Dem Women on TV: Some notes
Larry King has all 9 Democratic women senators right now (including La Hill). Patty Murray from Washington was talking about how badly underfunded the Veterans' administration is, and Mary Landrieu concurs.
Larry asks the women if they feel frustrated as women in a minority party. All say "Oh yes!" Then Dianne Feinstein talks about "tax cut after tax cut after tax cut in the middle of a war," with money coming out of government programs.
Barbara Mikulski says, "We are frustrated because of the agenda!" Meaning Bushco's, of course. She's frustrated over "amendments that aren't going to take us anywhere." Meaning the gay marriage amdnement, of course. And, of course, Bushco's fiscal policy.
The senators all emphasize the need to pursue a better energy policy.
La Hill is being a team player here. Nobody's even mentioning her as a possible presidential candidate.
Just found out that Cher is campaigning to provide our troops with better helmets. Go Cher!
Cantwell wants to make college affordable. She talks about how the cost of education has skyrocketed. She wants college tax deductions to be permanent and she wants more money for Pell Grants. She talks about her previous career working for a software firm.
Louisiana senator Landrieu's new pet cause is "Preparing for Future Disasters!" Unlike David Vitter, who thinks gay marriage is more important. She says that Americans are now "sitting ducks" for future disasters.
"The Bush administration dismantled FEMA," claims La Hill and talks about how money has not been used to improve borders and security.
Boxer praised the Clinton administration for responding to natural disasters in California effectively and keeping it on budget.
Landrieu seems less DLC wimp and more concerned senator here. Gee, maybe she figured out that Bushco isn't interested in helping her state.
Verdict so far: La Hill is La Hill; Landrieu is finding her spine (or at least pretending to); Boxer is crisp, forceful, and effective. Eloquent and passionate. Mikulski is brash and slightly abrasive. She'd be great behind a podium, but hearing her speak? I wouldn't want to be one of her staffers. Interesting to hear Landrieu talk about Katrina and the role of effective government.
An e-mail asks about the mammoth deficit. Stabenow (who before now seemed to be invisible) talked about the huge deficit under Clinton which has vanished under Bushco. Boxer wants a return to "pay-as-you-go" budgeting.
More Landrieu: "They don't WANT to pay for their tax cuts!"
Blanche Lincoln wants to make healthcare affordable. She's from Arkansas, and she's got an accent, and that's fine with her. I don't like the idea that Southerner = dumb hick. Lincoln was easily re-elected two years ago. Still, Lincoln and Landrieu have never been known as rock-the-boat types. Again, I'm surprised by Landrieu, considering her on-the-air performance with Anderson Cooper during Katrina.
So far, the best speaker is Barbara Boxer.
Now for La Hill. Larry asks her about Kerry's "Lie or Die" meme. Larry asks if there's a rift in the party. She reframes it as Republicans "blindly following the president."
Boxer then condemns al Qaeda: "This is a group that's beyond the pale." She talks about using the resources we have in Iraq to find al Qaeda instead. Murray talks more about security here in the USA.
Milkuski then discusses pensions. Feinstein talks about stem cell research.
A Canadian sends an e-mail asking if the women have seen Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." La Hill saw it and thought it was "great." Would she like him to run again? She laughs and then suggests Larry ask the FBI director (who's Larry's next guest) about cuts in homeland security money. Again, they steer it back to tax cuts for billionaires, which take away money that the country needs to keep the country safe. Stabenow and Boxer talk about energy policy again.
Larry says he'll ask the FBI guy about homeland security funding.
Verdict: Guess some of them have been taking media relations tips and maybe even suggestions on framing and handling difficult questions. And they related policy to what's going on in their states. Not bad. Not bad at all. Boxer, of course, was the best and most effective speaker. La Hill is, after all, still a junior senator. Boxer, Mikulski, Lincoln, and Murray all have more seniority.
Larry asks the women if they feel frustrated as women in a minority party. All say "Oh yes!" Then Dianne Feinstein talks about "tax cut after tax cut after tax cut in the middle of a war," with money coming out of government programs.
Barbara Mikulski says, "We are frustrated because of the agenda!" Meaning Bushco's, of course. She's frustrated over "amendments that aren't going to take us anywhere." Meaning the gay marriage amdnement, of course. And, of course, Bushco's fiscal policy.
The senators all emphasize the need to pursue a better energy policy.
La Hill is being a team player here. Nobody's even mentioning her as a possible presidential candidate.
Just found out that Cher is campaigning to provide our troops with better helmets. Go Cher!
Cantwell wants to make college affordable. She talks about how the cost of education has skyrocketed. She wants college tax deductions to be permanent and she wants more money for Pell Grants. She talks about her previous career working for a software firm.
Louisiana senator Landrieu's new pet cause is "Preparing for Future Disasters!" Unlike David Vitter, who thinks gay marriage is more important. She says that Americans are now "sitting ducks" for future disasters.
"The Bush administration dismantled FEMA," claims La Hill and talks about how money has not been used to improve borders and security.
Boxer praised the Clinton administration for responding to natural disasters in California effectively and keeping it on budget.
Landrieu seems less DLC wimp and more concerned senator here. Gee, maybe she figured out that Bushco isn't interested in helping her state.
Verdict so far: La Hill is La Hill; Landrieu is finding her spine (or at least pretending to); Boxer is crisp, forceful, and effective. Eloquent and passionate. Mikulski is brash and slightly abrasive. She'd be great behind a podium, but hearing her speak? I wouldn't want to be one of her staffers. Interesting to hear Landrieu talk about Katrina and the role of effective government.
An e-mail asks about the mammoth deficit. Stabenow (who before now seemed to be invisible) talked about the huge deficit under Clinton which has vanished under Bushco. Boxer wants a return to "pay-as-you-go" budgeting.
More Landrieu: "They don't WANT to pay for their tax cuts!"
Blanche Lincoln wants to make healthcare affordable. She's from Arkansas, and she's got an accent, and that's fine with her. I don't like the idea that Southerner = dumb hick. Lincoln was easily re-elected two years ago. Still, Lincoln and Landrieu have never been known as rock-the-boat types. Again, I'm surprised by Landrieu, considering her on-the-air performance with Anderson Cooper during Katrina.
So far, the best speaker is Barbara Boxer.
Now for La Hill. Larry asks her about Kerry's "Lie or Die" meme. Larry asks if there's a rift in the party. She reframes it as Republicans "blindly following the president."
Boxer then condemns al Qaeda: "This is a group that's beyond the pale." She talks about using the resources we have in Iraq to find al Qaeda instead. Murray talks more about security here in the USA.
Milkuski then discusses pensions. Feinstein talks about stem cell research.
A Canadian sends an e-mail asking if the women have seen Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth." La Hill saw it and thought it was "great." Would she like him to run again? She laughs and then suggests Larry ask the FBI director (who's Larry's next guest) about cuts in homeland security money. Again, they steer it back to tax cuts for billionaires, which take away money that the country needs to keep the country safe. Stabenow and Boxer talk about energy policy again.
Larry says he'll ask the FBI guy about homeland security funding.
Verdict: Guess some of them have been taking media relations tips and maybe even suggestions on framing and handling difficult questions. And they related policy to what's going on in their states. Not bad. Not bad at all. Boxer, of course, was the best and most effective speaker. La Hill is, after all, still a junior senator. Boxer, Mikulski, Lincoln, and Murray all have more seniority.
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