MetaFilter posts tagged with senate and Republicans

Fiscal-Cliff-Diving

the man of twists and turns — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 07:19:08 -0800

There's been a lot of talk in the US media about the "Fiscal Cliff" and the "Grand Bargain" What are they?

The "fiscal cliff" is a confluence of three legal changes taking effect Jan. 1: the expiration of a payroll-tax cut, the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, and the advent of mandatory spending cuts known as "sequestration."

Fiscal Cliff 101: 5 Basic Questions Answered. What's Happening: Fiscal Cliff Explained Not all are convinced of the necessity of Congress' self-created problem: 6 Reasons why this Fiscal Cliff Is A Scam. Large numbers get thrown around, making it hard to see what exactly is at stake. How did we get here? Fiscal Cliff Reality Check: Are US Taxes Low Or High? "It’s simply a fact that the fiscal cliff was created in response to GOP threats to force the U.S. government to default on its obligations." Or did we already go over the cliff years ago? Who is involved? President Obama; Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Republicans; Minority Leader Nancy Peolsi and House Democrats include the Gang of Six and the Progressive Caucus. Even the CEO of Goldman Sachs has weighed in. The "Fix the Debt" group of is concerned about the growth of deficit spending, while 'the Left is divided' on the Grand Bargain - or the Great Betrayal. What are the sides? The White House's Fiscal Cliff Proposal, delivered by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner which Speaker Boehner calls "not a serious proposal." Obama's opening bid and the Republican response is all part of the negotiations. The White House plan "is a start, not an end." Obama's proposal appears to be a break from the negotiating in the middle path that he has taken before, though Robert Reich ( who recommended aiming high) thinks not much has changed. And Republicans have yet to make any proposals of their own, preferring to follow the President's lead. The Economist has a brief summary. Paul Krugman characterizes most of those calling for deficit reduction "hawks and hypocrites". And its always good to remember that elections have consequences.

The Long Treacherous Climb Up The Fiscal Cliff. The so-called fiscal cliff is one of those rare issues where everyone has an incentive to predict the worst. Barack Obama thinks it will force Republicans to accept higher taxes on the rich, Republicans think they can back him into a corner and force him to cave to their demands as they did two years ago, and businesses and consumers are wary that the still-fragile economy may take a nosedive. Figuring out how this will play out is Washington’s favorite parlor game right now, so let’s play.

What will happen now? Obama pushes for stimulus in fiscal cliff deal. 10 easy way to avoid the fiscal cliff. Three Votes Could Make Or Break Fiscal Cliff Deal. Lobbys, like the AARP, the IFA, and various unions, are gearing up. One paper predicts 'lower GDP and higher unemployment' if no deal is struck. The Weekly Standard says Obama's Plan Will Raise Taxes On Small Businesses, Lower Them For Corporations. The White House is apparently worried there won't be a deal by 2013, since prominent politicians like Senator Alan Simpson and Senator Erskine Bowles say falling off fiscal cliff is 'likely.' But perhaps the President should reassure Americans they will survive the fall. But what does the public really want? To "cut military waste, not charitable deductions"? How Obamacare Came To The Fiscal Cliff and The Grand Cynicism Of The Grand Bargain. A failure to reach a bargain may spur 'bond vigilantes' to move, but that may not be a bad thing. Will the Romney-Ryan plan live on? Perhaps a Obamney plan? Of course, the military-industrial complex will be largely spared. What does this mean for you? The Congressional Budget Office outlines options and consequences. Could the 'Fiscal Cliff' Push The US Into A Recession?. But if entitlement programs are your top priority, the fiscal cliff is your friend. 12 Ways the "Grand Bargain" could screw the poor. The mortgage-interest deduction could be on the table. City Journal writes: Localities should worry less about Washington’s spending cuts than about how their own state governments handle them. Costco is paying a special dividend, part of 10 tax moves to make now. And maybe we'll get some tax simplification too. Disney's Bob Iger's position has spawned a hashtag: 15 Best Star Wars Fiscal Cliff Tweets

Pencils down.

