Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

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Watch Live as Hagel Begins Confirmation Hearings - Former Republican Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel's confirmation hearing before the senate Armed Services Committee is underway.

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Syria and Iran Threaten To Retaliate for Israeli Airstrike - U.S. officials said Israel launched a rare airstrike inside Syria on Wednesday. The target was a convoy believed to be carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran.

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali said Damascus "has the option and the capacity to surprise in retaliation."

In Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying the raid on Syria will have significant implications for Israel.  You can read more here.

 

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Watch Secretary of State Kerry Speech as He Says Goodbye to Senate

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Poll Shows Brown and Markey in Tight Race for Kerry Senate Seat - Scott Brown would enter the Massachusetts Senate special election with only a slight lead over the Democratic establishment’s candidate, Rep. Ed Markey, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

The automated poll shows Brown leading Markey by three points, 48 percent to 45 percent, in a head-to-head contest. Driven in part by name recognition, Markey starts out with a 52 percent to 19 percent lead over Lynch.  Politico.com has more here.
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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Giffords Testifies on Gun Safety - in the opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun safety Wednesday, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) urged lawmakers to "be courageous" and pass new gun laws in order to protect Americans and particularly children.

"Thank you for inviting me here today. This is an important conversation for our children, for our communities, for Democrats and Republicans. Speaking is difficult, but I need to say something important. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. Too many children. We must do something. It will be hard but the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you."  C-SPAN has live coverage of the hearings, here.

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Governor Patrick Picks Mo Cowan To Fill Kerry Seat - William “Mo” Cowan is Governor Deval Patrick’s choice to serve as the interim US senator until the successor to John F. Kerry is chosen by the voters June 25, the governor’s office said in a statement today.

“I am proud and delighted to appoint Mo Cowan as interim U.S. Senator from Massachusetts,” Patrick said in the statement. “Mo’s service on the front lines in our efforts to manage through the worst economy in 80 years and build a better, stronger Commonwealth for the next generation has earned him the respect and admiration of people throughout government.

Former Representative Barney Frank had lobbied hard for the appointment.

A primary election for the seat is set for April 30 and US Representative Edward Markey is so far the only high profile Democrat to formally enter the race.

Former US Senator Scott Brown, who lost to US Senator Elizabeth Warren last fall, is considering whether to enter the race for the Republicans.  The Boston Globe has more here.

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C.I.A. Nominee Knew of "Enchanced Interrogation Techniques" - records, sources said, show that John Brennan was a regular recipient of CIA message traffic about controversial aspects of the agency's counter-terrorism program after September 2001, including the use of "waterboarding."

How deeply involved Brennan was in the program, and whether he vigorously objected to it at the time, as he has said he did, are likely to be central questions lawmakers raise at his Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing, scheduled for February 7. Reuters.com has more here.

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Obama Approval Hits 60% - the Washington Post/ABC News poll shows President Obama with the highest approval ratings since his first year in office.  The Wsahington Post has more details here.

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U.S. Economy Shrinks as Defense Spending Drops - The economy in the U.S. unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter, restrained by the biggest plunge in defense spending in four decades and dwindling inventory growth as household purchases picked up.

In good news, bolstered by a drop in fuel prices and the biggest gain in incomes in four years, consumer spending accelerated as the biggest part of the economy overcame superstorm Sandy, a bitter presidential contest and Washington budget battles. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Pathway to Citizenship Should Include Community Service

George Wenschhof

Insistence on fines, payment of back taxes and a long waiting period by undocumented workers as part of a pathway to citizenship is a non starter and is why the last effort at immigration reform failed.

Instead, what is needed is a win-win scenario that would require an undocumented worker to provide a minimum of 2,000 hours in community service in the government/nonprofit sector over a four year period.

Upon registering and passing a background check, the undocumented worker would receive a temporary status allowing them to remain and work in the U.S. over a four year period, provided they perform a minimum of 10 hours of community service per week.

Local, state and federal government, along with nonprofits have been severely impacted by the economic downturn and a massive influx of an estimated 11 million workers contributing work a minimum of ten hours per week over the next four years at no cost would be a major plus and help to grow the U.S. out of the lingering sluggish economy.

