President Barack Obama met yesterday afternoon at the White House with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, trying to allay their fears about the public option included in the newly revamped House health care reform bill. They’ve wanted a public plan with rates based on Medicare, but the new bill would let providers negotiated directly with the federal government.

Here’s what Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee had to say about the meeting:

“This is a truly historic time in our country. Today, we are closer to comprehensive health care reform than we have ever been in the past 70 years.

“I applaud our leadership for their efforts to unveil the current bill. While I have worked with my colleagues consistently to include a public option in this bill there is still work to do. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to ensure that the final package has the strongest public option and health equity provisions possible.

“A public option is essential to ensuring coverage of as many uninsured Americans as possible, as well as cost containment provisions to limit increased premiums for the 85 percent of Americans who currently have health insurance.

“In our meeting with President Obama I emphasized the importance of having the public option remain in the final bill to come out of conference. Additionally, it is important to keep every existing health equity provision intact. The Office of Minority Health should receive the same prioritization that the Office of Women’s Health is set to receive, especially given the data on racial and ethnic health disparities.

“More than 70 percent of Americans support health care reform with a public option, therefore we have a moral obligation to provide them with the choice and accountability that a public plan would provide.”

Also, check out this Huffington Post interview with Lee about her bill, H.R. 3699, that would bar federal funding to send more troops to Afghanistan.

So President Barack Obama will be here in the Bay Area tomorrow for a Democratic Party fundraiser at San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis Hotel; he’s flying in to San Francisco International Airport tomorrow afternoon and leaving Friday morning. A $500 ticket is for standing room only; a $1,000 VIP ticket gets you a seat.

I see various groups of conservative activists are gearing up for street protests outside the hotel – some with general complaints, some focused more on health care reform. And I see at least one group from the other side of the political spectrum will be there calling for “Healthcare Not Warfare! Money for People’s Needs, Not the Pentagon!;” “End the Occupations of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Haiti!;” “U.S. Out of Latin America – Restore President Zelaya in Honduras!;” and “Overturn NAFTA and CAFTA!”

What, nothing on his failure to deliver so far on his promise to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy? Oh, I’m sure there’ll be some people there for that, too.

And of course the Republican National Committee has something to say about it, as well, per spokesman Jahan Wilcox:

“President Obama is heading to San Francisco for a fancy dinner in the penthouse suite of the St. Francis Hotel. Rather than holding a public event to explain why California has lost over 477,000 jobs since President Obama signed his so-called economic stimulus package, Democrats opted for a private event where Californians will only be able to catch a brief glimpse of their president if they sign over a $500 check to the Democratic Party.”

UPDATE @ 4:31 P.M.: Hearing that CODEPINK and other groups plan to protest outside the event, San Francisco NAACP chapter president and Third Baptist Church pastor Amos Brown said, noted “President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in working to bring the nations of the world together. We should stand together as Americans and support the President’s efforts to bring peace to our people and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“These so-called activists are putting their own personal political agenda ahead of what is good for our country,” Brown continued. “We must let President Obama finish the work he has started to get our troops home safely and end these unnecessary wars. I call on these people to stand with me in support of the President.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele:

“The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished?’ It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain – President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:

“Maria and I applaud President Obama for winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The President has consistently shown that he is committed to reaching out to other nations and positioning America to once again be the global leader for peace and prosperity. This is a great honor for our country and reminds us all of the promise our nation holds. I look forward to working with him to address future challenges facing our nation. On behalf of all Californians, I congratulate President Obama for winning this inspiring award.”

Lt. Gov. and 10th Congressional District candidate John Garamendi:

“I want to congratulate President Obama for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. He has changed the tone of the worldwide debate on international issues including reducing nuclear arms and building better international relations based on mutual desire to improve economic and social conditions in all countries. His policy is changing America’s relationship with the world, a change that will foster cooperation and peace.”

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.:

“While this award was unexpected, I think it is a testament to President Obama’s extraordinary ability to inspire people from across the globe to come together and share a vision of a brighter, safer and more prosperous world. With the election of President Obama, we started America back on a path to regaining our status as a beacon of light for the world. Now it is crucial that we come together across party lines to make that promise a reality. The president was right in his humble response to describe this award as an affirmation of America’s leadership and a call to action to address the major challenges of our time.”

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.:

“Today at the White House I had the privilege of personally congratulating President Obama for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. I believe the Nobel Committee’s decision reflects the fact that the United States has restored its credibility with the international community. It signifies that the goals articulated by President Obama have resounded with the rest of the world.”

