Kathy Hochul

Poll: Dem Hochul Leads GOPer Corwin In NY-26 Special Election

David Taintor | May 21, 2011, 2:31PM

NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).

With three days to go before voters head to the polls in the NY-26 special election to fill Republican Rep. Chris Lee's vacated seat, a new Siena College poll has Democrat Kathy Hochul leading Republican Jane Corwin by 4 points among likely voters.

Hochul leads with 42%, with Corwin trailing at 38% and tea party candidate Jack Davis with 9%, according to the poll.

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Herman Cain

Herman Cain Makes It Official, Joins 2012 Presidential Race

Jon Terbush | May 21, 2011, 1:17PM

Herman Cain

In a widely anticipated move, talk radio host and former pizza chain CEO Herman Cain formally launched his presidential campaign on Saturday at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I'm running for president of the United States and I'm not running for second," Cain told supporters, National Journal reports. The supportive crowd chanted back, "Her-MAN, Her-MAN, Her-MAN."

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Israel/Palestine

Hatch To Introduce Senate Resolution Opposing Obama On Israel-Palestine

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 6:11PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has hopped on the Republican bandwagon against President Obama's call for a return to negotiations for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict -- and has now announced that he will introduce a Senate resolution opposing the president's proposals.

Hatch released a statement, entitled "Hatch Condemns President's Demand that Israel Revert to Pre-1967 Borders."

"Israel is the United States' strongest friend and ally. By calling for a return to the pre-1967 borders, President Obama has directly undermined her," Hatch declared. "Rather than stand by Israel against consistent unprovoked aggression by longtime supporters of terrorism, President Obama is rewarding those who threaten Israel's very right to exist. This is not only ridiculous, but dangerous. There is strong disapproval in Congress for the President's new posture towards Israel, and I will introduce a resolution next week affirming Israel's right to maintain its territorial integrity."

In fact, Obama did not call for a direct return to the 1967 borders for Israel, as Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have represented. Instead, he reiterated the longstanding conventional wisdom of the international diplomatic community, and indeed the position of previous U.S. administrations, that those lines should be the initial basis for talks, and with additional land swaps to be agreed upon in further adjusting those lines.

Pres '12

Gingrich: Congress Should Condemn Obama's Israel-Palestine Proposals

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 4:43PM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich is coming out strongly against President Obama's call for a return to negotiations for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict -- and calling upon Congress to formally condemn Obama's proposals.

"Congress in the next week should pass resolutions in the House and Senate condemning the president setting the 1967 lines," Gingrich told a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Sioux City, Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports.

Gingrich also called Obama's Thursday speech "disastrous," and added: "A president who can't control his own border shouldn't lecture Israel on their border.

To be clear, Obama did not call for a direct return to the 1967 borders for Israel, as Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have represented. Instead, he reiterated the longstanding conventional wisdom of the international diplomatic community, and indeed the position of previous U.S. administrations, that those lines should be the initial basis for talks, and with additional land swaps to be agreed upon in further adjusting those lines.

AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Prez Warns Dems: Don't Take Labor's Love For Granted

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 20, 2011, 4:23PM

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

Watch out, Democrats, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said on Friday. Your buddies in organized labor are looking to expand the friendship circle.

Trumka's speech at the National Press Club, billed as a major address by the union, recast the union's connection to politics as a year-round, national affair -- rather than the election-focused, battleground state strategy of the past. Trumka warned Democrats that labor would not always be at their side, suggesting more of the primary battles like the unsuccessful one that labor backed against former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) last year.

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Herman Cain

Herman Cain To Announce Final Decision On Prez Bid Saturday

Jon Terbush | May 20, 2011, 3:30PM

Herman Cain

Yes he Cain?

Herman Cain, a talk radio host and former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, is expected to formally announce his presidential candidacy Saturday during a rally at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Cain, who hails from the Peach State, had previously formed an exploratory committee, but has not yet said if he will officially enter the race.

Cain is still relatively unknown nationwide; according to a recent Gallup poll, just 29% of self-identified Republicans know who he is, placing him well below big-name candidates like Mitt Romney. Even former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, another candidate struggling to get his name out there, is recognized by 48% of Republicans. As a result, Cain has polled in the low to mid single digits in almost every survey of the GOP primary.

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Wisconsin State Legislature

Wis. Elections Staff Recommend Recalls Against Three GOPers

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 2:55PM

State Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-WI)

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in the state, is poised to approve recalls for three Republican state senators, as the process unfolds in the wake of Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation.

The GAB staff has recommended to the board -- which is made up of retired judges selected through a non-partisan process -- to approve recalls against state Sens. Dan Kapanke, Randy Hopper and Luther Olsen, when the board meets this Monday. As the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports, these were the first three legislators to have recall signatures filed against them.

The GAB staff memorandum notes that the board will meet again next Monday, May 30, to take up the business of six other pending recall petitions: Republicans Sheila Harsdorf, Alberta Darling and Rob Cowles, and Democrats Dave Hansen, Jim Holperin and Robert Wirch.

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Barack Obama

Netanyahu Flat-Out Rejects Return To 1967 Borders After Meeting With Obama

Susan Crabtree | May 20, 2011, 2:52PM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat alongside President Obama in the Oval Office Friday and flat-out rejected any attempt to convince Israel to withdraw to its 1967 borders to allow for an adjacent Palestinian state, a move Obama had suggested in a major speech just the day before.

In lengthy comments after their meeting, Netanyahu said he and Obama shared the same goal of establishing peace between Israel and Palestine, but there are some "realities" that must be dealt with first.

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Debt Ceiling

How Republicans Are Convincing Themselves That A Debt Default Wouldn't Be So Bad -- And Why They're Wrong

Brian Beutler | May 20, 2011, 1:53PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Congressional Republicans are falling under the spell of an unorthodox group of financial experts who dispute the views of their peers and say that the U.S. could default briefly on debt payments without major, lasting consequences to the U.S. economy and international markets.

The most influential of these dissidents is Stanley Druckenmiller, a billionaire former-hedge fund manager who helped George Soros build his fortune. His recent comments to the Wall Street Journal have carried the day with senior Republicans like House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (WI), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA), and Sen. Pat Toomey (PA), all of whom now say the U.S. could weather three or four days of missed interest payments, as long as the U.S. debt ceiling were quickly lifted, and a credible debt reduction plan signed into law.

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New York

NY GOPers Push Bill To Void Out Of State Same Sex Marriages

Jillian Rayfield | May 20, 2011, 1:38PM

As New York Democrats prep for a fight to legalize gay marriage in the state, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would invalidate any same sex marriages legally performed by other states.

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Pres '12

Dem Group Makes Quick Use Of Gingrich's Words About Medicare (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 12:11PM

Newt Gingrich's declaration that any ad quoting his words about Medicare would be "a falsehood" is clearly not stopping Dems from making just such a spot.

Priorities USA Action, the new big-money independent expenditure "Super PAC" launched by former Obama White House spokesman Bill Burton, has a new plan taking on big-name Republicans over Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposal to privatize the program.

"Newt Gingrich says the Republican plan that would essentially end Medicare is too radical," the announcer says. "Governor Haley thinks the plan is courageous -- and Gingrich shouldn't be cutting conservatives off at the knees.

"Mitt Romney says he's 'on the same page' as Paul Ryan, who wrote the plan to essentially end Medicare. But with Mitt Romney, you have to wonder: Which page is he on today?"

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Medicare

Scott Brown: I Will Vote On The GOP's Medicare Privatizing Budget -- Not For It

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

Senator Scott Brown (R-MA)

As Ronald Reagan might have said, prepositions are stupid things. And one of them got Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) into a heap of trouble after he told local business leaders in Massachusetts last week that he would vote "for" the House-passed GOP budget when it hits the Senate floor.

After a week's worth of blowback, his staff now says he meant to say he will vote "on" that budget -- but he hasn't yet figured out how.

"He was making the point that political games are being played in Washington, but was not saying how he would vote on the bill, which, as you know, has not come up for a vote in the Senate and is not scheduled to anytime soon," Brown spokesman Colin Reed said, according to the Newburyport Daily News.

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Same Sex Marriage

For First Time Ever, Gallup Finds Majority Support Same Sex Marriage

Jon Terbush | May 20, 2011, 11:11AM

In a historic shift, a Gallup poll released Friday morning finds that for the first time, a majority of Americans suport legalizing same sex marriage.

That result reinforces a trove of recent polls that have produced similar findings, and it furthers a trend of Americans gradually becoming more accepting of legal recognition for same sex couples. It comes as Republicans are taking legal action over the Obama administration's decision to no longer defend parts of the Defense of Marriage Act on grounds of constitutionality.

