Barack Obama

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 31, 2009, 1:01PM

Obama: Administration Will Increase Credit Availability
In his newest YouTube address, President Obama announced that his administration will soon be rolling out a new set of policies for the financial system to ensure that credit finds its way to businesses and families, though no specific details have been announced just yet:

"We'll help lower mortgage costs and extend loans to small businesses so they can create jobs," said Obama. "We'll ensure that CEOs are not draining funds that should be advancing our recovery. And we will insist on unprecedented transparency, rigorous oversight, and clear accountability -- so taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether it is achieving results."

No Obama Or Biden Events Today
President Obama and Vice President Biden do not have any public events scheduled for today. (Late Update: It should be noted that President Obama is speaking to the Alfalfa Dinner in Washington tonight, but this event is not public -- it is closed press.)

Steele Speaks to House GOP, Praises Vote Against Stimulus
Michael Steele addressed the House Republican Retreat today, his first interaction with the Congressional GOP since he was election RNC chairman yesterday. Steele praised the caucus for voting against the economic stimulus package: "I thought it was very important to send a signal, and you sent it loudly, very clearly, that this party, the leadership of this caucus, would stand first and foremost with the American people. You made it very clear that in order to grow through this recession that you not redistribute the wealth of the people of this nation."

Daschle Nomination Runs Into Tax Problem
Tom Daschle has now filed an amended tax return in order to pay $128,000 in back taxes, plus $12,000 in penalties, for his failure to properly pay taxes relating mostly to his work for the equity firm InterMedia Partners. Daschle is still expected to be confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, making him the second Obama cabinet officer after Tim Geithner to be tripped up by the tax code.

ABC: Gregg Could Be Picked For Commerce On Monday
ABC News reports that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) is now the leading candidate for Secretary of Commerce, and could be announced as early as this Monday. If Gregg does end up joining the Obama Administration, this could potentially give the Democrats the 60th Senate seat -- New Hampshire has a Democratic governor who would make an appointment, and in Minnesota it still looks like Al Franken is the most likely winner of their disputed election.

Reid Staffer Detailed To Work For Burris
Harry Reid's office has announced that staffer Darrel Thompson will now be working on detail for Roland Burris, serving temporarily as the appointed Illinois Senator's chief of staff. Thompson served as chief of staff for Barack Obama's Senate campaign in 2004, and will now be helping Burris get his own office up and running while still holding his position as a top Reid adviser.

SEIU Rolls Out Pro-Reid Ad In Nevada
SEIU has announced that they are now running this ad in Nevada on statewide cable TV, praising the work of Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader:

This ad comes after the National Republican Senatorial Committee began their own ad campaign against Reid, targeting the Democratic leader as he goes into his 2010 re-election campaign.

Bailout

Grassley: White House is Slow-Walking TARP Oversight

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 6:17PM

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) just released a letter to White House budget director Peter Orszag that makes a pretty eyebrow-raising claim: The special inspector general charged with overseeing the $700 billion in TARP funds for Wall Street is getting the run-around from the administration as he seeks more information from banks getting bailout money.

According to Grassley, Orszag's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) originally gave Neil Barofsky, the TARP inspector general, freedom to seek information from bailout-participating banks without being subject to the requirements of a law called the Paperwork Reduction Act that aims to limit government agencies' ability to collect third party information.

But then, for reasons unbeknownst to Grassley or Barofsky, it seems that OMB went back on its decision. As Grassley states in his letter:

Read more »

MN-SEN

After Rough Week, Coleman Camp Straightening Up In Legal Fight

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 5:25PM

Today's courtroom proceedings in the Minnesota election trial ended a little while ago, and looking back on the day something is becoming clear: After a week of one comedic misstep after another, the Coleman legal team seems to have finally gotten its act together and managed to score some points -- and take some interesting risks, too.

While examining Ramsey County (St. Paul) elections director Joe Mansky this morning, Coleman attorney John Rock was able to secure an expert opinion that the most likely reason for some of the voting discrepancies that Coleman has complained about is that a number of absentee ballots were accidentally counted twice, thanks to a duplication process for damaged ballots and a failure to label them properly.

The Coleman camp has maintained that Franken has netted about 110 votes out of this process, using about two-dozen specifically picked Democratic precincts. Winning this claim would cut Franken's 225-vote lead in half -- though the Franken camp's legal filings have also shown they could play this game, too, and subtract a net 34 votes for Coleman. But obviously this is not a place the Franken camp wants to go.

The Franken camp will have the opportunity on Monday to cross-examine Mansky, at which time they will be exploring alternative explanations and the difficulties in calculating this stuff.

Now, let's take a look at the calculated risk they also took.

Read more »

RNC

Steele Wins RNC Chairmanship

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 4:08PM

Meet the new chairman of the Republican National Committee: Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, who defeated South Carolina party chairman Katon Dawson by a 91-77 margin on the sixth ballot.

"As a little boy growing up in this town -- this is awesome," Steele said bluntly in accepting his victory.

Steele came six votes shy of the magic number 85 on the fifth ballot, and was able to get over the top after Michigan chairman Saul Anuzis dropped out to make it a clear two-man race. Steele is now the first African-American chairman of the RNC.

The Republicans might have realized just how awful it would have been for the GOP's image if Steele hadn't won. The alternative was Dawson, who until just recently belonged to an all-white country club and has said he got involved in politics as a teenage opponent of busing programs in the 1960s -- not exactly the best face to oppose Barack Obama's agenda. Dawson briefly took the lead on the fourth ballot, and after that the movement to Steele very quickly put him on top.

Stimulus

Schumer to Offer Senate Version of $3 Billion Mass Transit Hike

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 3:39PM

As it happens, we're not the only ones noting that that the fight to add mass transit money to the stimulus bill is far from over.

Senate Democratic Vice Chairman Chuck Schumer (NY) just mentioned on a conference call with reporters that he'll be introducing a version of Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-NY) amendment to add $3 billion in public transportation cash to the economic recovery pot.

That would bring the total mass transit funding in the Senate's bill to more than $15 billion, if you include a $5.5 billion competitive transport grants program that can be accessed by rail or road projects. That's still half as much money for mass transit as for highways.

RNC

Steele Just Short Of A Win For RNC Chair; Anuzis Drops Out

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 3:36PM

Michael Steele is back in the lead for RNC Chairman, after Ken Blackwell dropped out and endorsed him -- but he's still just short of a full majority. On top of that, third-place finisher Saul Anuzis dropped out and endorsed nobody.

Here are the fifth-ballot numbers, compared to the fourth:

• Steele 79 (+19)

• Dawson 69 (+7)

• Anuzis 20 (-11)

As mentioned above, Anuzis dropped out after the vote, but didn't make an endorsement. "We've got two great people still running," said Anuzis, wishing the best of luck to the eventual winner.

Steele at this point should be regarded as the most likely to win, as he is only six votes short of the magic number 85.

Capitol Culture

Previewing the Senate Stimulus Debate: Do They Have the Votes?

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 3:18PM

As this slow news day moves on, it's a good time to prepare for the Senate stimulus debate that will begin on Monday -- it's shaping up an only slightly more genial cage match than we saw in the House.

One possible X factor arising today is the sideline maneuvering of Sen. Ben "Gang of 14" Nelson. He's staying true to form by trying to build a bipartisan coalition of senators to support major changes to the House bill.

Read more »

RNC

Blackwell Drops RNC Bid, Endorses Steele

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 3:10PM

Ken Blackwell, who has been in last place in all four ballots that have been held so far in the RNC chair race, has just withdrawn his candidacy -- and he's endorsed Michael Steele.

Blackwell had the support of many movement conservative activists and bloggers, but it just wasn't meant to be.

Blackwell won 15 votes on the fourth ballot, compared to 62 for Katon Dawson, 60 for Steele, and 31 for Saul Anuzis. If Blackwell's supporters were to all go to Steele, that would put the former Maryland Lt. Governor at 75 votes, just ten shy of the 85 needed to win.

RNC

RNC Chair Race, Round Four: Dawson Now Edging Steele

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 2:49PM

We now know where the RNC chairmanship race is going: The black candidate versus the white Southerner candidate.

Here are the vote totals from the fourth round of voting, compared to the third round held right before incumbent Mike Duncan dropped out:

• Dawson 62 (+28)

• Steele 60 (+9)

• Anuzis 31 (+7)

• Blackwell 15 (+0)

So Michael Steele has lost the lead he achieved on the third ballot, and is now narrowly trailing South Carolina GOP chairman Katon Dawson.

This is now pitting Steele, an African-American conservative who has criticized the GOP for failing to reach out to minority voters, against Dawson -- who until recently belonged to an all-white country club, and has said he got involved with politics as a teenager in opposition to busing programs.

Stimulus

Republicans Still Enamored of Romer's Research in Favor of Tax Hikes

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 2:37PM

The House GOP's tax-cut-heavy alternative stimulus plan may have failed this week, but they've become addicted to erroneously using past research by Dr. Christina Romer, the chair of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and his crew have been claiming that Romer's math proves their plan creates 6.2 million jobs -- a crafty blurring of a 2007 paper by Romer and her husband, Berkeley economist Dr. David Romer. And Mitt Romney was at it again today during his speech to House Republicans at their retreat in Hot Springs, Virginia:

First, there are two ways you can put money into the economy, by spending more or by taxing less. But if it's stimulus you want, taxing less works best. That's why permanent tax cuts should be the centerpiece of the economic stimulus. Even Christine [sic] Romer, the President's own choice to lead the Council of Economic Advisors, found in her research that tax cuts are twice as effective as new spending.

Sorry, Mitt -- as Brad DeLong has pointed out, Romer's paper never found that. You're actually citing former George W. Bush economic adviser Greg Mankiw, who drew his own wacky conclusions by comparing two totally different studies, with different methodologies.

But if you want to use Christina Romer's 2007 research as a model, that's cool. Since she also found that "tax increases to reduce the deficit appear to have little negative impact on output," can we roll back the Bush tax cuts now?

RNC

Incumbent RNC Chairman Duncan Drops Out Of Race

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 2:22PM

Mike Duncan has withdrawn from his race for re-election as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Duncan came in second place on the third ballot with only 44 votes, or 26% of the total. It was very clear that he could not win re-election. Duncan said he was proud of his accomplishment heading up the party over the last two years: "Obviously, the results that we wanted weren't there. And I think our results going forward will be better."

Though he was officially talking about how the party's numbers just weren't there in 2008, he could have just as easily been referring to his own race today.

The big question now is where his support will go. Will the current leader Michael Steele pick up enough votes from Duncan and other candidates, to take him from his present 51 to the 85 needed for a win?

Another thing: One committee member asked for an extra recess period to sort out the voting, now that Duncan is out -- and was roundly booed by others there, with no recess as a result. The strong objection to a recess could be a sign that one campaign felt they could win it right now, and doesn't want to blow it.

MN-SEN

Coleman: Make It Easier To Vote Online (And Count That Kid's Vote For Me)

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 2:07PM

In a press conference outside the courtroom held just a short while ago, Norm Coleman announced that if he gets back into the Senate, he'll work on ways to make it easier for young people to vote online.

