DNC

Here’s a quick wrap-up of today’s health care news.
Reactions to President Obama’s speech to Congress on Wednesday continue to pour in. A Democratic National Committee internal memo shows that in a focus group, support for Obama’s health reform plan increased by nearly 40 percent among voters who hold a negative or neutral opinion of [...]

When is it fair to accuse a member of Congress of being a “birther”? I’m wrestling with this a little today. Jason Linkins calls Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) a “birther” because, in a video shot and edited by The Huffington Post, he said that President Obama’s birth records were “certainly being looked at” and that [...]

On today’s call with reporters, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele took credit for the RNC’s response to a new Democratic National Committee ad asking voters to call Republicans and tell them to stop ginning up town hall heckling. The RNC redirected these calls from its main switchboard over to the DNC’s switchboard — [...]

The Democratic National Committee is keeping up its attacks on skeptical voters showing up at congressional town halls, using this week to define them the way that conservatives defined anti-Iraq War protesters in 2003: as angry fringe extremists. It’s just sent out a new donation email that’s framed as a fact sheet on the protests.
Whole [...]

I haven’t blogged much on the “yo mama” contest between the Democratic National Committee and the National Republican Campaign Committee, but it’s been fascinating to watch. The DNC, keying off of reports revealing the Tea Party/health care industry/conservative grassroots ties of the people making fusses at congressional town hall meetings, released a page-long, darkly-written statement [...]

‘Birther’ lawsuits have been immediately dismissed on standing, rather than facts, stirring a conspiracy that can never be disproved by its faithful believers.

Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chairman and current Democratic contender for governor of Virginia, tried to pay off Ralph Nader, to keep the consumer activist from running in swing states during the 2004 presidential election, The Washington Post reports.
“Terry McAuliffe is slipperier than an eel in olive oil,” Nader said in an interview.
He said [...]

That’s right folks, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), will step out at his first Democratic National Committee fundraiser this evening at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
He’ll be in good company: Jennifer Hudson, Earth, Wind and Fire and President Obama will also be among the luminati at the event. No word yet if Specter — who recently [...]

At a press conference moments ago, President-elect Barack Obama endorsed Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to be the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, succeeding the highly successful Howard Dean.
After praising Dean’s “outstanding work,” Obama highlighted Kaine’s “progressive philosophy” that allowed him to build “a model of good and responsible government in the Commonwealth of [...]

Not-for-much-longer DNC Chairman Howard Dean just held a conference call with America’s bloggers — or, as Gov. Sarah Palin would have it, “kids in pajamas sitting in the basement of their parents’ homes.” Over the rumble of the washing machine, I asked him about the successes and failures of his famous 50-state strategy, credited with [...]