Barack Obama

No Apology From Rush Limbaugh For Defending 'Christian' Terrorists

Thomas Lane | October 26, 2011, 6:01AM

Rush Limbaugh is nothing if not stubborn. He's now obstinately resisting an international outcry over his incendiary comments about Africa's Lord's Resistance Army.

This band of child-abductors, rapists and killers is acknowledged as bad news by pretty much everyone. Everyone, that is, except for Limbaugh, who took to the air shortly after President Obama announced he was dispatching 100 military advisers to help take them on.

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Rick Perry

Senate's Preeminent Climate Skeptic Backs Rick Perry For President

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 24, 2011, 2:59PM

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) will endorse Texas Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign, he told the Tulsa Press Club Wednesday morning.

That marks a marriage of the U.S. Senate's chief climate skeptic with one of the nomination fight's most anti-climate science candidates.

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Climate Change

James Inhofe: Al Gore Is Right, Obama's Bailed On Talking About The Environment

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 30, 2011, 10:38AM

Jim Inhofe

One of America's foremost climate change skeptics, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) says Al Gore (one of the nation's foremost climate change believers) is right in saying that President Obama has backed off when it comes to selling climate change to the electorate.

Inhofe says climate skeptics like him are partially responsible for the change. And he also warns that the shift is only skin-deep.

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Birther

Among Birther Friendly Lawmakers, Mostly Radio Silence

Benjy Sarlin | April 27, 2011, 1:39PM

President Barack Obama's long form birth certificate.

President Obama's decision to release his long form birth certificate comes amid Donald Trump's three-ring circus on the issue, but prominent conservatives have flirted with the birther movement since its earliest inception. From insisting Obama release more records, to waffling on questions about his citizenship, to sponsoring legislation winking at conspiracy theorists, there's been no shortage of birther curious behavior over the last several years.

TPM reached out to over 20 lawmakers and public figures who have indulged in such behavior to determine whether Obama's release of the Rosetta stone of birtherism has settled the issue, receiving few responses.

TPM SLIDESHOW: There's The Birth Certificate: TPM's Best Of The Birthers

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Libya

GOP Senator: Are There Al Qaeda Elements Among Libyan Rebels?

Susan Crabtree | March 29, 2011, 12:07PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)

Update: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton downplayed the likelihood of an al Qaeda contingency among the Libyan rebels, but she acknowledged "we are still getting to know those who are leading the transitional national council."

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) wants to know much more about the Libyan rebels the U.S. and NATO allies have been aiding with air strikes and humanitarian assistance for more than a week.

"There have been several reports about the presence of al Qaeda among the rebels," Inhofe said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday. "What do we know about this?"

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Spending

How Mitch McConnell Convinced Republicans To Derail Dems' Spending Plan

Brian Beutler | December 17, 2010, 2:25PM

Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell approached the microphones for his weekly press conference on Tuesday with more sense of purpose than he's had since he tried -- but failed -- to derail the health care law in March. His goal this time was to kill the Omnibus spending bill, which his Democratic counterpart Harry Reid had just unveiled. Just as earlier this year, though, he didn't sound like a party leader who was certain he had the votes to kill it.

"I am actively working to defeat it," he said.

At that point, it looked like the package would sneak by with the help of a half-dozen or more Senate Republicans who don't have a religious aversion to earmarking. On Thursday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released a statement describing it as "on a glide path to passage." But as the week dragged on, more and more of those members started inching away from the spending bill.

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Congress

Thought Colbert Was Bad? Here Are The Top Five Head-Scratching Celebrity Congessional Testimonials

Christina Bellantoni | September 28, 2010, 8:00AM

Elmo testifying on Capitol Hill.

Republicans and even House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were none-too-pleased with Stephen Colbert's testimony Friday on immigration, but he's far from the only celebrity to bring the sacrosanct hearings down to a new low.

Compare Colbert appearing in character to highlight that the agricultural work performed by many illegal immigrants is backbreaking, with, say, Michael Crichton helping push Republicans' line that global warming is fake, or with a Sesame Street muppet championing education reform. From the Jonas Brothers to Sean Astin, celebrities have long offered their fame to highlight some pet issue. And let's face it, Congressional hearings are far from pristine, serious events. Half the time members don't show up, or they check out, reading the newspaper. Witnesses go through some pre-coaching, and protesters interrupt proceedings.

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Birther

Know Your Republican Birthers: Which Pols Have Dipped A Toe In The Birther Pool?

Jillian Rayfield | July 19, 2010, 8:37AM

For as long as there have been birthers, there have been politicians jumping on the birther bandwagon. And for as long as there have been politicians jumping on the birther bandwagon, there have been politicians who casually lean up against the birther bandwagon but run away before anyone sees them.

Here's TPM's roundup of politicians who have proven to be, for lack of a better term, birther-curious, before having to back things up a bit...

