Craig Melvin, MSNBC
Politico's Manu Raju appeared on MSNBC this afternoon to talk with guest host Craig Melvin about a possible racial element behind five black members of Congress being targeted in an ethics investigation. MSNBC's Melvin seemed caught up with the racial aspect in the case."Are black lawmakers being unfairly targeted for ethics investigations in Congress?" he asked Raju.

Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics
People have always told Bobby Jindal to slow down.The Louisiana governor has a tendency to speak faster than his audience is able to think, so when it came time to deliver the Republican response to President Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress in 2009, the most important speech of Jindal's political life, he made sure to take it slow.What resulted was an oratorical disaster.On live national television, Jindal spoke in a jarring, singsong pitch that replaced his natural rapid-fire monotone. Even longtime friends found it difficult to concentrate on what he was...

The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Mitt Romney says Barack Obama's "suggested reduction in spending for next year" is zero

In an effort to relate the federal budget to a typical family’s budget, the Mitt Romney presidential campaign posted an explanatory graphic on April 17, 2012. It concludes with this claim "President Obama's suggested reduction in spending for next year: $0." We decided to see whether that’s accurate. As its source, the graphic pointed to Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2013. This document, produced annually, is usually considered an opening volley rather than a final set of numbers, particularly when the president and Congress are controlled by different parties. Congress ...

>> More

Neal Boortz, Nealz Nuze
Here's another example of Obama's smoke-and-mirrors style of ruling.  Dodd-Frank.  Obama and the Democrat Congress passed Dodd-Frank with the promise of ending the concept of "too big to fail."  Just yesterday Obama was touting Dodd-Frank and hammering any Republicans who want to repeal it: "Anyone who is pledging to roll back Wall Street reform, Dodd-Frank, would also roll back this vital consumer protection with it."

Jamelle Bouie, American Prospect
For years, liberals have argued that polarization his little to do with the Democratic Party—which they see as largely centrist—and everything to do with a Republican Party, which has moved far to the right since the 1970s. Recent research from political scientists Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal, who have measured polarization and ideological shifts in Congress, confirms that theory. According to NPR, they’ve found that the GOP is more conservative now than it’s been in a century:

The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Obama says Republicans in Congress won't name one tax exemption they want to repeal

President Barack Obama said a budget proposed by House Republicans lacked "a shred of credibility," especially when it came to tax cuts. Obama said their budget includes $4.6 trillion in lower taxes over the next 10 years, with no way to pay for them. "We’re told that these tax cuts will supposedly be paid for by closing loopholes and eliminating wasteful deductions," Obama said. "But the Republicans in Congress refuse to list a single tax loophole they are willing to close. Not one." We wanted to check Obama’s claim that ...

>> More

The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Obama says Republicans in Congress won't name one tax exemption they want to repeal

President Barack Obama said a budget proposed by House Republicans lacked "a shred of credibility," especially when it came to tax cuts. Obama said their budget includes $4.6 trillion in lower taxes over the next 10 years, with no way to pay for them. "We’re told that these tax cuts will supposedly be paid for by closing loopholes and eliminating wasteful deductions," Obama said. "But the Republicans in Congress refuse to list a single tax loophole they are willing to close. Not one." We wanted to check Obama’s claim that ...

>> More

Ezra Klein, Bloomberg
I’m not particularly worried about the budget deficit. In fact, of all the major problems the U.S. faces, I’m least worried about the deficit. That’s not because we don’t have to get the problem under control; it’s because I’m pretty sure we will. Why? The budget deficit is unique: If Congress is unable to agree on a remedy, the problem goes away on its own. Would that all of our challenges were so cooperative. 

Legislation making it easier for small businesses to raise money survived a test vote in the Senate on Wednesday, increasing the chances it could emerge as one of the few bipartisan bills to pass Congress during this election year.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., teeters on glittery, gold four-inch heels, the skirt of her dress swishing as she trails a fellow Republican who is furiously scribbling a Medicare overhaul plan on a yellow legal pad. Other “senators” bounce balloons back and forth through the aisleways; one Republican sits in the back of the chamber, studying an iPad to figure out how to tie his tie.

