Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

McCain, Graham and Ayotte Still Troubled with Rice - following meetings with UN Ambassador Susan Rice this morning, Republican Senators John McCain (R-Az.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) all said they were still troubled with the events surrounding the Benghazi tragedy.

Susan Rice, who is reportedly first in line to be nominated by President Obama to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State had sought the meetings to quell opposition to her appointment.  You can read more here.

---

"Fiscal Cliff" Negotiations Hitting Same Roadblocks as Before - like the movie "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray, the budget deficit talks are stuck along the same lines as before.  Republican lawmakers are saying they are okay with raising revenues by changing tax rules and not raising taxes on the wealthiest two per cent of wage earners, while insisting on equal cuts to entitlement programs.  The White House has insisted the tax raise on the wealthy is necessary and that social security is off limits.  You can read more here.

---

Republicans Balk at Proposed Senate Filibuster Rule Change - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is outraged at proposed rule changes by Senate Democrats which would require Senators to actually speak during a filibuster and allowing for a "motion to proceed" to discuss a bill to only require a simple majority vote.  You can read more here.

---

Multiple Candidates to File For Jesse Jackson Jr. Illinois Seat - it has not taken long for the candidates to begin filing for vacant seat following the resignation of Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.

So far, former Democratic Representative Debbie Halvorson and Alderman Anthony Beale (D) have announced they will run.  The special election primary will be on February 26, 2013.  The general election has been initially set for March 19, but a change to coincide with regularly scheduled local elections on April 9 is likely.  You can read more here.

---

Voter Suppresion a Failed Policy of Republicans - in spite of Republican led efforts to make it more difficult to register to vote, passing voter ID laws and moves to limit early voting in states, Democratic voters still made it to the polls to cast their ballots.  Roger Simon of Politico.com has a good read here.

---

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.