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Data from Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys shows that 15.0% of Democrats in the workforce are currently unemployed and looking for a job. Among adults not affiliated with either major party, that number is 15.6% while just 9.9% of Republicans are in the same situation. These findings are from interviews with 15,000 American adults in October. The numbers show an increase in all categories from earlier in the year. The percentage of unemployed Democrats has grown less than a point from 14.2% in February. Among those not affiliated with either major party, unemployment has grown by more than two percentage...

The Democratic National Committee reportedly has decided to yank a new TV commercial on health care reform at the request of former Sen. Bob Dole, who complained to the White House that the ad was deceptive. The New York Times reported Sunday that Dole's request was granted within hours. A DNC spokesman said as soon as Dole complained the DNC "immediately" agreed to scrap the ad

President Obama on Saturday urged Congress to "rise above the politics of the moment" and adopt healthcare legislation, saying the effort has gathered momentum in recent days, with Republicans, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, endorsing reform. The Congressional Budge Office found the Senate Finance Committee's version of health care would make coverage affordable for millions now without it, "without adding a dime to our deficits," said Obama in his weekly radio address. Read more about bill's price tag. When Schwarzenegger and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg earlier in the came out in...

Dole is a lobbyist at the downtown firm Alston & Bird, where his clients include the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. The Association pays Alston & Bird $30,000 per month to lobby Congress and the administration on "issues in health reform relating to home health & hospice," according to Alston Bird's second-quarter 2009 lobbying report. In September, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., amended his reform bill to expand Medicaid funding for home health-care and to include hospice care--care for the dying--under Medicaid, as well. This accelerates the flow of taxpayer money to Dole's clients. Now Dole...

Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole says a top GOP leader asked him not to publicly support health care reform. But he's doing so anyway. The former Kansas senator said Wednesday that health care reform is "one of the most important measures members of Congress will vote on in their lifetimes." Dole opposes a government-run insurance option, saying it could put private insurers out of business. He expects something to pass by early 2010. Dole spoke at a health care summit in Kansas City. He said afterward that some Republicans have asked him to stay mum including Senate Minority Leader...

The Subprime home mortgage collapse...a Primer. It's ALL about the CRA of 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 - This required banks to offer credit throughout their entire market area for “underserved” populations and small businesses. The CRA gave incentives to help low income borrowers become “home owners”. Liberals call this group “low income borrowers”. Conservatives call them a RISK!The CRA was passed by the Carter administration. In 1995 the Clinton administration authorized subprime loans under the CRA. Democrats added these provisions for the securitization of subprime loans and then ENFORCED the lending to high risk individuals. By 2000,...

Bob Dole, a venerable 86 years old now, was back in the Washington limelight over the weekend, appearing on ABC TV to dispense counsel on a bipartisan approach to health care, popping up in newspapers explaining how to cut a deal, even suggesting Gen. David Petraeus as a presidential possibility. But his most heartfelt weekend activity took place elsewhere, out of sight of Washington politicos and devoid of any potential for gain or notoriety. It came under a brilliant Saturday-morning sun, when the former Republican presidential candidate, now a bit more frail than most Americans recall him, stepped out of...

Here is video of Bob Dole talking with Neil Cavuto about the health care bill. Dole said that Obama needs to "Start from scratch and write his own bill" and that "We shouldn't be debating some Congressman's bill." (Watch Video)

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 15) -- Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) electrified Washington today, resigning from the Senate to campaign full time for the White House (256K WAV sound). "I announce that I will forego the privileges not only of the office of the majority leader but of the United States Senate itself, from which I resign effective on or before June 11th," a choked-up Dole told a Capitol Hill news conference, flanked by Republican lawmakers and a few Democrats. "And I will then stand before you without office or authority, a private citizen, a Kansan, an American, just a man." ......

<p>LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) - A California judge signed a dismissal order Wednesday detailing the massive fraud perpetrated against U.S. food giant Dole designed to collect billions of dollars through false claims of harm to Nicaraguan banana plantation workers.</p>

Some snapshots of where Europe's headed: Following my post about Andrew Lloyd Webber, Michael Caine is now threatening to quit Britain over its tax rates. I last ran into him a year or two back at Spiaggia in Chicago (Barack Obama's favorite restaurant apparently) when I was dining with my old boss Conrad Black, and Sir Michael, who was in town filming his Alfred the Butler turn for The Dark Knight, and his lovely wife Shakira came over to say hello. Anyway, enough of the social notes. Caine works hard for his nights out at Spiaggia, which is more than...

