Sen.

Dana Perino, a former White House press secretary, had a great op-ed on FoxNews.com today on the Obama administration’s draft Executive Order that would require businesses to disclose their political spending as part of their bids for a federal government contract. She asks a very good question – why does the Obama administration want to know your political beliefs before they give you a job?

Below are excerpts from her column:

We’re seeing more opposition to the draft Executive Order by the day.

Yesterday, 43 members of the Republican Study Committee sent a letter to President Obama urging him to withdraw the draft EO that would require businesses to disclose their political spending as part of their bids for a federal government contract.

Excerpts from the letter:

Following on the heels of last week’s House hearing and increasing Democratic opposition, 88 business groups and trade associations, including the U.S. Chamber, sent a letter tonight to the President urging him not to sign an Executive Order that would require businesses to disclose their political spending as part of their bids for a federal government contract.

Ahead of today’s hearing in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, two key members of the Senate Democratic Caucus criticized the Obama administration’s proposed Executive Order that would require businesses to disclose political contributions and expenditures when making offers for federal contracts.

By Blair Latoff

In what Politico calls “an apparent reversal,” the Obama administration will now send a top contracting official to testify at a House hearing tomorrow after Republicans threatened to serve the Office of Management and Budget with a subpoena.

In a fortuitous development, the #2 House Democrat said today that he opposes President Obama’s draft executive order to require businesses to disclose their political donations for the last 2 years as part of their bids on federal government contracts.

The Hill reports:

Yesterday, Rep. Van Hollen launched Phase II of the White House’s plan to ferret out and punish political foes by announcing that he has hired a law firm to challenge Federal Election Commission regulations issued many years ago. Rep. Van Hollen is attacking FEC regulations for – surprise – not forcing participants in the political process to disclose their political leanings to the government and the public.

by Blair Latoff

Just when you thought we’d heard the last of the Administration’s efforts to muzzle their political adversaries, along comes a “draft” Executive Order that seeks to accomplish unilaterally what they couldn’t pass through Congress last year.  In some ways, this effort goes a step further.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement in response to the President’s speech today on the debt and deficit:

“We are pleased that the President has moved beyond his original budget proposal and recognized that meaningful budget reform must entail curbing our excessive and unsustainable spending. However, we believe that our long-run fiscal policy must include real reform of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as well as curbs to discretionary spending.

Our top brass – Tom Donohue and Bruce Josten – joined about 20 reporters for breakfast roundtable hosted by the Christian Science Monitor this morning.  In a rare twist inside the Beltway, The Monitor encourages in-depth, civilized conversation among reporters and newsmakers at these events.  As the paper’s revered DC Bureau Chief David Cook once told me, “The goal is light, not heat.”  

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today on Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan:

Richard Clarke is running out of people who will listen to him.  That’s a problem when you run a consulting business.  Clarke, as you may recall, was the counter-terrorism czar under several presidents immediately prior to 9/11 (his tenure ended badly under Bush ’43, who he then proceeded to blast in a tell-all book).

Great event this morning here at the Chamber, featuring Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The occasion was the roll-out of a groundbreaking study by the Workforce Freedom Initiative (WFI) entitled, “The Impact of State Employment Policies on Job Growth: A 50-State Review.” Gov.

We at the Chamber think our President and CEO Tom Donohue is eminently quotable, but it’s always nice to see that other’s think so, too.

In an editorial published in Baking Management magazine, Robb MacKie, president and C.E.O., American Bakers Association discusses the new Congress and the need to—as Tom said in the days after the election—“put politics aside and start working on bipartisan solutions.”

MacKie wrote:

(Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

by Tom Donohue

President Obama's appointment of Jeffrey Immelt to head the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness is a promising step toward a renewed focus on creating jobs, boosting economic growth, and enhancing America's global competitiveness. Jeff is an excellent choice to lead this effort with his business experience and acumen, and understanding of global markets.

by Blair Latoff

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President for Government Affairs, Bruce Josten, issued the following statement today on the House vote to repeal the burdensome health care law:

"Today's vote sent an important message to the American people that Congress is listening to their call for health care reform that truly lowers cost and improves quality without irreparably damaging our economy and inhibiting job creation.

by JP Fielder

CNBC kicked off Chinese President Hu's state visit to Washington today by discussing with Myron Brilliant the opportunities and challenges of trade relations between our countries.

by Blair Latoff

American businesses of all sizes are being hindered by skyrocketing health care costs, while shouldering the responsibility of driving economic recovery and job growth.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) is fatally flawed and an irresponsible bill that America's businesses and working families can't afford to pay.

Do what's right for our nation. Support American businesses, save our jobs, and promote economic growth by going back to the drawing board.

by Sheryll Poe

by Pat Cleary
 
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave a much-anticipated address today at the Heritage Foundation headquarters on Capitol Hill to talk about the elections - and the road forward. Here was his read on what the election meant.

Imagine waking up today as a union leader, having just burned $90 million of your members’ money, and having to tell them that you came up empty-handed. Oops!

Updated 10:00am November 3 with additional results--see below.

As the dust settles from Tuesday’s election, one conclusion is clear: the midterm election was not about trade.

Here in the fray, we kinda get used to political broadsides, as they are lobbed against us with regularity. For us, it comes with the territory of being the voice of free enterprise. These days the allegations seem to be coming fast and furious from the anti-business crowd.

In The Washington Post today, Katrina vanden Heuvel launches a broadside attack on the U.S. Chamber that's riddled with inaccuracies and overloaded with partisan rhetoric.

We classify it as a broadside because Ms vanden Heuvel made no attempt to reach out to the Chamber for a comment or discussion about the litany of errors woven into her column.

For those of you who weren’t otherwise distracted on Saturday, the WaPo had a great op-ed by Democratic pollsters Doug Schoen and Pat Caddell entitled, "Our divisive president, redux," subtitled, "President Obama's post-partisan America has disappeared, replaced by the politics of polarizatio

We have come a long way over the past two years...

In the wake of 2008’s mass gains for the liberal agenda in Congress – the obituary for the business agenda all but wrote itself. Just take a look back at some of the headlines from the 111^th Congress:

"After Working Hard To Elect Democrat, Unions Expect Help On Their Agenda"
- The Wall Street Journal (November 6, 2008) 

“House Passes Historic Health Care Overhaul”
- The LA Times (March 22, 2010)

In a piece in the New York Times titled "Job Losses Outweigh Administration’s Successes," David Leonhardt chronicles the job loss and economic uneasiness that seems to be motivating voters these days:

Since the Chamber’s voter education campaign launched earlier this year, we’ve been busy. From California to Florida -- and dozens of stops in between -- I’ve been crisscrossing the country on behalf of the Chamber -- meeting with candidates, participating in endorsement events, and talking to local chambers and small businesses along the way. It’s been great to meet so many of you.

Sometimes it happens in the blog world that the comments you receive are so good that they deserve to be elevated into a  blog post of their own. This is one of those times. We received this comment from a reader in response to our post below titled "And the Biggest Campaign Spender is...," about AFSCME being the #1 big spender in these elections, with a whopping $87 million of their members' money going to what are most likely going to be losing efforts.

AFCSME!

Boy, do we have our share of distractions. This election season, we have remained focused like a laser on the issues we -- and, turns out, the voters -- care about: Jobs and the economy. On the other side is the anti-business crowd who would just as soon not talk about those issues, since they don't have much of an alibi.

There have been so many distraction these days on the campaign trail that sometimes it’s hard for pundits to even keep track of what the real issues are. But we have never been in doubt and, as the new "All-America economic survey" from CNBC shows, voters are not terribly optimistic. The results portend trouble for the one side that doesn’t want to talk about the economy in this election, and you’ll see why:
 

Interesting exchange on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” as part of their panel discussing Marc Thiessen's op-ed in the Washington Post on where Democrats are fundraising for midterm ads.

Joe Scarborough is talking To Pat Buchanan. Scarborough says,

As Election Day draws nigh, it seems that news coverage has long since left the issues of jobs, the economy and federal spending -- issues on which voters are focused. In fact, this story last week about the federal deficit reaching a whopping $1.3 trillion received scant attention.

Much has been made about the very real and palpable conflict between the current Administration and the broader business community. This has usually played out as a tired media debate along the lines of "you are killing our ability to create jobs" versus "you should be grateful for all that we have done to bail out businesses." I have no idea what the folks in the White House actually believe, but I can’t believe that they think this pointless back-and-forth is helping them to achieve anything important.

Sorry, but we just have to call out RedState here for leaking a secret video of one of our very secret meetings. We expect this kind of stuff from the left, but from RedState?? Come on guys, isn’t this a little beyond the pale? See for yourself.

By David Chavern 

by Tom Collamore

Having been roundly repudiated in the mainstream media over their allegation that the U.S. Chamber is using money from American Chambers of Commerce abroad (AmChams) to fund political ads, John Podesta and his folks at ThinkProgress have shifted to a new target in their increasingly pitiful attempt to silence the voice of business in the upcoming election--our bilateral business councils.

This allegation is equally false and baseless, not to mention tiresome and desperate.

by Pat Cleary

Two bits of bad news for the crowd on the left who started this whole smear campaign against the Chamber. First, as Kevin Ganster pointed out below, it backfired. And second,  their obvious goal of getting the Chamber to back down in the final few weeks of the election season isn't working.

by Kevin Ganster

Having run with unsubstantiated accusations that the U.S. Chamber used foreign money to fund political ads, the mainstream media is now finding those accusations a little hard to swallow. Examining facts often has that effect. Somewhat surprisingly, the New York Times was first out of the gate on Saturday with a piece saying,  essentially, there is no there there. 

Other examples:

While campaigning in Scranton, Pennsylvania today -- according to the Politico -- Vice President Joe Biden said in talking about our campaign contributions:

"I challenge the Chamber of Commerce to tell us how much of the money they’re investing is from foreign sources. I challenge them. If I’m wrong, I will stand corrected."

by Pat Cleary

Further to yesterday's post on the Chamber's many defenders against the most recent scurrilous attack comes a full-throated defense from an unlikely source - The New York Times. Yes, the same New York Times who ran a heavily edited version of our letter correcting their errant editorial.

by Pat Cleary
 
It didn't take to long for just about everyone (except the far left) to see the latest smear against the Chamber for what it was, a  partisan attack aimed at silencing the voice of free enterprise.
 
First one out of the box was the Center for Competitive Politics with its thorough dismembering of the thin arguments around the Think Progress post.

by Tom Collamore

We learned this morning the economy shed another 95,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate won't budge from a devastating 9.6%. Approval of Congress remains in the teens or low twenties and the president's approval rating has fallen below 50%. A majority of Americans oppose the health care law and have serious reservations about the tax-spend-regulate agenda implemented by the congressional majority and the administration.

by Bruce Josten

Less than a month before Election Day we are seeing an attempt by some Washington politicians to distract, dodge, and deny their records. The Chamber will continue to remind voters where candidates stand on policies that create jobs in America.

Desperate, partisan attacks are a transparent attempt to distract voters from the issue America cares most about: job creation. Now is not the time for political stunts, as the American people are rejecting politics as usual.

It's bad enough that someone can post an unfounded piece on a blog, but hey, that's the way the internets roll. What's worse is when it gets picked up by others who are as unconcerned with the facts as the original poster. But this is the political season after all. And so a group with a political agenda squarely at odds with the Chamber is doing its level best to sling mud. And their allies on the left dutifully do their part, all in the name of minimizing damage at the ballot box in November.

Sean Parnell at the Center for Competitive Politics published an excellent blog post yesterday looking into the ThinkProgress "investigation" of the U.S. Chamber's election spending. Quoting in part:

by Pat Cleary

Regarding the latest whopper about the Chamber that is making the rounds - started by John Podesta's Center for American Progress and carelessly repeated by others -  these accusations are completely erroneous. Make no mistake, this is a partisan effort to attack and silence the voice of business and free enterprise. But a few facts are worth remembering:

With the top two issues of importance to Americans being the economy and jobs, the Senate will once again consider, tomorrow, the Free Speech stifling DISCLOSE Act (see our letter in opposition here, and this one from 309 organizations). 

