First thoughts: Groundhog Day?

Posted: Monday, February 02, 2009 9:18 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: First Thoughts

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
*** Groundhog Day? Pardon the ubiquitous movie reference, but with the Senate today beginning debate on the economic stimulus, with Obama meeting with congressional leaders this afternoon to discuss the legislation, and with Obama trying to grab as many Republican supporters as he can -- even though we all know it’s going to pass anyway -- it seems like Groundhog Day, doesn’t it? (Speaking of, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means we can expect six more weeks of winter.) In an interview before yesterday’s Super Bowl, Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer that he’s confident Republicans will vote for the eventual stimulus legislation. “I am confident that by the time we actually have the final package on the floor that we are gonna see substantial support,” he said. “And people are gonna say this is a serious effort. It has no earmarks. We're gonna be trimming up -- things that are not relevant to putting people back to work right now.” More Groundhog Day: This could be the week we hear more about what the administration is going to ask for regarding the bank rescue.

Video: Obama discusses his views on Republican support (or lack thereof) for his stimulus plan.

*** Driving Mr. Daschle: Here’s even more Groundhog Day: We have yet another Obama cabinet member facing tax problems. Today, Tom Daschle, who is Obama’s pick to lead HHS and serve as the administration’s health-care czar, heads to Capitol Hill to meet with senators to discuss his failure to pay taxes, including $128,000 for a car and driver that he was given. Daschle has sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee apologizing for his tax issues, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports. “I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed by the errors that required me to amend my tax returns. I apologize for the errors and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them.” A few other things worth pointing out here:
-- Daschle played a key role for Obama in the Democratic primary, especially in helping Obama secure crucial superdelegate endorsements, so expect the Obama administration to give Daschle plenty of running room. Obama will never force Daschle to withdraw his nomination, but is Obama putting loyalty above his stated principles?
-- Because he’s a former senator, Daschle probably gets confirmed by his ex-colleagues. If he weren’t an ex-senator, his nomination would probably be dead right now.
-- This will bring more attention -- see today’s New York Times -- to the ridiculous amounts of money that ex-members of Congress make, even if they don't TECHNICALLY register to lobby. We’re curious: Why else was a law firm paying Daschle $2 million if it wasn't to influence Congress or at least advise folks on HOW to influence Congress?
-- The Rule of Three will now kick in: No other Obama appointee who has a tax problem will survive, period.

Video: Chuck Todd discusses the potential hit that reports of Tom Daschle's unpaid taxes may have on the Obama administration's image.

*** Say goodbye to 60? Within the next couple of days (though we hear it probably WON’T be today), Obama is expected to name New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R) to be his Commerce secretary.

Not only would Gregg become the third Republican to serve in Obama’s cabinet, it more importantly could also put Democrats one step closer to achieving a filibuster-proof 60 Senate seats, given that Democratic Gov. John Lynch gets to appoint Gregg’s replacement. Well, not so fast on that 60 number... Two sources in the know tell First Read that J. Bonnie Newman, a centrist Republican with ties to Gregg, is the leading candidate to replace the GOP senator. Our understanding is that she’d serve as a placeholder until Gregg’s term expires next year. This news has to infuriate Democrats, who might have seen Obama’s courtship of Gregg as the ultimate way to get even with recalcitrant Republicans -- pluck one of their own to get to 60. By picking Newman, Lynch will certainly receive plenty of pressure from the left. But this is probably about him not having to take sides early in a Dem primary; it's actually (secretly) what many a governor wants in these situations.

*** The most exclusive club in the world -- that fewer want to belong to: If Gregg becomes Obama’s Commerce secretary, he would become the ninth U.S. senator in the last couple of months to leave the Senate. Barack Obama and Joe Biden are now president and vice president; Hillary Clinton and Ken Salazar have joined Obama’s cabinet; and Kit Bond, Sam Brownback, Mel Martinez, and George Voinovich have announced they won’t be seeking another term in 2010. And that list doesn’t count other potential retirees like Jim Bunning, Chuck Grassley, and Kay Bailey Hutchison. What’s going on here? Well, some of the exodus has to do with a brand-new administration, plus the fact that some Republicans simply don’t want to run for re-election in what might be a challenging environment for them. But it also reflects that some of its members with past executive experience -- Martinez and Salazar are two names that come to mind -- don’t find working in legislative body as fulfilling as they thought it would be. That’s probably the reason why former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush decided not to run for the Senate.

