Tennessean: “Two Tennessee lawmakers were scheduled to speak at a Southern secessionist group’s meeting this weekend, and while a representative for one claims he’s spent a month trying to get his name off the event’s announcement, the other is ready to go and supports preparing Tennessee to part ways with the United States.”
Archives for November 2013
Republican Obstruction Continues
First Read: “Your party was blamed by most Americans for shutting down the federal government for 16 days, causing economic damage to the country. The last two NBC/WSJ polls taken during and after the shutdown show the same party at all-time lows, and with the American public angrier at Washington than it has ever been. Given this environment, it’s a bit surprising that Senate Republicans decided to go down the filibuster path again on presidential nominees. But they did.”
Wonk Wire: Battle over nominees continues.
No Rest for Clinton
First Read: “Remember when Hillary Clinton said she was looking forward to some rest after her whirlwind travel as secretary of state? Well, that rest has certainly ended… just look at all the cities where Clinton has either delivered speeches or attended fundraisers in the past 10 days – Buffalo, NY, Washington DC area, Minneapolis, New York City, Chicago, Beverly Hills, CA, and Hamiliton, NY. And today, Clinton will speak in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. Just askin’, but does any other potential 2016 candidate have a busier schedule than Clinton.”
Promotional Effort Behind Obamacare Stalled
Politico: “Team
Obamacare is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars of essentially
frozen assets — yet another consequence of the failed launch of
healthcare.gov. There’s no point in an ad blitz directing people to sign
up on a website that doesn’t work. And while advocacy groups say they
had always planned to spend more money on the back end to boost
enrollment in lagging states at the end of this year and early next
year, they didn’t count on the opening month fizzle.”
Shutdown Was a Bigger Deal Than Botched Website
A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds that 44% of Americans say they paid very close attention to the fight over the budget and the debt limit that led to a government shutdown. In contrast, just 22% say they’ve paid attention to the problems with the Obamacare website rollout.
The Fix: “So, while Republicans were dominating the headlines with their fight against Obamacare in the budget debate, the real-world problems with the law were going overlooked by the public for much of last month. In short, Republicans couldn’t get out of their own way.”
Obama’s Credibility at Risk
Charlie Cook: “President Obama’s allies are alternately wincing over,
or shaking their heads at, the troubled rollout of the Affordable Care
Act and its website, as well as disclosures that U.S. intelligence
agencies spied on some of our closest allies. Many of the president’s
supporters are probably wishing they could avoid watching news programs
altogether, hoping the damaging reports will just go away.”
“Doubts about competence inflict damage, particularly if they are followed by other incidents that reinforce those doubts and by a vigilant opposition party flagging these miscues, as Republicans can be counted on to do here. Doubts about competence eat at enthusiasm among your base and alienate the moderates and independents who are really the ones determining whether a president has strong job-approval ratings (and note that high ratings translate into clout on Capitol Hill and, to a certain extent, around the world).”
Quote of the Day
“I’m minded to do it.”
— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the New York Post, at a private reception on whether she will run for president in 2016.
Just 6 Enrollments on First Day of Obamacare Website
The Los Angeles Times reports that just six enrollments occurred on the opening day for Healthcare.gov, the troubled Obamacare website.
“Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, obtained the tally from meeting notes compiled by officials inside the ‘war room’ at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which was overseeing the rollout of the insurance marketplace.”
Christie Campaigns With Eye Towards 2016
“As he crisscrosses New Jersey in a final campaign push, Republican Gov. Chris Christie has made clear to donors, top supporters and the national GOP that he wants to do more than just notch a big re-election win next Tuesday,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“He sees his campaign–and particularly his aggressive outreach to nontraditional GOP voters–as a national model for his party.”
“Racking up big margins among women and even winning outright among Hispanics, as polls suggest he may, would position him well in a 2016 Republican presidential field as the party continues to struggle elsewhere to widen its appeal.”
Troubled Start for Health Law Has Democrats Anxious
“Already under fierce attack from Republicans over the new health care law, President Obama now faces broad and mounting Democratic concerns that the troubled start of the insurance program will cut into the political benefit the party received from the government shutdown and cost Democratic candidates in next year’s midterm elections,” the New York Times reports.
“The anxious include not only senators and House members facing hotly contested races but those whose seats are considered safe, as well as lawmakers in states with Republican governors who have done nothing to promote the health care law and in states with Democratic governors who have created state-run websites and made every effort to sign up the uninsured.”
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