Good evening and welcome to the Daily Strike. Things got ugly today in the United States Congress, and the prospects of meeting health reform and energy time lines are looking uglier still. We should all be worried, and we need to kick things into gear. Let's get to the day in politics.
THE (MAD) HOUSE: The President had no public events today, so our attention unfortunately centered on the increasingly dysfunctional United States Congress. A few minutes ago, the House took the last of 52 votes today over a span of 8 hours. The bill under consideration is the first of the annual appropriations bills, funding the Departments of Commerce, Justice and various science-related agencies. For those of you who didn't catch yesterday's entry, House Republicans are 2nd Graders. Under normal "order," members can offer any amendment to appropriations bills. Democrats this year insisted that all bills be pre-printed to be considered on the House floor. The Republican weren't happy about this, so they made their smart-a$$ gesture of offering almost 200 amendments. Democrats, realizing that allowing that many amendments would slow down important legislative business, were forced to limit amendments to about 40 or so. Republicans were so outraged at this injustice, that they made the House take vote after vote today in "protest." How oppressed they are! They first made the House take a recorded vote on every single amendment (which almost never happens). This accounted for the first few hours of votes. Then, Republicans forced re-votes on amendments, because they have the right to do this for some god foresaken reason. Then, they forced re-votes on the re-votes. As a result of their infantile antics, House committees were unable to hold key meetings. I didn't follow the House closely enough when the Democrats were in the minority, but I don't think they did anything like this. It's just more proof that Republicans will do whatever they can, including arcane parliamentary tactics, to see the Democrats' agenda fail.
Amidst the lunacy, there were actually a few important votes. The bill itself FINALLY passed this evening by a vote of 259-157. 24 Republicans voted with all but 8 Democrats for the bill. The bill increases funding for various law enforcement programs, and appropriates $2 billion for research on climate change science. The bill spends about 12% more than last year's version. I expect that number to come down when the Senate takes up the bill later this summer.
Most of the amendments were silly Republican motions to strike funny-sounding (but actually worthwhile) earmarks from the bill. Democrats were successful in defeating these efforts. They were also successful on the most important vote of the day. Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis (not that one) of California proposed an amendment forbidding any funding to be used to close Guantanamo Bay. If this had made it into the final version of the bill, Obama would not be able to fulfill the promise he made to close the prison on January 22nd. Centrist Democrats were fearful of ads saying that they "voted to move terrorists into our communities." 39 of them joined Republicans in voting for the amendment. That wasn't quite enough to ensure passage. The amendment failed by a single vote, 212-213. (They actually voted on it twice, and the first vote was 212-216.). Ironically, the margin of defeat was provided by the two Republican defectors, Ron Paul (TX) and Johnson (IL). It seems like the Democratic whips were on the ball.
So to sum up, we the taxpayers paid for the House voted 51 times, and about two of them were important votes.
THE SENATE: The Senate had a close call of their own today. The war funding bill conference report, which narrowly passed the House on Tuesday, came to the Senate floor this afternoon. Republican Senator Judd Gregg raised a point of order because the bill included an item that was not in the original House or Senate bill. That item was "cash for clunkers," a program where consumers can get a rebate for turning in old gas-guzzling cars. In order to waive this point of order and save the bill, Democrats needed to muster 60 votes. Senators Byrd (WV) and Kennedy (MA) are both out sick, meaning Democrats have 57 voting members. One of their members, Senator Nelson of Nebraska, wanted to prove his fiscal-conservative bona fides by voting against his own party. Therefore, Majority Leader Reid had to pluck 4 Republican votes. It was a squeaker, but he pulled it off. Senators Bond (MO), Cochran (MS), Collins (ME) and Voinovich (OH) joined Democrats in making sure the bill could advance. The bill itself was then approved 90-5. Republicans Coburn (OK), DeMint (SC) and Enzi (WY) voted no because of spending. Democrat Feingold (WI) and Socialist Sanders (VT) voted against the war funding as a moral objection to the war.
I'm disapproving of Obama's efforts to up the ante in Afghanistan, and I think he should be withdrawing more swiftly from Iraq. Having said that, I'm glad this bill is over with. It's one of those rare bills that NEEDS to pass, even though a member of any ideology could come up with several good reasons to vote against it. Because President Obama is including war funding in the regular budget process now, we won't have to deal with any more of these supplemental war funding bills.
HEALTH CARE: The most important policy fight of Obama's presidency is floundering in muck and mire. The Senate HELP committee, led by it's temporary chairman Christopher Dodd (CT), spent it's second day considering the still unfinished health care reform bill. The first day was full of partisan griping and political gamesmanship. Today, Senators were supposed to be debating the non-controversial portions of the bill, like ways to increase health care quality. These discussions quickly devolved into partisan discussions on how to pay for the bill, and why the full bill hasn't been released.
Meanwhile, President Obama's first nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, pretty much epitomized the deficiency of the Democratic party right now as it relates to health reform. Daschle had teamed up with former Republican Majority Leaders Bob Dole and Howard Baker to come up with a "bipartisan proposal for health reform." The bill did not include the public option. Daschle explained that Democrats need to abandon their push for the public option because it will "jeopardize all of the progress we've made."
What progress?? The idea of health care reform is to get everybody health insurance. We've already ruled out a single-payer system, and now we're supposed to cave in to the Republican party by abandoning the public option? Something that, according to yesterday's NBC poll, has the support of 76% of the country? Democrats control the White House, the House of Representatives and 59 votes in the Senate. If we can't get this done now, we'll never be able to do it. People like Daschle are too concerned about being on good terms with Republicans and not concerned enough about our nation's failing health care system. As the great Ezra Klein asked today, how many people have to lose health insurance because we want to make (Republican Senator) Chuck Grassley happy?
I will hammer home this point everyday, if I have to. Democrats need to understand the stakes of this fight, and not cower in the fetal position. Why aren't there Democratic Senators going on cable TV 24 hours a day explaining why we need the public option? Why aren't they, at the very least, standing by their principles?
Furthermore, it's not good enough for Barack Obama to have only one health care event this week. I know he has a lot on his plate, but his country needs him. We need his bully pulpit to make the case to the American people that we need strong, comprehensive reform. He should be holding a rally for health care reform every day until the bill is passed.
Hopefully soon we'll be able to report an end to this run of discouraging developments. In the meantime, enjoy your Friday! Leave some comments.
Showing posts with label Daschle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daschle. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
View From The Roots: Where's Howard?
Sorry Rahm. Its time for Obama to call Howard, say sorry, and move forward...
One of the key underlying subplots to the Daschle Debacle is the increasing disrespect and disregard that the Obama Administration has shown and continues to show for Howard Dean, the now former Chairman of the DNC. A doctor by trade, Dean was the perfectly logical and unbelievably qualified candidate who openly cherished the now tainted HHSS position. Picking Daschle over Dean at the beginning was the wrong move; picking Daschle over Dean without proper vetting is downright egregious.
