Republicans in Virginia and a handful of other battleground states are pushing for far-reaching changes to the electoral college in an attempt to counter recent success by Democrats.
In the vast majority of states, the presidential candidate who wins receives all of that state’s electoral votes. The proposed changes would instead apportion electoral votes by congressional district, a setup far more favorable to Republicans. Under such a system in Virginia, for instance, President Obama would have claimed four of the state’s 13 electoral votes in the 2012 election, rather than all of them.
Other states considering similar changes include Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which share a common dynamic with Virginia: They went for Obama in the past two elections but are controlled by Republicans at the state level.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus recently voiced support for the effort, saying it is something that “a lot of states that have been consistently blue that are fully controlled red ought to be looking at.”
Umm … WTF?
Yes, please!
With our boy Saxby Chambliss out of the picture, this is actually a realistic thing. (Cain is a Georgia resident.)
Republicans have to stop buying into things that demonize the president. I mean, why aren’t Republican leaders shouting out about all this birther nonsense and all these other things? They should speak out. This is the kind of intolerance that I’ve been talking about where these idiot presentations continue to be made and you don’t see the senior leadership of the party say, ‘No, that’s wrong.’ In fact, sometimes by not speaking out, they’re encouraging it. And the base keeps buying the stuff.Former Secretary of State Colin Powell • Criticizing unidentified members of the Republican Party during a Monday night appearance on ABC News. The registered Republican, who some have started calling a RINO (Republican In Name Only) after he voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012, has repeatedly criticized the fringe elements of his party in recent days, though Powell has continued to insist that he simply wants to see his party grow. Powell also spoke out against what he perceived to be Republican efforts to intentionally lower voter turnout in places where Republican candidates were not polling well during a Monday morning appearance on MSNBC. source
If somebody’s working and taking dope, that’s their business. If somebody’s on unemployment and using unemployment dollars at the expense of the taxpayer, then I have a problem.Wyoming State Rep. Michael Madden • Explaining why he decided to introduce a bill which would require certain members of America’s unemployed population to consent to a drug test prior to receiving benefits from the government. Republicans are expected to introduce similar measures in states around the country this year, despite all signs pointing to Florida’s first-in-the-nation state welfare recipient drug testing program being a failure that quickly increased the state’s annual spending. After all, why look for legitimate solutions to our nation’s woes when we can just fall back on outdated and inaccurate stereotypes? source
If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. Our families and our businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again.President Obama • Warning of possible conflict on the horizon, so soon after the “fiscal cliff” fracas was resolved — you’re not surprised, are you? The debt ceiling fight between the White House and congressional Republicans in 2011 was so acrimonious, and brought the country so close to the brink of default, that Obama is clearly eying this as the next major battle ahead of him. The showdown will likely come in February or March, as the Federal Reserve can employ a bevy of accounting tricks and maneuvers intended hold off hitting the limit until then, but after the political capital expended during last week’s negotiations, we can do little but wait and see how this all ends out. source
I’m saying right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their minds, because what they did last night was put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. It was an absolute disgrace.Republican Rep. Peter King • Condemning House Republicans for refusing to vote on a post-Sandy disaster relief bill that was approved by the Senate last week. The bill would have allocated roughly $60.4 billion in disaster relief funding for the areas in New York and New Jersey that were devastated by Sandy last year. House Republicans have responded to the criticism with assurances that a vote is coming in the 113th Congress, and a denial that there is any immediate need for such funding. source
It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.
“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.
Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”
Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”
The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans — was only one episode in nearly two months of high-stakes negotiations laced with distrust, miscommunication, false starts and yelling matches as Washington struggled to ward off $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.
When elected officials talk to one another like drunks in a bar fight, everyone wins. (ht @stefanjbecket)
Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor told reporters after a two-hour closed-door meeting Tuesday with his GOP lawmakers that he did not support the bill.
He said House leaders were looking for “the best path forward” and that no decisions had been made.
The Senate passed the measure early Tuesday by a sweeping 89-8 vote. House passage of the measure would send it to President Barack Obama for his signature. The bill would increase taxes on family income exceeding $450,000 and delay across-the-board spending cuts for two months.
