KPCC: Politics News

Strong in 2010, where is the Tea Party now?

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:53:36 -0800

Tea Party activist William Temple waits for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to deliver a speech titled, Is America Still an Exceptional Nation? during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

In 2009, Tea Party rallies raged in cities across the country. The movement put its stamp on the 2010 midterm elections when the Republicans retook the House of Representatives.

So far, throughout the GOP primary contest, every major candidate at some point has tried to frame himself or herself as the Tea Party's standard-bearer, but what's most striking about the movement this election has been its notable absence.

Dawn Wildman, national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz that the Tea Party is still out there working.

"We're all feverishly working and doing things, I just don't think the focus is on us," Wildman says, "it's all about this presidential election."

Wildman says right now their focus is on smaller races and local elections: school boards, supervisors and city councilmen.

Chris Littleton, founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party and co-founder of the Ohio Liberty Council, was recently asked about the state of the Tea Party.

"I said the Tea Party is dead," Littleton tells NPR's Raz. "What I mean by that is that [the] protest idea is gone, and I say that's a good thing."

The people who were leading the charge of the Tea Party protests, among whose ranks Littleton counts himself among, have left that behind, he says. They've now moved away from protesting and toward a more "tactical precision" way of operating, he says.

"Something very new and very different is there," he says. "But the nomenclature that has become 'Tea Party' as a pop culture name, I don't think that's around anymore."

Both Wildman and Littleton say there isn't a perfect "Tea Party candidate," but if Mitt Romney ends up being the GOP nominee, Wildman says she'll vote for him, but with some reservations.

"Romney, to me, looks like a lateral shift in power," she says. "He doesn't seem to have a really strong conviction; he seems to change as the wind blows."

Littleton, however, says he might end up just sitting this election out or voting for a third-party candidate.

"I want Obama out of office, of course; I'm just not thrilled with any of the candidates at this time so it's difficult to get behind any of them," he says.

A Cresting Wave

Like Wildman and Littleton, many other Tea Party activists acknowledge that the days of the big rallies might be on hold, but that their ideas are now very much front and center.

New York Times reporter Kate Zernike, who wrote a book about the Tea Party called Boiling Mad, tells Raz that the movement might have reached its peak of power in 2010.

"The Tea Party was always going to be a phenomenon of a midterm election," Zernike says.

Midterm elections tend to have a smaller voter turnout and attract older white voters, she says, which by and large made up the Tea Party. So in a midterm election, a group like the Tea Party can, and did, have a greater impact.

What's happening now, she says, is that people are starting to get an idea of what a Tea Party Congress looks like and what the Tea Party stood for.

"They stood for obstruction [and] they stood for not compromising," she says. "When pollsters went back to Tea Party voters and said, 'Is this what you want?' They said, 'No, we want people to compromise.'"

Despite this "buyer's remorse" of Tea Party candidates, as Zernike calls it, the GOP presidential field continues to court the Tea Party and even self-label as the "Tea Party candidate."

Zernike says they are still hoping to ride the wave of enthusiasm the Tea Party built so quickly for Republicans in 2010, and that was previously held by Democrats in 2008.

"So there's this sense that you have to pay fealty to the Tea Party," she says, "but again, I don't think people are really quite certain [anymore] what the Tea Party means."

Romney edges a victory in Maine caucuses

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 06:00:04 -0800

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets supporters at a caucus in Portland, Maine, on Saturday. Credit: Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Stung by a series of defeats earlier this week, Mitt Romney got a much-needed boost Saturday with a win in the straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference and a victory in Maine's nonbinding caucuses.

Yet Romney walked away without delegates and tallied fewer votes there than he did four years ago. This time, he barely beat rival Ron Paul.

Both candidates spent the morning wooing voters at caucuses in southern Maine. For Romney, a visit to a Portland elementary school Saturday followed a town hall-style meeting Friday night, his first in several weeks. In both places, he hammered home his commitment to conservative values.

"I have battled for religious liberty, and if I'm president of the United States, I will preserve the religious rights and liberties of Americans and protect our Constitutional rights," he said.

As the former governor of Massachusetts, Romney is well-known in Maine. He handily won the state's caucuses in 2008, but until his defeats earlier this week, he was absent from the state. Paul, meanwhile, visited the state several times and built a well-organized grassroots campaign.

"I feel very good. I have a lot of friends up here, a lot of excitement, and they sort of like my message," he says.

Paul says his message of freedom and less government seems to resonate well in Maine, better than in other parts of the country. Lewiston resident Nancy O'Brien showed up at her caucus to register support for Paul.

"He's the first honest politician going," she says.

O'Brien says she considered voting for Romney but was put off by comments he made about the poor.

"For Mitt Romney to stand up there saying he's not that concerned about the poor people or the little people — I'm sorry," she says, "There's thousands of us out there. We live from paycheck to paycheck."

Still, others view Romney's business and government experience as the best qualifications for the job. Rich Petersen of South Portland walked into Romney's town hall meeting Friday night undecided and says he walked out a convert.

"I was very impressed with the governor. I thought he did a fantastic job of answering some very direct questions," Peterson says.

Romney beat Paul by a margin of 39 to 36 percent. Rick Santorum finished third, despite never making a visit here. Paul's campaign complained that one caucus, in rural Washington County, was called off because of a snowstorm. Paul Madore, chairman of the Ron Paul campaign in Maine, says it was a deliberate effort by Romney supporters in Maine's GOP leadership to give the governor a boost.