In the poll, 53% of Americans said they supported same sex marriage, compared to 45% who said they did not. That's almost exactly the opposite of what Gallup found last year, when 53% of Americans opposed same sex marriage, while 44% supported it.

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Pres '12

Pawlenty To Officially Launch Campaign Monday

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 11:06AM

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)

He's running for president -- but can he save the planet Earth?

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who previously launched a presidential exploratory committee, along with a series of action movie trailer-style campaign videos, is set to officially declare what everyone already knows: he is running for president.

The Associated Press reports:

That's according to an adviser with direct knowledge of the plans. The adviser tells The Associated Press Pawlenty will declare his candidacy at a town hall style event in Des Moines, Iowa. The adviser disclosed the information on condition of anonymity.

Pawlenty will make the announcement in the state with the leadoff nominating caucuses and then head to Florida, New Hampshire, New York and Washington, D.C.

A Pawlenty aide confirmed the news to TPM.

Of course, Pawlenty already sort of let the cat out of the (clear plastic) bag several weeks ago, in an interview with Piers Morgan, when he was asked about whether he would accept the vice-presidential slot on the ticket. "I'm running for President," he said. "I'm not putting my hat in the ring rhetorically or ultimately for Vice President. I'm focused on running for President."

Additional reporting by Evan McMorris-Santoro.

Paper Claims Chamber Of Commerce Faked Its Endorsement To Boost GOP In NY-26

Benjy Sarlin | May 20, 2011, 11:03AM

NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).

The national Chamber of Commerce is using misleading quotes from the local Tonawanda News in a TV ad to suggest the paper backs Republican Jane Corwin in the NY-26 election, according to the paper. Upset with what they claim is an intentionally phony endorsement, the newspaper's editors are demanding that the Chamber pull the TV ad and that Corwin's campaign disavow it.

"We have not endorsed Corwin -- or any of the candidates, for that matter -- and the Chamber's commercial is a blatant attempt to trick voters into believing we have in order to bolster her credentials," an editorial in the paper today entitled "Chamber Ad A Shameful Misdirection" read.

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CA-36

Dem Hahn Vs. GOPer Huey For CA-36 Special Election Runoff

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 9:45AM

CA-36 candidates Janice Hahn (D) and Craig Huey (R)

The runoff field is now set for the CA-36 special election, where Rep. Jane Harman (D) resigned her seat, with Democratic Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn set to face Republican businessman Craig Huey, after Democratic California Secretary of State Debra Bowen conceded the second slot to Huey Thursday night.

Huey winning the second slot is something of an upset, as the conventional wisdom had been that Hahn and Bowen would face each other in a Dem vs. Dem runoff. Then on Wednesday, with all election night ballots counted but over 9,800 absentees still outstanding, Huey had a narrow edge of 206 votes over Bowen. But with those remaining ballots being counted, Huey's lead over Bowen increased to over 750.

The runoff will be held on July 12. The district in its current form is strongly Democratic, and has only been getting more so over the past decade: It voted 64%-36% for Barack Obama in 2008, 59%-40% for John Kerry in 2004, and 55%-37% for Al Gore in 2000.

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Tom Coburn

Coburn: Revenue Increases Still Must Be Part Of Debt Reduction Agreement (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | May 20, 2011, 9:25AM

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

If you thought Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) dropped out of the Gang of Six deficit talks because of all the heat he's taken from anti-tax zealots in the conservative movement, think again. The Oklahoma Republican -- and one of the only Republicans with enough credibility among conservatives to sell the idea of higher revenues to rank and file members of his party -- still says higher revenues have to be part of any consensus package to reduce deficits and debt over the long term.

"[R]ealistically we cannot solve our problems unless we generate growth in this country, and the only way we're going to do that is back off on a lot of regulations, create a tax structure that's going to cause investment to happen, and get dynamic returns that actually increase the revenues coming to the federal government," Coubrn said on CNBC Thursday evening. "We can't do it all by eliminating large sections and duplicate spending and waste. We can do a large portion of it, but there has to be some revenue component to that, and anybody that says that's not the case, I think they're just wrong and they're not thinking about the long-term health of our country."

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Pres '12

Bachmann's Reading List: Game Change, The Politician

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2011, 9:14AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), the national Tea Party movement star who is considering a run for president, is doing some serious reading before she makes her final decision -- namely, cautionary tales about presidential candidates who destroyed themselves.

As MinnPost reports, Bachmann has read Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, and The Politician by former John Edwards aide Andrew Young. And she's taken some lessons from them:

"'Game Change' is a book that is very difficult to put down, at least I found it difficult to put down, and it gives a person pause," Bachmann said. "But the other thing that it does, I think, is it informed me of what I don't want to do.

"I'm still a human being, and I still have the values that I stand for, and it tells me that the pursuit of a brass ring, the pursuit of an office, is not worth losing your health, losing your marriage, losing your integrity. That I'm not willing to do."

Jon Huntsman

No Newt Moment For Jon Huntsman: He's 100% Behind Ending Medicare

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 20, 2011, 8:40AM

Jon Huntsman

In his first major television interview of his likely presidential campaign rollout this morning, former Utah Gov. and Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman avoided his own Newt Gingrich moment. The House Republican plan to privatize Medicare? Count Huntsman in.

"I would've voted for it," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos Friday morning. "Including the Medicare provisions."

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Middle East

2012 GOPers Call Obama's Middle East Speech An Attack On Israel

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 19, 2011, 6:22PM

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

President Obama's middle east policy speech was a wide-ranging address that touched on a number of hot-button issues in the world's most volatile region. But for the Republicans running for president, the speech was about one thing: Obama falling down on the job when it comes to defending the state of Israel.

"President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus," former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said in a statement. "He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace."

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Patriot Act

Reid, Boehner Reach Deal On Four Year Patriot Act Extension

Ryan J. Reilly | May 19, 2011, 6:00PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Harry Reid (R-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have agreed to a deal on a four-year extension of the Patriot Act, the Associated Press reports.

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Crossroads GPS

Rove-Backed Group Alleges Union Cronyism In Health Care Waivers

Jon Terbush | May 19, 2011, 5:14PM

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, an affiliate organization to the Karl Rove backed American Crossroads PAC, is out with a new web video insinuating that the Obama administration is rewarding unions who pushed for the health care law with expeditions from that same law.

The video frames the issue somewhat like an action movie trailer, utilizing ominous music and rapid scene cuts to introduce the "union bosses" who "shoved healthcare down our throats." And it features quick shots of semi-socialist symbols, such as a Canadian flag and a red clenched fist spliced between shots of chanting union members.

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Claire McCaskill

McCaskill: House GOP Is Skirting Its Own Earmark Ban

Igor Bobic | May 19, 2011, 4:40PM

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)

When it comes to earmarks, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) is accusing House Republicans of wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

House Republicans, she told reporters earlier this week, have added numerous line items for special projects into the defense-authorization bill, and thus, are violating their own self-imposed earmark moratorium.

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Newt Gingrich

Newt: Campaigns Like Mine Are But Once A Century

Benjy Sarlin | May 19, 2011, 4:22PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Touring Waterloo, Iowa today, Newt Gingrich attributed part of the media frenzy surrounding his "challenging week" to his campaign's historic nature.

"It's going to take a while for the news media to realize that you're covering something that happens once or twice in a century, a genuine grass-roots campaign of very big ideas," Gingrich said, according to the Associated Press. "I expect it to take a while for it to sink in."

At the heart of reporters' difficulty wrapping their head around his candidacy, Gingrich said, was the threat he represents to the old system of canned talking points and establishment thinking.

"My reaction is if you're the candidate of very dramatic change, it you're the candidate of really new ideas, you have to assume there's a certain amount of clutter and confusion and it takes a while to sort it all out, because you are doing something different," Gingrich told the press.

Reporters did discover one aspect of Gingrich's campaign today that's likely a first: his cell phone, which went off at a rally, uses ABBA's "Dancing Queen" as its ringtone.

Pres '12

Gingrich: 'And By The Way, It Was Not A Reference To Paul Ryan' (AUDIO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 19, 2011, 3:55PM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Newt Gingrich appeared on Rush Limbaugh's radio show this afternoon to explain the whole dust-up since he blasted Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) Medicare-privatizing budget proposal as "right-wing social engineering." Gingrich's latest explanation: He wasn't talking about Ryan or the budget at all!

And what's more, he's supported that budget and Ryan's plan ever since Ryan briefed him on it, weeks before its public announcement.

Limbaugh took issue with Gingrich's statement that he opposed both left-wing and right-wing "social engineering," and asked Gingrich to define the term "social engineering."

