The Commentariat -- Feb. 13, 2014
Ashley Parker of the New York Times: "Senate Republican leaders on Wednesday rescued a measure to raise the nation's borrowing limit, overcoming a threatened filibuster from members of their own party and averting a potential shock to the economy. A vote to cut off debate on the debt ceiling measure passed 67 to 31, after a dramatic scene on the floor when Republicans managed to muster 12 votes in support, clearing the way for final approval. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, waited nearly a half-hour as their Republican colleagues refused to vote to end debate on the bill. When it was clear that the debt ceiling increase would fail, they stepped forward in tandem to deliver the deciding votes. Other Republicans followed by changing their votes." ...
... Steve Benen: "Democrats and Republicans could have reached a unanimous-consent agreement, approve the bill in seconds, and gone home. Barring that, there could have also been a simple up-or-down vote. Every Republican could have voted 'no,' knowing that the must-pass bill would clear the Senate anyway. But [Ted] Cruz wanted a confrontation. He demanded that Democrats first break a GOP filibuster, knowing it would force some Republicans to break ranks and cast an awkward political vote. In other words, Cruz made matters tougher on many of his ostensible Republican allies -- on purpose.... The new Cruz looks an awful lot like the old Cruz." ...
... Charles Pierce: "So the Republicans in the Senate decided to let Ted Cruz once again romp in the fields of the stupid for a while, before voting him back into four-point restraints so the Senate could pass the increase in the debt limit. This is in large part because Mitch McConnell who, in matters of principle, is often struck with sudden attacks of invisibility, has a Tea Party challenger in his primary and a well-financed, popular Democratic opponent waiting for him in the general election, if he survives." ...
... Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "For the fifth time since January 2013, [Speaker John] Boehner on Tuesday effectively turned the floor of the House over to Democrats to secure must-pass legislation. But rather than weakening his control of the House, he may have strengthened it. He showed a relish for combat, both with the ranks of his right-wing antagonists in the House and with the increasingly angry Tea Party activists off Capitol Hill." ...
... Russell Berman of the Hill: "Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) abrupt decision to capitulate and hand President Obama a straightforward debt-ceiling increase resulted from simmering divisions that have virtually paralyzed his majority. On an issue that once defined his Speakership, Boehner is now confronting a president who won't negotiate and a conference that can't coalesce around an offer.... While Boehner spoke only of the debt limit on Tuesday, internal divisions have taken down bills or stymied progress on a host of issues in recent years, including immigration, appropriations bills, a major highway proposal and an alternative to Obama's healthcare reform law." CW: Lovely to see straight news stories with a lede that (correctly) characterizes House Republicans as "paralyzed." Of course they aren't reading the Hill in Peoria. ...
... Carl Hulse of the New York Times: The House vote "was the purest incarnation yet of what has become known as the Vote No, Hope Yes Caucus. Most Republicans badly wanted the debt limit to be raised ... They just did not want their fingerprints on it. The implications for governing are obvious. If many lawmakers are unwilling or refuse to vote for legislation that they understand to be necessary, and even beneficial, out of fear of retribution from an empowered and outspoken wing of their party, reaching agreement on major policy like immigration becomes difficult if not impossible." ...
... Frank Rich on the House vote, Hillary Clinton & gay rights. ...
... John Stanton of BuzzFeed: "A group of House Republicans has received a mysterious threat in recent weeks: an anonymous email that promises political retribution for those who vote yes to a debt-limit increase -- sent to their closely guarded personal email addresses. Because of the near-secret nature of lawmakers' internal email addresses, the emails have raised more than a few eyebrows -- and the possibility that one of their own was behind, or at least assisting in the attacks.... 'It's got to be another member. Probably one of the crazy ones,' said a Republican who had seen the email...." CW: So even some House Republicans describe certain colleagues as "the crazy ones." ...
... Hunter of Daily Kos. "One of the crazy ones"? "That doesn't really narrow it down much now, does it?"
Katie Glueck of Politico: "Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday officially filed his class-action lawsuit against the Obama administration over National Security Agency data collection, joining with two prominent tea party leaders to make the announcement. Paul, a libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican and potential presidential contender, inveighed against NSA surveillance and promised a 'historic' lawsuit. He and his allies hope to take the case, which focuses on the NSA's gathering of telephone metadata, to the Supreme Court." ...
