| Weiner says he's done talking about Twitpic |
Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/31/weiner-says-hes-done-talking-about-twitpic/
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Rep. Anthony Weiner gets a skeptical reception from reporters after he suggests that he will move on from the so-called ?Weinergate? story that erupted over the weekend. In this clip from CNN, Weiner says the story will go away on its own, to which one reporter responds that the story would go away more quickly if Weiner would answer some of the questions ? such as whether he?s pressing for an investigation, whether this was a ?hack? or a ?prank,? and so forth. Weiner tells the reporters that he?s not convinced answering questions will do much good, a response that they clearly don?t accept:
Allahpundit has been linking the most prominent ?Weinergate? stories in the headlines, but neither of us have had anything to say about the story until now. For my part ? I won?t speak for AP ? the explanation could have gone either way, and I had no opinion on which I thought it might be. Considering that the picture didn?t contain any identifying attributes, nothing about it suggested that it depicted Rep. Weiner at all, except for it being on his Twitter thread. I wanted to wait for a response from Weiner, and given the fact that this happened over a holiday weekend, I kept an open mind about the possibilities.
Weiner?s response seems odd under the circumstances. It might be that Weiner is still telling the truth and just believes this will blow over with the ?hacking? explanation and a stonewall strategy from him, but if so, it?s not a safe bet that it will work. The mainstream press seems to be getting pretty curious about Weiner?s Twitter habits, and that may or may not go away with a lack of response from Weiner. One would expect some pretty emphatic denials from a wronged politician, including a demand to track down the culprits of a political dirty trick. A ?let?s move along, nothing to see here? attitude at least suggests that Weiner isn?t terribly anxious for an investigation, which raises questions of its own.
I?ve been following the story at Ace?s place this weekend, and I?d recommend readers continue to follow the course of the story there (as well as Big Journalism, which reported it first, and our friends at Verum Serum). I?m still not convinced much of any particular explanation, but Weiner?s response raises a lot more questions than it doesn?t answer.
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Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/05/31/weiner-lets-move-on-shall-we/
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 (CNN) - A weekend controversy involving a lewd photo posted on the Twitter account of Rep. Anthony Weiner is a "prank" caused by a hacker, Weiner told CNN on Monday. Weiner, a New York Democrat who is one of the leading liberal voices in the House, blamed the photo on a hacker who got control of his social networking accounts. FULL STORY |
Here?s an update for those of you following the whereabouts of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska.
She?s not at the Gettysburg battlefield, but rumor has it she?s on her way, having just toured Fort McHenry in Baltimore. And before that, Ms. Palin and her family spent about an hour at Mount Vernon, touring the home of the first president.
Welcome to Day 2 of the ?One Nation? bus tour. Unlike on Sunday, Ms. Palin actually used the bus today. And she talked ? however briefly ? to reporters on Monday, confirming outside�Baltimore that her tour would eventually take her to Iowa.
?I?m sure at some point I will be going to Iowa,? Ms. Palin told reporters, according to Peter Hamby of CNN.
Reporters also Tweeted that when Ms. Palin was asked about the 2012 field, she mentioned Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and said he would be a good candidate for president. ?We have a lot in common,? she said, according to Shushannah Walshe, a reporter for The Daily Beast.
Ms. Palin and her secretive advisers continued their pattern of refusing to tell reporters where she planned to go, leaving reporters scrambling to race from place to place, hoping to catch her briefly.
Reporters caught up with her as she emerged from the National Archives, but she largely avoided them at Mount Vernon, being taken in and out through a VIP entrance.
In Baltimore, she was stopped by a camera-wielding�pack. And then she headed off again in the bus, heading, we think, to Gettysburg. The CNN Express bus, and the anchor John King, waited patiently in the Gettysburg heat, hoping�she was coming.