"It's very straightforward. It's when the government comes in and tells you how to live your life and what you're gonna do -- whether the values that lead it to do that are left-wing values, or the values that lead it to do that are right-wing values," said Gingrich. "I believe in personal freedom. I believe in your right to lead your life. I believe that we are endowed by the Declaration of Independence, by our Creator, with the right to pursue happiness. And I want a government that is much more humble about its ability to tell you what to do, whether it's people on either side of the ideological spectrum.

"And by the way, it was not a reference to Paul Ryan. There was no reference to Paul Ryan in that answer."

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2012

Poll: With Huckabee And Trump Out, Romney And Palin Rise In GOP Primary

Jon Terbush | May 19, 2011, 3:20PM

Former Governors Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Sarah Palin (R-AK)

Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin received a boost to their presidential ambitions this week as voters who previously backed Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump went in search of alternatives now that each of the men has withdrawn from the presidential race, according to a Suffolk University poll released this week.

The poll was originally conducted before Huckabee and Trump withdrew, but the pollster went back to respondents who had initially supported those two, and found them breaking largely in favor of Romney and, to a slightly lesser extent, Palin.

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Gary Johnson

Up In Smoke: Willie Nelson Retracts Gary Johnson Endorsement

Benjy Sarlin | May 19, 2011, 3:01PM

Country singer Willie Nelson and former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM)

Willie Nelson was extremely high on Gary Johnson last week, but the country singer is now withdrawing his endorsement for the pro-legalization GOP candidate, only days after announcing his support.

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Goodwin Liu

Cornyn: Democrats To Blame For Republican Filibuster Of Goodwin Liu

Ryan J. Reilly | May 19, 2011, 2:57PM

Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) and Goodwin Liu

Republicans just filibustered President Barack Obama's judicial nominee Goodwin Liu, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) says Democrats should take the blame.

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Medicare

Dems To GOP: Stop Lying To Seniors That Republican Budget Won't Impact Current Medicare Beneficiaries

Brian Beutler | May 19, 2011, 2:52PM

Sec. of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius

House Republicans, facing tough questions in their districts for voting to phase out Medicare and replace it with a subsidized private insurance system, are fond of pointing out that the plan they support wouldn't touch benefits for existing beneficiaries, or for people who will reach eligibility within 10 years. There are a number of problems with that plan, but top Democrats are finally pointing out the biggest one: it's simply not true.

Though many Republicans are getting jittery about their budget's Medicare plan, they're still perfectly proud of the fact that it also repeals the new health care law. But that law includes plenty of goodies for current seniors, all of which would be zapped immediately if Republicans get their way.

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Barack Obama

Obama Appeals To 'Hope' Not 'Hate' In Unveiling Shift In Middle East Policy

Susan Crabtree | May 19, 2011, 2:10PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama attempted to reset relations with the Arab world Thursday in a comprehensive speech that positioned the United States and its values squarely behind the democratic uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa and promised aid to help promote economic growth and stability across the region.

"Across the region, those rights that we take for granted are being claimed with joy by those who are prying loose the grip of an iron fist," Obama said during a 45-minute speech at the State Department.

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Pres '12

Gingrich Asks Iowa Event Attendees To Appear In Web Vid Countering The Media

Eric Kleefeld | May 19, 2011, 1:52PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich is seeking to recover from his terrible, no good, very bad week with an upcoming Web video featuring Iowa supporters countering the media who say that he is already doomed -- recruited for the vid by none other than Newt himself.

The Des Moines Register reports on Gingrich asking supporters at an event today to appear in the video:

"Any of you who are willing to do just a brief video with him (an Iowa campaign staffer) of why you're for me it would be very helpful 'cause we have to sort of convince the Washington news media that actually the voters will decide when this election is over, not five or six pundits," Gingrich said.

He continued: "We have a lot of people who would like to see this campaign go all the way to next year and actually talk about ideas that are sometimes confusing and actually talk about solutions."

The site of the event where Gingrich and his supporters are taping this video in order to face down the Washington news media: Waterloo, Iowa.

Pres '12

Gingrich Column: 'I Signed the Pledge To Repeal Obamacare, Have You?'

Eric Kleefeld | May 19, 2011, 11:40AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Amidst Newt Gingrich's attempts at damage control over his criticism of Paul Ryan's Medicare privatization proposal, and his own past support for the individual health insurance mandate, Newt Gingrich took another step -- not only publicly signing a pledge in Iowa to repeal President Obama's health care reform law, but publishing a column in the right-wing Human Events on Wednesday, entitled, "I Signed the Pledge To Repeal Obamacare, Have You?"

The column begins:

Yesterday [Tuesday] in Mason City, Iowa, I signed the Obamacare Repeal Pledge, sponsored by the Independent Women's Voice and American Majority Action.

Obamacare is such a massive and complex power grab of a law that there are countless specific reasons to oppose the law.

The column declares the first of the many reasons to repeal the law: "It's unconstitutional. Period," and argues vigorously against the individual mandate, calling it "an assault on our country's founding principles of limited, clearly delineated federal powers and an erosion of the rule of law." Totally unmentioned in the column, of course, is that Gingrich himself advocated for an individual mandate, going back to 1993 and even just until a few years ago (and last weekend, too).

Read more »

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman Running For John McCain Of 2012

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 19, 2011, 11:24AM

Jon Huntsman

Now that he's no longer a member of President Obama's administration, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) is free to campaign for president. And campaign he shall, starting today in New Hampshire.

Early signs of how Hunstman plans to win the nomination as a man best known in Republican circles as a moderate and best known in Democratic circles as Obama's ambassador to China point to Huntsman picking up where John McCain left off.

Read more »

Newt Gingrich

Sarah Palin Blames 'Lamestream Media' And 'Racist' David Gregory For Newt's Political Crisis [VIDEO]

Benjy Sarlin | May 19, 2011, 11:23AM

Newt Gingrich did his best Sarah Palin impression this week, lashing out at the press in interviews, statements, and even epic poetry for baiting him into condemning Paul Ryan's Medicare plan and then piling on afterwards. Now he has the real thing on his side as Palin is slamming the "lamestream media" for his predicament.

Read more »

Debt Ceiling

Moody's, S&P Warn U.S. Risks Triple-A Credit Rating If It Defaults On Debt -- Even Briefly

Brian Beutler | May 19, 2011, 9:58AM

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

Republicans are now openly flirting with the theory that allowing the United States to default briefly on its payment obligations won't be such a bad thing -- and may even be necessary to extract concessions on entitlement spending in exchange for raising the debt limit.

But two of the biggest ratings agencies say they could downgrade the United States' triple-A credit if the government misses even a single debt-service payment.

"A sovereign's failure to service its debt as payments come due is a default according to S&P's sovereign rating criteria," writes John Piecuch, spokesman for Standard & Poors, one of the "Big Three" credit ratings agencies, in an email to me. "In that case, the rating would be lowered to "SD" (Selective Default)."

Read more »

Newt Gingrich

Apologetic Newt Hasn't Actually Changed His Position On House GOP's 'Radical' Plan To Abolish Medicare

Benjy Sarlin | May 19, 2011, 9:46AM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich has been extremely contrite lately, reaching out to conservative commentators, bloggers, and lawmakers in recent days to personally apologize for slamming the GOP budget as "right wing social engineering." Perhaps lost in the overwhelming appearance of a full walk back is that Gingrich hasn't really walked back anything.

"If I were re-wording it, I would have said it slightly different," he told Wisconsin TV station WXOW on Wednesday. "The intent was the same, but I'm happy to continue to evolve."

Read more »

NY-26

Major Party Candidates Debate In NY-26 -- While Tea Partier Releases Most Depressing Ad Ever

Benjy Sarlin | May 19, 2011, 8:38AM

NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).

Republican Jane Corwin and Democrat Kathy Hochul met Wednesday night for their final debate before the May 24 vote to replace Republican Rep. Chris Lee in New York's 26th district. As it has for weeks, the conversation focused overwhelmingly on the budget passed by House Republicans that would, among other things, abolish Medicare.

Hochul has ran almost her entire campaign on defeating a Republican proposal to cut Medicare benefits and turn it into a voucher program while Corwin has dinged her for supporting higher taxes on the wealthy. The debate fell mostly into these predictable lines.

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Elizabeth Warren

Dems Press Obama To Recess Appoint Elizabeth Warren To Run Consumer Bureau

Brian Beutler | May 19, 2011, 8:28AM

Elizabeth Warren

With Senate Republicans committed to blocking all potential directors of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, congressional Democrats are pressing President Obama to accept reality and offer Elizabeth Warren a recess appointment to head the agency she conceived of.

