Ken Cuccinelli

Senator Ken Cuccinelli? The Plan May Be In The Works

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 16, 2011, 9:18AM

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Tea party mega-star and Virgina Attorney General Ken Cucinelli may be planning to bring his climate change scientist-suing, LGBT worker rights-scrapping and health care law-challenging ways to the United States Senate.

In a new interview with the Washington Post, Cucinelli says he's considering taking on Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) in 2014.

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Gang of Six

Source: Coburn Ditching Gang Of Six Over Plan To Cut Medicare

Brian Beutler | May 17, 2011, 5:30PM

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

Not since David Lee Roth left Van Halen has a defection augured so poorly for team success. On Tuesday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told reporters he was stepping away from the Gang of Six negotiations -- a bipartisan working group of senators putting together a plan to reduce the deficit and debt -- over their inability to agree on entitlement spending cuts.

After a bit of confusion over Coburn's status in these talks, his spokesman John Hart confirmed the departure in a statement, "He has decided to take a break from the talks."

A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Coburn ultimately broke ranks after members of the group rejected his proposal to introduce a global cap on Medicare spending that would have cut $150 billion from current beneficiaries.

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Social Security

Parsing The Game Of Six: Will They Try To Cut Social Security Benefits?

Brian Beutler | April 21, 2011, 1:17PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

The bipartisan group of six senators privately drafting a debt and deficit reduction plan have been unusually tight-lipped about their negotiations. That's probably necessary internally if the group's goal is to come to an agreement. But it's led to intense speculation about what's on the table, what shape their policy options are taking, and whether progressives will get a raw deal.

Of the six -- Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Mike Crapo (R-ID) -- only Durbin could be fairly described as a progressive. So the race is on to figure out where his bright lines are, and to what, if any, extent he's willing to walk away if the final agreement completely undermines progressive interests. But while his public statements in recent weeks don't lay out exactly what those bright lines are, he's tipped his hand in two important ways.

One big tell was his official public response to the House Republican budget, which doesn't meaningfully touch Social Security but basically obliterates Medicare and Medicaid, while not raising any new revenue, and lowering taxes on wealthy Americans.

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Bush Tax Cuts

Mark Warner: Eliminate Tax Cuts For The Wealthy, Give Them To Businesses (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 12, 2010, 5:05PM

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is offering a new compromise take on the Bush tax cuts. In a nutshell, the moderate Senator says Congress should hew to the President's plan to end tax cuts for the top 2% of earners -- but instead of using the new revenue to pay down the deficit as President Obama has suggested, Warner says it should be used to pay for new tax cuts aimed at boosting the economic activity of businesses.

Here's Warner's plan, as he laid it out in a Financial Times op-ed today:

Instead the administration should consider an alternative compromise. Extend the tax cuts just for 98 per cent, allowing the cuts for top wage earners to expire as scheduled. But instead of removing $65bn from the economy, we should work with the business community to enact $65bn in new, targeted business tax cuts and incentives to spur private-sector investment.

Warner says his proposal checks all the boxes. But with leaders on both sides of the "no compromise" line digging in, does it have much of a chance?

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Jobs

Unions Take Aim At Dems Protecting Money Managers Over The Unemployed

Brian Beutler | May 21, 2010, 2:05PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

Some of the Democrats who fought hardest to strengthen the Wall Street reform bill are at the same time seeking to preserve a tax loophole for money managers, which, if closed, could be used to pay for extending benefits, health care subsidies, and job creation for the unemployed. And now the biggest players in Democratic politics are taking aim at them.

"I don't know how you explain to the nurse struggling to pay her mortgage or the security guard whose son can't afford college that they should pay higher taxes than Wall Street hedge fund managers and venture capitalists," SEIU spokesperson Lori Lodes tells me. "They see what's happening in their communities - states cutting back vital services, more of their neighbors losing their jobs. What they will never be able to understand is Senators holding up a needed jobs package because they want to look out for money managers."

The senators she's talking about are almost all Democrats--including John Kerry (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who actually voted against Wall Street reform for not doing enough to rein in financial industry excess.

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Financial Reform

Why The GOP Suddenly Let Up On Financial Reform

Brian Beutler and Christina Bellantoni | April 21, 2010, 3:18PM

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL)

Within 48 hours, the Republican line on financial regulatory reform went from "filibuster" to "we're very close to a deal." Why the shift? Republicans and Democrats will offer up spin all day, chalking up the progress to their own doggedness, but in the end it comes down to a simple reality. Key Republicans, sincere about passing new rules for Wall Street, but intimidated by the notion of blocking financial regulatory reform, let it be known to their leadership that, at some point, they would side with Democrats to break a filibuster. Maybe not on round one, or even round two. But eventually.

"Folks on our side of the aisle want a bill," Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) told TPMDC and a few other reporters Monday night. "I know that. I just [had a] discussion with some of our leadership on the floor. You know, we want a bill."

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Sunday Shows

The Sunday Show Line-Ups

Eric Kleefeld | April 16, 2010, 3:53PM

Former President Bill Clinton

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

• ABC, This Week: Former President Bill Clinton.