Many among the grassroots organization that I work for (and I must say that I am included in this group) identify themselves whole-heartedly as "Deaniacs" who believe very deeply in his vision and belief in the 50 State Strategy. Obama's campaign models were in many ways an outgrowth of what Dean started within the party. The mixture the small donor “net-roots” fundraising base and aggressive outreach into traditionally Republican areas is the lasting Obama legacy, but it is directly attributable to Dean as well. It is easy to say now that the 50 State Strategy was a successful direction for Dean to take the party 4 years ago when he took it over, but it was not without contention from within the Democratic ranks. Famously, Rahm Emanuel and Dean battled viciously over the 2006 election cycle when Rahm was the Chairman of the DCCC about where to invest resources. Real clear politics documented the dispute http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/07/why_are_democratic_leaders_fig.html in fine form. Dean and Emanuel are in many ways very similar: Aggressive, partisan, and vindictive, both are clearly driven by passion and emotion. Both a guys you want on your team politically, but it is time of Obama to set up and keep the wild cards in his hand, rather than letting them to continue to fight within the party.
The whole Daschle Debacle is the exact type of move that Obama avoided making so well during the longest campaign in human history. Rev Wright and all the other scandals were not necessarily handled perfectly, but they were very rarely from Team Obama's lack of work or actual negligence (which is the only way to really explain the lack of Daschle's vetting). Now it is time for our chief executive to stand up and do the right thing.
Perhaps he could even end the confirmation ceremony with a "bbbbeeeeyyyaaahhhh."
One of the key underlying subplots to the Daschle Debacle is the increasing disrespect and disregard that the Obama Administration has shown and continues to show for Howard Dean, the now former Chairman of the DNC. A doctor by trade, Dean was the perfectly logical and unbelievably qualified candidate who openly cherished the now tainted HHSS position. Picking Daschle over Dean at the beginning was the wrong move; picking Daschle over Dean without proper vetting is downright egregious.
Many among the grassroots organization that I work for (and I must say that I am included in this group) identify themselves whole-heartedly as "Deaniacs" who believe very deeply in his vision and belief in the 50 State Strategy. Obama's campaign models were in many ways an outgrowth of what Dean started within the party. The mixture the small donor “net-roots” fundraising base and aggressive outreach into traditionally Republican areas is the lasting Obama legacy, but it is directly attributable to Dean as well. It is easy to say now that the 50 State Strategy was a successful direction for Dean to take the party 4 years ago when he took it over, but it was not without contention from within the Democratic ranks. Famously, Rahm Emanuel and Dean battled viciously over the 2006 election cycle when Rahm was the Chairman of the DCCC about where to invest resources. Real clear politics documented the dispute http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/07/why_are_democratic_leaders_fig.html in fine form. Dean and Emanuel are in many ways very similar: Aggressive, partisan, and vindictive, both are clearly driven by passion and emotion. Both a guys you want on your team politically, but it is time of Obama to set up and keep the wild cards in his hand, rather than letting them to continue to fight within the party.
The whole Daschle Debacle is the exact type of move that Obama avoided making so well during the longest campaign in human history. Rev Wright and all the other scandals were not necessarily handled perfectly, but they were very rarely from Team Obama's lack of work or actual negligence (which is the only way to really explain the lack of Daschle's vetting). Now it is time for our chief executive to stand up and do the right thing.
Perhaps he could even end the confirmation ceremony with a "bbbbeeeeyyyaaahhhh."
The Big Picture: The 3 Facts We Can't Forget
The Strike is definitely right that today was the worst day for Obama in a long time, arguably since the "Lipstick on a Pig" glory days of early September. Beyond Daschle and the other tax cheats, Congressional Democrats and Obama are not doing nearly as effective or passionate or compelling advocacy for sweeping recovery and reform as they should be. And we will soon have a post with some strategy suggestions. But for now, the Big Picture will return to its roots and lay out the basic facts that we have to keep in mind when looking at day-to-day or week-to-week developments:
1. People are really struggling - for many many people, more than they have in their lifetime. The twin pillars of a strong American economy - security and opportunity - are at shockingly low levels for far too many Americans, reaching deep into the middle class. This is most people's absolute overriding concern, NOT too much government spending, "socialism", or political scandals.
2. The Republican Party, conservatism, and big business are at historically low levels of popularity. There is enormous and sweeping distrust for the party of Bush's incompetence, the libertarian free-market ideology that is unconcerned with people suffering, and the bankers whose greed and shortsightedness are ripping the American Dream away from hardworking Americans.
3. Barack Obama is enormously popular, trusted, and even beloved. His support is both historically broad - encompassing all Democrats, most independents, and many Republicans - and it is extraordinarily deep - which we can see both from quantitative poll evidence and qualitative evidence from reading articles in every section of the paper filled with people inspired by Obama, and attending the Inauguration in a Washington filled with 3 million die-hard supporters, people who would march into battle for him. One poll should sum it up: Fox News found that nearly twice as many Americans were moved to tears by Obama's Inauguration than disapprove of his performance as President.
1. People are really struggling - for many many people, more than they have in their lifetime. The twin pillars of a strong American economy - security and opportunity - are at shockingly low levels for far too many Americans, reaching deep into the middle class. This is most people's absolute overriding concern, NOT too much government spending, "socialism", or political scandals.
2. The Republican Party, conservatism, and big business are at historically low levels of popularity. There is enormous and sweeping distrust for the party of Bush's incompetence, the libertarian free-market ideology that is unconcerned with people suffering, and the bankers whose greed and shortsightedness are ripping the American Dream away from hardworking Americans.
3. Barack Obama is enormously popular, trusted, and even beloved. His support is both historically broad - encompassing all Democrats, most independents, and many Republicans - and it is extraordinarily deep - which we can see both from quantitative poll evidence and qualitative evidence from reading articles in every section of the paper filled with people inspired by Obama, and attending the Inauguration in a Washington filled with 3 million die-hard supporters, people who would march into battle for him. One poll should sum it up: Fox News found that nearly twice as many Americans were moved to tears by Obama's Inauguration than disapprove of his performance as President.
And that's the Big Picture.
The Daily Strike-2/3/09-Obama's Tough Day
Today was the most difficult so far in the Obama Presidency. Let's run down what happened. Also, we're continuing to follow Senate amendments to the stimulus bill and will keep you updated as more votes become available.
DASCHLE GONE: The big news of the day was former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's decision to withdraw his name from consideration to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. He claimed that he didn't want his tax problems to be a distraction to President Obama's effort to cure the economy and enact health care reform. Fair enough. I question what the long term impact of Daschle's withdrawal is. The Bush administration is certainly not remembered for Linda Chavez or Bernard Kerik (two other tax cheats who had to withdraw their nominations), but Daschle, to me, seems more significant. Part of it is that it helps extinguish the Obama glow, still shining from the inauguration. He seemed so unstoppable two weeks ago, like a transformative political leader. Can anything be more "politics as usual" than a former politician failing to report income from a private limo? It really reeks to me, as an Obama supporter, to have a powerful elite not pay his fair share in taxes, especially considering how people are suffering economically. Also, Obama has set high standards for himself. He shouldn't have allowed the vetting process to continue if he knew Daschle had tax problems of this magnitude. Obama admitted as much tonight in various TV interviews, in which he said, "I consider this a mistake on my part and one I intend to fix and correct and make sure we don’t screw it up again.”
