Of bombs, bullets, and compassion

On Thursday I watched and listened to the president’s bi-partisan conference on his proposal for healthcare insurance reform (as best I could while I was at my day job). While everyone in the room took their own turn delivering their sides’ talking points and some even attempted to sound conciliatory I was struck once more by a comment by House Republican Leader, John Boehner. Boehner (who has earned a recurring role at The Left Shue with his comment that the loss of American lives in Iraq is a “small price” to pay in the so-called War on Terror) waited until some 6 hours into the conference to declare that passage of the current effort at healthcare insurance reform would “bankrupt our country”. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the U.S. Senate Healthcare Reform Bill will cost approximately $848 Billion over 10 years. This figure represents cost only and does not reflect the projected savings due to the reforms in the bill. When the plusses and minuses are added together, the CBO has declared that the legislation would in fact be “deficit neutral”. Still, John Boehner believes that $848 Billion over 10 years will “bankrupt our country.” Why would that particular statement catch my attention? Perhaps it is because, while so many in the MSM and blogosphere have been dwelling on the ongoing healthcare debate and the circus that is the US Congress, on February 1st, President Obama released his proposed FY2011 Department of Defense (DoD) budget: $708 Billion! (By the way John; that would be over 1 year). The proposal from Obama; 20% of a total federal budget request of $3.8 Trillion, represents the largest DoD budget request in the history of the world. But it gets even better.

The federal budget actually comes in two parts; “mandatory spending” on things such as Social Security and Medicare and “discretionary spending” on virtually everything else, which includes the Defense Department. The divide between mandatory and discretionary spending breaks down roughly to 2/3 mandatory and 1/3 discretionary. Therefore the DoD budget of $708 Billion actually represents approximately 54% of the discretionary spending of the federal government in 2011. Oh, and did I mention that this figure does not include the 2010 (off-budget) “emergency supplemental” for Iraq and Afghanistan of another $33 Billion which, when added to the $708 Billion budget request, will put military spending at almost ¾ trillion dollars for FY 2011?

So how do the other needs of the American people stack up to the defense budget?

Coming in second place to bullets and bombs is the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) at $81.3 Billion. The Department of Transportation (DoT) follows at $77 Billion. Lagging behind HHS and DoT comes the $57 Billion for the Department of State (this might come as a surprise for all those folks who are touting Obama’s new emphasis on diplomacy over military action) and $57 Billion for the VA. Then come the departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at $49.7 Billion and $48.5 Billion respectively. The Department of Homeland Security (not sure why this isn’t part of the DoD budget) has been allotted $44 Billion in this budget request. Pretty much sweeping up the crumbs are the departments of Justice ($29 Billion), Energy ($28 Billion), Agriculture ($26 Billion), NASA ($19 Billion), Labor ($14 Billion), Treasury ($14. Billion), Interior ($12 Billion), EPA ($10 Billion), and Commerce ($8 Billion).

Setting aside the fact that I argue State, HLS, and couple others should really be classified as more related to DoD than to the basic day to day needs of the American people (certainly not in the same category as Education and HHS), the disparity between the DoD and everything else is almost $200 Billion. Back to John Boehner. If $848 Billion over 10 years will bankrupt us, just where does $708Billion in one year put us as a country? To help answer this question, I have asked the four announced candidates for the US House from Washington’s 2nd CD (Democrats Rick Larsen, Diana McGinness, and Larry Kalb and Republican John Koster) to respond to the same query:

On February 1st President Obama submitted a Defense Department budget request
for FY2011 for over $708 Billion. For the first time since the invasion of
Afghanistan in 2001, the DoD budget request includes direct funding for the
continuing military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq (over $150 Billion). In real
dollars, this request represents the largest DoD budget request in the history
of the country.



1) Do you believe this request is proportional
to the threat to our security and, if not, is it too high or too low? Please
describe what you believe to be the real military/security threat to our country
to clarify your response.


2) Keeping in mind the current debate
taking place over healthcare insurance reform and the cost associated with that
issue and the fact the FY2011 leaves us with a $1.3 Trillion deficit; do you
believe that the proposed DoD budget request is in balance with the social and
infrastructure needs of the country?