?Gettysburg store manager tried 2 contact @Sarahpalinusa 2 arrange book signing but no response,? Mr. King Tweeted as he toured downtown Gettysburg while he waited.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/on-the-road-more-or-less-with-palin/
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 (CNN) ? Sarah Palin told CNN on Monday that she plans to take her "One Nation" bus tour to Iowa, the state that votes first in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. "I'm sure at some point I will be going to Iowa," Palin said during a visit to Fort McHenry in Baltimore. "At some point." The trip would be Palin's first visit to Iowa since December, when she stopped there during a book tour. She also addressed a fund-raising dinner for the Iowa Republican Party last September. Palin and her family were mobbed by television cameras after her arrival at Fort McHenry, the fort that famously defended Baltimore from a British assault during the War of 1812. The battle served as the inspiration for the national anthem, Francis Scott Key's "Star Spangled Banner." Asked about her 2012 thinking, Palin said her family's concerns come first. But she also said the unsettled nature of the Republican presidential field has left the door open for other candidates, herself included, to join the nomination fight. "It's going to be a changed-up field between now and when deadlines finally arrive for declaring," Palin told CNN. While she said she is "satisfied" with the Republicans who are already in the process of campaigning, she predicted that the field "is going to change up a lot." "I believe that there are many more out there who have much more to add," she said. "Competition breeds success. I hope there is going to be vigorous debate and a lot of good aggressive competition even in the primary so our voters have a good choice." Unprompted, Palin brought up Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who said last week that he plans to consider a presidential bid. "I think he would be a fine candidate," she said. "We have a lot in common. I really like him. But there are so many candidates and potential candidates out there who have so much to offer." |
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The actual news from the latest Gallup poll isn?t that veterans and active-duty military give Barack Obama a lower approval rating.� It?s that Obama?s barely drafting a majority among civilians in his best age demographics.� That?s bad news for the President given that younger voters notoriously turn out less in national elections:
U.S. military veterans and those currently on active military duty are less likely to approve of President Obama?s job performance than are Americans of comparable ages who are not in the military. ?
Thirty-seven percent of all active-duty military personnel and veterans surveyed approved of the job Obama is doing during the January 2010 to April 2011 time frame. That compares with 48% of nonveterans interviewed during the same period.
Obama?s approval rating varies by age, with younger Americans in general most likely to approve and older Americans least likely. The gap in approval between veterans/active duty military and nonveterans persists across the age spectrum, from 18- to 29-year-olds to those 80 and older.
First, these approval ratings might not even be all that current.� The survey took 238,000 responses from a time period that stretched 16 months.� Obama?s approval rating in January 2010 was significantly higher in Gallup?s polling (51/43) than it was in April 2011 (44/47).� The results of this analysis have been stretched out too far to make it an accurate reflection of reality today for that reason, as well as the fact that it doesn?t include any responses after the death of Osama bin Laden, which might have pushed some of the veteran/active duty responses a bit upward.
Putting those issues aside, the age demographic breakdown does show an interesting pattern.� As respondents get older, the difference between service and civilians narrows considerably.� It starts at 14 points among 18-29YOs, and narrows to six points for 50-59YOs before going back to ten points among 60-69YOs.� Unfortunately for Obama, he only gets majority approval from civilians in the first two age categories, and not spectacular approval at that ? 58% among 18-29YOs and 51% for 30-39YOs.� Given that younger voters provided all of the enthusiasm for his first campaign, these are tepid numbers for an incumbent that now has to run on a disastrous economic record that only seems to be getting worse this year.
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May 27th, 2011 at 2:22 PM by Marie Diamond
On Wednesday, Barletta sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson asking the agency to perform additional testing in the Carroll/Mill Street neighborhood.[...]?Frankly, this is unacceptable. The EPA?s own Web site indicates that one of the agency?s primary reasons for existence is to ensure that ?all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.??[...]
?I was surprised to hear an EPA official basically tell the residents of the Carroll/Mill neighborhood that they would not conduct soil and water testing to find answers. It is absolutely the EPA?s job, and I?m going to make sure that job is done. The residents are scared, and they deserve answers and peace of mind.?
That?s an ironic position for Barletta, considering how often he?s tried to prevent the EPA from doing its job. In February, Barletta voted with the rest of the Republican-controlled House for an amendment that slashed funding for the EPA. Republicans were retaliating against the agency for its efforts to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions. Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), one of the authors of the amendment, said, ?The era of EPA overstepping its authority by imposing over-burdensome and unnecessary regulations at the expense of American businesses is over.?
