March 16, 2010 12:03 pm
Telegraph, “Barack Obama threatens to withdraw support from wavering Democrats”
by Alex Spillius
The president will refuse to make fund-raising visits during November elections to any district whose representative has not backed the bill.
A one-night presidential appearance can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds which would otherwise take months to accumulate through cold-calling by campaign volunteers.
Mr Obama’s threat came as the year-long debate over his signature domestic policy entered its final week.
Mr Obama is personally telephoning congressmen who are still on the fence this week, in between several personal appearances devoted toward swinging public opinion.
Telegraph article continues here.
March 16, 2010 12:02 pm
Washington Examiner, “Pelosi: ‘Once we kick through this door,’ more reform will follow”
by Byron York
If you have any doubt that the Democratic leadership of the House views passing the current health care reform bill as the beginning, not the end, of the process of creating a national government health care system, just note what Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a group of bloggers on Monday. “My biggest fight has been between those who wanted to do something incremental and those who wanted to do something comprehensive,” Pelosi said, according to an account by Washington Post reform advocate Ezra Klein. “We won that fight, and once we kick through this door, there’ll be more legislation to follow.”
But since the current bill is unpopular, and Pelosi at the moment does not have enough Democratic, much less Republican, votes to pass it, the door she will be kicking through is the back door. Pelosi told the bloggers she favors using the “self-executing rule” strategy in which the House would pass the Senate health care bill without going on the record as specifically voting for it. “I like it,” Pelosi said of the scheme, “because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.” The strategy of passing the Senate bill while avoiding a direct vote, writes Klein, “is all about plausible deniability for House members who don’t want to vote for the Senate bill.”
Washington Examiner article continues here.
March 8, 2010 10:02 am
Hotline On Call, “Massa Implicates Emanuel, Dem Leaders”
by Reid Wilson
Embattled Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) lashed out in an emotional radio appearance Sunday, accusing Dem leaders of what he suggested was an orchestrated campaign to force his resignation.
“There’s a reason that this has all happened, frankly one that I had not realized,” Massa said on WKPQ radio on Sunday. “Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill, and this administration and this House leadership have said, quote unquote, they will stop at nothing to pass this health care bill. And now they’ve gotten rid of me and it’ll pass.”
Massa addressed rumors circulating on blogs about his personal behavior, including incidents during an informal Navy ceremony in ‘83 on the USS New Jersey and one that occurred in a state room later during his Navy career. He insisted he had done nothing uncommon, insisting his sin was foul language.
Hotline On Call article continues here.
March 4, 2010 3:35 pm
The Weekly Standard, “Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?”
by John McCormack
Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he’s obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson’s brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
“Scott Matheson is a distinguished candidate for the Tenth Circuit court,” President Obama said. “Both his legal and academic credentials are impressive and his commitment to judicial integrity is unwavering. I am honored to nominate this lifelong Utahn to the federal bench.”
The Weekly Standard article continues here.
March 4, 2010 3:34 pm
Yahoo! News (Reuters), “Pelosi: Lawmaker healthcare concerns can be satisfied”
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she was confident of satisfying Democratic concerns about a Senate-approved healthcare bill and passing the measure.
Pelosi made the comment at her weekly news conference — just hours after one lawmaker said a dozen House Democrats opposed to abortion were willing to kill the legislation unless it satisfies their demand for language barring federal funding of the procedure.
Their threat to kill healthcare reform came a day after President Barack Obama launched a final push to pass the overhaul, a top domestic priority, and urged Democrats in Congress to vote on the bill this month, even without Republican support.
Yahoo! News (Reuters) article continues here.
March 4, 2010 3:34 pm
Fox News, “Democrats Tap Levin to Replace Stark on Ways and Means Committee”
Rep. Sander Levin has been tapped to fill Charlie Rangel’s post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee after Democratic lawmakers had second thoughts about elevating Rep. Pete Stark, who was technically next in line to the seat.
Levin, a Michigan Democrat, was talked about as a potential replacement Wednesday shortly after Rangel announced he would step down amid a wide-ranging ethics probe. But then Stark, of California, the next most-senior member to Rangel on the panel, emerged as the favored candidate.
This decision, however, had many Democrats fretting, since Stark was seen by some as too volatile to lead such an important committee. His racially, sexually and politically charged remarks have gotten him in trouble in the past.
Fox News article continues here.
March 4, 2010 3:32 pm
The Hill, “White House: March 18 goal for House vote on Senate healthcare bill”
by Michael O’Brien
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday the White House hopes to see the House approve the healthcare bill by March 18, the first day of the NCAA college basketball tournament and just before President Barack Obama leaves the country on an international trip.
Based on conversations the White House has had with Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, healthcare reform is on track to move through Congress before Obama leaves for the trip to Indonesia and Australia, Gibbs said.
“We’re leaving on March 18 and we believe that we’re on schedule, based on our conversations that have been had with the Speaker of the House and the majority leader, that we’re on schedule to get something done before we leave,” Gibbs said Thursday during an appearance on MSNBC.
The Hill article continues here.
March 3, 2010 3:53 pm
The Hill, “Pelosi picks fellow Californian to take gavel after Rangel bows out”
by Michael O’Brien and Jared Allen
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked liberal firebrand Rep. Pete Stark to replace ousted Chairman Charles Rangel on the tax-writing committee, according to a House leadership aide.
The decision was made during a Wednesday morning leadership meeting following Rangel’s announcement that he would temporarily step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the aide said.
Rangel (N.Y.) had come under growing pressure in the wake of several ethics investigations, and he faced a vote Wednesday on a GOP-backed privileged resolution to force his ouster.
The Hill article continues here.
March 1, 2010 9:08 pm
The Hill, “Pelosi: Rangel’s ethics admonishment ‘is not good’”
by Kim Hart
Rep. Charlie Rangel’s admonishment for violating House gift rules “is not good,” but his actions did not put the nation at risk in any material way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday.
Pelosi said it is not her place to interfere in any investigations of the matter and said she would not get involved politically.
“But the fact is, is that what Mr. Rangel has been admonished for is not good,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It was a violation of the rules of the House. It was not a–something that jeopardized our country in any way.”
The Hill article continues here.
February 25, 2010 10:24 pm
February 24, 2010 9:30 pm
February 22, 2010 10:11 am
February 22, 2010 10:11 am
Politico, “Toyota: Democrats ‘not industry friendly’”
by Jake Sherman
Internal Toyota documents derided the Obama administration and Democratic Congress as “activist” and “not industry friendly,” a revelation that comes days before the giant automaker’s top executives testify on Capitol Hill amid a giant recall.
According to a presentation obtained under subpoena by the House Oversight and Government Relations committee, Toyota referred to the “changing political environment” as one of its main challenges and anticipated a “more challenging regulatory” environment under the Obama administration’s purview.
This document, in addition to piles of other records, will be front and center this week as the Japanese automaker girds to face lawmakers hungry for answers about a recall that has the company teetering.
Politico article continues here.
February 10, 2010 10:15 am
February 9, 2010 9:25 pm
The Hill, “Congressional Democrats point finger of blame at Rahm Emanuel”
by Alexander Bolton
Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.
The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel’s lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.
The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel’s once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups “retarded” in a private meeting.
While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he’s under fire for poor execution of the president’s healthcare agenda in the Senate.
The Hill article continues here.
