Dodd Remains Busy...

This week, Senator Dodd has been working on a number of bills, and still managing to find the time to give interviews about the battle for the Democratic nomination. As of last Thursday, Dodd has been pushing for changes in the Act he helped create over 10 years ago, the Family Medical Leave Act. Although getting the act passed then was a triumph in itself, Dodd now plans to re-vamp it, saying that it’s reforms don’t extend as far as he’d like. In his most prominent change to the legislation, he wants to include a section that would give paid leave to workers who have encountered difficulties on the job and are unable to return to work. In finance, Dodd has also been making waves, with a new plan co-authored with Representative Barney Frank that according to CNN, outlines an idea where over “$300 billion in loan guarantees from the Federal Housing Administration to refinance loans that homeowners can't afford as long as the original lender reduces the principal on the loan to 85% of the home's current market value.” Finally, Dodd gave an interview at the end of last week where he weighed in about the fight between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, saying that they’ve “got to wrap this up. You let it go any longer than that, and you run the risk of doing such damage that the nomination won't be worth much."

The econom and Dodd

Last Friday Sen. Dodd has voiced his concern about Bush's pick about President Bush"s pick for the new Sectary of Housing and Development, citing inexperience about housing as the reason for his concern. Thursday Sen Dodd stated that the only way to help the U.S. housing problem would to have large-scale government intervention and Sen. Dodd says that a deal must be made in the upcoming weeks if the Housing Crisis is to be solved. In the student-loan market Sen. Dodd testified before a senate hearing that providers of both Federally guaranteed loans and private have been pulling out from the market. Sen. Dodd has vowed to protect the student-loan market and has moved to make Federal Finance Banking funds available for said purpose. In hearings about flood insurance Sen. Dodd has opposed expansion to cover wind damage citing that the cost is too high to be practical Thursday Sen. Dodd received Holy Communion at Nationals Park during the Papal Mass.

Dodd Endorses Obama

Although he is now busier than ever in Congress trying to promote economic stimulus bills and oppose wiretapping immunity, Chris Dodd still has time to keep a foot in the race for the Democratic nomination. On Wednesday, Chris Dodd decided to endorse Senator Barack Obama for president, becoming the first former presidential candidate to formally endorse someone. Although Dodd admitted he was unsure of Obama’s abilities in the incipient phases of the race, he now feels that Obama is “ready to be president.” Dodd gave his endorsement remarks in Cleveland, Ohio, where Obama was currently campaigning leading up the crucial primaries on March 4th. He spoke at a press conference, where he voiced many of his ideas about the campaign, worrying that the Democratic voters are lacking a figure to rally around because of the drawn out struggle between Obama and Clinton. Dodd said that he chose Obama because “he believes Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to help us face this housing crisis, create good jobs, strengthen America's families in this 21st century global economy, unite the world against terrorism and end the war in Iraq -- and perhaps more importantly, call the American people to shared service and sacrifice.” After speaking eloquently on Obama’s behalf, Chris Dodd went on to crusade for other causes later the same week—trying to alleviate the foreclosure crisis and “restoring the confidence of consumers and investors in our economy.”

*Accidentally posted by Caroline A on the Keyes Blog on March 1st at 7:05 PM

In response to the retirement of Fidel Castro, Sen. Dodd stated that the U.S.'s policy toward Cuba was "one of the most backwards and ineffective in history" Sen. Dodd then went on to state that this regime change was an opportunity for the U.S. to change as well, saying that the U.S. should open up to Cuba and to re-establish ties with the country. Wednesday a study of environmental voting in Congress, with the Conn. officials in the lead, except for Sen. Dodd who had a 60% due to missed question sessions from his time on the campaign trail. Sen. Dodd has announced that part of the legislative focus in the economy will be on homeowners and business insurance. Sen. Dodd has proposed that all high-school student do at least 100 hours of community service, but that the service be integrated in some manner with their academics and that the schools will be able to shape the community service program to the manner needed by the community- this program will hopefully instill a sense of patriotism in the youth at an impressionable time. Monday Sen. Dodd is visiting Bridgeport (who is discussing security) to talk to them about the state of the economy and what is being done. Sunday Sen. Dodd criticized the Navy's move from having an American company build the new presidential helicopter to an European company. Last Sunday, the Senate failed to pass a bill that would remove the immunity of the phone companies that aided in the illegal surveillance- Sen. Dodd was one of the leaders of this bill, Sen. Dodd also opposed a bill that would expand the ability of the government to spy on the populace- but the bill has been passed. Other bills by Sen. Dodd are held up in Congress, like one that would help Katrina victims move out from the FEMA trailers.