Coleman was saying this while advocating for Peter DeMuth, a young college student and Coleman-voter who filled out his absentee ballot application on his computer, using the mouse to "sign" his initials. He later filled out the physical absentee ballot that he received in the old-fashioned way, resulting in his ballot being disqualified because of a mismatch because of the appearance of his moused initials versus his physically signed out name.

"The world of these young people is a world of computers," Coleman said. "More and more folks are gonna be doing that, that's the next generation. And we have to look at the whole use of technology to accommodate people who are gonna vote that way."

Coleman said that if he's fortunate enough to win this thing, he'll be using his role as a policy-maker to better enfranchise young people like DeMuth, or his own 22-year old son, whose first instincts are to work with computers.

(Special thanks to The Uptake for carrying the presser.)

RNC

RNC Election, Round Three: Steele Takes The Lead -- Can He Keep It?

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 1:46PM

The RNC has announced the third round of ballot results for the RNC chair race -- and it shows incumbent Mike Duncan going down as Michael Steele takes the lead. The numbers, compared to the second round:

• Steele 51 (+3)

• Duncan 44 (-4)

• Dawson 34 (+5)

• Anuzis 24 (+0)

• Blackwell 15 (-4)

It's hard to imagine how Duncan comes back from here, as an incumbent with only 26% of the vote. The most likely scenario now is that Michael Steele or another non-Duncan candidate will end up emerging as the winner.

Mainstream Media

Silly Democrats! Who Cares About Keeping Health Care Costs Down?

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 1:42PM

This just makes me cringe. In an interview this afternoon with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), a CNN reporter practically snickered at the idea of spending $75 million on smoking cessation programs as part of an economic stimulus bill. The anchor introduced the segment this way:

HARRIS: You know, just about every line of the huge stimulus bill contains millions for what most Democrats are calling job creation and many Republicans are calling waste, arguments based on differing political philosophies perhaps. But who could argue that spending millions to help people quit smoking will create jobs?

No one is arguing that. But as Harkin tried to explain, small investments in preventative care measures, such as smoking cessation, have a hugely beneficial effect on overall health care costs. And he was mocked for attempting it:

GRIFFIN: Senator, it just seems like this is not the bill. We're trying to get the economy moving, we're trying to get people back to work, and I'm having a hard time understanding how $75 million to tell people to stop smoking is going to put anybody back to work.

HARKIN: Well, first of all, I would tell you, we put -- we put over $5 billion in this bill on prevention so that we can get ahead of the curve and start cutting health care costs.

GRIFFIN: Senator, I've got to be skeptical, because what I think I'm hearing from you is, yes, we want to get people off of smoking, but here you go, Joe, you're out of work, but, by golly, at least you're not smoking.

Did this approach come straight from Rep. John Boehner's (R-OH) cigarette-adorned mouth?

Democrats

The Larry Summers Fan Club is Losing Members Fast

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 1:32PM

When I talked with Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Pete DeFazio recently about the fate of mass transit in the stimulus bill, one sentiment came through loud and clear. Nadler put it more subtly: "There are some people in the administration who are not enamored of infrastructure," he said.

Hmmm, could these unnamed infrastructure foes have a name that rhymes with Marry Plummers? DeFazio was less shy about his discomfort with the centrist brand of economics espoused by some Clinton vets in the new administration.

DeFazio deemed it "very unfortunate" that former Clinton economic adviser Larry Summers has claimed a similar hold on Obama's ear. "Harvard had it right," the progressive Democrat quipped -- referring to the Ivy League university's jettisoning of Summers from its presidency in the wake of a scandal over his remarks on women's intellectual abilities.

Stimulus

Mass Transit in the Stimulus: Why the Fight's Not Over

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 1:17PM

Since the House Democrats released a stimulus bill that devoted only about 5% of its $825 billion price tag to fixing the nation's crumbling transportation infrastructure, we've been looking at whether mass transit in particular could ultimately claim a bigger piece of the pie.

Leaving aside President Obama's initial prediction that his economic recovery plan would be the "largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s," expanding mass transit is a just-plain-good idea. It creates jobs, and it helps wean the nation off a decades-long obsession with emissions-generating car travel.

So now that the House has added $3 billion in mass transit money to its stimulus bill -- bringing the total investment up to the level envisioned by transportation committee chairman Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) -- we're back on the right path, right?

Well, not completely. I talked to the two Democrats who led the charge to restore the $3 billion, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (NY) and Pete DeFazio (OR), and they weren't celebrating yet.

Read more »

RNC

RNC Chair Election, Round Two: Still No Winner

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 1:02PM

The RNC just finished their second round of balloting, with barely any changes as measured against the first round:

• Duncan 48 (-4)

• Steele 48 (+2)

• Dawson 29 (+1)

• Anuzis 24 (+2)

• Blackwell 19 (-1)

The only candidate for whom this round was unambiguously bad was Duncan -- he's the incumbent and he lost four votes, with only 29% of the total vote. And now he's tied with Steele.

If there's going to be major movement here, one of the lesser candidates will have to drop out, or at least see their supporters effectively drop them out of the race by going to other contenders.

MN-SEN

Coleman Actually Getting Somewhere Today?

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 12:28PM

Norm Coleman's legal team this morning appears to be accomplishing what they haven't done much of for the last week: Doing something right.

The Coleman campaign has called Ramsey County (St. Paul) elections direct Joe Mansky to the stand, and they're going over the training processes and overall procedures that go into accepting or rejecting absentee ballots. And the discussion has brought them to examining individual ballots that have still been rejected and kept out of the count.

Mansky was shown several examples where he said errors by elections officials in preparing the ballot -- such as placing a sticker on top of the instructions or even blocking out portions that the voter was supposed to fill out -- should effectively release the voter from the obligation to fill those out to the letter.

Mansky confirmed that some votes now exist out there that have not been counted and should not have been rejected -- the central point of Coleman's current quest to reopen the question of improperly-rejected absentees.

Read more »

RNC

RNC Vote: No Candidate Receives Majority In First Round

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 12:15PM

The Republican National Committee's winter meeting has just announced the vote totals from the first round of balloting in the heated race for RNC chairman. No candidate has received the 85-vote majority needed to win just yet, but so far it's a tight race between incumbent chairman Mike Duncan and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele:

• Duncan 52

• Steele 46

• South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson 28

• Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis 22

• Former Ohio Sec. of State Ken Blackwell 20

Overall this is not a good result for Duncan -- he is an incumbent who only received 31% of the vote in the first round of voting, and a viable non-Duncan candidate is trailing just narrowly behind. This is also a bit of an embarrassment for right-wing bloggers and movement conservative activists, who had actively been supporting Blackwell.

The RNC has now gone out to lunch -- and presumably a lot of deal-making -- before we go into the second round later.

Capitol Culture

What Lies Behind a Slow News Day

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 11:08AM

Fridays are often slow news days in the capital, and today is no exception. Aside from some talk of a third Republican in the Obama Cabinet and the RNC chairman's race, few major storylines are unspooling at the moment -- part of the reason for that is the House GOP's departure for their annual retreat in the mountain town of Hot Springs, Virginia.

But in another sense, the relative quiet of a slow news Friday is a Washington cultural tradition.

Read more »

Stimulus

Labor Group's Radio Ad Hits GOP Leader: Rush Limbaugh

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 10:09AM

Americans United For Change, the labor-backed political group that is currently campaigning for President Obama's stimulus package, has a new round of radio ads tying the GOP to Barack Obama's most vocal critic at this point: Rush Limbaugh, who is taking on the role of the true Leader of the Opposition in the current media environment.

The radio ads are running in the Cleveland, Reno and Philadelphia media markets, targeting the Republican Senators from those states. Here's the one for Pennsylvania:

Click To Play

"Every Republican voted with Limbaugh, and against creating 4 million new American jobs," the announcer says, referring to the House Republicans' unanimous vote against the stimulus package.

The announcer goes on to say: "Will our Senator, Arlen Specter, side with Rush Limbaugh too" --interrupted by Limbaugh's "I hope he fails!" interjection -- "or will he reject the partisanship and failed economic policies of the past, and stand up for the people of Pennsylvania?"

Barack Obama

Tracing the Origin of the Judd Gregg-to-Commerce Concept

Elana Schor | January 30, 2009, 10:05AM

The Beltway media circuit is minorly abuzz this morning about the possibility that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) could be named as Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary. The New York Times reports that the Obama administration "has approached" Gregg -- whose nomination would ostensibly trigger a Democratic appointment from New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, bringing Democrats to the edge of a pivotal 60-vote majority.

But the original report in Roll Call, as well as subsequent reports, source the notion to the Senate and not the Obama camp. If you were Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and you wanted to send a message to the GOP about its perilous hold on the ability to filibuster with a major stimulus bill coming up ... how would you do it?

Late Update: Gregg acknowledges the talk of a Cabinet slot in a statement just released by his office.

I am aware that my name is one of those being considered by the White House for Secretary of Commerce, and am honored to be considered, along with others, for the position. Beyond that there is nothing more I can say at this time.

And then he pulled off an article of clothing, in the slow striptease of a moderate Republican up for re-election ...

Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2009, 9:00AM

Today: RNC Elects Its Chairman
Today is a big day for the Republican National Committee, as they hold the chairmanship election pitting incumbent Mike Duncan against a field of four challengers who say they can do a better job of rebuilding the party. Nobody is expected to win a full majority on the first ballot, and the big question is whether Duncan will be able to pick up support on successive ballots or whether the opposition will solidify around another candidate.

Obama And Biden To Speak On Middle-Class Task Force
President Obama and Vice President Biden are holding a series of closed meetings with advisers this morning, and then at 10:45 a.m. ET they will both speak about the Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Biden is heading up the Task Force, which is charged with conducting outreach to labor, business and other advocacy groups to formulate policies helping the middle class.

Obama Meeting With Senior Military Officials
The president is also holding a meeting at 1:45 p.m. ET today with senior enlisted military officials, as the new president works with the Armed Forces on his foreign policy.

Obama Expected To Undo Bush Executive Orders On Unions
President Obama is also expected today to undo Bush-era executive orders on some key issues for organized labor. The Bush orders made it easier through various means for federal contractors to discourage workers from unionizing.

Day Five Of Minnesota Senate Trial
This is the fifth day of the Minnesota Senate trial, with the court scheduled to reconvene at 10 a.m. ET. Norm Coleman's legal team has been questioning Ramsey County (St. Paul) elections director Joe Mansky, trying to build their case that some absentee ballots that favored Al Franken were accidentally counted twice.

Obama: Blago Removal "Ends A Painful Episode For Illinois"
President Obama released this statement last night, regarding the removal from office of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich: "Today ends a painful episode for Illinois. For months, the state had been crippled by a crisis of leadership. Now that cloud has lifted. I wish Governor Quinn the best and pledge my full cooperation as he undertakes his new responsibilities."

Holbrooke To Travel To South Asia
Richard Holbrooke, who has been named as the special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be traveling to the region next week.

Obama Reportedly Eyeing GOP Sen. Gregg For Commerce Pick
The White House is reportedly considering Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) for the role of Commerce Secretary. If this nomination were to in fact go through, it would have huge ramifications for the Senate -- New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) would presumably appoint a Democrat, and along with an Al Franken win in Minnesota this would give the Dems a filibuster-proof 60 seats.

