Welch, Johnson, Leger, USAT
Robbing headlines from the selection of a president for the next four years would seem a tall order, but CIA Director David Petraeus has managed to do just that. Even as some of the votes from last week's national elections were still being counted, the talk of the nation's capital turned from President Obama's sweeping electoral triumph over Mitt Romney to another sex scandal at high levels of government.
Boehner To House GOP: Fall In Line
On November - 10 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
WASHINGTON -- On a conference call with House Republicans a day after the party's electoral battering last week, Speaker John A. Boehner dished out some bitter medicine, and for the first time in the 112th Congress, most members took their dose.
Mickey Costa: To Move Forward, We Must End Partisan Politics
On November - 7 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
By 11:18 p.m. EST, America had found out that the President will be re-elected, the House will remain under Republican control and the Democrats will retain a Senate majority. Basically, everything will stay the same. So we are left to ask, will anything be different?
We still have the same issues staring us down that must be dealt with. Most pressing of which is the fiscal cliff. More to the point, we must demand that both parties in Congress start to genuinely work together. Because we all can agree, that partisan politics has gridlocked our country for far too long.
Obama tweeted: "We're all in this together." Well, he is right. But bringing the country together is a huge challenge. How can we finally end partisanship in our country? Will Obama be able to do it? No. We have to do it.
We need to stand together and say in one resounding voice -- time to work for us. Because without such pressure it will surely not happen. America can move forward, but if it doesn't start with you, if it doesn't originate from us, things will stay the same.
Together, we can force both parties to resolve the issues we all face as a nation. Together, we show that we are not that polarized, that we are united in our cause for progress -- that we have a voice that continues past our vote.
The Winner Is Likely to Be More Gridlock
On November - 4 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Doyle McManus, LA Times
After a year of campaign sound and fury, we're about to hold an election that will probably fail to usher in the one thing voters of all stripes would like to see: an end to the partisan gridlock in Congress.Neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney appears likely to win the kind of landslide victory that provides a mandate for big change. And whoever wins the presidency is almost certain to face at least two years of divided government in Congress: a Republican House, a Democratic Senate.
After a year of campaign sound and fury, we're about to hold an election that will probably fail to usher in the one thing voters of all stripes would like to see: an end to the partisan gridlock in Congress.Neither President Obama nor Mitt Romney appears likely to win the kind of landslide victory that provides a mandate for big change. And whoever wins the presidency is almost certain to face at least two years of divided government in Congress: a Republican House, a Democratic Senate.
Barack Obama: "The sequester is not something that I've proposed. It is something that Congress has proposed."
On October - 24 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Barack Obama says Congress owns sequestration cuts
In their final debate before the election, President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney each said they would be the staunchest supporter of the military. Said Romney: "I will not cut our military budget by a trillion dollars, which is a combination of the budget cuts the president has, as well as the sequestration cuts. That, in my view, is making ... our future less certain and less secure." Obama responded by saying Romney was assigning blame in the wrong place. "First of all, the sequester is not something that ...
>> MoreLinda McMahon: As a Member of Congress, Chris Murphy "was raking in $1 million in salary."
On October - 19 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Linda McMahon says opponent Chris Murphy 'was raking in $1 million in salary' in Congress
In an ad in the hard-fought U.S. Senate race in Connecticut, Republican Linda McMahon charges that her Democratic opponent, Rep. Chris Murphy, has been getting rich in Congress. The ad focuses on Social Security and Medicare, but it includes a momentary detour into how much Murphy got paid for his labors in the Capitol. The narrator asks, "Why is Congressman Chris Murphy lying to you about Linda McMahon and Social Security? Because while Murphy was raking in $1 million in salary, he voted to cut Medicare for current recipients by $716 billion."
>> More
Would Romney Be Able to Break DC Gridlock?
On October - 18 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Lindsey Boerma, CBS News
President Obama recently conceded that his 2008 vow to "get us out of his polarizing debate... and actually get things done" may have been a bit "naive" considering the current level of gridlock caging Congress. But that hasn't stopped Mitt Romney from resurrecting the promise as his own this cycle - after all, the GOP nominee said during Tuesday's debate: He's done it before, he'll do it again."What we have right now in Washington is a place that's gridlocked," Romney said during the second presidential debate at Hoftra University in...