(FORTUNE Magazine) – As we tap out these words on our trusty 101-key enhanced keyboard, the Dow Jones industrial average is around 2700 and also looking enhanced. ... (FORTUNE Magazine) – Easily the most maddening political debate these days is the one about whether Congressman Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat, should resign on grounds of turpitude. ...

The voting shift in this nation is largely about two dynamics: safe seats and the Carolina blues. To get a really good close-up glimpse of what demographic problems the Republican Party is facing in the national electorate, one has to look no further than the North Carolina Senate race lost by Elizabeth Dole. The loss by Dole was not simply a result of the headwinds (self-inflicted as they were) that all GOP candidates faced in 2008, though that was a factor. The Dole loss was more than that. Dole lost a senate seat held by Republicans since 1972. Dole lost...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Incumbent GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole continued Saturday to question her campaign rival's attendance at a fundraiser hosted by an adviser to an atheist advocacy group, beginning a round of automated calls that includes clips of Kay Hagan trying to explain her decision to attend. Dole's campaign began sending out automated telephone calls that talks about Hagan, a Democratic state senator, and the Godless Americans Political Action Committee. Dole's campaign said 1.3 million calls are planned through Monday. Hagan has sued Dole over her initial television ad about the fundraiser, accussing her of defamation and libel. The initial...

North Carolina knows from sad experience about negative election campaigns and misleading, untruthful advertising. In the 1950 campaign, opponents of the late UNC President Frank Porter Graham used a doctored photo of his wife with a black man to inject race into a Senate campaign and help defeat the revered educator. In 1990, Sen. Jesse Helms used the infamous "white hands" ad, blaming the failure of a white person to get a job on a minority and "a racial quota" to help defeat former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt. When Helms retired in 2002 and Salisbury native Elizabeth Dole was elected...

State Sen. Kay Hagan says she'll go to court to seek a cease-and-desist order against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign if the "godless" TV spot isn't pulled in the next 24 hours. Hagan, a Democrat, held a press conference this morning with her family and minister at the Presbyterian church in Greensboro where she is an elder and has taught Sunday school. Hagan's campaign said it had delivered letters to Dole's Raleigh and Salisbury offices and her Washington, D.C., home, giving the campaign 24 hours to pull the ad before Hagan's campaign took legal recourse. The political ad suggests Hagan...

North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole's campaign is refusing to take down an ad that accuses her Democratic rival, Kay Hagan, of accepting money from "godless Americans," after Hagan demanded that the Republican incumbent "cease and desist." The two campaigns are in a nasty dispute over the commercial, which began running statewide in North Carolina Tuesday. Hagan sent Dole a letter Wednesday demanding she take down the ad, and held a press conference in the morning at which, according to prepared remarks, she called it an attack on her "Christian faith." The ad accuses Hagan of attending a "secret fundraiser" hosted...

An angry Kay Hagan said today she was “appalled at the vile tactics” behind the “Godless American” television ad that Republican rival Elizabeth Dole began running against her last night. Hagan called it politics of the worst kind and “so unbecoming of a woman like Elizabeth Dole. “How dare she attack my Christian faith,” Hagan told reporters during a noon conference call. Hagan spoke as she was traveling to the General Baptist Convention in Fayetteville. Earlier in the day, she held a press conference at First Presbyterian Church, where she is an elder, has taught Sunday School and has accompanied...

Two minutes and thirty seconds is all it takes to see why you need to support Elizabeth Dole. Two minutes and thirty seconds is really all it takes to watch this: What is it? It documents Kay Hagan's ties to the Godless America PAC. Godless America PAC is a legitimate organization that denies there is any such thing as God. They want to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. They want to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance. They even, no kidding, want to get rid of Christmas as a federal holiday. Seriously. And one of their...

Forty-one is the magic number for GOP Senate seats — if conservatives hope to have any voice in the Senate next Congress by being able to wield the threat of a filibuster. And that number doesn’t account for the stable of moderate Republicans who are unreliable on a whole host of issues, and are unlikely to fight a “Freedom of Choice Act,” especially with all of Washington in Democratic hands — hands that are all-too-happy to twist arms. Senate watchers see at least seven Republican seats potentially being lost — in Colorado, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Oregon, Virginia, Arkansas, and...