Bailout

My Nationalization Problem--and Ours

Matthew Cooper | January 29, 2009, 6:31PM

Ever since banking stocks started plummeting, or should I say replummeting, a couple of weeks ago there's been renewed interest in nationalization. In some ways the question is pure semantics. Ever since Henry Paulson gathered banking CEOs at the Treasury Department last year and told them that the government was going to stick capital injections in their aching behemoths, we crossed a line that involved partial government ownership. Even as they beg for more handouts, the bankers are, not surprisingly, resisting the idea. Yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, denounced all the nationalization talk. "JPMorgan would be fine if we stopped talking about (the) damn nationalization of banks ... we've got plenty of capital," Dimon said. And Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner decried the term yesterday, too. I think Dimon and Geithner are basically right in the sense that we're not going to full nationalization and its a distracting term. Utilities are the better model.

But the fits and starts towards wherever we're heading are deeply worrisome. It's worth noting what happened with Credit Unions last night. Credit Unions are owned by their members and they offer, as anyone who's joined them knows, very favorable terms to those who are lucky enough to be able to sign up for one. They also have had the advantage of being relatively conservative. They don't have wild-ass hedge funds under their wings like Citigroup does. And they generally don't trade in mortgage backed securites but some do. Thus they're not immune from the financial turmoil that's unfolding.

Read more »

RNC

Saltsman Drops Out Of RNC Race

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 6:03PM

Chip Saltsman, the former Tennessee GOP chairman and ex-campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, has just announced that he is withdrawing from the race to be the next RNC chairman.

Saltsman's campaign was upended when he sent a gift CD to committee members by Paul Shanklin, a right-wing comedian who plays parody songs on the Rush Limbaugh show. This CD contained a track called "Barack The Magic Negro," in which Shanklin did an Amos & Andy-style impersonation of Al Sharpton ridiculing white liberals who support Barack Obama. Saltsman blamed the flap on the media.

A survey of committee members by NBC News, published yesterday morning, showed Saltsman with the declared support of only one out of the 168 members.

The full withdrawal statement that Saltsman sent to the membership is available after the jump.

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Rod Blagojevich

Blagojevich Removed From Office

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 5:46PM

Rod Blagojevich has been convicted in his impeachment trial by the state Senate, removing him from office, making him as of now the former governor of Illinois.

The vote by the Illinois state Senate just came to a close, with a unanimous 59-0 verdict against him. A threshold of 40 was required to convict, and the impeachers definitely got more than that.

Late Update: The Illinois Senate has just taken the next step in this process, voting unanimously that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is disqualified from holding public office in the state of Illinois ever again.

Environment

Should Environmental Laws be Waived to Expedite Stimulus Spending?

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 5:16PM

Much of the debate over the potential effectiveness of Congress' economic stimulus bill centers on how quickly the $800-billion-plus can be spent.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office -- formerly run by Obama's new budget director, Peter Orszag -- has estimated that 64% of the House stimulus money can be disbursed within the first 18 months. Meanwhile, Orszag himself has promised to let loose 75% of it into the economy.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND), who's been concerned with thae spend-out rate in general, recently asked the CBO to evaluate ways that the stimulus money could be spent quicker. The CBO's first answer? "Waiving requirements for environmental and judicial reviews" of the impact of stimulus spending projects, according to a letter released today (and downloadable here).

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Barack Obama

Source: Obama Plans to Get Family Planning Aid Done Soon

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 4:58PM

Women's health advocates were dismayed this week to see the removal of family-planning aid from Congress' economic recovery bill after a push by Republicans to politicize a generally cut-and-dry issue of Medicaid waivers. (Time has some good background here.)

But the dismay may not last long. A source present at today's White House signing ceremony for the Lilly Ledbetter bill tells me that President Obama gave assurances that the family planning aid would be done soon -- perhaps as soon as next week, when the House is set to take up a spending bill that would keep the government funded until October.

Obama emphasized that the family-planning aid "makes the budget look better, it's a money saver," the source said. In fact, removing the need for Medicaid waivers for family planning saves states an estimated $700 million over 10 years.

By removing the family-planning aid from the stimulus at Obama's request, Democrats "were giving a nod to the Republicans, believing they would act in good faith," the source added. And given how many GOPers voted for the stimulus bill, sounds like the family-planning aid is back on track.

MN-SEN

Friendly Coleman Witness: They Cherry-Picked Me

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 4:22PM

Here's another funny moment earlier today from the slow-motion comedy show that is the Minnesota Senate trial.

The Coleman team is continuing to call as witnesses some aggrieved voters to complain that their ballots were wrongly rejected. This didn't go too well last time, and the newest pair had their fun moments. One of them was college student Peter DeMuth, who sent away for an absentee ballot because he goes to school in Fargo, North Dakota -- he even drove several hours to St. Paul this morning, just so he could get his vote counted.

Upon cross-examination by Franken attorney Kevin Hamilton, DeMuth said he was contacted by the Republican Party and told about the problem. "They asked me if I knew my absentee ballot had been rejected. I said no," said DeMuth. "They asked me if I was a supporter of Norm Coleman, and I said yes, and they proceeded to ask me if I would like to go further."

Let's think about this for a moment: Over the last several days, the Coleman camp has said repeatedly that they are not cherry-picking who they're helping out, that they don't know who the people they're advocating for actually supported, and for all they know they're helping out Franken-voters.

So much for that argument. On top of that, DeMuth's story is by itself fascinating.

Read more »

Stimulus

GOP Claims to Create 6.2 Million Jobs With Their Stimulus -- Using Some Questionable Math

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 4:06PM

Ahead of last night's vote on the $819 billion House stimulus bill, which no Republican supported, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) frequently asserted that his party's alternative stimulus plan -- consisting largely of tax cuts -- would create 6.2 million jobs.

That sounds great. After all, it's double the 3 million jobs that the president aims to create or save. But where did the Republicans get that number? By drawing some fuzzy conclusions from a 2007 paper by Dr. Christina Romer, chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.

If you look at page 3 of the GOP's document, you'll see this passage:

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MN-SEN

Coleman Lawyer: "I Don't Care About Your Procedures" -- Count The Forger's Ballot

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 3:17PM

Norm Coleman is not giving up on forgery as a constitutional right.

Just now in court, Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg launched into an aggressive defense in the case of Douglas Thompson, the friendly Coleman witness from two days ago who said his absentee ballot should be counted even though his girlfriend forged his signature on the application. Thus, Thompson's ballot was rejected because of a very real signature mismatch against his own signature on the ballot itself.

Friedberg didn't directly mention Thompson by name, but he described the exact same situation. "Now suppose I said to Mr. Trimble [another Coleman lawyer], 'Hey, I'm busy, could you sign an application for me, and send it in for me?' I'm gonna get the ballot, aren't I?" said Friedberg.

After some more back and forth, we got to this interesting exchange:

Friedberg: In point of fact, even though I did something I wasn't supposed to do with the application, my ballot should still count because my signature is genuine.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann: Not according to the procedures we use to determine whether the signature is genuine.

Friedberg: I don't care about your procedures.

(Franken lawyer calls an objection, is sustained.)

Friedberg: Okay, I do care...

MN-SEN

Coleman Withdraws A Claim -- Only One Million To Go

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 2:15PM

Another important development happened today in the Minnesota Senate trial: The Coleman campaign actually dropped one of their many claims against the election result.

Coleman was previously objecting to the counting of 171 ballots during the recount in the St. Paul suburb of Maplewood, which were in addition to the Election Night totals for that precinct. The ballots were found in a machine that had broken down on Election Night, thus leading to them not being in the original totals, and they gave Al Franken a net gain of 37 votes.

The Coleman camp initially tried to raise suspicions over the chain of custody, but were never able to find evidence of actual malfeasance. And over the last couple days the Franken camp laid out cases where Coleman approved of counting other found ballots during the recount, which just so happened to come from Republican areas. In other words, two can play this game.

So Coleman lawyer Joe Friedberg realized there were bigger fish to fry, and dropped this complaint. Then he moved on to the next order of business: The use of Election Night totals in a pro-Franken precinct where officials concluded that 133 ballots went missing in the recount, a decision that saved Franken from losing a net 46 votes. So don't think this is all being resolved nicely.

MN-SEN

Coleman Lawyer To Team Franken: I Got Your Estoppel Right Here

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 1:35PM

The Coleman campaign just had some fun with the Franken campaign, who have accused them of reversing all their positions on counting votes. The Coleman reply: So have you!

The Franken camp spent yesterday and this morning reading over the vast number of examples where the Coleman campaign argued that the requirements for properly filling out absentee ballots should be strictly construed, and that absentee voting is not a right but a privilege. By contrast, the Coleman camp is now arguing for lenient standards to bring in more ballots.

So Coleman lawyer Joe Friedberg just got up for another turn, bringing up legal filings by the Franken campaign from during in the recount, a mix of direct Franken arguments or favorable quotations from prior case law:

• "The Minnesota courts have repeatedly emphasized that the overriding concern in interpretation of the election laws is the enfranchisement of voters. Consequently, all ballots cast in substantial compliance with the law must be counted."

• "As long as there is substantial compliance with the laws and no showing of fraud or bad faith, the true result of an election should not be defeated by an innocent failure to comply strictly with the statute, and mere irregularities in following statutory procedure will often be overlooked."

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Barack Obama

Solis Nomination Still in Limbo as GOPers Raise Questions on Issues Beyond EFCA

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 1:29PM

With the Senate expected to approve Attorney General nominee Eric Holder on Monday, one conspicuous opening remains in President Obama's Cabinet: Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) has yet to be confirmed as Secretary of Labor.

We reported last week on GOP concerns with how Solis addressed queries on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) during her confirmation hearing. It's worth repeating that the problem is not technically a Senate "hold," as some outlets have reported.

Chamber rules prevent official holds from being placed until a committee has released a nominee to the full Senate -- and a spokesman for Sen. Mike Enzi (WY), chief GOPer on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions panel, told me that Republicans are still awaiting answers to more written queries from Solis.

"Republicans are still doing our due diligence on this nomination," the Enzi spokesman said, noting that the latest round of written questions was sent to Solis on Tuesday. He declined to discuss the nature of the GOP's queries, but said that more than just the EFCA is at issue.

Late Update: TPM alum Greg reports at The Plum Line that the president will host labor leaders for a signing of executive orders tomorrow. One suspects that the Solis nomination will be much-discussed on the sidelines ...

Senate

Kyl: When We Say 'Bipartisan,' We Mean Dems Need to Agree With Us

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 1:14PM

A lot of attention has been paid lately to the idea of a "bipartisan" economic recovery bill. Clearly the House GOPers are happy to blame Dems while voting against the stimulus, but what about the Senate? Well, Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) just distilled his side's notion of cooperation during a press conference on the recovery legislation:

How about the Senate? Well, there have been two committee meetings, the Appropriations Committee and the Finance Committee, in which I sit. Not a single one of our [Republican] amendments was voted up. Every one was rejected.

So essentially no changes as a result of those two markups on the bill that will come to the Senate floor next week. And if [the Ledbetter and SCHIP bills] are any indication, we'll get votes on amendments, they'll all lose, and the bill will then pass, and we end up with a totally partisan package. I don't think that's what the president had in mind when he talked about putting legislation together in a bipartisan way.

Okay ... so "bipartisanship" means not an exchange of ideas from both parties, or a chance to vote on proposals from both parties, but Democratic agreement on approving the GOP agenda? Good luck with that.

