People are unhappy. They’ve been unhappy for a while: through Enron and the .com bubble bursting, 9/11, two wars, Katrina. They thought Barack Obama would bring change but few have felt the changes he’s wrought: who can imagine how bad the economy could have gotten sans stimulus? It feels bad enough as it is. Then came the Gulf oil …
Senate
Morning Must Reads: “Whose Ass to Kick”
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–It’s Super Duper Primary Tuesday with contests in 12 states coast to coast including run-offs in Arkansas and Georgia.
— A Washington Post/ABC News poll finds only 29% of Americans plan to support their representative in November. Maybe that’s why turnout is expected to be low today …
BP: The End of Cap & Trade?
Senator Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, this morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe said the Senate will bring up Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman’s energy bill in July as the underlying legislation for energy reform as Dems grapple with how to deal legislatively with the fallout from the BP gusher in the Gulf. If true, …
Super (Primary) Tuesday
Tomorrow is Super Primary Tuesday with 10 states holding primary contests for Congress and governor’s mansions. Also, in Arkansas Blanche Lincoln is fighting for her Senate seat in a crucial run off with Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Here’s a primer from TIME’s Katy Steinmetz and me about the top races to look for.
No One’s Going to Beam You Out of This One, Mr. Kirk
Vice President Joe Biden, in his ever-loving, half-aware candor, has called it “The Blumenthal Mistake,” which is a pretty brutal epithet: Of all the deeds a politician wouldn’t want his name standing in for, lying about military service has got to be close to the top of the list. Perhaps the label won’t stick, but it probably …
Vitter and BP
What happens when you’re a small government, pro-business conservative and your state gets pummeled by one of the worst man made disasters ever – not five years after getting pummeled by one of the worst natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina)? If you’re Louisiana Senator David Vitter, you double down on offshore drilling and push …
Congressional ‘No’ for ‘Gitmo North’
From TIME’s Pentagon Correspondent Mark Thompson:
It seems BP’s oil well isn’t the only extended political headache for President Obama oozing in the gulf. Just before fleeing town for this week’s Memorial Day recess, the House voted against setting up a prison for Guantanamo detainees in the U.S.
The Obama Administration is seeking
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Morning Must Reads: Tryin’ to Find Some Sun
Oil:
-Top Kill is dead and the Administration’s now thinking about sicking the lawyers on BP. BP shares are down 15% in London trading. This morning President Obama meets with BP Oil Spill Commission Co-Chairs, former Florida senator Bob Graham and former EPA administrator William K. Reilly.
-Other oil spill news: MMS …
Muddying the Oil
British Petroleum is about to try and plug the leak with a never-tried-at-this-depth procedure called a “top kill” which essentially dumps upwards of 50,000 barrels of drilling mud on top of the leak followed by cement to plug it permanently. You can watch this process live over the next two days here. The risks are that it might …
Reid on the Rebound?
Sure, he’s a loooooooong way from, um, winning — or even being in a position to win. But he’s had a good month and his poll numbers are finally going slightly north. On the other hand, they could’ve hardly gotten worse. A webstory today from me.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell hit a speed bump today in the Senate with Lindsey Graham, a senior member on the Armed Services Committee and a Republican the Dems had been hoping Joe Lieberman could lure, coming out against the deal. Dems will need at least one Republican* — and likely a few — to overcome a Republican filibuster …
Endangered Senate?
Back in February I wrote about how the Republicans weren’t likely to take back the Senate this cycle. In order to really come within striking distance of the Democrats’ 10-seat advantage, I wrote, they’ve have to not only hold all their own seats and take Delaware, North Dakota, Nevada, Arkansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Indiana …
Why Can’t Rachel Maddow And Rand Paul Get Along?
Last week, Rand Paul turned on Rachel Maddow. After Maddow invited him on her show, and painted his libertarian views as a proxy support for private sector segregation, Paul announced that he had been attacked by the “Looney Left.” So it goes. Politics ain’t T-ball. Yet we can all still hope that one day Maddow and Paul find a way to …
