Congress

Congress Speaks At 10th Grade Level, Study Says

David Taintor | May 22, 2012, 9:57AM

Members of Congress aren't sounding any smarter. In fact, the 112th Congress speaks collectively at a 10th grade level, down from that of a high school junior in 2005, according to a Sunlight Foundation study released this week.

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Topics: 112th Congress, Congress

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart: What?! Congress Did Something Wrong?

David Taintor | February 16, 2012, 9:12AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart had a novel idea Wednesday evening: Congress should be subject to the same laws the American people abide by.

Rasmussen

Poll: Random People In A Phonebook Would Do Better Than Current Congress

David Taintor | February 9, 2012, 6:16AM

What's a phone book, you ask? Before smart phones and high-speed internet access, people had to consult a massive book to look up phone numbers. And according to a recent Rasmussen poll, a plurality of voters think the random people inside it would do a better job than the current Congress.

Forty-three percent of respondents said a group of random people selected from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation's problems than their current representatives. Thirty-eight percent of respondents disagreed and 19 percent weren't sure.

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Topics: Approval Rating, Congress, Rasmussen

Sean Duffy

'Struggling' Sean Duffy Now Advocating Congressional Pay Freeze

David Taintor | February 1, 2012, 2:26PM

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) has come a long way since a town hall meeting last year where he said he was "struggling" to get by on his $174,000 congressional salary.

In fact, Duffy is doing so well that he introduced a bill last week to extend a current pay freeze for federal employees -- and freeze salaries for members of Congress. The military is not included in the pay freeze.

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Topics: Congress, Pay Freeze, Sean Duffy

Gabrielle Giffords

Giffords Resigns From Congress: 'I Will Recover And Will Return' (VIDEO)

David Taintor | January 25, 2012, 11:42AM

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords submits her resignation letter to House Speaker John Boehner.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords bid farewell to the House of Representatives Wednesday morning receiving an emotional standing ovation from her colleagues.

The Arizona congresswoman submitted her resignation to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) just over a year after a horrific shooting in Tucson that left six people dead and Giffords critically wounded. Since that time, Giffords has made incredible progress, but she is resigning to continue focusing on her recovery. The House met Wednesday morning to take up Giffords final piece of legislation, designed to give stiffer sentences to smugglers who use small, ultralight aircraft to bring drugs into the U.S. from Mexico.

House leaders paid tribute to Giffords' public service ahead of her resignation. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Giffords is "the brightest start this Congress has ever seen," adding that Giffords will be missed.

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart Takes On Latest Republican Freak-Out

David Taintor | January 6, 2012, 10:03AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart on Thursday took on the latest Republican freak-out: President Obama's "unprecedented" power grab. What could that possibly be?

Terrorism

Obama Signs Defense Bill With "Serious Reservations"

Kyle Leighton | December 31, 2011, 4:37PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama signed a controversial defense funding bill sent to him by Congress, but did so with "reservations," and in a signing statement gave his administration broad latitude to interpret and apply the bill as he sees fit.

"Moving forward, my administration will interpret and implement the provisions described below in a manner that best preserves the flexibility on which our safety depends and upholds the values on which this country was founded," Obama wrote.

The bill provides funding for the armed services, intelligence services and other components of the federal government devoted to national security. It also adds further financial sanctions on Iran. The President's issue with the bill is not a fight over funding, but with policy issues contained within the legislation, specifically the treatment of terror suspects, and the authority it sought to remove from the executive.

The Daily Show

Jon Stewart Mocks House 'In God We Trust' Vote

David Taintor | November 4, 2011, 9:57AM

Jon Stewart

Politicians love to talk about jobs. Democrats, of course, have one approach to creating jobs, while Republicans have ... well, another.

So, Jon Stewart challenged Congress Thursday, "let's see you guys put the money we're not making where your mouths are."

Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg: Blame Congress For The Mortgage Crisis (VIDEO)

David Taintor | November 1, 2011, 12:30PM

Are you upset? Looking for someone to blame for the mortgage crisis? Blame Congress, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday morning.

Bloomberg at an Association for a Better New York breakfast -- a New York business organization -- was asked his opinion of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests, Capital New York's Azi Paybarah reports. "I hear your complaints," Bloomberg replied, before shifting the conversation to the housing crisis.

Barack Obama

Obama On Qaddafi: 'The Dark Shadow Of Tyranny' Has Lifted

Susan Crabtree | October 20, 2011, 3:27PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama took a moment to herald the death of longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi and mark a turning point for the Libyan people, their relentless pursuit of freedom and their country's democratic future.

