan promoted an "anti-military campaign" while dean of Harvard Law, citing the false claim that Kagan "den[ied] JAG officers and willing Harvard law students the opportunity to meet and talk about opportunities to serve in the military." In fact, students had access to military recruiters throughout Kagan's tenure as dean, and Kagan's respect for the military is well established. Read More

Wash. Times falsely suggests past warm periods disprove human-caused global warming

A Washington Times editorial falsely suggested global warming science is undermined by studies indicating that the planet, at least in some regions, saw exceptional warmth thousands of years ago. But climate experts don't dispute that certain regions have experienced natural warm and cool periods throughout history; they say climate change of the past half century is "different" because it can't be explained by "natural changes alone." Read More

Beck mixes up his talking points, runs with distortions of previous climate bill

Glenn Beck falsely claimed that "this new cap-and-trade bill" extends unemployment insurance by three years and encourages workers to move overseas. In fact, the energy bill most recently considered in Congress, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, has no such provisions, and Beck's claims distort provisions from the Waxman-Markey bill that the House passed last year. Read More

Beck distorts FEMA facts to claim Obama is "destroying charity and our faith"

Glenn Beck claimed that a FEMA videographer asking volunteers to remove their Salvation Army T-shirts at a disaster cleanup site indicates that the Obama administration is "destroying charity and our faith." But the day before, FEMA's administrator said the videographer was "absolutely wrong" and apologized to the Salvation Army. Read More

Rand Paul - The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Paul told Maddow that he agrees with most parts of the Civil Rights Act, except for one (Title II), that made it a crime for private businesses to discriminate against customers on the basis of race. Paul explained that had he been in office during debate of bill, he would have tried to change the legislation. He said that it stifled first amendment rights:  See the interview and read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/rand-paul-tells-maddow-th_n_582872.html

The Tea Party favorite, in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday morning, accused the Obama administration of being too tough on BP -- the oil company directly responsible for the massive spill in the Gulf.  "What I don't like from the president's administration is this sort of 'I'll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.' I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business," he said. "I've heard nothing from BP about not paying for the spill. And I think it's part of this sort of blame game society in the sense that it's always got to be someone's fault instead of the fact that sometimes accidents happen."  More

RNC Chairman Michael Steele Criticizes Rand Paul As Out Of Touch On Civil Rights

Rand Paul Cancels on Meet the Press

The move comes after several controversial statements by Paul this week—first, he said private business owners should have the right to discriminate by race. Then, he said President Obama’s attacks on BP over the Gulf oil spill were “un-American.” "Rand did Good Morning America today, set the record straight, and now we are done talking about it," said Paul’s campaign spokesman, Jesse Benton, on Friday. "No more national interviews on the topic.”

Interviews with Tea Party organizers indicate that Paul’s views on civil rights are hardly an anomaly among the movement. While several Tea Party activists were careful to stress that the CRA and race in general were irrelevant to their current political program, they nonetheless indicated either broad tolerance or full-on agreement with Paul's position on the law.

They Backed Down - A letter from Barack Obama

Jo Ann --

On Thursday, the Senate passed historic Wall Street reform. This movement proved again that the strongest special interests, who for so long have called the shots in Washington, can be beat.  When opponents in Congress tried to block the legislation altogether, you stood up -- and they backed down. When the lobbyists pushed for loopholes and exemptions just before a final vote, you did not relent -- and we fought them off.  Your support brought us to this day -- and, because of that, we're poised to implement sensible reforms that will provide a stronger foundation for economic growth.

Now, the House and Senate must iron out their differences before I can sign it into law. But the financial industry will not give up. They have already spent more than $1 million per member of Congress, lobbying on this issue. And in the coming days, they will go all in. This is their last shot to stall, weaken, or kill reform, and they are not accustomed to losing.  But this movement has you -- and together, we have beaten the special interests before.

Every American has a stake in this bill.


If you have ever been treated unfairly by a credit card company, this reform works for you -- never again will Americans be duped by fine print or hidden fees.

