Research Briefing

STOMPED

This Week On The RNC Research Department’s “Stomping Grounds” Blog

IT’S A FINGER POINT-OFF: Obama and his Department of the Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, have  criticized the finger pointing surrounding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but that hasn’t stopped them from doing plenty of finger pointing themselves and doesn’t absolve the Obama administration from their slow response.

OBAMA’S VERBAL CONTORTIONISTS: The RNC Research team has compiled clips of Obama’s judicial nominees and their various verbal contortions in the video “Judicial Gymnastics,” and from the looks of it we should expect nothing less from Obama’s current Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan. Watch the video.

KAGAN’S PAPER TRAIL RUNS COLD: After the family of Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, had granted access to the media, the White House has pressured them to retract that access, making it even harder to pin down the nominee’s judicial character.

ALL STATE DINNER, NO DESSERT: Obama’s guest to his second state dinner, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, may have a bitter taste in his mouth when he flies home as Obama is slashing aid for Mexico’s fight against violent drug cartels.

GOOD INTENTIONS, BAD CONSEQUENCES: The Obama administration’s rush to spend $50 billion helping struggling homeowners is leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans worse off than they were before.  We explain why.

OBAMA’S FAVOR FACTORY: Despite his promise to change the ways of Washington, Obama keeps trying to use his power of appointment to make political problems go away quietly.

WE’RE A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR TOO?: During a human rights talk with China last week Obama’s Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor shocked Americans by apologizing to China for what he considers the U.S.’s “troubling trend” of discrimination by citing Arizona’s recently passed immigration reform law.

TO APPLAUD OR NOT TO APPLAUD?: That was the question for Homeland Security Sec. Napolitano and Attorney General Holder after they applauded Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s criticism of Arizona’s new immigration law earlier today even though they haven’t read bill.

MIND THE CREDIBILITY GAP: Obama’s credibility gap continues to grow with the administration’s ongoing efforts to oversell ObamaCare and a new White House blog post that claims it will be good for small businesses, even though it burdens them with higher taxes and more government regulation.

DISENGAGED ON DEMOCRACY: Egyptian activists for democratic and human rights reform are increasingly disappointed with Obama’s policy on promoting democracy abroad, which they describe as “weak and inconsistent.”

HITTING THE SNOOZE BUTTON ON DEBT: As the IMF is predicting the U.S. national debt will soon reach 100% of GDP, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is announcing that the House will not consider a budget resolution for the first time since 1974.

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