UPDATE @ 2:22 P.M.: A few more…

Former Arkansas Governor and 2008 GOP primary presidential candidate Mike Huckabee:

“There will be an outcry from those on the right who will say that Obama’s nomination, made two weeks into his Presidency, is impossible to justify but I think such an outcry will sound like right-wing whining. The better response is simply to allow those on the left to explain what he did in his first two weeks as President that merited such recognition.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican:

“I would say regardless of the circumstances, congratulations to President Obama for winning the Nobel Prize. I know there will be some people who are saying ‘Was it based on good intentions and thoughts or is it going to be based on good results?’ But I think the appropriate response is when anybody wins a Nobel Prize that is a very noteworthy development and designation and I think the appropriate response is to say ‘Congratulations.”

Former White House insider Karl Rove will speak about President Barack Obama’s “growing political challenges and the nation’s longing for conservative principles” in addressing the inaugural event of the San Francisco Bay Committee for Heritage next Thursday, Sept. 24 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in San Francisco.

The press release that went out today says the 7 p.m. dinner, following a 6 p.m. reception, already is sold out.

Rove was President George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff and senior adviser from 2001 to 2007; seen by many as the architect of Bush’s election victories and political machinations, Rove now contributes to the Fox News Channel and writes columns for the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek. Some progressives have tagged him as a war criminal, and one protestor tried to “arrest” him at a San Francisco appearance last October. If there’s not a slew of ‘em on the sidewalk outside that hotel next Thursday night, I’ll eat my hat.

The press release describes the committee as “a group of business and civic leaders in northern California who support the conservative public policy research of The Heritage Foundation, the leading Washington think tank.” It’s chaired by Seligman Investments Portfolio Manager Paul Wick, and is one of a dozen such Heritage-affiliated groups that has sprung up across the nation. Basic American Foods Chairman William J. “Jerry” Hume of San Francisco; Teranetics CEO Nersi Nazari of Atherton; and former U.S. Ambassador to France Howard Leach of San Francisco are listed as honorary chairmen.

First, some resources: Take a look at the Associated Press fact-check on the speech – it’s early, but relatively comprehensive and at least should indicate what questions to ask as the legislation takes shape. For the full text of the president’s speech, click here; for the Republican response, click here.

Now, on to some reactions from your electeds. I spoke earlier tonight with U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who told me she’d run into the President after the speech as she was heading back to her office.

“I told him I thought he hit it out of the ballpark. He said, ‘Now let’s get it done,’” Boxer said. “I loved it, and I’m ready, I’ve been ready. I think it’s the great moral issue of our time and it’s also a great economic issue.”

And she believes U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., also is “ready to go, ready to write a bill.” The Finance Committee is the last that must produce a bill before Congress sets about combining the several bills into one, and he’d said earlier today that he’s ready to push ahead with a bill in the week after next – with or without Republican support, but also without the public option for which President Obama made his case tonight.

Boxer thought he made that case, and the rest of the case for reform, well.

“The President did what he had to do tonight to jumpstart health care legislation. He put a human face on the issue, he addressed all the propaganda that’s been out there as a distraction… He made a moral argument,” she said, adding that as the President recounted the note he’d received from the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, “You could’ve heard a pin drop in that chamber – he really spoke from his heart and to our hearts.”

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said much the same when I spoke with her this evening.

“He really made us recognize that health care should be a moral imperative and it is an issue of social justice,” Lee said, particularly by voicing support for the public option that her caucus and others have demanded. “For him to continue to support it, with all the pressure on him to take it off the table, was what I wanted to hear.”

Now that the President has taken off the gloves to “dispel all of these terrible myths and lies” opponents have leveled this summer, “the work continues – now we have to make this happen,” she said.

More reactions from your electeds, after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »

As conservatives continue their victory dance over Van Jones’ resignation, local progressives are sounding pretty steamed.

Rabbi Michael Lerner of Berkeley, co-chairman of the Network of Spiritual Progressives and editor of Tikkun magazine, published a column today calling Jones’ forced resignation “a huge defeat for the forces of sanity and humanity, and represents a deep failure of the Obama-ites to understand the nature of the challenge they face from an increasingly fascistic Right wing.”

The forced resignation of Van Jones demonstrates the lack of backbone of the Obama Administration.