Barletta?s vote to gut funding for the EPA flew in the face of popular opinion in his own district. A survey by Public Policy Polling found that 70 percent of voters in Barletta?s 11th Congressional District opposed Barletta?s vote to block the EPA from setting limits for carbon dioxide pollution. Those opposed included 58 percent of independents and 53 percent of Republicans. Voters also opposed Barletta?s votes to ?prevent the EPA from reducing arsenic, mercury and other toxic pollution from cement kilns, or from collecting any data about carbon and other pollutants.?
It?s pretty audacious to attack an agency for not doing enough mere months after attacking them for doing too much. Barletta should hope his constituents have short memories and forget his attempts to stop the EPA from�upholding health standards that Republicans insisted were a ?burden? to business.
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Source: http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/27/barletta-epa/
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Stephen Crowley/The New York Times On this Memorial Day weekend, CNN?s ?State of the Union? and TV One?s ?Washington Watch? are recognizing the holiday by probing the challenges facing military personnel and veterans.
CNN features Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington and chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, who will discuss how unemployment troubles are plaguing veterans. She?s joined by General Peter Chiarelli, the Army?s vice chief of staff; Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America; Tim Tetz, legislative director for the American Legion; and Dale Beatty, co-founder of Purple Heart Homes. The guests will shed light on the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and housing options for wounded veterans, among other topics.
Also on CNN: Gov. Jay Nixon, Democrat of Missouri, updates viewers on the devastation and recovery efforts in Joplin, Mo., following last week?s tornado.
Major General Vincent Brooks, who was the first African American to command Fort Riley and will soon assume command of the U.S. Army Central Command, is a guest on TV One this weekend. Joining him and other military personnel on the show is retired First Sgt. Albert Curley, one of the last surviving Buffalo Soldiers who served in the Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Senator John McCain, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appears on ?Fox News Sunday,? as will Representatives Allen West, Republican of Florida, and Donna Edwards, Democrat of Maryland.
Following another week of build-up toward the 2012 election, former Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, who has announced he will run for president, and Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana, who has announced he will not run, will be on ABC?s ?This Week.?
CBS?s ?Face the Nation? and NBC?s ?Meet the Press? are also talking about 2012 and the implications for that election the current budget negotiations may have. On CBS, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic National Committee chairwoman, face off on the Republican jobs plan and the politics of Medicare. Meanwhile, NBC has Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democratic Policy Committee chairman.
C-Span?s ?Newsmakers? features key player Senator Tom Coburn, the Republican of Oklahoma who recently dropped out of the Gang of Six, the bipartisan group tasked with forging a budget agreement.
South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn, who is the third highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, also weighs in on the subject on Bloomberg?s ?Political Capital.?
And at the end of a week that saw the Supreme Court uphold Arizona?s law enforcing harsh punishments for employers of illegal immigrants, Univision?s ?Al Punto? has Ana Hernandez Luna, a Democratic state representative of Texas, which is in the process of passing its own strict anti-immigration laws. Ms. Hernandez Luna recently became a face of the issue when she shared her story of once being an undocumented immigrant on the floor of the state Legislature.
Mitt Romney?s first visit to Iowa this year was cut short when burned popcorn set off fire alarms, but not before assuring voters that he was ?fully committed? to competing in the state?s caucuses.
Matt Bai offers his assessment of the influence of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, on the 2012 presidential race if she does indeed choose to enter the Republican primary.
Senator Mitch McConnell knows one of the golden rules of politics: when your friends are down, do some punching on their behalf.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Senior officials at the White House want to make sure President Obama is associated with one word: tough.
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, has used tactics that have enraged both Democratic and G.O.P. leaders.
No high-profile Democrat has emerged to take on Senator Scott P. Brown, a popular leader and the lone Republican in the state?s Congressional delegation.
With a few offhand words, Gov. Rick Perry joined a list of Republican leaders who are testing the waters for 2012.
The ruling drew from the Supreme Court?s landmark decision last year that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.
