Doc fix

GOP Looks Set To Block Dem Fix For Medicare Doctors

Sahil Kapur | February 8, 2012, 10:00AM

House GOP leaders are set to shoot down a silver-bullet pay-for to fix Medicare physician payment rates, sources close to leadership tell TPM, even though the idea has strong support among Democrats and some key Republican lawmakers. The so-called "doc fix" is being negotiated as part of the payroll tax cut package and momentum to use war savings to eliminate the Medicare flaw has recently halted due to GOP divisions over the idea.

The idea of using unspent Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) funds from troop withdrawals Iraq and Afghanistan has the support of top Democrats as well as influential Republicans like Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (AZ) and GOP Doctors Caucus chairman Rep. Phil Gingrey (GA). While President Obama and Dems want to tap into the $838 billion fund for infrastructure as well, GOP backers say it shouldn't be used for anything other than a doc fix.

But two former Republican staffers turned health industry lobbyists say House GOP leaders are now opposed to tapping into the money even for that.

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Defense Spending

The GOP's Plan To Avoid Defense Cuts Without Raising Taxes

Brian Beutler | February 2, 2012, 12:00PM

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) walks from his office to a policy lunch with fellow GOP members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on September 7, 2011.

Senate Republicans unveiled a proposal Thursday to avoid or delay looming, automatic cuts to defense and security programs by reducing the federal work force by five percent and freezing federal pay for two and a half years.

In a bid to recruit Democratic support for their legislation, the authors of the plan say it saves enough money to forestall automatic cuts to domestic programs, also set to kick in on January 2013. But they continue to oppose using any new tax revenues to offset any of these costs -- and in so doing they exposed a contradiction at the heart of their fiscal policy. They oppose tax increases, they say, because of their impact on economic growth -- yet their plan to avoid tax increases involves deliberately shrinking demand for jobs.

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Affordable Care Act

How To Easily End The 'Doc Fix' Problem -- And Why House GOP Is Opposed

Sahil Kapur | January 16, 2012, 5:32AM

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) And House GOP Doctors Caucus

One of the items Congress extended for two months in the December payroll tax package is current Medicare payment rates to physicians, averting a steep 27.4 percent cut. Although a yearlong "doc fix" is seen as likeliest when lawmakers return to town this week and begin negotiating pay-fors, even that would merely be punting an issue in need of a permanent fix.

Over the last few months there's been serious talk in Congress of buying out the "doc fix" issue once and for all with war savings from troop withdrawals in Iraq and Afghanistan, estimated at over half a trillion dollars.

The idea has been championed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and multiple other key senators including John Kerry (D-MA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Tom Harkin (D-IA).

But even though this plan could remove for free the $300-billion-and-growing albatross from the nation's neck, it faces fierce resistance from House Republicans. In fact, some of the vocal opponents are doctors in the caucus, whom Leadership tends to give the first bite at the apple on health issues.

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Medicare

Ryan's Plan Still Ends Medicare Even If PolitiFact Rates That As A Lie

Brian Beutler | December 20, 2011, 11:26AM

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks during a press conference on the debt ceiling in Washington, D.C. on August 1, 2011

Here's a long, sad story about how Democrats' basically true claim that House Republicans voted to end Medicare ended up "winning" PolitiFact's Lie of the Year award -- a development that will help the right and the GOP create their own reality as the future of the social safety net becomes a defining issue of the 2012 campaign.

Back in April, House Republicans passed a budget that included a plan to phase out Medicare over several years and build in its place a subsidized, private insurance marketplace for seniors.

Democrats called this a vote to "end Medicare."

You can quibble. It wasn't a vote to end Medicare -- BLAM! -- all at once. But under the GOP plan, within a couple decades, the current health retirement program for old people would be gone and in its place would be an entirely different one. It would just, by political design, have the same name: Medicare.

Ignoring policy in favor of process, and with an eye toward political balance, PolitiFact rated this basically true Democratic claim "Pants on Fire."