So what are the short term effects? First, we need a new nominee. The options are pretty limited at this point. If I were Obama, I would not want to deal with taking another sitting Senator out of the upper chamber and dealing with another awkward gubenatorial appointment. I wouldn't want to nominate a House member either, seeing that Senator Gillibrand's former seat in upstate New York looks like it has already opened up a huge opportunity for a Republican pickup. Who is left? Former Vermont Governor and DNC chairman Howard Dean's name has surfaced, but there are rumors that Obama is not a big fan of Dean. Another option is former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. He seems like the likeliest choice to me.
There are other short-term effects Daschle's withdrawal. First, what happens to the stimulus? Even though Daschle's new role wouldn't have related directly to the stimulus, his withdrawal does contribute to a growing, nebulous Republican narrative, which goes something like this: Democrats are corrupt, they won't pay taxes themselves, but want to raise your taxes (at least in the long run) and spend your money irresponsibly. How can we trust the party of Geithner and Daschle? I don't think it will have too big of an impact because lest we forget, people are hurting, and the majority of Congress understands the urgency. What I'm more worried about is health Care reform. Daschle's withdrawal restarts the clock on a concentrated, coherent, political push to get health care reform done this year. This is one of Obama's top priorities, and our best political opportunity in a generation to get it done. Now, Obama will have to find a new face of the health care reform effort, get him through confirmation, and get him settled into HHS. By the time this happens, will the political capital still be there to get universal health care through? It better be.
One thing I do know: it will be unfortunate not to have an HHS nominee on stage as Obama signs the expanded SCHIP bill, most likely later this week.
THAT OTHER NOMINEE: The overshadowed news today was the official nomination of Republican Senator Judd Gregg to be Secretary of Commerce. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, selected a Republican (as promised), Bonnie Newman, to be Gregg's replacement. Newman promptly announced she would not seek reelection in 2010. This is good news for Democrats. A race against the popular Gregg would have been tough, but now their nominee (most likely Rep. Paul Hodes) will get to compete in an open seat race in an increasingly blue state. As for Newman (I can hear Jerry Seinfeld screaming her name), some clues are emerging that she'll be a moderate-to-liberal Republican.
a) she doesn't have to worry about reelection, so she can vote her conscience
b) she endorsed Democrat Lynch in 2004
We'll closely follow how reliable a vote she is for the Obama team.
In other nominee news, Hilda Solis will get a committee vote as soon as tomorrow, and a vote in front of the full Senate later this week or next week. The Secretary of Labor nominee had been held up by Republican Senators over concerns with her pro-labor views. She will probably pass pretty easily in both the committee and full Senate (75-80 votes?).
STIMULUS UPDATE: The big news of the day should have been the debate over the Stimulus in the Senate. Before we get to today's votes, let's step back a minute. Nate Silver had a good piece today talking about how the stimulus, despite a couple of weeks of heavy pressure from the right, is still pretty popular. In every poll, a plurality supports the stimulus bill, and a strong majority wants the Congress to back some sort of stimulative measure. Republicans today were trumping a Gallup poll that showed support for the current stimulus at 38%. This is misleading, because 75% of voters wanted Congress to take SOME action. Bottom line, people still want something done to help the economy, and they largely trust Obama to carry out a plan.
I do think that the Republicans have effectively streamlined their opposition to the bill (even though I strongly disagree with their arguments). They conveniently pick out the most ridiculous-sounding measures in the bill (like STD prevention, re-sodding of the mall etc.) as evidence that the whole bill is a bunch of pork. Obama has not responded to this charge effectively. He has extraordinary political skills, he needs to use them. His statements of support have focused on the urgency of getting something done considering how dire economic conditions are. I think he needs to use the bully pulpit to talk to people about how the bill will affect them directly. You need to give examples of people who are struggling now, and why they would benefit from the bill. Obama has been too cautious so far in using his political capital. Hopefully, today's TV interviews (he did one on every major network) will be a good start.
Now, on to the Senate. There have been three votes so far today on amendments to the stimulus bill. The dynamic here is interesting. The more amendments the Republicans get passed, the more likely the bill will enjoy broad support, but the bill will be considerably less progressive. Democratic Senators have to delicately balance changing the bill enough to please Republicans, but to keep the important core of the House bill. The first vote today was on waiving Senate budget rules to allow an amendment that would increase infrastructure spending by $30 billion. Waiving budget rules require a 60 vote super-majority. The amendment fell just short 58-39. Every Republican voted against the amendment besides Senators Bond of Missouri (another maverick vote for this retiring Senator) and Specter of Pennsylvania. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was the only Democrat voting no. I have some questions about these budget rules. Is ALL of the spending subject to these budget rules, meaning it would require 60 votes to proceed? I'm not sure, quite frankly. I'm trying to find out.
In the meantime, the Senate voted to APPROVE an amendment by the ultraconservative Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. I can't remember the last time that happened. His amendment struck about 200 million in funding for Hollywood Production companies. This seems like one of those items that is just inviting Republican opposition. 52 Senators voted for the amendment, including Democrats Bayh of IN, Bennet of CO, Carper of DE, Casey of PA, Dorgan of ND, Hagan of NC, Johnson of SD, Lieberman of CT (amazingly, this is his first remotely conservative vote in the new Congress), McCaskill of MO, Pryor of AR, Udall of CO, and Webb of VA. 45 Senators voted against the amendment, including Republicans Vitter of LA (are you kidding? maybe he voted this way be accident) and Voinovich of OH.
The latest vote was to waive the budget rules on an amendment by Senator Mikulski of Maryland that would have extended tax breaks to dealers and purchasers of certain vehicles. This time, they got the required 60 votes. The rules were waived by a vote of 71-26, and the amendment was agreed to by voice vote. Interestingly, the vote was not neatly split down party lines. An equal number of Republicans and Democrats opposed the amendment.
More votes coming tonight on various amendments from both parties. I will write a special Late Night Strike to make sure you stay up to date. Passage is still on track for late this week, with a Senate/House conference in the works next week.
THE HOUSE: The House today passed a bunch of bills under suspension of the rules (see previous vocab definition!). One of those bills verbatim: BILL TITLE: Raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009 as “National Stalking Awareness Month.” Ahh, suspension bills.
Tomorrow, the House has a very busy day. It will debate whether to delay the Digital TV switch from February to June. Then, it will vote on final passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Bill, which was amended by the Senate. Passage tomorrow will clear the way for Obama's signature later this week. Finally, the House will vote on an omnibus budget bill that funds the government through September 30th. Expect Republicans to object to the level of spending in this bill and vote almost unanimously against it. I've already heard complaints from the House's chief earmark hawk, Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona.