Side note: The Congressional Budget Office looked over the bill and found it added $4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
First, with the exception of a dozen or so Republicans in the House and Maine’s Susan Collins in the Senate, the number of GOP members of the 113th Congress who see cutting a deal with the president — in the fiscal cliff or, frankly, anything else — as politically advantageous is close to zero.
Second, while House Democrats are equally de-incentivized to working across the aisle, there is a large-ish group of Senate Democrats who must find ways of showing their bipartisan spirit if they want to win reelection in states that didn’t favor their party — or even come close to doing so — in the 2012 election.
Those twin political realities make the ground on which the fiscal cliff fight — and future scuffles over gun control measures, etc. — less heavily tilted toward Democrats than you might think.
Cillizza’s argument is based on the fact that few of the Republicans currently in office reside in districts or states where Obama won. Meanwhile, a number of Democrats (especially in the Senate) are in districts or states where Obama lost, big time. Will be interesting to see if this “what’s in it for me” analysis holds up.
One mistake does not erase an otherwise honorable career. It’s a good guess that the embarrassment anybody might feel for him is nothing compared with the embarrassment he feels for himself. It’s bad enough that Crapo has to explain himself to his wife and family. It’s worse when he has to explain himself to 1.6 million constituents, many of whom have viewed Crapo as an example of what American politics should be about.The Idaho Statesman editorial board • Offering a little Christmas cheer in the direction of Sen. Mike Crapo, who was arrested for a DUI over the weekend. It feels like we’re watching the plot to a Frank Capra film happen in real life, and our heart just grew three sizes as we were writing this post. We’re headed to the urgent care facility right now to get this enlarged heart checked out. (ht Ben Smith)
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Senator arrested for DUI charges: In what was already not looking like a great holiday for Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo (he’s stuck in D.C. negotiating the fiscal cliff), the senator was arrested in Virginia on Saturday night after failing a series of field sobriety tests. Crapo, by the way, is a Mormon, which means that it could put him in trouble in another sense, as the religion eschews alcohol. (AP photo)
UPDATE: Crapo has released a statement to Politico. “I will also undertake measures to ensure that this circumstance is never repeated. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter,” he said.
We need to have a discussion about guns, and that doesn’t mean that all of a sudden we abandon the Second Amendment or the NRA [National Rifle Association] or anything like that. But there needs to be a discussion and everybody needs to participate and we need to depoliticize it.Speaker of the House John Boehner • During a closed-door meeting of Republicans to discuss gun control on Tuesday, according to an unidentified lawmaker who spoke to The Hill. The source also claims that Speaker Boehner told the assembled GOP members that “it’s not helpful” to call for the arming of teachers. Boehner promised not to agree to anything “knee-jerk”, but certainly appears willing to at least come to the table and discuss potential changes to American gun control laws for the first time. source
I think the Republican strategy in doing this so quickly is that they don’t want what Wisconsin had, dragging on for so many days. This is a blitzkrieg, and Republicans hope it’s going to be over and done with tomorrow.“Inside Michigan Politics” editor Bill Ballenger • Discussing the Republican strategy behind passing the “right to work” law in Michigan — which looks like it may get passed on Tuesday, in a fight over unions similar to the one that took place in Wisconsin nearly two years ago. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder may or may not sign the bill into law, though Democrats are not convinced he will side with them. While citizens could band together fight the law at the polls in 2014, if the law were to pass, it would go into effect at least until then.
The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives, has told staffer Derek Khanna that he will be out of a job when Congress re-convenes in January. The incoming chairman of the RSC, Steve Scalise (R-LA) was approached by several Republican members of Congress who were upset about a memo Khanna wrote advocating reform of copyright law. They asked that Khanna not be retained, and Scalise agreed to their request.
The release and subsequent retraction of Khanna’s memo has made waves in tech policy circles. The document argues that the copyright regime has become too favorable to the interests of copyright holders and does not adequately serve the public interest. It advocates several key reforms, including reducing copyright terms and limiting the draconian “statutory damages” that can reach as high as $150,000 per infringing work.
Mind you, tech scholars and the public thought this idea was great. But content groups? They said no, and now this dude is out of a job. Ouch.
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