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Jon Kyl

Top Republican: We'll Only Extend Payroll Tax Cut If You Extend Bush Cuts Too

Brian Beutler | December 5, 2011, 5:45PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

The top Republican vote counter in the Senate says extending the expiring payroll tax holiday is a terrible idea and he'll only do it if Democrats agree to major concessions -- in particular, simultaneously extending all the Bush tax cuts, which are scheduled to expire just over a year from now.

On the Senate floor Monday, Sen. Jon Kyl argued that reducing the payroll tax doesn't stimulate the economy -- a claim most economists disagree with -- and criticized the Democrats' plan to offset the cost of the tax holiday with a small surtax on millionaires.

"We should therefore only do it under circumstances that in effect override these objections, one of which would be to extend all of the taxes that expire at the end of next year -- at the end of 2012," Kyl said. "That would be a good idea."

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Joe Biden

Biden Takes Senate Republicans To School On Tiny Millionaire's Surtax (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | October 20, 2011, 10:19AM

V.P. Joe Biden Speaks to the Press on Capitol Hill

One reason you can expect unanimous Republican opposition to Senate Democrats' latest jobs bill Friday is because it includes a tax -- a 0.5 percent surtax on income above $1 million starting in January 2013.

That would raise enough money over the next 10 years to cover the $35 billion cost of hiring and retaining about 400,000 teachers and emergency responders next year -- but for Republicans, it's not worth it.

"This is the worst possible way to promote economic growth and job creation," warned Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) -- the Senate Minority Whip, and member of the joint deficit Super Committee.

Enter Vice President Joe Biden, who at a Capitol Hill rally on Wednesday provided a lesson on just how modest the tax is.

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Super Committee

Super Committee Dems Avoid Trap That Skewed Debt Limit Fight

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2011, 2:41PM

'Super Committee' members Sen. Patt Murray (D-WA) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), September 7, 2011.

Democrats on the new deficit Super Committee are determined to be better negotiators than their predecessors in earlier deficit discussions leading up to the debt limit fight.

According to aides with knowledge of the discussions, they're trying to keep the panel's early focus on revenues, to avoid falling into a familiar trap of agreeing to a bunch of spending cuts only to have Republicans freeze up when they try to change the conversation to taxes.

A bit of background is appropriate here.

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Ben Bernanke

GOP Leaders To Bernanke: Don't Try And Improve The Economy Again

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2011, 8:59AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

House and Senate GOP leadership are taking fire from all sides for publicly pressuring Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke not to further loosen monetary policy, even if he thinks it will help the economy.

In a Tuesday letter to Bernanke, leaked to the press, Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), ostentatiously cautioned Bernanke against providing the economy any further monetary stimulus.

"[W]e submit that the board should resist further extraordinary intervention in the U.S. economy, particularly without a clear articulation of the goals of such a policy, direction for success, ample data proving a case for economic action and quantifiable benefits to the American people," the Republicans write.

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Super Committee

Why All Of Washington Is Screaming "Go Big!" Into The Wind -- At Least For Now

Brian Beutler | September 16, 2011, 6:20AM

The new mantra in Washington is "Go Big!"

It started with Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles -- the co-chairs of President Obama's fiscal commission -- and is now on the lips of scores of members of Congress in both parties.

Joining about two dozen other senators Thursday, Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) urged the new deficit Super Committee "We're with you! Be brave! Be bold! Go Big!"

Even President Obama wants them to "Go Big!" -- he'll be sending Super Committee members a list of deficit reduction proposals that go way beyond the $1.5 trillion they're aiming for, and hopes to use those extra savings to finance his jobs bill.

But this isn't realistic if you listen to the members themselves, particularly Republicans.

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Super Committee

Super Committee Riven By Major Divide Over Basic Facts

Brian Beutler | September 14, 2011, 5:59AM

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)

Political debates over deficits and debt are always marked by obfuscation and technicality. The numbers are huge and frightening, the terms obscure and technical, and the simple, fundamental point of the argument gets buried underneath this avalanche of panic and esoterica.

