Political Buzz Debt Ceiling Showdown, July 25, 2011: President Obama & Speaker John Boehner Each Address the Nation on Crisis & Competing Debt Ceiling Plans — Each Blames the Other

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

THE HEADLINES: DEBT CEILING SHOWDOWN: OBAMA VS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS

Pool photo by Jim Watson, left; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner each addressed the nation on Monday.

JULY 25, 2011: PRESIDENT OBAMA & SPEAKER BOEHNER ADDRESS NATION ON COMPETING DEBT CEILING PLANS

Obama urges Congress to reach deal on debt ceiling: President Obama said in a prime-time speech Monday night that, unless Congress agrees quickly to a long- term increase in the federal debt ceiling, “we would risk sparking a deep economic crisis, this one caused almost entirely by Washington.” He asked Americans to urge their lawmakers in Congress to strike a deal on the issue. He said he would not agree to a short-term increase, as proposed by House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), saying it amounted to “kicking the can down the road.” He added: “We can’t allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington’s political warfare.”

Boehner: ‘The solution to this crisis is not complicated’: House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a prime-time address Monday night that he intends to continue pushing a short-term raise in the federal debt ceiling, despite President Obama’s objection that such a move does not solve the problem.
“The solution to this crisis is not complicated. … We are up to the task, and I hope President Obama will join us,” Boehner said. The speaker said that, in negotiations with Obama over a long-term debt deal, “I made a sincere effort to work with the president. … I gave it my all. Unfortunately, the president could not take yes for an answer.” He added: “The president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today,. This is not going to happen.”

President Obama Addresses the Nation on Debt Ceiling Crisis, Blames House Republicans, Suggests Raising Taxes

Speaker John Boehner’s Address to the Nation on the Republican’s (GOP) Plan for America’s Debt Crisis — Response Blames President Obama’s Inability to Agree on a Deal

• Parties Head to Showdown as Obama Warns of a ‘Crisis’: The Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House on Monday barreled toward a showdown on competing plans to cut spending and raise the debt limit as a resolution to the intensifying crisis remained farther from sight just one week before a possible federal default.
  With President Obama trying to employ the power of the presidency to force an agreement, House and Senate leaders said votes could occur as early as Wednesday on competing proposals to slash spending in exchange for increasing federal borrowing authority that the Treasury Department says will be exhausted Aug. 2, raising the prospect that federal bills will go unpaid.
  It was a day of legislative chess moves, back-to-back party caucuses and closed-door meetings that ended with a nationally televised presidential address and a rebuttal by the House speaker, John A. Boehner. Their separate speeches reflected that the two sides are farther apart than ever — just a week ago, the two men were in private negotiations on a “grand bargain” of spending cuts and additional revenue, what Mr. Obama called “a balanced approach.”
  “The only reason this balanced approach isn’t on its way to becoming law right now is because a significant number of Republicans in Congress are insisting on a different approach, a cuts-only approach — an approach that doesn’t ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all,” Mr. Obama said in his address. “And because nothing is asked of those at the top of the income scales, such an approach would close the deficit only with more severe cuts to programs we all care about — cuts that place a greater burden on working families.”
  Even as he sought to set Republicans up for blame for any crisis, Mr. Obama offered assurance that a crisis would be averted. He called on Americans to contact their lawmakers in support of a compromise. “We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis — this one caused almost entirely by Washington,” he said. “Defaulting on our obligations is a reckless and irresponsible outcome to this debate.
  In response to Mr. Obama, Mr. Boehner said: “The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. That is just not going to happen.”
  Mr. Boehner urged the president to sign a Republican plan to raise the debt limit. “If the president signs it,” he said, “the ‘crisis’ atmosphere he has created will simply disappear. The debt limit will be raised.”… – NYT, 7-25-11
• Obama urges GOP to break ‘stalemate’ over debt talks: President Obama on Monday used a nationally televised address to urge House Republicans to stop standing in the way of a deal to tame the nation’s debt and raise the federal limit on borrowing, making his most direct appeal to the American people in the confrontation over the debt.
  Obama said failure to raise the debt ceiling within the next week “would risk sparking a deep economic crisis.” He said he would not be able to pay all of the government’s bills, including Social Security checks and veterans’ benefits.
  The president endorsed a Senate Democratic plan unveiled Monday that would save $2.7 trillion in spending over 10 years in exchange for raising the federal debt ceiling through 2012. He rejected a competing House Republican plan that could save up to $3 trillion while raising the debt ceiling in two stages — the first lasting six months.
  Obama reserved his harshest words for House Republicans as he called on them to join him in breaking a “stalemate” and forging a compromise that balances cuts in government spending with new tax revenues from the wealthy and corporations.
  “The only reason this balanced approach isn’t on its way to becoming law right now is because a significant number of Republicans in Congress are insisting on a cuts-only approach – an approach that doesn’t ask the wealthiest Americans or biggest corporations to contribute anything at all,” Obama said in the East Room of the White House.In a response following the president’s statement, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Republicans had fought to rein in the national debt, but that Obama had refused to compromise.
  “I want you to know I made a sincere effort to work with the president to identify a path forward,” Boehner said. “Unfortunately, the president would not take yes for an answer. Even when we thought we might be close on an agreement, the president’s demands changed.” “The president has often said we need a ‘balanced’ approach — which in Washington means: we spend more. . .you pay more,” the speaker said. “Having run a small business, I know those tax increases will destroy jobs.” “The United States cannot default on its debt obligations,” Boehner said.
  “The solution to this crisis is not complicated: If you’re spending more money than you’re taking in, you need to spend less of it,” he said. “I’ve always believed, the bigger [the] government, the smaller the people.”… – WaPo, 7-25-11
• Debt ceiling speeches given by Obama, Boehner: President Barack Obama used a rare prime-time address Monday to rally support behind the Democratic plan for raising the debt limit, a high-stakes bid to isolate Republicans with only a week left to avert a government default.
  In a 15-minute speech from the White House, Obama made the case for compromise between Democrats and Republicans, saying it is the only way to prevent default that could be catastrophic to the economy.
  “Unfortunately, for the past several weeks, Republican House members have essentially said that the only way they’ll vote to prevent America’s first-ever default is if the rest of us agree to their deep, spending cuts-only approach,” Obama said. “If that happens, and we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills — bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses.”
  Obama called for unity, on one hand, but he also bashed Republicans, arguing that their tactics “risk sparking a deep economic crisis — one caused almost entirely by Washington.”
  “Defaulting on our obligations is a reckless and irresponsible outcome to this debate,” Obama said. “And Republican leaders say that they agree we must avoid default. But the new approach that Speaker Boehner unveiled today, which would temporarily extend the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts, would force us to once again face the threat of default just six months from now. In other words, it doesn’t solve the problem.”
  In an extraordinary contrast, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) delivered a response only minutes later from the Capitol. The back-to-back speeches underscored the deep divide that remains between the two central figures in the debt-limit drama.
  “The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today,” Boehner said. “That is just not going to happen.”
  Obama decided to deliver the prime-time address after three days of little progress…. – Politico, 7-25-11
• Obama Warns ‘World Is Watching’ as Boehner Says GOP’s Efforts on Debt Have Been Rejected: President Obama on Monday night urged a “balanced approach” in crafting a deal to raise the debt ceiling, saying a Republican proposal to temporarily extend the debt limit would lead the country back to the same arguments on spending and taxes in six months from now.
  “That is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. It is a dangerous game we’ve never played before, and we can’t afford to play it now. … We can’t allow the American people to become collateral damage to Washington’s political warfare,” the president said in a televised address to the nation.
  Instead, Obama said he wants tax increases paired with spending reductions that will put the U.S. debate past the next election and keep the country from defaulting on its loans to creditors, set to come due on Aug. 2.
  “The entire world is watching. So let’s seize this moment to show why the United States of America is still the greatest nation on Earth,” Obama said. “The debate right now isn’t about whether we need to make tough choices. Democrats and Republicans agree on the amount of deficit reduction we need. The debate is about how it should be done.”
  House Speaker John Boehner, delivering the Republican response after Obama spoke — the first such live response aside from the State of the Union in nearly four years — said Obama was looking for a “blank check” to fund his administration’s “spending binge.” He accused Obama of not negotiating in good faith…. – Fox News, 7-25-11
• Obama urges Americans to back ‘balanced’ debt plan: President Obama asked Americans tonight to pressure congressional Republicans to accept a “balanced plan” to reduce the federal debt through taxes as well as budget cuts in order to stave off a government default that will kill jobs and slow the economy.
  “The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government,” Obama said during a prime-time speech at the White House.
  House Speaker John Boehner — who is promoting an alternative debt plan with no tax increases — said in a responding speech that Obama’s definition of balance means “we spend more and you pay more.”… – USA Today, 7-25-11
• Obama takes debt case to American people: With just eight days left before a possible economic catastrophe, President Obama on Monday took his argument for a “balanced” debt limit agreement to the American people, arguing in a prime time address that voters should call their members of Congress in support of a deal that “asks everyone to give a little without requiring anyone to sacrifice too much.”
  Speaking from the White House, the president lambasted Republicans for what he cast as a refusal to compromise, arguing that the nation faces a possible “deep economic crisis- one caused almost entirely by Washington.”
  “Republican House members have essentially said that the only way they’ll vote to prevent America’s first-ever default is if the rest of us agree to their deep, spending cuts-only approach,” Mr. Obama said. “If that happens, and we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills – bills that include monthly Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and the government contracts we’ve signed with thousands of businesses.”
  “It is a dangerous game we’ve never played before, and we can’t afford to play it now,” he warned. “People are fed up with a town where compromise has become a dirty word.”
  Mr. Obama continued to ask Republicans to accept revenue increases for the wealthiest Americans, saying they and large corporations should “give up some of their tax breaks and special deductions.”
  Arguing that Republican leaders were acting outside of the interests of their constituents, Mr. Obama called on voters to “make your voice heard.”
  “The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government,” he said. “So I’m asking you all to make your voice heard. If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your Member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.”… – CBS News, 7-25-11
• Obama Speaks to Nation as Debt Talks Intensify; Boehner to Give GOP Response: President Obama, in a nationally televised address to the nation Monday, urged a “balanced approach” in crafting a deal to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the federal deficit ahead of the Treasury’s Aug. 2 deadline, when the country is said to risk default on its debt.
  “The entire world is watching. So let’s seize this moment to show why the United States of America is still the greatest nation on Earth,” Obama said. “Not just because we can still keep our word and meet our obligations, but because we can still come together as one nation,”
  He said that, although some Democrats are reluctant to make deep cuts to domestic programs, “enough are willing to accept them if the burden is fairly shared,” rather than the “cuts-only” approach of the Republicans that Obama said would “place a greater burden on working families.”
  House Speaker John Boehner was scheduled to deliver the Republican response after Obama speaks.
  Republicans and Democrats outlined separate deficit-reduction proposals Monday afternoon, pushing ahead with bills that have a questionable chance of passing as the showdown over the debt ceiling intensified…. – Fox News, 7-25-11
• A ‘Unique Opportunity’ on the Debt Ceiling, Lost: Leaders of both parties have said for months that the need to raise the nation’s borrowing limit offered a “unique opportunity” for a bipartisan deal that would constrain the mounting federal debt. Instead, it is shaping up to be a lost opportunity.
  Whatever deal Congress and President Obama devise in this final week to allow the government to keep paying its bills after Aug. 2 and avert an economy-rattling default, it almost certainly will fall short of the compromise that Mr. Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, nearly struck last week — before details of the negotiations leaked, opponents in both parties protested and Mr. Boehner left the table.
  The difference between that attempted “grand bargain” and what Congress is coming up with is not just a matter of dollars. Mr. Obama and Mr. Boehner did tentatively agree to more than $3 trillion in savings over 10 years — at least hundreds of billions more than is called for in the fallback plans now bandied about in Congress to clear the way for a vote to increase the $14.3 trillion borrowing ceiling by next Tuesday.
  But the more significant difference is in where the savings would come from. The Congressional proposals mainly seek caps on annual spending for domestic and military programs and no additional revenues…. – NYT, 7-25-11

Political Buzz July 15, 2011: Debt Ceiling Showdown: Second Week of White House Debt Talks — Obama Sets Debt Deal Limit T-36

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

THE HEADLINES: DEBT CEILING SHOWDOWN: OBAMA VS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS

President Obama meets with (L-R) House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) in the Cabinet Room of the White House, July 11, 2011 in Washington, D.C. (Getty)

• Timeline: Debt debate: President Barack Obama and top lawmakers will meet again Monday in search of a deal on slashing the U.S. budget deficit and raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before the United States defaults.
  Obama wants to strike a deal well before August 2, when the Treasury Department says it will no longer be able to honor its obligations and issue new bonds without breaching the limit that Congress set on how much the United States can borrow.
  Republican and Democratic lawmakers say any increase must include measures to ensure the country’s debt remains at a sustainable level. The debt-reduction debate is a sharp shift for Washington, which less than a year ago was focused on additional deficit spending to lower the unemployment rate.
  Following is a timeline of the debate…. – Reuters, 7-11-11
• Factbox: What’s on the table in debt talks: President Barack Obama and congressional leaders resume their White House talks on Monday to see if they have the makings of a deal to trim budget deficits and avert a looming default.
  The Treasury Department has warned it will run out of money to cover the country’s bills if Congress does not raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2.
  Although Democrats and Republicans agree on the need for trillions of dollars in budget savings, they remain sharply divided about how to get there.
  Following is a summary of the debate… – Reuters, 7-11-11
• Obama on debt ceiling: Is he winning over Americans?: An increasing number of Americans are concerned about the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling, according to a new poll. President Obama has been blunt about the consequences of default…. – CS Monitor, 7-12-11“We might as well do it now — pull off the Band-Aid; eat our peas.” – President Barack Obama“I know you all love to write the soap opera here.” — Eric Cantor (R-Va.), joking about the Republican-Democrat split.“It’s time for tough love. Don’t let them scare you by telling you that the country’s going to fall apart.” — Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), speaking to a cheering crowd in Iowa over the weekend.“I hope and pray and believe they should not raise the debt ceiling. These historic, dramatic moments where you can draw a line in the sand and force politicians to actually do something bold and courageous are important moments.” – Tim Pawlenty, Former Minnesota governor“A cataclysmic game of chicken. Negotiating with a gun to your head. A Thelma & Louise-style full throttle off a cliff.” — John Avlon at the Daily Beast, on the “dire metaphors” for the debate.

  “The debt ceiling is a gut-check time for all Republicans on spending and size of government. … Apparently, Gov. Romney is still checking his gut to figure out where he should stand.” — Alex Conant, spokesman for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

  “You and I have decided to have lunch together today. We both need lunch. We both know we’re going to have lunch. But we don’t agree on where to eat. So you propose Mexican, but I counter with Chinese, and warn that if you refuse, neither of us will get to eat lunch ever again. Deal? … Of course not. But that’s pretty much the GOP’s strategy on the debt-ceiling negotiation.” — Ezra Klein on the partisan bickering

  “It’s a hostage negotiation! It’s a lunch conversation! No, it’s the debt ceiling debate.” — Eric Thompson at the Atlantic, on how to characterize the debt ceiling.

  “We are at each others throats more than is necessary.” — Jeff Immelt, chairman of Obama’s outside panel of economic advisers, calling the White House and Congress to strike a deal on Monday.

JULY 14, 2011: PRESIDENT OBAMA SETS DEBT DEAL TIME LIMIT T-36 HOURS

“It’s decision time. We need concrete plans to move this forward.” — President Barack Obama

“We’ve looked at all available options, and we have no way to give Congress more time to solve this problem. The eyes of the country are on us, and the eyes of the world are on us, and we need to make sure that we stand together and send a definitive signal that we are going to take the steps necessary to avoid default.” — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

• ‘Decision Time’ on Budget, Obama Tells Leaders: President Obama threw the deadlocked budget negotiations back to Congress on Thursday, telling Republicans and Democrats to try to work out an agreement to avert a government default, and suggesting that more ambitious efforts to cut the deficit had hit a wall.
  After a polite but inconclusive session that covered familiar ground and made no headway, Mr. Obama told the Congressional leaders to confer with their rank-and-file members over the next 24 to 36 hours to “figure out what can get done,” said a Democratic official briefed on the negotiations.
  The president said he might summon the leaders to the White House over the weekend if there was no progress; he has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning to argue his case publicly. On Capitol Hill, leaders of both parties were focused increasingly on a proposal by the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, that could provide a way out of the stalemate on the debt limit…. – NYT, 7-14-11
• Obama gives leaders ’24 to 36 hours’ to come to debt agreement: President Obama told congressional leaders at their latest debt-limit meeting that they must come to an agreement on the way forward by early Saturday morning or else they will be called back to the White House this weekend, aides from both parties with knowledge of the meeting said Thursday evening.
  At a meeting that lasted 80 minutes, congressional negotiators and the White House finished their review of the work done by a group led by Vice President Biden, said the aides, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting.
  At the end, Obama told the bipartisan leaders that, over the next 24 to 36 hours, he wanted them to indicate a path forward that would be able to pass both chambers.
  No White House meeting is set for Friday. Instead, leaders are expected to go to their rank-and-file members to discuss the negotiations.
  Thursday’s meeting ended at 5:43 p.m. Shortly afterwards, the White House announced that Obama would hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Friday…. – WaPo, 7-14-11
• Looking for debt deal, Obama outlines cuts: President Obama implored congressional leaders Thursday to reach a deal on raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion borrowing limit by this weekend to reassure jittery world financial markets, and he suggested he could settle for a smaller deficit-reduction package than he originally sought.
  Rather than continue to push for $4 trillion in savings over the next decade, Obama outlined a plan that would achieve roughly $2 trillion, almost entirely from spending reductions. That marks a major concession — one the president is likely to address at a news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. ET this morning.
  At the same time, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leader Harry Reid forged ahead with an even smaller deal of their own, one that represents a second fallback plan. It would allow Obama to raise the debt limit and create a process by which Congress would vote in the future on spending reductions…. – USA Today, 7-14-11
• As White House talks falter, Senate works on agreement to raise debt limit: President Obama prepared Thursday to bring bipartisan talks over the debt to a close, as Senate leaders worked across party lines to craft an alternative strategy to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit and avert a government default.
  “It’s decision time,” Obama told congressional leaders after meeting at the White House for a fifth straight day. Obama gave Republicans until early Saturday to tell him whether any of three options for trimming the federal budget would win GOP support.
  “We need concrete plans to move this forward,” he said.
  A breakthrough in the White House talks looked unlikely, however, leaving the Senate framework as the chief option for raising the debt limit before Aug. 2, when the Treasury will be unable to pay its bills without additional borrowing authority.
  That deadline loomed ever larger Thursday, as China, the U.S. government’s largest foreign creditor, called on U.S. policymakers to take action to protect the interests of investors. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned that failure to raise the debt ceiling would amount to “a self-inflicted wound” that would cause “a very severe financial shock” to the global economy. And Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told lawmakers that they are running out of time…. – WaPo, 7-14-11
• Obama, lawmakers face fresh doubts on debt deal: President Barack Obama and top Republicans faced growing pressure at home and abroad on Thursday to stop deficit talks from spiraling out of control and sending shockwaves through the global financial system.
  Markets reacted skittishly after the fourth straight day of talks between Obama and congressional leaders hit a new low on Wednesday, while divisions within the Republican party seemed to increase the difficulty of striking a deal to extend the nation’s borrowing authority and avoid a default after August 2.
  The Democratic president clashed with Republican lawmakers during an acrimonious two-hour White House session on Wednesday that produced no progress toward a deal. A leading Republican said Obama walked out of the meeting.
  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met with Democratic senators and urged quick action, saying “we are running out of time.”… – Reuters, 7-14-11
• GOP threatens to bolt on McConnell’s plan: “I would say, ‘No way,’” said Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, whose members constitute roughly three-quarters of the House GOP.
  “Everybody I’ve talked to over here says, ‘No way,’” said Florida Rep. Tom Rooney, a member of the vote-counting whip team.
  But earlier in the day, Boehner declined to pronounce the death of McConnell’s plan, which has gained some traction in the Senate and is being held in reserve as a last-resort option to avoid an economic disaster. Rather than getting a vote as is, the plan will more likely move forward in another form or alongside appetizing additives intended to help Republicans in both chambers digest the debt hike and a cession of power to the president.
  “Mitch described his proposal as a last-ditch effort in case we’re unable to do anything else,” Boehner told reporters Thursday. “And what may look like something less than optimal today, if we are unable to reach an agreement, might look pretty good a couple of weeks from now. I think it’s worth keeping on the table. There are a lot of options that people have floated. And frankly, I think it’s an option that may be worthy at some point.” Boehner said he has “no idea” whether McConnell’s plan will pass his chamber. Several GOP lawmakers said privately that it stands no chance…. – Politico, 7-14-11
• With no debt deal, Obama would face tough choices Aug. 3 about what bills to pay: What happens if President Obama and Congress don’t strike a debt deal? On Aug. 3, the nation would find out, with Obama forced to make a set of extraordinarily difficult choices about what to pay or not pay. By then, the government’s savings account would be nearly empty and the president would be relying on daily tax revenue to pay the nation’s bills.
  There wouldn’t be enough — in fact, there would be a $134 billion shortfall in August alone.
  As Obama decided what to pay, he would choose among Social Security checks, salaries for members of the military and veterans, unemployment benefits, student loans, and many other government programs, according to administration officials and an independent analysis by a former senior Treasury Department official in the George H.W. Bush administration.
  To protect the nation’s creditworthiness, Obama would have to balance those priorities with the imperative of making payments to investors in U.S. government bonds — ranging from domestic pension funds to the Chinese government…. – WaPo, 7-13-11

JULY 13, 2011: 5TH WHITE HOUSE MEETING; OBAMA & CANTOR SPAR, PRESIDENT WALKS OUT

“I’ve reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this… Enough is enough. … I’ll see you all tomorrow.” — President Barack Obama

Cantor said the president became “agitated” and warned the Virginia Republican not to “call my bluff” when Cantor said he would consider a short-term debt-limit hike. The meeting “ended with the president abruptly walking out of the meeting,” Cantor told reporters in the Capitol. “I know why he lost his temper. He’s frustrated. We’re all frustrated.”

