10/10/06

Election 2006 Talking Points

11/2/2006

Jerry Meek, Chair of the NC Democratic Party was the featured speaker at the Appreciation Breakfast on October 28th.  He shared the Democratic views on immigration, the environment, family values. 

Immigration - the Republicans have had power in all areas of government for 6 years.  In 2001 Congress passed the 9/11 bill into law.  It included increasing the number of border patrol officers and an increase in detention beds.  This bill was not funded.  Instead, the Bush Administration decided to give a tax break to wealthy Americans.

The Environment.  When asked by hunters on our stand on firearms, share with them that if the Federal Government does not stop "giving" away federally owned properties there will be no place to hunt and even then there would be precious little to hunt.

Family Values - when Democrats are in power people are more comfortable in their lives.  We stress education, jobs, better pay, health care issues.  The CDC reports that when the Democrats are in power the rate of abortions drop.  The rate increases when Republicans are in office.

North Carolina vs Washington - We do not want our state run the way the Bush Administration has run the country.  In North Carolina the Legislature passed a balance budget which included an 8% pay increase for teachers, reduced classroom numbers, a 5% increase in pay for state workers, monies for the Rainy Day Fund, funding of the Highway Trust.  In 2000 the federal budget has a surplus.  In six years that surplus has disappeared and has turned into a 2 TRILLION dollar deficit.

Senate Race - Pete Bland's race for the Senate is one of the pivotal races in the State.  The State Democratic Party hopes to gain a seat in the Senate and several in the House.

Please vote - vote early and CALL Democratic Headquarters at 726.1607 to volunteer to work on Nov 7th.  We need Runners, Callers, Drivers and people to hand out literature.

And, just in from the NC Democratic Party....

A Republican trick on voters in Orange County.  Early voters were being approached by a poll worker and asked if they were Democratic.  If the answer was YES, then they were asked if they had decided which judges to vote for.  If the answer was NO, they were handed a list of judges and told that it was a list of Democratic judges, when in fact they were the Republicans. 

So be aware, that even thought Halloween has come and gone but the TRICKS are still coming.

 10/10/06

10/09/06

From: Jay Carson, Clinton Foundation
Subject: The Facts on FoxNews and the Clinton Record on Terrorism
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:24:14 -0400

All:

As you've probably seen, the right-wing attack machine is in full force and they're employing their favorite network to try to smear the record of the Clinton Administration. But as you've also probably seen, President Clinton doesn't take these kinds of attacks lightly and we're responding forcefully. Here are the facts and the pushback on the Republicans' false claims so you can do the same.

Please let us know if you need more information on anything.

Best,

Jay

The Clinton Administration and the Real Facts on Fighting Terrorism 

• Last week, President Clinton hosted the Clinton Global Initiative, a 3-day non-partisan conference that generated over $7 billion in commitments to meet the key challenges facing the world, from hundreds of people, including political leaders such as First Lady Laura Bush and 25 heads of state and world business leaders such as Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, who came together with President Clinton, despite their differences, to have a dialogue and work to change the world. 

• Because it was a nonpartisan conference, President Clinton agreed to an interview with Chris Wallace and the Fox Network.

• It's widely known that Chris Wallace has a political agenda and President Clinton came prepared to hit back if Wallace took the low road and sunk to baseless partisan questions.

·      Indeed, Wallace did take the low road, and he took a page out of the GOP playbook when he hid behind his viewers (not having the temerity to ask the question on his own behalf) and accused President Clinton of not doing enough to stop Bin Laden. It is a question he has never asked of a Bush Administration official in over 40 interviews:

Wallace: When we announced that you were going to be on Fox News Sunday, I got a lot of email from viewers, and I've got to say I was surprised most of them wanted me to ask you this question. Why didn't you do more to put Bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business when you were President? There's a new book out which I suspect you've read called the "Looming Tower," and it talks about how the fact that when you pulled troops out of Somalia in 1993 Bin Laden said I have seen the frailty and the weakness and the cowardice of US troops. Then there was the bombing of the embassies in Africa and the attack on the USS Cole. And after the attack, the book says, Bin Laden separated his leaders because he expected an attack and there was no response. I understand that hindsight is 20/20, but the question is why didn't you do more, connect the dots and put them out of business?  

• President Clinton often works to get things done by reaching across the aisle, but he's also a Democrat who's not afraid to fight back.  That's exactly what he did with Wallace.  He wasn't going to let a partisan TV host mischaracterize the record of Democrats on terrorism and he hit back hard when Wallace attacked him.

• Every fact President Clinton stated in his response was correct-one might even say flatly correct-and based on the responses of a number of Republicans it is clear that the truth hurts. 

• Here is the real Clinton Administration record on terrorism and the facts that support every argument President Clinton made.

