Pres '12

Poll: Romney Thumps Obama In New Hampshire

Jon Terbush | April 22, 2011, 4:53PM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney has consistently cleaned house in early polls of the New Hampshire Republican primary. Now, a new poll by Dartmouth College shows him handily winning The Granite State in a general election matchup with President Obama.

In the poll of registered voters, Romney beat Obama 47% to 39%. However, Obama easily led all other comers by between eight and 27 points.

Obama led Mike Huckabee 45%-37%, and topped Ron Paul 47% to 27%. Obama also beat Haley Barbour (42%-23%), Tim Pawlenty (41%-25%), Donald Trump (51%-29%), and Sarah Palin (54%-27%.)

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Franklin Graham

Franklin Graham On Trump: 'Maybe This Guy's Right' (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 22, 2011, 4:40PM

Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Evangelist and Rev. Franklin Graham -- son of legendary evangelist and Rev. Billy Graham -- has listened to Donald Trump talk about his maybe-candidacy for president. And Graham likes what he hears.

"Donald Trump, when I first saw that he was getting in, I thought, well, this has got to be a joke," Graham told Christiane Amanpour in an interview set to air Sunday. "But the more you listen to him, the more you say to yourself, you know, maybe this guy's right."

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Budget

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME): I Won't Vote For Paul Ryan's Budget

Benjy Sarlin | April 22, 2011, 4:25PM

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

The House GOP's far-reaching budget, which includes $6 trillion in cuts and a plan to replace Medicare with a private voucher system, has drawn its first Republican opponent in the Senate: Susan Collins.

The Maine lawmaker, generally considered among of the most moderate Republicans in Congress, told local TV station, WCSH 6, on Friday that she would vote against the proposed budget.

"I don't happen to support Congressman Ryan's plan but at least he had the courage to put forward a plan to significantly reduce the debt," Collins said.

She did not specify which portions of the bill she opposed. On the House side, four Republicans voted against the budget resolution, with two citing its Medicare overhaul as their chief concern.

Barack Obama

State Department Signed Off On McCain's Libya Trip

Susan Crabtree | April 22, 2011, 3:50PM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

The U.S. State Department signed off on and supports Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) Friday trip to Libya where he met with rebel forces engaged in a fierce battle with Muammar Qaddafi over control of the country.

"We were aware that Sen. McCain would be making the trip and State supported the codel," White House spokesman Jay Carney told TPM in an e-mail Friday afternoon.

When asked whether McCain was there as an official emissary for the State Department or White House, Carney told reporters earlier only: "No. No that I'm aware of."

An early proponent of U.S. military strikes in Libya, McCain arrived in the country Friday just hours before Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's joint chiefs of staff, publicly warned that the conflict was moving into a stalemate as Qaddafi's troops pressed on in an attempt to take back the rebel-controlled areas in Misrata.

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Voter ID

Minn. GOP House Speaker Backs Off Calling Voting A 'Privilege,' Not A Right

Eric Kleefeld | April 22, 2011, 3:46PM

Minnesota State House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R)

Minnesota state House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R), who is strongly pushing for passage of a voter ID law, has now backed away from comments he made in a radio appearance on Wednesday -- when he said of the act of voting: "I think it's a privilege, it's not a right."

"When you go to even a Burger King or a McDonald's and use your debit card, they'll ask you to see your ID," Zellers said during a late-night interview, the Star Tribune reports. "Should we have to do that when we vote, something that is one of the most sacred -- I think it's a privilege, it's not a right. Everybody doesn't get it, because if you go to jail or if you commit some heinous crime your rights are taken away. This is a privilege."

In fact, voting is referred to as being a right in numerous amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The next day, Zellers walked back the comment. "I fully understand it's a right we all have," Zellers said on Thursday. "I probably should have said it a little bit better at that late hour at night."

According to the Star Tribune, the comment occurred some time after 11 p.m.

Jon Kyl

Sen. Kyl Erases His False Statement On Planned Parenthood From Congressional Record

Jon Terbush | April 22, 2011, 2:52PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has erased from the Congressional record his false claim that abortions comprise 90% of Planned Parenthood's services. And yes, that is intended to be a factual statement.

During the recent budget debate, Kyl made that false claim about Planned Parenthood on the Senate floor, thus entering it into the Congressional record. But after taking a lot of flak for that act of huge hyperbole, Kyl had it stricken from the official text.

According to the Library of Congress website, members of Congress are entitled to, "edit the transcript of their floor remarks before publication in the daily record or the permanent record."

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Fox News

Glenn Beck vs. Mike Huckabee Goes to Round 3

Benjy Sarlin | April 22, 2011, 2:02PM

Mike Huckabee and Glenn Beck

The ongoing feud between Fox hosts Glenn Beck and Mike Huckabee shows no signs of slowing down as Beck slammed the former Arkansas governor as unqualified to run for the President on Friday.

To recap the story so far: Earlier this week, Beck called Huckabee a "progressive" for supporting Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign. In response, Huckabee issued a lengthy and hard-hitting condemnation of not only Beck's statement but his entire conspiracy-laden ouevre.

On his radio show this morning, Beck went another round, claiming that Huckabee's reaction to his previous attacks proves he isn't White House material.

"If, sir, you are this thin-skinned about your politics, it might be best for you to stay on the sidelines" and not run, Beck said.

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Medicare

Polls Show Dangers For GOP In Pushing Ryan's Medicare Privatization Plan

Jon Terbush | April 22, 2011, 1:23PM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) wants Congress to retain control of the fees that the United States Patent and Trademark Office collects and divert them to other government programs.

When Congress reconvenes next month, Republicans will begin a renewed push for a Medicare privatization plan proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). But a number of recent polls show that Republicans could have a tricky time making their case to the public.

In essence, the Ryan plan calls for privatizing Medicare and capping payments in the form of vouchers as a way to reduce spending. On it's face, the proposal garners tepid public support, particularly when presented as a necessity to reduce the deficit. However, when explained more fully, support for the Ryan plan evaporates.

Consider two polls of adult Americans released this week that framed the debate in two different ways.

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AFL-CIO

Republicans Just Voted To End Medicare -- So Where's The Outrage?

Brian Beutler | April 22, 2011, 12:39PM

Members of Congress are back in their districts, attending town hall events, explaining to their constituents why, exactly, they want to make such major changes to the health care system.

If that sounds familiar, you might be wondering if we're in for August 2009 redux. That was when conservatives and tea party activists caused mayhem at Democratic town hall events and sowed doubt in the minds of members and the media about whether the push for health care reform was really viable. Now, Republicans have their sites set on Medicare and Medicaid, and just voted, almost to a person, to basically zap both programs.

So are we in for a repeat?

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Allen West

Allen West: 'Barack Hussein Obama' Is A 'Low-Level Socialist Agitator' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 22, 2011, 12:16PM

Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

Appearing Thursday night on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren, freshman Rep. Allen West (R-FL) had some remarkably tough things to say about President Obama's recent address on the budget deficit and criticism of the Republican budget.

"I am sick and tired of this class warfare, this Marxist demagogic rhetoric that is coming from the President of the United States of America," said West. "It is not helpful for this country, and it's not gonna move the ball forward as far as rectifying the economic situation in our country. And I am not gonna back away from telling what the truth is."

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NV-02

The GOP's Angle Problem: Nevada's Upcoming Special House Election

Eric Kleefeld | April 22, 2011, 11:53AM

NV-02 House candidate Sharron Angle (R)

The resignation of scandal-plagued Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), and the expected appointment of current Republican candidate Rep. Dean Heller to the seat, could portend a political mess of a wholly different sort: A special election for Heller's House seat -- and the conundrum for Republicans posed by the potential candidacy of their losing U.S. Senate nominee from 2010, Sharron Angle.

Angle, who lost the 2010 Senate race despite the national Republican wave -- due to controversy over extreme statements about "Second Amendment remedies" to Democratic policies, and her statements in favor of phasing out Social Security and Medicare -- has already been running for the House seat, along with retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold, who was chief officer of the U.S.S. Cole when it was attacked by al Qaeda in 2000. In addition, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and state GOP chair Mark Amodei are reportedly considering the race.