"I think you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to see it, really," he says.

Madore says Washington County offered potentially strong support for Paul. Maine's GOP chairman, Charlie Webster, says there's no way everyone who would have turned out at the caucus would have voted for Paul. He calls the campaign's allegations "unfortunate."

In May, Maine Republicans will choose 24 delegates to represent them at the national convention. The Paul campaign has now set its sights on winning those.

California farm leader to Congress: Give undocumented farmworkers permanent legal status

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:43:32 -0800

File: Mexican migrant workers load boxes of organic cilantro during the fall harvest at Grant Family Farms on October 11, 2011 in Wellington, Colorado. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

In an election year, Congress has shied away from any immigration legislation. But this morning, a House committee examined several bills that address one immigration issue: the need for farm labor. Political realities help explain the debate.

Republican Congressman Dan Lungren of Folsom is pushing his guest worker bill, which would grant 10-month visas to foreign farm laborers.

Paul Wenger, head of California’s Farm Bureau Federation, told the House Judiciary Committee that farms today employ about a million skilled undocumented workers.

"Any solution must deal in a practical and humane way with current workers," Wenger said. Those experienced farm workers need a more permanent legal status, Wenger added.

After the hearing, Wenger admitted none of the bills likely to pass the GOP-led House would grant permanent residency. But there are two bodies of Congress.

"Should something get out of the House, you know, there could be some other things in the Senate," Wenger said. He's talking to Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Wenger said, about a guest worker program that would address the needs of undocumented farm workers already in this country.

Birth control battle: Congress debates Obama rule requiring employers to offer free birth control prescriptions

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:42:24 -0800

File: President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the economy February 1, 2012 at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church, Virginia. Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Capitol Hill has taken up the political battle over an administration rule that requires all employers to offer free birth control prescriptions in their workers’ medical coverage. The conflict began between the White House and U.S. Catholic Bishops, but it’s turned into a partisan fight.

The new health care law requires all employer health care plans to cover contraception and sterilization. President Barack Obama exempted religious organizations — but not the hospitals, schools and social services they operate.

Don Clemmer, spokesman for the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, says that’s a problem. "Forcing religious organizations to do something that violates their religious beliefs," he says. "In this case, paying for products and services that they believe are immoral."

Clemmer says the issue is about more than birth control pills. "In the United States, under the First Amendment of the Constitution, can the federal government compel a religious body to do something that is against its belief? Where does that leave religion in this country?"

In a speech on the House floor, Republican Speaker John Boehner pledged that the new rule from Health and Human Services “will not stand.” He said, if the president "does not reverse the department’s attack on religious freedom then the Congress, acting on behalf of the American people and the Constitution, that we are sworn to uphold and defend, must." Speaker Boehner said the House Energy and Commerce Committee would lead efforts to find what he called an “effective and appropriate solution.”

Five Senate Democrats, including California’s Barbara Boxer, accused Boehner’s party of denying American women a health care benefit. "Women in this country are tired of being treated like a political football by Republicans in Congress, who have tried continually and are continuing to try to take away their benefits, to take away their rights."

House Democrats also denounced GOP calls to reverse the rule. Congresswoman Lois Capps of Santa Barbara, a registered nurse, said California and 27 other states already require contraception coverage in medical insurance plans. "And the new federal standard is based on the one that has worked in my home state of California for years with no harmful detriment to employment of anyone."

But a spokesman says L.A.'s Roman Catholic Archdiocese is self-insured and has been for more than a quarter century. That means it’s exempt from the state requirement to pay for contraceptives.

Senator Boxer insists that it’s possible to make the new requirement work for Catholic organizations.

"Many hospitals do this their own way," Boxer said. "One way is they will contract with an outside entity to provide the particular benefit. So there’s many, many ways."

This is an election year, though, and compromise and calm discussion are in short supply. Now the focus is on the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services to craft a plan that lawmakers won’t debate from now until November.

LA Catholics react to Prop 8 decision; many Catholics strongly supported the proposition

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:19:43 -0800

File: A man waves a rainbow flag as he takes part to the Gay Pride parade on June 7, 20008 in Warsaw. Credit: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images

Many Catholics were strong supporters of Prop 8.

The Knights of Columbus, for example, contributed more than a million dollars to help get the measure passed.

There was no mention of Prop 8 at the noon mass downtown at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Many parishioners were wary of mixing worship with politics.

Lead usher Ruben Garcia voted for Prop 8, but says he’s conflicted about the ruling.

"As a parishioner and a Catholic and a married man, I do believe in the sanctity of marriage," Garcia said, "and I do believe that it should be between a man and a woman, but I’m torn because I also believe in the separation of church and state."

The Knights of Columbus did not return multiple phone calls for comment.

The L.A. Archdiocese pointed to a statement on the website of the California Catholic Conference.

Bishop Wilkerson, the conference president, expressed disappointment over the ruling, but added that he’s praying the courts will eventually uphold the will of the voters.

Prop 8 ruled unconstitutional: What do you think?

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:47:07 -0800

Same sex marriage supporters march to city hall in San Francisco. Credit: Julie Small/KPCC

Parents, school officials rally to protect funding for California transitional kindergarten

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:00:05 -0800

A statewide group of public school superintendents, parents and early education advocates are set to rally in Long Beach Tuesday at 10 a.m. in support of an early kindergarten program that was supposed to start in the fall.

