TOP 100 NEWS SITES
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| Gates to Press China on Military Ties The U.S. defense secretary was set to meet with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Hanoi. The Pentagon sees the meeting as a step toward establishing a more lasting framework for military ties online.wsj.com |
More on money | Michael Tomasky Sorry about the delay today, technical snafus now resolved. NPR had a very thorough report this morning, which you can read the script of here and which continues this evening on All Things Considered, looking at the effects of undisclosed money on some races in Pennsylvania. Local stations in Pittsburgh, an area featuring two close House races and a tough Senate race, are running up to 14 ads per hour in total, many of them from groups that have to disclose almost nothing about themselves in this post-Citizens United era. Unsurprisingly, one side is doing more of this, actually a lot more since the other side is doing zero:The ads in Pittsburgh attacked candidates of both parties, but the ones attacking Republicans were all from Democratic candidates or party committees, groups that have to disclose their donors. Not one ad from the supposedly nonpolitical groups attacked a Republican. All of those ads are aimed at Democrats.In other words, yes, Democrats run attack ads, but placed by candidates and committees that operate under the old disclosure rules. Only conservative attack ads are operating under the new rules for "nonpolitical" groups.Many of you are going to write in saying ah Tomasky, more liberal whining, voters don't care. You're right about the second part. Most voters don't care. But I care, and you ought to as well, unless you think it's a good idea that a few mega-rich corporate titans can give a few million bucks to group that has to disclose almost nothing and run ads attacking candidate X that say nothing about their real agenda for the country.Howard Fineman tries out a they-shall-reap-what-they-sow argument at HuffPo, about how this shadowy independent spending (running 9-1 in the GOP's direction, according to one estimate he cites) might make itself felt in intra-GOP presidential primary politics:No one expects Karl Rove, the hub of the wheel of independent GOP spending, to choose sides in the GOP primary early on -- let alone lead an independent campaign for or against a presidential contender.But many of the donors -- and others -- may well feel differently. Conservative cash supporting Tea Party candidates will see no reason to rest once the congressional campaign has ended -- and the more established contenders may hope that friends will defend them."I could see a Mormon-Harvard-Bain Capital coalition getting out there to defend Mitt Romney even before he is attacked," said Tracey. It's a potential gold mine for an enterprising "independent" consultant. (I wouldn't be surprised if some guy with a Power Point isn't on his way to Boston even as I write.)Maybe. But right now, they're all rowing the boat in the same direction. This is an election cycle in which it is expected that up to $5 billion with a b might be spent. Sure, trial lawyers and unions are putting in their share. But the bulk of it is corporate, and much of it was unleased directly by the Supreme Court. We may never know exactly how much was spent, and we'll certainly never know the sources for many, many millions. I can see varying degrees of being worked up about this, but I really can't see anybody thinking this is all right.US midterm elections 2010Michael Tomaskyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Shots hit Pentagon; Police label it 'random event' By PAULINE JELINEK 2010-10-19T16:52:26ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as "a random event."... hosted.ap.org |
Same Hill leaders could emerge from voter upheaval By LAURIE KELLMAN 2010-10-23T18:51:23ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Change at the top? Not necessarily. Whichever party controls the House and Senate after the Nov. 2 election probably will install the same leaders whose policymaking helped bring about the sour economy, nearly double-digit unemployment and deficit spending that has led voters to call for fresh faces.... hosted.ap.org |
Observers Validate Haiti Poll The Organization of American States said Haiti's presidential election should be considered valid despite a host of problems, giving a big boost to the government and election authorities. online.wsj.com |