US Lawmakers End Truce, Eye Spending, Health Fights
AFP reports: “Ending a political truce decreed after a bloody attack on one of their own, US lawmakers plunge back into the fray this week with Republicans taking on the White House on health care and spending. US President Barack Obama’s foes have set the stage for a vote Wednesday to repeal his signature health care overhaul and were to step up their efforts to tighten the government’s belt even as they agree to raise the US debt ceiling.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10:15 a.m. ET. The President and First Lady will then participate in a service project at 11 a.m. ET.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will participate in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Giffords’s Border District Symbolizes The Heat Of Arizona Politics
The Washington Post reports on the political conditions in Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s (D-AZ) district: “Pitched emotions - centered on the issues of immigration, health care and the economy - have fueled an atmosphere here that encourages vitriol, according to interviews with more than two dozen state political leaders and residents. An anti-Washington sentiment has flourished as people blame their elected leaders, not just for failing to fix problems but for passing laws that only add to the mess. The atmosphere created a sense of foreboding long before the Jan. 8 massacre at a Tucson strip mall where Giffords was meeting with constituents.”
Lawmakers Aiming To Increase Civility
The New York Times reports: “As the House prepares to resume regular legislative business on Tuesday, the shooting in Arizona that killed six in a failed assassination attempt on Representative Gabrielle Giffords has shifted the political dynamic in Washington and across the nation, with lawmakers embracing a new civility. No one is suggesting that the fierce policy disagreements will disappear or that old animosities will not remain just beneath the new, courteous veneer. But lawmakers said they expected a leveling of the discourse on even the most divisive issues, like cutting spending, whether to raise the federal debt limit and the Republican measure to repeal the Democrats’ health care overhaul, which the House is set to vote on this week.”
Reince Priebus’s Tea Party Tightrope
Politico reports: “Reince Priebus faces many challenges in taking over the Republican National Committee, but among the trickiest will be building support from the anti-establishment tea party without offending big GOP donors or the independent voters the party needs in 2012.”
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.