THE HEADLINES

AND IN 2012, PRESIDENT OBAMA ENDED THE WAR IN IRAQ* (* not really…)

(Los Angeles Times)

The target date for virtually all U.S. troops to pull out from Iraq is December of this year, but that date may prove hollow if the White House implements a new plan that would essentially ignore that promised date of withdrawal and keep as many as 10,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq. Fears of a spike in violence have led some military leaders and key members of the Obama administration to call for the end-of-the-year withdrawal timetable to be thrown out, with thousands of soldiers left in Iraq to keep a peace that has proved fragile.

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BARACK OBAMA IS “PETRIFIED AT THE THOUGH OF BEING TOO IDENTIFIED WITH THE CAUSE OF WORKING PEOPLE.“

(In These Times)

Such an analysis is borne out in a dissection of recent statements from our 44th President, when he has been openly courting the corporate elite that the White House says it needs in order to win reelection. President Obama’s “distance” from the realities of working Americans is clear in his relentless pro-corporate rhetoric that seeks to frame his agenda as the perfect elixir for “business confidence.” Slashing government spending and reducing the deficit is key to “business confidence,” Obama says. So is fast-tracking a NAFTA-style free trade agreement with South Korea, a proposal that will lead to scores of American jobs being shipped overseas. And what of the well-being of ordinary, hard-working Americans? Nothing…

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“IT’S GOING TO GET A WHOLE LOT TOUGHER FOR PEOPLE ON MEDICAID TO FIND A DOCTOR.”

(USA Today)

Low-income residents of South Carolina face serious questions over their access to medical care after the state government followed through with the second cut to Medicaid funding this year. South Carolina has sliced the reimbursement rate for doctors by 5 percent in 2011, leading many providers to drop out of Medicaid entirely and causing significant gaps in coverage for many areas in the state. The cuts are also leading to an increase in hospital emergency room visits for routine treatment from individuals or families without health insurance and that rely on Medicaid. Such ER visits will drive up health costs further, perpetuating the crisis. And both hospitals and medical clinics are being forced to freeze new hires and cut back on vital community services due to the state cuts.

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TAKEN FOR GRANTED: FLORIDA HISPANICS NOT A PRIORITY FOR STATE DEMOCRATS.

(Gainesville Sun)

After decades of being dominated by generally conservative Cuban immigrants and their descendants, the Hispanic vote in Florida has swung dramatically towards Democrats in recent years. Most notable was 2008 when a “surge” of Hispanic voters was seen as the key in Barack Obama’s election victory in the Sunshine State on his way to capturing the White House. But the mutual attraction has worn off, Hispanic leaders say, as state Democrats increasingly take the support of Florida’s burgeoning Latino population for granted. They mostly stayed home in 2010, when the November elections ushered in a rout of Democrats statewide and reversed most of the voting gains Democrats made in 2008. Florida Latinos point to a lack of outreach from Democratic candidates and party officials, including a dearth of Democratic Latino elected officials. And national issues have also soured many on Democrats and President Obama, with promises of immigration reform and passing of the DREAM Act going unfulfilled.

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