• Obama ends talks brusquely: President Barack Obama has ended a nearly two hour debt-limit negotiation brusquely, declaring: “Enough is enough” as he rejected Republican demands that he accept a short-term extension of the government’s borrowing authority.
  Democratic officials and Republican aides familiar with the negotiations say the meeting ended after White House officials had identified more than $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years to reduce the deficit. Pressed by House Republican leader Eric Cantor to accept only months-long debt ceiling increase, Democratic officials say Obama announced: “Enough is enough. We have to be willing to compromise. It shouldn’t be about positioning, and politics and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”… – AP, 7-13-11
• Tempers flare as debt talks get tense at White House:
  

  Obama vows to veto any short-term extension, even at risk to his presidency, sources say Cantor, Boehner seek a short-term debt ceiling hike opposed by Obama Moody’s puts U.S. bond rating under review The United States must raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 or risk a default

  A fifth session of talks in five days is set for Thursday to head off a possible government default. Wednesday’s session ended on a tense note with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and President Barack Obama squaring off over the Republican’s call for a short-term extension of the federal debt ceiling.
  At one point, Obama said the political wrangling confirmed what the public considers to be the worst of Washington, according to Democratic sources familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of not being identified.
  Multiple sources, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Obama told the gathering that “this could bring my presidency down,” referring to his pledge to veto any short-term extension of the debt ceiling. Sources say he vowed, “I will not yield on this.”
  Obama to Cantor: Don’t call my bluff
  The exchange concluded almost two hours of talks that failed to achieve a breakthrough….. – CNN, 7-14-11

• President Obama abruptly walks out of debt ceiling talks: President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations.
  “He shoved back and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ and walked out,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters in the Capitol after the meeting.
  On a day when the Moody’s rating agency warned that American debt could be downgraded, the White House talks blew up amid a new round of sniping between Obama and Cantor, who are fast becoming bitter enemies.
  When Cantor said the two sides were too far apart to get a deal that could pass the House by the Treasury Department’s Aug. 2 deadline — and that he would consider moving a short-term debt-limit increase alongside smaller spending cuts — Obama began to lecture him.
  “Eric, don’t call my bluff,” the president said, warning Cantor that he would take his case “to the American people.” He told Cantor that no other president — not Ronald Reagan, the president said — would sit through such negotiations.
  Democratic sources dispute Cantor’s version of Obama’s walk out, but all sides agree that the two had a blow up. The sources described Obama as “impassioned” but said he didn’t exactly storm out of the room.
  “Cantor’s account of tonight’s meeting is completely overblown. For someone who knows how to walk out of a meeting, you’d think he’d know it when he saw it,” a Democratic aide said. “Cantor rudely interrupted the president three times to advocate for short-term debt ceiling increases while the president was wrapping the meeting. This is just more juvenile behavior from him and Boehner needs to rein him in, and let the grown-ups get to work.”
  On exiting the room, Obama said that “this confirms the totality of what the American people already believe” about Washington, according to a Democratic official familiar with the negotiations, and that officials are “too focused on positioning and political posturing” to make difficult choices.
  Cantor insists he never interrupted the president, and was “deferential,” seeking permission to speak…. – Politico, 7-13-11
• ‘Enough is enough,’ Obama says, calling for deal: Amid new warnings and fresh signs of strain, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are entering a perilous debt-limit endgame. The president, declaring “enough is enough,” is demanding that budget negotiators find common ground by week’s end even as the Senate’s top Republican gained followers for his own last-ditch scheme to avoid a government default.
  The continuing impasse was unsettling Wall Street, which up to now had performed as if an increase in the debt ceiling was not in doubt. And the looming Aug. 2 cutoff for action was creating new tensions between the president and Republican leaders.
  Moody’s Investors Service said Wednesday it will review the government’s credit rating, noting there is a small but rising risk that the government will default on its debt. If Moody’s were to lower the ratings, the consequences would ripple through the economy, pushing up rates for mortgages, car loans and other debts. A Chinese rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., also warned of a possible downgrade.
  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, addressing lawmakers, warned Wednesday that not increasing the nation’s debt ceiling and allowing the nation default on its debt would send “shock waves through the entire financial system.”
  And in the cauldron of the White House Cabinet Room, Obama and top lawmakers bargained for nearly two hours Wednesday on spending cuts. Obama curtly ended the session when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., urged Obama to accept a short, monthslong increase in debt instead of one that would last through next year’s presidential election.
  “Enough is enough. … I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Obama said, rising from the negotiating table and leaving the room, according to several officials familiar with the session…. – AP, 7-14-11
• Moody’s moves one step closer to downgrading U.S. debt: Moody’s Investors Service said Wednesday it has put the U.S. government’s top-notch credit rating on review for a possible downgrade because of the risk that Washington will not raise the federal debt ceiling in time to avoid a default.
  The firm added that even a brief failure of the government to pay its bills would mean that the United States’s Aaa rating “would likely no longer be appropriate.”
  The announcement comes after Standard & Poor’s, another of the major credit rating agencies, has said that it would dramatically downgrade the U.S. government’s credit rating if payments were missed.
  The U.S. has long been able to borrow money cheaply because global investors believe the government can be counted on to repay its debts. If credit rating agencies downgrade the U.S. and investors lose their faith in the creditworthiness of the government, the cost of borrowing money — in other words, the interest rate — could rise…. – WaPo, 7-13-11
• Eric Cantor walks tightrope with GOP: As he has surged to the forefront of debt-limit negotiations and faced round-the-clock scrutiny on cable and radio talk shows, a fundamental question about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s high-stakes political maneuvering is being discussed in the halls of power.
  Is he building street cred with House Republicans or overplaying his hand? The answer may be both. Cantor’s allies note that he’s been put in the spotlight by assignment — from Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama — not by choice. And they say he has gained political capital within the GOP conference.
  Cantor has a lot riding on the outcome of the debt-limit negotiations. He’ll share in the public blame if they fall apart and the economy tanks, and he’ll face recriminations from his conservative base in the House if he cuts too soft a deal with the president.
  Still, there’s little question that Republicans, led by Cantor’s steadfast loyalty to their bottom line, have forced the debt-limit debate to be framed in terms of trillions in cuts instead of the clean debt increase Obama originally wanted.
  With only 22 percent of respondents supporting a vote in favor of the debt increase according to a Gallup Poll, Republicans believe they’re on firm footing with voters as they push for historically deep spending cuts…. – Politico, 7-13-11
• Debt stalemate – who budges first? – Politico Arena, 7-13-11

JULY 12, 2011: REPUBLICAN SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL’S DEBT PLAN FOR OBAMA

“After years of discussions and months of negotiations, I have little question that as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is probably unattainable.” — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor

• McConnell’s last ditch debt ceiling plan: What’s in it for Republicans?: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell proposes a ‘last choice option’ that would allow President Obama to raise the national debt ceiling without GOP support.
  In a surprise move, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday proposed a “last choice option” to avoid default on the national debt that would require the support of just over a third of the House and Senate to raise the national debt ceiling.
  The McConnell proposal, which requires special legislation to be adopted, gives the president expedited procedures to increase the debt limit by as much as $2.4 trillion that require only submission of a plan to reduce spending by a greater amount. There is no requirement that Congress actually pass those spending cuts.
  But even if the cuts are never passed, the proposal has two political advantages for Republicans: It forces President Obama to lay out his proposed spending cuts in writing, a longtime GOP demand. And it absolves Republicans of responsibility for sending the nation into its first-ever default, as early as Aug. 2…. – CS Monitor, 7-12-11
• A Pathway Out of the Debt Crisis: Political gain, not economic sense or sound policy, has always been at the core of Republican strategy on the debt-ceiling talks — a cynical ploy to appear serious about cutting spending while actually holding hostage the nation’s strong credit rating. Now that the real risks to their strategy are becoming apparent, including the possibility of cutting off Social Security checks, the more experienced members of the party are beginning to rethink their plans.
  On Tuesday, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, proposed a convoluted fallback solution that would at least defuse the crisis his party created a few weeks ago by threatening to force the country into default on its national debts. The plan is no less cynical than the original threat, but if the House goes along, it may allow Washington, the credit markets and the American people to breathe a little easier.
  Mr. McConnell’s plan would allow President Obama to raise the debt ceiling by $2.5 trillion in three increments through the end of 2012. Congress could vote to disapprove each increment, but the president could veto its resolutions of disapproval, and the debt ceiling would then rise.
  The president would have to identify possible spending cuts equal to the debt ceiling increases, but he would get to choose the cuts, and would not have to make them before the two chambers vote. Congress would be unable to force him to make the cuts it wants, except through the regular appropriations process.
  The proposal is clearly meant to shift all the blame for raising the debt ceiling onto the president, and away from Republicans. Every Republican in Congress could proudly vote against the debt increases, but the ceiling would still go up, because there are not enough Republicans to override a veto. It’s a distinction that makes sense only in the current Washington frame of mind, but it’s a trade-off worth making to avoid either a default or radical cuts to discretionary spending and entitlement programs…. – NYT, 7-13-11
• McConnell, Boehner blast Obama over debt talks: Just hours before another White House meeting, the top two Republicans in Congress blasted President Obama today for a debt reduction proposal they say is more specific about taxes than actual budget cuts.
  “In my view the president has presented us with three choices,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., referring to efforts to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. “Smoke and mirrors, tax hikes, or default.” “Republicans choose none of the above,” McConnell said. “I had hoped to do good; but I refuse to do harm.”
  Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, demanded more specifics from Obama, saying, “Where’s the president’s plan? When’s he going to lay his cards on the table?” “This debt limit increase is his problem,” Boehner said. “I think it’s time for him to lead by putting his plan on the table, something that the Congress can pass.”
  Republican and Democratic leaders are scheduled to meet with Obama at 3:45 p.m., a third straight day of negotiating…. – USA Today, 7-12-11

JULY 12, 2011: WHITE HOUSE MEETINGS CONTINUE

• Obama says he cannot guarantee Social Security checks will go out on August 3: President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.
  “I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, according to excerpts released by CBS News.
  The Obama administration and many economists have warned of economic catastrophe if the United States does not raise the amount it is legally allowed to borrow by August 2…. – CBS News, 7-12-11
• Obama, lawmakers regroup to seek U.S. debt deal: President Barack Obama and congressional leaders, struggling to break an impasse over taxes and spending cuts, will regroup on Tuesday to seek common ground for a deal to avoid a looming U.S. debt default.
  Obama and top lawmakers from both political parties will hold their third meeting in as many days at the White House at 3:45 p.m. (1945 GMT) to hammer out elements of legislation to reduce the U.S. deficit and raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
  The two sides remain far apart on the role of revenues in a deficit-fighting plan. The White House wants to end Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and close other corporate tax loopholes, boosting federal coffers even as massive government spending cuts are made…. – Reuters, 7-12-11
• Obama urges Republicans to follow Reagan example: President Barack Obama urged Republicans to draw inspiration from the hero of fiscal conservatives, Ronald Reagan, who had agreed to revenue increases to cut the US deficit.
  “Ronald Reagan repeatedly took steps that included revenue, in order for him to accomplish some of these larger goals,” Obama told CBS in an interview.
  “And the question is if Ronald Reagan could compromise — why wouldn’t folks who idolize Ronald Reagan be willing to engage in those same kinds of compromises.”… – AFP, 7-13-11
• The tea party, the debt ceiling and John Boehner’s conundrum: House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 11, 2011, as the debt talks continued. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)When Republicans retook the House in the 2010 midterm elections, there were a handful of smart party strategists who cautioned that managing the majority might be more trouble than anyone thought, due to the scores of tea party-aligned members coming into Congress.
  Six months into the 112th Congress and House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) is learning that lesson in spades, as the debt ceiling debate rages on with no signs of compromise.
  New polling from the Washington Post and Pew Research Center paints Boehner’s challenge in corralling the tea party element of the Republican conference in stark relief.
  The data suggests that those who identify as Republicans who are supportive of the tea party not only view themselves as far more educated than the average person on the current debt debate, but are also far more worried about the impact if the debt limit is increased.
  More than eight in 10 tea party supporters (81 percent) said they understand “what would happen if the government does not raise the federal debt limit” — far more than the 55 percent of all respondents who said the same thing.
  Three quarters of tea party supporters said that they were more concerned that raising the debt ceiling would “lead to higher government spending and make the national debt bigger,” while just 19 percent said they were more worried that “not raising the debt limit would force the government into default and hurt the nation’s economy.”
  That stands in stark contrast to all Americans in the poll, 47 percent of whom said raising the debt limit was a bigger concern while 42 percent said not raising it was the bigger worry…. – WaPo, 7-12-11

Political Buzz July 11, 2011: Debt Ceiling Showdown: President Obama’s Press Conference & Debt Talks with Congressional Leaders

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

DEBT CEILING SHOWDOWN: OBAMA VS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

• Timeline: Debt debate: President Barack Obama and top lawmakers will meet again Monday in search of a deal on slashing the U.S. budget deficit and raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before the United States defaults.
  Obama wants to strike a deal well before August 2, when the Treasury Department says it will no longer be able to honor its obligations and issue new bonds without breaching the limit that Congress set on how much the United States can borrow.
  Republican and Democratic lawmakers say any increase must include measures to ensure the country’s debt remains at a sustainable level. The debt-reduction debate is a sharp shift for Washington, which less than a year ago was focused on additional deficit spending to lower the unemployment rate.
  Following is a timeline of the debate…. – Reuters, 7-11-11
• Factbox: What’s on the table in debt talks: President Barack Obama and congressional leaders resume their White House talks on Monday to see if they have the makings of a deal to trim budget deficits and avert a looming default.
  The Treasury Department has warned it will run out of money to cover the country’s bills if Congress does not raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2.
  Although Democrats and Republicans agree on the need for trillions of dollars in budget savings, they remain sharply divided about how to get there.
  Following is a summary of the debate… – Reuters, 7-11-11
• Obama on debt ceiling: Is he winning over Americans?: An increasing number of Americans are concerned about the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling, according to a new poll. President Obama has been blunt about the consequences of default…. – CS Monitor, 7-12-11“We might as well do it now — pull off the Band-Aid; eat our peas.” – President Barack Obama“I know you all love to write the soap opera here.” — Eric Cantor (R-Va.), joking about the Republican-Democrat split.“It’s time for tough love. Don’t let them scare you by telling you that the country’s going to fall apart.” — Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), speaking to a cheering crowd in Iowa over the weekend.

  “I hope and pray and believe they should not raise the debt ceiling. These historic, dramatic moments where you can draw a line in the sand and force politicians to actually do something bold and courageous are important moments.” – Tim Pawlenty, Former Minnesota governor

  “A cataclysmic game of chicken. Negotiating with a gun to your head. A Thelma & Louise-style full throttle off a cliff.” — John Avlon at the Daily Beast, on the “dire metaphors” for the debate.

  “The debt ceiling is a gut-check time for all Republicans on spending and size of government. … Apparently, Gov. Romney is still checking his gut to figure out where he should stand.” — Alex Conant, spokesman for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

  “You and I have decided to have lunch together today. We both need lunch. We both know we’re going to have lunch. But we don’t agree on where to eat. So you propose Mexican, but I counter with Chinese, and warn that if you refuse, neither of us will get to eat lunch ever again. Deal? … Of course not. But that’s pretty much the GOP’s strategy on the debt-ceiling negotiation.” — Ezra Klein on the partisan bickering

  “It’s a hostage negotiation! It’s a lunch conversation! No, it’s the debt ceiling debate.” — Eric Thompson at the Atlantic, on how to characterize the debt ceiling.

  “We are at each others throats more than is necessary.” — Jeff Immelt, chairman of Obama’s outside panel of economic advisers, calling the White House and Congress to strike a deal on Monday.

JULY 12, 2011: WHITE HOUSE MEETINGS CONTINUE

• McConnell: No real deficit deal until Obama is gone: The Senate’s top Republican said Tuesday that he did not see a way for Republicans and Democrats to come to agreement on meaningful deficit reduction as long as President Obama remains in office.
  “After years of discussions and months of negotiations, I have little question that as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is probably unattainable,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor…. – CBS News, 7-12-11
• McConnell, Boehner blast Obama over debt talks: Just hours before another White House meeting, the top two Republicans in Congress blasted President Obama today for a debt reduction proposal they say is more specific about taxes than actual budget cuts.
  “In my view the president has presented us with three choices,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., referring to efforts to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. “Smoke and mirrors, tax hikes, or default.” “Republicans choose none of the above,” McConnell said. “I had hoped to do good; but I refuse to do harm.”
  Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, demanded more specifics from Obama, saying, “Where’s the president’s plan? When’s he going to lay his cards on the table?” “This debt limit increase is his problem,” Boehner said. “I think it’s time for him to lead by putting his plan on the table, something that the Congress can pass.”
  Republican and Democratic leaders are scheduled to meet with Obama at 3:45 p.m., a third straight day of negotiating…. – USA Today, 7-12-11
• Obama, lawmakers regroup to seek U.S. debt deal: President Barack Obama and congressional leaders, struggling to break an impasse over taxes and spending cuts, will regroup on Tuesday to seek common ground for a deal to avoid a looming U.S. debt default.
  Obama and top lawmakers from both political parties will hold their third meeting in as many days at the White House at 3:45 p.m. (1945 GMT) to hammer out elements of legislation to reduce the U.S. deficit and raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
  The two sides remain far apart on the role of revenues in a deficit-fighting plan. The White House wants to end Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and close other corporate tax loopholes, boosting federal coffers even as massive government spending cuts are made…. – Reuters, 7-12-11

JULY 11, 2011: PRESIDENT OBAMA PRESS CONFERENCE ON DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS

President Obama gestures as he responds to a question at a news conference at the White House July 11. (Shawn Thew, EPA)

Obama rules out short-term deal on debt ceiling: President Obama said Monday that he would not consider stopgap measures to temporarily avert the debt-ceiling crisis, saying “that is just not an acceptable approach.”
Obama spoke after Republicans rejected a deficit-reduction framework that would raise taxes and cut entitlements. “I continue to push congressional leaders for the largest possible deal,” Obama said at a White House news conference. He added, “I will not sign” a short-term extension.

