Boxer, Snowe Ask For Female SCOTUS Appointee
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have sent a bipartisan letter to President Obama, asking him to appoint a woman to David Souter’s seat on the Supreme Court. “Women make up more than half of our population, but right now hold only one seat out of nine on the United States Supreme Court,” they wrote. “This is out of balance. In order for the court to be relevant, it needs to be diverse and better reflect America.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will be hosting a roundtable with business leaders at 11:30 a.m. ET in the Roosevelt Room, to discuss cutting employer health care costs. At 2:25 p.m. ET, he and Vice President Biden will deliver remarks at a Rose Garden ceremony honoring Top Cops award winners. At 3:30 p.m. ET, Obama and Biden will meet with Gen. Ray Odierno and Christopher Hill, the new Ambassador to Iraq, in the Situation Room. At 4:30 p.m. ET, Obama and Biden will meet with Sec. of Defense Robert Gates. At 7:45 p.m. ET, Obama and the First Lady will attend an evening of poetry, music and spoken word in the East Room.
Biden’s Day Ahead
At 11:15 a.m. ET, Vice President Biden will address the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees at their 2009 Legislative Conference in Washington. Afterwards, he will attend the events with President Obama that are listed above.
Chicago Markets Obama Tourism
The Washington Post reports that Chicago is cashing in on Obama-based tourism, with bus tours going to places where he lived and worked. “It’s PR and advertising that you can’t buy,” said Jan Kostner, the deputy director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism. “We’re marketing it.”
GOP Whip Kyl Targets Moderate Dems For Votes
CQ reports that Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has developed a strategy of courting moderate Democrats to cross over and vote with Republicans on an issue-by-issue basis, making up for the lack of numbers in his own caucus. “It’s a team effort,” Kyl explained. “Part of it is working with outside groups and with members … You just have to bird-dog it. Stay on it. And sometimes you can win.”
Blue Dogs Complain Of Exclusion In Health Care Bill
The New York Times reports that the Blue Dog Democrats in the House are complaining that they’ve been left out of the decision-making process for President Obama’s health care plan. “We don’t need a select group of members of Congress or staff members writing this legislation,” said Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR). “We don’t want a briefing on the bill after it’s written. We want to help write it.”
Report: Rep. Israel To Challenge Gillibrand In 2010 Senate Primary
Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) is reportedly set to challenge appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in the 2010 Democratic primary. CQ points out that Israel, like Gillibrand is a member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog caucus, and he also voted for President George W. Bush’s tax cuts in 2001. But he does have a Long Island geographic base that can help him win where the Upstater Gillibrand might have problems.
