State leaders from Washington and Colorado meet with Attorney General Holder to discuss implementation of their states’ marijuana legalization laws.
TPM Reader AD on Obama’s new fiscal gambit …
Since you’ve been posting about Obama’s fiscal straightjacket, I thought I’d give my take.
One notable thing about our president’s emphasis on budget deals is that the plays never change. People who pay attention know the delicate dance that is the president’s response to any kind of fiscal event: start out by dropping hints of a compromise that might or might not be an okay finishing point but is an abysmal starting point (hello, New York Times story about his budget proposal), admonish the GOP mildly about their priorities on taxes without going too far (e.g. Obama’s flaying of Ryan’s plan while Ryan was in the room a few years back, after which there was zero follow-up), insist on new taxes on the wealthy as a precursor to any deal, and then take it to the nation with a barnstorming series of speeches outside of the confines of Washington to build support for his plan. The pattern is happening again, of course, and it will continue until Obama is an ex-president. Also of note: it hasn’t had any success at all in bringing about Obama’s objectives.
Rand Paul goes to Howard University to talk GOP outreach to black Americans.
Many things to say today about the passing of Margaret Thatcher. We’ll have a full obit moved momentarily. But one point that I suspect we’ll see on display today is that, like Churchill, Thatcher was far more universally acclaimed in the US than in the UK, where she remains a highly controversial, divisive figure.
Republicans are deciding maybe they don’t need to allow immigration reform after all.
Amsterdam gay rights groups plan massive, scathing welcome for Vladimir Putin.
Though the article is doing well, reader reaction to Reid’s new threat to blow up the filibuster with the nuclear option is something between jagged derision and a deafening yawn.
Rep. Steve King, pondering an awesome Senate run, says: “I can see a path to victory.”
My quick thoughts on whether the Dems are in the process of getting played by the immigration reform Gang of 8 charade.