Speaking in a live address from the White House Rose Garden Thursday afternoon, Obama welcomed the lifting of "the dark shadow of tyranny" from Libya.

Ben Bernanke

Congressional Dysfunction Begins To Spook Old Pros

Brian Beutler | October 10, 2011, 5:05AM

U.S. Capitol building

Congress has always been Washington's whipping boy, particularly near election time. The antics get sillier, the pace shifts from glacial to gridlock, and the frustrated public gets daily reminders that lawmakers are often too mired in politics to function in the national interest.

That's not news.

What is news is that this time it's starting to scare the pros.

Government Shutdown

Battle Over Disaster Relief Foils Stopgap Spending Bill

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2011, 5:54PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

GOP legislation to continue funding the federal government failed in the House Wednesday by a vote of 195-230, after Democrats rejected a controversial measure to nix a popular manufacturing program to offset federal disaster aid.

A successful Democratic whip effort left Republicans without enough support in their caucus to pass the bill along party lines. Over 40 Republicans, demanding steeper cuts to federal programs, rebelled against GOP leadership.

Congress

Outrage Index: Near Majority Blames GOP For Frustration With Washington

Kyle Leighton | September 15, 2011, 10:00AM

House Speaker John Boehner with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the foreground.

It seems that the combination of brinkmanship and lukewarm reception to most anything President Obama proposes has caught up with Republicans in Congress.

The debt fight caused Washington's approval ratings to drop to new lows, but new data from a Bloomberg national poll shows that it hit the Congressional GOP the strongest: of the Americans who said they were frustrated with Washington, 45 percent said it was because of the GOP.

Jobs

GOP Jobs Plan: More Snakes?

Benjy Sarlin | September 14, 2011, 4:34PM

EcoPrint / Shutterstock

Democrats and Republicans all agree that the nation needs to move on a jobs agenda. And Republicans have a new plan: unleash the reins of snake commerce.

GOP members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today called attention to a proposed regulation that would restrict the transportation and importation of nine types of snakes, including the Burmese Python.

In a new report entitled "Broken Government: How the Administrative State has Broken President Obama's Promise of Regulatory Reform," GOP members cited the proposed snake ban as one of seven examples of red tape choking off job growth in an already ailing economy.

One witness invited to testify, snake breeder David Barke, told lawmakers that the rules "threatens as many as a million law-abiding American citizens and their families with the penalty of a felony conviction for pursuing their livelihoods, for pursuing their hobby, or for simply moving with their pet to new state."

Polls

Quinnipiac: Obama Matchups With Romney, Perry In A Dead Heat

Kyle Leighton | August 31, 2011, 7:40AM

President Barack Obama and former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA)

A new national poll from Quinnipiac University shows that national races on both the presidential level and for Congress are in a dead heat as Washington prepares to return to work in September. Tex. Gov. Rick Perry now leads the announced GOP field in his quest for the presidential nomination, the first choice of 26 percent of Republican voters, followed by former frontrunner former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney at 20 percent, in what is now the fifth national poll Perry has taken the lead.

The poll also shows that President Obama, whose approval rating has been weakened by a slow economy and general disdain for Washington, is running very closely with both Perry and Romney. Obama leads Perry with 45 percent to the Texas governor's 42, and ties Romney at 45 percent. Both matchups are within the poll's margin of error and therefore a statistical dead heat.

Polls

Tea Party Unfavorability Jumps In New AP Poll

Kyle Leighton | August 29, 2011, 10:02AM

It seems that the Tea Party's governing style, most clearly on display during the debt ceiling fight in Congress, has taken a toll on Americans' view of the movement. Polls have been showing a drop in its approval, and a new AP/GfK poll shows that its unfavorable rating has seen a sharp rise. 46 percent of those surveyed said they have a negative view of the Tea Party movement, versus 28 who say they view it favorably.

The last time the AP conducted a national poll on Americans' favorability of Tea Partiers was in their pre-governing period: throughout 2010 the conservative movement was viewed slightly unfavorably but the splits were close. In June of 2010 it even earned a positive rating, with 33 percent of over 1,000 adults surveyed finding the movement favorable against 30 percent. In the last AP rating, taken Nov. 3-8, 2010, directly after the 2010 election, the split stood at a slim negative rating of 32 percent favorable against 36 unfavorable.

