Wisconsin Protests

Michael Moore Rallies Thousands In Madison: 'America Is Not Broke' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 5, 2011, 6:29PM

Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

Famed progressive and documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was among the highlights at rallies inside and outside of the state capitol in Madison, Wisc. Saturday.

According to reports on the ground, Moore rallied "thousands" with a rousing speech that focused on "three major lies" of the "past decade."

"Wisconsin is broke. There are weapons of mass destruction [in Iraq,] and the Packers need (Brett) Favre to win the Super Bowl," Moore said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"The country is awash in wealth and cash," Moore said to the crowd of union members and their supporters. "It's just not in your hands."

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Wisconsin

Walker Sends Early Layoff Notices -- Which Can Be 'Avoided' If Dems Come Back

Eric Kleefeld | March 4, 2011, 6:40PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) has now taken the latest step in his effort to pass his budget proposal and its anti-public employee union provisions: Sending out layoff notices to the state employee unions. However, nobody is fired just yet.

Instead, Walker says the terminations could happen as early as April 4 -- but can be avoided if the state Senate Democrats who fled the state in order to block the three-fifths budget quorum will just come back.

As WisPolitics reports:

According to the guv's office, individual employees will get a notice at least two weeks before their layoff takes effect.

Walker's office also noted in a statement that "if the Senate Democrats come back to Wisconsin, these notices may be able to be rescinded and layoffs avoided. Without Senate action within 15 days, individual employees may begin to receive potential termination notifications."

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Wisconsin Protests

AFL-CIO Plans Another Big Saturday Rally At Wisconsin Capitol

Eric Kleefeld | March 4, 2011, 6:25PM

Protesters at the Wisconsin State Capitol, February 26, 2011.

The protesters aren't done in Wisconsin -- far from it.

The AFL-CIO is organizing yet another Saturday rally at the state Capitol in Madison. This follows the mega-protests that occurred the past two weekends, which each attracted many tens of thousands of people in opposition to Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal and its anti-public employee union provisions.

The first mega-rally two weeks ago was interesting in that it pitted the anti-Walker protesters against a promised contingent of pro-Walker Tea Partiers -- only to have the anti-Walker people outnumber his supporters at least several times over. And with tens of thousands of people, there were no amazingly no arrests.

The second Saturday rally, which I attended as a reporter on assignment, had an even larger attendance -- and in freezing, snowy weather, compared to the relatively warm and sunny day of the previous rally. That second rally featured such celebrity appearances as folk singer Peter Yarrow -- who, in an apparent sign of reawakening class consciousness in the state, led a massive sing-along of "Which Side Are You On," and other populist tunes. Actor and Madison native Bradley Whitford was also in attendance, alongside a brass band that was identified as "not the official UW Alumni Band."

So let's see how this Saturday turns out.

Indiana

AWOL Indiana Dem Leader: Mitch Daniels 'Doesn't Have The Attraction Of The Demon' Scott Walker Does

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 4:59PM

State Rep. Patrick Bauer (D-IN)

State Rep. Pat Bauer, the leader of the AWOL Indiana House Democrats still camped out in Urbana, IL and effectively shutting down legislative process back home, says it's no surprise to him that Wisconsin has dominated the headlines while Indiana's fight has slipped off the front page.

"Their governor isn't as clever as our governor," Bauer told TPM in a telephone interview Friday. Bauer said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) can "shake and bake," offering up a legislative priority list that Bauer said was a devastating for the middle class "with a smile."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), on the other hand, is fighting his state's Democrats "with a scowl."

Daniels "doesn't have the attraction of the demon that his pupil has over there [in Wisconsin]," Bauer said. "The governor or Wisconsin says that the Governor of Indiana is his mentor. So obviously Gov. Daniels is smarter and more schooled in how to be a destroyer of the middle class."

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112th Congress

Boehner Moves To Defend DOMA In Court

Benjy Sarlin | March 4, 2011, 4:13PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and other members of the GOP leadership

House Speaker John Boehner announced plans Friday afternoon to defend the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of Congress, filling the legal void left by the White House's decision to drop its support for portions of the law.

"I will convene a meeting of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group for the purpose of initiating action by the House to defend this law of the United States, which was enacted by a bipartisan vote in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton," Boehner said in a statement. "It is regrettable that the Obama Administration has opened this divisive issue at a time when Americans want their leaders to focus on jobs and the challenges facing our economy. The constitutionality of this law should be determined by the courts -- not by the president unilaterally -- and this action by the House will ensure the matter is addressed in a manner consistent with our Constitution."

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Scott Walker

Wisconsin GOPer In Electoral Trouble After Voting For Walker Bill

Brian Beutler | March 4, 2011, 2:35PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

One of the people running to replace now-Governor Scott Walker as Milwaukee County Executive is a Republican state assemblyman who voted for Walker's plan to eliminate collective bargaining for public workers.

He's already regretting that.

"I understand it's a major issue to the unions," Jeff Stone said, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "It's not necessarily the way I would have drafted this budget-repair bill. I would have approached it in different ways."

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wis. Dem Senator: State Senate GOP Are 'Creating A Police State' (VIDEO)

Andrew Jones | March 4, 2011, 2:27PM

Wis. State Senators Chris Larson (D) and Glenn Grothman (R)

After hearing that State Senate Republicans had issued a resolution calling for his arrest, along with 13 AWOL Wisconsin Dems, Chris Larson (D) said the state GOP is creating a 'police state.'

On MSNBC's The Last Word Thursday night, Larson had an intense debate with GOP State Sen. Glenn Grothman, who had appeared on the show earlier in the week calling some protestors in the capitol building "slobs."

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Scott Walker

Wis. Official Backs Away From Claims Of Multi-Million Dollar Capitol Damage

Eric Kleefeld | March 4, 2011, 2:05PM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

In an amusing footnote to the Wisconsin protests, a Walker administration official is now backing away from another official's dire warning that millions and millions of dollars in damage had been done to the Capitol over weeks of protests. Furthermore, it appears that no professional estimate has actually been done.

On Thursday, as part of the litigation over the state's attempts to restrict public access to the Capitol, the Department of Administration's legal counsel claimed that repairing the damage done to the building -- mainly from adhesive tape used to affix posters to the marble walls -- would add up to $7.5 million. However, it was not clear how these estimates were made.

On Thursday night, Dane County Judge John Albert ruled that the daytime restrictions on Capitol access must be lifted, while also ordering protesters to leave when the building closes at night. And now, the state's facilities administrator -- a former moderate Dem state senator who joined the Walker administration -- is backing away from those high cost estimates.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Romney's '08 Iowa Chair On What Went Wrong: 'He Became Almost A Caricature Of Himself'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 1:41PM

Mitt Romney

It's often been said that Mitt Romney has a talent for remaking himself in the image of whatever electorate he's hoping to impress. When the goal was the governor's office in Massachusetts in 2002, Romney was pro-choice. When the goal became the Republican presidential nomination, Romney was pro-life.

Romney's ability to change his political stripes to suit the situation has been a key to his success. There's little doubt that he got as close to the nomination in 2008 as he did because he was able to convince a broad swath of conservative voters he was one of them. But according to one of the men who helped him make his case back then -- asked by National Journal to muse on Romney's next presidential bid -- Romney lost something important when he shifted to meet the conservative base head on: his credibility.

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Scott Walker

Rasmussen Poll: Almost Six In Ten Wisconsin Voters Disapprove Of Gov. Walker

Jon Terbush | March 4, 2011, 12:56PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's efforts to strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights appears to be so unpopular, that a Rasmussen poll now finds that almost 60% of likely Wisconsin voters disapprove of his job performance.

That finding shows just how quickly Walker -- who was elected to his first term last November with 52% of the vote -- has sunk just in his first two months in office. And it comes one day after Rasmussen released results from the same poll, all of which showed public opinion firmly on the side of the unions in the labor rights battle that has deadlocked the state capitol for the past few weeks.

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Unemployment

Boehner Claims Credit For Jobs Numbers...On Behalf Of The American People

Brian Beutler | March 4, 2011, 11:41AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Continuing in the great tradition begun by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor several weeks ago, House Speaker John Boehner claimed credit today for Friday's positive employment news...with a twist!

"The improvement seen in this report is a credit to the hard work of the American people and their success in stopping the tax hikes that were due to hit our economy on January 1," Boehner says in a statement. "Removing the uncertainty caused by those looming tax hikes provided much-needed relief for private-sector job creators in America."

This is a safer play for a couple reasons. Last time around Republicans took some heat for claiming all the credit for the positive numbers. And then things got a little bit uncomfortable a couple weeks later, when last months jobs numbers weren't very strong.

Giving voters all the credit for good news, and Democrats all the blame for bad news means there's no Republican fingerprints if the numbers turn around again.

2012 Presidential Primaries

NH GOP Powerbroker Dumps Ice Cold Water On Huntsman 2012

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 11:13AM

Former Gov. John Sununu (R-NH)

Jon Huntsman for President? Don't make former New Hampshire governor, and recent state Republican party chair John Sununu laugh.

"Huntsman won't play well here. Huntsman won't play well anywhere, because Huntsman's only barely a Republican," Sununu told Real Clear Politics' Erin McPike this week.

Sununu piled on the former governor of Utah, who's expected to ramp up a presidential bid after he resigns as President Obama's ambassador to China this spring.