Dodd is Diligent in Congress...

This week, Senator Dodd was busy in Congress once again. On Tuesday, Dodd made his final attempt to strip immunity from the phone companies involved in government warrantless wiretapping, but he failed in this endeavor. Dodd was disheartened that the amendment he tried to add to a FISA provision to end “retroactive immunity” was crushed, remarking that warrantless wiretapping is “the single largest invasion of privacy in the history of the country.” However, on Wednesday, Dodd was resilient, making way for new bills on the Senate floor. He introduced legislation on the 13th called the Military Commission Act of 2006, which would restore habeas corpus rights for terrorist detainees as well as to place an outright ban on torture. Dodd tried to convince 45 senators who voted against the ban on waterboarding that it actually is torture, saying “Let me be clear: there is no such thing as simulated drowning. When a person is strapped to a board and water is poured into their mouth and nose with no way to get air, that is drowning; that is torture.” Not only did Dodd speak out against waterboarding on Wednesday, he was involved in other matters in Senate as well. He spoke about the Family and Medical Leave Act, and said that the changes proposed by the Department of Labor to the act would weaken it entirely. At the same time, Dodd has been also working diligently as the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee in an effort to skirt a recession, although he is reluctant to even label the current crisis as such, noting “It would be inappropriate for the secretary and the chairman to start putting a label” on the subprime crisis.

Wednesday, Senator Dodd (Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee) had meet with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake to discuss the mortgage crisis and the actions taken to rectify the situation. Thursday Sen. Dodd met with Shelia Blair, the chair women of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, to discuss her opinion. Sen. Dodd also plan to meet with each member of the Senate Banking Committee to discuss their ideas, their plans of action they take to solve the crisis. At the moment Sen. Dodd states the best course of action would be a short-term stimulus package and then planning longer-term solutions. There is speculation the Dodd may be nominate for Vice President, especially after Sen. Obama's remark about seeking Dodd's counsel if elected president.
On Bush's remark about the delaying of the conformations of his nominees, Sen. Dodd stated that the economy must first be fixed and then the nominees will be tested about their views. In an alternate solution to public works (The decaying infrastructure of America ), Sen. Dodd has proposed the creation of an independent National Infrastructure Bank which project seeking grants of at least 75 million would submit to to be judged- though existing projects, earmarks and grants would not be affected by this bank.

Dodd is Out but not Down

Over the last weeks since withdrawing from the presidential race, Chris Dodd has returned to life in Congress and East Haddam, Connecticut. Like his fellow Congressman Joe Biden, Dodd held a press conference during his first week back in Congress, mostly to discuss his new goals for the remainder of the legislative session. However, Dodd does have some remaining business to attend to. He recently sent out an email to his supporters and has been soliciting since for campaign donations, writing “We could not have waged the ideas based campaign and raised over $15M without you. Unfortunately, we do have a debt to retire and I am grateful for your support.” Once he has these financial follies out of the way, Dodd will be able to focus his full attention on furthering his Congressional agenda. He has decided to begin his re-entrance into congressional politics by filibustering AT&T and Verizon’s attempt to gain retroactive immunity for their involvement in the “warrantless wiretapping program.” Dodd also has other plans in mind. As the head of the Senate Banking Committee, he has planned to have “the government to set up a company backed by an initial $10 bil to $20 bil to buy distressed mortgages and provide lower-balance fixed mortgages to homeowners facing foreclosure.” Since he has presumably spent so much of his current attention fixed on Senate matters, he has not publicly endorsed a presidential candidate.

