News + Politics
Cheney Admits to War Crimes, Media Yawns, Obama Turns the Other Cheek
Dick Cheney is a sadist.
On Sunday, in an exclusive interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News' "This Week," Cheney proclaimed his love of torture, derided the Obama administration for outlawing the practice, and admitted that the Bush White House ordered Justice Department attorneys to fix the law around the administration's policy interests.
"I was a big supporter of waterboarding," Cheney told Karl, as if he were issuing a challenge to officials in the current administration,
HAITI LIVE BLOG DAY 3: Obama Taps George W. Bush, Bill Clinton to Lead US Relief Efforts
Here's the link to Wednesday's live blog.
5:26 pm PDT: We couldn't leave for the day without first reporting on this development.
HAITI EARTHQUAKE LIVE BLOG: Who to Follow and What to Read for Breaking Developments
9:15pm PDT: Truthout is wrapping up its coverage for the evening of the earthquake in Haiti. We hope you found this live blog helpful and informative.
You can continue to follow our streaming twitter feed on the right hand side, which includes handpicked tweets from several residents of Haiti reporting what they are witnessing on the ground. Just move your mouse over the tweet to read it and keep it from scrolling.
Biden condemns new Israeli settlement plan
Does Rush Limbaugh remember 1994?
AR-Sen: Look who is running scared
No one could've predicted that a primary challenge would turn Blanche Lincoln into a better Democrat.
A moderate Democrat who had vowed to oppose any effort by party leaders to push a health care bill through the Senate with a simple majority vote is rethinking her position.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln said Tuesday that she wants to see what is in the companion bill before deciding.
Of course, she is so clueless, she already ran a primary ad bragging about shafting Democrats on the public option and cap and trade. It looks like she's starting to realize that to win a Democratic primary, she might have to start acting like one.
Too late, Blanche.
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How could reconciliation end up with an abortion time bomb?
- The House passes the main Senate bill first, locking in (at least temporarily) the Cornhusker kickback, the Cadillac tax, etc.
- The House passes the reconciliation fix and sends it to the Senate. But in order to get sufficient votes for it in the House, the leadership has to agree to put the Stupak abortion language in it, even though policy language like that is subject to a Byrd Rule point of order in the Senate, which would kill it. The House leadership sells it to the rank-and-file, telling them they've already voted for it once, anyway, and besides, it'll be killed in the Senate by the Byrd Rule, so don't worry about it.
- The Senate takes up the reconciliation bill, and Republicans move to waive the Byrd Rule point of order against the Stupak language, which requires 60 votes to pass. But if they don't waive the Byrd Rule, then the reconciliation bill is amended, and will have to go back to the House. Either that, or the Senate will have to move to go to conference, and the motions necessary to do that can be filibustered up at up to three different choke points. So the Senate swallows the Stupak language (after heavy lobbying from the Catholic bishops), and it's done.
- Unless, of course, the Senate decides to take a turn playing this game, and finds something it wants added to the reconciliation bill that maybe the House doesn't want, and puts that in the bill too, and sends it back to the House.
- Then the House is faced with the choice of either swallowing the Senate provision in return, killing health care outright, or instead leaving the Cornhusker Kickback and Cadillac tax unchanged.
What do we do?
Looks like the "best" outcome here is passing reconciliation, including a waiver for Stupak. Which will mean that they will have waived the Byrd Rule to pass Stupak, but told the public option people to kiss off because of the Byrd Rule. There won't be much they could have done differently, but the base will, you know, not like that very much.
Who came up with this scenario? Not me. It was everyone's least favorite paper, Politicowho reported it first. Nor am I even the first one to blog about it. I know that coming from Politico makes it suspect for some of you, and others would even go so far as to say the same about Firedoglake, but the procedure is sound, even if the politics surrounding it are open to question.
Still, if the Senate becomes convinced that the only path to passage is to allow the House to have Stupak's language, then who are they to argue? They'll be convinced they're doing the only thing possible, and they may even be right.
Note, however, that this is not something that's necessarily solved by having the reconciliation bill taken care of first. I initially brought it up in that context, but only to hint at the sort of things that can be hidden until the last, most agonizing moment if the reconciliation bill is the last one to pass. Passing reconciliation first does nothing to avert this scenario, but it makes the bargaining plain and open: abortion rights as a trade for health care, or else scrap the reconciliation bill, take the arguably less-damaging Nelson language on abortion, and accept the Nebraska and Louisiana deals plus the Cadillac tax as the trade by passing the Senate bill in the House and calling it a day.
Would you rather have options, or not?
"Miss Me Yet?"...Well...Apparently Not.
