(This is crossposted from dKos, where I stupidly helped a flamewar break out in comments. Won't make that mistake again. I recognize this is looking backward when most of today's traffic is looking ahead, but the truth must out.)
This will be long, because this lie has taken deep roots that are hard to pull up. Is there any media outlet that cares about getting this story right? This bullshit about the Dodds getting a "sweetheart" deal from Countrywide needs to stop. It needs to stop on NPR, Cable news, and print media (but I'm not going to hold my breath). At least we can stop the nonsense here.
If you believed this garbage, then you fell victim to the power of suggestion and you owe it to yourself to reclaim your mind by pursuing the facts. And if you remained skeptical, and you consider yourself a progressive, then you owe it to Senator Dodd to try to help get the real story out.
Chris Dodd to step aside Embattled Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) has scheduled a press conference at his home in Connecticut Wednesday at which he is expected to announce he will not seek re-election, according to sources familiar with his plans.
Dodd's retirement comes after months of speculation about his political future, and amid faltering polling numbers and a growing sense among the Democratic establishment that he could not win a sixth term. It also comes less than 24 hours after Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced he would not seek re-election.
State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is widely expected to step into the void filled by Dodd and, at least at first blush, should drastically increase Democrats' chances of holding the seat.
Blumenthal, who has served as state Attorney General since 1990, is the most popular politician in the state and has long coveted a Senate seat; he had already signaled that he would run for the Democratic nomination against Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) in 2012. (A sidenote: Assuming Blumenthal gets in to the race, Rep. Chris Murphy could be the long-term beneficiary as he is widely regarded as a rising star and would be at the top of the list of Democratic hopefuls to challenge Lieberman in 2012.)
Without Dodd as a foil, Republicans chances of taking over a seat in this solidly blue state are considerably diminished. Former Rep. Rob Simmons and wealthy businesswoman Linda McMahon are battling it out for the Republican nod but either would start as an underdog in a general election matchup with Blumenthal.
SNIP
At our last DTC meeting in November, we informed our chair to tell Sen. Dodd's campaign that it was best for him to not seek re-election. His poll numbers weren't improving, and I know from friends outside the DTC that they would not support Dodd in 2010. The banksters and the bank bailout were the main reasons for not supporting Dodd. Instead of running for President, he should have been scrutinizing the banks and forwarn of the impending disaster that came in Sept. 2008.
I also predict that Lieberman will retire in 2012. His corporate friendly actions in the senate are his way of increasing his post-senate salary as a consultant to the industries who have donated to his past campaigns.
Next week, I'll sit down with Majority Leader Reid, Finance Committee Chairman Baucus, and the White House to merge together the provisions of the two health care bills that have been passed by Senate committees.
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I understand that many of you are worried about what that bill will look like. I know first-hand how frustrating it has been to watch good ideas clash with political realities, especially on such an important issue.
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But we have come too far, and worked too hard, to settle for "pretty good." And that's why I plan to take a stand.
First, and let me be very clear about this: I am going to fight for a strong public option. The simple, undeniable fact is that a public option will save money - and it will introduce more choice and competition into an industry that badly needs both. It is the single best way to keep costs low for middle class families - and keep the insurance companies honest. And I am by no means ready to back down on making that argument.
Standing alongside Vice President Joe Biden and 4th District Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT), Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) yesterday told a crowd of more than 400 supporters and guests how crucial the recovery program and health care reform are to the economy, then added emphatically: "We are going to get the public option" and received an extended, cheering ovation.
I can tell you because I was there.
The occasion was an event, featuring the Vice President, chosen to highlight transportation infrastructure investments flowing from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, at a site adjacent to a reconstruction project on Connecticut's Merritt Parkway near Exit 46 in Fairfield.
Dodd's remarks came as he and other Senate leaders prepare for expected health care bill merger sessions. That is assuming that the bill passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee -- which has a public option -- is to be merged with one yet-to-be-passed by the Finance Committee -- which does not. A vote in the Finance Committee has reportedly been delayed again.
When Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) decided recently to remain chairman of the Senate Banking Committee you could hear the financial industry lobbyists let out a collective groan.