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Topics: Congress, Polls, Tea Party

Polls

Pew: Majority Find GOP Unfavorable, But Obama's Leadership Ratings Also Drop

Kyle Leighton | August 26, 2011, 6:23AM

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

Polls have shown for weeks that voters are upset with Washington, and not just in a normal partisan bickering way. Congressional approval ratings are at historic lows after the almost-default and President Obama, who had maintained an approval rating around 50 percent throughout his presidency despite some major legislative battles, has seen his rating hit a low of 38 percent just a few days ago.

But a new Pew poll out on Wednesday provided a more in-depth look at Americans' frustrations: namely, very high unfavorability ratings for the Republican Party, and lower ratings on President Obama's ability to lead.

The poll shows problems for the GOP in two ways. First, the GOP has seen a more severe fall in its rating after the debt fight, as its approval now sits at 34 percent against 59 percent disapproval, a large shift from the closer split that Republicans had the first month they controlled the House: 43 - 48 in February. The Democratic Party had a slim positive rating in February of 47 - 46, but has also slipped in all the Washington brinkmanship, to 43 - 50.

Tea Party

Tea Party Movement Getting Americans Steamed

Kyle Leighton | August 15, 2011, 6:10AM

The debt ceiling fight turned out to be a damper on the American economy, and for the approval ratings of political leaders in Washington. But it's starting to consume the same political entity that decided to make raising it a major issue: the Tea Party. Last week saw the release of three separate polls that showed Americans are not just more skeptical of their movement, but growing tired of their role in the political process, which builds on previous evidence that the Tea Party is being pushed away by independent voters.

The Tea Party movement, as an idea, was originally about anger at the way things turned out after 2008. Congress had been taken over by Democrats, and President Obama came into office after a change election with high approval ratings and the political capital to make that change. Then, surprisingly, those Democrats didn't work to enact Republican policies, they proposed and passed a few of their own. This was not how government is supposed to work, according to some very conservative Americans.

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Topics: Congress, Polls, Tea Party

Polls

Congressional Democrats On The Comeback In The Polls

Kyle Leighton | August 12, 2011, 10:11AM

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

It's been a fractious summer for Congress: the United States came close to the prospect of defaulting on our debt for political reasons instead of economic ones, there's another looming budget crisis when they return, and Americans hate the legislative body more than ever. So it's not a huge surprise in this era of lightning quick political reaction that Americans are swinging back to the party they just kicked out of the House, according to new Gallup data released Friday and a PPP(D)/Daily Kos survey from earlier in the week.

Both polls showed Democrats taking the lead in the Generic Congressional Ballot, a metric showing who voters generally feel they want to control the House and Senate. Gallup consistently measures it, and Democrats held a healthy lead throughout 2007 to the end of 2009, when the GOP started making gains and eventually led. The Republican high water mark was around election time in 2010, but it didn't last very long: early into 2011 Democrats surpassed them again, the data shows, and have opened up a lead. The newest rating is 51% in favor of a Democratic candidate versus 44% for a Republican one.

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Topics: 2012, Congress, Polls

Polls

What America Wants From The Super Committee - By The Numbers

Kyle Leighton | August 10, 2011, 12:40PM

Since the establishment of the congressional super committee to come up with a way to reduce the deficit by over $1.5 trillion over ten years, most of the focus has been on who will be appointed and how those individual personalities will affect the debate, or whether the hearings will be public. But over the past few days news organizations have released new polling data on what policy prescriptions Americans would actually prefer, mostly from a menu of traditional options (cuts to major programs, well known new tax options), to bridge the budget gap.

CNN, Gallup, and Marist all polled some of these options, and here's a quick rundown of what might happen if you put the American people at the table.

Polls

CNN Poll: Grand Old Party Downgrade

Kyle Leighton | August 9, 2011, 12:58PM

TPM has been reporting for weeks about the effect of the debt debate on individual political leaders and the subsequently low ratings of Congress. But new data from a CNN poll shows that there's been a difference in the minds of many Americans: the Democratic Party is getting a split on approval/disapproval at 47 - 47, but the Republican Party disapproval rating is all the way up to 59%, against a 33% approval.

The GOP approval rating has been going down in the CNN poll since their 2010 victories: in the October 27-30 version, the Republican Party had a small plurality in approval, at 44 - 43. But since last fall's election they've seen a steady downward trend in the survey, to the current low, which is the highest disapproval rating in the CNN poll in the last twenty years.

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Topics: CNN, Congress, Polls, Republicans, Tea Party

Congress

Congress: Does It Matter If Americans Hate It?

Kyle Leighton | August 9, 2011, 10:50AM

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

Last week, the New York Times/CBS News poll put an emphatic point on the acrimonious debt debate by producing a new record: the highest disapproval rating that Congress had ever received in the survey since it began in 1977.