The federal minimum wage, as of 2009, was $7.25 per hour.  So, doing the math, the value of 2,000 hours of community service would be a minimum of $14,500.  A much higher figure than is currently being discussed for a proposed fine.

The added plus would be the gain of taxes received from 11 million workers now paying taxes. This would significantly help to reduce the national debt.

It is encouraging to see the momentum build as President Obama and a bipartisan group of eight U.S. Senators came forward this week with proposals for comprehensive immigration reform.

Even, Republican leaders of Congress are grudgingly voicing support, due to the realization they received little support from Hispanic/Latino voters in the 2012 election, won easily by President Obama.

However, it is the forthcoming details that could still derail passage of a bill by Congress or result in a “more blow” than “go” bill.

The areas which need to be addressed in regard to illegal immigration are not difficult to identify.  An update of the current immigration procedures, securing borders, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers and providing a reasonable pathway to citizenship is what is needed.

In 2007, Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Az.) worked together to propose the “Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007”.

It failed, in large part, due to the convoluted manner for an undocumented worker to obtain citizenship.

The bill called for an undocumented worker to pay a fine, return to their country and then pay thousands to be able to return to the United States, an onerous requirement which would have produced few “takers”.

Requiring a fine and/or payment of back taxes will never result in illegal immigrants coming forward and is an unreasonable demand.  They are here in the first place due to underemployment in their native countries and currently exist on low wages from undesirable jobs in America.

In addition to requiring a 2,000 hour community service component, learning the English language could be included, if necessary to win support of conservative members of Congress.  Of course, a background check would be conducted and any illegal immigrant with a criminal record would not be eligible for the program and be deported to their native country.

Securing the borders, updating immigration law, and severely cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers are the easier areas to reach agreement on, in a divided congress.

A community service component to earn a pathway to citizenship makes sense in so many ways and requiring an undocumented worker to apply within six months of the bill being passed to be eligible for the program would help ensure compliance in a timely fashion.

Let’s hope Congress seizes this opportunity to pass comprehensive immigration reform that will be successful. 

Now, is the time.

 

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Obama To Announce His Immigration Reform Proposal Today - President Obama is expected to provide some details of the White House plans during a Tuesday appearance in Las Vegas, where he will call for broad changes to the nation’s immigration laws. The speech will kick off a public push by the administration in support of the broadest overhaul of immigration law in nearly three decades.  The Washington Post has more here.

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51% Support "Pathway To Citizenship" - the CBS poll shows a majority support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants with only 24% saying they should leave the United States.  CBS News has more here.

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Kerry Receives Approval from Senate Foreign Relations Committee - Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) is expected to be confirmed later today as the next Secretary of State when the full senate will vote. 

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LaHood, Latest to Leave Obama Administration - AP is reporting Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is the latest cabinet member to step down.  NBC.com has more here.

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First Hillary Clinton Super Pac Forms - A super PAC supporting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, “Ready for Hillary,” was registered with the Federal Election Commission on Friday.

The group is chaired by Allida Black, founder of the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project at George Washington University and Roosevelt Institute.

“Our purpose is simple: We are ready to work for Hillary to be president when she is ready to run,” Black told the Center for Public Integrity, which first noticed the filing. “When our Web site launches in a few weeks, we plan to reach out to our grass-roots networks and contributors to mobilize them to support her.”  You can read more here.

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Egypt Army Chief Warns of Collapse - Reacting to Egypt's growing chaos, the head of the army warned on Tuesday of the “collapse of the state” if political forces in the country did not reconcile, reflecting growing impatience with the crisis from Egypt’s most powerful institution.

“The continuation of the conflict between different political forces and their disagreement on running the affairs of the country may lead to the collapse of the state and threatens the future of the coming generations,” said Gen. Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi, who is also the defense minister, adding that “the attempt to affect the stability of the state institutions is a dangerous matter that harms Egyptian national security.”  The NY Times has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Immigration Reform Takes Front Stage - Today, a bipartisan group of Senators will announce their bipartisan approach to comprehensive immigration reform and tomorrow, President Obama will put forward his plan.

The Senators working on the deal are Sens. Robert Menedez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Michael Bennett (D-CO), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The Republicans are Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the senators will call for accomplishing four goals:

—Creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas.

—Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university.

—Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants.

—Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn't recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.