... CW: AND kudos to Glueck for featuring this in her report: "Paul has been publicly promoting the lawsuit for weeks -- an effort that appears to also be helping him build a campaign infrastructure for 2016, when he's up for reelection to the Senate and when the White House is in play. He initially directed potential class-action signatories to websites including RandPAC.com and to his Facebook page, which sent visitors to RandPaul2016.com. Signing up on both sites also added visitors to his campaign's email lists. Now the senator also is pushing Defendthe4th.com, a reference to the Fourth Amendment. The Paul campaign arm will still be able to access those email lists, an adviser to the senator confirmed. They are working in conjunction with the FreedomWorks-backed initiative ConstitutionDefenseFund.com." ...
... ** The Cooch -- "Dumb as a Box of Rocks." Dana Milbank: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ... stands accused of filing a lawsuit stolen from its author." Attorney Bruce Fein drafted the NSA suit for Paul. "But when Paul filed his suit at the U.S. District Court in Washington on Wednesday morning, Fein’s name had been replaced with that of Ken Cuccinelli.... Fein, who has not been paid in full for his legal work by Paul's political action committee, was furious.... 'I am aghast and shocked by Ken Cuccinelli's behavior and his absolute knowledge that this entire complaint was the work product, intellectual property and legal genius of Bruce Fein,' Mattie Fein, his ex-wife and spokeswoman, told me Wednesday. "Ken Cuccinelli stole the suit," she said, adding that Paul, who "already has one plagiarism issue, now has a lawyer who just takes another lawyer's work product." CW: Milbank's column, thanks to the unintended cooperation of his subjects, is more than a laugh-a-minute.
Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "For the first time since the federal and state health-insurance marketplaces opened early last fall, the number of people who signed up for coverage exceeded the government's expectations for the month in January, bringing the overall total to about 3.3 million. Across the country, nearly 1.2 million people enrolled in health plans last month through the new insurance exchanges -- more than federal officials had envisioned when they compiled monthly targets late last summer, weeks before the sign-ups began." ...
... Sam Baker of the National Journal: "With two months left to go, Obamacare enrollment is on track to hand the White House a significant win over the law's critics. About 3.3 million people had signed up for private insurance plans through the end of January, according to new data the Health and Human Services Department released Wednesday. January itself was a little better than expected, and the growth put the administration within reach of a strong total when open enrollment ends in March. There are significant gaps in the data that could affect assessment of the law's ultimate success, but barring any wild surprises, things are looking good for the White House." ...
... Steve Benen: "The law's detractors won't want to hear this, but the imminent implosion of the Affordable Care Act has been cancelled." The fact that Republicans are pinning their future hopes on (a) bashing ObamaCare, but (b) not governing, is looking less & less like a winner. ...
... Kevin Bogardus & Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was in frequent contact with President Obama and senior White House aides before the disastrous launch of the federal ObamaCare exchange last year. While Sebelius has said the president was not aware of HealthCare.gov's problems, more than 750 pages of documents obtained by The Hill through a Freedom of Information Act request show she made scores of visits to the White House." CW: This is consistent with what the White House has said in the past, but you do wonder: what-all did they talk about? And does it take an FOIA request to get this information? ...
... ** SNAFU. Right Hand & Left Hand Not Communicating. Evan McMorris-Santoro of BuzzFeed: "Saturday is National Youth Enrollment Day for Obamacare, a day designed to help make up for youth recruitment time lost while HealthCare.gov was down last year. It will be marked by a broad array of events, from Head Start information sessions to pub crawls. The day will also feature a HealthCare.gov outage that came as a surprise to the White House allies who have been planning Feb. 15 enrollment activities for weeks.... The Obamacare website outage begins at 3 p.m. ET and carries on through Tuesday at 5 a.m. ET."
Michael Isikoff of NBC News: "civilian NSA employee recently resigned after being stripped of his security clearance for allowing former agency contractor Edward Snowden to use his personal log-in credentials to access classified information, according to an agency memo obtained by NBC News. In addition, an active duty member of the U.S. military and a contractor have been barred from accessing National Security Agency facilities after they were 'implicated' in actions that may have aided Snowden.... While the memo's account is sketchy, it suggests that, contrary to Snowden's statements, he used an element of trickery to retrieve his trove of tens of thousands of classified documents...."
Ben Armbruster of Think Progress: "More than one hundred members of the House of Representatives -- Democrats and Republicans -- have signed a letter supporting President Obama’s diplomatic approach to Iran's nuclear program and urging their colleagues to avoid passing 'bills or resolutions' that could jeopardize current talks with Tehran. The push to pass more sanctions on Iran has stalled for now, but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is reportedly working with Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on text for a non-binding resolution outlining acceptable outcomes of any final agreement with Iran over its nuclear program (Hoyer backed off the resolution in December after pressure from Obama administration officials, other lawmakers and activists)."