It was Dodd who earlier this year championed credit card reform in Congress, helping to pass a bill, then signed by President Obama, to end the abusive and deceptive practices of the credit card companies.
Now Senator Dodd is gearing up to take on the banks on several fronts including overdraft fees, consumer financial protection and regulatory reform.
The Wilton, CT Democratic Town Committee tonight unanimously approved a strong Resolution for health care reform with a public insurance option, and urged representatives in Congress to stand with them at every stage of the legislative process.
The Resolution comes on the heels of a contentious public event Sunday, August 30 outside Wilton Town Hall where Congressman Jim Himes -- faced with a group using fear, prejudice and ignorance -- spoke with courage, conviction and intelligence about the need for a public insurance option as part of real health care reform in America.
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the following statement on the passing of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy:
"I'm not sure America has ever had a greater Senator, but I know for certain that no one has had a greater friend than I and so many others did in Ted Kennedy.
"I will always remember Teddy as the ultimate example for all of us who seek to serve, a hero for those Americans in the shadow of life who so desperately needed one.
"He worked tirelessly to lift Americans out of poverty, advance the cause of civil rights, and provide opportunity to all. He fought to the very end for the cause of his life - ensuring that all Americans have the health care they need.
"The commitment to build a stronger and fairer America, a more perfect union, was deeply ingrained in the fiber of who he was, and what he believed in, and why he served.
"That's why he stands among the most respected Senators in history. But it was his sympathetic ear, his razor wit, and his booming, raucous laugh that made him among the most beloved.
"Whatever tragedy befell Teddy's family, he would always be there for them. Whatever tragedy befell the family of one of his friends, he would always be there for us. And in this moment of profound grief, our hearts are with his wonderful wife Vicki, his fantastic kids Ted Jr., Patrick, Kara, Curran, and Caroline, his grandchildren, and the wide and wonderful extended family for whom he was always a safe harbor.
"I will miss him every day I serve, and every day I live."
Yesterday the Associated Press ran a story about the secret Senate Ethics Committee testimony of creepy loan officer Robert Feinberg, where he alleged that Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad knew that they were receiving preferential treatment in their mortgage loans from Countrywide.
Sen. Dodd has repeatedly claimed that he believed he received the kind of treatment under Countrywide's VIP program that was given to any current customer with an excellent credit history.
War is in our DNA. On a Saturday afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese, two boys play the hi-tech fighter jet video game "After Burner Climax," and a couple plays a shoot 'em up target game in the background.
If Sen. Chris Dodd and Congressman John Larson sought to replicate the Top Gun glory of Maverick and Goose, standing together to drum up support to save funding for the F-22 Raptor, they ended up looking more like Laurel and Hardy.
Suave Maverick Dodd and goofy Goose Larson have been shilling for the threatened F-22 since April. This past Monday, July 14, they lined up their talking points before a 1:15 p.m. press conference phone call.
A press e-mail from Dodd advertised special guests John Harrity, Connecticut Machinists Official and President of GrowJobsCT and Gen. Mike Dunn, a retired three-star Air Force commander.
Both the Senator and the Congressman hit the high points of their arguments for shielding the F-22 Raptor from President Obama's budget ax.
The F-22 Raptor is an aptly named Cold War dinosaur. But Maverick and Goose argued to maybe eight press people on the phone that the single-seater stealth fighter will help the United States maintain global air superiority, deter our enemies and maintain the production line.
The production line, which represents more than 1,000 subcontractors and 25,000 workers spread across 44 states, needs to stay active for three years until the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter comes on line, lest production of that weapons system be slowed.
Panhandling for the war machine falls onto Dodd and Larson because Hartford-based United Technologies manufactures the super hi-tech jet engines for the F-22 through its subsidiary of Pratt and Whitney. The engines mean 2,000 jobs for Middletown.
Aside from the $339 million price tag per F-22, Bush/Obama Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to cut the F-22 because the radar-invisible fleet of F-22s has not seen a day of action in Afghanistan or Iraq.
The $6 billion for 20 new planes could be better spent on a more mobile military, Gates claims. Obama has an ally in Sen. John McCain, who sees the program as worthless.
Dodd led off the presser by stressing the critical importance the F-22 has in our arsenal.