President Clinton's record on anti-terrorism 

·        President Clinton mentioned global terrorism repeatedly throughout his years in office, including every State of the Union Address.

·    Over eight years, the Clinton Administration undertook massive worldwide manhunts that resulted in the apprehension of more than 50 important terrorist fugitives from overseas and succeeded in rolling-up al Qaeda cells in more than 20 countries. 

·    The Clinton Administration thwarted conspiracies to attack New York City landmark buildings in 1993, a plot to assassinate the Pope and bomb 12 American planes over the Pacific from 1994-2005, and a 1998 plot to attack the US Embassy in Albania. In addition, the US Government, during the Millennium celebrations, undertook the largest counterterrorism operation in U.S. history, thwarting multiple al Qaeda attacks in America and Jordan

·  The Clinton Administration froze $225 million in Taliban assets, maintained and designated sanctions on states that sponsor terrorism, and took legislative steps to ban terrorist organizations from fundraising in the U.S. and prevent them from entering the country.

·        At a time of budget cuts and spending austerity, spending for counterterrorism programs more than doubled during the Clinton Administration to over $11 billion in 2000. The Clinton Administration was the first to secure specific funds for agencies directly involved in responding to counter terrorism threats and potential attacks - like HHS, DOJ, FEMA - and recognized the need to bring HHS into the national security framework on these issues.  This build up enabled the Bush Administration to respond quickly after 9/11.

• Counterterrorism-related spending increased at almost every agency, including those without a primary focus on law enforcement, intelligence and counter-terrorism:

·        USDA counterterrorism (CT) spending was $7.9 million in 1999; and the FY '01 request was $57.7 million;

·        Department of Commerce CT spending was $30.8 million in 1999; and the FY '01 request was $112.3 million;

·        Department of Energy CT spending was $354.4 million in 1999; and the FY '01 request was $409.5 million;

·        Department of Transportation CT spending was $24.9 million in 1999; and the FY '01 request was $101.8 million; and

·     Department of Treasury CT spending was $68.4 million in 1999; and the FY '01 request was $112.9 million.

• The Clinton Administration successfully revamped and made more effective the coordination of intelligence efforts within the Federal Government.

·    Beginning in 1995, with the use of Presidential Decision Directives, the Clinton Administration elevated the priority of fighting terrorism and began to put in place a more effective system of dealing with it, expanding the scope and role of agencies not traditionally involved with this effort such as Health and Human Services (HHS) (bioterror) and the F.B.I. 

• In 1998, President Clinton established an office for a "Counterterrorism Czar."

Fact vs. Fiction

FICTION: Some have claimed President Clinton or Clinton Administration officials refused to approve orders to capture and kill Bin Laden.  

FACT: President Clinton never turned down a single proposal from the CIA or U.S. military to capture or kill Bin Laden.

 According to the 9/11 Commission report:

·        "Policymakers in the Clinton administration, including the President and his national security advisor, told us that the President's intent regarding covert action against Bin Laden was clear: he wanted him dead." (9/11 Report, p. 133)

·        "President-elect Bush . asked Tenet whether the CIA could kill Bin Laden .President Bush told us Tenet said . that the CIA had all the authority it needed." (9/11 Report, p. 198-199)

·        " . [Tenet told the 9/11 Commission] . that if . he needed more authority, he would have come back to either President Clinton or President Bush and asked for the additional authority." (9/11 Report, p. 508-509, footnote 158)

·        According to the 9/11 Report: "Berger reported to President Clinton . The new memorandum [of notification] would allow the killing of Bin Laden . what was envisioned was . a shootout . Bin Laden . probably would be killed. The [Clinton] administration's position was that . killing a person who posed an imminent threat to the United States would be an act of self-defense, not an assassination . President [Clinton] approved the document . Albright, Cohen, Shelton and Reno [were notified] . A copy of the final document . was given to Tenet." (9/11 Report, p. 132)

·        "By the fall of 1997, the [CIA's] Bin Laden unit had . a plan for . Afghan tribals to capture Bin Laden . In early 1998, the cabinet-level Principals Committee [led by National Security Adviser Berger] apparently gave the concept its blessing. (9/11 Report, p.110-112)

·        "[CIA Director] Tenet told us that given the recommendation of his chief operations officers, he alone had decided to "turn off" the [Tarnak Farms] operation . He said the plan was never presented to the White House for a decision.  The CIA's senior management clearly did not think the plan would work." (9/11 Report, p. 114)

FICTION: Some Republicans have claimed President Clinton got a similar warning in 1998 about Bin Laden and didn't act. 

FACT: The Clinton Administration launched a vigorous response immediately upon receiving this warning.