Jones was a rare progressive appointment among the wide array of Wall Street sycophants and Inside-the-Beltway pragmatists who have misled Obama into a path that has caused him to lose his initial popularity and severely endanger his presidency.

The notion that Jones’ past could have a serious impact on the future of health care reform defies all plausibility–those who will oppose health care reform will do so just as strongly without Jones’ presence in the White House as they would have had he remained. The message being given by the Obama Administration is clear: if you on the Right critique us, we will pander to you and abandon our friends.

In conditions of expanding prosperity, this would create the possibility of a resurgence of McCarthyism throughout the society. in conditions of growing economic pain, this kind of mimicking of the worst behavior of the German middle-of-the-roaders during the Weimar Republic sets the stage for the possibility of a genuine home grown fascism in the U.S.

If, God forbid, that should happen, people will look back to the capitulations on health care, human rights, and many other policy areas of the Obama Administration, but will give equal importance to the abandonment of Van Jones and the signal it gives to the Right.

Oakland’s Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which Jones cofounded and directed for many years, issued a statement in his defense:

At this critical time in our nation’s history, the Ella Baker Center champions policies that lift people up and bring about renewed hope and optimism for all. We were outraged by the attacks that Van and his family have suffered. Those who have made it their mission to derail a clean, green, and just future for our country have denied the nation our most talented advocate in the fight against climate change and for rebuilding our economy.

“Smear campaigns designed to sabotage the movement for an equitable, green economy are attempts to distract people from what really matters: building a future that is green and just for everyone,” said Jakada Imani, Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. “It’s our dream, shared by Van Jones and so many others, that this country once again becomes a beacon for the world by using innovation to simultaneously address both the economic and climate crises we face.”

Van Jones has been lauded as a modern day civil rights hero and champion of change. He has worked to bridge the gap between communities and across lines of race, class, and gender. For years, Van has helped lead the social and environmental justice movements with solution-oriented, market-based ideas that provide some of our most marginalized communities with effective tools to create lasting change in their lives — and for the greater good of their communities.

Under Van’s leadership, and continuing under the direction of Jakada Imani, the Ella Baker Center has led the charge to build California’s progression towards a green-collar economy that truly creates opportunity for all by fighting poverty and climate change at the same time. Through vibrant, cross-sector coalitions that bring together unions, green businesses, environmental organizations, social justice groups, and education and training institutions, we’ve helped craft cutting edge public policy solutions and pilot programs like the Oakland Green Jobs Corps that prove what’s possible. Our focus has always been — and will remain — providing solutions that lift people up rather than tearing them down. Solutions that unite, not divide. Our goal — and Van’s — is simple: save the planet and its people.

And Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, who this year succeeded Jones as CEO of Oakland-based Green For All, used Jones’ ouster as a call to action:

While Van may have stepped down from his formal position, now is the time for all of us to step up. Thanks to Van and countless supporters like yourself, the foundation for change has been set. We must continue to strengthen it — to build a more secure, clean and equitable future for our nation.

Now is the time for an inclusive green economy. Now is the time for action.

We need climate legislation that includes access and opportunity for all Americans. And we need your help to ensure that these provisions are part of it and that the promise of a clean-energy economy is realized. (click here to take a stand for our future – and forward this to all your friends and help keep the momentum going).

In the face of disappointment, now is the time for renewed resolve for our common goals.

When Jones was appointed in March, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, had issued a statement expressing pleasure that “a constituent, friend and strong advocate for green jobs” had gotten the job.

“Van has been at the forefront of the green jobs movement and has shown us all the way to utilize green collar jobs as a pathway out of poverty. Were it not for Van, we would not have been able to establish the Green Job Corps in Oakland, which provides local Oakland residents with job training, support and work experience so that they can independently pursue careers in the new energy economy,” Lee said at the time. “His expertise and vision in the area of green jobs will be a wonderful addition to the White House CEQ.”

Lee’s office indicated today she had no comment on Jones’ ouster.

U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., also has praised Jones’ work in the past. Her office didn’t respond to requests for comment today.

So there’s been all this hue and cry by conservatives about President Barack Obama’s plan to speak to the nation’s schoolchildren tomorrow morning, concerned that he’ll impose upon them some partisan agenda. That’s right: the President of the United States apparently can no longer talk to the nation’s children, as did Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, lest he “brainwash” them or — horrors! — encourage them to academic excellence and even – gasp! – civic engagement. Indoctrination! Thought control! Oh, weep for the poor children!

