Our colleague Alex Altman files this story from the Commonwealth. Freshman Democrat Tom Perriello, a loyal party warrior who stuck his neck out on health reform, cap-and-trade, etc. despite the deep purples and reds of his district, faces an uphill re-election battle. With the GOP eager to capitalize, a crowded field and Tea Party …
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–President Obama is on the road again Wednesday, trying to carry health reform over the finish line. The consensus on Monday’s outing: “fiery.” Expect more of the same today in St. Louis, plus plenty of knocks on health insurers, the administration’s favorite foil.
–Speaking of which, HHS Secretary …
–We’re at an interesting point where both parties are trumpeting their intentions to run on health reform if/when it goes through, pro and con respectively. But I’m very skeptical of Senator McConnell’s assertion that every election in November will be a referendum on the issue. The notion that health care will totally overshadow …
This fascinating clip making the rounds today documents some tension between Rahm Emanuel and Eric Massa way back in 2006. He lost New York’s 29th to Randy Kuhl by a fairly slim margin that year. Emanuel, then chair of the DCCC, doesn’t seem so impressed with the candidate in the …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza via Flickr
–President Obama heads to Arcadia University just outside Philly today to continue his closing argument on health reform. There’s not much in the way of new material, but I expect him to focus on one thing: urgency. He’s looking to keep the momentum going for the final push and …
At the risk of wading in above my head here, I’m going to try to play out this thing a bit more. Thinking of the health care vote in game-theoretical terms is an interesting thought exercise, and while the lighthouse story is a good way of conceptualizing the predicament in the House in the simplest way possible, I would note some …
–Charlie Rangel, embroiled in an ethics investigation, temporarily relinquished the powerful Ways and Means chairmanship this morning. As far as replacements go, Democrats have pretty slim pickings on the committee. Pete Stark or Sandy Levin may take the baton for now.
–President Obama will announce “the way forward” on health care …
Inside Heath Policy (pay wall) gets a peek at a Democratic memo nailing down specific target dates for passing health reform. The three steps outlined in the missive largely track with what we already know to be the most realistic path to passage, and they gel with the Easter recess deadline being bandied about by Democrats and …
–Texas holds its primaries today, and most national attention is directed at the Republican gubernatorial contest. Current Governor Rick Perry is expected to come away with a win after having successfully defined his opponent, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, as too Washington for the Lonestar crowd. The real question is whether he can …
Everybody is trying to count votes. The AP sniffs out 10 Dems who say they are open to switching their votes in favor of reform.
Ten House Democrats say they have not ruled out the possibility of switching their earlier “no” votes to “yes” on the big health care overhaul. That’s giving Democrats a glimmer of hope in the face of
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–As if Blanche Lincoln’s re-election effort wasn’t hard enough already, it just got worse for the Senator. Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, a fellow Democrat, just threw his hat into the ring for a primary challenge.
–Jim DeMint continues to seek a role as conservative king-maker in Republican Senate primaries, setting up an …
New York Governor David Paterson will not seek election to a full term in office.
Dogged by low approval ratings and allegations he intervened in the assault case of a close aide, Paterson still faces calls to resign.
Democrats in Washington, including the president, had opposed the governor’s campaign plans.
