Paul Ryan Speech: Harry Reid's Plan

On July 29, 2011, while speaking in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Paul Ryan exposes the ridiculousness of Harry Reid's plan to address the debt.

Video.

House Vote on Debt Postponed

Still no resolution on the debt ceiling.

From the Wall Street Journal:

The House postponed a Thursday night vote on Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the federal borrowing limit after he failed to stem a revolt by conservative GOP members. The delay leaves the credit status of the U.S. government in jeopardy with five days remaining before it begins running out of money to pay all its bills.

The development came after a two-hour debate on the bill was abruptly ended earlier in the evening. Mr. Boehner, knowing that a rejection could undermine his speakership, then joined other House GOP leaders in trying to pressure party members to reconsider their opposition.

Those efforts fell short and it wasn't clear if the vote would be rescheduled. But the development appeared to hand the initiative for the moment to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), who is pushing an alternative version of the debt bill.

House Republicans and Senate Democrats planned to meet Friday morning at 10 a.m. to plan strategy. Republicans will figure out whether, and how, they can move forward.

"I think what's going on now is a process of dialogue among legislators who are listening to one another and deciding how it's going to be possible for us to move forward within the democratic process," said Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.).

Mr. Pence acknowledged that "we're not there yet" in terms of votes for the Boehner plan, but "Our objectives remain the same."

Greg Gutfeld nails it:

This is like watching sausage not get made.

Nancy Pelosi and 'Life on this Planet'

Nancy Pelosi is engaging in some really bizarre rhetoric lately.

Read and watch her rant against Republicans. It's loony.

She has taken her lunacy to an even more extreme level.

Video.

NANCY PELOSI: What we're trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget. We're trying to save life on this planet as we know it today.

Is Pelosi drunk?

What is her problem?

Who Killed Grandma?

Steny Hoyer: Republicans, Bullets, Obama

The Left went berserk over Sarah Palin and crosshairs.

Why is it acceptable for DEMOCRAT leader, House Minority Whip, Steny Hoyer to use extremely violent imagery when referring to Republicans and their interaction with Obama?

Hoyer was on the despicable MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday. He used language that was not at all in line with the supposed "new tone" in Washington ushered in after the Tucson shootings.

Video.



Transcript:

STENY HOYER: Bob, I think you're right. I think it's unfortunate that politics is playing a role. I think we're playing Russian roulette, frankly, with the nation's credit worthiness. And unfortunately, all the chambers seem to be loaded in the House side. They want to shoot every bullet they can at the President. I think it's political in that sense, but it is much, much too dangerous to be playing politics with the credit worthiness of the United States, where for the first time in history we wouldn't be able to pay our bills.

I am hopeful, again, John Boehner has offered a number of proposals. Remember back when John Boehner offered a continuing resolution to keep the government open. He lost 59 of his members then on a deal that he made, not a Democratic - Republican agreement, on a deal that he made.

No one called Hoyer on his terrible choice of words.

It's incredibly irresponsible for Hoyer to speak of Republicans wanting to riddle Obama with bullets.

Saying Republicans "want to shoot every bullet they can at the president" is a startling way for Hoyer to make his point.

Where's the outrage now?

Crickets.

The Leftists apply a different standard to themselves.

The hypocrisy of the Left knows no limits.

Nancy Pelosi: Republicans Want to Destroy

DEMOCRAT Nancy Pelosi should be ashamed for making such inflammatory, poisonous remarks about Republicans.

It's unacceptable. It's inexcusable.

Video.



Transcript

NANCY PELOSI: This is an excuse. This budget deficit is an excuse for the Republicans to undermine government, plain and simple. They don't just want to make cuts, they want to destroy. They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the department of education. They want to destroy your rights. They do not like government.

Good grief.

That sounds crazed even for someone as extreme as Pelosi.

Republicans don't want to destroy. They want to prevent the country from collapsing. They want to protect the future for all Americans, for generations to come.

Pelosi's bitterness is disgraceful. It smacks of desperation.