But for a brief moment Tuesday, under questioning from Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Congress' top economic analyst made it perfectly clear to everybody who was listening.

"I think really the fundamental question for you is not how we got here, but where you want the country to go, what role do you and your colleagues want the government to play in the economy and the society?" said Doug Elmendorf, who heads the Congressional Budget Office. He was addressing the six Democrats and six Republicans on the new joint deficit committee, and for three hours he did his best not to get buried under the same avalanche.

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Jon Kyl

Kyl To Super Committee: Leave The Pentagon Alone!

Thomas Lane | September 8, 2011, 5:24PM

It's only had one public hearing so far, but already the so-called Super Committee seems to be causing headaches for its members.

Shortly after the committee's first gathering, held Thursday morning, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl (R) headed to a forum hosted by conservative think tanks and said he'd be "off the committee" if it wound up advocating further cuts to military spending.

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Super Committee

GOP Leaders Pick Conservative Members To Serve On Deficit Super Committee

Brian Beutler | August 10, 2011, 12:19PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have announced their selections to serve on the new so-called Super Committee -- the panel called for in the debt limit bill that's been tasked with reducing deficits by at least $1.2 trillion.

McConnell's picked his Whip, Jon Kyl (R-AZ), as well as conservative freshman Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), and arch-conservative Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA).

Boehner tapped Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chair of the GOP conference, and the caucus' top message man; Dave Camp (R-MI) chair of the Ways and Means Committee, which controls tax revenue; and Fred Upton (R-MI), whose powerful Energy and Commerce Committee has broad jurisdiction over just about everything other than taxes, but particularly health care.

As head of the majority party in the House of Representatives, Boehner was asked to name the committee's GOP co-chair, and for that he chose Hensarling -- an extremely conservative member who in recent weeks falsely characterized the debt limit fight as a consequence of spending policies enacted by President Obama and past Democratic congresses. By quite a ways, most existing debt is the result of GOP policies, or bipartisan initiatives like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hensarling served on President Obama's fiscal commission, headed by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, but ultimately opposed their recommendations, because they included higher revenues.

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Debt Ceiling

Dems And GOP Seek Way Out Of Public Showdown On Debt Limit -- And Prepare For The Worst

Brian Beutler | July 26, 2011, 6:00AM

In a prime time address to the nation Monday evening, President Obama urged Americans to call their members of Congress, to pull Republicans back from a dangerous ledge, and bring them on board with new Democratic legislation that would cut spending significantly and avoid a catastrophic debt default. But the dynamic on Capitol Hill is already taking shape, and what Obama said is not likely to dislodge party leaders from their current strategies.

Discussions with senior Congressional aides, and Democratic and Republican Senators suggests leaders of both parties are hoping to avoid a public showdown between the House and Senate as the country careens toward default.

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Taxes

Under Growing Criticism, Republicans Show Signs Of Anti-Tax Fatigue

Brian Beutler | July 7, 2011, 9:53AM

The details are still extremely murky. But House Speaker John Boehner might well break the Republicans' no-new-tax-revenue pact in a grand bargain that would have President Obama agree to trillions of dollars in spending cuts.

How we got from "hell no!" to "maybe!" is a still-evolving story. But the fact that it's a story at all reflects a key dynamic in the political fight over raising the debt limit: As much as Republicans oppose tax increases -- even new tax revenues -- they're also feeling pinched by a growing line of criticism that their anti-tax zeal is unreasonable, particularly compared to Democrats' openness to major spending cuts.

We saw this in a couple different ways yesterday. At his weekly Capitol briefing on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) made what sounded to many like a concession on taxes.

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Debt

Leave 'Em Alone! Republicans Explain How The Rich Can Contribute To Debt Reduction

Brian Beutler | July 7, 2011, 6:00AM

Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Boehner (R-OH), and Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Whether the country pays its bills on time or not rests for now on the answer to a key question: Which, if either, party will cave first on the question of tax revenues? At best, Republicans say they're willing to look at new Dem-proposed revenue sources...but only if they can give that money right back to stakeholders in the form of additional tax cuts.