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Wisconsin Protests

Judge Restores Access To Wisconsin Capitol -- But No Staying Overnight

Eric Kleefeld | March 4, 2011, 10:45AM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 18, 2011.

The standoff over public access to the Wisconsin state Capitol appears to have come to a resolution, after a judge ruled Thursday night that the building could not be locked down during the day as the government had attempted to do -- but that protesters also have to clear out in the off-hours.

As the Wisconsin State Journal reports, Judge John Albert ruled Thursday night that the government "closed the Capitol impermissibly" when it restricted access to the building. He ordered that the limits be lifted by no later than 8 a.m. Monday. The judge, however, did order the removal of protesters when the building is closed: "If the building is closed, there's no one to listen to a demonstration."

In addition, Albert dismissed the state's contention that protesters were disrupting the Capitol and necessitating the restrictions. "Demonstrator is not a word that should be used in a vein of disrespect," said Albert, also adding: "These people were exercising an important right."

It appears that the judge has attempted to restore the status quo that existed up until two weeks ago -- before Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal and its anti-public employee union proposals triggered massive protests and a political crisis in the state.

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Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life Rep: Many GOPers Will Vote Against Spending Bill If It Doesn't Defund Planned Parenthood

Brian Beutler | March 4, 2011, 9:45AM

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH).

A pro-life leader in the House says he and many other Republicans will vote against legislation to fund the government through September if a series of anti-abortion riders, which already passed the House, aren't included in the final bill.

"I'm going to push so hard to make sure those are all in there," Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) told The Takeaway. "You can't back off, from a human rights perspective. If you do so you facilitate the demise of hundreds of thousands of children."

Smith said several Republicans would defect on the spending bill if the abortion riders are removed. He focused specifically on one amendment, authored by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), eliminating federal funds for Planned Parenthood.

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112th Congress

Rep. Dan Lungren: "Unusable" Cafeteria Utensils Behind Styrofoam Change

Benjy Sarlin | March 4, 2011, 9:45AM

Democratic leaders and environmental groups are lashing out at House Republicans this week over their decision to replace the cafeteria's biodegradable utensils with -- gasp -- styrofoam. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), who made the call as chair of the House Administration Committee, says that the move will save $475,000 and that the program was inefficient by its own standards according to an audit by the Inspector General. But the whole flap really started with the crappy green-friendly cups, containers, and forks.

"The utensils it utilized were unusable," Lungren told TPM. "I had complaints -- bipartisan, Republican, Democrat, constituents, employees, members of Congress -- all saying 'Could you please give us implements at mealtime that actually work?'"

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Indiana

Indiana House GOP Will Fine AWOL Dems $250 A Day

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 9:18AM

You may not have heard much about it lately, but the state House Democrats in Indiana are still on the lam, shutting down a right-to-work law and, for the time being, much Gov. Mitch Daniels' (R) education reform agenda (not to mention his presidential ambitions).

The Republican majority in the State House, cooling their heels in Indianapolis while their Democratic colleagues hunker down at a hotel in Urbana, Illinois, have now found a way to up the stakes: hit the Democrats right in their wallets. Starting Monday, the Democrats will face a fine of $250 for each day they stay away from the legislature.

The Democratic response? M'eh.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Poll: Huckabee Still Leads 2012 GOP Field Nationally

Jon Terbush | March 4, 2011, 9:00AM

Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee has said he won't step into the 2012 presidential race unless he knows he can win. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, he's at least poised to clear the first hurdle in that quest - the Republican primary.

In the poll, Huckabee drew support from fully one quarter of registered Republican voters, placing him at the front of a crowded GOP field. It's the latest of a number of recent polls to show Huckabee emerging as the top choice for Republicans heading into 2012, even though he -- and virtually every other potential candidate -- has yet to announce an official candidacy.

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Ohio protests

The Next Union Battlefield In Ohio: The Ballot Box

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 4, 2011, 8:36AM

As the Ohio state House prepares to take up the controversial collective bargaining and union rights provisions contained in the just-passed state Senate Bill 5, union supporters and Democrats are looking ahead to a battle that will put the legislation in the hands of people they say are on their side: the voters of Ohio.

Though they plan to fight SB 5 tooth-and-nail as it works its way through the Republican-controlled House, leaders of the SB 5 opposition tell TPM that they don't expect to win there. There are 59 Republicans in the House and just 40 Democrats, meaning there's little chance for a repeat of the drama seen in the Senate, where SB 5 passed by just one vote.

But, thanks to the eccentricities of Ohio law, passage in the House doesn't mean SB 5 is guaranteed to go into effect. Though they more than likely can't stop it in the legislature, the opposition can potentially block its implementation by promising to take it on at the ballot box. That means the fight over SB 5 could extend for months -- maybe even all the way to November, 2012.

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Wisconsin

Madison Firefighters Denied Access To Capitol During Emergency

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 8:32PM

It's generally speaking a bad idea to attract press for preventing firefighters from rescuing police officers during an emergency call. But that's about where we are in Madison now.

Check out this report from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Dave Trainor, a Madison firefighter, said he was part of a crew dispatched to the Capitol on a call that someone was trapped in an elevator. Firefighters were denied access at one of the building's entrances that is being guarded by police....

As it turned out, a police officer was trapped in an elevator. But at the time of the call, firefighters did not know if there was a medical emergency, Trainor said.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Mad In Madison: Wisconsin Workers Protest Against Governor's Budget Proposals

"We lost crucial time on a call we didn't know anything about," he said.

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Wisconsin

Walker: Layoff Notices Coming Friday

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2011, 6:36PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

The political standoff in Wisconsin, where state Senate Democrats have fled the state in order to block the budget quorum on Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal and its anti-public employee union sections, is about to face an acid test: Tomorrow, Walker says, he will have to begin sending out layoff notices.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

"Even today I hold out some hope that this can be resolved by the Senate coming back," Walker said in an interview Thursday. "But by the end of the day tomorrow, we have a legal and a moral obligation to start forewarning people."

Walker has said that he would seek the layoffs of up to 1,500 state employees in an attempt to save $30 million to help address the state's fiscal problems. He said he would seek to protect workers in round-the-clock jobs such as prison guards and medical staff.

Walker has previously warned of painful cuts if the Democrats don't come back and pass his budget, which would remove most collective bargaining and union rights for public employees.

But regardless of the potential fiscal realities, one thing that could hurt his political position in the state is the fact that he also spoke of layoffs in a different context: His phone call with blogger Ian Murphy, who was posing as Republican financier David Koch, in which Walker spoke of using layoff threats as political leverage: "We might ratchet that up a little bit, you know."

House Judiciary Committee

House Judiciary Approves 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act'

Jillian Rayfield | March 3, 2011, 6:08PM

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

The House Judiciary Committee Thursday approved by a vote of 23-14 a bill that prevents any federal funds from being used for abortions.

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Gay Marriage

Pew Poll: Americans Now Evenly Split On Legalizing Gay Marriage

Jon Terbush | March 3, 2011, 4:27PM

A new Pew poll shows adult Americans evenly split over whether gays and lesbians should be legally allowed to marry -- and there's a clear trend of Americans' views becoming increasingly favorable toward the ssue over the past few years.

That finding comes just weeks after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend key elements of the Defense of Marriage Act -- the federal law that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman -- in court. And it also shows that Republicans may not have an upper hand in next years' presidential election if they try to thrust social issues to the forefront of the debate.

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112th Congress

Sen. Harkin: "Greatly Disappointed" in WH Budget Negotiations

Benjy Sarlin | March 3, 2011, 4:20PM

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)

Vice President Joe Biden is set to meet with House and Senate leaders today to jumpstart negotiations on a resolution to fund the government through September, but not every Democratic lawmaker is happy to see the White House take a more hands-on approach.

"It depends on what kind of hands they're putting on it," Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) told TPM. "I'm greatly disappointed so far in what they're advocating."

Harkin said that he objected to the White House's emphasis on non-security discretionary spending, which is about 12% of the overall budget but has drawn the overwhelming attention of both parties in their efforts to trim the deficit. Neither Democratic or Republican leaders are proposing raising taxes to help bridge the gap. According to Harkin, discretionary spending cuts disproportionately hurt working families by targeting safety net programs and education.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Fugitive Wis. Dem: I Told My Staff To 'Ignore' Reassignment To GOP Senator

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2011, 4:04PM

State Sen. Chris Larson (D-WI)

TPM spoke Thursday with Wisconsin state Sen. Chris Larson, one of the 14 Democrats who have fled the state in order to block the budget quorum on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals, getting his reaction to another one of the Senate Republicans' efforts to pressure the Dems into coming back: Reassigning their staffers to work under GOP state senators.

State Senate Republicans passed the measure Wednesday, as another retaliatory move against the absentee Dems. WisPolitics reported: "Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said the change is not intended to allow the Republican members to direct the activities of the Dem staffers. He said it is merely to give the staffers a point of contact with a senator who is in the building if concerns arise."

TPM got in touch with Dem. state Sen. Chris Larson, whose staff has been reassigned to Republican state Sen. Neal Kedzie. "Well it's a pretty dangerous thing that they're trying to do," said Larson, who has spent the last two weeks in Illinois. "They're basically putting different Senate districts that are independently elected by the constituents under the control of somebody who is not elected to represent that area. I don't know if it's that they're going on a binge with the power grab here or what. But they've already trampled on freedom of speech -- so why not take over people's districts?"

