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25 Sep 2011 11:04

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Politics: House GOP shows weak points after failing to pass shutdown vote

  • While it is widely expected that the parties will eventually reach a compromise to avoid a shutdown, Wednesday’s 230-to-195 vote showed what can happen when the GOP majority operates with no more than minimal Democratic support.
  • Washington Post writers Rosalind S. Helderman and Paul Kane • Correctly pointing out the weak spot in the GOP’s House leadership — that the GOP members aren’t all on the same page, so as a result, the leadership can push for one thing, but have it taken in a different direction by far-right members of the party. (In this case, the bill passed the House only with the addition of some timely anti-environmental-funding rules, then died in the Senate.) And with no help from Democrats, it becomes harder for GOP leaders to push their agenda without making room for compromise. And this isn’t even considering the Senate and president, who provide blockades of their own (unless you’re Obama and you compromise). source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2011 07:52

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Politics: House passes shutdown-averting spending bill … with a catch

  • yeah … The House passed a bill preventing a possible government shutdown, and in the process paying for emergency management funding for the recent spate of natural disasters (like the Joplin tornado and Hurricane Irene). As recently as Wednesday, it didn’t look like it would pass. So what happened?
  • … but Well, the bill includes a politically-charged measure removing funding for green energy projects, like the much-maligned Solyndra debacle. It literally seems like they passed it only because House Republicans could score points off of this. As a result, it likely will not pass the Senate in its current form. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jul 2011 14:09

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Politics: Minnesota Dem: Republicans put “feet in cement” on compromise

  • Yes, both sides need to participate. When one side holds out or puts their feet in cement, how can a compromise ever be reached? That’s what we have now.
  • Minnesota State Sen. Barb Goodwin • Offering her take on the whole government shutdown situation, which has kept the doors closed on the state for over a week now. According to Goodwin, a Democrat, “the shutdown could have been avoided.  For ten weeks during session, Republican leaders put the budget on the back burner and dealt with social issues instead.” Goodwin claims that most of her constituents simply want to see the shutdown end, and support Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposals. (thanks @JohnNess) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Jul 2011 17:49

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Politics: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton bummed by state shutdown

  • I remember a family meeting 15 years ago, my uncle Ken Dayton looked at our collective family situation improving over the year before. Therefore, our total taxes paid went up. One of my cousins complained about our taxes going up. My uncle Ken looked him square in the eye and said, ‘We should want to pay more taxes. That means we’re making more money.’
  • Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton • Offering a defense of higher taxes amid a shutdown of the state government this weekend. As you might guess, most Republicans don’t think this way … to put it another way, this train of thought trickles down a bit differently for them. Dayton, a Democrat, is having a tough time getting any leverage with the GOP on budget talks. And it bums him out: “Yesterday was probably the worst day in my six months (as governor),” he said today. “Today isn’t much better. It’s quieter. You know, I take this very, very seriously — the effect on peoples’ lives, their livelihoods, the services that people need. People had their vacations planned and taken away from them. So I can’t say it’s fun right now.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jul 2011 13:23

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Politics: Who’s to blame for the Minnesota government shutdown?

  • T-Paw Multiple liberal groups, including the Democratic National Committee, took shots at Tim Pawlenty’s record as Minnesota governor after the shutdown happened. “Tim Pawlenty failed Minnesota as Governor and now his failures are coming home to roost with a shutdown his policies are responsible for,” the DNC’s note said this morning.
  • not T-Paw However, if you asked Pawlenty himself, the 2012 presidential candidate has a completely different description of events. He blamed Democrats, particularly Gov. Mark Dayton, but noted his fiscal policies will help the state in the long run. “There’s going to be a variety of near-term impacts,” he said, “but the longer-term goal is what is most important here.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Apr 2011 10:14

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Politics: Budget deal: White House negotiation approach proves effective

  • Nope, zero. John, this is it.
  • Barack Obama, according to a senior official • Informing House Speaker John Boehner that he wouldn’t be budging on Planned Parenthood — despite the fact that Boehner had fought tooth-and-nail for the policy in a White House meeting for over an hour. The meeting itself proved to be something of a watershed moment for negotiations — proving that when they need to work together, they can pull it off. As much as it hurts. “Things got heated,” said senior White House adviser David Plouffe. “The president’s approach was to try and engage all the parties to come together. Going forward this can be a model.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Apr 2011 20:28

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U.S.: Government shutdown deal: National Journal says we’re closer

  • Here’s what the National Journal says is happening: It looks like the latest numbers on Obama’s desk are a lot closer and show actual compromise. WIll it be enough to prevent a government shutdown? Well, we’ll see. The deal the National Journal has suggests a temporary extension to get through the weekend while details are hashed out at the beginning of the week. “While leadership staff insist there is no deal yet,” they write, “that caution belies significant progress in narrowing long-standing differences and the widening assumption in both parties that a shutdown will be averted and all that remains unknown is the precise procedural steps that will walk everyone back from the abyss.” Here are some quick hard numbers from their report:
  • $39B the size of the planned standard budget cuts from fiscal 2010
  • $550B the size of the defense budget through the end of 2011
  • nothe cuts to the EPA and Planned Parenthood aren’t in the deal source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Apr 2011 13:25

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Politics: GRAPHIC: People split on potential Planned Parenthood cuts

  • And this, friends, is why Chartwell is awesome and just earned our $40. We were able to make this graphic in less than 20 minutes. And fortunately, our timing couldn’t be better. See, our boy Harry Reid says that the budget crisis is basically down to Planned Parenthood’s federal funding at this point. Here’s a poll from last week explaining how most people feel about the funding issue. When you break it down to likely voters, though, it starts to get messier — with 39 percent supporting the cuts, 29 percent opposed and a whopping 32 percent uncertain. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 17:05

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Politics: Eleanor Holmes Norton tells Congress to go to hell

  • We are absolutely outraged. This is the functional equivalent of bombing innocent civilians. It’s time that the District of Columbia told the Congress to go straight to hell.
  • Washington D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton • Expressing her rage at a rider on the latest bill proposed by Republicans in the negotiations to prevent a government shutdown. The rider would prohibit the District of Columbia from spending money on abortion services for low-income women. While this sort of rhetoric is very rankling to anybody with a differing opinion, the extent to which federal control encroaches on Washington D.C. is a touchy subject beyond simply the realm of abortion. The city belongs to no state, and thus has no voting rights (and thus no representation) in Congress. Holmes Norton is a “Delegate,” not a “Representative” — while her job description is roughly the same, she explicitly cannot cast any votes. While there’s always something said for keeping one’s cool, it’s not hard to see why she’s up in arms about this. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2011 13:50

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Politics: Non-fiscal issues make government shutdown harder to avert

  • fiscal As we mentioned yesterday, there’s a big gap between what Democrats are willing to cut in spending and what Republicans want — in fact, they can’t even agree on how many spending cuts are actually in yesterday’s offered compromise.
  • not fiscal Sen. Harry Reid, though, claims the spending cut jockeying isn’t the only hold-up, so are the policy issues pertaining to things like abortion. The GOP has spent a lot of time since their big win in 2010 pushing for these social aims. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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