Following today’s weekly radio address from the President about the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, a verdict that protects corporations and labor unions’ First Amendment rights, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Vice President for Government Affairs Bruce Josten issued the following statement: 

“The Citizens United decision protects the First Amendment rights of organizations across the political spectrum and is a positive for the political process and free enterprise.

MoveOn continues their efforts to explore the depths of intellectual dishonesty with a new campaign ad calling the U. S. Chamber: "A group recently accused of tax fraud for diverting money meant for charity towards their partisan agenda."

Accused of tax fraud?  Sounds serious. Was this by the Justice Department?  The IRS?  No, no, nothing like that. The accusation came from MoveOn ally U. S. Chamber Watch, a front group formed to attack the Chamber.

Here are the facts:

When the U.S. Chamber opposes a suggested law or regulation the immediate reaction from its supporters is that we oppose the effort's declared intent. In most cases this is not true, our opposition stems from our informed belief that the suggested law or regulation is not an effective way to achieve the declared intent. On the other side when the U.S. Chamber supports spending or taxes in certain areas we get accused of being hypocrites for not supporting spending or fees in every single instance.

The past few weeks have seen some unwelcome news about the economy, with current growth slowing, projected growth next year of only 2% and a rise in jobless claims.  In response to this Senate leaders are focused o

From The Hill:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce economist Martin Regalia on Monday said the tax increases advocated by President Obama would essentially kill any chance for an economic rebound.

True enough. Then the article continues with this bit:

Free Enterprise Magazine that is:

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others"

1984 is the go-to dystopian novel but in talking about the Disclose Act today the Wall Street Journal leans more toward Animal Farm with the sub-head ("A bill to make political speech freer for some than for others".)  Seems appropriate given the legislation is an exercise in the corruption of power. A snip:

Below is our new print ad running today. Tell Congress to focus on your jobs not theirs.

Instead of concentrating on job creation and economic growth, the congressional majority has turned its attention to silencing its critics and protecting incumbent jobs in the fall.

There seems to be some confusion in the media over the modified version of the Disclose Act and how it relates to unions. As The Hill reported last week:

The U.S. Chamber has just sent the below letter to the Senate opposing the "the Motion to Proceed and Any Vote Relating to Passage of S. 3628, the DISCLOSE Act."  Send your own.

A letter, signed by 309 organizations, was sent today to all members of the United States Senate. Read the whole thing here -- one section below. Send your message to the Senate here.

For the House vote on the Disclose Act I used a basketball example for the Disclose Acts's unequal treatment of free speech rights between labor and business organizations. With the Senate vote coming up tomorrow and the NBA season concluded, Steve Abbott, writing in the Bangor Daily News goes to baseball:

Next Tuesday is high noon for free speech. Now about that corporate spending on elections:

Actually, a little past noon, but on Tuesday July 27th at 2:45pm we will get a head count of how many Senators actually meant it when they solemnly swore (or affirmed) to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States." Tell them to mean it.

Two tweets from Sean Parnell on the ever-worsening Disclose Act:

New version of #DISCLOSE Act is S.3628 in Senate, intro'd by #Schumer yesterday. No bill text available yet - so much for transparency

New version of #DISCLOSE Act in hand, 116 pages - lots of new language, which likely means lots of new special deals for interest groups

From today's letters to the New York Times:

You claim that voters “badly need” to know the donors to groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood or the Farm Bureau in order to — well, in order to what, exactly?

First post with this title is here, but with the Senate about to take up this turkey let's get a refresher from the House debate on the bill. Here is Rep. Brady:

Thomas Mitchell on free speech and the dangers of "I got mine":

The disgrace of DISCLOSE, from Tracy Warner in the Wenatchee World:

When the Supreme Court issued its Citizens United decision protecting free speech rights, certain members of the political class were aghast. They predicted of a flood of corporate money pouring into campaigns, drowning out all other voices and corrupting our nation’s politics.

Sam Stein reports at the Huffington Post:

Former FEC Chairman Bradley Smith, now head of the Center for Competitive Politics, has this piece in the NY Post today:

On July 1st the Denver Post had a great editorial on the "benign-sounding bill called the Disclose Act."

Two editorials today explore the impact of the DISCLOSE Act on the little guys--small nonprofits and businesses who want to make their voices heard.

In New Hampshire, the Union Leader editorial points out a real world example:

Script:

The Chicago Tribune opines:

On Thursday, Democrats muscled a bill through the U.S. House that they call the Disclose Act. The acronym stands for Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections. Rah, rah for transparency!

It's a fraud.

Over on The Volokh Conspiracy, Jeff Milyo has a great post on the cost filter of burdensome disclosure laws. He titles it "Unintended Consequences of Grassroots Lobbying Regulations" but given the declared goal of limiting speech by supporters of the House passed Disclose Act I would argue that diminished speech is an intended consequence of these laws.

With the passage of the DISCLOSE Act the Democratic majority in the House has jammed through a piece of legislation that clearly violates the Constitution, as well as basic principles of fairness and equity. The Supreme Court calls it ‘viewpoint discrimination,’ and every first-year law student knows that it’s illegal.

Bruce Josten issued the following statement today on the newest Manager’s Amendment to the so-called DISCLOSE Act, which would exempt from reporting requirements any transfers between affiliated entities – including individuals rather than organizations – up to $50,000:

// Update - Passage of DISCLOSE Act an Assault on Freedom of Speech. On to the Senate. Keep watching.

From the Center for Competitive Politics (via Shopfloor):

// Update: Our Key Vote Letter from today opposing the Rule and Any Vote Relating to Passage of H.R. 5175, the "Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act (DISCLOSE Act)"

Kudos to these 305 business organizations for supporting the First Amendment:

James Madison, in Federalist No. 10 addressed the possibility of a government controlled by "factions"—recognizing the dangers and likelihood of individuals gathering together to achieve a greater voice.  He could think of only two methods of removing the incentive:

// Update: More Letters Here.

Selections below from letters sent to Congress by those who believe in free speech, and see this radio interview Bruce Josten did earlier today with Scott Hennen.

The American Civil Liberties Union

I had just finished typing up a post on this Hill article, but Sean Parnell's is much better:

Actually, to say that Chris Van Hollen is my Representative relies on technicality.  Yes, I live in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, and yes, he is the Member of Congress from that District; but his full-time job has nothing to do with MD-8 and everything to do with DCCC.  You see Mr. Van Hollen is the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee whose job it is to raise money to protect and elect Democrats to the House of Representatives.

As we have noted many times in its Citizens United decision the Supreme Court, as Kim Strassel puts it "...didn't play favorites. Corporations got new speech rights. But so too did powerful unions and liberal activist groups..."

How about the Disclose Act?  A telling little "Statement of Administration Policy" from the White House today (my italics):

The Watertown Daily Times sums it up nicely:

Congressional Democrats are having a tough time picking winners and losers when it comes to rationing political speech. They are trying to figure out who gets a pass on their proposed political advertising disclosure rules in order to impose new restrictions on corporations and other, not-so-preferred organizations.

The title was a Bruce Josten response on the recent standard Beltway shenanigans around the DISCLOSE Act, a measure, by his measure, that is "blatantly political and an effort to protect Democratic incumbents."

Eugene Scalia, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and counsel to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has a better idea in the Politico, how about "First Amendment freedoms for all?"

by JP Fielder

Chris Van Hollen represents Maryland's 8th Congressional District, but the Maryland Chamber doesn't think much of his latest effort:

As Big Labor continues to see its public support declining, its agenda stalling on Capitol Hill, and Arkansas voters rebuffing their $10 million effort to unseat a moderate Democrat, this desperate effort should come as no surprise:

Moving their debate from the 2nd to the 1st the Brady Campaign gets the better of the NRA on this one:

The Huffington Post covers the latest on the DISCLOSE Act:

The Center for Competitive Politics reports that House Democrats are trying to mollify opponents of the DISCLOSE Act, which would impose onerous, lopsided burdens and restrictions on independent political speech, with the following amendment:  "Exempt section 501(c)(4) organizations" are also exempt from new reporting requirements.

by Brad Peck

The Washington Post, among others, reported yesterday on a Disclose Act "compromise" that would "would exempt NRA, AFL-CIO and others from campaign finance disclosures"

Let's see...

The below letter was sent by Bruce Josten to the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives

William McGinley writes on the recent FEC voted exempting Citizens United’s movie activities from the Federal Election Campaign Act’s disclosure requirement under the media exception.

• Citizens United: Nightmare vs Reality
• The ‘Costs’ of Free Speech - Consequentialism and the First Amendment don’t mix.
• Express Advocacy for Us but Not for Them

Sarah Lee has a great piece on The Daily Caller talking about the Disclose Act:

by Brad Peck
 
Mondays are not really when you want to have to hit the grindstone so it was quite nice to have a post out there as easily rebuttable as this one from the Wonkroom. Let's start with the title:

"Chamber Whines That DISCLOSE Act Doesn’t Do Enough to Screw Unions"

I posted the other day on one rather shallow response to this Tom Donohue interview from last Friday, but am really confused by this other:

First, a little clip from "a Washington Post analysis of records filed under new Federal Election Commission requirements" on bundled campaign contributions:

Roll Call is reporting that the H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act "will not get a House vote before the Memorial Day recess" but it will be "one of the first things" taken up when the House is back. So this is a good time to review the key vote letter we sent to all Members of the House today:

Carter Wood gives an update at Point of Law:

Yesterday Bruce Josten and Eugene Scalia briefed reporters (clips here) on the bill cynically titled the "Disclose Act." I will let you look up what the letters mean, suffice to say the messaging tail really wagged the acronym dog on this one.

Despite his vow to keep an open ear on the job-killing Card Check bill, Florida U.S. Senate candidate Gov.

Unions to spend big on the status quo:

I have just sent the below letter to Chairman Brady, Ranking Member Lungren and the other members of the Committee on House Administration.

Joe Scarborough, the former congressman and current host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” made quite a few interesting and insightful comments at the Small Business Summit on Tuesday afternoon. Here are a few of the highlights:

Eight former Federal Election Commissioners have a piece in the Wall Street Journal today on the "Disclose Act."  The sub-head says it all "The 'Disclose' Act would make election law even more incomprehensible and subject to selective enforcement for political gain."  But let's look at some more:

Today the SEIU is joining other unions in protesting lobbyists on K Street who "use their massive wealth to buy and sell politicians..."  The irony of it all.

First to the Detroit News which writes "Obama showers unions with gifts that all taxpayers will have to pay for"

U.S. Chamber president Tom Donohue took a break from talking trade yesterday at the National Press Club to weigh in on recently introduce legislation aimed at "keeping the Chamber out of the midterm elections."

"Disclose Act could deter involvement in elections" is the title of this piece in today's Washington Post -- which is, in fact, the goal of the legislation:

Jeff Mascott on K Street Cafe:

Last week The Economist’s Lexington column profiled a community organizer in Seattle who faced a $10,000 fine for not reporting her grassroots efforts to oppose government takeover of private property.

Last Friday Markos Moulitsas, the Kos in DailyKos, put up a fundraising post titled "AR-Sen: Hell to Pay: Chamber-backed group runs racist ad against Bill Halter." After displaying the ad the bulk of the post starts with "The group running this ad is funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce..."

Two from the Wall Street Journal on free speech -- yesterday:

Democrats in Congress last week introduced White House-backed legislation that would indirectly reinstate free-speech restrictions that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in January. Backers say the measure will force disclosure of corporate money in politics, but the real goal is to muzzle criticism—at least from some people.

Some background from the National Journal on Monday:

There is a lot to read in any given day so it wasn't until last night that I spotted this April 23rd piece in the Gazette from American University history professor Allan Lichtman. He is talking about the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision and right out of the gate comes up with:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued two statements today on the introduction of The DISCLOSE Act, one by U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue and one by U.S. Chamber counsel and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Partner Theodore B. Olson.

Tom Donohue:

3 Reasons Not to Sweat The Citizens United Ruling

The U.S.