The problem: Under the rules for special elections in Nevada, the parties would select the nominees rather than primary voters doing the job -- and the same party leaders who watched Angle blow the very winnable 2010 Senate race, would be much more likely to pick someone else.

As Roll Call reports:

If the parties are ultimately allowed to choose their nominees, a high-ranking Nevada GOP source said there is "no way" Angle would be tapped to be the party's standard-bearer. But Amodei would likely have the upper hand in that scenario.

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2012

Donald Trump Takes Up 40% Of GOP 2012 Coverage As Sarah Palin Fades Away

Benjy Sarlin | April 22, 2011, 10:39AM

Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) and Donald Trump

Statistics wiz Nate Silver analyzed media coverage of possible GOP 2012 candidates and his results paint a dramatic picture of Donald Trump's meteoric rise and Sarah Palin's equally spectacular collapse in the press.

According to Silver's research, Donald Trump has occupied 40% of all coverage of the GOP primaries in blogs, newspapers, television, and radio stations over the last month. His share of the spotlight by far outpaces any other likely contender, only one of whom breaks into double digits -- barely.

That runner-up would be Palin, who has seen her press coverage rapidly decline in recent months along with her credibility as a candidate. Palin occupied only 11% of primary coverage in April, the same percentage as March, when she was eclipsed by Newt Gingrich -- who announced his exploratory committee -- at 19%.That represents a huge drop since November 2010, when Palin dominated the conversation with 51% of all coverage, providing some statistical evidence to the case pundits have made in recent weeks that she no longer holds the same buzz she used to. Apparently it's getting to her staff, who have taken to complaining on Twitter about the lack of coverage.

Abortion

D.C., Pro-Lifers On The Hill Battle Over Budget Deal Implementation

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 22, 2011, 10:17AM

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray

The bone thrown to abortion opponents in the 2011 budget deal -- which dropped the GOP's plans to defund Planned Parenthood -- was the reinstatement of a federal ban on the D.C. government spending its funds on abortion in the way it would like.

Now the pro-life members who got the ban into the budget law are worrying that the city may not act to enforce the ban, and are calling out Mayor Vincent Gray. The mayor's office tells TPM that they're planning to comply with the wishes of Congress.

It's the latest round in a proxy war over abortion that sees state rights-friendly conservatives repeatedly impose their will on the taxpayers of the nation's capital.

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Debt

Are We Really Drowning In Red Ink? A Closer Look At Our Non-Exceptional Debt And Deficit Crisis

Brian Beutler | April 22, 2011, 9:36AM

For the next several weeks, and likely through election season, Washington will continue to be gripped by the debate about how to reduce federal deficits and the national debt. It's a common focus of legislative preening, particularly after economic downturns, and even more particularly when Democrats control the White House.

So it's worth keeping in mind how current and projected deficits and debt stack up to their historic levels, relative to GDP. The answers will surprise you.

The following graph tracks annual deficits as percentages of GDP over the last several decades. Unsurprisingly, what you see is that they spike during economic downturns, with the most severe spike after the United States entered World War II -- a spending effort that provided the economic stimulus the country needed to finally break the back of the Great Depression.

National surpluses shrank as the country entered a mild recession at the end of the Clinton administration, got worse after President Bush spearheaded deficit financed tax cuts, wars, and domestic spending, and ballooned just as Obama took office thanks to the double whammy of a sharp decline in revenues, which plunged when the bottom fell out of the economy after the financial crisis, and stimulus spending to salvage the economy.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

The Wis. Supreme Court Race: Part Hand, Part Machine, All Recount

Eric Kleefeld | April 22, 2011, 8:55AM

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg and Justice David Prosser

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race recount is starting to take shape, WisPolitics reports, with the campaigns of incumbent conservative Justice David Prosser and liberal-backed challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg agreeing in court Thursday to a procedure: It will be part-machine recount, and part-hand recount.

Normally, the state would have conducted a machine recount, in which the ballots would be re-run under careful supervision. However, some areas with older machines would require their existing memory cartridges to be erased in order to re-run the ballots -- thus destroying an original record of the count from election night.

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John Ensign

John Ensign Resigning Senate Seat

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 21, 2011, 6:09PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Embattled Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) is resigning from his seat in the U.S. Senate. In a statement released by his office Thursday evening, Ensign said his last day as a Senator will be May 3.

"It is with tremendous sadness that I officially hand over the Senate seat that I have held for eleven years," Ensign said in the statement. "The turbulence of these last few years is greatly surpassed by the incredible privilege that I feel to have been entrusted to serve the people of Nevada. I can honestly say that being a United States Senator has been the honor of my life."

Ensign had already announced he wouldn't be seeking a third term in 2012, after his current term was marred by scandal involving an affair with the wife of a longtime friend and former staffer. The scandal put Ensign in the sights of the Senate Ethics Committee.

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Glenn Beck

Mike Huckabee Tears Into Glenn Beck For Labeling Him 'Progressive'

Benjy Sarlin | April 21, 2011, 3:34PM

Mike Huckabee and Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck has seriously irked fellow FOX News host Mike Huckabee, whom he labeled a "progressive" on his radio show yesterday over the once-obese governor's support for Michele Obama's campaign to promote children's health. A clearly upset Huckabee fired back at Beck today with a statement that not only addressed the individual incident but broadly condemned the host's trademark fearmongering against the left.

"This week Glenn Beck has taken to his radio show to attack me as a Progressive, which he has said is the same as a 'cancer' and a 'Nazi,'" Huckabee said. "What did I do that apparently caused him to link me to a fatal disease and a form of government that murdered millions of innocent Jews? I had the audacity -- not of hope -- but the audacity to give respect to the efforts of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign to address childhood obesity."

While noting that he's "no fan of her husband's policies for sure," Huckabee said Beck misrepresented the First Lady's program "either out of ignorance or out of a deliberate attempt to distort them to create yet another 'boogey man' hiding in the closet that he and only he can see."

Defending Michelle Obama's approach as "about personal responsibility" and not big government, Huckabee repeatedly took dead aim at Beck's notorious penchant for conspiracy theories.

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Dems Files Suit to Force Business Groups To Disclose Campaign Cash

Susan Crabtree | April 21, 2011, 3:02PM

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is taking matters into his own hands when it comes to rolling back elements of the Supreme Court's landmark Citizen United campaign finance case and requiring disclosure of campaign donations.

Van Hollen and a group of reform advocates filed suit Thursday in federal court, as well as a petition with the Federal Election Commission, that aims to force business associations and nonprofit groups to disclose secret contributions that fueled millions of dollars in attack ads against Democrats in the 2010 midterm campaign.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Poll: Over Half Of Republicans Not Enthusiastic About Any GOP Prez Candidates

Jon Terbush | April 21, 2011, 2:51PM

Former Governors Mitt Romney (R-MA), Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), and Sarah Palin (R-AK), and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

In the buffet of their party's presidential aspirants, Republicans aren't finding much that they like.

According to a New York Times/ CBS poll released on Thursday, 56% of Republicans said they do not "feel enthusiastic" about any of their party's likely presidential candidates. Further, no candidate cracked double-digit support in the survey, which left the question open-ended by not providing respondents with a list of candidates to choose from.

Nine percent of Republicans said they were excited about Mitt Romney, while 8% said the same about Mike Huckabee. Donald Trump came in third with 7%, followed by Newt Gingrich (6%) and Sarah Palin (5%).

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Birther

Poll: Nearly Half Of Republicans Think Obama Wasn't Born In U.S.

Jon Terbush | April 21, 2011, 1:19PM

The belief that President Obama was not born in America may seem like a fringe issue, but within the Republican party, the view is fairly mainstream.

In a New York Times/CBS poll released on Thursday, a 45% plurality of Republican adults said they believe Obama was not born in the U.S. Additionally, 33% said Obama was born in America, while 22% said they weren't sure.

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Social Security

Parsing The Game Of Six: Will They Try To Cut Social Security Benefits?

Brian Beutler | April 21, 2011, 1:17PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

The bipartisan group of six senators privately drafting a debt and deficit reduction plan have been unusually tight-lipped about their negotiations. That's probably necessary internally if the group's goal is to come to an agreement. But it's led to intense speculation about what's on the table, what shape their policy options are taking, and whether progressives will get a raw deal.