"Regretfully, Republicans in the Senate have now made it clear that they oppose reform," reads a letter from House Democrats that will be delivered to President Obama.

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Middle East

Obama To Lay Out Economic Recovery Plan For Middle East In Major Speech

Susan Crabtree | May 19, 2011, 8:27AM

President Obama plans to outline an ambitious economic recovery plan for the Middle East and Northern Africa designed to spur economic growth and build on democratic reforms that began in Egypt and Tunisia and have swept to countries across the region this Spring.

In major speech at the State Department Thursday, Obama will announce U.S. steps to cancel nearly a billion dollars worth of Egyptian and Tunisian debt, establish a Egyptian-American private enterprise fund and guarantee up to a billion dollars in borrowing through the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. agency that mobilizes private-sector investment in new and emerging markets, according to senior administration officials.

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Iowa caucus

Grassley: Daniels Could 'Show That People Who Don't Have Charisma Could Be Elected President'

Eric Kleefeld | May 18, 2011, 4:17PM

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

With friends like these...

As the Des Moines Register reports, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has some nice things to say about possible Republican presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels:

"Sometimes I hear Mitch Daniels and I thought, maybe I oughta back him because it would be an opportunity to show that people who don't have charisma could be elected president," Grassley joked in a conference call with reporters today.

Grassley, who was asked about the importance of personal magnetism as opposed to policy in a presidential race, later made a point of saying his comments were "tongue in cheek."

Grassley also added to his "tongue in cheek" comment, with some praise for Daniels. "He seems to be a very, very good governor, has a good record. He had a good record as OMB director," Grassley said. "He is a person of substance and substance matters ... particularly at a time of 9 percent unemployment."

WI-SEN

Club For Growth Slams Tommy Thompson: 'April Fools Was Weeks Ago'

Eric Kleefeld | May 18, 2011, 4:14PM

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R-WI)

Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor and Bush-era Health and Human Services secretary who is widely expected to run for his state's open Democrat-held Senate seat, could now face some stiff opposition from his right -- namely from the right-wing activist group the Club For Growth, which came out strongly against him this afternoon.

The Club said in a statement:

"Tommy Thompson raised taxes as Governor, supported ObamaCare, and now he wants to run for the United States Senate? April Fools was weeks ago," said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. "Wisconsin Republicans should recruit a pro-growth conservative to run, not recall some big-government pro-tax Republican whose time has come and gone. Club members are watching Wisconsin's Senate race closely.

Keep in mind that the Club is perhaps most known for the determination with which it backs primary challengers over establishment-backed moderate GOP candidates, and even GOP incumbents.

So a statement like this is not to be taken lightly, as Thompson mulls his final decision about running.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Spreads Sarah Palin's Lie About Health Care Waivers (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 18, 2011, 3:35PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Tim Pawlenty, the man who many think will pick up the frontrunner baton in the 2012 Republican presidential nomination fight should Mitt Romney drop it, took to the airwaves yesterday to follow the lead of another high profile presidential contender: Sarah Palin.

On Fox News last night, Pawlenty deftly took up Palin's almost completely fact-free attack on the waivers from the new health care reform law that some businesses providing low-payout plans have received since the law passed. The Obama administration has exempted these less than ideal health care plans from new regulations, fearful that low-income employees will lose what little coverage they have before the exchanges open in three years.

Pawlenty, like Palin and a good part of the conservative blogosphere yesterday, called the practice of granting waivers "crony politics."

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collective bargaining

Poll: Majority Want Repeal Of Ohio Bill That Guts Collective Bargaining Rights

Jon Terbush | May 18, 2011, 3:17PM

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)

Two months after Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) signed a sweeping rollback of public union's collective bargaining rights, voters there still overwhelmingly disapprove of their first-term governor, and a majority say the controversial law should be repealed, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today.

In the poll, 54% of registered voters said the collective bargaining law should be repealed, while 36% said it should not. And with the law potentially headed for a referendum in November, it looks like they may get their wish.

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Senate Republicans

Republicans Poised To Filibuster Liu Nomination

Susan Crabtree | May 18, 2011, 3:05PM

Goodwin Liu

Republicans in the Senate are poised to block one of the youngest and most promising liberal legal minds from ascending to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit more than a year after President Obama appointed him.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) Tuesday night filed a motion to limit debate on Liu's nomination. The motion requires 60 votes to pass, but Republicans are signaling strong opposition and may have enough votes to sink the motion and effectively filibuster the nomination when it comes to the floor Thursday.

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Newt Gingrich

Newt Spokesman Pens Epic Poem In Tribute To Gingrich's Heroic Crusade Against The Media

Benjy Sarlin | May 18, 2011, 2:58PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich has taken some potshots at the press since his campaign went off the rails on Sunday's Meet The Press, but it's nothing compared to the spectacular anti-media tirade that his spokesman offered up today.

Asked by the Huffington Post's Michael Calderone for his take on Gingrich's treatment in the news, spokesman Rick Tyler launched into what could only be described as an epic poem recounting his candidate's heroic journey.

"The literati sent out their minions to do their bidding," Tyler wrote in an e-mail. "Washington cannot tolerate threats from outsiders who might disrupt their comfortable world."

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Syria

Obama Imposes Tougher Sanctions On Syria

Susan Crabtree | May 18, 2011, 2:45PM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

President Obama Wednesday announced tougher sanctions against Syria and its President, Bashar al Assad, as well as other senior officials in his government, in an effort to turn up the pressure on his regime and their increasingly deadly crackdown against peaceful protesters.

Previously, the United States has frozen assets and banned trade deals with senior Syrian government officials including al Assad in an effort to convince him to end the violent response rebel groups in Syria and their desire to institute democratic reforms.

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Newt Gingrich

David Gregory To Newt: Don't Blame Me For Your Medicare Implosion

Benjy Sarlin | May 18, 2011, 2:41PM

Fmr. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Struggling to shake off a politically damaging interview on Meet The Press, Newt Gingrich took the ever-popular tack yesterday of blaming the media and its "gotcha" questions. But host David Gregory isn't having it, pushing back today against Newt's claim that he was ambushed.

"There was no set-up," Gregory told the Huffington Post's Michael Calderone, adding that Newt "knew what he was doing" and "knows what he's doing now."

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Debt Ceiling

Toomey, Top Republicans: Not Raising The Debt Ceiling? No Biggie!

Brian Beutler | May 18, 2011, 1:56PM

Top Republicans in Congress are advancing the idea that allowing the U.S. to default on its debts for a short time will be fairly harmless, and is a far better option than lifting the debt ceiling without simultaneous, dramatic spending cuts.

The new push comes just days after the country hit its statutory debt limit. In essence, the GOP is arming itself with a rationale to continue to oppose a debt ceiling hike, despite dire warning from economists, finance experts, and the Obama administration about the consequences of default.

At an event at the conservative American Enterprise Institute Wednesday morning, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) laid out the case. "This problem is so urgent that there is -- an alternative school of thought has emerged recently," Toomey said. "The most high-profile advocate for this was Stanley Druckenmiller ... one of the world's most successful hedge-fund managers, extraordinarily wealthy from his knowledge of the markets, a big money manager now, and a big holder of Treasury securities -- and he has said that he would actually accept even a delay in interest payments on the Treasuries that he holds. And he would prefer that if it meant that the Congress would right this ship."

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Barack Obama

Obama Campaign Selling Birth Certificate-Emblazoned Merchandise

Jon Terbush | May 18, 2011, 12:37PM

President Obama's reelection campaign is turning a conspiracy theory that had long dogged the president into a snarky fundraising tool, selling merchandise depicting Obama and his complete long form birth certificate.

For a $25 donation, you can get a t-shirt that shows a smiling Obama above the phrase, "Made in the U.S.A" on the front, and the president's long-form birth certificate on the back. The campaign is also giving away coffee mugs with the same design scheme to supporters who make a $15 contribution.

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Rick Santorum

Santorum Backtracks On McCain Comments: I Respect His Service But Torture Still Works

Jillian Rayfield | May 18, 2011, 12:31PM

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Rick Santorum backtracked on his comments that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) may not "understand how enhanced interrogation works" if he doesn't believe it led to the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden.

Santorum said in a statement Wednesday that he disagrees with McCain's view that torture doesn't work, but "for anyone to infer my disagreement with Senator McCain's policy position lessens my respect for his service to our country and all he had to endure is outrageous and unfortunate."

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Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan Doubles Down On Medicare Plan, Likens It To Clinton Budgets

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

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

After treading lightly around his plan to cut and privatize Medicare in a speech Monday, Paul Ryan doubled down on the proposal Wednesday in an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor.