*** The carrot and the stick: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it will be running radio ads in 28 GOP districts to hit Republicans for not supporting the stimulus last week. One of the ads: “Did you know Congressman Christopher Lee voted against economic recovery to immediately create and save over 390,000 New York jobs? Times are tough, tell Christopher Lee to put families before politics.” But what took the DCCC so long to begin ramping up pressure on House Republicans who voted against the economic stimulus? Did the White House ask them not to, or did the White House (whose chief of staff is you-know-who) wonder himself why it was taking the House Dems so long to use everything in their arsenal?

*** Hold(er) on now: It’s a busy day in the Senate. In addition to the work on the stimulus and the meeting with Daschle, the Senate today will vote on Eric Holder’s nomination to be attorney general. Besides Holder, the remaining Obama cabinet picks yet to be confirmed: Daschle (HHS), Solis (Labor), Kirk (USTR).

*** Super Bowl tidbits: Per NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, Obama called Steelers owner Dan Rooney, coach Mike Tomlin, and QB Ben Roethlisberger after the Steelers' victory last night. Obama invited the team to the White House at some future undetermined date. Also at his Super Bowl party hot dogs and pizza were served, and Obama had friends over (Marty Nesbitt, for example), in addition to the members of Congress who were in attendance.

Countdown to NJ GOP primary: 120 days
Countdown to VA Dem primary: 127 days
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 274 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 638 days

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Comments

And the 2010 cycle is heating up, with Rep. Putnam announcing he will not seek retirement this week-end, for instance. That could be the most exciting open seat Dems have gotten for now. Also, Roland Burris looks more secure than I would have expected if a new poll is to be trusted (http://campaigndiaries.com/2009/01/31/polls-fl-il/).

Dan, NY (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:26 AM)

I CAN'T TAKE SIX MORE WEEKS...

http://thepajamapundit.com/

the Pajama Pundit (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:27 AM)

So what Speical Skills does Daschle have that makes him the only man that an crun HHS? Just like with Geithner, Obama is going to have to stand up on the stage waving his hands and excusing even more bad behavior for the tax cheats he wants in his cabinet.

M Dawson, Claremont, Texas (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:28 AM)

So who is giving Daschle the use of this Limo service, George Soros? That's a lot of limo service to be giving away. Did Daschle use the limo to go the grocery store?

Tameraz (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:29 AM)

C. Minster, Ohio (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:33 AM)

It's Ground Hog day alright. Same day, different corrupt Democrat trying to get into Obama's cabinet.

GH Dayy (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:35 AM)

I'd like to know where all the federal help and FEMA was for the ice storm in Kentucky??? It took DAYS for a few national guardsmen to show up. Meanwhile, people are freezing to death!! SHAMEFUL, Obama!!!!!

Must be a Racist Thing (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:36 AM)

Today Mark Murray wrote an excellent piece about bipartisanshp. President Obama is about tone, treating others with respect, listening, compromise. President Obama will lead by example (as most real leaders do) and in time the republicans will get the message. The American people like to see intelligent debate, respectful conduct and they will support President Obama with high approval rating for some time.

Coming from Indiana, the best team was not in the Superbowl, but two evenly matched teams were. It was a good game and Congrats to the Steelers. (Side bet: After the Steelers come to the White House, I bet the Arizonal Cardinals will be invited also. That is the President's way of doing business.

Ron Indiana (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:37 AM)

Limo Driver Ike (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:39 AM)

[The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it will be running radio ads in 28 GOP districts to hit Republicans for not supporting the stimulus last week.]

Democrats, you sure that's a good idea? It seems that those ads would generate more support for the GOPers rather then less. Kind of free advertising for the Republicans.

Maybe the Dems should run the ads in the 11 Democratic owned districts where their own parties Representitives voted against the bill?

Len Dintree (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:42 AM)

Obama told NBC’s Matt Lauer that he’s confident Republicans will vote for the eventual stimulus legislation.

--------------

The man is so naive.

