VOLUME No: 65 Issue No:1

Washington, D.C. - Sept. 10, 2004

The federal ban on 19 different "assault rifles" passed ten years ago is set to expire on Monday, September 13. The ban looks to be dead this week, after Democratic supporters have lost their nerve in the face of a Presidential election which will be decided in part by firearms supporters. Congressional inaction seems very probable despite last minute lobbying from gun-control groups. Many analysts have blamed widespread Democratic support for the ban in 1994 as partly responsible for the Republican take-over of Congress that year. Though gun-control remains popular among Democrats, without bipartisan support from the President, Democrats fear losing votes in rural areas where gun ownership is popular, and are not likely to force an extension of the ban.

While a University of Pennsylvania poll found support for renewing the ban, ban opponents have pointed to the failure of strident new anti-gun laws in Britain, Canada and Australia as evidence that gun control and confiscation are ineffective crime deterrents.

The ban itself directly prohibits the sale of 19 different types of firearms based largely on cosmetic qualities of the weapons, and also limits the number of rounds a magazine can hold.

BUSH OUTLINES THE “OWNERSHIP SOCIETY”

At the Republican National Convention last week, President Bush outlined his plan for encouraging individual, private investments for education, healthcare and retirement. Many conservatives see the President's emphasis on private ownership as the next step from last fall's Medicare legislation which established Health Savings Accounts (designed to allow market forces to reign in healthcare costs) and helped seniors buy prescription drugs. Along with additional medical privatization, the “ownership society” will include tax-friendly Lifetime Savings Accounts and Retirement Savings Accounts, and personal retirement accounts for Social Security. Homeownership, another priority on the Bush agenda, was also presented through the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit

Privatization has been a hot issue for Republicans for nearly two decades but this campaign is witnessing a new openness to discuss solutions that would have been politically unpalatable just a few years ago. Recently, support for Social Security private accounts has even helped GOP congressional candidates win seats. Much of this support comes from a remarkable and increasingly populous investor class in the United States . A Federal Reserve study in 2001 showed the number of American households that owned stock rose from 19 percent in 1983 to 52 percent. Recent Zogby polls showed that these investors favor President Bush over Senator Kerry by 11 percentage points. Despite attacks by Democrats who say the “ownership society” is just the repackaging of old, 2000 election year ideas, its draw among the majority of Americans who are private investors cannot seems to favor Bush and his investor-friendly platform.

OVERTIME PROTECTION RULE
SUFFERS FROM POLITICIZATION

The Department of Labor recently issued a rule clarifying a decades old rule that has proved fertile ground for trial lawyers, and which has become a top concern of small business owners. In order for the DoL's ruling to become law, Congress did not have to act, but this type of ruling can be stopped by congressional action. This week Democrats joined with moderate Republicans to snuff out the rule, though it had been seen by many as a badly needed reform—even being endorsed by the Washington Post.

The rule, which the Bush administration says will guarantee overtime for millions of hourly and salaried workers, has met staunch criticism from Democrats, union-workers and trial lawyers.

For full article visit: http://www.islamicinstitute.org/dol-2004.htm

ELECTION WATCH

ELECTION HEATS UP IN SEPTEMBER

The end of the 2004 convention season signals the start of the traditional fall campaign season for the presidential candidates. With less than 60 days until the general election both President Bush and Senator Kerry are campaigning across the country, stopping in vital swing states to garner support. President Bush spoke to supporters in Poplar Bluff , Missouri on Monday forgoing his customary address to union workers on Labor Day. In an effort to strengthen his convention's theme of strength, security and leadership and to continue last week's surge in the polls, the President challenged criticism from Sen. Kerry regarding his handling of the war. The President also highlighted low unemployment rates to demonstrate his success in handling the economy. Vice-President Dick Cheney echoed the President in Minnesota , evoking the third anniversary of Sept. 11 to remind his listeners that terrorism still threatens the United States .

Senator Kerry used the weekend to strengthen his own image, answering Democratic concerns that the Kerry campaign lacks a clear message. Kerry addressed union workers in various locations on Monday expanding his criticism of Bush from foreign policy to domestic issues like job creation, health care, energy independence, and education. Common to all the criticism were attacks on the Bush administration and its capability to govern effectively. Senator John Edwards, Kerry's running-mate, also used the holiday to attack Bush's handling of the war in Iraq at a speech in Milwaukee . Since the GOP Convention, Bush has opened a considerable lead on Kerry in the national polls. Some pollsters recorded it in double-digits. Among likely voters, the race remains very close, however.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader met some election roadblocks this week in battleground states. Nader was officially cast from the ballot in Oregon , Florida , and Virginia , while appeals to higher courts in West Virginia and Pennsylvania have delayed elimination from the election. Democrats, fearful that Nader will take valuable votes away from Kerry in swing states, have sued through the state court system in most of these situations, claiming that Nader hasn't collected enough petition signatures to qualify for a position on that particular state's ballot. Nader has made it on the ballot in states like Alaska , Maine , Michigan , and Minnesota without controversy. Kerry polled high in most of these states, with the exception of Alaska , where Bush holds a 23 percentage point lead.

LATEST POLLS

CNN – USA Today – Gallup Poll (likely voters) - Aug 30- Sept 2

BUSH-CHENEY, 52 percent

Kerry-Edwards, 45 percent

Nader-Camejo, 1 percent

Zogby America Poll (likely voters - Aug 30- Sept 2

BUSH-CHENEY, 46 percent

Kerry-Edwards, 44 percent


Newsweek Poll - Sept 2-3

BUSH-CHENEY, 54 percent

Kerry-Edwards, 43 percent