Jimmy Williams, Grover Norquist, 'Butt Buddy'

The liberal media are really going off the deep end lately, particularly MSNBC.

Civility is out the window.

On the Dylan Ratigan Show, panelist Jimmy Williams, a Democrat lobbyist, referred to Grover Norquist as Newt Gingrich's "butt buddy."

Video.



Transcript

JIMMY WILLIAMS: One person is controlling the agenda of the United States of America right now and his name is Grover Norquist.

Grover Norquist was Newt Gingrich's butt buddy. He was Jack Abramoff's close friend and laundered money from Native Americans. He charged people $25,000 a pop to go to a Bush White House signing ceremony. He is a petty criminal. And he's made just about every single member of the House of Representatives on the Republican, not the Tea Party, the Republican side, and almost all Republican senators sign a pledge saying that they will never ever for the rest of their lives raise taxes.

I need to know, first of all, do we have on the Left a Grover Norquist? And if we don't, why not?

I don't think it's appropriate for a panelist on a televised news program to use such a crass term as butt buddy.

MSNBC is really a mess.

There is a lack of decency. It's vulgar stuff. This level of discourse at the cable network reflects horribly on NBC News. This gathering place for Leftists is a disgrace.

I know they're desperate for ratings and they're trying to appeal to the fringe Left, but how low are they willing to go?

Leno: More David Wu Jokes

JAY LENO: There is a new tiger on the endangered species list. Take a look.



There you go. That is a United States congressman.

Fifty-six-year-old Oregon Congressman David Wu now coming under fire for allegedly making unwanted advances towards a teenage girl. Is that why he's dressed like a tiger? How young are these girls? Where's he picking 'em up? Chuck E. Cheese? What is that? How creepy is that?

Well, now Congressman Wu is being forced to resign. So the moral of this story: Never try to 'Wu' a much younger woman. OK?

These congressmen are out of control. You know, he didn't want to resign. He was fighting it, but after what he did last night, I'm sure you saw it. Well, maybe you missed it. Here take a look.



It's got to stop.

Jay Carney and Obama's Plan

Jay Carney put on a pathetic performance during the White House press briefing yesterday.

He insisted that Obama has a plan to handle the debt ceiling but he can't quite locate it.

It exists, but where?

What are the numbers?

Video.



Transcript

QUESTION: you basically have this Boehner plan that you say can’t get through the Senate, and you’ve got a Reid plan that the Republicans don’t think you can get through the Senate or the House, and you’re saying we want a compromise, what was the point of giving a primetime address to the nation without an Obama plan and say neither of these other plans can work? Where is -- where is your plan?

MR. CARNEY: I understand that idea that there is not an Obama plan is like --

QUESTION: But there’s not. There’s not one on paper. There’s not one on paper.

MR. CARNEY: -- point number one -- is point number one on the talking points issued by the Republican Party. I get it.

QUESTION: No, no, that’s not a talking point.

MR. CARNEY: Okay?

QUESTION: No, no, show us the plan. It’s not a talking point. That’s unfair. Where is the plan?

MR. CARNEY: We have said from the -- first of all, the President put forward in detail his principles at George Washington University --

QUESTION: Principles, right. That’s not a plan.

MR. CARNEY: -- quite a lot of detail. The President stood before you -- I can’t remember if you were here Friday night. Some of you weren’t because you cut out early, but a lot of you were.

And he put forward in detail with numbers what he’s willing to do. He then referred from the podium to the fact that White House officials will be briefing in detail what our plan is.

Now, the purpose of putting forward a plan on paper -- our interest in this has been to get a compromise, to get a deal. It has not been to politically position ourselves, say, with things that appeal to our base, maybe pieces of legislation that we know can’t pass but it would be greeted warmly by certain constituencies. Our goal, and the reason why the negotiations have been conducted the way they have been conducted, is because we want a result. That’s the way the President has.

