The Date of the Union

From The Houston Chronicle:

There was U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, in her coveted State of the Union perch along the aisle. Wearing an eye-catching lime-green jacket, she got her brief moment of TV exposure and a handshake from President Barack Obama, as usual, as the president made his way into the august chamber of the House.

This time, though, instead of sitting in a bloc with her fellow Democrats, Lee sat beside a real live Republican, U.S. Rep. Pete Olson of Sugar Land.

The two Houston lawmakers were enthusiastic participants in the State of the Union “date night,” a bipartisan gesture prompted by the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., earlier this month.

The pre-speech curiosity was almost Oscar-night giddy — or maybe prom-night giddy — as lawmakers over the past several days paired off.

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The Baucus Caucus

From The Washington Post:

Two amendments considered, and defeated, Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee both aimed to get to the same place — creating a government-sponsored alternative to private insurance — but by different routes.

The first, sponsored by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), proposed a program that would piggyback on Medicare for the first two years as it got underway.

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(Clockwise from left corner:  Blanche Walmart Lincoln, Kent Co-op Conrad, Max Blue Cross Baucus, Tom Carping Carper, and Bill Lost In Space Nelson)

Banking to the Right

From the Los Angeles Times:

The financial services industry is in trouble over its role in crashing the world economy, but that doesn’t mean its lobbyists have lost all their muscle on Capitol Hill.

Exhibit A: The Senate delivered a stinging rebuff to President Obama and consumer advocates Thursday by rejecting a measure to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

The vote was 51 to 45, with 12 Democrats joining Republicans in opposing the proposal, under which bankruptcy judges could order lenders to reduce the principal on home mortgages.

The proposal, which sailed through the House in March, was a key part of Obama’s plan to reduce the tide of home foreclosures.

Damn! Even Evan Bayh voted yes! Not so these twelve, who…

Original DVD cover.

Demagangery

From The Fix at The Washington Post:

Evan Bayh’s announcement […] that he and 14 other Democratic senators had begun to meet weekly to discuss ways in which the moderate/centrist wing of the party could ensure its voice is better heard by the White House and Senate leadership is the latest example of the Indiana Democrat’s increased willingness to critique — and tweak — the Obama administration.

Original DVD cover.
[left to right, bottom: Mary Landrieu (LA), Herb Kohl (WI), Claire McCaskill (MO), Mark Begich (AK), Mark Warner (VA), Evan Bayh (IN); top: Ben Nelson (N), Joe Lieberman (CT), Mark Udall (CO), Jeanne Shaheen (NH)]

Leftovers

Since it is the day after Thanksgiving, and we are probably all recovering from our feeding orgies , I am serving leftovers tonight. I was going to title this DINO-sores. I made it after Michael Mukasey was confirmed as Attorney General.

Original DVD cover.