"If the President wants to talk loopholes, we'll be glad to talk loopholes," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) told reporters at a Wednesday Capitol briefing. "But, listen, we are not for any proposal that increases taxes, and any type of discussion should be coupled with offsetting tax cuts somewhere else."

So rigid are Republicans on this score that Senate Democrats plan to force a symbolic vote Thursday, asking whether wealthier Americans should have to contribute to deficit reduction at all, in any way. The so-called "sense-of-the-Senate" resolution is a clever gambit -- a theatrical bid to illustrate the point that Republicans don't really want shared sacrifice if "shared" includes rich people.

But the outcome won't clarify whether Republicans do in fact see other ways for well-off Americans to help reduce the national debt short of increasing their tax burden. So we put that question to several high-profile Republican senators. Their answers are best summed up in the form of another question: What more do you want them to do?

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Debt

Republicans Find A Tax Cut They Don't Like -- One That Helps Obama

Brian Beutler | June 29, 2011, 5:50AM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Let's assume Democrats and Republicans team up in the next few weeks to pass a very GOP friendly debt reduction bill. And let's stipulate, too, that, as in Britain and elsewhere, the spending-cut magic doesn't do anything to help the unemployment crisis, leaving President Obama and the Democrats a huge political liability -- and national problem -- they won't be able to resolve by election time in November.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Battle Over The Budget: Behind The Scenes At The White House]

This is why they're trying to squeeze something -- anything -- into the debt ceiling package that will provide near-term stimulus, to improve the jobs situation or at least counteract the austerity measures. Unfortunately, Republicans have foreclosed on the highest-impact ideas economists have recommended -- aid to states, infrastructure investment, and other direct spending projects.

So they've settled on a fourth- or fifth-best option: a plan to provide employees deeper, temporary relief from the payroll tax, and extend that relief to employers as well. It's not the most stimulative thing in the world -- but it is a tax cut for business owners, so at the very least it should have some buy-in on the right, no?

You might think so, but you'd be wrong.

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Debt Ceiling

Pelosi Blames Cantor's Exit On Tax Cut Tantrum

Benjy Sarlin | June 23, 2011, 1:49PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) attributed Republicans' exit from deficit talks on their refusal to budge on tax cuts and said their intransigence on the issue threatened to derail a deal.

Pelosi and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, said at a press conference that they were told of Cantor's exit only after they left a morning meeting at the White House on the debt ceiling vote.

"We left the meeting to find that Leader Cantor had walked out of the meetings....because Democrats want to raise taxes," Pelosi said. "Yes, we do want to remove tax subsidies from big oil, we want to remove tax breaks from corporations that send jobs overseas. That list goes on."

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Jon Kyl

McConnell, Kyl: Obama Must Break Silence On Tax Increases

Brian Beutler | June 23, 2011, 12:45PM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

In a joint statement, and in the midst of major turbulence in bipartisan debt negotiations, the top two Republicans in the Senate say President Obama needs to speak publicly about his insistence that new tax revenue and job promotion measures be included in any deal to increase the debt limit.

"The White House and Democrats are insisting on job-killing tax hikes and new spending," says a joint statement by Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). "That proposal won't address our fiscal crisis, our jobs crisis, or protect and reform entitlements. And a bill with new spending and higher taxes would fail with bipartisan opposition - as it should. President Obama needs to decide between his goal of higher taxes, or a bipartisan plan to address our deficit. He can't have both. But we need to hear from him."

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Jon Kyl

Jon Kyl's Approval Rating Falls After False Planned Parenthood Claim

Jon Terbush | May 6, 2011, 1:58PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is still a very popular politician in Arizona despite his false claim that abortions make up 90% of Planned Parenthood's services. Actually, that's not intended to be a factual statement.

