Roundup

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | October 24, 2009, 1:00PM

Obama: Big Banks Must Help Small Businesses
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama talked about his administration's commitment to small businesses -- and called on large banks that have been helped by the bailout to do their part:

"But while credit may be more available for large businesses, too many small business owners are still struggling to get the credit they need," said Obama. "These are the very taxpayers who stood by America's banks in a crisis - and now it's time for our banks to stand by creditworthy small businesses, and make the loans they need to open their doors, grow their operations, and create new jobs. It's time for those banks to fulfill their responsibility to help ensure a wider recovery, a more secure system, and more broadly shared prosperity. And we're going to take every appropriate step to encourage them to meet those responsibilities."

Johanns Denounces 'Shameful' Health Care Deals
In this weekend's Republican address, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) went after the Democrats on health care:

"We're about to significantly alter one-sixth of our economy -- now is not the time to shut Americans out," said Johanns. "Reports of this deal-making are shameful. Why do Michigan, Rhode Island, Oregon and Nevada get special deals on Medicaid costs? Why do New Yorkers with Cadillac plans get a pass on paying the tax? It is shameful. So now, as a select few deliberate over legislation that will mean higher premiums across the board; higher taxes for hard-working families; and cuts to Medicare for senior citizens; I ask: will this improve your life?"

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Birth Certificate

Inhofe: The Birthers "Have A Point," And "I Don't Discourage It"

Eric Kleefeld | July 27, 2009, 9:42AM

You can count Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) as a fellow traveller of the Birther movement, the Politico reports, if he's not in fact a full-fledged Birther himself.

"They have a point," said Inhofe. "I don't discourage it. ... But I'm going to pursue defeating [Obama] on things that I think are very destructive to America."

Oklahoma's other Senator, Tom Coburn, previously said he would support the Birther bill if it made it to the Senate. So while Birtherism may be a fringe conspiracy theory, it does have some high-level support in at least one state in the Union.

Late Update: Inhofe's office has given Greg Sargent this statement, explaining the point that the Birthers have -- putting the blame on the White House for failing to address people's doubts: "The point that they make is the Constitutional mandate that the U.S. President be a natural born citizen, and the White House has not done a very good job of dispelling the concerns of these citizens. My focus is on issues where I can make a difference to stop the liberal agenda being pushed by President Obama."

Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | July 24, 2009, 9:02AM

Poll: Palin's National Favorability Drops As She Leaves Office
A new ABC/Washington Post poll finds that Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-AK) national favorability numbers are in bad territory as she prepares to resign her office. Only 40% of Americans view her favorably, with 53% viewing her unfavorably, down from a 46%-51% number from two weeks before Election Day 2008. In addition, only 37% say she understands complex issues, to 57% who say she does not.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will have his regular morning briefings, and then he will meet with Vice President Biden at 11 a.m. ET. He will then meet at 11:30 a.m. ET with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and with Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), and with Sec. of State Hillary Clinton at 12:30 p.m. ET. He will speak at the Department of Education at 1:15 p.m. ET. At 5:30 p.m. ET, he will sign a proclamation celebrating the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At 8:45 p.m. ET, the President and First Lady will attend the Marine Corps Evening Parade.

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Jim Inhofe

Inhofe's Quadruple Bank Shot: Criticizes Hillary's Apology For America Over Hoax of Global Warming

Eric Kleefeld | July 22, 2009, 11:38AM

In an interview with the Washington Times, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) managed to cover a whole lot of territory when he criticized Sec. of State Hillary Clinton on her recent trip to India, and how she said America hadn't done a good job on controlling carbon emissions while she was asking for international cooperation. Check this out:

There are some people out there that still believe in this hoax that man-made gases, anthropogenic gases, CO2, causes global warming. If they're out there, let's keep in mind you would have an increase in the net CO2 into the atmosphere if we were to pass this, because most of our, many of our manufacturing jobs go to places like India and like China, and to have the Secretary -- where they don't have any emissions standards. And in an environment like that, to have our Secretary of State go over to India and apologize for what we, bad old America, has done. I'm so tired of people apologizing for us.

I count four conservative standards in this one quote: 1) Man-made global warming is a hoax; 2) Cutting our carbon emissions won't fix the problem of man-made global warming; 3) Hillary-bashing; and 4) Democrats apologize for America.

This is kind of like those puzzles where you have to count the total number of triangles in a collection of lines, including all the triangles that are formed out of individual smaller triangles. Can you spot any more?

