Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Budget Battles Continue - Republican House Speaker John Boehner wants 60 Billion in cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says no way. This sets up the possibility of a government shut down if agreement can not be reached on a continuing resolution by March 4.

The annual budget deficit along with the national debt will be a major issue in the 2012 presidential election. The NY Times has a good read here.

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Bartlett Claims Foul on F-35 Engine Denial - the Maryland Republican Representative who also chairs the House Armed Services Tactical air and land forces subcommittee, says the pentagon lobbied to kill funding for the F-35 engine.

He has sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates with his allegations of improper action by the pentagon.

The House voted to kill funding for the program last week. TheHill.com has more here.

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O'Malley Speaks to Virginia Democrats - in his first address as chair of the Democratic Governors Association. He spoke at the annual Virginia Jefferson/Jackson Dinner. The Maryland Governor stuck to the themes being promoted by President Obama of education and infrastructure. The Baltimore Sun has more here.

Next week, Democratic Governors will be meeting with President Obama. One item to be discussed is money - states are broke and will plead for money from the federal government. Unfortunately, the federal government is facing the same situation.

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U.S. Position on Israeli Settlements Unclear - yesterday, opposite statements and actions were taken by the United States.

First, the U.S. vetoed a UN resolution declaring the Israeli settlements illegal and then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated the settlements were illegitimate and called for a two state solution with Palestine. ABC News has more here.

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Hillary Clinton Large Campaign Donors Under Scrutiny - several of the large "campaign finance bundlers" of the 2008 Clinton presidential campaign have been indicted under charges they violated campaign finance laws.

Neither the Clinton campaign or her advisers have been found to have been involved and any improperly received money has been returned. The Washington Post has more here.

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