Comeback kids in politics, as in sports or any other competitive endeavor, are those that truly surprise us. The more the media labels someone a comeback kid before the comeback, or a politician claims to be one, the more likely the characterization, win or lose, will turn out to be untrue. (more)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday said he was willing to make tweaks to the landmark healthcare reform law enacted earlier this year over united Republican opposition. (more)
WASHINGTON — As Americans head to the polls today, the implications that their votes hold for federal higher education policy aren’t likely to drive them toward a candidate. Nonetheless, the outcomes of today’s Congressional elections will shape debates on higher education for the next few years. (more)
This year’s off-year congressional elections will be remembered for three things. The first will be the record-breaking levels of spending and the increasingly garish and over the top television ads that money made possible. The election’s legacy will be increased public dissatisfaction with partisan politics, as it is practiced in the United States, with renewed contempt for whomever winds up in control of the levers of power in Washington. Not a good sign for the continued health of our democracy. (more)
White House officials expect Lawrence Summers to leave his job as the president’s National Economic Council director after November’s congressional elections, according to three people familiar with the matter. (more)
In what is the largest ever US arms sale of its kind, Riyadh has agreed to spend $30 billion up front on top range fighter jets and helicopters, with the rest following at an undisclosed date. The two countries are also discussing an upgrade naval package potentially worth $30 billion, but the timing of that deal is not clear. (more)
In the history of Gallup polling, Republicans have never held as wide a margin over Democrats as they do in an “unprecedented” poll of generic party preferences of registered voters released Monday. (more)
Florida (Reuters) – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum on Wednesday proposed legislation that would toughen law enforcement measures against illegal immigrants in the melting-pot southeastern U.S. state. (more)
Asked what he considers the major issues in this year’s midterm Congressional elections, Claude Nicolas, 24, paused from munching on a sushi roll and crisply ticked off three: jobs, the economy and immigration. (more)
As of early this morning, the oil leak in the Gulf appears to have been plugged and the White House is hoping that the president’s political hemorrhaging has been simultaneously cauterized. (more)
At last week’s Congressional hearings, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) apologized to BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, for what he described as a government shakedown of $20 billion of BP’s assets. In typical Washington fashion, outcry from both political parties quickly forced Barton to produce a second apology, where he laid the blame for the problem squarely on BP. (more)
The 2010 hurricane season is in full swing and summer storms are already popping up almost daily. Fishing, shrimping, and tourist seasons are under way and all are desperately needed to buoy the Coastal economy during this ongoing national recession. Local and state government budgets continue to see shortfalls in tax collections resulting in the loss of constituent services. (more)
A few months ago, I met a gentleman at the National League of Cities conference in San Antonio named John McAlister. John is a fellow City Council member from Gahanna, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. As we waited for a boat tour of the downtown San Antonio Riverwalk, John and I discussed politics in our hometowns, a common discussion at these conferences. Soon our discussion turned to national politics and the challenges facing our country. I learned of John’s steadfast commitment to the oath of office he took upon entering his role of City Councilman, that to uphold and defend the Constitution, an oath that City Councils, County Supervisors, state legislatures and Congressmen take all across this country. John strongly believes that we can regain limited federal government by holding local politicians accountable for their votes. I found his zeal refreshing and reassuring since I, too, am impassioned by such beliefs. (more)
Though he made it clear that the political climate can still change seven months before the midterm elections, a prominent former Clinton pollster said in between waffles today that Democrats today are reminding him a bit too much of the Democrats of 1994 for comfort: (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans learned early Thursday that they will be able to kill language in a measure altering President Barack Obama’s newly enacted health care overhaul, meaning the bill will have to return to the House for final congressional approval. (more)
WASHINGTON—With his wavy bouffant and medallion necklaces, the Rev. Al Sharpton famously confronted government officials on behalf of black Americans. Now he has found a new role: telling black leaders to quiet their criticisms and give the government a chance. (more)
In 1984, singer-songwriter Tina Turner asked “What’s Love Got to Do with It” in her breakthrough solo album. This year, political observers find themselves asking the same thing about the massive infiltration of social media into political campaigns—“What’s Social Campaigning Got to Do with It?” As we see it, the answer is pretty simple for candidates running for the U.S. Senate: the difference between winning and losing. (more)