Al Franken

Franken: Inhofe's "Clown" Comment "Might Be An Incredible Compliment"

Eric Kleefeld | July 2, 2009, 9:51AM

Sen.-elect Al Franken (D-MN) appeared on the Bill Press Show this morning, and responded to Sen. Jim Inhofe's (R-OK) remarks about the recent election victory by "the clown from Minnesota."

"I don't know how Sen. Inhofe regards clowns, but it might be an incredible compliment," said Franken.

Al Franken

Inhofe Ridicules "The Clown From Minnesota"

Eric Kleefeld | July 1, 2009, 2:57PM

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) had some kind words for the newest member of the U.S. Senate, Al Franken.

"I'll tell you what a lot of people are thinking," Inhofe told the Tulsa World, discussing the decreasing likelihood of successful Republican filibusters, "and that is it looks like things are going to be over and we are going to get the clown from Minnesota."

"I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I don't know the guy, but ... for a living he is a clown,'' Inhofe added. "That's what he does for a living."

Franken was, indeed, a funny-man for a living. So what's Inhofe's excuse?

And by the way, folks, the Republican Party celebrates as their greatest hero a former actor who starred in a movie in which his character became the adoptive father of a chimpanzee. There's nothing wrong or disqualifying about acting alongside a chimp, of course -- it sounds kind of fun, actually. But the complete double-standard, and the seemingly total unawareness of it, are pretty striking.

Jim Inhofe

Inhofe Turns Down Meeting With Sotomayor -- Mind Already Made Up

Eric Kleefeld | June 19, 2009, 12:18PM

It may be saying something that of the two Senators from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn is the calm and open-minded one.

The Oklahoman reports that Coburn met yesterday with Sonia Sotomayor, and walked away form the meeting with an apparent friendly attitude, describing her as "a bright lady, very smart and well-coached." He added: "She's got the demeanor of a judge."

Coburn's co-Senator Jim Inhofe, meanwhile, turned down an invitation to meet with Sotomayor -- on the grounds that his mind is already made up to vote against her. "That was a foregone conclusion," Inhofe told the Tulsa World, noting that he'd already voted against her for the appeals court back in 1998. However, he also predicts that she will be "definitely confirmed."

Guantanamo Bay

Inhofe: Free Colonoscopies At Gitmo

Eric Kleefeld | May 20, 2009, 1:07PM

Those Gitmo prisoners don't know just how good they've got it!

At a press conference by Republican Senators opposed to closing the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) elaborated on what a humane environment Gitmo is: "anyone, any detainee, over 55 has an opportunity to have a colonoscopy."

"Now none of them take 'em up on it, because once they explain what it is, none of them want to do it," Inhofe added. "But nonetheless it's an opportunity that they have."

Arlen Specter

Inhofe: Specter's Switch Is "First Visible Evidence" Of GOP Comeback!

Eric Kleefeld | April 29, 2009, 2:19PM

Now here's an interesting spin on the Arlen Specter switch. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) appeared on Fox News today, where he presented the case that Specter's switch is the first evidence that people are rebelling against Obama, and that the Republican Party is coming back!

Inhofe explained that this was a sign that Obama and the Democrats were overreaching, just as Bill Clinton did in 1993, and the people are rebelling against it just as they did in 1994:

"Now the evidence of this was found out when Arlen Specter made his decision," Inhofe explained. "And that is all of a sudden, we find out that Arlen Specter is down in the Republican Party, down in terms of his popularity. The guy that ran against him and was defeated by Arlen Specter in, six years ago, now is so far ahead of him that Arlen Specter's own advisers said there's no way that you can win this thing unless you change to the Democratic Party. Now to me, that's the evidence it's coming."

Inhofe appears to be thinking here that the state of opinion in the Republican Party is tantamount to the nation's opinion overall. This might be true enough if it's just applied to his home state of Oklahoma. But as we've learned in 2006, 2008 and recent months, this doesn't exactly apply to the whole country.

Newt Gingrich

Gingrich's Many Cap-and-Trade Distortions

Brian Beutler | April 27, 2009, 12:27PM

On Friday, I posted a clip of Newt Gingrich's testimony before the House Energy & Commerce committee, in which the former House Speaker stood by misleading GOP charges that cap-and-trade legislation will cost the average family thousands of dollars a year.

We've been over much of this before--the most famous Republican talking point has its roots in an MIT study, which estimates that the government will initially collect $366 billion in revenue from a cap-and-trade bill every year. Republicans assumed that industry would pass this cost on to consumers, divided that number by an estimate of the number of households in America and--voila--concluded that, on average, each household would be responsible for $3,128 worth of increased energy costs.