The reasons are pretty obvious: not only did Congress, and specifically the House GOP play chicken with the US credit rating (and actually succeed in drawing a downgrade from one rating agency, S&P), the legislative branch took that chance with an economy still struggling to emerge from a deep recession with the added strife of three current military entanglements abroad. In other words, it was actually hard to make the situation much worse, but Congress did.

The sad distinction now is between the usually low approval ratings of Congress, and historically high disapproval ratings. And behind that distinction is a simple question: does it even matter when it comes to elections?

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Topics: Congress, Gallup, Polls

Polls

CBS/NYT Poll: Congressional Disapproval At An All-Time High

Kyle Leighton | August 4, 2011, 7:10PM

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

Well, Congress has done it. It's hit its highest disapproval ratings since the New York Times/CBS News poll was created in 1977. In the wake of the debt debate, a full 82% of Americans are displeased with the legislative branch, with only 14% approval.

It's not so much the deal that was struck on the debt ceiling increase, which Americans were split on: 46% actually approved of the deal versus 45%. It was the perceived motivations that have people upset. 82% of the poll's respondents said that disagreements between parties on the debt ceiling debate were due to "gaining political advantage," rather than "doing what's best for the country," which only 14% saw as the motivator for Congress. Those numbers perfectly mirrored the general Congressional ratings.

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Topics: Barack Obama, CBS, Congress, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Polls

Debt

Despite Debt Deal Antics, Obama Not Giving Up On His Agenda

Susan Crabtree | August 2, 2011, 1:29PM

President Obama has signed the debt deal, ending months of gridlock and harried weeks of debt negotiations in Washington that brought the country to the brink of default but averted the crisis at the last minute.

The debt deal hashed out by Congressional leaders and the White House over the weekend raises the debt ceiling and guarantees more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

Even so, the agreement is only the first step, with the real work beginning this fall when a special committee hand-selected by Republicans and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill will get to work finding additional costs savings and possibly new revenue streams with overhauls to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and the U.S. tax system.

Polls

Disgusting, Stupid and Frustrating: Everyone Hates The Debt Debate

Kyle Leighton | August 2, 2011, 6:00AM

Breaking news. Americans, who were not exactly the biggest fans of Congress and partisan politics in general, are upset about the gridlock in Washington. But a new poll finds that debt ceiling crisis seems to have really pushed the traditional standards of American disgust.

A new Pew Research/Washington Post survey asked 1,001 adults about the words they associated with the debt debate. The most cited? "Ridiculous, disgusting, stupid, and frustrating," along with "terrible, disappointing, childish, and joke."

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Topics: Congress, Debt, Debt Ceiling, Pew, Polls, Washington Post

Debt Ceiling

The Debt Ceiling: Why Do We Even Have This Thing?

Kyle Leighton | July 26, 2011, 11:50AM

As nearly every news cycle over the last few weeks has been dominated by how much the U.S. government owes, who we owe it to, and what could potentially happen if we don't figure out a way to raise the debt ceiling, there is a simple question: why do we even have this thing?

Simple. Congress wanted checks and balances to the checks and balances.

Congress

CHART OF THE DAY: If Congress Does Nothing, The Deficit Will Disappear

Brian Beutler | June 24, 2011, 6:20AM

President Barack Obama meets with Democratic and Republican leaders

On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office released its updated long-term budget forecast, which looked surprisingly like the previous version of its long-term budget forecast.

It showed, as one might expect, that if the Bush tax-cuts remain in effect and Medicare and Medicaid spending isn't constrained in some way, the country will topple into a genuine fiscal crisis -- not the fake one the Congress is pretending the country's in right now.

Republicans, of course, seized on that particular projection, and claimed (a bit ridiculously) that it proved the government must adopt their precise policy views: major spending cuts, particularly to entitlement programs.

Afghanistan

Obama Announces Plans To Send 10,000 troops Home By Dec. 31

Susan Crabtree | June 22, 2011, 8:19PM

President Obama announced plans to send home 10,000 troops from Afghanistan and another 23,000 by end the September 2012 in a primetime TV and radio address Wednesday night.

In the 10-minute speech, Obama said he was fulfilling a promise he made at a speech at West Point in 2009 when he ordered a surge of 30,000 troops -- that the troops would begin coming home starting in July 2011.

"Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment," he said.

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.

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.

Budget

Majority Of Republicans Favor Government Shutdown Over Budget Compromise

Jon Terbush | April 7, 2011, 1:56PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

As the country braces for a possible government shutdown at week's end, two new polls show that a majority of Republicans would rather see the government temporarily shuttered than have Congress pass a compromise spending bill. At the same time, Democrats and independents overwhelmingly support a compromise over a shutdown, according to the polls.