Tom Kludt of TPM: "Nicolle Wallace, a former George W. Bush spokesperson [& Sarah Palin's beleaguered handler] and now a 'Morning Joe' regular," chastized Chuck Todd for not showing enthusiasm for Chris Christie's "pretty good day" Monday. (Christie gave a speech in Chicago.) "Todd later said that, unlike 'Morning Joe,' he's not going to carry water for Christie. 'I'm not cheerleading,' Todd said. 'You're asking me to cheerlead one side or the other. I'm not cheerleading. I know others on this show are cheerleading. That's fine.'" Here's the exchange:
... Michael Barbaro of the New York Times reports on Christie's fabulous speech. CW: Doesn't sound too fab to me.
Beyond the Beltway
Union-Bustin' Bob. Bernie Woodall of Reuters: "U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said on Wednesday he has been 'assured' that if workers at the Volkswagen AG plant in his hometown of Chattanooga reject United Auto Worker representation, the company will reward the plant with a new product to build. Corker's bombshell, which runs counter to public statements by Volkswagen, was dropped on the first of a three-day secret ballot election of blue-collar workers at the Chattanooga plant whether to allow the UAW to represent them.... National Labor Relations Board expert Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt ... said Corker was trying to intimidate workers into voting against the union."
New Orleans Times-Picayune: "Ray Nagin, the former two-term mayor of New Orleans indicted after he left office, was convicted Wednesday of 20 federal corruption charges, stemming from illegal dealings with city vendors dating back to 2004. A jury delivered the verdict just before 1 p.m. after roughly six hours of deliberations that followed a nine-day trial." CW: Could not have happened to a more deserving guy.
Craig Gustafson of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "The elevation of Kevin Faulconer from city councilman to mayor is a return to familiar territory for San Diego voters as he represents the moderate Republican archetype that they've repeatedly chosen to lead the city for much of the past four decades. Faulconer's definitive victory over Democratic Councilman David Alvarez in Tuesday's special election ends -- at least for now -- the city's brief experiment with hyperpartisan leadership under Democratic former Mayor Bob Filner."
Andrew Wolfson of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "In a ruling that could open the door to gay marriage in Kentucky, a federal judge has struck down the state’s ban on recognizing same-sex unions performed in states where it is legal. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II ruled Wednesday that Kentucky's prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law by treating gays and lesbians 'differently in a way that demeans them.'Ruling in a suit brought by four gay and lesbian couples and their children, Heyburn said that, while 'religious beliefs ... are vital to the fabric of society ... assigning a religious or traditional rationale for a law does not make it constitutional when that law discriminates against a class of people without other reasons.'" CW: Heyburn is a Bush I appointee.
AP: "The Kansas House has approved a bill aimed at keeping individuals, groups and businesses from being compelled to help with same-sex weddings. The House's 72-49 vote Wednesday sends the measure to the Senate. Supporters describe it as a religious freedom measure. Opponents contend it will encourage discrimination against gays and lesbians. The bill would bar government sanctions when individuals, groups and businesses cite religious beliefs in refusing to recognize a marriage or civil union, or to provide goods, services, accommodations or employment benefits to a couple. Anti-discrimination lawsuits also would be barred." CW: Thanks to contributor safari for the link. ...
... CW: Obviously, Judge Heyburn's (see story on Kentucky ruling above) succinctly-state principle applies: "... assigning a religious or traditional rationale for a law does not make it constitutional when that law discriminates against a class of people without other reasons." 'Nuff said.
Michael Linhorst of the Bergen Record: "Lawmakers investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures want more details about who edited the testimony that a top Port Authority executive gave to the Legislature in November. That official, former deputy executive director Bill Baroni, later resigned. He told the Assembly's Transportation Committee that the lane closures -- which created giant traffic jams in Fort Lee over four days in September -- were part of a traffic study. Baroni was not testifying under oath, and his traffic study explanation was later contradicted by documents from the Port Authority and Governor Christie's office." ...
... Terrence Dopp:, et al., of Bloomberg News: "The New Jersey legislative panel investigating intentional lane closings at the George Washington Bridge has ordered Governor Chris Christie’s office and re-election campaign to turn over all information they assembled on the mayor of Fort Lee." ...