I have been told to expect responses from the three Democrats and am hopeful that Mr. Koster will also respond. It is my intention to post each of their answers in its entirety without editorial comment as separate posts as they come in. I believe it should be obvious to most who read here where I stand on this issue so I will end with a recent comment from House Financial Services Committee Chair, Barney Frank discussing potential defense cuts to help provide a better balance to our over-all budget:

“You know, as I‘ve noted the other day, we still have three ways to drop thermal
nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union… Given the fact that there is no more Soviet
Union, I‘m going to be radical and say to the Pentagon, why don‘t you pick two
of the three and save us billions of dollars?”

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

Obama's War

Afghanistan Body Count: 02/24/2010
Americans Killed: 1,006
Americans Wounded: 9,496
Post Obama Inauguration
Americans Killed: 376
http://icasualties.org/
“…We will finish the job…” Pres. Barack Obama
----------------------------

Latest Confirmed Casualties:

*Sgt. Jeremy R. McQueary, 27, of Columbus, IN died Feb. 18 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Kielin T. Dunn, 19, of Chesapeake, VA died Feb. 18 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Birchfield, 24, of Westville, IN died Feb. 19 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Cpl. Gregory S. Stultz, 22, of Brazil, IN died Feb. 19 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Adam D. Peak, 25, of Florence, KY died Feb. 21 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Staff Sgt. Christopher W. Eckard, 30, of Hickory, NC died Feb. 20 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Staff Sgt. Michael David P. Cardenaz, 29, of Corona, CA died Feb. 20 in Kunar, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Eric L. Ward, 19, of Redmond, WA (30th Wasingtonian) died Feb. 21 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Matthias N. Hanson, 20, of Buffalo, KY died Feb. 21 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Pfc. JR Salvacion, 27, of Ewa Beach, HI died Feb. 21 at Senjaray, Afghanistan.


Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

IWR News

Iraq Body Count: 02/24/2010
Americans Killed: 4379
Americans Wounded: 31,616
Post Obama Inauguration
Americans Killed: 159
http://icasualties.org/
“…a small price…” Rep. John Boehner
----------------------------

Latest Confirmed Casualties:

*Pfc. Jaiciae L. Pauley, 29, of Austell, GA died Dec. 11 in Kirkuk, Iraq.

*Pvt. Jhanner A. Tello, 29, of Los Angeles, CA died Dec. 10 in Baghdad, Iraq.

*Spc. Brushaun X. Anderson, 20, of Columbus, GA died Jan. 1 in Baghdad, Iraq.

*Spc. David A. Croft Jr., 22, of Plant City, FL died Jan. 5 in Baghdad, Iraq.

*Pfc. Michael R. Jarrett, 20, of North Platte, NE died Jan. 6 in Balad, Iraq.

*Pfc. Gifford E. Hurt, 19, of Yonkers, NY died Jan. 20, in Mosul, Iraq.

*Pfc. Scott G. Barnett, 24, of Concord, CA died Jan. 28 in Tallil, Iraq.

*Pfc. Adriana Alvarez, 20, of San Benito, TX died Feb. 10 in Baghdad, Iraq.

*Capt. Marcus R. Alford, 28, of Knoxville, TN died Feb. 21 in Qayyarah, Iraq.

*Chief Warrant Officer Billie J. Grinder, 25, of Gallatin, TN died Feb. 21 in Qayyarah, Iraq.


Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

1,000th American killed in Afghanistan

According to the website icasualties.org, the number of American troops who have died in the military invasion and continuing occupation of Afghanistan has surpassed 1,000. As of this posting the group who have been tallying casualties in both Afghanistan and Iraq since shortly after the George W. Bush led invasions of those countries list the number of American dead in Afghanistan at 1,003. Of that number, 373 have died since President Obama took his oath of office in January, 2009.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

Larsen Addresses Sno Co Dems

Proclaiming 2010 to be the year of ‘Jobs and the Economy’ on Saturday U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA02) came before a gathering of the Snohomish County Democrats Central Committee to deliver a few opening remarks and take questions about the current state of affairs in the other Washington and about his current campaign for re-election. At the end of his 90 minute visit I think it is safe to say that he was happy that he isn’t defending a senate seat.