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Betty McCollum

Dem Rep Continues Fight To Strip Pentagon NASCAR Sponsoring (VIDEO)

Andrew Jones | March 3, 2011, 4:01PM

Rep. Betty McCollum

The checkered flag apparently has not waved yet on Rep. Betty McCollum's (D-MN) fight to strip away Pentagon funding from NASCAR.

On MSNBC this afternoon, the St. Paul, Minn., congresswoman showed no signs of backing down on her staunch criticism of the Defense Department spending $7 million sponsoring the #39 Sprint Cup U.S. Army Chevy Impala, driven by Ryan Newman.

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Ann Buerkle

Rep. Buerkle Not Embracing Pro-Life Campaign In Her Name

Melissa Jeltsen | March 3, 2011, 3:40PM

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY)

An ad by a pro-life group that praises Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) for her vote to defund Planned Parenthood is not exactly being welcomed by the first-term Congresswoman. Buerkle's spokesperson Liza Lowery told TPM the ads--which feature Buerkle's name and her smiling photo--were not made with her approval.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

AWOL Wisconsin Dem Beats The System, Gets His Paycheck Mailed To Him

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2011, 3:17PM

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-WI)

Wisconsin state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, one of the 14 Democrats who have fled the state in order to block budget quorum on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals, has just beaten the Republicans in one of their key efforts to force Dems back to the state - by collecting his legislative pay.

Senate Republicans last week passed a rule suspending the direct-deposit of absent legislators' pay, requiring them to show up in person at the Capitol -- in effect, to provide a quorum -- in order to receive a check.

However, as WisPolitics reports, Erpenbach found a workaround: He granted power-of-attorney to two members of his staff, thus authorizing them to conduct many important personal decisions and financial actions on his behalf -- such as picking up his paycheck.

Ultimately, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) put the check in the mail, instead of giving it to the staffers. Fitzgerald spokesman Andrew Welhouse told WisPolitics: "We confirmed with our attorneys and with the chief clerk that was proper."

Immigration

Arming ICE Agents Divides Obama, Holder

Susan Crabtree | March 3, 2011, 3:04PM

President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder

There appears to be some light between President Obama's position on arming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while in Mexico and that of Attorney General Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement official, just three weeks after ICE agent Jaime Zapata was shot to death in northern Mexico with a gun smuggled in from the U.S.

After a White House meeting between Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Obama seemed to convey a reluctance to arm ICE agents while they are traveling in Mexico.

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112th Congress

David Wu: "Heartwarming" How Colleagues Have Got My Back

Benjy Sarlin | March 3, 2011, 2:53PM

Rep. David Wu (D-OR)

After revealing last month that he had sought treatment for mental health issues and that his medication could possibly be contributing to recent behavior some have labeled strange, Rep. David Wu (D-OR) told TPM on Thursday that he's been humbled by a bipartisan outpouring of support on the Hill.

"It's a heartwarming thing," a smiling Wu said. "The people who come up to say supportive things are almost equally divided between Democrats and Republicans."

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters last week that discussion of Wu's resignation was "premature" and that Wu had his support in his efforts to get healthy. "I understand that he has said he is seeking mental health services and that's the appropriate step for him to take. If he had a broken arm, he'd get it fixed," Hoyer said.

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Wisconsin Protests

Progressive Pro-Union Ad In Wisconsin Raises $225K In A Day

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 3, 2011, 2:35PM

If the money pouring in is any indication, supporters of union workers in Wisconsin like the TV ad campaign launched by two national progressive groups on Wednesday.

The groups behind the ad, which targets Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the Republican majority in the legislature, tell TPM they've raised "over $225,000" from "10,000 grassroots donors" since the ad and its accompanying online fundraising campaign went live yesterday.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wisconsin GOPers Threaten Contempt For Fugitive Dems

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2011, 1:53PM

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R)

Wisconsin Senate Republicans briefly convened the chamber on Thursday, in order to lay down yet another ultimatum to the 14 Democrats who have fled the state in order to block budget quorum on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals: Return by 4 p.m. Central Time...or you're in contempt!

The state Senate has previously issued "calls of the house," under which the authorities could compel to the Dems to come to the chamber. This new resolution appears to be a slightly more severe wording of the same effort -- which didn't work the first time around, of course, because the Dems are out of state.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the resolution passed by the state Senate orders the Sergeant at Arms, if the Dems don't show up by 4 p.m., to "take any and all necessary steps, with or without force, and with or without the assistance of law enforcement officers, by warrant or other legal process, as he may deem necessary in order to bring that senator to the Senate chambers so that the Senate may convene with a quorum of no less than 20 senators."

Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson told TPM: "I keep joking that they're gonna be pushing more and more for a power grab. So I find it unfortunate -- they're already off the edge of the cliff, but they're finding new cliffs to jump off of in terms of divisiveness in our state."

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Ron Paul

Rep. Ron Paul: "Education is Not a Right" (Video)

Meena Rupani | March 3, 2011, 1:42PM

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

For Rep Ron Paul (R-TX), education and medical care are not rights but rather "things that you have to earn."

In an exchange about U.S. credit policy with MSNBC's Cenk Uygur on Wednesday, Paul was asked whether people should be able to borrow money to buy a house, or car. "Oh, in a free market, you can do that," Paul said, but only so long as that credit is backed up by real money, and not something that "comes out of thin air."

Uygur asked the Congressman if students who can't afford tuition should be able to get government loans. "No one has a right to anyone's wealth, I don't have a right to come to you and say my poor kid needs 500 dollars for an education," Paul replied, "an education is not a right, medical care is not a right."

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Health Care

Florida Judge Stays Decision Voiding Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 1:18PM

President Barack Obama

Roger Vinson, the Florida district court judge who voided the entire health care law has issued a stay of his own ruling, giving the Obama administration a week to file an appeal.

His decisions sowed confusion -- sometimes opportunistic confusion -- about whether states were required to implement the law during the appeal process. The Department of Justice sought clarification from Vinson last month to ease that confusion. In his clarification, Vinson also stayed his own decision, on the condition that the DOJ file its appeal with a higher court within seven days.

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Pres '12

Gingrich Launching 'NewtExplore2012.com' Thursday

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2011, 1:10PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has confirmed it: He will be rolling out the early stages of a presidential campaign Thursday.

As CNN reports, Gingrich announced on Martha Zoller's Georgia talk radio show that he will launch a web site later today, NewtExplore2012.com. "Callista and I prepared to see if there are enough folks who want to see if we can get this country back on the right track."

As the Associated Press reports, Gingrich will make a further announcement in a news conference at the Georgia state Capitol. However, Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler also told the AP that Gingrich "is entering the exploratory phase" -- but this is not a full-fledged exploratory committee, as Gingrich and his wife Callista must tie up various business and non-profit ventures before taking that step.

Fox News

Fox News Presents Mayhem In Madison (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 12:36PM

Let's say you run a major cable network with a partisan bent and the news of the day turns to a large protest in America's most liberal capital.

This wouldn't normally be a problem. You have a ton of resources and a staff that's met the challenge of covering large crowds repeatedly over the last couple years -- including those gathered by one of your own anchors.

But the challenge is different this time. Now we're talking Madison, Wisconsin -- tens of thousands of protesters whose views you abhor and whose goals you want to undermine. Your task this time is to highlight the dark underbelly of protest movements -- the street violence and intimidation that sometimes mark public rebellions against the government.

Unfortunately for you, this particular protest, though enormous, is completely peaceful. What do you do?

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South Dakota

SD Senate Passes Bill Requiring 72-Hour Waiting Period Before Abortions

Jillian Rayfield | March 3, 2011, 12:15PM

A bill that would require women to wait 72 hours and receive counseling before getting an abortion has passed the South Dakota senate.

Read more »

Scott Walker

Rasmussen Poll: Majority of Wisconsinites Side With Unions On Collective Bargaining

Jon Terbush | March 3, 2011, 12:09PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has caught a lot of flak for his proposal to strip public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights. He can add to that a new poll of likely Wisconsin voters from Rasmussen -- a pollster much maligned for its typically Republican-skewing results -- which finds public opinion firmly against him on the issue.

A majority of those polled said they sided with the public employee unions rather than Gov. Walker in the showdown that has deadlocked the state government for more than two weeks. And while a plurality favor a plan to make state employees pay more toward their benefit plans -- something the unions have already agreed to do -- a majority oppose the most contentious proposal put forward by Walker: the elimination of most collective bargaining rights for state employee unions.

Just as damning for Walker, a majority also said they sided with the AWOL Senate Democrats, who fled the state to deny the senate the quorum necessary to advance the budget repair bill.

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Social Security

McCaskill: I Will Vote Against Social Security Cuts

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 12:07PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

There's a lot of early maneuvering about entitlement reform happening on Capitol Hill, and as is perennially the case in Washington, "entitlement reform" translates into Social Security cuts.

Progressives won't abide by that, but if a bipartisan consensus forms around it, they may be outnumbered.

But a recent fundraising letter from Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) should cheer them a bit.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wisconsin Assembly Dems Set Up Office Outside, Protesting Capitol Restrictions

Eric Kleefeld | March 3, 2011, 10:27AM

Democratic members of the Wisconsin Assembly conducting office outside, March 2, 2011.

