Guthrie explains vote on AIG bonus bill in weekly update

U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie was one of 85 Republican members of the House that voted Thursday in favor of a bill to levy a 90-percent tax on the recent bonuses doled out to AIG executives.

In his weekly update to constituents, Guthrie calls the $165 million package of bonuses to the insurance industry giant that has received billions of bailout dollars from the federal government “unacceptable.”

Here’s what Guthrie had to say –

I share your outrage toward American International Group (AIG) for using our hard-earned, taxpayer dollars to award excessive bonuses to their executives.  We are facing a severe economic crisis, and this abuse of taxpayer dollars is unacceptable. You deserve to have this money back, and that is why I voted today to take steps to get it back. While I preferred an alternative plan to recover these bonuses, I could not let this egregious waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars go without action.  Inaction was simply not a solution.

House Republicans were split on the issue, with 85 voting for the taxing measure and 87 voting against it, including House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio. The bill, which will head to the Senate, was adopted by a 328-93 vote.

KY Young Dems convention next week to feature VP’s sister

The annual convention of the Kentucky Young Democrats next week in Lexington will feature Valerie Biden Owens, the sister of Vice President Joe Biden. 

From a release from the KY Young Democrats – 

Owens has run every campaign for her older brother during his 37-year political career. She is the executive vice president of Joe Slade White and Company, a strategic consulting firm. Owens also serves as a volunteer political trainer for Women’s Campaign International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the empowerment of women in the world’s emerging democracies, and she currently serves on the national board of the Democratic National Committee Women’s Leadership Forum. 

“The 2008 election ignited an interest in politics for many young Democrats across the Commonwealth. Our organization is growing faster than ever because of people like Valerie and those who worked on the Obama-Biden campaign,” said KYD President Chad Aull. “We’re offering several opportunities for these Young Democrats to meet and hear Valerie and to become more involved through our many chapters across the state.”

The convention will be Friday and Saturday at Lexington Children’s Theatre and the Kentucky Horse Park, with Owens schedule to speak at the theater on Friday night. 

Sarah Palin, RNC Chair Michael Steele to attend Evansville Right to Life banquet

Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be attending the Vanderburgh County Right to Life Banquet next month. 

Palin will share the stage with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who took the helm of the party earlier this year. 

The April 16 banquet at The Centre in downtown Evansville is already sold out, but will be simulcast in the auditorium at The Centre.

Vanderburgh County Right to Life is now selling $16 tickets to watch the banquet in the auditorium, and left open the possibility that those watching the simulcast might get a visit from Palin. 

From the group’s site – 

There are 2500 seats available.  We are planning to ask Gov. Palin to make a personal appearance to the people in the Auditorium after she finishes in the banquet hall, however no guarantees to this can be made at this time.

NKY makes pitch for federal, toll-free bridge funding

Members of northern Kentucky’s Congressional delegation and local officials are in Washington this week to lobby for federal funding to replace the Brent Spence Bridge. 

While Congress works on a transportation spending bill, those involved in the lobbying effort are hoping to secure between $500 million and $800 million of the $3 billion required to build the bridge, according an article today by Pat Crowley with the Kentucky Enquirer. 

A proposal to create a statewide transportation infrastructure authority to be able to borrow money to pay for the state’s mega-projects has me resistance in northern Kentucky. The main objection has been because those loans would presumably be repaid by tolls levied on the projects funded by the authority. 

Tolls have not been as large an issue in other areas of the state affected by these megaprojects, including in western Kentucky where officials are pushing for the creation of the authority to fund the construction of Interstate 69 through the state including an Ohio River  bridge at Henderson.

Full text of President Obama’s address to Congress

Here’s the text of President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, courtesy of the White House press office. 

Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States:

I’ve come here tonight not only to address the distinguished men and women in this great chamber, but to speak frankly and directly to the men and women who sent us here. 

I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern that rises above all others.  And rightly so.  If you haven’t been personally affected by this recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbor; a member of your family.  You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis, because you live it every day.  It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless nights.  It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but now have lost; the business you built your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child had to put back in the envelope.  The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.    

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this:

We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

Reactions to Obama’s address

Here are a couple of official statements from Kentucky’s elected officials following President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.

From U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell –

“Tonight Kentuckians and all Americans were proud eyewitnesses to history as an African-American president addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time.

“Over the years, there have been many important markers in our nation’s long journey toward racial equality. Few have been as compelling as seeing President Obama in the Speaker’s rostrum tonight.

“The President’s message was important and timely: America faces great challenges in the months and years ahead, and I was heartened to hear of his commitment to the millions who are struggling to hold onto homes and jobs and who are worried about what the future holds for themselves and their children.

“As we work to address all these concerns, we will have our differences. Republicans believe the road back to prosperity is paved with greater personal freedom, not bigger government, and that in this moment of economic hardship, we should be more vigilant about spending taxpayer dollars, not less.

“But one thing is clear: working through the current troubles will require a shared commitment as we address America’s challenges ahead.”

From U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning – 

“Our nation is facing many difficult challenges right now and I want to work with our new President to meet them head on.  Many Americans are suffering due to the current financial crisis and we need to work together to find commonsense solutions that will help get our economy back on track.  

“If we really want to stimulate the economy we need to enact policies that will have a direct and immediate impact.  I believe the best way to do this is by focusing our attention on targeted tax relief that will allow Americans to keep more of what they earn.  By empowering American families and small businesses we can create new jobs and grow the economy. 