Senator Elizabeth Dole, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, tells Newsmax TV she and other Republicans tried to move legislation five years ago to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but Democrats blocked their efforts and it "infuriates" her to think about how that could have prevented what eventually happened.

SurveyUSA 10/05 - 10/06 617 LV Hagan 43 Dole 44 Dole +1

(October 18, 2004) North Carolina poll: Bush 50%, Kerry 47% [Actual Result: 56% to 44% for Bush]

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, nine lawmakers have between $785,900 and $1.8 million of their own money invested in Merrill Lynch, the brokerage firm that agreed over the weekend to sell itself to Bank of America for $50 billion after facing tens of billions of dollars in losses. Because Bank of America offered to buy the company at a 70 percent premium over the company's closing price on Friday, those who own stock in Merrill Lynch stand to gain from the transaction. Two of the richest members of Congress owned the most stock in the company. Sen....

Question for the general FReeper nation: Is it just me, or is Obama/Biden trying to make the Dole/Kemp campaign of '96 look good? Seriously, gaffe after gaffe after gaffe. It seems that the only time these guys open their mouth is to change feet. Comments????

In an election for North Carolina Governor today, 09/09/08, 8 weeks to the vote, Republican Mayor of Charlotte Pat McCrory seesaws into the lead over Democratic Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue 49% to 41%, according to this latest SurveyUSA election tracking poll conducted exclusively for WTVD-TV in Raleigh. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released four weeks ago, McCrory is up 5 points and is in the lead for the first time; Perdue is down 6 points and trails for the first time. Libertarian Mike Munger, a professor at Duke University, takes 5% of the vote today, unchanged from one month...

Today we update North Carolina where there's a bit of a surprise. * North Carolina: Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole's leads Democratic challenger Kay Hagan 46 percent to 41 percent with Libertarian Chris Cole drawing 7 percent and 5 percent undecided in a SurveyUSA poll conducted Aug. 9-11. This is the first time SurveyUSA included Cole in its poll, and it observed: "Hagan is flat, Dole is down. Cole gets 11% of male votes today, siphoning key votes Dole needs to win. Cole gets 12% of young votes today, siphoning key votes Hagan needs to win. Cole gets 9% of the...

When Bob Dole waged his dismal campaign for President in 1996, I don't remember seeing stories about an "enthusiasm gap" nearly to the extent we see them today. What you did see were constant reminders of Clinton's yawning lead in the polls. Perhaps an enthusiasm gap was simply assumed. Or Republicans were plenty fired up about Bill Clinton, but were left without an effective electoral outlet. Today, all we see are enthusiasm gap stories and their cousins -- the age meme, the Obama crowds meme, the McCain-doesn't-go-online meme. The media isn't attempting to bury McCain like it buried George H.W....

Dole weighs in on Clark McCain said he'd rather focus on issues facing Americans, but of course he's on much better turf discussing biography and questions about his Vietnam service. And his campaign pours it on, sending over a Bob Dole statement with some trademark zingers. "The attack by General Wesley Clark on Senator John McCain’s war record and qualifications for the presidency is beyond comprehension. Clark’s absurd remarks signal further erosion in our nation’s political discourse. He should have stayed in bed Sunday morning. It’s unfortunate that a former General who ran for the presidency on his own war...

Dole discusses Climate Security Act Written by Lauren K. Ohnesorge Thursday, June 05 2008 Senator Elizabeth Dole discussed national and economic security issues Tuesday evening on the Senate floor. The remarks, available below, were presented during the debate of America’s Climate Security Act. A release from Dole’s office labels the Senator as an original cosponsor of the legislation to address climate change “using a market-driven approach that will strengthen our economy and national security and make America more energy independent.” In her lengthy statement, Dole says nuclear energy is a “safe, reliable, low-cost” energy alternative. She also talks about the...

Bob Dole says Bob Dole is mad at Scott McClellan. The former Senate majority leader and 1996 Republican presidential candidate sent a nasty e-mail to McClellan calling him a "miserable creature" for his latest book blasting the Bush administration, FOX News has learned. In the e-mail, Dole basically describes the former White House press secretary as a traitor looking to cash in on the "liberal" media's distaste for President Bush. "There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don't have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," the five-term...

Bob Dole unloads on McClellan Bob Dole yesterday sent a scalding email to Scott McClellan, excoriating the former White House spokesman as a "miserable creature" who greedily betrayed his former patron for a fast buck. In an extraordinary message obtained and authenticated by Politico, Dole uses his trademark biting wit to portray McClellan as a classic Washington opportunist. "There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," Dole wrote in a message sent yesterday morning. "No, your type soaks up the...