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Senate

Conservative Opposition To Johnsen Ramps Up

Brian Beutler | April 23, 2009, 9:48AM

With Congress back in session, and major liberal interest groups throwing throwing their weight behind her, is the conservative campaign to defeat Dawn Johnsen ramping up?

Some signs certainly point in that direction.

Yesterday, The Washington Times--one of the country's leading conservative newspapers--published an op-ed calling her a "radical" and urging Republicans (and, comically, Democrats) to filibuster the President's choice to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

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Barack Obama

Obama Appointee Given Second Hearing After Republicans Boycott First

Brian Beutler | April 21, 2009, 2:14PM

Judge David Hamilton will testify once again before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the behest of the committee's Republicans, most of whom refused to attend his first hearing.

Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) isn't happy. "It has been four weeks since Judge Hamilton first appeared before the Committee, and I am disappointed that Committee Republicans have yet to ask a single question of this nominee," Leahy said.

Nonetheless, at the request of the Ranking Member, I have invited Judge Hamilton to testify on April 29. Judge Hamilton has the strong support of his home state senators, Senator Lugar and Senator Bayh. After Judge Hamilton appears again before the Committee, I hope Republican members will not further delay our consideration of this qualified judicial nominee.

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Republicans

Inhofe, Environmental Groups, Respond To EPA Finding

Brian Beutler | April 17, 2009, 12:40PM

In huge news for environmentalists (and, more generally, anybody who worries about the fate of human life), the EPA, with the support of the White House, has determined that greenhouse gases are dangerous to public health. This has been coming down the pipe for some time, but now that it's official, it opens the door for the EPA to begin regulating Carbon Dioxide. But before they do, the House and Senate will probably take a stab at climate change legislation, and this ruling will no doubt affect the speed and thoroughness with which they act.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) responded with typical couth. "Today's action by the EPA is the beginning of a regulatory barrage that will destroy jobs, raise energy prices for consumers, and undermine America's global competitiveness," Inhofe said. "It's worth noting that the solution to this 'glorious mess' is not for Congress to pass cap-and-trade legislation, which replaces one very bad approach with another. Congress should pass a simple, narrowly-targeted bill that stops EPA in its tracks."

We await the introduction of that legislation.

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Defense Spending

Levin: Gates' Proposal A Step In 'The Right Direction'

Brian Beutler | April 13, 2009, 11:51AM

Politicians in both parties might be reluctant to let Defense Secretary Robert Gates have his way with the Pentagon budget--and they, the rank and file, will ultimately have the final say when a real piece of legislation comes to a vote. But Gates and the administration do have some powerful allies on Capitol Hill, and their efforts will be crucial to the success or failure of the attempted overhaul.

We reported a week ago that one of the lone significant voices speaking out in support of the proposed reforms belongs to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. But while McCain wasted no time getting in front of the issue, the committee's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), remained silent all week.

He broke that silence on Saturday.

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Budget

The 'Defense Spending Cuts' Meme Grows

Brian Beutler | April 8, 2009, 9:43AM

Politico, again, reports that "Defense Secretary Robert Gates is steeling himself against blowback from Congress over his sweeping defense cuts, but he's also girding for a fight within the Pentagon's five walls."

But while there is some evidence that there is early opposition within the Pentagon to some specific cuts, Gates has, once again, proposed a budget whose bottom line is higher than last year's.

That's not stopping Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee from piling on, though.

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Budget

Inhofe: Obama Is 'Gutting Our Military'

Brian Beutler | April 7, 2009, 4:59PM

Via Wired comes Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) accusing President Obama of gutting the military. Speaking from Afghanistan on a YouTube video posted by his press office, and contrasting the Gates proposal to the President's domestic budget, Inhofe said, "in all the time we're doing this, increasing all these welfares...the only thing in the budget that's being cut is military." Watch:

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Jim Inhofe

Inhofe: This Bill Does Nothing To Address Climate Change (Which I Don't Believe In)

Brian Beutler | March 31, 2009, 4:28PM

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) doesn't much care about greenhouse gas emissions, but that doesn't stop him from taking full advantage of his platform as the ranking member on the Environment and Public Works committee. For instance, just today he commented on climate change legislation--unveiled by Henry Waxman and Ed Markey in the House, not the Senate--with customary good cheer:

"I look forward to a full, open and honest debate over the 600-plus page Waxman-Markey climate tax bill," Senator Inhofe said. "It appears that this legislation is yet another version of the same story: a job-killing tax increase on American consumers that jeopardizes America's energy security, while doing nothing to address climate change. In short, it's all economic pain for no climate gain."

