By a vote of 81-17, the Senate passed an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill Wednesday that, assuming the legislation goes through, would repeal a small but onerous tax reporting requirement from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (AKA ObamaCare). Back in September,
1,000 Words
A Rare Glimpse of the Real Legal Debate Over Health Care
It’s been a disheartening week for supporters of Democratic health care reform. On Monday, a second federal judge ruled that their signature health reform law is unconstitutional. Democrats maintain that the Affordable Care Act – including its individual mandate – is perfectly legal. They point out that two other federal judges …
GOP Isolationism Is Overstated
Yesterday I touched on one of the big questions swirling around the 2012 election and the future of the Republican Party generally–namely, what kind of GOP foreign policy does the Tea Party movement want to see? The answer has always been vague. We know that Ron and Rand Paul and a small handful of other Tea Party figures are either …
Is the Mac Back?
Senator John McCain is heading to the White House as I type this to meet with President Obama. I have a story out in this week’s dead tree edition, out early here, on the rapprochement of the former rivals as both trek back to the political center.
Cad of the Day
London’s Telegraph has a fascinating new trove of Wikileaks cables, which are being overshadowed by the disturbing turn of events in Egypt. There’s a lot of serious material to chew over, but here’s something light for openers:
One of the most unusual sightings of bin Laden was made by Antonio Coratti, a Croatian, who told embassy
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Enter the Thugs
UPDATED
Human Rights Watch, which has had observers on the ground in Tahrir Square today, supports the emerging view: that the anti-government protesters there had remained peaceful until the arrival of pro-Mubarak forces and that violence was initiated and continues to be instigated by the pro-Mubarak forces. HRW’s observers “saw men …
Morning Must Reads: Mess
Protesters watch Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s televised speech in Cairo on February 1. (REUTERS/Dylan Martinez)
–Men on horseback and camelback pour into Tahrir Square as pro- and anti- government protesters clash in central Cairo.
–Politically, everything hinges on the military.
Could the Senate Flip in 2012?
In the last three out of five elections one or both of the chambers of Congress has flipped. Are the waves over? And even if they are, could Dems lose the Senate in 2012 anyway?
On the face of it, Democrats have a tough cycle ahead of them. They hold the Senate with 53 seats right now, meaning Republicans only need to flip four to …
How Obama Is Approaching The Egyptian Crisis
Cable networks kept replaying a single shot from Tuesday’s protests in Egypt, a rooftop view of a massive crowd, where a banner was held aloft. “Yes We Can Too,” it read in English. It seemed to be a message directed at Barack Obama, who had used a similar slogan, and to the American people who had voted Obama into office. It was also a …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Ole’ Huck EnRaptured?
Huckabee wants to kick the Palestinians out of the West Bank and settle them elsewhere. He’s from Arkansas, where this sort of behavior was once inflicted on the Native Americans, who were shuffled off to Oklahoma. I think this statement, sadly, raises all sorts of religious questions that Huckabee should have to answer should he choose …
Bipartisan Spending Bill is Still Light on Specifics
“It feels a little lonely right now,” Sen. Claire McCaskill said Tuesday. Flanked by a trio of Republicans, the Missouri Democrat was on hand for a Capitol Hill press conference Tuesday to unveil a new bill to rein in spending. If McCaskill was feeling isolated, it’s because of her partners on the bill, not because the measure itself …
The GOP Line on Egypt–and Obama
Congressional Republican leaders are playing it safe on Egypt so far, generally complimenting Obama’s handling of the protests. But the GOP’s 2012 contenders are starting to second guess the president. There’s Mike Huckabee, who is hitting Obama for being too quick to abandon Mubarak. (Just back from a visit to Israel, Huckabee reports …