“This is the United States of America. We don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments. We don’t risk default on our obligations because we can’t put politics aside.” — Barack Obama

• McConnell Offers Three-Stage Debt-Limit ‘Last Choice’ Option: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a “last choice option” for increasing the U.S. debt limit in three stages in case President Barack Obama and Congress can’t agree on a deficit-reduction plan.
  McConnell’s plan would let the president raise the limit, while accompanying it with offsetting spending cuts, unless Congress struck down his plan with a two-thirds majority. The debt-ceiling increase could occur without the companion spending cuts, McConnell said.
  Don Stewart, a spokesman for McConnell, said the plan would allow Obama to raise the debt limit while putting the onus on him and congressional Democrats for any failure to cut spending. At the same time, Republicans wouldn’t have to agree to tax increases.
  The proposal is “not my first choice,” McConnell said, adding that he wanted to show the financial markets that the U.S. will not default on its debts. He said he continues to seek a broader deal to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit with congressional Democrats and the White House. “We’re certainly not going to send a signal to the markets and the American people that default is an option,” he said…. – Bloomberg, 7-12-11
• Debt deal: How to kill three birds with one stone: President Barack Obama and Republican leaders have been mired in a dispute over taxes as they try to avert a looming debt default, but a deal is possible that would allow both sides to declare victory.
  Republicans could live up to their promise to prevent tax increases. At the same time, Democrats could say they are raising taxes on the rich and boosting the economy.
  That could resolve the biggest remaining obstacle to a budget deal that would cover the United States’ borrowing needs through the November 2012 elections. Congress needs to act soon to ensure the Treasury can continue paying its bills beyond August 2.
  The two sides have already agreed in principle on roughly $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending cuts but have repeatedly clashed over raising new tax revenue, which Democrats insist must be part of any deficit-reduction package…. – Reuters, 7-12-11
• Obama Grasping Centrist Banner in Debt Impasse: President Obama made no apparent headway on Monday in his attempt to forge a crisis-averting budget deal, but he put on full display his effort to position himself as a pragmatic centrist willing to confront both parties and address intractable problems.
  At a news conference preceding the latest round of debt-reduction talks with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, Mr. Obama said he would not accept a temporary agreement to kick the problem down the road a few weeks or months.
  He said that he was willing to take the heat from his own party to move beyond entrenched ideological positions and that Republicans should do the same. And he continued to insist on “the biggest deal possible,” saying that now is the best opportunity for the nation to address its long-term fiscal challenges.
  Republicans dismissed his performance as political theater. But Mr. Obama’s remarks appeared to be aimed at independent voters as well as at Congressional leaders, and stood in contrast to the Republican focus on the party’s conservative base, both in the budget showdown and in presidential politics…. – NYT, 7-12-11
• Boehner-Cantor rivalry affecting debt talks It’s not the first sign of friction between the two Republican leaders: The debt talks are not the first time friction has been apparent between House Speaker John A. Boehner, rear, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. (Win McNamee, Getty Images / July 12, 2011)
  A long-simmering rivalry between the top two Republicans in the House has tumbled into the open, with far-reaching implications for deficit-reduction negotiations with the White House.
  Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are at odds over President Obama’s call for a massive deficit-reduction package to address fiscal problems and provide for an increase in the country’s $14.3-trillion borrowing limit before an Aug. 2 deadline.
  In private talks with the White House, Boehner favored a large package as part of pragmatic political deal-making. But Cantor, speaking for staunch conservatives in Congress, is opposed.
  In a briefing Monday, Cantor downplayed the divisions, insisting repeatedly that he and the speaker were “on the same page.” But friction between the two has grown obvious, reinforcing months-old questions over who controls House Republicans.
  “I don’t think Boehner would want to serve in a foxhole anytime with Eric Cantor,” said a Republican strategist and former leadership aide who asked not to be identified while commenting on an intraparty rivalry…. – LAT, 7-12-11
• Budget Talks Beginning to Take On a Testy Air: Even before they gathered around a long table in the Cabinet Room for another round of budget negotiations on Monday, President Obama and Republican leaders began taking shots at one another.
  Mr. Obama declared at a news conference that he would not sign a “stopgap” measure to avert a federal default, and he challenged Republicans to “eat your peas” by supporting a large deficit-reduction deal. Speaker John A. Boehner countered that Republicans would not back a package with any tax increases, and said that even agreeing to an increase in the debt limit was a big concession.
  Once the private meeting actually started, the fireworks subsided, Democratic and Republican officials briefed on the talks said, though if anything, the debate over specific policy choices served only to reinforce the chasm between the two sides. The officials described a cordial, though intense, debate in which Mr. Obama and the eight leaders from both parties delved deeply into the nitty-gritty…. – NYT, 7-12-11
• With Boehner bailing, Cantor ascends as GOP voice: Now, it’s the Eric Cantor show. The House majority leader’s voice was heard most often in Sunday night and Monday afternoon debt-limit negotiations at the White House. It has been loud in opposition to changes in tax policy to add new revenue. And some Republicans said it sounds more in tune with the sentiment of the House GOP majority than Speaker John Boehner’s voice.
  For better or worse, Cantor owns the GOP’s spotlight in the debt-limit talks now that Boehner’s effort to fashion a groundbreaking “grand bargain” has fallen apart. It was Cantor who walked out on a commission led by Vice President Joe Biden when the topic of tax hikes was raised. And now Cantor is back in the driver’s seat because the talks have turned away from the big-dollar package that President Barack Obama and Boehner were negotiating and toward a smaller framework of spending cuts produced by the Biden talks.
  At a White House meeting on Monday, Cantor used color-coded spreadsheets to explain to the president and congressional leaders where he believes agreements on spending cuts had been reached by the Biden group.
  Boehner’s failed negotiations with Obama have given more stock to Cantor’s read about where the votes lie for a debt-limit deal, which, for the moment at least, is focused on the $1 trillion to $2 trillion in cuts identified by the Biden group.
  “It looks like he’s maybe listening to the rank and file a little bit more closely,” Rep. Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican with strong tea party credentials, told POLITICO’s Arena on Monday. “He understands what the rank and file want.”… – Politico, 7-11-11
• Obama, Republicans trapped by inflexible rhetoric: President Barack Obama and GOP lawmakers, hundreds of billions of dollars short of their goal and seemingly trapped in inflexible bargaining positions, are struggling for agreement on $2 trillion-plus in budget cuts as the price for maintaining the government’s ability to borrow.
  Lawmakers were asked to return to the White House for talks Tuesday afternoon after a 90-minute Monday session produced no progress other than to identify the size of the gap between Republicans and Obama. Neither side showed any give that might generate hopes for a speedy agreement. Instead, Republicans again took a firm stand against revenue increases while Obama and his Democratic allies insisted that they be part of any equation that cuts programs like Medicare. “I do not see a path to a deal if they don’t budge, period,” Obama said.
  At the same time, the president turned up the pressure by announcing he won’t sign any short-term debt limit increases. “We are going to get this done,” Obama insisted during a news conference…. – AP, 7-11-11
• Boehner: Debt Ceiling Increase Obama’s Problem: House Speaker John Boehner is turning up the heat on President Obama, calling the debt-ceiling increase “his problem” and putting the onus on him to present a deficit-reduction plan that can pass Congress.
  Republicans in both chambers had tough words for the administration ahead of another White House sit-down Tuesday afternoon. On the Senate floor, GOP Leader Mitch McConnell accused the president and his party of “deliberate deception.”
  The comments may reflect increasing pressure from rank-and-file Republicans to press for deeper spending cuts and not cave in to the administration’s call for tax hikes.
  “The House Republicans have a plan. We passed our budget back in the spring, outlined our priorities. Where’s the president’s plan? When’s he going to lay his cards on the table?” Boehner said. “This debt limit increase is his problem and I think it’s time for him to lead by putting his plan on the table, something that the Congress can pass.”… – Fox News, 7-12-11
• Obama Takes Centrist Banner in Impasse Over Deficit: President Obama made no apparent headway on Monday in his attempt to forge a crisis-averting budget deal, but he put on full display his effort to position himself as a pragmatic centrist willing to confront both parties and address intractable problems.
  At a news conference preceding the latest round of debt-reduction talks with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, Mr. Obama said he would not accept a temporary agreement to kick the problem down the road a few weeks or months.
  He said that he was willing to take the heat from his own party to move beyond entrenched ideological positions and that Republicans should do the same. And he continued to insist on “the biggest deal possible,” saying that now is the best opportunity for the nation to address its long-term fiscal challenges.
  Republicans dismissed his performance as political theater. But Mr. Obama’s remarks appeared to be aimed at independent voters as well as at Congressional leaders, and stood in contrast to the Republican focus on the party’s conservative base, both in the budget showdown and in presidential politics.
  Mr. Obama’s remarks were among the clearest expressions yet of a repositioning effort that has been under way since the midterm elections last November, when Republicans captured the House and made inroads in the Senate.
  Seeking to shed the image of big-government liberal that Republicans used effectively against him last year, he has made or offered policy compromises on an array of issues and cast himself in the role of the adult referee for both parties’ gamesmanship, or the parent of stubborn children.
  “If we think it’s hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be thinking six months from now in the middle of election season where they’re all up,” he said. “It’s not going to get easier. It’s going to get harder. So we might as well do it now — pull off the Band-Aid, eat our peas.” He added, “We keep on talking about this stuff, and we have these high-minded pronouncements about how we’ve got to get control of the deficit and how we owe it to our children and our grandchildren. Well, let’s step up. Let’s do it. I’m prepared to do it. I’m prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done. And I expect the other side should be willing to do the same thing.”
  Mr. Obama did not shake Republicans’ resolve to oppose any increases in taxes for wealthy Americans and businesses, as he proposes. “Eat our peas?” asked a mocking news release from the office of Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, placing the blaming for the impasse on Mr. Obama for demanding “job crushing tax hikes.”… – NYT, 7-12-11
• Boehner-Cantor rivalry affecting debt talks It’s not the first sign of friction between the two Republican leaders: A long-simmering rivalry between the top two Republicans in the House has tumbled into the open, with far-reaching implications for deficit-reduction negotiations with the White House.
  Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are at odds over President Obama’s call for a massive deficit-reduction package to address fiscal problems and provide for an increase in the country’s $14.3-trillion borrowing limit before an Aug. 2 deadline.
  In private talks with the White House, Boehner favored a large package as part of pragmatic political deal-making. But Cantor, speaking for staunch conservatives in Congress, is opposed.
  In a briefing Monday, Cantor downplayed the divisions, insisting repeatedly that he and the speaker were “on the same page.” But friction between the two has grown obvious, reinforcing months-old questions over who controls House Republicans.
  “I don’t think Boehner would want to serve in a foxhole anytime with Eric Cantor,” said a Republican strategist and former leadership aide who asked not to be identified while commenting on an intraparty rivalry…. – LAT, 7-12-11
• Budget Talks Beginning to Take On a Testy Air: Even before they gathered around a long table in the Cabinet Room for another round of budget negotiations on Monday, President Obama and Republican leaders began taking shots at one another.
  Mr. Obama declared at a news conference that he would not sign a “stopgap” measure to avert a federal default, and he challenged Republicans to “eat your peas” by supporting a large deficit-reduction deal. Speaker John A. Boehner countered that Republicans would not back a package with any tax increases, and said that even agreeing to an increase in the debt limit was a big concession.
  Once the private meeting actually started, the fireworks subsided, Democratic and Republican officials briefed on the talks said, though if anything, the debate over specific policy choices served only to reinforce the chasm between the two sides. The officials described a cordial, though intense, debate in which Mr. Obama and the eight leaders from both parties delved deeply into the nitty-gritty.
  Mr. Obama, after restating his pitch for a far-reaching deal that could produce savings of $4 trillion or so over a decade, turned the floor over to the House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia. Mr. Cantor, Democratic officials said, presented a Republican proposal for a more modest agreement that drew heavily on earlier negotiations steered by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr…. – NYT, 7-12-11
• Delayed payments in 1979 offer glimpse of default consequences: In fact, there was one short-lived incident in the spring of 1979 that offers a glimpse of some of the problems and costs that might arise if the stalemate on Capitol Hill continues. Then, as now, Congress had been playing a game of chicken with the debt limit, raising it to $830 billion – compared with today’s $14.3 trillion – only after Treasury Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal warned that the country was hours away from the first default in its history…. – WaPo, 7-11-11
• David Frum: U.S. conservatives in denial over impact of debt default: The U.S. government is the largest purchaser of goods and services on planet Earth.
  The government buys everything from equipment for cancer research to metal for warships to toothpicks for federal cafeterias. Suppose the government had to cut 44% from its budget on two weeks notice? How sharp a shock would that be to the world economy?
  Here’s a comparative. In the worst quarter of 2009, American consumers cut their spending by … not 44%, not even 4.4%, but 1.2%. That 1.2% drop in consumer spending helped tumble the economy into the worst collapse since the 1930s.
  The U.S. consumer sector is even larger than the federal government sector. But it’s not unimaginably larger. U.S. consumers spend about $10 trillion a year. The federal government spends about $3.4 trillion.
  If a cut of 1.2% from $10 trillion was an economic shock, a cut of 44% from $3.4 trillion will be a much, much, much bigger shock.
  Yet a huge portion of conservative punditry this week amounts to a sustained denial of this seemingly self-evident arithmetic fact…. – National Post, 7-12-11Eric Cantor: We don’t believe you ought to be raising taxes right now, in this economy, and they do. That is the difference. If the President wants the debt ceiling raised, the House will not raise taxes. That is just what it is.John Boehner: “The president continues to insist on raising taxes, and [Democrats] are just not serious enough about fundamental entitlement reform to solve the problem. It takes two to tango, and they’re not there yet.” — Boehner says Dems not willing to make debt deal: Republican House Speaker says debt ceiling must be raised, but Democrats must get “serious” about entitlement reform, no tax hikes…. -
• CBS News, 7-11-11Obama rules out short-term deal on debt ceiling: President Obama said Monday that he would not consider stopgap measures to temporarily avert the debt-ceiling crisis, saying “that is just not an acceptable approach.”
  Obama spoke after Republicans rejected a deficit-reduction framework that would raise taxes and cut entitlements. “I continue to push congressional leaders for the largest possible deal,” Obama said at a White House news conference. He added, “I will not sign” a short-term extension.“This is the United States of America. We don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments. We don’t risk default on our obligations because we can’t put politics aside.” — Barack Obama
• Obama: Time to “eat our peas” and pass debt deal: President Obama is still seeking the largest deficit reduction deal possible as part of a package deal to raise the debt ceiling, he said in a press conference today.
  “I continue to push congressional leaders for the largest possible deal,” he said from the White House. “It is possible for us to construct a package that would be balanced, share sacrifice [and] would involve both parties taking on their sacred cows.”
  Mr. Obama would not even entertain the notion of failing to get a deal done before the end of the month. “We are going to get this done by August 2,” he said.
  Mr. Obama said today that he appreciated Boehner’s efforts to try to reach a large deal with him, but that the rest of the GOP must now step up to the plate.
  “I’ve been hearing from my Republican friends for some time it is a moral imperative to tackle our debt and deficits in a serious way,” Mr. Obama said. “What I’ve said to them is, let’s go.”
  The president said today he would not accept a smaller, short-term deal. “We might as well do it now,” he said. “Pull off the band aid. Eat our peas.”… – CBS News, 7-11-11
• At news conference, Obama portrays himself as compromiser-in-chief: President Obama says he will not sign a three to six-month bill to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and instead is calling on Republicans to set aside stubborn politics and agree on a long-term compromise before the country hits the debt limit Aug. 2.
  His administration is not making contingency plans for the event that Congress won’t vote to raise the debt ceiling in time, Obama told reporters this morning, predicting in a morning press conference that “we are going to get this done” before the deadline.
  As leaders prepared for an afternoon meeting at the White House, Obama pledged to bring Republicans and Democrats together “every single day” until they work out an agreement to avert a credit default with an agreement on debt and deficit reduction.
  Republicans have been saying for months that it’s a “moral imperative” for the president and Congress to tackle debts and deficits, Obama said, arguing that he has moved toward their position in hopes of working out a compromise.
  “What I’ve said to them is, ‘Let’s go,’” Obama said in a morning press conference in the White House briefing room. Such a deal would let Americans knows “this town can actually do something once in a while.”… – LAT, 7-11-11
• Obama Presses GOP for Big Deficit Deal: President Barack Obama on Monday said he won’t support a short-term deficit-cutting deal and continued to press for a more ambitious agreement involving taxes after a Sunday evening summit with congressional leaders failed to produce a deal.
  Mr. Obama, speaking at a televised news conference, said the American people feel a sense of urgency on the deficit talks and want results.
  The president insisted he wouldn’t support a short-term deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit. “We don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments,” he said.
  Mr. Obama, speaking ahead of another negotiating session scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT Monday, said both sides have to move off their starting positions. “If not now, when?” He said later, it’s time to “pull off the Band Aid.”
  The main sticking points remain taxes and cuts to entitlement programs. Mr. Obama and Democrats are still pushing for a grand bargain that would slash about $4 trillion from the deficit over about 10 years. Republicans say such a package isn’t palatable because it includes tax increases that rank-and-file members won’t stomach.
  “I have bent over backwards to try to work with Republicans” on taxes, Mr. Obama said. He said he doesn’t favor tax increases, but wants to end a series of loopholes for oil and gas companies and the wealthy. Republicans have said ending tax subsidies and tax breaks amounts to tax increases. He said he is also willing to overhaul the tax code so long as it is “sufficiently progressive.”… – WSJ, 7-11-11
• Obama presses ahead with debt talks, warns against stopgap solution: President Obama, facing a bitter partisan stalemate over how to raise the federal borrowing limit, summoned congressional leaders to a new round of White House talks Monday and warned that he would not accept a temporary, stopgap measure.
  “That is not an acceptable approach,” he told a news conference ahead of the scheduled talks. “So we might as well do it now. Pull off the Band-Aid. Eat our peas. Now is the time to do it. If not now, when?”… – WaPo, 7-11-11
• Obama, leaders take last stab at $4 trillion deal: President Obama refused to back down Sunday night from seeking a landmark compromise that would slash about $4 trillion over 10 years from budget deficits and raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt limit.
  President Obama meets with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to negotiate the national debt.
  In a rare weekend meeting at the White House, Obama sought to convince recalcitrant lawmakers that tax increases on upper-income Americans and major cuts in popular health care and retirement programs still were within reach — despite Republicans’ pessimism. He will reiterate his case in a news conference this morning.
  Obama’s pitch didn’t convince congressional leaders. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said Obama’s insistence on ending tax cuts for couples with income above $250,000 was a non-starter. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi raised doubts about proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
  If Obama’s last-ditch effort fails, negotiators still could seek about $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction and an equal increase in the debt limit, enough to get them past the 2012 elections. They had agreed on about two-thirds of that amount in June when Republicans balked at new taxes and walked out.
  With three weeks left before the government can no longer borrow money, reaching even that lower threshold will be difficult, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledged Sunday…. – USA, 7-10-11
• Obama set for debt negotiations all week – official: President Barack Obama told top U.S. lawmakers on Sunday to be prepared to meet every day this week to hash out a deal to cut the federal budget and raise the debt limit, a Democratic source with knowledge of the talks said.
  The Democratic official said that Obama pressed Republicans at a White House meeting to aim for a broad, $4 trillion deficit-reduction package rather than a more modest one…. – Reuters, 7-11-11
• Debt Ceiling Negotiations Enter Round 3: The debt and deficit negotiations are now aimed at accomplishing two goals. The first goal for all sides sitting around the table is to get a deal in place by Aug. 2 to avoid any negative impact on the economy. The second goal, which is being pursued concurrently, is to emerge from the talks as the political winner. The latter clearly complicates the former.
  The eight Republican and Democratic congressional leaders will be back in the Cabinet Room in the White House Monday afternoon with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden for their third such meeting over the last five days.
  The president continues to apply pressure on House Speaker John Boehner and his fellow Republicans by pushing for a “grand bargain” that includes entitlement reforms many in his own party oppose. With the president willing to put Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on the chopping block, it begs the question of where Rep. Boehner is willing to compromise.
  But math is a stubborn thing. Boehner clearly came to the conclusion this weekend that he simply cannot pass a deal through his conference that includes any tax increases…. – PBS Newshour, 7-11-11
• US debt talks: ‘trust gap’ between negotiators, rank and file in Congress: Details of the US debt and deficit talks have been mostly secret, fueling concerns on both sides of the aisle that their leaders will compromise party values or give away too much…. – CS Monitor, 7-11-11

JULY 10, 2011: CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS MEET AGAIN AT WHITE HOUSE

“Congress has to act. If they don’t act, then we face catastrophic damage to the American economy, and the leadership, to their credit, and I mean Republicans and Democrats, fully understand that.” — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said on the CBS News program “Face the Nation.