That bolded section ought to come with an asterisk at the end of it--because as he made clear...also today, he doesn't actually think climate change exists. Watch it:

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Barack Obama

Top Obama Enviro Nominee Pulls Out Amid 'Scrutiny' of His Work With Scandal-Plagued Non-Profit

Elana Schor | March 25, 2009, 4:54PM

Jon Cannon, President Obama's nominee to become deputy chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, withdrew from consideration today with a veiled reference to "scrutiny" of his association with America's Clean Water Foundation (ACWF) -- a group that the EPA inspector general cited in 2007 for steering federal grant money to the livestock industry.

ACWF has not made the news or attracted congressional criticism for any recent misdeeds. In fact, its attorneys told the EPA in 2006 that the entire group had abruptly dissolved, disappearing into thin air as the inspector general advised the government to claw back more than $21 million in federal grant money that had gone from ACWF into the hands of the National Pork Producer Council.

What did Cannon have to do with that shady move on ACWF's part? Nothing, according to his statement, released today through EPA:

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Barack Obama

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | March 18, 2009, 9:02AM

AIG CEO To Defend Company And Bonuses Before Congress Today
AIG CEO Edward Liddy will be testifying today before the House Financial Services subcommittee, defending his company amidst the public uproar over the massive bonuses paid to its Financial Products division. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. ET.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama is holding a closed meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus at 10:45 a.m. ET.

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Environment

Inhofe Enlists Bush-Appointed IG to Help Him Smoke Out Enviro Leaker

Elana Schor | March 12, 2009, 2:23PM

I mentioned earlier today that Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) has an almost refreshing tendency to own up to his wackier attempts at antagonizing the environmental community. And here's a perfect case in point ...

Inhofe has teamed up with the Commerce Department's inspector general on a mission to unmask the source who gave the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) a draft of the Bush administration's regulatory attempt to unravel key portions of the Endangered Species Act.

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Environment

The Mystery of the Science Holds: Why'd Vitter Go Mum?

Elana Schor | March 12, 2009, 1:16PM

For two weeks now, TPMDC has been tracking the mysteriously delayed nominations of John Holdren, named as the president's next chief science adviser, and Jane Lubchenco, slated to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A convincing, but still incomplete, trail of evidence points to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), who won cheers from conservatives for sharply questioning Holdren during the nominees' confirmation hearing last month. But when I asked him directly, Vitter denied placing the hold, raising the question of whether his staff may have been raising objections on his behalf.**

After all, a similar situation occurred in the case of Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), whose office stalled the confirmation of two other Obama environmental nominees in January. Barrasso aimed to use those nominees as leverage to meet with White House climate adviser Carol Browner, and he ended up getting what he was after. Could Vitter's staff be working a similar angle for him?

Strangely enough, Vitter's press office won't say. My multiple attempts to reach the senator's spokesman over the past few days have been unsuccessful. Why wouldn't the office simply confirm what Vitter told me himself, that he's not the source of the holdup?

We can rule out several other suspects in Holdren and Lubchenco's delay.

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Barack Obama

GOP Leader Expects Goolsbee and Rouse to be Confirmed This Week

Elana Schor | March 10, 2009, 6:00PM

President Obama's science adviser and NOAA nominee aren't the only ones getting held up by mysterious Senate Republican concerns.

As Bloomberg reported on Friday, two nominees to join Obama's Council of Economic Advisers -- Austan Goolsbee and Cecilia Rouse -- have also stalled amid anonymous GOP objections.

But that delay could come to an end as soon as this week, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). He told reporters today that "we're going to have a discussion of the nominees" and "they probably will be confirmed later this week."

Anonymous Holds

Science Adviser Holds Update: Not Inhofe, Not Barrasso

Elana Schor | March 10, 2009, 1:28PM

We're on the hunt for the mystery senator (or senators) holding up approval of John Holdren and Jane Lubchenco, President Obama's nominees to become chief White House science adviser and head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To bring folks up to speed, it appeared initially that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was the sole lawmaker standing in the nominees' way, thanks to an unrelated dispute with Democratic leaders over the Cuban trade embargo. But that obstacle is no longer operative, leaving the situation murky as Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) references multiple holds on the nominees.

