Congress Flees DC To Campaign
The Associated Press reports: “Battle-weary members of Congress are coming soon to neighborhoods near you to press for re-election, more eager to campaign before angry constituents than compromise in Washington on tax cuts, child nutrition or a federal budget. Majority Democrats facing tough re-election fights rebelled in both chambers Wednesday against their leaders’ decisions to call off controversial votes, pass a temporary bill to keep the government running and head home.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the economic daily briefing at 10:30 a.m. ET, and Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 11 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 11:30 a.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He will meet at 12:45 p.m. ET with the Democratic Congressional leadership, and will meet at 2 p.m. ET with senior advisers. At 7:35 p.m. ET, he will attend a Democratic National Committee fundraising dinner. He will deliver remarks at 9:15 p.m. ET, at a DNC Gen44 event.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will meet with senior advisers in the morning. At 10:30 a.m. ET, he will attend President Obama’s economic daily briefing, and provide an update on stimulus implementation as of the end of the fiscal year. Afterwards, he will travel to Omaha, Nebraska, and attend a 3 p.m. ET event for Congressional candidate Tom White. He will then travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attend a 7 p.m. ET event for the Democratic nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. In the evening, he will travel to Oakland, California.
U.S. Envoy Steps Up Shuttle To Save Mideast Talks
Reuters reports: “U.S. envoy George Mitchell on Thursday stepped up the pace of efforts to save Middle East peace talks launched four weeks ago, saying he was seeking common ground to avert their collapse. Former Senator Mitchell was speaking after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who says he will pull out of the talks unless Israel extends a freeze on new building in Jewish West Bank settlements, which expired this week.”
Senate Blocks Recess Appointments With Deal Between Dems, GOP
The Hill reports: “Senate Democrats agreed Wednesday night to a Republican demand to block President Obama from making recess appointments while Congress is out of town campaigning for the midterm elections. Democratic leaders have agreed to schedule pro-forma sessions of the Senate every week over the next six weeks, a move that will prevent Obama from making emergency appointments, according to Senate sources briefed on the talks.”
Democrats Find Many Big Donors Cutting Support
The New York Times reports: “Many wealthy Democratic patrons, who in the past have played major roles financing outside groups to help elect the party’s candidates, are largely sitting out these crucial midterm elections. Many wealthy Democratic patrons, who in the past have played major roles financing outside groups to help elect the party’s candidates, are largely sitting out these crucial midterm elections.”
Vulnerables Keep Space From Pelosi on Stump
Roll Call reports: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t likely to get many invitations from vulnerable House Democrats to visit their districts between now and Nov. 2. Nearly a dozen Members in tough re-election fights who were interviewed this week said they are better off keeping their distance from the California Democrat, while a handful of other incumbents declined to discuss whether they thought Pelosi would be an asset to them on the campaign trail.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
Facebook Conversations
Questions about commenting with non-Facebook accounts like Yahoo, or other concerns? Click here to read the TPM Commenting FAQ.