A Dirty Trick, Phoney-Baloney Solicitation For the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

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Wednesday August 19, 2009 · 3:38 PM PDT

2009/08/19 · 15:38

A few minutes ago, I received a phoney-baloney telephone solicitation for the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee. I have no idea if it was a scam to get me to contribute money by credit card to some false address, or a move made solely to discredit Sen. Arlen Specter by some desperate adherent of Democratic challenger Joe Sestack or Republican challengers Pat Toomey or Peg Luksik, but, whatever it is, it stinks to high heaven and should be thoroughly investigated.

I was busy with other things when the self-proclaimed Democratic Senate Campaign Committee caller contacted me, and I promptly told him I no money to contribute. He said I didn't have to contribute today, and he would be glad to send a pledge card to make a contribution at a later time. So far, so good.

Poll

32 votes Show Results

Are Campaign "Dirty Tricks"

32 votes Vote Now!

Are Campaign "Dirty Tricks"

a) an inevitable part of politics that have to be tolerated

6 votes

b) an outrage that has to be actively combatted

21 votes

c) depends on circumstances of each case

5 votes

d) don't know

0 votes

e) too early to tell

0 votes

Gates Arrest Brings Issues of Racism To The Forefront

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Tuesday July 21, 2009 · 12:53 AM PDT

2009/07/21 · 00:53

Is Cambridge, Massachusetts, the storied home of Harvard University, the new Selma, Alabama? Is there a racial backlash in Cambridge--long considered a bastion of liberalism--against having both a black governor and a black President simultaneously? Will liberalism in Massachusetts die when Ted Kennedy does? Will the late Boston anti-busing crusader Louise Day Hicks prove to the patron saint of 21st Century Massachusetts?

I am certain I am not alone in thinking about these kinds of questions in light of the recent news that the eminent Harvard Black Studies Professor Henry Louis Gates has been arrested for disorderly conduct after vehemently protesting his interrogation for breaking into his own home, a horrible nightmare in a land where the belief that one's home is one's castle is widespread.

Poll

323 votes Show Results

Do You Believe That The Arrest of Professor Gates Shows

323 votes Vote Now!

Do You Believe That The Arrest of Professor Gates Shows

a) good judgment by the Cambridge Police Officer

44 votes

b) bad judgment by the Cambridge Police Officer

26 votes

c) stupidity by the Cambridge Police Officer

28 votes

d) racism by the Cambridge Police Officer

26 votes

e) the combination of b), c), and d)

148 votes

f) none of the above

16 votes

g) too early to tell

32 votes

h) don't know

3 votes

With 20/20 Hindsight, Condit Story Was Better Than Truth

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Sunday February 22, 2009 · 6:58 PM PST

2009/02/22 · 18:58

From press accounts in the Washington Post and elsewhere, it appears that a prisoner already in jail for attacking two women joggers in the same park where Chandra Levy was killed, in the same year she was killed, and close to the same time she was killed, will soon be charged in her murder. The new emerging conventional wisdom is that her lover, then-Congressman Gary Condit, had nothing to do with her murder.

The allegations and insinuations of Condit's involvement in the murder--from the National Enquirer to the mainstream media--rested essentially on Condit's reluctance to detail his sexual history with Levy and other women despite a marriage of long standing. Condit clearly had things he wanted to hide or obscure, and therefore he was unable to clear himself in the media-driven court of public opinion.

Poll

168 votes Show Results

Do You Think That The Media Coverage of Gary Condit Was

168 votes Vote Now!

Do You Think That The Media Coverage of Gary Condit Was

a) Excessive and a rush to judgment

139 votes

b) Excessive but fair

8 votes

c) Reasonable in amount but a rush to judgment

9 votes

d) Reasonable in amount but fair

2 votes

e) Too little

3 votes

f) Too early to tell

2 votes

g) Don't Know

5 votes

More Thoughts On Political Passion In Memory Of Dave From Queens

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Wednesday February 18, 2009 · 3:27 PM PST

2009/02/18 · 15:27

Two days ago, I wrote a well-received diary here compairing the passionate intensity of Dave From Queens,with thatof other famous stormy petrels from Queens: Republicans David Horowitz, the John Sununus, father and son, Governor and Senator, Justice John Scalia, and Democrats Mario and Andrew Cuomo, Governor and Attorney General, and Geraldine Ferraro.

I have since learned that Attorney General Eric Holder also comes from Queens, and that Dave's biggest media hit was generating a national controversy of sorts over whether or not ESPN dubbed in applause when President George W. Bush showed up at a sporting event, and received the usual reaction towards politicians at such events: loud boos. Dave's single-handed creation of what might be called Applausegate places him among the great political pranksters of modern times, right up there with Richard Nixon's nemesis Dick Tuck.

Poll

68 votes Show Results

Does Dave from Queens, David Weintraub, belong in the dkosapedia?