More readings on Citizens United:

Bradley A. Smith writes in Politico's Arena:

Let's browse the Wall Street Journal to get up to speed on the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling:

Newsflash: First Amendment Upheld

U.S. Chamber president and CEO Tom Donohue issued this statement regarding the release of DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen's outline of Citizens United Legislation:

Modern energy consumption has become so disconnected from modern production that if you asked the average person where electricity comes from they would point at an outlet on the wall. Then occasionally something happens which brings home the fact that supplying half of our nation's electricity is not an easy task. It is hard and often entails dangerous work. Last week's tragic coal mining accident in West Virginia is a case in point.

Bloomberg reports that the Obama administration is focusing on three candidates to succeed Justice Stevens - U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appellate judges Diane Wood and Merrick Garland. Kagan and Wood interviewed with Obama last year before he appointed Sonia Sotomayor. Garland, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is perhaps the most conservative of the trio.

The Easter weekend brought the resurrection of the U.S. economy according to administration officials. Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council and Christina Romer, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, both claimed that positive job numbers was proof that the economy is picking up.

Delivering the quid for this quo Sen.

I sometimes get emails forwarded to me originating from the Big Labor front group American Rights at Work (ARAW). The latest one opens with:

Want to know what's next on the U.S. Chamber's agenda? Spending $50 million on political races to "play a major role in this year's midterm elections on a scale to rival the nation's two main political parties!" Read all about it, then take a stand by signing our Not My Chamber pledge TODAY!

The Hill today asks: "What will be the political fallout from President Barack Obama's decision to use recess appointments to place Craig Becker and Mark Pearce on the National Labor Relations Board?"

 by Eric Wohlschlegel

U.S. Chamber executive vice president Bruce Josten today responded to remarks by Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin that politicized the debate on financial regulatory reform and distorted the facts. With the following statement:

"The chamber plans to spend at least $50 million on political races and related activities this year, a 40 percent increase from 2008."

I mentioned yesterday the Hill hearings on the Citizens United decision, wanted to share today Rep. Scott Garrett's statement for the record from one of them:

In the midst of two Hill hearings on the Citizens United decision, the Chamber’s Steven Law has an OpEd in today’s Wall Street Journal about the “unmentioned” yet top beneficiary of the Supreme Court’s decision:

Megan McArdle on watching the Toyota hearings:

I haven't seen so much posturing since I graduated Miss Elliot's Charm School for Gentlewomen and Girls. It's clear to me that there have been some real problems with Toyota cars. But it also seems like the hysteria and the hype are rapidly becoming unmoored from any actual danger.

Not that there is much "Union America" -- outside the public sector anyway -- but I'll stick with the title. Sen.

Tonight, President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address with the country and Congress closely watching. All sides are anxious to hear the President's plan for the year ahead.

After health care flat lined, the Administration and Congress are quickly pivoting to what Americans have been asking for all along: jobs. How much of the speech will address the health care impasse? What are his plans to create jobs and get America back to work?

In case you haven't heard last week the Supreme Court vindicated, as Ted Olson put it "the right of individuals to engage in core political speech by banding together to make their voices heard.'' Reason.com reminds : "If corporate advocacy may be forbidden as it was under the law in question, it’s not just Exxon Mobil and Citigroup that are rendered mute.

Scott Brown won the Massachusetts election just last night and already the entire DC establishment is in rapid-fire spin-mode to explain away what happened.

If you haven’t checked the weather lately, you might want to look outside. Hell has frozen over and pigs are flying. In the biggest upset since David beat Goliath, Republican Scott Brown has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the bluest of blue states, in the safest of safe Senate seats, one that has been held by a Kennedy since 1952. A Republican hasn’t been elected from the Bay State since 1972.

It could be the biggest political upset since Truman beat Dewey in 1948. The polls seem to be indicating a win for Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts. In what might be the last round of polls, surveys show Brown anywhere from tied to up 10 points.

There’s a story in today’s SF Chronicle that paints a fairly incomplete picture of our efforts on climate change and job creation, despite my best efforts to provide that information to the reporter, Kelly Zito.

Today MoveOn.org released a petition falsely accusing the U.S. Chamber of stating that it would: "set a dangerous precedent" to allow rape victims into court.

This is of course false. MoveOn.org's malicious misrepresentation of the Chamber's position is baseless and is another example of its orchestrated campaign designed to intimidate and harass the Chamber and its members. Should anyone read the legislation and ascertain the full facts, they will see how desperate and beyond the pale these accusations are.

Steve Chapman writing at Reason.com

The average American citizen, contrary to myth, is neither very angry, nor very far to the left or the right, nor inclined to treat anyone with different opinions as a mortal enemy. In a cluttered media environment, the most extreme voices tend to attract so much attention that it's easy to forget something important: Most people aren't listening.

In the Wall Street Journal, Heather Richardson Higgins, of the Independent Women's Forum, muses on the political ramifications of a new poll by her group concerning women and health care, but let’s just take a look at the numbers from her piece:

Brad Peck

Josh Harkinson, of Mother Jones, took offense at my post from yesterday in which Mother Jones is mentioned. They were only there however, because Pearlstein put them there:

Steven Pearlstein is not a reporter, he is a columnist. As such he is freed from journalistic standards of objectivity and is free to give his opinion, yesterday his opinion was wrong. So let's look at the facts behind his "three embarrassing truths about the Chamber"

A companion piece for this morning's post courtesy of Nick Gillespie at Reason:

I had the good fortune to be living in Europe when the oppressed masses of the Soviet bloc chose freedom and pulled down the Iron Curtain. They were heady, inspiring days and therefore I am a little touchy about any misappropriation of these heroes efforts. To review, here is the real Velvet Revolution (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Political analysts and commentators continue to critique President Obama’s major health care speech. Columnist Mark Steyn wonders why Obama can’t close the deal. He writes:

In today's Wall Street Journal Daniel Henninger takes a looks at electorates who are "casting a global no-confidence vote in their leaderships."  Read the whole thing, here are some snips:

A new poll suggests why a radical overhaul of the health care system may not be in the cards…a Thomson Reuters survey found that fewer Americans are afraid that they will be unable to pay for health care services and fewer expect to postpone medical treatments due to costs.

Kevin Ganster

He's being called the greatest senator of our time, the "Lion of the Senate," and the last of an extraordinary generation of Kennedy's who transfixed the public and changed the world. The end of Camelot -- Sen. Ted Kennedy, dead at 77.

Everyone agrees that the health care status quo is unsustainable, quite simply we need health reform -- correction -- we need health reform that works.

by David Chavern
 

This Wall Street Journal look at the state of union finances explains so, so much (my bold):

Ok, that is a little dramatic, this was hardly a rumble on the stage, but rather a very respectful and polite examination of the Administration's first 100 Days; performed by Ed Gillespie, Former Counselor to the President and Former Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Timothy J. Roemer, Former Congressman and Commissioner of the 9-11 Commission.

Our good friend Sen. Jim DeMint has made the odd accusation that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is no longer a champion of free enterprise. Just to be clear, our organization was founded nearly a century ago with the sole purpose of "advancing human progress through an economic, political, and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity, and responsibility." That sounds like free enterprise to us!

by Brad Peck

Senator Specter's statement, excerpt with bolding:

The U.S. Chamber represents business, and business likes things that work efficiently and effectively.

Columnist Victor Davis Hanson says it’s hard to decide who is more at fault for the financial crisis, Democrats or Republicans. After recounting how each party made fatal mistakes, he ultimately decides the fault lies in us. He writes:

The powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Italy’s Abruzzo region east of Rome yesterday has left at least 179 people dead, 1,500 injured, and thousands homeless. Rescue operations continue today and the death toll is expected to mount.

Today's Wall Street Journal looks at a fight between the business community and the White House over Obama's proposal to raise taxes on overseas profits.  At issue is allowing multinationals to avoid U.S.

As world leaders officially launched the G20 summit this morning, the head of the IMF warned they must act more decisively to clean up the toxic assets poisoning the global banking system or they risk prolonging the worst global recession in generations.

Two news stories:

Yesterday Wall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger notes that Congressional Democrats have bid adieu to the business community, they have become entirely disconnected from any understanding of how the private sector works. He wrote:

Reaction to Secretary Geithner's ambitious plans to reform financial regulations got mixed reactions among members of Congress and the business community. Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus had a very lukewarm response, saying it was "unacceptable" to have the government subsidize the cost of "resolving" troubled institutions, and that he hoped there would be more hearings to discuss the issue.

Video of Bruce Josten's opening statement on our budget conference call yesterday at the bottom. First up a wrap of the call, told in vivid build-a-story.

Political analysts are having a field day debating the administration's response to the AIG bonuses, which has veered from blaming someone else to accepting responsibility; from saying it was no big deal to saying Americans are right to be really angry about it; from saying their hands were tied to saying they were doing everything in their power to claw them back.

As the tide of outrage over AIG bonuses continued unabated yesterday, President Obama disavowed responsibility for the situation and then said he owned it. "Nobody here drafted those contracts; nobody here was responsible for supervising AIG and allowing themselves to put the economy at risk by some of the outrageous behavior that they were engaged in. [But] we are responsible, though.

The AIG bonuses story continues to have legs in the media, with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announcing yesterday that AIG paid bonuses of $1 million or more to 73 employees, including 11 who no longer work for the company. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats were preparing legislation that would levy up to a 91% excise tax on those bonuses.

In his first address to Congress, President Obama opened with a hopeful tone for the future of America.

Happy Presidents’ Day; or Happy Washington’s Birthday to be exact.  A day off following a day off in some states for Lincoln’s Birthday -- those states rock.

Why Washington and Lincoln?  Quite obvious, but if you need convincing they are second and first in C-SPAN's second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership.  Dead last? Buchanan. An argument against inaction, appeasement, and perhaps, bachelorhood.

In a statement announcing his withdrawal as Commerce Secretary nominee, Sen. Judd Gregg wrote:

The Wall Street Journal concluded that big business was the big loser in the compromise bill. It said the nation would be paying for this bad legislation in many ways over many years. Columnist George Will is appalled at how quickly the bill moved through Congress, saying the institution was built for safety, not speed.

Now we're finally talking some REAL money.

If you interrupt prime time, you're likely to get graded.

This idea's been making the rounds. For them it's fine, but I don't think I'm going to like it.

Tax and ethical problems killed two nominations with one stone yesterday – first Nancy Killefer’s nomination as "chief performance officer" and then Tom Daschle’s nomination as HHS Secretary. The latter came as a major surprise to many as Daschle seemed to have the ironclad support of President Obama and Senate Democrats.

After the withdrawal of Bill Richardson’s nomination and Tim Geithner’s tax issues, another potential scandal has emerged – HHS Secretary nominee Tom Daschle just recently paid $140,000 in back taxes. There are questionable charitable contributions, $220,000 in speaking fees from health care-related groups, failure to report consulting fees as income, and improper use of a car and driver.

The USS Post-Partisan is already hitting some stormy seas as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters yesterday regarding stimulus: "Yes, we wrote the bill. Yes, we won the election," adding that Republicans were not being realistic in their expectations. 

Promising "a new era of openness," President Obama signed executive orders yesterday freezing salaries of White House staff that make more than $100,000 a year and imposing strict new lobbying rules.

After flubbing the oath of office, Obama and Chief Justice Roberts tried it again, just to make sure there were no Constitutional challenges to Obama’s authority.

Millions crowded the National Mall to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

At the Hill luncheon, Teddy Kennedy suffered a seizure and had to be taken to the hospital – his doctors said it was brought on by simple fatigue.

Bernanke: "It's good advice in general if there's a fire burning, you try to put it out first, and then think about the fire code…What we've learned in this case is not necessarily that we need a lot more regulation. We need to think what went wrong ...We need to think very hard about how to fix it."

From the Heavy Hitters Donor list on OpenSecrets.org

The Washington Post reports that Obama's economic team is overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street to include aid to municipalities, small businesses, homeowners, and other consumers. Experts say Geithner has little hope of winning congressional approval to use the remainder of the $700 billion without retooling the program, including stricter limits on executive compensation.