“Congress has to act. If they don’t act, then we face catastrophic damage to the American economy, and the leadership, to their credit, and I mean Republicans and Democrats, fully understand that.” — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said on the CBS News program “Face the Nation.”

“I disagree with that. I can tell you the president is determined to keep us there and make certain that we’re focused on the fact the decisions we make in that room will affect families across America and decide if this economy is going to recover. If we falter, if we don’t have sufficient political courage and will to get this done and this economy is going to be hurt then it is going to fall on our shoulders.” — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

“It’s disappointing that the president is unable to bring his own party around to the entitlement reform that he put on the table. And it’s baffling that the president and his party continue to insist on massive tax hikes in the middle of a jobs crisis while refusing to take significant action on spending reductions at a time of record deficits.” — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spokesman Don Stewart after Sunday evening’s White House meeting

• Obama, GOP back to where they started: The debt ceiling: It started with a simple objective: Raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Then the Republicans began demanding big budget cuts in exchange for increasing the debt ceiling. Then the Democrats began demanding higher taxes for wealthy in order to close the debt down the line.
  Now — given bleak prospects for a big deal involving all those elements, the so-called “grand bargain” — President Obama and the Republicans are back to where the started, trying to put together a new deal to raise the debt ceiling. Except that now they’re even closer to a government default on its existing debts…. – USA Today, 7-11-11
• Obama: ‘We need to’ work out debt deal in 10 days: Grasping for a deal on the nation’s debt, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders remained divided Sunday over the size and the components of a plan to reduce long term deficits. Saying “we need to” work out an agreement over the next 10 days, the president and lawmakers agreed to meet again Monday.
  Obama also sought to use the power of his office to sway public opinion, scheduling a news conference for Monday morning, his second one in less than two weeks devoted primarily to the debt talks.
  Officials familiar with the meeting said Obama pressed the eight House and Senate leaders Sunday evening to continue aiming for a massive $4 trillion deal for reducing the debt.
  But there appeared to be little appetite for such an ambitious plan and the political price it would require to pass in Congress. Instead, House Speaker John Boehner told the group that a smaller package of about $2 trillion to $2.4 trillion was more realistic…. – AP, 7-11-11
• With Debt Talks Stalled, What Happens Now?: According to various reports, both President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner were willing to go bold. A $4 trillion debt-reduction package, one that would include about $1 trillion in new revenue (tax increases) over ten years, was being discussed by the end of last week. But the House GOP revolted over the taxes, and Boehner, a reasonable person made powerless in the face of his no-compromise caucus, backed away from a grand bargain. So where does that leave us?
  July 22 has been previously identified as the latest a deal can be reached in order to give Congress enough time to write the law, vet it, and pass it, so time is of the essence. Obama will hold another press conference today to make his case to the media and the public as a way to pressure the GOP, after which another meeting will be held with congressional leaders of both parties. Republicans want a deal based on the $2 trillion to $2.4 trillion in spending cuts previously identified by the talks overseen by Joe Biden. But Chris Van Hollen, a top House Democrat, said only $1 trillion in cuts had been identified, and Republicans were “dreaming” if they thought the number was $2.4 trillion…. – NY Magazine, 7-11-11“We came into this weekend with the prospect that we could achieve a grand bargain. We are still hopeful for a large bipartisan agreement.” — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
• Debt reduction talks in limbo as clock ticks toward Aug. 2 deadline: Talks among President Obama and congressional leaders Sunday evening failed to break a partisan stalemate over how to raise the federal borrowing limit, leaving the politically charged negotiations in limbo three weeks before the administration says the country will begin to default.
  The White House meeting adjourned after roughly 75 minutes without agreement over how far the parties should go in cutting the deficit over the next decade or whether tax cuts and entitlement reductions should be a part of any deal. Congressional leaders will return to the White House on Monday to continue talks, administration officials announced, and Obama will hold a morning news conference before they do.
  Both sides appeared Sunday to dig further into their positions, leaving the talks deadlocked, a historic default looming and a fragile economy increasingly vulnerable to the consequences of Washington’s entrenched partisanship and ideological divide over taxes and entitlements…. – WaPo, 7-10-11
• Geithner: We want ‘biggest deal possible’ on debt: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the Obama administration wants to seek “the biggest deal possible” on debt reduction…. – AP, 7-10-11
• For Boehner, Lofty Budget Goals Checked by Reality: At a private meeting about deficit reduction at the White House last week, Speaker John A. Boehner told his fellow Congressional leaders and President Obama that he did not spend 20 years working his way up to the top job on Capitol Hill just for the cachet of the title — he wanted to accomplish something big.
  So he and the president pursued an ambitious plan that would have reduced spending by as much as $4 trillion over 10 years. It was a transformative proposal, with the potential to improve the ugly deficit picture by shrinking the size of government, overhauling the tax code and instituting consensus changes to shore up Medicare and even Social Security. It was a once-in-a-decade opening.
  But the speaker’s lofty ambitions quickly crashed into the political reality of a divided, highly partisan Congress. His decision on Saturday night to abandon the comprehensive deficit-reduction package, citing the White House’s insistence on tax increases, was a sharp reversal. It highlighted the challenge he faces in persuading his party to tolerate any compromise on government spending and exposed the fissures within his own leadership team over how to proceed…. – NYT, 7-10-11
• Obama Leans on G.O.P. for a Deal on Debt Ceiling: President Obama tried on Sunday to revive the chances for a sweeping budget agreement to reduce the nation’s deficit and repair its perilous finances, but Congressional Republicans continued to balk, insisting on a more modest deal to avert a default on the national debt.
  Mr. Obama, meeting with leaders from both parties at the White House, bluntly challenged Republicans a day after Speaker John A. Boehner pulled back from a far-reaching agreement aimed at saving as much as $4 trillion over 10 years, officials briefed on the negotiations said. The meeting ended after an hour and 15 minutes with little progress, but the two sides agreed to resume talking Monday, and every day after that, until a deal is done.
  White House officials said Mr. Obama was still determined to pursue the boldest package possible — one that would require new tax revenue as well as cuts in Medicare and other entitlement programs — but he faces steadfast opposition from Republicans and growing qualms among Democrats…. – NYT, 7-10-11
• John Boehner’s ‘grand bargain’ – with House GOP: Speaker John Boehner’s decision not to “go big” on a debt-limit deal is the starkest demonstration yet of the limits of the Ohio Republican’s power.
  The internal GOP backlash against his efforts to secure a package of $4 trillion in spending cuts and revenue-raisers revealed that Boehner sometimes is little more than the first among equals — capable of synthesizing Republican sentiments but unwilling to drive them.
  Tax hikes, by any name, are a nonstarter for a party that forged its brand on the mantra of lower taxes and less government, and Boehner’s willingness to talk rates with President Barack Obama — particularly in the context of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) refusal to do so — raised eyebrows within his conference. The uproar among Republicans, on and off Capitol Hill, forced Boehner to back away from the “grand bargain,” setting up a testy White House meeting where little was accomplished Sunday night…. – Politico, 7-11-11
• House, Senate leaders meet Sunday on debt talks: A group of top House and Senate leaders meet Sunday at the White House, a day after Republican negotiators abandoned plans to pursue a massive $4 trillion deficit reduction package in the face of stiff party opposition to any plan with tax increases as part of the deal.
  A deficit reduction deal is crucial to win Republican support for an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling. The government’s borrowing capacity is currently capped at $14.3 trillion and administration officials say it will go into default without action by Aug. 2. The Treasury Department says economic chaos could ensue if it can’t borrow more money.
  Both parties are under pressure from voters to resolve the debt crisis ahead of next year’s congressional and presidential elections. Obama is seen as a candidate that is tough to beat, though voters’ fears over the economy have been dragging down his numbers.
  Eight of the top House and Senate leaders were scheduled to meet at the White House in a negotiating session Sunday evening and lay out their remaining differences…. – AP, 7-10-11
• Obama, lawmakers to meet again as debt clock ticks: With pressuring continuing to build but no breakthroughs in sight, budget bargaining between President Barack Obama and top lawmakers resumes Monday at the White House, with both sides hoping to slash the deficit as the price for permitting the government to borrow more than $2 trillion to pay its bills.
  In a rare Sunday meeting in the White House Cabinet Room, Obama continued to push for a “grand bargain” in the range of $4 trillion worth of deficit cuts over the coming decade, but momentum is clearly on the side of a smaller measure of perhaps half that size. Obama continues to press for revenue increases as part of any agreement but Republicans remain stoutly opposed — despite some private hints to the contrary last week by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
  Obama holds a news conference Monday morning. The third White House meeting since Thursday is slated for the afternoon…. – ap, 7-10-11
• Ross Douthat: The Method to Their Madness: The Republican Party’s strategy in the debt-ceiling negotiations has baffled centrists and vindicated liberals. For months, the party’s leaders have repeatedly turned down deals that would cut spending significantly because their members won’t compromise on taxes. To moderates, this intransigence is inexplicable: Are they crazy? To the left, it’s all-too-predictable: See, we told you they were crazy!
  But there is a method to the Republicans’ madness, and it rests on four things they know (or at least sense) about the deficit debate that the rest of the political class often ignores.
  Barack Obama wants a right-leaning deficit deal. For months, liberals have expressed frustration with the president’s deficit strategy. The White House made no effort to tie a debt ceiling vote to the extension of the Bush tax cuts last December. It pre-emptively conceded that any increase in the ceiling should be accompanied by spending cuts. And every time Republicans dug in their heels, the administration gave ground…. – NYT, 7-10-11
• Bruce Bartlett: Five myths about the debt ceiling: In recent months, the federal debt ceiling — last increased in February 2010 and now standing at $14.3 trillion — has become a matter of national debate and political hysteria. The ceiling must be raised by Aug. 2, Treasury says, or the government will run out of cash. Congressional Republicans counter that they won’t raise the debt limit unless Democrats agree to large budget cuts with no tax increases. President Obama insists that closing tax loopholes must be part of the package. Whom and what to believe in the great debt-limit debate? Here are some misconceptions that get to the heart of the battle….
  

  1. The debt limit is an effective way to control spending and deficits.
  2. Opposition to raising the debt limit is a partisan issue.
  3. Financial markets won’t care much if interest payments are just a few days late — a “technical default.”
  4. It’s worth risking default on the debt to prevent a tax increase, given the weak economy.
  5. Obama must accept GOP budget demands because he needs Republican support to raise the debt limit….

  - WaPo, 7-7-11

JULY 9, 2011: HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER ABANDONS COMPREHENSIVE DEBT DEAL

Boehner abandons efforts to reach comprehensive debt-reduction deal: House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) abandoned efforts Saturday night to reach a comprehesive debt-reduction deal, telling President Obama that a mid-size package was the only politically possible alternative to avoid a first-ever default on the nation’s mounting national debt.

“Despite good faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes. I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure.” — John Boehner

“Both parties have made real progress thus far, and to back off now will not only fail to solve our fiscal challenge, it will confirm the cynicism people have about politics in Washington. The president believes that now is the moment to rise above that cynicism and show the American people that we can still do big things. And so tomorrow, he will make the case to Congressional leaders that we must reject the politics of least resistance and take on this critical challenge.” — Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, White House Statement

• Boehner abandons goal of $4 trillion debt-reduction package: House Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, abandoned efforts last night to reach a comprehensive debt-reduction deal worth more than $4 trillion in savings, telling President Obama that a midsize package was the only politically possible alternative to avoid a first-ever default on the nation’s mounting national debt.
  Boehner told Obama – who is hosting a key meeting tonight on the debt issue – that their efforts to “go big,’’ as the speaker says, were stymied by the toughest issues: taxes and entitlements.
  Democrats continued to insist on tax changes that would not pass muster in the conservative-dominated House, and Republicans wanted cuts to programs such as Medicare and Social Security that Obama and Senate Democrats would oppose.
  “Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes. I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase,” Boehner said…. – Boston Globe, 7-9-11
• Deficit Talks Scaled Back Over Tax Increases: Citing differences over tax revenues, House Speaker John A. Boehner said on Saturday night that he would pull back from joint efforts with President Obama to reach a sweeping $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan tied to a proposal to increase the federal debt limit.
  On the eve of a second round of high-level bipartisan talks set for Sunday, Mr. Boehner issued a statement saying he would now urge negotiators to instead focus on crafting a smaller package more in line with the $2 trillion to $3 trillion in spending cuts and revenue increases negotiated earlier by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
  “Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes,” Mr. Boehner said. “I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase.”
  The decision was a major reversal for Mr. Boehner, a veteran Congressional deal-maker who along with Mr. Obama had been the major advocate for seeking a far-reaching deal that would have combined a debt limit increase with substantial spending cuts, significant changes in social programs like Medicare, Medicaid and perhaps Social Security, and as much as $1 trillion in new revenues. Following a secret meeting between the two last weekend, Mr. Obama went public with his own call for a broad package…. – NYT, 7-9-11
• Social Security: the political monster that lurks in debt talks: Long the “third rail” of politics, Social Security has emerged as a part of bipartisan talks aimed at stabilizing America’s public debt. Will it finally be restructured to reflect today’s economy?… – CS Monitor, 7-9-11

JULY 8, 2011: 1ST CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS WHITE HOUSE MEETING

Larry Downing/ReutersPresident Obama discussed deficit reduction at the White House Thursday with, from left, Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader; House Speaker John A. Boehner; and Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader.

• Debt Deal Could Rewrite 2012 Political Calculus: Are the far right and far left in Washington about to be thrown under the bus? The assumption for months has been that Democrats would play to their base during the 2012 election cycle, using the specter of tax cuts for the rich and Medicare cuts to rally liberals behind President Obama and Democratic candidates.
  On the right, it seemed certain that Republican presidential hopefuls and Congressional candidates would pander to the Tea Party wing of their party with demands for ever greater spending cuts and “read my lips” declarations when it comes to the idea of higher taxes.
  But what if Mr. Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner turn that political calculation on its head?
  Negotiations over the nation’s deficit and debt suggest that both men are looking beyond the wishes of their most ardent supporters toward the larger, more moderate parts of the electorate. What could emerge in the next few days is a package that infuriates the right by raising the debt ceiling, disappoints the left by cutting Medicare, and gets passed largely by politicians who are willing to compromise…. – NYT, 7-8-11Remarks by the President on the Status of Efforts to Find a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction James S. Brady Press Briefing Room: 1:02 P.M. EDT
  

  THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I’m going to make a very brief statement.
  I just completed a meeting with all the congressional leaders from both chambers, from both parties, and I have to say that I thought it was a very constructive meeting. People were frank. We discussed the various options available to us. Everybody reconfirmed the importance of completing our work and raising the debt limit ceiling so that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is not impaired.
  What we decided was that staffs, as well as leadership, will be working during the weekend, and that I will reconvene congressional leaders here on Sunday with the expectation that, at that point, the parties will at least know where each other’s bottom lines are and will hopefully be in a position to then start engaging in the hard bargaining that’s necessary to get a deal done.
  I want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. And the parties are still far apart on a wide range of issues. But, again, I thought that all the leaders here came in a spirit of compromise, in a spirit of wanting to solve problems on behalf of the American people. Everybody acknowledged that the issue of our debt and our deficit is something that needs to be tackled now. Everybody acknowledged that in order to do that, Democrats and Republicans are going to be required in each chamber. Everybody acknowledged that we have to get this done before the hard deadline of August 2nd to make sure that America does not default for the first time on its obligations. And everybody acknowledged that there’s going to be pain involved politically on all sides, but our biggest obligation is to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by the American people, creating an environment in which we can grow the economy and make sure that more and more people are being put back to work.
  So I want to thank all the leaders. I thought it was a very constructive meeting. And I will be seeing them back here on Sunday. A lot of work will be done between now and then.

  END 1:05 P.M. EDT — WH, 7-11-11

JULY 5, 2011: OBAMA’S SUMMONS CONGRESS

John Boehner: “I’m pleased the president stated today that we need to address the big, long-term challenges facing our country.”

• Obama Summons G.O.P. and Democratic Leaders for Deficit Reduction Talks: President Obama stepped up pressure on Congressional Republicans on Tuesday to agree to a broad deficit-cutting deal, pledging to put popular entitlement programs like Medicare on the table in return for Republican acquiescence to some higher taxes. In the Senate, Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, spoke to other members of the Senate Budget Committee.
  Mr. Obama, who met secretly with Speaker John A. Boehner at the White House on Sunday to try to advance the talks, called House and Senate leaders from both parties to the White House for further negotiations on Thursday. And he rejected talk of an interim deal that would get the government past a looming deadline on raising the federal debt limit without settling some of the longer-term issues contributing to the government’s fiscal imbalances.
  “We’ve got a unique opportunity to do something big, to tackle our deficit in a way that forces our government to live within its means,” he said in an appearance in the White House briefing room, casting himself as much an honest broker as a partisan participant in the talks. “This will require both parties to get out of our comfort zones, and both parties to agree on real compromise.”… – NYT, 7-6-11
• Can President Obama just ignore the debt limit?: Some economists suggest that the 14th Amendment renders the debt limit conversation moot (and maybe unconstitutional): the US must pay its debts. Period…. – CS Monitor, 7-5-11
• Can President Obama jump-start debt talks?: President Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House Thursday to try to resolve the stalemate over raising the debt limit. The deadline for a deal is Aug. 2…. – CS Monitor, 7-5-11
• Summoning lawmakers, Obama seeks to break debt impasse: The president will meet with House and Senate leaders of both parties to try to end a standoff on raising the national debt limit…. – LAT, 7-5-11Remarks by the President on the Status of Efforts to Find a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction: James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
  4:49 P.M. EDT

  THE PRESIDENT: All right. Hello, everybody. I just wanted to give you an update on the deficit negotiations that we’ve been having for the last several weeks, and I want to wish, again, everybody a Happy Fourth of July.
  Over the July Fourth weekend, my team and I had a series of discussions with congressional leaders in both parties. We’ve made progress, and I believe that greater progress is within sight, but I don’t want to fool anybody — we still have to work through some real differences.
  Now, I’ve heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term, but then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem of our deficit. I don’t share that view. I don’t think the American people sent us here to avoid tough problems. That’s, in fact, what drives them nuts about Washington, when both parties simply take the path of least resistance. And I don’t want to do that here.
  I believe that right now we’ve got a unique opportunity to do something big — to tackle our deficit in a way that forces our government to live within its means, that puts our economy on a stronger footing for the future, and still allows us to invest in that future.
  Most of us already agree that to truly solve our deficit problem, we need to find trillions in savings over the next decade, and significantly more in the decades that follow. That’s what the bipartisan fiscal commission said, that’s the amount that I put forward in the framework I announced a few months ago, and that’s around the same amount that Republicans have put forward in their own plans. And that’s the kind of substantial progress that we should be aiming for here.
  To get there, I believe we need a balanced approach. We need to take on spending in domestic programs, in defense programs, in entitlement programs, and we need to take on spending in the tax code — spending on certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest of Americans. This will require both parties to get out of our comfort zones, and both parties to agree on real compromise.
  I’m ready to do that. I believe there are enough people in each party that are willing to do that. What I know is that we need to come together over the next two weeks to reach a deal that reduces the deficit and upholds the full faith and credit of the United States government and the credit of the American people.
  That’s why, even as we continue discussions today and tomorrow, I’ve asked leaders of both parties and both houses of Congress to come here to the White House on Thursday so we can build on the work that’s already been done and drive towards a final agreement. It’s my hope that everybody is going to leave their ultimatums at the door, that we’ll all leave our political rhetoric at the door, and that we’re going to do what’s best for our economy and do what’s best for our people.
  And I want to emphasize — I said this at my press conference — this should not come down to the last second. I think it’s important for us to show the American people and their leaders that we can find common ground and solve our problems in a responsible way. We know that it’s going to require tough decisions. I think it’s better for us to take those tough decisions sooner rather than later.
  That’s what the American people expect of us. That’s what a healthy economy is going to require. That’s the kind of progress that I expect to make. So I promise I will keep you guys updated as time goes on. All right?
  Q A couple of questions?
  Q Will you take any questions, Mr. President?
  THE PRESIDENT: I guarantee you, Jay is going to take a whole bunch of them. (Laughter.)

