1.) Will Grinchy House Dems succeed in ruining Christmas for rich people? (Nope) — “Liberal groups and activists–many of them among the ‘professional left’–were left howling with rage after a late-day statement from Robert Gibbs,” reports The Daily Caller’s Jon Ward. “They saw in Gibbs’ words capitulation to Republican demands that President Obama extend the Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels, instead of letting taxes go up for individuals making more than $200,000 a year and families bringing in more than $250,000 a year.” While House Democrats managed to pass a bill Thursday that effectively soaks wealthy people, it was apparently just a joke: The White House isn’t signing on to it, and the Senate won’t pass it.
2.) John Boehner hates chicken crap — Of all the things House Speaker John Boehner hates–weak spray tan solution, communists, three-legged dogs–there’s nothing he hates quite like being forced to vote in ways that make him seem as if he hates tax cuts. Which is exactly what House Democrats did yesterday, according to TheDC’s Chris Moody, who called the House tax-cut bill a “move to force Republicans to vote against a bill extending tax cuts for the middle class.” Boehner summed up the vote thusly: “I’m trying to catch my breath so I don’t refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, alright? But this is nonsense.”
3.) Superwoman heads to the Gunshine State after losing mayoral election in D.C. — If the District won’t have school reformer Michelle Rhee (whose preach and purge approach to improving public schools is widely believed to have cost Mayor Adrian Fenty reelection), Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott will. A statement from Scott’s office “described Rhee as a nationally ‘recognized education reformer’ who will ‘help him find innovative ways to create a new education system for a new economy,'” reports the Washington Post. Odd, you say, that Rhee would go from working for a Democrat to a Tea Party-affiliated Republican? “When it comes to improving our schools for our children,” Rhee said in a statement, “I will work with Democrats, Republicans, Independents and people who have general interest in making schools great for our children.” And to think Gov. Chris Christie almost brought Rhee on board to help New Jersey!
4.) Former union boss just cannot get behind reducing the deficit — “Former top labor leader Andy Stern has privately informed deficit-commission co-chair Erskine Bowles that he will vote against the commission’s package of proposals,” reports WhoRunsGov’s Greg Sargent, “effectively ending hopes of getting the desired 14 members to support it.” Of the 18 commission members, Stern is the fifth person to say (privately, of course!) that he just can’t get behind restoring America’s economy if it means stealing less.
5.) Arianna Huffington accuses Fox News of being too much like the Huffington Post — Republican trophy wife turned liberal media mogul Arianna Huffington spoke Thursday at a conference on the future of news in New York. Among the many fascinating things she had to say about crafting the perfect nipple-slip sideshow and dedicating a section of her website to celebrating divorce, she also dropped a Freudian bomb on Fox News. “Fox News is not news, and it’s much easier to be profitable if you are not news,” Huffington said. What’s ironic about this is that for an entire week, the most popular item on the Huffington Post was a video of a manatee fellating itself.
6.) How many more things can Michael Steele destroy before he is evicted from power? — “Besides the obvious reasons for opposing extravagant spending and rampant cronyism, key Republican operatives also fear that the current spending spree by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s former personal assistant, Belinda Cook, could debilitate the party’s nominating convention,” reports TheDC’s Jonathan Strong. “The reason is the spending, much of which is for eyebrow-raising salaries and rent on a waterfront mansion, will come out of a limited pot of federal funds that are crucial for running the convention.” RUH ROH!