A conservative Democratic senator is a hold out, and possibly deciding vote, on pivotal legislation that tops the President’s agenda. He had a deal that benefits his Midwestern state, but it was taken out and now his attempts to put it back in and the substance of the deal itself is drumming up a bit of controversy. The Cornhusker …
Senate
Crist (I-FL)?
Politico is reporting that Florida Governor Charlie Crist will continue his bid for Mel Martinez’s old Senate seat as an Independent. Rumors have swirled for days that Crist, who is losing in polls by double digits to former Florida Speaker of the House Marco Rubio for the GOP nomination, was considering an outside bid. The governor was …
Republicans Cave on Financial Reform, Debate to Begin
I was just about to hit send on a post about how the Dems were rolling out cots for a forced all night session on financial regulatory reform when I got this email from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:
“I appreciate the efforts of Sen. Shelby to work toward a bipartisan solution on an issue that will have an impact on nearly
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Dodd’s Legacy
Here’s a story from me today about Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and his push to get financial regulatory reform done. Dodd’s taken a pretty unique approach to this bill from the get-go, assigning bipartisan teams to hammer out deals on the most senstivie topics; working with Banking Committee ranking Republican and then …
Morning Must Reads: Toward November
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll depicts a fiercely anti-incumbent mood with just 32 percent of respondents saying they would re-elect their representative. The internals have some positive indications for Obama though with job approval and issue-specific approval ticking …
Democratic Messaging, Financial Reform and the Midterms
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHtW0E2l-Tc]
The Democratic National Committee is going up on national cable and in the D.C. market with the above ad hitting Republicans for blocking debate on financial reform. There’s a clear nod to the midterms at the end of the spot and DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan says it’s just the …
If At First You Don’t Succeed
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this afternoon made a second pass at starting debate on financial reregulation but to no avail: the vote ended exactly as it did yesterday 57-41, mostly along party lines. The scene is starting to feel a bit like Groundhog Day: isn’t doing the same thing repeatedly expecting different results the …
Morning Must Reads: The Show
President Barack Obama participates in a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., Aug. 14, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
–Obama departs on a two-day Midwest trip today with townhalls and business tours on the agenda. Jeff Zeleny writes it’s an effort to shore up …
Thank You, Sir, May We Have Another?
The cloture vote to stop a GOP filibuster on the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s bill to overhaul just failed in the Senate 57-41. The vote took nearly an hour as Senators rushed through Washington traffic to make the first vote of the week. All Republicans voted Nay. Republican Senators Bob Bennett of Utah and Kit Bond of …
Financial Reform: Popular In Abstract And In Detail
One of the casualties of the bitter year-long Congressional battle over health reform was good public standing of the endeavor as a whole. While individual policy proposals within the Democrats’ framework remained popular, the country soured on the patchwork package those policies formed. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released today …
Morning Must Reads: One Hand
President Barack Obama meets with Rev. Billy Graham at his house in Montreat, N.C., April 25, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
–The first Senate procedural vote on financial regulatory reform is scheduled for late this afternoon. There’s no deal yet and top GOP negotiator Richard Shelby says reaching one today is …
The Call: WellPoint, the White House and Wall Street
This week’s podcast features Michael and Kate. Enjoy:
Morning Must Reads: Green Shoots
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images
–As I noted yesterday, Democrats have Senate Republicans in somewhat of a headlock over financial reform. From the Wall Street Journal:
Nerves appeared to be fraying among Republicans faced with the increasingly unappetizing prospect of opposing new curbs on Wall Street.
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Republican aides
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