The House ethics committee has decided to close its Massa investigation, the Washington Post reports.
An enraged Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) took to the House floor during debate on Afghanistan today and called out the press as “despicable” for not covering the debate and focusing instead on stories like Eric Massa. Watch.
Awful generous of all these Republicans warning Democrats of how bad it’s going to be for them if they pass Health Care Reform.
It may be game, set, match for former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) here shortly. We’re hearing that within the hour on-the-record accounts will be published of guys who served with Massa in the Navy and were witness to or victim of his brand of heavy-handed, unwanted fraternization.
More soon …
Late Update: Here’s the piece we were hearing about, from Joshua Green at The Atlantic.
Lots of talk from Democratic senators today about reforming Senate rules to lessen the crippling effect (depending on whether you’re the one wielding it) of the filibuster. Harry Reid says it time for a change. Chuck Schumer says he’s going to hold hearings on the issue. One caveat: the senators are making the remarks at what they’re touting as a “Progressive Media Summit,” so they’re pitching to a particular audience today.
Even the big policy and interest group fights tend to get fought, in person, with a lot of ‘we’re all pals’ mumbojumbo. But there was at least a bit of respite today, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decided, on short notice, to go speak at the AHIP conference, the lobbying organization for the big health insurers and go head-to-head with the insurance industry’s chief lobbyist, Karen Ignagni.
“You have a choice,” Sebelius told attendees. “You can choose to continue your opposition to reform. [Or] you can choose to take the millions of dollars you have stored away for your next round of ads to kill meaningful reform, and use them to start giving Americans some relief from their skyrocketing premiums.”
Oooof. Not a good day yesterday for Meg Whitman — or her campaign spokesperson. But a solid day for an ornery pack of California journos who didn’t take too kindly to being shut out of a Whitman campaign event they’d been invited to. Take a look.
Jon Stewart deconstructs Liz Cheney’s ad smearing DOJ lawyers. Watch.
Whoever is handling former Rep. Eric Massa’s PR is a crazy person. The only question is whether they were crazy enough to let him go on Glenn Beck’s and Larry King’s shows yesterday in the first place — or recommended against it and went crazy watching Massa self-immolate.
Sample exchange from Larry King’s interview:
KING: It may be silly, but I guess we have to ask it, are your — are you gay?
MASSA: Well, here’s that answer, I’m not going to answer that.
In — in year 2010?
Why don’t you ask my wife, ask my friends, ask the 10,000 sailors I served with in the Navy.
Massa also made the novel argument that groping isn’t sexual. Watch.
Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) are jockeying to succeed Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) if he loses reelection in November. That and the day’s other news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.