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The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20101120132012/http://www.politico.com:80/blogs/bensmith/
Rep.-elect Jamie Herrera (R-Wash.) reacts as the incoming House of Representatives members drew in a lottery to pick their office space. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
The Times Caucus blog spotlights this ad from a group pushing for a new arms control pact. As they note, it's a modern remake of Lyndon Johnson's 1964 "Daisy" ad.
"In a world where terrorists seek to destroy everything we hold dear," says the announcer in the modern Daisy ad. "Russia's nuclear weapons cannot be left unmonitored."
Two GOP senators are sending signals that they're open to Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal during the lame duck session.
Greg Sargent is reporting that John Ensign (R-Nev.) seems to be leaning towards repeal, with the caveat that he's waiting for the December Pentagon report, In a letter to constituents obtained by Sargent, he writes:
"It is my firm belief that Americans, regardless of their sexual orientation, should be able to fight and risk their lives in defense of this great nation," Ensign writes in the letter, which I've obtained. "As a nation currently engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, the focus of all decisions affecting military readiness, recruiting and retention, and unit cohesion should be to maximize the success of ongoing operations.".
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also seems to be hinting that she'd be willing to back a defense bill that included DADT repeal. A local TV reporter in Alaska appeared on CNN yesterday to report that Murkowski seemed ready to vote for it, telling him she would “not vote against a bill that had that repeal in it.”
Via Jon Ralston comes this ad that was made for Sharron Angle's Senate campaign before "DC handlers" stopped it from airing. A more complete explanation is here.
He doesn't rebut any of Gentry Collins' specific charges, but this victory lap memo from Michael Steele to the membership of the RNC sure doesn't seem like the work of somebody who is backing down from a fight.
Also telling: It was circulated by Michigan GOP committeewoman Holly Hughes, one of Steele's staunchest allies on the committee.
"With the historic wins that we have had, I would expect Steele to run for re-election," Hughes tells me.
Not exactly a declaration of candidacy, but a sign that Steele is still very much considering the possibility.
Pawlenty: You know, I think Eric Holder and the Justice Department made a fundamental mistake, and they put the country, almost put the country at risk, and may still have done it if they continue down this path. And I don’t think you can just stay in that position and have those kinds of outcomes.
The LA Times reports today that prominent Democrats are quietly working to rebuild the kind of liberal outside groups that the Obama campaign famously shunned in 2008:
Frustrated by what they see as President Obama's weakness in battling Republicans, leading Democratic donors and tacticians have begun independently plotting their political recovery — including building a network of outside fundraising and campaign organizations to compete with those formed this year by Republicans.
This week, more than 100 wealthy Democrats gathered in a posh Washington hotel for a closed meeting in which participants repeatedly called for Obama be more aggressive in his agenda and tactical combat with the Republican right.
"I am used to fighting losing battles, but I don't like losing without a fight," said financier George Soros, a longtime donor to causes on the left, in a comment confirmed by his staff as part of a call to arms in private conversations at the postelection meeting of the Democracy Alliance, an organization of wealthy Democrats that provides funding to liberal groups.
This comes on the heels of the announcement yesterday that a New Hampshire DNC member was working to create a progressive 501(c)4 backed by the same kind of anonymous donors that Democrats decried in this cycle.
The National Journal tracks down ex-Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, fresh off a 30-month prison sentence, and finds him in India studying Tibetan Buddhism:
Today, he has been reborn as a sober and slimmed-down follower of the Dalai Lama and is studying meditation techniques with Tibetan monks at a Buddhist temple in India.
Ney is spending his days in Dharamsala, trying to master the Tibetan language and eagerly awaiting the return of the Dalai Lama and the chance to hear more of the exiled religious leader’s teachings.
In a sign that Democrats are girding for a wave of Congressional investigations, a leading liberal ethics watchdog is joining a legal crisis management firm to help Democrats on defense.
Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), will join the firm Lanny J. Davis & Associates, she told attendees at the Democracy Alliance summit of liberal donors in Washington D.C. and confirmed in an emailed statement.
“Given the new political climate in Washington, this seems an ideal time to make a transition to private practice," Sloan said the statement.
With their takeover of the House in January, Republicans are expected to waste no time in flexing their oversight authority. The ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government reform panel confirmed that the GOP-led committee will investigate polices like the stimulus, the health care bill, and the bank bailout. In an interview with POLITICO last week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Cali.) said that, as chairman, he wants one or two hearings a day from his Oversight subcommittees.
“I want seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks,” Issa said.
Sloan is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Hill staffer, with experience on both the House and Senate Judiciary committees. She co-founded CREW, one of a wave of new groups backed by liberal donors during the George W. Bush’s first term, in 2003, and helped turn it into a vehicle for assaults on largely – but not entirely – Republican targets on ethics charges. The group recently made headlines when it branded Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell a “criminal,” but has also pursued ethics complaints against Rep. Charles Rangel.
Sloan appears to be parting on good terms.
"Her unusual skill set undoubtedly will allow her to serve clients in the private sector as well as she did the public interest while at CREW," said CREW board president Louis Mayberg in a statement.
But her move sends an unmistakable signal that Republican control of the House is likely to exact a very tangible cost from Democratic officials, staffers, appointees, and their allies.
"With the politically charged atmosphere on Capitol Hill and the prospect of increased congressional investigations, those finding themselves in Congress's sights stand to benefit significantly from her advice," said Josh Block, a partner with Davis in public relations firm.