Rhaomi — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 08:45:11 -0800

It's Election Day in America, and as is so often the case in this fickle land, the results of the 2010 midterm elections are up in the air. Although President Obama's party is expected to suffer significant losses, record numbers of districts remain competitive, and even minute errors in polling could mean the difference between a historic Republican landslide and an unexpectedly robust Democratic defense. At stake are control of not just the Senate and House, but myriad state and local offices, many of which will play key roles in the dynamics of the 2012 presidential race -- and, more subtly but no less crucially, the once-in-a-decade congressional redistricting process. Much uncertainty surrounds the behavior of the electorate -- how many will turn out, and how informed will they be? To help move those statistics in the right direction, look inside for voter guides, national and state fact checkers, and an assortment of other resources to keep tabs on as the results roll in. Factchecking Sites National: PolitiFact.com (Pants On Fire! Guide, Seven Key Distortions, subject directory) FactCheck.org (Down-to-the-Wire Deceptions, Guide to 2010 lobbying groups) State (including several local branches of PolitiFact): Alabama - Arizona - Delaware - Florida - Georgia - New Mexico - Ohio - Oregon - Rhode Island - South Carolina - Texas - Virginia - Virginia 2 - Washington - Wisconsin Voter Resources Project Vote Smart's VoteEasy - Identifies local candidates and lets you auto-rank them by policy stance in a nifty Flash interface Ballot Measures Database - A compendium of ballot measures from every state in the country Google Voter Info - Uses your street address to pinpoint your polling place on Google Maps Many state chapters of the League of Women Voters offer nonpartisan guides to local candidates and issues. Same-Day Registrations Even if you've procrastinated, it might not be too late to vote. Nine states allow for voter registration on Election Day: Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, as well as the District of Columbia. North Dakota has no voter registration system. Sites to Watch Streaming coverage: CNN, ABC, C-SPAN FiveThirtyEight's Hour-by-Hour, District-by-District Election Guide - Breaks competitive House races down by likelihood of party switch and lists them by poll closing time; "magic numbers" let you project at a glance roughly how the night is going as individual races are called. See also their final, in-depth forecasts for the House, Senate, and state governorships. 270toWin.com - Offers interactive maps of the House and Senate races for you to plot out your own predictions and see how the final seat numbers would end up. Intrade - Watch a political stock market react in real-time as the night unfolds. (And, just for fun, how many of the 75 Senate candidates on today's ballots can you name?)

What's the difference between Democratic and Republican congressmen? $55,000.

TheOnlyCoolTim — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:48:36 -0800

Want to live it up at the U.S. party conventions and get access to Senators and Congressmen? USA Today has posted the campaign committee price lists:
Democratic Senate and Congress
Republican Senate and Congress

If you've got the dough, you may conveniently request a convention package online from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the NRSC have other price lists on their sites, but it seems like the DSCC and DCCC sites keep theirs under wraps.

Tell 'em Uncle Alberto Says It's Cool

digaman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:51:01 -0800

'The committee is, to put it bluntly, basically under the control of the White House," said Jay Rockefeller, vice-president of the Senate Intelligence Committee, after the committee quashed a broad inquiry into the legality of the NSA spying on Americans -- despite an increasing number of legal scholars coming forward and declaring that the program is "blatantly illegal," in the words of Yale Law School dean Harold Koh. Meanwhile, the GOP proposes giving spying on Americans the "force of law" while subjecting it to "rigorous oversight."

Bye Bye Funding.

papakwanz — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 08:56:16 -0800

CNN reports that the House passed HR 4241 this morning by a narrow vote almost entirely along party lines. This is part of the Republican Party's Operation Offset (previously discussed here) designed to cut spending to counter the deficit, growing by leaps and bounds because of Iraq & Katrina (among other things). Now they'll have to work to reconcile it with the Senate version, SR 1932 (voting record here). You may want to Write your representative to let them know how you feel. You might also want to express your displeasure to the two Dems who didn't vote, considering the bill passed by a margin of 2. [Budget Filter]

"Operation Offset"

insomnia_lj — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 16:37:15 -0800

"Operation Offset" is what the Republicans are calling their budget cut plan to pay for Hurricane Katrina. Will there be tax cuts for the rich? Nope. The great majority of the proposed cuts target the elderly and the poor, heavily targeting Medicare. They eliminate all federal funding for energy conservation, the "Energy Star" program, energy efficient vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, high-speed rail, light rail, PBS, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, AmeriCorps, the "Even Start" program, the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, security/anti-drug funding for innercity schools, and all federal loans to grad students. Also facing cuts are the Global AIDS Initiative, the EPA, the Center for Disease Control, pensions and healthcare plans for retired federal workers, job programs and revitalization funds for poor neighborhoods, the school lunch program, community health centers, and health care for soldiers.

Democracy in Action

digaman — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 08:19:25 -0800

Bush to Senate: Go to Hell. As expected, President Bush bypassed the confirmation process and made a recess appointment to elevate John Bolton to the post of US ambassador to the United Nations, brushing off what he calls "partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators." Bolton was previously discussed on MeFi here.

Tricky Dix

owillis — Thu, 22 Jan 2004 06:39:43 -0800

Republican Dirty Tricks "From the spring of 2002 until at least April 2003, members of the GOP committee staff exploited a computer glitch that allowed them to access restricted Democratic communications without a password. Trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics. The office of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle has already launched an investigation into how excerpts from 15 Democratic memos showed up in the pages of the conservative-leaning newspapers and were posted to a website last November." They just can't get Nixon out of their system, huh?

Torricelli Considers Dropping Out Of His Re-Election Bid

jennak — Mon, 30 Sep 2002 12:18:53 -0800

Torricelli Considers Dropping Out Of His Re-Election Bid ...and Republicans' hopes to reclaim the Senate brighten. Why drop out now, with only 5 weeks left? Is Torricelli guilty of even more ethics violations than previously thought? (more inside...)

Will he or won't he switch

Rastafari — Mon, 21 May 2001 11:20:22 -0800

Will he or won't he switch is the question for Vermont Sen. Jeffords. If he does, the Democrats gain control of the Senate. But this Washington Times article seems to be pleading Sen. Jeffords to remain within the GOP. If he is such a stalwart conservative, why the all propaganda from the Times?