Charlie Cook has wise words for President-elect Obama:

Another land mine Obama would be well advised to avoid is card-check legislation, which passed the House in March 2007 but stalled in the Senate.

The Wall Street Journal has a story today about how blurred the battle lines could be over major issues in the new Congress because neither the Democratic caucus nor the business community are unified. There are many fault lines on energy, for example, where some industries strongly favor cap-and-trade or carbon taxes while other oppose them.

Let’s start with who thinks they are a U.S. senator, who wants to be a U.S. senator, and who wants to be a governor.

Tensions are mounting between Russia and the Ukraine after Gazprom cut off the Ukraine’s gas supply on Thursday, saying it was owed money and its gas was being siphoned on its way to Eastern Europe. One Ukrainian official warned of serious fuel disruptions across the continent in as little as 10 days if Russia refused to resume shipments. Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary have already reported drops in supply.

The Washington Post this morning reports that "California Democrats will assume pivotal roles in the new Congress and White House, giving the state an outsize influence over federal policy and increasing the likelihood that its culture of activist regulation will be imported to Washington," or as Senator Boxer puts it "It's like the EPA has been asleep for eight years.

The U.S. Chamber received good news last week when Harris Interactive released their yearly poll "on organizations that have considerable influence on public policy, business and are frequently covered by the media."

Keeping with the giving thanks theme, we are thankful that our post election survey shows:

• Fully 88% of registered voters agree that "businesses large and small contribute to the U.S. in a positive way by providing jobs, growing our economy, and investing in our communities."

No matter which candidate you supported, we can all agree that restoring economic growth and creating jobs should be the nation's top priority. The U.S. economy is in a recession and continues to be buffeted by the collapse of the housing market, a severe liquidity crisis, and the deleveraging of financial markets. Experts predict this downturn will last longer and run deeper than the last two recessions. We agree.
 
Sooner or later, Congress must enact a second stimulus package to bolster our economy, stem job losses, get Americans spending, and shore up key industries.

U.S. Chamber president and CEO Tom Donohue was in Denver yesterday talking politics and business; from the dispatches:

Business leaders should put aside objections to government financial and regulatory help for key industries or be prepared to face massive unemployment and economic "disaster" for the United States, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Thomas J. Donohue, said in Denver Tuesday.

Things to read this afternoon:

Over at the National Journal the U.S. Chamber's Bill Kovacs answers the question on energy and the environment "How Will New Leadership Impact Policy?" From the post:

Barack Obama’s sweeping victory on Tuesday was the biggest win for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson’s in 1964. During the long campaign he made promises and offered positions in many areas, but the election wasn’t really about them. It was his theme of "change" that resonated with voters who were tired of the gridlock and finger pointing that have characterized so much of our recent politics. His challenge now is to deliver that change.

New York Times coverage of our press briefing this morning:

• Oregon decided?
• Minnesota recount
• Georgia redo

Congrats again to President-elect Obama and the incoming Members of the House and Senate. A very good tone last night from all of our leaders:

We would like to congratulate and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the new Congress to help quickly restore economic growth, ensure a smooth transition of power, and tackle the many serious issues facing the country.

Almost every news story today notes the marathon length of the presidential campaign. While it has been an exciting two years I know that many are looking for ways to make the process just a bit quicker.  Fortunately we may have an answer -- turn the elections over to the National Labor Relations Board! 

Ya gotta get ya one of these:

by Tom Donohue
 
Great elections in U.S. history haven’t centered on campaign tactics, personalities, or abstract promises of change, but on big ideas. After a prolonged primary process, the sensation surrounding some historic candidates, and a major financial crisis, we’re just now breaking through the campaign clutter to get at the heart of the fundamental issues in this election.

Just some pre-election thoughts I got in my email.  Here is William J. H. Boetcker in 1916:

In a spectacular tribute to form over substance, Senate Majority Leader Reid intends to spend the last remaining legislative days of 2008 pushing an omnibus federal land-grab bill that will severely hamstring our energy independence and significantly weaken an already floundering American economy.  The "Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008," added as an amendment by Sen. Bingaman to H.R.

Here are some selections from a letter to the editor which appeared in the Nashua Telegraph up in New Hampshire. The writer is Tom Boucher, a self-described "local business owner of seven New Hampshire restaurants and a proud New Hampshire voter." 

Actually Nashville blues, but since we are talking about a breakdown, I went with the bad movie.

In the end I knew that using the Bandwagon to mock our nation's infrastructure would bite us. We woke up Saturday to find a sick bus in dire need of medical attention. After a quick huddle it was decided to leave the blogger behind, so I got to babysit the bus. Which was fun in its own right and anything to help the team.

I can think of nothing more grievous than denying America's workers the ability to vote by secret ballot in union elections. Workers must be allowed to maximize their opportunity and choose to form -- or not to form -- a union free of intimidation and compulsion.

Eric posted on the card check aspect of two articles that appeared in the Wall Street Journal today, and Bruce Josten shed some light on Senator Schumer's comments earlier this month, but I just wanted to point out a few more things.

The VoteForBusiness Bandwagon is back on the road this week educating voters on a variety of issues, with a strong emphasis on card check, as the Wall Street Journal reports:

In just under two weeks from Americans will vote in the most significant election in a generation. The decisions made by the next president and next Congress will impact American businesses and families for years to come. Voters must carefully examine where the candidates stand on important issues such as taxes, health care, and energy. They should also take a hard look at where the candidates stand on free and fair trade.

Professor Richard Epstein in the N.Y. Post today (h/t EFCA Updates)

November 4 is just two weeks and one day away and the stakes couldn’t be higher. To urge participation in the elections, we are bringing back one of the more well-known components of our voter education program—the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon! After the success of this summer’s cross-country tour, the bus will be hitting the road again to hear from voters one last time before Election Day.

The Washington Post had one, two, three plus articles about the presidential transition over the weekend, although they focused mostly on an Obama transition. The paper predicted Obama might ask Defense Secretary Gates to stay for a period of time.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce will have Jon Schnur, Education Advisor, Obama-Biden 2008 Presidential Campaign and Lisa Graham Keegan, Senior Education Policy Advisor, McCain-Palin 2008 Presidential Campaign discussing the candidates’ platforms on Wednesday morning, October 22nd in Philadelphia.  For more information about this event click here: Driving the Debate: Education and the American Workforce.

It is great to see the issue of health care reform getting the coverage it deserves during this election season. I would just like to clear up one misperception we have noticed in the last few weeks. The U.S. Chamber does not endorse presidential candidates, nor have we specifically supported either candidate’s health care platform. As Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the Chamber, often states:

Tom Donohue was on the PBS Nightly Business Report last night.  From the show:

SUSIE GHARIB: With the presidential election three weeks from today, we continue our special series of election commentaries looking at the candidates' economic choices. Tonight, Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, on what business needs from the next president.

It’s a shame that Senator Schumer would try to turn our pro-jobs, pro-growth agenda into a partisan issue for his campaign purposes – especially at a time when our nation needs leadership and unity in Washington. For nearly 100 years the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has advocated for America’s businesses and workers, the backbone of our economy.

It was a tumultuous week. An awful lot happened between Monday’s 205-228 rejection of the financial rescue package by the House of Representatives and Friday’s 263-171 approval of an improved package by that same House.

by Tita Freeman

The U.S. Chamber has launched an inside-the-beltway radio advertising campaign urging Congress to act immediately to pass a responsible bill that will stabilize our financial system and ensure that consumers and businesses will continue to have access to credit.

Time is of the essence!  It is more important now than ever to urge your members of Congress to take immediate action to stop the impending financial crisis.

Yesterday the House failed to approve a financial rescue bill that would have provided up to $700 billion to remove uncertainty and to stem the turmoil that has plagued financial markets in recent weeks.

Main Street and Wall Street are inextricably linked. A financial rescue package is urgently needed not only to begin the process of righting the financial markets, but to help return the economy to robust growth.

Yesterday, the Dow reached new depths, finger pointing on Capitol Hill reached new heights, and the economy teetered on a precipice.

The Dow fell a record 777 points yesterday, it’s single worst point drop on record. It’s not much consolation, but that 7% decline does not rank among the top 10 declines in percentage terms. The S&P 500 index was down 8.7% and the Nasdaq composite down 9.1%.

Regarding financial system legislation:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told bloggers on a video conference yesterday that she would not put a bill on the floor without significant bipartisan support. "We [Democrats] are not taking ownership of this."

In case your DVR is full and you need to change what you have saved, 23/6 has distilled the promise of each political convention down to about a minute.

DNC

As this article reports the U.S. Chamber's Glenn Spencer was in Fayetteville, Arkansas yesterday educating businesses about the impact of the "Employee Free Choice Act" better known as card check. From the article:

Paul Hunt was not the only U.S. Chamber member on Capitol Hill yesterday; we had a swarm of  job/retirement/health coverage providers, i.e. business owners, giving representatives a glimpse of the real world. In this clip Robert Robinson, Signal Metal Industries in Dallas, talks about the importance of getting the story of business heard. Pick up your own megaphone over at VoteForBusiness.

by Brad Peck

Vowing to shake up Washington and to fight to make life better for all Americans, John McCain accepted the Republican party’s nomination for president last night. McCain made an extended argument that he’s the right one to bring change to politics as usual, saying he’s taken on the special interests, put country above his own political career, and even bucked with his party from time to time.

Last week we posted U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue on Fox Business in Denver, talking about VoteForBusiness and the election.  Now let's go to St. Paul.

Our buses were not the only ones on the road this election season and the Washington Times has an article today on another group which ended their odyssey in Minneapolis this week.  The Consumer Electronics Association capped their tour with a rally yesterday "extolling the benefits of international trade and calling on Congress to ratify free-trade agreements with Colombia and

The U.S. Chamber fights for the business community on hundreds of issues. Everything from energy policy to education to international trade. However, we sometimes talk about the need to get back to explaining the "why" of business – namely, why business and free enterprise are fundamentally important to the success of our country, and even our planet. Sometimes it is easy for us to start believing that the "why" should be self-evident. After all, businesses are the ones that create jobs and generate the economic value that drives society.

The Bandwagon to Minneapolis has made it to St. Paul. That's right, St. Paul, it's time to give the twin in the Twin Cities some love, it is the state capital after all. As in Denver, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue was there to greet the bus, and meet the press.

As Ian mentioned yesterday the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon stopped at Chicago's Navy Pier before concluding its journey in Minneapolis today.  Here is what the good people of Chicago had to say:

It seems pundits declare every election the most important one in a generation, but this time they could actually be right! This election will help decide one fundamental question: Will America’s economy remain free and open—generating jobs, prosperity, and opportunity—or will it be saddled with excessive taxes, regulations, and lawsuits that will undermine its competitiveness?

We couldn’t have picked a better spot for the last official get out the vote stop of the Bandwagon to Minneapolis. Da bus pulled up early to Chicago’s historic Navy Pier ready to serve up the Windy City some perspective.

History was made yesterday as Barack Obama became the first African American to be nominated as a major party’s presidential candidate. Obama made a surprise appearance on the convention floor following Joe Biden’s acceptance speech as VP, in which he stressed his experience in foreign policy.

I had the chance today, at the convention, to watch U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue talk to Fox Business, now you can too.

The Bandwagon to Minneapolis pulled into Springfield, Ohio last night just in time for an honest-to-goodness "gold rush".  A local jeweler, David Garrett, found a gold deposit in the creek which runs behind his house; he had suspected gold deposits after studying old glacial patterns.  Unfortunately we didn't have time to pan for nuggets; we had a speech to attend.

We arrived in Columbus on a mostly sunny 72 degree day and pulled onto E Town Street where the Ohio Chamber of Commerce is located.  We were greeted by Andy Doehrel, the president and CEO and about a dozen staff members and local business folks for a news conference with Ohio State Senator Steve Stivers who is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce for the 15th district.
 