Former New Hampshire Democratic chair and DNC member Kathy Sullivan tells the New Hampshire Union Leader that she will launch a "pragmatic, progressive" 501(c)4 issues advocacy group. And like similar conservative groups derided by Democrats this cycle, her 501(c)4 will be able to spend without disclosing their donors:
And Sullivan said that just like the conservative groups, her 501(c)(4), this organization will not be required to disclose its donors. While she'd rather have all sides disclose, "that's not going to happen," she said. "So, if you can't beat them, join them. You have to play with the cards you're dealt."
In 2008, the Obama campaign was notoriously wary of letting outside groups spend on their behalf. But as Ben reported back in October, many within the party are increasingly concerned about being outspent and more willing to consider big-money outside groups.
As America's head coach, President Obama needs to make some big and smart adjustments to jump-start economic growth and business investment, stimulate job creation, and get wages up for ordinary Americans. The most important thing our leader can do is to push the reset button with business and not raise taxes on companies in a time of economic hardship. The U.S. economy and workers benefit from a strong, healthy relationship between government and business. America's most powerful job-creation engine, the private sector, remains under intense pressure from the uncertainty surrounding tax rates and new regulations, among other things.
As a part of the reset, the President and Democrats should make permanent the current middle-class, capital gains, and dividend tax rates; extend the current rate on top earners for two years; cut the corporate tax rate by half; and suspend the payroll tax -- for both employers and employees -- for six months starting Jan. 1 for all businesses with 500 or fewer employees. And as a compromise on raising rates on the top earners after 2012, the affected income level should be raised to $1 million from $250,000 -- and Republicans should accept a nine-month extension of unemployment benefits for those hardest hit by this downturn.
From Ted Getzel: "Obama should go to an Evangelical Church every Sunday with a .pearl handled .44 magnum prominently hanging from his hip. He should also wear tooled leather cowboy boots a ten gallon hat and a fat American Flag belt buckle. This will do much to make up for his "cling" speech in San Francisco and win back the heart of the country. Shooting a few deer at Camp David would be good, as would not pardoning the "National Turkey" for Thanksgiving and instead whipping out a hatchet and cutting its head off on national TV. After all this Iran might give up its nuclear program and bonding with Putin would be a cinch."
Today isn't the first time that James Carville joked that, as he put it this time, "if Hillary gave (Obama) one of her balls, they'd both have two."
Back in the late days of Hillary Clinton's campaign, in May of 2008, Carville used the same line, and drew a response from Obama.
"Well, you know, James Carville is well-known for spouting off his mouth without always knowing what he's talking about," Obama said on Nightline. "I intend to stay focused on fighting for the American people because what they don't need is 20 more years of performance art on television. And that's what James Carville and a lot of those folks are expert at ... a lot of talk and not getting things done for the American people."
Responding to two lawsuits Andrew Cuomo filed against him today, Steven Rattner responded on CNBC saying that he was open to a settlement.
"I've been in business for 35 years. I have tried to live my life -- and I think successfully -- without anyone ever questioning my integrity or my honesty before," said Rattner on CNBC. "I think [I've] indicated that I'm open to a reasonable settlement in order to move on with my life and so forth and whether we achieve that or not is up to the Governor-elect"
UPDATE: Cuomo fires back in a statement from his communications director:
“Mr. Rattner now has a lot to say as he spins his friends in the press, but when he was questioned under oath about his pension fund dealings he was much less talkative, taking the Fifth and refusing to answer questions 68 different times. Anyone who reads the extensive facts laid out in our Complaint will understand that Rattner’s claims that he did nothing wrong are ridiculous and belied by the fact that he is paying the SEC $6 million today.”
After walking out of his own ethics hearing Monday, Rep. Charlie Rangel will appear in front of the full committee to defend himself as they weigh a punishment.
"I truly believe public officials have a higher responsibility than most Americans to obey the rules because we write them. There can be no excuse for my acts of omission. I've failed in carrying out my responsibilities. I made numerous mistakes," says Rangel in prepared remarks that he plans to deliver to the committee. "But corruption and personal enrichment are certainly not part of my mistakes and the Committee's chief counsel made that abundantly clear. And that was the point I was always trying to make."
"Soon after I took the gavel at Ways and Means I have been smeared with allegations of corruption and personal gain. Two years ago I referred these media allegations to the Ethics Committee, confident that I would be protected from these attacks and false accusations" says Rangel in the statement. "The Committee has not met its burden of proof
NY governor-elect Andrew Cuomo, in his capacity as attorney general, has filed two lawsuits against Steven Rattner, a financier and former Obama administration Treasury official close to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The suits accuse Rattner of paying kickbacks in order to get a $150 million investment from a New York pension fund for his private equity firm.
The lawsuit has some political implications, pitting Cuomo against a Bloomberg ally just as the new governor is taking office.
“Steve Rattner was willing to do whatever it took to get his hands on pension fund money including paying kickbacks, orchestrating a movie deal, and funneling campaign contributions,” said Cuomo in a release. “Through these lawsuits, we will recover his ill gotten gains and hold Rattner accountable."
The New York Times reported in April that despite the ongoing scrutiny of Rattner, he would be heading up a new investment firm that would manage Mayor Bloomberg's personal fortune and charitable activities.
When widely followed public figures feel free to say anything, without any fact-checking, we have a problem. It becomes impossible for a democracy to think intelligently about big issues — deficit reduction, health care, taxes, energy/climate — let alone act on them. Facts, opinions and fabrications just blend together. But the carnival barkers that so dominate our public debate today are not going away — and neither is the Internet. All you can hope is that more people will do what Cooper did — so when the next crazy lie races around the world, people’s first instinct will be to doubt it, not repeat it.