Although the autopen, a mechanical signature-producing device, has been in wide use for decades, it had apparently never been used to sign a bill into law before.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/sunday-breakfast-menu-may-29/
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters as he meets with Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan at the G8 summit in Deauville, France, May 26, 2011.
(Credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)Pres. Obama was 3,700 miles from the White House at the G8 Summit in Deauville, France, when Congress voted final passage of a bill to extend the life of three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, provisions deemed important by the president.
There was no way to get the bill signed by Mr. Obama in France before the Thursday midnight deadline, so aides say he authorized his staff secretary to use the "autopen" to sign the bill for him.
"Failure to sign this legislation poses a significant risk to U.S. national security," said Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest. "Congress approved the extension, and the president directed the use of the autopen to sign it."
The "autopen" is a device used by the White House for decades to sign the million Christmas cards a president sends out each year. It's used by political committees to appeal on the president's name for contributions.
But this is the first time that we know of an "autopen" was used to sign legislation into law. And it raises the question: is it legal?
See what Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution says:
"Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approves he shall sign it..."
It says "he shall sign it." It doesn't say he can have an aide use a mechanical device to affix a facsimile of his signature to the legislation.
Questioned about the constitutionality of using an autopen to sign a bill for the president, the White House pointed to a 2005 opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. At the end of a 29-page review that includes obscure legal references and frequent citations of common lawn, the OLC came to this opinion:
"...we conclude that the President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law. Rather, the President may sign a bill within the meaning of Article I, Section 7 by directing a subordinate to affix the President's signature to such a bill, for example by autopen."
And that's what President Obama did.
Spokesman Nick Shapiro says Mr. Obama was awakened at 5:45 a.m. in Deauville, France, by the staff secretary on the trip, to review and approve the Patriot Act bill. With 15 minutes before the deadline, "he then directed that the autopen be used so it could be signed into law."
We're told the aide sent word back to the White House to put President Obama's John Hancock on the bill robotically with the autopen.
A White House staffer says it was first time the autopen has been used by President Obama to sign a bill into law.
Former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card tells CBS News that President George W. Bush never used the autopen to sign a bill, even though the legal opinion validating such a practice was produced during his administration.
The Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of using an "autopen" to sign a bill into law.
And if the president can authorize a machine be used to enact legislation, could he ask one of his daughters to sign his name to a new law?
When one member of Congress first heard that an autopen had been used to enact legislation, he first thought it was a joke.
Congressman Tom Graves, R-Ga., worries what might happen if the president is hospitalized or otherwise in a state of diminished capacity.
"...Can a group of aggressive Cabinet members interpret a wink or a squeeze of the hand as approval of an autopen signing?" says Graves. "I am very concerned about what this means for future presidential orders, whether they be signing bills into law, military orders, or executive orders."
Republican Rep. Tom Graves questions "autopen" signing
Graves is requesting that President Obama provide a detailed explanation of his authority to delegate this responsibility to a surrogate, "whether it is human, machine, or otherwise."
Interestingly, when the White House put out official word that the president had signed the Patriot Act measure at 11:54 p.m. Thursday night, 6 minutes before the deadline, the announcement did not mention that an autopen had been used.
The White House is defending the use of the autopen, but it will release a photo of the signing machine or even disclose the name of the manufacturer or model number of the device.
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Michelle Obama's European style The first lady packed a wardrobe of fashionable items for her six-day tour of Europe with husband President Barack Obama
G8 Summit in France President Barack Obama and other G8 leaders take part in a two-day summit in the French coastal town of Deauville
Day in pictures A glimpse at the days news as seen through a camera's lens
Jeff Conaway: 1950-2011 Actor Jeff Conaway, best known for roles in the hit musical "Grease" and the 1970s TV series "Taxi," dies at 60
Best U.S. beaches 2011 Florida International University professor Steven Leatherman - "Dr. Beach" - has compiled his annual list of best beaches
Measles: 7 things parents must know Measles is back in a big way. Here's how to keep your little ones safe
America's 10 most dangerous cities FBI releases data that shows the U.S. cities with the highest violent crime rates in 2010
Our daily Web show, Washington Unplugged, gives an insider's view of politics & those that make it happen.