Dodd post caucus

Sen. Chris Dodd, after place about sixth place in Iowa, having less than 1 percent of the vote, has decided to drop out of the Presidential race. Dodd says that he does not regret his run, saying that he is proud of his attempt. Sen. Dodd has said that he will work hard for whomever his party will nominate, but says he will not seek the vice-presidency or cabinet positions. Sen Dodd had a homecoming celebration in his home town of East Haddam, Sen. Dodd's neighbors and supporters flocked to the restaurant to welcome him home and to celebrate and lament his presidential bid. Sen. Dodd failure has been attributed to the fact that in Iowa, he was an unknown candidate, seeing as the frontrunners, Clinton, Obama and Edwards took all the limelight. The international association of firefighters has issued a statement thanking Dodd for his support for the firefighters, and when on to announce that, since Dodd is dropping out of the race, they will wait until March to endorse another candidate. Sen. Dodd will be returning to the Senate, after having missed sessions being out on the campaign trail, also Dodd is moving foreword in Conn., already preparing for a sixth run for Senator. Sen. Dodd says that he will keep on fighting for America and has recently introduced legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to change terms on foreclosure.

Dodd Discards Democratic Nominee Dreams

Chris Dodd, after a long and tireless battle for the presidency, has decided to withdraw from the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination. Even though Dodd had aired numerous new television ads and continued his campaign across Iowa at an intensified pace of “28 events in 26 cities over five days,” he still didn’t manage to secure the fourth place spot he was vying for. By garnering .04% of the votes of the 2,500 delegates present, Dodd did not qualify to move on to the debates. However, even though he has withdrawn, his name will still appear on the ballot for the Michigan presidential primary.
After the Iowa caucus, in a speech directed toward his supporters, he observed that “ we didn’t get the result we all were hoping for, but even so, this experience has been one of the most rewarding in my life of public service.” He went on to give his formal withdrawal, saying “I am withdrawing from the Presidential race. But let me assure you, we do not exit this race with our heads hanging- rather we do so with our heads held high.” In his speech, he then went on to thank his family, supporters, and the members of his campaign, the “Dodd Squad.” He then continued that he would support whoever wins the presidential nomination for the Democratic Party. Dodd plans to return with his family from where they have been stationed in Iowa back to his home in East Haddam, Connecticut on Saturday.

The hour is nigh!

With the Iowa caucuses less than 24 hours away, Dodd has neither surged nor trailed behind in the polls, but he is still in an almost dead heat for last place. A December 31st poll by the Des Moines Register showed Dodd at about 2%, but the accompanying article also notes that the senator has maintained fairly constant support, while his closes competition, Richardson and Biden, have slipped in the last week. In his sprint to the finish, Dodd launched a new television ad in Iowa, titled "Together". In the ad, he touts his years of experience and his record of reconciling differences between Democrats and Republicans. For now, Dodd is aiming to finish 4th and guaranteeing himself a spot in Saturday's debate in New Hampshire. However, a poor showing in the caucus could force Dodd to withdraw from the race.


http://blog.washingtonpost.com/channel-08/2007/12/new_ads_from_clinton_dodd_mcca.html
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/31/biden_contemplates_offers_to_c.html
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071231/NEWS09/71231044

Chris Dodd Update 12/2-9/07

Like the other Democratic presidential candidates, Dodd spent the week campaigning in Iowa in preparation for the upcoming caucus. Dodd spoke at several events early in the week, and made an appearance on CNN’s Late Edition. On Tuesday, he participated in the NPR Debate in Des Moines.

Dodd reacted to the week’s big news story, an NIE report finding Iran had abandoned its nuclear weapons program. Dodd was optimistic, stating that “taken together these findings make a strong case for pursuing robust diplomacy to resolve our differences with Iran and for an end to the reckless talk by the Administration and reckless votes by some members of Congress.” The same day, he reacted angrily to reports that the President is asking congress for half of the funding for states and cities to prevent terrorists attacks recommended by the Department of Homeland Security, calling it “astounding that at the same time the President is calling for more money for his war that has made this country more vulnerable, he is proposing to slash funding for the first line of defense here at home.”

www.chrisdodd.com/blog
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/chris-dodd/

