Leon Panetta

Panetta Under Pressure To Slash Defense Spending

Susan Crabtree | July 3, 2011, 2:27PM

CIA Director Leon Panetta

This 4th of July Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who just took over at the Pentagon on Friday, has a lot more on his mind than patriotism and fireworks.

Panetta is already being forced to walk a fine line between those in his party looking for even bigger defense cuts than his predecessor Roberts Gates recommended and critics who worry that too much streamlining will produce a hollow force.

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Democrats

Dead Dems Walking: TPM's List Of Candidates Who've Been Written Off By Their Party

Brian Beutler | November 2, 2010, 7:24AM

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer with other House Democrats

Returns for 435 House elections will start rolling in a few hours from now. Well before they do, though, most Dems had long conceded that more than a handful of races are already lost. With these seats for all intents and purposes off the table before the polls opened, the number of truly contested seats the GOP needs to win control of the House is effectively much smaller than the magic 39.

Assuming the House does change hands, then, the big open question is how big the swing will be. There are scores of seats in play, but the battle lines have already moved past over a dozen House members who, in most cases, have already been written off by their own party.

If you're keeping score tonight, don't hold your breath for any of these Democrats.

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Financial Reform

Behind Closed Doors Four Key Democrats Maneuver To Weaken Financial Reform

Brian Beutler | June 17, 2010, 11:48AM

(Clockwise from top left) Reps. Dennis Moore (D-KS), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Mel Watt (D-NC)

Several House Democrats with close ties to the financial industry, including four members of the conference committee hashing out the final bill, are pushing to weaken the Wall Street reform legislation in the conference committee.

The 68-member New Democrat Coalition has been circulating drafts of a letter outlining their position on financial regulatory reform, proposing to significantly scale back regulations on derivative trading, and open up exceptions to the so-called Volcker rule, which limits financial firms' ability to speculate with their profits.

One draft of that letter, obtained by TPM, can be read here. Their position on derivatives provoked the ire of Americans for Financial Reform, the largest pro-regulation coalition in the country, which responded yesterday with a letter of their own.

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Dennis Moore

Report: Blue Dog Dennis Moore Won't Seek Re-Election

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2009, 9:22AM

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS)

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS), a Blue Dog Democrat from a key swing seat, will not be running for re-election in 2010, the Kansas City Star reports.

Moore was first elected in 1998, and faced close re-elections in 2000 and 2002, before getting more and more comfortable margins in the last three elections. The district voted twice for George W. Bush by strong margins -- 53%-42% in 2000, and 55%-44% in 2004 -- but it swung to Barack Obama by 51%-48% in 2008.

A Republican source tells us that the seat could be a strong pickup opportunity for them. One potential GOP candidate would be former state Sen. Nick Jordan, the 2008 nominee, who lost that year by a 56%-40% margin. Jordan is conservative, but is reputed to be in touch with the state party's moderate wing and could provide a unifying force in an open-seat race.

A Democratic source was more optimistic, citing the district's base in the Kansas City suburbs and parts of the liberal college town of Lawrence. "We think this is a strong seat for us," the source said. "Dennis Moore's going to be a hard act to follow for any candidate, but we know what it takes to win in this seat, and demographics are certainly in our favor."