I’m not the kind of plumber who uses duct tape.Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher • Officially announcing his Congressional run by saying he wouldn’t try to solve problems by duct-taping them. For the love of God, we hope he keeps the cheeseball metaphors up. We certainly don’t see enough of those in political campaigns.
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 (via • follow)
Senate Dems make deal to avoid government shutdown: Watch, they’ll probably screw this up.
While it is widely expected that the parties will eventually reach a compromise to avoid a shutdown, Wednesday’s 230-to-195 vote showed what can happen when the GOP majority operates with no more than minimal Democratic support.Washington Post writers Rosalind S. Helderman and Paul Kane • Correctly pointing out the weak spot in the GOP’s House leadership — that the GOP members aren’t all on the same page, so as a result, the leadership can push for one thing, but have it taken in a different direction by far-right members of the party. (In this case, the bill passed the House only with the addition of some timely anti-environmental-funding rules, then died in the Senate.) And with no help from Democrats, it becomes harder for GOP leaders to push their agenda without making room for compromise. And this isn’t even considering the Senate and president, who provide blockades of their own (unless you’re Obama and you compromise). source (via • follow)
This race was kinda obvious but still pretty depressing. A reliable Democrat seat went red, thanks to one rogue tweet and one poorly-handled cover-up.
A word cloud of President Obama’s jobs plan speech, in which he used the phrase “Pass this” twelve times. Full text here from the Washington Post.
He needs to emphasize this point, or they won’t. Well, they probably still won’t. (more here)
As you can see from this calendar right here, the votes planned for September 7, which John Boehner mentioned in his note earlier today, have been listed on this calendar for months. See? Eric Cantor had it in his calendar and everything! How dare Obama screw with their schedule at the last second?!
» Why no love for the GOP? Over the last six months, everybody—Obama, Democrats, and Republicans—has seen a net drop in their approval ratings, but Republicans are clearly the most hated of the bunch. This is probably due to a combination of factors: Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, Scott Walker’s anti-union antics in Wisconsin, and the GOP’s handling of the debt ceiling debate were all high-profile issues that attracted (mostly) negative attention to the GOP. Whatever the cause, there’s one thing we can glean from these results: Democrats seem to be out-messaging Republicans in 2011. Whether or not this can carry Obama to reelection amidst a horrible economy remains to be seen.
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
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Don’t screw this up Yahoo.
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There are a few things the federal government should be doing, and one of them is national defense and the other is taking care of veterans.Sen. Rand Paul • Speaking to a group of veterans regarding the funding set aside for them. Now, obviously, Rand Paul isn’t exactly like his dad, but he shares enough of his views that this makes us scratch our heads just a little. Not so much the second part — it’s clear that if he’s in a room of veterans, he’s going to say that — but the first. Is this a deviation between him and his father, or is he simply emphasizing the need for a limited military streak that involves having a defense mechanism? Wonder what you guys think. source (via • follow)
One of the most frustrating things about the current mess in Washington is watching the beating the Obama administration has taken. Congress has effectively imploded—which makes it virtually impossible for the Obama administration to get anything done. Because I think Obama has thus far done an excellent job in a tough situation—this is tough to watch.
I realized a few days ago that it’s not just Obama suffering from the catastrophe in Congress. It’s the entire country. This cartoon is pretty much spot on.
Blaming the one guy in the room who’s willing to compromise for the damaging political rigidity around him is simply unfair, if you ask us.
I’m asking you to look at a potential increase in the debt limit as a leverage moment when the White House and President Obama will have to deal with us. Either we stick together and demonstrate that we’re a team that will fight for and stand by our principles, or we will lose that leverage.House Majority Leader Eric Cantor • Speaking at a GOP retreat in January. In other words, what happened last week was the plan all along. The Washington Post has a great piece on the origins of the debt showdown. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
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