The state’s gradually changing the kindergarten cutoff age. Transitional kindergarten classes were set to open in the fall for kids caught in between — about 40,000 statewide, by one count.

Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing zeroing out $223 million set aside for these classes.

As they prepared for the change, many school districts have run pilot kindergarten classes designed for the younger kids.

Mike Conan’s son enrolled in one two years ago in Long Beach.

"All the kids were younger," Conan said, "and especially for the boys, the maturity level was so similar, and by the time he got to kindergarten, then he was doing great. In fact, I don’t know if he set the record, but he brought home more books than any of the other kids, as far as his reading pace went that year."

The group Preschool California emphasized these benefits as it calls on the state to restore the money. The governor’s office now says it’ll allow districts to run transitional kindergarten classes, but it hasn’t backed down from its proposed cuts to the program.

Gabrielle Giffords shooter's trial delayed 4 months for psychological treatment

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:52:05 -0800

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords sits with her mother Gloria Giffords the day after the launch of NASA space shuttle Endeavour and the day before she had her cranioplasty surgery. Credit: P.K. Weis/Giffords Campaign/Getty Images

The man accused of killing six people in Tucson last year and wounding former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will not face trial for at least another four months, KJZZ's Fronteras Project reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns ruled Monday that Jared Lee Loughner should remain at a federal prison facility for four more months.

The judge made the ruling at a hearing in San Diego. At the hearing, the chief federal psychologist overseeing Loughner's case told the court she believed the suspect wasn’t yet competent to stand trial. But she said he was making progress.

Loughner faces 49 charges stemming from the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting outside a Tucson grocery store. Six people were killed and 13 were injured, including former Congresswoman Giffords.

Loughner is being held at a medical center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. Doctors there are forcibly medicating him.

Millionaire tax could be on November's California ballots

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:34:09 -0800

Gov. Jerry Brown speak during a speech at Los Angeles City Hall to discuss the state budget and a ballot measure to raise taxes. His plan is just one of several possible options that all seek to tax California's wealthiest. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Proponents of a millionaire's tax said Monday they would immediately begin collecting signatures for a November ballot initiative to raise income taxes on California's wealthiest residents, even as Gov. Jerry Brown and another group push their own tax-hike campaigns.

The California Federation of Teachers and the Courage Campaign are among the groups backing the proposed ballot initiative to raise income taxes on people who make more than $1 million a year.

Supporters expect to raise the $2 million they will need to get the initiative on this year's general election ballot, then another $8 million to $10 million for the campaign.

"We're the one measure that doesn't put an additional burden on the back of middle-class and working-class families," campaign chairman Anthony Thigpen said during a conference call with reporters.

The proposal also is supported by the California Nurses Association, one of the state's most powerful interest groups.

It is one of three tax increase campaigns planned for the November ballot, each of which has influential supporters that have been politically aligned in the past.

Brown has warned that a ballot containing too many similar-sounding tax initiatives could confuse voters and jeopardize success.

The Democratic governor has raised nearly $2.2 million for his own proposal, which would temporarily raise income tax rates on those who make more than $250,000 a year, and increase the state sales tax by half a cent. The California Federation of Teachers and other groups oppose the broad-based sales tax increase, which they said affects those who can least afford to pay more.

The third initiative is being promoted by wealthy Los Angeles attorney Molly Munger. It would raise income taxes on a sliding scale to boost funding for public schools.

Munger has given $800,000 of her own money for the initiative, but it's not clear if he r plan is backed by any other deep-pocketed financial supporters. The California Parent Teacher Association, which supports the measure, could help generate grass-roots support throughout the state.

Munger was scheduled to address the statewide organization in Sacramento Monday afternoon.

California back in negotiations with big banks over settlement for mass foreclosures

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:42:43 -0800

Attorney General Kamala Harris calls the current settlement inadequate. Credit: klutzykristie/Flickr.com

California has returned to settlement talks between several states, the Obama Administration and the largest mortgage servicers involved in the foreclosure crisis, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times report.

Banks like Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase want to settle allegations of robo-signing that led to fast foreclosures en masse.

The deadline for states to accept or reject the settlement was supposed to be Monday — but deadlines change when a crucial state like California decides it wants to be involved.

The banks' settlement would require them to offer billions of dollars in aid to homeowners who’ve lost homes to foreclosure, or who still face that danger. Just how many billions depends on the number and size of the states that sign on.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris pulled out of the settlement negotiations last year, saying that "the discussion in terms of what was offered was insufficient to really bring a fair deal to California."

Two weeks ago, Harris said the potential $25 billion settlement was inadequate.

In a statement, the attorney general says the talks are closer to a resolution than they’ve been, but they’re not there yet.

Unions create TV ad to appeal to young people

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:13:33 -0800

A new TV ad recently test-launched by the AFL-CIO discusses work without ever mentioning unions. Credit: Courtesy of the AFL-CIO

At a time when young activists from Zucotti Park to Tahrir Square have shown what the Internet and social media can do to help organize people, some American unions have been taking notes.

The AFL-CIO is embarking on a new advertising campaign that combines new and old technologies.

"Work doesn't separate. It's what binds us together," a commercial voice-over says in the recently test-launched ad campaign with a disarmingly simple message.

The campaign is called "Work Connects Us All," and it's TV ad features a multiracial cast of firefighters, teachers, autoworkers and even baristas gathered in a stark industrial interior.

