Out next week: Immigration Wars by Jeb Bush and Clint Bolick.
Nice timing.
Yes, Some Still Approve of Congress
The New York Times did follow up interviews with the small group of people in a recent survey who said they really did approve of Congress. The generally fell into two broad camps, which might be termed the “natural optimists” and the “Obama haters.”
“Take the second group first. Several respondents said they believed that Congress — which is divided between a Republican-controlled House and a Senate where Democrats are in the majority but generally unable to pass legislation because they lack 60 votes to overcome an almost automatic filibuster by the minority party — was trying its hardest in difficult circumstances, but was repeatedly frustrated by a hubristic White House with a my-way-or-the-highway attitude.”
“The other camp of respondents just tended to be looking on the brighter side of things: focusing on the future, crediting Congress with trying and offering some qualified thanks for the effort.”
Lawmaker Jokes About Transvaginal Ultrasound
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) answered a town-hall question about his position on transvaginal ultrasounds by joking that he hadn’t had one.
Paladino Launches Another Campaign
Carl Paladino (R), the combative former candidate for New York governor, is running for a seat on the Buffalo school board, WHEC-TV reports.
What Happens Next on the Sequester?
President Obama will meet with House and Senate leaders
in the Oval Office this morning but nobody
expects a last-minute solution to the automatic spending cuts triggered today.
First Read: “There’s a running theory on the Hill and even in the West Wing that negotiations over the budget resolution, which expires at the end of March, will be an opportunity to “fix” or turn off the sequester. But don’t be surprised if that deadline comes and goes without sequester being touched. Will the White House or Senate Democrats threaten government shutdown over the sequester? That’s about what it would take to force sequester into the Continuing Resolution talks. Hard to imagine the president staking out THAT position.”
“House view on sequester: use the bully pulpit to try and get the public to blame the GOP for anything they don’t like that suddenly happens (longer lines, cuts in services, etc.). The White House continues to hang their hat on a strategy of ‘hope’ — hoping the GOP caves via public pressure and displeasure. But it’s hard to imagine either Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn or John Boehner agreeing to turn off sequester in exchange for any taxes — all of them would be watching their political careers flash before their eyes if they do.”
When Actions Don’t Meet Words
First Read: “The most important message the White House and some congressional Republicans seemed intent on sending this week is that they don’t like these spending cuts — these are bad spending cuts. But their ACTIONS did not meet their WORDS. A conspiracy theorist might conclude that politicians want the cuts to go through while not getting blamed for them.”
Walter Shapiro: “This weekend, as the government arbitrarily cuts funding for domestic
and military programs–regardless of merit or logic–it can truly be said
that the inmates are now running the asylum.”
Bolling Looks Ready to Run as an Independent
Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) “is considering whether to return to the Virginia governor’s race as an independent, and he’s asking for a little help from his friends to make his decision,” the Washington Post reports.
Bolling told supporters in an email that he thinks “there is an opportunity to make history in Virginia this year.”
He is expected to announce March 14 whether he will run as an independent.
Quote of the Day
“We were on a roller coaster, exciting and thrilling, ups and downs. But the ride ends. And then you get off. And it’s not like, oh, can’t we be on a roller coaster the rest of our life? It’s like, no, the ride’s over.”
— Mitt Romney, in an interview to air on Fox News Sunday, breaking his post-election silence.
House Republicans Cheer Boehner
Speaker John Boehner, “the man who spent significant portions of the last Congress shuttling to and from the White House for fiscal talks with President Obama that ultimately failed twice to produce a grand bargain, has come around to the idea that the best negotiations are no negotiations,” the New York Times reports.
“While the frustrations of Congressional Democrats and Mr. Obama with Mr. Boehner are reaching a fever pitch, House Republicans could not be more pleased with their leader.”
Obama Calls on Court to Strike Down Gay Marriage Ban
“Throwing unprecedented political weight into legalizing same-sex marriage, the Obama administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down California’s ban on gay nuptials,” the San Jose Mercury News reports.