“We also need to get serious about fiscal responsibility.  We can’t spend our way out of this crisis.  Piling debt on top of debt is not the answer.  If we don’t stop out-of-control government spending now it will only lead to larger economic problems down the road and leave a tab that our children and grandchildren will be paying for years to come.”

From U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, KY-2 – 

“President Obama’s address tonight was a historic moment for our nation.  He made it clear that our nation is facing difficult challenges.  I agree that we can overcome these challenges by working together to strengthen the economy, create jobs, and restore the financial security Americans want and deserve. 

 “I look forward to working with President Obama.  However, I assure you that where I disagree with the President I will not compromise my principles.  Empowering Kentucky families and small businesses by letting them keep more of what they earn, not by expanding the government through higher taxes and uncontrollable spending, is the best way to promote jobs and recover economic growth.

 “I am confident that the American people will show the same resilience and integrity in this crisis as they have before, and because of these strong resources, I am confident America’s economic future is prosperous.”

Williams hasn’t made decision on potential U.S. Senate run

Following reports over the weekend that he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year, Kentucky Senate President David Williams told reporters this morning that he had made not decision about running for a different office. 

“We’ll just see what the rest of the year brings,” Williams, a Burkesville Republican, told reporters, according to the Herald-Leader. 

The Washington D.C. -based The Hill publication and kypolitics.org are both reporting that Williams met with members of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during his recent trip to D.C.

Williams did say he has been contacted about running for the seat now help by fellow Republican Jim Bunning of Southgate, who has held the seat since 1998, but hasn’t made any decisions about entering the race.

Read more about Williams’s comments at the H-L’s Bluegrass Politics.

White House launches site to track specifics of stimulus package

The White House has launched Recovery.gov to help shed some more light on the economic stimulus plan signed into law today by President Barack Obama. 

The site provides a general breakdown of where the $787 billion called for in the plan is going to, a timeline on how the programs will progress and dollars will be spent and a state-by-state look at the impact on jobs saved or created in the next two years. 

You can also take a look at the full text of the bill passed Friday by Congress. 

Here’s the video message from the president about the new site – 

Guthrie among GOP members targeted by DCCC over stimulus package vote

U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, a Bowling Green Republican who began his first term in Congress last month, is among a group of GOP lawmakers targeted in a round of radio ads offered by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to the Washington Post. 

Chris Cillizza with the paper’s “The Fix” blog is reporting that the ads are running in 28 GOP-held House districts and are “aimed at scoring political points for the vote last week on Obama’s economic stimulus package.”

That vote fell strictly along party lines, with Republican lawmakers voting against it. 

DCCC executive director Brian Wolff told Cillizza that “Republicans’ champagne wishes and caviar dreams simply don’t connect with middle class families struggling to make ends meet and furious that their tax dollars are going to bail out banks, build schools in Iraq, or send American jobs overseas.”

Glenn Thrush with Politico.com also has the story, and reports that the DCCC is using a variety of ads to target GOP lawmakers, and has samples of each ad along with which lawmaker was targeted by which ad.  

From Politico.com, a sample ad using U.S. Rep. Christoper Lee of New York – 

The following ad is the districts of Representatives Michele Bachmann (MN-06), Brian Bilbray (CA-50), Joseph Cao (LA-02), Bill Cassidy (LA-06), John Fleming (LA-04), Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Leonard Lance (NJ-07), Christopher Lee (NY-26), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-09), and Tom Rooney (FL-16):

“Did you know Congressman Christopher Lee voted against economic recovery to immediately create and save over 390,000 New York jobs? Times are tough, tell Christopher Lee to put families before politics.”

Update, 10:10 p.m. …

Here is the official release from the DCCC about the ad campaign, called “Putting Families First.”

And a bit more from Politico.com –

But many of the other members are untraditional targets, like Reps. Henry Brown (R-S.C.), John Fleming (R-La.), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.). All these members hold solidly Republican seats, and aren’t expected to face tough races next year. 

There are certainly reasons to target members who, at first glance, appear to be safe in 2010. Several are freshmen who haven’t yet proven their viability in their home districts. Others won by surprisingly narrow margins last year. And the ads serve as a warning sign to House veterans like Bartlett (or Rep. Bill Young, another target), who could get caught napping if they’re not careful. 

Still, the fact that the DCCC is targeting Republicans in districts that have usually been afterthoughts for Democrats, suggests that this will be a cycle where the party will mostly be playing defense – and focusing on consolidating their gains over the past two election cycles.

“Trading cards” from last Bunning-Mongiardo matchup

The Rothenberg Political Report has a set of “trading cards” on display today from the 2004 U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Jim Bunning and Democrat Daniel Mongiardo produced by Mongiardo’s campaign. 

The set of nine “beanball cards” peg Mongiardo as  a “relief pitcher” while calling Bunning, a baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, a “special interest designated hitter” and “budget buster record breaker,” among other things. 

Given the announcement by Mongiardo, now lieutenant governor, on Monday that he’ll be gunning for Bunning’s seat again next year, we’ll see what other creative campaign fodder makes its way onto the trail. 

Bunning told reporters during a conference call this morning that he will definitely be seeking a third term next year and responded to comments by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell made at the National Press Club last week. 

McConnell “had a lapse of memory when he was speaking to the press club last week when he said he didn’t know what my intentions were,” Bunning told the Herald-Leader. “Whatever Mitch says is whatever he says. He’s the leader of the pack and he can say whatever he wants and get away with it.”