In early February, it became one of those intriguing little political stories that gets 30 seconds at the end of the national evening news. You might recall that it was then that some enterprising Republican business owners erected a billboard along I-35 in Minnesota featuring George W. Bush's grinning visage and three critical words: "Miss Me Yet?"
Well, according to a new poll conducted by John Zogby on behalf of the right-wingers over at Newsmax, the answer to that question is...well...no. (Hat Tip: Taegan Goddard):
In case you were wondering, a new Zogby/Newsmax poll shows President Obama would beat George W. Bush in a hypothetical match up, 48% to 38%.
One has to guess that was not the outcome that Newsmax was hoping for when they contracted Zogby to conduct the survey. The numbers, while not necessarily a landslide, still do an enormous amount of damage to that article of faith among right-wingers that Obama is the least popular president in the history of the republic, and that his presidency will somehow usher in a period of nostalgia for the days of W.
The data, it would appear, indicates otherwise.
"The Hurt Locker": When Great Art Meets Lousy Politics
I despise the implicit pro-Iraq War politics of "The Hurt Locker": There is no examination or even mention in the film of why the U.S. might be fighting there, no look at the neo-conservative ideology that sent our troops there, no questioning of the aggressive tactics aimed at Iraqi civilians, no overt politics at all, for that matter. But I cannot deny the movie's aesthetic power. It is a great film, one of the few war movies that really got into my gut. It well deserves its Best Picture Oscar.
Ken Starr Rebukes Liz Cheney Smear of DOJ Lawyers (VIDEO)
Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly reports:
"Last week, Liz Cheney's right-wing vehicle, 'Keep America Safe,' launched a pretty disgusting smear against nine Justice Department attorneys. The group includes lawyers working in the Department of Justice who fought the Bush administration's treatment of suspected terrorists as unconstitutional....
Political dictionary
"Obstructionism," for example, only refers to Democratic minorities opposing Republican proposals.
"Tyranny" is found when an elected Democratic majority passes legislation that Republicans don't like.
"Reconciliation" describes a Senate process that Republicans are allowed to use to overcome Democratic "obstructionism."
"Terrorism" refers to acts of political violence committed by people who aren't white guys.
"Bipartisanship" is found when Democrats agree to pass Republican legislation.
"Big government" describes a dangerous phenomenon to be avoided, except in cases relating to reproductive rights or gays.
"Treason" refers to Democrats criticizing a Republican administration during a war.
"Patriotism" refers to Republicans criticizing a Democratic administration during a war.
"Fiscal responsibility" is a national priority related to keeping our deficit in check, which only applies when Republicans are in the minority.
"Parliamentarian" is a seemingly independent official on the Hill who Senate Republicans are allowed to fire when the GOP disapproves of his/her rulings.
"Government-run health care" doesn't refer to popular government-run health care programs like Medicare.
"The heartland" is the most wonderful place in America, even if no conservative pundit would be caught dead living there.
"Serving your country" is honorable if you're a Republican, but a subject of derision when Democrats do it.
Your turn.
France's "Day Without Immigrants" (March 1, 2010): Not Quite as Advertised
Word made it out of France late last year that a "day without immigrants" journée sans immigrés was being planned for March 1, 2010. As a resident of France since 1977 and as a supporter of social movements involving immigrants and/or workers wherever they may occur, I have felt nothing but sympathy with this initiative, also known as "24 hours without us" 24 heures sans nous.
Time for a US Revolution - 15 Reasons
It is time for a revolution. Government does not work for regular people. It appears to work quite well for big corporations, banks, insurance companies, military contractors, lobbyists and for the rich and powerful. But it does not work for people.
"Values" of a Smear
Washington - The word "McCarthyism" is overused, but in this case it's mild. Liz Cheney, the former vice president's ambitious daughter, has in her hand a list of nine Justice Department lawyers whose "values" she has the gall to question. She ought to spend the time examining her own principles, if she can find them.
Today in Congress
In the House, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
FLOOR SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2010
House Meets At... 12:30 p.m.: Morning Hour
2:00 p.m.: Legislative Business
First Vote Predicted... 6:30 p.m.
Last Vote Predicted... 7:00 p.m.
