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Showing posts with label Journalists Barone-Michael. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Journalists Barone-Michael. Show all posts

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Washington Examiner Daily Political Digest: Michael Barone - Adult leadership comes from the House, not Obama


Washington Examiner Daily Political Digest

 
Let's take our eyes off the Republican presidential race for a minute and ask the question, where if anywhere are we getting adult leadership on major public policy issues this year?
The answer, I think, is where the Founding Fathers seem to have least expected it, from the House of Representatives, and specifically from its Republican leaders.
Brian Hughes Obama faces changing tide in Virginia
When President Obama rolls into Virginia Tuesday for the next stop of his national jobs tour, he won't necessarily be welcomed warmly in a state that propelled him to a landslide victory in 2008.

Byron York - GOP will move to repeal CLASS Act  
 
Republicans on Capitol Hill are having an I-told-you-so moment after the Obama administration admitted late Friday that the CLASS Act, a major component of Obamacare, is unworkable.
 
Nearly half of the deficit reduction that Democrats claimed when President Obama signed the national health care law would be wiped away by the administration's recomendation against implementing a doomed long-term care program.

Joel Gehrke - Schultz says 'break' is a 'southern racist term'
 
Ed Schultz, host of MSNBC's the Ed Show, believes that Republican presidential contender Herman Cain is pandering to "white Republicans out there who don't like black folks" and accused Sen. Jim Demint, R-S.C., of using racist langauge in his opposition to Obamacare.

Conn Carroll - The Center for Tax Hike Advocacy
Jonathan Chait has responded to a post earlier this week criticizing him for using a Citizens for Tax Justice "study" on state and local tax burdens in the course of a debate over federal tax rates.

Charlie Spiering digs into the GOP Presidential field's new FEC numbers:

Mitt Romney raises $14.2 million in third quarter

Joel Gehrke - Ron Paul camp whines about Drudge coverage
Matt Drudge and the Drudge Report apparently offended Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, by leading with a poll that showed Newt Gingrich surpassing Rick Perry, instead of focusing more on - well, Ron Paul.

"Plants like this are churning out groundbreaking cars like the Chevy Sonic, the only one of its kind made and sold in the United States of America." said President Obama, at a General Motors plant, after touting the success of the auto-industry bailouts.

Timothy P. Carney - The lobbyists volunteering to raise $ for Romney
A "bundler" is basically a volunteer fundraiser. Campaign finance restrictions limited how much an individual could give a candidate, and so one way for power-brokers to win the love of politcians is to show up with a ton of $2,500 checks. As you might guess, lobbyists see bundling a worthwhile activity.

Charlie Spiering - Rep. Sanchez: Republicans don't love this country
On Ed Schultz's radio show earlier this week, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) told him that Republicans "were not patriots" because they didn't want to p
Timothy P. Carney - Tommy Thompson's shilling for a biotech client
Last month, former Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced he was seeking the GOP nomination for Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat. A week before that, though, Thompson was discussing the 9/11 anniversary on the air, and he promoted an anthrax vaccine that happens to be made by one of his consulting clients, PharmAthene.

Charlie Spiering - S. Korean president sports Tigers hat in Detroit
"As you can see, President Lee is a pretty good politician," joked President Obama, as he began a joint press conference in Detroit. "He knows how to get on your good side."

Well, this seems interesting. President Obama has apparently sent about 100 U.S. troops to hunt down a warlord in Uganda.

Democrats on the DNC mailing list received an email from Chelsea Clinton last night, promoting her father's Clinton Foundation.  
 
Conn Carroll - Park Police turn blind eye to 'Occupiers' illegal sleepovers
It is against federal regulations to sleep in National Capital Parks like McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, but the U.S. Park Police is turning a blind eye to the protesters sleeping there.

Philip Klein - Why I won’t stop worrying and learn to love Romney
During his radio show yesterday, Examiner contributor Hugh Hewitt complained about what he termed as my “vitriolic” criticism of Mitt Romney. This shouldn’t come as a major shock, because I’ve been a vocal critic of Romney, and Hewitt has been a long-time booster who published an adoring book promoting Romney’s candidacy the first time he ran for president. Yet at no point did Hewitt challenge the substance of anything I’ve actually written. Instead, he took issue with the very idea that I, as a conservative commentator, would be so critical of a Republican candidate.