MN-SEN

Coleman Lawyer: Previous Decisions Don't Count If They Hurt Voters

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 12:56PM

In the Minnesota election trial this afternoon, Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg continued to lay out the campaign's reasoning for why their previous decisions in the recount shouldn't be an issue here under the doctrines of estoppel and invited error: The voters of Minnesota should not be bound by Coleman's prior agreement to arrangements that were illegal to begin with.

While exploring the issue of whether some absentee ballots were improperly copied and double-counted, Friedberg asked Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann how he had come to arrive at his office's directives on how to handle this issue during the recount -- and why he asked the campaigns for approval.

"The interested parties, the parties that have a stake in the outcome of the hand recount," Gelbmann said, "if you can get an agreement from both parties that the process you're going to use is acceptable to the parties, you would assume you would not have an issue before the final outcome."

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Rod Blagojevich

Blago: If You're Going To Fire Me, Obama Has To Fire Rahm

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 12:39PM

Rod Blagojevich is on a roll in his 90-minute speech to the Illinois state Senate, the chamber that is poised to remove him from office as early as today, lambasting them for removing him with no evidence that he did anything wrong.

Blago is taking particular pride in his decision to circumvent the legislative process during his first term in order to help Illinoisans get prescription drugs from Canada, teaming up with governors from other states. Blago pointed out how national Democratic leaders like Rahm Emanuel have actively promoted this issue.

So if you're going to throw him out of office, Blago argued, "let's demand that President Obama fire Rahm Emanuel, because Rahm Emanuel is the one who gave me this idea."

Stimulus

DeMint: I Like Obama, But His Stimulus is A 'Mugging'

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 12:00PM

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is one of the rising stars in the GOP, constantly prodding Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) from the right while feeling the love from conservative think tanks and bloggers.

And DeMint gave some love back today at the Heritage Foundation, delivering a speech that encapsulates the emerging Republican strategy for dealing with the popular president. He plays nice early on ...

I like President Obama very much. We were elected to the Senate at the same time and we've worked together on a number of common goals. I believe he wants to do what is best for our country ...

... and then he gets nasty.

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CIA/DNI/Intelligence

Did Holder Make a Telecom Immunity Promise to Senator Bond?

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 11:46AM

We were amused to find yesterday that no one except Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) was buying the claim that Eric Holder made Republicans a secret promise not to prosecute Bush intelligence officials -- not senior Democrats and not Holder himself.

But Bond made another assertion to the Washington Times yesterday that would be news ... if it's true:

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MN-SEN

Franken Lawyer: Coleman Has Switched Positions On Rejecting Votes

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 11:45AM

The Minnesota election trial is continuing today, after the Franken campaign spent the morning laying out their claim that Norm Coleman's legal arguments at this point cannot be taken at face value.

Specifically, Franken attorney David Lillehaug reviewed rejected absentee ballots that were vetoed by the Coleman campaign, under the state Supreme Court's controversial decision that gave the candidates a veto power over improperly-rejected absentees. The presentation made an interesting display of the Coleman camp's reasons for rejecting ballots then -- and though Lillehaug didn't directly say it just yet, it provides a contrast to Coleman's positions now:

• A ballot was rejected because the witness failed to fill in their address. This past Monday, Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg was arguing that a lighter standard should be used to include ballots such as these.

• A ballot was affirmed by the Coleman camp as being properly rejected because the voter failed to sign their absentee application, but were given the ballot anyway. Yesterday, Friedberg was saying this sort of state negligence wasn't a specific legal reason to throw out a vote.

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Barack Obama

As One Pay Equity Bill Becomes Law, Another Languishes

Elana Schor | January 29, 2009, 10:44AM

At this very moment, President Obama is preparing to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. It's an admirable bill that remedies a regrettable 2007 Supreme Court ruling which had constrained the time limit for women to file pay-discrimination claims against their employers.

Media coverage of today's White House ceremony depicts the Ledbetter signing as a major victory for gender pay equity. But a much broader bill addressing pay discrimination -- the Paycheck Fairness Act -- faces a mysteriously uncertain future in the Senate, where it has yet to receive a floor vote despite approval in the House last year and again this year.

What's the holdup? And will the (well-deserved) hoopla over the Ledbetter victory obscure the facts behind the inaction on Paycheck Fairness?

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 8:59AM

Today: Blago Speaking To Illinois Senate
Rod Blagojevich will be speaking to the Illinois state Senate, the body that is poised to remove him from office in his impeachment trial, delivering a closing argument in his own defense at 12 p.m. ET. This should be very interesting to watch.

Obama's Day Ahead -- Signing Ledbetter Bill
President Obama will be signing the Lily Ledbetter Bill, a law to make it easier for women to sue for pay discrimination, at 10 a.m. ET. He will also be holding a series of closed meetings throughout the day with his economic advisers, Hillary Clinton and others. There will also be a pooled press meeting with Vice President Biden and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

Biden Meets With Daschle
Vice President Biden is meeting for breakfast this morning with Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle. He will then join with President Obama for the meetings and events listed above.

NYT: Stimulus Varies In Speed, Efficiency
The New York Times takes a look at the stimulus plan as it currently stands in the House-passed package, finding that its various components vary in terms of just how quickly they will spread through the economy. The quickest portions will be in unemployment benefits, food-stamp increase and tax cuts, while infrastructure spending would take a while to get going.

Minnesota Senate Trial Continues
This is the fourth day of the Minnesota election trial, scheduled to reconvene at 10 a.m. ET. Al Franken's legal team will continue their cross-examination of Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann, who was originally called by the Coleman campaign to examine the fallibility in the system -- and which the Franken camp has rebutted by pointing out that Coleman's team fought against the fallibility case right up until he fell behind.

Senate Expected To Pass Children's Health Care Bill
The Senate today will likely pass a bill expanding the SCHIP program, extending health insurance to 11 million children who are currently not eligible. The bill passed in the last Congress, but was vetoed by President George W. Bush.

Mitchell Speaks To Palestinian Leaders In West Bank
Middle East Envoy George Mitchell travelled to the West Bank today to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, in an effort by the Obama Administration to restart the Middle East peace process. He did not meet with Hamas.

Obama To Make First Foreign Trip To Canada
President Obama will be making his first trip outside the United States as president next month, the White House has announced. Obama will be visiting Canada, the United States' largest trading partner, on February 19.

MN-SEN

Coleman Camp Looking For Voters -- By Printing Their Names

Eric Kleefeld | January 29, 2009, 12:26AM

The Coleman campaign has launched the latest P.R. front in their effort to have the rejected absentee ballots reconsidered, with some interesting potential ethical ramifications.

The Coleman camp's Web site has now published in an easily accessible form the names and home counties of every individual who delivered an absentee ballot and who has not yet been counted. In Hennepin County (Minneapolis), which has its municipalities run elections instead of the county, we are also shown the home towns of the people involved.

"Check below to see if you are one of the thousands of Minnesotans the Franken campaign is seeking to disenfranchise," the page says. "And please contact us at info@colemanforsenate.com to express your support for our effort to have your vote counted."

It gets better. By including every last rejected ballot, regardless of backstory or merit, they are including ballots they themselves earlier objected to counting, under the state Supreme Court's controversial decision that gave the candidates a veto power over improperly-rejected absentees -- and they're now saying it's the Franken campaign who is disenfranchising these people.

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Stimulus

House Passes Stimulus With Zero GOP Votes

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 6:50PM

Guess that dinner at the White House didn't go so well ... the $825 billion stimulus bill just passed the House of Representatives with zero Republicans voting in favor. Eleven Democrats -- 10 centrist Blue Dogs and the unconvinced Rep. Paul Kanjorski (PA) -- joined the GOP in opposing the package.

Brad Woodhouse, president of the Dem-allied group Americans United for Change, described the GOP's stalwart opposition in two words: "political suicide," the subject of his e-mailed statement on the stimulus vote.

But maybe this was the Republicans' plan all along. Now Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his troops can start the next act in the show and ask for just a few more concessions in order to give the stimulus its bipartisan stripes.

Either way, with GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME) signaling her support, its passage in the Senate by next week is looking assured.

MN-SEN

Coleman: Election Trial More Important Than Law & Order, Just Not As Exciting

Eric Kleefeld | January 28, 2009, 6:39PM

Norm Coleman briefly spoke to reporters outside his election trial after it ended for the day, and he stressed the importance of the drawn-out proceedings we've seen -- with a handy pop-culture reference.

"What you're observing out there may not seem as exciting as what you see on Law & Order," said Coleman. "But the principles that we're fighting for, that I fully believe are being established today, are more important than anything you'll see on Law & Order."

Later on he said that the trial is "not as exciting as Law & Order, though I'd take [Coleman attorney] Joe Friedberg over Fred Thompson, at least in the courtroom."

Fred Thompson must be feeling pretty put down right now. First Norm endorsed Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination, and now this.

(Press conference viewed at The Uptake.)

Justice Department

Holder Aide: We Made No Special Promises to Bond

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 4:35PM

My colleague Zack at TPMmuck just heard from an aide to Attorney General nominee Eric Holder. The aide definitively denied Sen. Kit Bond's (R-MO) claim that Holder had given him "assurances" of avoiding future prosecutions of Bush intelligence officials who engaged in torturous interrogations.

"Eric Holder has not made any commitments about who would or would not be prosecuted," the aide said via e-mail. "He explained his position to Senator Bond as he did in the public hearing and in his responses to written questions."

The aide pointed to Holder's written response to a question from Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ):

Prosecutorial and investigative judgments must depend on the facts, and no one is above the law. But where it is clear that a government agent has acted in "reasonable and good-faith reliance on Justice Department legal opinions" authoritatively permitting his conduct, I would find it difficult to justify commencing a full-blown criminal investigation, let alone a prosecution.

Environment

Bob Corker, Climate Change Rebel?

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 4:24PM

Sen. Bob Corker (TN) can be one of the hardest congressional Republicans to pin down ideologically, and he proved that today during Al Gore's appearance in the Foreign Relations Committee.

Corker's easygoing criticism of a cap-and-trade system for regulating emissions won him a glowing profile last year in National Review, which called him "the most pleasant surprise conservatives have had" in the Senate since Paul Coverdell in the 1990s.

Wonder what the NRO folks would make of Corker's kumbaya moment with Gore today? From Corker's comments to Gore:

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MN-SEN

Franken Legal Team To Coleman: You Dug Your Own Grave, Buddy

Eric Kleefeld | January 28, 2009, 4:22PM

The Franken legal team has been busy this afternoon laying out their argument against Norm Coleman: You don't get to pull a 180.

Franken attorney David Lillehaug has been cross-examining Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann, who oversaw a great deal of the recount and was originally called by the Coleman side in order to probe into the fallibility that exists within the system. Lillehaug has used the cross-examination as a vehicle to explore a wrinkle in Coleman's new arguments about making sure every absentee vote is properly counted: Coleman originally opposed all similar efforts from the Franken camp during the recount.

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Israel/Palestine

Sixty House Dems Ask Clinton to Intercede in Gaza Crisis

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 3:56PM

In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today, 60 House Democrats urged her to release emergency funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to help rebuild the the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of its war with Israel. The letter focuses on the need to rebuild Gaza's demolished infrastructure and remedy the shortage of medical supplies that has sparked a "humanitarian emergency."

