Russian Undressing?

From VANITY FAIR:

The media frenzy ignited by James Comey’s decision, less than two weeks before the election, to disclose that the F.B.I. uncovered a fresh trove of e-mails that may pertain to Hillary Clinton’s e-mail scandal continues to reverberate throughout Washington. While a number of high-profile Republicans, including G.O.P. nominee Donald Trump, have praised Comey, the F.B.I. director’s October Surprise has incited withering criticism from both sides of the aisle. No one, however, has attacked Comey with more force than former pugilist Harry Reid. In a fiery letter on Sunday, the outgoing Nevada senator argued that Comey’s “partisan actions” may have violated federal law and accused the Republican official of withholding “explosive information” linking Trump and his top advisers to the Russian government.

 

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Strings Attached

From Crooks & Liars:

Senator John McCain went full Trump on Thursday, telling reporters that President Obama was “directly responsible” for the massacre in Orlando. Seriously?

…snip…

Democrats responded swiftly, denouncing his statements.

Senator Reid tweeted that McCain’s “unhinged comments are just the latest proof that Senate Republicans are puppets of Donald Trump.”

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Coburnt

From THINK PROGRESS ECONOMY:

Until late this afternoon, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) was single-handedly blocking the transportation bill that would temporarily reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, keep 80,000 people in their jobs, and avoid another costly shutdown like the one that occurred in August. Coburn had said he was blocking the bill due to the “indefensible threat to public safety” caused by a provision in the bill meant to increase trees and bike paths alongside roadways.

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Name That Toomey

From USA TODAY:

Sen. Pat Toomey voted against the debt-limit compromise last week, partly because he didn’t think the budget-balancing recommendations of the bipartisan committee it created would stick.

A week later, Toomey finds himself serving on the committee he voted against.

The Pennsylvanian was one of six Republican members appointed Wednesday to Congress’ new 12-member “supercommittee.”

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It’s Burnt and Made With Devilled Ham

From The Guardian:

It was easy wandering round the corridors of Congress yesterday to spot who had won the debt standoff. In huddles with party colleagues or heading off to caucus meetings to discuss the details of the deal or standing in front of TV cameras, it was the Republicans who had all the smiles.

Democratic members of Congress looked uneasy, at times shifty; and some downright were angry. “If I were a Republican, this is a night to party,” Emanuel Cleaver, a Democratic member of the House from Missouri, told MSNBC. Cleaver, a Methodist pastor and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, which met to discuss its reaction to the deal, dismissed it as a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich”.

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Tempest in a Teabag

From Eli Lehrer at Frum Forum:

[T]he current debt limit debate shows what the Tea Party movement (which I once basically supported) really values: being a jerk. Speaker Boehner has a close-to-perfect voting record on conservative issues, is not terribly warm in person […] and has proposed a good, tough spending cut plan. But he has also demonstrated a modicum of willingness to work with the president and appears to want to bring the debt ceiling crisis to a close.

Eric Cantor—who may well become speaker before the end of the year—does not disagree with Boehner on any major issue including the debt plan but, unlike Boehner, Cantor is basically a jerk who is willing to work against his own Speaker, the President, the financial interests that have traditionally supported his party and, indeed, just about everyone else so long as it keeps him in the media. I’m disgusted.

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Turtle Whacks

From TALKING POINTS MEMO:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has proposed creating an escape hatch for Congressional Republicans, who have put themselves in a box by threatening not to raise the national debt limit if Democrats don’t agree to trillions of dollars in cuts to popular social programs.

The plan is designed to give President Obama the power to raise the debt limit on his own through the end of his first term, but to force Democrats to take a series of votes on the debt limit in the months leading up to the election. This would stave off the threat of defaulting on national obligations, but keep the charged issues of debt and spending at the center of political debate for months.

The development confirms suspicions that the GOP was unwilling to truly use the looming debt ceiling as leverage to force conservative-friendly changes to popular entitlement programs, but suggests strongly that Republicans plan to continue politicking on fiscal issues through the 2012 elections.

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Rethugs are just puppets of Americans for Tax Reform

From POLITICAL HOTSHEET at CBS NEWS:

Vice President Joe Biden’s deficit reduction talks imploded today after the only two Republicans involved in the negotiations announced they are halting their participation because of their objections to Democratic demands for “tax increases.”

Democrats meanwhile, suggested Republicans are “playing with fire” by holding up a vote on raising the debt ceiling.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced this morning that he would skip today’s scheduled meeting because “Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases.”

Subsequently, Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona announced he was pulling out of the negotiations.

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