Access to the state Capitol building in Wisconsin has now been heavily restricted, so some Democrats are providing a solution to members of the public who can't get to assembly members' offices: They're bringing their offices to them.

As WisPolitics reports, five Assembly Democrats -- Minority Leader Peter Barca, Cory Mason, Josh Zepnick, Nick Milroy and Fred Clark -- took desks outside, in order to meet with constituents and members of the public in below-freezing temperatures.

"Obviously there was a court order to open this building and anybody with a brain would tell you they're defying the court order," Barca told WisPolitics.

Joe Biden

Biden, Congressional Leaders To Meet In Spending Summit

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 10:16AM

Vice President Joe Biden

Top Democrats and Republicans from both sides of Capitol Hill will meet with Vice President Joe Biden Thursday afternoon for the first in a series of discussions about how to fund the federal government through September.

In attendance will be House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The White House extended the invitation to the leaders Wednesday, but it wasn't clear until this morning whether Republicans would accept it -- publicly, Boehner and McConnell had called on Reid to proffer the Democrats' spending plan before the GOP would begin negotiations in earnest.

Thursday's meeting is scheduled to occur in Biden's ceremonial Senate office.

Ohio protests

The 'Ohio 6' Speak: Meet The GOPers Who Voted Against Kasich's Anti-Union Bill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 3, 2011, 10:10AM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

By the slimmest of margins on Wednesday, the state Senate in Ohio passed the budget bill endorsed by Gov. John Kasich (R) and deplored by the unions and Democrats. The bill now moves to the state House where the sizable Republican majority is expected to pass it easily.

But before it does, it's worth taking a look at the six Republicans who voted against the bill in the Senate, and the fears they raised about the bill. Ohio will be an important state nationally in 2012, and is often pointed to in the press as a bellwhether for the national political picture. And to hear the Republicans who turned on Kasich in the Senate yesterday tell it, the bill that would gut collective bargaining rights for thousands of state workers in Ohio is a step too far to the right.

"This bill is not balanced," Sen. Scott Oelslager, one of two Republicans booted from their committee seats so the bill could pass, told the AP. "There has to be a balance between labor and management in negotiations. It tips the scales in favor of management."

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collective bargaining

Polls Consistently Show Six In Ten Oppose Eliminating Collective Bargaining For State Unions

Jon Terbush | March 3, 2011, 9:47AM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 18, 2011.

For the third time in the past two weeks, a national poll has found that roughly 60% of all Americans oppose eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employee unions, the highly contentious proposal put forward by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) that has deadlocked the state government and prompted weeks of protests inside the Wisconsin State Capitol.

In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 62% of Americans said it was "unacceptable" to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees, nearly twice as many as the 33% who said that was acceptable. Furthermore, nearly eight in ten said public employees should have the same bargaining rights as people in the private sector.

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Government Shutdown

Spending Cut Fight Goes Behind Closed Doors

Brian Beutler | March 3, 2011, 9:07AM

President Barack Obama meets with Democratic and Republican leaders

We've entered a phase of the spending fight where the public manifestations of the debate don't necessarily have much correspondence with the likelihood or unlikelihood of the two parties reaching a deal.

With a two week countdown clock ticking until the next possible government shutdown, the White House has stepped up its involvement and invited congressional principles of both parties to convene with Vice President Joe Biden to put together a spending bill that will keep the government open until the end of September.

The invitation was extended Wednesday just moments before House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell held a press conference in the Capitol to warn Democrats in the Senate to put up or shut up. The House has passed a long-term spending bill (which President Obama has threatened to veto), and if the Senate wants to negotiate it has to make its position clear.

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WI-SEN

Poll: Democrats Poised To Keep Wisconsin Senate Seat In 2012

Jon Terbush | March 3, 2011, 9:06AM

Senator Herbert Kohl (D-WI) and Fmr. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Sen. Herb Kohl (D) is in solid position to hold his seat if he runs for reelection in 2012, according to a new PPP poll. But if he retires, as some observers believe he will, Democrats could still hold the seat if they nominate a progressive favorite in Kohl's place: former Sen. Russ Feingold.

Kohl and Feingold held strong leads over every Republican challenger thrown their way in the survey, making it seem at least for now like the GOP would have a tough time flipping another Wisconsin Senate seat.

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Pres '12

Poll: Obama Poised To Again Carry Former GOP Stronghold Virginia In 2012

Jon Terbush | March 3, 2011, 8:50AM

In 2008, President Obama became the first Democrat to carry the Virginia since Lyndon Johnson did so in 1964. And according to a new PPP poll of registered voters in Virginia, he could easily claim the state again in 2012 against the biggest names the GOP has to offer.

In the poll, Obama led Mitt Romney 48% to 42%, and beat Mike Huckabee 51% to 43%. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich each trailed by double-digits, with Gingrich lagging 51% to 39%, while Palin trailed 54% to 35%.

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee: Obama Isn't From Kenya, But He's Still Anti-American

Jillian Rayfield | March 2, 2011, 5:30PM

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AK) and Bryan Fischer

Mike Huckabee now says he knows President Obama wasn't born in Kenya and that he misspoke when he made that much-maligned comment earlier this week. But on social conservative Bryan Fischer's radio show on Wednesday, he agreed when the host offered that "there may be some fundamental anti-Americanism in this president."

"Well, that's exactly the point that I make in the book," Huckabee replied.

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Ohio protests

With One-Vote Margin, Ohio State Senate Passes SB 5

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 2, 2011, 4:54PM

John Kasich

The Ohio State Senate just passed the controversial SB 5, aimed a limiting unionized state employees' ability to collectively bargain or go on strike.

In an indication of how divisive the legislation is in the Buckeye State, the final vote in the Senate was 17-16. The bill now moves to the state House, which like the Senate, is under Republican control.

Gov. John Kasich (R) has endorsed the measure and is expected to sign it when it reaches his desk.

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Ohio protests

Ohio GOP Advances Anti-Union Bill After Last Minute Committee Shuffle

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 2, 2011, 4:19PM

State Sen. Bill Seitz (R-OH) and Sen. Scott Oelslager (R-OH)

It took the removal of two -- count 'em -- union-sympathetic Republicans from Ohio state Senate committees, but supporters of Gov. John Kasich's (R) plan to limit collective bargaining rights for state workers were able to move their plan one step closer to Kasich's desk today.

By a vote of 7-5, a State Senate Committee charged with reviewing the collective bargaining proposal -- known as Senate Bill 5 -- moved the bill toward a floor reading and its expected passage. Shortly after that, a similarly close vote moved the bill out of the Senate Rules Committee.

The bill is now on the Senate floor and passage is expected imminently. But opponents of the law say the pathway to today's vote shows how hard a sell Kasich's plan is to the broad swath of voters in the Buckeye state.

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Wisconsin

Wis. Dem Legislator: 'Nobody Flinched' At The $100 Per Day Absentee Fines

Eric Kleefeld | March 2, 2011, 4:12PM

State Sen. Chris Larson (D-WI)

TPM just spoke to Wisconsin Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson, one of the fugitive Dems who has left the state in order to block the three-fifths quorum needed for a vote on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals, regarding the state Senate GOP's newly-passed fines of $100 per day for the absent Dems. And the way Larson tells it, the fines don't faze him and his fellow Democrats.

"They've become increasingly desperate with these petty things that they're throwing out there," Larson said. "The next thing they're gonna throw out is we're gonna have to say 'Mother, may I' before anybody can talk."

TPM asked Larson, who said he was at a rest stop in Illinois, whether he was prepared to pay the fines. "You know, it's not about us, it's not about the finances," said Larson. "It's about the cuts that they're doing to workers rights, it's about the cuts that they're doing to educators, and throwing out Medicare, Medicaid and Seniorcare, and trying to change these provisions."

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Nikki Haley

SC Governor: 'I Absolutely Applaud' Gov. Walker's Tough Decisions

Andrew Jones | March 2, 2011, 3:44PM

Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC)

Gov. Scott Walker (R) has another friend in his fight over union rights - Republican governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley.

On Fox and Friends Wednesday morning, the South Carolina governor spoke about her continued fight against the health reform bill, and was then asked by co-host Gretchen Carlson for her thoughts about events talking place in Madison.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dems Pushing Recalls Of GOP State Senators

Eric Kleefeld | March 2, 2011, 2:52PM

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate

Wisconsin Democrats are now going on the offense in the fight over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal and its anti-public employee union provisions. An e-mail to the party's supporter list, sent out Wednesday, seeks fundraising to mobilize recalls against Republican state senators -- with the goal of taking a majority in the chamber.

The state's 14 Democratic state senators have of course fled the state, in order to block the three-fifths quorum needed to vote on Walker's budget proposal. Some Republican activists are trying to mobilize recalls against the Dems, where even one successful recall would give the GOP the three-fifths majority. But now the state Dems are officially playing the game, too.

Wisconsin state senators serve four-year terms, with half of them up every two years. Wisconsin does have a recall law, though, with the condition that a recall cannot begin until at least one year into a term. Under that stipulation, eight out of 19 of the GOP state senators would be eligible for a recall election, if the signature requirements were met (25 percent of the total votes in the district in the previous race for governor, collected within 60 days).