Full text is after the jump, with the names of the Democrats who signed on.

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Senate

GOP: We're Not Neo-Hooverites, The Dems Are

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 3:46PM

From Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) press briefing on the stimulus, going on right now:

Hoover was very interventionist. He raised taxes, increased spending, and tried very much to [intervene in] the economy.

"A lot of us would not like to have the level of government involvement" that the stimulus involves, Ensign added.

Stimulus

Mass Transit Scores Big Win in House Stimulus

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 3:30PM

Great news from the House floor, where members are debating the $825 billion stimulus bill. An amendment from Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Keith Ellison (D-MN) -- restoring $3 billion in mass transit funding to an initial $10 billion pot that looked distressingly low to many urban-planning folks -- just passed by voice vote.

This brings the infrastructure portion of the stimulus a large step closer to the level of investment that has a genuine chance of expanding the nation's green transportation options. Amtrak, Metro, and subway riders, rejoice.

Late Victory Lap Update: Nadler just noted that hundreds of millions of dollars of this newly approved cash would go to often under-funded priorities in the crowded urban areas of New York and California. From his statement:

This amendment is crucial for fair distribution of transportation spending between urban and non-urban parts of the county. ... Investment in transit is a major step toward putting Americans to work right away in green jobs, reducing emissions and improving our transit systems.

Politico's Weirdo Source

Matthew Cooper | January 28, 2009, 3:30PM

My friends at Politico, Jim VandeHei and Eamon Javers, have a piece this morning about those who advocate doing nothing in the face of our economic crisis. No stimulus, nada, these folks argue.

I think there's an argument for doing nothing but it's so outside the conventional mainstream, far to the right of the House Republicans, that it seems to me incumbent upon Politico, for whom I've written and which I admire, to have noted that some of the experts quoted in their piece have what we might call exotic histories.

The piece quotes Andrew Schiff, as "an investment consultant at Euro-Pacific Capital and a card-carrying member of the stand-tall-against-the-stimulus lobby." He tells Politico: "All this stimulus money is geared toward getting consumers spending and borrowing again. But spending and borrowing were the problem in the first place." This quote and identification make him sound like some typical money guy expressing the kind of fiscal prudence you expect from Hal Holbrooke in Wall Street.

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Senate

Leading Senate Dems Dismiss Report That Holder Promised No Torture Prosecutions

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 3:24PM

The Washington Times reported today that Attorney General nominee Eric Holder has privately assured Sen. Kit Bond (MO) and other Republicans that the Obama DoJ will not prosecute intelligence officials who engaged in harsh interrogations.

A Bond aide told the Times that the senator "strongly considered blocking the nomination based on questions arising from some of Mr. Holder's public statements," but that Bond now planned to support the nomination after "having received assurances that [Holder] was not intent on going after intelligence officials who acted in good faith."

The implication of the piece is fairly clear: Holder promised Bond to eschew prosecutions, and Bond promised not to block his nomination. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- which approved Holder today -- strongly denied that such an exchange could have occurred.

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MN-SEN

Coleman Lawyer: This Case Is About My (Lousy) Witness

Eric Kleefeld | January 28, 2009, 2:20PM

Now this is odd. At a briefing with reporters just now, Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg said that the Coleman case is not about complicated legal language or doctrines, but is instead about voters like Gerald Anderson and Wesley Briest, who were brought in yesterday to talk about how their ballots are still not counted.

Gerald Anderson sure seems compelling. He's a septuagenarian who says his signature on the ballot envelope didn't look right because he is now too blind to fill things out perfectly. But Briest is one of the two clear problem witnesses they brought in yesterday.

Briest's testimony went as thus: He initially said that he voted at the polls, and not by absentee. Then a Coleman lawyer showed Briest his absentee ballot envelope, and reminded him that he did not go to the polls, too. Upon cross-examination by Franken lawyer Kevin Hamilton, Briest admitted that his wife didn't fully complete the witness section of the absentee ballot, regardless of the confusion over whether he showed up at the polls or not.

It could have been worse. Ginsberg could have mentioned Douglas Thompson, the friendly Coleman witness who wants his ballot to be counted even though he obtained it through his girlfriend forging his signature.

(Special thanks to The Uptake for carrying the presser.)

Barack Obama

On the Subject of Lobbyists Entering Government ...

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 2:04PM

As Josh just observed, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is still under investigation for his role in alleged trading of congressional earmarks. A major figure in that inquiry, which you can read more about here, is GOP congressman-turned-lobbyist Bill Lowery.

Lowery's lawyer during the initial days of the Lewis probe, and during the height of the Randy "Duke" Cunningham scandal, was former Clinton administration counsel Lanny Breuer -- who was recently nominated by President Obama to lead the Justice Department's criminal division.

Breuer was also a registered lobbyist as recently as last year, representing Yahoo on "law enforcement demands for user information," according to the Senate disclosure database.

Does that mean Breuer will have to seek a waiver from the Obama administration's ethics order on prior lobbying, as Pentagon No. 2 nominee Bill Lynn recently did? Perhaps, though his was a far narrower involvement than that of Lynn or former Goldman Sachs lobbyist Mark Patterson, the new Treasury Department chief of staff.

Either way, it's worth noting that private sector employment isn't an automatic black mark for those re-entering government service.

Democrats

The Progressive Priorities That Made It Into the Stimulus

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 1:16PM

The Congressional Progressive Caucus just released a memo that offers a worthy counterpoint to our discussions today about the Republicans' baldly misleading message on the stimulus.

The Progressives have rounded up elements of their proposed $1 trillion stimulus that ended up making it into the Democratic leaders' final bill, in part or in whole. It's a list that's worth remembering while tax cuts seemingly dominate the airwaves.

The highlights of the memo are after the jump:

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MN-SEN

The Minnesota Election Trial: A Legal Mess

Eric Kleefeld | January 28, 2009, 12:26PM

The Minnesota election court is rolling along without delays today, and the fairly productive morning we've just had served to make even clearer something that we've known all along: Once you get to the most minute levels of an election, the whole thing is a legal mess.

The Coleman legal team continued its questioning of Jim Gelbmann, the Deputy Secretary of State who oversaw much of the recount. The focus of the Coleman team's case is not simply human error but human variation -- that is, the recount rules may have been uniform statewide, but the human beings administering the rules applied them differently -- and this constitutes a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

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Obama Touted Website is Lame

Matthew Cooper | January 28, 2009, 11:40AM

In his remarks earlier this morning about his stimulus plan, Obama touted Recovery.gov as a website where Americans "will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars." Actually the site is empty pending the passage of the bill. Basically, it's a placeholder for after the bill is passed. Shouldn't there be something in there about the competing proposals? The options? Etc. It seems kind of lame for such a techno-savvy White House. Besides after the bill is passed how quickly are they really going to be able to update how Topeka spends it's sewer money?

WH Counsel's Office: Hillary, Reform, Chicago heavy

Matthew Cooper | January 28, 2009, 11:38AM

Amidst the confirmation of Eric Holder and the president's first dis of the Sidwell Friends School--he mocked the institution, not by name, but for cancelling school today in contrast to hardy Chicago where the coating of ice that closed D.C. schools, public and private, would be all but ignored--there was some interesting news.

The counsel's office had some interesting appointments. One is the highly regarded Karen Dunn, a longtime Hillary aide and Yale Law grad, whose presence further solidifies the number of former Clinton aides in the Obama White House. (Like her friend, Howard Wolfson, she's a Nita Lowey alumnus, too.) Susan Sher, the former corporation counsel for the City of Chicago also joins the counsel's office strengthening the Chicago contingent. Maybe most interesting is Norm Eisen, one of the founders of CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) and a special counsel for ethics issues helps carry through Obama's commitment to ethics reform. Friends of General Counsel Greg Craig will note that he's brought his assistant, Catherine Whitney, over from Williams & Connolly, too. Neal Wolin, a veteran of the CIA and the National Security Council, will be there, too suggesting a return to a traditional legal view of those agencies. This will be an interesting office to watch.

The counsel's office is important in and of itself but it's also a springboard to many other jobs. Lisa Brown, who holds the important position of Staff Secretary in the White House--the person in charge of paper flow--was Al Gore' s counsel. From John Dean to Fred Fielding to Lloyd Cutler, it's always at the center of things. Putting a Hillary alum and a special ethics counselor in there makes the mix that much more intriguing.

Barack Obama

Judiciary Committee Approves Holder, 17-2

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 11:25AM

Attorney General nominee Eric Holder was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning on a 17-2 vote.

The full Senate must sign off on Holder before he can officially join Obama's DoJ, but today's vote effectively removes the political obstacles that stood in the way of full confirmation. We'll let you know soon which two Republicans voted no on Holder.

Late Update: The two GOP nos were Sens. John Cornyn (TX) and Tom Coburn (OK).

Stimulus

GOP's Successful Media Message: This Stimulus Needs to be More Ineffective!

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 11:08AM

Republicans have blanketed the airwaves in the past week, carrying a single message that's been well-amplified, with almost no skepticism, on MSNBC ...

[Sen. John] ENSIGN [R-NV]: You know, politically, what we're trying to do is choose the right policy, something that actually stimulates the economy, that creates jobs. ... If we could lower the corporate tax rate, that would be one of the best things that we could do to make American business more competitive in the world and actually help stimulate the economy.

... not to mention CNBC:

[Rep. Spencer] BACHUS [R-AL]: We have said let's do tax cuts, let's let the American people make the decisions on how they'll spend the money. That will stimulate the economy more than bringing all that money to Washington and then distributing it out in all sorts of government programs.

... and, of course, on Fox News:

[Rep. Mike] PENCE [R-IN}: What House Democrats have done here is get out a dusty old wish list of liberal spending priorities, dump it all in a bill, and throw in a few token tax cuts on top of it. That's not going to create jobs. It's not going to put this economy back on its feet.

There's only one problem with the stimulus debate's focus on whether the percentage of spending on tax cuts should be 40 or 20, as opposed to the outright merits of such breaks: Tax cuts are an ineffective economic stimulus.

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House of Representatives

House Votes on Stimulus Today: A Look at the Numbers

Elana Schor | January 28, 2009, 9:50AM

The House of Representatives is slated to vote on its $825 billion economic recovery bill today, as Republicans fret over the level of bipartisanship on display and Democrats largely look the other way.

But what can we really expect after all the noise of the past few days? Will last night's dinner at the White House really sway any centrist GOPer to support the stimulus? Will the bill's relatively weak spending on infrastructure redevelopment persuade any liberal Dems to vote no? A few lawmakers to watch:

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MN-SEN

Coleman: I Need "Good Americans" To Contribute

Eric Kleefeld | January 28, 2009, 9:37AM

Appearing last night on Fox News for an interview with Sean Hannity, Norm Coleman made an interesting appeal for money: That he can win this race if "good Americans" contribute to help him pay his legal bills, versus the lefties out there who support Al Franken:

"Sean, this recount is an expensive proposition. Al Franken's got George Soros, he's got MoveOn.org. I need just good Americans to contribute," said Coleman (emphasis his own). "ColemanForSenate.com, www.ColemanForSenate.com. It's an expensive proposition. Don't let George Soros, MoveOn.com or the far left buy this race."

