Payroll Tax Cut

GOP Goes To War With Itself Over Payroll Cut

Brian Beutler | December 19, 2011, 5:30PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) conducts a news conference along with fellow GOP members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2011.

A civil war between House Republicans and their Senate counterparts had gone public over the possibility that the GOP will be held to blame if the current payroll tax cut expires on January 1. The Senators feel abandoned after having voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to pass a two month extension of the holiday -- only to have conservatives in the House GOP conference reject it publicly, and insult the legislation itself.

GOP Leaders on both sides of the Capitol are trying to contain the fallout, but with vulnerable Senate Republicans exposed, and the payroll tax cut set to lapse in less than two weeks, that's a tall order.

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2012

Dem Senator Says Economy 'Strong' Same Day DSCC Attacks GOPer Over Similar Quote

Benjy Sarlin | August 11, 2011, 11:04AM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

The second highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin (D-IL) told a local TV station on Wednesday that the economy is "strong" despite the S&P downgrade. While largely in line with the White House's views on the downgrade, his comments came the same day that Democrats attacked Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) over a near identical quote.

"I still think the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are sound," Durbin told FOX Chicago News. "I don't care what S&P says."

In a press release yesterday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee condemned Lugar as "out of touch" for telling a local TV station: "The American economy is still strong, that we're making progress although it's very slow in terms of job creation, and that we still have a dollar that is the world currency and we are still selling bonds to everybody all over the world despite the S&P downgrade."

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2012

Dems Outraged With Dick Lugar For Saying The Economy Isn't That Bad

Benjy Sarlin | August 10, 2011, 12:14PM

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)

In a highly unusual move, Democrats are going after Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) for suggesting that the American economy might be in better shape than the recent S&P downgrade indicates -- a key White House talking point.

In an interview with a local TV station criticizing the ratings agency's decision, Lugar told an interviewer: "The American economy is still strong, that we're making progress although it's very slow in terms of job creation, and that we still have a dollar that is the world currency and we are still selling bonds to everybody all over the world despite the S&P downgrade."

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Shripal Shah said in a statement that Lugar's quote was "out of touch with the struggles that so many Hoosier are facing right now."

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Pakistan

Feinstein Wants Answers About What Pakistani Officials Knew About OBL

Susan Crabtree | May 10, 2011, 4:00PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) isn't relying on U.S. intelligence officials alone to find out whether the Pakistani government was helping harbor Osama bin Laden.

Feinstein, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, told TPM she has "her own people looking into it" and will hold closed-door classified hearings on the increasingly frayed relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan soon.

Despite her deep concerns about what the Pakistani government knew about bin Laden's compound before a U.S. assault team raided it and killed the notorious al Qaeda leader, Feinstein tempered remarks Monday in which she questioned continuing to send billions of dollars in humanitarian and military aid to the country and said the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan "makes less and less sense."

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Dick Lugar

Dick Lugar Raises $1 Million Heading into Tough Primary

Benjy Sarlin | April 11, 2011, 12:04PM

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) is a prime Tea Party target this year as he faces a tough primary challenge from state Treasurer Richard Mourdock. But he'll be heading into battle with plenty resources, raising nearly $1 million this quarter.

According to Roll Call, Lugar's latest FEC filings of $974,000 will push his cash-on-hand total to over $3 million, making him a formidable opponent. Mourdock has told reporters he has raised about $125,000.

Money by no means guarantees the seat -- third party groups like the Tea Party Express have proven very effective at boosting insurgent candidates with even relatively small ad buys -- but Lugar's early fundraising numbers signal that he's trying to get ahead of the challenge early.

Indiana

Mitch Daniels BFF With Dick Lugar's Primary Challenger?

Benjy Sarlin | March 29, 2011, 11:13AM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

Longtime Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) is facing a tough primary challenge from Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who claims he has one very high up supporter behind his insurgency: Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.

The Indiana governor has said he plans to vote for Lugar, whom he used to serve as an aide, but Mourdock says that his decision to run was heavily encouraged by Daniels.

"Before I decided to do this, he and I had three different conversations about it," Mourdock told Hotline On Call in an interview. "And every time, he said, 'Richard Mourdock, don't you ever, ever, ever let anyone tell you don't have every right to do this. You've earned the right. You worked 31 years in the business world. We don't have that kind of experience very often in Washington."

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Dick Lugar

Senator Lugar Says He's a Mitch Daniels Man

Benjy Sarlin | March 11, 2011, 11:21AM

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN)

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has the backing of his own state's senior Senator at the very least if he chooses to make a White House run.

"Yes, that's my choice," Lugar told Newsmax when asked who he would choose to take on President Obama in 2012.

"I have no idea what Gov. Daniels will ultimately decide," Lugar added. "I believe he would be an outstanding president, and I say this because he has managed with fiscal prudence the state of Indiana in such a way that we have balanced budgets."