"Make no mistake, these Republican Senators are vulnerable to recall for their radical partisan overreach," writes state Dem chair Mike Tate. "Senator Randy Hopper won his last election by just 184 votes. And Alberta Darling won her last race by only 1,007. By recalling just three of the eight Senators we are targeting, we can regain control of the Senate."

As TPMDC reported yesterday, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America are also mountaing a pro-recall campaign.

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Barack Obama

Obama: U.S. Working With German Authorities To Investigate Attack On Military Bus (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 2, 2011, 1:50PM

President Barack Obama

In a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, President Barack Obama said he was "saddened and outraged" about the attack that took the lives of two Americans and wounded two others in Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday and said the U.S. would "spare no effort" to find out how the attack took place.

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112th Congress

House GOP Lobs Tomato Back at Dems in Styrofoam Food Fight

Benjy Sarlin | March 2, 2011, 1:35PM

Facing a pillory of environmental objections from Democratic leaders over its decision to scrap a composting program for the House cafeteria, the Republican-controlled Committee on House Administration fired back on Wednesday, telling TPM that the plan was a wasteful mess.

Earlier this week, DCCC chair Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) told reporters in a statement that "Evidently the Republican economic strategy for jobs is one word: 'Styrofoam,'" while Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) issued their own condemnations of the new non-biodegradable utensils.

Salley Wood, Communications Director for the House Administration Committee, under whose jurisdiction the cafeteria falls, dismissed their complaints as misleading.

"I'm not sure what objection the DCCC has to us saving taxpayers $475,000 by suspending a program that failed to meet is objectives," Wood told TPM.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wis. Senate GOPers Vote To Fine Fugitive Dems $100 Per Day

Eric Kleefeld | March 2, 2011, 1:33PM

State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI)

Wisconsin state Senate Republicans have taken another move to put the screws to Senate Democrats who have fled the state in order to block a budget quorum on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals.

As WisPolitics reports, the Senate has passed a resolution fining members who are absent without leave for two or more session days, at a rate of $100 per day of absence. AWOL members would also be required to "Reimburse to the senate the actual costs incurred in compelling the attendance of the member."

The Senate had previously taken other steps to make things hard for the Dems. The direct-deposit of their Senate pay was suspended, requiring them to show up in person at the Capitol -- in effect, to provide a quorum -- in order to collect a check. In addition, their staffers have lost access to the Capitol's copy machines, and must pay for all paper printed in their offices.

Judy Chu Tries To Plug Leaks In GOP Abortion Bills

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 2, 2011, 1:20PM

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)

Democrats and pro-choice advocates have been howling for weeks about what's in the Republican abortion bills currently working their way through the House.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), ardently pro-choice, says it's time to focus on what's not not in the bills. Chu, a member of the House Judiciary Committee which will be taking up one of the abortion bills on Thursday, has offered two amendments she says clear up dangerously unaddressed abortion access questions in H.R. 3, the bill first criticized for it's now-dropped language regarding "forcible rape."

Chu wants to make sure the law protects women's access to emergency abortion care while ensuring that women will be informed of all their medical options, even if a provider is opposed to abortion. Neither subject is addressed directly in H.R. 3 as it currently stands -- and that's what worries Chu.

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112th Congress

Senate Passes Two-Week Funding Bill, Avoids Shutdown

Benjy Sarlin | March 2, 2011, 12:35PM

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.

With a looming March 4 deadline before the government runs out of funding, the Senate voted 91-9 to approve a House measure providing funding for two weeks while making $4 billion in cuts with bipartisan backing.

The move averts a shutdown, but the gulf between the two parties remains wide as Republicans are calling for $61 billion in cuts that Democratic leaders and the White House claim would costs hundreds of thousands of jobs. Democrats say they support scaling back spending, but only if the reductions don't damage the fledgling recovery or essential services.

"At some point we're going to have to come to some finality and not just kick the can down the road two weeks at a time," Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) told reporters after the vote.

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Wisconsin

Wis. GOP Legislators: Bill Outlawing Prank Calls Is Not About Walker's 'Koch' Call

Eric Kleefeld | March 2, 2011, 12:18PM

State Sen Mary Lazich (R-WI) and State Rep. Mark Honadel (R-WI)

In a new political development in Wisconsin, two Republican legislators are proposing a bill to criminalize prank calls that fraudulently conceal the caller's identity. However, they say this is not motivated by Gov. Scott Walker's recent call with a blogger posing as Republican billionaire David Koch.

The bill is sponsored by GOP state Sen. Mary Lazich and state Rep. Mark Honadel. According to the Badger Herald, one of the two student-run papers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the sponsors deny that it is connected to Walker's recent call -- Honadel's spokesman said that they introduced it at the end of the last session, but ran out of time get it through, and are just re-introducing it now.

TPMDC has confirmed on Wisconsin's legislative site that the bill was introduced in the previous session.

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Budget

More Americans Would Blame Congress, Not Obama, For Gov't Shutdown

Jon Terbush | March 2, 2011, 11:46AM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama

Congress passed a stopgap measure on Wednesday morning that prevents a government shutdown for another two weeks. But legislators would do themselves a favor by passing a long-term solution before that extended deadline, because polls indicate that if they fail to do so, Congress -- rather than President Obama -- would suffer the brunt of voters' ire.

Without a completed budget bill, the government would effectively shut down until one is passed, as happened in 1994. Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to that prospect; about 60% of respondents to surveys conducted by Gallup and PPP said they didn't want to see the government temporarily shuttered.

But if a shutdown does occur, polls have shown more Americans would pin the blame Congressional Republicans than on Obama. However, when surveys pit Obama and Congressional Democrats against Republicans in Congress, the blame gets spread more evenly.

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Nancy Pelosi

Dems Wage Food Fight Over Styrofoam in House Cafeteria

Benjy Sarlin | March 2, 2011, 11:33AM

Tax cuts for millionaires and budget cuts to social programs are one thing, but touch House Democrats' paper coffee cups and you're in a world of hurt.

Democratic leaders have been waging a war of words against the GOP majority after Republicans canceled a composting program and replaced the cafeteria's biodegradable cups, plates, and utensils with styrofoam and hard plastic. Rep. Daniel Lungren (R-CA), who announced the move last month, said in a press release the House Inspector General concluded the process of composting the green utensils added $475,000 annually to the Capitol's operating costs with only marginal environmental benefits versus the usual approach of burning trash and using the heat to create energy. In addition, the biodegradable materials drew frequent criticism from cafeteria-goers, who complained the utensils broke easily and the cups could not hold coffee without overheating and even sometimes leaking out the bottom.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin GOPer And Fugitive Dem Meet At McDonald's In Kenosha

Eric Kleefeld | March 2, 2011, 11:14AM

Wisconsin State Sens. Scott Fitzgerald (R) and Tim Cullen (D)

Some semblance of negotiations are beginning in the standoff in Wisconsin, where state Senate Democrats have fled the state in order to block a budget quorum on Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union proposals -- but only a semblance.

As the Wisconsin State Journal reports, GOP Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Democratic state Sen. Tim Cullen met on Monday in Wisconsin -- at a McDonald's in Kenosha, right near the Illinois state line.

Fitzgerald is taking the meeting as a sign that some Democrats could be itching to return home: ""There's six, seven, eight, nine of them that are starting to say, 'Listen, we're starting to look like we're out of touch with what's going on in Madison, and it's time to get back."

However, Cullen told the paper that a lone return will not happen. "No one will go back and be the 20th vote," said Cullen. "We'll go back as a group."

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Fox News

Fox Buses In Footage From Sacramento To Make Union Protesters Look Violent (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | March 2, 2011, 10:29AM

In an alternative universe concocted by Fox News, Andrew Breitbart, and TCOT (top conservatives on twitter), the Madison capitol has become the island in Lord of the Flies, except the savages in this case are union "thugs." The mob has taken over, thick with radicals, and Republicans are likely to be attacked as a matter of course.

In reality, the long protest in Madison has been remarkably civil. As a testament to that, conservative media outlets are having a hard time finding examples of on-scene violence in Wisconsin that really bring their alternative narrative home. They've even gone so far as to claim their own reporters are under assault when they are not. Indeed, just as they accuse unions of busing in protesters from out of state, they've bussed in out-of-state footage, to make a case that can't be made by the facts.

Check out this clip from Monday night's episode of the O'Reilly Factor, a lower-quality version of which has gone viral on social media sites.

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Government Shutdown

Can Republicans Stomach Funding The Obama Administration To Avoid A Government Shutdown?

Brian Beutler | March 2, 2011, 10:15AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

On Wednesday morning, the Senate will pass a short term spending bill to postpone a government shutdown until at least March 18. After that, it becomes a question of whether Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate respectively can come to a longer-term agreement, to keep the lights on through September.

What's already settled is that any such agreement will include spending cuts. What isn't known yet is whose priorities win the day -- which federal accounts get more money, and which get less. But more important than that may be whether rank and file Republicans in the House will be willing to vote for a spending bill that strips away their controversial policy priorities.

When the House passed a seven-month funding bill last month, it included scores of riders, which deny funding to the Obama administration to do -- well, many things: implement the health care law, implement environmental regulations, the list goes on. Neither President Obama, nor the Democratic Senate are likely to accept most of them as part of a longer-term "continuing resolution," and so the question now is whether those House Republicans will revolt.