If you ever try to take out a home loan or student loan, this reform works for you -- putting an end to predatory and deceptive lending practices.

And, if you or your small business relies on credit from community banks that are being punished for playing by the rules while their competitors do not, this reform works for you -- reining in the big banks and making sure all our lenders are subject to tough oversight.

These reforms would put in place the strongest consumer financial protections in history. And, by helping safeguard our economy from recklessness on Wall Street, it would ensure that a crisis like the one that caused this recession never happens again.

This is not a zero-sum game where Wall Street loses and Main Street wins. As we have learned, in today's economy, we are all connected. When the economy prospers, we all win. Senators of both parties recognize that fact, and that is why lawmakers stood up to the lobbyists and worked across the aisle to ensure that Wall Street reform passed.

But this fight is not yet over. And it is up to us to overcome this final test and pass reform into law. When we do, the power of this movement to make change in Washington -- despite the best efforts of the special interests -- will no longer be up for debate.


Thank you,




President Barack Obama

President Obama Fires Dennis Blair - Director of National Intelligence

Tensions among the White House, the intelligence director and Congressional oversight committees escalated after a young Nigerian man nearly detonated a bomb on a trans-Atlantic flight on Dec. 25. White House officials openly criticized Mr. Blair and his staff for a litany of missed signals that could have prevented the man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, from boarding the plane.  They laid particular blame on the National Counterterrorism Center, one agency that Mr. Blair supervises. A report released this week by the Senate Intelligence Committee was particularly critical of the NCTC’s failures to piece together the information that could have put Mr. Abdulmutallab on a “no-fly” list.  Wide U.S. Failures Helped Airliner Plot, Panel Says - The blunders took place at every major intelligence agency and included computer glitches, misspellings and poor analysis, the committee said. Summary of the Committee Report on the Attempted Terrorist Attack - Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - http://intelligence.senate.gov/100518/1225report.pdf

American officials said that Mr. Blair had also angered the White House in recent months by pushing for closer intelligence ties to France, an arrangement opposed by Mr. Obama.  But Mr. Blair also fought battles inside the intelligence ranks. Last summer, he clashed with Leon E. Panetta, the C.I.A. director, over the appointment of the senior American spies overseas. Mr. Panetta went so far as to issue a memorandum to C.I.A. operatives telling them to disregard a directive that Mr. Blair had sent a day earlier.

Obama's "Karl Rove"

Patrick Gaspard is the Director of the Office of Political Affairs for the Obama administration. Gaspard's prior position was on the advisory board for President Barack Obama's transition team. During the presidential campaign, Gaspard was Obama's National Political Director. 

Prior to working on Obama's campaign team, Gaspard was the executive vice president for politics and legislation for the 300,000 member 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East labor union, the largest local union in America. He helped coordinate political activity and government relations on behalf of 300,000 members. In 2006, Gaspard served as the acting political director for SEIU International during the national union’s successful effort to help Democrats capture majorities in the House and Senate. In 2004, Gaspard was the National Field Director for America Coming Together. Gaspard worked for Governor Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, the 1988 Jesse Jackson presidential bid and numerous congressional candidates and campaigns. In 1989, he worked on the successful and historic David Dinkins mayoral campaign. Gaspard is a former community organizer around school reform issues. 

President Barack Obama was drawn to Gaspard because of their similarities - both are community organizers with family roots in Africa.  Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Haitian parents, Gaspard moved with his parents to the United States when he was three years old. He is married and has two children.

BP Oil Spill - Comments From Obama, Jon Stewart, and Bill Maher

Obama slams BP, other oil executives for 'ridiculous spectacle'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37152335#37152335


Washington - US President Barack Obama harshly criticized executives from BP and other oil firms, accusing them Friday of creating a "ridiculous spectacle" by refusing to take responsibility for the ecological disaster unleashed in the Gulf of Mexico.  The executives from BP, Halliburton and Transocean appeared before the Senate on Tuesday and were "falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else," Obama said after meeting with advisors about the spill.  "The American people could not have been impressed with that display and I certainly wasn't," Obama added.