A few Republicans got in trouble in the 2008 elections for using phrases like "real Americans" to describe their supporters. But now that the election is over, and this is purely about courting the base and bringing in the necessary cash, Republicans can really say whatever they want.

Senate '10

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 28, 2009, 9:03AM

National GOP Targeting Reid -- And Bailouts -- With New Ad
The National Republican Senatorial Committee is running its first ad of the 2010 cycle -- against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in the Reno media market. The ad also cements the GOP's new message as the anti-bailout and anti-stimulus party, as opposed to the leadership's pro-bailout policies last Fall:

The GOP successfully took out the previous Senate Democratic leader, Tom Daschle, back in 2004. The Dems made a similar play against Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in 2008, but only managed to keep him to a 53%-47% win.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama is holding a series of meetings this morning, receiving his regular daily briefing, an economic briefing, conferring with senior advisers, and meeting with business leaders. At 11:15 a.m. he will be speaking on the economy after his meeting with business leaders. At 3:30 p.m. he will be meeting with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Minnesota Trial Keeps Going
Today is the third day of the Minnesota election-contest trial, scheduled to reconvene at 10 a.m. ET. Norm Coleman's legal team is expected to continue their argument that Coleman voters have been unfairly disenfranchised compared to Franken voters, due to election officials in GOP areas being more strict on the matter of improperly-rejected absentee ballots.

House Voting Today On Stimulus
The House of Representatives will be voting some time later today on an $825 billion stimulus package. Democrats are expected to vote overwhelmingly for the mix of public spending and tax cuts, while the Republican leadership has signaled their opposition.

Illinois Senate Hears Blago Tapes
The Illinois state Senate yesterday got to hear Rod Blagojevich's own voice on the FBI wiretaps, in a trial that Blago himself is boycotting as unfair. "It sounds like a couple of organized crime figures out preparing to break some kneecaps," said GOP state Senator Dan Cronin. "It's just horrible. It's nauseating. It's sickening."

WaPo: RNC Race A GOP Referendum On Bush
The Washington Post reports that much of the opposition to RNC chairman Mike Duncan, who faced five different opponents, has come down to conservative resentments against the man who picked Duncan: Then-President George W. Bush. "Most of us strongly supported the Bush administration through the entire two terms," said RNC member Curly Haugland of North Dakota, "but in the last few months, this bailout and the abandonment of capitalism really kind of sealed it."

Bunning: Yes, I Am Running Again
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) is firing back at Republicans who are spreading the idea that he hasn't been working on his re-election campaign -- such as his own co-Senator Mitch McConnell. "He either had a lapse of memory or something when speaking to the Press Club last week when he said that he didn't know what my intentions were," said Bunning.

Jill Biden Starts New Teaching Job In D.C. Area
Jill Biden began her new job yesterday at Northern Virginia Community College, as an adjunct professor teaching two English courses. "A lot of them either didn't know that she is the wife of the vice president, or act any differently," said spokeswoman Courtney O'Donnell.

MN-SEN

Coleman: I'm Proud Of My Witnesses

Eric Kleefeld | January 27, 2009, 6:19PM

At a brief press conference with reporters just now, held after the Minnesota election court proceedings ended for the day, Norm Coleman expressed his pride in the witnesses his legal team had called, regular voters whose absentee ballots haven't been counted yet.

Now remember, their witness roster included a guy who admitted to obtaining his absentee ballot through forgery by his girlfriend, and is demanding that his vote be counted.

"You know there's been so much discussion about process, but today we saw the human side of this, and that's what this is really about," said Coleman. He added a bit later: "For me it was heartwarming to be here to see Minnesotans come forward and be so passionate, so passionate, about the right to vote and be counted."

To be sure, some of the witnesses were sympathetic -- such as Gerald Anderson, a 75-year old who has gone legally blind and who believes his signature on his ballot envelope didn't match the one on his ballot application because of his lost vision. But come on, they really called the forgery guy?

(Special thanks to The Uptake for carrying the presser.)

Senate

Alternative Minimum Tax Reform Now Part of the Senate Stimulus

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 4:47PM

Oy vey. Sen. Chuck Grassley (IA), senior Republican on the Finance Committee, just won approval of a one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax as part of the upper chamber's stimulus bill, at a cost of $70 billion over 10 years.

Anyone looking for background on what the AMT means for taxpayers can find it here. But what this means for Congress is a potentially huge headache.

Read more »

Stimulus

Family Planning Aid is Gone For Good From the Stimulus

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 4:09PM

House Democrats have removed a provision from their stimulus bill that would exempt states from the need to get waivers for covering family planning under Medicaid. The family-planning aid has been the subject of repeated Republican attacks over the past few days, and health care advocates were dismayed by the Democrats' decision to give in on its removal.

"We are disappointed that the Medicaid Family Planning State Option, a common-sense provision to expand basic health care to millions of women, including many who have lost their jobs in the current economic downturn, was a victim of misleading attacks and partisan politics, and dropped from the economic stimulus bill," Planned Parenthood for America President Cecile Richards said in a statement today.

But the House's move didn't necessarily mean that the family-planning aid is dead. After all, the Senate still has to act and could include the provision in its stimulus bill -- right?

Maybe not.

Read more »

MN-SEN

Coleman's Supposedly Friendly Witnesses Backfire

Eric Kleefeld | January 27, 2009, 3:56PM

We have seen the best thing that Norm Coleman's legal team has done so far in this election trial -- and it ain't pretty.

This afternoon the Coleman team was bringing in rejected absentee voters to show that their ballots were improperly tossed. So far the court has heard from six people, most of of whom said they were contacted by the Republican Party in the last few weeks. They mostly seemed sympathetic enough, putting a human face on the disenfranchised Coleman voter -- but at least two of them appeared to have been rejected properly under the conditions of Minnesota law.

One of the voters was Douglas Thompson, who admitted under oath that his girlfriend filled out his absentee ballot application for him, signing his name with her own hand and purporting to be himself. His ballot was rejected because the signature on his ballot envelope (his own) did not match the signature on the application (his girlfriend's). The Coleman team's argument appears to be that he is still a legal voter in Minnesota, as the signature on the ballot was his own, even if admitted dishonesty was involved in getting the ballot.

Keep in mind: Thompson's story came up during the direct examination by Coleman lawyer James Langdon. So the Coleman camp fully knew this information and decided to make him into a witness.

Read more »

The Legal Intrigue Behind Rove

Matthew Cooper | January 27, 2009, 3:31PM

The House Judiciary Committee's subpoena of Karl Rove raises interesting questions as my colleague Zach Roth notes. I spoke with a Washington lawyer who has dealt with many presidential privilege issues and he (or is it she?) raised some interesting questions and offered a prediction.

The first interesting point the person raised is that Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, may have made a tactical mistake in writing to White House Counsel Greg Craig for an opinion. "Be careful what you ask for," the source said. After all, Craig could come up with a rationale for Rove testifying. And why rush to Craig at all when you might prevail in the courts? True, the courts have been loathe to offer hard and fast rules in these cases but it would seem worth pursuing such a legal avenue before going to the Democratic White House for solace. My source predicted that in the end there probably will be some kind of accomodation with Rove answering questions on some topics and not on others rather than a showdown that drags on endlessly. Interestingly, the source thought Obama's executive order on presidential records differed enough from the question of testimony that it probably would not be determinative in the end.

I note myself the hypocrisy of Republicans who demanded practically every Clinton official to march up to the hill and testify on everything under the sun who can be sure to defend executive privilege in Rove's case and that of Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers.

It's probably worth noting here, just for the record that I have some history with Karl Rove. If you haven't been in an Ecuadorean jungle for the last six years you know what it is. If you have been, you can get caught up here and here.

Arlen Specter

Specter: Psych! I'll Back Holder

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 3:09PM

It may be time to coin the phrase "pulling a Specter," because Sen. Arlen Specter (PA), the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, just did it again. After making a huge fuss questioning the independence of Eric Holder, Specter just caved and said he'll support the attorney general nominee.

Read more »

Barack Obama

Dems Letting GOP Chase After Shiny 'Bipartisanship' Ball

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 2:47PM

We've been watching Republican leaders play a little game today with the economic recovery plan that's headed for its first vote in the House tomorrow. The object of said game: making the stimulus bill "bipartisan" enough to win Republican votes.

First President Obama made a concession; the GOP turned up its nose. Then Republicans had a neck-snapping change of heart.

But what do Democrats make of this silliness? You remember them -- the party that actually controls the government and wrote the stimulus bill. It turns out that Democrats are perfectly happy to let Republicans chase after their enigmatic (and, dare we say, largely non-existent) notion of a "bipartisan" stimulus.

Read more »

Private Equity and EFCA

Matthew Cooper | January 27, 2009, 2:22PM

The Employee Free Choice Act has galvanized business lobbies like nothing else in recent years. After all, most issues--say, trade--pits one business lobby against another but few issues unite them. So it's interesting and notable to say the least that one of the most talked-about parts of business is staying out of the EFCA debate: the trade group representing private equity firms like the Carlyle Group and BlackRock. On one hand you would think that private equity firms would have a particularly big stake in fighting EFCA. After all, they often buy businesses under the assumption that they keep the unions out. The Service Employees International Union, for instance, fought the Carlyle Group's takeover of Manor Health Care, a chair of assisted living facilities. . It ultimately failed but it's still trying to organize the chain's workers. Dunkin Donuts is owned by a partnership of Bain Capital, Mitt Romney's old firm, the Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners. But the main voice of private equity firms in Washington, the Private Equity Council, has stayed out of the fight and the answer would seem to be owing to the fact that unions provide so much capital to private equity. In fact, the Private Equity Council's own research shows in 2007 alone," the top 20 public pension funds, representing nearly 10 million retirees in states including California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, had a collective private equity investment of nearly $140 billion." This is a long way, of course, from getting Steve Schwarzman or Henry Kravis or David Rubenstein to support EFCA. But at least, as unions press forward with EFCA, they don't have private equity's trade group joining the rest of the business lobby.

Barack Obama

The Waiting Game in the Capitol

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 1:38PM

On the second floor of the Senate, a herd of reporters and camera-people have been eagerly awaiting the president's appearance ... for more than 30 minutes.

What was supposed to be a 1pm briefing on Obama's visit to the House Republican conference, before the president's 1:25 meeting with Senate GOPers, looks to have been thrown off course. Reporters attempting to talk to other senators have been shooed out of the way to clear the path for an arrival.

Hmmm, it can't be an attempt by House Republicans to drown Obama in questions about a bill they're likely to oppose en masse in the end. Can it?

RNC

Saltsman: It's Hard Out There For A Republican

Eric Kleefeld | January 27, 2009, 1:34PM

Chip Saltsman, the candidate for RNC chairman who has gotten in trouble for sending out a gift CD to committee members that contained a parody song called "Barack The Magic Negro," had an incredible interview this morning on MSNBC, blaming the whole flap on the media.

Contessa Brewer asked Saltsman about the offense that people have taken. "You know I think it highlighted a couple things, one that we're definitely not playing on a level playing field with the media," Saltsman said, complaining that the media didn't go after the Los Angeles Times for running a column that served as the basis of right-wing satirist Paul Shanklin's song.

(By the way, the piece was not from the LAT itself, but was an op-ed written by David Ehrenstein, who is black.)

