One-Seat Majority Is Democrats’ Bottom Line
CQ reports: “Democrats have long acknowledged the challenges they face this fall. But with the economy still teetering and voters unhappy with Democratic leadership, many are privately conceding that the best Democrats can hope for may be razor-thin hold on the chamber. ‘At the end of the day, all that matters is whether we control the majority … that’s the only thing that matters, and we have to set up an environment where our ultimate objective — maintaining the majority — is met,’ said a Democratic leadership aide, who acknowledged that the party faces a ‘very, very tough — in many cases brutal — election.'”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET, and will receive the economic daily briefing at 10:30 a.m. ET. They will meet at 11:10 a.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and meet at 11:50 a.m. ET with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Obama and Biden will have lunch at 12:45 p.m. ET. Obama will meet at 1:15 p.m. ET with senior advisers. Obama and Biden will meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at 4:30 p.m. ET. (Ed. note: This item has been changed since a White House schedule update.)
Obama Getting Fewer Judges Confirmed Than Nixon
The Associated Press reports: “A determined Republican stall campaign in the Senate has sidetracked so many of the men and women nominated by President Barack Obama for judgeships that he has put fewer people on the bench than any president since Richard Nixon at a similar point in his first term 40 years ago. The delaying tactics have proved so successful, despite the Democrats’ substantial Senate majority, that fewer than half of Obama’s nominees have been confirmed and 102 out of 854 judgeships are vacant.”
Unions Will Demand Aggressive Labor Agenda Even After Midterm Hit
The Hill reports: “Organized labor will press Congress for big infrastructure spending and job creation programs even if voters throw Democrats out of office in November’s election, union leaders say. After the 2010 midterm elections and anticipated heavy losses on the left, labor leaders say they expect a leaner, more aggressive Democratic Congress to push through measures to create jobs. And like the $50 billion infrastructure plan pushed by President Obama at a union rally in Milwaukee on Monday, unions will call on lawmakers to pass legislation to aid state and local governments and provide incentives for business lending.”
Official: Obama To Back More Business Tax Breaks
The Associated Press reports: “President Barack Obama will call on Congress to pass new tax breaks that would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of their new capital investments through 2011, the latest in a series of proposals the White House is rolling out in hopes of showing action on the economy ahead of the November elections. An administration official said the tax breaks would save businesses $200 billion over two years, allowing companies to have more cash on hand. The president will outline the proposal during a speech on the economy in Cleveland Wednesday.”
Boehner Sounding More Like Speaker
Roll Call reports: “Between fundraising events on his multistate August bus trip, Minority Leader John Boehner began to transition from being the lead agitator for the minority party to the role he hopes to fill next year: Speaker of the House. The Ohio Republican’s recent speeches in Cleveland and Milwaukee focused more on policy than politics — a sign, some Republicans say, that Boehner is trying to demonstrate he is more than just a prolific fundraiser and political strategist. One senior GOP aide said that a Speaker doesn’t necessarily need strong policy credentials to be successful at the job, but that Boehner appears to be using the speeches to raise his national profile. ‘He is creating that aura of ‘I’m the guy in charge,” the aide said.”