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Tim Pawlenty

Tim Pawlenty Going All-Out To Court Tea Party In Iowa

Benjy Sarlin | March 2, 2011, 9:46AM

Mild-mannered perhaps to a fault, Tim Pawlenty hasn't exactly been observers' pick for presidential candidate most likely to capture the imagination of the rowdy Tea Party movement.

Yet the Minnesota governor is giving it his all, launching an aggressive effort to court the conservative grassroots in early primary states and around the country with appearances at Tea Party events, red meat rhetoric, and outreach in the crucial caucus state of Iowa.

On Saturday, Pawlenty was the keynote speaker at the Tea Party Patriots Summit in Arizona, delivering a rousing love letter to the activists in attendance, whom he labeled "modern day Paul Reveres."

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Wisconsin Protests

Progressive Groups Take Aim At Walker In Wisconsin TV Campaign (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 2, 2011, 9:05AM

On the heels of their nascent campaign to (maybe) recall five GOP state Senators in Wisconsin, a coalition of national progressive groups is going on the air with ads aimed directly at embattled Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the state GOP.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America are sponsoring the ad, which will air in the Milwaukee and Madison markets on broadcast and cable for the rest of the week. The sponsors tell TPM that the buy will allow the message to reach as much as 57% of Wisconsin voters.

PCCC and DFA have already raised more than $160,000 for the AWOL state Senate Democrats in just the last week alone, and PCCC says they expect the TV spot to bring a "significant" new round of fundraising. As money comes in, PCCC and DFA will expand the markets for the TV ad and extend its run. The ad is running alongside an online fundraising effort run by PCCC and DFA.

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VA-SEN

Poll: Top Dem and GOPer Tied For 2012 Virginia Senate Race

Jon Terbush | March 2, 2011, 8:51AM

Former Sen. George Allen (R-VA) and Chairman of the Democratic Committee Tim Kaine (D-VA)

With Virginia Sen. Jim Webb (D) retiring at the end of his term, the race to replace him in 2012 looks like a total toss up, according to a new PPP poll.

In the poll, the strongest potential candidate from each party -- former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine and former Republican Sen. George Allen -- topped every challenger thrown against them. Yet in a head-to-head match-up, Kaine and Allen tied at 47% apiece.

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Rush Holt

Rep. Rush Holt Defeats Supercomputer 'Watson' In Jeopardy

Jillian Rayfield | March 1, 2011, 6:09PM

Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.)

Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) proved on Monday that man can still dominate machine -- as long as that man is a trained rocket scientist and former five-day Jeopardy! champ.

Holt defeated IBM supercomputer "Watson" in a round of the game show. Take that, robot overlords!

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Wisconsin

Walker Unveils Budget -- Says Cuts Will Be More Painful If Dems Don't Return

Eric Lach | March 1, 2011, 6:08PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) gave a speech at the state Capitol Tuesday to unveil his budget for the next two years, even as the debate over his budget repair bill still rages.

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Ann Buerkle

Dueling Ads On Buerkle's Planned Parenthood Vote

Melissa Jeltsen | March 1, 2011, 5:46PM

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY)

A national anti-abortion group is rewarding Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY) for her vote to defund Planned Parenthood, with a spate of positive television ads. The ads---which will cost the Susan. B. Anthony List, a pro-life organization, a cool $75,000---will run for four days in Buerkle's congressional district.

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112th Congress

Reps. Weiner and Murphy: Force Politicized Supremes to Recuse Themselves

Benjy Sarlin | March 1, 2011, 5:28PM

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

Taking up progressive complaints that the Supreme Court has become dangerously politicized, Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) are introducing legislation that could require justices to recuse themselves in certain cases.

"The problem is the only person who can decide whether Justice Thomas can recuse himself is Justice Thomas," Murphy told reporters at a press conference outside the Capitol. "That's wrong and that needs to change."

The bill would allow the Judicial Conference, which determines standards of recusal for federal judges, to examine Supreme Court members as well and create guidelines for determining a conflict of interest. They could even force members to step down from certain cases if they determined a procedure for such a move. The bill would also require members to offer an explanation if they decide to recuse themselves voluntarily as to why they declined to judge a case.

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Henry Waxman

Waxman On Issa: 'He's Not Gotten Off To A Good Start'

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2011, 5:20PM

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)

You know whose first days as chairman of the House Oversight Committee didn't involve having to fire a high-profile staffer? Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who ran the committee from 2007 through 2009.

I caught up with Waxman in the Speaker's Lobby during a House vote on short-term spending Tuesday afternoon and asked him to weigh in on his heir Darrell Issa, who's had tougher luck.

"He's not gotten off to a good start," Waxman said, "and he's got to figure out how to make corrections in his own operation."

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Wisconsin Protests

Wis Dem Senator: Gov. Walker Is 'Playing A Dangerous Game'

Meena Rupani | March 1, 2011, 5:01PM

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-WI)

Wisconsin Democratic state Sen. John Erpenbach, still out of state in Illinois, has a clear message for Governor Scott Walker: Don't blame public workers for a broken budget.

Interviewed by CNN's Brook Baldwin via phone on Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Erpenbach said he continues to be unhappy with Walker's tactics. "He's deficit spending right now, and as a result of us calling him on that, something he promised during the campaign he'd never do, he's going to lay off people. It's a ridiculous game he's playing and a very dangerous game he's playing."

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Robert Gates

Gates and Mullen: Iran And Al Qaeda Biggest Losers in Middle East Fallout

Susan Crabtree | March 1, 2011, 4:39PM

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are optimistic about results of anti-government movements in the Middle East and called Iran and al Qaeda the "biggest losers" in the ongoing fallout.

"Iran is the real loser here whether they want to admit it or not," Mullen told reporters during a briefing Tuesday at the Pentagon. "They had no hand in the change ... except the one they used to slap back their own people."

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Government Shutdown

House Passes Stopgap Spending Measure

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2011, 4:38PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

By a vote of 335-91 -- including a majority of Democrats -- the House voted Tuesday afternoon to slash $4 billion in federal spending between March 4 and March 18.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate should adopt this package word for word within 48 hours, which will prevent a government shutdown.

The real shutdown fight begins now, as House and Senate leaders put their heads together over a longer-term spending bill, to keep the government running through September.

Ohio

Union Fight Heating Up In Ohio

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 1, 2011, 3:40PM

The battle over collective bargaining being fought in Wisconsin is far from over, but even as it rages a new fight is gathering steam in Ohio. For more than a week now, union supporters have gathered around the State Capitol in Columbus to protest Gov. John Kasich's (R) plan to limit collective bargaining rights for more than 300,000 state workers.

On Tuesday, protests reached their largest and loudest yet, according to reports from the ground.

As in Wisconsin, Ohio's new Republican governor isn't backing down. And just as protestors remain in the streets of Madison, so too are they in Ohio.

Read more »

Scott Walker

Pew Poll: Only Wealthiest Income Bracket Sides With Gov. Walker Over Unions

Jon Terbush | March 1, 2011, 3:29PM

In the debate over whether Wisconsin state workers should have the right to collectively bargain for better benefits, there is at least one group that sides with Gov. Scott Walker -- people wealthy enough that they probably don't need collective bargaining rights themselves.

That finding comes from a Pew poll released this week showing more Americans siding with the unions over Gov. Walker in the budget showdown that has deadlocked the Wisconsin legislature and sent thousands of protesters streaming into the state capitol. And strikingly, while Americans overall took the unions' side in the poll, the highest income demographic was the only one in which more people said they stood with Walker over the unions.

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Mike Huckabee

Huckabee Claims Obama Was Raised In Kenya (AUDIO)

Andrew Jones | March 1, 2011, 3:28PM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R) says he isn't a birther. But that apparently won't stop him from expressing skepticism about where President Obama grew up.

The potential 2012 presidential contender is continued his current promotional tour for his new book A Simple Government on "The Steve Malzberg Show" last Monday night. And while he didn't agree with radio-host Malzberg saying Obama spent ""millions of dollars in courts all over this country to defend against having to present a birth certificate," Huckabee added his own twist on questioning the President's past.

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Government Shutdown

Reid: GOP Inflexibility On Spending Is 'Terrible Way To Govern'

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2011, 3:25PM

Harry Reid (D-NV)

In his weekly Capitol briefing with reporters, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed the Senate will quickly pass a two-week stop-gap measure to keep the government funded through mid-March. But, he said, Republicans have artificially limited the timeframe to increase their bargaining power ahead of a possible government shutdown on March 18, and he criticized them for behaving irresponsibly.

"It's a terrible way to govern, and no one is more of an expert on that than presidential candidate John McCain's chief economic adviser Mark Zandi, who's now the head of Moody's, who says that if the Republicans get what they want...700,000 jobs we're going to lose," Reid said.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Sheriff Pulled Deputies From Capitol, Says They Won't Be 'Palace Guard' (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | March 1, 2011, 3:24PM

Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

At the same press conference where Dane County, Wisc., District Attorney Ismael Ozanne told reporters he found nothing criminal in Gov. Scott Walker's comments to a prank caller last week, Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney spoke about law enforcement's role in the push and pull over access to the Capitol building in Madison. Mahoney revealed that yesterday he pulled his officers from a duty to guard the building's entrances.