In reality, Kyl's approval rating has gotten markedly worse since January, according to a PPP poll released on Friday, perhaps not coincidentally because of the false claim he made on the Senate floor last month, and the negative press attention it generated.

In the same PPP poll that showed Kyl's approval rating slipping, a majority of Arizonans said they opposed cutting funding for Planned Parenthood. Further, while Republicans' opinion of Kyl hasn't changed much since January, large numbers of Democrats and independents -- who both strongly opposed cutting funding for Planned Parenthood, according to the survey -- have soured on Kyl over the same period.

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Eric Cantor

Show Us The Money First! Republicans Press Biden For Specifics On Obama Debt Plan Ahead Of Meeting

Brian Beutler | May 4, 2011, 11:31AM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Two Republicans representing Congress at a forthcoming meeting with Vice President Joe Biden on debt reduction say they need more information from the Obama administration before they can constructively participate in negotiations.

In a letter to Biden, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) press for a fully fleshed-out version of President Obama's plan to reduce the deficit.

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Jon Kyl

Sen. Kyl Erases His False Statement On Planned Parenthood From Congressional Record

Jon Terbush | April 22, 2011, 2:52PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has erased from the Congressional record his false claim that abortions comprise 90% of Planned Parenthood's services. And yes, that is intended to be a factual statement.

During the recent budget debate, Kyl made that false claim about Planned Parenthood on the Senate floor, thus entering it into the Congressional record. But after taking a lot of flak for that act of huge hyperbole, Kyl had it stricken from the official text.

According to the Library of Congress website, members of Congress are entitled to, "edit the transcript of their floor remarks before publication in the daily record or the permanent record."

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Health Care

GOP Stumbles Explaining Double Standard On Tax Cuts

Brian Beutler and Benjy Sarlin | March 30, 2011, 9:14AM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Democrats and Republicans in Congress are having a difficult time figuring out how to accomplish a common, and politically urgent goal. Specifically, they both agree that a provision in the health care law that steps up enforcement of business' tax reporting requirements has to go. It's too burdensome, they all agree.

Set aside whether they're right or not, the reason they're having a hard time getting it done is that they disagree about how to offset the impact on the deficit. Reducing the tax burden on businesses means reducing the amount of money the Treasury collects, and thus a big hole in the budget.

But wait! Don't Republicans all believe that tax cuts (or 'tax relief,' as they prefer) don't need to be offset with spending cuts or tax hikes elsewhere in the budget? Yes indeed they do. Just not in this case, where it pertains to the health care law -- and they're tying themselves up in knots trying to square their conflicting views.

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Spending

Reid, GOP Leadership Discuss Broad, Multi-Year Fiscal Plan

Brian Beutler | March 9, 2011, 4:46PM

There were some cryptic, but potentially key developments Wednesday in the ongoing debate about federal spending and the deficit.

After two Senate votes, in which both Democratic and Republican-backed plans to fund the government went down to filibusters, I and a handful of other reporters caught Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid walking into Sen. Jon Kyl's Capitol office. Reid had just come from a meeting with President Obama and other Senate Democratic leaders, where they discussed spending. Kyl is the retiring Senate Minority Whip.

On his way out Reid hinted at some big news.

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Jeff Flake

GOPer Flake Takes The High Road On Possible Giffords Senate Run

Susan Crabtree | February 16, 2011, 3:30PM

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) who announced his Senate bid this week, is taking the high road when it comes to the possibility of a general election match-up against the rapidly and remarkably recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

"The most wonderful thing in the world would be to have her make a Senate run," Flake told TPM in an interview Tuesday.

While Flake declined to discuss whether he could beat her in a head-to-head Senate race, he said a Giffords' Senate run in 2012 would be an incredible and welcome development.

