Newt at Ease in New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
If it walks like a presidential candidate — visiting Iowa, South Carolina and, today, Concord, New Hampshire to kiss babies and pose for photos — and talks like a presidential candidate – “I’m …
Articles from Contributor
Five Reasons Not to Count Sarah Palin Out for 2012
The conventional wisdom inside the Beltway is that Sarah Palin’s relatively low profile means she’s peaked, she’s over, she’s not running for President. I’m not so sure. In fact, I think all signs point to Palin laying …
Playing Politics with the Debt Ceiling
For months, Wall Street has been warning Washington not to play politics with the debt ceiling – the economic ramifications are just too great. Today, we got a glimpse of the doom and gloom to come if the debt ceiling isn’t passed: Standard & Poor’s lowered its U.S. credit outlook from “stable” to “negative.”
As Adam …
Ryan’s Vote
Today, the House is expected to vote on Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget. Almost universally, Republicans have praised the document, which cuts $6.2 trillion in spending over the next decade. “I think you’ve got it give Paul Ryan credit because he put out this plan, this blueprint. And it’s courageous for him to do this,” Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle …
The Launch of the 2012 Spin
Here’s what we learned today: Whatever action Congress takes on the debt ceiling and deficit reduction will be the last significant work Washington does before all pretenses are abandoned and campaigning for 2012 begins in earnest.
In the next four to six weeks, Congress must pass a measure raising the debt ceiling as the Treasury …
The House GOP Freshmen: Pragmatists in Wolves’ Clothing?
They are the single most powerful group in Washington right now and no one inside the Beltway knows much about them. Which is why CNN’s Brianna Keilar and I sat down yesterday evening in the Congressional Visitor’s Center with four House Republican freshmen for an in depth conversation about what they really want and what lines they just …
Five Things Obama’s Learned about Boehner
On the night that Republicans won control of the House, the White House Press Office came to a startling realization: They had no contact information for Speaker-to-be John Boehner. In President Obama’s first two years in office, he’d reached out to House Republicans so little that they had no reason to get to know – or even get …
Maybe It Really Is About Abortion…
The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List and Rep. Jim Jordan, head of the Republican Study Committee, just held a conference call in which Jordan said the fight is all about abortion. “The country’s broke. The vast majority of Americans, whether they’re pro-life or not, don’t want their tax dollars being spent to take the life of …
Is This Really All About Abortion?
This morning Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the networks together and gave them an update on the negotiations (as I type this Reid is starting another press conference in the Senate). He said the issues have narrowed to one: abortion. Reid said House Speaker John Boehner is pushing a rider that would make Title X into block …
Boehner’s Choice
John Boehner has a decision to make. And in some ways it’s akin to choosing between his children. By midnight tonight the government will shut down unless an agreement can be reached between the Speaker and President Obama. Whatever Boehner decides will have long-reaching implications for his Speakership.
Ideally, Boehner would have …
Riders on the (Shutdown) Storm
The budget debate is far from over, but the good news is that they’re still talking: Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner are heading back to the White House at 1 p.m. on Thursday. But the morning’s gloomy prognostications don’t bode well for the chances of averting a government shutdown.
If you listen to …
Pick Your Own Ending: Shutdown Version
President Obama and Speaker Boehner talked this morning by phone – always a good sign that the lines of communications remain open. Though, the fact that the discussion lasted all of three minutes is a tad troubling. As the government lurches towards a possible shutdown, I thought it would be useful to outline the choices facing the …
Are We Heading for a Government Shutdown?
The odds of a government shutdown were raised significantly this morning after House GOP leaders and President Obama failed to reach an agreement to continue funding the government.
“While there was a good discussion, no agreement was reached,” Speaker John Boehner’s staff wrote in an e-mail to reporters following the White …