Norm Dicks

Hoyer: Dicks Likely To Replace Murtha As Defense Approp. Chair

Rachel Slajda | February 9, 2010, 6:16PM

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA)

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said today he expects Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) to take over the chairmanship of the Appropriations subcommittee on defense, which was held by the late Rep. John Murtha (D-PA).

"I think he will be able to fill that role," Hoyer said, according to Roll Call.

Dicks is the next ranking member on the subcommittee. He is also the chair of the subcommittee on interior appropriations, on which he has served since he became a Congressman in 1977.

Dicks is "an extraordinarily able Member of Congress," Hoyer said.

AFL-CIO

Trumka: Bring On The Recess Appointments

Brian Beutler | February 9, 2010, 6:00PM

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President

After watching a key labor nominee fail to be confirmed by the Senate thanks to a filibuster, the head of the nation's largest union federation says he's ready for President Obama to take matters into his own hands.

"We support President Obama's expressed willingness to make recess appointments of critical posts in the federal government if that's what it takes to get around minority delay and obstruction," says an official statement from AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. "There are currently more than 60 political nominees being held up by the Republican minority in the Senate - at this point in the Bush Administration, only four nominees were still in limbo."

Ins so doing, Trumka joins Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in arguing that it's appropriate for the President to circumvent GOP obstruction.

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Arlen Specter

Poll: Specter Leads Sestak By 15 Points In Dem Primary

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2010, 5:55PM

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA)

The new Rasmussen poll of Pennsylvania Democrats shows Sen. Arlen Specter continuing to lead his primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak.

The numbers: Specter 51%, Sestak 36%. Last month, Specter led by slightly more, at 53%-32%, but the month before that was closer at 48%-35%. Specter switched parties last year, after 28 years as a Republican Senator, because his support for the stimulus bill had served to guarantee his defeat in the GOP primary. Sestak has been attempting to parlay distrust of Specter among Democrats into a successful primary challenge, but the incumbent has been holding on.

From the pollster's analysis: "Specter's support has ranged from 46% and 53% in the earlier polls. Incumbents who fall below 50% on a consistent basis are viewed as vulnerable, but this is the second month in a row where he's crossed that critical line. In the five previous Rasmussen Reports polls on the race, Sestak's support has ranged from 32% to 42%. He was most competitive in October when the numbers showed Specter with 46% of the vote and Sestak at 42%."

Polls

Poll: Obama Trying Harder Than The GOP To Be Bipartisan

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 9, 2010, 5:47PM

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), President Obama, and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

Republican leaders warned today that they might skip the White House's bipartisan health care meeting Feb. 25 because they think President Obama isn't trying hard enough to be bipartisan on the controversial issue. But a new ABC News poll out today shows that Americans think it's Republicans who need to try harder to reach across the aisle. Overwhelmingly, they support efforts to find a compromise in health care, rather than scrap reform efforts entirely.

Just 30% of respondents to the poll said that Republican efforts at bipartisanship are "about right." Fifty-eight percent said the GOP is doing "too little" to work with the their Democratic colleagues. Respondents were more approving of Obama's attempts to be bipartisan -- 45% said his efforts were "about right," and 44% said they were "too little."

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John McCain

Arpaio Writes Letter For Hayworth's Run Against McCain

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2010, 3:57PM

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (R-AZ) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), who is challenging Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary, is getting some help from one of the most prominent Republicans in the state, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Arpaio, a long-time opponent of illegal immigration -- and of McCain himself, having endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2008 GOP primaries instead of his home state's candidate -- has written a letter promoting Hayworth's candidacy, The Hotline reports. The letter was sent out to Arpaio's fundraising list. In the letter, Arpaio accuses McCain of having "moderate or even liberal positions." Arpaio also attacks McCain's political credibility as a conservative, seemingly ridiculing him for doing a bad job of campaigning against Barack Obama in 2008.

"Senator McCain has served this country admirably but it's time to replace his moderate or even liberal positions on taxes, the border, social causes and big bank bailouts with a consistent conservative like J.D.," Arpaio writes. "I just wish Senator McCain had run as hard against Barack Obama as he is against a conservative like J.D. That could have prevented the harmful, liberal agenda we are all now suffering through."