Rooks (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:43 AM)

Barney Frank was MAGNIFICENT !!
Jim DeMint was a petulant little clown

'..."The largest spending bill in history is going to turn out to be the one in Iraq. If we're going to talk about spending, I have a problem when we leave out that extraordinary expensive, damaging war in Iraq, which has caused much more harm than good...'

From WashingtonMonthly:

'...PROF. FRANK TAKES COLLEAGUES TO SCHOOL....

When it comes to fighting a war in Iraq, for six years, congressional Republicans said no price was too high, no spending bill was too bloated, and no presidential request was too unreasonable. When it comes to rescuing an economy in crisis, congressional Republicans take a very different tack.

To his enormous credit, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) appeared on ABC News' "This Week" yesterday to ask why this is.

You'll notice, of course, that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), one of the Senate's most far-right members, argued, "Let's not say it's a stimulus when it's a government spending plan." It's a little painful to see a United States senator fail to realize that government spending plan is a stimulus plan, but let's not dwell on DeMint.

When told that the stimulus package would be "the largest spending bill in history," Frank raised a point that has gone largely overlooked: "The largest spending bill in history is going to turn out to be the one in Iraq. If we're going to talk about spending, I have a problem when we leave out that extraordinary expensive, damaging war in Iraq, which has caused much more harm than good in my judgment. I don't understand from my conservative friends, building a road, building a school, helping to get health care, that's wasteful spending. But that war in Iraq, that's going to cost us over a trillion dollars, yeah, I wish we hadn't done that we would have been in a lot better shape fiscally."

George Stephanopoulos intervened, hoping to change the subject, saying the war issue is a subject for "a whole other show." Frank drove the point home: "No, it's isn't. That's the problem. The problem is we look at spending and say don't spend on highways or health care. Let's builds weapons to defeat the Soviet Union when we don't need them. Let's have hundreds of billions of dollars going to the military without a check. Unless everything is on the table, then you are going to have a disproportionate hit in some places."

It seems, as part of the coverage of the stimulus debate, far more Republicans are getting air time than Democrats. If the majority party were to convince news outlets to change this, I might recommend putting Frank on TV as much as humanly possible...'

Thank you Barney
You should be on TV as much as possible !!

MSierra, SF (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:43 AM)

the ground hog does'nt have to tell us there is 6 more weeks of winter; it's been feeling like Antartica here for the last several months.

gepa (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:46 AM)

We don't need any more traitorous repugnant ones like Gregg in Obama's Cabinet. We need a Liberal as Commerce Secretary instead of a duplicitous clueless repugnant one. They wrecked the economy and us Liberals need to revive what they have wrecked. The repugnant ones would never force one of their governors to replace a Democrat with another Democrat when they could steal the seat with another repugnant one.

Has anyone noticed how these nominees who are having to pay up more taxes had this happen during Clueless George's watch? Maybe if the repugnant ones hadn't trashed the IRS's ability to audit more tax returns the IRS would have picked up on these taxpayers not paying their fair share earlier. I'd order the IRS to audit everyone who worked for the IMF, especially Wolfowitz.

Prison for rove!

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:47 AM)

FR please refer to President Obama in your first mention of him in an article and then it is correct to only use his surname without title. You may not like him but out of respect for the position he holds you need to show some respect. I for one couldn't stand President George W. Bush but whenever I wrote a formal article I always refered to him as President first and as Bush or Dubya later. Please show some respect. Thank You.

moir (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:48 AM)

>> Today Mark Murray wrote an excellent piece about bipartisanshp. President Obama is about tone, treating others with respect, listening, compromise. <<

No he doesn't. There is no evidence to support that statement. Obama doesn't listen, won't change much if anything based on what people oppose him on, and ignores any compromise. We saw the results in the House where their was a bipartisian opposition to Obama's plan.

Jimmy Dees, Chicago IL (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:50 AM)

"Did you know Congressman Christopher Lee voted against economic recovery to immediately create and save over 390,000 New York jobs? Times are tough, tell Christopher Lee to put families before politics.”

This should read "Congratulations to Congressman Christopher Lee for voting against a package that is so loaded with pork and incorrectly labeled as economic recovery. We need more congressmen like him to stand up for the families of America!!"

