President Obama told the National Governors Association that the impacts of the fast-approaching sequestration “will not all be felt on day one,” but added, “the longer these cuts are in place, the bigger the impact will become,” CBS News reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m a
Reagan Republican, which makes me left of center in my party.”
— Former Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), quoted by the New Yorker.
Report Says Cuts Would Impact Agency That Doesn’t Exist
Reason reports that a Office of Management and Budget report warning of the cuts mandated by sequestration would affect an agency that no longer exists.
“The first line item on page 121 of the OMB’s September 2012 report says that under sequestration the National Drug Intelligence Center would lose $2 million of its $20 million budget. While that’s slightly more than 8.2 percent (rounding error or scare tactic?), the bigger problem is that the National Drug Intelligence Center shuttered its doors on June 15, 2012–three months before the OMB issued its report to Congress.”
Judd Acting Like a Senate Candidate
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) told ABC News that he “would be surprised” if Ashley Judd doesn’t run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in 2014.
Said Yarmuth: “My impression is this is something she wants to do, and she is now taking the time to make the contacts she needs to make throughout the state to try and generate commitments of support and in some cases fundraising. She is certainly acting like a candidate, a potential candidate.”
He added: “I think in her own mind… she has made a decision to run and she’s doing the right thing and not ruffling any feathers along the way.”
The End of Big
Coming soon: The End of Big: How the Internet Makes David the New Goliath by Nicco Mele.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If I was the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I’d probably be freaked out.”
— Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on the impact of sequestration on states with a large defense presence.
Cuomo Raising Money to Promote Agenda
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) “has quietly been seeking to raise $5 million to finance an
array of television ads promoting his agenda — and he is doing it apart
from a secret lobbying outfit that sparked controversy in the past,” the
New York Daily News
reports.
“Donors are being asked to contribute to the Cuomo-controlled
state Democratic Party, which technically is responsible for running the
ads… The fund-raising arrangement is a departure from his
first two years as governor, when much of the coin used to push his
initiatives came from the Committee to Save New York, a private lobbying
group that was not subject to state campaign finance law.”
Coburn Disputes There’s a Deal on Background Checks
Despite reports to the contrary, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told Roll Call that discussions on legislation to expand background checks for firearm purchases “are not anywhere near an agreement.”
Said Coburn: “I don’t think we’re that close to a deal, and there absolutely will not be record-keeping on legitimate, law-abiding gun owners in this country. And if they want to eliminate the benefits of actually trying to prevent the sales to people who are mentally ill, and the criminals, all they have to do is create a record-keeping, and that will kill this bill.”
Castro Prepares for Transition in Cuba
Reuters:
“Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Sunday he will step down from
power after his second term ends in 2018, and the new parliament named a
52-year-old rising star to become his first vice president and most
visible successor. … In a surprise move, the new parliament also named
Miguel Diaz-Canel as first vice president, meaning he would take over if
Castro cannot serve his full term. Diaz-Canel is a member of the
political bureau who rose through the Communist Party ranks in the
provinces to become the most visible possible successor to Castro.”
Here’s the bigger picture: “The new government will almost certainly be the
last headed up by the Castro brothers and their generation of leaders
who have ruled Cuba since they swept down from the mountains in the 1959
revolution.”
Gibbs Was Ordered Not to Discuss Drones
Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that he was ordered to never acknowledge the existence of the drone program, the Washington Examiner reports.
Said Gibbs: “One of the first things they told me was, you are not even to acknowledge the drone program, you are not even to discuss that it exists.”
Can Cantor Reposition the Republican Party?
Ryan Lizza has a must-read profile of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA):
“In the next few years, a new field of Republican Presidential candidates will emerge to sort out some of these issues. Until then, House Republicans, who have moved sharply to the right since January, 2011, are the face of their party. They will also determine the destiny of President Obama’s second term, which features an ambitious agenda including taxes, immigration, and gun control. The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has often shown a willingness to compromise, but for more than two years he has been stymied by a small and unruly group of right-wingers, led by his deputy, Eric Cantor.”
“Cantor is the House Majority Leader, which means that he is responsible for the mundane business of managing the schedule, the House floor, and committees, where legislation is generally written. He has used his position to transform himself into the Party’s chief political strategist. Cantor is frequently talked about as a future Speaker; he could even be a future President, some of his aides say. Since the election, as Republicans have confronted Obama in a series of budgetary battles–another will unfold this week–few have tried as hard as Cantor to reposition and redefine the defeated party.”
Jack Lew’s Golden Parachute
Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew’s original employment contract at Citigroup included a bonus guarantee if he left the bank for a “high level position with the United States government or regulatory body,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Roll Call reports Lew’s nomination is up for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee this week.
Republicans Losing Message War on Sequester
“The Republicans’ message on the sequester couldn’t be clearer: They don’t have a unified one,” Politico reports.
“There seem to be three distinct camps: Most congressional Republicans appear willing to let the sequester happen since they can’t replace it in time. Others want the cuts to be even deeper. And still others wish that House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama would just get in the same room and negotiate a deal, even if it includes the tax hikes that most Republicans abhor.”
First Read: “So here’s the GOP’s muddled message: First, these cuts could cost jobs
and money; second, the Obama administration is trying to scare the
American people about these cuts; and third, these cuts could cost jobs
and money. What’s happening here: Congressional GOPers are split.”
Roll Call: “The seemingly inevitable sequester cuts that will slash $85 billion from the federal budget on Friday reflect not only Washington’s political paralysis but a bitter lobbying failure for K Street interests across the board.”
Voting Rights Act Faces Supreme Court Challenge
“A steady drumbeat of press briefings and messaging events is reaching a crescendo as the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments Wednesday in a case that questions whether a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is still needed,” Roll Call reports.
New York Times: “All sides seem to agree that the Voting Rights Act did a lot to make
elections fairer. But is there evidence today that the law is still
needed?”
Quote of the Day
“The University of Texas will change its colors to maroon and white before Texas goes purple, much less blue.”
— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, dismissing predictions that Texas could become a swing state soon.
Deal Discussed to Avert Shutdown While Extending Cuts
“Already looking past the current budget impasse gripping the capital, congressional leaders are quietly considering a deal to avert a government shutdown next month–but at the cost of prolonging across-the-board spending cuts,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Senior aides to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have begun discussing a bill being prepared by House Republicans to fund government operations through September. Republicans want the bill to extend operating funds at the lower levels set to kick in Friday and to give more flexibility to the Pentagon to manage its cuts.”
“The current funding bill expires March 27, and without an extension or replacement, a partial government shutdown would ensue.”
GOP Attacks on Judd Could Backfire
Irin Carmon: “I have no idea if Ashley Judd would win if she runs against Mitch McConnell, a prospect looking likelier by the day. I would bet, however, that a lot of Republican men are going to make themselves look like misogynist bullies in the process. For Democrats, a Judd candidacy might be a win-win — if not in Kentucky, then on the national stage.”
Democratic Governors Wait for Hillary
Politico: “Among the Democratic governors who descended on Washington this weekend for the National Governors Association winter meeting, the only difference of opinion when it came to Secretary Clinton was whether she would clear the 2016 field entirely or merely loom colossus-like over the race until, and upon entering, the campaign.”