"This is essential to national security and our competitiveness in this world," Dodd said. "I wouldn't be making a case to you on the basis of a parochial issue."
Of course not, Senator. It's a corporate issue. UTC chairman George David needs his puppets in Congress to help finance his massive legal bills from his messy divorce, and his spoiled brat countess ex-wife's $53,000 a week lifestyle.
Dodd has his own spending habits, and he needs corporate moguls and unions to finance them. A few hours before the conference call, Dodd announced a $1.2 million haul for his campaign war chest in the second quarter of 2009.
While the FEC contribution chart listed nothing from either the Machinists or UTC, other unions like firefighters, electrical workers and boilermakers gave healthy sums and defense contractors like Raytheon contributed to Dodd as well.
The whole thing seems like a charade to me anyways. Obama wants to appear like he is challenging the military-industrial complex and reigning in military spending while expanding a costly war, and then blame this on Congress. The members of Congress will face no electoral repercussions because they brought the bacon home.
Below is an e-mail action alert that went out Thursday. If you want to be the first to hear about upcoming actions and events, sign up for CCAG Action Alerts here.
On Friday January 23, Senator Chris Dodd is coming to East Hartford because he wants to hear first hand from the people of Connecticut about their views and ideas for reforming our nation's health care system.
Will you join us at Goodwin College to tell Senator Dodd what a solution to the health care crisis should look like?
Representative John Larson will also be joining the discussion and hearing your voices on Friday. Both he and Senator Dodd will carry your words and ideas back with them to Congress. This is your chance to influence two of our nation's leaders as they work on health care reform.
Exactly two weeks before Election Day, the New Haven Obama-DeLauro campaign office will be receiving some very special guests - Senator Chris Dodd, State Senator Joe Crisco, and Democratic State Chair Nancy DiNardo.
3:00pm
900 Chapel Street
Go and ask a question, volunteer, or just lend your support!
Newsroom / Archives
Sanders Op-Ed: Billions for Bailouts! Who Pays? -- 09/19/2008
By Senator Bernie Sanders
The current financial crisis facing our country has been caused by the extreme right-wing economic policies pursued by the Bush administration. These policies, which include huge tax breaks for the rich, unfettered free trade and the wholesale deregulation of commerce, have resulted in a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy.
The middle class has really been under assault. Since President Bush has been in office, nearly 6 million Americans have slipped into poverty, median family income for working Americans has declined by more than $2,000, more than 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance, over 4 million have lost their pensions, foreclosures are at an all time high, total consumer debt has more than doubled, and we have a national debt of over $9.7 trillion dollars.
While the middle class collapses, the richest people in this country have made out like bandits and have not had it so good since the 1920s. The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans, and the top 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. The wealthiest 400 people in our country saw their wealth increase by $670 billion while Bush has been president. In the midst of all of this, Bush lowered taxes on the very rich so that they are paying lower income tax rates than teachers, police officers or nurses.
Now, having mismanaged the economy for eight years as well as having lied about our situation by continually insisting, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong," the Bush administration, six weeks before an election, wants the middle class of this country to spend many hundreds of billions on a bailout. The wealthiest people, who have benefited from Bush's policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd. This is the most extreme example that I can recall of socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor.
In my view, we need to go forward in addressing this financial crisis by insisting on four basic principles:
(1) The people who can best afford to pay and the people who have benefited most from Bush's economic policies are the people who should provide the funds for the bailout. It would be immoral to ask the middle class, the people whose standard of living has declined under Bush, to pay for this bailout while the rich, once again, avoid their responsibilities. Further, if the government is going to save companies from bankruptcy, the taxpayers of this country should be rewarded for assuming the risk by sharing in the gains that result from this government bailout.
Specifically, to pay for the bailout, which is estimated to cost up to $1 trillion, the government should:
a) Impose a five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers. That would raise more than $300 billion in revenue;
b) Ensure that assets purchased from banks are realistically discounted so companies are not rewarded for their risky behavior and taxpayers can recover the amount they paid for them; and
c) Require that taxpayers receive equity stakes in the bailed-out companies so that the assumption of risk is rewarded when companies' stock goes up.
