1.) Q: What do we do with Clarence Thomas? A: ‘Put him back in the fields!’ — Good morning, post-racial America! On Thursday, Christian Hartsock published video interviews with Common Cause protesters outside a Koch Bros conference in Palm Springs, California, in which several CC’ers stopped being polite and started being really honest about what they’d like to do to the people with whom they disagree. “Put him back in the fields,” one protestor says when asked what he’d do with an impeached Clarence Thomas. Says another: “We cut off his toes one by one, and feed them to him.” A third? “I’m all about peace, but I would say torture.” But perhaps Common Cause members aren’t really racists: The name “Roger Ailes” elicited responses of “kill the bastard” and “string him up.” Earlier this week, Politico’s Ken Vogel reported that security at the Palm Springs resort is incredibly tight–draconian, even. Now we know why: The attendees are terrified of the bloodthirsty mob outside.
2.) Senate Democrats will not consider doing what no one is suggesting they do, so there — Sen. Harry Reid wants everyone to know that he will not shut down the government “under any circumstances.” Sen. Chuck Schumer agrees. “I would be against a government shutdown. Period. If they don’t budge and say they want a government shutdown, they’re causing it. We’re not going to do that,” Schumer said. He then added, “Some of their ideas are just off the table. If you just say, ‘if you don’t do it my way, I’m going to shut the government down, I’m going to let the government default,’ that is so wrong.” So wrong. That said, the Democrats have no problem shutting down the debate over what to do about spending. According to The Daily Caller’s Chris Moody, “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s plan to slash $74 billion from the federal budget ‘unworkable.'”
3.) Darrell Issa is in your base, chatting with your whistleblowers — “What did top GOP oversight official Rep. Darrell Issa know, and when did he know it? That’s the question Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Janet Napolitano must be asking herself after the California Republican, who is chairman of the House oversight committee, showed a couple of aces in their high-stakes oversight poker game on Tuesday,” writes TheDC’s Jonathan Strong. “Their game is not exactly on the level. Issa has a whistleblower at the DHS giving him an inside edge on every move. And uncertainty over what he knows may be why the agency is snubbing Issa on his document deadlines.” While one expert said that it seems DHS is intentionally obstructing a congressional investigation, Democratic consultant Paul Begala suspects that the department may simply be sluggish from two years of no oversight under Democrats. “I suspect it’s just taking some time to get organized,” Begala said.
4.) Satan seen ice-skating with Jimmy Hoffa just hours after WH announces it saved some money — “For the first time in 13 years, the government has cut its annual spending on federal contracting,” reports Government Executive. “Federal agencies spent $535 billion to purchase private sector goods and services in fiscal 2010, compared to $550 billion in fiscal 2009, according to Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget.” After two years of watching Obama use flaming hundred-thousand-dollar-bills to light up, Zients is excited to announce that everything is all better (basically): “We have reversed the trend of uncontrollable growth [in federal contracting],” Zients said. “We’re saving money and making sure every taxpayer dollar is being well-spent.” Our bad: That must have been Jimmy Hoffa Jr.
5.) Harkin summons army of lobbyists to defend Mordor — “A top staffer for the key Senate Appropriations subcommittee called for a meeting of lobbyists and interest groups that would be affected by expected cuts to the Labor and Health and Human Services budget,” reports ABC News. “The Jan. 24 meeting was attended by approximately 400 people, sources told ABC, and served as a ‘call to arms’ for those determined to fight Republican budget cuts.” Said Sen. Tom Harkin, who wrote the email: “One thing everyone should be able to agree on now is that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that a higher [Labor, Health & Human Services] allocation improves the chances for every stakeholder group to receive more funding.”
6.) Judge: Drill, Obama, Drill! — A New Orleans judge has ruled that the Obama administration “acted in contempt by continuing its deepwater-drilling moratorium after the policy was struck down,” reports Bloomberg News. “Each step the government took following the court’s imposition of a preliminary injunction showcases its defiance,” wrote judge U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in his ruling. “Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the re-imposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium, and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this court with clear and convincing evidence of the government’s contempt.” Obama has already proven he’ll ignore a congressional oversight committee–will he also ignore a federal judge?
