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29 Jan 2012 12:17

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U.S.: GOP: We’ll make this payroll tax cut extension work, we swear

  • There is broad agreement on doing the payroll tax holiday through the end of the year … The problem is paying for it. … (Democrats) just don’t want to cut any spending. That is what made it problematic. But we will get it done. We will get it done before the end of February.
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell • Emphasizing that the payroll tax cuts that proved a thorn in the GOP’s side back around Christmas will get extended through the new year, no matter how many arms McConnell has to twist. The thing is, though, he’s not the guy who has to do the hard work. It’s Boehner in the House, who pissed off his rightward-leaning members by ignoring their wishes to score a deal. However, even Boehner is confident: “I’m confident that we’ll be able to resolve this fairly quickly,” he said. The tax cuts expire at the end of February, but there’s no word on how they plan to pay for this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


25 Jan 2012 10:14

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Biz: HSBC faces money-laundering investigation in Senate

  • A big company with big problems: Reuters is reporting that HSBC is facing some tough allegations in the Senate, with the company reportedly getting investigated for its role in sketchy money-laundering practices. Reuters reports that while the scale of the investigation isn’t known, signs point to breakdowns in the company’s anti-money-laundering systems. In response to the Senate allegations, the company’s spokesman responded: “We have ongoing discussions with officials on a number of regulatory and compliance matters. The nature of these discussions is confidential; in all cases, we are cooperating.” Read more at the link. (awesome, incredibly fitting photo by Flickr user Will Survive) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


27 Dec 2011 15:06

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Politics: Democratic Senator Ben Nelson to retire in 2012

  • NO Senator Ben Nelson won't seek re-election in 2012 source
  • » Bye bye, Ben: Bowing out from what was expected to be a heavily-contested race in Nebraska, Democrat Ben Nelson has decided to retire from his seat in 2012, a move likely to disappoint those concerned with the Democratic Party’s ability to maintain control of the Senate. Nelson was one of the most rightward leaning members of the Democratic Senate (perhaps less so than Joe Manchin), having supported the Bush tax cuts and railing against the health care reform law as a “government takeover” before ultimately supporting it, with some big conditions: recall that infamous “cornhusker kickback?” Yeah, that was him.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink


15 Dec 2011 11:01

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Politics: Tea Party groups gain increasing sophistication ahead of election

  • The Tea Party movement is more organized, more focused and more potent. What happened in 2010 was not the end. It was just the beginning.
  • Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) • Discussing the growing sophistication of the Tea Party, which has helped him personally. As an example, the leader of the Myrtle Beach, S.C.-area Tea Party, Joe Dugan, has been statistically tracking each vote politicians have been making, and based on those numbers, his group will choose to support or turn their back on a candidate. It worked very effectively in South Carolina, where each of the ten candidates Dugan’s group supported won their elections — from dog catcher on up. Dugan’s group is far from the exception, Reuters found that Tea Party groups are increasingly becoming far more sophisticated in their approaches to supporting candidates, which could prove important in 2012. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


08 Dec 2011 15:10

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Politics: Senate GOP blocks vote on Cordray CFPB nomination

  • It’s not about Richard Cordray. That has become abundantly clear in the recent political jockeying over President Obama’s efforts to appoint a head to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which came into existence via the Dodd-Frank financial reform law from 2010. Republicans have made it clear their reason for this blockage isn’t so much Cordray himself, who was a quite popular Attorney General in Ohio, but rather the structure of the bureau itself; they want a board to be in charge, as opposed to a single director, which many Democrats have dismissed as a means of muddying or weakening the bureau’s regulatory ability. In any event, the final vote tally was 53 yeas, 45 nays, which due to the Republican vow to filibuster the nomination is insufficient (a 60 vote super-majority is required to override the filibuster process). source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink


09 Oct 2011 11:47

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Politics: With weak presidential field, Tea Party focusing on Senate instead

  • No one is going to get perfect in a general election candidate. That is why we think the Senate is a better place to focus.
  • FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe • Effectively saying that Tea Party groups plan to focus on the presidential election, and instead put their energies towards helping the GOP win back the U.S. Senate, which the Democrats control with a slight majority. The race totals favor the GOP winning more seats — 23 of the 33 seats up for grabs next year are in Democratic power, and at least a few of those seats up for grabs because Senators are retiring — most notably those of Jim Webb and Kent Conrad. Do you guys think the GOP has a chance at getting the Senate back in 2012, especially considering increased Tea Party focus? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


06 Oct 2011 16:50

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Politics: Obama pressures Congress to take more action

  • If Congress does something, then I can’t run against a do-nothing Congress. [If they do nothing] then I think the American people will run them out of town.
  • President Barack Obama • Answering a reporter’s question whether he was pursuing a similar reelection strategy to that of Harry Truman’s 1948 campaign against a “do-nothing Congress.” Obama has used a tougher, more confrontational rhetorical style against Congress lately, and while this does have much to do with his push on his proposed jobs bill, you needn’t be a cynic to see this as a desirable campaign strategy. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink


 

01 Oct 2011 15:35

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Politics, Tech: Eric Schmidt on Google’s antitrust case: We’re not that bad, really

  • So we get hauled in front of the Congress for developing a product that’s free, that serves a billion people. Okay? I mean, I don’t know how to say it any clearer. I mean, it’s fine. It’s their job. But it’s not like we raised prices. We could lower prices from free to…lower than free? You see what I’m saying?
  • Google Chairman Eric Schmidt • Proving to be a bit cagey in an interview after taking questions at a Senate hearing a week ago. Google is facing antitrust questions that they’re abusing their power in the search market, and Schmidt claims that there’s a disconnect at play between Washington and the tech culture of Silicon Valley. “The press is so young, they don’t understand the history here,” he said. “We’re still a small component of what a whole bunch of other companies have done, and certainly most other industries. So I reject all such charges.” Think he’s right about all this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink


20 Sep 2011 21:08

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Politics: Elizabeth Warren leapfrogs Scott Brown in Massachusetts Senate race

  • ThenIn June, Scott Brown looked invincible. The Senator led every potential challenger by at least nine points, and Elizabeth Warren, perceived to be Democrats’ best shot against him, trailed by fifteen.
  • Now Since Warren declared her candidacy earlier this month, she’s skyrocketed in the polls and now leads Brown by two points. That’s a seventeen-point gain in a little over three months. source
  • » Hey, wha’ happen? Warren’s rise may be due in part to an “announcement boost;” she was long-rumored as a candidate, and her official entry in the race may have fired up a contingent of Democratic voters. Perhaps more significant of a factor, however, is Brown’s plummeting popularity. Back in December, he was the 16th most popular Senator in the country, out of 87 polled. Now, Brown is in 61st place, and his favorability has dropped by 25 points.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink


13 Sep 2011 15:42

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Politics: Elizabeth Warren will run for Senate in Massachusetts, taking on Scott Brown

  • then President Obama decided that Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren wouldn’t head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Despite the CFPB being Warren’s brainchild, it was clear the GOP would not vote for her confirmation in any measure.
  • now Warren’s set her sights on a job for which she doesn’t need Republican approval — she just needs to beat them. Warren is expected to announce her candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts tomorrow, running against GOP Sen. Scott Brown. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink


 
 
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