U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan easily humbled four Democratic primary opponents Tuesday but didn’t savor the victory. She immediately turned her attention to the more daunting challenge she faces in November. Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro, used her victory speech to critique incumbent Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a national political figure with strong name recognition and a multimillion-dollar campaign fund. “Tonight was another symbol that Washington is broken and that North Carolina families are ready for a change,” Hagan said shortly after she won the race Tuesday night. Hagan has said she needs about 10 million to unseat Dole...

WASHINGTON - A great old war hero - arms man gled by battle and known as an acerbic straight shooter - is picked by Republicans to be their nominee to make darned certain that a Clinton doesn't get back into the White House. John McCain? No, Bob Dole in 1996. And it didn't work out very well for Republicans. Dole lost after a campaign vexed by senior moments such as when the nominee fell off a stage, or when he referred to the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Brooklyn Dodgers. All along, President Bill Clinton showed extreme deference to Dole,...

Dole: McCain has a temper, but it's not a problem (CNN) — Former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole said Wednesday night that current White House hopeful John McCain has a temper — but added the Arizona senator “can control it.” Dole told CNN’s Larry King that his former Senate colleague “does have a… I guess you could say temper. But I always sort of rationalized that because the poor guy had been locked up” in a tiny cell for six years. But McCain, he said, “can control it. It's not a problem anymore.” Dole, a former Senate Majority Leader, told...

Former Sen. Bob Dole, the failed Republican presidential candidate in 1996, became the focus Tuesday of an increasingly testy exchange between GOP presidential contenders John McCain and Mitt Romney. The tit-for-tat began with Dole coming to the aid of McCain, a fellow war hero and former Senate colleague, in a letter to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. He has relentlessly criticized the front-running Arizona senator as insufficiently conservative.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: So by now, if you don't know that Bob Dole sent me a letter yesterday afternoon, then you haven't been paying attention.  Here's the timeline on this.  Senator Dole, for whom I have a tremendous amount of respect, sent me an e-mail that I received here at 2:35 p.m. yesterday afternoon.  I assumed that it was a private e-mail and was going to reply to it later in the afternoon when I got home.  By the way, Mike Allen of Politico.com, the headline:  "Dole Scolds Limbaugh," there was no scolding in this letter.  I have it here...

Too fat to work       Richard Ford and Sam Coates   Almost two thousand people who are too fat to work have been paid a total of £4.4 million in benefit, it emerged last night. Other payments went to fifty sufferers of acne and ten incapacitated by leprosy. Billions of pounds is being paid in benefits to people claiming to be unable to work because they suffer from depression, stress, fatigue and unknown or unspecified diseases. The full list of ailments of the 2.7 million people claiming £7.4 billion in incapacity benefits, obtained by using Freedom of...

The National Commission on Energy Policy: “Bipartisanship”: The Cover for a Government Energy Takeover By Max Borders Despite the moderation implied by its official-sounding name, the National Commission on Energy Policy’s (NCEP) radical policy platform calls for the federal government to control energy planning in America. A “project” of the innocuous-sounding Bipartisan Policy Center, NCEP claims the dual threats of terrorism and global warming require government regulation over the energy economy. On its website, NCEP says it is one of three projects of the “new” Bipartisan Policy Center (BCP). In March 2007, the Center held an inaugural luncheon hosted by...

Bob Dole has decided that John McCain has lost the "buzz", and has signaled he is likely to switch his support to Fred Thompson in September. Take a look at what Dole is quoted as saying in a Bloomberg article: Bob Dole says his preferred presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, is fading and that his support is likely to be ``picked up'' by Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in September. ``My heart has always been with my good friend John McCain,'' said Dole, former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee....

Migrant bill splits senators-- a little Burr is skeptical; Dole would kill it Barbara Barrett, Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON - When the U.S. Senate convenes this morning for a critical immigration vote, North Carolina's Republican senators will have different objectives. Sen. Richard Burr will want to know whether sufficient safeguards have been added to the sweeping legislation to earn his support. The answer, he said Wednesday, is probably no. Sen. Elizabeth Dole just wants to kill the thing. For Dole and Burr, both strong supporters of President Bush, the immigration deal may be the most significant issue in recent memory on...