While the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concludes that Ryan's plan would achieve its savings by forcing seniors to pay thousands of dollars more in medical costs within a decade of its passage, Ryan claimed that those "demonizing" his budget as a blow to the safety net have it all wrong.

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Health Care

Gingrich: Focus On My 1993 Mandate Support Is 'Political Amnesia' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 18, 2011, 12:09PM

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich

In another key moment from his interview with Greta Van Susteren Tuesday night, Newt Gingrich said that his 1993 statements in support of the individual health insurance mandate had to be placed in context of the opposition to Hillary Clinton's push for universal health care at the time, when the mandate was being talked about in order to stop government-run health care. And he decried the "political amnesia" that led people to focus on those comments, and forget about his more recent activism against the mandate.

Gingrich made the comments during the same interview in which he said, "Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate," regarding his now-retracted comments against Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposed budget that would privatize Medicare.

"I do not support a mandate. I am opposed to Obamacare. I am in support of the 26 attorney generals (sic) who have filed suit," said Gingrich. "The Center for Health Transformation that I supported, that I helped found, has been actively opposed to Obamacare for two-and-a-half years.

"That was a clip from 1993, when in fact, the conservative position was to have individual insurance, in opposition to Hillarycare -- because she wanted everybody to be in government -- but let's get that out of the way, okay?"

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Chuck Schumer

Chuck Schumer Gives Newt Gingrich A Medicare Death Hug

Brian Beutler | May 18, 2011, 11:41AM

Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

Democrats couldn't be more thrilled to see the Republican party turn on Newt Gingrich. And they're capitalizing on it, politically.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gave Gingrich a giant bear hug, saying he agreed with Gingrich's critique of the House Republican plan to privatize Medicare and warning Republicans that rejecting Gingrich locks them into a politically disastrous position.

"Newt and I are considered political opposites," Schumer said, "but I couldn't agree more with what he said Sunday about the House Republican proposal to end Medicare.... In a straight shooting way he acknowledged that this is right-wing social engineering."

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Medicare

Newt: I Totally Would Have Voted For Paul Ryan's Budget

Benjy Sarlin | May 18, 2011, 11:13AM

Often lost in the fight over Newt Gingrich's takedown of Paul Ryan's Medicare plan is that Gingrich had actually said only weeks earlier he'd have voted for it. He offered his support for the GOP budget once again on Tuesday night at an event in Minnesota.

"I would have voted for the budget," he told a blogger for Media Matters. "The question is how do we go through taking the Medicare part of it and turning it into law, which is the next stage. But I would have voted for it. If you go to my website, you'll see I wrote a newsletter endorsing it. He's a very good friend of mine. And I think he's doing a brilliant job."

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CA-36

Dem Hahn Advances To CA-36 Runoff, With Close Race Between Dem and GOPer For Second Slot

Eric Kleefeld | May 18, 2011, 10:37AM

CA-36 candidates Janice Hahn (D) and Craig Huey (R)

The runoff field remains up in the air for the CA-36 special election, where Rep. Jane Harman (D) resigned her seat, with Democratic Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn set to face either Republican businessman Craig Huey -- or fellow Democrat, Secretary of State Debra Bowen -- for this deep-blue seat.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Hahn has 13,137 votes, for 24.7%; Huey has 11,648 votes, for 21.9%; and Bowen has 11,442 votes, for 21.5%. However, as the DCCC has noted in an e-mail to the press, there are over 9,800 absentee and provisional votes remaining to be counted, which could potentially put Bowen back ahead of Huey and result in a Dem vs. Dem runoff, in light of Huey's lead of only 206 votes for the second-place slot.

In case of a Dem vs. GOP runoff, it should be noted that the district in its current form is very blue, and has only been getting more so over the past decade: It voted 64%-36% for Barack Obama in 2008, 59%-40% for John Kerry in 2004, and 55%-37% for Al Gore in 2000.

As for Dan Adler, the Hollywood executive whose ads went viral online with such slogans as "We Minorities Should Stick Together," and "Dan Adler: He Gets Shit Done," with his young son declaring that "my dad gets shit done" -- he got only 285 votes, for 0.5%. It looks like maybe he doesn't "get shit done."

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Newt Gingrich

Newt Apologizes To Paul Ryan, Begs Democrats Not To Use His Own Quotes In Ads

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 11:30PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich's walk back tour reached its zenith Tuesday night, as Gingrich personally apologized to Paul Ryan for dismissing his Medicare plan as "right wing social engineering." In an added twist, Gingrich claims that the merest mention of his extensive condemnation of Ryan's budget from Sunday's Meet The Press by Democrats is now out of bounds as a result.

"Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate," he told FOX's Greta Van Susteren. ""When I make a mistake, and I'm going to on occasion, I'm going to share with the American people that was a mistake becuase that way we can have an honest conversation."

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Oil Subsidies

Republicans Filibuster Bill To Repeal Oil Subsidies

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 7:16PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY)

As expected, a Democratic bill that would have stripped big oil companies of multi-billion annual tax subsidies failed to overcome a Republican filibuster Tuesday evening. The heavily partisan 52-48 vote fell well short of the 60 required to achieve cloture. Three Democrats -- Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Ben Nelson (D-NE) -- voted with Republicans to maintain the subsidies. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted with the Democrats.

Democrats have turned oil subsidies into a major issue as Congress looks at ways to tame high deficits and the national debt. They've been fueled in their efforts by soaring gas prices and extraordinary industry profits. And party leaders have vowed to include the tax breaks in any grand fiscal bargain tied to raising the debt limit.

But this effort was all about politics. Democrats want to highlight the GOP alignment with oil companies this election season and Tuesday's vote will help them do that. But if it had passed it would have run smack into a pretty big problem -- because, er, it was unconstitutional.

Debt Ceiling

Paul Ryan: The Wall Street I Know Is Totally OK With Debt Default For A Few Days (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | May 17, 2011, 6:50PM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Worried about the debt ceiling fight coming down to the wire and freaking out the world's financial markets? Don't be, says Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The investors he talks to could apparently care less about the country failing to pay its short-term debts, for a little while at least.

"That's what I'm hearing from most people," Ryan told CNBC this morning. "What is more important is that you're putting the government in a materially better position to be able to pay their bonds later on."

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Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck Alludes To The Holocaust In Defense Of Israel Rally (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | May 17, 2011, 6:20PM

It was almost inevitable that Glenn Beck would bring up the Holocaust when talking about his planned rally in Israel this summer, and it seems that Tuesday was the day.

"This August," Beck said on his Fox News show, "this journey to Israel for me is personal. It's not about celebrity or teaching anybody a lesson or sending a message to any earthly power. It is about sending a message to our maker and letting him hear our message, as individuals. That this time, I will stand and I will be counted. I will not cower as people have in the past. I will not stand by and watch a whole race of people be called vermin."

"Because I've read history," he continued. "I know how it ended last time and I know how it started. First they came for the Jews, and I said nothing. Let me declare to the entire world, and ask who's with me. This time I will stand. This time I will say something. This time I will be a force for good."

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Pres '12

Bachmann On 2012 Decision: 'We May Move That Up' (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | May 17, 2011, 6:15PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), the national Tea Party movement star who is considering a run for president, is now saying that she could potentially move her decision up from its current June target.

In an interview on Fox News, host Martha MacCallum asked Bachmann how the recent announcements by Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump, who have declared that they won't be running, has changed Bachmann's own decision-making process.

"Well I think what this has changed is the grassroots, and what they're looking for," said Bachmann. "Our phones have been ringing off the hook, our Facebook has been lit up, our donations are pouring in. And people are saying, 'Michele, jump in, we want you to run.' And we had announced earlier that we would be looking at a June entry date for a decision one way or another about this race. Possibly, we may move that up."

MacCallum asked Bachmann when she now expected to make her announcement.

"Well, that's a good question. We're talking to a number of people, and you know, things are in the works. So we will let you know."

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Gary Johnson

Singer Willie Nelson Hooks Up Gary Johnson With Endorsement

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 5:35PM

Country singer Willie Nelson and former Gov. Gary Johnson (R-NM)

If you're running for President on a legalization platform and can't secure country singer and proud pothead Willie Nelson's endorsement, you probably should just go home. Fortunately for Republican candidate Gary Johnson, Nelson announced his support on Tuesday.

Nelson met with Johnson after a performance in his native Texas before committing the Teapot Party, a group he founded to advocate for ending restrictions on marijuana, to backing the former New Mexico governor's campaign.

"I am truly gratified to have the endorsement of such an iconic entertainer, philanthropist, innovator and champion for individual rights as Willie Nelson," Johnson said in a press release by the group "Not only is he a superstar talent, he is a bold advocate for social change. Americans are demanding the freedom and opportunity to pursue their dreams without interference from a heavy-handed government, and Willie Nelson lends a tremendous voice to those demands."

