Obama Delivering Notre Dame Commencement Address Today
President Obama is scheduled to deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, at 2 p.m. ET. Pro-life protesters have already marched at the campus against Obama’s pro-choice position. At 6:10 p.m. ET, he will headline a Democratic fundraiser in Indianapolis. He is scheduled to arrive back at the White House at 9 p.m. ET.
Steele: Notre Dame Honorary Degree For Obama ‘Inappropriate’
Appearing today on Meet The Press, RNC chairman Michael Steele criticized the decision of Notre Dame to award President Obama an honorary degree. “Those institutions don’t hand those degrees out that readily. So it is a very strong sticking point, and I think a lot of Catholics and a lot of pro-life Americans are very concerned about that, and I think it is inappropriate,” said Steele. He added: “The president should speak, but the degree should not be conferred.”
McConnell Keeps Filibuster Option For SCOTUS Nominee
Appearing today on Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) did not rule out the possibility of filibustering President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court. When confronted with his own opposition to filibusters of judicial nominees from the “nuclear option” fight of 2005, McConnell pointed out that the nuclear option wasn’t followed, and that then-Senator Obama himself opposed a cloture vote on Justice Alito, “So the president himself has indicated that all options are open.”
McConnell Refuses To Endorse Bunning
Also during his Fox News Sunday appearance, McConnell refused to give an endorsement to his Republican co-Senator Jim Bunning, who has openly accused the GOP leadership of trying to force him into retirement. “Well, it’s — it’s just not clear exactly who the players are going to be in Kentucky,” said McConnell, under repeated questioning by Chris Wallace.
Webb Comes Out Against “Artificial Timelines” For Closing Gitmo
Appearing on This Week, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) shifted course on closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. “I think we all are moving toward the right direction. But we shouldn’t be creating artificial timelines,” said Webb. When George Stephanopoulos reminded him that the Obama Administration has pointed to January 2010, Webb said: “They’ve said a lot of things and taken a look and said some other things. So let’s process these people in a very careful way and then take care of it.”
Boehner: Cheney, Limbaugh And Gingrich Helping, Not Hurting, GOP
Appearing on State of the Union, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich are not hurting the Republican Party: “If we’re going to show the American people that we’ve got a better way forward, having a chorus of voices out there, I think is helpful to our effort.”
NYT: Conservatives Preparing To Attack Eventual SCOTUS Nominee
The New York Times reports that conservative groups are gearing up to attack any of the mentioned possible nominees for Supreme Court, on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. “It’s a massive teaching moment for America,” said conservative fund-raiser Richard A. Viguerie. “We’ve got the packages written. We’re waiting right now to put a name in.”
Steele’s Newest Pitch: Gay Marriage Costs Money
Speaking yesterday at the George Republican convention, Michael Steele said opposition to gay marriage should be pitched in terms of how marriage would place a burden on small businesses. “Now all of a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for,” Steele explained. “So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money.”