"I teach your kid. You fix my car. He builds my city. She keeps it safe. Work is what connects us," the ad says.

It never mentions unions, and only a quick credit at the end tells the viewer that it is sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

Test Markets

The ad is airing in three test markets: Pittsburgh, Austin and Portland.

Elizabeth Shuler, the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, said it's part of a long-term effort to "reintroduce" the labor movement to young people.

"I think really we are looking to reach out and start a conversation with people that we normally don't talk to," Shuler said. "Whether you're in a union or not, we're trying to show we have shared values around the notion of hard work that really drives America forward."

This ad campaign is the AFL-CIO's first in 15 years that isn't linked to an election or specific legislation. It comes as union membership has declined to about 12 percent of the American workforce and less than 7 percent of the private sector.

But Shuler said the unions hope to capitalize on the opening created by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which she said has changed the national conversation.

"It's a conversation now around water coolers and at dinner parties that we never thought would be happening, this idea that people would be talking about inequality the way that they have been, and it's that spark we really want to connect to," Shuler said.

Harley Shaiken, a labor expert at the University of California, Berkeley, called the ad campaign "innovative" and "interactive."

"A lot of the campaigns unions have done in the past have been sleepers, you know. There's no getting around it." But the new ad is "not just a commercial," Shaiken said. "It's a new approach."

"I don't think the ad stands alone. There's a website. There's a lot of interactive dimensions to it, and I think the labor movement is experimenting," he said.

A New Approach

The AFL-CIO is flying into some stiff headwinds.

Last year a Gallup poll found that a slim majority of Americans — only 52 percent — approve of unions. That's near a record low.

NPR went to a coffee house in Portland, one of the TV ad's test markets, to gauge reactions. No one there had seen the ad, but people were receptive, if somewhat skeptical.

"I guess it's a valuable message to get out there," said Ben Lichenstein, a 28-year-old engineering student. He wondered whether the unions can tap into the energy of the Occupy movement.

"Large unions tend to be very insistent that the best way to approach these things is incrementally, and I think there has to be a second step and perhaps a third or a fourth in getting that message through successfully," he said.

But Jeremy Broche said he doesn't think it will change people's opinions.

"I've always had a favorable view of unions but I know plenty of people that don't, and I don't think a single ad would change that," the 29-year-old bartender said. "I think that boots on the ground, actually talking with people, talking about what unions are doing, changes that view."

Union officials say that's exactly the kind of feedback they need if they hope to convince younger people that the union movement can speak for them.

Koreatown angry over LA's proposed redistricting plan

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:04 -0800

File: Grace Yoo (L), of L.A.'s Korean American Coalition and Nikki Cho (R) of the Korean American Neighborhood Council of Los Angeles testify in support of expanding Koreatown's boundaries at an L.A. City Council meeting in 2010. Credit: Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/KPCC

A plan to redraw city council districts in Los Angeles is stirring tension in Koreatown.

Hundreds of Korean-Americans crowded a hearing at the Wilshire Ebell Theater last week expressing anger and dismay that the city’s Citizens Redistricting Commission has proposed splitting Koreatown into two council districts.

"We’ll fight using any means to keep Koreatown whole," attorney James Beck said.

Beck expressed an oft-heard sentiment - that elected officials tap Koreatown business owners for political donations but refuse to give the area real political power.

“Our community will no longer sit idly and be pimped out like a two-dollar whore," he said.

Right now, four different council districts include parts of Koreatown. So the new map that splits the area into only two districts might be viewed as an improvement.

"Not really," Grace Yoo said. Yoo, who heads the Korean American Coalition said her community should have one council member to hold accountable for its needs.

“It means you can provide one staff person who speaks the language fluently and can assist the people to receive basic service needs," Yoo said. "Right now, people don’t know where to call or when they do call a city council persons office, it's sort of ‘oh, that Korean staffer isn’t here.'“

Yoo points out that voters have elected only one Asian-American to the L.A. City Council, and that placing Koreatown in one council district might help change that.

But Koreatown, which sits just west of downtown L.A., can be elusive. Yoo said that the city’s official boundaries don’t cover all of it – and that a council district must include all of the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council area and extend north to 3rd street.

That irks Raul Claros of a group called the Latino Coalition of Los Angeles. He prefers the smaller definition of Koreatown.

“They work there, they have businesses there, they build skyscrapers, they’ve reflected Koreatown to look like Korea. Ok great, fine," Claros said. We’ve recognized an area. No one else has that. Central Americans don’t have that. Mexicans don’t have that.”

He said Latinos comprise the majority of the Koreatown area, and that he wants the city to designate one 14 square-block radius the Salvadoran Community Corridor.

Following the hearing, Claros started to explain his opposition to a wider definition of Koreatown to a Korean TV interviewer. Yoo tried to interrupt.

"That’s the type of disrespect that I’m talking about," Claros said. "For the record it's Grace Yoo disrespecting us."

The interaction reflects only one element of the tension over the new political maps.

“What I see in the lines that have been proposed is that we have no idea where they came from," Councilman Bernard Parks said.

The lines officially came from the city’s 21-member Citizens Redistricting Commission proposed the new political lines, but some see the handiwork of City Council President Herb Wesson. Analysts suggest that Wesson is punishing Parks, who opposed his election as president.

