Donnyblogging

All material is paraphrased.

On Supreme Court Appointment
Amy White: "[Roberts] is a grand slam"

Alvin Reed: He's a friend of the administration. He has a very short record.

White: A short record is better, that way you don't have Senator Kennedy with days worth of questions; how do you see this issue, how do you see that issue.

Charlie Brennan: I think it's good that people have lots of information.

Martin Dugan: The President of the United States' decision should be respected.

Brennan: It’s not only the President’s country

The Blunt, Pro-Life Split
Bill McClellan: Blunt openly supported stem-cell research during his campaign.

White: Blunt cut a deal with the Pro-Life community that he wouldn’t block anti-stem cell research legislation

McClellan: It's on [the pro-life groups] if they had a secret deal. Blunt did not hide his support for stem-cell research.

Reed: It was business as usual. Blunt was pro-life until it the business interests stepped in. It was a dollar and sense decision. He didn't hide the fact that he was pro-research.

White: Between the business interests and traditional pro-life supporters, business won.

Brennan: The pro-life politicians always pick around the edges, why don't they go big if they are really serious.

Dugan: Roe v. Wade says the state officials can’t make it illegal.

Reed: [If Roe were defeated]There are people who feel strongly enough that they would relocate over this issue. We want the smartest and the brightest. The smartest and the brightest would avoid a state that takes the step to make abortion illegal. Not necessarily for their support of abortion, but because of the intrusiveness of anti-abortion law.

White: You are saying that its not the brightest and the smartest who would look at an ultrasound and decide to keep the child?

On Amy White’s Column on the Lucas Park Homeless
Reed: A few thousand homeless people are not going to derail progress, I don't buy it.

McClellan: The child care center and the homless in Lucas Park have coexisted for years.

Brennan: We need to build a place for the homeless to be taken care of. I;m the only one on this panel advocating for the homeless. Others are arguing to maintain the status quo.

White: The Slay administration is trying to find a way to address the issue. They are working to find a solution.


Teamsters’ Strike
Brennan: St. Louisans don't always root for the little guy. St. Louisans tend to like the establishment.

McClellan & Reed: Many St. Louisans don’t support the Teamsters because the don’t see them as the little guy.

McClellan: This is not about the striking workers wanting more, but keeping what they have. There may be a thousand people lining up for this job, but it is not about finding the lowest level people will work for.

- Murphy