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Washington Examiner Daily Political Digest: Michael Barone  -  Adult leadership comes from the House, not Obama
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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Beltway Confidential digest

Beltway Confidential digest - http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/

From the people who brought us the swine flu vaccine shortage - Government-run health care! UPDATED
President Obama's late-night declaration of a nationwide public health emergency last night shouldn't be allowed to obscure the most important lesson of the developing swine flu... —Mark Tapscott


Millions watching Rep. Mike Rogers' opening statement on health care reform
It's not often that something said by a congressman anywhere but on C-SPAN is heard by millions of people, but more than 5.6 million people have viewed the opening statement on... —Mark Tapscott


NPR analyst compares Obama to Nixon, issues full apology
It's pretty unremarkable to describe the Obama White House's growing enemies list -- the insurance companies, Chamber of Commerce, Fox News -- as "Nixonian." But... —Byron York


Who's really reading the McChrystal report?
Forget about reading legislation, how about a top general's report on Afghanistan? Gen. Stanley McChrystal's classified report on the war in Afghanistan supposedly includes his... —Susan Ferrechio


Joe Biden avoids stepping in it By: Julie Mason 10/23/09 5:26 PM


Bill Burton: Who does number two work for? By: Julie Mason 10/23/09 3:44 PM


Michelle Obama turns Breast Cancer Awareness Month into attack on insurance companies By: Byron York 10/23/09 3:35 PM


House subcommittee plans Honolulu junket to check on stimulus spending By: Mark Tapscott 10/23/09 2:26 PM


Americans increasingly skeptical of global warming alarmism By: Michael Barone 10/23/09 12:47 PM


Could Health Care Slip to Next Year? By: Susan Ferrechio 10/23/09 12:15 PM


Morning Must Reads -- Confusing movement with progress on health care By: Chris Stirewalt 10/23/09 8:50 AM


Ghost Sighting! Bob Michel - Voice from GOP's losing past UPDATED! By: Mark Tapscott 10/22/09 10:10 PM


Palin endorses Hoffman in hot NY-23 congressional special election By: Mark Tapscott 10/22/09 9:15 PM


WH drops Fox thing, goes after Cheney By: Julie Mason 10/22/09 4:25 PM


A word-cloud downpour of taxes. By: Susan Ferrechio 10/22/09 3:42 PM


On politics and testosterone By: Julie Mason 10/22/09 2:49 PM


Senate Democrats wary of health care deficit spending By: Michael Barone 10/22/09 11:55 AM


Few believe health care will improve if reform passes By: Byron York 10/22/09 11:33 AM


Morning Must Reads -- Deficit worries nix key health proposal By: Chris Stirewalt 10/22/09 9:04 AM


Devastating drop in job approval numbers for Obama in new Gallup survey By: Mark Tapscott 10/21/09 10:45 PM


Obama's 'National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders' By: Timothy P. Carney 10/21/09 6:10 PM


President Obama has something important in common with Edward I, aka "Longshanks" By: Mark Tapscott 10/21/09 5:52 PM


Millions of federal employees might be exempt from health benefits tax By: Susan Ferrechio 10/21/09 5:43 PM


"W" is for winners! By: Julie Mason 10/21/09 5:31 PM


Another Obama administration czar agrees - 'kind of' - with Mao By: Mark Tapscott 10/21/09 3:19 PM
First, it was White House communications chief Anita Dunn telling a high school commencement audience that the murderous Chairman Mao was one of her "two favorite philosophers." Now, it's manufacturing czar Ron Bloom who it turns out "kinda" agrees with modern history's most prolific genocidal murderer that "power grows out of the barrel of a gun."