"One Minutes"
Suspensions (15 Bills):
- H.Res. 1055 - Supporting the designation of National Robotics Week as an annual event (Rep. Doyle - Science and Technology)
- H.Res. 1069 - Congratulating Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith for being awarded the Nobel Prize in physics (Rep. Lance - Science and Technology)
- H.Res. 935 - Honoring John E. Warnock, Charles M. Geschke, Forrest M. Bird, Esther Sans Takeuchi, and IBM Corporation for receiving the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (Rep. Lofgren - Science and Technology)
- H.R. 3650 - Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2009 (Rep. Baird - Science and Technology)
- H.Res. 1032 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should continue to assist the Mexican Government in fighting the drug cartels and curbing violence against Mexican and United States citizens, both in the United States and abroad (Rep. Chu - Foreign Affairs)
- H.Res. 1088 - Recognizing the plight of people with albinism in East Africa and condemning their murder and mutilation (Rep. Connolly - Foreign Affairs)
- H.Res. 1107 - Recognizing the 189th anniversary of the independence of Greece and celebrating Greek and American democracy. (Rep. Ros-Lehtinen - Foreign Affairs)
- H.Res. __ - Expressing Condolences for the victims of the February 27th 2010 earthquake in Chile, as well as solidarity with and support for the Chilean people as they plan for the recovery and reconstruction for their Country (Rep. Hinojosa - Foreign Affairs)
- H.Res. 1036 - Recognizing the contributions of Korean Americans to the United States (Rep. Garrett - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 4621 - Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act (Rep. Maloney - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 4547 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 119 Station Road in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, as the "Captain Luther H. Smith, U.S. Army Air Forces Post Office" (Rep. Sestak - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.R. 4624 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 125 Kerr Avenue in Rome City, Indiana, as the "SPC Nicholas Scott Hartge Post Office" (Rep. Souder - Oversight and Government Reform)
- H.Res. 1091 - Expressing support for designation of the week of February 28 through March 7, 2010, as "School Social Work Week" (Rep. Kennedy - Education and Labor)
- H.Res. 1047 - Commending The Ohio State University Buckeyes football team for its victory in the 2010 Rose Bowl (Rep. Kilroy - Education and Labor)
- H.Res. 1142 - Congratulating Silver Lake College for 75 years of service as an undergraduate institution of higher education (Rep. Petri - Education and Labor)
- Conference Reports may be brought up at any time.
- Motions to go to Conference should they become available.
- Possible Motions to Instruct Conferees.
In the Senate, courtesy of the Office of the Majority Leader:
Convenes: 10:00am
The Senate will convene at 10:00am and will proceed to a period of morning business until 11:00am with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The Republicans will control the first half and the Majority will control the final half.
At approximately 11:00am, the Senate will resume consideration of HR4213, Tax Extenders, and will proceed to vote in relation to the following amendments:
- Baucus amendment #3429 [link] (alternative to Coburn #3358 regarding spending and budget data);
- Coburn amendment #3358 [link] (spending and budget data);
- Murray amendment #3356 [link], as further modified (TANF/Youth Jobs); and
- Republican alternative to Murray #3356.
There will be 4 minutes for debate equally divided prior to each vote. All votes after the first vote in this sequence will be limited to 10 minutes each.
Following the votes listed above, the Senate will recess until 2:15pm in order to accommodate the weekly caucus luncheons.
As a reminder, the filing deadline for second degree amendments is 12:00 noon on Tuesday, March 9.
Suspension-fest on the House side today. Fifteen bills are slated for fast-track passage, and today's allotment includes a mix of bills from several committees. Very often you'll see one or two committees clearing out their suspensions and dominating the day's schedule, but today four committees are represented. That's not deeply meaningful, really. But it might mean that the House has been moving more suspensions than usual, and no one committee has enough of a back-up to fill an entire day's worth of schedule. I don't think anybody's done a count, though. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, given how much waiting the House has been doing while the health insurance industry reform proposal bounces around.
In the Senate, work continues on the tax extenders and long-term UI/COBRA bill, obscuring the fact that behind the scenes, the vote counting and deal-making continues on health care. It's already looking like the March 18th sorta-kinda deadline will slip, but the upcoming Easter/Passover recess offers the Senate a good opportunity to put the squeeze on Republicans planning a filibuster-by-amendment, so it's expected that the delay in getting started won't be all that long.
It's worth noting, however, that work on the "fix" package (that may or may not be slated for consideration under reconciliation rules) is nearly complete and is expected to be headed to CBO for scoring shortly. The reason that's worth noting: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) not long ago insisted that the reason the "fix" bill couldn't be passed first is that the original main bill had to pass both houses before the fix bill could be scored by CBO. Hmm, gee, I wonder why that isn't happening? Well, maybe the scoring can't be finished until both houses pass the main bill, but they can start work on it before then. Yeah, whatever. I think the real story is that the bill can be scored just fine, since the whole idea is for the House to pass the Senate version verbatim. If nothing changes, then the scoring shouldn't either.
Anyway, none of this will be happening on the floor today, so you won't see any of it. Also not happening on the floor, but quite observable nonetheless, are today's committee meetings, the schedule for which appears below.