No Pork (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:50 AM)

MSierra, you must have been watching a different show than I was. Barney Frank looked like an angry little man with little clue of how wasteful this crap sandwich of a bill is. And to use your words, it is a little painful to see a U.S. citizen not understand the difference between a spending bill and a stimulus bill.
But as a Republican, I agree that Barney Frank should be on TV as much as possible. Having him be a prominent face of the Democratic party is great news for the GOP.

Bawney Fwank (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:57 AM)

John McCain was on TV this morning talking about a filibuster for the stimulus plan. This bill has already tilted hundreds of millions of dollars away from spending toward tax cuts and Republicans are going to hold it up to make political points! If that happens there needs to be a firestorm of criticism. The GOP had their chance and doing things their way destroyed the economy. They're playing games with peoples livelihoods and it needs to stop.

John B, Des Moines, IA (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:59 AM)

Sen. Tom Daschle, unlike Mr. Geithner was for Treasury is not the only one that could be considered as top pick for the job at HHS. If push comes to shove, and it may very come to that, I would suggest President Obama have someone else in mind for HHS.

Senator Frank, hit the Republicans in their hypocricy again. How nice. Everyone knows or should know how hypocriatical the GOPers are. Thanks, Sen. Frank for pointing it out. Sometimes people need an occasional reminder.

Ground Hog Day....We need more winter. We are in a drought and need the rain. Thanks Phil, that may just help us.

eagle1776 (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:04 AM)

Spot on to MSierra, SF. I watched Barney Frank and was so happy to finally hear someone say "a tax break doesn't prevent a fireman, policeman, or teacher from losing their job". These republicans don't get it - you don't need a tax break if you don't have a job!! They are only interested in giving tax breaks to the upper one percent who got them under Bush - They had 8 years of tax breaks - how did they work out for the rest of us??? My boss lost over $200,000 last year - I have had to take a 1/3 pay cut - we don't have to worry about getting a tax cut. We need people to get and keep their jobs so they can by our product. The Republicans are also so short sighted. If states got a brake with paying for health care services then they wouldn't have to cut cops and firemen and teachers, etc. Building roads is not the only stimulus. Way to go Barney Frank.

Jean, Asheville, NC (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:05 AM)

Bbbrrrrrrrrrr!!!! (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:12 AM)

Republicans spit out a few lies and folks listen to this diatribe.

Just what is your problem. Do you read? Do you think?

Do you know what pork really is?

PORK to the Republicans is ANYTHING that is not related to cutting taxes for the RICH!!!

Everything that is being whined about—even the mall restoration is not being thought out.

From my vantage point the Obama folks are trying to do two things:

1. Create projects that are practical and create jobs at the same time.

2. Preserve and create existing projects that will save money in the long term and keep jobs in the short term.

LETS GET SMART HERE!!!!

Andrea, New York City (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:12 AM)

Let's take a closer look at that limo service Daschle got for nothing. $128,000 in taxes? That means he had about a half million dollars in limo fees. If the limo service charged a $10 a mile, an outrageous price I know, but just stick with the idea for a minute, then Daschle would have used that Limo service for 50,000 miles. Just where was he going?
Limo Driver Ike (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:39 AM)

He actually had to report about $250k of indirect income associated with this, over a three-year period. The back taxes reported includes other mistakes.

But I agree that it would be interesting to know what the limo was used for, how often, etc. 128k of back taxes is a lot of money, however you slice it. But I'm more bothered by the speaker fees he received from the healthcare industry. Unless those fees were for speeches recommending the type of reform Obama is proposing, I would hope Obama pulls the nomination. There's got to be other qualified candidates out there.

Tim, Harrisburg (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:14 AM)

Psychotic right wingers, whining about dishonest Democrats when a repukagain rubber stamp roman senate spent years standing on the neck of the middle class. You deserve this.

Citizen of Rome (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:17 AM)

>> Today Mark Murray wrote an excellent piece about bipartisanshp. President Obama is about tone, treating others with respect, listening, compromise. <<
No, Obama is about making sure the news captures his cocktail parties and luncheons with Republicans. He's not about actually incorporating their ideas into legislation.

Claire (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:20 AM)

Isn't corporate America getting what amounts to welfare checks? They are the biggest welfare recipients in this country.

Welfare checks. hmmm. Most people I believe use their welfare checks for rent, food, clothing. I don't believe any of them are buying seasons tickets to baseball or flying first class anywhere.