MEANWHILE: While everyone was panicking about Daschle, the administration has decided to impose strict new regulations on the financial industry by issuing limits on executive pay on companies that received bailout money. This is a VERY important decision, which hopefully won't be overshadowed by Daschle's shananigans.
Stay tuned for the Late Night Strike...and have a good evening! We welcome your comments!
DASCHLE GONE: The big news of the day was former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's decision to withdraw his name from consideration to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. He claimed that he didn't want his tax problems to be a distraction to President Obama's effort to cure the economy and enact health care reform. Fair enough. I question what the long term impact of Daschle's withdrawal is. The Bush administration is certainly not remembered for Linda Chavez or Bernard Kerik (two other tax cheats who had to withdraw their nominations), but Daschle, to me, seems more significant. Part of it is that it helps extinguish the Obama glow, still shining from the inauguration. He seemed so unstoppable two weeks ago, like a transformative political leader. Can anything be more "politics as usual" than a former politician failing to report income from a private limo? It really reeks to me, as an Obama supporter, to have a powerful elite not pay his fair share in taxes, especially considering how people are suffering economically. Also, Obama has set high standards for himself. He shouldn't have allowed the vetting process to continue if he knew Daschle had tax problems of this magnitude. Obama admitted as much tonight in various TV interviews, in which he said, "I consider this a mistake on my part and one I intend to fix and correct and make sure we don’t screw it up again.”
So what are the short term effects? First, we need a new nominee. The options are pretty limited at this point. If I were Obama, I would not want to deal with taking another sitting Senator out of the upper chamber and dealing with another awkward gubenatorial appointment. I wouldn't want to nominate a House member either, seeing that Senator Gillibrand's former seat in upstate New York looks like it has already opened up a huge opportunity for a Republican pickup. Who is left? Former Vermont Governor and DNC chairman Howard Dean's name has surfaced, but there are rumors that Obama is not a big fan of Dean. Another option is former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. He seems like the likeliest choice to me.
There are other short-term effects Daschle's withdrawal. First, what happens to the stimulus? Even though Daschle's new role wouldn't have related directly to the stimulus, his withdrawal does contribute to a growing, nebulous Republican narrative, which goes something like this: Democrats are corrupt, they won't pay taxes themselves, but want to raise your taxes (at least in the long run) and spend your money irresponsibly. How can we trust the party of Geithner and Daschle? I don't think it will have too big of an impact because lest we forget, people are hurting, and the majority of Congress understands the urgency. What I'm more worried about is health Care reform. Daschle's withdrawal restarts the clock on a concentrated, coherent, political push to get health care reform done this year. This is one of Obama's top priorities, and our best political opportunity in a generation to get it done. Now, Obama will have to find a new face of the health care reform effort, get him through confirmation, and get him settled into HHS. By the time this happens, will the political capital still be there to get universal health care through? It better be.
One thing I do know: it will be unfortunate not to have an HHS nominee on stage as Obama signs the expanded SCHIP bill, most likely later this week.
THAT OTHER NOMINEE: The overshadowed news today was the official nomination of Republican Senator Judd Gregg to be Secretary of Commerce. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, selected a Republican (as promised), Bonnie Newman, to be Gregg's replacement. Newman promptly announced she would not seek reelection in 2010. This is good news for Democrats. A race against the popular Gregg would have been tough, but now their nominee (most likely Rep. Paul Hodes) will get to compete in an open seat race in an increasingly blue state. As for Newman (I can hear Jerry Seinfeld screaming her name), some clues are emerging that she'll be a moderate-to-liberal Republican.
a) she doesn't have to worry about reelection, so she can vote her conscience
b) she endorsed Democrat Lynch in 2004
We'll closely follow how reliable a vote she is for the Obama team.
In other nominee news, Hilda Solis will get a committee vote as soon as tomorrow, and a vote in front of the full Senate later this week or next week. The Secretary of Labor nominee had been held up by Republican Senators over concerns with her pro-labor views. She will probably pass pretty easily in both the committee and full Senate (75-80 votes?).
STIMULUS UPDATE: The big news of the day should have been the debate over the Stimulus in the Senate. Before we get to today's votes, let's step back a minute. Nate Silver had a good piece today talking about how the stimulus, despite a couple of weeks of heavy pressure from the right, is still pretty popular. In every poll, a plurality supports the stimulus bill, and a strong majority wants the Congress to back some sort of stimulative measure. Republicans today were trumping a Gallup poll that showed support for the current stimulus at 38%. This is misleading, because 75% of voters wanted Congress to take SOME action. Bottom line, people still want something done to help the economy, and they largely trust Obama to carry out a plan.
I do think that the Republicans have effectively streamlined their opposition to the bill (even though I strongly disagree with their arguments). They conveniently pick out the most ridiculous-sounding measures in the bill (like STD prevention, re-sodding of the mall etc.) as evidence that the whole bill is a bunch of pork. Obama has not responded to this charge effectively. He has extraordinary political skills, he needs to use them. His statements of support have focused on the urgency of getting something done considering how dire economic conditions are. I think he needs to use the bully pulpit to talk to people about how the bill will affect them directly. You need to give examples of people who are struggling now, and why they would benefit from the bill. Obama has been too cautious so far in using his political capital. Hopefully, today's TV interviews (he did one on every major network) will be a good start.
Now, on to the Senate. There have been three votes so far today on amendments to the stimulus bill. The dynamic here is interesting. The more amendments the Republicans get passed, the more likely the bill will enjoy broad support, but the bill will be considerably less progressive. Democratic Senators have to delicately balance changing the bill enough to please Republicans, but to keep the important core of the House bill. The first vote today was on waiving Senate budget rules to allow an amendment that would increase infrastructure spending by $30 billion. Waiving budget rules require a 60 vote super-majority. The amendment fell just short 58-39. Every Republican voted against the amendment besides Senators Bond of Missouri (another maverick vote for this retiring Senator) and Specter of Pennsylvania. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was the only Democrat voting no. I have some questions about these budget rules. Is ALL of the spending subject to these budget rules, meaning it would require 60 votes to proceed? I'm not sure, quite frankly. I'm trying to find out.
In the meantime, the Senate voted to APPROVE an amendment by the ultraconservative Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. I can't remember the last time that happened. His amendment struck about 200 million in funding for Hollywood Production companies. This seems like one of those items that is just inviting Republican opposition. 52 Senators voted for the amendment, including Democrats Bayh of IN, Bennet of CO, Carper of DE, Casey of PA, Dorgan of ND, Hagan of NC, Johnson of SD, Lieberman of CT (amazingly, this is his first remotely conservative vote in the new Congress), McCaskill of MO, Pryor of AR, Udall of CO, and Webb of VA. 45 Senators voted against the amendment, including Republicans Vitter of LA (are you kidding? maybe he voted this way be accident) and Voinovich of OH.