Brewer insisted that there are many people out there who are offended by the parody song, which features the white conservative Shanklin doing an Amos & Andy-style impression of Al Sharpton. "Well, I think there's some people that--" Saltsman began in a confrontational tone, before stopping short and simply replying, "I understand that."

Late Update: Here's the video:

Barack Obama

McConnell: Republicans Are More in Line With Obama Than Dems

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 9:57AM

Oh, those coquettish Republicans.

First they "are being listened to" by the president on a stimulus bill that includes more than $250 billion in tax cuts. Then they realize that they just can't support a stimulus without more tax cuts -- and the elimination of family planning aid.

They get their way on the latter, though perhaps not the former ... but then they realize that the problem isn't President Obama. It's the Democrats!

From Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) interview with the Today show (emphasis mine):

Frankly, what's developing here is, [Obama's] biggest problem is with his own party, the Democratic Party, which seems to be drifting away from what he said he wanted, which was for the package to include at least 40 percent tax relief and to be earmark-free.

So he could, ironically, end up with better supporters in trying to achieve the kind of stimulus package -- which would be timely, targeted and temporary -- from us than he's getting from the Democratic majority, at least so far here in the Congress.

Listening to what he said he wanted, we think we may be closer to that, oddly enough, than the Democratic majority, which seems to be pulling in the direction of fewer tax -- less tax relief and things like fixing up the [National] Mall. You know, most people don't think that's the way we ought to spend stimulus money.

Late Update: Here's the video:

Later Wish-List Update: The Republicans have successfully stripped family-planning aid from the stimulus, but that's not the end of their wheeling and dealing. McClatchy reports on several other provisions GOPers aim to jettison from the bill ... before most of them vote against it anyway. Here's the list.

$5 billion for colleges and universities, many of them already with billion-dollar endowments.

$600 million for new cars for the federal government.

$200 million to improve the National Mall, including $21 million for new grass.

$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Barack Obama

AP: Dems Poised to Cave to GOP on Family Planning Funds

Elana Schor | January 27, 2009, 9:23AM

The AP reports this morning that House Democrats are on the verge of removing a Medicaid provision added to their stimulus bill which would have eliminated the need for states to seek a waiver before providing more family-planning services to lower-income women.

The Medicaid provision had become controversial over the past few days not because of its monetary value -- in fact, it would save states an estimated $400 million over 10 years -- but because Republicans had loudly moaned that it amounted to "taxpayer funding" for "the abortion industry."

Never mind that a GOP president helped create the waiver program. Never mind that eight GOP governors participate in it. Family planning must be stopped in order to get "bipartisan support" for the stimulus bill.

And buried in the middle of the AP story is one notable tidbit:

Several Democrats said Monday night that Obama had spoken personally with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., about removing the provision. Waxman is chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over Medicaid and a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 27, 2009, 9:01AM

Obama Visiting The Hill Today
President Obama is headed to Capitol Hill today to work with lawmakers on crafting his economic stimulus plan. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that Obama wants to hear lawmakers' ideas, and will take good ones into consideration.

Minnesota Trial Continues Today
The Minnesota election trial is continuing all day today, beginning at 10 a.m. ET in St. Paul. Yesterday was very interesting to say the least, with the Coleman campaign having been revealed to be using altered evidence -- they say the changes were accidental -- and we'll see how today turns out. The pooled video feed is easily available at The Uptake.

Coleman Going On Hannity Tonight
Norm Coleman will be appearing on Fox News tonight, for an interview with Sean Hannity. This should be interesting.

Blago Impeachment Trial Keeps Moving
To the southeast of Minnesota, the Illinois state Senate's impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich is also going into its second day. The state Senate will be hearing from FBI Special Agent Daniel Cain, who will review wiretaps allegedly showing Blago shaking down horse-racing industry officials for campaign money, as Blagojevich himself continues to boycott the trial.

Mitchell In Egypt Today
President Obama's new Middle East envoy George Mitchell has arrived in Cairo for his tour of the Middle East today, a mission to help solidify the Gaza ceasefire and to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Mitchell will be traveling through Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France and Britain.

Gillibrand To Be Sworn In Today
Senator-designate Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will be sworn in today as the newly-appointed occupant of Hillary Clinton's former Senate seat. Gillibrand will be sworn in by Vice President Biden in the afternoon.

NYT: Geography Divides Dems On Energy
The New York Times reports that the energy debate is revealing divides among Democrats between those from the coasts, who are more favorable to environmentalists, and the industry-friendly Midwesterners. "It's up to those of us in the Midwest to show how important manufacturing is," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). "If we pass a climate bill the wrong way, it will hurt American jobs and the American economy, as more and more production jobs go to places like China, where it's cheaper."

Terry McAuliffe: Virginia Political Outsider
Check out this new TV ad from Terry McAuliffe, in which the former Democratic National Committee chairman presents himself as a political outsider who hasn't been connected to the legislative fights in Virginia, but is instead a successful businessman:

"It goes to show, the best ideas don't always come out of Richmond," says McAuliffe.

Barack Obama

Geithner Confirmed With 30 GOPers, 3 Dems, and Sanders Voting No

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 6:43PM

President Obama has a new Treasury Secretary -- but only just barely.

Tim Geithner was just approved by the Senate, 60-34, with 30 members of the 41-strong Republican conference voting no. That margin suggests that a successful filibuster was within reach for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), although GOPers ultimately did not attempt to slow down the confirmation. Even more interestingly, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) opposed Geithner, joining three liberal Democrats: Tom Harkin (IA), Russ Feingold (WI), and Robert Byrd (WV).

The Treasury nomination ran into political trouble earlier this month after Geithner admitted an initial failure to pay $34,000 in self-employment taxes earlier this decade.

It remains to be seen whether the level of Republican resistance to Geithner will spark more hand-wringing over the Obama administration's level of bipartisanship, but one thing's for sure: Were it not for the recession presently plaguing the nation, Geithner would have had a much higher hill to climb.

MN-SEN

Minnesota Election Judges Toss Coleman's Faulty Evidence, Tell Him To Try Again

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 6:01PM

The first day of the Minnesota election trial has come to a close, and it couldn't have been a fun day for Norm Coleman, who was present in the courtroom to watch everything that happened.

It's not a good day when the court throws out your evidence and tells your legal team to submit it all over again.

Earlier today, Franken attorney Marc Elias raised serious questions about the Coleman campaign erasing sections from photocopies of rejected absentee-ballot envelopes that they're attempting to get put into the count. Later questioning by Elias of Coleman legal staffer Gloria Sonnen revealed that the submitted copies also include written notes added on to the envelopes by the Coleman team, and it's impossible to tell what writing was there originally and what was added by the Coleman camp.

The judges have now ordered Coleman's legal team to subpoena and submit the original ballot envelopes themselves, if they want them to be reviewed and potentially counted.

Read more »

What the Freight?

Matthew Cooper | January 26, 2009, 4:46PM

My colleague, Elana Shor, has an excellent item up on the lack of mass transit in the stimulus bill. In that same vein, Phillip Longman has a persuasive cover story in the new issue of The Washington Monthly, arguing that freight rail deserves big attention in the bill because it would be good for the economy, get trucks off the roads, and so on. I'm sure Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will be sending the piece around but that doesn't make it wrong.

"For Best Robocall, the Nominee Is...."

Matthew Cooper | January 26, 2009, 4:33PM

Last week, the folks at Politics magazine, also known as Campaigns & Elections, asked me to host their Reed Awards which are given out to political consultants in catagories ranging from Best Independent Expenditure Radio Ad in a Statewide Race to polybag inserts and yard signs. A few years ago I hosted the Pollies, which is a rival set of awards given out by the Association of Political Consultants. There were fewer awards at that one and I got to do more shtick, like how Frank Luntz would advise Saddam Hussein (it's been a few years as I said.) "People don't see Saddam, the family man....Try do more events with your wives." This time the buzz of awards meant less shtick and more handing them out.

One can have a laugh at the whole thing, but the fact is that in an era of McCain-Feingold, political consulting and messaging remains a part of life and it's not going to away. The bipartisan panel of judges doles out awards on the basis of effectiveness and not ideology or, dare we say, truth in advertising so the evening had a kind of moral neutrality about it that would probably infuriate TPM readers about all that's wrong with Washington. One of the awards went to an ad for Alaska Rep. Don Young. That said, what the judges came up with was the panoply of the American political adviertisement. My favorite was the Truthandhope.org's local voices spot which, I think, historians may look at to understand how Obama won. It also won the equivalent of Best Picture, i.e. Best TV Ad in the Presidential Race.

See it here:

MN-SEN

Franken Lawyer Gets Coleman Witness to Concede Having Bad Evidence

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 4:03PM

The Minnesota election trial just had a truly brutal moment, one that could undermine the credibility of Norm Coleman's whole case.

The Coleman campaign summoned political director Kristen Fuzer up to the stand to testify to the provenance of the photocopies of rejected absentee ballots that they've submitted in their efforts to get those ballots counted. You may recall that the Franken campaign last week pointed to some apparent alterations in the photocopied envelopes.

Coleman lawyer Joe Friedberg briefly interviewed Fuzer. Then it was Franken lawyer Marc Elias' turn.

Read more »

MN-SEN

Franken Lawyer: Coleman Lost, And Has No Case

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 3:46PM

Al Franken's lawyer Kevin Hamilton just finished his opening arguments against Norm Coleman's lawsuit to contest the results of the Minnesota Senate race. His case boils down to this: Norm Coleman is suing because he lost, and is searching for things to complain about.

Hamilton said that Coleman has failed to meet the very burden that is necessary to win an election contest -- that is, to overturn the presumption of regularity on the part of the state and local officials -- and is instead set on finding little errors that may still exist out there. "It's better than most," Hamilton said of Minnesota's election system, "but it's not immune."

Hamilton also pointed to Coleman having reversed his position on the crucial issue of improperly-rejected absentee ballots, noting that his campaign litigated during the recount to keep ballots out -- but are now trying to get up to 5,000 ballots put in. "Against that history, against that backdrop, it's simply stunning to see the most recent position," said Hamilton.

Read more »

Barack Obama

Progressive Think Tank Not So Thrilled With Obama's Regulatory Chief

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 3:03PM

The L.A. Times had a nice preview on this today, but the Center for Progressive Reform has just come out with a comprehensive report casting doubt on the regulatory record of Cass Sunstein, the president's pick to head the office in charge of government regulatory efforts.

Read more »

MN-SEN

Coleman Lawyer: Count 5,000 More Ballots -- Who Knows What Might Happen?

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 2:46PM

Norm Coleman's attorney Joe Friedberg just finished his opening statements in the election-contest trial, and he said his case hinges almost entirely on one issue: Another review of rejected absentee ballots that will get another 4,500-5,000 votes into the pool.

Friedberg said that some ballots were rejected in one area of the state, while ballots with similar minor perceived errors were accepted elsewhere -- a violation of equal protection. As such, he wants the judges to review these ballots again, after local officials have looked at them a few times before, and level the playing field by approving ballot envelopes if one like it was already accepted.

And again, Friedberg insisted that the campaign is not cherry-picking the ballots -- though he seemed to concede that the campaigns have had experts hard at work on that question.

