United Liberty

David Boaz takes issue with the Washington Post profile of Bernie Sanders. He is the only self-described socialist in the United States Senate. If that’s the case what do you call the 11 Senators that are rated to the left of him by the American Conservative Union?:

In a profile of the poetry-reading chief of staff to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Washington Post calls Sanders not only “the only socialist in the U.S. Congress,” but also “surely [the Senate’s] most liberal [member].” Surely. I mean, he’s a socialist, right? (And by the way, that isn’t a label that Sanders rejects.)

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) has decided to retire, becoming the latest Democrat to not seek re-election in 2010:

Embattled Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) has scheduled a press conference at his home in Connecticut Wednesday at which he is expected to announce he will not seek re-election, according to sources familiar with his plans.

Dodd’s retirement comes after months of speculation about his political future, and amid faltering polling numbers and a growing sense among the Democratic establishment that he could not win a sixth term. It also comes less than 24 hours after Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced he would not seek re-election.

While ordinarily a struggling Democrat retiring is good news for Republicans (such as Byron Dorgan), this is likely not the case in Connecticut. Voters had not responded well to Dodd since his ethics problems came to light, and polls showed that he was trailing two of his potential Republican challengers (Peter Schiff was also leading Dodd).

Richard Blumenthal (D), Connecticut’s Attorney General, has indictated that he plans to run for the seat. He is the most popular politician in the state, with approval rating of 78%

It seems this reaction from Washington over the AIG bonuses is nothing than an act, considering the Obama Administration knew about them well in advance:

For all of the furor since details of the bonuses became public over the last several days, the issue of retention payments to A.I.G. employees globally has been percolating publicly since A.I.G. was bailed out in mid-September. About $1 billion in retention payments for 2008 and 2009 are in question, but the controversy involves about half of that, about $450 million over two years, that was intended for employees of A.I.G.’s financial products unit. That unit was the source of the financial derivatives blamed for the near-collapse at the heart of the economy’s downturn.

The Treasury and Federal Reserve officials said they had known about the bonus program as far back as last fall.

Yesterday I told a friend (James at http://www.dinksfinance.com ) that I was willing to donate $20 to Peter Schiff’s Senate Campaign if he were to run. I challenged him to match my contribution, which he agreed. Then I thought what if we could get thousands of people (or even just another handful :P) to match our $20 contribution? This caused me to create a facebook group called “If Peter Schiff Runs for Senate in 2010, I pledge $20”.

Why would I support Peter Schiff for Senate?  Because he’s one of the few that warned America about the coming economic crisis and is offering a common sense approach for getting the country back on track.  This appearance on TechTicker highlights Schiff’s insight and logic regarding today’s economy.

Guard your wallet, negotiators in Congress have reached an agreement:

Congressional leaders and the Bush administration agreed Sunday on the main elements of a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry, paving the way for swift enactment of the largest government intervention in markets since the Great Depression.

Negotiators sought to iron out the final shape of the legislation and it still had to be reviewed by House Republicans, whose fierce opposition to a federal rescue nearly torpedoed an emerging bipartisan pact late in the week. Officials in both parties said they hoped for a House vote Monday.

You can read more about the proposal here.