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Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Whodunit! Anonymous Republicans Object To Subpoena Power For Oil Spill Commission

Brian Beutler | July 1, 2010, 2:20PM

Senators James Inhofe (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC)

The idea of granting supboena power to President Obama's oil spill inquiry commission has overwhelming support in the Congress. Just last week, the House voted 420 to 1 to do just that. The lone Republican to object was Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). But just yesterday, when Senate Democrats tried to make it official by unanimous consent, they hit a brick wall in the form of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).

DeMint objected, likely delaying the subpoena power for weeks. But he did so not because of his own objections, but was acting on behalf of "members of the Republican conference."

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Oil Spill

Dems Object To Latest GOP Plan To Increase Oil Spill Liability

Brian Beutler | June 29, 2010, 1:25PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)

Democrats are preparing to oppose the latest GOP plan to hold oil companies accountable for spill damages in the future.

A new plan, authored by Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), and passed my way by a source, would give the President the authority to set liability caps, based on congressionally approved guidelines, on a spill-by-spill basis. The idea is that this legislation would replace the Democrats' bid to simply lift the liability cap, exposing companies to the full cost of their spills. An Inhofe spokesman says they want to work with Democrats on the GOP proposal and use it as a substitute when the Environment and Public Works committee meets to consider the Democratic plan tomorrow.

Democrats who support lifting the cap altogether say no way. They're preparing a list of objections to Inhofe's plan, highlighting the fact that it leaves the President -- and future, more oil-friendly Presidents -- tremendous discretion to set low liability caps, and that spill damages can not be predicted ahead of time.

We'll see how this pans out tomorrow when EPW meets to mark up the Democrats' bill. Dems seem to be trying to get out in front of this one, worried perhaps that some of their members might get thrown for a loop by the Inhofe plan.

Stanley McChrystal

Conservative Republicans Walk Fine Line On McChrystal Controversy

Brian Beutler | June 22, 2010, 1:46PM

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA)

In response to General McChrystal's seemingly insubordinate comments about President Obama, Vice President Biden and others, conservatives on the Hill are flirting with the idea of...getting McChrystal's back. While almost no elected officials, save retiring Rep. David Obey (D-WI) are actively calling for McChrystal's resignation, members of the GOP's right flank are walking right up to the line of defending him.

"The thing that's regrettable is that the whole thing with the magazine was released, because here's a guy who's undoubtedly the most qualified person to take on all these difficult things over in Afghanistan," Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) told reporters this afternoon. "It's regrettable that it all happened through Rolling Stone, I think that's the main problem there, and I still can't figure out how that happened."

"I know him, I've been with him in the field, there's no one as qualified as he is to run the show in Afghanistan," Inhofe added.

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Supreme Court

Republicans Make Nice On Kagan's First Day As Nominee

Brian Beutler | May 10, 2010, 6:51PM

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Of the handful of Supreme Court hopefuls said to be on President Obama's short list, Elena Kagan was thought by the administration to be one of the safer picks: much less outspoken ideologically, and able throughout her career to swim among conservatives and liberals alike. That reasoning may have paid off on day one: GOP senators have been congratulatory, and in some cases positive, about her nomination. But, as is common for the minority during Supreme Court fights, they are leaving themselves plenty of room to revisit their position, if and when they decide to turn the debate over the nomination into a full-bore political fight.

Take for instance Republican Whip Jon Kyl, who cast doubt on the likelihood that Republicans will obstruct Kagan's confirmation, telling reporters this afternoon, "there won't be a Republican position. It's hard for me to see--though we have to look at all her record--that there would be grounds for filibustering her nomination."

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Democrats

Dems United, Republicans Split, By Bunning Benefits Blockade

Brian Beutler | March 2, 2010, 1:22PM

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) has caused no shortage of problems for unemployed Americans, federal workers, and Medicare doctors. The list goes on and on. But he's also put the Republican party in a tricky position--upsetting members of his own caucus who want the benefits restored, but who haven't been able to rein him in--and he's unified Democrats, who are using his filibuster to put a human face on the victims of Republican obstruction.

Republican leadership doesn't have a great deal of leverage over Bunning, who is retiring at the end of the year. But they also don't particularly oppose what he's doing. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has risen to Bunning's defense, as has NRSC chairman John Cornyn (R-TX), whose job it is to get Republicans elected to the Senate.

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Copenhagen

Pelosi Sends Overnight Delegation To Copenhagen

Christina Bellantoni | December 17, 2009, 7:29AM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation of 21 members to climate talks at Copenhagen last night, taking critics and boosters along as world leaders prepare to finish out the most crucial portion of the conference.

President Obama leaves tonight and plans to speak tomorrow, but this morning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dominated the news in Copenhagen by pledging the U.S. would support a $100 billion climate fund. But China is saying a global pact is unlikely.

Pelosi said her delegation will meet with representatives from key countries and with "advocacy and business leaders to discuss job creation."