Obama emphasized his intention to hold BP accountable under US law for the costs of the massive and ongoing oil well rupture that followed the April 12 explosion on an oil drilling rig in the Gulf leased by the Britain-based petroleum firm but owned by Transocean.  But he said the priority right now is to stop the rupture that is pouring at least 5,000 barrels of oil into the ocean daily.  "What really matters is this: There is oil leaking and we need to stop it and we need to stop it as soon as possible," Obama said.

There must be an end to the three firms pointing fingers at each other as there is "enough blame to go around," including some for the federal government, Obama said.  "It is pretty clear that the system failed, and it failed badly," he said.  Obama said the federal government will review its policies in offshore oil drilling and put an end to the "cozy" relationship between oversight agencies and the oil firms.  He cited the plan to separate the operations of the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service that collect royalties for drilling on federal land and its safety inspections unit.


There will be blame by Jon Stewart
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-13-2010/there-will-be-blame


Bill Maher Slams Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, George Will Over BP Oil Spill, Climate Change Denialism (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/08/bill-maher-oil-spill-slam_n_568725.html

Hawaii Signed Law to Ignore Birther Requests

HONOLULU — The conspiracy theorists who cling to the false belief that President Obama was born outside the United States outrage many Democrats and embarrass many Republicans. But to a group of Hawaii state workers who toil away in a long building across from the Capitol, they represent something else: a headache and a waste of time.


The theorists, known as birthers, have deluged the State Health Department here with so many demands for information about the president’s birth in Hawaii that Gov. Linda Lingle, a Republican, signed a law this week allowing state agencies to ignore repeated requests from people who have had a request answered in the last year.

It comes none too soon for Health Department workers, who have been inundated with so many requests for the president’s birth records that printouts of the e-mail messages they have received on the topic through March stands some 13 inches high. Each one required a response, and many required consultations with state lawyers.

“It became really, really a burden,” said Janice Okubo, a spokeswoman for the department, who said that handling the hundreds of requests took up huge amounts of the department’s time as it was trying to respond to an H1N1 flu outbreak. Many requests, she said, came from the same handful of people.

By Hawaiian law, birth records can be released only to people with “a direct and tangible” interest in them — a person born in the state, say, or certain relatives or their estates. So when questions about Mr. Obama’s birth first surfaced during the 2008 presidential election, his campaign posted a copy of his “certification of live birth” on a Web site; it states that Barack Hussein Obama II was born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961, at 7:24 p.m.

When questions continued to pour in, the state’s health director, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, announced that she had seen the original records and that they showed that Mr. Obama was “born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen.”

When the questions persisted, the department created a Web page titled “Frequently Asked Questions About Vital Records of President Barack Hussein Obama II.” It did little to assuage the doubters.  Some of the e-mail messages were vulgar, others hostile. Health Department workers found themselves vilified on blogs. “Your name will be synonymous with Benedict Arnold by the time this is done,” reads one that is signed “an American natural-born citizen.”

State Senator Will Espero, a Democrat who has a picture in his office of Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. standing in front of a Hawaiian flag, said he was dismayed by the persistent questions about the president’s birth. He noted that in 1961, newspapers in Honolulu printed birth announcements, including Mr. Obama’s.  “Unless somebody had a great conspiracy going back 40-something years, involving the newspapers and the hospitals, I don’t think there is any doubt,” Mr. Espero said.

He originally introduced a bill that would allow the state to release birth certificates but ran into privacy concerns. Then the Health Department asked for help. So he introduced a bill allowing them to ignore “duplicative” requests that have been answered within the last year. Objections were raised that such a bill could give the government leeway to ignore legitimate requests, so Mr. Espero said the final bill was amended to try to address those concerns.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it will end the controversy,” Mr. Espero said. “But in terms of our own Department of Health, and their staff and the hours they are putting into this issue, hopefully it will give them a measure of relief and allow them to work on some other issues besides just this birther issue.”