Of the six -- Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) -- only Durbin could be fairly described as a progressive. So the race is on to figure out where his bright lines are, and to what, if any, extent he's willing to walk away if the final agreement completely undermines progressive interests. But while his public statements in recent weeks don't lay out exactly what those bright lines are, he's tipped his hand in two important ways.

One big tell was his official public response to the House Republican budget, which doesn't meaningfully touch Social Security but basically obliterates Medicare and Medicaid, while not raising any new revenue, and lowering taxes on wealthy Americans.

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Wisconsin

Wis. Dems: We Will Challenge GOP 'Racket' Of Recall Signatures

Eric Kleefeld | April 21, 2011, 12:51PM

Wisconsin Democrats, who have been waging a campaign to recall Republican state senators and take a majority back in the chamber, are now firing back at the Republican counter-campaigns to recall the Dems. On a conference call with reporters on Thursday morning, state Dem chair Mike Tate and attorney Jeremy Levinson predicted that they would able to successfully challenge the validity of much of the signature-gathering effort by Republicans -- which Tate repeatedly called a "racket."

"At the heart of the Republican effort from the start was a mercenary spirit that naturally used deception and fraud to gain signatures," charged Tate. "In the coming days, you will see affidavits from citizens in these targeted districts who were deceived into signing petitions by the Republican roadies who often refused to identify themselves by their real names."

In particular, Tate said that the Republicans brought in paid signature gatherers from out of state, who were paid on a per-signature basis, and that some of these gatherers had criminal records.

The issue previously came to a head in late March and early April, when one of the state GOP's canvassers, a Colorado man with a criminal record, was fired after he was accused of stealing a backpack containing a couple's keys and cell phones from Lambeau Field, the home football stadium of the Green Bay Packers.

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Libya

Americans Rapidly Turn Against Obama Over Handling Of Libyan Intervention

Jon Terbush | April 21, 2011, 11:56AM

The percentage of Americans who disapprove of how President Obama has handled the Libyan military intervention has risen 15 points in the past month, as people remain confused about what the nation's goals are in that country, according to two new polls.

President Obama never earned particularly strong public support for his decision to join an international coalition in enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya; barely half of Americans initially supported that decision. But in the past month, as the campaign has dragged on and Gaddafi has remained in power, the support Obama did have has quickly eroded.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wis. GOPers Filing Recall Signatures Against Three Dem State Senators

Eric Kleefeld | April 21, 2011, 11:29AM

State Sen. Dave Hansen (D-WI)

Republican activists in Wisconsin have officially filed signatures to recall Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen, in the escalating battle over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation and the Democratic attempt in in late February and early March to stop it by leaving the state.

On Wednesday, conservative organizers had also announced that they will file signatures on Thursday against another Democrat, Jim Holperin. In addition, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, organizers say they will turn in signatures on Thursday against Dem state Sen. Robert Wirch. On the other side of the ledger, Democrats have announced that they will file signatures against Republican state Sen. Alberta Darling, and have already filed signatures against four others: Dan Kapanke, Randy Hopper, Luther Olsen and Sheila Harsdorf.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's district rankings show, Hansen's district voted 53.5%-44.9% for Scott Walker in the Republican wave of 2010, but before that it voted 56.5%-42.1% for Barack Obama in 2008.

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Medicare

PolitiFact Insists Republicans Don't Want To End Medicare (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | April 21, 2011, 10:23AM

If Democrats proposed to turn Medicare into a system that only provided free veterinary services to seniors, would Republicans be lying to say Dems wanted to "end Medicare," without including the caveat "as we know it"?

Of course not. But that's more or less the charge PolitiFact is leveling at Democrats over a new DCCC ad (below) which flatly charges Republicans with proposing to "end Medicare." The House GOP budget, which passed with all but two GOP votes over unanimous Democratic opposition, would over time replace the single-payer, government-run Medicare program with a different system that subsidizes private insurance plans for beneficiaries. Those subsidies would work like vouchers -- they would increase in value year-on-year at a much slower pace than the rate of the rise of health care costs, thus leaving seniors exposed to increasing costs as time goes on.

Republicans call this new health insurance system "Medicare." But it's a completely different program from today's Medicare. PolitiFact doesn't see it that way.

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2012

Former NM Gov. Gary Johnson Announces Presidential Run

Benjy Sarlin | April 21, 2011, 10:13AM

Former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM)

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R) declared his candidacy for President Thursday morning, adding a libertarian voice to the emerging GOP field.

Dubbing himself a "fix-it man" for America, Johnson announced his run from the New Hampshire statehouse.

"America needs a 'President Veto' right now - someone who will say 'no' to insane spending and stop the madness that has become Washington," he said in a press statement. "That's why I am here today to announce that I'm running for President of the United States. And I don't do so lightly."

Johnson has gained the most attention so far for his strong opposition to America's drug laws and he mentioned the "drug crisis" in passing in his announcement. His newly-launched 2012 website prominently features "Drug Policy Reform" as one of four core parts of his platform, with a large section promoting the legalization of marijuana, suggesting the issue will play a major role in his campaign.

While many candidates have admitted to experimenting with drugs in their youth, Johnson turned heads when he said in a recent interview that he smoked medicinal marijuana from 2005 to 2008 to help cope with back pain. His take on drugs has earned him some contempt in conservative circles: CPAC organizers cut off a pro-legalization address from Johnson at their most recent convention mid-speech.

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump: I've Said My Piece On Obama's Birth Certificate (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 21, 2011, 9:52AM

Donald Trump

Could Donald Trump be following Karl Rove's advice and dropping his public birtherism once and for all? In an op-ed published in USA Today on Thursday morning, Trump writes that he's ready to stop all the birther chatter.

"I have spoken my piece on this issue," Trump wrote, reminding readers that "many people have the same doubts as I have."

Trump says he's ready to shift the conversation about his maybe-candidacy to something more substantive.

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Secret Service

Obama To Use New Secret Service Bus On Campaign Trail

Ryan J. Reilly | April 21, 2011, 9:45AM

As the Secret Service prepares for the 2012 campaign, they're purchasing two new buses, at least one of which will be used by President Barack Obama as he travels around the country, TPM has learned. The Secret Service says that while the armored vehicles will be used by Obama during the 2012 presidential campaign, they'll be a security asset for future presidents as well.

"We've never been fully comfortable with the security provided by a bus we lease and then try to retro-fit," Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin told TPM.

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Climate Change

Obama Calls Out 'Climate Change Deniers In Congress'

Brian Beutler | April 21, 2011, 8:23AM

President Barack Obama

At a fundraiser in San Francisco Wednesday evening, President Obama took direct, and unusually blunt, aim at a faction in the U.S. Congress that played a major role in upending his plan to pass sweeping clean energy and climate change legislation.

"There are climate change deniers in Congress and when the economy gets tough, sometimes environmental issues drop from people's radar screens," Obama told about 200 guests at the Pacific Heights residence of internet billionaire Marc Benioff, according to an official transcript. "But I don't think there's any doubt that unless we are able to move forward in a serious way on clean energy that we're putting our children and our grandchildren at risk. So that's not yet done."

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wis. Dems To File Recall Signatures Against A Fifth Republican State Senator

Eric Kleefeld | April 20, 2011, 6:50PM

State Sen. Alberta Darling (R-WI)

Wisconsin Democrats are pulling the trigger on a fifth recall campaign, Greg Sargent reports, with the Dems set to file signatures targeting GOP state Sen. Alberta Darling, as control of the state Senate now appears to be up for grabs in the battle over Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union agenda.

The state Dems told Sargeant that they collected approximately 30,000 signatures to trigger a new election against Darling, providing a very large buffer above the 20,343 minimum signatures required -- and presumably a whole lot of votes on tap in a recall election, too.

Darling holds special significance in the battle over Walker's recently passed (and currently litigated) legislation -- she is the Senate co-chair of the legislature's Joint Finance Committee, which shepherded the bill through its first stages. As such, her increased public profile would make her a particular lightning rod in the recall campaigns.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Kloppenburg Requests Statewide Recount

Eric Kleefeld | April 20, 2011, 6:17PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg

Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg has officially announced that she is requesting a statewide recount in her race against incumbent Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.

