I didn't get a chance to read Michael Grunwald's dissertation on Republican woes when it came out yesterday, but skimming it just now this passage jumped out:
The most urgent question is the meaning of economic conservatism. Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, a conservative who keeps a bust of Reagan on his desk, surprised me by declaring that the Reagan era is over. "Marginal tax rates are the lowest they've been in generations, and all we can talk about is tax cuts," he said. "The people's desires have changed, but we're still stuck in our old issue set." [emphasis added]
That's really a stunning admission from McHenry, who's just about as conservative as they get. Without a small government, less taxes agenda, what exactly do Republicans have to counter Obama? (Meanwhile, John Amato at Crooks and Liars asks how long it will be before McHenry apologizes to Rush Limbaugh. "I give it one day," he concludes.)
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who has become one of the most vocal Republican members in recent weeks, is again on the frontlines for the GOP in slamming President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget.
Gregg, the Republican ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and, at one time, Obama's pick to be Commerce Secretary, was just on MSNBC drawing all sorts of analogies to describe how Obama's budget moves the country in the wrong direction by expanding the size of government.
When asked about the $17 billion in cuts that the administration is touting, Gregg said that totally misses the point. "It's as if you were trying to empty a bathtub with a thimble while you have the faucet on full speed," he said.
Gregg characterized the budget as spending in an "aggressive" manner and said the $17 billion isn't even a "bandaid" and it "is not even going to address the symptoms."
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In particular, Jenkins said taxpayer funds were being wasted by the president's $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
"Well, in the last few weeks, we've heard about plenty of 'stimulus' waste," she said. "Taxpayer dollars earmarked for a homeless program in a town with no homeless problem. Millions to extend an 'Artwalk' in New York. And more than a million dollars for sidewalks and trash cans outside a casino in Michigan."
As a result, she went on, future generations are being saddled with debt.
"This bill was supposed to be about jobs, but it's gone off the rails in practically no time at all and millions of your tax dollars are being wasted," Jenkins said. "It's quickly turning into a symbol of everything wrong with Washington, D.C. - unchecked spending, no accountability and oversight, and more and more debt piled onto our children and grandchildren."
Obama's first 100 days in office have been marked by spending, taxing and borrowing - the wrong prescription for a country in recession, Jenkins said.
"Americans are worried, and rightfully so," she said. "Republicans are fighting for middle-class families and small businesses every day here in Washington. And we are ready to work in a bipartisan way on real solutions to create jobs, rebuild your savings, and get our economy moving again. Let's hope the Democrats in charge are as well."
A leading credit union trade association came out against a compromise draft proposal on a controversial measure that would allow judges to rewrite the terms of home mortgages. Senate Democrats, led by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), have been trying to strike a deal with a handful of financial industry players, but the issue has been stalled in the upper chamber for more than a month. The policy, known as "cramdown" in the industry, is strongly opposed by major parts of the industry. The board of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions on Wednesday unanimously opposed the cramdown policy.
After the jump, read the letter that the association's president, Fred Becker, wrote to Durbin.
Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are using North Korea's nuclear test to press President Obama to move forward with a controversial trade agreement with South Korea.
The deal is opposed by some U.S. automakers and organized labor, and Obama has offered few signals that he intends to pick it up anytime soon.
Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking Republican Charles Grassley (Iowa) urged Obama to "begin the hard work of winning broad approval" of the deal in a letter dated Monday. They also offered their full support for the deal, while acknowledging that work still needed to be done to satisfy automakers and U.S. beef produces, who face restrictions on exports to South Korea.
Government efforts to stabilize the financial system are progressing and there are tentative signs that the economic crisis is abating, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will say in a speech Tuesday.
Bernanke said new data in home sales, homebuilding and consumer spending suggest the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing, but he said this "leveling out" of economic activity is but the first step toward recovery.
"To be sure, we will not have a sustainable recovery without a stabilization of our financial system and credit markets," Bernenke said in prepared remarks for an address Monday at Morehouse College in Atlanta. "We are making progress on that front as well, and the Federal Reserve is committed to working to restore financial stability as a necessary step toward full economic recovery."
Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) puts the number of socialists in the House at 17.
"Some of the men and women I work with in Congress are socialists," Bachus told local government leaders on Thursday, according to the Birmingham News.
Bachus gave the specific number of House socialists when pressed later by a reporter.
He made the comments during a breakfast in Birmingham in which he praised President Obama. Bachus said that Obama is a better listener than President Bush, but that Obama was being steered to the left by Congress.
"He tries to get ideas from people," Bachus said. He added that he has "some hope" for the new president.
Bachus, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, actually voted for last fall's bank bailout that other Republicans had opposed and criticized as socialism. Bachus, however, has been critical of the way the bailout has been conducted and has called on the Treasury Department to be more transparent in how they make decisions.
President Obama is not to blame for the current recession and voters both approve of how he is handling the economy and trust Obama to handle the economy more than Republicans by a significant margin, according to a poll released Tuesday.
The New York Times/CBS News poll found that a majority of respondents approve of Obama's handling of the challenges facing the nation and believe the country is heading in a better direction. More than six in 10 approve of Obama's job performance and thirty-nine percent think the country is heading in the right direction, a 15-point jump from mid-January. Still, more than half - 53 percent - believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, a number that has dropped from 79 percent in January.
More than half of respondents said the economy is in "very bad" condition and a third said it is getting worse. Seven in 10 said they are "very" or "somewhat" worried that they or someone in their family will be out of work in the next year.
But the number of people who said the economy is getting worse is down from 54 percent before Obama took office, a possible indication that respondents believe Obama is taking the right steps. And a majority, 56 percent, said they approve of how Obama is handling the economy.
Read more...
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) said this weekend that he is not running for president and acknowledged that his decision to reject federal stimulus money is a "sheer loser" politically.
Sanford gave an exclusive interview to The State newspaper on Friday that ran on Sunday. Sanford, who is frequently named as a possible candidate for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, denied that he is eyeing the White House while leaving some wiggle room for a presidential run in the future.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, blasted President Obama's budget and touted the Republican alternative on Saturday.
Delivering the weekly Republican internet and radio response to the president, Ryan said Obama's budget focuses too much on spending and taxes, a common refrain from the GOP in the lead up to the vote last week.
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