Washington Extra – Tea Party poopers
All that Tea Party support in 2010 for the 87 House Republican freshmen seems to have come with a price — and now it’s time to collect.
Representative Michael Grimm found his office filled with activists wanting to know why he hadn’t done more to slash government spending and why he had voted to raise the U.S. debt limit. He too is frustrated, the former Marine told them, but you just can’t shut down government and stop paying the soldiers.
There is Tea Party talk that the freshmen have become corrupted by Washington and part of the bureaucratic fabric that they very much despise. By one account, two-thirds of the freshmen have compromised while only 20 or so have maintained the zero tolerance Tea Party line on spending.
Alas, the Tea Party could end up giving the Republican freshman class of 2010 more grief than the Democrats heading toward the November elections. If 2010 was the year the Tea Party emerged as a political force in Washington, 2012 will be the year that determines whether the movement can live with itself on Capitol Hill.
Here are our top stories from Washington…
Gingrich attacks Romney, a week after promising a positive campaign
A week ago, Newt Gingrich vowed to follow Ronald Reagan’s famed “11th Commandment” and withhold attacks on fellow Republican candidates for president.
But last night his campaign e-mail blasted reporters a lengthy opposition sheet on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, ripping Romney’s latest television ad, “Conservative Agenda.”
In the oppo sheet, the Gingrich campaign calls Romney “Mitt the Massachusetts Moderate” and highlights a number of his past, more moderate positions that may be at odds with his current stances. These include Romney’s health care reforms in Massachusetts, his support for universal health insurance and abortion rights, his vote for Democrat Paul Tsongas in his 1992 bid for president and his renunciation of the Reagan/Bush era.
“Can we trust a Massachusetts Moderate to enact a conservative agenda?” Newt 2012 Communications Director Joe DeSantis said in a statement. “Our campaign might have plenty of things to say about that, but the best response certainly comes from Mitt Romney himself [who in 2002 told a television reporter]:
“I think people recognize that I am not a partisan Republican. That I’m someone who is moderate, and that my views are progressive.”
Romney’s latest ad, airing in Iowa, is below. The Gingrich campaign’s opposition sheet on Romney follows.
Obama fundraising watch: debt, progressives, and women on the Court
President Barack Obama stayed close to the White House for another round of fundraising on Monday, attending events in Washington where tickets went for $44 to $35,800.
Here are a few highlights from his remarks:
1. Progressives should care about the debt and deficit. “It’s… as critical for progressives as it is for anybody, because if we want to have a strong foundation for us to provide opportunity in the future, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got our deficit and our debt under control.”
2. The president is pleased about having more “strong” women on the Supreme Court. “You can never have enough women on the Supreme Court.”
3. He wants to be in the White House another 5 1/2 years. “We’re just a quarter of the way through,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that we finish our …task.”
Photo Credits: REUTERS/Jim Young (Obama supporters at Democratic National Committee event; Obama waves to supporters)
Just the right tavern to celebrate 200 years of U.S.-French military ties
Not every U.S. ally who visits the Pentagon needs to be treated to a dinner that evokes more than 200 years of peaceful military relations.
France is the rare exception.
So when Defense Minister Alain Juppe traveled to Washington this week for talks with Robert Gates, the U.S. defense secretary found just the right venue: Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia, one of the few establishments in the United States that can boast of “fine dining since 1770.”
Its historical guest list includes the likes of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison and James Monroe.
Gates had his eye on a slightly different pair of clients when he hosted Juppe for dinner the evening before the two signed a space cooperation agreement.
“I had the pleasure of hosting Minister Juppe along with other French and U.S. officials for dinner at a tavern where Secretary of State John Quincy Adams played host to General Lafayette in 1824,” Gates told reporters during the signing ceremony.
“Two centuries later, France remains our strong and valued partner on the global stage. We’re grateful now, as ever, for their support and their friendship.”