"A recount may change the outcome of this election, or it may confirm it. But when it is done, recount will have shed necessary and appropriate light on an election that right now seems to so many people to be suspect."

She also added: "If there is doubt, we must remove it. If there was misconduct, we must hold those who perpetrated it accountable."

Prosser leads by 7,316 votes, or 0.488%, within the 0.5% margin that entitles Kloppenburg to request a recount at state and local government expense.

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Haley Barbour

Barbour Says Everyone In Mississippi Has Access To Health Care -- But 18% Are Uninsured

Jillian Rayfield | April 20, 2011, 5:21PM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) says Mississippi doesn't need Washington's help with health care reform because "there's nobody in Mississippi who does not have access to health care."

"One of the great problems in the conversation is the misimpression that if you don't have insurance, you don't get health care," Barbour said.

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Oklahoma

Unions Lose One In Oklahoma

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 20, 2011, 5:20PM

Gov. Mary Fallin (R-OK)

Republicans in Oklahoma appear poised to remove some more of what little union protection there is in that deep red and right-to-work state. On Tuesday, the state Senate passed House Bill 1593, a bill that would strip away Oklahoma's requirement that large cities engage in collective bargaining with so-called "non-uniformed" city workers. The state House already passed the bill and now it just awaits the expected signature of first-term Republican Gov. Mary Fallin.

The state's existing collective bargaining law, which was signed by Democratic Gov. Brad Henry seven years ago, requires big municipalities -- population 35,000 and up -- to bargain with, as the The Oklahoman reported, "city road, sanitation and utility workers."

In the new legislation, as in the controversial anti-collective bargaining bill in Wisconsin, workers like firemen and police offers are exempt. The Oklahoma bill also excludes teachers from the change.

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BP

BP To Cut Tax Bill By $13B But Won't Say What It's Paying IRS For 2010

Susan Crabtree | April 20, 2011, 4:54PM

An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig

BP plans to cut its overall tax bill by nearly $13 billion by writing off costs related to last year's mammoth oil spill as the Gulf Coast continues to grapple with the devastating environmental and economic costs of the disaster one year later.

The international oil giant suffered a $40.9 billion loss as a result of the oil spill, making its net losses for 2010 a total of $4.8 billion (BP had $36.1 billion in profits before factoring in the spill), according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and analysis by several tax experts consulted by TPM.

Under U.S. corporate law, companies can take credits on up to 35 percent of their losses. In this case, that means U.S. taxpayers are indirectly subsidizing at least part of cleanup cost and the $20 billion fund BP created to compensate people, fisherman and businesses along the Gulf Coast hurt by the spill.

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David Hann

MN GOPer: Parents Need To Know When Their Kids Get Medical Care

David Taintor | April 20, 2011, 3:44PM

Minnesota state Sen. David Hann (R)

Minnesota state Sen. David Hann (R) says health care decisions should be made within the family, not by "strangers." So he's sponsored a bill that would change a current law that allows minors to see a doctor without their parents' consent.

The bill would require minors to get parental consent before seeking medical care for sexually transmitted diseases, drug abuse and pregnancy. It would also allow parents to have access to their child's medical records. The bill has been approved by the Minnesota Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which Hann chairs. No action has yet been taken by the House.

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Russia

Putin: U.S. Monetary Policy Amounts To 'Hooliganism'

Melissa Jeltsen | April 20, 2011, 3:25PM

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin characterized U.S. monetary policy as "hooliganism" in his annual address to the Russian Parliament Wednesday.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal:

"Look at their trade balance, their debt, and budget. They turn on the printing press and flood the entire dollar zone -- in other words, the whole world -- with government bonds. There is no way we will act this way anytime soon. We don't have the luxury of such hooliganism," he said.

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Tea Party

Poll: 70% Of Tea Partiers Oppose Cuts To Medicare, Medicaid

Jon Terbush | April 20, 2011, 3:05PM

Tea Party activists in Washington, D.C.

Tea Partiers may say the government is too damn big, but when it comes to at least two federal entitlement programs, they sing a wholly different tune.

In a McClatchy-Marist poll released this week, 70% of registered voters who identify with the Tea Party opposed making cuts to either Medicare or Medicaid -- the government-run health programs for the elderly and the poor -- to help reduce the nation's deficit. Meanwhile, only 28% of tea partiers said they'd be willing to cut spending on those two programs.

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Path to Prosperity

Paul Ryan Gets Booed By Constituents For Opposing Tax Hikes On Rich (VIDEO)

Benjy Sarlin | April 20, 2011, 2:37PM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), architect of the House GOP's budget, drew a resounding chorus of boos at a town hall appearance in his district after touting the benefits of tax cuts for the wealthy.

In a video posted by ThinkProgress, an attendee at the event this week told Ryan that he believes the rich should pay higher taxes to help close the deficit and strengthen Social Security.

"The middle class is disappearing right now," he said. "During this time of prosperity, the top 1 percent was taking about 10 percent of the total annual income, but yet today we are fighting to not let the tax breaks for the wealthy expire?"

Ryan protested that "We do tax the top," before being drowned out by the audience's jeers.

Polls have shown increasing taxes on the wealthy enjoys strong public support across the political spectrum despite near-universal opposition from GOP lawmakers. Democrats have been hammering Republicans on the issue in recent weeks, jumping off Ryan's budget proposal, which cuts taxes for the rich while making major cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Taxes

Large Majority Of Americans, Including Most Republicans, Support Raising Taxes On The Wealthy

Jon Terbush | April 20, 2011, 1:54PM

President Barack Obama

As the debate about how to deal with the federal deficit heats up, two new polls show that large, bipartisan majorities of Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy, as President Obama has proposed doing.

A central piece of Obama's deficit reduction plan calls for raising taxes on annual income above $250,000. Though tax hikes are generally thought to be unpopular, both a Washington Post/ABC News poll and a McClatchy-Marist survey found that a majority of Americans supported that proposal. What's more, even a majority of Republicans in the Washington Post/ABC News poll said they favored raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

In addition, both polls found Americans overwhelmingly opposed to a deficit reduction plan pushed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) that would ultimately privatize Medicare, the federal healthcare program for the elderly. Taken together, those findings show that in the looming deficit debate, Obama may hold an edge in public opinion.

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IA-04

Christie Vilsack Launches Exploratory House Bid Against Steve King

Eric Kleefeld | April 20, 2011, 1:09PM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack (D)

Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack, the wife of former governor and current Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, has announced that she is officially exploring a run for Congress -- against the Republican loose cannon Rep. Steve King.

The Des Moines Register reports:

"It's important to listen to Iowa families about the issues they want addressed in Congress," Christie Vilsack said in a statement. "Hearing directly from citizens about their concerns and ideas is very important to me. Too often in campaigns, it's the other way around."

Her "Christie Vilsack for Iowa's 4th Congressional District" website, with a V logo, invites people to give her a headstart on fundraising "as I consider running."

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Labor

Top Union Presses Senators To Ditch Union-Busting Push By House GOP

Brian Beutler | April 20, 2011, 12:43PM

A powerful union is lobbying Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators to make sure they don't curtail worker rights when they finalize new FAA legislation.

A conference committee composed of a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen will soon sort out differences between two different versions of the bill. But the House bill contains a provision that would make it much more difficult for airline and rail workers to form unions. More on that provision here -- it would reinstate old rules that count abstentions as "no" votes in union elections, thus stacking the deck against pro-union workers.

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Fundraising

Democratic Committee Narrowly Outraises GOP In Senate Fundraising

Benjy Sarlin | April 20, 2011, 12:41PM

Senate Democrats eked out a slightly better fundraising quarter than their counterparts on the other side of the aisle, announcing today a $11.6 million haul for their campaign committee versus $11.2 million for the GOP.

Democrats touted the numbers, which included $5.6 million raised in March, as evidence their new strategy of tying Republicans to Rep. Paul Ryan's budget was exciting donors. "The Republican move to end Medicare and give more tax breaks to the very rich has fueled support from our base," Guy Cecil, executive director of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said in a statement.

