By Jennifer J. Foster
Posted 03/21 at 04:12 PM
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His budget isn’t the only thing President Obama may have trouble getting passed.
Remember when I told you back on Feb. 26 about the impending return of the assault weapons ban?
The Associated Press reports that 65 House Democrats wrote Attorney General Eric Holder this week and vowed to oppose any attempt by the Obama administration to revive the ban:
The pro-gun Democrats, led by Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., wrote Attorney General Eric Holder that they would “actively oppose any effort to reinstate the 1994 ban, or to pass any similar law.“
They urged the administration to avoid a “long and divisive fight over a gun control issue” at a time when Washington needs to concentrate on the economic crisis.
And the trouble isn’t limited to the lower lawmaking chamber:
The House letter came a day after Montana’s two Democratic senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, wrote a similar letter to Holder saying the Justice Department should enforce existing laws before considering new gun ownership restrictions. “We will strongly oppose any legislation that will infringe upon the rights of individual gun owners,“ they said.
Sounds like another uphill battle for something on Obama’s domestic agenda.
By Jennifer J. Foster
Posted 03/21 at 01:34 PM
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President Obama’s supporters are organizing “pledge project canvasses” this weekend to talk to people in their communities about his economic plan and mobilize support for it across the country. (Click here to hear about the project from Organizing for America (OFA) deputy national director Jeremy Bird.)
OFA Director Mitch Stewart said in an invitation e-mail:
The current debate in Washington over President Obama’s budget has made one thing clear—ensuring our long-term prosperity won’t come without a fight.
Partisan voices and special interests are showing real resistance to President Obama’s call for making the necessary reforms and investments in energy, health care, and education. That’s why we need to bring the conversation back into homes and communities across America.
OFA seeks volunteers to “talk with people about the president’s plan, ask them to sign their names to the pledge and provide information on how to contact and urge their elected representatives to support the plan.“
They’ll be headed out into communities to gather support for Obama’s plan against the backdrop of a new report from the Congressional Budget Office that pegs the federal deficit under Obama’s budget at a staggering $9.3 trillion over the next decade.
Yes, you read that right: $9.3 TRILLION.
From the Associated Press:
President Barack Obama’s budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush’s presidency, congressional auditors said Friday.
The new Congressional Budget Office figures offered a far more dire outlook for Obama’s budget than the new administration predicted just last month — a deficit $2.3 trillion worse. It’s a prospect even the president’s own budget director called unsustainable ...
By CBO’s calculation, Obama’s budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion a year of red ink over 2010-2019.
In the most recent example of punditry bleeding into news, the AP story also offers this no-brainer:
In his White House run, Obama assailed the economic policies of his predecessor, but the eye-popping deficit numbers threaten to swamp his ambitious agenda of overhauling health care, exploring new energy sources and enacting scores of domestic programs.
The dismal deficit figures, if they prove to be accurate, inevitably raise the prospect that Obama and his Democratic allies controlling Congress would have to consider raising taxes after the recession ends or else pare back his agenda.
Hence, the need to drum up support in “homes and communities across America.“
By Jennifer J. Foster
Posted 03/21 at 10:04 AM
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President Obama has apologized to the chairman of the Special Olympics for his ill-advised bowling comment on “The Tonight Show” Thursday, but it continued to dominate the news Friday.
So you knew it was just a matter of time until the press would find someone like Kolan McConiughey.
McConiughey is an accomplished bowler who carries a 212 average. He has five perfect games and an 800 series to his credit since 2005.
He also happens to be mentally disabled—and he bowls for the Special Olympics.
Asked about the president’s now-infamous quip wherein he compared his 129 score to “the Special Olympics or something,“ McConiughey took the high road but was matter-of-fact:
“I’d tell him to get a new bowling ball, new shoes and bring him down to the lane,“ said McConiughey, 35, who speaks with a serious stutter. “Keep his body straight, his arm straight and keep his steps straight. He has to practice every single day.
“He bowled a 129. I bowl a 300. I could beat that score easily,“ he said Friday.
But this is the best part of the Associated Press story, the rest of which you can read here:
With an IQ less than half of the 100 considered average, McConiughey lives with his foster mother and has held the same job at a grocery store for 16 years. He greets customers, sweeps floors and maintains the store’s break room.
“He can’t read much, can’t do math, can’t do bill-paying,“ said his foster mother, Jan Pardy. “Kolan faces all these challenges, but he has an area of genius, and his genius is bowling.“
McConiughey has been bowling since about age 8. And he still finds time to bowl in three leagues.
“It would be an honor for him to bowl with the president of the United States,“ said Lois Arnold, president of the Special Olympics in Michigan.
Pardy said she saw Obama’s comment on TV Friday morning and was not offended.
“Everybody has missteps,“ she said. “I don’t think it was a slam against the Special Olympics.“
Note both the pride and the grace in those words.
The president isn’t the only American who could learn something from the men and women who compete in and support the Special Olympics. Here’s hoping Obama will take the opportunity to make lemonade out of his lemons and raise awareness of the unmatched tenacity and the outstanding accomplishments of these determined citizens.