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Spending

Republicans Buy Time To Round Up Votes On Controversial Spending Bill

Brian Beutler | March 8, 2011, 3:22PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in the Capitol.

Since late last week, Senate Democrats have been knocking their Republican colleagues for running away from a vote on controversial House spending legislation. Republican leader Mitch McConnell put it on the calendar himself, but every time Democrats have tried to hand them a vote on it, he's demurred.

Ask Republicans what's up, and they say Dems are being disingenuous. They say they have no problem voting on the House plan, and are prepared to do so in the next day or so.

It got so bad that, on Tuesday, Harry Reid accused McConnell et al of reneging on an agreement they all struck together with Joe Biden last week.

So what gives?

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Barack Obama

Top 5 Lame Duck Winners For 2010

Brian Beutler | December 24, 2010, 8:25AM

President Barack Obama

Republicans attacked it as a perversion of democracy, and used it as an excuse to continue to vote against Dem priorities. Democrats recognized it as their last chance to accomplish much of anything for the next two years. People in the media mistook it for a Barack Obama renaissance.

Certainly Democrats accomplished more than most people expected they would these last several weeks. But between the victories and the compromises and the defeats, it's hard to keep track of who came out on top.

Here's a list of the lame duck's big winners to help you sort it all out.

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START treaty

Senate Ratifies START Treaty

Brian Beutler | December 22, 2010, 3:00PM

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden

By a vote of 71-26 this afternoon, the Senate ratified the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), exceeding the two-thirds majority required for passage.

The vote brings to an end a long, winding and at times hostile debate over the arms agreement, which enjoyed broad support among one-time GOP influence peddlers, but was held up for much of the lame-duck session by several Republican senators who raised a series of procedural and policy objections to the treaty.

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl led the opposition, and at times appeared to have rounded up the 34 votes he would have needed to block START. Kyl made a name for himself in the GOP in 1999 when he shocked American and international diplomats and handily blocked President Clinton's Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

This time, his efforts fell well short.

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START treaty

Dems Close In On START Ratification

Brian Beutler | December 21, 2010, 10:12AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama

At this point it's all but certain that the Democrats will be able to ratify the new START treaty before the end of the week. Yesterday was a breakthrough, as key on-the-fence Senators announced their support or near support. But the dam fully broke this morning when Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) -- the Senate's third-ranking Republican -- broke with his leadership team, including anti-START ringleader Jon Kyl, to announce his support.

"I will vote to ratify the new START treaty," Alexander said on the Senate floor. Even after the arms reductions the treaty demands, Alexander said, the US will still have enough weapons to blow "enemies" to "kingdom come."

He joins Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) as the most recent Republican to announce their intent to support the treaty; Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is widely expected to solidify his support for the treaty as well.

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Afghanistan

Americans Turn Against Obama's Afghanistan Plan As Congress Pushes Him For Exit Strategy

Christina Bellantoni | July 16, 2010, 4:33PM

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)

As if President Obama didn't have enough to worry about with two wars raging in Asia, he's now taking heat from both sides of the aisle over his plan for Afghanistan -- and facing an increasingly skeptical American public.

A new ABC News-Washington Post poll shows that less than half of Americans -- only 43 percent -- think the war was worth it, compared to 52 percent at the end of 2008. And Obama's approval rating on the war is down to 45 percent, as compared to 56 percent in April 2010.

The American public isn't alone in its skepticism against the war: both Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), moderates with a level of respect in and out of their caucuses on military and foreign policy issues, came out with pointed criticisms of the Afghan war this week.

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | June 18, 2010, 4:43PM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Here are the line-ups for the Sunday talk shows this weekend:

• ABC, This Week: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

• Fox News Sunday: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

• NBC, Meet The Press: Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), former Shell Oil Company president John Hofmeister, Katty Kay of the BBC, TARP Executive Compensation Special Master Ken Feinberg.

Dawn Johnsen

Will President Obama Renominate Dawn Johnsen To Top DOJ Post?

Brian Beutler | December 28, 2009, 11:40AM

Nominee for Office of Legal Counsel Dawn Johnsen

Remember Dawn Johnsen?

It seems like eons have passed since newly-inaugurated President Obama nominated the Indiana University law professor to serve as head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, but in reality it's been about 10 months. After months of sitting in limbo, Johnsen has not received a confirmation vote in the Senate. And now, if Obama still wants her to serve in has administration, he will have to renominate her and start the confirmation process largely from scratch.

Senate rules require that nominees who have not received a vote by the end of the legislative session must either be carried over to the following session by unanimous consent, or be resubmitted by the administration. At the end of last week--presumably unable to achieve universal agreement--the Senate returned a handful of nominees to the White House, including Johnsen.

That prompted a number of posts by progressive bloggers--who admire Johnsen and blame the blame the administration for failing to push for her confirmation--declaring her nomination officially dead.

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