And it is simply not the case. The senior members of the House Republican leadership can open their desk drawer, pull out reams of paper that represents the President’s proposals and his counterproposals, and his counter-counterproposals, and his understanding that they need more of this and that he would like more of that. There is plenty of detail.

QUESTION: But even the President gave numbers on Friday night -- White House aides were saying last night he was giving the speech to the nation because most Americans were not paying attention until last night. So even if he gave these numbers on Friday night, they have not -- the American people were not paying attention Friday night, by your own estimation. So why didn’t he say last night, here are the nine things that I support? Here are the numbers, here’s what I want to do on taxes, and just lay it out -- and say, call your congressman with this -- not with this vague --

MR. CARNEY: The point -- I mean, the fact is you address the nation only so often on primetime. The President has been out here with an unbelievable amount of regularity talking to you, talking to the American people throughout this process. He has put forward in great detail -- I mean, if you guys haven’t talked about it on air or put it in your newspapers or online, then you should, because the detail is there.

Secondly, he needed to talk to the American people last night because -- for a good reason -- because they have their own lives to worry about and they count on Washington not always to take care of everything, but to take care of the big things like making sure we don’t default on our obligations. And he needed to talk to the American people, to those Americans who haven’t been paying close attention, to let them know where this stands and why it’s so important and why the risk is there that if Congress doesn’t act -- and we believe it will -- something that has never happened before in our history could happen and it would be very bad, indeed.

That’s why he had to address the country and why he wanted to explain to them his view that compromise is so necessary.

QUESTION: One other quick thing. I think on CBS radio this morning Dan Pfeiffer said that if Congress does not act by August 2nd this could lead to a depression. Is that your position, that we might have a depression in America?

MR. CARNEY: You know what, depression, how you -- what I know, what economic experts have said, is that -- and, again, Republican and Democrat, Jim Baker, Ronald Reagan, all sorts have said that a default on our obligations would produce an economic calamity. How you define that obviously depends on how long it lasts and what the ongoing implications of that would be.

We don’t believe it’s come to pass. Economic calamity is plenty scary and we should not even entertain that.

QUESTION: But over the weekend Democrats were saying there’s going to be a “Boehner drop” if there’s no action. Asian markets are going to crash on Sunday. Didn’t happen. American markets didn’t crash on Monday, and thankfully they have not crashed on --

MR. CARNEY: Ed, I want to move on, but you should go on the air and tell your viewers there’s nothing to worry about. That’s one approach.

Chuck.

QUESTION: Jay, why not release the last offer that Boehner made? I mean, instead of -- if you don’t want to release your own plan, release that plan. If that’s the deal -- if that’s the last offer he made and you guys are willing to go back with a few minor tweaks, release it. It’s the last week -- release it.

MR. CARNEY: I’m not going to -- look, we have shown a lot of leg on what we were proposing --

QUESTION: Where?

MR. CARNEY: From the podium, right here. (Laughter.) And from the Roosevelt Room. Certainly the Speaker of the House can address, or his people can address what they were -- what their last offer was. They claim that they walked away from the table because of the $400 billion --

QUESTION: Why not you do it? If they throw it out there and then you’re --

MR. CARNEY: The President stood here -- Chuck, again, I can’t remember if you were here -- it might have been Kristen -- but the President stood here on Friday night and went into great detail. You should look at the transcript. The President’s people met --

QUESTION: I understand, I’ve seen the transcript -- there’s still nothing out there. Why not just release that plan?

MR. CARNEY: Is it because you -- I mean, look, you need something printed for you, you can’t write it down? There is ample detail --

QUESTION: It’s not a plan. No, it’s not a plan. It was details of the plan, but it wasn’t a plan the same way that we’re getting a plan on the House side or that we’re getting a plan on the Senate side. It’s not.

QUESTION: We don’t know what the Medicare thing is. We don’t know what the Social Security part of this is. There wasn’t -- I mean, there was a lot of missing detail.

MR. CARNEY: We talked in great detail about what’s in Medicare, and you know it.