Republicans raised $5 million in March, which they noted was their highest one-month total in a non-election year. Rob Jesmer, the National Republican Senatorial Committee's executive director, noted in a statement that "we're still up against a Senate Democrat majority and the Fundraiser-In-Chief in the White House" but said they were on track to meet their goals.

The DSCC used the cash to pay off $3.75 million in debt, leaving them on the hook for another $4.89 million with $5.5 million cash on hand. The NRSC has $2.75 million in debt and $1.48 million cash on hand.

Pres '12

Poll: Obama Loses Ground To 2012 GOPers, Leads Romney By One Point

Jon Terbush | April 20, 2011, 12:17PM

Former Governor Mitt Romney and President Obama

As Obama's approval rating has slipped in the past few months, so too have his leads over potential 2012 challengers.

In a McClatchy-Marist poll released on Wednesday, Obama posted a one-point lead over Mitt Romney, down from a robust 13-point edge just three months ago. Obama still notched comfortable leads on Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, though both Republicans have gained some ground since January as well.

That indicates that while Obama enjoyed a brief honeymoon to start 2011, the bump has quickly evaporated, and his reelection prospects remain far from certain.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Recall Petitions To Be Filed Against Wis. Dem

Eric Kleefeld | April 20, 2011, 12:09PM

State Sen. Jim Holperin (D-WI)

The first recall signatures against a Democratic state senator in Wisconsin are about to be filed, following four recall submissions so far against Republicans, as the battle escalates in the aftermath of Republican Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union bill.

Previously, Democrats have filed recall signatures against four Republicans, more than the three that would be needed to put control of the chamber in play if all recalls were certified to go forward: Dan Kapanke, Randy Hopper, Luther Olsen and Sheila Harsdorf.

As WisPolitics reports, recall organizers have announced that they will file 21,000 signatures on Thursday against Dem state Sen. Jim Holperin, providing a buffer above the 15,960 minimum signatures that are legally required to trigger a new election. Holperin, along with the other 13 Democratic state Senators, had fled the state in February and early March, in an attempt to block a three-fifths budget quorum for Walker's bill -- a move that Republicans later circumvented through parliamentary maneuvers to pass the bill, though the law is currently bottled up in the courts.

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Medicare

New Dem PAC Launches Attack Ads Against GOPers Who Voted To End Medicare (AUDIO)

Brian Beutler | April 20, 2011, 11:16AM

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)

A new political action committee dedicated to ending the Republican majority in the House unveiled its first major ad buy Wednesday -- attacking Republicans for voting to end Medicare while giving wealthy Americans a tax cut.

"House Republicans are breaking the trust our country has with its seniors by ending Medicare as we know it, making them pay more for prescriptions drugs, and by forcing them to turn to the private health insurance market," said Alixandria Lapp, Executive Director of House Majority PAC, in a statement. "House Republicans have no problem asking seniors, middle class families and veterans to make sacrifices, yet refuse to do the same for big corporations and millionaires who would receive trillions in new tax breaks. We will hold House Republicans accountable for their backwards priorities."

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Pres '12

Bachmann Gets Cornered On Birtherism: 'Move On, End Of Story' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 20, 2011, 10:17AM

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) tried to hedge on the matter of birtherism -- using the line used by some Republicans who fall short of fully endorsing the conspiracy theory, while saying that Obama should just release his birth certificate (which he already did three years ago). To which George Stephanopoulos answered: Obama has released his birth certificate -- and here it is.

During the interview, Stephanopoulos asked Bachmann about how a prominent supporter of hers in Iowa has introduced a "birther bill" in the state legislature, which would require presidential candidates to supply their birth certificates to the state.

"Well, Governor Jan Brewer just vetoed that bill in Arizona," said Bachman, "because she felt that that was a bridge too far -- that it wouldn't be up to the authenticators in each state to do that, that that would be a federal issue. There is a federal piece of legislation that hasn't gone anywhere that would also require that candidates put forward their birth certificate. I have no problem giving my birth certificate, it wouldn't bother me at all. I've got one, its authenticated, take it."

"Well, but so does the president," Stephanopoulos replied.

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2012 elections

Conservative Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski Draws Big Money Primary Challenge

Benjy Sarlin | April 20, 2011, 9:30AM

Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL)

Despite heated words in progressive circles during the health care vote, House Democrats who bucked the party last year and voted against the Affordable Care Act had little to fear from primary challengers. Until now: Dan Lipinski is facing a highly credible challenge in his Chicago district from the left that could put his health care vote front and center

John Atkinson, a health care activist and insurance executive, is laying the groundwork for a high-spending campaign, reports Politico. Atkinson has not formally announced a run, but calls health care his "threshold issue" and says that Lipinski's opposition to the ACA "caused me to open my eyes a little bit."

Atkinson opened some eyes of his own with a huge $535,000 fundraising quarter this year, the most of any Democratic challenger. $270,000 came out of his own pocket.

Lipinski, who is pro-life, voted against the final health care law because he felt its language on abortion wasn't sufficiently restrictive. He took office in 2005 after succeeding his father, Bill Lipinski, who held the seat for over two decades. The seat is solidly Democratic, voting 64% for President Obama in 2008, providing an opening for a progressive challenger.

Hypocrisy

Republican Governors Quietly Accept Federal Dollars -- While Attacking Federal Spending

Brian Beutler | April 20, 2011, 9:17AM

Govs. Rick Perry, John Kasich (R-OH), Chris Christie (R-NJ) and Tom Corbett (R-PA)

Republican governors stormed into state houses this January after campaigning against federal spending, and various so-called state bailouts. They won in part by painting a slanted picture of fiscal mismanagement by their Democratic predecessors.

That rhetoric -- and the rhetoric of their more senior Republican peers -- continues to this day, and occasionally translates into genuinely puzzling acts of malgovernance. Florida Governor Rick Scott, for example, turned down $2.4 billion in federal funds to build a high-speed rail line from Orlando to Tampa.

But in other ways, their failure to publicly embrace additional federal commitments during tough economic times has left them behind the eight ball, politically. As the costs to their states of providing needed social services has risen, and their revenue has fallen, they're looking for sub rosa ways to take the money without catching flak from their bases.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Poll: 40% Of Republicans 'Dissatisfied' With GOP Prez Options

Jon Terbush | April 20, 2011, 9:08AM

Former Governors Mitt Romney (R-MA), Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), and Sarah Palin (R-AK), and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Forget enthusiasm. Republicans are so jaded about their party's current crop of presidential contenders that barely a plurality say they're even 'satisfied' with the likely GOP candidates, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll.

In the poll, 43% of Republicans adults said they were satisfied with the potential GOP contenders. But nearly as many, 40%, said they were dissatisfied with the party's options for president. Only 5% of respondents said they were very satisfied with the Republican field.

By comparison, Republicans were far more excited about the GOP field last time around than they are now. In a February 2007, a em>Washington Post/ABC News poll found that almost three-fourths of Republicans (73%) were satisfied with their choices. While that number dipped slightly to 69% at the end of 2007, it was still much higher than the level of satisfaction found in the latest poll.

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Medicare

At Least Two House Republicans Publicly Nervous About Ending Medicare

Benjy Sarlin | April 20, 2011, 8:36AM

Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) and Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT)

Democrats are launching a broad effort to drive a wedge into the House GOP using Paul Ryan's plan to replace Medicare with a voucher system and already at least two lawmakers are looking very skittish on the GOP proposal.

The Washington Post's Greg Sargent highlights quotes from Rep. Dave McKinley (R-WV) and Denny Rehberg (R-MT) in the local press in which they express serious concerns about the Medicare overhaul's effect on seniors. Both voted against the GOP budget, two of only four Republicans to do so.

"The Congressional Budget Office determined that some of the out-of-pocket costs could double for seniors and that sent up a red flag for me that we need to look at it," McKinley told the Charleston Daily Mail, adding he was "uncomfortable" with the idea.

Rehberg told the Great Falls Tribune that "there are still too many unanswered questions with regard to Medicare reform, and I simply won't support any plan until I know for a fact that Montana's seniors will be protected."

Joe Biden

Biden: Republicans 'Totally Out Of The Closet' With Plan To End Medicare

Brian Beutler | April 19, 2011, 4:55PM

Vice President Biden

At a fundraiser for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in Cleveland on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden used a colorful metaphor to describe Republicans' forthrightness about their plans to cut and phase out entitlements.