President Obama recently conceded that his 2008 vow to "get us out of his polarizing debate... and actually get things done" may have been a bit "naive" considering the current level of gridlock caging Congress. But that hasn't stopped Mitt Romney from resurrecting the promise as his own this cycle - after all, the GOP nominee said during Tuesday's debate: He's done it before, he'll do it again."What we have right now in Washington is a place that's gridlocked," Romney said during the second presidential debate at Hoftra University in...
Hillary: The Missed Opportunity
On October - 17 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Bill Keller, New York Times
Back in January I proposed that President Obama do a switcheroo, sending Joe Biden to the State Department and making Hillary Clinton his running mate. I acknowledged the reasons that this was probably a fantasy, but contended the arguments in favor were as simple as one-two-three: One: it does more to guarantee Obama’s re-election than anything else the Democrats can do. Two: it improves the chances that, come next January, he will not be a lame duck with a gridlocked Congress but a rejuvenated president with a mandate and a Congress that may be a...
Back in January I proposed that President Obama do a switcheroo, sending Joe Biden to the State Department and making Hillary Clinton his running mate. I acknowledged the reasons that this was probably a fantasy, but contended the arguments in favor were as simple as one-two-three: One: it does more to guarantee Obama’s re-election than anything else the Democrats can do. Two: it improves the chances that, come next January, he will not be a lame duck with a gridlocked Congress but a rejuvenated president with a mandate and a Congress that may be a...
How Obama Sqaundered His Presidency
On October - 16 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Victor Davis Hanson, NRO
The Obama narrative is that he inherited the worst mess in memory and has been stymied ever since by a partisan Congress - while everything from new ATM technology to the Japanese tsunami conspired against him. But how true are those claims?Barack Obama entered office with an approval rating of over 70 percent. John McCain’s campaign had been anemic and almost at times seemed as if it was designed to lose nobly to the nation’s first African-American presidential nominee.
The Obama narrative is that he inherited the worst mess in memory and has been stymied ever since by a partisan Congress - while everything from new ATM technology to the Japanese tsunami conspired against him. But how true are those claims?Barack Obama entered office with an approval rating of over 70 percent. John McCain’s campaign had been anemic and almost at times seemed as if it was designed to lose nobly to the nation’s first African-American presidential nominee.
Harry Reid’s Ongoing War on Nevadans
On October - 15 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Sherman Frederick, Las Vegas RJ
It's not exactly a news flash to say most everyone loves to hate Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.A Nosferatu look-alike, he casts a long shadow as he creeps the halls of Congress, sucking the life out of good will, bipartisanship and honest discussion.A jolly old Tip O'Neill he most definitely is not.
It's not exactly a news flash to say most everyone loves to hate Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.A Nosferatu look-alike, he casts a long shadow as he creeps the halls of Congress, sucking the life out of good will, bipartisanship and honest discussion.A jolly old Tip O'Neill he most definitely is not.
Dodd-Frank’s Big Kiss to Too Big to Fail Wall Street
On October - 12 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Mona Charen, NRO
If Mitt Romney is elected and secures Republican control of both houses of Congress, the U.S. could be poised for a vertiginous economic snapback.To understand how, consider that the Democratic explanation for our current malaise is utterly fallacious. Mr. Obama and his allies identify the "Bush tax cuts," "two wars that weren't paid for," and "deregulation" as the causes of America's present economic doldrums. But federal outlays as a percentage of GDP under George W. Bush averaged 19.6 percent. Under Obama, spending has ballooned to 24.1 percent of...
If Mitt Romney is elected and secures Republican control of both houses of Congress, the U.S. could be poised for a vertiginous economic snapback.To understand how, consider that the Democratic explanation for our current malaise is utterly fallacious. Mr. Obama and his allies identify the "Bush tax cuts," "two wars that weren't paid for," and "deregulation" as the causes of America's present economic doldrums. But federal outlays as a percentage of GDP under George W. Bush averaged 19.6 percent. Under Obama, spending has ballooned to 24.1 percent of...