(2) There must be a major economic recovery package which puts Americans to work at decent wages. Among many other areas, we can create millions of jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and moving our country from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Further, we must protect working families from the difficult times they are experiencing. We must ensure that every child has health insurance and that every American has access to quality health and dental care, that families can send their children to college, that seniors are not allowed to go without heat in the winter, and that no American goes to bed hungry.
(3) Legislation must be passed which undoes the damage caused by excessive de-regulation. That means reinstalling the regulatory firewalls that were ripped down in 1999. That means re-regulating the energy markets so that we never again see the rampant speculation in oil that helped drive up prices. That means regulating or abolishing various financial instruments that have created the enormous shadow banking system that is at the heart of the collapse of AIG and the financial services meltdown.
(4) We must end the danger posed by companies that are "too big too fail," that is, companies whose failure would cause systemic harm to the U.S. economy. If a company is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. We need to determine which companies fall in this category and then break them up. Right now, for example, the Bank of America, the nation's largest depository institution, has absorbed Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, and Merrill Lynch, the nation's largest brokerage house. We should not be trying to solve the current financial crisis by creating even larger, more powerful institutions. Their failure could cause even more harm to the entire economy.
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Sen. Dodd,as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, will have a major role in the writing of the 1.5 TRILLION BAILOUT that will be pushed through both houses of Comgress this week.Please contact Sen Dodds offices Monday and INSIST Dodd use Bernie Sanders 4 principles as a template for any Bailout Legislation.
U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
448 Russell Building | Washington D.C., 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2823 | Fax: (202) 224-1083
30 Lewis St Suite 101 | Hartford, CT 06103
Tel: (860) 258-6940/(800) 334-5341 -CT only
Fax: (860) 258-6958
Senator Patrick Leahy to join Dodd in FISA filibuster.
Tuesday, February 12 is a critical day in our fight to stand up for American values and preserve our freedoms while protecting our national security. The Senate is voting on amendments to FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law governing the use of wiretaps and other means to conduct surveillance of foreign threats.
Unfortunately, the new FISA bill we'll be voting on still has many problems. I will do everything in my power -- including joining my colleague Chris Dodd in a filibuster against this legislation -- to fix it.
Leahy is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and it is Jay Rockefeller's, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, FISA bill that supports telecom immunity. I hope Leahy's opposition will help influence some of the more conservative Democrats.
By Wednesday night, the debate over government eavesdropping will end in the Senate. In less than three days, we will know who stood up for civil liberties and who failed freedom.
So far, Senator Dodd (D-CT) has been a champion of liberty. He vowed to filibuster any bill with retroactive telecom immunity. Thanks to his help, there was a temporary victory in the Senate this December, allowing the ACLU to keep fighting for a bill that brings spying in line with the Constitution and the rule of law.
The pressure in the Senate to cave in to the Bush administration -- and move on with business -- is intense and Senator Dodd has a lot to stand up for. With voting scheduled today and tomorrow, we are down to the wire. Please, thank Senator Dodd for all he has done and urge him to keep standing strong for the Constitution and the rule of law.
Call Senator Senator Dodd's office at (202) 224-2823 and say something like this:
I am a constituent calling to thank Senator Dodd for being a champion of liberty. I really appreciate his extraordinary efforts to block any bill with telecom immunity, defend the the rule of law and uphold the Constitution. I hope he keeps it up!
Your actions have made a difference in this fight. Together, we have jammed congressional switchboards, flooded the Capitol in a sea of email and buried lawmakers in a mountain of petitions.
Together, we sustained the momentum as Senator Chris Dodd fought to keep telecom immunity out of the Senate's spying bill. Now, after all the twists and turns in this debate, we are finally down to the wire. Every lobbyist, lawyer and organizer at the ACLU is determined to win this fight, whether we have to do it in Congress or in the Courts. But right now Senator Dodd needs to hear how much you appreciate all he's doing to stand strong for civil liberties.
Thank you for standing with us.
Sincerely,
Caroline Fredrickson, Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office
P.S. In the coming days, the Senate will have a series of votes on this legislation and will debate amendments to their eavesdropping bill. After that, the House and Senate will reconcile competing spying bills.
http://action.aclu.org/site/Pa...
Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, seems intent on doing the president's bidding. That will leave Democratic senators like Christopher Dodd and Russ Feingold in the absurd position of having to stage filibusters against their own party's leadership to try to forestall more harm to civil liberties
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Back in October, Chris Dodd made a stand on telecom immunity. Somehow it didn't strike him as right that Telecoms could break the law and then retroactively be forgiven. Because of his principled stance, a FISA bill WITHOUT the telecom immunity provision was passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee. You may recall the utter shock that Dianne Feinstein changed her vote (after California Dem activists called for her censure). At the time, we observed that another version of the bill in the Intelligence Committee still had the language.
These are not happy times. Today we hear from Tim Tagaris and DFA that Harry Reid is putting the Intelligence committee version, on the floor for a vote.
Effectively Reid is maneuvering past Dodd's hold on this bill and allowing it to be brought up for a vote. (I keep wondering if Reid is a Democrat today).
To quote Walter in the Big Lebowski (apologies to Bush Sr.), "This aggression will not stand, man."
What to do? How about a call Harry Reid's office to object to this maneuver?
Senator Harry Reid - 202-224-3542
Chris Dodd can't do this alone. Our senator needs all the help he can muster. Please call, and you're welcome to drop a comment in about the results of your call.
I will edit this diary with more information and background, but for now, I just wanted to alert supporters of Dodd's stance on blocking telecom immunity that IT'S TIME TO GET IN GEAR AGAIN.
BACKGROUND AND ADDITIONAL INFO BELOW THE FOLD - ADDED 5:7 PM 14 Dec
In oh-so-typical right-wing/Fox News fashion, Greenwich Time pulled another slick move yesterday. They changed the text of AP reporter Andrew Miga's text of his article entitled on Dodd in Iowa. How did they change it? Here it is:
First, in the second paragraph they identified Lieberman as "D-Conn," even though the original text of the article had Lieberman as "I-Conn." The Stamford Advocate carried the original "I-Conn" description. AP's Southern New England Bureau Chief David Marcus confirmed that AP no longer desribes Lieberman as a Democrat, but always as an independent. Then farther down, GT changed the sentence that read: "Lieberman became an independent senator after losing the 2006 Democratic Senate primary..." to "Lieberman became an independent Democrat senator after losing..."
So the editors over at Greenwich Time twisted the words of the AP story to fit their ideological slant. And of course they also managed to insult Democrats by using the noun form of the party's name as an adjective ("Democrat party"), the same way all of the far-right Republicans do these days. But apparently they figured they could only get away with that little trick in heavily Republican Greenwich. They didn't fool around with the Stamford Advocate version of the story. Too many Democrats there, perhaps?
Well, the paper has been sold, the publisher has been sacked, and perhaps the new owner will do something about Bruce Hunter, the paper's editor who's been smearing Democrats in town for so many years. Perhaps they will also call reporter Neil Vigdor to account for all of the really slimy articles he's written that denigrate Democrats. Perhaps they can start with the one he wrote last year dismissing Frank Farricker and Ed Krumeich, who were running respectively for state senate and state representative, with the opening line: "Lattes and longshots?" Or perhaps Hunter can explain to new management how he could publish the headline at the end of that week: "Democrats Cough Up 11th Hour Candidates," equating Democratic candidates with hair balls.
Frank Farricker is now running a spirited, issues-oriented campaign, and has knocked on literally thousands of doors around town. Predictably, Greenwich Time today endorsed both of the Republicans.
But perhaps for Greenwich, we'll see big changes ahead that will result in even-handed treatment for Democrats in that town. We sure can hope.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid are complicit in the crimes perpetrated against the American public, POWs, and the world by the Bush administration. They both had adequate information about crimes that had taken place when they were elected to their positions, but chose to do nothing about them. With each additional revelation of torture, spying, etc. they become more culpable for their inaction.
Senator Dodd came to my synagogue earlier this month to talk about his new book Letters from Nuremberg, which was co-authored by one of our congregants, Lary Bloom.
Here are the Senator's remarks, it's well worth the 17 minute run time:
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