We had a busy day this morning at the State House in Columbus.  The weather was great, and there were lots of people stopping by to talk with us about the bus tour.  More than 60 people signed up for VoteForBusiness, and many toured the bus and chatted with us about the issues that matter to them in the upcoming election.

The Bandwagon to Denver is officially Denver bound, after 18 days and over 5,000 miles. We drove in from Cody, Wyoming to Billings, Montana (live radio interview en route and all) for our last stop on the tour before the Democratic Convention.

We drove the bus to Cleveland, just to watch it park; outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that is. We saw some things we expected, and some things we didn't.

As Katie mentioned this morning, after very successful voter education efforts in Yellowstone National Park yesterday, in which we signed up citizens for our grassroots network and engaged in some serious policy discussions, we are now moving on to what will promise to be a lively event in Billings, Montana at the Billings Chamber of Commerce. 

by Andrew Bird

The VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Minneapolis rolled into the New York State Fair and let me say it was like Red Bull for your retinas. They have anything and everything you could ever want to see, in vivid color.

The big news this weekend was Obama’s pick of Joe Biden as his running mate. Here’s a synopsis of what the conventional wisdom is saying about Biden:

Today the Bandwagon to Denver is off to Billings, Montana to talk energy with the local chamber.  More substance on the issues then, but for now, we hope you enjoy the views below.

What a great evening the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Minneapolis had at Alliance Bank Stadium, home of the Syracuse Chiefs.  The Chiefs are a minor league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, and not only were the people of Syracuse excited to see us and sign up with the Chamber, but the Chiefs were wonderful hosts.

On the road again...just can't wait to get on the road again.....well, I don't know if I'd go that far, but the Bandwagon is back on the road on our way to West Yellowstone from Boise, Idaho.

We spent the morning in downtown Albany, New York today.  Driving by the Old State Capital in the morning was oddly exciting and we enjoyed the river views from the hills. The Hudson is truly scenic; maybe we should get some painters together to document that fact.

I wrote about the Bandwagon's stop in Oregon last night, but there is a great article, by Jacques Von Lunen, in The Oregonian, so let's revisit.  From the article:

The Bandwagon to Denver rolls on. As I type we're barreling down the road, the expansive Columbia River along side us, making our way to Boise, Idaho where we'll get some rest for the night. 

Yesterday took us through Northern California and all the way across the state of Oregon.  It was a long 11+ hours, but the scenery was, and continues to be, breathtaking.

The Bandwagon to Minneapolis set up camp in Saratoga Springs today, where the oldest horse track in the country is gearing up for 139th running of the Travers Stakes tomorrow, their biggest race of the year. About 35,000 people have come out for today's races. It's a beautiful sunny day, and the horse fans find our VoteForBusiness fans very attractive.

As part of the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon Tour, I was in Portland, Maine yesterday talking with state and local business leaders about the impact of proposed card check legislation.  As reported there was a union-led demonstration which sought to drown out open and public debate.

Tropical Storm Fay seems to like it in Florida. The storm made landfall for the fourth time, dumping heavy rains and causing widespread flooding in the northern peninsula. President Bush declared the state a disaster area. The storm is still expected to track westward when it decides to leave the Sunshine State.

The VoteForBusiness tour wrapped up the card check event -- covered by the NBC local station and public radio-- at the Portland Regional Chamber around 11:45am. Glenn Spencer, executive director of the U.S. Chamber's Workforce Freedom Initiative took part along side the Maine State Chamber, the Maine Merchants Association, the Associated Builders and Contractors of Maine, and three area small business owners.

Today is a travel day for the Bandwagon to Denver as we head up to Oregon. The California voters were so engaging that I am happy to have a down day to digest their thoughts.  And even though a down day, I have to send in this photo from our most recent gas stop:

After the fireworks last night in the sky, we are expecting some fireworks on the ground today as the U.S. Chamber's Glenn Spencer gets back on the Bandwagon to give a briefing on card check legislation in Portland, Maine.  Noel Gallagher, from the Portland Press Herald, reports:

Today the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Denver encountered fried food at its finest.  Zucchini, artichoke hearts, Snickers bars, frog legs, Twinkies, and even White Castle Hamburgers...there are some things you just have to see for yourself to believe.  Along with all the deliciously, gluttonous food, we also encountered some voters hungry for answers.

The Bandwagon to Minneapolis rolled into Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (webcam here) today to an enthusiastic beach crowd.  The town's population is approximately 15,000, but the beach crowd can push it up to around 150,000 during the summer season!

The legislature is still in session here in Sacramento where California is facing a huge budget deficit and members of the State Assembly and Senate are grappling with what to do about it.

We finally arrived in California last night and made our way to Lodi, "Zinfandel Capital of the World."  It was too late when we got in to stop by the many wineries that dot the area; which was probably a good thing since we had a very early morning event. Just off Highway 99, or in local parlance "the 99", workers are busy finishing the new Blue Shield HQ that, come November, will bring 1,200 new jobs to the area. With that focus on business growth, new development and new jobs, it was the perfect site for our gathering with former California State Rep.

Spending the morning at National Airport en route to Sacramento where I will be joining the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Denver. Mostly professional travelers early in the morning, people picking up their morning coffee, reading the paper and catching up on the sleep they didn't get last night, cursed Olympics.

We ran most of the megalopolis which is the northeastern seaboard yesterday, and talked to many interesting people, but I think my favorite quote was from a toll collector in Massachusetts who said "I think all those politicians are sleeping on the job." We had a ready reply  "That is why we are rolling north, to get the word out and wake everybody up!"

The Henderson Chamber of Commerce sure knows how to mobilize an active small business community! About 100 Henderson Chamber members attended a breakfast this morning to hear a presentation on protecting yourself against and curbing lawsuit abuse.

After the AEGON events we went down to Inner Harbor in Baltimore yesterday, and talked to the...Red Sox fans?  We tried not to jinx the O's by not parking directly next to the stadium, but they still dropped a game to Boston.  While the day was hot, the booth was even hotter in signing up interested voters on issues that affect their daily lives. The bus, positioned 50 feet from the Visitors Center, was a magnet for Baltimorians, Red Sox fans, and conventioneers in town at the Baltimore Convention Center.

NATO foreign ministers are set to meet today in an emergency session over Russia’s occupation of Georgia as Russia’s latest promise to withdraw appears to be another ruse.

After a restful night in Flagstaff, Arizona we were up early this morning and on the road for the five hour drive to Las Vegas. The temperatures soared as we rolled through Nevada and pulled into town. Vegas is famous for fantasy and illusion, but real people with real lives do real work here, and they face the same challenges as Americans everywhere, challenges such as health care.

This morning I met up with the Vote for Business Bandwagon in Baltimore as it made stops at two AEGON USA sites. AEGON is one of the world’s largest providers of life insurance, as well as pensions, long-term savings, and other investment products. Don Shepard who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber, is also Chairman of AEGON USA, so this was a great opportunity to meet the people who have worked with him for so many years.

With these long western drives, on the Bandwagon to Denver, I am constantly reminded that our transportation systems are in terrible shape. This needs to be a priority for our presidential candidates. There is a lot of reading material on the bus, with a lot of information on transportation, and I have to say, considering how vital these systems are to our country and our economy, the statistics are sobering. We can’t afford to keep falling behind like this. From the briefing books:

Who pays for congestion?

After the long night long night at the baseball game we were looking forward to our day on the national mall meeting people, but there was a pro-life protest going on, so we decided to do some sightseeing instead.  The Chamber is pro-business, pro-solutions, and pro-growth, but when it comes to social issues, we have no prose.

There's been no shortage of spicy food as we've made our way through the southwest. And there also has been no shortage of opinions wherever we have stopped to talk to voters.

The Bandwagon to Denver is in Albuquerque today - and these people are fun! While the political world is focused on red or blue, in New Mexico the question is:  red or green? Chili that is. Seriously, that has been the "official state question" since 1996, I couldn’t make that up.  Having tasted both, I don't really see how you can choose, I guess I have to go with green, no reason.

The Bandwagon to Minneapolis is back in D.C. for the weekend, after its run to Richmond. It will be parked down on the national mall today.

We put more than 650 miles of road between the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon and Dallas, driving the distance to Albuquerque and setting the stage for a busy Sunday which will culminate in an event with Congressman Steve Pearce (NM-2). As John mentioned in his post from yesterday, energy is a huge topic of conversation on the road.

The VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Denver has covered some really long miles in the last 24 hours. Yesterday we made our way across the great state of Texas north up from Houston and arrived in Dallas.  A long drive but what a view, of one of America's great lands.

by Jordan Bonitatis

Earlier today, actually yesterday I suppose, midnight already, Glenn mentioned George McGovern’s opposition to the card check bill.  Popping up in Google today was another Democrat in opposition, Brian Caufield a labor lawyer in Philadelphia, my home town. Here is part of what Caufield had to say:

The staff on the East Coast bus said they didn’t cotton to traitors -- whatever that means -- so they tossed me off at National Airport on their way to Richmond this morning with a message to find my way back to the West bus, which at the time was treated to a birds’ eye view of the roundup at the Fort Worth Stockyards, steer riding and all.

On the Bandwagon today, heading down to Richmond.  My colleague Marc Freedman and I will be on a noon panel at the Greater Richmond Chamber today talking card check (or the Employee Free Choice Act if you are into Newspeak). 

It was a hot and humid day outside the Sugar Land City Hall, but a sizable crowd gathered around the bus. Pete Havel, Executive Director of the U.S. Chamber’s South Central Regional Office drove down from Dallas to open the festivities. He talked about the importance of business to America, and the challenges before us.  After stressing the importance of consistency of action, over not one or two years, but over decades he then handed the microphone to another Pete, Pete Olson, candidate for US Representative out of Texas 22nd Congressional District.

I am back in D.C. after a stint on the Bandwagon to Denver, and I am switching teams.  The Bandwagon to Minneapolis officially launched today from the U.S. Chamber's headquarters at 1615 H Street.

We took I-10 into Texas, after the Lake Charles energy event yesterday, passing mile marker 880, the highest mile marker on the Interstate Highway System.  A simple reminder coming from the East Coast of just how big Texas is. We weren’t going the whole way to El Paso though, just a hundred miles or so to Houston, before heading north to Dallas.

Amanda Ward, from KPLC 7 in Lake Charles, had this report about our Lake Charles event today:

Since 1990, electricity demand has risen about 25 percent while construction of transmission lines has fallen roughly 30 percent.

As mentioned this morning it's energy day here in Lake Charles, Louisiana for the VoteforBusiness Bandwagon.  Karen Harbert spoke to a sellout crowd at the Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) Chamber about energy, stating that Louisiana should be a model for other states to emulate.

Lake Charles, Louisiana, is home to more than 70,000 people. Located between Houston, Texas, and New Orleans, the city is on the shore of the Calcasieu River, just 30 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. Lake Charles has a lot to offer, including everything from glitzy nightclubs and casinos, to historic neighborhoods. We also hear that the hunting and fishing in the area cannot be beat.

This morning finds the VoteforBusiness Bandwagon in Lake Charles, LA.  where Karen Harbert, the executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber's Institute for 21st Century Energy will take the region "back to school."  She's participating in a panel discussion to educate the SW Louisiana Chamber about how a strong energy infrastructure can be the foundation for a strong regional economy.

Today we traveled into the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans to visit a Habitat for Humanity Site.  It was an eye opening and breath-taking experience.

Nearly three years post-Katrina the commercial neighborhoods of New Orleans are back on their feet and teeming with life.  But this morning the VoteforBusiness Bandwagon rolls out of the French Quarter and heads toward the Upper Ninth Ward - site of the storm's greatest devastation - to support Habitat for Humanity workers' reconstruction efforts.

We had already posted trade statistics for Georgia and Alabama on the blog, so Ian and I took a pass the last few stops, but here are the numbers for Mississippi, courtesy of TradeRoots.org.

Just a quick report from the Hattiesburg's Wal-Mart.

It remained a humid, hazy day here, but being from D.C., where hot and humid is the norm, we knew what to do. Crank up the A/C. 