"This is not your father's Republican Party," he said. "The Republicans this time are totally, and I don't mean this in a pejorative sense, are out of the closet. They are laying out for the
first time what they are for and how they think they are going to deal with the problem. That's a debate I can hardly wait for - hopefully with Donald Trump."

Speaking extemporaneously to a group of Democratic donors and Brown supporters, Biden explained that Democrats are grateful that Republicans have laid out their controversial plans so clearly.

The budget House Republicans passed last week, Biden said, will translate in election season into "things as simple as bumper stickers and as profound as the future of the country."

Donald Trump

Pro-Lifers: Donald Trump Doesn't Understand How Pro-Life Works (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 19, 2011, 4:45PM

Donald Trump is 100% pro-life. Except when it comes to the basis of Roe v. Wade which made abortion legal in the United States. That he agrees with, 100%.

In an interview with MSNBC's Savannah Guthrie, Trump was asked if he believes there's a right to privacy in the Constitution.

The question is an important one in the abortion debate. Pro-lifers say there absolutely is not a Constitutional right to privacy, which means Roe is a travesty and abortion should once again be permitted to be outlawed in the states that choose to do so. Pro-choicers strenuously disagree, stating that the right to privacy is guaranteed and is extended to a woman's choice to have an abortion or not, the central basis of Roe.

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wis. Elections Board: 'No Major Discrepancies' In Waukesha County Vote Numbers

Eric Kleefeld | April 19, 2011, 3:48PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg

The Wisconsin Governmental Accountability Board, which oversees elections, has released a statement on its review of the vote-counting problems in Waukesha County, where the announced discovery of un-tabulated votes put incumbent conservative Justice David Prosser ahead in the state Supreme Court race against his liberal-backed opponent JoAnne Kloppenburg. And according to the GAB, the numbers check out.

From the GAB's press release:

We are satisfied that the numbers reported by the municipalities were consistent with the numbers certified by the Waukesha County Board of Canvassers. Although staff identified a few anomalies, the G.A.B. finds no major discrepancies between Waukesha County's official canvass report and the documentation provided by the municipalities.

G.A.B. staff members spent four days reviewing the election materials from all reporting units in Waukesha County, and interviewed Clerk Kathy Nickolaus. We will continue our investigation into issues related to the reporting of vote totals on Election Night and reports from the 2006 election posted on the Waukesha County website.

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2012

Poll: Huckabee Still Dominating GOP Field In Iowa

Jon Terbush | April 19, 2011, 3:35PM

Fmr. Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R)

Mike Huckabee continues to own the entire GOP field in early polls of the Iowa caucus, with a PPP poll of registered voters released on Tuesday showing the former Arkansas governor winning several hypothetical ballots by big margins.

And interestingly, Mitt Romney emerged as the second choice for Iowa Republicans in the poll, even though nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would not consider voting for a candidate who supported a state-level universal health care law, which is precisely what Romney did as governor of Massachusetts.

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Karl Rove

Karl Rove: I Tried To Offer Trump A Way Out Of The Birther Talk (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 19, 2011, 2:47PM

Karl Rove

Karl Rove, among the big name conservatives who are openly hostile to Donald Trump's birther-centric sort of-presidential campaign, apparently tried to give Trump a rhetorical way out of his talk about President Obama's birth certificate.

On Fox News on Monday, Rove described how Trump apparently took the advice to heart -- and then immediately ignored it.

It's the latest round of the war of words between Trump and Rove, which kicked off when Rove told Fox that Trump was "joke candidate."

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Barack Obama

Obama: Do We Want To Be Pothole Nation?

Susan Crabtree | April 19, 2011, 1:58PM

During the first stop of a three-day campaign-style blitz across the country promoting his vision for reducing the $1.4 trillion deficit, President Obama decried the country's "crumbling" infrastructure and said proposed GOP cuts would lead to "potholes everywhere."

The Republican plan, he said, would cut transportation costs by a third, leading to more deterioration of the nation's roads and bridges, which would in turn, would hamper economic growth.

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Defense Of Marriage Act

Boehner's Lawyer To Charge $520 Per Hour, Up To Half A Million To Defend DOMA

Ryan J. Reilly | April 19, 2011, 1:55PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and former United States Solicitor General Paul Clement

Former Bush Solicitor General Paul Clement, the lawyer House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) chose to support the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on behalf of Congress, will be paid $520 per hour in taxpayer money up to $500,000, according to a contract his law firm signed with the General Counsel of the House and the House Administration Committee.

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Gay Marriage

Poll: Majority Supports Legal Recognition For Same-Sex Marriage

Jon Terbush | April 19, 2011, 1:16PM

As Republicans and President Obama square off over the Defense of Marriage Act, a new CNN poll shows that a small majority of Americans now support legal recognition for same sex marriages.

In the poll, 51% of adult Americans said they thought same sex marriages should be recognized by law, while 47% said they should not. That's a significant reversal from the same poll two years ago when Americans opposed same sex marriage by a 10-point spread, with 44% in favor and 54% against.

It's the second time in as many months that a pollster has for the first time found majority support for legalizing same sex marriage. In March, a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that 53% of adults supported legalizing same sex marriage, while 44% opposed it.

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Birther

Trump To Stephanopoulos: 'Obama And His Minions, They Have Co-Opted You' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | April 19, 2011, 1:00PM

Donald Trump's birther bluster is continuing, with him declaring that he might release his tax returns -- but only if President Obama will release his "real" birth certificate.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, Trump lamented how he would give up his private life if he were to run. "I have a great company. I've done a great job -- which if I run, you'll see what a great job, because I'll do a full disclosure, finances--"

"Including your tax returns?" asked Stephanopoulos.

"We'll look at that -- Maybe I'm gonna do the tax returns when Obama does his birth certificate," Trump responded.

He also added: "I'd love to give my tax returns. I may tie my tax returns into Obama's birth certificate."

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Barack Obama

Poll: 64% Say America On Wrong Track

Jon Terbush | April 19, 2011, 12:59PM

President Barack Obama

Nearly two-thirds of American adults say the country is headed in the wrong direction - the highest level of pessimism about the nation's direction recorded in a McClatchy-Marist poll since President Obama assumed office over two years ago.

Immediately after the midterm elections, Obama seemed to be turning a corner, as Americans had more rosy opinions of both him and the nation's direction. But in the past few months, that brief bump has been quickly reversed.

In the poll, 64% of respondents said the country was headed in the wrong direction, while just 30% said it was headed in the right direction. That's a stunning turnaround since January when 41% said the country was on the right track, and 47% said it was on the wrong track.

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Mitch Daniels

Arab American Group Praises Mitch Daniels As 'The Adult In The Room'

Benjy Sarlin | April 19, 2011, 12:12PM

Governor Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

While some GOP presidential contenders ratchet up their anti-Muslim rhetoric to toxic levels, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniel (R) is set to accept a prestigious award next month from the Arab American Institute.

Maya Berry, executive director of AAI, told TPM that the award was incidental to his status as a possible presidential candidate and celebrates his broad record of public service and his Syrian heritage, which is not commonly known. Nonetheless, she noted that Daniels' award comes at a time of increasingly mainstream anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment in conservative circles.

"It's a moment to honor our own and Mitch Daniels goes back to the founding of the institute as one of our earliest supporters," she said. "We have a community that comes with some unfortunate political baggage in terms of bigots...it's just nice when folks are proud of their ethnic background and don't allow that kind of politics of exclusion to get in the way."

Berry noted Daniel's emphasis on fixing the economy and the group's website praises his call for a "truce" on social issues, a quote that has invited heated attacks from religious conservatives.

"I think he's been the adult in the room," Berry said.

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Medicare

Seniors As Strippers: House Dems Target GOP On Medicare Vote (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 19, 2011, 11:22AM

Democrats say Republicans showed their true colors when they voted to blow up Medicare as we know it last week. Now, as members return home for the holiday recess, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is making sure people know about the vote, with a new ad campaign that targets 25 members across the country.

