I’m curious whether House Dems are really going to hold this vote getting each member on record on whether they support keeping Social Security or slashing benefits and partially phasing it out and replacing it with private accounts. And when?
Also wondering how Minority Leader Boehner votes.
Also, on the Jobs Bill front, wondering if I’ll see Harry Reid on a street corner in DC with a handmade cardboard sign which says: “Republicans: Can You Help?”
From Ike as kicker at West Point, to Gerald Ford as a lineman at U of M, to Bush as a cheerleader at prep school, we’ve got all your presidential football moments in today’s TPM Slideshow …
The key thing about the Shelby/hold story is that it provides the Democrats a second chance to revisit the vote blocking issue with the public. What recent polls have shown is that very few people actually have any idea how the senate rules work. So while political junkies on both sides of the aisle know that President Obama has been hung up on numerous pieces of legislation this year because Republicans are forcing a de facto 60 vote rule, very little of that has gotten through to the broader public. It’s just: Dems tried; Dems failed; nothing happened. Back when we went through this drama in 2005 with the shoe on the other foot, the Republican message machine was very clear and persistent on “allowing an up or down vote.” Simple, clear, a strong small-d democratic argument, and one that makes the out party work for the 60 vote standard as opposed to taking it as a given. Read More
This is a family website so I’m restrained from saying what I really think about this video from the Virginia Republican Party using today’s big snowstorm to mock the concept of global warming.
“You know, all this happened at a rough time in my life, and you know, I understand it looks bad. And that’s why I tried so hard to put it out, the day I announced I was running. I have answered every question that was asked me by the media, in a full, complete, and honest way. Again, I tried so hard to put this out the day I announced so it wouldn’t come to this. Nobody wanted to listen.”
That’s embattled Lt. Gov. nominee Scott Lee Cohen appearing last night on local Chicago TV discussing news of his multiple domestic violence incidents, anabolic steroid abuse and alleged attempted rape of his then-wife. See the rest here.
Part Two of Jon Stewart in O’Reilly’s “No Spin Zone.” Watch.
While the negotiations are taking place for the ransom Sen. Shelby (R-AL) is demanding, I’m wondering: will there be interviews with the hostages (i.e., the nominees) he’s holding until he gets the money? And where is he holding them? Will he release grainy videos? Should we pay for a proof of life? Cue the music …
Late Update: More the merrier!
In a meeting of Senate Democrats, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) reportedly called out David Axelrod personally over the White House’s lack of leadership on health care reform. That and the day’s other political news in the TPMDC Morning Roundup.
You’ve seen the reports that Sen. Richard Shelby (R) of Alabama has taken the perhaps unprecedented step of placing holds on ALL of President Obama’s nominees until he gets the money for a couple of big earmarked pork barrel projects he feels entitled to back in his home state.
It’s an eye-popper no doubt, with gallons more audacity than Obama ever could have hoped for. But I wonder if this story might not end up amounting to much more than the sum of its parts because it brings together three or four of the issues roiling American politics today in a bundle of smack-you-in-the-face arrogance that’s too much to ignore. Read More