More Washington Unplugged...Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20066958-503544.html
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The Institute for Justice won a big victory for mobile vendors in El Paso by having a protectionist zoning restriction repealed after filing lawsuits challenging their constitutionality. Street vendors had to conduct business outside of a thousand-yard zone where any other restaurants operated, a scheme that the city admitted had no basis in safety or health concerns. The local restaurant association pushed for the zoning restrictions as a way to protect their businesses, and the city responded by virtually outlawing mobile vendors from operating where potential consumers are:
IJ explained the fight in January:
Practiced since ancient times, street vending is more popular than ever. The Economist magazine predicted that in 2011 ?some of the best food Americans eat may come from a food truck.? Vendors are the darlings of many food critics, and they even have their own reality show on the Food Network.
But El Paso, Texas, has recently made it illegal for mobile food vendors to operate within 1,000-feet of any restaurant, convenience store, or grocer. The city even prohibits vendors from parking to await customers, which forces vendors to constantly drive around town until a customer successfully flags them down?and then be on the move again as soon as the customer walks away.
Thus, while people across the country embrace mobile vendors for the vitality and creativity they bring to a local restaurant scene, El Paso has decided to threaten vendors with thousands of dollars in fines and effectively run them out of town. El Paso?s No-Vending Zone scheme is in place for one reason: to protect brick-and-mortar restaurants from honest competition. But economic protectionism is not a valid use of government power.
The idea that local government should protect one legitimate business from another is absurd. Even the almost-equally absurd attempts by Los Angeles to restrict fast-food franchises in low-income areas aren?t (explicitly) based on local protectionism, since higher-ticket restaurants are hardly rushing to fill vacancies in restaurant spaces in LA. Degrees of exclusivity in location are sometimes negotiated in private leasing agreements with landlords, but the city doesn?t have the right to tell one restaurateur that they can?t operate in the vicinity of another simply to protect one business at the expense of the second.
Do mobile vendors undercut restaurant business? Probably, but (a) only at the lower price points, and (b) that?s called competition.� People who want a restaurant experience won?t be eating from roach coaches or ice-cream trucks.� If the local McDonald?s or cheap eatery can?t compete on price and quality with the mobile vendors, why should consumers be denied the choice?
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Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/05/28/video-no-vending-zones-get-defeated-in-el-paso/
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Dennis Kucinich spent last weekend about as far from Washington DC as he could get, and almost as far from his Cleveland district as well, to check out suburban Seattle.� Kucinich will likely lose his Cleveland district in Ohio?s new Congressional map, which means he won?t have any hope of returning to Congress while living in Ohio.� The state of Washington will pick up a seat, and Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington?s 1st CD is mulling over a run for governor rather than a return to Congress in next year?s election.
Kucinich obviously sees the D+9 district as a great landing place for an Ohio carpetbagger, especially with Inslee leaving the seat open.� But could Kucinich instead turn an easy hold into a Republican takeaway?� A new poll by Survey USA suggests that very outcome:
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee, from Washington State?s 1st Congressional District, is well liked and surrenders solid Democratic footing in that district were he to run for Governor, according to this latest KING5 News poll conducted by SurveyUSA. ?
Given the choice between having a representative in Congress who shares one?s values or who has roots in the community, shared values is 3:1 preferred to roots. Yet at the time time, voters by 6:1 tell SurveyUSA that Kucinich would do a worse job representing them in Congress than someone who has lived in the District longer, indicative of the headwinds that an outsider, transplanted into the District for the purpose of running, would encounter.
Inslee?s favorability in the survey is +24 (56/32), not surprising considering that he?s on his sixth term representing the district.� Kucinich, on the other hand, scores a -25 favorability (21/46).� Kucinich?s favorability among Democrats is positive ? barely, at 32/31.� It?s a laughable 17/53 among independents, and 12/47 among self-described moderates.� He also starts off severely negative on entrenched support/opposition at 15/38 regardless of opponent. Only 31% of self-professed liberals would vote for Kucinich above all other candidates; 57% want to shop around a while.