Paul Ryan: Says Obama was in New York City the same day as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but went on a TV show instead of meeting with him.
On October - 11 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Paul Ryan said Obama was in NYC same day as Bibi but dissed him
President Barack Obama couldn’t manage to squeeze in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while they were in New York on the same day, but Obama did find time to go on a TV talk show, charged vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., during a debate on Oct. 11. Here is what Ryan said: "Let's look at this from the view of the ayatollahs. What do they see? They see this administration trying to water down sanctions in Congress for over two years. They're moving faster toward a nuclear ...
>> MoreEmergency Committee for Israel: "When Congress voted to condemn Iran for sentencing a Christian pastor to death, (U.S. Rep. Lois) Capps was the only member who voted no."
On October - 11 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Pro-Israel group attacks Rep. Lois Capps for casting only 'no' vote
A new ad by the Emergency Committee for Israel -- a pro-Israel group whose board members include high-profile conservatives Bill Kristol and Gary Bauer -- pummels U.S. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., over Middle East policy. With a series of dark, conflict-heavy images and ominous music as a backdrop, the ad says, among other things, "When Congress voted to condemn Iran for sentencing a Christian pastor to death, Capps was the only member who voted no." We wondered if it was true that Capps was really the only lawmaker to vote no on ...
>> MoreBob Woodward’s Disastrous Book
On October - 9 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
THE MOST VIVID scene in Bob Woodward’s new book has almost nothing to do with his central narrative, but reveals a lot about the narrator. The scene takes place in February of 2009, as Congress is laboring to ward off an economic collapse. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker, is hunkered down in her office with Harry Reid, her Senate counterpart, to negotiate a stimulus bill that can pass both chambers. This is no easy task. The bill must be modest enough to survive a Republican filibuster, but ambitious enough to satisfy Pelosi’s liberal caucus. But, then, these are veteran legislators—born deal-makers at that. They get to work with all the seriousness you’d expect.
How Obama Lost Control Over Congress Over Debt Talks
On September - 8 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
President Obama summoned the top four congressional leaders to the White House on Saturday morning, July 23, 2011. The night before, House Speaker John A. Boehner had withdrawn from negotiations to raise the $14 trillion federal debt limit and save the government from a catastrophic default. “Nobody wanted to be there,” Boehner later recalled. “The president’s still pissed.”
How Obama Has Gutted Welfare Reform
On September - 8 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Robert Rector, Washington Post
To hear Bill Clinton tell it, there’s no truth to the charges that President Obama gutted welfare reform. The White House, fact-checkers and some journalists have said the same, playing down Obama’s decision to exempt states from the law’s work requirements.Working closely with members of Congress, I helped draft the work requirements in the 1996 law, and I raised the alarm on July 12, when the Obama administration issued a bureaucratic order allowing states to waive those requirements. The law has indeed been gutted. Here’s how:
To hear Bill Clinton tell it, there’s no truth to the charges that President Obama gutted welfare reform. The White House, fact-checkers and some journalists have said the same, playing down Obama’s decision to exempt states from the law’s work requirements.Working closely with members of Congress, I helped draft the work requirements in the 1996 law, and I raised the alarm on July 12, when the Obama administration issued a bureaucratic order allowing states to waive those requirements. The law has indeed been gutted. Here’s how:
James Clyburn: When Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid were created, "Republicans stood on the sidelines"
On September - 6 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | James Clyburn says Republicans sat on sidelines for passage of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid
During his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., James Clyburn -- a South Carolinian who is the third-highest-ranking Democrat in the House -- offered an extended metaphor about how Democrats have protected Americans over the years. "When too many of our senior citizens who were living their golden years in the darkness of economic security, Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt and a Democratic congress created Social Security, lighting a candle, while the Republicans cursed the darkness," Clyburn said. "When too many of our elderly found their lives darkened by unaffordable and ...
>> MoreWoodward’s Devastating Account of Obama
On September - 6 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Conn Carroll, DC Examiner
The book recounts Obama’s troubled relationship with Congress, from his inauguration through last summer’s failed debt-limit negotiations, with Woodward concluding, “It is a fact that President Obama was handed a miserable, faltering economy and faced a recalcitrant Republican opposition. But presidents work their will — or should work their will — on important matters of national business. . . . Obama has not.”