Parks would lose parts of the politically powerful black neighborhoods of Leimert Park and Baldwin Hills to Wesson, whose new district would also include wealthy Koreantown neighborhoods far to the north. Parks would end up representing faraway Westchester. That’s angered voters there.

"Its a power grab," Parks said. Wesson declined to comment on the proposed new redistricting map. His spokesman denied that his boss orchestrated the districts. Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles isn’t so sure.

“I’m never surprised with what happens during redistricting," Guerra said. "It’s the most political process that the political system goes through.”

Under the proposal, Councilwoman Jan Perry - who also opposed Wesson’s ascension to president - would lose much of economically powerful downtown. That’s a blow to Perry, who is running for mayor. Guerra notes that she is termed out of office next year. He argues that it's a good time to more evenly divide downtown L.A..

At last week’s hearing, one Korean-American quoted a famous president in suggesting that the new political boundaries should more closely represent what “the people” want.

“President Lincoln stated that the government should be of the people, by the people, for the people. And we are the people,” Guerra said.

But unlike the state’s new citizens redistricting commission, the city panel is only advisory. Members of the L.A. City Council - led by Herb Wesson - have the final word over their own political boundaries.

And on the 15-member council, eight votes decide the final redistricting lines.

LA County giving $2.5 million to replace trees following SoCal windstorms

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:04 -0800

Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Windstorms earlier this winter felled thousands of mature trees across L.A. County. A new fund aims to replace them.

L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich has announced a $2.5 million grant program. Cities, public agencies and nonprofits can compete for up to $100,000 each to spend on trees.

The goal is to plant new trees on public land, in parks and open spaces and along parkways in residential neighborhoods. Urban arborists across the San Gabriel Valley region have been busy in the two months since heavy winds knocked trees down.

Environmentalists argue that trees are the lungs of the urban area, breathing in carbon dioxide and particulate smog, and breathing out oxygen. Social scientists say that trees add value to the urban economy.

The county program will accept applications through the end of May, with the goal of distributing money and getting new trees rooted next fall and winter.

Romney vows to take Nevada's vote to Washington

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:00:04 -0800

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney won the Nevada caucus Saturday, maintaining strong front-runner status in the race to the nomination. Credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

There was no 11th-hour surprise in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night. The first state in the West to vote in the Republican presidential race chose Mitt Romney, who won with support from a broad base and left his rivals trailing behind.

No Thanks To You, Mr. President

Nevada has been Romney country since at least 2008. That year, he took about half the vote in the caucuses but lost the Republican nomination to John McCain.

This year, he has his sights set higher.

"You know, this is not the first time you gave me your vote of confidence, and this time I'm gonna take it to the White House," he said in his victory speech.

Romney took no chances with Nevada. He visited here more than any other Republican candidate. His message that President's Obama's economic policies have failed goes over well in a state that's at the heart of the housing bust and the unemployment crisis.

"I've walked in Nevada neighborhoods blighted by abandoned homes, where people wonder why Barack Obama failed them. Well, Mr. President, Nevada has had enough of your kind of help," he said Saturday.

It's a little trickier for Romney to make this argument now than it was just a few days ago. Friday's hiring numbers showed much higher than expected job growth. Unemployment is now the lowest it's been in three years, at 8.3 percent.

Romney said Obama cannot take credit for that.

"Mr. President, we welcome any good news on the jobs front," he said, "but it is thanks to the innovation of the American people and the private sector, and not to you, Mr. President."

Motives For Voting

At least in Nevada, the economy remains bad enough that Romney's argument resonates. Suzy Soleimani had to sell her house in Ohio at a loss when she moved here. Now she faces the same situation trying to sell her current home, which she says is half it's original price. She says she lost about $500,000 on the first home and will lose "probably more than a million" on the current one.

Soleimani's family is from Iran, and she's also frustrated that Obama has not done more to support protesters there.

"So hopefully we will have a strong voice to rescue, to go to help these people that ... are very helpless," she says.

One more reason this state is so friendly to Romney is that Nevada has a large Mormon population. About one-fourth of Nevada's caucus attendees Saturday were Mormon, and they almost all voted for Romney.

Still, he was dominant across a broad swath of demographics. Romney even won among self-described Tea Party and conservative voters.

For runner-up Newt Gingrich, that's a bad sign.

Gingrich: Here To Stay

"The establishment has closed ranks and made quite clear that they're desperate over the prospect of a Gingrich presidency," Gingrich said.

Gingrich didn't bother with a rally Saturday. He held a news conference at the Venetian Hotel. That casino's owner, Sheldon Adelson, has put millions of dollars behind Gingrich.

The former House speaker said he is as determined as ever to stay in the race. Though he seemed visibly tired, he also gave no indication of letting up the attacks on Romney.

"The vast majority of Republicans across the country are going to want an alternative to a Massachusetts moderate who has in his career been pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase, and who ranked third from the bottom in creating jobs in the four years he was governor," Gingrich said.

'Bold Contrasts'

The last two candidates were not even in Nevada when results came in. Third-place finisher Ron Paul addressed college students at Bethel University.

"Sounds like the revolution has already come to Minnesota," he said.

Coming in a distant fourth was Rick Santorum, who skipped these caucuses to focus on next week's contests.

In Greeley, Colo., he argued that if Republicans nominate Romney or Gingrich, "then we will not win this election. We will win this election if we have someone who goes out and paints bold contrasts, someone that America trusts to do what in our heart we know needs to be done."

