The final vote on the spending bill, 62-30, was gaveled shut at 1:16 a.m., the comfortable tally belying the rancor that led up to it. The 112th Congress lurched to the exits the way it started — amid partisan acrimony and backbiting even within the parties.
House Democrats marched to the House steps Friday, chanted, “work, work, work,” and demanded lawmakers stay in town to finish unfinished business like a farm bill to take the place of agriculture laws that expire at the end of the month. They said no Congress since 1960 had recessed this early for the campaign season.
Then they headed home.
Congress still hasn’t dealt with an array of issues, including mandatory cuts in defense spending and the end of the Bush tax cuts. They’ll have to work on those in November, when a ton of the members — and potentially, the president — will be lame ducks.
ABC’s Diane Sawyer talks to Bob Woodward about his new book inside last summer’s debt ceiling crisis.
“It’s so serious that they couldn’t tell the world how bad it was at the time.”
Good interview; in it, you learn about Boehner’s chain-smoking and the seriousness of the issues Obama faced with the debt ceiling situation.
Anglo district boundaries were redrawn to include particular country clubs and, in one case, the school belonging to the incumbent’s grandchildren.U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith • In his court’s recent decision to ditch Texas’ redistricting maps, which were in violation of the Voting Rights Act, the court found. Schools and hospitals, for example, were removed from districts with black incumbents. And, as Griffith notes above, country clubs were added to districts with white incumbents. On top of that, a lawyer used the phrase “no bueno” when emphasizing that the plans used shouldn’t leave a paper trail. The Texas Attorney General plans to appeal the ruling, which comes as part of a recent history of redistricting in the state that led to jail time for Tom Delay.
More from usatoday: These statistics make the 112th Congress, covering 2011-12, the least productive two-year gathering on Capitol Hill since the end of World War II. Not even the 80th Congress, which President Truman called the “do-nothing Congress” in 1948, passed as few laws as the current one, records show. (More: http://usat.ly/ObJQKP)
P.S.: Thanks usatoday for writing a post that we could so easily short-formify!
No More: Following a 2011 Supreme Court decision upholding the Westboro Baptist Church’s right to picket military funerals, Congress set to work on legislation to update regulations for such protests. Now, legislation headed to desk of President Obama will severely hamper protests like the ones that the WBC has become known for. In addition to addressing a variety of other veterans’ needs, the “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012” prohibits demonstrations during funeral proceedings, as well as the 2 hours before and after. Demonstrators must also remain at least 300 feet from friends and family of the deceased at all times. (Photo via NoHoDamon) source
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» Trying to learn from St. Paul: In 2008, the Republican National Convention was held in St. Paul, Minn., where protesters often got violent and police confrontations were common. No one was seriously injured, but many were arrested (including journalists). Because St. Paul was one of the smallest cities to host a national political convention, its security and enforcement was slightly unprepared. Tampa is taking no chances this year. ”We’ve extensively studied St. Paul,” said Tampa City Attorney Jim Shimberg. “We’ve had meetings with folks in St. Paul, to find out what went well and what went wrong.”
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Not doing so hot these days: Jesse Jackson, Jr., the Illinois congressman whose fortunes have declined following an extended medical absence from Congress. Jackson, the son of a civil rights icon, was expected to follow Obama into his former Senate seat. That didn’t happen — a little scandal broke out, with ties to his former fundraiser, that led to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich going to prison, and prevented Jackson from a Senate-appointed crisis. Now, with the latest rumor-laden crisis over his health, many of his colleagues expect him to eventually resign. Anyone know what’s going on?
The recent event’s totality of calumnies, indignities and deceits have weighed most heavily upon my family. Thus, acutely aware one cannot rebuild their hearth of home amongst the ruins of their U.S. House office, for the sake of my loved ones I must ‘strike another match, go start anew’ by embracing the promotion back from public servant to sovereign citizen.Dylan-quoting Rep. Thaddeus McCotter • In an open letter to his constituents, revealing that he’s resigning immediately, a month after he missed the deadline to run for own seat in November. Dude has had a rough year — the guitar-wielding conservative ran for the Republican nomination for president despite the fact that he had no national profile, dropped out shortly thereafter, then suffered the indignity of having to write an op-ed about failing to secure enough signatures to run for a sixth term. The final nail in the coffin? McCotter attempted to write a script for a TV show with such good-for-your-political-career topics as drinking, sex and flatulence. McCotter may struggle to find a new career path, especially in the wake of the news about the TV script; he’s promised that he won’t become a lobbyist, however.
Rates were set to double at the end of the month, but a huge package negotiated by Democrats and Republicans will retain the low(er) rates for another year (this only applies to federally-backed loans). The legislation passed the House and Senate today, and the White House has indicated that President Obama will sign it. So, yay! There’s a lot more policy in the bill, too, including extensions of federal highway programs and national flood insurance.
But seriously … I am not kidding.
I’m not watching all of...
Yahoo wants to buy Hulu now too. They’re going on an “I...
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
» He still has options, though: He could always do what Obama did and issue an executive order, despite Republicans slamming Obama for using his executive powers to enact immigration reform. A little surprising Romney wants to help the families of the oft-decried “anchor babies” of immigrant parents. Unsurprising? Mitt still wants to build a “high-tech fence” across the Mexican-American border.
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Eric Holder facing contempt resolution: With the ongoing “Fast and Furious” gun-trafficking saga reaching a head in Congress, Holder will likely face a contempt resolution from the the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform — the one led by Rep. Darrell Issa, one of the harshest “Fast and Furious” critics. Holder knows what’s coming — he sent a letter to Obama asking the president to claim executive privilege on the documents in the case, which the president granted (though the committee hasn’t received). Problem is, the committee is still moving forward — in particular, Issa won’t back down. Sweat, meet brow. (photo by Ryan J. Reilly) source
Video of the morning: As JPMorgan Chase head Jamie Dimon was getting grilled in front of the Senate Banking Committee, a bunch of liberal activists showed up, shouting “STOP FORECLOSURES NOW!” (among other things) before getting kicked out. In case you’d like to watch this ongoing event, click over here.
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