11/13/2010
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will host a reception Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill to celebrate “The accomplishments of the 111th Congress,” according to an invitation sent out Monday.
The event will offer congressional Democrats, many of whom will not be returning to Congress next January, an opportunity to reflect on the party’s legislative victories over the past two years. These have included the passage of major healthcare reform, financial regulatory reform, and climate and energy legislation.
Not likely to be lost on attendees, however, is that the unpopularity of many of these “accomplishments” among voters went far to contribute to a wave of Democratic losses in last week’s mid-term elections, in which Democrats lost control of the House and their majority in the Senate was weakened.
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He thrilled them by calling for India to have a permanent seat on an expanded U.N. Security Council. He flattered them by recalling India's historic achievements in science, philosophy and the invention of the digit "zero". And he amazed them by using that ubiquitous tool of modern American politics: the teleprompter. (emphasis, mine)
In India, politicians generally speak extemporaneously or from notes or text written on paper. The common perception, explained lawmaker Sanjay Nirupam of Mumbai, is that the really good speakers don't need to have text in front of them.h/t Weasel Zippers
"Democrats are looking to a pair of comedians to do what President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and dozens of other leaders haven’t done yet this election season: Get party members excited about voting. Comedy Central television hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert expect tens of thousands of fans to join them at the “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington Oct. 30, three days before congressional elections."
"Stewart is promoting the rally as a “million moderate march” to counter what he calls extreme rhetoric dominating the national political discussion. Media experts say that just as fans rely on Stewart’s and Colbert’s “fake news” shows for real information, they view the rally as an actual political event."