Obama Diplomacy Returns U.S. to Leadership Role

President Barack Obama uses diplomacy to reestablish the United State and a world leader.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

U.S. in race to secure nukes.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama says Beck, Limbaugh fuel 'troublesome' political climate

In an interview with Harry Smith on CBS' "Early Show" Friday morning, President Obama called out Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh as purveyors of "vitriol" - creating a climate in which he's called a "socialist" and even a "Nazi." 

Smith asked the president if he was "aware of the level of enmity that crosses the airwaves and that people have made part of their daily conversation about you." Obama replied, "When you've listened to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck it's pretty apparent." The rancor is "troublesome," he said, but he acknowledged it's also a recurring phenomenon. 

"Keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of - this kind of vitriol comes out," he said. "It happens often when you've got an economy that is making people more anxious and people are feeling that there's a lot of change that needs to take place. But that's not the vast majority of Americans." 

Walking with Smith on the grounds of the White House, the president said that he is "concerned about a political climate in which the other side is demonized" and that "everybody has a responsibility, Democrats or Republicans, to tone down some of this rhetoric." What's different about today, Obama suggested, is the way overheated rhetoric has moved into the mainstream.

"It used to be that somebody who said something crazy, they might be saying it to their next-door neighbor, or it might be on some, you know, late-night AM station at the very end of the radio dial."

Asked by Smith if the name-calling bothers him, Obama replied that all presidents develop a "pretty thick skin." Still, he added that he hopes that Americans will start to lose their taste for vitriol.  "I do think that there is a tone and tenor that needs to change, where we can disagree without being disagreeable or making wild accusations about the other side. And I think that's what most Americans would like to see, as well."


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Conservative Media Blame For Incidents of Vandalism and Verbal Threats

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Bush Wipes Hand On Clinton's Shirt

In this video it seems as if former President, George W. Bush is trying to clean his hands on Bill Clinton’s shirt after shaking hands with a Haitian man on their trip for earthquake relief.

When health care reform will affect you

President Obama signed sweeping health care reform into law Tuesday. The Senate must now pass a package of changes that will reconcile the differences between Senate and House bills. If those changes are worked out, here is how health care reforms will affect you:




Within the first year
• Young adults will be able stay on their parents' insurance until their 27th birthday.

• Seniors will get a $250 rebate to help fill the "doughnut hole" in Medicare prescription drug coverage, which falls between the $2,700 initial limit and when catastrophic coverage kicks in at $6,154.

• Insurers will be barred from imposing exclusions on children with pre-existing conditions. Pools will cover those with pre-existing health conditions until health care coverage exchanges are operational.

• Insurers will not be able to rescind policies to avoid paying medical bills when a person becomes ill.

• Lifetime limits on benefits and restrictive annual limits will be prohibited.

• New plans must provide coverage for preventive services without co-pays. All plans must comply by 2018.

• A temporary reinsurance program will help offset costs of coverage for companies that provide early retiree health benefits for those ages 55 to 64.

• New plans will be required to implement an appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.

• Adoption tax credit and assistance exclusion will increase by $1,000. The bill makes the credit refundable and extends it through 2011.

• A 10 percent tax will be imposed on amounts paid for indoor tanning services on or after July 1.

• Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will get tax credits covering 35 percent of their health care premiums, increasing to 50 percent by 2014.

2011

• Medicare will provide free annual wellness visits and personalized prevention plans. New plans will be required to cover preventive services with no co-pay.

• States can offer home- and community-based services to the disabled through Medicaid rather than institutional care beginning October 1.


• A 50 percent discount will be provided on brand-name drugs for Prescription Drug Plan or Medicare Advantage enrollees. Additional discounts on brand-name and generic drugs will be phased in to completely close the "doughnut hole" by 2020.

• Additional tax for health savings account withdrawals before age 65 for nonqualified medical expenses will increase from 10 percent to 20 percent. Additional tax for Archer medical savings account withdrawals not used for qualified medical expenses will increase from 15 percent to 20 percent.