The latest vote was to waive the budget rules on an amendment by Senator Mikulski of Maryland that would have extended tax breaks to dealers and purchasers of certain vehicles. This time, they got the required 60 votes. The rules were waived by a vote of 71-26, and the amendment was agreed to by voice vote. Interestingly, the vote was not neatly split down party lines. An equal number of Republicans and Democrats opposed the amendment.
More votes coming tonight on various amendments from both parties. I will write a special Late Night Strike to make sure you stay up to date. Passage is still on track for late this week, with a Senate/House conference in the works next week.
THE HOUSE: The House today passed a bunch of bills under suspension of the rules (see previous vocab definition!). One of those bills verbatim: BILL TITLE: Raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking by establishing January 2009 as “National Stalking Awareness Month.” Ahh, suspension bills.
Tomorrow, the House has a very busy day. It will debate whether to delay the Digital TV switch from February to June. Then, it will vote on final passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Bill, which was amended by the Senate. Passage tomorrow will clear the way for Obama's signature later this week. Finally, the House will vote on an omnibus budget bill that funds the government through September 30th. Expect Republicans to object to the level of spending in this bill and vote almost unanimously against it. I've already heard complaints from the House's chief earmark hawk, Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona.
MEANWHILE: While everyone was panicking about Daschle, the administration has decided to impose strict new regulations on the financial industry by issuing limits on executive pay on companies that received bailout money. This is a VERY important decision, which hopefully won't be overshadowed by Daschle's shananigans.
Stay tuned for the Late Night Strike...and have a good evening! We welcome your comments!
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Daily Strike-2/2/09-Holder, Stimulus, Nominations and Vocab VII
Monday Night...time for the Daily Strike...
HOLDER: Eric Holder was confirmed today as the next Attorney General of the United States by a vote of 75-21. Every Democrat voted for him. Republicans were pretty much split down the middle. One interesting yes vote was John McCain, who goes back and forth from being Obama's friend, to a thorn in his side. A notable no-vote was from Kay Bailey Hutchison, who expressed her concern that Holder did not have enough respect for the 2nd Amendment. Holder notably wrote an amicus brief arguing against abolishing Washington DC's Gun Control law.
Holder's confirmation leaves four outstanding nominees:
DASCHLE: The nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary is under fire for not reporting income on his taxes, including a limo and limo driver. He spoke to the Senate Finance committee this afternoon and got a show of support from its chairman, Max Baucus of Montana. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts claims there was some Republican support in the room, which would pretty much ensure Daschle's confirmation in both the committee and the full Senate. For his part, President Obama reiterated his support of Daschle in a statement today. Daschle gave this statement after meeting with the committee:
"My failure to recognize the use of a car was income and not a gift from a good friend was a mistake. It was completely inadvertent."
"I deeply apologize to President Obama, my colleagues and the American people."
KIRK: I know nothing about why his nomination for U.S. Trade Representative has gone nowhere.
SOLIS: Still no word on when the Republicans will allow Solis' nomination to proceed. A couple of Republicans have put a hold on the Labor Secretary nominee and House member from California due to her somewhat vague answers on key labor issues during her hearing.
GREGG: The likely nominee for Commerce Secretary, Republican Senator Judd Gregg, has assured the Senate Republican Conference that he will be replaced by a Republican. Today, the Democratic governor of New Hampshire John Lynch, promised he'd replace Gregg with a Republican. The announcement of Gregg should come in the next couple of days. One interesting thing to watch will be whether Gregg, who will still be a Senator during the stimulus debate, will help out his new boss, or adhere to his conservative ideology.
UPDATE: Gregg will be announced as the nominee tomorrow morning.
STIMULUS UPDATE: The Senate began debate on the stimulus this afternoon and will begin consideration of amendments tomorrow. The first one up for consideration is from Senators Murray of Washington and Feinstein of California (among others) which would increase money for infrastructure projects. (A similar amendment upped the infrastructure total in the house). The Republicans will likely offer several amendments. Votes are expected throughout the day. We'll analyze them for you tomorrow.
The Republicans, led by Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, unveiled their formal alternative today. The total price tag of the Republican bill is $713 billion (a couple hundred billion less than the House-passed version). The bill includes $430 billion for tax cuts (twice as much as the Democratic bill), $114 for infrastructure, $138 billion for increases in unemployment insurance, and $30 billion for housing assistance. The alternative will surely be defeated, possibly gaining a few Democratic votes.
VOCAB: Today we will discuss Roll Call votes in the Senate. For those of you who don't watch CSPAN, you would think that the Senate clerk will call the roll, and each Senator would respond promptly with "Aye" or "No." In reality, the clerk does call the roll, but most Senators are not in the chamber when the roll begins. Instead, Senators file in at their own pace, and vote whenever they feel like it, even if their name hasn't yet been called. Usually the clerk will finish calling the roll and only a few Senators will have voted. The clerk announces the "Senators voting in the affirmative" and "Senators voting in the negative." One by one, each Senator goes up to the desk and announces his or her vote, and the clerk reports that vote to the rest of the chamber. If you accidentally switched on CSPAN2 during a vote, you'd hear a lot of:
"Mr. Gregg...Mr. Gregg, Aye,"
"Mr. Kerry...Mr. Kerry, No"
This goes on for several minutes until all Senators have voted. Then the clerk has to read the tally to the presiding officer (usually a freshman Senator) who for some reason always look absolutely clueless announcing the tally.
HOLDER: Eric Holder was confirmed today as the next Attorney General of the United States by a vote of 75-21. Every Democrat voted for him. Republicans were pretty much split down the middle. One interesting yes vote was John McCain, who goes back and forth from being Obama's friend, to a thorn in his side. A notable no-vote was from Kay Bailey Hutchison, who expressed her concern that Holder did not have enough respect for the 2nd Amendment. Holder notably wrote an amicus brief arguing against abolishing Washington DC's Gun Control law.
Holder's confirmation leaves four outstanding nominees:
DASCHLE: The nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary is under fire for not reporting income on his taxes, including a limo and limo driver. He spoke to the Senate Finance committee this afternoon and got a show of support from its chairman, Max Baucus of Montana. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts claims there was some Republican support in the room, which would pretty much ensure Daschle's confirmation in both the committee and the full Senate. For his part, President Obama reiterated his support of Daschle in a statement today. Daschle gave this statement after meeting with the committee:
"My failure to recognize the use of a car was income and not a gift from a good friend was a mistake. It was completely inadvertent."
"I deeply apologize to President Obama, my colleagues and the American people."
KIRK: I know nothing about why his nomination for U.S. Trade Representative has gone nowhere.
SOLIS: Still no word on when the Republicans will allow Solis' nomination to proceed. A couple of Republicans have put a hold on the Labor Secretary nominee and House member from California due to her somewhat vague answers on key labor issues during her hearing.
GREGG: The likely nominee for Commerce Secretary, Republican Senator Judd Gregg, has assured the Senate Republican Conference that he will be replaced by a Republican. Today, the Democratic governor of New Hampshire John Lynch, promised he'd replace Gregg with a Republican. The announcement of Gregg should come in the next couple of days. One interesting thing to watch will be whether Gregg, who will still be a Senator during the stimulus debate, will help out his new boss, or adhere to his conservative ideology.
