Today is d-day, as in debt: The U.S. government is expected to hit the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling Monday, setting in motion an uncertain, 11-week political scramble to avoid a default. The Treasury Department plans to announce Monday it will stop issuing and reinvesting government securities in certain government pension plans, part of a series […]
Again, the IOKIYAR syndrome strikes: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has vowed to bring the Senate to a standstill unless congressional leaders agree to allocate $40,000 for a federal study on deepening the Port of Charleston. Graham says one out of five jobs in South Carolina stem from trade through Charleston’s busy port, and he warns […]
Hearing the Republicans pound their chests as the anti-earmark crusaders has me laughing. I decided it was time to look for some historical data on earmarks, which ended up validating my suspicions. First thing you will notice is that the source of this chart is from the very conservative Heritage Foundation, using data from the […]
It took the President himself going after Mitch McConnell, but finally he has some of his nominees confirmed: The Senate confirmed a huge group of administration nominees on Thursday, following a tense exchange between President Barack Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). At a White House meeting with bipartisan congressional leaders on Tuesday, […]
President Obama seems pretty pissed about the decision by the Supreme Court to open the flood gates on corporate money into the political arena: With its ruling today, the Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics. It is a major victory for big oil, […]
A grim assessment about the future of health care reform: Another senior House Democrat familiar with negotiations on the bill said no progress has been made this week on any of the key sticking points in the House and Senate bills, despite steady meetings with union leaders and the White House. “There’s no agreement. No […]
Yesterday Michael Steele took to the airwaves and told fellow Republicans who criticize him to “shut up”. Now the backlash starts coming out from Steele’s comments: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele, under fire this week for a string of controversial statements he has made while promoting his new book, has so angered the […]
It looks like there is some bigger troubles brewing inside the Republican ranks: GOP leaders, in a private meeting last month, delivered a blunt and at times heated message to RNC Chairman Michael Steele: quit meddling in policy. The plea was made during what was supposed to be a routine discussion about polling matters and […]
After yesterday’s back and forth of rather or not Jane Harman got the New York Times to hold the wiretapping story in 2004, it is now confirmed. She in fact did: Congresswoman Harman spoke to Washington Bureau Chief Phil Taubman in late October or early November, 2004, apparently at the request of General Hayden. She […]
The Obama administration is in trouble. Public anger over these AIG bonuses appear to be the final straw: The Obama administration is increasingly concerned about a populist backlash against banks and Wall Street, worried that anger at financial institutions could also end up being directed at Congress and the White House and could complicate President […]