The STOCK act, legislation to ban members of Congress from benefiting from insider stock trading, will move forward in Congress after all. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act had been stalled in Congress since early last month, after the Senate and the House of...

A bill designed to enact President Barack Obama's plan for a "Buffett rule" tax on the wealthy would rake in just $47 billion over the next 11 years, according to an estimate by Congress' official tax analysts obtained by The Associated Press.

A bill designed to enact President Barack Obama's plan for a "Buffett rule" tax on the wealthy would rake in just $31 billion over the next 11 years, according to an estimate by Congress' official tax analysts obtained by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid moved on Tuesday to give final congressional approval to a stalled bill to impose new curbs on insider trading by members of Congress, giving up on efforts to strengthen the measure. Unable to obtain an agreement to try to iron out differences between versions of the bill passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, Reid said his chamber would vote on the House legislation. A test vote will likely be held on Thursday, clearing the way for the Senate to pass it as early as Friday. ...

Facing a skeptical Congress, the top commander in Afghanistan insisted on Tuesday that the United States is winding down the decade-plus war and has no intention to remain in the country indefinitely.

The U.S. must stick to its strategy in Afghanistan, including the planned withdrawal calendar, over the next several months despite recent setbacks that have tested America's relations with the Afghans, the top U.S. commander for the war is telling Congress.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With the East Coast poised to lose 50 percent of its oil refining capacity, three members of Congress on Monday worried that while the country is producing more of its own crude oil, it might grow more dependent on other countries for gasoline and diesel fuel. Pennsylvania Congressman Pat Meehan hosted a panel of energy experts for a field meeting in Aston, Pennsylvania, of the Committee on Homeland Security. ...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian officials involved in recent negotiations with U.S. diplomats said on Saturday they believed that Washington planned to unblock military aid to Egypt, which has been embroiled in a dispute with the United States over democratic freedoms. About $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt that Congress approved for the current fiscal year was blocked under a new law requiring U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to certify that Egypt's military supports a transition to civilian rule. ...

Pump prices on his mind, President Barack Obama says Congress should kill tax breaks for the oil and gas industry and help develop alternative sources of energy.

Roger Lowenstein, The Atlantic
The U.S. Federal Reserve was founded 99 years ago, as a bulwark to the banking system and an antidote to its frequent runs and panics. Strictly speaking, it was America's third attempt at a central bank. The first, organized by Congress in 1791, was allowed to expire after 20 years, leaving the young republic with only a patchwork system of weaker state banks. During the War of 1812, Congress realized its error (in the absence of a central bank, inflation had run rampant), and in 1816, it chartered a second bank, again for 20 years. The Second Bank of the United States was, in the main,...

Despite the excitement surrounding actor and activist George Clooney's visit to Washington, D.C., this week, there's nothing new about stars testifying before Congress. As celebrities get more involved in politics, can their star power still draw an audience for a worthy cause?

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

President Barack Obama is calling anew on Congress to end tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry, saying the nation needs to develop alternative sources of energy in the face of rising gasoline prices.

ELMHURST, Ill. – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stumped on behalf of Mitt Romney in a Chicago suburb today, telling the crowd packed into a student center at Elmhurst College that they should beware of the pitfalls of electing a member of Congress to the...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Gary Ackerman, a 15-term Democrat from New York known for his colorful rhetoric and advocacy for Israel, said on Thursday he would not seek re-election this autumn. Ackerman, in announcing his retirement, said in a statement he was stepping down even though planned congressional redistricting appeared to be "extraordinarily favorable" to him. "During my years in Congress, it has been my pleasure to address the needs of thousands of individual constituents," he said. "I am most thankful for the opportunity I've had to serve my country and my community. ...