Moore Hallmark, Executive Director of the Chamber's South-East Regional Office introduced Senator Roger Wicker outside the Structural Steel plant in Meridian, Mississippi this morning.  It was a great crowd of plant employees who took a break from the grindstone - some quite literally - to shake hands with the Senator.

Good morning America - remember I'm on central time here. It is an overcast, humid morning in Meridian, Mississippi - birthplace of the father of country music Jimmie Rodgers, and everyone's favorite "Sister", Sela Ward.  A friend of the Chamber told us that Meridian got it's name because it was the middle point on the train route from Atlanta to Dallas, too good a fact to look up, other theories welcomed.

Last evening the U.S. Chamber’s Vote for Business Bandwagon rolled into Regions Park, home of the Birmingham Barons and site of Michael Jordan’s brief – and hapless – attempt to hit a curveball. 

Unlike His Airness, we had some success today.  Amidst a light rain and even lighter crowd, the Chamber staff added a couple dozen "pro-business" voters to Alabama’s rolls during our pre-game registration drive.

I couldn't go to Stone Mountain yesterday without taking a picture of the Confederate Memorial Carving, so here is one with the bus in front of it. More bus photos here.

This morning we headed out to Stone Mountain and no sooner had we set up the table, plugged in the AV system, and laid out the giveaways did passers-by stop by to say hello on their way to the aerial tramway. I admit there was a bit of star appeal with the shiny bus behind us.

But once we got into the issues people really started to understand why we were there. This crowd was markedly different than the day before as lots of families and tourists were spending a gorgeous Saturday out at the popular tourist destination.

I have downloaded and uploaded so now I am going to front-load a post for the day.  We are heading over to Stone Mountain Park to talk to people and spread the good word on business.  Parks, playgrounds and other recreational areas have been among the hardest hit by abusive lawsuits.  And it isn’t just our fun being impacted; it’s our children’s education as well.

We loaded up the car with chili dogs at The Varsity and shot over to the Georgia State Capitol building, official launch site of the Bandwagon to Denver. State workers fed up with public spending on a war in Iraq, an education system that was failing them and fuel prices that were suffocating their livelihoods gave us an earful while we gave them a mouthful (and t-shirts).  No one was shy, opinions poured in from all sides.

Woke up in Atlanta, had a bus to catch.

I know it sounds like the opening of a country song, but Atlanta is a hip hop town, and no-one want to hear me rap.  For the first event of our 2008 VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Denver we went to The Varsity to give away some chili cheese dogs, very exciting, I had never been to a "destination" hot-dog place before, will get some pictures up in a bit.

In today’s Wall Street Journal, George McGovern speaks out on the Card Check legislation, although not in a way you might expect from a former Democratic presidential nominee.  Hopefully his party’s current leaders will value his wisdom:

For the VoteForBusiness Bandwagon to Denver we were going to use this bus, to reflect our nation’s current infrastructure.

I see that our Denver bus has posted already.  I have to say we’re suffering from a bit of bus envy right now as our colleagues are just about to kick-off their bus tour and start their journey to Colorado.  We’re not hitting the road for another week but we’ll launch from Washington, DC and may visit as many as 9 states before concluding at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota.  We can’t wait to get rolling as our bus will be the centerpiece of voter registration events, grassroots activist training, issue education events, presentations with members of Con

The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus reviewed the two books currently out on the life and times of Nancy Pelosi. Marcus opens with a story contained in both books:

The big day is almost at hand – kick-off for the 2008 VoteForBusiness Bandwagon!  We’ll be blogging all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. The first part of our trip calls for us to visit stops in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. We’re looking forward to meeting business owners, employees, and other citizens interested in the big 2008 elections.

Although widely expected, the Fed’s decision to leave short-term interest rates unchanged produced a massive rally on Wall Street – the Dow was up 331 points. The Fed’s decision was 10-1, with Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher casting his fifth dissent of the year, preferring a rate increase. Essentially stuck between a rock and hard place – slowing growth and rising inflation – the Fed indicated it could leave rates unchanged for the foreseeable future, likely to at least the end of the year.

Here is a little dilemma for policymakers: the rich already pay more than their fair share of taxes.  All of the Eurotrash talk about soaking the rich to provide tax "relief" to the middle class and poor is deeply misguided.  Such a policy choice would serve only to disincentivize the wealthy from becoming wealthier, while providing little real economic benefit to everyone else.  It may play well during campaigns but it would be horrible for the economy.

As expected, the House passed the huge housing bill yesterday and it is headed for the Senate, where approval is likely despite a filibuster threat from some Republicans. President Bush said he will sign the bill.

by Rob Engstrom

As many commentators have noted, the political environment in Washington is pretty dysfunctional at the moment.  And while this town has always been the butt of jokes and the target of complaints, at least in the past we seemed to have some leaders who were able to think strategically, make compromises and do the things that needed to be done to keep America competitive over the long term.  Today, there is much more of an emphasis on beating-up the opposition than there is on getting anything done.  Does anyone believe that today’s Washington would be able to create the interstate highway

Some in the business community - indeed, many of our citizens - are worried about the future. They see America challenged like never before. They see the inability of our elected officials to tackle big problems. They see a loss of business support in Congress after the November elections.

The Bush administration has decided not to take any new steps to regulate greenhouse gas emissions before the president leaves office, despite pressure from the Supreme Court and broad accord among senior officials that new regulation is appropriate now. EPA plans to announce today that it will seek months of further public comment on the threat of global warming.

Yesterday the Senate passed legislation updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The vote was 69-28. The bill would renew the legal backing for the federal government's warrantless surveillance program and protect from civil lawsuits telecom companies that helped the government wiretap Americans without court authorization after the 9-11 attacks. About 40 such lawsuits have been filed.

by James Sneeringer

Few figures in the financial world are as well-known or intriguing as Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of JP Morgan Chase. He and Sandy Weill built Citigroup, before he took Bank One through the purchase of JP Morgan Chase and has led the resulting company to significant improvements. And most famously he and 1000 of his JPM Chase employees spent a sleepless weekend and secured the Fed-backed purchase of Bear Stearns at $2 per share--possibility averting a major collapse in the nation's financial markets.

In response to mounting pressure from voters to respond to record gasoline prices, some senior Democratic lawmakers Tuesday opened the door to a compromise with Republicans that would open more land on and offshore to oil and gas exploration and production. We need to get our lawmakers back to their home states more often.

• "The American economy is in a rough patch. But the long-term trends are good - and there is a price to economic pessimism" (h/t Coyote Blog)
• Why globalization ameliorates income inequality

Click over for much, much, more...

"Falling Upwards: Declinism, The Box Set" - Robert J. Lieber (h/t Bainbridge)

The New York Times had a major article yesterday on how the business community is aggressively pushing back against restrictive state and local immigration laws in state legislatures, the federal courts, and city halls. The piece says business groups have resisted measures that would revoke the licenses of employers of illegal immigrants.

Last week we applauded Thomas Friedman's column "Anxious in America" as a call to reject the "The Can't Do Society" mentality pervading our society.  By the flurry of letters to the editor in the Times yesterday, it appears that many others felt the same way.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned a landmark verdict against three former lead paint producers yesterday. In a 4-0 decision, the court said the state's lawsuit, based on a centuries-old public nuisance theory, should have been dismissed at the outset.

Some notes on income redistribution and the role of government, from Gallup (via Bainbridge):

The Chamber's Bruce Josten was quoted in an article in The Washington Post yesterday on paralysis in the Senate and its failure to address big issues. Said Josten: "It's a delay-of-game Congress.

It was a horrendous day on Wall Street yesterday, with the Dow plunging 358 points. The day got off on the wrong foot when Goldman Sachs downgraded Citigroup and GM – GM’s stock closed at a 53-year low and Citigroup’s at an all-time low. Oil shot up $5.09 a barrel on news Libya might cut production and a new prediction from an OPEC minister that oil will hit $170 a barrel.

Senator Barack Obama and his former rival Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton event will campaign together on Friday in the town of Unity, New Hampshire. The symbolism goes beyond the town's name, as Clinton and Obama each won 107 votes there in the January primary.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox is under fire in a front page story in today’s WSJ for his handling of the Bear Stearns situation. According to the story, Cox missed several conference calls concerning the bailout negotiations.   

I was going to post on this, but I think Mike Allen summed it up well:

As a membership manager at the Chamber, my job, like most Americans, doesn't involve setting public policy. I talk everyday to many other non-policy makers and in thousands of calls that are made from our National Membership Center in Irving, Texas, one unfortunate theme has emerged: "What happens in Washington doesn’t have a profound impact on Main Street."

My son is graduating from Pre-Kindergarten today; and as a member of a generation which takes great pride in its cynicism, I am having a hard time reconciling that I have "Sunrise, Sunset" stuck in my head.  I would like to chalk it up to irony, another favorite, but the fact is his school and teachers have been wonderful.

A major energy and tax bill couldn’t overcome a filibuster yesterday. The huge piece of legislation had something for everyone to both love and hate.

Barack Obama is moving to take control of the Democratic Party, installing one of his top field lieutenants at the DNC and decreeing a ban on special interest money from federal lobbyists and PACs for both the DNC and his campaign. However, he has decided not to remove Howard Dean at this time.

A small, but vocal, group of protestors have not prevented SEIU’s Andy Stern from getting his way at the union’s convention. His slate of candidates for the executive board is virtually unchallenged, and he rammed through provisions shifting further power from the local unions to the national, including one that requires local unions to send a small percentage of their budgets to the national union for organizi

The London Telegraph reports that the Obama camp is trying to ease Clinton out of the race by promising her a chance to pilot health care reforms through the Senate, a cabinet post if she wants, and the retiring of her campaign debts totaling $12 million.

In a pair of rulings yesterday, the Supreme Court made it easier for both private-sector and public employees to sue their employers for retaliating against them after filing discrimination claims. In the first ruling, decided by a vote of 7-2, the Court determined that employees have the right to sue under an alternative section of the 1866 Civil Rights Act – even though it contains no provisions related to retaliation. The Chamber filed an amicus brief in that case.

Over the weekend former Wonkette contributor Megan Carpentier had a piece in the Washington Post clearing up some of the myths and misunderstandings regarding lobbyists.  Below are the five myths, jump on over for the full explanation of why they are just that, myths.  Our own thoughts can be found

The Department of Transportation reports that record-high gas prices have led to the steepest decline in driving in recorded history in March, a 4.3% drop, or 11 billion fewer miles. Records have been kept since 1942. A Wall Street Journal writer says this proves Americans are motivated to acts of environmentalism primarily due to the hit on their pocketbooks, not out of altruism.

We are now working our way through “lobbyist-gate” with the McCain campaign, where there is an on-going effort to force him to cut ties with people who know and understand issues and are paid to represent the interests of others on those issues.  (Isn’t that what lawyers do, by the way?)

On Monday, the Chamber’s GIPC hosted top policy advisors from the three presidential campaigns for a discussion on IP.

Congress Daily PM wrote the following about the meeting:

The latest polls show Obama ahead by about 12 points in Oregon, and Clinton up by about 30 points in Kentucky. There is an uncertainty factor in the Oregon predictions as Oregonians are voting by mail and started casting ballots May 1. Obama is headed to Iowa this evening for a major rally to celebrate the fact that he will have won an absolute majority of pledged delegates.

by Kevin Ganster

Congress has sent President Bush a veto-proof $290 billion farm bill that includes a boost in farm subsidies and more money for food stamps. Bush still plans to veto the legislation, arguing it is fiscally irresponsible and too generous to wealthy farmers in a time of record crop prices.

Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker suggested the failures in the credit markets were widespread, ranging from regulation to basic economic problems such as the rising U.S. trade gap. He endorsed the idea of the Fed becoming the principal financial regulator, although he cautioned that the central bank "is not equipped to do it now." He said a greater oversight role for the Fed would require the creation of a new position filled by an official who is held accountable.