Larsen, seeking his sixth term, spent much of his presentation touting the achievements of the congress (especially the House) in the past year; from the economic “Recovery Act” which he credited with turning the country’s economic growth around (from a minus 6% to a positive 6%), to the expansion of the S-Chip program; providing some 11 million additional children with access to healthcare, to adding millions of acres of new wilderness to the public trust, and (just recently) a return to the “Pay as you Go” law that would require that all discretionary spending and tax cuts be off-set for before they can be enacted. He also spoke of pending legislation that he was confident would be passed before the end of this year; such as education reform, banking reform, transportation reform, and he even held out some hope of achieving the elusive healthcare reform that continues to allude and confound the Obama administration. On foreign policy (of which he only briefly spoke and then only in a direct response to a question) he said he was confident that all of our combat troops in Iraq would be out of that country by August of this year; even though some 50,000 training and support forces would remain there for an undetermined amount of time. He did not respond to a question about the numbers of private contractors (estimated at some 100,000) who would remain in Iraq. He spoke about the Obama surge in Afghanistan. He reminded those in the room that the president had campaigned on the need to increase troops in that country and, therefore, they should not be surprised that he was following through on that promise. He defended our increased military presence there; essentially citing the Obama argument about the 9-11 attacks being planned there and not allowing that country to become a safe haven for al-Qaida again.

On the subject of his current campaign, he reminded everyone that he had received the nomination of the state party and said that he was reaching out for volunteers. He made a specific request that each PCO exchange one hour per week of watching their favorite political talk show for an hour of phone calls to the residents in their respective precincts in support of Democrats. He acknowledged the addition of the Tea Party movement into the 2010 campaign and warned everyone in the room to take these folks seriously. He noted that his Republican challenger, Snohomish County Councilman John Koster, was already doing his best to court Tea Party activists while suggesting that the Republican campaign platform was based on the same old tried and failed policies of unpaid for tax cuts and a revisiting of the privatization of Social Security scheme. Perhaps his best line of the day was in response to the illusion of freedom often cited by the Tea Partiers and his Republican challenger. On this, Larsen offered,

“Freedom is a wasted gift unless you use it to benefit others.”

During the Q&A period he was asked why the House didn’t simply pass the Senate version of the Healthcare Reform bill passed before the Massachusetts election in January. The questioner suggested that the differences between the House and Senate bills could be “fixed” later and reminded the room that Social Security did not cover women when it was first passed. Larsen said that he would be in favor of that option but said that as of now there are just not the votes to do that. He noted some of the more contentious areas of disagreement such as the funding mechanism and the exclusion of any public option in the Senate bill and said that many members in the House still held strongly to the bill they fought hard to pass. A number of questions centered on the difficulty of getting things moving in the Senate due to the abuse of the filibuster rule. Larsen said that, while he would like to see that body move more swiftly via the reconciliation process, he would leave the dealing of the Senate up to that body. Asked about President Obama’s recent announcement of loan guarantees for two nuclear plants to be built in Georgia, Larsen again reminded everyone that candidate Obama had campaigned on and has long been a supporter of nuclear power. He added that, while the issue of nuclear waste still was a burden to be overcome, if offering these loan guarantees could end the logjam on the current “Cap and Trade” legislation, it was a reasonable course of action.

In addition to his Republican challenger, Larsen also has two announced Democratic Party challengers, Larry Kalb and Diana McGinness (both from Bellingham) who are appealing to the more Progressive element in the district.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

Obama's War

Afghanistan Body Count: 02/20/2010
Americans Killed: 999
Americans Wounded: 9,496
Post Obama Inauguration
Americans Killed: 369
http://icasualties.org/
“…We will finish the job…” Pres. Barack Obama
----------------------------

Latest Confirmed Casualties:

*Sgt. Dillon B. Foxx, 22, of Traverse City, MI died Feb. 5 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan.

*Sgt. Adam J. Ray, 23, of Louisville, KY, died Feb. 9 in southern Afghanistan.

*Cpl. Jacob H. Turbett, 21, of Canton, MI died Feb. 13 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Pfc. Jason H. Estopinal, 21, of Dallas, GA died Feb. 15 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Noah M. Pier, 25, of Charlotte, NC died Feb. 16 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Staff Sgt. John A. Reiners, 24, of Lakeland, FL died Feb. 13 in Zhari province, Afghanistan.

*Sgt. Jeremiah T. Wittman, 26, of Darby, MT died Feb. 13 in Zhari province, Afghanistan.

*Spc. Bobby J. Pagan, 23, of Austin, TX died Feb. 13 in Zhari province, Afghanistan.

*Petty Officer 1st Class Sean L. Caughman, 43, of Fort Worth, TX died Feb. 16 in Kuwait.

*Lance Cpl. Alejandro J. Yazzie, 23, of Rock Point, AZ died Feb. 16 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Pfc. Eric D. Currier, 21, of Londonderry, NH died Feb. 17 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Pfc. Charles A. Williams, 29, of Fair Oaks, CA died Feb. 7 at Camp Nathan Smith, Afghanistan.