Health Care

Get It Done: Reid Threatens Weekend Session If GOP Filibusters Just-Completed Jobs Bill

Brian Beutler | February 9, 2010, 3:22PM

Sen. McConnell (R-KY) Sen. Reid (D-NV)

After a weather related delay Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is just about ready to go with his jobs package. But with another storm threatening to shut down Congress yet again tomorrow, a week-long recess set to kick off this weekend, and no promise from the GOP not to filibuster the bill, Reid is threatening to keep the Senate in session through the weekend to get the bill finished.

"The issue before the Senate and the decision I have to make after speaking to the Republican leader is what we do when we come back here on Thursday," Reid said on the floor this afternoon.

We'll have an intervening day. I would rather not be in session tomorrow if, in fact, we have to file cloture on that package that I just talked about. I have told everyone that what I think would be the appropriate way to do is to get on that bill and to have some amendments on both sides, and I hope we can do that. We really need to finish the bill this week. I would hope that we can do that in a reasonable time. It appears from what I have been able to determine is that the storm will end sometime early tomorrow evening. The problem is the streets in the D.C. area are pretty difficult so we would have to make sure that everyone has time Thursday to get here. There are some people who live in the suburbs when they are in Washington, and so we have to make sure that they have time to get here. Anyway, we're working on these issues. And then we have the President's Day recess. I hope we don't have to work into the weekend to complete that. It's really difficult to put all this stuff over.

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Republicans

No Regrets: Cosponsor Of GOP Budget Gives His Leaders A Pass--Despite Their Unwillingness To Support It

Brian Beutler | February 9, 2010, 2:56PM

One of the handful of cosponsors of a far-reaching roadmap that would involve privatizing both Medicare and Social Security says he has no regrets about supporting the GOP shadow budget. And yet despite the fact that Republican leadership has sought to distance the party from the plan, he says the onus should be on Democrats to hop aboard Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposal.

"Anybody that is serious about fixing the fiscal challenges has to address honestly the issue of entitlements," Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) told me in an interview this afternoon, "and that's what Congressman Ryan has done and I commend him for it.

"There are all sorts of positive ideas out there," Price said. "I think that the roadmap is one of those that we ought to be looking at seriously. Congressman Ryan has introduced it through at least two Congress' now. And it's a very thoughtful and important document that I think positively effects the debate."

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Budget

Democrats: We're Excited To Debate GOP Shadow Budget...Why Aren't Republicans?

Brian Beutler | February 9, 2010, 2:15PM

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

Democrats aren't letting Republicans run away from the GOP shadow budget--a Social Security and Medicare slashing bill sponsored by their top budget guy, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). But they don't want the issue to disappear from view--in fact, they want it to be a defining issue of the 2010 election. And as such are trying to frame it just right--elevating Ryan and his proposal to magnify the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

"Representative Ryan has made a proposal, significant parts of which I do not agree [with]," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at his weekly press event this afternoon. "However, having said that, it is a serious proposal made by a member in my opinion who has very sincere objectives in mind. And it is a substantive proposal."

I asked Hoyer what he made of the GOP leadership's response to the Ryan plan.

"Mr. Boehner as I understand it, when asked which proposals in the Ryan proposal he [opposed] he couldn't articulate any of them," Hoyer said. "Mr. Ryan is the ranking Republican on the budget committee. If they were the majority, presumably he'd be the chairman of the budget committee. Some of the things he's proposed are controversial."

This is just one of the ways one of the ways Democrats are trying to force Republicans to confront the proposal, which could have long political legs.

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Tea Party

Poll: 'Tea Party' Support Shifting Back To Republicans

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2010, 2:01PM

Tea Party in Washington, D.C.

A new Rasmussen poll suggests that Republicans may be regaining the confidence of the Tea Party crowd, and that the appeal of a third-party political force could be wearing off.

Rasmussen asked this question, which was previously done in December: "Suppose the Tea Party organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district or the Tea Party candidate from your district?"