Get over it. Read the speech after the jump, and feel free to tell me what’s wrong with this.

Read the rest of this entry »

From President Barack Obama:

This weekend, our family will join millions of others in celebrating America. We will enjoy the glow of fireworks, the taste of barbeque, and the company of good friends. As we all celebrate this weekend, let’s also remember the remarkable story that led to this day.

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, our nation was born when a courageous group of patriots pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the proposition that all of us were created equal.

Our country began as a unique experiment in liberty — a bold, evolving quest to achieve a more perfect union. And in every generation, another courageous group of patriots has taken us one step closer to fully realizing the dream our founders enshrined on that great day.

Today, all Americans have a hard-fought birthright to a freedom which enables each of us, no matter our views or background, to help set our nation’s course. America’s greatness has always depended on her citizens embracing that freedom — and fulfilling the duty that comes with it.

As free people, we must each take the challenges and opportunities that face this nation as our own. As long as some Americans still must struggle, none of us can be fully content. And as America comes ever closer to achieving the perfect Union our founders dreamed, that triumph — that pride — belongs to all of us.

So today is a day to reflect on our independence, and the sacrifice of our troops standing in harm’s way to preserve and protect it. It is a day to celebrate all that America is. And today is a time to aspire toward all we can still become.

From Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:

“America is truly the land of opportunity. When I arrived in America at age 21 with only $20 in my pocket and a duffel bag full of sweaty gym clothes, I hoped to someday become a bodybuilding champion and a leading man in the movies. Not only did I succeed in both, but I now also have the honor of being Governor of the greatest state in the nation, California. Today, America continues to offer an abundance of opportunities to all and remains one of the greatest and most diverse countries in the world. As we celebrate America’s independence, let us not forget those who have worked so hard to protect the freedoms we enjoy today – so a big thank you to our troops. Maria and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July and encourage all to practice caution when using fireworks.”

Ben Johnson, managing editor of the conservative FrontPage magazine, today tears into Rep. Ellen Tauscher’s nomination to a high-ranking State Department post, saying she’s too naive for the job:

President Obama’s nomination of Rep. Ellen Tauscher as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security will exacerbate rogue states’ worst behavior and assure the president receives the worst counsel about how to respond. Tauscher believes the United States should disarm, as our arsenal provokes aggressive dictators into developing nuclear weapons. She deems long-range missile defense unnecessary, because Iran and al-Qaeda do not yet have nuclear weapons. She calls for negotiating with our enemies while punishing close allies who have abided by the highest standards of non-proliferation. She may also have been the first Democrat of national prominence to accuse President Bush of lying but Iraqi WMDs, and her troubling record on Homeland Security includes advocating habeas corpus rights for terrorist detainees.

It seems as if Johnson’s complaints — perhaps especially the final two — would be seen as huge assets by most Bay Area liberals, no?

As we reported Friday, it sounds as if Tauscher’s confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be held next Tuesday, June 9; although there’d been some early whispers of conservative opposition, I’ve not heard anything more recently.

The New York Times today describes last night’s first-ever White House poetry jam:

The candles flickered, the bassist strummed and, one by one, the writers and poets seized their moments in front of the microphone.

James Earl Jones served up Othello, his sonorous voice rumbling through the East Room. Mayda del Valle, a poet from Chicago, conjured her grandmother from Puerto Rico. Joshua Brandon Bennett, a poet from Yonkers, N.Y., delivered an ode to his deaf sister, his fingers flying as he translated his words into signs.

It was Tuesday night, time for the White House poetry jam. A pony-tailed disc jockey hovered over a pair of turntables in the hallway, guests sipped white wine and President Obama and his wife, Michelle, celebrated the power of the spoken word.

Also taking their turn at the mike: Berkeley literati couple Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, who’d been vocal supporters of and fundraisers for the Obama campaign. Waldman, author of the recently published “Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace” and an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver last year, described the experience in an e-mail this morning:

Honestly, I don’t know how the hell we got there, and the people with whom we shared the stage were so much more talented that it was all we could do not to miss our call and slink off to the bar.

It was An Evening of Poetry, Music & the Spoken Word, and we were the Spoken Word. We were silly, maybe a little cute. We had a point to make and we tried our (decidedly lame) best to do a little Mike Nichols & Elaine May softshoe.

[snip]

Guess whom you don’t want to follow on stage with your cute little 3 minute routine? James Earl Jones. Reciting Othello. ‘Nuf said.