First Read: “As Obama is set to unveil his budget next week, it raises these two questions: Will it simply reaffirm what Senate Democrats recently passed? Or will it lay out a potential path to compromise with House Republicans? After all, White House budgets typically come BEFORE the Senate and House act on theirs. But Obama’s budget is coming AFTER the two chambers already passed their respective budgets. And it puts the White House in a bind. If it lays out a potential path to compromise (offering ‘chained CPI’ on Social Security, for example), then that could tick off Senate Democrats who could wonder why they had to take the vote they did. But if it simply reaffirms what Senate Democrats produced, then that would open up the White House to criticism that it’s not trying to find a way forward in resolving Washington’s budget impasse. We’ll find out what message the White House is trying to send on April 10.”
Archives for April 2013
The Alchemists
Out this week: The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire by Neil Irwin.
“When the first fissures became visible to the naked eye in August 2007, suddenly the most powerful men in the world were three men who were never elected to public office. They were the leaders of the world’s three most important central banks: Ben Bernanke of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Mervyn King of the Bank of England, and Jean-Claude Trichet of the European Central Bank. Over the next five years, they and their fellow central bankers deployed trillions of dollars, pounds and euros to contain the waves of panic that threatened to bring down the global financial system, moving on a scale and with a speed that had no precedent.”
Sanford Likely to Survive Runoff
Politico: “Voters here have heard all the reasons to keep former Gov. Mark Sanford retired from politics. He’s damaged goods. He risks handing a safe Republican congressional seat to the sister of liberal comedian Stephen Colbert. The 1st Congressional District needs a conservative who lives the talk instead of issuing apologies.”
“Yet, Sanford appears to be on the cusp of clinching the Republican nomination Tuesday for the right to take on Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch in a May 7 special election that’s sure to become a national spectacle.”
The State profiles Elizabeth Colbert Busch.
How Democrats Pushed Judd Out of the Senate Race
Ashley Judd adviser Jonathan Miller writes in the Daily Beast about how a small coterie of Kentucky Democrats “duped the national press and helped nudge her out of the Senate race.”
Healthcare Hurts GOP Outreach to Latinos
“As Republican leaders try to woo Latino voters with a new openness to legal status for the nation’s illegal immigrants, the party remains at odds with America’s fastest-growing ethnic community on another key issue: healthcare,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Latinos, who have the lowest rates of health coverage in the country, are among the strongest backers of President Obama’s healthcare law… Yet congressional Republicans continue to make repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act a top agenda item and have renewed calls for deep cuts in health programs such as Medicaid, which are very popular with Latinos.”
How Hard Will Reid Push Gun Control?
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) “evolution from a proponent of gun rights to the shepherd of legislation that would expand background checks, among other gun control measures, emerges from a complex web of political calculations that have come to define his leadership style over the last decade,” the New York Times reports.
“How tenacious Mr. Reid is willing to be — and whether he will extract votes one by one as he has for other big pieces of legislation — may well determine the fate of the measures.”
Top Critique of GOP is Unwillingness to Compromise
A new Gallup Poll finds rank-and-file Republicans, independents, and Democrats voice the same primary criticism of the GOP: it is “too inflexible” or “unwilling to compromise.”
When asked to say what they most dislike about the Republican Party, 26% of Republicans, 17% of independents, and 22% of Democrats offer this critique — leading all other mentions.
Clinton to Give Her First Paid Speech
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will deliver her first paid speech since leaving office last month in late April, CNN reports.
“Shortly after leaving her State Department post, Clinton signed on with the Harry Walker Agency as her representative for speaking engagements. She is expected to be a highly sought speaker who could earn in the six-figure range per appearance.”
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