Two months ago, the result was Democrats 36%, Tea Party 23%, Republicans 18%. The answer this time around is Democrats 36%, Republicans 25%, and Tea Party 17%.

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State Of The Union

What Happened To Obama's Post-SOTU Poll Surge?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 9, 2010, 1:57PM

President Barack Obama

In the days immediately following President Obama's Jan. 27 State of the Union address, pollsters reported a surge in support for Obama's policies and the way he's handling his job as president. At the time, pollsters said we should check back in a week to get the real story on what Obama's speech and his subsequent appearance at a GOP Q&A session has meant to the national perception of the president's job performance.

The answer, according to the polls? Mixed. Obama's approval numbers have slipped back to their pre-address levels in the Rasmussen daily tracking poll, but remain slightly up in Gallup's polling. Rasmussen stands by his numbers, but says that they don't take into account the effect the speech has had in Washington, where Obama's post-State of the Union tough guy persona is markedly different from the Democratic hand-wringing over Obama that came after the Senate special election in Massachusetts.

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GOP Shadow Budget

Is Ryan's Social Security Slashing Budget Like Contract With America?

Christina Bellantoni | February 9, 2010, 1:44PM

Former Congressman and budget committee chairman Jim Nussle (R-IA) introduces the budget in 2004

Former Rep. Jim Nussle, the architect of Republican budgets under President George W. Bush, says the GOP should spend political capital and embrace a plan that privatizes Social Security and ends Medicare. In an interview with TPMDC, Nussle said that even though Republican leadership isn't publicly jumping on board to Rep. Paul Ryan's budget "roadmap," it is a fiscally responsible framework that will guide the Republicans into the campaign season.

"Even if they don't go exactly the way he wants them to with the roadmap he gives them a lot of good ideas to pick and choose from," Nussle told me today.

And Nussle (R-IA) knows something about writing Republican spending plans, since he led the Budget Committee during Bush's first term. He most recently served as Bush's Office of Management and Budget director, lost the Iowa governor's race in 2006 and now leads a consulting firm.

Nussle compares the early reaction to the Ryan roadmap to when he and Rep. John Boehner (now minority leader) wrote the Contract with America in 1994.

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Michele Bachmann

Bachmann: 'If We Reject Israel, Then There Is A Curse That Comes Into Play'

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2010, 12:39PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has declared that America has a serious obligation to support Israel -- and if not, God will curse the United States, and it will be the end of this country.

The Minnesota Independent reports that Bachmann told the Republican Jewish Coalition, at an event last week in Los Angeles:

"I am convinced in my heart and in my mind that if the United States fails to stand with Israel, that is the end of the United States . . . [W]e have to show that we are inextricably entwined, that as a nation we have been blessed because of our relationship with Israel, and if we reject Israel, then there is a curse that comes into play. And my husband and I are both Christians, and we believe very strongly the verse from Genesis [Genesis 12:3], we believe very strongly that nations also receive blessings as they bless Israel. It is a strong and beautiful principle."

TX-GOV

Poll: Hutchison In Tight Race For Second Place -- And A Runoff Slot -- In TX-GOV Republican Primary

Eric Kleefeld | February 9, 2010, 12:12PM

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and TX-Gov. candidate Debra Medina (R)

The new survey of the Texas gubernatorial race by Public Policy Polling (D) has some bad news for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is challenging incumbent Gov. Rick Perry in the Republican primary. Hutchison is now just barely holding on to second place, and could be overtaken for a spot in the primary runoff by businesswoman and conservative activist Debra Medina.

The numbers: Perry 39%, Hutchison 28%, Medina 24%, with a ±4.8% margin of error. If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote in the primary on March 2, a runoff will be held on April 13. Hutchison has previously discussed this possibility -- but this poll suggests that there's a chance that she has to work hard to get into the runoff itself.

From the pollster's analysis: "Perry is at 39% to 28% for Kay Bailey Hutchison and 24% for Medina. There are major splits within the race along ideological lines. Perry is at 42% with conservatives, and Medina is now outpolling Hutchison with them by a 25-23 margin. Hutchison cleans up with moderates, leading Perry 49-29, but unfortunately for her prospects they account for only 20% of GOP primary voters."

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