Will the Senate stay in session long enough to vote on DADT repeal? That’s the big question right now, and Senate Republicans are doing everything they can to squeeze DADT off the legislative calendar.
So how long do Republicans think is enough “debate” on DADT? Is 3 days enough? 5? A week? At this stage, is there really anyone who is gripped by indecision on this issue? Let that person stand up so we can heckle them in the public square.
Tea Party Nation — rebuffed by Sarah Palin — backs Saul Anuzis for RNC chair.
County official in suburban DC accused by feds of stuffing $80,000 in her bra and flushing another hundred grand down the toilet sworn in to new term in office.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) demands an investigation into the two ethics committee staffer/investigators suspended last month while working her case.
Just by way of background, just what happened here is being held really, really close to the vest by the folks on the committee. And it’s not clear at all to me that Waters’ camp has any clear idea what a probe would turn up.
Colbert: “Mr. President, face the facts: Republicans just aren’t that into you.” Watch.
Ryan Reilly has the background on the bizarre attempted bombing of a polling place in Arkansas on the day of the primary runoff earlier this year between Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter that the feds have only now arrested a suspect in.
Shorter Obama: I’m being held hostage by Senate Republicans — what do you expect me to do?
Late Update: Obama says it’s actually the American people who are being held hostage:
I’ve said before that I felt that the middle class tax cuts were being held hostage to the high end tax cuts. I think it’s tempting not to negotiate with hostage takers unless the hostage gets harmed. Then, people will question the wisdom of that strategy. In this case the hostage was the American people and I was not willing to see them get harmed.
You can watch it here.
Suspect we’re going to hear a lot about this formulation.
I’m happy to be corrected (and am sure I will be), but this is the most brutal press conference I’ve seen President Obama have to go through as either a candidate or President.
That said, it’s weird seeing the White House press corps standing up for progressives — or at least posing questions that purport to.
Obama the pragmatist is on full view in this presser. I say that without judgment. It’s just that he’s never been so crystal clear in setting out his view of compromise, centrism, and the role of politics. He dismisses the NYT editorial page (and the WSJ’s) as not representative of the country.
The key line for me probably wasn’t his dismissal of “sanctimonious” liberals but his contention that those who think he’s caving now would have called Social Security and Medicare in their original more modest configurations to be betrayals when measured against “some abstract ideal.”