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Kendrick Returns to DC Tonight

Kendrick Meek will return tonight when the House votes at 6:30 p.m. after a whirlwind trip. He may have been in a car driving to the Haitian border longer than he was actually in Haiti but I’ll ask him about that tonight. That trip included stops in the Dominican Republic, Miami and Port-au-Prince. He flew back to Florida on a military flight at 4:30 a.m. this morning. Meek has a press conference at 1:15 p.m. in Miami and then he will head to Washington.

Notes From Hoyer Pen and Pad

WASHINGTON DC -- U.S. CAPITOL — Notes from the Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's packed pen and pad. The best question came from Luke Russert: Q. Is it feasible to pass health care in 15 days/could it be passed in 15 days? Hoyer: "Yes."

If Martha Coakley loses tonight the safe bet is that all involved can only stall Brown's swearing-in for about 15 days.
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1. Haiti: Hoyer says, "something will move in the House for Haitian Relief..." The amount and whether it will be this week has not been decided.

2. Health Care: "We continue to move forward and make progess on health care... We are not done."

3. Economy/Jobs: This is the deepest recession in 75 years...we are seeing a recovery in the stock market and GDP. There is progress but not success... The loss of jobs has been substantially reduced. Very substantial change in the numbers..."

4. Hoyer continued to talk on jobs in an obvious lead in for Obama's State of the Union to be delivered next Wednesday. "If you don't create jobs you will continue to have fiscal imbalance..."

5. Coakley/Brown Race: "I'm not going to speculate on what will happen in Massachusetts today..."

6. Do you believe health care bill passed in the Senate can get through the House? "I'm not going to speculate..."

7. On Coakley race/mood of country: "I don't need the Mass race to tell me about the psyche of the American people. People are angry... They know thing are not the way they are supposed to be..."

"I don't think it tells us much about the parties because poll show that Democrats are more popular than the Republicans ...but we're all pretty unpopular..."

8. PAYGO deal: "We're working on that...deficit commission is controversial...I think the commision idea itself is a step towards making very tough decisions...". A vote in the Senate may happen this week.

Bad Candidates Lose. Period.

Bad candidates who run bad campaigns lose. Period.

It doesn’t matter how many President or celebrities show up. It doesn’t matter how many ads run on TV. Bad candidates are bad candidates. The voters can see the ineptitude with their eyes shut. Martha Coakley is a bad candidate just as Creigh Deeds was. Deeds lost because he ran a bad ineffective, driftless and messageless campaign. Bob McDonnell is now the Governor of Virginia because he ran a focused campaign with a clear message and purpose. He ran an impressive and effective campaign. The Democratic party in Virginia should have returned to the days of the smoke filled room before allowing Deeds of Bath to run for Governor. Then, upon his surprise victory in the nomination fight, he should have been forced into a room and made to listen to a lecture on how the race could be won. When we discover later that Tim Kaine and company knew a disaster was in the offing and remained quiet is information better kept to oneself.

Too much money and time is wasted on candidates who think they know everything and who then proceed to hire a bunch of smart-asses who think they know everything — only to lose. Coakley’s ridiculous “assumption of victory” attitude has been seen before and the result has always been the same: Defeat. Look for national trends if you like but the bottom line is that a candidate who can’t give an effective speech or message will get beat almost every time. Coakley and Deeds have loads in common on that score. Being the world’s best orator is not required. But Coakley and Deeds were far below average speakers for individuals running a state wide campaign. So you had and have the following elements in the Deeds/Coakley fiasco: 1. Candidates who can’t campaign effectively. 2. Poor spealing skills, 3. Nothing in the backgrounds of either candidates that indicates these things wouldn’t be the case. Hopefully Tim Kaine as DNC Chair, for the sake of the Democrats, will put on a more assertive show than the one seen during the Deeds race.

Brooklyn: Clarke + Jewish Community PT 2

Brooklyn: Yvette Clarke + Jewish Community Join on Haiti

Rep. Yvette Clarke and Orthodox Jewish community leaders in Brooklyn join together on Haiti relief effort. Notes: Participants included Congresswoman Yvette Clark, Councilman Mathieu Eugene and Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represent the largest Haitian community outside of Florida and Haiti in Brooklyn New York. Also represented was the office of State Senator John Sampson, Senator Kevin Parker and representatives from Councilman Brad Landers office. Other participating Jewish organizations included the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council represented by Rabbi Chanina Sperlin and the Jewish Community Council of Boro-Park represented by Rabbi Yechiel Kaufman and leaders from Agudath Israel of America including members of the board of Trustees Shloime Werdiger, Elly Kleinman and Chaskel Bennett.

State of the Union January 27? Really?

So I guess President Obama has finally given up on the PR fantasy of having the health care bill signed by his first State of the Union. Why this was of epic importance — as opposed to so many other issues to deal with — I have no clue. The White House (finally) announced today the speech will be on Wednesday, January 27, which is nine days from now.