Yesterday we ruled out two GOP suspects, Sens. David Vitter (LA) and Mel Martinez (FL). Today we can strike two more likely suspects from the list: Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and John Barrasso (R-WY) both strongly oppose Holdren's pro-regulation stance on climate change, but both told me they're not behind the holds.

Inhofe couldn't confirm that the holds weren't coming from his environment committee, but he said flat out: "It's not me, though."

Anonymous Holds

Obama Science Advisers Still Slowed as No Culprit Steps Forward

Elana Schor | March 6, 2009, 11:46AM

The slowdown in approval of President Obama's economic team, both at Treasury and the Council of Economic Advisers, is getting a lot of attention today. But let's not forget that two senior White House science adviser-designates are still going nowhere: John Holdren, named to lead the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Jane Lubchenco, named to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, remain in limbo.

The likely source of the culprit would seem to be the Senate Commerce Committee, although that panel approved the nominations last month. "I am unaware of any GOP Commerce Committee members who are raising questions," one Senate source said via email.

But other sources pointed me to Commerce -- so just in case, I reached out to all the Republicans on that committee. The next likely source of the slowdown would be GOPers on the Senate environment committee, particularly given Holdren's progressive views on climate change, but Sen. Jim Inhofe's (R-OK) office did not return a request for comment on the nominations.

Rest assured, however, that we'll stay on this story.

Late Update: A source close to the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that there is, right now, no hold from Menendez on the nominees. It remains unclear when the hold evaporated -- sometime between the WaPo's original report on Tuesday and today, it seems. But either way, the nominees would have been quickly cleared if Menendez were the only original objector. So the search goes on...

Stimulus

Senator Boxer and Fix-it-First: Why the Stimulus is Getting Infrastructure Wrong

Elana Schor | February 4, 2009, 4:09PM

Vice President Biden, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) will be appearing at a suburban Maryland train station tomorrow morning to tout the congressional stimulus bill -- or in the White House press office's words, "the need to invest in transportation infrastructure in order to build a 21st century economy." And few thinking Americans would challenge them on that point.

But as lawmakers and the mainstream press are coming to realize, and as we noted weeks ago, the stimulus plan dedicates stunningly few resources to creating the type of transportation infrastructure that can alleviate over-taxed public transit systems while weaning the nation from its obsession with environmentally unsustainable car travel.

What's the trouble? Why aren't we seeing liberal Democrats, at the very least, push for the kind of groundbreaking transit projects that not only create jobs, but fulfill the president's promise for a massive investment in public works?

Part of the answer lies in two parallel transportation policy story-lines that are playing out on the Hill this week: one dealing with Senate environment commitee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the other with what advocates call the "fix-it-first" requirement.

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Stimulus

Letting Congress Be Congress: Transportation Funding

Elana Schor | February 3, 2009, 12:07PM

A new president is in charge, but Congress' allergy to innovation and reliance on outmoded ideas hasn't really changed at all. Exhibit B: the transportation funding amendment that Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) are pushing to add to the stimulus bill this week.

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Environment

Curiouser and Curiouser: Who's the GOPer Stalling Enviro Nominees?

Elana Schor | January 22, 2009, 4:04PM

Will the Republican senator who objects to confirming Barack Obama's two top environmental nominees please stand up?

We've been looking all day at the mysterious delay in the confirmations of Lisa Jackson, nominated to lead the EPA, and Nancy Sutley, who will head the Council on Environmental Quality. Two Republican senators, John Barrasso (R-WY) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), had been making noise about the appointment of White House climate adviser Carol Browner -- a forceful advocate for tackling climate change who will not require Senate confirmation.

Raising questions about Browner's role in Obama's environmental chain of command is certainly a clever way to presage Republican opposition to any future regulation of carbon emissions. The environment committee chairman, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), also told us she believed Barrasso was gumming up the works.

The only problem? Barrasso says his objection is all a big misunderstanding.

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Environment

First Shot Fired in the GOP Battle Against Action on Climate Change

Elana Schor | January 22, 2009, 10:09AM

It happened so quietly that few media outlets noticed. But Republicans are already rolling out their strategy to delay -- and perhaps even stave off -- congressional action to combat climate change.

The Journal's blog relays the basic fact: an anonymous senator has placed one of those pesky "holds" used prerogatives to slow down action on the nomination of Lisa Jackson, the president's pick to head the EPA, as well as the nomination of Nancy Sutley, future head of the Council on Environmental Quality.

Jackson told the Senate environment committee last week that she would quickly re-examine California's request, backed by more than a dozen other states, to strictly regulate auto emissions. But this isn't really about Jackson or Sutley ...

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