The book recounts Obama’s troubled relationship with Congress, from his inauguration through last summer’s failed debt-limit negotiations, with Woodward concluding, “It is a fact that President Obama was handed a miserable, faltering economy and faced a recalcitrant Republican opposition. But presidents work their will — or should work their will — on important matters of national business. . . . Obama has not.”
House Republicans Investigated For Drinking, Nudity
On August - 19 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff – and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses.
Congress Approval Ties All-Time Low at 10%
On August - 15 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Frank Newport, Gallup
Romney-Ryan: The Fight Has Been Joined
On August - 11 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Roger Simon, PJ Media
Mitt Romney did something that a lot of supposed wise men said he wouldn’t — pick a vice presidential candidate who is more charismatic than he. In choosing Paul Ryan, Romney took the risk he would be outshone, but he did America a favor. He selected the brightest young politician we have.He also underscored his best line of the campaign so far, “It’s the economy – and we’re not stupid!” No one in Congress has thought more creatively or acted with more determination to solve the great economic problems we face than Ryan. He...
Mitt Romney did something that a lot of supposed wise men said he wouldn’t — pick a vice presidential candidate who is more charismatic than he. In choosing Paul Ryan, Romney took the risk he would be outshone, but he did America a favor. He selected the brightest young politician we have.He also underscored his best line of the campaign so far, “It’s the economy – and we’re not stupid!” No one in Congress has thought more creatively or acted with more determination to solve the great economic problems we face than Ryan. He...
On Spending, There’s Too Much Compromise in D.C.
On August - 9 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Chris Chocola, NYDN
Immediately following Ted Cruz's victory in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Texas last week, a television ad by my organization's Super PAC, Club for Growth Action, was deemed the "single most important" ad in the race. That ad repeated a single charge over and over again "” namely, that Cruz's opponent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, was a "moderate."We're glad that people noticed, because Congress needs fewer "moderates" and more people willing to adhere to principle and work to fix our...
Immediately following Ted Cruz's victory in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Texas last week, a television ad by my organization's Super PAC, Club for Growth Action, was deemed the "single most important" ad in the race. That ad repeated a single charge over and over again "” namely, that Cruz's opponent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, was a "moderate."We're glad that people noticed, because Congress needs fewer "moderates" and more people willing to adhere to principle and work to fix our...
The Tea Party’s Plan to Cripple Congress
On August - 7 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
Wave goodbye to members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Doing nothing has taken a lot out of them, so they have left Washington for five weeks of rest, relaxation and campaigning in the hope that voters will return them to office to do more of the same.This is especially the case for the large Tea Party contingent among the several score first-term Republicans. They set out to change Washington but settled for simply paralyzing it.
Wave goodbye to members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Doing nothing has taken a lot out of them, so they have left Washington for five weeks of rest, relaxation and campaigning in the hope that voters will return them to office to do more of the same.This is especially the case for the large Tea Party contingent among the several score first-term Republicans. They set out to change Washington but settled for simply paralyzing it.
Another Disaster for U.S. Workers
On August - 3 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
James Pethokoukis, AEI Ideas
Only in a world of lowered, New Normal expectations was the July jobs report anything less than another disaster for U.S. workers. Nonfarm payrolls rose 163,000 last month as the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%. In addition, employment for May and June was revised by 6,000 jobs.– Not only is the 8.3% unemployment rate way above the 5.6% unemployment rate that Team Obama predicted for July 2012 if Congress passed the $800 billion stimulus plan. It’s way above the 6.0% unemployment rate they predicted if no stimulus was passed.
Only in a world of lowered, New Normal expectations was the July jobs report anything less than another disaster for U.S. workers. Nonfarm payrolls rose 163,000 last month as the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%. In addition, employment for May and June was revised by 6,000 jobs.– Not only is the 8.3% unemployment rate way above the 5.6% unemployment rate that Team Obama predicted for July 2012 if Congress passed the $800 billion stimulus plan. It’s way above the 6.0% unemployment rate they predicted if no stimulus was passed.