With Ben Nelson's poll numbers dropping and Martha Coakley looking like Creigh Deeds of the North, there are many, many things to worry about for the health care bill. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Ben Nelson returned on Wednesday and came up with yet another magical mysterious reason that he needs to vote against the bill. Get ready for his to pull a Susan Collins. And then there's this, just reported by the NYT:

NYT: “House members will not vote for the Senate bill. There’s no interest in that.” When the idea was suggested at a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus last week, Mr. Stupak said, “It went over like a lead balloon.”

Meek "Little Haiti" Town Hall (:39 secs)

Kendrick in Front on Haiti

Just as Maxine Waters took the baton and ran on the foreclosure/jobs issue, former State trooper Kendrick Meek is the first member out of the gate on Haiti. Nevermind the USS Bataan or the Comfort or flights taken by Bill and Hillary — Kendrick traveled alone on a makeshift journey involving planes, trains and automobiles. We still don’t know how he got from the Dominican Republic border to Port-au-Prince.

Get ready for the commentary regarding how this is related to his run for the U.S. Senate. Whatever. All I know is: No one can deny he is the first member of the 111th Congress to view the results of the worst natural disaster in Haiti for 200 years. When he returns he will have first hand knowledge of the situation for his colleagues and the Administration.

Notes from Kendrick's press secretary Adam Sharon:

· Since Tuesday night, he was fielding regular calls from constituents who were stranded, and lost loved ones in Haiti

· On Thursday night in Miami, he convened in four hours an emergency community wide meeting attended by 300 plus people to coordinate the rescue effort amongst first responders, relief experts, and the Haitian American community in Miami

· On Saturday he met with Vice President Biden in Miami in Little Haiti and then again at Homestead Reserve Base in Homestead Florida

· On Saturday night he bought his own 1 way ticket from Miami to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on American Airlines. He landed at 12:30 a.m. (Sunday morning), secured a drive from a Dominican local and together they drove through the night to the Dominican-Haiti border and then crossed into Haiti during sun up arriving at the airport at around 7a EST on Sunday.

Haiti: Meek on CNN

Kendrick Meek in Haiti: Geraldo Interview

Rep. Meek is interviewed in Port-au-Prince by Geraldo Rivera. Piece features Kendrick's footage of rescue of girl.

Kendrick Meek iPhone Video From Haiti

Rep. Kendrick Meek may be the first member of Congress to arrive in Haiti (difficult to confirm...) He shot some video of a girl being rescued on his iPhone. Rep. Meek is with the Miami-Dade Urban Search and Rescue Team in Port-au-Prince.

King Events: Hampton Roads, VA

Thanks to: VA-Pilot/Vivian Paige: The following is a list of events being held around South Hampton Roads on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

Ninth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition and President’s Volunteer Service Awards. 11 a.m. Monday at Mount Sinai Church, 900 Portsmouth Blvd., Portsmouth. Also with a special tribute to Yolanda King. 574-3288, www.youthmatter.org

Eighth annual “Redeem the Dream” Step Show Competition at 1 p.m. Monday at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, 235 E. Main St., Norfolk. 420-3599 or btz.archonettes@gmail.com.

MLK Jr. Day of Service 7 Cities Prayer Convoy to Recruit Male Mentors. Starts at 7:30 a.m. Monday and leaves from The Master’s House which meets at Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront Conference Center, 100 E. Constance Road, Suffolk, and travels across Hampton Roads. 925-4545, www.y2kacademy.com

MLK Day of Service – “Music for the Troops” Project at 8 a.m. Monday at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center, 2410 Wickham Ave., Newport News. Accepting music CDs to send to service members; event also includes entertainment and activities for military families. 247-8950, www.downing-gross.org

“A Celebration of the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” A commemorative breakfast at 9 a.m. Monday at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 875 Baker Road in Virginia Beach. $7. 490-9690.

Martin Luther King March and Observance. Steps off at 10 a.m. Monday from Scope Plaza in downtown Norfolk. A program of music and remembrance will follow at Chrysler Hall, 215 St. Paul’s Blvd., Norfolk. 664-4253.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration at 10 a.m. Monday at New Bethel Baptist Church, 4212 Greenwood Drive, Portsmouth. 487-6778.

Martin Luther King Jr., Day Service at 11 a.m. Monday at Macedonia Baptist Church, 8300 Crittenden Road, Suffolk. Music and songs by youth choir, guest speaker and more. 238-2562.

4th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, with guest speaker Samuel Goodwin, Virginia Supreme Court Judge. 9 a.m. Monday at Grace Episcopal Church, 1400 E. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk. 488-5263.

Another "know all" to Arrive in Senate?

Get ready for six years of foolishness if this video offers any hints.

Meek Is First CBCer to Arrive in Haiti

Meek flew into the Dominican Republic this morning and is moving toward Haiti by car. Meek is the first member of the Congressional Black Caucus to get to Haiti. Other members of the CBC are fixing to make a move as well. From what my journo friends tell me it takes about seven or eight hours to drive from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. Calling Adam Sharon...

When Bad Candidates Run for Office PT 1

Mike Capuano anyone? From time to time unqualified people run for office. The key is to learn how to conceal it.