Not that I don't wonder that the GOP never gave a damn about the poor in this country. At least not that I can remember.

We will always have poor in this country. Until the end of time. Does that mean we have to let these children continually slip through the cracks?

No.

Now we hear the good paying jobs int his country are being given to green card employees. They're not hiring Americans.

Get this straight. The poor are not creating the problems in this country. The rich are.

Remember what was drilled into us forever? Government is bad for our country. Business is good for our country.

We have it backwards. They were robber barons way back when. And they are still robber barons today.

Pat, Boston, MA (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:22 AM)

Once again when it's a Democrat involved in a scandal, it's all about the horse race. Things like: "Who's supporting who? Will a Republican try to block the nomination?".

If it were a Republican with the same problem Daschle has, it would be all about the "Integrity of the office" and "When could we expect President [insert name of Republican President here] to withdraw his/her nomination".

The news media really has become an absolute joke.
------------------------------------------------------
C Minster in Ohio, I couldn't agree with you more. The problem the GOP makes is they expect the same courtesy with their nominees that they show the Dem nominees...and they get screwed every time. And the media covers for the Dems.

Paul (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:24 AM)

Christopher Lee? I thought he was Dracula.

No, wait. Maybe he is, after all.

Suzie Q (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:24 AM)

No he doesn't. There is no evidence to support that statement. Obama doesn't listen, won't change much if anything based on what people oppose him on, and ignores any compromise. We saw the results in the House where their was a bipartisian opposition to Obama's plan.

Jimmy Dees, Chicago IL (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:50 AM)

You sir, are a complete idoit. What do you call the removal of the money allocated for contraceptives? or the removal of the money to re-sod the National Mall? or how about the fact that the bill went into the house at $825 and came out $819, that sounds like compromise to me!!! They took out stuff that the repugnant ones bitched about. And another thing, Obama DID NOT write this bill, the House Dems did. I'm sure he as seen it, but has not had a chance to put his pen to paper on it.

And another thing, how many times did Bush meet with Congressional Dems? Once....twice? In EIGHT years!?!?! In his first two weeks, he'll meet with both parts of the house twice. He's already broken Bushes record.

So you can go crawl back under that rock that you came from and stay there for the next 16 years...cuz when Obama is done, it'll be Hillary's turn. This country doesn't need miserable, uninformed and herdable people like you. Just turn Rush back on for a few more talking points to regurgitate.

Bentley in NY (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:26 AM)

Blaming George Bush for Daschle's failure to pay taxes? What about Daschle's lack of personal responsibility? Eric in Salinas is as delusional as ever.

Jill F., Tulsa, OK (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:27 AM)

Ron Indiana (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:37 AM)

Ron:

I couldn't agree more. I have heard many Congressional Republicans say that Obama is a nice guy and a charmer but .....................

They forget that bipartisianship begins with being nice and civil towards one another even if they do not agree on policy. For some reason disagreeing while being civil somehow evades the Republican's mentality as well as the importance of setting example. Place a group of these Republican Congresspersons in a room with Obama to discuss an issue they have disagreements on, let this meeting be observed by a group of young children, and let's see which ones they identify as appearing angry and short versus the one who appeared happy and congenial.

C A, Tuscaloosa, AL (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:27 AM)

Bbbrrrrrr!!!!, one cold day in a particular location does not disprove global warming. In fact the prediction is for Britain to take on a climate approximating Siberia.

John B, Des Moines, IA (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:38 AM)

I think we need to give the GOP in the House and Senate a Snuggie. That would probably make them more lovable and cuddley and who knows, they might just like some of President Obama's suggestions.

JoAnn, Moundsville, WV (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:38 AM)

Ed, Tx

I agree with you. What is the problem with our 'leaders' playing by the rules? Pay your f'en taxes. How hard can it be? Hire legals (both sides here)!

GH Dayy, at least they've got their pants on,...(I miss Bill, not)

That football game was awesome. I bet McCain was totally nashing his dentures. Okay, that was unnecessarily snarky. But, he really didn't catch a break, did he?