According to the release, Johnson is the first presidential candidate to ever receive the group's backing. Nelson personally backed Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) in the 2004 and 2008 Democratic primaries.

Gang of Six

Source: Coburn Ditching Gang Of Six Over Plan To Cut Medicare

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 5:30PM

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

Not since David Lee Roth left Van Halen has a defection augured so poorly for team success. On Tuesday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told reporters he was stepping away from the Gang of Six negotiations -- a bipartisan working group of senators putting together a plan to reduce the deficit and debt -- over their inability to agree on entitlement spending cuts.

After a bit of confusion over Coburn's status in these talks, his spokesman John Hart confirmed the departure in a statement, "He has decided to take a break from the talks."

A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Coburn ultimately broke ranks after members of the group rejected his proposal to introduce a global cap on Medicare spending that would have cut $150 billion from current beneficiaries.

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Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman Shocks Right By Refusing To Deny Climate Change Is Real

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | May 17, 2011, 4:41PM

Jon Huntsman

This has been a hard week for the GOP's presidential prospects. First Newt Gingrich laid into the House Republican budget plan with the force of a DailyKos diarist. Now another big name (likely) presidential candidate is refusing to admit that man-made climate change might be a hoax.

"If 90 percent of the oncological community said something was causing cancer we'd listen to them," former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman told Time in a new interview. "I respect science and the professionals behind the science so I tend to think it's better left to the science community - though we can debate what that means for the energy and transportation sectors."

The reaction to that little nugget was about as you'd expect.

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Newt Gingrich

As Newt Implodes, Democrats Pass The Popcorn

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 4:30PM

Pres. Barack Obama and Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich isn't the only victim of his political implosion this week. His biting remarks on the Republicans' Medicare plan come right as Democrats sharpen their attacks on the Republican budget -- and party officials are only too happy to bank his remarks for later.

"We're getting a gold mine of things we can use," Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the chair of the DSCC in a difficult election cycle, told TPM when asked about Gingrich.

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2012

Newt Plays The Palin Card: I Wasn't Ready For Those 'Gotcha' Questions!

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 3:21PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Offering up a new excuse for calling Paul Ryan's Medicare plan "right wing social engineering," Newt Gingrich blamed his comments on harsh questioning from Meet The Press host David Gregory.

In a conference call Tuesday with conservative bloggers, Gingrich said that he was unprepared for a series of "gotcha" questions on individual mandates and the Ryan budget, both of which had been major stories for days before the interview.

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Oil

Democrats' Oil Subsidy Repeal Bill Is Actually Unconstitutional

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 3:19PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

Republicans may have a point that Democrats are playing politics with oil subsidies. To understand why, look no further than the fact that the bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring to the floor for a vote Tuesday evening doesn't pass basic constitutional muster.

"The question is if the bill passes the Senate, it will run into a blue-slip problem," Reid said at his weekly Capitol press conference. Blue slipping is the process the House uses to reject Senate bills that impact tax and spending.

Reid joked, "That's the least of my worries."

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Pres '12

Allen West Gives Thumbs Down To Gingrich's Call To Bring Back Voter Literacy Tests

Eric Kleefeld | May 17, 2011, 2:45PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Rep. Allen West (R-FL)

Newt Gingrich is facing criticism for yet another idea he has floated during his presidential campaign -- that the country bring back tests for voting, which were banned by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a tool used to suppress African-American voters. Now, Think Progress reports, none other than Tea Party favorite Rep. Allen West (R-FL), an African-American, is disagreeing -- and referring to the sort of discrimination that his own parents faced.

Think Progress asked West about Gingrich's position that there should be a required knowledge of history in order to vote.

"I mean, that's going back to some, you know, times that my parents had to contend with," said West, who then segued into discussing his concerns with America's education system failing young people, and his admiration of a high school student in his district who has sought to be an intern for him.

He returned to the subject in conclusion: "I think that we need to do a better job educating our young men and women in school, but we don't need to have a litmus test, no."

In the pre-Voting Rights Act era, the Jim Crow states used literacy tests as a means of preventing African-Americans from registering to vote. Local registrars (who were all white) would often exempt white voters entirely or only give them a simple task, compared to a complex series of civics questions given to black citizens. (Here is an actual literacy test used in Alabama.)

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Pres '12

Newt Owed Over $250,000 To Tiffany Jewelers In 2006

Eric Kleefeld | May 17, 2011, 1:35PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) with wife, Callista.

It's been a rough few days for the newly-minted presidential campaign of Newt Gingrich, and a new report about his personal spending surely won't improve things. As Politico reports, six years ago Gingrich owed a six-figure debt to Tiffany & Co jewelers:

Gingrich, who represented Georgia in Congress for two decades, retired in 1999. But his wife, Callista Gingrich, was employed by the House Agriculture Committee until 2007, according to public records. She listed a "revolving charge account" at Tiffany and Company in the liability section of her personal financial disclosure form for two consecutive years and indicated that it was her spouse's debt. The liability was reported in the range of $250,001 to $500,000.

The most recent disclosure form covers the years 2005 and 2006.

Gingrich spokesman Rick Tyler gave no comment to Politico, when asked about the nature of the debt and whether it was paid off. TPM also asked Tyler about the matter, and received no comment.

Pakistan

Kerry: Pakistan And U.S. Are At A Critical Crossroads

Susan Crabtree | May 17, 2011, 1:35PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), fresh from a trip to Pakistan aimed at repairing deeply frayed relations with the United States, said Tuesday the two nations are at a critical crossroads and cautioned against either side taking precipitous action.

Kerry spent the weekend meeting with Pakistani officials and trying to determine steps that would assuage the deep distrust between the two nations after the discovery of Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan and his subsequent killing in a covert operation by a Navy SEALs team.

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Rick Santorum

Santorum Says McCain (Who Was Tortured) Doesn't Understand How Torture Works

Jillian Rayfield | May 17, 2011, 1:20PM

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum doesn't think former POW and torture survivor John McCain quite understands how torture works.

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Oil

GOP Closes Ranks Around Continuing Oil Subsidies

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 1:15PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Republicans senators who in the past have supported ending tax subsidies to big oil companies are prepared to vote Tuesday night with their party leadership to keep those subsidies in place.

"I'm going to vote with my party," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during a Senate vote Tuesday afternoon. "I just think oil subsidies have to be part of a bigger package. If you had expanded drilling, I would consider reducing the subsidies or eliminating them if you got more drilling as part of the package.

"I'm leaning against it because it looks like it's political," said Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL).

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WI-SEN

Russ Feingold, Potential Senate Candidate, Rips Democrats For 'Corruption'

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 12:48PM

Former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI)

Ousted from the Senate in 2010, Russ Feingold, may have fewer Democratic friends to count on if he chooses to enter the race to replace retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI). The progressive icon eviscerated his former colleagues in an e-mail for his advocacy group Progressive United on Tuesday, accusing two prominent Democrats of enabling "corruption" by opposing new transparency measures on political donations.

"This culture of corporate influence and corruption is precisely what we as Progressives United want to change," he wrote. "So we've decided to take on those legislators who are unwilling to stand up to corporate power, and we're naming names."

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Pres '12

Gingrich: My Ideas Will 'Keep Evolving'

Eric Kleefeld | May 17, 2011, 12:14PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), who is under fire for attacking Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) proposal to privatize Medicare, and has also backed away from his past support for an individual health insurance mandate, now has a message for the public: The issues are so complex, that his positions will be "evolving."

The Des Moines Register reported Monday night:

"The challenges that we face are so big, that no one has the solutions. And we're going to have to run a campaign where ideas keep evolving," the former U.S. House speaker said.

He said that would "drive the media crazy, because they'll want to play gotcha" and say his position had changed.

Gingrich also said he wanted policy input from the public: "We're entering an age when the challenges are so big, that we have to use the Internet and to use talk radio...to get many people helping us think things through so that they get used to the idea that they're part of the process and it's not being imposed upon them by Washington."

NY-26

NRCC Dumps Cash Into NY-26 As Special Election Tilts Dem

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 12:03PM

NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).

The GOP is dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into the NY-26 election, hoping to stave off defeat in a right-leaning district that's become a testing ground for Democratic attacks on the Paul Ryan budget.

According to FEC filings, the National Republican Congressional Committee has spent nearly $425,000 on the race, targeting not only Democratic candidate Kathy Hochul but an independent Tea Party candidate Jack Davis. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent over $266,000 on the race so far.