Even in this D+9 district in a Democratic state, Kucinich?s kooky ?Department of Peace? initiative gets poor marks at 34/48, and among independents it?s a disastrous 22/59.� Moderates in the district seem to understand that we already have a State Department for diplomatic efforts; they balk at the idea by a 30/51 margin.� Kucinich?s main platform doesn?t get support from any demographics except Democrats (52/28) and liberals (56/22).
Kucinich?s attempt to carpetbag into a district 2000 miles away is a desperate attempt to justify his grip on power in Washington DC, a transparent effort that will get soundly rejected by WA-01.� If Democrats want to hand this seat to a Republican, they could hardly do better than putting a lifelong Cleveland politician on the ballot.
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Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/05/28/could-kucinich-turn-wa-01-red-in-2012/
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Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, released this video on the Web site of her political action committee on Friday, two days ahead of the beginning of a bus tour through the country.
The video opens with a shot of a grizzly bear roaring. Ms. Palin says that ?the Constitution provides the best road map toward a more perfect union.?
Ms. Palin?s bus tour begins on Sunday with a stop at the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally in Washington, D.C.
Senator Mitch McConnell knows one of the golden rules of politics: when your friends are down, do some punching on their behalf.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Matt Bai offers his assessment of the influence of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, on the 2012 presidential race if she does indeed choose to enter the Republican primary.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Senior officials at the White House want to make sure President Obama is associated with one word: tough.
After an unsatisfactory showing at the Iowa caucuses in 2008, Mitt Romney is weighing the question of how extensively he should campaign there.
Officials described the visit as an effort to measure Pakistan?s commitment to fighting extremism after the killing of Osama bin Laden strained relations with Washington.
A 5-to-3 ruling appeared to endorse vigorous state efforts to punish employers who intentionally hire illegal workers.
The president, speaking in France, faced down crosscutting pressures to marshal economic support for the Arab Spring success stories, while boosting America?s role in Libya.
President Obama has shifted from protecting civilians to regime change, but NATO faces tensions over how long it will take.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/palin-releases-video-ahead-of-bus-tour/
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Senator Mitch McConnell knows one of the golden rules of politics: when your friends are down, do some punching on their behalf.
Philip Scott Andrews/The New York TimesMitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader from Kentucky, discusses the ongoing budget debate at a news conference on Capitol Hill. Mr. McConnell, the Senate minority leader, took advantage of a quiet Friday morning before a holiday weekend to make some things clear on behalf of his party: the defeat of a Republican in a New York special election portends nothing; any compromise to lift the debt ceiling will include a reshaping of the Medicare program but not tax increases; and Bill Clinton agrees with Republicans.
In a news conference Friday, Mr. McConnell criticized his Democratic colleagues in the Senate for having ?no plan at all? to reduce the nation?s deficit or to cut spending, and he repeated former President Clinton?s warnings to his party this week that they must address Medicare.
Mr. McConnell did not specifically mention Representative Paul D. Ryan, who wrote the budget that failed in the Senate this week, or Mr. Ryan?s plan to convert Medicare into a subsidized program for the private insurance market.
Mr. McConnell would not say whether he agrees with the House idea for Medicare, nor would he specify the amount of cuts he would require to vote to raise the debt ceiling. But he did reiterate that he would need to see short- and long-term cuts and changes to entitlement programs, and that he would not accept any tax increases.
?Medicare is on the table,? he said. ?We don?t have this problem because we tax too little. We have it because we spent too much. And I am confident that taxes are not going to be a part of this.?
When pressed about the political ramifications of pressing for cuts to the Medicare program, Mr. McConnell pointed to Ronald Reagan?s landslide election after reforming the Social Security program with Democrats in Congress, and dismissed the notion that the Republican loss in a heavily Republican district in upstate New York on Tuesday was a harbinger of future political problems for his party.
?What I don?t understand is all this hand wringin? about the politics,? he said. ?Anything we agree to do together will not be an issue in next year?s election.?
Asked if the Republican plan needed a better sell, Mr. McConnell said: ?I?m trying to do that. I don?t think it?s that hard. I?m going to quote Bill Clinton.?