You can read more here.

As always, the devil is in the details, or in this case, the lack of details.  The proposal is an outline with no details.  The most difficult area to reach an agreement will be a pathway to citizenship.

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Obama, Biden To Meet With Police Chiefs - Obama and Biden are scheduled to hold the private talks in the Roosevelt Room with representatives from the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association and Major County Sheriffs Association, according to CNN, which first reported the meeting. Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will join the president.

In attendance will be the police chiefs of Aurora, Colo.; Oak Creek, Wis.; and Newtown, Conn., all towns that have experienced mass shootings in the past year.

This meeting comes as Obama has signed numerous executive actions to tighten existing laws and is pressing lawmakers to pass bans on the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips and to institute universal background checks on all firearm purchasers.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Hillary Clinton To Give TV Interviews This Week - Clinton spokesperson Phillipe Reines told POLITICO that Sec. Clinton was "sitting with all five US networks before leaving office on Friday."

Those five networks are Fox News, CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS, which has already aired its interview with Sec. Clinton and President Obama.

Fox News's Greta Van Susteren has landed her network's interview, which will air Tuesday night -- a rare get for Fox, which is not the preferred outlet for the Obama administration. But Van Susteren has given Clinton a fairer hearing than many of her colleagues, defending the secretary when others questioned the legitimacy of her recent illness.  Politico.com will have more details as they become available here.

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Organizing for Action (OFA) Receives Obama Campaign Database - President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has turned over its most valuable asset — a massive computer database containing personal data on millions of American voters — to a new advocacy group created to advance the White House agenda on issues ranging from gun control to immigration reform.

Organizing For Action (OFA), the advocacy group set up in recent weeks by the president’s top political aides, has already acquired access to the database under a leasing agreement with the Obama campaign, Katie Hogan, a former Obama campaign aide who is now serving as spokeswoman for the lobbying group, told NBC News. The information will be used to unleash an “army of the door knockers” to back the president’s legislative agenda as well as raise money for “issue ads” – particularly in crucial congressional districts, she said.   NBC News has more here.

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Senate To Vote on Sandy Aid Bill - The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on more than $50 billion in aid to Northeastern states battered by October's Superstorm Sandy, four weeks after a delay that sparked bipartisan fury.

The Senate approved a $60 billion aid package for the hard-hit region in late December. But House Speaker John Boehner scrapped a vote on the bill before the clock ran out on the last Congress on January 1, leading to howls of outrage from residents and officials in New York and New Jersey.  CNN.com has more here.

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Five Days of Protests in Egypt - Large protests in the Suez Canal city of Port Said and fresh clashes in Cairo on Monday marked a fifth day of widening unrest in Egypt, a day after President Mohamed Morsi declared a state of emergency and a curfew in three major cities as escalating violence in the streets threatened his government and Egypt’s democracy.

The NY Times has a good read here.

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Russian Prime Minister Medvedev Says Al-Assad's Days Are Numbered - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's odds of holding power "are slipping away" as the nearly 2-year-old revolt against his rule grinds on, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says.

In an interview that aired Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," Medvedev distanced Moscow from its longtime Middle East client. But he repeated Russia's longtime insistence that outside powers shouldn't be picking Syria's leaders.  You can read more on the interview here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

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Watch Obama and Clinton Interview on CBS "60 Minutes" Tonight - President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appear in their first joint interview when they speak together to Steve Kroft. Watch Kroft's report on Sunday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT.

STEVE KROFT, "60 MINUTES" CORRESPONDENT: Why did you want to do this together, a joint interview?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, the main thing is I just wanted to have a chance to publicly say thank you, because I think Hillary will go down as one of the finest secretaries of state we've had. It has been a great collaboration over the last four years. I'm going to miss her, wish she was sticking around but she has logged in so many miles I can't begrudge her wanting to take it easy for a little bit. But I want the country to appreciate what an extraordinary role she's played during the course of my administration. A lot of the successes we've had internationally have been because of her hard work.

SECRETARY CLINTON: A few years ago it would have been seen as improbable because we had that very long, hard primary campaign. But, you know, I've gone around the world on behalf of the president and our country, and one of the things that I say to people, because I think it helps them understand, I say look, in politics and in democracy, sometimes you win elections and sometimes you lose elections. And I worked very hard but I lost. And then President Obama asked me to be secretary of state and I said yes. And why did he ask me and why did I say yes? Because we both love our country.