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AZ-SEN

AZ Dem: Giffords Should Have 'Right Of First Refusal' On 2012 Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | February 10, 2011, 1:06PM

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

There could be a significant delay before any Democratic candidates declare for the Senate seat of Republican Whip Jon Kyl, who has announced his retirement. As TPMDC has learned, for some time one of the top possible Dem candidates for the seat has been Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is in physical therapy after she was shot in the head during a constituent event last month.

A Democratic source in Arizona told us that possible candidates for the seat include Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, former Reps. Harry Mitchell and Ann Kirkpatrick (who were defeated in the 2010 Republican wave), and 2010 candidate for attorney general Felecia Rotellini. Interestingly, the source said there had not been indications that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who was previously the state's two-term governor, might run.

However, the source said, Giffords had long been viewed as a top-tier candidate to either challenge Kyl or run for an open seat, before the events in January. "In our view, she ought to have the right of first refusal," the source said, "and hopefully others will allow her the space and time to recover and make that decision."

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AZ-SEN

Jon Kyl Retires: 'There Is A Time For Every Thing'

Eric Kleefeld | February 10, 2011, 12:28PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) has officially announced that he is retiring at the 2012 election, after three six-year terms in the Senate and four two-year terms in the House of Representatives -- a total of 26 years in Washington.

Kyl, who will be 70 years old at the time of the 2012 election, told a press conference in Phoenix that when he was first elected to the Senate in 1994, he had anticipated that he would serve only two terms. But when 2006 came around, and Republicans were not performing well politically, the party's chances of holding the seat had been a factor in his decision to run again.

"But there comes a time when you have to consider other things," said Kyl. "In the Bible it says, of course, that there is a time for every thing."

Republican sources have told TPMDC that among the likely candidates for the seat is Rep. Jeff Flake. Others could possibly run from the Arizona House delegation, such as Rep. Trent Franks or the recently-retired former Rep. John Shadegg.

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AZ-SEN

Report: Senate GOP Whip Jon Kyl To Retire

Eric Kleefeld | February 10, 2011, 10:22AM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) will hold a surprise press conference in Phoenix at 12 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local time), the Arizona Republic reports, to announce whether he will seek re-election.

The Republic notes that Kyl will make his announcement "amid speculation that he may retire." Kyl was first elected to the Senate in an open-seat race in 1994, after eight previous years in the House, and will be 70 years old on Election Day 2012.

So let's see what happens.

Late Update: Politico is reporting that Kyl wil retire.

Eric Cantor

Again, Republicans Claim Credit For Coming Economic Recovery

Brian Beutler | January 24, 2011, 10:46AM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

In Republicans' telling, they are responsible for a looming economic recovery from a recession caused by Democrats.

Close to the opposite is true, but you'd never guess that by listening to the GOP.

Citing a Dow Jones story reporting that U.S. companies plan to increase hiring, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's press shop fired off a morning roundup including this sub headline: "THERE ARE THE JOBS: Republicans Prevent Massive Tax Increase, Economy Begins to Improve."

The Dow Jones story does not credit Republicans for the recovery.

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Economy

Republicans: Job, Economic Growth The Result Of GOP Victories (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | January 18, 2011, 3:58PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Top Republicans are claiming credit for a variety of metrics showing that the economy is improving. Expect this meme to snowball, particularly as Democrats have done little, so far, to stop it. On Fox News today, House Rules Committee Chair David Dreier (R-CA) contended the GOP deserves all the credit for recent economic growth.

"[W]e can get our economy growing. And we've gotten some positive numbers. I think it's in large part because we won our majority and we're pursuing pro-growth policies," he said.

In December, the Department of Labor announced that unemployment had fallen from 9.7 percent to 9.4 percent. Its data suggests private sector job growth has been increasing since the fall. The GOP has controlled the House for just over two weeks, but has yet to enact any major economic legislation -- and economists agree that even enacted fiscal policy will not be immediately reflected in economic growth.

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Jon Kyl

Kyl: Arizona Sheriff's Remarks Inappropriate

Brian Beutler | January 9, 2011, 11:50AM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

In a Sunday morning appearance on Face the Nation, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) took issue with Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who criticized Arizona hours after the Giffords shooting.

