TPMDC Morning Roundup
House To Vote On Bonus Tax Today
The House of Representatives will vote today on a bill to tax bonuses of over $250,000 at financial institutions receiving bailout money, at a rate of 90 percent. Charlie Rangel explained to reporters: "We figured that the local and state governments would take care of the other 10 percent."
Obama In California -- Will Appear On Jay Leno
President Obama is in California today, with a 1:30 p.m. ET tour of the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center Garage of the Future in Pomona, and a speech there at 1:45 p.m. ET. At 4:10 p.m. ET he will visit the Miguel Contreras Learning Center in Los Angeles, where he will be accompanied by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. At 7:20 p.m. ET, he will tape an appearance on the Jay Leno show. And then tonight he will head back to Washington.
Biden Promoting Stimulus Bill In Minnesota
Joe Biden is holding a town hall meeting at 12:30 p.m. ET in St. Cloud, Minnesota, discussing the stimulus program. Biden will be joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Obama: I'll Take Responsibility For AIG Bonuses -- And I Didn't Make The Mess
President Obama told a town hall in California last night that he will fix the AIG mess. "Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the president," he said to applause. And again, Obama pushed the message that he has inherited the problems his administration is dealing with: "It's my job to make sure we fix these messes even if I don't make them."
Poll: Americans Not Confident In Continued Quality Of Life
A new CNN poll finds that only 39% of Americans are confident that they'll be able to maintain their standard of living over the next six years, down six points since last year. On the bright side, half of all homeowners are confident that they will continue to be able to make their mortgage payments, though this number is also down eight points from last year.
Report: RNC Raised $5.1 Million In February
The RNC is expected to report raising $5.1 million this past February, the first month under Michael Steele's leadership, with $24 million in cash on hand as of March 1. This is slightly down from the $5.77 million from January, but is fairly strong considering that some kind of decrease was expected with the transition of leadership.
Locke Has Easy Confirmation Hearing
The Washington Post reports that former Gov. Gary Locke (D-WA) had a smooth confirmation hearing yesterday, as the third nominee of President Obama for Secretary of Commerce. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Commerce Committee, said he expects the committee to formally approve Locke's nomination today, referring it unanimously to the full Senate for a vote at a date to be determined.
Bush To Deliver Closed-Press Speech In Late May
Former President George W. Bush will give his first speech in the United States since leaving the White House on May 28, to the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan. The event will be closed to the media.
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AIG's Edward Liddy Reveals Envy of G. Gordon Liddy
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=6609
March 19, 2009 9:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Well, I hope that tens of thousands of people in Southwestern michigan come out in protest. That would be a sight. Vilify the war criminal and one of the primary people responsible for this economic catastrophy. If a ton of people turn out to protest, then his fund raising for his stupid library will have to stop.
You don't need a library to hold ten children's books and you know that they destroyed anything of value that would be contained in his presidential papers. The shredders were going non-stop the last couple months of his criminal presidency.
March 19, 2009 9:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would of course never donate money to a Bush library, but I could see donating a copy of "My pet goat"...
March 19, 2009 10:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
I can see a flood of copies of my pet goat getting donated. Back up the dump truck and dump them in front of the place. They'd have to do multiple reprintings and could charge $20.00 a copy. Would that be another sight to see? Too funny.
March 19, 2009 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush may be incredibly unpopular, but he is getting paid BIG BUCKS for these speeches.
March 19, 2009 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, where's that article on that great town hall Obama had yesterday?
March 19, 2009 10:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I watched part of the town hall yesterday and all I could think of was how screwed people are who oppose Obama right now. I know he was in friendly territory, but you could tell from the crowd that he is beloved by average Americans. It will be interesting to see how he's able to rally these folks to support his vision of how we should move forward as a country. I think that holding the town hall was a brilliant move to preview for the opposition what they will face in opposing Obama. Well played sir, well played!
March 19, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, oc california is dark ruby red. It is not friendly territory by any means. That's what was really amazing. It was as if he conducted that town hall in . . . . I actually can't think of another redder area in the country right now. That's why people in la refer to going behind the orange curtain when you go down there. Dark and deep ruby red.