Clara Kansas City, MO (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:40 AM)

Some form of the stimulous package must be passed. The special interests etc must be eliminated and not one cent spent on anything but helping our economy.
The tax cuts which will do nothing to help the unemployed, struggling middle class must be eliminated.
The politics as usual must be eliminated and sincere efforts applied.
Every penny given to states, education system etc must have stipulations, guidelines and oversight as to how these funds are used.
Many states are licking their chops on getting this money and, unfortunately, lobbyists have more control in the states than federal government.
We have to do this right.

katiec (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:41 AM)

Why is California still part of the union? Just think of all the trash in both houses we could get rid of (and debt) if we kicked them out.

Prison for Pelosi & Waxman!!!

next time it catches fire let it burn. (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:42 AM)

"the ground hog does'nt have to tell us there is 6 more weeks of winter; it's been feeling like Antartica here for the last several months.
gepa (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:46 AM)"

--------------------------------------------------
Amen to that! Someone tell Al Gore that global warming is a hoax!

Bbbrrrrrrrrrr!!!! (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:12 AM)
________________

This is what happens when people do not take the time to educate themselves. Winters getting colder than normal is part of the equation. I love how you can call something a hoax when you so obviously haven't studied it one bit, and are either just regurgitating some conservative soundbite or making it up as you go along.

Jackson, Seattle (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:45 AM)

I find it interesting how the issue of being a lobbyist has now become such a big issue in Washington.

Lobbyists have been running Washington for DECADES, and the steps that President Obama have taken to curb their influence have been voluntary (he wasn't forced to take his initial stance by scandal), successful (he ran an amazing campaign without accepting lobbyist money), and unprecedented.

While it is fine to point out that his restrictions are not perfect, the simple fact is that if either Secretary of State Clinton (lobbyists are people too!) or Senator McCain (lobbyists doing business on the "Straight Talk Express and running his campaign) had been elected, the status quo in Washington would have not only continued, but it would not have even been a news story at all!

The primary difference is that any lobbyists on President Obama's staff works for him instead of the President working for them - and that is a tremendous change no matter how much people want to bellyache about it not being perfect.

It's a damn sight better than anything we had before, and it will only get better.

Nashville_fan (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:45 AM)

If you want to remove PORK from the budget:

Let's start with 'Star Wars'
That's a totally useless program that's nothing but a hand out to red state war contractors
Can we agree to remove this worthless piece of pork from the budget
Let's look at the Navy's sonar program that managesto kill marine mammals every time it's tested
do we really need to kill whales and dolphins and sea lions to protect ourselves from the la Queda navy ?
It's totally worthless

How about sugar cane and tobacco subsidies ?
There's some pork barrrel

C'm people, we can kill this kind of pork barrel

let's look at the CIA budget
That's over stuffed !!

MSierra, SF (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:47 AM)

Amen to that! Someone tell Al Gore that global warming is a hoax!

Bbbrrrrrrrrrr!!!! (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:12 AM)
==========
Uh...try again. There are theories that the cold spikes the nation has been experiencing are a result of...GLOBAL WARMING!

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html#q3

Try opening a science book instead of a Bible once in a while.

Still looking for my ACORNs!
http://jawillie.blog.com (New Blog Entry Today!)

jawillie, Philadelphia, PA. (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:53 AM)

FR and all others, please refer to the President as President Obama or Mr. President if you find it difficult to use his name. I notced that on "Morning Joe" this morning, although, he changed his next reference to "the President". The President may not mind, but I do as an American. It's one thing to be a commedian ,annoyed with the man or whatever but please respect the office of the Presidency. I did not like it when President Bush was disrepected, and booed...we should respect the office, in doing so, we respect our country.

JJordan, Macon, GA (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:55 AM)

War Crimes ??

'..."We possess all the evidence which proves that the torture methods used in interrogation by the U.S. government were explicitly ordered by former U.S. defence minister Donald Rumsfeld," Nowak told ZDF. "Obviously, these orders were given with the highest U.S. authorities' knowledge."...'

If Bush is innocent, he'l lbe acquitted
If Cheney did nothing wrong, he'll be acquitted, too
Give them their day in court

From Huff Post:

'...
Your request is being processed... Bush War Crimes: European Activists Call For Bush To Be Tried For Torture
stumble digg reddit del.ico.us mixx.com Inter Press Service | By Julio Godoy | February 2, 2009 09:44 AM

Read More: Bush Administration, Bush Crimes Against Humanity, Bush Torture, Bush War Crimes, Donald Rumsfeld, Donald Rumsfeld Torture, George Bush, Inter Press Service, Wolfgang Kaleck, World News
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BERLIN, Feb 2 (IPS) - Now that former U.S. president George W. Bush is an ordinary citizen again, many legal and human rights activists in Europe are demanding that he and high-ranking members of his government be brought before justice for crimes against humanity committed in the so-called war on terror.