• CBS, Face The Nation: Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA).

• CNN, State Of The Union: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA).

• Fox News Sunday: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Gen. Ray Odierno.

• NBC, Meet The Press: Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA).

Barack Obama

Offshoring Up Support: Obama Looks For Help From Democrats On Climate-Energy Legislation

Brian Beutler | April 1, 2010, 5:15PM

President Barack Obama

Was President Obama's big announcement yesterday that he plans to open vast swaths of the U.S. coastline to oil and natural gas drilling necessary to win Democratic support for comprehensive climate and energy legislation?

Though members of Congress and the media were thrown for a loop by the news, the announcement came as little surprise to others, particularly key Senate Democrats. This, they've accepted, is the price that must be paid to bring oil-patch Democrats into the fold on a more comprehensive energy bill.

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Mark Warner

Sen. Mark Warner Worries Congress 'Playing With Fire' If They Don't Raise Debt Limit

Christina Bellantoni | December 16, 2009, 12:55PM

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA)

Freshman Sen. Mark Warner has spent a lot of time with President Obama lately.

Warner (D-VA), is one of a handful of former governors serving in the chamber and has deep concerns about the nation's fiscal health. That's one reason he signed a letter suggesting he would not vote to raise the debt limit unless the long term problems were addressed.

But in a broad interview with TPMDC, Warner said while he is worried about the swelling deficit, Congress can't avoid raising the debt limit because it would rile the markets if they didn't.

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Health Care

Pryor: Reid Has Tried To Find The Middle-Ground Among Dems--But Has He Succeeded?

Brian Beutler | November 5, 2009, 5:38PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) hosted a meeting of moderate Democrats this afternoon, including Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Kent Conrad (D-ND), to compare notes on health care legislation. But, as is becoming a common theme around these parts, they say there's not much to discuss until they can see the bill with a CBO score.

After the meeting adjourned, I asked Pryor whether he and fellow moderates had sympathy for the idea, articulated most frequently by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had found the correct middle ground in his caucus by including a public option in the final bill. "I know that Harry Reid has tried to find the center of the caucus. I don't know that he has, I'm not saying he hasn't. But once we actually see this bill and know what's in there, we'll talk about it as a caucus," Pryor said.

Pryor suggested that there may be some number from CBO early next week, but was careful to note that those were merely rumors. If he's right, though, we will know plenty more in the days ahead.

Roundup

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | November 5, 2009, 8:58AM

Fmr. Gov. Mitt Romney (R), Fmr. Gov. George Pataki (R), Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)

Pawlenty, Romney And Pataki Call New Mayor Of Manchester, New Hampshire
Ted Gatsas, the new Republican mayor-elect of Manchester, New Hampshire, told ABC News that he's already received congratulatory phone calls from Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and George Pataki. "I don't know who is running for president but I don't mind telling you who has called," said Gatsas.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will speak at 9:30 a.m. ET, delivering opening remarks and participating in an interactive discussion with tribal leaders at the White House Tribal Nations Conference. He will meet with senior advisers at 11 a.m. ET, and receive his daily briefing at 11:40 a.m. ET. At 12:30 p.m. ET, he will have lunch with Vice President Biden. He will meet at 1:40 p.m. ET with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He will meet at 3 p.m. ET with President Ian Khama of Botswana. He will meet at 3:40 p.m. ET with representatives of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and at 4 p.m. ET with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At 4:50 p.m. ET, he will deliver closing remarks at the White House Tribal Nations Conference.

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VA-GOV

Deeds Tells Voters To Ignore Polls Showing Him Losing In Landslide

Christina Bellantoni | November 3, 2009, 9:20AM

State Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-VA) asks voters to back him at his final rally in Alexandria, Virginia Nov. 2, 2009

State Sen. Creigh Deeds closed his final rally in the Virginia governor's race on a hopeful note, telling a few hundred supporters gathered in Alexandria last night the only poll that matters is taken today between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.

But in a less-than-inspirational aside, Deeds (D-VA) also said he was encouraged by the results in his local Bath County high school mock election.

"That's a precursor to this election -- we're on our way baby," Deeds said, to laughter.

Deeds backers told the crowd they know Deeds is behind by double digits but they "are hearing something different" in the calls they make to get-out-the-vote.

It was also Obamatime, as each speaker urged voters to "remember how it felt" when Barack Obama held his final rally in Manassas, Virginia the night before capturing the state and the presidency.

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Health Care

Warner: I'll Vote For Public Option if Health Care Reform Legislation Contains Costs

Brian Beutler | August 27, 2009, 4:53PM

A spokesman for Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) confirms to me that Warner would vote for a health care bill with a public option. "It's not a make or break thing--he wants to see a health reform bill that contains costs, and if it includes a public option...he would vote for it."

The blog Blue Virginia first reported Warner's position this afternoon, though Warner's office notes that his support for any legislation--public option or no--is contingent upon its ability to control costs.

Warner has been ambivalent about the public option in the recent past, but this is the clearest indication yet that he'd support the measure.