Debt-Ceiling Kabuki
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and No. 2 Senate Republican Jon Kyl want you to know they are taking a principled stand. They are against raising taxes. They will not recommend to their conferences that taxes be raised. They …
Articles from Contributor
The Libya Conundrum
The House of Representatives on Friday is expected to hold two votes on U.S. action in Libya. One will fail and one will pass. House GOP leaders are hoping that the Democratic-controlled Senate will take up the one that passes. …
Republicans Ask: Where’s Obama? But, Where Are The GOP Leaders?
Updated 12:30pm
Republicans are demanding to know why President Obama isn’t at the table pin the deficit talks. Today, Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Senate Republican, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor abruptly withdrew from the talks saying they have gone as far as they can and now presidential leadership is needed – particularly on the …
Selling a New Stimulus
While Mitch McConnell is betting that the economy will bring down President Obama, Democrats are betting that Republicans aren’t immune to the bad jobs numbers either.
Senate Democratic leaders held a press conference this morning calling on Republicans to include a short-term stimulus package as part of the deficit reduction deal. …
McConnell: Obama Has ‘Made It Worse’
Last month, for this story in the dead-tree edition, I asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell if defeating President Obama is still his No. 1 priority. “Yeah, sure. I think every Republican in the country would like to elect a Republican president,” McConnell told me. “But that’s next year. The question this year is: what …
Grover Norquist, Tom Coburn, AARP and the Looming Deficit Showdown
As I type this, Vice President Joe Biden is one floor below me, cloistered in a room with congressional negotiators trying to work out a deal to slash deficits and raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline, when the …
Anthony Weiner’s Resignation Letter
Thus ends the era of Anthony Weiner. The resignation will not take effect until midnight Tuesday — the longest day of the year — as the House is not currently in session.
See the full PDF here.
Romney’s Courageous Convictions?
In 2008 Mitt Romney ran a Gumby campaign, turning himself inside out trying to be everything to everybody. He bought in to every straw poll, competed in Iowa, signed most pledges–and lost. This time around, Romney seems intent …
The President, the Speaker and 18 Holes of Golf
President Obama’s Chief of Staff William Daley called his counterpart in House Speaker John Boehner’s office last month to ask if the Speaker and a partner might be free for a round of golf on Saturday, June 18. In the six …
Weiner Tells Democratic Leadership He Will Resign
Rep. Anthony Weiner called House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steve Israel Wednesday night to inform them that he will be resigning from Congress. The last month has seen Weiner tweet a lewd picture to a 21-year-old …
White House: Libya Campaign Isn’t War – UPDATED
The United States is not engaged in a war with Libya and the War Powers Resolution does not apply to U.S. military action there, according to two White House officials who briefed reporters on Wednesday. “We’re now in a …
Congress Clashes With Another President Over War Powers
The right and the left are taking President Obama to task over his involvement in Libya. House Speaker John Boehner sent the President a letter on Tuesday informing him that as of this weekend, he will be in violation of the War …
Coburn Takes On Ethanol Hypocrisy
The Senate voted down a bill Monday afternoon that would’ve strip $6 billion in annual ethanol subsidies and get rid of an import tariff on ethanol, particularly from Brazil, coming into the United States. The measure, co-sponsored by Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn and California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, garnered a surprising amount of …