68 votes Vote Now!

Does Dave from Queens, David Weintraub, belong in the dkosapedia?

a) Yes

42 votes

b) No

14 votes

c) Don't know

10 votes

d) Too early to tell

2 votes

Dave Exemplifies Passions Nurtured In Queens

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Monday February 16, 2009 · 9:21 PM PST

2009/02/16 · 21:21

The recent death of Dave From Queens, David Weintraub, Esq., at 37, a man whose passion led him to trail Joe Lieberman in a Bush face mask, confront Sean Hannity by calling in repeatedly and accosting him during a book tour, and engage in conflict here, leads me to note what some probably consider obvious: trees grow in Brooklyn, but passion grows in Queens.

As one who spent the first three years of his life in Queens, I have paid attention to those who are from Queens: Republicans such as David Horowitz, both Governor John Sununu and his son, Senator John Sununu, and Justice John Scalia; Democrats such as Mario and Andrew Cuomo, and Geraldine Ferraro.

There are no shortage of ordinary political figures from Queens also--my good friend Cliff Wilson, the Democratic County Chair in Delaware County, Pennsylvania who backed Obama in the primary, for instance, was a Queens state legislator as a young man--but the passionate intensity of the most prominent is striking.

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Friday February 13, 2009 · 2:08 AM PST

2009/02/13 · 02:08

Now that the failed nomination of Senator Judd Gregg as Secretary of Commerce has called renewed attention to the importance of who runs the census, a bureau in the Commerce Department, it is time for the Obama Administration to intensify the search for a U.S. Census director.

In the past, census directors have generally been low-key bureaucrats. But this time, it would be good if that were not the case.

A big-name director of the U.S. Census would call renewed attention to it, and make being counted in the U.S. Census a major topic of discussion around the country. It would enable local grass-roots efforts, and give the army of short-term census workers a real espirt de corps.

Poll

51 votes Show Results

Should a household name be appointed to head the Census Bureau?

51 votes Vote Now!

Should a household name be appointed to head the Census Bureau?

a) Yes

30 votes

b) No

16 votes

c) Don't know

5 votes

d) Too early to tell

0 votes

Dean For Secretary of Commerce or Health and Human Services

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Thursday February 12, 2009 · 3:21 PM PST

2009/02/12 · 15:21

There are no entitlements in American politics.

No one has a right to a Cabinet position.

But the Obama Administration needs people to sell and administer its policies. It helps, as Judd Gregg showed, to have people who agree with the policies. It helps, as Tom Daschle showed, to have people whose exclusive focus has been on the good of the whole, and not self-enrichment. It helps, as Bill Richardson showed, to have people whose need to raise money does not cause a strategy of appearing to be for sale.

Poll

189 votes Show Results

Should Howard Dean Be In President Obama's Cabinet

189 votes Vote Now!

Should Howard Dean Be In President Obama's Cabinet

a) Yes, as Secretary of Health of Human Services

162 votes

b) Yes, as Secretary of Commerce

15 votes

c) Yes, in some other cabinet post when it becomes availabe

0 votes

d) No, he's not pragmatic enough

2 votes

e) No, he's too angry

4 votes

f) No, Repbublicans won't like him

1 vote

g) No, Rahm Emmanuel won't like him

4 votes

h) Don't Know

0 votes

i) Too early to tell

1 vote

Who Will Run The Census Bureau Under Commerce Secretary Judd Gregg?

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Monday February 02, 2009 · 8:54 PM PST

2009/02/02 · 20:54

On April 1, 2010, the key question in America will be how many people live in each housing unit, and with what vigor they are counted.

Some people will help this process along by promptly filling out the questionnaires sent to them. Others will help by calling the Census Bureau and saying they never got the form and it should be mailed anew.

But still others need a personal visit, or more than one personal visit to agree to cooperate. And then there are some people who just will not cooperate, whose information has to be guessed at by neighbors who tell whatever they know.

Poll

83 votes Show Results

Should Judd Gregg, if taking office as Secretary of Commerce,

83 votes Vote Now!

Should Judd Gregg, if taking office as Secretary of Commerce,

a) actively supervise the census count

10 votes

b) delegate the census 2010 operation to someone with a strong belief in the mission of the Obama campaign?

54 votes

c) don't know

5 votes

d) too early to tell

14 votes

With Toomey Withdrawal, Only Strong Democratic Mobilization Can Beat Specter

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Sunday January 25, 2009 · 9:30 AM PST

2009/01/25 · 09:30

The decision of Pennsylvania Club for Growth Leader Pat Toomey, a former Republican Congressman from the Lehigh Valley, to forego a second primary race against Arlen Specter after almost beating him in 2004 is great news for Specter and bad news for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

While it is possible that someone else may emerge to challenge Specter from the right, it is likely that the combination of Obama's decisive Pennsylvania victory, the current 13-6 Democratic Congressional Delegation in Pennsylvania make-up in districts drawn by Rick Santorum and the Republican National Committee, the landslide defeat of Santorum by current U.S. Senator Bob Casey, and the Democratic takeover of the state house of representatives in the 2006 and 2008 elections all work to reinforce Specter's message to the Republicans: no one significantly to his right can win in Pennsylvania.