On the town hall, it was truly amazing. He was awesome. He actually addressed issues and problems and answered questions, even politically loaded ones, with honesty and intelligence. He didn't even punt on the immigration issue which is a hot potatoe in california, especially ruby red oc. I really couldn't believe it. I didn't sense any spin at all or talking points. Unbelievable.
March 19, 2009 11:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. I lived there for a few years not long ago. Richard Nixon is their hero. However...
Isn't St. Cloud right in the middle of Michelle NutCase Bachmann's district? (Not sure. Gonna hafta go look that one up.)
Do these guys enjoy playing hoops in the Lion's Den?
March 19, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yep. St. Cloud is in MN-06, home of Michelle YouDaMan Bachmann (R-LoonyTunes): http://www.cookpolitical.com/node/369
March 19, 2009 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think what they are doing is trying to put pressure on republicans by going to their districts and rallying people to put pressure on their congress people. Kind of makes sense when you think about it. In these ruby red areas they are getting huge crowds cheering them on, the republicans have got to be worried.
By the way, isn't oc insane? I mean really insane and creepy. It's like a combination of the stepford wives on steroids with delusional angry white guys like lush. It's the most insane place that I have ever lived. Even worse than the middle of nowhere, and I mean middle of nowhere, in the heart of the bible belt. Very, very bizarre.
March 19, 2009 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I used to live in Laguna Beach. (I even got to see a brief glimpse of my house in The Real OC TV series!)
Laguna used to be a laid-back artists' community. Then the yuppies from Newport Beach discovered it, and house prices skyrocketed. They even changed the name of the high-school football team's name from the Artists to the Breakers. They musta thought Artists was too, well, just too faggoty.
But the ruby-red spaces don't seem to precisely follow the county lines. I think there's at least one congressional district covering much of OC that's held by a Dem.
They do like their Wall Street shenanigans, though. A few years back the county went BK 'cuz they invested a lot of their funds in junk bonds. Just gotta get that few extra percent return. So the wealthiest county in CA ended up being bailed out by the rest of us CA taxpayers. Figgers, right?
March 19, 2009 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I always liked laguna beach. It's beautiful. However, the trust fund babies from the oc are ruining it. That's about all that exists in the oc are trust fund babies and wanna be trust fund babies. You go out to a bar and there are all these decrepit old white guys wheeling around oxygen tanks chasing after 20 and 30 year old plastic, literally, women. It's really gross.
I lived in newport, yikes. I couldn't wait to get outta there and back to la. Amazing when you think about it, but la is more normal. Frightening thought being an east coaster.
I actually could not believe the oc bankruptcy. That was outrageous. Government entities investing tax payer dollars in the markets? That was merril lynch that got sued big time on that fiasco. Can you imagine if that happened today? OC would have been in a major disaster. They're lucky their problem occurred in the 90's and not 2008.
March 19, 2009 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can tell you about a redder area -- I live in Idaho ;).
March 19, 2009 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I haven't lived in idaho, so I don't know. But, I will tell you what, the oc was the scariest place that I have ever lived when it comes to delusional ruby redness. I have never seen anything like it. Also, like I said earlier, I lived in the middle of nowhere in the heart of the bible belt and it was a little strange; however, it was nothing like the oc. Not even close.
March 19, 2009 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, that was a great rally in OC. And OBTW, Axlerod has it right -- folks are talking about their own dark corner of the economy, not so much about the AIG bonuses.
Sure, everyone knows about it and, if you ask them, they are outraged. But as for day to day fretting about it, nope. Worry these days is much closer to home -- job lost, health care, foreclosure looming.
Barack sank a 3-pointer in California. He knows that, outside the Beltway, there is a real economy that is hurting. Crooks on Wall Street is old news. Let's get moving on getting things fixed for real folks.
March 19, 2009 11:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Just goes to show the huge disconnect between regular Americans, and the Washington-centric media and politicians. They do not get it, yet. Obama is marshaling great support across the land while all we hear is Washington speak and commentator drivel about how he is doing too much. BTW, he has undone a few more Bush era mistaken policies this week on Stop loss in the military, prosecution of medical marijuana cases, and supporting UN sponsored resolution to decriminalize homosexuality. Conservative heads are spinning and spewing green.
March 19, 2009 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink