Goodman: Why isn't Obama listening?
(CNN) – Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman offered a stinging critique of the White House response to the Shirley Sherrod controversy Thursday during an interview broadcast from the annual left-leaning Netroots Nation convention.
Referring to the bloggers, activists and writers who are attending the conference, Goodman asked, “[W]hy isn’t Obama listening to them the way he has listened to Andrew Breitbart and Glenn Beck and Fox?”
Many of the key constituencies of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party are sponsoring NetRoots, including the AFL-CIO, SEIU, AFSCME, MoveOn.Org as well as the Democratic National Committee's Organizing For America wing.
Sherrod on Breitbart: 'I'd tell him he's a liar'
Washington (CNN) – The woman caught in the middle of a national firestorm said Thursday that, if given the chance, she would tell conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart that he is a liar.
Breitbart, who first posted an edited version of a speech that led to Shirley Sherrod's resignation, said Tuesday on CNN's John King, USA that he had not specifically targeted Sherrod, and had not asked for her to be fired.
But when asked by CNN Chief National Correspondent John King what she would say to Breitbart, Sherrod did not dance around the question.
"I'd tell him he's a liar. He knew exactly what effect that would have on not only - he knew what effect that would have on the conservative, racist people he's dealing with. That's why I started getting the hate mail. And that's why I started getting the hate calls. He got the effect he was looking for," Sherrod said on John King, USA.
Limbaugh says Fox News 'caved' in Sherrod coverage
(CNN) – Rush Limbaugh said Thursday on his radio show that Fox News and at least one of its anchors "caved" in its coverage of Shirley Sherrod, the former USDA employee who was fired in haste on Monday after an edited clip of her was posted on a conservative website.
"I have to go after it … because even Fox caved on this," Limbaugh said. "Even Shep Smith. Even poor old Shep Smith went down there and said that everybody's wrong on this, that [BigGovernment.com founder Andrew] Breitbart is wrong and so forth. There's only a handful of us that have the guts to put this story straight. If we don't hammer back nobody will."
Limbaugh dismissed the story, saying he was bored by it.
"It's nothing more than the left playing the race card, the NAACP has thrown down the gauntlet because the big government argument has failed," Limbaugh said. "They are keeping alive the divisions in this country and I hate taking the bait, I hate playing along with it, I simply despise the whole thing."
"We've got a bunch of cowards in the conservative media inside the beltway which will not deal with this honestly," Limbaugh added.
Former Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn dead
(CNN) - Former Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, who also served as chairman of the Republican Governors Association from 2004-2005, passed away Thursday at the age of 73. Following Guinn's death, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons ordered flags at state buildings to be lowered to half-staff. Guinn was elected governor of Nevada in 1998 and reelected in 2002.
Guinn passed away Thursday morning after falling from the roof of his home. The Clark County Coroner has not announced a cause of death, and an autopsy will be conducted tomorrow, family friend Billy Vassiliadis confirmed to CNN.
Read a statement from RGA vice chairman Tim Pawlenty after the jump.
Rangel to face House Ethics Committee hearing
(CNN) - The House Ethics Committee will hold a formal hearing on alleged violations by Rep. Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat forced to step aside as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year over ethics questions, a senior Democratic source told CNN on Thursday.
The panel has been looking at several alleged ethical violations involving Rangel. A formal hearing will be a trial-like session involving
formal charges with lawyers for the House acting as prosecutors and Rangel's lawyers defending him.
There was no immediate information available on the exact charges Rangel faces, or when the formal hearing will begin.
In comments to reporters, Rangel said he welcomed the news and wanted to testify in his defense.
Biden to help Democrats in North Carolina
Washington (CNN) - After spending the day along in the Gulf Coast region assessing efforts to counter the massive oil spill, Vice President Joe Biden heads to North Carolina Thursday evening to help out the Democratic party.
Biden is scheduled to headline two small dollar fundraisers in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for the Democratic National Committee. A Democratic party source says the two events are expected to raise a combined $250,000.
In 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama and Biden became the first Democratic ticket to win North Carolina in a presidential election since 1976.
–Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn
Facebook apologizes for deletion of Palin post
Washington (CNN) – Social networking site Facebook issued a bit of a mea culpa Thursday after a post by former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was deleted from the massive site.
In a statement given to CNN, Facebook said a "note" by Palin about her opposition to building a mosque near New York City's Ground Zero had been deleted by an automated system.
"The note in question did not violate our content standards but was removed by an automated system," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said in the statement. "We're always working to improve our processes and we apologize for any inconvenience this caused."
After the original post was deleted, Palin re-posted the note Thursday morning.
Greene's military record reveals blemishes
(CNN) – New documents indicate that Senate candidate Alvin Greene, a political novice who shocked observers by winning the South Carolina Democratic primary, has a less than stellar military record.
According to records obtained by the Associated Press, Greene was denied two promotions and made "mistakes as severe as uploading sensitive information improperly, and as basic as an overall inability to clearly express his thoughts and perform basic tasks."
The records cover a short, three year period of Greene's service in the Air Force.
Can Obama sell Dems' legislative victories?
Washington (CNN) - A legislative win is a win - but not necessarily when it comes to swaying voters facing the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.
High unemployment and fears over an ever-increasing federal debt are weighing heavily on Americans. That could drown out President Obama's meesage as he heads out on the campaign trail to tout Democrats' legislative wins: health care reform, financial regulatory reform and economic stimulus projects, among others.
"Right now he is facing an uphill battle," said Vanderbilt University political scientist John Geer. "I don't think there's much that can be done about that. He'll sharpen the message. But when economies are soft, incumbents have a tough time."
And members of Congress, bracing for a tough election, got a frank assessment Wednesday of where the economy is headed.
First family to travel to Gulf Coast
Washington (CNN) - The first family will travel to Florida's Gulf Coast over the weekend of August 14-15, the White House announced Thursday.
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