QUESTION: Why not put it out there, though? You guys went before the American people last night -- and I know that you’re probably getting frustrated because we’re all asking a version of the same question -- but you went before the American people last night and said come -- call your members of Congress and tell them we want a compromise. Well, you had a plan that you were making the case for which sounded like a version of the compromise. Release it to the public. I mean, that’s --

MR. CARNEY: $1.5 to $1.7 trillion in agreed-upon domestic discretionary non-defense savings -- cuts; other savings -- and on the most important stuff, the tough stuff, the stuff that makes it very hard for Democrats to do it but they’d be willing to do it -- important savings on entitlement reform. You know the issues; the President talked about it, other people talked about it, in terms of the kinds of reform that would produce significant savings. Okay? Significant savings in defense -- $400 billion -- significant savings in defense spending. All right? Significant savings in revenue through closing loopholes and tax reform that would produce -- by lowering rates and broadening the base, it would produce significant savings.

There are details -- we can go through details. And what we put forward -- again, this is a fluid situation. The point is, as both parties have said, they were engaged in serious negotiations; we were close to an agreement. One party said they walked away because of an insistence on an extra $400 billion in revenue. We said we could easily talk about that and resolve that issue. And that’s the kind of compromise --

QUESTION: -- $800 billion in new revenue into the Treasury --

MR. CARNEY: That’s correct.

QUESTION: -- coming out of tax reform.

MR. CARNEY: Correct.

QUESTION: And which parts of -- and was entitlement reform going to be cuts upfront and then a condition?

MR. CARNEY: Well, you know how things that had been talked about in terms of the reforms that would obviously be in the entitlements be phased over a certain period of time -- nobody has talked about upfront tax revenues. For example, the President himself said nothing before 2013 -- and how these things would play out. But these were significant savings, real savings -- the kinds of things in terms of entitlement reform that people have talked about for a long time, and Republicans in particular -- the President was willing to do. And he was looking for a partner, and he felt he had one, and he hopes he still has one going forward.

QUESTION: If he comes back with that $800 billion, why don’t you guys just accept the deal, ask a senator to introduce it in the Senate?

MR. CARNEY: We’ll see.

Carol.

QUESTION: Just quickly to follow on Chuck, I mean, the President did say to us on Friday that you guys would open the books and show us the paper. And then when we were in the Roosevelt Room, there was paper that we asked for that we weren’t actually physically handed. So was that -- are you going to give that to us?

MR. CARNEY: The senior people in that room walked you through the numbers, okay? You know -- I mean, we can engage in this, but you know that the reason why we’ve approached it this way is precisely to make it -- to create the optimum circumstances for a compromise. It is -- most of you are veteran Washington reporters. You know how this process works; that if you -- that when you put forward a position, it becomes highly -- on difficult issues, before a compromise is reached -- it becomes charged politically and your chances of actually getting an agreement diminish significantly. That’s how it works. You know that’s how it works.

And it’s for that -- if you don’t, well, you should. Others do. It is precisely because we wanted and believed and hoped that we could reach a compromise that the negotiations were conducted the way they were -- by both sides, by the way.

It is one thing to say that, yes, Republicans put forward plans that everybody knows can’t become law. Republicans were also engaged in quiet, detailed, concrete negotiations to reach a compromise.

QUESTION: Are you worried about activists tearing this -- activists on your side of the aisle tearing it apart?

MR. CARNEY: And theirs. And theirs.

QUESTION: But that’s why you didn’t -- that’s why this hasn’t gone public?

MR. CARNEY: You know how it works.

QUESTION: I understand that, but that is the reason you --

MR. CARNEY: Because we wanted an outcome that if -- as we’ve talked about, we’ve cited Bob Dole and others, you got to hold hands, get in the boat together, okay? That’s why.

Oh, my God.

What an embarrassment!

Listen to the press actually boo Carney:



The guy is a disaster. He lacks control. He isn't quick on his feet. Carney is a lot like his boss.

David Wu Resigns

Disgraced DEMOCRAT David Wu said he wasn't going to do it, but he is.