  END 4:54 P.M. EDT

  In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts: President Obama is for the first time offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security as part of a far-reaching plan to restrain the spiraling national debt, according to people in both parties familiar with the proposal.
  The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from a Republican assault on government spending.

• President Looks for Broader Deal on Deficit Cuts: Heading into a crucial negotiating session on a budget deal on Thursday, President Obama has raised his sights and wants to strike a far-reaching agreement on cutting the federal deficit as Speaker John A. Boehner has signaled new willingness to bargain on revenues.
  Mr. Obama, who is to meet at the White House with the bipartisan leadership of Congress in an effort to work out an agreement to raise the federal debt limit, wants to move well beyond the $2 trillion in savings sought in earlier negotiations and seek perhaps twice as much over the next decade, Democratic officials briefed on the negotiations said Wednesday.
  The president’s renewed efforts follow what knowledgeable officials said was an overture from Mr. Boehner, who met secretly with Mr. Obama last weekend, to consider as much as $1 trillion in unspecified new revenues as part of an overhaul of tax laws in exchange for an agreement that made substantial spending cuts, including in such social programs as Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security — programs that had been off the table…. – NYT, 7-6-11
• Obama, Democrats not ready to play 14th Amendment card with debt ceiling: Law professors, Democratic senators and liberal commentators have recently raised a tantalizing possibility for ending the congressional wrangling over raising the federal limit on borrowing: President Obama could simply declare the debt ceiling unconstitutional and be done with it.
  Advocates of this approach cite the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which states that the “validity of the public debt of the United States . . . shall not be questioned.”
  On Wednesday at a White House question-and-answer session held via the Web service Twitter, Obama said the debate over raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling shouldn’t become a constitutional question.
  “I don’t think we should even get to the constitutional issue. Congress has a responsibility to make sure we pay our bills. We’ve always paid them in the past,” Obama said. “The notion that the U.S. is going to default on its debt is just irresponsible.”… – WaPo, 7-6-11

Political Buzz June 22, 2011: President Obama’s Speech on Afghanistan Military Withdrawal

Political Buzz June 13, 2011: Michele Bachmann Wins Second Republican Debate & Officially Announces Presidential Bid

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

Cheryl Senter for The New York Times

Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain at the debate

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2012….

• Live Blogging the G.O.P. Debate in New Hampshire – NYT, 6-13-11
• Live blogging GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire: We are live blogging tonight’s GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire, being held at Saint Anselm College. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are participating.
  The two-hour debate is sponsored by CNN, WMUR and The Union Leader. CNN’s John King is the moderator…. – USA Today, 6-13
• Factbox: Republican White House contenders in 2012 – Reuters, 6-13-11
• Fact Checking the Republican Debate: As they debated the economic downturn and health care, the Republican candidates who faced off Monday night in New Hampshire sometimes let spin run ahead of the facts…. – NYT, 6-13-11
• The top five takeaways from the GOP debate: After two hours of talk and lots of interruptions from a moderator, here are the five things you need to know from tonight’s GOP debate:
  1. Bottom line: This debate was about Barack Obama: There was a lot of speculation going in that the candidates would start slugging it out with one another to break out of the pack. Not tonight. It was Republicans United vs. Obama. Here’s a sample of what they said about the President: “He’s failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy growing.” (Mitt Romney) “The Obama administration is an anti-jobs, anti-business, anti-American energy destructive force.” (Newt Gingrich) “Just make no mistake about it. I want to announce tonight. President Obama is a one-term president.” (Michele Bachmann)
  2. Mitt Romney maintains his status
  3. Tim Pawlenty blinked
  4. America, Meet Michele Bachmann
  5. The other candidates did what they could -
  CBS News, 6-13-11
• E.J. Dionne Jr: GOP debate winner: Michele Bachmann: I didn’t expect to think that Michele Bachmann would be the big winner of tonight’s Republican debate in New Hampshire, but that seemed the obvious conclusion. She was at ease and forceful without looking at all crazy or out-of-control. It’s a sign of how far to the right the Republican Party has moved that she didn’t stand out for her extreme views. On this stage, suggesting we should just rid ourselves of the Environmental Protection Agency seemed par for the course.
  Mitt Romney did not lose anything tonight, which means that, since he leads in the polls in New Hampshire, he is a kind of winner. And on substance, his forceful defense of religious liberty was actually a high point. I agree with a view that is becoming widespread on the web – Chris Cillizza and Jennifer Rubin made this point in their winner-and-losers wrap-ups – that it was strange or timid for Tim Pawlenty not to be willing to back up his Sunday attack on “Obamneycare” with any force tonight. Either you want to take that fight on or you don’t…. – WaPo, 6-13-11
• Bachmann stands out in CNN debate: During tonight’s presidential candidate debate, CNN moderator John King posed a series of “this or that” questions to the candidates. These “Coke or Pepsi,” type questions were light moments in a debate that also presented voters with a lot of “this or that” choices among the candidates….
  Overall: It comes down to Romney or Bachmann. He’s still the front-runner and didn’t hurt himself. That’s enough for some to declare him the winner. But Bachmann had far more to gain from this debate in introducing herself to voters and she took full advantage of the chance. She’s the winner. – Des Moines Register, 6-13-11
• The Mitt and Michele Show: Romney showed front-runner status, while Bachmann proved she belonged on stage. Mark McKinnon on why they shone-and the rest of the debaters flopped Monday night.
  The two clear winners in the GOP debate hosted Monday night in New Hampshire were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Political debates are all about expectations. Mitt Romney had more than anyone to lose. Michele Bachmann had more than anyone to gain. Romney deftly fended off attacks particularly on health care, and Bachmann proved she’s smart and credible, and has every right to be on the stage…. – The Daily Beast, 6-13-11
• Republican presidential candidates attend first debate: The leading contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination appeared together onstage for the first time Monday. But they used the debate to train their fire on President Obama rather than to define their differences.
  Given opportunities to critique one another’s stances, the seven competitors repeatedly deflected the questions during the first hour to attacks on the president….
  The biggest surprise of the evening was the announcement by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) that she has filed the paperwork to begin her campaign. She had previously indicated that she would not make a formal announcement until later this month.
  The debate, held at St. Anselm College, was officially the second of the primary campaign season. But only five candidates showed up last month in South Carolina, and with the exception of Pawlenty, they were all long-shots.
  Monday’s forum included nearly all the leading candidates. But most of them remain largely unknown nationally, a factor that could explain their reluctance to go at one another. At this early stage, they are introducing themselves to a nationwide audience, and testing their competitors’ strengths and vulnerabilities.
  It is a Republican field unlike any other in generations, in which none of the contenders has been able to establish himself or herself as an overwhelming favorite. In the normal order of things, Romney would hold that poll position, by virtue of his organization, his fundraising network and the exposure he received from his 2008 run for the nomination…. – WaPo, 6-13-11
• 7 in G.O.P. Square Off, 7 Months From First Vote: Opening a new phase in a race that is unusually unsettled for a party once famous for its discipline, seven Republican presidential candidates met Monday night in their highest profile opportunity yet to begin drawing distinctions among themselves even as they united to press the attack against President Obama.
  With the economy wavering and conservatives energized, Republicans see an opportunity to capitalize on the sense that the nation is on the wrong track. But with seven months remaining before the first votes of the nominating contest are cast, the candidates sought to show that they were both electable and ideologically acceptable to primary voters.
  The spotlight was trained squarely on Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, whose appearance here amounted to his debut on the stage four years after losing his first bid for the party’s nomination. He sought to press his business credentials, arguing that he was the strongest nominee to promote a message of economic revival and job creation, but he worked to deflect conservative criticism over the state health care plan he signed that resembles the national one signed into law by Mr. Obama…. – NYT, 6-13-11
• U.S. Republicans blast Obama, not each other: The Republican White House contenders focused their attacks on President Barack Obama and refrained from attacking each other on Monday in their first major debate of the 2012 nominating race.
  The Republicans criticized Obama as a failure on the economy and attacked his healthcare overhaul as a gross government intrusion, but sidestepped numerous chances to hit their party rivals in the face-to-face encounter.
  “This president has failed, and he’s failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy growing,” said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who leads the Republican pack in opinion polls…. – Reuters, 6-13-11
• GOP contenders to meet in New Hampshire debate Republican voters get a chance to compare Romney with six rivals: It’s a coming-out party of sorts for the apparent Republican frontrunner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who will be participating in his first debate of this campaign season (several candidates debated in South Carolina in May).
  Romney will have his first chance to spar onstage with his rivals, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, ex-Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, the only woman in the race and a champion of the Tea Party movement.
  Former ambassador to China and Utah governor Jon Huntsman is not taking part in the debate, but is expected to formally announce his candidacy within days…. – MSNBC, 6-13-11
• Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney: “This president has failed. And he’s failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy growing. And instead of doing that, he delegated the stimulus to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and then he did what he wanted to do: card-check, cap-and-trade, Obamacare, re-regulation.”
• Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty: “This president is a declinist. He views America as one of equals around the world. We’re not the same as Portugal; we’re not the same as Argentina. And this idea that we can’t have 5 percent growth in America is hogwash.”
• Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann: “Unlike how the media has tried to wrongly and grossly portray the Tea Party, the Tea Party is really made up of disaffected Democrats, independents, people who’ve never been political a day in their life, people who are libertarians, Republicans — it’s a wide swathe of America coming together.”
• Former pizza executive Herman Cain: “This economy is stalled. It’s like a train on the tracks with no engine and the administration has simply been putting all of this money in the caboose. We need an engine called the private sector.”
  

  ---

  Michele Bachmann Announces Candidacy for President: Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota interrupted her answer to a question at a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire to announce that she had filed papers on Monday to formally declare her candidacy for the Republican nomination for president.

• Michele Bachmann enters presidential race: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, an outspoken Republican with close ties to the tea party, announced Monday that she is running for president, a candidacy that could further shake up a volatile fight for the GOP nomination.
  The first female contender to enter the 2012 race, Bachmann announced her bid during a Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire. The third-term Minnesota congresswoman has been leaning heavily toward a run over the past few months, visiting early primary states, raising money and railing against President Barack Obama.
  “We cannot risk giving President Obama four more years to dismantle our nation. We must act now,” Bachmann said in a fundraising letter sent within an hour of her entrance. “That’s why I’ve made the decision to get in this race.”
  She brings high energy, charisma and proven fundraising ability to the race to nominate a Republican challenger to Obama. She also is known for unyielding stances, biting commentary and high-profile gaffes.
  Bachmann is attempting the rare leap from the U.S. House to the presidency…. – AP, 6-13-11
• Bachmann confirms presidential candidacy: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann ended any doubt that she is running for president, saying during Monday night’s CNN GOP presidential debate that she has filed for the 2012 race.
  “I filed … my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today, and I’ll very soon be making my formal announcement,” Bachmann said shortly after the start of the debate in Manchester, New Hampshire.
  Bachmann, of Minnesota, became the seventh Republican — and the only woman — to confirm her candidacy. She was the only one of the debate’s seven participants who hadn’t formally declared before the start of Monday’s event at Saint Anselm College’s Sullivan Arena.
  Her campaign also posted a YouTube video in which she announced she was running. “This is the first day of taking our country back,” Bachmann said in the video.
  A third-term congresswoman, Bachmann is a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, founder of the 50-member House Tea Party Caucus and fiery critic of the Obama administration…. – CNN, 6-13-11
• Michele Bachmann uses GOP debate to announce presidential candidacy: Rep. Michele Bachmann used the first major presidential debate of the 2012 campaign to announce that she is formally running for president.
  For Bachmann, the conservative from Minnesota, the announcement was expected, but the timing of it was not. She had been expected to declare later in the month in Iowa.
  But early in the debate in Manchester, N.H., live on CNN, Bachmann said that she had filed her paperwork Monday with the Federal Election Commission to launch a presidential fundraising committee.
  She said she would soon make a public announcement. CNN’s John King, a bit flustered, quickly pushed Bachmann to return to addressing the debate topic at hand.
  Bachmann, 55, has served in the House since 2007. A former tax attorney, she’s popular among “tea party” activists. At present, she is the only woman in the GOP field.
  She also appeals to social conservatives. The mother of five, she has also served as foster parent to 23 other children…. – LAT, 6-13-11

Political Buzz June 13, 2011: Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in New Hampshire

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2012….

Cheryl Senter for The New York Times

Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty and Herman Cain at the debate

View Photo Gallery —  Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul face-off in the first 2012 presidential debate.

• Live Blogging the G.O.P. Debate in New Hampshire – NYT, 6-13-11
• Live blogging GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire: We are live blogging tonight’s GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire, being held at Saint Anselm College. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are participating.
  The two-hour debate is sponsored by CNN, WMUR and The Union Leader. CNN’s John King is the moderator…. – USA Today, 6-13
• Factbox: Republican White House contenders in 2012 – Reuters, 6-13-11
• Fact Checking the Republican Debate: As they debated the economic downturn and health care, the Republican candidates who faced off Monday night in New Hampshire sometimes let spin run ahead of the facts…. – NYT, 6-13-11
• Republican presidential candidates attend first debate: The leading contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination appeared together onstage for the first time Monday. But they used the debate to train their fire on President Obama rather than to define their differences.
  Given opportunities to critique one another’s stances, the seven competitors repeatedly deflected the questions during the first hour to attacks on the president….
  The biggest surprise of the evening was the announcement by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) that she has filed the paperwork to begin her campaign. She had previously indicated that she would not make a formal announcement until later this month.
  The debate, held at St. Anselm College, was officially the second of the primary campaign season. But only five candidates showed up last month in South Carolina, and with the exception of Pawlenty, they were all long-shots.
  Monday’s forum included nearly all the leading candidates. But most of them remain largely unknown nationally, a factor that could explain their reluctance to go at one another. At this early stage, they are introducing themselves to a nationwide audience, and testing their competitors’ strengths and vulnerabilities.
  It is a Republican field unlike any other in generations, in which none of the contenders has been able to establish himself or herself as an overwhelming favorite. In the normal order of things, Romney would hold that poll position, by virtue of his organization, his fundraising network and the exposure he received from his 2008 run for the nomination…. – WaPo, 6-13-11
• 7 in G.O.P. Square Off, 7 Months From First Vote: Opening a new phase in a race that is unusually unsettled for a party once famous for its discipline, seven Republican presidential candidates met Monday night in their highest profile opportunity yet to begin drawing distinctions among themselves even as they united to press the attack against President Obama.
  With the economy wavering and conservatives energized, Republicans see an opportunity to capitalize on the sense that the nation is on the wrong track. But with seven months remaining before the first votes of the nominating contest are cast, the candidates sought to show that they were both electable and ideologically acceptable to primary voters.
  The spotlight was trained squarely on Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, whose appearance here amounted to his debut on the stage four years after losing his first bid for the party’s nomination. He sought to press his business credentials, arguing that he was the strongest nominee to promote a message of economic revival and job creation, but he worked to deflect conservative criticism over the state health care plan he signed that resembles the national one signed into law by Mr. Obama…. – NYT, 6-13-11
• U.S. Republicans blast Obama, not each other: The Republican White House contenders focused their attacks on President Barack Obama and refrained from attacking each other on Monday in their first major debate of the 2012 nominating race.
  The Republicans criticized Obama as a failure on the economy and attacked his healthcare overhaul as a gross government intrusion, but sidestepped numerous chances to hit their party rivals in the face-to-face encounter.
  “This president has failed, and he’s failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy growing,” said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who leads the Republican pack in opinion polls…. – Reuters, 6-13-11
• GOP contenders to meet in New Hampshire debate Republican voters get a chance to compare Romney with six rivals: It’s a coming-out party of sorts for the apparent Republican frontrunner, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who will be participating in his first debate of this campaign season (several candidates debated in South Carolina in May).
  Romney will have his first chance to spar onstage with his rivals, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, ex-Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain, and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, the only woman in the race and a champion of the Tea Party movement.
  Former ambassador to China and Utah governor Jon Huntsman is not taking part in the debate, but is expected to formally announce his candidacy within days…. – MSNBC, 6-13-11
• Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney: “This president has failed. And he’s failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy growing. And instead of doing that, he delegated the stimulus to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and then he did what he wanted to do: card-check, cap-and-trade, Obamacare, re-regulation.”
• Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty: “This president is a declinist. He views America as one of equals around the world. We’re not the same as Portugal; we’re not the same as Argentina. And this idea that we can’t have 5 percent growth in America is hogwash.”
• Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann: “Unlike how the media has tried to wrongly and grossly portray the Tea Party, the Tea Party is really made up of disaffected Democrats, independents, people who’ve never been political a day in their life, people who are libertarians, Republicans — it’s a wide swathe of America coming together.”
• Former pizza executive Herman Cain: “This economy is stalled. It’s like a train on the tracks with no engine and the administration has simply been putting all of this money in the caboose. We need an engine called the private sector.”

Political Buzz June 10, 2011: Sarah Palin’s Emails as Alaska Governor Released

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

IN FOCUS: SARAH PALIN’S EMAILS AS ALASKA GOVERNOR RELEASED

 

Brian Wallace/Associated PressReporters loaded boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin’s e-mails from her time as Alaska’s governor on Friday in Juneau.

