• Pro-life, which means anti-abortion, anti-death penalty, and against unjust war
• For a preferential option for the poor, resolutely opposing immoral budget priorities that take from those in greatest need to give to the wealthy and fund new weapons and space missions
• For a living family wage, which means for a minimum wage increase, strongly for low-income tax credit increases, for increased job training funding, for increased child care assistance, and universal health coverage
• Pro-family, that is, for flex-time scheduling so spouses can schedule work around family

Thus says the LORD: If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday; then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; "Repairer of the breach," they shall call you, "Restorer of ruined homesteads."

The New Republic's Ryan Lizza has a fascinating account of how "a guerrilla squad of Democratic bloggers" knocked down every other contender for the post. An example is ex-Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana, who had the backing of Harry Pelosi and Nancy Reid:

The entire field of candidates, in concert with the insular liberal blogosphere, rose up and destroyed Roemer.

The hit was silent and deadly. One day I received by messenger a dirty and smudged envelope with no return address. Inside were five pages of anti-Roemer opposition research about his positions on everything from Israel and abortion to labor and Social Security. The same information was fed to numerous blogs, which quickly declared Roemer anathema. "Unless Roemer publicly, loudly, and completely repudiates his recent [pro-privatization] position on Social Security, he is utterly unacceptable as DNC chair," said a post on the pro-Dean site MyDD.com, which served as a key clearinghouse of information about the race. (Roemer did repudiate that position, but it wasn't enough.)

Analyzing Bush's failure to secure $8 billion in promised funding for the faith-based initiative during his first term, Kuo said there was "snoring indifference" among Republicans and "knee-jerk opposition" among Democrats in Congress.

"Capitol Hill gridlock could have been smashed by minimal West Wing effort," Kuo wrote on Beliefnet.com, a Web site on religion. "No administration since [Lyndon B. Johnson's] has had a more successful legislative record than this one. From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the 'poor people stuff.' "

To quote Saint Ambrose: "You are not making a gift of your possessions to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his. For what has been given in common for the use of all, you have arrogated to yourself. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich".[22] That is, private property does not constitute for anyone an absolute and unconditioned right. No one is justified in keeping for his exclusive use what he does not need, when others lack necessities.

On Face The Nation (CBS), CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer will be hosting Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) in a discussion of Iraq, Social Security and veterans benefits.

On This Week with George Stephanopoulos (ABC) has an exclusive interview with former senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, who's opening a new chapter in his life as director of the University of North Carolina Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity. It's his first one-on-one television interview since the 2004 election. Also, Ahmad Chalabi, the controversial Iraqi Shiite once allied with the Pentagon, who hopes to become the country's next prime minister.

Meet the Press' Tim Russert (MSNBC) will be speaking to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about the new Iraqi government and U.S. involvement in the area. Then, in a special "Meet the Press" roundtable, Dana Priest and Robin Wright of the Washington Post, the BBC's Katty Kay, and NBC's Andrea Mitchell will share their insights and analysis on the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism and the nomination of John Negroponte as the nation's first Director of National Intelligence.

The New York state conference is entering its second day. Last night, Phil Markham and Joanne Ruppel from Democracy for the Hudson-Mohawk Region hosted a potluck dinner for the entire group that turned into a long-night of pizza, movies, and politics. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning sharing stories from the past year and brainstorming the months ahead.

When we arrived at SEIU 1199 this morning for the conference's second day, we were greeted by an incredible spread of coffee and pastries. After everyone was refreshed by caffeine and sugar, Heather Woodfield and Andrew White led an overview of the previous day's discussion and a preview of the day ahead.

Heather Woodfield from Democracy for New York City

Later in the morning, Bill Sell led a discussion of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and other verified voting options. The group didn't reach a consensus on a single option, but everyone agreed on the importance of verified voting and that they should continue to discuss the issue going forward.

Next up, Jamie Colucci led a discussion of the group's structure. The group quickly reached a consensus to establish a "liaison committee" with representatives from all of the state's Meetups and coalition groups. They agreed that a liaison committee would ensure the independence of local DFA groups around the state while facilitating more coordination on statewide issues.

During Congress' President's Day recess, many members of Congress are taking the opportunity to listen to their constituents on the Social Security issue. Rep. John Murtha said the president:

"went about it the wrong way. He did it completely partisan. He tried to scare people. Well, even with all the rhetoric -- the millions of dollars worth of advertising, free advertising he's gotten -- people don't believe there's a crisis."

Murtha said his office has received several thousand letters about Social Security in recent weeks and that only 1 percent expressed support for instituting personal accounts.

Former deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration under President Bill Clinton and grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Roosevelt Jr., responded to the president's plan to privatize Social Security:

Commenting on last week's court ruling upholding Maryland Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich's right to ban state employees from speaking to two specific Baltimore Sun reporters, Editor Tim Franklin said ominously "If any citizen was not paying attention before, I hope they're paying attention now."

The Sun sued Ehrlich, on the grounds that his ban discourages "speech by any citizen of Maryland who disagrees with the Governor." The Governor candidly admitted that in issuing the ban he intended to have a chilling effect. Franklin, called the ruling "scary:"

"Essentially, what the court is saying is that it's OK for a politician to create an enemies list... We're going to fight this.... It's not only unconstitutional, it's undemocratic."

This ruling occurs in an even more disturbing context. Just the week before, Governor Ehrlich was forced to fire longtime staffer Joseph Steffan after Steffan was caught spreading false rumors about Baltimore's Democratic Mayor Martin O'Malley, a possible opponent for Ehrlich's seat. Ehrlich desperately tried to create distance between himself and Steffan, calling him just one of 50,000 state employees. Turns out that Steffan was actually "Ehrlich's Lee Atwater:"