UPDATE: Gregg will be announced as the nominee tomorrow morning.
STIMULUS UPDATE: The Senate began debate on the stimulus this afternoon and will begin consideration of amendments tomorrow. The first one up for consideration is from Senators Murray of Washington and Feinstein of California (among others) which would increase money for infrastructure projects. (A similar amendment upped the infrastructure total in the house). The Republicans will likely offer several amendments. Votes are expected throughout the day. We'll analyze them for you tomorrow.
The Republicans, led by Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, unveiled their formal alternative today. The total price tag of the Republican bill is $713 billion (a couple hundred billion less than the House-passed version). The bill includes $430 billion for tax cuts (twice as much as the Democratic bill), $114 for infrastructure, $138 billion for increases in unemployment insurance, and $30 billion for housing assistance. The alternative will surely be defeated, possibly gaining a few Democratic votes.
VOCAB: Today we will discuss Roll Call votes in the Senate. For those of you who don't watch CSPAN, you would think that the Senate clerk will call the roll, and each Senator would respond promptly with "Aye" or "No." In reality, the clerk does call the roll, but most Senators are not in the chamber when the roll begins. Instead, Senators file in at their own pace, and vote whenever they feel like it, even if their name hasn't yet been called. Usually the clerk will finish calling the roll and only a few Senators will have voted. The clerk announces the "Senators voting in the affirmative" and "Senators voting in the negative." One by one, each Senator goes up to the desk and announces his or her vote, and the clerk reports that vote to the rest of the chamber. If you accidentally switched on CSPAN2 during a vote, you'd hear a lot of:
"Mr. Gregg...Mr. Gregg, Aye,"
"Mr. Kerry...Mr. Kerry, No"
This goes on for several minutes until all Senators have voted. Then the clerk has to read the tally to the presiding officer (usually a freshman Senator) who for some reason always look absolutely clueless announcing the tally.
The Weekly Strike-2/1-2/8
Welcome to the Weekly Strike! Here's what's on deck this week in Washington:
CONGRESS: This is another huge week in Congress. The Senate starts debating the stimulus bill today, but will take a break to vote on the nomination of Eric Holder to be Attorney General. I predict that he passes with about 70 votes. He was passed out of committee 17-2, with the support of ranking Republican Arlen Specter, who had been one of his biggest critics. Part of the reason Holder will pass pretty easily is that Republicans now have bigger fish to fry. The new controversial nominee is Tom Daschle, who failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars of income, including a limo and limo driver. Holder may have created controversy in the past by agreeing to President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich, but his hearing went quite well, and Republicans may want to pick their battles on nomination fights.
The Senate will resume debate on the stimulus tomorrow, and most likely won't finish the bill until Friday. I predict maybe 15 or so amendments will be voted on before final passage, most of them Republican efforts to add more tax cuts, and remove certain spending provisions. The House may not even recognize the bill when it returns to them next week. As Amendments are introduced and voted upon, I'll keep you posted. The final vote will depend on how many amendments are agreed to, and how much of the more "controversial" spending measures are removed from the bill. If the bill goes largely unchanged, it will pass with almost exactly 60 votes. If not, it could garner another 10 or so votes. I don't see the stimulus, in any form, getting more than 70 votes, because in that case, the Democrats would be sacrificing too much of the bill's content. If the Senate passes the bill, it will go into what is expected to be a difficult conference with House negotiators to work out differences in the two bills.
The House has a busy week as well, returning tomorrow for some votes on non-controversial measures under suspension of the rules. One bill that failed to garner the two-thirds vote necessary to suspend the rules was the Digital Transition Delay bill. The House will consider the bill under regular order Wednesday morning, and it will likely pass and be sent to Obama for his signature.
Apparently, the House leadership has accepted the Senate's changes to the State Children's Health Insurance Bill, and will vote on final passage Wednesday afternoon. I expect it to pass with about 280 votes, (about as many as the original bill got a couple of weeks ago) and sent to President Obama, who will sign it promptly. This is a very important bill that was twice vetoed by President Bush, and was a big part of Obama's plan to insure every child in this country. After he signs the bill this week, he'll be about 5 million children short of his goal. (side note, if you had a few votes to spare in each House, which they did, why didn't they expand the bill to cover ALL uninsured children??).
Finally, the House will vote on an omnibus bill finalizing the budget for the rest of Fiscal Year 2009, which ends September 30th. The debate on this bill should be contentious, since the money will most likely be redirected to Democratic spending priorities. I expect the budget to pass along strict party lines, and to move to the Senate for a vote next week. The House will be in recess Thursday and Friday for the Democrats' policy retreat.
HAPPENING AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Obama today meets with Democratic leaders in Congress to shore up support for the stimulus. You can bet he talks about the Daschle nomination as well. Daschle wrote a letter to his former colleagues today apologizing for his tax difficulties. I expect a rocky road in the next few days as he appears before the Senate Finance Committee. Ultimately, Daschle has built strong enough relationships in the Senate, that his nomination will ultimately be confirmed.
The other big news out of the White House is the expected nomination of Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, to be Commerce Secretary. Apparently, New Hampshire's Democratic governor John Lynch as agreed to appoint a Republican to replace Gregg. The move could have benefits for Democrats though. According to Chuck Todd of MSNBC, the leading candidate appears to be Bonnie Newman, a moderate former Gregg staffer. If Lynch picks her, she has to be more moderate than Gregg, right? Also, Gregg's presence in the cabinet may help delegate negotiations with Congressional Republicans on sensitive items like additional Wall Street bailouts.
On Obama's schedule today is a meeting with Vermont's Republican governor Jim Douglas. I bet that they won't be discussing the Super Bowl, since Obama needs the governor to help shore up support for the stimulus package.
NOMINATION UPDATE: We've already talked about Daschle, Holder and Gregg, who else is left? Only two nominees: Hilda Solis at Labor, Ron Kirk to be Trade Representative. Solis is being held up because some Republicans feel that she's been less than forthright on her views on controversial items such as pending card check legislation. Who knows what's happening with Kirk, although after Geithner and Daschle, I'm suspicious that maybe he has a hidden tax problem.
THE STRIKE'S FAVORITE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Finally, an update from the 20th Congressional District of New York, where Kirsten Gillibrand recently resigned to become the Empire State's Junior Senator. The two nominees for the upcoming special election have been picked by the respective parties, and the Republicans have a decided advantage. The GOP selected James Tedisco, a popular assemblyman who has been the GOP Minority leader since 2005. I've met this guy, and he charmed even a liberal like myself. He has high name recognition, and fits the conservative lean of the district. The Democrats have countered with Scott Murphy, a local unknown venture capitalist. No chance, in my view, that the Democrats win this race. Assuming Solis is confirmed and replaced by a Democrat, and a Democrat wins the open seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, Tedisco will probably make the final house numbers 256-179 in favor of the Democrats.