• A plan to provide a vehicle for small businesses to offer tax-free benefits will be created. This would ease the small employer's administrative burden of sponsoring a cafeteria plan.

• The Medicare payroll tax will increase from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married filing jointly above $250,000.

2013

• Health plans must implement uniform standards for electronic exchange of health information to reduce paperwork and administrative costs.
• Contributions to flexible savings accounts will be limited to $2,500 per year, indexed by the Consumer Price Index in subsequent years.
• The Employer Medicare Part D subsidy deduction will be eliminated. Employers will lose the tax deduction for subsidizing prescription drug plans for Medicare Part D-eligible retirees.
• There will be increases to the income threshold from 7.5 percent to 10 percent of adjusted gross income. Those older than 65 can claim the 7.5 percent deduction through 2016.
• The hospital insurance tax will increase 0.9 percentage points for those earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married filing jointly), and it includes net investment income.
• A 2.9 percent excise tax on the first sale of medical devices will be established. Excepted are eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids or other items for individual use.

2014
• Citizens will be required to have acceptable coverage or pay a penalty of $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, $695 (or up to 2.5 percent of income) in 2016. Families will pay half the amount for children, up to a cap of $2,250 per family. After 2016, penalties are indexed to Consumer Price Index.
• Workers who are exempt from individual responsibility for coverage but don't qualify for tax credits can take their employer contribution and join an exchange plan.
• Companies with 50 or more employees must offer coverage to employees or pay a $2,000 penalty per employee after their first 30 if at least one of their employees receives a tax credit. Waiting periods before insurance takes effect is limited to 90 days. Employers who offer coverage but whose employees receive tax credits will pay $3,000 for each worker receiving a tax credit.
• Insurers can no longer refuse to sell or renew policies because of an individual's health status. Health plans can no longer exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions. Insurers can't charge higher rates because of heath status, gender or other factors.
• Health plans will be prohibited from imposing annual limits on coverage.
• Health insurance exchanges will open in each state to individuals and small employers to comparison shop for standardized health packages.
• Credits will be available through exchanges for those whose income is above Medicaid eligibility and below 400 percent of poverty level who are not eligible for or offered other acceptable coverage.
• Medicaid eligibility will increase to 133 percent of poverty for all nonelderly individuals to ensure that people obtain affordable health care in the most efficient and appropriate manner. States will receive increased federal funding to cover these new populations.
• An annual health insurance provider fee will be Imposed across the health insurance sector according to insurers' market share to companies whose total premiums exceed $25 million.

2018
• 2018 Taxing "Cadillac" plans: An excise tax will be imposed on high-cost, employer-provided health plans beyond $27,500 for family coverage and $10,200 for single coverage; it will increase to $30,950 for families and $11,850 for individuals, retirees and employees in high-risk professions.

Health Reform

Rachel Maddow reviews the aggressive tactics used by health reform opponents at town hall meetings around the country to intimidate politicians and the overt strategizing behind the orchestrated outrage to suppress support for reform.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

WSJ fails to disclose conflict of interest in health care op-ed

The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by radiologist Mark E. Klein criticizing President Obama over the Medicare board's decision not to cover virtual colonoscopies. But Klein performs virtual colonoscopies at his Washington, D.C.-area practice, and the Journal did not disclose his interest in whether Medicaid covers them. Read More

Conservative media cast Democrats as "suicide bombers" in push for health care reform

Reacting to progress on health care reform legislation, conservative media figures have repeatedly referred to President Obama and Democratic officials as "health care suicide bombers" and characterized their efforts to pass a bill as "a kamizake mission" and "political suicide missions." Read More
EXCLUSIVE: Rove distorts Senate report to claim Bush didn't "lie us into war"

In his forthcoming book, which Media Matters obtained in advance of its release date, Karl Rove misrepresents a Senate report to argue that President Bush did not "lie us into war" and that Bush's attempts to link Iraq to Al Qaeda were supported by available intelligence. The report actually found that Bush made statements about Iraq and Al Qaeda that were not supported -- and were even "contradicted" -- by intelligence. Read More

Going Rove: Courage and Consequence is full of falsehoods

Karl Rove's forthcoming memoir Courage and Consequence purports to respond to critics by "putting the record straight," but Media Matters has found that Rove's book is full of falsehoods. Below is an ongoing list of Rove's misinformation in the book, which Media Matters obtained in advance of its scheduled release. Read More

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Democrats pounced on both Bunning and his party for "obstructionist politics."