“In a friend-of-the-court brief, the administration for the first time stepped into the four-year legal battle over Proposition 8, arguing that the 2008 voter-approved law violates the federal equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples and does ‘not substantially further any important government interest.'”
Who Owns the Sequester?
A new Harper Polling survey of likely voters finds that Republicans are seen as most responsible for the sequester, 46% to 40%.
“The lesson here is that President Obama is on a roll. He has adeptly pinned responsibility for the sequester on Republicans, despite it not being true. It is a remarkable feat by the White House and maddening for Republicans.”
Boehner Bypasses Hastert Rule Again
After roughly a year and a half after its expiration, the Violence Against Women Act passed the House by 286-138 vote and will soon be reauthorized once it garners the president’s signature, NBC News reports.
The House vote was significant, because, for the third time this year, on a significant piece of legislation, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) showed a willingness to bring a bill to the floor without abiding by unwritten, so-called Hastert Rule.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Being from New York we’re not supposed to be suckers. It’s bad enough that these guys voted against it, that’s inexcusable enough. But to have the balls to come in and say, ‘We screwed you now make us president?'”
— Rep. Peter King (R-NY), quoted by Politicker, urging donors to cut off Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and others who “threw a knife in the back in New York” by voting “no” on the Hurricane Sandy relief bill.
What is Rand Paul Up To?
Ross Douthat: “Paul has done what successful politicians tend to do: He’s picked his battles, done outreach to his critics, and consistently framed his arguments in language that conservative voters and activists understand. This has enabled him to break with the party’s hawkish tilt on a number of substantive questions, from the Libya and Syria debates to issues of executive power to the question of whether containment should be an option for dealing with Iran, without coming in for anything like the attacks that greeted Hagel’s nomination. He’s put his foot in his mouth here and there and taken fire from both his friends and foes along the way, and future world events (particularly events related to Iran) may upset his tightrope walk. But at the moment he seems like living, breathing proof that there’s room for actual foreign policy debate within the Republican coalition, and that not every non-hawk need be dismissed as a RINO and read out of the party.”
How the GOP Sees the Sequester Fight
Ezra Klein: “Insofar as there’s a long-term strategy here, it comes down to 2014. Republicans feel that this is a defensive year for them, and if they can resist further tax increases while locking in some spending cuts, that will be more than they could reasonably have expected in the days after the election. But in 2014, they expect the implementation of Obamacare to be a debacle that will give them an opportunity to mount a policy offensive against the White House. If they can just get through this year and get to 2014, their position will strengthen considerably.”
Republicans Pick Convicted Felon to Run for Jackson’s Seat
Republican voters picked ex-convict Paul McKinley (R) as their nominee to run for the seat recently ceded by former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr, the Chicago Tribune reports.
McKinley, a convicted felon who served nearly 20 years in state prison for burglaries, armed robberies and aggravated battery, declared victory, beat businessman Eric Wallace (R) by 23 votes.
Spending to Reduce Spending
Former Nixon Commerce Secretary Pete Peterson tells Businessweek that he’s already spent $500 million — half of his fortune — on the cause of deficit reduction.
Why Iowa Is So Important for Senate Republicans
First Read explains why yesterday’s decision by Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) not to run for Senate in Iowa — opening a much clearer path for Rep. Steve King (R-IA) — is so important: “If you take this seat off the map for Republicans – and it’s very premature to do that – then they almost have to run the table on all their other Senate opportunities to win back the Senate.”
“Remember, Republicans have to pick up six seats to take control of the upper chamber. If you give them West Virginia (Rockefeller retiring) and South Dakota (possible Tim Johnson retirement), then Republicans still needs to win four out of these five seats where Dems are probably running for re-election: Alaska (Begich), Arkansas (Pryor), Louisiana (Landrieu), Montana (Baucus), and North Carolina (Hagan). In other words, if Iowa is in play for Republicans, they don’t need to knock off as many Dem incumbents. If it isn’t in play, then they almost have to run the table.”
“One other point here: King would probably have little chance of winning a Senate contest in a presidential year, but he does have a chance in a midterm cycle, so folks ought to be careful making assumptions.”
