the DSCC

Joe Miller's Extremism On Social Security

Add one to the parade of Republican Senate candidates with an eye on ending Social Security as we know it: extremist Alaska Republican Joe Miller.

In an interview last night with CNN, Miller opined that it would be “absolutely” fair to end Social Security, a program upon which 70,000 Alaskans are currently dependent:

Asked by King whether it would be fair to say a person born tomorrow might grow up in an America without a federal social security program if Miller had his way, the candidate responded, "Absolutely."

This comes on the heels of Miller calling to phase out the popular Social Security program (much as Sharron Angle once did), as well as Medicare.

Yet again, Republicans have nominated a radical extremist for the United States Senate, who seeks to destroy Social Security and Medicare and devastate working Alaskan families.

New DSCC Ad In Colorado

The DSCC launched a new ad in Colorado today, highlighting Ken Buck’s extremist views on Social Security (he opined that the program is “fundamentally against what I believe”,) and rewriting the Constitution to eliminate the 17^th Amendment (and with it, the people’s right to vote for their own Senators).

Watch below – Ken Buck, in his own words:

http://www.dscc.org/listen

Straight from the horse’s mouth – Ken Buck is “fundamentally” opposed to Social Security and wants to radically alter the Constitution.

Ken Buck – far too extreme for Colorado.

Two New Ads From Senate Candidates

Two new ads from Democratic Senate candidates hit the airwaves today, one from Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania and the other from Robin Carnahan in Missouri.

Watch Joe Sestak’s ad, “Zero”, here:

And watch Robin Carnahan’s ad, “Mug”, here:

Week In Review

-In Alaska, the extremists of the Tea Party seem to have won yet another Republican primary, as right-wing attorney Joe Miller leads incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski

Miller could become the sixth Tea Party-backed insurgent to topple a GOP frontrunner.

-In Colorado, Ken Buck has been taking fire from the Denver Post for his hypocrisy on earmarks. Although Buck has crusaded against earmarks during his campaign, even signing an anti-earmark pledge, the Post revealed that Buck himself has requested over $5 million in earmarks.

Meanwhile the DSCC has gone on the air with an ad against Buck in Colorado, and Buck’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Michael Bennet, has done the same.

-In Nevada, Sharron Angle has been caught on yet another jaw-droppingly outrageous statement of her campaign, on a radio show with conservative host Bill Manders:

MANDERS: We have domestic enemies. We have home-born homegrown enemies in our system. And I for one think we have some of those enemies in the walls of the Senate and the Congress.

ANGLE: Yes. I think you're right, Bill.

-In Wisconsin, Ron Johnson has been called out for hypocrisy similar to Ken Buck’s: the businessman who rails against government subsidies got at least $4 million in government loans to help build his business. Though Johnson claims “never to have lobbied” for government assistance, there are now four million examples to the contrary.

-Though Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey has supported privatizing Social Security for years, he apparently doesn’t want anybody to know. Earlier this week he denied ever having supported the idea:

“I’ve never said I favor privatizing Social Security,” Toomey said Monday in response to a question at the Press Club of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. “It’s an intentionally misleading term,” he added.

The DSCC subsequently came up with no fewer than 36 instances where Toomey supported Social Security privatization. Quite the embarrassment for Mr. Toomey.

From Sunspots To "Green"-land

Every time Ron Johnson opens his mouth on climate issues, he reveals just how ill prepared and ill suited he is for public service

Johnson received heavy (and well-deserved) criticism for his assertion that global warming is primarily caused by “sunspots”, a theory roundly debunked by scientific experts.

Undeterred, however, Johnson went on to opine that the island of Greenland was named for its once-balmy climate:

"There's a reason Greenland was called Greenland," he said. "It was actually green at one point in time. And it's been, since, it's a whole lot whiter now."

In fact, Greenland was covered in glaciers when it was named; according to legend, Erik the Red named the icy island “Greenland” in order to entice potential immigrants.

Johnson’s command of history is no better than his understanding of science, it seems.

Week In Review

Highlights from this week in campaigns...

-Sharron Angle is getting panned for her new ad claiming she supports Social Security – a direct contravention of her stated desire to “phase out” the wildly popular program. Sen. Harry Reid’s campaign is not letting Angle’s duplicity slide.