Read more »

The New York Times and Bank Nationalization

Matthew Cooper | January 26, 2009, 2:46PM

My friend and former colleague covering the Clinton White House, David Sanger, has a somewhat breathless piece in today's New York Times about banks and nationalization. As I suggested last week, I don't think nationalization is the best way to describe what's likely to happen.

Read more »

Labor

Is Obama Serious about Card Check?

Matthew Cooper | January 26, 2009, 2:34PM

One of the issues we'll be following in the new administration is the EFCA or, as it's more commonly known, "card check." The bill would make it much easier for unions to organize and already its defeat is the rallying cry for business groups inside the Beltway who agree on little else. I argue in favor of the bill in the latest issue of Condé Nast Portfolio and so does T.A. Frank in The Washington Monthly (although with less enthusiasm) where I'm an alumnus and contributing editor. I'm not willing to give unions a free ride on their many mistakes or excesses over the years but on balance I think the playing field has been tilted against union organizing and EFCA would help arrest the decline in union membership.

Thus far, EFCA opponents have won the battle for elite opinion. The Washington Post has weighed in against the measure as has George McGovern who is surely a bygone figure but whose condemnation of the bill has been used by the right to great effect as proof that the measure is way outside the mainstream. In fact, if you talk to labor advocates, they'll concede that anti-EFCA ads like this one and these ones have been very effective, at least with the chattering classes, in portraying to the bill as anti-democratic. In fact, if anyone has been more guilty of intimidation over the years its been the corporations trying to crush union organizing.

"They've done a good job," says one labor ally characterizing the business opposition. As for the larger public, there's some debate over whether the public is pro or anti-EFCA.

Read more »

Barack Obama

Report: Lawyer in CA Emissions Case to Join EPA

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 1:13PM

As rational individuals everywhere cheer today's White House move to expedite California's auto emissions standards, there comes another encouraging sign from inside the Environmental Protection Agency.

As reported late Friday night by Carbon Control News, a subscription-only website that reports on D.C. climate change issues:

Georgetown Law Professor Lisa Heinzerling, the lead author of plaintiffs' briefs in the landmark Supreme Court case that found EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, has taken a job with EPA to advise incoming Administrator Lisa Jackson on how to address climate change, according to a knowledgeable source. ...

Read more »

Nancy Pelosi

Republicans Irate Over Expansion of Republican-Approved Program

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 12:54PM

The Drudge Report and Politico are breathlessly repeating Republican talking points that accuse House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) of hijacking the stimulus bill to promote contraceptive use.

At the risk of giving this ridiculous non-issue still more exposure today, I thought I'd point out a couple of basic facts.

Read more »

MN-SEN

Insults Fly Ahead Of Minnesota Election Trial

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 12:47PM

One thing is clear going into today's election trial in Minnesota: The Franken and Coleman camps really don't like each other.

Yesterday, the Coleman team posted a YouTube promoting their new push to have the rejected absentee ballots reviewed yet another time -- their current goal is to have 4,500-5,000 more added into the count, which they insist are not cherry-picked -- and declaring Coleman is the champion of counting every vote, against Al Franken's disregard for the people's will.

On a conference call with reporters just now, lead Franken attorney Marc Elias ripped the Coleman team for saying they want to count every vote, after spending most of this recount litigating to stop absentee-vote reviews, and still basing their election lawsuit largely upon throwing out votes for Al Franken. Said Elias: "So don't believe them when they say they want every vote counted, because that isn't what most of their case is about, and it's not what this case is gonna boil down to."

As an extra sign of his contempt for the Coleman team, Elias referred to them as "charter members of the flat-earth club" for questioning the legitimacy of Franken votes during the recount. At today's trial, the tone isn't likely to improve more than the minimum necessary for the courtroom.

The Coleman vid is available after the jump.

Read more »

Democrats

Any Takers For a Green Stimulus? Senate Bill Lowballs Mass Transit

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 11:49AM

We've been talking about this for a while now, but mass transit is getting woefully little attention in the economic recovery proposals released so far by Democrats.

The House's stimulus bill, which is slated for a final vote on Wednesday, included only $10 billion for rail and other public transportation projects, compared with $30 billion for roads. (According to House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), the decision was made to leave enough room for tax cuts.)

But what about the Senate, where the second- and third-ranked leaders are blue-state mass-transit boosters Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY)? As it turns out, the upper chamber of Congress is doing even worse.

Read more »

Guantanamo Bay

Not In My Backyard: The GOPers Complicating Obama's Gitmo Closure

Elana Schor | January 26, 2009, 11:15AM

Republicans have already settled on a five-letter messaging counter-attack to President Obama's plan to shutter the Guantanamo Bay prison within a year: NIMBY. Within the past few days, John McCain and Karl Rove have helped reinforce the perception that Guantanamo detainees could not be moved to U.S. soil without a popular backlash.

As McCain told Fox News yesterday:

Where are you going to send [the detainees]? That decision I would have made before I'd announced the closure, because I don't know of a state in America that wants them in their state. It's going to -- you think Yucca Mountain is a NIMBY problem? Wait till you see this one.

Never mind that McCain seemed to have made that decision in 2007 ...

Yes. I would close Guantanamo Bay. And I would move those prisoners to Fort Leavenworth.

Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, is the military's only maximum-security prison, making it a strong option for the Obama administration during deliberations on the future of Guantanamo's 240 or so remaining occupants. But not if Sen. Sam Brownback has anything to say about it. He and three House Republicans from the state already have introduced bills in Congress that would bar the government from moving detainees from Cuba to Kansas.

But Brownback isn't the only Republican taking a pre-emptive cue from Rove and offering bills to close off Obama's possible Guantanamo alternatives.

Read more »

KY-SEN

KY Lt. Gov. Will Challenge Sen. Jim Bunning In 2010

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 10:50AM

Democrats have just picked up a top-tier candidate for Senate in Kentucky for 2010, with Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo announcing his candidacy against Republican incumbent Jim Bunning.

Back in 2004, Mongiardo came out of nowhere and very nearly defeated Bunning, making it a 51-49 race despite having been a no-name state Senator who was vastly outspent in a red state and in a Republican year. And since then his stock has gone up with his election as Lt. Governor.

The possibility exists that Bunning might retire -- he'll be 79 on Election Day, and his close call in 2004 was caused in many ways by his own gaffes on the campaign trail -- but so far he hasn't given any indication in that direction. Keep an eye on this race, as it could be one of the pivotal campaigns of 2010.

Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 26, 2009, 8:59AM

Obama Set To Allow Tighter Emissions Standards By States
President Obama is expected today to clear the way for allowing California and other states to set their own emissions standards, something that the Bush Administration had previously blocked. Federal regulators are expected to formally approve the changes, which will then force car manufacturers to increase the efficiencies of their vehicles in order to sell their products in major states.

Obama Speaking On Economy This Morning
President Obama will be speaking from the White House today on the subject of the economy, at 10:30 a.m. ET. Vice President Biden will also be joining Obama at today's briefings and meetings.

Minnesota Election Trial Begins Today
The Minnesota Senate litigation enters a new phase today, with the trial beginning at 2 p.m. ET in St. Paul. Norm Coleman's legal team will have the opportunity to go first, calling witnesses and laying out their case that he, and not Al Franken, was the true winner of this super-tight race. A video feed will be available at The Uptake.

Blago Impeachment Trial Beginning Today, Minus Blago
The Illinois state Senate is set to begin the impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich today, though Blago himself is boycotting the proceedings. Instead, Blago is set to appear on the TV talk circuit, making his case that he is innocent and that the trial is rigged against him.

Blago: I Thought About Appointing Oprah To Senate
Rod Blagojevich told ABC News that he had considered appointing Oprah Winfrey to Barack Obama's former Senate seat. But Blago says he didn't do so because it would make too much of a commotion: "she probably wouldn't take it, and then if you offered it to her, how would you do it in a way it wasn't a gimmick to embarrass her."

Cornyn To GOP: Forget The House, Give For The Senate
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, confirmed to Roll Call that he is recruiting potential candidates and courting donors by disparaging the status and comparatively limited power of the House GOP. "I would love to get a Republican majority in the House, I just don't think it's feasible this cycle," said Cornyn, describing the House campaign committee and himself as "friendly competitors."

Feingold To Introduce Amendment Banning Senate Appointments
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) has announced that he will introduce a constitutional amendment to end gubernatorial appointments to Senate vacancies, instead requiring special elections as is done in several states including Wisconsin. Said Feingold, in a statement: "The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats make it painfully clear that such appointments are an anachronism that must end."

Clyburn: No Health Bill In 2009
In an interview on C-Span this past weekend, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said that it's unlikely a comprehensive health care bill will pass the Congress this year, with a slower approach being more feasible. "I would much rather see it done that way, incrementally, than to go out and just bite something you can't chew," said Clyburn. "We've been down that road. I still remember 1994."

Barack Obama

TPMDC Sunday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 25, 2009, 12:59PM

Poll: Obama Starts With 68% Approval
A new Gallup Poll finds that President Obama starts his administration 68% approval and only 12% disapproval. This is at the high end of other presidents in the history of Gallup polling, better than Clinton's 58%-20% or Reagan's 51%-13%, but just short of Kennedy's 72%-6% record.

No Obama Events Today
President Obama does not have any scheduled events for today.

Biden: I Am Not "Deputy President"
In an appearance on CBS' Face The Nation, Joe Biden explained that his role was not to be a "deputy president" but rather to be a top adviser to President Obama. "The agreement that he and I made is that I would be available for every single major decision that he makes ... that I would have all the paper, all the material, all the meetings," said Biden. "Again, not for me to make decisions, [but] for me to give the best advice that I can give."

McCain Won't Support Stimulus Package
In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, John McCain said he won't vote for President Obama's stimulus package as it stands now. McCain said there need to be more tax cuts for businesses, payroll tax cuts, and for existing tax cuts to be made permanent: " Well, the plan was written by the majority in -- a Democrat majority in the House, primarily. And so, yeah, I think there has to be major rewrites if we want to stimulate the economy."

Pelosi: GOP Ideas Will Be Included In Stimulus -- If They're Good
Appearing on ABC's This Week, Nancy Pelosi said that Republicans have had the opportunity to be included in crafting the stimulus bill -- even if not many of their ideas have been adopted. "Well, we will take some," said Pelosi. "We will judge them by their ability to create jobs, to -- to help turn the economy around, to stabilize the economy, and to see how much they cost."

AP: Earmark Prohibition Might Not Stop Lobbyists
The Associated Press says that the ban on earmarks in the new stimulus package won't stop lobbyists from being able to get money set aside for their local clients throughout the country. Instead of specifying that money spent for a particular project, the same result can be accomplished through manipulation of the supposedly objective formulas and guidelines used to determine where money would go.

NYT: Obama Plans Quick Action On Finance Regulations
The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration is planning quick and significant action on financial regulations. "Officials said that the proposals were aimed at the core regulatory problems and gaps that have been highlighted by the market crisis," the Times reports, with such problems including lax government oversight, poor risk management, and excessive borrowing by and lending to many homeowners.

WaPo: Gitmo Case Files In Disarray
The Washington Post reports that Obama Administration officials have found that there exist no comprehensive case files for many Guantanamo prisoners, with the information instead scattered throughout the government. Because the Bush Administration relied upon indefinite detention over prosecution, it could take a long time for Obama officials to figure out just what to do about the individuals currently kept there.