Clinton In Response to the December 4, 1998 PDB, the 9/11 Commission Report says: "The same day, Clarke convened a meeting of his Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG) to discuss both the hijacking concern and the antiaircraft missile threat.  To address the hijacking warning, the group agreed that New York airports should go to maximum security starting that weekend.  They agreed to boost security at other East coast airports.  The CIA agreed to distribute versions of the report to the FBI and FAA to pass to the New York Police Department and the airlines.  The FAA issued a security directive on December 8, with specific requirements for more intensive air carrier screening of passengers and more oversight of the screening process, at all three New York area airports." (p. 128-30) 

GWB: In Response to the August 6, 2001 item, the Commission Report says: "[President Bush] did not recall discussing the August 6 report with the Attorney General or whether Rice had done so."  (p. 260)

"We have found no indication of any further discussion before September 11 among the President and his top advisers of the possibility of a threat of an al Qaeda attack in the United States.  DCI Tenet visited President Bush in Crawford, Texas, on August 17 and participated in the PDB briefings of the President between August 31 (after the President had returned to Washington) and September 10.  But Tenet does not recall any discussions with the President of the domestic threat during this period." (p. 262)  

The 9/11 Commission Report: President George W. Bush's First Meeting On Al Qaeda on September 4, 2001. "The Principals Committee had its first meeting on al Qaeda on September 4. . . . At the September 4 meeting, the principals approved the draft presidential directive [first proposed in March, 2001, concerning aid to opponents of the Taliban regime] with little discussion.  Rice told us that she had, at some point, told President Bush that she and his other advisers thought it would take three years or so for their al Qaeda strategy to work.  They then discussed the armed Predator."

Clarke Demoted. According to the 9/11 Commission Report:  During the Clinton Administration, Clarke's Counterterrorism Security Group (CSG) was allowed to function as "as a parallel deputies committee, reporting directly to those members of the Principals Committee who sat on the special Small Group.  There, Clarke himself sat as a de facto principal."  Early on, Rice "decided to change the special structure that had been built to coordinate counterterrorism policy" requiring Clarke's group to "report to the principals through the deputies."  Although Clarke retained the title of national counterterrorism coordinator, he "no longer would be a de facto member of the Principals Committee on his issues."  The report says that "Clarke was disappointed at what he perceived as a demotion."  (p. 200)

Clarke: Frustrated, Asked for Transfer Clarke's reassignment from counterterrorism to cyber security occurred "in May or June."  The 9/11 Commission Report, however, says that this was done at Clarke's request.  "In May or June, Clarke asked to be moved from his counterterrorism portfolio to a new set of responsibilities for cyber security.  He told us that he was frustrated with his role and with an administration that he considered not 'serious about al Qaeda.'" (p. 205)

"In May or June, Clarke asked to be moved from his counterterrorism portfolio to a new set of responsibilities for cyber security. He told us that he was frustrated with his role and with an administration that he considered not "serious about al Qaeda."203 If Clarke was frustrated, he never expressed it to her, Rice told us." 204

 FICTION:  Some Republicans claim that no anti-terror plan was given to the Bush Administration.  

FACT:  The 9/11 Commission Report states that at the close of the Clinton Administration, Clarke drew up a plan to "Roll Back" Al Qaeda, which was given to the Bush Administration. 

9/11 Commission Report:  "As the Clinton Administration drew to a close, Clarke and his staff developed a policy paper of their own [which] incorporated the CIA's new ideas from the Blue Sky memo, and posed several near-term policy options.  Clarke and his staff proposed a goal to "roll back" al Qaeda over a period of three to five years ...[including] covert aid to the Northern Alliance, covert aid to Uzbekistan, and renewed Predator flights in March 2001. A sentence called for military action to destroy al Qaeda command-and control targets and infrastructure and Taliban military and command assets. The paper also expressed concern about the presence of al Qaeda operatives in the United States." (9/11 Commission Report, p. 197)

2002 Plan Clarke Ordered to Draft "Essentially Similar" to 2001 Plan "Clarke and Black were asked to develop a range of options for attacking Bin Laden's organization, from the least to most ambitious.199 Rice and Hadley asked Clarke and his staff to draw up the new presidential directive. On June 7, Hadley circulated the first draft, describing it as "an admittedly ambitious" program for confronting al Qaeda. (200) The draft NSPD's goal was to "eliminate the al Qaeda network of terrorist groups as a threat to the United States and to friendly governments." It called for a multiyear effort involving diplomacy, covert action, economic measures, law enforcement, public diplomacy, and if necessary military efforts. The State Department was to work with other governments to end all al Qaeda sanctuaries, and also to work with the Treasury Department to disrupt terrorist financing. The CIA was to develop an expanded covert action program including significant additional funding and aid to anti-Taliban groups. The draft also tasked OMB with ensuring that sufficient funds to support this program were found in U.S. budgets from fiscal years 2002 to 2006.201 Rice viewed this draft directive as the embodiment of a comprehensive new strategy employing all instruments of national power to eliminate the al Qaeda threat. Clarke, however, regarded the new draft as essentially similar to the proposal he had developed in December 2000 and put forward to the new administration in January 2001." (202)

FICTION:  Some Republicans claim the Clinton Administration didn't act in response to the USS Cole bombing.

