Democratic Party preparing for big vote push

David Plouffe, the campaign manager for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, talks about the Democratic Party's mobilization efforts.

We're now at the point that lots of Democratic operatives are back to work as campaign offices open up all over the place.

A new series of election polls indicate that the things are not nearly as bad for Democrats as some pundits are suggesting.  The party will need to get their voters out to vote along with registering new young progressive voters.  It will take a lot of organization, technology and effort, but you can see the infrastructure starting to build up.  Lots of well-trained people out there who gained valuable experience during the Obama campaign but have been barely keeping things together after the race ended and the economy crashed.

Fortunately, political operatives will not have to wait to long this time around before they have to get to work again for Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.

Obama to announce $50 billion infrastructure spending

President Barack Obama plans to announce a plan for new infrastructure work amounting to at least $50 billion in an effort to boost the economy.  He will also push for the creation of a permanent national infrastructure bank to prevent the nation's road, bridges, runways and other infrastructure from falling again into its present sad state of disrepair.

Democrats lost the culture wars over the last few decades allowing Republicans to create the mindset that "big government" is bad.  One of the consequences of that defeat was that America's infrastructure has deteriorated badly.  The four year "report card" issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the country a "D" grade in 2009. In 2007, the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis collapsed killing 13 people, and last year the Lake Champlain Bridge between Vermont and New York had to be closed and demolished for safety reasons.

Obama plans $100 billion R & D tax credit

President Barack Obama will push Congress to pass a $100 billion plan to permanently expand the tax credit program for companies the invest in research and development.

The new proposal, which is part of the administration's overall plan to support job growth, was revealed today at a public address in Ohio. The plan will be partly funded by closing corporate tax loopholes.

However, many feel that the upcoming congressional session may see the Republicans continue to obstruct progress by filibustering bills in the Senate.  The Democrats will have an ever harder time passing legislation if they should lose control of the House or Senate in November.

Obama has been fundraising and stumping for candidates all around the country recently and this is likely to continue ot some degree all the way up until election time.  Currently there are plans for the president to attend an event with Pennsylvania senatorial candidate Joe Sestak, and to visit Minnesota for fundraising stops.

Stimulus Package?

The Obama administration is preparing a plan to address the country's anemic job situation, but has ruled out another major stimulus package.

With the elections coming up in November, even a modest proposal could be hard to push through. The Republicans have not signaled that they are willing to cooperate. However, many analysts believe that a new stimulus package is necessary to ward off a double dip recession.

As I have argued previously on this blog, the economy is not really in any condition for corporations or small businesses to lead a recovery. The old system that got us into this mess is still very weighted down in debt. We saw what happened to the entire nations of Iceland and Greece, and to massive corporations like Lehman Brothers. Banks have huge loans from these types of debtors along with vast number of smaller bad loans, for example, all those distressed homeowners.  The financial markets will take a long time to unload this bad debt and that will mean that businesses will have difficulty getting loans. What has driven the economy up to this point since the start of the economic meltdown in 2007 is the federal stimulus package.

As the old stimulus plan winds down, we may see things like unemployment begin to rise quickly again. To avoid this the government will need to act again either now or after the elections. In the end, though, we will need something more than just economic stimulus if we want to reform the system. The last thing we need is to return to the old ways of doing things -- the bubble economy.

The current tax regime is not sufficient to fund the government, and yet government services are far from excessive. Thus, there is only one alternative even though no one wants to raise a voice on this issue. Revenues have to increase, and that means the tax system has to be restructured. We need to look at alternatives like an annual land value tax and a value added tax (VAT) that hold the promise of even replacing income taxes for the vast majority of Americans.

We should also look into creating an economy and society that is no longer tilted in favor of big business interests. One area that looks promising is a basic citizen’s income that could replace our means-based welfare system. A universal basic income would probably meet less resistance from conservatives compared to welfare since it is not means tested. Such a system would provide citizens with a safety net against corporate whims and economic bubbles. The consumer economy would be stronger and more stable, and, in the end, there would be less need for stimulus packages or other government intervention.

For now, though, we have to hope that a new Obama stimulus package is in the works if only behind the scenes.

Obama interview in Oval Office

Watch this CSPAN interview of President Obama in the Oval Office, which has been redecorated, as he talks about how he and his family have adjusted to living in the White House.

Technology may make the difference in Nov.

Mid-term elections are the biggest thing other than the presidential contests that happen every four years.  The other elections that made so many headlines are really small potatoes compared to the polls coming up on November 2.

Technology will likely play a role in how the parties attempt to reach voters in numerous contests across the country. Social media will be important as it was during the 2008 presidential election, and mobile devices like iPhones and other smart phones, iPods, Blackberries, and e-readers may come to the fore as never before.

More people are using mobile devices now as compared to 2008, and the number of people who text regularly has risen dramatically. 

Electronic media will undoubtedly play an important role in getting out the vote on election day.   We may see location-based social media used to help bring bigger crowds to rallies and other public events. 

The fact that the number of people over 50 that are using social media has been surging will be very attractive to political consultants. Older voters are more reliable in terms of going to the polls, especially during the mid-term elections.