*Pfc. Kyle J. Coutu, 20, of Providence, RI died Feb. 18 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson, 19, of Scranton, PA died Feb. 18 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.


Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

Kaufer to challenge freshman Hope

Lillian Kaufer, seeking to oust Hope in the 44th LD


In an email to supporters; past and hopefully future, 44th LD Democratic Party activist, Lillian Kaufer announced her candidacy for the state House seat currently being held by freshman Republican, Mike Hope. This will be Kaufer’s 2nd attempt at elective office. She ran unsuccessfully for state senate in the 2006 primary where she was defeated by Iraq war veteran, Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens). I wrote about her at the time at The Left Shue. In her recent email she writes:

“I recently announced that I am running for State Representative in the 44th district. I am thankful for your past support and believe that this will be a great opportunity for us to pave a path to a brighter future.

In today’s tough economy, we face significant struggles with the highest unemployment rates in 25 years, the crumbling of our education system and a healthcare system that allows millions of people to go without basic care.

Let’s work together to combat these shortcomings and improve the lives of our citizens. My priorities are to create jobs, ensure that our kids have sufficient education no matter where they live in our district, and to ensure that every man, woman and child has healthcare coverage.”

In 2007 Kaufer briefly threw her hat into the ring for consideration for appointment by the Snohomish County Council to fill the remaining House term of newly elected County Sheriff John Lovick. The appointment went to former City of Snohomish Mayor, Liz Loomis. Loomis was defeated in 2008 by Hope who now faces his first challenge as an incumbent.



Rep. Mike Hope (R-44th LD)

Kaufer is married and has two daughters. She and her husband have owned and operated a small vending business in the Snohomish area for some 15 years. In 2006 Kaufer gained a measure of notoriety when she worked with a citizen’s group, Working for Change, to stop the expansion of Wal*Mart into Mill Creek. That effort, combined with her activism for local Democrats led a group of Progressive Democrats both on and out of the 44th LD to suggest she run for state senate against then incumbent Republican, Dave Schmidt. The primary that year found her pitted against Hobbs who had the strong support of Labor as well as County Executive Aaron Reardon. Hobbs won the primary and, in November, replaced Schmidt in the state senate. Since that time, Kaufer has remained active in the LD and has maintained a good relationship with many of the elected Democrats in the LD and the county. She lists amongst her early endorsers for this race State Senator Steve Hobbs (44th LD), State Representative Hans Dunshee (44th LD), State Representative John McCoy (38th LD), Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick, Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers (5th District), Snohomish County Councilman Brian Sullivan (2nd District), Edmonds City Councilman DJ Wilson, and Former State Representative Liz Loomis.

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

Obama's War

Afghanistan Body Count: 02/06/2010
Americans Killed: 984
Americans Wounded: 9,496
Post Obama Inauguration
Americans Killed: 354
http://icasualties.org/
“…We will finish the job…” Pres. Barack Obama
----------------------------

Latest Confirmed Casualties:


*Sgt. Carlos E. Gill, 25, of Fayetteville, N.C., died Jan. 26 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after evacuation from Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan.

*Sgt. David J. Smith, 25, of Frederick, Md., died Jan. 26 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

*Capt. David J. Thompson, 39, of Hooker, OK died Jan. 29 in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

*Spc. Marc P. Decoteau, 19, of Waterville Valley, NH died Jan. 29 in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

*Lance Cpl. Michael L. Freeman Jr., 21, of Fayetteville, PA died Feb. 1 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

*Staff Sgt. Rusty H. Christian, 24, of Greenville, TN died Jan. 28 in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan.

*Capt. Daniel Whitten, 28, of Grimes, IA died Feb. 2 in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

*Pfc. Zachary G. Lovejoy, 20, of Albuquerque, NM died Feb. 2 in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

*Sgt. 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, of Okinawa, Japan died Feb. 3 in Timagara, Pakistan.

*Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller, 35, of Callettsburg, KY died Feb. 3 in Timagara, Pakistan.

*Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets, 39, of El Cajon, CA died Feb. 3 in Timagara, Pakistan.


Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue

Will Progressives Really Challenge in 2010?