Hillary Clinton got the huge win in West Virginia she wanted – thumping Obama by 41 points – but most analysts are calling it a symbolic victory. The Clinton camp is disputing that, saying Obama ran an aggressive campaign in the Mountain state, outspending her on advertising, staff, and campaign offices and receiving more high level endorsements. Clinton cut Obama’s delegate lead by just nine.

by Ricardo Harvin

There's only one today but if you're less dumb, it should give you some things to think about.

In today’s Washington Post, Jeff Birnbaum writes about what he refers to as a “non-partisan” group called the Center for Political Accountability (CPA). This organization has been the lead advocate for shareholder resolutions requiring companies to disclose political contributions and trade association dues. 

In his climate change speech yesterday, John McCain proposed capping carbon emissions incrementally, with the goal of returning to 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 using a cap-and-trade program. He also sets a goal that by 2050, the country will reduce carbon emissions to a level 60% below that emitted in 1990. He also seemed to suggest import tariffs on carbon, but his aides later said that would be a misinterpretation of his remarks. Said McCain:

The Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal by 33 major companies trying to stop $400 billion worth of lawsuits in an Alien Tort Statute case involving the apartheid era in South Africa. The Court said the case presented too many conflicts of interest to too many justices who hold stock in the involved companies.

• Barack Obama looks to continue claiming the mantle by patching things up with Florida, who might be feeling a little electorally rejected by the Dems lately.
• Paul Krugman tries to pop the "oil bubble" speculation story by pointing out that there are fundamental issues of supply v. demand at play in the price run-up.

The global outcry over oil prices might be causing a rift in OPEC. Libya's senior oil official thinks it might be time to increase output to try to bring down prices. Some OPEC members reportedly fear if they let prices stay too high too long it might lead to serious efforts by some countries to reduce their dependency on oil. The cartel's next scheduled meeting isn't until September, but experts aren't ruling out the possibility that OPEC countries might convene before then.

Here's an update on the presidential race … In the latest sign the mainstream media views the Democratic primary all but over, the cover of next week’s Time magazine will feature a cover photo of Barack Obama with the caption "And the winner is …"  In an interview yesterday, Obama sounded more and more like the nominee of his party, talking about his priorities as president. He also narrowed Clinton leads in declared super delegates to just seven.

The cyclone that struck Myanmar last Saturday could reach "disaster of biblical proportions" stage - a U.S. diplomat there said the death toll could rise to more than 100,000. Relief efforts continue to be frustrated by the military junta, who many are accusing of crimes against humanity for their staggering indifference to the crisis.

Well, it was a split decision last night as expected, with Obama winning in North Carolina and Clinton squeaking by in Indiana, but a few things stood out. First, Obama outperformed the polls, winning North Carolina by 14 points, and Clinton underperformed by winning Indiana by just two points. Second, Obama added to both his delegate lead (he netted 12 delegates) and padded the popular vote margin by about 210,000.

Fed Chief Ben Bernanke says Congress and the private sector need to do more to alleviate mortgage problems. Bernanke called on Congress to give the Federal Housing Administration flexibility to help distressed borrowers at risk of losing their homes. He also urged lawmakers to move ahead on legislation revamping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and for the two agencies to immediately raise new capital.

The job numbers out on Friday were better than expected. Employers cut only 20,000 jobs in April – not the expected 75,000 – and the unemployment rate actually dropped 0.1% to 5.0%.

Energy is once again dominating headlines, this time with dire predictions of $200 a barrel oil and $10 a gallon gasoline. Algeria's energy minister, who serves as president of OPEC, says oil prices could top $200 a barrel and there wouldn’t be a thing the cartel could do about it. He attributed sky-high prices to the weak dollar and global political insecurity. That, along with a possible global recession, means OPEC won’t be boosting production anytime soon.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai narrowly escaped an assassination attempt this weekend when Taliban militants opened fire at a military ceremony in Kabul. A lawmaker, a tribal leader, and a 10-year-old child were killed, but Karzai escaped unhurt. The attack wounded more than 12 people, including a member of parliament.

The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to block Medicaid rules that would cut federal health-care spending on the poor and likely shift billions of dollars of costs to states. The vote was large enough to override a threatened White House veto.

Hillary Clinton proclaimed "the tide is turning" following her decisive 10-point victory over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania last night. However, analysts point out she still lags in total delegates, the popular vote count, and the number of states won. The Clinton people counter that they have won more big states, and the states where Democrats will have to perform well to beat John McCain.

Things are heating up again in Iraq. After Iraqi forces took complete control of the last bastions of the cleric Moktada al-Sadr’s militia, al-Sadr delivered what he said is his last warning to stop targeting his people or he will "declare war" on the Iraqi government and allied forces. A Sadr supporter in the Iraqi parliament echoed that sentiment.

//Update: video and photos now available.

Before attendees at America's Small Business Summit 2008 headed to Capitol Hill for meetings with lawmakers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce head lobbyist Rolf Lundberg conveyed to them the Top 5 commandments of lobbying, which were originally penned by Bruce Wolpe, author of "Lobbying Congress: How the System Works".

Commandment #1 – Thou Shalt Tell the Truth

I don’t think that Stuart Rothenberg or Charlie Cook require an introduction; they were nice enough come today for a discussion of the political environment and the elections.

The Dow was down 23 points on disappointing results from Wachovia and fresh record highs for oil and gas. There was a slight uptick in retail sales – 0.2% -- but it was primarily the result of gas station sales driven by the higher oil prices. Business inventories grew again in February.

As the Washington Post reports, last Wednesday the Obama campaign made this statement:

"I'm running for President because working families can't afford to wait another four years while the same old Washington players play the same old Washington game, while factories like the York Peppermint Patty plant in Reading [Pa.] move to Mexico in search of cheap labor."

There are increasing concerns over rising food costs. The head of the IMF warned that if food prices remain high, there will be dire consequences for people in many developing countries, especially in Africa. He said,  "Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people will be starving. Children will be suffering from malnutrition, with consequences for all their lives." The group singled out U.S. policies pushing corn-based ethanol and other biofuels as deepening the crisis.

The Chamber held its annual "Spirit of Enterprise" awards yesterday at the Chamber's townhouse on Capitol Hill.  Over 60 members of Congress came by to pick up their award from Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue.  The "Spirit of Enterprise" award is given annually to members of Congress based on rankings it gives for key business votes outlined in its yearly publication, How They Voted.  This is the twentieth ye

Congress should approve the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which will deliver significant benefits for American workers and farmers.  At a time of uncertainty for the U.S. economy, politics must stop at the water’s edge.  I would like to express my strong support for the agreement. 

The bipartisan trade promotion authority act established the terms for considering trade agreements.  These terms must be respected. 

The job numbers out Friday morning were not good – the economy lost 80,000 jobs in March. Year-to-date, 232,000 jobs have been lost. Some economists are calling these numbers an unmistakable and irrefutable sign we are in a recession; others say the numbers will have to get a lot worse than this to tip us into one.

In her Wall Street Journal column Potomac Watch, Kimberley Strassel outlines the union agenda for the 2008 elections and beyond.  Strassel’s column reveals the boldest, most expensive and most ambitious political campaign ever conducted by organized labor, with a simple goal in mind: elect a pro-union president, expand their majority strength in the House, and make the Senate "filibuster-proof" for union legislative proposals.

There was a major rally on Wall Street yesterday following a three-quarters-point cut in interest rates by the Fed. The Dow was up 420 points, or 3.5%, to almost 12,400. Financial stocks led the way, with better-than-expected earnings results from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.

After dire predictions of a massive selloff early in the day, the Dow managed to reverse an initial 200-point decline to finish up 21 points. The other indexes fell. The dollar continued its collapse against other major currencies, plunging to a 13-year low versus the yen and another all-time low against the euro. There was more bad news, this time from the industrial sector, where output fell by the largest amount in four months.

• Arizona and Colorado Consider Guest-Worker Programs - GO AWAY! no wait. COME BACK!
• The Erosion of Individual Responsibility - No, no, it was the predatory creditors, it wasn't me
• It’s My Way or No Highway - or the erosion of congressional responsibility

Financial markets worldwide are roiling over some stunning moves this weekend in U.S. markets. Yesterday, JPMorgan Chase agreed to buy struggling investment bank Bear Stearns for the fire sale-price of just $2 a share, with $30 billion in funding from the Fed. (The new firm will be called "Bear Chase." Kidding.) Bear Stearns’ book value price is about $84 a share. It’s stock fell almost 50% on Friday alone.

My little "on this date" calendar tells me that on March 14, 1950 the FBI began releasing their "10 Most Want Fugitives" list; which is online now.

To commemorate this little bit of public relations, here is Chamber's "10 Most Wanted" as of today, in no particular order.

Senate Democrats yesterday pushed through a plan to selectively preserve $340 billion of President Bush's tax cuts through 2013. The package would extend the 10% tax bracket, the $1,000 per child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and various tax cuts for people serving in the military and National Guard.

Vote watching in the Senate is about to get as exciting to watch as vote watching can get with the start of "Vote-a-Rama 2008"

CQ explained vote-a-rama last year as:

Saying he was “deeply sorry” he didn’t live up to what was expected of him, Eliot Spitzer resigned as governor of New York yesterday effective Monday. He will be succeeded by Lt. Gov. Jim Paterson, a blind African-American who is well-liked and respected by both sides of the aisle. Spitzer is still in talks with federal prosecutors over a plea agreement.

• The Coming Showdown with Public Labor - or Way to go New Zealand!
• Misleading Trade Report Headlines - "nobody actually reads these things"

Let’s start with money … There was a huge rally on Wall Street yesterday, with the Dow soaring 416 points, it’s best one day gain in 5 1/2 years. Investors welcomed news that the Fed will lend up to $200 billion to banks and lenders.

From the Washington Post:

In a dramatic escalation in the race for scientific funding, a new report indicates that the world must emit zero carbon within the next few decades in order to prevent a dangerous rise in global temperatures.  By presenting the most pessimistic view to date, the scientists have ensured that theirs will be the paper most quoted in the media.  It must be anticipated that in order to stay in the funding race other scientists will introduce new variables into their models to push

The Wall Street Journal reports:

An explosive device caused minor damage to an empty military recruiting station in Times Square early Thursday, shaking guests in hotel rooms four blocks away. Police blocked off the area to investigate the explosion, which occurred at about 3:45 a.m. ET, shattering the station's glass entryway. No one was injured.

Hillary Clinton scored three victories in a night of revival that denied Barack Obama a ripe opportunity to drive her from the Democratic presidential race.

Primaries in Texas and Ohio today could determine the Democratic nominee for president. For many voters, the election will be a referendum on free trade, particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed to press on in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination after critical primary tests conclude in Ohio and Texas today even as advisers to Sen. Barack Obama said the latest round of voting would do little to improve her standing in a race in which she has been dealt setback after setback. Clinton advisers claimed fresh signs of momentum and continued to attempt to raise doubts about Obama on Monday, questioning his trade policies and ties to a Chicago developer. Clinton predicted victory and insisted that a comeback is on the horizon.

Sen. Barack Obama sharply questioned Sen. Hillary Clinton’s claims of extensive foreign policy experience Sunday, pushing back against her argument that only she is prepared to handle national security as president as the two raced neck and neck toward a pair of potentially decisive primary contests tomorrow in Ohio and Texas.

• 20 Surprising Ways Wal-Mart Clinics Will Affect US Healthcare
• Opting out of NAFTA - "Knowledgeable observers would have to take note of the fact that we are the largest supplier of energy to the U.S." - Oh yeah, well take your energy and, um, sell it to us.

The book is out so here is a personal plug for Indexed

In their latest “anything she can I do we can better” salvo, no sooner had Hillary Clinton proudly announced she had raised a record $35 million in February, than  the Obama camp crowed that they had raised $50 million. Meanwhile, most major polls now show Obama with a slight, but statistically significant, lead in Texas. He also continues to creep up on Hillary in Ohio.

Obama and McCain appear to be skipping the rest of the primary season and moving right to the general election as they tangled over Iraq yesterday. McCain seized on remarks made by Obama in his debate with Hillary Clinton Tuesday night in which he said he would consider sending troops back into Iraq after they had been withdrawn if Al Qaeda in Iraq established a base there. McCain said: "Is Sen.