Those findings underscore the bind Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) finds himself in as he tries to avert a government shutdown. To prevent a shutdown -- and avert a possible backlash from voters -- Boehner would likely need to compromise with Democrats. But in doing so, he would risk angering his party's base.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Shut It Down: The Federal Government Shutdown of 1995

Hillary Clinton

Clinton To Congress: Obama Would Ignore Your War Resolutions

Susan Crabtree | March 30, 2011, 4:44PM

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Update: Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who asked Clinton about the War Powers Act during a classified briefing, said Clinton and the administration are sidestepping the measure's provisions giving Congress the ability to put a 60-day time limit on any military action.

"They are not committed to following the important part of the War Powers Act," he told TPM in a phone interview. "She said they are certainly willing to send reports [to us] and if they issue a press release, they'll send that to us too."

The White House would forge ahead with military action in Libya even if Congress passed a resolution constraining the mission, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a classified briefing to House members Wednesday afternoon.

Clinton was responding to a question from Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) about the administration's response to any effort by Congress to exercise its war powers, according to a senior Republican lawmaker who attended the briefing.

Libya

Senate Dems to Delay War Powers Resolutions Until After Briefing

Susan Crabtree | March 29, 2011, 5:41PM

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has asked his caucus to postpone any Libya resolutions until after they receive a classified briefing Tuesday evening.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to brief senators Wednesday night. Afterward, Reid said, all bets are off and Democrats can offer any type of War Powers Resolution they want.

Syria

White House Sidesteps Questions About Whether Syrian Leader Should Go

Susan Crabtree | March 25, 2011, 4:03PM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

The White House is strongly condemning the Syrian government's attacks on its citizen-protesters with similar language it used against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in the weeks and days leading up to U.S. air strikes in the North African country.

Noticeably absent from the denouncement, however, is any broad statement from President Obama or his staff that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has lost his "legitimacy" and must step down or be removed from power.

Government Shutdown

Poll: Majority Would Blame Republicans For Any Government Shutdown

Jon Terbush | March 18, 2011, 4:52PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

For the second time in a week, it appears Republicans have the most to lose politically from a government shutdown.

A PPP poll of registered voters released this week showed that most Americans think a government shutdown would be bad for the country. And if a shutdown does occur, the poll also found that a majority of Americans would blame Republicans for the mess, not President Obama.

Budget

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Topics: Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Republicans

Rasmussen

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

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

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

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

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

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Topics: Budget, Congress, Gallup, Polls, Rasmussen

Barack Obama

Polls: Large Majority Of Americans Want Budget Compromise, Not Gov't Shutdown

Jon Terbush | February 24, 2011, 12:55PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

With the looming prospect of a government shutdown growing larger every day, two recent polls show that Americans overwhelmingly want Congress and Obama to reach a budget deal before the March 4 deadline.

According to a Gallup poll, six in ten Americans would rather see a compromise than see Senators who represent their interests hold out for a sweeter deal, even if it leads to a government shutdown. And in a PPP poll released earlier this week, 62% said they thought a government shutdown would be bad for the country, while only 26% said it would be a good thing.

If a federal budget isn't passed by the March 4 deadline, the government will cease all non-essential spending until a budget is be passed.

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Topics: Barack Obama, Budget, Congress

Darrell Issa

Welch to Issa: Step Away -- Or At Least Step Back -- From FOIA Demands

Susan Crabtree | February 8, 2011, 11:25AM

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT)

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) is pushing back against Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-CA) investigation into whether the Obama administration is politicizing Freedom of Information Act requests.

It's not that Welch opposes the general thrust of Issa's probe. He's just worried about what could turn out to be some pretty serious unintended consequences -- squelching interest in filing FOIA requests by revealing the identities of the private citizens making them.

CIA/DNI/Intelligence

CIA Official: Obama Was Briefed On Egypt Instability Late Last Year

Susan Crabtree | February 3, 2011, 4:50PM

Associate Deputy Director of the CIA Stephanie O'Sullivan

The U.S. intelligence community warned President Obama about instability in Egypt late last year, according to a CIA official.

Stephanie O'Sullivan, the President's nominee for principal deputy director of national intelligence who currently serves as associate deputy director of the CIA, told the Senate intelligence committee Thursday that the agency briefed Obama. She did not indicate how specific the information they provided was.

"We warned of instability but not exactly where it would come from [and in what form]," she said. "That happened at the end of last year."