NEWS TICKER

Join Health Care Caravan to DC 11/16-17 & Visit Key US Senators. If you would like to influence the vote on the upcoming health care bill vote in the US Senate, join with us and represent your state as we visit the offices of key Senators in Washington, DC the week before the Senate vote. Buses are being arranged across the country. [GroundUp CT]

CT Gov. Rell Steps out of the Race. Lt. Gov. Fedele Jumps in. On November 9th, Connecticut’s 72nd Governor, Jodi Rell (R) announced she will not seek re-election in Connecticut’s gubernatorial race in 2010. Lt. Gov Michael Fedele, who has stated for quite some time that he would run if Rell did not, wasted no time in letting the media and everyone else know of his intentions. Immediately following Rell’s announcement, Fedele stated Rell told him privately that she will support him, despite the fact that there are several other Republicans who may toss their hat into race, with one already running. [GroundUp CT]

GOP Go After House Dems in Conservative Districts who Voted Yes for Health Reform From death panels to death of political careers. The Party of No continues to employ flawed strategies based on false accusations, misrepresentations and the usual misshapen rhetoric ... No sooner than the House passed the health care bill, Republicans pounce on what they term “vulnerable” Democrats who voted for health care reform because they come from districts with a history of voting primarily for conservative-minded lawmakers in the past. [Ground Up CT]

Victory in the House. Onward to the Senate. Read this article (has brief recap of important measures for health reform), then vote in the poll that asks whether you will continue to support lawmakers who vote against health reform.[GroundUp CT]

Next Up. Call the Senate / Tips for Health Care Calling. I have been doing a lot of calling to Maine and Nebraska, hoping to get our Senate votes up to the magic 60. The calls are very different, but both are valuable. Note a filibuster is also being threatened to stop the Senate from even beginning to debate the bill. Nebraska’s Ben Nelson was recently mentioned the Washington Post. [GroundUp CT]

Voting Day 2009: Business as Usual does not Work Anymore.The party of no has placed a spin on Tuesday elections; they say they are gaining ground. Not so. The elections results were a mixed bag in several states. Ignore the rhetoric and recognize some key points we need to pay close attention to; Virginia and New York are prime examples. [GroundUp CT]

Lamont Running For Governor Rather Than Re-Challenge Lieberman: Ned Lamont, the Connecticut Democrat who nearly took out Sen. Joseph Lieberman in the 2006 elections, is planning a run for the state's governor's chair in 2010 ... In an interview with the Huffington Post, Lamont said that his background in business and his concern over the state's budgetary crisis had compelled him to take another crack at elective office. [The Huffington Post]

PETITION TO SENATE DEMOCRATS:Any Democratic senators who support a Republican attempt to block a vote on health care reform should be stripped of their leadership titles. Americans deserve a clean up-or-down vote on health care. [Bold Progressives]

11/5 LIEBERMAN PROTEST: Nine students, along with other protesters, including some seniors, were arrested for staging a sit-in at Senator Lieberman’s Washington DC office. Protesters sought to meet with Senator Lieberman to demand he return his campaign contributions he received from AETNA health before making a pledge to filibuster the Senate health care bill. [GroundUp CT]

Why The U.S. Should Accept Defeat And Start Withdrawing From Afghanistan. The conventional wisdom among most Republicans is that while the United States had serious difficulty in Vietnam during the early years, by the early 1970s things were turning around, and victory was on the verge. Unfortunately, the craven Democrats in Congress bowed to widespread anti-war sentiment and forced the Ford administration to end almost all support to South Vietnam, allowing the North Vietnamese to win the war in 1975. In the GOP version of the story, this decision was a disastrous mistake. [The Huffington Post]

President Obama: Fort Hood shooting 'horrific': President Barack Obama promised "answers to every single question" about Thursday's shooting at Fort Hood after an attack by at least one U.S. service member that left at least 13 soldiers dead and 31 wounded. [POLITICO]

Right Wing Leaders Foment Racial Resentment and Point Fingers to Avoid Accountability: Right-wing pundits and political leaders committed to the destruction of the Obama presidency have been openly fomenting racial resentment or tolerating those who do. In one breath, they accuse President Obama of being racist and in the next they and their media allies howl with indignation if their own racial rhetoric is challenged. Among their charges: that President Obama hates "white culture" and that his health care reform efforts are a backdoor means to reparations for slavery that will "enslave" doctors and put the "racial grievance industry" in charge of emergency rooms. [People for the American Way].

President Barack Obama speaks at a fundraiser for Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., in Stamford, Conn., Friday, Oct. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Click here for more photos of the rally outside of the event.