The First Draft: White House “gate-crashers” say they’re suffering
They passed through layers of White House security to attend a lavish state dinner, got themselves photographed with the president and vice president and posted pix on Facebook. It was supposed to be an experience to last a lifetime. But now, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple at the center of one of the most embarrassing White House security breaches of all time, say their lives have been destroyed by falsehood and gossip. “Devastated. Shocked,” is how beautiful, blond, former NFL cheerleader Michaele recalls her reaction to the morning-after headlines in an interview with NBC’s Today show. And Tareq? “Very saddened,” he says. According to the White House, the Salahis were not on the invitation list. But they insist they were invited and predict that e-mails now in the hands of the Secret Service will exonerate them in the end. In the meantime, their lives are a one-syllable word for perdition. Tareq: “Our lives have really been destroyed.” Michaele: “Everything we’ve worked for — for me, 44 years — destroyed.” The U.S. media have made the Salahis out to be self-promoting social climbers who crashed the White House dinner while Michaele was auditioning for a new reality TV show called “The Real Housewives of Washington.” There have even been reports they tried to cash in on their exploits by demanding big bucks in exchange for media interviews. A camera crew from the cable-TV channel, Bravo, did follow them to the edge of the White House grounds on the night of the dinner. But the bit about paid interviews is dead wrong, says Michaele: “At no time … have we ever even talked about doing that with anyone.” Whether the Salahis are charged depends on a Secret Service probe to figure out just what happened. The Salahis tell NBC they hope to clear their name by sharing those e-mails as soon as the Secret Service says they can. When might that be? “We hope within the next several days,” Tareq says.
Photo Credits: Reuters/Ho New (the Salahis and Obama); Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (the Salahis)
She’s not a former NFL cheerleader, various media outlets have already exposed that she lied about that as well, just like they’re lying about all these other things.
The First Draft: no rest for the weary?
The Obamas may be on vacation this week, but the news hasn’t taken a break.
The Justice Department is expected to release a report Monday disclosing details of prisoner abuse that were gathered in 2004 by the CIA’s inspector general but never before made public. According to published reports, the department has recommended re-opening nearly a dozen prisoner-abuse cases.
A review of the cases threatens to weigh down the Obama administration, which is already involved in deeply partisan battles over healthcare and climate change legislation.
The healthcare reform debate rages on, with Republicans pushing a healthcare bill of rights for seniors and Democrats threatening to use congressional procedure to bypass the need for 60 votes to pass healthcare legislation in the Senate.
Today is also the last day for car buyers to take advantage of the popular “Cash for clunkers,” as the program’s $3 billion budget runs out of gas.
Click here for more Reuters political coverage
Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (view of Martha’s Vineyard from Air Force One)
One win and one loss for Obama regarding the CIA. How can he do the right thing on one issue and be so wrong on another. there is a related post at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?page_id=588
Governor Sanford’s walk in the woods
When Governor Mark Sanford walks out of the woods tomorrow, he’s sure for a big surprise.
The governor of South Carolina went hiking on the Appalachian Trail last Thursday to clear his head after a tough legislative session, according to his aides. Nothing odd in that – politicians need time off as much as anyone. Trouble is, when Sanford left he didn’t tell his aides where he was going. He didn’t tell the state’s lieutenant governor either. Or his wife.
His disappearance sparked speculation about his whereabouts, although Fox News reported he did call to check in two days into the trip. Tomorrow he is due to emerge from the trail and return to work and he will doubtless face many questions. For a possible presidential candidate in 2012, the distraction could prove awkward.
And it won’t help that the father of four sons was away from home on Father’s Day.
PHOTO CREDIT: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford arrives for a dinner held for the National Governors Association at the White House in Feb. 22, 2009.
There are a lot of men in positions of power who are sleeping around — though that seems to be a common problem — the point is that neither party has a lock on virtue or vice.
The difference, however, is that only one of these two parties presents itself as the champion of “family values,” seeks to use government to impose its sense of morality through public policy, lectures Americans on the “sanctity of marriage,” and blames gay couples for undermining Western civilization.
from Photographers Blog:
Tim Geithner : What’s In Your Wallet?
What's in U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's wallet? Not much.
