Coyote Gulch

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Obama for president?
TPM Cafe: "Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to evanglical Christians in preparation for his possible Presidential campaign is running into very stiff resistance from the Christian right. As the Chicago Tribune reported recently, Obama is set to attend a huge evangelical gathering in California on Dec. 1, at the invitation of megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, the evangelical superstar who wrote The Purpose-Driven Life. Analysts have interpreted Obama's scheduled appearance as a sign he's working much harder than Dems ordinarily do to win over Evangelicals.

"But the appearance is now provoking an intense backlash from leaders of the Christian right. They are calling on Warren to disinvite Obama from the event because of his liberal positions, especially abortion rights - or as one of those leaders put it, Obama's support of 'the murder of babies in the womb.'"

Political Wire: "Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) 'will have key Granite State Democrats all to himself December 10 when he appears at the state party's election victory celebration," according to CNN. 'The freshman senator was the only potential White House hopeful invited to the event.'"
"2008 pres"
6:16:26 PM

Internet neutrality
TPM Cafe: "It's getting down to the end of this Congressional session, and any number of commentators are bemoaning the fact that telecom legislation has been stuffed, in large part, due to the opposition of those favoring Net Neutrality.

"That's fine. The bills that were up for consideration this year had some good things, but tremendous flaws as well, and shouldn't have been considered in a hurry. At the same time, though, we shouldn't rush to any conclusions about how the issue will play out next year, when the Democrats take over Congress. Some people are saying the Bell companies won't want to pursue telecom legislation because they will work through the states to get what they want. Others are saying that Net Neutrality, the idea that telephone and cable companies can[base ']t make special deals to favor transmission of some content over other content, will have a great chance next year with the Democrats in charge."
"2008 pres"
5:50:26 PM

Environment
Wired: "The federal government's mission to avoid regulating vehicle and industrial emissions that affect global warming may have run out of gas. On Wednesday the Supreme Court will hear a case that will decide whether or not greenhouse gases are pollutants, which the Bush Administration denies."
"2008 pres"
5:43:01 PM

Immigration
It looks like the debate over immigration helped democrats in the recent election, according to the Denver Post. From the article, "Latino voters leaned heavily Democratic in the recent midterm elections, indicating the heated debate over immigration reform may have cost Republicans support in some key races, an analysis released Monday indicates. A study of exit polls by the Pew Hispanic Center showed 69 percent of Latino voters supported Democrats, up from 58 percent in 2004. That compares with a 6 percentage- point increase in Democratic support among white voters. 'It's about more than just the immigration issue; it's about how some Republicans talk about the issue,' said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens. 'They left the impression that it wasn't just about immigration but that (the Latino) community was being targeted in the same way the gay community was targeted in 2004.'"

"According to Pew's analysis, Republicans won in eight of the 12 congressional races where Latinos might have affected the outcome because they made up more than 10 percent of the eligible voters. The four districts that went to Democrats included Colorado's closely contested 7th Congressional District, which has 16 percent eligible Latino voters. Democrat Ed Perl mutter won that seat, previously held by Republican Bob Beauprez, with 55 percent of the vote. The National Council of La Raza did an election eve poll and found that 51 percent of likely Latino voters said immigration was the most important issue or one of the most important issues shaping their vote, said Clarissa Martinez, director of state policy and advocacy for the council. In July, the Pew Hispanic Center found the same sentiment."

Meanwhile Colorado Luis offers up his analysis of the recent spate of legislation targeting illegal immigration on SquareState. Mr. Toro writes, "I suppose I should be grateful to the Boulder Daily Camera for their editorial further cementing the emerging conventional wisdom that the anti-immigrant laws passed during the Special Session have proven to be, to use the Camera's words, an 'extraordinary folly.' But there is something missing from the piece -- any acknowledgment of the sinister force that caused otherwise reasonable Democratic legislators to abandon their stated principles and pass a bunch of ill-considered bills. It's called racism, and frankly I have a hard time taking seriously any discussion of the politics of immigration in Colorado that doesn't even mention the word. When you pass a bunch of laws aimed at undocumented immigrants, without knowing the impact (positive or negative) on the state, then by definition you are acting out of prejudice."
"2008 pres"
6:25:17 AM