Have a good week!
CONGRESS: This is another huge week in Congress. The Senate starts debating the stimulus bill today, but will take a break to vote on the nomination of Eric Holder to be Attorney General. I predict that he passes with about 70 votes. He was passed out of committee 17-2, with the support of ranking Republican Arlen Specter, who had been one of his biggest critics. Part of the reason Holder will pass pretty easily is that Republicans now have bigger fish to fry. The new controversial nominee is Tom Daschle, who failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars of income, including a limo and limo driver. Holder may have created controversy in the past by agreeing to President Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich, but his hearing went quite well, and Republicans may want to pick their battles on nomination fights.
The Senate will resume debate on the stimulus tomorrow, and most likely won't finish the bill until Friday. I predict maybe 15 or so amendments will be voted on before final passage, most of them Republican efforts to add more tax cuts, and remove certain spending provisions. The House may not even recognize the bill when it returns to them next week. As Amendments are introduced and voted upon, I'll keep you posted. The final vote will depend on how many amendments are agreed to, and how much of the more "controversial" spending measures are removed from the bill. If the bill goes largely unchanged, it will pass with almost exactly 60 votes. If not, it could garner another 10 or so votes. I don't see the stimulus, in any form, getting more than 70 votes, because in that case, the Democrats would be sacrificing too much of the bill's content. If the Senate passes the bill, it will go into what is expected to be a difficult conference with House negotiators to work out differences in the two bills.
The House has a busy week as well, returning tomorrow for some votes on non-controversial measures under suspension of the rules. One bill that failed to garner the two-thirds vote necessary to suspend the rules was the Digital Transition Delay bill. The House will consider the bill under regular order Wednesday morning, and it will likely pass and be sent to Obama for his signature.
Apparently, the House leadership has accepted the Senate's changes to the State Children's Health Insurance Bill, and will vote on final passage Wednesday afternoon. I expect it to pass with about 280 votes, (about as many as the original bill got a couple of weeks ago) and sent to President Obama, who will sign it promptly. This is a very important bill that was twice vetoed by President Bush, and was a big part of Obama's plan to insure every child in this country. After he signs the bill this week, he'll be about 5 million children short of his goal. (side note, if you had a few votes to spare in each House, which they did, why didn't they expand the bill to cover ALL uninsured children??).
Finally, the House will vote on an omnibus bill finalizing the budget for the rest of Fiscal Year 2009, which ends September 30th. The debate on this bill should be contentious, since the money will most likely be redirected to Democratic spending priorities. I expect the budget to pass along strict party lines, and to move to the Senate for a vote next week. The House will be in recess Thursday and Friday for the Democrats' policy retreat.
HAPPENING AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Obama today meets with Democratic leaders in Congress to shore up support for the stimulus. You can bet he talks about the Daschle nomination as well. Daschle wrote a letter to his former colleagues today apologizing for his tax difficulties. I expect a rocky road in the next few days as he appears before the Senate Finance Committee. Ultimately, Daschle has built strong enough relationships in the Senate, that his nomination will ultimately be confirmed.
The other big news out of the White House is the expected nomination of Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, to be Commerce Secretary. Apparently, New Hampshire's Democratic governor John Lynch as agreed to appoint a Republican to replace Gregg. The move could have benefits for Democrats though. According to Chuck Todd of MSNBC, the leading candidate appears to be Bonnie Newman, a moderate former Gregg staffer. If Lynch picks her, she has to be more moderate than Gregg, right? Also, Gregg's presence in the cabinet may help delegate negotiations with Congressional Republicans on sensitive items like additional Wall Street bailouts.
On Obama's schedule today is a meeting with Vermont's Republican governor Jim Douglas. I bet that they won't be discussing the Super Bowl, since Obama needs the governor to help shore up support for the stimulus package.
NOMINATION UPDATE: We've already talked about Daschle, Holder and Gregg, who else is left? Only two nominees: Hilda Solis at Labor, Ron Kirk to be Trade Representative. Solis is being held up because some Republicans feel that she's been less than forthright on her views on controversial items such as pending card check legislation. Who knows what's happening with Kirk, although after Geithner and Daschle, I'm suspicious that maybe he has a hidden tax problem.
THE STRIKE'S FAVORITE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Finally, an update from the 20th Congressional District of New York, where Kirsten Gillibrand recently resigned to become the Empire State's Junior Senator. The two nominees for the upcoming special election have been picked by the respective parties, and the Republicans have a decided advantage. The GOP selected James Tedisco, a popular assemblyman who has been the GOP Minority leader since 2005. I've met this guy, and he charmed even a liberal like myself. He has high name recognition, and fits the conservative lean of the district. The Democrats have countered with Scott Murphy, a local unknown venture capitalist. No chance, in my view, that the Democrats win this race. Assuming Solis is confirmed and replaced by a Democrat, and a Democrat wins the open seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, Tedisco will probably make the final house numbers 256-179 in favor of the Democrats.
Have a good week!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The Daily Strike-1/31/09-Daschle, Gregg, Vocab V
It's Saturday and there's relative quiet in the political world, but still enough for a Daily Strike.
DASCHLE IN TROUBLE: Another one of Obama's appointees, HHS nominee Tom Daschle, is in trouble for not paying taxes on, most notably, a private limo and driver. The Senate Finance will be meeting on Monday to discuss if and how to proceed with his nomination. My guess is that he eventually will be confirmed because of his long experience in the Senate, but this is another embarrassment for Obama's team. Couldn't they have done a better job of vetting this stuff? I bet the Republicans make a stink out of this to try and get some more mileage from the "Democrats are Corrupt" storyline. It probably seems to them that they are onto something: Blago, Daschle, Geithner, Charlie Rangel. In the end, they won't have enough votes to block him.
GREGG UPDATE: A White House Spokesman said today that New Hampshire GOP Senator Judd Gregg is a top contender for the Commerce post, and an announcement could be coming as soon as Monday. The political shuffling that would take place to fill his Senate seat is still largely in question. Apparently Gregg is conditioning his acceptance on Democratic Governor John Lynch appointing a Republican. Nate Silver suggests Liz Hager, who has expressed interest in the seat. Hager is a former state Representative who endorsed Obama last year because of his pro-choice views. Yet, she still calls herself a Republican. You could bet that she'd be a pretty reliable vote for the Democrats, and could help Obama with his bipartisan bona fides.
REPUBLICAN RETREAT: Who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall at the House Republican retreat this weekend in Virginia? Speakers have included Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and polling guru Frank Luntz. The mood apparently is pretty upbeat, and the general consensus seems to be that the party is more united than ever in conservative principles of small taxes and limited government. Apparently there was a lot of bragging about the House GOP's unanimous rejection of the stimulus package. I don't understand the Republicans' thinking here. They are not exactly winning any popularity contests, and they are now bragging about stopping a popular President's signature initiative, when it is abundantly clear to the American public that Obama reached out to them repeatedly. New GOP Chairman Michael Steele gave a cameo appearance and spoke out against "wealth redistribution." If I were the Repbulican party, I wouldn't repeat slogans from a campaign that you lost pretty badly a couple of months ago. Steele's communications should help the GOP develop a new, innovative message, but they'll have to come up with some viable policy alternatives that don't always involve tax cuts.