As I wrote a couple of days ago at Examiner.com, Rick Larsen (D-WA02) cruised to the expected nomination of the state Democrats for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. The vote; 18-2 (Larry Kalb received two votes and there were two abstentions), according to the press release from the Larsen campaign was viewed as a “strong signal of support” and Larsen’s long time political director, Brooke Davis said the she was "...happy that Democratic party leaders chose to send a strong signal that Democrats should avoid a divisive primary..." Of course not everyone is convinced that a “divisive” primary will be avoided as Kalb has informed his growing list of supporters that he will indeed stay in the race; hoping to be one of the “top two” emerging from the August 17 voting. And so the question: Will this be the year that Progressives in the 2nd CD stand and make their voices heard or will they simply split themselves between the “go along to get along” Democrats and the “stand on the sidelines and throw rocks at the parade” non-players?

Because I don’t have much use for the second group (or groups), let’s look at what a real Progressive challenge might look like.

Right from the start it must be acknowledged that, unless Progressives can come together behind one consensus candidate, their cause is doomed (especially with the top two system in place). As of this writing a second Bellingham resident, Diana McGinness, is also issuing a Democratic challenge to Larsen. As we get closer to the filing period (the first week of June), there will undoubtedly be even more. Democratic state party chair, Dwight Pelz, knows this scenario all too well and, by maneuvering the nominating process and securing the nomination for Larsen this early in the process, can now sit back and watch the Progressives fight amongst themselves as Larsen is free to run his typical right-of-center campaign to appeal as he says, “…to independent and moderate Republican voters…” (This should be a pretty easy group for him to court this year as his sole announced Republican opponent, John (Freedom County) Koster will be spending most of his time courting the new Tea Bag Party movement to add them to his already conservative base.)

Should the Progressives manage to settle on a single candidate, the next critical step will be to bring together a strong and energized grassroots movement to counter the effects of the big dollars that Larsen and Koster will bring to this race. By most accounts, the establishment candidates will both be spending well in excess if a half million dollars each; some estimates place them both at close to a million each. It is almost unimaginable that an outsider will be able to compete with that kind of money. This is not to say that they should not try to raise as much as possible (media is not free and WILL BE a necessary part of any campaign). However, a well organized effort of letter writing, doorbelling, strategically placed signs, coupled with a trusted group of surrogates willing to hold meet-ups, coffees, and other social events added to a candidate who is willing to put in endless hours of meet-and-greets and issues forums can be very effective against an incumbent who must spend a great deal of time on the other coast.

Then there is the matter of messaging. The last thing a Progressive candidate should do is appear to be a shrill attack dog. Most Democrats in the district are already aware of Larsen’s less than Progressive record. He freely (I would say proudly) acknowledges it at every opportunity. In order to peel away the support of the “go along to get along” crowd, a strong Progressive candidate only needs to convince them that not only will they be able to depend on the reliable environmental and pro-choice votes that Larsen get credit for but that they can look forward to those votes and more with a true Progressive in DC. While Larsen will certainly receive the endorsement of Big Labor, it should not be overlooked that more and more the rank and file union worker is making independent electoral decisions that are at odds with the “official labor line”. Considering how many jobs have been lost in the district that can be tied directly to the mis-guided “Free Trade” congress and Boeing management, tying Larsen to that dynamic could prove beneficial at the ballot box.

While the teabaggers are generally considered to be an ultra-conservative cult, there actually are some rational thinkers in the crowd who tend to lean much more Libertarian in their views. I would suggest that there can be an uncomfortable alliance between Progressives and Libertarians on such issues as the so-called War on Drugs, anti-imperialistic foreign policy and defense(less) spending, civil liberties, and a few others. If this group can be peeled away from the “3-cornered hat brigade” it is possible to build a large enough coalition to push through the primary.

Obviously the main stream Democrats will maintain a solid wall of defense for the incumbent. Any effort to engage in debate will be met with calls of “traitor” and “we have our nominee; fold your tent and go home”. The same arguments that seem to work every year are already being pushed to the forefront: “We can’t risk this seat by having a primary challenge”, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”, It’s all about the money; and you don’t have enough”, etc. etc. We hear this every time we set out to challenge the status quo; and every year the Progressive seems to end up watching another opportunity pass them by. After a year in which, despite large majorities in Congress and a Democrat in the Whitehouse, we saw “Single Payer” abandoned without even a hearing, Bush/Cheney policies on wiretapping and indefinite charge-less incarceration for “enemy combatants” defended in court, continued off-budget war spending, military escalation in Afghanistan, drone attacks in Pakistan, and much more, can Progressives continue to simply “wait until next year”?

Peace,
Chad (The Left) Shue