"I didn't really think that that had any part in a law enforcement briefing," Kyl said.

In a candid moment at a press conference on Saturday, Dupnik said his state had become ground zero for the sort of political rhetoric that foments violence.

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Lame duck sesion

Top 5 Lame Duck Losers For 2010

Brian Beutler | December 24, 2010, 8:27AM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Until the next Congress starts, the media will have little to prattle on about besides the Democrats lame duck accomplishments. Already lost in the coverage are two key facts: 1.) The Dems' victories came at the expense of Republicans, many of whom really blew it these past few weeks; and 2.) The Democrats didn't win everything.

Here's our list of the lame duck's top five losers.

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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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Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Blame The Lame Duck: Republicans Find A New Reason For 'No' Votes

Jillian Rayfield | December 23, 2010, 8:37AM

This year's lame duck Congress has been described as the most productive since World War II, with the passage of a tax cuts deal, a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, ratification of the new START treaty, and the passage of a bill to provide health care to 9/11 first responders.

But despite the Democrats' legislative victories, and even some bipartisan support, many top Republicans this week have been offering up the lame duck session itself as the latest sacrifice on the "Party of No" altar...

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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

Senate Republicans Threaten START After Dems Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Brian Beutler | December 20, 2010, 1:54PM

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

The Senate will ratify new START this week, say the White House and top Senate Democrats. But Republican leaders -- and many of their influential members -- are doing all they can to create the opposite impression.

Somebody's clearly wrong. But we may not know whom until the last moment, when the arms reduction treaty gets a final vote on the Senate floor, and either does -- or does not -- win the two-thirds majority required for ratification.

That, in turn, will depend on whether Republicans are prepared to sink a big-deal treaty over a series of complaints about process. In the last several days, a number of Republicans -- even those who profess to support new START on the merits -- have risen to claim that the treaty will have to wait because they're angry about the success of Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal and other Democratic priorities.

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Jim DeMint

Christian Leaders Criticize Kyl, DeMint For Christmas Remarks

Jillian Rayfield | December 17, 2010, 1:49PM

Sen. Jim DeMint and Jon Kyl would have you believe that its "sacrilegious" to hold so many votes around Christmas time. Not according to a number of Christian leaders, who harshly criticized the Republicans for invoking Christmas as an excuse to avoid votes.

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Stephen Colbert

Colbert Declares The Week After Christmas A Sacred Holiday (VIDEO)

David Taintor | December 17, 2010, 11:40AM

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert last night continued his coverage of the nation's war on Christmas, calling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) -- who is urging Congress to continue working through the holidays -- the "albino raisin who stole Christmas."

Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) has said it would be impossible to complete all the work Reid wants to accomplish during the holidays "without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for Christians, and the families of all the Senate." And Colbert agrees.

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War On Christmas

Biden On START Treaty Vote: Don't Talk To Me About Christmas (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | December 16, 2010, 4:01PM

Vice President Joe Biden chimed in today after two Republican senators balked at the idea of having votes on the START treaty and other legislation either right before or after Christmas.

"Don't tell me about Christmas. I understand Christmas," Biden said in an interview today with Andrea Mitchell. "There's 10 days between now and Christmas. I hope I don't get in the way of your Christmas shopping, but this is the nation's business. National security's at stake. Act."

Watch:

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War On Christmas

Reid Responds To Kyl: 'I Don't Need To Hear Sanctimonious Lectures' About Meaning Of X-Mas (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | December 15, 2010, 2:45PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

After Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) accused Majority Leader Harry Reid of grinchery for suggesting that the Senate work the week after Christmas, Reid blamed Kyl's party for the delay that may push votes past the holiday.

"As a Christian, no one has to remind me of the importance of Christmas for all of the Christian faith, for all their families, all across America," he said. "I don't need to hear the sanctimonious lectures of Sen. Kyl and [Sen. Jim] DeMint to remind me of what Christmas means."

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