Senator Mitch McConnell knows one of the golden rules of politics: when your friends are down, do some punching on their behalf.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Matt Bai offers his assessment of the influence of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, on the 2012 presidential race if she does indeed choose to enter the Republican primary.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Senior officials at the White House want to make sure President Obama is associated with one word: tough.
After an unsatisfactory showing at the Iowa caucuses in 2008, Mitt Romney is weighing the question of how extensively he should campaign there.
Officials described the visit as an effort to measure Pakistan?s commitment to fighting extremism after the killing of Osama bin Laden strained relations with Washington.
A 5-to-3 ruling appeared to endorse vigorous state efforts to punish employers who intentionally hire illegal workers.
The president, speaking in France, faced down crosscutting pressures to marshal economic support for the Arab Spring success stories, while boosting America?s role in Libya.
President Obama has shifted from protecting civilians to regime change, but NATO faces tensions over how long it will take.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/mcconnell-downplays-politics-of-medicare/
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John Edwards had lunch Thursday with Rachel Mellon, the reclusive banking heiress known as Bunny who is a potentially major witness in his pending legal case, according to ABC News.
William Taylor III, a lawyer for Mrs. Mellon, confirmed the meeting to The Associated Press.
ABC cited ?multiple sources? at Mrs. Mellon?s estate in Northern Virginia in its report, but the network said the purpose of the visit was unclear. Mr. Taylor told the A.P. that the visit was ?entirely personal,? and that the two did not discuss his legal situation.
Federal prosecutors say that Mrs. Mellon, who is 100 years old, contributed $4 million to political entities tied to Mr. Edwards, a Democrat and former senator from North Carolina, during his 2008 presidential campaign. They say he used $700,000 from Mrs. Mellon to cover up his extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter, a campaign videographer, and to support the child he fathered with her.
Prosecutors say Mr. Edwards violated campaign finance laws by misusing campaign funds for personal reasons; Mr. Edwards and his lawyers have said that Mr. Edwards never spent campaign money for personal purposes and that the government is only testing a ?theory? that has no basis in fact or law.
Mrs. Mellon?s lawyers have said that the $700,000 was a personal gift not subject to campaign election laws and that she did not know how Mr. Edwards was spending it.
The Justice Department is on the verge of indicting Mr. Edwards on felony charges involving campaign finance violations, which could lead to a trial. He could avert a trial by reaching a plea bargain, but people close to the case say prosecutors are insisting he plead guilty to a felony, not a misdemeanor. A felony could cost him his law license.
People close to Mr. Edwards said they expected either an indictment or a plea agreement to be announced within a week.
In visiting Mrs. Mellon, Mr. Edwards may have been trying to gauge the degree to which she could serve as a useful witness on his behalf if he wanted to fight the government in court. It is not clear if she would face any legal ramifications if he pleaded guilty.
Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Mellon?s lawyer, said that Mr. Edwards?s visit was ?entirely personal and social.? He said there was ?no discussion of anything related to his situation.?
Senator Mitch McConnell knows one of the golden rules of politics: when your friends are down, do some punching on their behalf.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Matt Bai offers his assessment of the influence of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, on the 2012 presidential race if she does indeed choose to enter the Republican primary.
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Is Sarah Palin pulling a Donald Trump on the political universe?
Senior officials at the White House want to make sure President Obama is associated with one word: tough.
After an unsatisfactory showing at the Iowa caucuses in 2008, Mitt Romney is weighing the question of how extensively he should campaign there.
Officials described the visit as an effort to measure Pakistan?s commitment to fighting extremism after the killing of Osama bin Laden strained relations with Washington.
A 5-to-3 ruling appeared to endorse vigorous state efforts to punish employers who intentionally hire illegal workers.
The president, speaking in France, faced down crosscutting pressures to marshal economic support for the Arab Spring success stories, while boosting America?s role in Libya.
President Obama has shifted from protecting civilians to regime change, but NATO faces tensions over how long it will take.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/edwards-has-lunch-with-banking-heiress/