Wu is resigning from the U.S. House of Representatives.

From CNN:

Embattled U.S. Rep. David Wu will resign from the House of Representatives after being accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a fund-raiser's daughter, he announced Tuesday.

In a statement issued by his office, the seven-term Oregon Democrat said he would step down once the current standoff between Congress and the White House over raising the U.S. debt ceiling is resolved.

"I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations," Wu said. "The well-being of my children must come before anything else."

Wu is wobbly.

Yesterday, he didn't believe his resignation was necessary. The well-being of his children wasn't an issue when he insisted he would serve out the remainder of his term.

I suspect his colleagues forced Wu to leave, wanting to avoid a repeat of the DEMOCRAT Anthony Weiner sex scandal debacle.

In any event, Wu is out. He joins fellow disgraced DEMOCRAT Weiner in resigning from the House.

David Wu: 'Consensual' Sex with Teenager

UPDATE, July 26, 2011: David Wu resigns.
________________

DEMOCRAT David Wu says he won't run for reelection but he also won't resign in the wake of the sex scandal.

DEMOCRAT Wu claims that his sexual encounter with a teenager was consensual and he did nothing illegal.

From Politico:

Democratic Rep. David Wu admitted to a senior Democrat that he “did not use good judgment” during a sexual encounter with the teenage daughter of a family friend last Thanksgiving, although he claimed to have “done nothing illegal.”

Wu made the comment to Rep. John Larson (Conn.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, during a 40-minute meeting the two men had Monday afternoon.

...Sources close to Wu told POLITICO late Sunday night that he will not resign, although the veteran lawmaker has already decided not to seek reelection in 2012. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) have asked the Ethics Committee to investigate the incident, first reported by The Oregonian.

...Wu spent most of Monday huddled in the Democratic Cloakroom located off the House floor. Wu could be seen speaking to Honda and several other colleagues when he went on the floor to vote, but he quickly darted back into the cloakroom, which is off-limits to anyone but members and approved staffers.

Honda told Fox News that Wu shared “very personal things” during their conversation.

In an interview, Larson said he told Wu “to take care of your family, then yourself, then the institution, in that order.” While other top Democrats have privately urged Wu to resign, Larson said he had not done so. He called resignation “an option” for Wu.

Wu, though, admitted that an encounter with the girl occurred, potentially making it more difficult for his defenders to stand by him as the scandal unfolds. Wu reportedly told some of his staffers that the sex was “consensual,” The Oregonian reported.

The longer the scandal drags on the worse it is for Democrats.

It would be best for all involved if Wu would just step aside now.

By hanging on, Wu is giving Republicans a gift, just like Anthony Weiner did.

Leno: David Wu Jokes

UPDATE: More David Wu jokes
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JAY LENO: Well, folks, here we go again. This is so stupid. It seems 56-year-old Oregon Congressman David Wu... remember him? He's the congressman who sent staffers pictures of himself dressed as a tiger? Here's his picture. Look at this.



There he is. He's a congressman.

Well, he's now been accused of making inappropriate sexual advances to the teenage daughter of a friend. Teenager. What is it with these Democrats? If it's not Weiner's wiener, it's Wu's wang. What is going on?

There were signs with this guy. Did you see his campaign slogan? "Wu's your daddy." Right there we should have known.

Paul Ryan 2012 Reelection

The lead story of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online edition is a "what if" piece by Craig Gilbert.

It's a Democrat fantasy about Paul Ryan struggling to win reelection and the possibility of him losing.

It's a very odd article, something that reads more like Democrat party campaign literature than news.

As the fiscal voice of the GOP and the architect of its plan to scale back Medicare, Paul Ryan is the Republican many Democrats would most like to defeat next year.

A Ryan loss would cost his party a lot more than a seat in Congress. It would deprive it of one of its most influential figures. And it would be a huge blow to its policy agenda, which Ryan has played a central role in crafting.

Could Ryan, often touted as a candidate for Senate or even president, lose a re-election bid for his own U.S. House seat?