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Plouffe Departure From White House Significant - For the president’s first two years, David Axelrod, 57, who is extroverted and disorganized, was the protector of the Obama brand, overseeing the president’s shift from campaign platform to governing agenda on all issues — and doing so amid an economic crisis that forced unanticipated actions like an $800 billion stimulus package and an overhaul of financial industry regulations.
       

For the past two years, the introverted and hyper-disciplined Mr. Plouffe, 45, served as what he called “the connective tissue” between the administration and the re-election campaign, making sure that the actions of one did not threaten the success of the other.

 

Both David's were pivotal in the successful campaigns to elect and reelect Obama.  President Obama has tapped as his new senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer. The NY Times has a good read here.

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Ryan Defends GOP Position Against Revenue Hikes - appearing on NBC "Meet the Press" this morning, Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said "Are we for raising revenues? No we're not," Ryan said. "If you keep raising revenues, you're not going to get decent tax reform." 

Ryan added "I think the sequester's going to happen," blaming Democrats for offering no palatable substitute for those cuts. MSNBC.com has more here.

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Harkin Joins Chambliss in Announcing Retirement from Senate - Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin announced yesterday he will not seek another term, after serving 30 years.

Georgia Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss announ ced earlier in the week he will not run for reelection.

Harkin, who is 73, said “To walk away from this position and this power is not an easy thing,” he said. “But I think it’s the right thing. And I have two years left. I’m not passing the torch sitting down — it’s a running relay. I intend to be very active over the next two years.”  You can read more here.

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Hagel Receives Support From McChystal and Hayden - Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal and former CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday they supported Chuck Hagel’s nomination for secretary of Defense.

Hayden said Hagel’s military experience and ability to talk candidly with those in uniform would help him in the position if the Senate confirms his nomination.

“Frankly, given my time in uniform, that’s a tremendous attribute,” Hayden said on CNN’s "State of the Union." “I think he’ll be fine.”

He also said the new Defense team would be more in sync with the president’s policies.
McChrystal said Hagel was a suitable pick for the job.

"Of course he'll build relationships as he goes. He has already got a lot of credibility," McChrystal said. "I don't think it will be a problem.  Politico.com has more here.

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Sunday Morning "Talking Heads" Cheat Sheet

George Wenschhof

This Sunday looks to be a of a grab bag discussion on the morning political discussion shows.

Sure, to be discussed will be the strong performance by outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her testimony before Congress on the Benghazi tragedy.

Also, expect mention of the Republican Party's attempt to regroup which include attempts to change the process of awarding delegates by state in the electoral vote.

Look to see the comment by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal warning fellow Republicans they "must stop being the stupid party" during a fiery and sharp critique Thursday night at the Republican National Committee's Winter Meeting be mentioned.

The latest proposal by Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to balance the budget within ten years will be examined as well.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.) appears on CBS "Face The Nation" and CNN "State of The Union" where she will talk about her bill to reinstate the assault weapon ban she introduced earlier this week in th senate.

The decision to allow women in combat announced by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will receive attention on CNN "State of the Union", where retired gereals Dtanley McChystal and Michael Hayden will appear.

The scheduled guests follow below.

NBC "Meet The Press" - Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)

Roundtable discussion with Ben Jealous, Jim DeMint, Bob Woodward, Andrea Mitchell and Ted Koppel

ABC "This Week" - Senators John McCain (R-Az.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)

Roundtable discussion with George Will, Donna Brazille, Rep. David Schweikert (R-Az.), Steve Inskeep and Chris Hughes.

CBS "Face The Nation" - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.), NY City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, Newt Gingrich, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), former Romney campaign adviser Kevin Madden and Obama campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter.

CNN "State of The Union" - retired generals Stanley McChrystal and Michael Hayden, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calf.), Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-Va.), Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.

Fox News Sunday - retired Col. Martha McSally, U.S. Air Force and retired Lt. General Jerry Boykin, U.S. Army, Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

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Obama Weekly Address

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President Obama touts his nominees to head the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Obama nominated Mary Jo White for the SEC and Richard Cordray for the CFPB. “Mary Jo White has decades of experience cracking down on white-collar criminals and bringing mobsters and terrorists to justice,” Obama said. “At the SEC, she will help complete the task of reforming Wall Street and keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so that taxpayers don’t pay the price.”