Next up: caucuses on Tuesday in Colorado and Minnesota. Romney won both of those states in 2008.

Another win: Romney adds Nevada to his victories

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:35:15 -0800

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney waves to supporters in Las Vegas Saturday. Credit: Gerald Herbert/AP

All caucus sites have now closed in Nevada, and based on actual vote returns NPR says Mitt Romney is the winner, followed by Newt Gingrich in second place, followed by Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. Paul won two rural counties with tiny vote counts, Gingrich prevailed in a third. The rest of the state and all its population centers voted for Romney.

Before the vote from populous Clark County began to be tallied late Saturday, The Associated Press called the race for Romney based on polling among caucus attendees arriving at caucus sites earlier in the day.

The Leader Of The Pack

Saturday night, the former Massachusetts governor unleashed a sharp attack on President Obama, whose economic policies he said have "made these tough times last longer."

In a state with the worst joblessness in the country, Romney added, "This week he's been trying to take a bow for 8.3 percent unemployment. Not so fast, Mr. President. This is the 36th straight month with unemployment above the red line your own administration drew."

The former governor held a double-digit lead over his nearest pursuer as the totals mounted in a state where fellow Mormons accounted for roughly a quarter of all caucus-goers.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Rep. Ron Paul vied for a distant second. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum trailed the field.

Returns from 14 of 17 counties showed Romney with 42 percent support, Gingrich with 26 percent, Paul with 18 percent and Santorum with 13 percent.

Gingrich Vows To Stay

In defeat, Gingrich swatted aside any talk of a withdrawal and emphatically renewed an earlier vow to campaign into the party convention in Tampa this summer. He said his goal was to "find a series of victories which by the end of Texas primary will leave us at parity" with Romney by early April.

Romney's victory capped a week that began with his double-digit win in the Florida primary. That contest was as intense as Nevada's caucuses were sedate so quiet that they produced little television advertising, no candidate debates and only a modest investment of time by the contenders.

A total of 28 Republican National Convention delegates were at stake in caucuses held across the sprawling state. Romney won at least 10, Gingrich at least four, Paul at least three and Santorum at least two. Eight were still to be determined.

That gives Romney a total of 97, including endorsements from Republican National Committee members who will automatically attend the convention and can support any candidate they choose. Gingrich has 30, Santorum 16 and Paul seven. It will take 1,144 delegates to win the Republican nomination.

Highlighting Issues In The West

The first caucus in the West brings more attention to the Silver State, which held its first caucus in 2008. That caucus dramatically increased Nevada's importance on the national political stage.

Randi Thompson with the Republican Party in Northern Nevada's Washoe County tells member station KUNR's Kate McGee that a national campaign brings issues like gaming and federal land management to the fore.

"Ron Paul was in Elko talking about Wild horses, and he's still a congressman," Thompson says. "So it helps us to just raise the awareness level of the issues that are important to the west."

The GOP caucus in Nevada is also the first nationwide to release results strictly via social media — through Twitter and Google Maps.

Nevada figures to be a fierce battleground in the fall between the winner of the GOP nomination and Democratic President Obama. The state's unemployment rate was measured at 12.6 percent in December, the worst in the country.

Romney: Nominee-In-Waiting?

According to the AP count, Romney began the day with 87 of the 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. Gingrich had 26, Santorum 14 and Paul 4.

As he did in Florida, Romney was eager to take on the mantle of nominee-in-waiting when he spoke to supporters even though Gingrich, Santorum and Paul have said they intend to remain in the race.

"President Obama seems to believe America's role as leader in the world is a thing of the past. I believe the 21st century will be and must be an American century," Romney said to cheers from his backers.

Preliminary results of a poll of Nevada Republicans entering their caucuses showed that nearly half said the most important consideration in their decision was a candidate's ability to defeat Obama this fall, a finding in line with other states.

About one-quarter of those surveyed said they are Mormon, roughly the same as in 2008, when Romney won with more than a majority of the vote in a multi-candidate field.

A Breakdown Of The Results

The entrance poll was conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press at 25 randomly selected caucus sites. It included 1,553 interviews and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The caucus rules were a demonstration of democracy and a reflection of religious diversity.

Nevada awarded its delegates in proportion to the caucus vote totals, meaning that any candidate who captured at least 3.57 percent of the total number of ballots cast would be rewarded. By contrast, Romney's victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday netted him all 50 of the delegates at stake there.

While most caucuses were held during the day, an exception was Clark County, the state's largest. There, party officials arranged to hold one meeting well after sundown at the request of orthodox Jews who observe bans on driving, writing or other work-a-day activities during the Sabbath.

Romney's victory in the state's 2008 caucuses, coupled with the heavy presence of voters who share his Mormon faith, turned Nevada into something of a way-station on the campaign calendar.

There are just over 175,000 Mormons in the state, roughly 7 percent of the population. But they accounted for nearly a quarter of all 2008 Nevada GOP caucus-goers.

Gingrich said he'd be happy to finish second, behind Romney and ahead of Paul. Paul, a Texas lawmaker, was one of two candidates to air television ads in the state, hoping for a close second-place finish if not an upset.

Romney was the other, joined by Restore Our Future, the ubiquitous organization that supports him and has been heavily involved in earlier states.