While testifying in front of a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Capitol Hill Thursday Geithner was shown a $50 Billion Zimbabwean bank note (rendered worthless by Zimbabwe's hyperinflation) by U.S. Representative John Culberson (R- TX) and asked if he had ever seen one himself. Geithner immediately pulled a piece of Zimbabwean currency out of his own pocket and showed it off to the committee. At the next break in the hearing I approached Geithner and asked how he happened to have a piece of foreign currency in his pocket. His response was "I often have some foreign currency in my wallet. Want to see?" He pulled a very thin and mostly empty wallet from his pocket.
Amongst many empty slots in the thin weathered leather wallet there could be seen three credit or debit cards with Visa and Mastercard logos (all inserted into the wallet upside down so that the card issuers could not be seen) and an old and yellowed looking identification card of indeterminate origin.
From inside the wallet Geithner extracted a small pile of receipts and paper including a New York City MTA farecard, pointing out that there were European Euros tucked amongst the paper.
Notably not seen in the U.S. Treasury Secretary's wallet? Any U.S. dollars.
Partying times 10 on Inauguration Night
Barack Obama will be the host with the most on Inauguration Night. After his expected swearing-in ceremony earlier in the day on January 20, he’ll host seven inaugural balls and attend three more for a grand total of 10.
Moving among the various official parties won’t necessarily require a motorcade, though: six of them are being held in the vast Walter E. Washington Convention Center. These include Obama’s home states ball, hosted by the president-elect for invited guests from Hawaii and Illinois; Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s home states ball for guests from Delaware and Pennsylvania; the Mid-Atlantic regional ball, the Midwest regional ball, the Western regional ball and the neighborhood ball, which is for Washington DC residents and other guests.
The bargain event of the night may be the youth ball, hosted by Obama for guests aged 18-35 at the Washington Hilton, with tickets available at $75. Most of the other balls cost $150.
Rounding out the list are the Eastern ball, to be held at Union Station; the Southern ball, at the National Guard Armory, and the Commander-in-Chief’s ball for enlisted active duty and reserve military personnel, at the National Building Museum.
That last location is particularly appropriate for military guests. Before it was a museum, it was known as the Pension Building, built to serve the needs of Union veterans after the Civil War.
REUTERS/Paul Hanna (Man with Obama mask parties in Madrid)
The First Draft, Monday, Jan. 5
President-elect Barack Obama woke up today in the tony Hay-Adams Hotel, across Lafayette Park from the White House.
Soon after sunrise, a black SUV was spotted carrying Obama’s younger daughter Sasha to her first day at Sidwell Friends School elementary campus in suburban Bethesda, Maryland. Older daughter Malia will go to Sidwell Friends’ middle school campus in Washington DC. The Obamas arrived in Washington late Sunday, an extra-early move so the girls could start school at the beginning of the semester. Most presidents-elect arrive on January 15. That’s when the Obama family will move into Blair House, directly across the street from the White House. The new first family moves into the executive mansion on Inauguration Day, January 20.
Top news on morning TV shows was New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s withdrawal as Obama’s chosen commerce secretary in the face of a legal inquiry. Richardson, a former Democratic presidential candidate, has denied wrongdoing in connection with the investigation of a California-based financial company that had done business with the New Mexico state government.
U.S. TV news shows offered a bit of chatter about Obama’s plan for up to $310 billion in tax cuts for businesses and the middle class as part of an economic stimulus package.
Obama goes to Capitol Hill today for discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The new Congress will be sworn in on Tuesday, launching the political year.
For workaday Washingtonians, the advent of the Obamas is more than politics. It’s a traffic story. On the first working Monday of the new year, commuters are faced with street closings and restricted access around the Hay-Adams.
the road to the top in politics is a very sordid business,the people obama has associated with in his rise from obscurity are no different to the what we can expect.reality is, to complete you have to raise contributions and that means compromise,and for donations there is always expected pay back.if we think that blago is the exception don,t be naive.some say obama was given a free past?if he had not ran with a certain crowd he would not have received the party nomination,but now we can detect a more moderate line.hopefully he has covered his back, and the people he has trusted will not whistle blow,if there has been some shady deals.