HEADLINES…

• Read the Palin emails: Here are all of the state government emails of former Gov. Sarah Palin that were released on Friday by the state of Alaska. The state released them as mor than 24,000 pages of paper; we’ve scanned them into a series of searchable PDFs in roughly chronological order. They are big files – up to 30MB – so may take some time to download…. – Anchorage Daily News, 6-10-11
• Full coverage: Sarah Palin’s e-mails released – WaPo
• Read Sarah Palin’s emails – LAT
• The Palin E-Mails: A collection of e-mails between Sarah and Todd Palin and Alaska public officials during Ms. Palin’s first 22 months as governor. The messages were originally requested under state public records laws in 2008. The documents were released on Friday, June 10, at 9 a.m. Alaska time. E-mails are organized by the date of each conversation. The New York Times has redacted some e-mails to remove offensive language…. – NYT
• Sarah Palin emails: The Alaska archive – who’s who: Nearly 25,000 pages worth of Sarah Palin’s emails from her tenure as governor are being released by the state of Alaska, spanning the start of her term in December 2006 to shortly after she was named Arizona Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential running mate in September 2008. Below is a guide to Palin confidants, critics and family members likely to appear in the correspondence…. – KTUU, 6-10-11
• Glossary of Abbreviations: Following are abbreviations and acronyms found in the trove of Governor Palin’s e-mails released on Friday. – NYT
• The Top Ten Revelations from the Sarah Palin Emails: At 8:37 a.m. Saturday morning, the New York Times tweeted “After scanning marathon, all 24,000 #palinemail documents are in our searchable, interactive viewer.” Regardless of whether you thought the Palin email trove was a waste of time like many, or were obsessively live-blogging the events like us, you can’t deny that the massive scanning and crowdsourcing of document review by major news outlets was a tremendous accomplishment. While revelations from the cache may continue to trickle in over the weekend, at this point the bulk of the emails have been combed through, and this is what we now know about Palin that we didn’t (necessarily) know before…. – The Atlantic Wire, 6-10-11
• Five Discoveries from the Sarah Palin E-Mail Dump – Time 6-10-11
• In E-Mails, a Glimpse From Inside Palin’s Rise: Few could have been more surprised than Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska when Senator John McCain picked her as his running mate in 2008.
  Reporters in Juneau, Alaska, picking up boxes of hard copies of Sarah Palin’s e-mails on Friday.
  “Can you believe it!” she wrote in response to a staff member’s “Wow governor” message that Friday in late August when the choice was announced. “He told me yesterday — it moved fast! Pray! I love you.”
  Not two days earlier, Ms. Palin had been dealing with the sometimes mundane matters of one of the nation’s least populous states: a ballot initiative on mining, thorny personnel issues involving her ex-brother-in-law, and her personal request for “Alaska pins and governor pencils (or pens) to drop off at gladys wood elem school today after my afl cio speech.”
  A scan of Ms. Palin’s e-mails in the weeks just before and after she was chosen as Mr. McCain’s running mate on the Republican ticket — among some 24,000 pages of them released by the State of Alaska on Friday — show in minute detail how she went overnight from being a small-state governor who was midway through her first term to a dominant figure in Republican politics.
  One moment she was immersed in board appointments and the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, the next she was receiving advice from the likes of Newt Gingrich and fielding questions from the national news media, including whether she believed that dinosaurs and humans had walked the earth together…. – NYT, 6-10-11
• Sarah Palin e-mails released on Friday: A cache of e-mails released Friday add vivid new color and fresh details to the complicated public portrait of Sarah Palin, who displayed many of the same strengths, and shortcomings, as Alaska governor that she would later bring to the national political stage.
  Often blunt and frequently impatient, Palin derided “old school” politicians and bureaucrats and acted as a champion of populist interests on issues ranging from energy policy to women’s rights, the e-mails show. Her relations with fellow politicians, including many Republicans, were often strained, and she relied heavily on her husband, Todd, and a close-knit group of aides to help cope with crises and shape policies.
  Palin felt passionately about issues of importance to her state, the documents show, and she waged battle with foes large and small. That included detractors on obscure government commissions as well as multinational conglomerates seeking access to Alaska’s vast oil and gas reserves. She twice refers to one major oil executive with a derogatory nickname and complains that phone calls with him did not go well.
  Palin also devoted significant attention to the portrayal of her and her administration in the press, regularly decrying “untruths” in media reports and working feverishly to push back on negative assertions. Targets of her ire ranged from mainstream newspapers to commenters on local blogs….
  The e-mails — some 24,000 pages total — were released in response to public-information requests from media organizations, who first began asking for the records during Palin’s run as the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008. More than two years later, Palin has become a fixture in the conservative political firmament, a reality-TV celebrity and a barbed critic of President Obama who may, or may not, be pondering a run for the White House…. – WaPo, 6-10-11
• News Outlets Pounce on Palin E-Mails: Reporters load boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin’s emails from her time as Alaska’s governor Friday, June 10, 2011 in Juneau, Alaska. Brian Wallace/Associated PressReporters loaded boxes containing thousands of pages of Sarah Palin’s e-mails from her time as Alaska’s governor on Friday in Juneau.
  News organizations that pored over nearly 25,000 pages of e-mail correspondence relating to Sarah Palin on Friday focused on her selection as Senator John McCain’s running mate in 2008, her relationship with the media and her style of governing.
  Many news outlets — what Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, calls the “lamestream media” — sent reporters to Juneau for the release of the e-mails by the state government in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
  The result? After a day of frantically poring over the correspondence, with the help of millions of online readers, there were no major revelations but plenty of attempts to dissect the background of a woman who might yet run for president…. – NYT, 6-11-11
• Palin emails show engaged leader who sought VP nod: There are no bombshells, no “gotcha” moments. The emails of Sarah Palin — more than 24,000 pages of them released Friday by the state of Alaska from her first two years as governor — paint a picture of an image-conscious, driven leader, closely involved with the day-to-day duties of running the state and riding herd on the signature issues of her administration.
  She angled for the vice presidential nomination months before John McCain picked her — and hinted at presidential aspirations.
  The messages give a behind-the-scenes look at a politician who burst onto the national stage after serving as Wasilla mayor and less than two years as Alaska governor. They show a woman striving to balance work and home, fiercely protective of her family and highly sensitive to media coverage. She expressed a sometimes mothering side with aides but also was quick to demand answers or accountability…. – AP, 6-10-11
• Palin E-Mails Show Her Combative and Engaged: In the three years since Sarah Palin stormed the national political stage, her brief tenure as governor of Alaska has often been reduced to caricature. Critics cast her as petty, preoccupied and disengaged. Supporters say she was a maverick reformer, a salt-of-the-earth true believer who bucked the establishment elite.
  Yet what is clear in the 24,000 pages of her e-mails released Friday — completing Ms. Palin’s transformation from one of the most obscure politicians in America to one of the most scrutinized — is that her governing style was not necessarily an either-or proposition. Sometimes she seemed to be everything all at once.
  She sought to be an encouraging leader one moment, lauding her team for a breakthrough on oil production: “You guys are doing awesome.” She could be distrustful and accusatory the next: “I can’t handle staffer leaks.” She would focus on the progress of substantive legislation, including supporting a major increase in oil taxes, but then become distracted by “un-flippin believable” criticism directed at her by a popular radio host…. – NYT, 6-11-11
• Sarah Palin emails released from time as governor – but many withheld or redacted: After a years-long delay, the state of Alaska released more than 24,000 pages of emails from about 21 months of Sarah Palin’s time as Alaska governor on Friday.
  The emails were released as paper printouts to the media outlets that requested them, among them CBS News, which had a reporter in Juneau collecting the heavy boxes of emails. Media outlets paid $725 each for photocopies of the records.
  Journalists are now busy reviewing the emails for nuggets of information from Palin’s roughly half-term as Alaska governor, though the emails stop in September 2008, leaving almost of a year of her time in office uncovered. The state has said it has not finished reviewing the emails from late 2008 through the summer of 2009, when she abruptly resigned. It remains unclear when those emails will be released…. – CBS News, 6-10-11 — Check out the full collection of emails and documents here.
• Sarah Palin emails: ‘The false assumptions are mind boggling’: Email conversations reveal pressure the former Alaska governor was under after she entered the vice-presidential race in 2008…. – Guardian UK, 6-10-11
• Palin closely guarded her public image, emails show: Even before she became prominent in national politics, Sarah Palin defended herself against even the slightest criticism during her tenure as Alaska governor, newly released correspondence shows…. – LAT, 6-11-11
• Media frenzy over Palin e-mail release was unusual even for her: The 13,000 Sarah Palin e-mails released Friday provided little new insight about her time as Alaska’s governor. But the frantic effort to obtain the messages, dissect them and post them online served as a watershed moment for the news media, whose zealous approach will no doubt be replicated on future stories.
  The spectacle on Friday was unusual even for Palin, who is known for her ability to inspire a media frenzy. Eager to be the first to post the messages online, news outlets — including The Post — dispatched reporters armed with scanners to Juneau for the 9 a.m. release of the e-mails, which were not distributed electronically but in stacks of printed paper.
  Back in their newsrooms, the outlets competed to get the documents online for the public first and to capture the coveted top spot on Google. Reporters tweeted every new revelation, from 7-year-old Piper Palin’s anxiety that her mother was leaving for another trip, to the governor’s outraged notes over the scandal known as “Troopergate.” And they “crowdsourced” the documents by inviting readers to assist in scouring the e-mails.
  The enormous effort drew criticism from some quarters, particularly Palin’s backers. Though Palin remains a very public figure, she is not in elective office and has said she has not decided if she will seek the Republican nomination for president next year…. – WaPo, 6-11-11
• Sarah Palin e-mails show husband Todd’s key role: Sarah Palin’s reliance on her husband for counsel while governing the state is well-known; Todd Palin played a key role in helping to organize the controversial ouster of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan in September 2008, for example.
  In a March 2008 e-mail, Sarah Palin makes clear that Todd also weighed in on how to deal with Alaska’s burgeoning wolf population, a topic of debate at the time among officials and environmental experts. The governor told her fish and game commissioner in blunt terms that she opposed using state helicopters to hunt wolves and preferred paying private hunters. WaPo, 6-10-11
• Sarah Palin emails hint at her governing style: In her time as governor, Sarah Palin was lavish with praise at times, quick to criticize her aides and also unapologetically impulsive.
  In one exchange, Palin aide Bruce Anders said he worried that her very gushing praise for an op-ed writer’s piece in support of her oil and gas policies would eventually become public. Palin said she was happy to provide an “attaboy” to writer Jomo Stewart, and said she wouldn’t apologize for going with her gut…. – WaPO, 6-10-11
• Does Sarah Palin have a way with words? You bet – we ain’t misinformed Raft of previously unreleased emails reveal a unique style of communication and use of language: Sarah Palin may have numerous faults, but if the 24,000 pages of her emails released to the media in Alaska are anything to go by, adopting an artificial manner in public is not one of them.
  Her unique style of communication – a key component of her appeal to her fans, and source of endless fascination and amusement to her detractors – is as evident in her behind-the-scenes interactions as in her on-stage ones…. – The Guardian UK, 6-11-11
• Sarah Palin emails: Treasure trove or waste of paper?: So far, there are no bombshells in the thousands of Sarah Palin emails released this week. But they reveal a fuller, more nuanced picture of one of the most powerful and controversial women in US politics today…. – CS Monitor, 6-10-11
• Sarah Palin emails: An outpouring of support after Trig’s birth: In the days after her son Trig was born, Sarah Palin received an outpouring of support and well wishes, many from other parents of children with Down syndrome…. – LAT, 6-11-11
• Email shows George W. Bush joked with Sarah Palin: Among the people talking up a vice presidential run to Sarah Palin before she was picked: George W. Bush.
  Palin wrote her chief of staff Mike Nizich about an encounter she had with the then-president in early August — about a month before John McCain selected her as the running mate.
  “The [president] and I spoke about military, [including] Track’s deployment and how Iraq is a different place than it was a year ago,” Palin wrote Nizich. “He also spoke about (and we joked about) VP buzz.”… – Politico, 6-11-11
• Emails Show Palin Surprised by Nomination: Sarah Palin’s rapid transformation from a little-known governor to the vice presidential nominee on the 2008 Republican ticket was as much of a surprise to her as it was to the rest of the U.S., her email messages from the time show.
  “Can you flippinbelieveit?!” she replied to a note of congratulations from an official in her administration. “Thanks for your kind words – and for keeping the homes fire burning. Thank you! We love you guys!”
  The state of Alaska released more than 24,000 pages of email messages Friday sent to and from Ms. Palin during most of her tenure as governor. The messages show few signs of contact between her and national Republicans before she was announced as Sen. John McCain’s running mate on Aug. 29, 2008, or that she saw herself as a likely candidate…. – WSJ, 6-11-11
• Sarah Palin emails: Aides giddy at prospect of VP pick: As Sarah Palin pushed for a one-year repeal of the state’s fuel tax in June of 2008, her jubilant aides crowed that the move would boost her standing as a possible vice presidential pick for Sen. John McCain…. – LAT, 6-11-11

SARAH PALIN EMAIL QUOTES

• On Troopergate and the ethics investigations against her:
  “I do applogize if I sound frustrated w this one. I guess I am. Its killing me to realise how misinformed leggies [legislators], reporters and others are on this issue. The accusations and false assumptions are mind boggling.
  Referring to her former brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, who was in a messy divorce with her sister:
  “He’s still a trooper, and he still carries a gun, and he still tells anyone who will listen that he will ‘never work for that b*itch’ (me) because he has such anger and distain towards family. So consistency is needed here. No one’s above the law. If the law needs to be changed to not allow access to guns for people threatening to kill someone, it must apply to everyone.”
• On God’s guidance: “I have been praying for wisdom on this … God will have to show me what to do on the people’s budget because I don’t yet know the right path … He will show me though.”
• On her battles with Alaskan lawmakers over the budget:
  “I’m back here in DC speaking with Cheney [the vice-president] (sat with him the entire State dinner last night), will try to speak w/Bush [the then president] today … speaking with national reporters and all these governors all about AK’s [Alaska] proof that we can provide sound oversight of resource development, and here while I’m away I find out the legislature may undermine those efforts? It’s unacceptable if the nation is to believe we’re capable of responsible, ethical ramped up development that’s need in our state, for our nation. Referring to speaker of the Alaskan house, John Harris:
  “I think that’s the most stupid comment I’ve heard all year … his statement says it all re: his beliefs: ‘What the hell can we do …?’ Nice talk Mr Speaker, Reflects well on your commitment to ethical leadership”
• On her possible selection to be vice-presidential candidate: “The Pres [George Bush] and I spoke about military. He also spoke about (and we joked about) VP buzz.”
• On Barack Obama: “… a guy named Barack Obama.” email from February 2007:
  “He gave a great speech this morn in Michigan – mentioned Alaska. Stole ou[r] Energy Rebate $1,000 check idea, stole our TC-Alaska gasline talking points, etc. So … we need to take advantage of this a[nd] write a statement saying he’s right on.”
• On false rumour that Trig, Palin’s fifth child, was in fact born by her daughter Bristol:“Hate to pick this one up again, but have heard three different times today the rumor again the Bristol is pregnant or had this baby. Even at Trig’s doc appt this morning his doc said that’s out there (hopefully NOT in their medical community-world, but it’s out there). Bristol called again this afternoon asking if there’s anything we can do to stop this as she receive two girlfriend-type calls today asking if it were true.”
• On bear hunting: “I am a hunter. I grew up hunting – some of my best memories growing up are of hunting with my dad to help feel our freezer… I want Alaskans to have access to wildlife… BUT – he’s asking if I support hunting the bears in the sanctuary? No, I don’t… I don’t know any Alaskans who do support hunting the McNeil bears that frequent the viewing area.”
• Palin-speak: “Keep hunting, keep being a true Alaskan… keep calling it as you see it – we love the mobster in ya.”
  - to her chief of staff, Michael Nizich: “Tibs [chief of staff Michael Tibbles] is going to be p#*(ed.”
  “Holy flipping A.”
  ‘Unflippinbelievable.”
• On the pressures for her family: “Guys, I may be pretty wimpy about this family stuff, but I feel like I’m at the breaking point with the hurtful gossip … I hate this part of the job and many days I feel like it’s not worth it.”

SARAH PALIN EMAILS: FULL TEXT

• Dec 6, 2006 – April 17, 2007
• April 17 – May 30, 2007
• May 30 – July 3, 2007
• July 3 – Aug 21, 2007
• Aug 21 – Sept 17, 2007
• Sept 17 – Oct 2, 2007
• Oct 2 – Oct 26, 2007
• Oct 26 – Nov 18, 2007
• Nov 19 – Dec 26, 2007
• Dec 26 – Jan 14, 2008
• Jan 14 – Jan 30, 2008
• Jan 30 – Feb 13, 2008
• Feb 13 – Mar 5, 2008
• Mar 6 – Mar 26, 2008
• Mar 26 – Apr 12, 2008
• Apr 12 – Apr 25, 2008
• Apr 25 – May 5, 2008
• May 5 – May 19, 2008
• May 20 – Jun 8, 2008
• Jun 8 – Jun 30, 2008
• June 30 – July 16, 2008
• July 16 – July 30, 2008
• July 30 – Aug. 21, 2008
• Aug 21 – Sept 17, 2008

Political Buzz June 6, 2011: Weinergate: Rep. Anthony Weiner Sexting Scandal

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

IN FOCUS: WEINERGATE: REP. ANTHONY WEINER SEXTING SCANDAL

US Congressman Anthony Weiner speaks to the media in New York, Monday. Representative Anthony Weiner admitted to sending a lewd photo of himself to a 21-year-old female college student over his Twitter account after previously denying he had done so.

NY Democrat acknowledged ‘inappropriate’ online conduct, had insisted he has no plans to resign: Weiner spokeswoman Risa Heller said Saturday afternoon that the congressman “departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person.”
She added that he would request “a short leave of absence from the House” after which he would make a decision on his political future.

Pelosi and Other Leaders Call On Weiner to Resign: The move by the House Democratic leader underscored Democrats’ growing concern about Representative Anthony D. Weiner’s online exchanges with women.

Rep. Anthony Weiner admits sending lewd Twitter picture of himself: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) acknowledged Monday that he tweeted the lewd picture that has been at the center of a controversy since it surfaced a week ago, and he said the image was of him. “It was something that I did that was just wrong and I regret it,” he said. He apologized and said he is not resigning.