Santorum campaigned relatively little in Nevada, although he picked up the support of Sharron Angle, a tea party favorite who won the GOP Senate nomination in a 2010 upset and then lost her race to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Still To Come

From Nevada, the calendar turns to caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado and a non-binding primary in Missouri on Tuesday.

Maine caucuses end next Saturday, and the next seriously contested states are expected to be primaries in Michigan and Arizona on Feb. 28.

Nevada caucuses, coming four days after the Florida primary, meant little time for the type of intense campaign that characterized the first month of the race.

The most memorable event of the four-day Nevada campaign was an endorsement that flamboyant billionaire Donald Trump bestowed on Romney in Las Vegas in a circus-like atmosphere that followed reports he would back Gingrich. The campaign event was brief, and Paul mocked The Donald and his decision. "I don't think he has that much credibility. I don't understand why we pay attention to him," he said.

By the time Nevada Republicans caucused, Paul was campaigning in Minnesota, Santorum in Colorado.

"The one thing that is on our side is the American people are waking up," Paul said in a speech in Rochester, Minn., that was frequently interrupted by applause. The Texan has yet to win a primary or caucus state.

Santorum, who eked out a victory in Iowa a month ago, has faded since. He said he has raised $1 million online in recent days to help him in the upcoming states.

Gingrich combined campaigning and fundraising in his time in Nevada, in hopes of righting a campaign that was victorious in the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21, only to crater 10 days later in Florida.

Eager to demonstrate he intends to fight on, he announced plans to campaign next week in Ohio, one of several states with a Super Tuesday primary on March 6.

His Florida victory in hand, Romney was acting like a front-runner again, campaigning against Obama more than Gingrich. Restore Our Future took on the former speaker, airing ads that said he consistently overstated his connections to Ronald Reagan.

KUNR's Kate McGee contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press

The improving job market could help Obama's election stock

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:00:04 -0800

President Obama speaks about the economy Friday in Arlington, Va. Obama says he wants to "send a clear message to Congress: Do not slow down the recovery that we're on." Credit: Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images

It turns out January was a surprisingly good month in the job market. U.S. employers added 243,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent.

That better-than-expected news from the Labor Department triggered a rally in the stock market Friday, with the Dow climbing more than 150 points. The news could also help the stock of President Obama.

All kinds of companies were hiring last month: 21,000 new construction jobs, 50,000 factory jobs and 30,000 new jobs for temporary workers. Tom Maher owns the Manpower temporary firm in Dayton, Ohio. He supplies a lot of workers to the auto industry.

"Our business has been steadily improving. I've seen an increase in billable hours week over week, which is a wonderful indicator," Maher says. "So we're seeing, at least as the year begins, pretty positive activity."

'One Day At A Time'

Even as he writes those extra paychecks, though, Maher is cautious. He was enjoying a similar boost in business this time last year, only to see it fizzle out after the Japanese tsunami wreaked havoc on U.S. supply chains, and the Arab Spring triggered a spike in oil prices.

"It's very important to take things really one day at a time. While I'm optimistic, I'm not exuberantly optimistic. But things are improving," Maher says. "I read an article locally that our restaurants are much busier than they were before. They're hiring staff. If people are spending more money on their dining entertainment, then obviously they're feeling more optimistic than they have been."

Nationwide, bars and restaurants added 33,000 workers in January. Overall, the hiring spree was the strongest in nine months — a pleasant surprise for forecasters like Nariman Behravesh of IHS Global Insight.

"It's certainly too early to break out the champagne in the sense that this has been a very uneven recovery," he says, "but these are really good numbers — have been quite good for a couple of months. So at least we're getting going a little bit in terms of the hiring process."

Between Now And Election Day

That could be a break for Obama. The jobless rate is still high, higher than any president has been re-elected with since Franklin Roosevelt. But political forecaster Charlie Cook says at least now Obama has a fighting chance in November.

"The folks in the White House have had a lot of bad news for a really long time. They're just starting to get a spat of some good news, and it points to a real close race," he says.

Of course, a lot could happen between now and Election Day. Cook says many voters will be making their judgments about the president's economic stewardship based on what happens over the next six to eight months.

"Public attitudes — they start off as a liquid, and then they turn into a gel, and then they harden at the end," he says.

'Don't Muck It Up'

Obama acknowledged Friday that far too many Americans are still looking for work, and he warned the numbers could go up and down in the months to come. The jobless rate has tumbled nearly a full percentage point since August. It's now the lowest it's been since the president's first full month in office.

"The unemployment rate came down because more people found work, and altogether we've added 3.7 million new jobs over the last 23 months," he said.

Obama urged lawmakers not to jeopardize the recovery by allowing a payroll tax cut to expire this month. After all the economy's been through, he said, it doesn't need any self-inflicted wounds.

"So I want to send a clear message to Congress: Do not slow down the recovery that we're on. Don't muck it up. Keep it moving in the right direction," he said.

Republicans argue the country could be enjoying a stronger recovery, were it not for business uncertainty over taxes and regulation. But that in itself marks a shift in the debate. For years, it was the president, saddled with bad economic news, who was forced to argue that "things could be worse."

Now, Obama can point to encouraging numbers, leaving the GOP with the challenge of making the case, "things could be better."

Occupy DC camp dismantled quietly by park police

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:08:18 -0800

A U.S. Park Police officer removes a wooden structure from an Occupy D.C. protester's tent at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Credit: Cliff Owen/AP

Since the early a.m., U.S. Park Police have been moving into a park near the White House where the Occupy D.C. movement has been encamped for months. Some officers were on horseback and dressed in riot gear, but there haven't been any major clashes.

