With the help of TIME’s Katy Steinmetz:
The last few weeks Senate Republicans were all sturm und drang. “The American people are getting tired of this crap,” Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican told ABC’s This Week. “If [Democrats do reconciliation], it’s going to poison the well for anything else they would like to …
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
–The day Democrats’ health care legislation is due to be signed into law, Republicans are continuing to push the idea of repeal. At least 10 GOP state attorneys general are lining up legal challenges.
—Marc Ambinder writes, “the point of the lawsuits isn’t legal — it’s political. It …
Reporters leaving Capitol Hill in the wee hours of Monday morning were, for the most part, heaving sighs of relief: health care reform had – finally! — passed, a vote for the history books. However imperfect, the deed was done, the fat lady had sung. A day later and Republicans seem not to have gotten the memo: they are attacking the …
This week’s podcast features Jay, Kate and Michael discussing the politics of health reform and what will happen after its pivotal test on Sunday. Enjoy:
This has not been a good political week for the Hispanic community. Hispanic leaders in the House caved to Democratic pressure and endorsed the health care bill expected to be voted on in the House this Sunday. The Hispanic Caucus has long been opposed to the Senate version because it would bar illegal immigrants from using their own …
I’ve said many times the current anti-Washington mood makes congressional incumbents act like they’ve never been there before. Nowhere is this more apparent than in carefully staged campaign ads. But Blanche Lincoln is taking a slightly different tack in her latest TV spot, hoping her recent ascent to the chair of the Senate Agriculture …
Here’s a story from me out of Kentucky, where I went a few weeks ago to look at the GOP primary for Jim Bunning’s Senate seat. It’s hard to say who’s running a worse campaign, Rand Paul who has no message discipline and lacks charisma or Trey Grayson who doesn’t even post his events on his website (I’m still scratching my head …
You may not have realized it, given that health care is sucking most of the oxygen out of the room, but the Senate this morning passed the jobs bill 68-29, sending it to the President’s desk to be signed into law. And, no, they didn’t end up pulling an all nighter Monday.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–As Michael mentioned, the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll (pdf) shows a little movement on health reform opinions in Obama’s favor, but it is mostly consistent with recent surveys showing a nation split on the merits of the plan. Pollster Peter Hart suggests the 21-point enthusiasm …
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines. Here’s a brief guide to the health care final sprint (at least the schedule that we can predict) in the House over the next week:
Monday
3pm
This afternoon the fun will begin with an anticipated Congressional Budget Office score followed by* a House Budget Committee markup of the …
Those are Nancy Pelosi’s words today on why she wants to get health reform done as quickly as possible.
But even among Hill reporters, there’s some confusion over what procedurally will happen this week. Democratic leaders, including Pelosi, are keeping quiet about their precise parliamentary strategy for three reasons. One, if they …
The Senate is bracing for a possible all-nighter as leaders have thus far failed to reach an agreement on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. You may remember this as Harry Reid’s relatively small $15 billion jobs bill that he introduced after yanking the Baucus/Grassley deal. The House then passed an amended version, …
We’ve got a new feature here on Swampland. It’s a weekly podcast where you get to listen in to a few of our reporters talk about the stories they’ve been working on and the highlights of the week. Today’s call features Karen and Kate discussing Arlen Specter’s re-election battle and (of course) everything health care. Enjoy:
