-Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) writes that the Senate needs to scrap 60 vote requirement to end a filibuster.
-The NY Times has a piece on China and alternative energy, reporting that China is now the largest maker of wind turbines and "seeks to dominate energy-equipment exports"
-CNN is reporting that the "focus of the health care bill may be changing" and has an excellent run-down of the scenarios for health care reform now that Scott Brown's victory in MA has given the Republicans 41 votes in the Senate.
-Obama is reportedly planning an overhaul of the "No Child Left Behind" education law, that would eliminate the goal of universal proficiency by 2014. The campaign for the changes will be led by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
-The Washington Post discusses Jon Stewart's Obama barbs
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Links 1-29-10
-The initial economic reports for the 4th quarter of 2009 are out, and Obama probably wishes that he'd held the SOTU a couple days later. The economy grew at an annual rate of 5.7% from September-December -- the fastest growth in six years. It remains to be seen if the growth will continue once stimulus money starts to peter out in six months or so.
-Yesterday President Obama announced $8 billion in grants to begin the process of creating a national high-speed rail network. The largest single grant went to Tampa and Orlando, FL. TIME asks if high-speed rail's time has come.
-David Brooks writes that what the country needs is a "saner Ross Perot" as President. Which reminds me that none of you are old enough remember Ross Perot - and makes me feel ancient again. The article is both short an interesting, but his main point is that the country needs somebody independent and above the fray to come to Washington and unite both sides. He concludes with a message to Obama: "He’s out there — that saner Ross Perot. He’s a-comin’. The country would be better off if it were you."
-It's likely that Obama agrees, at least to some extent. He held a meeting with House Republicans this morning in which he told the Congressmen: "I want us to have a constructive debate . . . the only thing I don’t want – and here I am listening to the American people and I don’t think they want it either – is for Washington to keep being so Washington-like.” Since House members only have two-year terms, they tend to be the most responsive to the political environment -- and the most likely to be replaced if they aren't.
-Yesterday President Obama announced $8 billion in grants to begin the process of creating a national high-speed rail network. The largest single grant went to Tampa and Orlando, FL. TIME asks if high-speed rail's time has come.
-David Brooks writes that what the country needs is a "saner Ross Perot" as President. Which reminds me that none of you are old enough remember Ross Perot - and makes me feel ancient again. The article is both short an interesting, but his main point is that the country needs somebody independent and above the fray to come to Washington and unite both sides. He concludes with a message to Obama: "He’s out there — that saner Ross Perot. He’s a-comin’. The country would be better off if it were you."
-It's likely that Obama agrees, at least to some extent. He held a meeting with House Republicans this morning in which he told the Congressmen: "I want us to have a constructive debate . . . the only thing I don’t want – and here I am listening to the American people and I don’t think they want it either – is for Washington to keep being so Washington-like.” Since House members only have two-year terms, they tend to be the most responsive to the political environment -- and the most likely to be replaced if they aren't.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
State of the State of the Union
The world is still buzzing about tonight's big event . . . and, no, I'm not talking about Vandy's victory in Knoxville.
The State of the Union address (transcript) mixed lofty ideals with plain-spoken frankness, appeals to bipartisanship, some boring sections, and, of course, political maneuvering -- and managed to sprinkle in a fair amount of humor as well. Obama mostly emphasized past actions and future proposals with which centrists and conservatives would agree, including tax cuts and a proposed spending freeze. But he also spent time focusing on the partisan rancor in Washington, with his pointed remark that "we were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions."
Now that the Republicans control 41 seats in the senate, the 57 Democrats and 2 Independents can't break a filibuster without at least one Republican vote. Rallying 60 votes to gain cloture has proven more and more difficult recently. As such, Obama turned to the Republican side of the aisle and intoned:
Here's a play-by-play of the speech, and here's a concise wrap-up.
Coverage from the:
NY Times
Wall St. Journal
CNN
The Economist
The State of the Union address (transcript) mixed lofty ideals with plain-spoken frankness, appeals to bipartisanship, some boring sections, and, of course, political maneuvering -- and managed to sprinkle in a fair amount of humor as well. Obama mostly emphasized past actions and future proposals with which centrists and conservatives would agree, including tax cuts and a proposed spending freeze. But he also spent time focusing on the partisan rancor in Washington, with his pointed remark that "we were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions."
Now that the Republicans control 41 seats in the senate, the 57 Democrats and 2 Independents can't break a filibuster without at least one Republican vote. Rallying 60 votes to gain cloture has proven more and more difficult recently. As such, Obama turned to the Republican side of the aisle and intoned:
And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, a supermajority, then the responsibility to govern is now yours, as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership.
Here's a play-by-play of the speech, and here's a concise wrap-up.
Coverage from the:
NY Times
Wall St. Journal
CNN
The Economist
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wrap-up and Links 1-26-10
-The big news today was that Obama will announce a spending freeze on non-military discretionary spending in tomorrow's state of the union tomorrow. The move seems to serve two purposes: 1.) start to reduce the size of the deficit, and 2.) placate conservatives who are calling, loudly, for a reduced deficit. The Economist's DiA blog is skeptical -- pointing out that the spending in question only accounts for 1/8 of the federal budget won't do much -- and goes on to argue the largest causes of the deficit are low taxes and high military spending (two items not affected by the spending freeze).
Conservatives don't seem too placated, with House minority leader John Boehner saying that "Given Washington Democrats' unprecedented spending binge, this is like announcing you're going on a diet after winning a pie-eating contest". And liberals are somewhere between skeptical and irate. Nate Silver writes that this is a gaffe on the same scale as John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign, and Paul Krugman writes that "it's appalling on every level ".
-Reaction to last week's supreme court decision overturning part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform continues to trickle in. The NY Times writes about John Paul Stevens' new-found outspokenness. The liberal judge joined with Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to oppose the expansion of the ability of corporations and unions to contribute to political campaigns. In his dissention opinion, Stephens said from the bench that the decision "represents a radical change in the law," and "is at war with the views of generations of Americans." Writing the majority decision was swing vote Anthony Kennedy, who voted along with the conservative wing of the court: Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Antonin Scalia. And here's the Daily Show's comical criticism of the decision.
-Tom Schaller writes that this is, indeed, a center-right nation - not because the population leans conservative, but because the structure of our government makes it difficult to enact liberal reforms.
-Here's a mildly interesting picture of what the U.S. would look like if it were divided into 50 states with equal populations (which would dramatically re-shape the electoral college and the senate).
Conservatives don't seem too placated, with House minority leader John Boehner saying that "Given Washington Democrats' unprecedented spending binge, this is like announcing you're going on a diet after winning a pie-eating contest". And liberals are somewhere between skeptical and irate. Nate Silver writes that this is a gaffe on the same scale as John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign, and Paul Krugman writes that "it's appalling on every level ".
-Reaction to last week's supreme court decision overturning part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform continues to trickle in. The NY Times writes about John Paul Stevens' new-found outspokenness. The liberal judge joined with Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to oppose the expansion of the ability of corporations and unions to contribute to political campaigns. In his dissention opinion, Stephens said from the bench that the decision "represents a radical change in the law," and "is at war with the views of generations of Americans." Writing the majority decision was swing vote Anthony Kennedy, who voted along with the conservative wing of the court: Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Antonin Scalia. And here's the Daily Show's comical criticism of the decision.
-Tom Schaller writes that this is, indeed, a center-right nation - not because the population leans conservative, but because the structure of our government makes it difficult to enact liberal reforms.
-Here's a mildly interesting picture of what the U.S. would look like if it were divided into 50 states with equal populations (which would dramatically re-shape the electoral college and the senate).
Monday, January 25, 2010
Links 1-25-10
-The Economist's Democracy in America blog writes about the lack of bipartisanship lately. FiveThirtyEight has a more detailed post on a similar topic: "Post-Partisanship Epic Fail?"
-CNN has begun a series on the stimulus: here's the kick-off
-Paul Krugman writes that he supposes that he'd prefer that Ben Bernanke remain as chairman of the Fed, but that there are other capable people who could do the job as well.
-The "Well" blog writes about schools that are switching their schedules so that kids first go play and then eat. Some schools claim that kids are eating healthier and taking less time to settle down after lunch.
-CNN has begun a series on the stimulus: here's the kick-off
-Paul Krugman writes that he supposes that he'd prefer that Ben Bernanke remain as chairman of the Fed, but that there are other capable people who could do the job as well.
-The "Well" blog writes about schools that are switching their schedules so that kids first go play and then eat. Some schools claim that kids are eating healthier and taking less time to settle down after lunch.
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