• Texas shattering early voting records - I have to say, I'm still torn on early voting, but this is impressive
• Kansas joining the patchwork of local immigration laws and Long-Term Immigration Trends

- Our post from last week "About Those Trial Lawyers" appeared today in the Washington Examiner.  Comment here.

Hillary Clinton, if not pulling out all the stops, pulled out all of her emotions this weekend, running the gambit from anger to contrition to sarcasm.   Clinton angrily accused Barack Obama of distributing false materials and employing tactics “straight out of Karl Rove’s playbook.” Clinton is upset over mailings that say she would force everyone to buy health insurance, regardless of ability to pay, and that she was a champion of NAFTA.

• A new entry into the health care debate  – O.k. let's again review exactly what “insurance” is and is not.

• "In my opinion, unilateral sanctions never work." - Tom Donohue doesn't mince words on Cuba (or immigration)

Most analysts agree Hillary Clinton did nothing to change the dynamic of the presidential race last night at the debate in Austin, Texas, where the candidates practically had to be begged to disagree with each other. Clinton’s sharpest – and only – attack line involved Obama’s using language from Deval Patrick in his speeches.

McCain, Clinton, and the economy all got some bad news yesterday …

The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear a case involving a dispute over a labor union's use of fees paid by nonunion employees to finance the labor organization's court battles in other states. Twenty state workers in Maine are challenging the expenditure by the labor union that bargains on their behalf. At issue is whether a state can condition public employment on the paying of fees for such purposes.

In a letter published in a state-run paper this morning, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as president and commander-in-chief of Cuba. His brother Raul is expected to be elected to the position within days.

A short list for (what's for some of us) a long weekend.

The myth of exit polls. A broad look into what they mean, and what they miss.

Duck and cover.

by Kevin Ganster

Yesterday, Michael Bloomberg ridiculed the recently passed stimulus package, saying rebate checks were “like giving a drink to an alcoholic." He also said the United States has a “balance sheet that's starting to look more and more like a third-world country." He criticized presidential candidates for looking for easy solutions to complex economic problems.

Trailing in delegates, votes cast, and states won, Hillary Clinton is cranking up her attack machine and launching new broadsides against Barack Obama. Clinton is drawing deeper distinctions between herself and her opponent, saying

The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is starting to resemble that old song “Something’s Gotta Give” – the irresistible force (Obama) meeting the immovable object (Clinton). Clinton appears to have decided to contest the Wisconsin primary next week, making a decent sized ad buy and spending a few days campaigning there. Her campaign staff are said be to be nervous going into the March 4 primaries in Texas and Oklahoma after having lost what would be 10 straight contests.

A little late night reading for you that shows it's true when Hillary and Barack say that they were friends (or at the very least, friendly) before the campaign. Now what happens after may be something else altogether.

by Kevin Ganster

Leon Wieseltier, editor of The New Republic magazine, has a piece saying Obama’s youthful, hopeful, “yes we can” message is not suitable to today’s dark world.

Obama cleaned Hillary’s clock in the Potomac Primaries yesterday, racking up huge margins, extending his winning streak to eight consecutive contests, and taking a slight but undisputed lead in the overall delegate count. Obama beat Clinton by 51 points in the District, 29 points in Virginia, and 23 points in Maryland.

For those with short attention spans, sign up to get the Very Short List.

My grandmother's doing it in June.

Would Reagan still be electable?

You looking at me? I love technology, but...

by Tom Donohue

Americans have been captivated by the drama, excitement, and twists and turns of the presidential race. The major candidates have been drawing huge crowds. More people than ever are watching the televised debates. Everyone agrees this is a landmark election. Voters are fired up.

It's been a long time since a convention has been where a party's presidential nominee has actually been chosen - usually the decision has been made long before those events.

Right now though, it looks like the Democrats may be headed (reluctantly) down that road and, if Mike Huckabee can pull off his "miracle", the Republicans may be right there with them.

Economic Growth In Mexico Said To Be Slowing Illegal Migration To US - No doubt the best way to resolve the immigration issue is to have strong economies and stable societies on both sides of the border.

Hollywood's lasting labor pains

Huck Plays The USSR Card

It was a very good weekend for Barack Obama, who swept three primaries on Saturday – Washington state, Nebraska, and Louisiana – won the Maine caucus yesterday, and even picked up a Grammy last night for best spoken word album. Not only did he win, but he won big in most states, often by more than 2-1 margins.

by Kevin Ganster

Some are arguing the biggest beneficiary of Romney’s departure from the race won’t be John McCain, but Barak Obama. They say since there won’t be a real contest on the Republican side, Obama can pick up all the independents that might have voted for McCain in open primaries.

UPDATE: Senate Passes Stimulus Plan; House Leaders Plan Quick Action

McCain speaks, and has George Allen's support

Another reason why free markets rule

Smoke 'em if you got 'em?

Romney suspends, McCain free to let the good jokes roll.

Mark Halperin's report has a transcript of Mitt's CPAC speech.

by Kevin Ganster

Despite initial optimism in the House’s quick response to the economy’s woes, the 2008 Economic Growth Package, H.R. 5140, has hit a roadblock in the Senate as legislators move to add-on extra rebates and additional spending.

John McCain is declaring himself the frontrunner in the Republican race after winning nine states last night – including the crown jewels of New York and California – and amassing a big lead in delegates, 615 to 268 for Romney. 1,191 delegates are needed for the nomination. Romney won victories in 7 states -- Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah.

K Street columnist Jeffrey Birnbaum was online to discuss lobbying and politics yesterday and was asked this question:

District of Columbia: In your view, what is the most powerful part of the business lobby in Washington?

It’s Super Tuesday, and Obama and Clinton are still stuck in a dead heat. The conventional wisdom is that Obama has momentum and will do very well, but his folks are downplaying expectations. They say they fully expect Clinton to win more states and more delegates and would like to just stay within 100 delegates of her going forward.

• Putting Exxon's Tax Bill In Perspective
• Lots of reasons to worry about union organizers - but perhaps the biggest reason to worry is that this guy is one of them.

The N.Y. Giants win the Super Bowl.  In a related shocker, we link to the N.Y. Post.

There was a marked change in tone last night at the Democratic debate between Clinton and Obama in California.

There is a lot of buzz in the blogosphere about why John Edwards’ campaign came to such an early, ignominious end – particularly in his home territory of the South.  There are complaints about media coverage, his hair and the nasty tactics of the Clinton and Obama campaigns.  The truth is a lot simpler: people didn’t like his message.  John Edwards got plenty of coverage, his policy positions were well known and understood by the public – AND he lost big at the ballot box.  The misnamed “economic populism” platform almost always loses because the American people know that

Lots of action on the political front yesterday … John Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race after getting pledges from Obama and Clinton that their campaigns and administrations would focus on poverty. Rudy also dropped out later in the day, endorsing McCain. Schwarzenegger is expected to do the same today.

From Roll Call (sub-req):

"A key element of the SEIU’s strategy involves paying 2,000 union members the equivalent of their salaries so they can take either a full- or part-time leave of absence from their jobs to work on Democratic campaigns in Congressional races the union has prioritized."

We shall call this Field Turfing.  And why have they prioritized them?

Rudy Giuliani frowns; John McCain, Iowa and New Hampshire smile.

It is official, John Edwards is out, but don't worry, "he will be fine".

The American Prospect looks at why his candidacy failed.  DC Dicta asks: Where will Edwards’ trial lawyer backers go?

MSNBC is reporting that with John McCain's win in Florida, Rudy Giuliani is dropping out of the race and endorsing McCain tomorrow.  The other supposition is that Huckabee is staying in the race to peel of Romney voters in order to get the VP nod from McCain.  Next up Wonkette's endorsement!

*This post is based on cable television primary coverage, and is thus guaranteed to contain the same degree of predictive accuracy.

There weren’t too many surprises in President Bush’s State of the Union address last night. As expected, he focused on the economic stimulus package, clamping down on earmarks, the war on terrorism, and other unfinished business. One of the more significant new proposals was a $300 million initiative to help provide choices for kids trapped in struggling inner-city public schools. Bush expressed concern about the declining number of faith-based and parochial schools in inner cities and in low-income neighborhoods.

Weekend news coverage was dominated by Obama’s rout of Hillary Clinton in the South Carolina Democratic primary. Obama defeated Clinton 55% to 27%. Obama received about 80% of the black vote and about one-quarter of the white vote. He got nearly 50% of the white vote for those under 25.

Well you can say this about the labor movement: they are consistent in their view of what constitutes democracy.

Sadly, their view of democracy is for voters or workers to be intimidated and harassed into supporting the position the unions want.

• The problem with local, patchwork, emotion-based immigration solutions.

• My pet post for the day was on Union intimidation during the Nevada caucus and how it proves what a bad piece of policy the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act" is.  But RedState's post was better than mine - "What's Good For the Goose..." so read theirs, and remember it next year. 
• Brown Labor Preemption Case Oral Argument Set

- Markets 'round the world stand hand in hand, and the shock of adjustment runs the whole circle 'round.  Wall Street is bracing for another brutal day as stocks are expected to take another beating after the opening bell in the wake of a massive global selloff yesterday.  Britain's market slumped 5.5%, France's 6.8%, Germany's 7.2%, India’s 7.4%, Hong Kong's 5.5%, Canada’s 4%, and Brazil’s 6.9% -- mostly on fears of a U.S. recession and the global credit crunch.

Sen. John McCain wins a tight one in South Carolina.  George Will calls McCain a Democrat.  Paul Starr says Democrats should be worried.

A triple whammy of bad news made for a brutal day on Wall Street yesterday, as the Dow plummeted 307 points.

• If you hate clowns, as I do, here is evidence to back you up
• The Library of Congress has put up 3,000 public-domain photos on Flickr, let the tagging commence

In Michigan last night, former Massachusetts Governor, and Michigan favorite son, Mitt Romney, captured gold for the second time in the Republican presidential race (he won Wyoming two weeks ago), handily beating John McCain 39% to 30%. Huckabee finished a distant third with 16%.

Just catching up with my reading when I came across this gem of a post from David Sirota:

Here's former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson writing about Barack Obama in the Washington Post:

Top economists from Goldman and Merrill Lynch say a recession is likely already here. The tipping point for both economists was the recent lackluster jobs report.   A constant barrage of recession predictions should do wonders for consumer confidence.

- The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that the White House is considering an economic stimulus package that would give tax rebates for individuals to encourage spending and tax breaks for businesses to encourage investment. Specifically, the administration is considering a $500 rebate for individuals and accelerated depreciation for businesses.

It appears that the dailyKos (a community dedicated to electing candidates which agree with them) is shocked, SHOCKED that the world’s largest business federation would want to elect candidates which are pro-business.

Huckabee and Obama won larger than expected victories in Iowa last night – Huckabee fueled by a large turnout of evangelicals and Obama powered by the youth vote and strength among women. Obama captured 38% of the vote, Edwards finished second with 30%, followed by Hillary in third with 29%. Dodd and Biden have dropped from the race. Turnout was huge -- 236,000 participated on the Democratic side, twice the number who participated in 2004.

Today voters finally cast ballots for the first time in what has already been a long presidential contest. The very latest polls show any of the top three Democrats could win, but the momentum seems to be behind Obama. On the Republican side, either Romney or Huckabee will emerge the winner, with others vying for third. Fred Thompson may drop out of the race he doesn’t get a third place finish.

The presidential election kicks off tomorrow with the Iowa caucuses, and that means the political rhetoric is being turned up. A lot of expensive promises have been made on the campaign trail, and all too often, the business community has come under attack.

IPOs around the world raised a record amount of cash for the second year in a row, despite the credit crisis in the United States. There were 1,300 deals in 2007 that raised $291 billion – that’s about 200 more deals than in 2006 and an additional $50 billion. Europe ($100 billion/357 deals) retained its number one position, but was eclipsed by Asia ($82 billion/451 deals) in several categories thanks to a number of offerings from China. North America ($47 billion/238 deals), lead by the United States, was third.