First Read: “Yes, he’s the butt of jokes and The Onion parodies. But the guy delivered in reaching across the aisle. The whole point in Obama hiring Biden was to have him as his congressional go-to guy; For some reason, many in the West Wing are hesitant to let Biden be Biden and play this role until the very last minute. While Biden allowed himself to be rolled by staffers every now and then in the West Wing, in a second term (with his own eye on the Oval), we’re guessing Biden’s going to less inclined to take a backseat come March.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“A holstered gun is not a deadly weapon… But anything can be used
as a deadly weapon. A credit card can be used to cut somebody’s throat.”
— New Hampshire state Rep. Dan Dumaine (R), quoted by the Concord Monitor, opposing a move to ban guns for the chamber floor.
Boehner Boxed In
After passage of the fiscal-cliff deal and the House’s inability to
pass a Hurricane Sandy relief package, First Read notes House Speaker John Boehner “finds himself boxed in
like never before.”
Roll Call:
“Over the past few weeks, the Ohio lawmaker has been raked over the
coals by members of all stripes within his own party — first by those
seeking less spending in exchange for tax rate hikes, then by those
seeking more spending for disaster aid. The public thrashing came to a
head Wednesday when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie … blatantly accused
Boehner of political cowardice for pulling a supplemental aid package
for those affected by Superstorm Sandy.”
That said, it’s still likely that Boehner will be re-elected as speaker later today as the 113th Congress kicks off.
Al Gore Pushed for Sale Before Higher Taxes
Interesting tidbit from the New York Times on the sale of Current TV:
“Mr. Gore and his partners were eager to complete the deal by Dec. 31, lest it be subject to higher tax rates that took effect on Jan. 1… But the deal was not signed until Wednesday.”
Panic 2012
Coming soon: Panic 2012: The Sublime and Terrifying Inside Story of Obama’s Final Campaign by Michael Hastings.
A Victory with Some Risks for Obama
Though the fiscal cliff deal has many “small victories” for President Obama, the New York Times says the agreement “also represents a substantial risk for the president.”
“Throughout the negotiations of the last two months, Mr. Obama pushed for a larger agreement, one that would have canceled other looming budget deadlines, starting with one on the debt ceiling. He and his aides saw the so-called fiscal cliff, with its trillions of dollars in scheduled tax increases that Republicans abhorred, as leverage to start fresh in a second term and avoid more deadline-driven partisan fights.”
“When House Republicans made it clear that they opposed a big deal, however, Mr. Obama decided to take the smaller deal, bank a series of victories and wait to fight another day… Without that larger agreement, Mr. Obama will be left to find solutions to future budget deadlines without the leverage that came with the prospect of automatic tax increases.”
The Cloakroom: Why the fiscal cliff deal is a big win for Democrats.
Quote of the Day
“We’re less on testosterone. We don’t have that need to always be confrontational. And I think we’re problem solvers, and I think that’s what this country needs.”
— Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), quoted by ABC News, on the record number of female senators in the 113th Congress.
Good Riddance to the Worst Congress Ever
Ezra Klein: “What’s the record of the 112th Congress? Well, it almost shut down the government and almost breached the debt ceiling. It almost went over the fiscal cliff (which it had designed in the first place). It cut a trillion dollars of discretionary spending in the Budget Control Act and scheduled another trillion in spending cuts through an automatic sequester, which everyone agrees is terrible policy. It achieved nothing of note on housing, energy, stimulus, immigration, guns, tax reform, infrastructure, climate change or, really, anything. It’s hard to identify a single significant problem that existed prior to the 112th Congress that was in any way improved by its two years of rule.”
Obama Plans Immigration Reform Push This Month
An Obama administration official tells the Huffington Post that the president “plans to push for immigration reform this January. The official, who spoke about legislative plans only on condition of anonymity, said that coming standoffs over deficit reduction are unlikely to drain momentum from other priorities. The White House plans to push forward quickly, not just on immigration reform but gun control laws as well.”
“The timeframe is likely to be cheered by Democrats and immigration reform advocates alike, who have privately expressed fears that Obama’s second term will be drowned out in seemingly unending showdowns between parties. The just-completed fiscal cliff deal is giving way to a two-month deadline to resolve delayed sequestration cuts, an expiring continuing resolution to fund the government and a debt ceiling that will soon be hit.”
Boehner Says He’ll No Longer Negotiate with Obama
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “is signaling that at least one thing will change about his leadership during the 113th Congress: he’s telling Republicans he is done with private, one-on-one negotiations with President Obama,” The Hill reports.
“During both 2011 and 2012, the Speaker spent weeks shuttling between the Capitol and the White House for meetings with the president in the hopes of striking a grand bargain on the deficit. Those efforts ended in failure, leaving Boehner feeling burned by Obama and, at times, isolated within his conference.”
Instead, he’ll try to “pass bills through the House that can then be adopted, amended or reconciled by the Senate.”
Filibuster Reform in Trouble
A filibuster reform proposal — sponsored by Senators Carl Levin, Chuck Schumer, John McCain, and others — is so weak that one of the leading reformers in the Senate, Jeff Merkley, tells Greg Sargent he will vote against it if it comes to the floor.
Said Merkley: “If Levin-McCain comes to the floor in its current form, I’ll vote against it. I’ll certainly encourage others to oppose it.”
“That Merkley is sounding the alarm in this fashion suggests the prospects for real filibuster reform may be very bleak. If Merkley can round up some liberal votes against the final package, that might not stop it from passing, but it could cast real doubt on the seriousness of the proposal.”
Kirk Talks About His Stroke for the First Time
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) gave his first in-depth interview to the Daily Herald since he suffered a massive stroke nearly a year ago.
“Awakening from what he says might have been a dream, a side effect of medication or a near-death experience, Kirk found himself lying in a hospital bed in Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, hooked up to monitors and tubes. He had no way of immediately knowing what had transpired in the days after he suffered an ischemic stroke on Jan. 21, 2012; that doctors had put him in a coma and performed several surgeries, temporarily removing a 4-by-8 inch portion of skull to allow his brain to swell and heal.”
The Chicago Tribune reports Kirk “is expected to make a dramatic return to Congress on Thursday, perhaps walking up the Capitol steps.”
Christie Slams House Republicans
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) absolutely unloaded on House Republicans for spiking the hurricane relief bill last night.
It’s must-see video.
The Democrats’ Coming Civil War
BuzzFeed: “For Democrats, there may be few things more entertaining than watching the Republican Party self-destruct and fight with itself these last few weeks. But it may be time to put away the party favors – because a Democratic internal war may be on the way.”
“Just as Republicans were so divided over taxes – from failing to pass their own “Plan B” bill last week, to their leaders splitting votes on last night’s legislative package – Democrats are about to endure an emotional debate about one of their own bedrock principles: the protection of programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Of course, almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa — just white
left-wingers who try to shove this down black people’s throats in an
effort to divide Americans.”
— Wisconsin state Rep. Glenn Grothman (R), quoted by Gawker.
Trump Not Happy with Republicans
Donald Trump blasted Republicans by tweeting that they “may be the worst negotiators in history.”
Obama and the Democrats are laughing at the deal they just made…the Republicans got nothing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2013
6 Races to Watch in 2013
The Week reviews the most interesting political races to keep an eye on this year.
Detentions Continue Under Obama
The Washington Post reports on how the Obama administration “has embraced rendition — the practice of holding and interrogating terrorism suspects in other countries without due process — despite widespread condemnation of the tactic in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.”
“Renditions are taking on renewed significance because the administration and Congress have not reached agreement on a consistent legal pathway for apprehending terrorism suspects overseas and bringing them to justice.”