Dodd Continues to Rally Support in Iowa

Chris Dodd's effort to create a voter stronghold in Iowa have not been flagging in these past few weeks. He has remained vigilant over the past few days in his campaigning methods and has even garnered a new support base from the International Assocation of Fire Fighters. The IAFF, which contains 281,000 members, felt that "The candidate that best represents firefighters and what they do to protect the public is Democrat Chris Dodd", an opinion voiced by the group's president Harold Schaitberger. To prove their loyalty, the IAFF has papered Chris Dodd's face on the side of their campaign bus, where the fire fighters plan to live for eight days as they tour 20 cities, rallying support for Senator Dodd.
For his part, Chris Dodd has been holding fast in Iowa, instead of campaigning across the nation like some of his opponents. Dodd decided to skip the Democratic National Committee's meeting on Friday the 29th, deciding to remain in Iowa so that he could "take his case directly" to the citizens. And indeed, he has been doing just that in Iowa; Dodd spoke on Friday to a group of 40 members of the American Legion in Iowa about how he would attempt to reform the laws on bankruptcy. He vehemently denounced the bankruptcy reform bill passed in 2005, scornfully observing "It was literally written to ensure that people would be trapped under financial burdens - either student loans or credit card debt."
Senator Dodd also tried to remain active in his national campaigning strategies, thinking of innovative ways to broadcast his messages. In the Republican YouTube debate, he decided to submit his own question about the difficulty of balancing homeland security with civil liberties.Although Dodd's question was not used in the debate, his idea was creative nonetheless. In his video, he introduces himself as "a resident of East Haddam, Connecticut who spends a little time in Iowa these days." Dodd videotaped himself in his home, asking the Republican candidates, "Many Americans are concerned that the administration seems to be making a false choice, that is, to be safer we have to give up rights...I don't believe that, I wonder if you do. And if you believe that we ought not give up our rights, then what would you do in order to protect our Constitution?"

Dodd Days of Fall

This Wednesday, Chris Dodd and his wife served at a Youth Homeless Center in Des Moines. Senator Dodd served the food while his wife washed the dishes, their daughter did not attend, due to the weather. Some of the served shook Dodd's hand and wished him luck, some discussed issues, most of those being served either simply went through the line or chatted about things other than politics. Thursday, Dodd's Press shop released a list of things Dodd was thankful for- many of the items on the list were related in some manner to Iowa. For example Senator Dodd was thanking and being thankful for the Military and Civilian Service men and women of Iowa. Tim Shriver, the chairman of the Special Olympics committee has announced his endorsement for Senator Dodd. Reason given is Sen. Dodd's history of fighting for children's issues, Dodd's time in the Peace Corps
and Dodd's energy plan. In an appearance at Drake University Sen. Dodd said the the Bush administration was partially to blame for the conflict in Pakistan. Dodd said that the administration has put too much "undue pressure" in regards to finding the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sen. Dodd said that the U.S should keep encouraging Mursharraf to lift martial law, but not to deny military and economic ad to the country. Recently Project Vote-smart released its "presidential courage" test, Sen. Dodd being one of the three presidential candidates who agreed to take the test. Monday, in Sioux City, Sen. Dodd held a forum on his plans for Veterans and the changes he would make for the department of Veteran Affairs.

Chris Dodd 11/11-18/07

Senator Dodd spent the week, like many of his opponents, drumming up support in Iowa. The senator reaffirmed his policies, like an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, but also made sure to appeal to grassroots Iowa voters, talking about taking children to the state fair among other things. As the week started with the Veteran's Day holiday, Dodd, a former member of the National Guard and Army Reserve, took time throughout his tour of Iowa to speak about his veteran's policies, such expediting disability benefits and extending his Family and Medical Leave Act. At a Union Auto Worker's conference on Monday in Dubuque, Iowa, Dodd flaunted his impeccably pro-labor voting record. Despite these efforts, polls consistently show Dodd's support in Iowa at 1%, tied with Dennis Kucinich.

Like the other major Democratic candidates, the climax of Dodd's week was Thursday's debate in Las Vegas. Though the majority of questions were put to frontrunners Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, when the questions did come his way, Dodd came out swinging. He called out the three frontrunners for avoiding questions, and jumped on the bandwagon to attack Clinton and Obama for their muddled responses to immigration questions in this debate and the last debate.

Dodd also picked up an endorsement this week from former New Hampshire senator John Durkin. This is an important endorsement, as New Hampshire is one of the more volatile states. On Friday, Dodd voted against a bill to provide more funding for the Iraq war. Dodd was the only major candidate to vote against the bill, reiterating his pledge not to approve any further funding for the war unless it is tied to ending the war.