• Timeline of Rep. Weiner’s online sex scandal – Watertown Daily News, 6-11-11
• Timeline: From a Photo to an Apology (June 7, 2011) – NYTREP. ANTHONY WEINER, D-N.Y.:
  Last Friday night, I tweeted a photograph of myself that I intended to send as a direct message as part of a joke to a woman in Seattle.
  Once I realized I had posted it to Twitter, I panicked. I took it down, and said that I had been hacked. I then continued with that story, to stick to that story, which was a usually regrettable mistake.
  To be clear, the picture was of me, and I sent it. I am deeply sorry for the pain this has caused my wife, Huma, and our family and my constituents, my friends, supporters, and staff.
  In addition, over the past few years, I have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, email, and occasionally on the phone with women I have met online. I have exchanged messages and photos of an explicit nature with about six women over the last three years.
  For the most part, these relations — these communications took place before my marriage, though some have, sadly, took place after. To be clear, I have never met any of these women or had physical relationships at any time.
  I am deeply regret — regretting what I have done, and I am not resigning.
  I have made it clear that I accept responsibility for this, and people who draw conclusions about me are free to do so. I have worked for the people of my district for 13 years and in politics for 20 years. And I hope that they see fit to see in the light that it is, which is a deeply regrettable mistake.
  For my use of Twitter, I mean, it’s not — it’s something that I found useful. And Facebook is a way to get out the message. But I — I certainly wouldn’t obviously do the things that I have done that — that led me — that led me — that led me to this place.
• Poll backs Weiner vow not to quit: Under growing pressure to quit, Rep. Anthony Weiner insisted again Thursday that he won’t resign, and a new poll showed a majority of voters in his district agreed he should stay in office.
  A new Marist poll released Thursday found 56 percent of registered voters in his 9th Congressional District in Queens and Brooklyn don’t think he should quit over revelations of his salacious social-media life. But the poll also included troubling news for Weiner: Only 30 percent said they definitely would vote for him again…. – Seattle Times, 6-9-11
• Weiner to Enter Treatment Center and Seek Leave From House: Representative Anthony D. Weiner planned to check himself into a treatment center on Saturday after House Democratic leaders, including Nancy Pelosi, called on him to resign and suggested he needed psychiatric counseling.
  A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiner said he would request a leave of absence from the House and seek treatment, but provided no further details. “Congressman Weiner departed this morning to seek professional treatment to focus on becoming a better husband and healthier person,” said the spokeswoman, Risa Heller. “In light of that, he will request a short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well. “Congressman Weiner takes the views of his colleagues very seriously and has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents.”
  Ms. Pelosi, the minority leader, was joined in her call for Mr. Weiner to step down by other leading Democrats, including the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida; and the leader of the House Democrats’ re-election efforts, Representative Steve J. Israel of New York. Their calls underscored the growing concern that his online exchanges with women had become a distraction for the party. “Congressman Weiner has the love of his family, the confidence of his constituents, and the recognition that he needs help,” Ms. Pelosi said in a statement. “I urge Congressman Weiner to seek that help without the pressures of being a member of Congress.”
  Ms. Wasserman Schultz called Mr. Weiner’s online exchanges a “sordid affair” that had become an “unacceptable distraction” for the congressman, his constituents and the House. “The behavior he has exhibited is indefensible and Rep. Weiner’s continued service in Congress is untenable,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz said…. – NYT, 6-11-11
• Abandoned by party leaders, how long can Anthony Weiner hang on?: In a major blow to Rep. Anthony Weiner’s attempt to hold onto his job in the wake of a “sexting” scandal, three top Democratic leaders Saturday told the embattled New York congressman that he has to go…. – CS Monitor, 6-11-11
• Rep. Anthony Weiner Could Face Trouble For Interacting With 17-Year-Old: A 17-year-old high school student went to a Delaware Police Station Friday with her laptop and cell phone to help authorities analyze the conversations made between her and New York Rep. Anthony Weiner.
  According to Fox News, the girl’s mother said her daughter told her that none of the messages between her and Weiner were inappropriate.
  The Philadelphia Inquirer also reported Friday that Daniel P. McElhatton, who represents the high school student’s family, issued a statement saying: “The ‘Tweets’ in question between the student in question and the Congressman were not salacious or in any manner inappropriate. No photographers were ever sent to her or from her.”… – Neon Tommy (USC), 6-10-11
• Weiner’s Fifth Sexting Partner Revealed: The fifth woman in the Weinergate scandal has been identified as Traci Nobles, a Pilates and Zumba instructor who repeatedly referred to the Rep. Anthony Weiner’s genitalia in their online chats, the New York Post reported Friday….
  The other women who have come forward are Meagan Broussard, a 26-year-old single mother, Lisa Weiss, a 40-year-old Las Vegas blackjack dealer, and porn star Ginger Lee…. – Fox News, 6-10-11
• Congressman Anthony Weiner: Why Democrats are extra mad at him: Congressman Weiner faces some steep political fallout – in addition to any personal consequences – after admitting to ‘regrettable’ interactions with several women other than his wife…. – CS Monitor, 6-7-11
• Huma Abedin, Rep. Anthony Weiner’s wife: Abedin, 34, is a longtime top aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton. She usually stays out of the limelight, in contrast to her headline-grabbing husband, who has been an outspoken Democrat on Capitol Hill…. – WaPo, 6-7-11
• Report: Rep. Weiner’s wife is pregnant: Huma Abedin, the wife of embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner, is pregnant with the couple’s first child, according to The New York Times.
  The newspaper, citing “three people with knowledge of the situation,” said the couple has disclosed the pregnancy to close friends and family.
  The revelation tops a wild day in which key Democrats have called on Weiner to resign. After days of denials, the New York congressman admitted Monday that he sent a lewd, crotch-level photo of himself to a Seattle woman. He also said he had “inappropriate” relationships with women on Facebook and Twitter.
  Weiner has said he will not resign. During his sometimes-tearful news conference, Weiner also said he and his wife — an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — have no plans to split up. They got married in July 2010.
  His Democratic colleagues are starting to show their impatience. Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, who recruits Democratic candidates to run for office, said Weiner has lost his credibility.
  “Having the respect of your constituents is fundamental for a member of Congress. In light of Anthony Weiner’s offensive behavior online, he should resign,” Schwartz, a top lieutenant of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement…. – USA Today, 6-8-11
• Weiner’s Wife Is Pregnant: Their marriage has become the subject of intense speculation and scrutiny amid an embarrassing online sex scandal.
  Now, Representative Anthony D. Weiner and Huma Abedin are about to make news of a different kind: they are expecting their first child.
  Ms. Abedin, 35, is in the early stages of pregnancy, according to three people with knowledge of the situation…. – NYT, 6-8-11
• Huma Abedin, Rep. Anthony Weiner’s unflappable wife: Huma Abedin, the wife of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), has for years drawn notice in Washington. In a town that demands conservative conformity, she has been seen as a high-powered professional with exotic beauty and a closet full of Prada suits and heels.
  Now, with her husband’s admission of sexually explicit Internet and phone exchanges with several women, Abedin, 35, joins a more pedestrian group — the wives of wayward and powerful husbands. And her dilemma may be even greater than previously thought after the New York Times reported late Wednesday that the senior State Department aide is pregnant with the couple’s first child. The Times said that Abedin, who is very close to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, was in the early stages of pregnancy when the Weiner scandal unfolded. Abedin left Wednesday for a trip to Northern Africa with Clinton. A person close to the Clinton family confirmed the pregnancy to The Post on Wednesday.
  When asked directly about the development late Wednesday, State Department official Philippe Reines, e-mailed from the Clinton trip in Abu Dhabi: “no comment.”… – WaPo, 6-7-11
• Online Flirtation With Weiner Started With One Word: Meagan Broussard, a 26-year-old Texan, came to Representative Anthony D. Weiner’s attention when she posted a single word on his Facebook page: “Hottttt.” But, she says, it was the New York congressman who turned up the heat.
  In an interview broadcast Tuesday morning on “Good Morning America,” Ms. Broussard said it was Mr. Weiner who quickly initiated a conversation via instant messaging, Mr. Weiner who moved that conversation in a sexual direction and Mr. Weiner who sent racy photos. “It wasn’t like I was chasing him, at all,” she said.
  Ms. Broussard said she first wrote on Mr. Weiner’s Facebook page in April, after being impressed by a speech she saw on the Internet, delivered by Mr. Weiner, who until last week had best been known for his fiery liberal speech. “He sent me a friend request the same day,” Ms. Broussard said. “I just thought, that’s weird.”
  Ms. Broussard, in the first on-the-record mainstream media interview offering a window into how Mr. Weiner entered into at least six sexually explicit online relationships with women he met via Facebook, said her online exchange with the congressman started simply enough. The congressman, she said, was “asking about Texas, that sort of thing, just joking back and forth.”… – NYT, 6-8-11
• Weiner exchanges ‘didn’t make sense’ Student’s story fits online pattern: Gennette Cordova said she did not even think the photo was real. It was nearly 9 p.m. on a Friday when Cordova, who was preparing to head out for the night with a friend, logged onto Twitter and discovered that Representative Anthony D. Weiner had sent her a suggestive photo of himself in gray boxer briefs.
  “It didn’t make any sense,” Cordova, a 21-year-old college student in northwestern Washington state, said in her first extensive interview since Weiner confessed in a news conference Monday to sending her the photo. “I figured it must have been a fake.”
  Cordova’s experience with Weiner appears to fit a pattern: In rapid and reckless fashion, he sought to transform informal online conversations about politics and policy into sexually charged exchanges, often laced with racy language and explicit images.
  Cordova, who had text-messaged with Weiner, a New York Democrat, about their shared concern over his conservative critics, said she had never sent Weiner anything provocative. Asked if she was taken aback by Weiner’s decision to send the photo, she said, “Oh gosh, yes.”
  Cordova spoke to The New York Times as Weiner faced intensifying calls for his resignation because of his acknowledged online sexual communications with at least six women over a period of three years. Yesterday, House leaders began a concerted effort to persuade him to step down, as another of his missives, more explicit in nature, surfaced and word went out that his wife, Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is pregnant…. – Boston Globe, 6-8-11
• Weiner’s downfall a reminder of perils of Jewish pride: He was supposed to be one of Congress’ rising stars, a Jewish boy from Brooklyn with great ambition and promise.
  A truculent Democrat with a penchant for media attention, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) was an unabashed liberal on domestic affairs and a hard-liner on foreign policy, particularly Israel. Like his predecessor in his U.S. House of Representatives seat, Sen. Charles Schumer, Weiner had larger ambitions — in his case, mayor of New York City.
  But then came his shamefaced news conference Monday, when the 46-year-old congressman, who was married last year, admitted to lying about sending a lewd photo to a woman he met on the internet…. – JTA, 6-7-11
• Weiner should resign, Cantor says: Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the U.S. House of Representatives majority leader, called on Congressman Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) to resign.
  “I don’t condone his activity. And I think he should resign,” Cantor said Tuesday after a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, the Charlottesville Daily Progress reported.
  “We’ve got a lot of serious challenges in this country and a lot of work for Congress to do,” Cantor said. “The last thing we need to do is get enmeshed in a discussion about Congressman Weiner and his Twitter activities.”… – JTA, 6-7-11
• Anthony Weiner: Jon Stewart Says Congressman’s Confession Is ‘Killing Me’: “This is the weirdest f—ing story I’ve ever seen in my life — or the greatest episode of ‘Maury’ ever,” the “Daily Show” host quips of Andrew Breitbart’s press conference interruption…. – Hollywood Reporter, 6-7-11
• Weiner Constituents Grapple With ‘Juvenile’ Behavior: Fierce advocate for heavily Jewish district on the ropes after admitting lies and lewd tweeting…. – The Jewish Week, 6-7-11
• Weiner silent as few colleagues defend him: With pressure increasing from colleagues on both sides of the aisle, embattled Rep. Anthony Weiner fell uncharacteristically silent Tuesday: no news conferences, no cable television appearances and certainly no Twitter posts.
  One day after admitting he had sent sexually charged messages via Twitter and Facebook to half a dozen women over three years — and then lying about it when evidence surfaced last week — the New York Democrat found few friends on Capitol Hill.
  His party’s leader in the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, formally referred his case to the Ethics Committee. Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Weiner should resign. And when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was asked what he would tell the congressman if Weiner called seeking advice, he replied, “Call somebody else.”
  Nevertheless, even Weiner’s critics suggested the decision on his fate was up to the congressman and his Brooklyn and Queens constituency…. – USA Today, 6-8-11
• Anthony Weiner explained self to Bill Clinton: Rep. Anthony Weiner explained himself and apologized for his conduct to Bill Clinton, who officiated his wedding to wife Huma Abedin, sources familiar with the call said.
  Weiner made the call within the past 48 hours. It took place following his emotional press conference Monday in New York City, where he admitted that he had posted a lewd photo of himself to Twitter 10 days earlier, the sources said…. – Politco, 6-7-11
• Weiner admits he sent lewd picture; won’t quit: After days of denials, a choked-up Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed Monday that he tweeted a photo of his bulging underpants to a young woman, and he also admitted to “inappropriate” exchanges with six women before and after he got married. He apologized for lying but said he would not resign.
  “This was me doing a dumb thing and doing it repeatedly and lying about it,” the 46-year-old New York Democrat said after a week of double-entendre headlines and late-night wisecracks full of Weiner jokes.
  House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi immediately called for an ethics committee investigation into whether Weiner broke House rules…. – AP, 6-6-11
• Weiner Admits He Sent Lewd Photos; Vows Not to Resign: Representative Anthony D. Weiner, a rising star in Democratic politics who has long aspired to be mayor of New York City, admitted on Monday to having inappropriate online exchanges with at least six women, and repeatedly lying about his role in sending a sexually suggestive photograph to a young woman over Twitter last month.
  An image of Representative Anthony D. Weiner, one of several posted on Andrew Breitbart’s Web site, BigGovernment.com.
  After a week of sometimes indignant public denials and insistence that he was the victim of an Internet hacker, a weeping and stammering Mr. Weiner, 46, acknowledged at a news conference that he had sent the photo of himself in his underwear to the woman in Seattle.
  The six-term congressman from Brooklyn insisted that he had broken no laws and vowed to remain in office, calling the matter an “aberration from which I’ve learned.”
  During an extraordinary 27-minute appearance, the congressman went on to describe a side of his life that he had kept secret from his closest confidants and family members, in which he befriended young female admirers over the Internet and engaged in intimate sexual banter with them. “Over the past few years, I have engaged in several inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and occasionally on the phone with women I had met online,” Mr. Weiner said.
  Mr. Weiner said he had never met the women with whom he corresponded in person and added: “I don’t know what I was thinking. This was a destructive thing to do. I’m apologetic for doing it.”
  But Mr. Weiner’s political standing appeared in grave danger after his news conference. There was a striking absence of any public expressions of support from his colleagues, and the House Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi, called for an ethics investigation into Mr. Weiner’s conduct. “I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation,” she said.
  House ethics rules state that members should conduct themselves “at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.”… – NYT, 6-6-11
• Weiner Says He Sent Photos and Lied, But Won’t Resign: At a news conference in Midtown Monday afternoon, Representative Anthony D. Weiner tearfully confessed to sending a photo of himself in his underwear to a woman via Twitter and then lying about it.
  Mr. Weiner said the indiscretion was part of a pattern of sending inappropriate and at times explicit photos and messages to women he met over the Internet.
  Mr. Weiner, 46, a popular and brash Democrat from Queens who has been considering a run for mayor of New York City and is known for aggressive and sometimes intemperate political commentary on Twitter, apologized repeatedly.
  “I have made terrible mistakes that have hurt the people I care about the most and I’m deeply sorry,” Mr. Weiner said. “I have not been honest with myself, my family, my constituents, my friends and supporters and the media.”
  He said he had no intention of resigning, that he had broken no laws and that while his wife “made it clear that she thought that what I did was very dumb,” his marriage was not ending. He said he never met any of the women.
  After Mr. Weiner’s appearance, the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, called for an ethics investigation of her Democratic colleague to see if he broke any House rules. Mr. Weiner responded that he would “fully cooperate” with it.
  Mr. Weiner’s speech and question-and-answer session was the culmination (so far) of a drama that began over Memorial Day weekend when the conservative blog BigGovernment.com published a close-up of a man in underwear that appeared to have gone out over Mr. Weiner’s Twitter account to the attention of a woman in Seattle. Mr. Weiner had maintained ever since that he had not sent the photograph, though he said he could not be certain whether he was the person in it.
  On Monday, though, BigGovernment.com published a series of embarrassing photos of Mr. Weiner that it said he had sent to another woman last month, prompting Mr. Weiner to call a 4 p.m. news conference at the Sheraton hotel in Midtown…. – NYT, 6-6-11
• Rep. Weiner confesses ‘terrible mistakes.’ Did he save his career?: After a week of dodging questions, Rep. Weiner says he sent a lewd photo of himself and lied about it. Nancy Pelosi calls for a federal investigation. Will voters forgive him?… -
  Saying he had made “terrible mistakes” and had lied about it, Rep. Anthony Weiner finally came clean.
  After a week of dodging questions over whether he had sent a lewd photo of himself to a coed in Seattle, the grim faced congressman admitted that and more at a press conference Monday in New York City.
  He admitted he sent photos and had on-line chats – even intimate phone calls – with at least six women over the last three years. He termed his own behavior “destructive,” especially since he continued the practice of communicating with women and sending them risky – even nude – photos, even after he was married…. – CS Monitor, 6-6-11
• Rep. Anthony Weiner admits sending lewd photos: Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., held a news conference in New York Monday afternoon. He said he lied last week when he claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked by someone who sent photos of a man’s underwear-clad crotch to a young woman in Seattle. At the time, he said he could not say “with certitude” whether the photo was of him…. – USA Today, 6-6-11
• Rep. Weiner admits tweeting lewd photo of himself: In an extraordinary reversal at an extraordinary news conference, Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York admitted Monday afternoon that he had repeatedly lied to his constituents and the country in denying that he had sent a lewd picture of himself to a college-age woman on Twitter. In a tearful admission, he said that he had in fact sent multiple inappropriate messages to multiple women but that he had done nothing illegal and would not resign.
  “The picture was of me, and I sent it,” said Weiner (D), who called it “a very dumb thing to do,” “a hugely regrettable mistake” and “destructive.” “I am deeply ashamed,” said Weiner, his jaw clenched.
  Soon after Weiner finished speaking, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who he said had urged him to tell the whole truth, called on the House ethics committee to conduct an investigation into his case…. – WaPo, 6-6-11
• Breitbart publishes alleged photos of Anthony Weiner: Rep. Anthony Weiner is set to to hold a 4 p.m. news conference on Monday after two Web sites run by conservative activists posted stories claiming the lawmaker sent a shirtless photo of himself to a young woman.
  The photo, which has not been independently verified by Weiner or other news organizations, could raise a new problem for the New York Democrat, who gave a muddled account last week in explaining how a photo of a man’s crotch was sent under his Twitter account to a young woman in Washington state.
  At a dramatic Manhattan news conference, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) said he won’t resign despite taking and sending lewd pictures to women. (June 6)
  The new photo shows the bare torso and part of the face of a man resembling Weiner. The websites BigGovernment.com and BigJournalism.com, both of which are run by conservative Andrew Breitbart, posted the photo this morning and said they came from a young woman who got them from Weiner. The websites didn’t identify the woman.
  The photograph is reminiscent of one sent by Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) to a young woman in the Washington area via the “personals” category on Craigslist.com. Lee resigned shortly after the photo became public…. – WaPo, 6-6-11
• Rep. Anthony Weiner: ‘The Picture Was of Me and I Sent It’: Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York said today he has engaged in “several inappropriate” electronic relationships with six women over three years, and that he publicly lied about a photo of himself sent over Twitter to a college student in Seattle over a week ago.
  “I take full responsibility for my actions,” Weiner said. “The picture was of me, and I sent it.”
  The announcement came as ABC News prepared to release an interview with Meagan Broussard, a 26-year-old single mother from Texas who provided dozens of photos, emails, Facebook messages and cell phone call logs that she says chronicle a sexually-charged electronic relationship with Weiner that rapidly-evolved for more than a month, starting on April 20, 2011.
  ABC News reached out to Weiner earlier today for comment about his possible ties to Broussard, but he did not respond to requests for an interview. At a press conference later, Weiner confirmed Broussard was one of the women with whom he sexted…. – ABC News, 6-6-11 — View an exclusive slideshow of images obtained by ABC News.
• Web Site Posts Image Said to Be of Bare-Chested Weiner: A conservative blog published a series of embarrassing photographs and e-mails on Monday that it claimed had been sent by Representative Anthony D. Weiner to an unidentified woman over the last few weeks.
  The blogger, Andrew Breitbart, said he had obtained the photos and messages from the woman, but did not describe either her or her connection to Mr. Weiner, who is married.
  The photos, posted throughout the day on BigGovernment.com, apparently depict Mr. Weiner barechested and sitting at his computer and show him lounging on a couch in a T-shirt, with two cats at his side.
  Mr. Breitbart said the photos were sent last month, on May 4, 5 and 20.
  Mr. Breitbart, a provocative scourge of the political left, said in an interview that he knows who the woman is and that she would be stepping forward shortly to explain how she came into possession of the photos.
  “You’re going to know who this person is by tomorrow,” Mr. Breitbart said. “She is going to come out of her anonymity in a very short time. She will be coming forward to communicate the means by which she received these photos. I think it will be clear that she is telling the truth.”
  An ABC News employee said that the network has conducted an interview with a woman, who says she received the photos from Mr. Weiner, evidently the same photos Mr. Breitbart obtained.
  As of this afternoon, the network was determining when it would broadcast the interview.
  Mr. Weiner is expected to address the news media at 4 p.m. at a Midtown Manhattan, breaking several days of silence.
  Two people close to Mr. Weiner said he would not resign on Monday, but rather express some responsibility for his actions…. – NYT, 6-6-11 — Big Government Photos
• Anthony Weiner: How Twitter’s features tripped him up – CS Monitor, 6-6-11
• Anthony Weiner: Were his dreams of being mayor just Twittered away? – CS Monitor, 6-2-11
• Weiner Admits to Sending Lewd Photos, Faces Call for Ethics Investigation: Rep. Anthony Weiner, D – N.Y., went before cameras Monday to admit to sending sexually explicit photos and messages to several different women. Jeffrey Brown discusses the scandal with NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian. … – PBS Newshour, 6-6-11
• Twitter scandal: a mess for Anthony Weiner, a lesson for Congress – CS Monitor, 6-1-11
• Why Weiner’s no-sex scandal has him hanging by a thread: It never gets old. The political sex scandal occupies such an integral place in the American experience that it should get a wing of its own at the Smithsonian.
  The past month has been particularly fecund in revelations of gasp-worthy behaviour by the power elite. Dominique Strauss-Kahn (allegedly) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (definitively) became examples of foreign-born bigwigs whose reputations were soiled on U.S. soil.
  U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, D-NY, wipes his eye during a news conference in New York where he admitted that he tweeted a bulging-underpants photo of himself to a young woman. Richard Drew/AP
  Then new details of John Edwards’s shameless duplicity emerged in his six-count indictment last week on charges of violating campaign finance laws to hide the affair he was having during his last presidential run.
  New York congressman Anthony Weiner, perhaps proving that one’s patronymic is destiny after all, is the latest to join the bad boys’ club.
  There’s only one problem with this so-called sex scandal, however. Apparently, there was no sex. Unlike Mr. Edwards and Mr. Schwarzenegger, the newlywed Mr. Weiner did not get physical with any of the six women to whom he has admitted sending sexually suggestive photos of himself and talking (lewdly, one presumes) on the phone. He never even met them in person.
  “In an era where we are more and more tolerant and less and less embarrassed by various sexual content – we see more of it on TV and are more explicit about it in our daily conversations – we’re making scandals of things that wouldn’t even have been that scandalous in the Victorian era,” Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, remarked in an interview…. – Globe and Mail, 6-8-11
• Julian E. Zelizer: Surviving sex scandals: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) has been at the center of a major scandal ever since the conservative web mogul Andrew Breitbart revealed that the congressman’s Twitter account was a little more interesting than most. As details about Weiner’s tweets and Facebook chats became public, along with photos of naked body parts, the congressman made a profuse public apology.
  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for an ethics investigation less than five minutes after he spoke. A growing number of legislators are now demanding that Weiner resign.
  Though the pressure has intensified, Weiner insists he is staying in office. A new poll supports his decision — revealing that more than 60 percent of his constituents believe he should not resign…. – Politico, 6-10-11
• History shows Weiner could persevere past scandal: If he manages to keep his seat in Congress, Anthony Weiner would join a handful of political figures who survived what initially looked like a career-ending debacle.
  And even if the experiences of the likes of Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, David Vitter and others weren’t enough, a new poll points to a forgiving constituency.
  Both factors point to what observers call a truism in the fast-paced world of seamy gossip and online revelations — the first few days after a politician comes clean are invariably the worst.
  “By sitting tight, most of the politicians were able to stay in office,” said Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. “In general, voters are interested in these sex scandals, but they are not willing to kick their senators or representatives out of office.”… – AP, 6-11-11
• Rabbi Joshua Hammerman: Jewish Ethics and Anthony Weiner’s Very Bad Week: Q – Does Rep. Weiner’s admitted act of sending out explicit photos of himself disqualify him from public office? Is this a new form of adultery? Given the fact that “sexting” is so common these days among young people, will it become a political albatross comparable to pot smoking for aspiring pols who came of age in the ’60s? After all, isn’t this just a byproduct of the Internet revolution in the way that drug use was the byproduct of the counter culture? Eventually, won’t the culture simply catch up to these new freedoms and no one will care that he did this?
  A – I see what you are getting it. “I took the photo but did not send it” comes perilously close to “I didn’t inhale.” And now, having inhaled pot in one’s youth does not even raise an eyebrow, much less disqualify one from office, as President Obama has proven. So will the same be said for “sexting” a few years from now?
  I doubt it, at least in the case of Rep. Wiener. Politicians may get a pass for other recklessness, but our tolerance for sexual indiscretion while in office has been decreasing with each shocking new revelation…. – The NY Jewish Week, 6-9-11

Political Buzz June 1, 2011: House Vote Rejects Increase in National Debt Ceiling

POLITICAL BUZZ

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

OBAMA PRESIDENCY & THE 112TH CONGRESS:

House rejects proposal to raise debt ceiling: The House rejected a plan to raise the limit on government borrowing, in a symbolic vote of 318 to 97, setting the stage for a contentious debate with President Obama over debt reduction.

