मनमोहन का दीवाना अमेरि‍का

            आज कुछ समय पहले भारतीय चैनलों पर भारत के प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह का अमेरि‍का के राष्‍ट्रपति‍ बराक ओबामा द्वारा कि‍या जा रहा राजकीय स्‍वागत समारोह लाइव दि‍खाया जा रहा था। इस प्रसारण में इन दोनों नेताओं ने लोकतंत्र की साझा परंपरा का गुणगान कि‍या। पुरानी दोस्‍ती की यादों को दोहराया । राष्‍ट्रपति‍ ओबामा ने तो यहॉं तक याद दि‍लाया कि‍ जब साठ साल पहले तत्‍कालीन प्रधानमंत्री पंडि‍त जवाहरलाल नेहरू अमेरि‍का राजकीय अति‍थि‍ के रूप में आए थे तो उस समय उन्‍होंने क्‍या कहा था । जबाव में पंडि‍तजी ने क्‍या कहा था।

     इसी प्रसंग में याद आता है कि‍ उस समय के अमेरि‍की मीडि‍या ने नेहरूजी की अमेरि‍का यात्रा का बड़ा ही खराब कवरेज दि‍या था,एक बड़े अखबार ने तो कार्टून छापा था जि‍समें नेहरूजी को भीख का कटोरा लि‍ए दि‍खाया था। नेहरूजी उस समय के कवरेज पर बेहद दुखी हुए थे।

     आज किंतु अमेरि‍का की स्‍थि‍ति‍ बदली हुई है। अमेरि‍की मीडि‍या और राजनीति‍क गलि‍यारों में मनमोहन सिंह के भोज में शामि‍ल होने के लि‍ए जबर्दस्‍त होड़ मची है। अमेरि‍की की मौजूदा मंदी की अवस्‍था में चीन के बाद सबसे ज्‍यादा मदद भारत ने की है। भारत ने अमेरि‍की रि‍जर्व बैंक के सबसे ज्‍यादा बॉण्‍ड खरीदकर पूंजी नि‍वेश कि‍या है। आज  भारत की मदद से ही अमेरि‍का अपनी मंदी के कष्‍टों से उबर पा रहा है। मनमोहन सिंह के द्वारा सुझाए गए सभी नीति‍गत आर्थिक सुझावों को पि‍छले दि‍नों 'जी 20' ग्रुप के देशों की बैठक में माना गया। अमेरि‍का में मनमोहन सिंह की यात्रा का कवरेज इतना शानदार आ रहा है कि‍ उसे देखकर हमारे भाजपा नेता भी चि‍न्‍ता में होंगे। क्‍योंकि‍ अटलबि‍हारी बाजपेयी की अमेरि‍का यात्रा का कवरेज बड़ा खराब आया था, मुझे याद है वालस्‍ट्रीट जरनल ने उन्‍हें अंदर के पेज 9 पर संक्षेप में चार पंक्‍ति‍ की खबर देकर छापा था। सीनेट में वे जब बोलने गए तो आधे सदस्‍य गायब थे। इसकी तुलना में मनमोहन सिंह का कवरेज देखने लायक है। 'वाशिंगटन टाइम्‍स' का नमूना देखें-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tea Party react: Conservatives seek litmus test for RNC funding

Ralph Z. Hallow

Eager to ensure that "tea partiers" don't undermine GOP candidates, conservative members of the Republican National Committee are pursuing the creation of a rule that would bar the Republican Party from funding candidates who fail a conservative litmus test.

The group is circulating a petition among committee members that would enshrine former President Ronald Reagan's proposition that his 80 percent friend was not his 20 percent enemy. The rule would require Republican candidates to share at least 80 percent of the party's main tenets to be eligible for party aid.

The resolution, if adopted, would withhold party money from the candidates and from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee - the two party affiliates charged with electing Republicans to Congress.

"This is an '80-percent unity for conservative principles' resolution, and if some consider this is a litmus test, so be it, because as a party we must stand by our basic principles in defense of our freedom," said Oregon RNC member Solomon Yue.

The resolution "imposes standards for candidate financial support, which includes both the $5,000 in cash contributions to the candidate and the $42,100 in coordinated expenditures [in primary and general elections]," said Jim Bopp Jr., a constitutional lawyer who is chairman of the National Republican Conservative Caucus and an RNC member from Indiana.

Members of the conservative group within the RNC tell The Washington Times that, besides aiming to make the GOP more consistently and reliably conservative by promoting lower taxes, keeping spending levels in check and focusing on national security, they want to head off an already emerging third party inspired by the anti-spending tea-party movement.

The third-party movement picked up steam during the recent special congressional election in upstate New York.

In that election, the RNC and the NRCC contributed large sums to liberal Republican Dee Dee Scozzafava's campaign, despite the presence of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. Mrs. Scozzafava in the end bowed out and endorsed the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens, who eventually won the race.

RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele said afterward that he made no attempt to persuade Mrs. Scozzafava to stay neutral or endorse the Conservative Party candidate.

Neither the NRCC nor NRSC would comment about the resolution. The RNC may spend up to $84,200 in coordinated expenditures for a House race, and the maximum is $2,284,900 for a Senate campaign, if the state party assigns its coordinated expenditure limit to the RNC.

The resolution could pose problems for candidates such as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who's facing a stiff primary challenge from former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio in the race to replace outgoing Sen. Mel Martinez, a Republican. Mr. Rubio is favored by the conservative wing of the party, which has been frustrated by Mr. Crists embrace of President Obamas stimulus package and his support for energy policy based on fears of climate change.

The NRCC has reached out to conservatives in recent weeks to make sure their leaders can support the committee's top-tier challengers in next year's elections.

One party strategist, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the touchy intraparty issues involved, urged the RNC members to be careful.

The strategist said a litmus test would send the wrong message to independents whom the party is looking to attract, and said primaries are the best tests of who represents Republicans in each state or district.

"We already have screen tests in place, and they are called Republican voters. If a candidate doesn't support the principles of the party, Republican voters aren't going to choose them as a candidate, which renders the whole coordinated-funds issue completely moot," the strategist said. "Respectfully, some of these committee members need to take a step back and realize this is unnecessarily harmful."

The RNC conservatives' move could put pressure on Mr. Steele.

His allies on the RNC have privately argued against the 80 percent rule, which sponsors want to have debated and put to a vote at the January meeting of the RNC in Honolulu.

The last time a resolution to bar funding to Republican candidates was attempted was in 1991, when social conservative Tim Lambert, an RNC member from Texas, narrowly lost a floor vote on his proposal not to help pro-choice Republican candidates.

Some of the party's most prominent figures, including former Chairman Haley Barbour, now Mississippi governor, were flown into the meeting to speak against the Lambert resolution, arguing that it was a litmus test and thus did not comport with the GOP's "big tent" philosophy.