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Glenn Beck

Anti-Islam Pastor: Glenn Beck's Jerusalem Rally Is A 'Scam' By A 'Mormon Cult Member'

Jillian Rayfield | May 17, 2011, 11:09AM

Bill Keller, an anti-Islam pastor from Florida, is highly offended that "Mormon cult member" Glenn Beck would organize a rally in Israel, calling it Beck's "latest scam on the Christian community, and an exploitation of Israel that plays on the love Christians have for the Jewish people and the land of Israel."

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Budget

GOP to Newt: Leave Paul Ryan Alone!

Benjy Sarlin | May 17, 2011, 10:57AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

The melee ignited by Newt Gingrich's condemnation of the House GOP budget as "right-wing social engineering" is intensifying as Republican leaders, conservative editorial pages, and right-leaning pundits join together to condemn his remarks.

There's no question there was a misspeak here," Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) told WLS radio in Chicago, according to The Hill. "Just to sit here while all but three House Republicans voted for the Ryan budget, to somehow portray that as a radical step, I believe, is a tremendous misspeak."

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Health Care

Appellate Court Questions Plaintiffs' Standing To Challenge Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 10:33AM

President Barack Obama

A three-judge panel on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals hearing one of the pending challenges to the health care reform law has sent lawyers for both sides a somewhat unusual letter, suggesting the court may be focused on whether plaintiffs have standing to bring suit in the first place. The court also appears to be focused on whether, assuming plaintiffs do have standing, their claims are ripe for adjudication.

The one-page memo asks counsel to submit 10-page briefs answering a few questions. Most significantly, they question whether the plaintiffs have alleged an "injury" or "imminent injury," given the fact that the health care law's individual mandate will not be in effect for another two and a half years. Additionally, the judges want to know how broadly the plaintiffs are challenging Congress' power to require people to buy health insurance under the Constitution's Commerce Clause.

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WI-SEN

Reports: Tommy Thompson In, Ryan Out For Wisconsin Senate Seat

Eric Kleefeld | May 17, 2011, 9:34AM

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R-WI) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

This post has been updated at 11 a.m. ET.

Paul Ryan (R-WI), whose proposal to privatize Medicare has become the focus of current political debates, will not run for the Senate seat from which Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl is retiring. Instead, former Wisconsin Governor and Bush-era Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson will reportedly be getting in.

Ryan said in a statement posted on his campaign site, in part:

For my family and me, the most important factor in making this decision was determining where I could make the biggest difference. Our nation is quickly approaching a debt crisis that will do serious damage to Wisconsinites and all Americans if it is not properly addressed. I believe continuing to serve as Chairman of the House Budget Committee allows me to have a greater impact in averting this debt-fueled economic crisis than if I were to run for the United States Senate.

National Journal and Politico reported Ryan's plans earlier today, and that Thompson would get in.

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Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Raises $10.25M In Day-Long Fundraiser

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | May 16, 2011, 6:55PM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney, presumptive frontrunner of the 2012 Republican presidential nomination race, showed on Monday why he's still a force to be reckoned with.

Despite a general malaise about his candidacy in reports from across the campaign trail -- and on the heels of a widely-panned speech about his health care views -- team Romney announced it raised $10.25 million in a nationwide phone bank on Monday.

Adviser Eric Fehrnstrom tweeted the news after a day-long fundraising day in Las Vegas.

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Ron Paul

Ron Paul's Latest Government Bugaboo: Mississippi Flood Control (VIDEO)

Eric Lach | May 16, 2011, 6:20PM

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), you may have heard, is no fan of government assistance. Just last week, as he kicked off his third run for president, he voiced his opposition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and government aid for victims of natural disasters.

Asked again about the second issue on Fox News Sunday, Paul went a step further. While arguing against the existence of FEMA, the aw-shucks Libertarian erroneously claimed that the agency was in charge of the levees currently being used to try to minimize flood damage along the swollen Mississippi. And he seemed to suggest that federally-run flood control systems themselves are a problem, because now officials have to choose where to send the excess water.

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Spending

OOPS! Historic 'Spending Cut' Bill Increased Spending By $3 Billion

Brian Beutler | May 16, 2011, 6:19PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Republicans stormed Capitol Hill in January vowing to slash discretionary spending by $100 billion right off the bat. In their pledge to America, they promised that, "[w]ith common-sense exceptions for seniors, veterans, and our troops, we will roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone."

As time went on, it became clear that they wouldn't get the whole loaf, and the key question became: How many billions of dollars in spending would Democrats agree to cut, without risking massive Republican defections, and, perhaps, a protracted government shutdown?

A few weeks after they cut the deal, we have an answer. It turns out the six-month spending bill Congress passed in April increased discretionary outlays through the remainder of the fiscal year by a bit over $3 billion. In other words, total direct spending will be higher by the end of September than if Congress had just set spending on autopilot for the remainder of the fiscal year back in April.

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Donald Trump

Ninety Days Later: Donald Trump's Romp Through 2012 Politics (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | May 16, 2011, 6:18PM

Donald Trump

Well that's the end of that chapter. Just about three months to the day since he jumped into the presidential fray with his surprise appearance at CPAC, Donald Trump put an end to his crash course through the presidential field by pulling out of the race before he ever officially got in.

What's left is a coarse legacy of racial dogwhistling and policy gaffes that leave Trump basically where he started: a less than serious real estate investor with a reality show. The rest of us are left with a (more) racialized election and sheepish press corps. Here's a look back at what Trump wrought before he decided to pick up the remaining shreds of his dignity and go home.

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Repeal Amendment

Repeal Amendment Supporters: This Isn't Nullification!

Ryan J. Reilly | May 16, 2011, 4:47PM

The supporters of a proposal that would allow two-thirds of the states to collectively repeal laws and rules of the federal government say their Repeal Amendment is nothing like nullification. And while supporters of the proposed constitutional amendment have their own particular law they'd like to see repealed -- health care reform -- they say the amendment should nonetheless have bipartisan support.

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Pres '12

Gingrich In Iowa: 'I Believe The Obamacare Model Is Hopeless'

Eric Kleefeld | May 16, 2011, 4:08PM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich is embarking on his first day of campaigning in Iowa as a bona fide presidential candidate -- and telling voters that he really, really opposes the health care mandate.

The Des Moines Register reports:

"I believe the Obamacare model is hopeless,"Gingrich said to about 85 people who were part of a Duquque Kiwanis Club luncheon.

Of course, this comes as Gingrich is backing away from his past support for the mandate/subsidy model of universal health insurance, and after he defended his past positions just yesterday on Meet The Press.

Also, as the Register reports, Gingrich ran into his first Iowa heckler, in the lobby of the Dubuque Holiday Inn. Local man Russell Fuhrman, who identified himself as a Republican, told Gingrich: "Get out now before you make a bigger fool of yourself."

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Medicare

Ryan Defends Medicare Privatization As Strengthening 'Welfare For Those Who Need It'

Brian Beutler | May 16, 2011, 2:30PM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Speaking in broad terms Monday before the Economic Club of Chicago, House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) defended his controversial proposals to slash entitlement spending and privatize Medicare.

Though billed as an effort to revamp his widely criticized budget, Ryan avoided describing his health care plans in specific detail, eschewing even the friendly terms he and other Republicans have used to explain it since he first unveiled it earlier this year. Instead, Ryan reframed the entitlement cuts in his budget as "strengthen[ing] welfare for those who need it," and accused Democrats who have attacked his budget as engaging in class warfare.

The House budget would phase out the existing Medicare program and replace it with a new program to provide future retirees with private insurance subsidies, which would shrink in value over time relative to steeply rising health care costs. This stands in contrast to the fairly broad consensus among Democrats that health care costs are best reined in by altering provider incentives and placing some restrictions on government-financed health care services, while allowing Medicare to remain a single-payer program for all beneficiaries.

Ryan characterized this distinction differently.

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NY-26

Republican Accuses Democrat Of Pushing Medicare Cuts In NY-26

Benjy Sarlin | May 16, 2011, 2:26PM

NY-26 Congressional Candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathy Hochul (D).

Reeling from Democratic attacks on her support for Paul Ryan's Medicare plan in the NY-26 special election, Republican Jane Corwin has decided if you can't beat 'em join 'em. In an impressive act of political chutzpah, Corwin is now running ads accusing the Democrat in the race, Kathy Hochul, of trying to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits for seniors.

The ad, which attacks Hochul for backing "cuts to Social Security, cuts to Medicare, and higher taxes," is sourced to a passing statement from a debate last week in which Hochul said "everything should be on the table" in deficit talks, including unspecified entitlement cuts. But there's no question that defending Medicare from Republican cuts has easily been Hochul's top issue in the campaign, helping push her into a lead in the polls in the three-way contest. Corwin's retooled message, which makes no mention at all of the Republican plan or her own position on entitlements, appears to be a concession that attempts to sell the GOP's budget -- even in a right-leaning district -- have failed.