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller is close to making perhaps the most difficult choice of his political career -- whether to challenge one of the most famous names in American politics. Miller, a three-term Democrat, has stepped up his exploratory effort in recent days as he nears a self-imposed deadline of July 1 to decide whether to take on Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008. Miller, a Raleigh attorney, met over the weekend with members of the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers -- some of Miller's key financial backers -- at their annual conference in Sunset Beach. Last week, Miller and...

Dole's change helps kill bill... Senator joins vote for amendment that led to immigration reform's demise Barbara Barrett, Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON - As proponents of the delicate immigration bill scrambled Thursday to salvage President Bush's top domestic priority, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole was doing what she could to spike it. Dole -- a Salisbury Republican and one of Bush's strongest supporters -- worked into the night to kill the comprehensive immigration reform deal teetering in the U.S. Senate. The bill suffered a potentially fatal blow Thursday when senators voted against limiting debate on the measure. That was nearly a day...

Welcome to Sanity Island, where only adults are allowed. President Bush Named Bob Dole And Donna Shalala To Serve On The President's Commission On Care For America's Returning Wounded Warriors and he met with them in the Oval Office today. He Signed An Executive Order Creating A Bipartisan Presidential Commission To Conduct A Comprehensive Review Of The Services America Is Providing Our Returning Wounded Warriors. In total, the President will announce nine members to serve on the Commission – including the two co-chairs. The President Also Directed U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Jim Nicholson To Establish An Interagency...

... While providing a progress report in the War on Terror, Bush also named a decorated war veteran and former Clinton cabinet member as leaders of a commission to investigate soldiers' treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Bush said former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole and former Heath and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, now president at the University of Miami, will co-chair the commission. The panel will review conditions at the Army's flagship hospital after the recent uncovering of poor treatment of soldiers there. It will also look at broader treatment throughout military hospitals.......

WASHINGTON - Four former Senate majority leaders are heading a new group aimed at putting aside partisan politics and offering solutions to the nation's biggest issues. The Bipartisan Policy Center, to be announced at a news conference Tuesday, will be directed by former Sens. Howard Baker, R-Tenn.; George Mitchell, D-Maine; Bob Dole, R-Kan.; and Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "We've all been leaders and you know how difficult it is," said Dole, who served as both majority and minority leader between 1985 and 1996. "We're all partisan in a way," Dole said in an interview Monday, adding they also hope to show...

RALEIGH, N.C. - U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole underwent hip replacement surgery but expected to resume work after the congressional holiday recess, her spokeswoman said. Dole, 70, had her right hip replaced in a procedure that took about an hour Tuesday, spokeswoman Katie Norman said. "There were no complications and she's doing very well," Norman said. "It was a planned surgery but finding time to do it was a challenge. She plans to resume her Senate duties after a few weeks of recuperation." Dole, R-N.C., is up for re-election to a second term in 2008.

Former Clinton political hitman James Carville, who recently touted New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for a 2008 presidential run, is reportedly behind an advertising campaign attacking President Bush for his 1990 sale of Harken Energy stock as well as his ties to the oil industry in general. American Family Voices, a group described by the New York Times as "secretive," has paid to run a 30-second commercial on cable news programs in Washington, D.C., and in New York through Thursday. The ad blasts President Bush as "sly like a fox" for talking down his dealings with Harken Energy, which Democrats...

Senator John McCain (R - Az.) “Senator Chafee is one of the most fiscally responsible members of the U.S. Senate,” said U.S. Senator John McCain. “He wants to cut excess government spending, and he is willing to make the tough decisions to eliminate the federal deficit. Senator Chafee has been a leader on environmental issues, he’s working to raise fuel efficiency standards and make America energy independent, and he’s an honest advocate for his state. He is an important member of the Senate and we need him to keep representing the people of Rhode Island in Washington.” ------------------------------------------------ Senator Elizabeth...

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole spent Friday morning in Tucson, rallying support for fellow Republican Sen. Jon Kyl in his bid for re-election. Dole headlined an entourage of female U.S. senators at the Arizona Inn, pledging their support for Kyl in his race against Democratic challenger Jim Pederson. "Sen. Kyl is a proven leader on important issues such as homeland security, victims' rights, immigration and health-care reform," she told about 150 supporters. Dole, of North Carolina, was joined by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Susan Collins, R-Maine. Hutchison and Collins offered similar comments, each focusing on Kyl's record on cutting...