Thanks to the powerful stand taken by two Democrats, Evan Bayh, a centrist after my own heart, and Russ Feingold, a staunch, principled liberal, both of whom will vote against the $410-billion spending bill as long as it contains 9,000 earmarks, the Senate leadership came up one vote short on moving the bill forward.
 

Congress [...]

I think they should just have another revote, but I’ve heard that’s a tough nut to crack because of costs and legal issues. So I understand why some want to lean on the courts.
From Minnesota Independent:
“The most obvious, clean resolution is resolution by the [current] three-judge court, with no appeal,” says [Guy] Charles, a University [...]

Some good news for free speech today: the Senate has used its oversight authority to bar the FCC from reconsidering the Fairness Doctrine.
While President Obama has publically opposed reinstating the arcane rule that required equal time on the airwaves for opposing political views, Republicans wanted to make sure the Democratic-controlled government didn’t recreate the law [...]

They think he’s moving too slow?
I guess bipartisanship is back from the dead.
From CNN…
A group of six moderate House Republicans have written to President Obama urging him to lift President Bush’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
“We are writing to respectfully urge that you immediately lift the current federal restrictions on funding [...]

It’s pretty simple.
He lied and he should resign.
The end.

I almost feel bad for the guy. First, he gets caught up in the whole D.C. Madam scandal. Ouch.
Now, with that behind him, he starts to prepare for his 2010 Senate re-election run. Cue the comically ironic porn-star:
This year, an ad appeared on Craigslist seeking “a female in some aspect of the adult-entertainment industry” to [...]

Pay no attention to the content (massive pork) in the bill. Pay no attention to the fact that it will not solve the root problem and will at best delay a day of reckoning. Pay no attention that it will add a trillion dollars of debt that we do not have and will have to borrow from the Chinese or tax from Americans or devalue the currency to repay. Just pass it, because an economic fear-mongering President says it should be passed.

President Obama at Democratic retreat: “No more Mr. Nice Guy”
As increasingly partisan battle lines were drawn today over the stimulus program and President Obama  called further delays in passing the huge package “inexcusable,” Harry Reid scrambled to line up a solid Democratic phalanx and woo a few Republicans.  As I write this, it seems that Reid has struck a [...]

Reports indicate the Senate has reached a tentative deal on the stimulus package. The deal will likely require Senator Ted Kennedy’s vote, who has not been in Washington since suffering a seizure on inauguration day. No word on which Republican senators may be crossing party lines but that will likely be revealed soon.
As of yet, [...]

The ever-growing stimulus package may have finally gotten too large for most Americans to stomach. A new Rasmussen poll indicates only 37% support the plan with 43% opposing and another 20% on the fence. The numbers are trending towards the negative.
This is why some Democrats wanted to get this bill passed as quickly as possible. [...]

The number one trillion is thrown around a lot these days. That’s 1,000,000,000,000 — a number so large it’s very difficult to put into context. Perhaps that’s why there has been and continues to be so little concern over our $10 trillion debt. Or over some of the numbers being suggested for the stimulus..
But let’s [...]

Looks like the Republican senator will be attempting to join the Obama administration since a press conference is set for tomorrow morning. And my guess is that he’ll get confirmed immediately.
Now, there had been speculation that Obama’s team was picking Gregg to swing the senate to 60 Dem votes, but that was quickly put to [...]

A spending bill as enormous as the current stimulus package is going to include its fair share of expenditures that have nothing to do with stimulating the economy. Our representatives can’t help themselves. They’ll use any spending bill as an excuse to fund pet projects. The AP details some of the non-stimulus related projects lurking [...]

I strongly support a massive fiscal stimulus to restore an atmosphere of confidence, avert a continued, severe downward spiral, and give the economy a big enough jolt to jump start a recovery.
But the $819 billion plan (really a $1.2 trillion plan including interest on the debt) adopted by the House of Representatives yesterday isn’t it. A large [...]

I like the idea in theory, but I always thought that Governors replaced Senators because it’s too costly to have special elections and somebody needs to serve in the interim.
Still, this seems like the type of amendment that could easily garner bi-partisan support.
From Political Wire:
The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant [...]

What a difference a day makes…
ALBANY – Gov. Paterson, defying the liberal wing of his Democratic Party, has chosen little-known, NRA-backed, upstate Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as New York’s junior senator, it was learned last night.
The surprising – and, for many Democrats shocking – decision to pick the conservative Gillibrand, [...]

It appears that Caroline Kennedy’s withdrawal from consideration for the open New York Senate seat had nothing to do with her uncle’s illness:
ALBANY — Problems involving taxes and a household employee surfaced during the vetting of Caroline Kennedy and derailed her candidacy for the Senate, a person close to Gov. David A. Paterson said on [...]

It’s been reported that Dame Caroline Kennedy has called New York Governor David Paterson and withdrawn from consideration for appointment to fill the Senate seat vacated today by Hillary Clinton. Supposedly, Kennedy doesn’t want the appointment any more, due to the poor health of her uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. But Ted Kennedy has been [...]

Prince Andrew Cuomo in a contemplative moment
“A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.”   -Niccolo Machiavelli
Within a few days, New York Governor David Paterson will appoint a successor to Hillary Clinton in the United States Senate. I’m going out on a [...]

With the announced retirement of Republican Senators Mel Martinez (FL), Kit Bond (MO) and George Voinovich (OH), 2010 could be a tough year for the GOP in these three swing states. But the outlook isn’t all bad.
In 2008, Republicans had a difficult time finding candidates who could compete for open seats. This time around, the [...]