Four people have been arrested. Mainly, the officers have been breaking down the tents and other structures that have marked D.C.'s McPherson Square since last fall.

The police aren't calling it an eviction; they say they are enforcing a camping ban. As The Associated Press reports, they're making sure "protesters are complying with National Park Service regulations that allow demonstrations at the site but prohibit camping."

Officials say protesters can be in the park at all hours – but they can't sleep there. The National Park Service forbids camping on federal land except on designated campgrounds.

As NPR reported earlier this week, the Occupy D.C. encampment had received notification that the camping ban would be enforced, but the Monday deadline came and went without incident. The protesters erected an even bigger tent in the center of the square.

Tweets from the scene relate a sense of sobriety. "Seeing my home dismantled is hard," @Sara_Jeans tweeted. The Washington Post's Annie Gowan reports dead mice and rats being uncovered as police in yellow hazmat suits take down the camp.

Obama housing chief Edward DeMarco under fire from California Democrats

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:32:18 -0800

Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco testifies before the House Financial Services Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Dec. 1, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

NPR has been reporting on the quasi-government mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac working at cross purposes, placing billions in investments that did better if the homeowners whose mortgages it held were unable to refinance to lower rates.

Today, NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep questioned Edward DeMarco, the federal regulator who monitors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Inskeep asked whether "everything that happened here was right, was correct, was morally right, entirely aside from legality." DeMarco said, "Absolutely. I’m completely puzzled by the notion that there was something immoral that went on here."

DeMarco has few friends among Californians on Capitol Hill.

More than a dozen California Democrats wrote to President Barack Obama, asking him to replace DeMarco with a permanent recess appointment.

Congressman Dennis Cardoza of Modesto says the mortgage agencies’ acting director “simply doesn’t get it.” Cardoza says that in meetings with DeMarco, lawmakers asked whether he’d ever even met a borrower who’d been foreclosed on. He hadn’t.

"You’d think that someone in his position would at least try to understand the human side of it," Cardoza said, "rather than just the green eyeshade side of it."

House Democrat Zoe Lofgren of San Jose says that, in a fall meeting with DeMarco, lawmakers offered their proposal to help mortgage borrowers whose homes are worth less than they owe. She says DeMarco asked for 10 days to review the idea.

"At the end of January, instead of October, we got an answer," Lofgren said, "and it’s clear from the answer he hadn’t even looked at it. So he took several months to not do his job." She says it's nothing personal, but DeMarco is a "career civil servant who is not apparently capable of taking the bold action that is necessary to rescue the economy."

Cardoza says that if the president can’t muster enough Senate votes to approve a permanent head of the agency, he needs to replace DeMarco and “put somebody with a pulse” in that position.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill to stave off cash crunch

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:09:56 -0800

California Gov. Jerry Brown gives a speech at Los Angeles City Hall on January 18, 2012 in Los Angeles. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Friday that increases how much the state can borrow from special funds to cover a cash shortfall. That shortfall resulted from lower revenues and higher state spending.

The bill allows the state to borrow an extra $800 million from a special fund for transportation to cover cash expenses. It was introduced, passed and signed within days of a warning from the controller that California would run out of cash by the end of the month—unless lawmakers took action.

"People often budget, but we know, at the end of the day, cash is king," Controller John Chiang said.

Chiang says the state spent $2.6 billion more than it budgeted for — and took in $2.6 billion less in revenues than it projected for the six months ending Dec. 31. Chiang says the state would have fallen $750 million into the red early next month.

"Fortunately this is a seven-week cash shortfall," Chiang said. "We’re managing it with one of the strong actions being the governor signing the Legislature’s bill to provide for additional borrowable money."

"We’re going to be able to manage this short-term period without having to resort to IOUs, as was the case in 2009," said H.D. Palmer with the state Department of Finance.

In addition to borrowing from special funds, Palmer said, the Administration plans to delay reimbursement to large medical providers who see patients on state health programs. State universities also agreed to loan the government about a half-billion dollars.

"Now this problem will cease to exist by April," Palmer said, "because as the state begins to get personal income tax returns sent in, then obviously the state’s cash position will improve as well."

Palmer says California’s short on cash in part because courts have blocked some of the cuts to health and human services that lawmakers enacted last year.

State Republicans criticized the Democrats for enacting an unrealistic budget without their input.

Obama housing plan gets lukewarm reaction from Democrats and Republicans

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:37:12 -0800

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about government reform in the East Room of the White House January 13, 2012 in Washington, DC. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

President Barack Obama’s proposal to help homeowners refinance at lower interest rates is getting a lukewarm reception from California lawmakers from both parties.

The president proposed a simpler mortgage form, a Homeowners’ Bill of Rights and expansion of an existing federal program to allow homeowners with underwater mortgages to refinance.

Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of San Jose says some ideas are “quite good.” But, says Lofgren, "unfortunately, a large portion of it would require legislation, and we have seen that the Republicans here that control the House are unwilling to pass legislation."

Republican Congressman John Campbell of Irvine is no fan of the Obama plan. He says a lot of people on Capitol Hill "suspect, like many things that are happening right now, particularly from the president, that this is a campaign-oriented proposal and not something that is intended to actually ever become law."

Neither lawmaker expects any housing legislation to be voted on by the House before the November election.