"The House of Representatives has taken historic action to address the climate crisis and transition our country to a clean energy economy," she said in a statement.

"We see Copenhagen as a meeting about job creation - how do we move forward to create millions of clean energy jobs and new technologies to keep America number one," Pelosi said. "We are going to send a message of support for the Obama Administration's efforts and we bring with us the strong commitment of the Congress to take action, as the House of Representatives did in June."

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) also made the trip despite a busy senate schedule that could have prevented his plan to, as he puts it, debunk global warming as an issue.

Don't miss our slideshow of protests at Copenhagen and see Pelosi's full list after the jump.

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Republicans

From Dollars To Death Panels: How Republicans Distorted Debates On Capitol Hill

Brian Beutler | November 27, 2009, 8:42AM

With Thanksgiving recess now upon us, it seems an appropriate time to revisit the hysterical Republican whoppers and talking points about the Democratic party agenda that have dominated this Congress. Herewith a top-five list:

Number Five: Paul Ryan Draws Line On Graph

Back in the Spring, when Democrats were putting together the federal budget, House Budget Committee ranking member Paul Ryan (R-WI) released a much-mocked Republican alternative, which would have basically canceled the stimulus and instituted a spending freeze of sorts. The ideas in the Republican alternative budget were roundly rebuked by experts, but Ryan wasn't deterred. Instead of accepting defeat, he unveiled some graphs suggesting that, under Republican budgets, spending would be restrained, while under Democratic budgets, it would blow through the roof.

Except his numbers weren't based on any analysis at all. Instead, Ryan used CBO numbers through 2018 and then drew an upward-sloping line on the graph completely at random. It didn't take long for Republicans to catch on and begin claiming that Democratic policies would make government spending half of GDP before the end of the century.

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Guantanamo Bay

Senate Defeats Inhofe Amendment On Gitmo Detainee Transfer

Christina Bellantoni | November 17, 2009, 3:29PM

The Senate this afternoon defeated an amendment aimed at the Obama administration's efforts to transfer detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay to the United States.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) had tried to attach an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that would have blocked money for building or modifying prisons to hold Gitmo detainees.

The Senate killed the Inhofe amendment in a 57-43 vote hailed by the ACLU. All 40 Republicans were joined by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sens. Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, both Democrats from Arkansas.

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Cap-and-Trade

Boxer Slows Cap-And-Trade Markup, Implores GOP To Return To The Table

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 2, 2009, 6:44PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said this evening she plans to fight Republican plans to slow the process of the cap-and-trade bill through the Senate with "patience."

"We're going to wait for them to come," she said at a press conference. "We're not going to rush this through."

Last week, the Republican members of the Environment and Public Works Committee Boxer chairs said they would boycott a markup of the the cap-and-trade bill scheduled for tomorrow. Led by committee ranking member Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the GOP contingent on the committee say they need more time to review the law and it's potential economic effects.

Their plans to delay the bill appear to have succeeded. Faced with the GOP plan, Boxer said the Democratic majority on the committee decided to "reach our hand across the aisle" and accommodate some of the GOP concerns.

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Cap-and-Trade

Report: GOP To Boycott Cap-And-Trade Markup Tuesday

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 30, 2009, 4:50PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

The GOP contingent on a Senate environmental committee will boycott a hearing aimed at moving a bill limiting carbon emissions toward final passage next week.

Environment and Public Works Committee chair Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has scheduled a markup hearing on the cap-and-trade bill for Tuesday. The markup process is a key step before a bill leaves committee on its way to an eventual floor vote. All seven Republicans on Boxer's committee, led by ranking member Sen. James Inhfe (R-OK) will not attend Boxers hearing, and will instead hold a separate shadow hearing of their own focused on slowing down the cap-and-trade bill.

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FL-SEN

Inhofe Breaks With NRSC, Backs Rubio Over Crist

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 19, 2009, 5:48PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) endorsed Marco Rubio in the Florida GOP senate primary this afternoon. Inhofe is the second conservative senator to buck his party's national senate committee, which has already announced its public endorsement of Rubio's primary opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist.

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James Inhofe

Inhofe Leading "Truth Squad" To Climate Change Conference, Will Say That U.S. Senate Won't Pass A Bill

Eric Kleefeld | September 23, 2009, 11:27AM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has announced to National Review that he will be personally leading a "truth squad" to the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, where he will make it clear to international leaders not to believe that the United States will pass legislation to deal with the issue.

"Now, I want to make sure that those attending the Copenhagen conference know what is really happening in the United States Senate," said Inhofe. "Some people, like Senator Barbara Boxer, will tell the conference, with Waxman-Markey having passed in the House, that they can anticipate that some kind of bill will pass EPW."

It's nice to see how seriously foreign policy is taken these days -- when a member of the political minority will send his own delegation to an international conference, in order to undermine the government and tell other countries that they can't work with the United States.

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