Crap Shoot

From the Los Angeles Times:

They want to repeal the healthcare overhaul, pare back financial regulations, slash federal spending and curtail the reach of the Environmental Protection Agency. In essence, they want to challenge the agenda of the Obama administration at every turn.

The new GOP chairmen of key House committees such as Appropriations, Budget, Energy and Commerce, and Oversight and Government Reform believe they have a mandate to check the size and scope of government.

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Koch Choler

From Joe Conason at Salon:

Is there a vast corporate conspiracy behind the Tea Party and the midterm resurgence of the far right? The most suggestive evidence involves the well-documented role of the billionaire Koch brothers, their Americans for Prosperity front group and other Koch-funded entities – but now a secret letter from Charles Koch shows that the tentacles of the “Kochtopus” include a high-level “network” of corporate, lobbying, nonprofit, and media organizations that meet regularly to plot right-wing strategy.

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Summers’ Time and the Leaving is Easy

From The Washington Post:

President Obama‘s top economic adviser, Lawrence H. Summers, will step down as director of the National Economic Council after the November elections and return to a teaching post at Harvard University, the White House announced Tuesday.

The departure of Summers, 55, will complete the turnover of three of Obama’s four top economic advisers as the administration struggles with the political fallout of a stubbornly weak economy.

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The Know-Nothing No-Everything Party

From POST POLITICS at The Washington Post:

In February, when unpredictable Sen. Jim Bunning single-handedly stalled extensions of unemployment benefits for several days, his Republican colleagues quickly abandoned him, worried that the GOP would be cast as the party against helping people who are out of work.

Last month, as jobless benefits were again to set to expire, Bunning (Ky.) still objected to funding them in a way that would increase the deficit. But this time, nearly every Republican in the Senate joined him, leading to a month-long impasse in which more than 2 million people briefly lost their benefits. When the extension finally passed last week, only two Republicans backed the $34 billion unemployment measure, compared with 21 who had voted with Democrats in March.

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(l to r: Michele Bathshit Bachmann, Mitch Yertle McConnell, Kay I-Lost-to-Gov-Little-Ricky-Goodhair Bailey Hutchison, Lindsey Lindseypoo Graham, Virginia So-Not-A Foxx, Marsha! Marsha! Marsha! Blackburn, Tom Acts-of-God Cole, and Jim Beanball Bunning

Did He Ever Have a Groove Before?

From THE HILL:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will put forth his party’s case for regaining its congressional majorities this fall during a speech Thursday in Washington.

McConnell will tell members of the Young Republican Leadership Conference that the GOP has “got its groove back” heading into November.

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The Wrong Women for Women’s Rights

From Stephanie Schriock (President, EMILY‘s List) at THE HUFFINGTON POST:

To say I was unmoved by Sarah Palin’s much-heralded new “Mama Grizzlies” video is an understatement. I think it’s time to get the story of the 2010 elections straight — and to call out Palin’s efforts for what they are: an attempt, in the name of “feminism,” to turn back the clock on women’s rights and to set American families back.

But I will say something you probably never thought you’d hear: I agree with Sarah Palin on one thing. I agree with her that women — moms, yes, but grandmothers, too, and daughters — will decide this election.

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Harry, King of Cots

From FIREDOGLAKE (April 28, 2010 12:47 P.M.):

Roll Out The Cots – Democrats To Stage All-Night Session On FinReg

In a bit of political theater, Senate Democrats plan to hold Republicans hostage on the floor and continually reject moving to debate on the Wall Street reform bill as a means to highlight the obstructionism and hopefully break the impasse.

…snip…

A senior leadership aide described this stunt as similar to what they did when Jim Bunning would not give consent on the unemployment insurance extension. The press was very negative toward Bunning and the Republicans, and eventually they caved. Democrats are hopeful that they can force the hand of those who have wavered on the FinReg bill – George Voinovich, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe and others – and “seal the deal” on moving to a floor debate on it. It is likely that Democrats would need more than one Republican to get 60 votes, as Ben Nelson “doesn’t seem like he’s budging,” the aide said.

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Let Us Be Frank. Or Maybe Just Talk Like Him!

From Robert Shrum at THE WEEK (April 15,2010):

Months of death panel promoting, senior citizen deceiving, and abortion mongering have left Republicans immune to facts. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has donned his Frank Luntz mask (maybe McConnell could borrow the pollster’s toupee too), lifting wholesale Luntz’s language designed to mislead the public about financial reform. Playing dummy to Luntz’s ventriloquist, McConnell now shamelessly characterizes the bill that would avert future bailouts on Wall Street as a license for endless bailouts on Wall Street.

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