House Vote 379 – Rejects Increase in National Debt Ceiling: Yes: 97 Democrats
No: 318; 236 Republicans, 82 Democrats
Present: 7 Democrats
Did Not Vote: 10

H.R.1954 — To implement the President’s request to increase the statutory limit on the public debt. (Introduced in House – IH) 112th CONGRESS — 1st Session — H. R. 1954 — FULL TEXT OF BILL

• Eric Cantor: Tonight’s House vote against a clean debt limit increase should serve as a clear demonstration to Secretary Geithner that there is no support in the House for a debt limit increase without real spending cuts and binding budget process reforms.
• Debt-limit hike fails in House in symbolic vote: The House of Representatives on Tuesday defeated a bill to raise the debt limit in a vote staged by Republicans to strengthen their push for deep spending cuts in negotiations with the White House.
  By a vote of 318-97, the chamber overwhelmingly rejected President Barack Obama’s call to increase the $14.3 trillion debt limit without conditions. Even some Democrats supporting Obama’s position voted against it.
  “I’m going to advise my members that they not subject themselves to the demagoguery that is sure to follow” if they vote for the measure, chief Democratic vote-counter Steny Hoyer said before the vote.
  Polls show the public does not support a further increase in borrowing authority even as the Treasury Department scrambles to avoid a default that could push the country back into recession and rattle markets across the globe. Reuters, 5-31-11
• House rejects bill to increase federal debt ceiling: With an August deadline looming, the House overwhelmingly refused Tuesday to raise the legal limit on government borrowing, setting the stage for a long, sweaty summer of haggling over the shape of the largest debt-reduction package in at least two decades.
  The vote was 318-97, with not a single GOP lawmaker supporting the measure to raise the limit on the national debt from $14.3 trillion to $16.7 trillion – a sum sufficient to cover the government’s bills through the end of next year. Republican leaders said their troops would reject any increase without a plan to sharply curtail spending and, thus, future borrowing.
  “The American people are fed up with an endless diet of debt-backed spending,” said Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., a member of the House Budget Committee. Without “a solid, long-term balanced budget plan, it is simply foolish to continue to increase the nation’s debt limit.”
  Democrats, too, are leery of supporting a higher debt limit, which polls show is extremely unpopular with a large majority of voters. On Tuesday, they abandoned the debt-limit measure in droves, ignoring a long-standing request from the Obama administration to raise the limit before plunging into a complex and politically difficult battle over the size of the federal budget.
  “I don’t intend to advise our members to subject themselves to a 30-second political ad and attack,” House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said hours before the vote, noting that GOP leaders had offered the bill with the intention of letting their members vote against it…. – WaPo, 6-1-11
• Pressing Obama, House Bars Rise for Debt Ceiling: The House on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a measure to increase the government’s debt limit, acting on a vote staged by Republican leaders to pressure President Obama to agree to deep spending cuts.
  Dave Camp of Michigan said a vote “will and must fail.”
  Republicans brought up the measure, which was defeated 318 to 97, to show the lack of support in the House for raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling without concrete steps to rein in chronic budget deficits.
  The preordained outcome followed several acts of odd political theater on the House floor: Republicans urged the defeat of their own measure, while Democrats — who not long ago were seeking just such a vote to raise the debt ceiling without attaching spending cuts — assailed Republicans for bringing it up, saying its certain defeat might unnerve the financial markets.
  Just in case, Republican leaders scheduled the vote for after the stock market’s close, and in the preceding days called Wall Street executives to assure them that the vote was just for show, to show Mr. Obama that he would have to make concessions in budget negotiations if a debt-limit increase is to pass Congress…. – NYT, 6-1-11
• Republicans press Obama on spending: Top House Republicans pressed President Barack Obama Wednesday for a detailed plan on budget cuts, and one leading lawmaker accused him of distorting a GOP Medicare proposal at the center of the partisan divide over spending.
  White House press secretary Jay Carney said the meeting was productive despite the absence of any signs of progress. He also made clear that Obama has no intention of letting up on his assertions that Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to send future Medicare recipients into the private insurance marketplace will “end Medicare as we know it.”
  “He doesn’t believe that we need to end Medicare as we know it,” Carney said at a White House briefing, about an hour after the East Room meeting between Obama and House Republicans.
  The White House session came as the GOP sought to build pressure on Obama for trillions in spending cuts in exchange for any increase in the government’s ability to borrow.
  Afterward, dozens of rank-and-file GOP lawmakers streamed out of the front door of the White House and into a caravan of blue buses waiting for them on Pennsylvania Avenue, while members of the GOP leadership stopped on the driveway to speak to reporters and camera crews awaiting them in under a steaming sun…. – AP, 6-1-11
• The Morning Line: House GOP Heads to White House After Blocking Debt Limit Hike: If the purpose of the vote was to send a message, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his members will get to assess Wednesday if that message was received. The bill to increase the debt limit without any spending cuts failed, 318 to 97, without a single Republican vote.
  House Republicans will take that tally sheet to the White House Wednesday morning as the conference prepares to meet with President Obama to discuss the path forward on deficit reduction and, ultimately, raising the debt limit before the Aug. 2 deadline.
  Rep. Boehner also plans to show up at the White House with a new letter signed by 150 economists backing his proposal to make spending cuts in an amount greater than the amount requested in the debt limit increase.
  The 10 a.m. EDT meeting is closed to the press to allow for a more candid exchange of ideas according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. This will be the first time the president has met with the full House GOP conference since it became the majority party in that chamber in January.
  Following Tuesday night’s session, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said, “[This] vote illustrates that there is no support in the people’s House for a debt limit increase without real spending cuts and binding budget process reforms.”
  Just prior to the vote, House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson, D-Conn., described the House activity thusly: “Look, you know, it’s politics. We get it. It’s a sham.”
  Jackie Calmes of the New York Times has the vote breakdown by party.
  “Voting against the measure were 236 Republicans and 82 Democrats. No Republicans voted in favor.
  “The showdown over the issue is likely to continue well into the summer, with consequences for both parties and, potentially, for the economy and Wall Street, where the bond market in particular is watching the partisan standoff closely. Yet for all the talk of crisis should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, when the Treasury Department says it will run out of room to meet all the government’s obligations without further borrowing, the financial markets are likely to yawn at Tuesday’s proceedings.”… – PBS Newshour, 6-1-11
• House Republican lawmakers to meet Obama on debt: Republicans invited to a White House meeting with President Barack Obama on the troubling U.S. debt are trying to build up pressure for trillions in spending cuts in exchange for any increase in the government’s ability to borrow.
  The leader of the House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, released a statement Wednesday, signed by more than 150 economists, which backs his call for spending cuts that would exceed any increase in the debt limit.
  Reducing government spending and cutting the spiraling U.S. debt are expected to be major issues heading into the 2012 election season.
  “Increasing the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts and budget reforms will send a message to American job creators that we still are not serious about ending Washington’s spending addiction,” Boehner said in the statement.
  Boehner and dozens of House Republicans began arriving in buses at the White House to meet with Obama. The session comes on the heels of a symbolic and lopsided vote the day before against a Republican proposal to raise the cap on the debt limit by $2.4 trillion. The proposal, intended to prove that a bill to increase the borrowing cap with no spending cuts is dead on arrival, failed badly Tuesday on a 318-97 vote…. – AP, 6-1-11
• House G.O.P. and Obama Have ‘Frank Conversation’ on Debt: At President Obama’s invitation, House Republicans met with him on Wednesday and had a “very frank” airing of their views on reducing the federal debt, saying that the president must agree to deep spending cuts without tax increases, and drop his ideas for increasing spending to stimulate the economy. House Republicans spoke to reporters after their meeting with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.Stephen Crowley/The New York TimesHouse Republicans spoke to reporters after their meeting with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.
  “We had a very frank conversation,” House Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said as lawmakers left the White House meeting. “I thought it was productive. I’m looking forward to more serious conversations about how we reduce the deficit and the debt to get our economy going again and creating jobs.”
  Though Friday’s monthly jobs report is expected to show continued high unemployment, the second-ranking House Republican, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, said Republicans told Mr. Obama that they oppose any proposals to spend more money to jump-start the economy.
  “The discussion really focused on the philosophical difference on whether Washington should continue to pump money into the economy or should we provide an incentive for entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow,” Mr. Cantor said. “The president talked about a need for us to continue to quote-unquote invest from Washington’s standpoint, and for a lot of us that’s code for more Washington spending, something that we can’t afford right now.”… – NYT, 6-1-11
• Interviews Q&A: Mitch McConnell Explains How to Get a ‘Really Big Deal’ on the Debt Ceiling: One day after Congress rejected a $2.4 trillion increase of the federal borrowing limit without preconditional spending cuts, House Republicans are visiting the White House on Wednesday to negotiate directly with President Obama on the deficit reduction measures that will likely accompany the next debt ceiling vote. The top leaders of both parties, including the President, have been largely absent from the deficit talks currently being conducted by Vice President Joe Biden, but as the August deadline draws closer, their direct input may be the only thing that can advance negotiations. On Thursday, May 19, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sat down with TIME to discuss a wide variety of subjects. Below are lightly edited excerpts of his remarks on the debt ceiling and deficit reduction negotiations…. – Time, 6-1-11

Political Buzz May 24, 2011: Democrat Kathy Hochul Wins Upstate New York Congressional Race Over Republican Jane Corwin — Medicare Biggest Issue

POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS

By Bonnie K. Goodman

Ms. Goodman is the Editor of History Musings. She has a BA in History & Art History & a Masters in Library and Information Studies from McGill University, and has done graduate work in history at Concordia University.

STATE & LOCAL POLITICS — ELECTIONS

Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Kathy Hochul delivered her victory speech in Amherst on Tuesday evening.

Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat in Closely Watched Upstate New York Race: The Associated Press has declared Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, the winner in a closely watched Congressional race in upstate New York that is being seen as a test of a Republican plan to overhaul Medicare.
On Tuesday, she captured 47 percent of the vote to Ms. Corwin’s 43 percent, according to unofficial results. A Tea Party candidate, Jack Davis, had 9 percent

• Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan: Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.
  The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether they should rethink their party’s commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability heading into the 2012 elections.
  Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser in the race against the Republican, Jane Corwin. But Ms. Hochul seized on the Republican’s embrace of the proposal from Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, to overhaul Medicare, and she never let up…. – NYT, 5-25-11
• Democrat Wins Upstate New York Congressional Race: Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.
  The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether the party should rethink its commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability as 2012 elections loom.
  Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser. But Ms. Hochul seized on her Republican rival’s embrace of the proposal from Representative Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, to overhaul Medicare, and she never let up.
  With 66 percent of the precincts reporting, Ms. Hochul led with 48 percent of the vote, to 43 percent for the Republican candidate, Jane L. Corwin…. – NYT, 5-24-11
• Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan: Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party’s plan to overhaul Medicare.
  The results set off elation among Democrats and soul-searching among Republicans, who questioned whether the party should rethink its commitment to the Medicare plan, which appears to have become a liability as 2012 elections loom.
  Two months ago, the Democrat, Kathy Hochul, was considered an all-but-certain loser in the race against Jane Corwin. But Ms. Hochul seized on her Republican rival’s embrace of the proposal from Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, to overhaul Medicare, and she never let up.
  Voters, who turned out in strikingly large numbers for a special election, said they trusted Ms. Hochul, the county clerk of Erie County, to protect Medicare…. – NYT, 5-24-11
• GOP loss a Medicare message?: Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul won a House special election in western New York on Tuesday, a Democratic triumph in a conservative district that many consider a referendum on House Republicans’ efforts to reform Medicare.
  With 91 percent of precincts reporting, Hochul had 48 percent of the vote. State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, a Republican, had 42 percent, while independent candidate Jack Davis ran a distant third with 9 percent.
  The seat in New York’s 26th District became vacant when Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., resigned after revelations that he had sent shirtless pictures of himself to a woman with whom he had been corresponding on Craigslist. Seattle Times, 5-25-11
• Democrat Wins U.S. House Race That Focused on Medicare, AP Says: Kathy Hochul was elected to a vacant U.S. House seat in western New York, the Associated Press said, following a campaign that became a referendum on a Republican plan to privatize Medicare.
  With 84 percent of the vote counted in the special election, the AP tally showed Hochul with 48 percent to 42 percent for Republican Jane Corwin and 8 percent for Buffalo- area industrialist Jack Davis, running on the Tea Party ballot line.
  The race was closely watched for its implications on national politics, including the 2012 presidential campaign. The campaign provided the first electoral test on the Medicare issue and, in a sign of its potential importance, national party groups and their independent allies helped finance a barrage of local television ads and automated telephone calls to households…. – Bloomberg, 5-24-11
• Democrat Kathy Hochul wins upstate New York race: Democrat Kathy Hochul drew on voter discontent over Republican plans to revamp Medicare to score an upset win on Tuesday in a special election to represent a conservative upstate New York congressional district.
  Hochul defeated Republican Jane Corwin in a three-way race that also included self-described Tea Party candidate Jack Davis. The outcome did not affect Republican control of the House of Representatives.
  “Tonight the voters were willing to look beyond the political labels and vote for a person, and vote for message that they believe in,” Hochul told cheering supporters minutes after taking a phone call from Corwin, a state assemblywoman. “We can balance the budget the right way, and not on the backs of our seniors,” said Hochul, the Erie County clerk. “We had the issues on our side.”
  President Barack Obama, who is visiting Britain, issued a statement congratulating Hochul on her victory. “Kathy and I both believe that we need to create jobs, grow our economy, and reduce the deficit in order to outcompete other nations and win the future,” Obama said…. – Reuters, 5-24-11
• Democrat Wins House Seat Third Candidate Roils New York Race in Traditionally GOP Area; Medicare Issue Studied as Factor:A Democrat on Tuesday won election to a congressional seat from a traditionally Republican district in western New York, according to Associated Press tallies, an outcome that will be studied for clues to how voters are viewing the budget battles in Washington.
  Republican candidate Jane Corwin had endorsed a plan passed by House Republicans last month to overhaul Medicare, drawing sharp criticism from her Democratic rival, Kathy Hochul.
  Ms. Hochul was leading Ms. Corwin, 48% to 43%, with 66% of the vote tallied shortly after 10 p.m. eastern time, AP reported.
  The news service declared the winner to be Ms. Hochul. She is currently the Erie County clerk.
  Republicans outnumber Democrats in the district, and voters gave former Rep. Chris Lee, a Republican, 68% of the vote in November.
  The district also supported Republicans John McCain for president in 2008 and President George W. Bush in 2004.
  While the outcome was complicated by a third-party candidate, members of Congress are sure to study the results for the role that the Medicare proposal may have played in the race…. – WSJ, 5-24-11
• Democrat Hochul wins N.Y. special election: Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul won a House special election in western New York on Tuesday night, a Democratic triumph in a conservative district that many consider a referendum on House Republicans’ efforts to reform Medicare.
  With three-quarters of precincts reporting, Hochul had 48 percent of the vote. State Assemblywoman Jane Corwin (R) had 42 percent, with independent candidate Jack Davis running a distant third with 8 percent.
  Democrats contended that the race in New York’s 26th Congressional District — which the GOP had held since the 1960s — became competitive through their efforts linking Corwin to the House Republican plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
  That plan, spearheaded by Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.), has already been the subject of plenty of debate in Washington, where Republicans seek deep cuts and debt-reduction measures…. – WaPo, 5-24-11
• Kathy Hochul wins NY congressional race: Democrat Kathy Hochul scored an upset and won a special election to represent New York’s 26th congressional district on Tuesday, defeating Republican Jane Corwin.
  Hochul, the Erie County clerk, declared victory in the conservative upstate district with just over 70 percent of the vote tallied.
  The election was held to fill the seat vacated in February by Republican Chris Lee, who resigned after shirtless photos he sent to a woman he met on Craigslist were published on the Internet…. – Reuters, 5-24-11
• Julian E. Zelizer: N.Y. race for House seat a preview of 2012?: Next week voters in New York’s 26th Congressional District will go to the ballot box to replace Rep. Christopher Lee, who resigned after a scandal involving a photo of himself shirtless that he sent to a woman he met online.
  Like other special elections in the last two years, the rumble in the 26th has drawn the attention and resources of both national political parties. What would have ordinarily been a local race is seen as having big implications for 2012.
  Until April, few Democrats thought this race was worth contesting. The 26th is one of the most conservative districts in New York, presumably a safe Republican seat. But then something happened. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin released his budget plan, which included a drastic overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid. Many of his GOP colleagues, fearing trouble on the campaign trail, distanced themselves from the plan as soon as the details were released.
  In New York, Democrats pounced. The party has been able to generate substantial support for its candidate, Kathy Hochul, by connecting the dots between New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. Her ads have hammered away at her Republican opponent, Jane Corwin, for endorsing Ryan’s proposal and supporting “a budget that essentially ends Medicare.” She also supports, they add, reductions in Social Security benefits.
  The National Republican Congressional Committee has responded with a familiar refrain, calling Hochul a champion of the kind of big government liberalism that it says has run rampant in Washington. A recent television spot argued that Hochul, as well as independent Jack Davis, was on the same page as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
  The race is allowing both parties to test their arguments for 2012. Republicans are counting on Americans to share the party’s antipathy to the federal government and support proposals to lower the federal deficit. This anti-government ethos has been a guiding ideal for GOP candidates since Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980….
  The results in the special election may help the parties determine what their strategy should be in the 2012 elections. If Hochul wins, we can expect Democrats to focus on specifics in the upcoming months, telling voters what Democrats’ programs provide them and what Republicans hope to take away.
  If Republicans can hold this seat, they may be emboldened to continue calling for radical cuts in the federal budget and warning of the dangerous road on which Democrats have embarked. Which argument sticks in this special election will give both parties some sense of where voters stand after the heated budget battles of the past few months…. – CNN, 5-23-11