Leave it to the irrepressible Glenn Beck to dig up the video of Bloom speaking to a labor audience in 2008 and explaining what they had learned in the recent past. Here's the relevant passage:

"Generally speaking we get the joke. We know that the free market is nonsense. We know that the whole point is to game the system, to beat the market, or at least find someone who will pay you a lot of money because they're convinced that there is a free lunch. We know this is largely about power, that it's an adults only, no limit game. We kind of agree with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun. And we get it that if you want a friend, you should get a dog." Bloom is a Harvard grad and former SEIU official with close ties to ACORN who also happens to have spent some years at an investment banking firm. He has lots of experience negotiating deals with big corporations that favor unionized workforces. So is it really possible for somebody with that kind of background to not...
Read More 1 comments Beltway Confidential


Exxon edges out General Electric for Q3 lobbying crown By: Timothy P. Carney 10/21/09 2:35 PM
Exxon Mobil spent $7.16 million on lobbying in July, August, and September of this year, just edging out second-quarter lobbying king General Electric ($6.94 million) as the company spending the most on 3rd quarter lobbying.

The single biggest Q3 lobbying entity was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which shelled out a record $34.7 million, more than any entity has ever spent.

Here are the top ten lobbying entities for the quarter:

- U.S Chamber of Commerce: $34.69 million - American Beverage Association: $7.33 million - Exxon Mobil: $7.16 million - General Electric: $6.94 million - Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America: $6.79 million - Nat'l Association of Manufacturers: $5.75 million - AARP: $5.68 million - FedEx: $5.61 million - Pfizer: $5.42 million - UPS: $4.41 million
Read More 1 comments Beltway Confidential


Soda tax spurs lobbying explosion By: Timothy P. Carney 10/21/09 2:18 PM The American Beverage Association spent $7.33 million on lobbying last quarter, according to a new filing, more than the group had spent in 2001 through 2008 combined. Representing soda makers, the lobby ramped up its spending in reaction to proposals for a "fat tax" or "soda tax" to finance health-care reform.
Read More 1 comments Beltway Confidential


Read the bill, stupid By: Barbara Hollingsworth 10/21/09 1:49 PM
Organizers of a “Read the Bill” petition (http://readthebill.org) were up on Capitol Hill today to hand over more than 21,000 signatures to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, demanding that Congress post bills online for at least 72 hours before voting.

The group supports bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird, D-WA, and Rep. John Culberson, R-TX, but House Resolution 554 – which would require a 72-hour posting of the 1,502-page Baucus health care bill before a vote – has stalled in Congress.

“The Finance Committee’s original, plain language bill version did a decent job covering the major parts of the legislation,” said Paul Blumenthal, senior writer at the Sunlight Foundation. “What should be most concerning are the provisions that no one is talking about, the enticements inserted for specific states or specific industries that fly under the radar.”
Read More 1 comments Beltway Confidential


How Dede got the nod By: Michael Barone 10/21/09 1:48 PM
How did the hapless Dede Scozzafava, whose travails my Examiner colleague Mark Tapscott has chronicled, get the Republican nomination in the special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district? Blogger and tea party activist Michael Patrick Leahy has the scoop. It’s an interesting example of how local political stumbling can affect a race of some national significance. Any of the other eight candidates would apparently have received the Conservative party nomination and probably would have won the special without too much trouble. But in a district narrowly carried 51%-47% by George W. Bush in 2004 and 52%-47% by Barack Obama in 2008, Democrat Bill Owens now has a strong chance to capture the district for his party since many Republican voters, turned off by Scozzafava’s support of the Democratic stimulus package and the unions’ card check bill, will vote for Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman.
Read More 2 comments Beltway Confidential


Obama is good for K Street By: Timothy P. Carney 10/21/09 1:46 PM
From lobbying firm K&L Gates:
Washington, D.C.— Law firm K&L Gates LLP has launched a Global Government Solutions initiative to assist clients in managing the threats and opportunities presented by government authorities around the world.

“The economic crisis has transformed the relationship between business and government,” said Peter J. Kalis, K&L Gates Chairman and Global Managing Partner. “Governments around the world are stimulating their economies, reforming areas such as health care, financial services, taxation, and employment, and attempting to prevent future crises through aggressive new regulations and enforcement actions. In the current environment, K&L Gates’ clients are faced with significant challenges – and unprecedented opportunities.”