The TV ad imagines a future where Medicare recipients are left in the lurch once a proposed $15,000 annual health insurance voucher runs out. It shows seniors trying to make up the lost Medicare cash by mowing laws, selling lemonade and stripping at parties.

"How will you pay?" the spot asks.

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2012 elections

Poll: 48% Of Iowa Republicans Say Obama Wasn't Born In U.S.

Jon Terbush | April 19, 2011, 11:15AM

Nearly half of usual Republican primary voters in Iowa think President Obama was not born in the United States, while barely one-quarter believe he was, according to a PPP poll released on Tuesday.

In the poll, 48% of registered Republican voters said Obama was not born in the U.S., while 26% said he was. Additionally, 26% said they were unsure.

That percentage is actually slightly better than the national average for typical Republican primary voters, a majority of whom believe Obama was born outside the U.S. In February, a PPP poll found that 51% of registered Republican voters said Obama was not born in the U.S., compared to 28% who said he was, and 21% who were unsure.

Read more »

Wisconsin State Legislature

Wis. Dems Filing Recall Petitions Against A Fourth GOP State Senator

Eric Kleefeld | April 19, 2011, 10:43AM

State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-WI)

Wisconsin Democrats announced late Monday that they are filing recall signatures against a fourth Republican state senator, in the political battle over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union agenda. And with this development, the momentum is growing for control of the chamber to be up for grabs in the coming months.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press, whose readership includes people across the Minnesota state line in Harsdorf's northwestern Wisconsin district, reports:

Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Graeme Zielinski said a petition will be filed with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board on Tuesday. While he didn't have a total signature count Monday afternoon -- signatures were still coming in -- Zielinski said the number is well over the 15,744 needed.

Democrats on Monday filed petitions against Republican state Sen. Luther Olsen, and had previously filed petitions targeting state Sen. Dan Kapanke and state Sen. Randy Hopper. These petitions are still being reviewed by the state Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections.

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Republicans

The Winners And Losers Of The GOP's First 100 Days In Power

Brian Beutler | April 19, 2011, 10:33AM

Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives for just over 100 days. In that time, they've worked with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown, and worked alone to pass a budget. They've put the big entitlements on the table, and proposed slowly phasing out one of them -- Medicare -- altogether. In so doing, they've fundamentally shifted the center of the debate on Capitol Hill significantly to the right.

Along the way some individuals have enjoyed the limelight, others have suffered embarrassments, and yet more have just gone along for the ride. But in the end it's not about the personalities -- John Boehner, Harry Reid, or even Barack Obama. It's about the very things that have born the brunt of the impact of the new direction in Washington. Here are our top five winners and losers at the 100 day milestone.

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Presidential Approval Ratings

Poll: Obama's Approval Rating Dives As Economic Pessimism Hits Two Year High

Jon Terbush | April 19, 2011, 9:56AM

President Barack Obama

The percentage of Americans who say the economy is getting worse has risen to the highest level since the early months of President Obama's presidency, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Tuesday.

At the same time, Obama's approval rating has slipped to the point where a majority of Americans now disapprove of his job performance. But despite Obama's shaky standing, the president still led every potential Republican rival paired against him in potential head-to-head 2012 matchups, a sign that while he is weak, the GOP field right now is weaker.

In the poll, 44% of respondents said the economy was getting worse, up 10 points since last October. That's the highest level notched in the Washington Post-ABC News poll since March 2009 when 48% of Americans thought the economy was headed in the wrong direction.

Additionally, only 28% of adults now say the economy is headed in the right direction.

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Bobby Jindal

Gov. Jindal Will Sign Louisiana's Birther Bill If It Gets To Him

Jillian Rayfield | April 19, 2011, 9:49AM

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) may have vetoed her state's so-called birther bill, but a spokesman for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said Monday that Jindal would sign Louisiana's own version of the bill if it reaches his desk.

"It's not part of our package, but if the Legislature passes it we'll sign it," said Kyle Plotkin, Jindal's press secretary, the New Orleans Times Picayune reports.

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Arizona

Brewer Vetoes Birther Bill In Arizona

Eric Kleefeld | April 18, 2011, 10:28PM

Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ)

Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ), who has been a darling on the right for her battles with the Obama administration over illegal immigration, health care and other issues, has now taken a potentially bold step against the Tea Party base: She has vetoed a "birther bill" -- a piece of legislation motivated by conspiracy theories about President Obama place of birth, requiring candidates for public office to submit proof of U.S. citizenship to the state Secretary of State before they could appear on the state's ballot.

"I do not support designating one person as the gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically motivated decisions," Brewer said in her veto message, the Associated Press reports. Brewer herself is a former Arizona Secretary of State.

"In addition, I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on Earth to submit their early baptismal circumcision certificates' among other records to the Arizona secretary of state. This is a bridge too far."

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Pres '12

Bachmann In 'Early Talking Stages' About A Book

Eric Kleefeld | April 18, 2011, 5:03PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), the national Tea Party movement star who is considering a run for president, says she is in the early stages of another possible decision -- whether to write a book introducing herself to the whole country.

The Associated Press reports:

After a rally Monday at South Carolina's Capitol, Bachmann told The Associated Press that she is "in the early talking stages" about a book. The third-term congresswoman says she's received several requests but is deciding whether she'll have the time to devote to such an undertaking.

A good question would be whether the book would be genuinely written by Bachmann or mainly compiled from her speeches and various writings, or if it would be done via a ghost writer, which politicians usually employ. And if Bachmann herself were to write it, then it would certainly make for some really interesting reading, on such topics as American history, economics, and her direct communication with God.

Ricardo Sanchez

General Who Resigned After Abu Ghraib Recruited For Senate Bid

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 18, 2011, 4:56PM

Retired United States Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez

Democrats are told reporters on Monday that they've found their secret weapon when it comes retaking retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's Senate seat in Texas next fall: Retired Lt. Gen. Ricard Sanchez, last seen leaving Iraq in shame after the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal engulfed some of the American forces he was leading there.

National Democrats are urging Sanchez to run for Senate, claiming his military career and Hispanic heritage will make him a serious threat in the Lone Star State. In a statement released to reporters Monday afternoon, Sanchez said he's going to make a decision about the race "in the coming weeks," but sources told the AP the former Lt. General is "expected to run."

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Arizona

Gov. Brewer: AZ Birther Bill May Be 'Shooting A Little Bit From The Hip'

Jillian Rayfield | April 18, 2011, 4:17PM

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer (R)

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) indicated that she may not sign the recently passed "birther" bill into law, explaining that "I think my big concern probably, just shooting a little bit from the hip, is the fact that I don't know if we regulate federal elections."

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Barack Obama

White House: Obama's Signing Statements Are Legit -- Unlike Bush's

Susan Crabtree | April 18, 2011, 4:09PM

President Barack Obama

The White House is disputing any notion that President Obama broke a campaign promise by using a signing statement to ignore Congress' attempt to defund the positions of four so-called administration czars.

The President in the early evening on Friday -- a time notorious for news dumps -- raised reporters' and his critics hackles by adding a signing statement to the resolution that funds the federal government through September and avoids a government shutdown. The signing statement suggests Obama would ignore some parts of the deal, including language defunding the czars overseeing healthcare, climate change, the auto industry and urban affairs. Republicans have long lambasted Obama's use of czars, senior presidential advisers on major issues who do not require Senate confirmation.

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Defense Of Marriage Act

Boehner Picks Bush Solicitor General Paul Clement To Defend DOMA

Ryan J. Reilly | April 18, 2011, 3:45PM

Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and Paul Clement

Former Bush-era Solicitor General Paul Clement will defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on behalf of Congress, House Speaker John Boehner announced Monday.

Boehner's appointment followed Attorney General Eric Holder's decision that the Obama Justice Department would not defend DOMA, a 1996 law which defines marriage as a legal union only between one man and one woman.

The Republican's appointment quickly drew praise from the anti-gay marriage camp and ire from marriage equality supporters. In dueling press releases, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) praised Clement as a "legal eagle on this case who actually wants to win in court," while the Human Rights Campaign called Clement "a high priced attorney" who Boehner hired "to deny federal recognition to loving, married couples."

