Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and the top Republican on the committee, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, unveiled a long-anticipated bipartisan jobs bill this morning but clearly they didn’t run their plan past the leadership — or at least didn’t gain leadership support before they proceeded. This afternoon, Senate Majority Leader …
Senate
Morning Must Reads
–A new Washington Post/ABC News poll out this morning suggests Sarah Palin’s public image has taken a serious hit. A 55 percent majority say they have an unfavorable view of the former governor and a devastating 71 percent say she is unqualified to be president, up ten points from November. David Broder seems to fall somewhere in that …
Morning Must Reads
—Karen notes that Anthem’s 39% rate hike in California – in part due to an altered risk pool in the struggling economy – makes a convincing argument for certain elements of health reform. The Obama administration agrees, and HHS Secretary Sebelius makes just that case on the White House blog. I would not be surprised to see this …
Obama in the Briefing Room
The president made a surprise visit to the daily press briefing Tuesday, only the third time he has made such an appearance to date. He reported back on today’s talks with congressional leaders from both parties, and took wide-ranging questions from the press.
Obama said he asked Republican leadership this morning to end the practice …
Re: Politics of Process…
Michael, per this post, I’d again like to make this argument: The filibuster is not the problem. The filibuster is the solution. If only they made Senators like they used to.
UPDATE: For those of you Swamplanders who want to delve into the geeky details of what it takes to actually conduct a filibuster, here’s a link to a 2003 report …
Palin’s Speech
The Grand Ole Opry may have been next door but Sarah Palin preached to the choir on Saturday at the National Tea Party Convention and brought down the house. The two-day event, held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel, had been a relatively placid affair – Tea Partiers learned how to social network and reach out to young …
The GOP Twitter Kings
Everyone thinks of Obama-land and the Dems as the rulers of new media after their successful harnessing of facebook and social media networking during the 2008 campaign. Apparently, Congressional Republicans have caught on quick. According to a new Congressional Research Study, House Republicans are responsible for the majority of …
The Tea Party Goes Mainstream
The organizers of the National Tea Party Convention today announced that they will be forming a 501(c)4 corporation and related political action committee (PAC) to raise money to support 15-20 candidates for Congress or the Senate in the 2010 elections. “I have long said that the Tea Party movement doesn’t endorse candidates, …
Could Dems Lose the Senate?
Sure, it’s improbable, but — as Charlie Cook points out in my new time.com story out this morning — it’s now mathematically possible. After all, virtually no one predicted the Dems could win back the Senate in February 2006. On the bright side, I bet Russ Feingold breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when Tommy Thompson joined a hedge …
Illinois Voters Go to the Polls
Illinois today kicks off what will be a long and fascinating primary season. Voters braved snow flurries to head to the polls this morning as balloting began for a number of local and statewide races, including contests for the U.S. Senate and governor’s mansion. The names Obama and Blagojevich may not be on the ticket but there are …
Health Care: Speed Bump In The Senate?
Greg Sargent picks this up:
The GOP Senate leadership has privately settled on a strategy to derail health reform if Dems try to pass the Senate bill with a fix through reconciliation, aides say: Unleash an endless stream of amendments designed to stall for time and to force Dems to take untenable votes.
The aide described the
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Pelosi on Health Care: “We have to get this done.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sounding very determined–and surprisingly upbeat–about the prospects for a comprehensive health care bill in the wake of last week’s Senate election in Massachusetts, which cost the Democrats their 60-vote, fillibuster-proof majority.
“You can always find a way. You can always find a way,” Pelosi …
Don’t Ask For Definite Details About Don’t Tell, The Dance Continues
If only it was all as simple as “Yes,” the word that Robert Gibbs offered last year, in response to a question about whether or not President Obama would end the policy of banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. Ever since that one word, the answer White House has grown, into something more like, “Yes, but we need …