That would be a shock. By any conventional calculus, the odds are substantially against it.

At the same time, Democrats are correct in saying this contest won't be a nonevent like Ryan's past campaigns. Wisconsin has been turned upside down politically since the last time Ryan was on a ballot.

"It will definitely be a race he's not used to running," says his likely Democratic opponent, Kenosha County Supervisor Rob Zerban.

In other words, prepare for national money to probably pour into the state again, this time to bloody Ryan.

I'm sure Obama would encourage roughing Ryan up.

Gilbert concludes:

Ryan will enjoy obvious advantages next year (money, the makeup of the district, his own political skills, his electoral history). But there are major wild cards: the political fallout from his Medicare plan, the impact of having Obama on the ballot (and possibly even Walker if there's a successful recall drive next year), and the mad intensity of Wisconsin politics these days.

Gilbert seems to be giving a "you gotta believe" pep talk to Democrats: Stop Ryan. Recall Walker. Reelect Obama.

I think Obama being on the ballot will help Ryan, not hurt him.

This election is going to be a referendum on Obama's policies and his stunning ineffectiveness, especially in terms of the economy.

Obama and Lincoln, Debt and Slavery

Last week, while speaking at a town hall meeting at the University of Maryland, Obama compared himself to President Lincoln.

He stated that the nature of our politics means you don't get 100 percent of what you want.

Obama said he's making compromises in the tradition of our greatest presidents, like Lincoln did with slavery.

Obama asks, "Can you imagine how sort of the Huffington Post would have reported on that? I mean, it would have been blistering, right? You know? I mean, think about it. 'Lincoln sells out slaves.' There'd be protests, run a third party guy."

Not funny.

Video.

David Wu and Nancy Pelosi: Ethics Probe

UPDATE, July 26, 2011: David Wu resigns.
________________

Nancy Pelosi is no longer too busy to comment on the David Wu sex scandal.

Yesterday, Pelosi made time to address the matter.

From USA Today, the Associated Press:

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Sunday called for an ethics panel investigation of Rep. David Wu following a published allegation that a young woman reported he'd engaged in "aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior."

The Oregon Democrat has been facing calls to resign, but he remained silent Sunday.

In a statement Sunday night, Pelosi asked the "Ethics Committee to initiate an investigation into the allegations against Congressman Wu."

...The Democratic leader says she will send a letter to leaders of the Republican-led House Monday formally asking for the probe.

...A Democrat who has challenged Wu in next year's primary, state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, said Wu should see Pelosi's calls for an ethics investigation as a signal to step down immediately.

"An ethics investigation would result in a long drawn-out distraction and prolong the public pain" for the unidentified woman who has accused Wu, Avakian said through his spokesman, Jake Weigler. "For the sake of our community and this young woman and her family, as well as his own family, David Wu should do the right thing and step aside now."

Another Wu challenger in the Democratic primary, state Rep. Brat Witt, said an ethics investigation is needed so "we get to the bottom of the allegations and determine what the facts are."

Wu's only response so far has been a brief statement late Friday: "This is very serious, and I have absolutely no desire to bring unwanted publicity, attention or stress to a young woman and her family."

...Wu has won seven terms. In 2004, he won despite acknowledging a decades-old college incident in which he tried to force a former girlfriend to have sex. Voters said they disliked an opponent's attempt to use that against Wu.

In January this year, seven staffers resigned because of behavior that included sending a photo of himself in a tiger costume to a staff member and an angry public speech. Wu attributed those to a period of mental health challenges that began in 2008 as marital issues led to separation from his wife.

Pelosi really had no choice but to call for an ethics probe.

Her delay, claiming she didn't know what was going on with Wu, was somewhat of an embarrassment.

If Wu were a Republican, I think this story would be receiving dramatically more attention and he'd be forced to resign immediately.

David Wu Sex Scandal

UPDATE, July 26, 2011: David Wu resigns.
________________

The Democrats have another sex scandal to manage this summer.

Democrat U.S. Rep. David Wu from Oregon is picking up where Democrat U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner from New York left off.

Weiner's multiple encounters with women took place in cyberspace. Wu is being accused of more than virtual misbehavior. He's accused of an actual "unwanted sexual encounter" with a teenager.

Not good.

From The Oregonian:

A distraught young woman called U.S. Rep. David Wu's Portland office this spring, accusing him of an unwanted sexual encounter, according to multiple sources.

When confronted, the Oregon Democrat acknowledged a sexual encounter to his senior aides but insisted it was consensual, the sources said.

The woman is the daughter of a longtime friend and campaign donor. She apparently did not contact police at the time.

One person who heard the voice mail described the woman as upset, breathing heavily and "distraught."

In the voice mail, the young woman accused Wu of aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior, according to sources with direct knowledge of the message and its contents.

Reporters could not verify the young woman's age. Notes on Facebook over the past 18 months indicate she graduated from high school in 2010. California records show she registered to vote in August.

Wu, 56, did not respond to repeated questions from The Oregonian over the past four days.

Late Friday, Wu issued a one-sentence response: "This is very serious, and I have absolutely no desire to bring unwanted publicity, attention, or stress to a young woman and her family."

Sources familiar with the voice mail said it was clear that the woman was the daughter of a high school friend of Wu's in Orange County.

Creepy.

...Two people with knowledge of the recording and the later conversation with Wu said the alleged incident took place over Thanksgiving weekend. Sources said they were told that the woman went outside and Wu left after her. The sexual encounter followed, they said.

Two sources said the woman believed there was not enough evidence to press charges. There were no witnesses, and it would be her word against a seven-term member of the U.S. Congress.

The alleged incident raises new questions about Wu's behavior during the 1st District congressman's re-election campaign last year. According to staff at the time and emails from the period, he behaved so erratically that staff avoided scheduling him for public appearances and ran a campaign that relied heavily on advertising. Shortly before the Nov. 2 election, senior staff quietly shut down the campaign office and sent other campaign workers home.

In February, following unexpectedly large staff turnover, Wu acknowledged extreme stress last year, which he attributed to the campaign and problems in his marriage. He and his wife are in the process of getting a divorce. He said he sought counseling and has taken medication for an unspecified mental condition.

The Southern California incident allegedly occurred a little over three weeks after the election.

In 2004, The Oregonian reported on a 1976 case when Wu was a student at Stanford University and was disciplined for trying to force an ex-girlfriend to have sex.

Will the Democrats protect an alleged rapist? (They protected Bill Clinton.)

Nancy Pelosi has no comment.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Saturday night that she had no comment on whether Rep. David Wu should resign, one day after a Portland newspaper reported that the Oregon Democrat is facing accusations from a young woman of an “unwanted sexual encounter” last fall.

“I don’t have any comment on that at this time,” Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters as she left her Capitol office after a series of meetings with other congressional leaders on raising the debt ceiling. “I just really don’t know that much about it; I heard that there was some article in the paper.”

Pelosi told reporters that she’d have something to say at a later date, noting that “right now, we’re so completely, totally immersed” in the debt-limit negotiations.

Pelosi doesn't know much about the matter?

From Politico:

Rep. David Wu spoke to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top Democrats on Saturday about his political future in the wake of allegations of a sexual encounter with a teenager, but it is not clear whether the Oregon Democrat will step down from office.

Wu has been accused of having an “unwanted sexual encounter” with the teenage daughter of a longtime friend last year over Thanksgiving weekend. The teenager, whose identity has not been disclosed, and her family have not filed any criminal complaint against the longtime lawmaker, but the incident, the second accusation of inappropriate sexual behavior against Wu, is “extremely troubling” to Pelosi and other Democrats, say Democratic insiders.

...Democratic insiders would not comment on Pelosi’s conversation with Wu other than to confirm that the two had spoken and other senior House Democrats have contacted the lawmaker as well.

Of course, Pelosi is taking the "no comment" route for now, the Weiner strategy.