-Missouri Democrat Robin Carnahan is hitting the airwaves with her first ad, which savages Republican Roy Blunt for his long record backing Wall Street over Missouri: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSo4POPTJ00&feature=player_embedded

-Promising to be a reliable vote for more gridlock in Washington, Pat Toomey boasts of having led a filibuster on the floor of the House when he was in Congress. Unfortunately for him, several reporters noted that this was impossible. But what does the truth matter to Republicans?

-Speaking of truth, Mark Kirk once again lied, this time to the Associated Press. Kirk claimed he would probably support the FMAP jobs bill for teachers…and then, perhaps after a consult with his “Svengali figure” or maybe with the Aqua Buddha, Kirk suddenly decided to vote no.

-The AP has a story about perennial Washington candidate Dino Rossi and his lurch rightward in his current campaign:

Rossi also has signed the tea party-backed "Contract From America," which favors a flat income tax, more oil exploration and strict limits on federal spending. He supports total repeal of the Obama administration's health care bill, and recently called for repeal of Congress' regulatory crackdown on Wall Street.

-And on the subject of the tea party, ABC News speculates in the wake of Tuesday’s primaries that the extremist candidates currently winning Republican primaries could cripple the Republicans in November:

The Tea Party secured yet additional victories in Tuesday's primaries, but even as the movement's grassroots momentum grows, there's growing concern over whether the affiliation will have an adverse effect on candidates in the November elections.

From Kentucky to Nevada, Democrats have already seized on the Tea Party connection. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called Tea Party-backed winner for the Republican Senate seat in Colorado Ken Buck an "extremist candidate who joins the ranks of Sharron Angle, Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, all of whom are more concerned with imposing a social doctrine than with growing the economy."

New Ad From Richard Blumenthal

Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic nominee for Senate, is up with a new TV ad in the wake of the GOP primary:

Mark Kirk's Duplicity

Mark Kirk, August 9, 2010:

Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk says he's inclined to vote for a $26 billion jobs bill that Democrats are pushing.

Kirk is a congressman from Chicago's northern suburbs. He was headed back to Washington for Tuesday's vote on the bill, which is expected to keep teachers as well as state and local government workers from losing their jobs.

On Monday, Kirk called the measure deficit neutral and said it would keep teachers in the classroom.

Mark Kirk, August 10, 2010:

No.

Mark Kirk didn’t just lie about being a teacher, he lied about supporting teachers as well.

Fortunately, the jobs bill in question (which Kirk himself admitted would be deficit neutral and save thousands of teachers’ jobs) passed the House today, 247-161, despite Kirk’s duplicity.

Kirk has now flip-flopped on cap-and-trade, gun rights, and now the jobs bill for teachers. Is this the influence of his mysterious “Svengali figure?”

Coats Seeks To Privatize Social Security

Career Washington politician-turned-lobbyist Dan Coats made it clear again that he stands with Wall Street and special interests over working Hoosier families by embracing the much-maligned “Ryan Roadmap”, a radical proposal by Republican Rep. Paul Ryan to privatize Social Security, cut the tax rate on corporations, raise the retirement age to 70, and replace Medicare and Medicaid with private vouchers.

Currently 1.1 million Hoosiers receive Social Security benefits, but Coats apparently likes the idea of leaving their retirement funds up to the vagaries of Wall Street – a plan which, had it been enacted prior to the recent financial crisis, would have thrown thousands into poverty.

Evidently Dan Coats prefers to line the pockets of Wall Street bankers rather than protect Indiana seniors.

Toomey Opposes Saving Jobs For Teachers, Police, Firefighters

Today the United States Senate voted in favor of a critical, bipartisan bill which will save the jobs of teachers, policemen and firefighters; among teachers alone, the bill will save nearly 140,000 jobs, all while reducing the deficit.

Former Wall Street trader Pat Toomey, however, announced today that he would have voted against the bill.

The bill will cut $1.4 billion off the deficit by closing foreign tax loopholes for large corporations, and will keep 12,500 Pennsylvanian teachers, policemen and firefighters employed. Yet Pat Toomey is unconcerned about saving the jobs of these hardworking Pennsylvanians.

Apparently he prioritizes Wall Street and big business over Pennsylvania.