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Pres '12

Club For Growth: 'Gingrich Has A Few Doozies In His Record'

Eric Kleefeld | May 16, 2011, 1:03PM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

The Club For Growth, the big-money conservative group that advocates right-wing economic views -- and has waged some serious primaries against GOP incumbent along the way -- has just released a "White Paper" detailing their views of Newt Gingrich's record. The verdict: "One could reasonably expect a President Gingrich to lead America in a pro-growth and limited government direction generally, possibly with flashes of real brilliance and accomplishment, but also likely with some serious disappointments and unevenness."

Gingrich is the first 2012 GOPer to receive a White Paper from the Club, with more yet to come for the other candidates.

The Club's dossier does indeed praise Gingrich's record on taxes, spending cuts and free trade, finding only a few blemishes along the way. But when there are blemishes, as the paper says at one point, "Gingrich has a few doozies in his record."

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Medicare

Scott Brown: 'Thank God' Paul Ryan Laid Down Medicare Privatizing Budget (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | May 16, 2011, 1:03PM

Senator Scott Brown (R-MA)

Though he knows it's going to fail -- or more likely because he knows it's going to fail -- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) says he'll vote for the House GOP budget when the Senate takes it up in the days ahead. But despite coming from a liberal state, and despite being up for re-election in 2012, he's not hiding this support for that plan.

Brown announced his intent to vote for the plan publicly Friday in front of state business leaders in Georgetown, Mass.

"The leaders will bring forward (Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's) budget, and I will vote for it, and it will fail," Brown said, according to the Newburyport Daily News. "Then the president will bring forward his budget, and it will fail. It will be great fodder for the commercials."

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump Is Not Running For President

Jillian Rayfield | May 16, 2011, 12:43PM

Donald Trump has announced that he is not running for president in 2012. "This decision does not come easily or without regret," Trump said in a statement, "especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country."

"I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run," he said, "I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election."

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Newt Gingrich

Newt Ditches Mandates Today After Defending Them ... Yesterday

Benjy Sarlin | May 16, 2011, 12:19PM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich is condemning individual health insurance mandates today, finally ditching the policy after more than a decade of vocal support that he reiterated as recently as Sunday morning.

"I am for the repeal of Obamacare and I am against any effort to impose a federal mandate on anyone because it is fundamentally wrong and I believe unconstitutional," he said in a video posted on his website on Monday and apparently shot this morning outside a Washington, D.C., hotel where Gingrich was addressing an Alzheimer's convention.

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Medicare

Paul Ryan Fires Back At Newt: With Friends Like These ...

Benjy Sarlin | May 16, 2011, 11:21AM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Paul Ryan defended his struggling Medicare proposal from its toughest Republican criticism yet on Monday, rebutting Newt Gingrich's claim that it was "right-wing social engineering."

"With allies like that, who needs the left?" Ryan told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham.

Gingrich lit into the plan on Meet The Press yesterday, comparing it to Obamacare and warning Republicans it constituted "radical change from the right" that would be "too big a jump" for the country.

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Pres '12

Pawlenty: 'I Like The Fact' That There Isn't A GOP Frontrunner

Eric Kleefeld | May 16, 2011, 11:11AM

Tim Pawlenty

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty consistently scores near the bottom in polls of the Republican presidential field at this early stage, owing in large part to his lower name recognition. But as he told an audience in Iowa this weekend, he likes the fact that there is no frontrunner at all right now.

Iowa Independent reports:

"I like the fact that folks have looked at the Republicans who ran last time and there is not a presumed front-runner. That gives us some time and some space," he said.

"I'm not as well known as people who ran last time or who are celebrities but, you know, I'm not running for Entertainer-in-Chief."

Glenn Beck

Glenn Beck Announces 'Restoring Courage' Rally In Israel This Summer

Jillian Rayfield | May 16, 2011, 11:10AM

On his radio show Monday, Glenn Beck announced that he'll be holding a "Restoring Courage" rally this August in Jerusalem, which he said would be a "life altering event" that the "very gates of hell" would try to prevent.

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Debt Ceiling

U.S. Hits Debt Ceiling

Brian Beutler | May 16, 2011, 9:52AM

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

As the Treasury department has been warning -- and as House Republican leaders have promised -- the United States hit its debt limit Monday morning. The government can no longer meet its obligations by borrowing more money. And since incoming revenues aren't sufficient to pay for the services Congress has ordered and for interest payments on existing debt, the Treasury department is taking a series of ever-more extraordinary measures to pay all of its bills.

It can get away with this, according to Secretary Timothy Geithner, until August 2. If Congress doesn't lift the debt ceiling by then, the country will default, triggering a number of severe economic consequences.

Already, Geithner has stopped issuing securities to states that help them keep their books in balance and maintain infrastructure. Today, the government will defer payments to and investments in federal pension funds -- pensions Republicans want federal workers to pay more money into than they currently do.

But despite these difficult measures, you won't get the impression that time is of the essence from congressional Republicans.

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WI-SEN

Paul Ryan: I'll Decide If I'm Running For Senate This Week (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | May 16, 2011, 9:47AM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

On CNN this weekend, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) confirmed that he's considering jumping into the 2012 Wisconsin Senate race following the announced retirement of Sen. Herb Kohl (D).

"My family and supporters, we just started digesting this," Ryan told State Of The Union Sunday. "I plan on making an announcement very quickly."

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Medicare

Newt Walks Back Attack On GOP Medicare Plan

Benjy Sarlin | May 16, 2011, 9:26AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Let the walkback begin! After dismissing Paul Ryan's Medicare plan as "right-wing social engineering" and "radical" on Meet The Press yesterday, Newt Gingrich looked to downplay their differences on Monday.

Newt's spokeswoman, Rick Tyler, blamed the media for misinterpreting his boss' comments, which included comparing Ryan's plan to President Obama's health care law. He confirmed that Gingrich favored using a privatized voucher system along the lines of Ryan's, but wanted to maintain a traditional Medicare system as well.

"There is little daylight between Ryan and Gingrich," Tyler wrote in an e-mail to the Weekly Standard. "But look how it gets reported. Newt would fully support Ryan if it were not compulsory. We need to design a better system that people will voluntarily move to. That is a major difference in design but not substance."

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Michele Bachmann

High Schooler Challenges Michele Bachmann To Constitutional Facts Test

Jon Terbush | May 16, 2011, 8:50AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Is Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) smarter than a 10th grader? One high school sophomore wants to find out, throwing down the gauntlet and challenging the congresswoman to a debate and test on the U.S. Constitution.

In a letter to Bachmann, New Jersey high schooler Amy Myers wrote that she was troubled by Bachmann's, "factually incorrect, inaccurately applied or grossly distorted," facts about the United States. As a result, Myers wrote, she hoped to test her own knowledge against Bachmann's, to see who really knew more about the Constitution and the country.

"Rep. Bachmann, the frequent inability you have shown to accurately and factually present even the most basic information about the United States led me to submit the following challenge, pitting my public education against your advanced legal education," Myers wrote.

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Paul Ryan

GOP Looks To Shock Failing Medicare Plan Back To Life With New Message

Benjy Sarlin | May 15, 2011, 7:36PM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Beset by a constant barrage of attacks from the left and increasing unease on the right, House Republican leaders plan to relaunch their proposal to turn Medicare into a privatized voucher program. Leading the charge will be the GOP budget's architect, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who is scheduled to deliver an address on the topic at the Economic Club of Chicago on Monday.

House Republicans have yet to find their voice on health care ever since passing their budget last month and the new push by leadership comes amid confusion over whether their leaders have abandoned their original plan entirely. Ryan will have to choose his message carefully in order to reassure the conservative base that the GOP's appetite for cuts is undiminished while reassuring moderate Republicans in swing districts that the issue won't wreck their re-election prospects.

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2012

Newt Gingrich Blasts GOP Budget As 'Right-Wing Social Engineering'

Benjy Sarlin | May 15, 2011, 11:33AM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Newt Gingrich slammed the House GOP budget on Meet The Press this morning, telling interviewer David Gregory that replacing Medicare with a voucher system was too "radical" an approach. His words were by far the harshest of any major presidential candidate towards Paul Ryan's proposal on entitlements.

"I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering," Gingrich said, calling the plan "too big a jump" for the country. "I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."

Gingrich has distanced himself from the Ryan plan in recent weeks, calling instead for a system that would preserve the current Medicare program alongside a voluntary, privatized version. But nothing he has said came close to the full frontal assault he unleashed on his own party's top priority in Congress.

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