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Wisconsin Supreme Court

Team Prosser: We Will Object To Any Recount

Eric Kleefeld | April 18, 2011, 3:07PM

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser held a press conference at the state Capitol on Monday, in which he declared victory in his reelection race -- and at which his campaign advisers said they would object to any recount that might be requested by Prosser's opponent, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg.

During the press conference, Prosser touted his narrow win -- by a margin of 7,316 votes, or 0.488% out of almost 1.5 million -- as a vote of a confidence in him by the voters, against a late campaign by opponents of Gov. Scott Walker to turn the election into a referendum on Walker's policies.

"Voters want candidates for the Supreme Court to make an honest case for themselves, a positive case, based on experience, performance, judicial philosophy and independence," said Prosser. "This was a decisive election about judicial independence. The people realized that judges should be much more than partisan politicians who wear black robes. Judges should be impartial in theory and in fact. They should faithfully apply the law without fear, and without favor."

Also during his remarks, Prosser thanked all his supporters, and all the voters he met who are committed to improving the state, "and to the advancement of conservative values as the way to address and ameliorate our many problems."

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Barack Obama

White House Pushes Back Against S&P Pessimism

Susan Crabtree | April 18, 2011, 2:50PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama's team of economic advisers is downplaying Standard & Poor's negative outlook release Monday on the U.S. AAA credit rating, arguing that it's more pessimistic about Washington's ability to reduce the nation's $14 trillion debt than it should be.

White House spokesman Jay Carney pointed out in a briefing with reporters that Moody's, one of S&P's competitors -- gives the U.S. a "credit positive" rating

"We think the prospects are better -- that the political process will outperform S&P's expectations," Carney told reporters Monday.

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Donald Trump

Trump Loses Conservatives Thanks To His Political Past

Evan McMorris-Santoro | April 18, 2011, 1:02PM

Donald Trump

The latest tea leaf in the will-he-or-won't-he drama surrounding Donald Trump these days: the influential Club For Growth, the fiscal purists who were tea party before it was cool, are taking shots at Trump with both barrels.

"Donald Trump for President? You've got to be joking," Club president Chris Chocola said in a statement sent to reporters Monday morning.

Joke or not, Trump's rapid rise in the polls is forcing party powerbrokers to take note, with the Club only the latest to turn fire on The Donald.

Speaking on Fox News last week, Karl Rove -- chief architect of the GOP's last White House wins -- gave a full-throated dismissal of Trump's candidacy, saying his "full embrace of the birther issue means he's off there in the nutty right, and is now an inconsequential candidate."

But with some reports suggesting Trump may in fact be serious to the point of putting together a concrete campaign, many on the right seem ready to admit -- they've got a Trump problem.

And for those who would rather he stay more sideshow than serious contender, Trump's past is providing plenty of ammunition with which to take on his maybe-maybe-not-campaign. As Dave Weigel first pointed out last week, Trump's previous flirtations with presidential politics have left him with a political history that's full of single-payer health care advocacy and massive tax increases on the rich to pay off the national debt.

Other issues include his past support for prominent Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY), to whom Trump's donated cash. That along with what appears to be some concern over Trump's birtherism and you've got a recipe for some blowback.

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Debt Ceiling

Eric Cantor: S&P Rating Hit A "Wake Up Call" For Debt Ceiling Vote

Benjy Sarlin | April 18, 2011, 12:23PM

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Reacting to the news that rating agency Standard & Poors is downgrading its outlook for the U.S. economy based on political gridlock over cutting the deficit, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) claimed vindication for the GOP. According to Cantor, the report strengthens the Republicans' argument for holding out on a debt limit increase unless they can get major cuts as part of the deal.

The White House -- and the bulk of mainstream economists -- have warned that a failure to increase the debt limit would lead to an economic catastrophe.

"Serious reforms are needed to ensure America's fiscal health, and today S&P sent a wake-up call to those in Washington asking Congress to blindly increase the debt limit," Cantor said in a statement. "Today's announcement makes clear that the debt limit increase proposed by the Obama Administration must be accompanied by meaningful fiscal reforms that immediately reduce federal spending and stop our nation from digging itself further into debt. For decades, Washington has blindly increased the debt limit while doing little to stop spending money that it doesn't have, a dangerous pattern that must end. As S&P made clear, getting spending and our deficit under control can no longer be put off for another day, which is why House Republicans will only move forward on the President's request to increase the debt limit if it is accompanied by serious reforms that immediately reduce federal spending and end the culture of debt in Washington."

Left unmentioned: the same news story Cantor sent to reporters on the S&P move notes that the last time the agency downgraded their outlook on US debt was 1996, out of fear that the GOP would block a debt ceiling vote.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Recall Petitions Being Filed Against Third Wis. GOP State Senator

Eric Kleefeld | April 18, 2011, 12:12PM

State Sen. Luther Olsen (R-WI)

Another recall effort by Wisconsin Democrats, targeting Republican state senators in reaction to Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation, is coming to a head on Monday, with signatures to be filed against GOP state Sen. Luther Olsen - the third such petition to reach that stage. And in theory, this development could now put majority control of the chamber officially in play.

As the Wisconsin State Journal reports, rural Wautoma substitute teacher Ann Schmidt will file 23,000 signatures, far more than the 14,700 minimum needed, though in practice signature efforts often collect an additional buffer against signatures that could be challenged and disqualified for errors.

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DOMA

Boehner: DOJ Funds Should Be Cut Since They Wouldn't Defend DOMA

Ryan J. Reilly | April 18, 2011, 12:10PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Monday that he wants to cut the Justice Department's funding because the Obama administration has decided not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

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Nancy Pelosi

How Nancy Pelosi Can Save The Day, And Regain Power, In Debt Ceiling Fight

Brian Beutler | April 18, 2011, 11:33AM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Could House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) save the day in the fight over the debt limit, and in so doing return to a position of great influence on Capitol Hill? Yes she could.

The House minority is the Siberia of Congress. Unlike in the Senate, the majority in the House really runs the show. If that majority is determined and united, the best the minority can do is protest and message. But it can't really shape the agenda. As such, much has been made of Pelosi's fall from power since losing the speakership in the 2010 elections. Now, most of the big decisions fall to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and the White House.

But in the weeks ahead, Pelosi will have a chance to upend that dynamic.

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Immigration

Anti-Immigration Groups Give GOP Free Pass on Border Security Cuts

Benjy Sarlin | April 18, 2011, 11:26AM

US Border Patrol personnel at US-Mexico border fence

You might expect anti-immigration groups to be in an uproar over spending cuts contained in the recent budget deal, like a $226 million cut to Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology or $97 million in cuts to IT modernization programs at Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In fact, the cuts have generated barely a peep from border hawks, who have given the GOP a free pass even after years of campaigning for increased resources.

According to Rosemary Jenks, director of government affairs for NumbersUSA, her group is not protesting any of the reductions in spending. Nor will any Republicans be penalized in their annual grades for voting for them.

"For an administration that's decided it's not a priority, it doesn't make sense to throw money at them," Jenks told TPM in an interview before Congress agreed to a final spending deal.

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Republicans

The Wild Right Wing Budget House Republicans Almost Passed By Accident

Brian Beutler | April 18, 2011, 10:08AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Republicans were caught with their pants down Friday when Democrats pulled a fast one on the House floor. In the lead up to a vote on their controversial budget, Republicans nearly zapped it and replaced it with an even more conservative 10-year vision for the country -- the right-wing Republican Study Committee's budget alternative.

To recap, Democrats took a flyer.

They waited until the last minute, and then voted "present" on the RSC plan. That put the question of whether to swap out Paul Ryan's plan for the RSC's in GOP hands. At the last moment, Republicans realized that a majority of their party had voted for the farther-reaching budget and had to whip votes backwards to prevent it from passing accidentally. It was quite a scene.

But what exactly were they voting on? What does a majority of the House Republican caucus secretly want to do that the budget they ultimately passed doesn't accomplish?

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Tea Party

The Tea Party's Atlas Shrugged: TPM Goes To The Movies

Jillian Rayfield | April 18, 2011, 9:39AM

What do you get when you cross Tea Party politics with a movie adaptation of a critically-panned but bestselling dystopian novel from the 50s?

TPM went to see Atlas Shrugged: Part One on Friday and found the answer: Nothing good.

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