Poll

39 votes Show Results

Will the Democrats beat Arlen Specter in 2010:

39 votes Vote Now!

Will the Democrats beat Arlen Specter in 2010:

a) yes, with a strongly partisan Democrat who can mobilize the Democratic base

9 votes

b) yes, with an independent Democrat who credibly defines his differences with the Democratic Party

5 votes

c) no, if the Democrats nominate a candidate who can mobilize the Democratic base

1 vote

d) no, if the Democrats nominate a candidate will will appeal to Republican voters

3 votes

e) too early to tell

18 votes

f) don't know

3 votes

Caroline Kennedy Belongs In the Field of Improving American Justice

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday January 23, 2009 · 9:46 PM PST

2009/01/23 · 21:46

Governor David Paterson's prolonged and intensely public process of deciding whom to appoint to the U.S. Senate did not put the candidates in the best light, but Caroline Kennedy's difficulty in answering questions about public policies to the satisfaction of critics in the news media and elsewhere does not take away from the incisive and probing intellect she has demonstrated in writings, speeches, and her assignments with Barack Obmama, Michael Bloomberg, and various Kennedy family organizations.

Some people like having questions thrown at them. I remember attending an early fundraiser for John Edwards before he had decided to be a 2004 Presidential candidate in which he pleaded with attendees to ask him questions. I also remember an early 1984 dialogue with Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode and fellow Pennsylvania legislators, in which I hesitated to ask him a question because of an issue's complexity and obscurity, and he pushed me to frame my concerns as a question for him to answer.

Poll

86 votes Show Results

Should Caroline Kennedy Be Appointed to the Solicitor General's Office

86 votes Vote Now!

Should Caroline Kennedy Be Appointed to the Solicitor General's Office

a) Yes--she is well qualified for a position there

37 votes

b) Yes--it's a good entry level federal position for her

8 votes

c) No--she is unqualified to serve there

16 votes

d) No--she should not be given a position that may be used as a steppingstone

1 vote

e) Don't know

22 votes

f) Too early to tell

2 votes

Likely Gillibrand Appointment Reminiscent of Goodell

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

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Thursday January 22, 2009 · 8:12 PM PST

2009/01/22 · 20:12

The likely appointment of Kirsten Gillibrand, now beginning her second term as a Congresswoman from upstate New York, by Governor David Paterson is reminiscent of the last Senate appointment by a Governor of New York: the appointment of conservative New York Congressman Charles Goodell to replace the assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

Gillibrand is considered to be a centrist or conservative Democrat, supporting both the National Rifle Association and the war in Iraq. Goodell was similarly positioned in the right wing of the Republican Party.

Poll

94 votes Show Results

Should Being Senator from New York Make Rep. Gillibrand

94 votes Vote Now!

Should Being Senator from New York Make Rep. Gillibrand

a) more liberal

38 votes

b) the same as she was before

14 votes

c) equally responsive to her new constitutents as she was to her old ones

28 votes

d) don't know

1 vote

e) too early to tell

13 votes

Republican Senate Retirements May Make Arlen Specter Indispensable To Republican Right

State Rep Mark Cohen Dem PA

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday January 11, 2009 · 9:16 PM PST

2009/01/11 · 21:16

At 78--79 on Lincoln's Birthday a month from now--Arlen Specter is on the cusp of clinching the Republican nomination for a sixth six year term in the Senate. The man once the target of the Republican right in Pennsylvania and around the nation is slowly morphing into the indispensable ally of the Republican right for the 2010 election.

With the Republican Party now down to 41 seats in the U.S. Senate, Republican Senators around the country are bailing out. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, 65, and Sam Brownback, 52, are running for Governor of their respective states of Texas and Kansas.

Three Republican Senators are just retiring, not wanting to explain why they were solid Bush votes or why they are relevant in 2010. They are, in order of recency of retirement announcements, George Voinovich, 72, of Ohio, Kit Bond, 69, of Missouri, and Mel Martinez, 62, of Florida. I am looking for Democrats to win all three of the above seats, and I would not be unduly surprised if Democrats won one or both of the Texas and Kansas seats as well.

Poll

156 votes Show Results

Will Arlen Specter

156 votes Vote Now!

Will Arlen Specter

a) lose the Republican primary

22 votes

b) win the Republican primary and lose the general election

54 votes

c) win the Republican primary and win the general election

30 votes

d) don't know

8 votes

e) too early to tell

42 votes

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