"Judicial clarification of the crimes against international law the former U.S. government committed is one of the most delicate issues that the new U.S. president Barack Obama will have to deal with," Wolfgang Kaleck, general secretary of the European Centre for Human and Constitutional Rights told IPS.

U.S. justice will have to "deal with the turpitudes committed by the Bush government," says Kaleck, who has already tried unsuccessfully to sue the former U.S. authorities in European courts. "And, furthermore, the U.S. government will have to pay compensation to the innocent people who were victims of these crimes."

Kaleck and other legal experts consider Bush and his highest-ranking officials responsible for crimes against humanity, such as torture.

Many agree that the evidence against the U.S. government is overwhelming. U.S. officials have admitted some crimes such as waterboarding, where a victim is tied up and water is poured into the air passages. Also, human rights activists have gathered testimonies by innocent victims of torture, especially some prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

In an interview with the German public television network ZDF, Austrian human rights lawyer Manfred Nowak, UN special rapporteur on torture, said that numerous cases of torture ordered by U.S. officials and perpetrated by U.S. authorities are well documented.

"We possess all the evidence which proves that the torture methods used in interrogation by the U.S. government were explicitly ordered by former U.S. defence minister Donald Rumsfeld," Nowak told ZDF. "Obviously, these orders were given with the highest U.S. authorities' knowledge."...'

MSierra, SF (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:57 AM)

-----We’re curious: Why else was a law firm paying Daschle $2 million if it wasn't to influence Congress or at least advise folks on HOW to influence Congress?------------

Instead of just being curious, here's a thought: Why don't you investigate and let us know!Isn't that what journalism is supposed to be about?

Sandy (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:58 AM)

I like ice. Its nice here in Kentucky. I'm saving lots on my electric bill cause I aint got no electricity.

Miss Ineedafemahelp (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 11:00 AM)

"Two sources in the know tell First Read that J. Bonnie Newman, a centrist Republican with ties to Gregg, is the leading candidate to replace the GOP senator."

I had lunch with Newman when she was President of University of New Hampshire. She selected me to meet with her as an outstanding RA. I lean left...but I think she's a good candidate to take Gregg's spot.

Brian, Dover, NH (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 11:00 AM)

It’s a busy day in the Senate. In addition to the work on the stimulus and the meeting with Daschle, the Senate today will vote on Eric Holder’s nomination to be attorney general. Besides Holder, the remaining Obama cabinet picks yet to be confirmed: Daschle (HHS), Solis (Labor), Kirk (USTR).

And the beat goes on: Well the boys are back in town from the retreat that was soooo important, now maybe they can actually get back to work on the "peoples business". These confirmations should have been top priority.

The republicans should be eager to work with this Administration to help put our country back in order, since all of this crap happened on their watch. Sen. Daschel will be confirmed regardless of "his past tax issue", so all of this airing of dirty laundry is truly unnecessary, they need to get to work.

They've seemed to have forgotten the fact that what they are doing now should have been done to the people in Busch's cabinet. If they would have investigatedpandora's box at the beginning of his administration, then we wouldn't have this problem now.

All Bush had to say was "I want" and they obeyed without reservations. Senators, GET TO WORK!

Anita, Birmingham, Alabama (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 11:00 AM)

I'd like to see a discussion on how conservatives having their party led by a pro abortion rights, pro gay rights individual like Steele

Steve Lynchburg,VA (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 11:00 AM)

Bbbbrrrrr!!!!! (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 11:02 AM)

Bbbrrrrrrrrrr!!!! (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 10:12 AM)
________________

This is what happens when people do not take the time to educate themselves. Winters getting colder than normal is part of the equation. I love how you can call something a hoax when you so obviously haven't studied it one bit, and are either just regurgitating some conservative soundbite or making it up as you go along.

Jackson, Seattle

==============

The "Equation". What a load. Only kool-aid drinkers need apply for the Global Warming express.

frakie (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 11:35 AM)

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