So this happened yesterday: In a tactic he thought would put the Obama Administration in an uncomfortable position, this week [Sen. Mitch] McConnell [Senate Minority leader for the Republican Party] proposed a measure that would give the president, rather than the Congress, the responsibility for raising the federal debt ceiling. Then, when Democrats surprised him by being willing to take … Read More
Fiscal Cliff Notes #2
I'm not writing about this much, in part because I think much of what is going on is theater. Lots of posturing on both sides. I will note, however, that Republicans are playing a losing game. Most polls show that they are not trusted to avoid the fiscal cliff, and if we do go over it, the GOP will be … Read More
Elizabeth Warren on Banking Committee
Wall Street doesn't like Elizabeth Warren, a strong advocate of Wall Street reform. They hoped she wouldn't be elected Senator from Massachusetts, but she was. And now, it appears that their worst nightmare is about to happen: she's going to be in a position of real power over them. The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim is reporting that sources have told him that … Read More
Senate
Consider this jaw-dropper: in a year that was supposed to be awful for Senate Dems, zero Democratic incumbents lost this year. Literally, none. And now that all the Senate races are in, the Democratic stronghold in the Senate is actually BIGGER than before. If Maine's Sen.-elect, Angus King (I) caucuses with the Senate Democrats, which has been widely expected, then King … Read More
Did The Framers Intend Gridlock?
Jeff Jacoby has an insanely stupid column in The Boston Globe arguing that "Yes, Virginia, the founding fathers wanted our governing bodies to be dysfunctional". It's one of those pieces that makes you dumber for reading it. Jacoby conflates "checks and balances" with "girdlock" as if the two things are synonymous: What the smart set bewails today as “gridlock’’ or “brinksmanship’’ or … Read More
GOP Filibusters Middle Tax Cut Again
A bill to extend the payroll tax holiday failed in the Senate this afternoon after Republicans filibustered the extension for a third time, preventing it from getting the 60 votes needed to begin debate or receive an up-or-down vote. The latest bill would have paid for the extension of the holiday, which primarily affects middle and low income Americans, by assessing … Read More
CFPB Nominee Filibustered
I don't know how the Republicans think they can possibly benefit from things like this: Earlier today, 53 percent of the Senate voted to move forward with Richard Cordray’s nomination to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — depriving him of thesupermajority he needs in order to be confirmed. One of the senators joining this filibuster, Sen. Mike Lee … Read More
Not Just Warren Buffet
WSJ reports: A new survey from Spectrem Group found that 68% of millionaires (those with investments of $1 million or more) support raising taxes on those with $1 million or more in income. Fully 61% of those with net worths of $5 million or more support the tax on million-plus earners. So the lower and middle AND wealthiest classes all support a … Read More
Congress Hits All-Time Low
Congress is on track to register its lowest annual average approval rating for any year since Gallup began measuring congressional approval in 1974. The existing lows are 18% recorded in 1992 (based on one measure that year) and 19% recorded in each of three years: 1979 (based on one measure), 2008 (based on monthly ratings), and 2010 (based on monthly … Read More
The Long National Obsession Is Over
Weiner is stepping down. Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York will step down from office amid intense pressure from congressional Democrats following his admission of risque online chats and photo swaps with multiple women and lying about it, sources tell ABC News. Weiner, 46, has begun sharing his decision with close friends, the sources said, but has not yet sent … Read More
Insult To Injury
Jon Stewart may be a comedian, but when he barely masks his outrage behind the comedy, he's most effective. Tuesday night he took on Congress. It finally passed a bill to help pay for the medical bills for the 9/11 first responders. That's right — those that survived 9/11 and went on to dig body parts out of the rubble have … Read More
They Blinked
What happened at the budget negotiations? It seems Obama et al grew a pair: At one crucial moment in the game of chicken over a looming shutdown of the United States government, President Obama and the House speaker, John A. Boehner, faced off in the Oval Office. Mr. Boehner, a Republican heavily outnumbered in the room by Democrats, was demanding … Read More
Stupid Government Shutdown Is Stupid
Tomorrow is, of course, Passport Day — perhaps my favorite holiday except for Christmas. No, it's not really a holiday, but tomorrow is Passport Day, where people like me with an old obsolete and therefore unusable passport can get a new one. EXCEPT for the stupid government shutdown. That's right. Just like when it was too cold for Santa to deliver … Read More
Rep. Jackie Speier’s Inspiring Speech
Yesterday's House debate on stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funding (aka the Pence Amendment) included a few bright spots, notably this moving, impassioned and dead-on speech from California Representative Jackie Speier. She didn't plan to talk about this, but after listening to Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who read aloud from a book passage describing how a second-trimester … Read More