Eventually, she's going to have to address the scandal. The Democrats can't ignore it.

The 56-year-old Wu's "unwanted sexual encounter" with a teenager is a big deal.

If the allegations of sexual assault are true, Wu has to resign.

Obama News Conference, July 22 (Video, Transcript)

The debt talks collapsed yesterday.

There are dueling explanations as to what happened.

Here's the full video of Obama's Friday evening news conference:



Here's the transcript of an angry Obama's version of events.

Speaker of the House John Boehner tells a different story.

Here's video of his full news conference:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Allen West

Debbie Wasserman Schultz has tried to play the victim in her spat with Allen West.

Turns out Little Debbie's history of attacking West goes back to 2010.

Video, from Breitbart:


__________________

Mark Levin interviews Allen West on Debbie Wasserman Schultz.


__________________

Read more about West and Wasserman Schultz, from the American Spectator: Go Man, Young West.

Wisconsin Recall Elections and Obama

Obama and his political machine are meddling in Wisconsin politics.

Here's an e-mail from Obama's campaign operation:

Friend --

On August 9th, Wisconsin voters will go back to the polls to decide whether six Republican senators have failed to serve the needs of Wisconsin's hard-working families.

Senate Republicans broke the trust of Wisconsinites earlier this year when they forced drastic cuts in funding for schools, seniors, and the disabled to cut taxes for their own contributors.

Since then, hundreds of OFA Wisconsin supporters across the state have spoken up, saying they want to have an impact in the recall elections in August. So in the coming weeks, volunteers will be organizing their networks, working phone banks, and knocking on doors to get the word out about what's at stake on August 9th -- and this Saturday, there's an event in Glendale.

Can you make it? Here are the details:

What: Wisconsin legislative recall event

Where: 6807 N Green Bay Ave
Glendale, WI 53209

When: Saturday, July 23rd
10:00 am

If you can't make that event, find another one near you here.

Six Republican-held seats are up for grabs on August 9th -- and two more held by Democrats are up on the 16th.

While the campaign remains focused on re-electing the President, Organizing for America will provide support to OFA Wisconsin volunteers organizing around Democratic candidates in the recall elections.

I hope you can join the event in Glendale on Saturday. Sign up here:

http://wi.barackobama.com/Wisconsin-Recall-Events

Thanks,

Michelle

Michelle Kleppe
Wisconsin State Field Director
Organizing for America

Clearly, Obama considers Wisconsin to be vital to his own political future. It's no surprise that he's poking around in our state politics.

It's no surprise that Obama is waging class warfare and distorting what Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans have accomplished for Wisconsin's families.

Instead of being divisive and being a big labor hack, Obama should learn from Scott Walker and the Republicans.

"Wet blanket" Obama should observe the successes and reconsider his policies.

Dave Hansen Wins Recall

Dave Hansen, one of the Democrat senators who fled the state and ran to Illinois to avoid permitting the Wisconsin legistlative branch of government to function, has been rewarded.

He retains a seat in the State Senate.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay was the first of nine state senators to face a final recall election, and he easily survived Tuesday.

Hansen won a lopsided victory over his Republican challenger, wind farm developer David VanderLeest of Green Bay, against whom Democrats and their allies have been hammering away on his personal and legal problems.

Watch Hansen and his comrades appear on Ed Schultz's show.

Nauseating.

This is a long, torturous video clip. The Dems appear at 3:15.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

DAVE HANSEN: I just wanted to say that as a former public employee I really appreciated what labor organizations did for me. I drove a truck for the city of Green Bay sanitation before I became a state senator. And without that we wouldn't have had any pay or any benefits, and that's what they're trying to do. They're trying to remove ANY right to bargain, negotiate, and remove collective bargaining that's been in place for 50 years. It is a sad, sad day, and it's ridiculous what those 18 Republican senators did today. And our Governor should be ashamed of himself.

Good grief.

Hansen retains his seat. That's not an upset given his opponent.

If I were a union hack/Dem, I wouldn't get too cocky.