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Wisconsin

Dane County DA: Walker Prank Call 'Alarming,' But Not Criminal

Eric Lach | March 1, 2011, 2:54PM

Dane County, Wisc., District Attorney Ismael Ozanne says he found nothing criminal in the conversation Gov. Scott Walker (R) had a with a prank caller posing as David Koch last week, according to WisPolitics. Nevertheless, Ozanne told reporters on Tuesday that he found some of Walker's comments "very concerning and sometimes quite alarming."

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Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Courts The Tea Party With New Campaign Video

Jillian Rayfield | March 1, 2011, 1:33PM

Tim Pawlenty continues his Michael Bay-like metamorphosis, releasing yet another video, this time lauding the Tea Party as "a great addition to the conservative coalition and the coalition for change in this country. They are part of the energy, the passion, the call for change."

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Government Shutdown

Is A Government Shutdown Still Possible? Yes -- Very

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2011, 12:59PM

President Barack Obama meets with Democratic and Republican leaders

House Republicans and Senate Democrats have arrived at detente on spending, which should prevent a government shutdown through the Ides of March.

But it's a brief and fragile detente, and for now only masks a greater divide between the parties -- one that's less about spending levels and more about the right of the Obama administration to undertake routine functions in an era of divided government.

After a weeks-long stare-down over spending, both sides blinked last week, when they came to terms on a two week measure to keep the federal lights on after funding runs out March 4.

But Democrats blinked fastest.

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112th Congress

Hoyer: "No Substantive Difference" Between Wis. Dems and Senate Republicans

Benjy Sarlin | March 1, 2011, 12:58PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) labeled Republicans as hypocrites for accusing Wisconsin Democratic senators of obstruction for fleeing the state to avoid giving Republican Gov. Scott Walker a quorum for a bill that would weaken collective bargaining right for state employees.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Hoyer said that Washington Republicans' numerous Senate filibusters should destroy any credibility they have on the issue.

"38, 39, 40, 41 Republicans did that consistently over the last four years in the United States Senate," he said. "Now, they were here, but they simply would not vote to bring measures to the floor of the United States Senate. I see no substantive difference."

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Wisconsin

Judge Orders Wisconsin Capitol Re-Opened

Eric Lach | March 1, 2011, 12:05PM

Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

A Dane County, Wisc., judge has issued a temporary restraining order to reopen the Wisconsin Capitol building to the public. Capitol access was restricted over the weekend and again this morning, following days in which the building had been crowded with protesters. The Wisconsin State Employees Union, along with the AFL-CIO and AFSCME, filed the suit against the state of Wisconsin yesterday.

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Iran

Ridge Warns of Iran's Growing Influence Amid Middle East Unrest

Susan Crabtree | March 1, 2011, 11:59AM

Fmr. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (R)

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Tuesday warned of Iran's growing influence amid the Middle East's turbulent political climate, underscoring other Republicans' calls for the U.S. to take a harder line on Iran.

The spread of pro-democracy movements across the region -- from Tunisia to Egypt and Libya -- is a positive step, Ridge said, but it also creates an opening for even more Iranian influence.

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Scott Walker

Poll: Wisconsin Voters Turn On Gov. Walker, Back State Unions

Jon Terbush | March 1, 2011, 11:58AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) is rapidly losing support from his constituents as he continues to push budget proposals that would cut collective bargaining rights and benefits for most of the states public employee unions, according to new data from a PPP poll, a poll whose results TPM first reported on Monday. His support has slipped so much that, after just two months in office, voters are now evenly divided over whether he should be recalled.

A majority of Wisconsin voters now disapprove of Walker's job performance, a reversal from the positive approval rating he enjoyed immediately after election day. Further, most voters support collective bargaining rights for the state's public employee unions, and oppose Walker's proposal to cut those same rights.

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RGA

GOP Govs To Launch TV Ad In Solidarity With Scott Walker

Jillian Rayfield | March 1, 2011, 11:40AM

The Republican Governors Association is launching a radio and TV ad campaign in support of Gov. Scott Walker, who is currently locked in a protracted standoff with public unions and their supporters in Wisconsin.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Newt Gingrich Takes Official Step Toward Presidential Run

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 1, 2011, 11:37AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich is now just one official announcement away from running for president next year. The quadrennial might-run candidate will soon launch an exploratory committee to suss out the potential for a full-scale bid in 2012.

ABC News first reported Gingrich's plans Tuesday morning, reporting that the former House Speaker will announce his committee "before the end of the week." National Journal confirmed the report today. The magazine reports Gingrich will make stops in Iowa and New Hampshire in the next couple weeks.

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John Boehner

Boehner: Public Workers Have Machine Gun At Heads Of Local Officials

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2011, 10:40AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

House Speaker John Boehner puts some fresh spin on the debate over public sector worker rights.

"In some of these states you've got collective bargaining laws that are so weighted in favor of the public employees that there's almost no bargaining," he told CBN. "We've given them a machine gun and put it right at the heads of the local officials and they really have their hands tied."

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Eric Holder

Holder: Legal Landscape Has Changed 'Fairly Fundamentally' Since DOMA Passed

Ryan J. Reilly | March 1, 2011, 10:00AM

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Attorney General Eric Holder

"Congress has a reason to be concerned" over the Justice Department's decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) said Tuesday.

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unions

Majority Of Americans Back Public Employee Union Rights And Benefits

Jon Terbush | March 1, 2011, 9:51AM

Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

More Americans would rather raise taxes than reduce state employee benefits to close a budget shortfall, according to a new New York Times/CBS poll.

That's just one of several staunchly pro-union sentiments contained in the poll, which comes as governors in several cash-strapped states -- most notably Wisconsin's Gov. Scott Walker (R) -- are facing off against public employee unions in battles over benefits and bargaining rights in attempts to reduce state spending. It's also the latest in a mounting pile of polls to show Americans siding firmly with unions, as similar budget battle lines continue to be drawn in states like Ohio, Tennessee, and elsewhere.

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Barack Obama

Panacea? Republicans Rejected Obama's Latest Health Care Entreaty Weeks Ago

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2011, 9:43AM

President Barack Obama

President Obama offered the governors of all states a grand bargain on Monday: Set up working, affordable, universal health care systems in your states in the next three years and we'll unburden you from the requirements of the health care law.

Republicans saw this coming, though, and rejected it as grounds for detente weeks ago.

"That doesn't give the states the option to opt out," said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), at a press conference last month. "That just says they have to live under Obamacare, and they can then run it themselves."

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Anonymous

'Anonymous' Takes Down Site Of Conservative Group Club For Growth

Jillian Rayfield | March 1, 2011, 9:43AM

President Chris Chicola

The hacker collective 'Anonymous' is taking credit for bringing down the site of the conservative anti-tax group Club For Growth, which was apparently down for a decent chunk of time Monday night.

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Libya

Senate Republicans: Don't Turn Libya Into Iraq!

Benjy Sarlin | March 1, 2011, 8:39AM

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)

Some Senate Republicans, less than enthused by saber-rattling from Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) on Libya, warned on Monday that sending military aid to anti-Qadaffi rebels could draw the US into all-out war.

"Dependent upon the method of delivery and what we decide to do we could decide to have a war in Libya to join the war in Afghanistan and Iraq," Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) told reporters, saying he opposed arming the Libyan resistance or imposing a no-fly zone. "You know, people need to be very thoughtful about entering wars without a declaration and without much more congressional scrutiny of what's involved."

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Wisconsin Protests

Progressives Target GOP State Senators In WI With Recall Threat

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 1, 2011, 8:30AM

Demonstrators outside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

A pair of national progressive groups are firing the first shots in what could become a full-scale recall campaign against Republican state Senators in Wisconsin, TPM has learned.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy For America are launching a robocall campaign to test the waters for the immediate recall of several state Senators as well as Senate President Michael Ellis and moderate Senator Dale Schultz, who voters would be able to recall in a year under Wisconsin law.

The robocall, voiced by a New London, WI teacher, will be dispatched to 50,000 constituents of Republican Sens. Luther Olsen (District 14), Robert Cowles (2), Dan Kapanke (32), Schultz and Ellis.

The calls gauge voter interest in recalling their Senator.

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Orrin Hatch

Orrin Hatch: 'Obamacare' A 'Dumbass Program'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 28, 2011, 5:24PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

In his quest to transform himself from establishment elder statesman to tea party insurgent, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) just took a few steps down the path toward becoming the Melissa Leo of the U.S. Senate.

A spokesperson confirms to TPM that the Senior Senator from Utah referred to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as "an awful piece of crap" and a "dumb-ass program" during an appearance at Utah State University last week.

Hatch immediately apologized for dropping the twin PG-13 bombs on the room full of college Republicans, and promised to "repent for using the words that he did."

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Poll: Wisconsin Voters Wouldn't Elect Gov. Walker In Do-Over

Jon Terbush | February 28, 2011, 4:17PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Wisconsin voters already have buyers remorse about electing Gov. Scott Walker (R).

In a PPP poll released Monday, a majority of registered Wisconsin voters say that in a hypothetical re-do of last year's gubernatorial election, they would vote for Democrat Tom Barrett, whom Walker defeated in November. That finding comes as Walker continues to stand firm on his budget proposals that would strip most state public employees of long-held collective bargaining rights.