Bunning, of Kentucky , told Democratic colleagues "tough s---" on Thursday when they tried to get him to change his mind about blocking the programs' extension, according to several Senate insiders who spoke only on condition of anonymity.  The Department of Transportation said Monday that Republican Sen. Jim Bunning's blockage of legislation designed to keep a host of federal programs operating forced the agency to furlough nearly 2,000 employees without pay, temporarily shut down highway reimbursements to states worth hundreds of millions of dollars and stalled multi-million dollar construction projects across the country.  Read More.

Friday afternoon, Bunning's regional offices in Hazard and Louisville received bomb threats, according to the Kentucky State Police . Police evacuated the premises and searched the area with dogs but found nothing.  Bunning isn't running for a third term. Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo , a Democratic candidate for Bunning's seat, pledged to hold a protest rally if unemployment benefits are not restored. Mongiardo also encouraged Kentuckians to call Bunning's offices to complain.  During the 2004 campaign, Bunning said Mongiardo, looked "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." Mongiardo is an Italian-American. Bunning later apologized for the statement.

The impact of Jim Bunning's decision:

1.  Unemployment benefits for 400,000 Americans allowed to elapse.
2.  Triggered the furlough Monday (03/01) of 2,000 transportation workers.
3.  Shut down multi-million dollar construction projects across the country.
4.  Cut Medicare reimbursements to doctors by 21 percent.
5.  Lose access to local televison stations because a copyright law expired Sunday night.

http://cs8a.clearspring.com/u/4ae8d36a3102598f/4b8c1bee44afbc28

"Jim Bunning has done more to draw attention to the procedural abuses in the Senate than ever before," Van Hollen said. Compared with Sen. Richard Shelby's (R-AL) short-lived "blanket hold" last month, Van Hollen said Bunning's action has done far more to make the Democrats' point that the GOP is holding up the works in Washington.  "This is part of the wake up call for Americans that Republicans are abusing the rules in the Senate," Van Hollen said.  Klobochar agreed. "To see that one Senator could hold up what pretty much everyone thinks would go through," she said, sounding exasperated at Bunning's move, "well, that just makes no sense."  Clyburn continued the theme of the call, stating that how Bunning could do what he did "is beyond me."

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/democrats-thank-you-jim-bunning.php

Orrin Hatch defends senator's block on unemployment benefits.  Hatch and Bennett voted against the final bill.

Maddow Slams Orrin Hatch For Lying, Washington Post For Printing It (VIDEO)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Senators who stand against the America people -- will stand alone for reelection.

Arkansas

Bill Halter is a solid Democrat, an Arkansas progressive, and a populist leader. He's fought for working men and women and delivered real change for Arkansas. His track record as Lt. Governor proves it.  "Washington is broken. Bailing out Wall Street, with no strings attached while leaving middle-class Arkansas taxpayers with the bill. Protecting insurance company profits instead of patients and lowering health costs. Gridlock, bickering and partisan games while unemployment is at a 25-year high. Enough is enough." -- Bill Halter announcement, March 1, 2010.  Bill Halter gets it. 

Opponent - Blanch Lincoln must go.  Blanche Lincoln is a Wall Street puppet for the insurance industry that has contributed over $2 million to her campaign. While over 56% of Arkansas voters wanted the choice of a public option, Lincoln vowed on the Senate floor she'd filibuster healthcare reform unless the public option was stripped from the bill.







Missouri

Robin Carnahan is an American politician, daughter of Missouri politicians Mel and Jean Carnahan and the current Missouri Secretary of State. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Carnahan has announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2010, to replace retiring Republican Sen. Kit Bond.