“K&L Gates has one of the largest global government-related practices of any law firm,” said Michael J. Missal, co-leader of K&L Gates’ policy and regulatory practice area. “Our Global Government Solutions resources offer a uniquely effective set of capabilities, combining a broad range of legal and industry experience with a geographic reach extending across three continents.”

Missal continued: “More than 400 of K&L Gates’ lawyers have served in government, many in senior policymaking roles. This enables us to provide clie...
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20091024 sdsom Beltway Confidential digest
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Sunday, September 13, 2009

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy

Washington Examiner Political Digest

Michael Barone - New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy

The dwindling number of readers of the New York Times were treated Wednesday to a column by Thomas Friedman extolling China's "one-party autocracy," which, he told us, "is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people." China's leaders, he reported, are "boosting gasoline prices" and "overtaking us in electric cars, solar power, energy efficiency, batteries, nuclear power and wind power." All, of course, in the cause of reducing carbon emissions, which so many luminaries assure us are bound to produce global warming and environmental catastrophe.

As Jonah Goldberg, author of the scholarly best-seller "Liberal Fascism" notes, "This is exactly the argument that was made by American fans of Mussolini in the 1920s." Mussolini, we were told then, made the trains run on time. He drained the Pontine marshes. He got things done while Americans, with their chaotic democratic politics, dithered.

Timothy P. Carney - Billy Tauzin: K Street's Drug Kingpin

The drug industry's top lobbyist has a history of fighting and winning -- whatever team he's on

This summer and fall, as the drug industry's top lobbyist, Tauzin is once more in the center of the fray. He finds himself cozying up to a president who used him as a whipping boy during the campaign and is derided as an appeaser by his former GOP House colleagues. On top of all that, he appears to have wounded his new partners by spilling the details of a closed-door deal between the drug industry and the White House.

20090913 sdsom NYT col Friedman hails China oneparty autocracy
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Monday, June 02, 2008

20080531 The Economy: A Reality Check by Michael Barone

The Economy: A Reality Check

Michael Barone Saturday, May 31, 2008

"It's the economy, stupid," James Carville famously said during the 1992 campaign, when a young Bill Clinton was running against the other President Bush. The same could be said during this presidential campaign. The headlines are full of economic bad news -- mortgage foreclosures, the collapse of an investment bank, higher gas and food prices and lower home prices. Voters routinely list the economy as their chief concern, and consumer confidence has sunk to low levels.

Yet at the same time, the economic numbers are not so bad. A recession is defined as two quarters of contraction. But we haven't had one yet. The gross domestic product has grown, albeit only by 0.6 percent, in the last two quarters. As my U.S. News colleague James Pethokoukis blogged after the most recent numbers came in, "Dude, where's my recession?"

By any historic standard, our economic numbers are good, though possibly headed in a negative direction. April's unemployment was 5 percent -- a figure that once upon a time was considered full employment. The Consumer Price Index was up 3.9 percent, largely due to price rises in energy and food. "Core inflation" was 2.3 percent. Productivity was up 2.2 percent.

Those are numbers that would have been taken as a sign of very good times when I was growing up. Then, we had recessions every four or five years and bad bouts of inflation in the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s, and unemployment sometimes surged to 10 percent nationally and to 15 percent in industrial states like Michigan. In contrast, we've had only two mild recessions since 1983, with a third now possible but not yet in view.

In those 25 years, we have had low-inflation economic growth more than 90 percent of the time -- something never before achieved in American history. Alan Greenspan titled his memoir "The Age of Turbulence, but the story he tells is one of the amazing resilience of the American economy. Hit by one shock after another -- a stock market crash in 1987, currency meltdowns in Mexico in 1994 and in Asia in 1997, the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management in 1998, and the Sept. 11 attacks and the Enron collapse in 2001 -- our economy has adapted and kept growing.

Read the entire column here: The Economy: A Reality Check