Fifty-two percent of respondents said they would vote for Barrett if the election were held today, while 45% said they would vote for Walker. That's almost exactly the opposite of what happened in the election, when Walker won the governorship with 52% of the vote to Barrett's 47%.

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Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor Slams Economists' Dire Warnings on Cuts

Benjy Sarlin | February 28, 2011, 3:52PM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

In a meeting with reporters on Monday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) pushed back against independent assessments suggesting his party's proposed budget cuts would cause a spike in unemployment, lighting into Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi.

Zandi, who has advised leaders in both parties on economic policy, released a report today suggesting that House Republicans' budget plan would lower job forecasts for the next two year by 700,000. Cantor downplayed Zandi's independent credibility, tying him to Democratic leaders.

"I have seen several reports of Mark Zandi this morning saying that cutting spending would somehow cost hundreds of thousands of jobs," Cantor said. "I would also note that Mr. Zandi was a chief proponent of the Obama-Reid-Pelosi stimulus bill that we now know has failed to deliver on the promise of making sure unemployment did not rise above 8 percent."

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Budget

Moody's: GOP Budget Would Cost 700,000 Jobs

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 28, 2011, 2:30PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and other members of the GOP leadership

The Republican plan to cut government spending by more than $60 billion dollars will cost the unemployment rate dearly, according to a new report from Moody's Analytics.

According to Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi -- who the Washington Post reports "has advised both political parties" -- Republican plans to slash government spending will impact the GDP in such a way that would eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs this year and the next.

From the report:

The House Republicans' proposal would reduce 2011 real GDP growth by 0.5% and 2012 growth by 0.2 percentage points This would mean some 400,000 fewer jobs created by the end of 2011 and 700,000 fewer jobs by the end of 2012.

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Barack Obama

Obama Administration Quietly Guts Bush-Era 'Conscience Clause' For Health Care Workers

Jillian Rayfield | February 28, 2011, 2:22PM

President Barack Obama

In a little-noticed move earlier this month, the Obama Administration rescinded part of the Bush-era "conscience clause," which permits health care workers to deny care or services if they have moral or religious objections.

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Commission on Wartime Contracting

U.S. Needs To Improve Safeguards To Avoid Rehiring 'Bad Actor' Defense Contractors

Susan Crabtree | February 28, 2011, 1:58PM

The U.S. government's dependence on private contractors for work in Afghanistan and Iraq has hampered competition and favored incumbent contractors regardless of whether they have a record of criminal or fraudulent activities, according to a new report from the Commission on Wartime Contracting.

That finding was a focus of a Commission on Wartime Contracting hearing Monday that discussed methods to exact more accountability from private contractors, including recording incumbent contractors' performance assessments into a federal database accessible to all government agencies. Michael Thibault, the former deputy director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and former Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) chair the commission.

"If you hired somebody to paint your house and they tracked paint all over your carpet, you probably wouldn't use them again and you might even negotiate a price that was less than you originally agreed to," said Wartime Contracting Commissioner Grant Green.

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Rasmussen

Rasmussen Poll On Gov't Shutdown Shows Inverse Of Gallup Findings

Jon Terbush | February 28, 2011, 12:57PM

According to one poll, six in ten Americans want a budget compromise to prevent a government shutdown. According to another survey 60% want a government shutdown to get to a budget compromise. Wait, what?

Yes, two polls in the past week have shown apparently opposite results on how Americans feel about a looming government shutdown, should Congress not pass a budget by the end of the week. So why the sharp discrepancy?

The answer, as is so often the case, is in the framing.

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Scott Walker

Gov. Walker: I'm Still Not Compromising & The Layoffs May Come (VIDEO)

Andrew Jones | February 28, 2011, 12:16PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Relentless protests in Madison, AWOL State Senate Democrats, and an embarrassing prank call thrown in for good measure -- still, Gov. Scott Walker (R) isn't yet budging one bit on what he wants.

On Sunday's Meet The Press, Walker reiterated his resistance to the compromises already offered to him by the Democrats and labor unions, repeating that layoffs could come as soon as Tuesday if the still AWOL Democratic Senators don't return.

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Paul LePage

Maine Governor LePage Expects Wisconsin-Style Protests (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | February 28, 2011, 11:12AM

Maine Governor Paul LePage (R)

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) says he expects protesters to come to his state after people start reading his budget. LePage told Politico he thinks Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is facing a "big challenge."

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Martin O'Malley

DGA Chair: With Their Union Battles, GOP Has Given Democrats Their Mojo Back

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 28, 2011, 11:10AM

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-MD)

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley -- the man in charge of seeing to the election of Democratic governors in the current cycle -- says that the fights between Republican governors and union workers across the Midwest is just the kind of thing that could stop the Republican tide and put Democrats back in charge.

"It certainly draws the contrast doesn't it?" O'Malley, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, told TPM in an interview this weekend.

"I think because of the difficulty and the challenges and what we've all lost in this recession, the distinction between Democratic and Republican governors became a little bit blurred for some," he said, reflecting on the Democratic losses of 2010. "But I think it's pretty clear now the sort of ideological detour that these governors are taking when all of us should be creating jobs, contrasting with our message of job opportunity now."

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Haley Barbour

Haley Barbour's MLK Memories Thrown Into Question

Benjy Sarlin | February 28, 2011, 10:53AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

A leading historian is throwing into question recollections from Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) that he watched Martin Luther King, Jr. speak in his Yazoo City hometown as a teen.

In an interview with the Weekly Standard in December, Barbour described standing on the outskirts of a rally to hear MLK.

"I remember Martin Luther King came to town, in '62. He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white," he said. But Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger this week that records show no signs of any such appearance.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Herman Cain Wins Straw Poll At Tea Party Summit

Jon Terbush | February 28, 2011, 10:39AM

Herman Cain

Forget AM radio. Herman Cain is hitting the road to pitch his bid for the presidency -- and it may be working.

Cain delivered a speech at a Tea Party summit in Phoenix over the weekend, and was rewarded with a first place finish in the event's straw poll, even topping higher profile candidates like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney. Cain captured 22% of Sunday's straw poll vote, followed by former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (16%) and Texas Rep. Ron Paul (15%).

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112th Congress

Boehner: I'll Decide Whether To Defend DOMA In Court By End Of This Week

Benjy Sarlin | February 28, 2011, 10:15AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Speaker John Boehner is ready to take on the White House over the Defense of Marriage Act, pledging to force the issue in the House after the Justice Department announced last week it was abandoning support for portions of the law.

"I'm really disappointed in the President and the Department of Justice in the fact that they're not going to defend a law that Congress passed overwhelmingly. It's their responsibility to do that," he told CBN's David Brody on Sunday.

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Americans for Prosperity

'Anonymous' Targets Koch-Backed Americans For Prosperity

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | February 28, 2011, 10:13AM

The online hacking collective 'Anonymous' is targeting groups like Americans For Prosperity who are backed by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers, because of their support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union proposals.

In a press release, 'Anonymous' explained that it "cannot ignore the plight of the citizen-workers of Wisconsin, or the opportunity to fight for the people in America's broken political system."

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Iraq

Report: U.S. Has Wasted Tens Of Billions Of Dollars On Contractors In Iraq And Afghanistan

Susan Crabtree | February 28, 2011, 10:05AM

private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A new report from a bipartisan commission set up to scrutinize the unprecedented use of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan concludes that the United States has wasted tens of billions of the nearly $177 billion that has been spent on those contracts and grants since 2002.

The report, titled "At What Risk? Correcting Over-reliance on Contractors in Contingency Operations," said its estimate may even understate the problem because it may not take into full account ill-conceived projects, poor planning and oversight by the U.S. government, as well as criminal behavior and blatant corruption by both government and contractor employees.

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Wisconsin Protests

WI Capitol Police Chief: Protesters Can Stay Tonight

Eric Kleefeld | February 27, 2011, 8:49PM

Wisconsin Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs

Madison, WI -- In a major victory for the protesters at the Wisconsin state Capitol -- who were supposed to clear out at 4 p.m. CT today, but have remained inside in the hundreds -- Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs has announced that those protesters still in the building will be able to stay the night.

Protesters will be able to sleep on the ground floor, as cleaning is done of the upper floors. Tubbs said there had been no decisions made yet on what the policy would be for successive nights.

"There will be no arrests, as we said before, there will be no use of force," Tubbs said. "We want the people to continue to cooperate and work within the guidelines and the laws of the state of Wisconsin. So there'll be no one asked to leave the Capitol tonight."

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Wisconsin Protests

Wisconsin Protests Just Keep Going

Eric Kleefeld | February 27, 2011, 6:50PM

Protesters inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 27, 2011.

MADISON, WI -- The Wisconsin state Capitol is still bustling with loud protesters, more than an hour after the state's official 4 p.m. CT closure time came and went. So far there have been only a limited signs of people leaving -- and zero signs of arrests or compulsion to leave.

If anybody does leave, of course, they will not be able to get back in. Thus, I am holed up in the Capitol's press room, on the second upper floor, as I write this dispatch surrounded by other reporters.

A few hundred people are crowded on the first upper floor, continuing to go through the chants that have been heard throughout the demonstrations: "This is what democracy looks like!"; "Recall Walker!"; singing of "Solidarity Forever," "The Star-Spangled Banner," and many more.

Even the multiple police officers that I've spoken to say that they do not know whether there are plans to make any arrests.

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