... CW: As Rachel Maddow pointed out in her shows Tuesday & Wednesday, these subpoenas are directed not so much at the lane closings themselves but at the cover-up & who was involved in that:
... Karen Rouse & John Reitmeyer of the Bergen Record: "A former Christie administration official lobbied NJ Transit to build a train station that would benefit a $1 billion office and residential complex being proposed for the Hoboken waterfront -- the same complex the city's mayor claimed she was pressured to fast-track or risk losing Sandy aid. Records show that the lobbyist argued for the station within months of an agreement signed with NJ Transit to move forward on the rail project. That lobbying occurred in the spring of 2013 -- the same time period that Mayor Dawn Zimmer said she was pressured by Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. The lobbyist, Lori Grifa, works for Wolff & Samson, the law firm founded by former state Attorney General David Samson.... Samson was appointed by Christie to be chairman of the Port Authority and met with Christie on the day The Record reported the now-infamous email, 'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.'" CW>: As the Church Lady would say, "How conveeenient!"
Matt Friedman of the Star-Ledger: "The New Jersey Republican State Committee is using Gov. Chris Christie's scandal to raise money. In a fundraising appeal email today sent to supporters, the party attacked Democrats and the 'liberal media' and asked supporters to 'reaffirm' their support for Christie by committing to donate $25 a month."
Senate Race 2014
Daniel Strauss of TPM: "Kentucky Republican Matt Bevin [a Tea Party candidate who is challenging Mitch McConnell] linked the federal judge who ruled the state has to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states [see story in Beyond the Beltway above] to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).... 'It is no surprise that Judge Heyburn was Mitch McConnell's general counsel and McConnell recommended him for the federal bench. Kentucky deserves better.'"
Byron York of the right-wing Washington Examiner: "On Tuesday, the Senate Conservatives Fund called for the ouster of House Speaker John Boehner. Now the SCF, originally founded by Sen. Jim DeMint and run by a close DeMint associate, has launched the harshest attack yet on its No. 1 target, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. In a new ad based in part on supposition, misleading reporting, questionable assertions and a single (erroneously cited) poll, the SCF likens McConnell's leadership of the Senate to Internal Revenue Service harassment of conservatives":
Congressional Race 2014
Curtis Krueger of the Tampa Bay Times: "Democrat Alex Sink narrowly leads Republican David Jolly in Pinellas County's hotly contested congressional race, according to a new poll that also shows district voters deeply split over Obamacare. In the hard-fought and nationally watched campaign, 42 percent would vote for Sink, 35 percent for Jolly and 4 percent for Libertarian candidate Lucas Overby, according to an exclusive Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9/WUSF Public Media poll of likely voters in Congressional District 13."
Gubernatorial Race 2014
Robert Draper has a long piece in the New York Times Magazine on Wendy Davis, Democratic candidate for governor of Texas. CW: I read it all; I guess it's "fair & balanced." See what you think. ...
... Gromer Jeffers, Jr., of the Dallas Morning News: "Wendy Davis said Tuesday that she would have supported a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, if the law adequately deferred to a woman and her doctor. Davis, a Fort Worth senator and the likely Democratic nominee for governor, told The Dallas Morning News' editorial board that less than one-half of 1 percent of Texas abortions occur after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Most of those were in cases where fetal abnormalities were evident or there were grave risks to the health of the woman." ...
... Steve M. "... at a certain point I don't see why I should be any more excited about a possible Wendy Davis victory than I was about, say, the victory of Joe Manchin or Claire McCaskill of Heidi Heitkamp -- it's good, it's a step in the right direction, but it's not a sign that Texas has turned into a truly purple state a la Nevada or Colorado."
News Ledes
Reuters: A deadly and intensifying winter storm packing heavy snow, sleet and rain pelted a huge swath of the U.S. East Coast on Thursday, grounding flights and shuttering schools and government offices. Winter storm warnings and advisories were in place from Georgia up to Maine, and the powerful system could blanket the Atlantic Coast over the next two days with 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cms) of snow, said Jared Guyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service."
New York Times: "Comcast and Time Warner Cable's boards announced on Thursday a merger of the two companies, which will create the largest behemoth in the industry. Describing the deal as 'a friendly, stock-for-stock transaction,' Comcast will acquire 100 percent of Time Warner Cable's 284.9 million shares outstanding, in a deal worth about $45.2 billion in stock value. The deal will leave Time Warner Cable shareholders owning approximately 23 percent of Comcast's common stock."
Washington Post: "Afghanistan freed 65 suspected Taliban prisoners from jail on Thursday, ignoring repeated warnings by the U.S. government that the men pose a threat. The move could worsen tension between leaders of the two countries, who have been at odds for years over war strategy, political matters and other issues."
Sorry, missed this yesterday. New York Times: " The election of a Republican city councilman to become San Diego's mayor became a rare bright spot for a party that has been eclipsed at the state level in California.The victory by the councilman, Kevin Faulconer, on Tuesday will make San Diego the largest city in the nation run by a Republican, and it raises the possibility that he could become an important leader in the efforts to strengthen the party in California."
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