The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has emerged as the GOP's single biggest ally - but why?  Well, I always like to start off a post related to the US Chamber of Commerce with my favorite quote from the Social Security privatization debate...

Noting that there is already a lot on the congressional to-do list, Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said, "We'd like them to address the low-hanging fruit that's already keyed up," such as passing an energy bill and limiting the public's ability to file medical malpractice and class-action lawsuits. "A mandate lasts about 15 minutes in this town," Mr. Donohue said.

It's just such a good quote.  You've got the almost comically greedy analogy of "low-hanging fruit" which to my mind kind of puts everything the Republicans do in perspective.  Republicans don't pass "legislation" in any serious policy sense -- it's goodies, treats!  And with their games on minimum wage, it's exactly the same...

"Tuesday's speech, with its massive prime-time audience, may be the most important forum Bush has all year to try to seize the initiative from the Democrats and frame the election season on his terms."
-- Washington Post

On Tuesday night, President Bush will have an opportunity to broadcast his framing of 2006 and the next set of Republican sham policies without fact-check and without interruption - except for the raucous applause of Republicans in Congress.  His bully pulpit will be at its zenith - but we can fight back and give the Republicans a healthy dose of reality.  That's why we at the DCCC are picking Tuesday to launch an entire new website, as well as a new TV ad airing on Fox News in the hours leading up to his speech.  But we thought it would be fun to give the dkos community an advance look.  Click on the graphic to see the ad, go below the fold for the dkos username and password for our new "Rubberstamp" site exposing the ways in which your local Republicans have substituted blind obedience to President Bush for any semblance of loyalty to their constituents...

ACTION ITEM: KILL THE SLASH AND BURN BUDGET CUTS

Republicans in the House are hoping to slash more than $50 billion from programs like food stamps, Medicaid, school lunches, child support, and student loans.  At the same time, they hope to pass $70 billion in tax cuts targeted at the wealthy, actually increasing the deficit.  The vote is tentatively scheduled for Thursday.

Call Your Republican Representatives and Promise them Hell If They Even Consider Voting For These Despicable Priorities.

Contact Your Republican Representative.

In the wake of Tom DeLay's pseudo-removal from the Majority Leader post, there was an initial flurry of activity as the future of GOP Leadership came into question.

The first two insurgent candidates out of the box seemed to be Zach Wamp, who would be challenging DeLay foot soldier Eric Cantor for the Whip position, and John Boehner, who could take on Blunt himself for the Republican Leader position.

And Blunt knew it.  From October 5th in The Hill...

Watch the Video.

"Valerie Wilson's cover was blown in July 2003."

-- Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald

"Without Tom DeLay it would be complete and total chaos," said one Republican strategist with close ties to the White House. "The House would descend into 'Lord of the Flies.' "

-- New York Times, October 8, 2004

Back in March, when DeLay's future first started to be seriously questioned, I posted a diary here explaining why it would be difficult to remove DeLay from power even if the White House wanted to - and there was evidence at the time that that might have been the case.  The problem, in essence, was that he is the most entrenched Republican Leader in history, everybody else in leadership owes their power to him, and anybody else who poked their head up to dissent would quickly find it rolling on the floor.  

As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.

-- Contract with America

Welcome to the "bonds of trust" club, Mr. Frist...

SEC Probes Frist's Sale of Stock Ahead of HCA Profit Warning [WSJ]

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating stock sales made by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in HCA Inc. shortly before the Nashville, Tenn.-based company warned it wouldn't meet its previous second-quarter earnings forecast...

I first want to thank Jerome Armstrong and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga for taking the time to come by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.  I truly enjoyed the opportunity to hear their views and discuss our vision for the 2006 cycle.  

Let me reiterate here, as stated in our meeting and on MyDD.com, I will keep my commitment.  On our website, by the end of the year, we will list every single Congressional District and those candidates who have the courage to file for Congress.  And we will do our best to update it on a timely basis when new candidates have filed, with the latest contact information so that the grassroots and netroots can get involved.

There's an old axiom that Bush can never quite remember.  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.  For journalists it should be more along the lines of "fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, slap me upside the head."

When you slip to 40-60, it's time to renew the battle lines that made it 50-50...

Immediately after the election, there was much speculation as to what would become of the "values voters" who were claiming credit for Bush's re-election. Of course, since then we've all come to realize that this term essentially referred to wingnuts like Falwell and Dobson, not some demographic which just happened to have more values in their souls than the rest of us. But what has become of these folks and their claim to dominance over the Republicans? Seems like a question all those speculators might want to answer at some point.

The flag-burning amendment that just passed the House was sponsored by this guy...

Cunningham issue raises questions of war profiteering
[Josh Marshall, The Hill]

So we must also ask: Are there American servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq making do with second- or third-best because of Cunningham's new house and fancy waterborne digs in D.C.?

In support of his proposed amendment, Cunningham tells us to "Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center... Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."

Meanwhile, The New Republic reports today on Jack Abramoff's "spiritual advisor," Daniel Lapin, and an incident in which Abramoff had been nominated for the Cosmos Club.

Read just this one story below, please, then see if you don't agree this is worth your time...

Broadcasting & Cable gets a hold of it:

This is brutal...

House Majority Whip Exerts Influence by Way of K Street [WaPo]

Working outside the glare of public attention, Blunt has maximized the organization's influence by delegating authority to Washington business and trade association lobbyists to help negotiate deals with individual House members to produce majorities on important issues.

Blunt's organization in scope has begun to rival "DeLay Inc." -- the political fundraising committees, extensive favor-giving and alliances with Republican lobbyists that the majority leader has used to become one of the most influential leaders in memory.