OBAMA WEEKLY ADDRESS: Obama's address this week again focused (obviously) on the economy. He talked about the stimulus package, and how he will work with leaders of both parties to improve the bill. He also spoke about the culture of greed and corruption on Wall Street, and mentioned this week's revelation that recipients of federal bailout money were getting multi-million dollar bonuses. Obama's Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to unveil a package of financial reforms in a week or so.
REPUBLICAN DIVIDE: There's an interesting piece on MSNBC's website about how GOP governors are breaking with their party members in Congress to push for passage of the stimulus. Ahead of the effort are Florida Governor Charlie Crist (who I think is a rising star in the Republican party) and Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. These governors are in charge of states who are facing massive budget shortfalls and significant job losses. It's a lot easier to be against a stimulus package when you are not directly managing a state. One governor not on the bandwagon is the chair of the Republican Governor's Association, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who has railed against the bailout effort, staying true to his ideological belief in fiscal conservatism. This backfired, however, when he was forced to end his opposition to federal money for state unemployment services. The point is, it's a lot easier to be ideologically opposed to something when people aren't suffering and in desperate need of help. The Big Picture will be talking about this subject in the coming days.
VOCAB V: Today's term is President Pro Tempore. The Vice President is technically the President of the Senate, but his only role is to swear in new members and to break ties. In reality, he rarely shows up to the chamber. The consitution mandates that the Senate choose a President Pro Tempore, who will preside over the chamber in case the Vice President is absent or is currently acting as President. What most people don't know is that the President Pro Tempore himself rarely presides over the Senate. Over the years, the role has become largely ceremonial and is traditionally given to the most senior member of the majority party (currently 92 year old Robert Byrd of West Virginia). The guy presiding over the Senate is usually a freshman or sophomore Senator of the majority party. This allows new Senators to learn the rules of the chamber. It also is a bit of a hazing excercise for new Senators, as they have to sit up there for hours while their colleagues can meet with lobbyists in the comfort of their own offices.
The issue with the modern President Pro Tempore, in my view, is that he is 3rd in line to the President behind the Vice President and Speaker of the House. So if Obama, Biden and Nancy Pelosi were to be in the same room when a bomb hit, a 92 year old, barely cognizant, former KKK member would be President of the United States.
See you tomorrow!
DASCHLE IN TROUBLE: Another one of Obama's appointees, HHS nominee Tom Daschle, is in trouble for not paying taxes on, most notably, a private limo and driver. The Senate Finance will be meeting on Monday to discuss if and how to proceed with his nomination. My guess is that he eventually will be confirmed because of his long experience in the Senate, but this is another embarrassment for Obama's team. Couldn't they have done a better job of vetting this stuff? I bet the Republicans make a stink out of this to try and get some more mileage from the "Democrats are Corrupt" storyline. It probably seems to them that they are onto something: Blago, Daschle, Geithner, Charlie Rangel. In the end, they won't have enough votes to block him.
GREGG UPDATE: A White House Spokesman said today that New Hampshire GOP Senator Judd Gregg is a top contender for the Commerce post, and an announcement could be coming as soon as Monday. The political shuffling that would take place to fill his Senate seat is still largely in question. Apparently Gregg is conditioning his acceptance on Democratic Governor John Lynch appointing a Republican. Nate Silver suggests Liz Hager, who has expressed interest in the seat. Hager is a former state Representative who endorsed Obama last year because of his pro-choice views. Yet, she still calls herself a Republican. You could bet that she'd be a pretty reliable vote for the Democrats, and could help Obama with his bipartisan bona fides.
REPUBLICAN RETREAT: Who wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall at the House Republican retreat this weekend in Virginia? Speakers have included Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and polling guru Frank Luntz. The mood apparently is pretty upbeat, and the general consensus seems to be that the party is more united than ever in conservative principles of small taxes and limited government. Apparently there was a lot of bragging about the House GOP's unanimous rejection of the stimulus package. I don't understand the Republicans' thinking here. They are not exactly winning any popularity contests, and they are now bragging about stopping a popular President's signature initiative, when it is abundantly clear to the American public that Obama reached out to them repeatedly. New GOP Chairman Michael Steele gave a cameo appearance and spoke out against "wealth redistribution." If I were the Repbulican party, I wouldn't repeat slogans from a campaign that you lost pretty badly a couple of months ago. Steele's communications should help the GOP develop a new, innovative message, but they'll have to come up with some viable policy alternatives that don't always involve tax cuts.
OBAMA WEEKLY ADDRESS: Obama's address this week again focused (obviously) on the economy. He talked about the stimulus package, and how he will work with leaders of both parties to improve the bill. He also spoke about the culture of greed and corruption on Wall Street, and mentioned this week's revelation that recipients of federal bailout money were getting multi-million dollar bonuses. Obama's Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to unveil a package of financial reforms in a week or so.
REPUBLICAN DIVIDE: There's an interesting piece on MSNBC's website about how GOP governors are breaking with their party members in Congress to push for passage of the stimulus. Ahead of the effort are Florida Governor Charlie Crist (who I think is a rising star in the Republican party) and Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. These governors are in charge of states who are facing massive budget shortfalls and significant job losses. It's a lot easier to be against a stimulus package when you are not directly managing a state. One governor not on the bandwagon is the chair of the Republican Governor's Association, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who has railed against the bailout effort, staying true to his ideological belief in fiscal conservatism. This backfired, however, when he was forced to end his opposition to federal money for state unemployment services. The point is, it's a lot easier to be ideologically opposed to something when people aren't suffering and in desperate need of help. The Big Picture will be talking about this subject in the coming days.
VOCAB V: Today's term is President Pro Tempore. The Vice President is technically the President of the Senate, but his only role is to swear in new members and to break ties. In reality, he rarely shows up to the chamber. The consitution mandates that the Senate choose a President Pro Tempore, who will preside over the chamber in case the Vice President is absent or is currently acting as President. What most people don't know is that the President Pro Tempore himself rarely presides over the Senate. Over the years, the role has become largely ceremonial and is traditionally given to the most senior member of the majority party (currently 92 year old Robert Byrd of West Virginia). The guy presiding over the Senate is usually a freshman or sophomore Senator of the majority party. This allows new Senators to learn the rules of the chamber. It also is a bit of a hazing excercise for new Senators, as they have to sit up there for hours while their colleagues can meet with lobbyists in the comfort of their own offices.
The issue with the modern President Pro Tempore, in my view, is that he is 3rd in line to the President behind the Vice President and Speaker of the House. So if Obama, Biden and Nancy Pelosi were to be in the same room when a bomb hit, a 92 year old, barely cognizant, former KKK member would be President of the United States.
See you tomorrow!
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