FACT:  Despite the Clinton Administration push for action, as late as December 2000, the CIA Would Not Certify Al Qaeda Was Responsible for the Cole and in fact did not certify this until March 2001 after President Bush took office.

As late as December 21, 2000, the CIA's position was that their "preliminary judgment" was that al Qaeda "supported the attack."  A presentation made to the Principals' Small Group said that "so far the CIA had 'no definitive answer on [the] crucial question of outside direction of the attack -- how and by whom.'"  (9/11 Commission Report, p. 195)

9/26/2006

NC Republicans in the Do-Nothing Republican Congress Refuse to Extend Middle Class Tax Cuts

NC Democrats Lowered Taxes for Working Families

 Raleigh--The cost of living may be going up for middle class families in North Carolina, but that's not stopping North Carolina Republicans in the Do-Nothing Congress from blocking Democratic efforts to extend critical middle class tax cuts. In the past two weeks alone, Democrats in the Senate have tried to extend a range of tax benefits that include the college tuition tax deduction, the state and local sales tax deduction, and the Research and Development (R&D) tax credit.  The Bush Republicans in the Do-Nothing Congress blocked them each time.

 While the average cost of a college education has soared by 44 percent during the Bush Administration, Senate Republicans like Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr are raising taxes on 3.6 million Americans, including 90,237 in North Carolina, by blocking Democratic efforts to extend the college tuition tax deduction.  By refusing to extend a tax provision that allows teachers to deduct out of pocket expenses, the Bush Republicans in the Senate are raising taxes on 3.3 million teachers-including 97,654 in North Carolina.

 In the House, Democrats have fought to increase the child tax credit to $1,100, to provide more tax relief through marriage penalty relief and the 10 percent rate cut, and to exempt all middle-income families from the Alternative Minimum Tax. [H.R. 4359, Vote 208, 5/20/04; H.R. 4275, 5/13/04; H.R. 4181, 4/28/04; H.R. 4227, 5/5/04] Representatives Charles Taylor, Robin Hayes, Sue Myrick, Walter Jones, and Howard Coble all voted against this tax relief. Democrats have tried to lower health care costs for small businesses through a 50 percent tax credit to help small businesses and the self-employed buy health care coverage. [H.R. 2073]  House Republicans have refused to act on these critical middle class tax cuts. 

"Bush Republicans and the rest of the Republican Do-Nothing Congress are all talk, but no action when it comes to cutting taxes for middle class families," said North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek.  "While Democrats have fought to extend middle class tax cuts that would protect the economic security of teachers, homeowners and parents, Republicans like Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr have consistently blocked those efforts.”

9/25/2006

Key Point: The military, the intelligence community, and the American people agree: Bush Republicans aren't keeping America safe. The time has come for a change to the tough AND smart policies Democrats are offering to give the American people the real security they deserve.

Iraq
Top retired military officers say the Bush Administration's strategy in Iraq is a failure that has made America less safe.

America's intelligence community says the Bush Administration's failed strategy in Iraq has made terrorism more dangerous and America less safe.

America's military is in open revolt because the Bush Administration's failed strategy has stretched our troops to the limit.

The only people in America who are satisfied with the Bush Administration's strategy in Iraq are the Republicans in the White House and the Congress.

No White House deserves a blank check. Democrats are holding America's leaders accountable, demanding the tough and smart policies to give Americans real security.

Bush Republicans have left Iraq in civil war, Afghanistan in decline, and America's security in doubt. Democrats are fighting to take America in a new direction.

Hamdan
Democrats are committed to bringing terrorists to justice in a manner consistent with our laws, our values, and our national security.

A handful of principled Republican Senators have forced the White House to back down from the worst elements of its extreme proposal for new interrogation rules. 

Democrats look forward to working in a bipartisan manner to build upon these improvements when the full Senate debates the bill next week

In America, anyone should be able to challenge the basis for their imprisonment.  We can fight the war on terror without throwing away 230 years of American tradition, values, and constitutional law.

Immigration
Democrats know it is time for tough, practical, comprehensive immigration reform to secure the borders, enforce our laws, and fix our immigration system.

Five years of Bush Republican incompetence has left America's borders unsecured and our immigration system broken.

Bush Republicans would rather ignore a problem than address it. America can't ignore 12 million undocumented immigrants.