Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath Press Conference - 3-14-14
Live stream version of Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath #39;s press conference on March 14, 2014.
By: Indiana House Democrats
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Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath Press Conference - 3-14-14 - Video
hide captionDemocrats may have lost the battle in a Florida special election, which Republican Rep. David Jolly (right) won and in which the Affordable Care Act figured prominently. But they don't think they have lost the health-law messaging war.
Democrats may have lost the battle in a Florida special election, which Republican Rep. David Jolly (right) won and in which the Affordable Care Act figured prominently. But they don't think they have lost the health-law messaging war.
Congressional Democrats' messaging on the Affordable Care Act obviously didn't work as they had hoped in the Florida special election for a vacant House seat, since Republican David Jolly won the Tuesday vote.
But does that mean Democrats should abandon the "fix it, don't nix" it message delivered by Democrat Alex Sink, who narrowly lost a race that Republicans sought to nationalize and turn into a referendum on the health law?
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., certainly isn't saying so.
"I think that our candidate Alex Sink she's so excellent, so superb and she said it just right. There are many good things about the Affordable Care Act that are good for the health and well-being of the American people," Pelosi told journalists Thursday. "There are some things that need to be fixed. Let's do that. And that is the message of our members."
There's new polling evidence to suggest that Pelosi isn't just being blindly optimistic. A Bloomberg News poll indicates that 64 percent of Americans support the law as is, or favor minor changes.
The problem for Democrats is that's a national poll. The numbers would likely look far different in the Republican-leaning districts that Democrats would need to pick up to have any chance to win back the House in November something which seems nearly impossible at this stage.
The same holds true for the four vulnerable Democratic senators who represent red states Obama lost; antipathy to the law overall runs higher in those states.
Indeed, the poll found 72 percent of Republicans favoring repeal of the law. That kind of number has Republicans confident that they can only benefit as Democrats rally around the health law.
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Will Democrats Change Their Health Law Message After Florida Loss?
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Will Democrats Change Their Health Law Message After Florida?
Democrats have rejected a proposal to give Colorado prisons the power to revoke inmates' earned time, saying the measure raised safety concerns and discouraged good behavior.
A Senate committee rejected the bill on a 3-2 party-line vote Wednesday. The proposal sought to change current law, which says certain earned time cannot be revoked.
Republicans brought the bill as another response to last year's slaying of Department of Corrections Director Tom Clements. The suspect in that case, Evan Ebel, received 115 days of earned time during his nearly eight years in prison despite several citations for violent offenses.
"I saw it as a public safety issue to keep offenders in prison. If they break the rules or commit a crime of violence, they can lose all their earned time," said Sen. Bernie Herpin, R-Colorado Springs, a sponsor of the bill.
The measure easily cleared the House with bipartisan support on a 57-6 vote. But Senate Democrats were concerned the bill could incite gang fights to bait certain inmates to lose their earned time, and take away an incentive for inmates to behave.
The bill sought to let the Corrections Department revoke earned time "as it determines for any reason."
Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Denver, said the bill was "so incredibly broad" that it potentially could lead to inmates having earned time revoked for simple "appearance violations."
"So if your hair is not combed, you can lose the earned time that you gained by enrolling in a GED program and trying to better yourself," he said.
Ulibarri noted Ebel's earned time wasn't the only reason he was released early. Ebel was in prison when he was sentenced to an additional four years for assaulting an officer. But court paperwork failed to note that the sentences were supposed to be served consecutively. That led to his release four years early.
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Democrats reject bill to allow prisons to revoke inmates' earned time
Ranking Member Democrats Discuss GOP Abuse Of Power On House Committees
By: OversightDems
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Ranking Member Democrats Discuss GOP Abuse Of Power On House Committees - Video