Obama used a recess appointment to place Cordary as head of the CFPB after Republicans had opposed his appointment when he nominated Cordray previously.

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Republican Weekly Address

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Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) urged Senate Democrats to pass a budget that will address the country's debt problem, adding reforms to entitlement programs must be included.

“These programs are in trouble, and they’re on an unsustainable path,” he said. “Social Security began running a deficit in 2010, and without meaningful reform, Medicare will be bankrupt by 2024.”

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Senate Filibuster Deal Falls Short of Expectations - still in place is the non-talking filuster and the need for 60 votes to end debate and move forward to a full vote on the Senate floor.

Nonetheless, President Obama praised senators for taking action to reduce obstruction and said he's hopeful it will "pave the way for the Senate to take meaningful action in the days and weeks ahead."

Obama thanked congressional leaders for changing Senate rules in an effort to consider consensus district court judicial nominations on a more regular basis.
 
"After being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, my judicial nominees have waited more than three times longer to receive confirmation votes than those of my predecessor, even though the overwhelming majority of my nominees have been confirmed with little, if any, dissent," he said. "These months of unnecessary delay have threatened our judiciary.
 
"Today’s reforms are a positive step towards a fairer and more efficient system of considering district court nominees, and I urge the Senate to treat all of my judicial nominees in the same spirit."  Politico.com has more here.

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GOP Seeks Changes in Electoral College - Republicans in Virginia and a handful of other battleground states are pushing for far-reaching changes to the electoral college in an attempt to counter recent success by Democrats.

In the vast majority of states, the presidential candidate who wins receives all of that state’s electoral votes. The proposed changes would instead apportion electoral votes by congressional district, a setup far more favorable to Republicans. Under such a system in Virginia, for instance, President Obama would have claimed four of the state’s 13 electoral votes in the 2012 election, rather than all of them.

Other states considering similar changes include Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which share a common dynamic with Virginia: They went for Obama in the past two elections but are controlled by Republicans at the state level. The Washington Post has more here.

Interestingly, Democrats nomination process for their presidential candidate, in part, includes delegates from each state determined by overall vote and by congressional district.

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Appeals Court Rules Against Obama Recess Appointments - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday that President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year were unconstitutional because the Senate was technically never out of session for the holidays, but in "pro-forma" session.

The AP reports GOP lawmakers used the tactic specifically to prevent Obama from using his recess power to fill vacancies in an agency they claimed was too pro-union.The Obama administration is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

Obama appointed two Democrats, union lawyer Richard Griffin and Labor Department official Sharon Block, and a Republican, NLRB lawyer Terence Flynn, to the board in early January.  TPM.com has more here.

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McDonough, New White House Chief of Staff - President Obama will name deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough, as his new White House chief of staff Friday, officials said.

McDonouh, 43, has spent the past two years as the No. 2 official in the National Security Council, helping guide some of the administration’s most high-profile decisions, including the military drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the response to earthquakes in Haiti and Japan and the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last September.

The president also intends to announce a slew of other moves including naming Rob Nabors, currently the White House director of legislative affairs, to deputy chief of staff for policy. Tony Blinken, a foreign policy adviser to Vice President Biden, will replace McDonough at the NSC.

Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, will be promoted to senior adviser to the president, as Obama’s longtime adviser, David Plouffe, prepares to leave the administration. Pfeiffer’s deputy, Jennifer Palmieri, will replace him as communications director.  The Washington Post has more here.

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Jindal, "GOP Needs To Stop Being The Stupid Party" - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal warned fellow Republicans they "must stop being the stupid party" during a fiery and sharp critique Thursday night at the Republican National Committee's Winter Meeting.

In the address, Jindal outlined at least seven steps that he believes Republicans need to take in order to remain competitive. In a scathing takedown, he accuses the party of "looking backwards" and having an obsession with "identity politics."

"We must reject the notion that demography is destiny, the pathetic and simplistic notion that skin pigmentation dictates voter behavior," Jindal said.  TheHill.com has more here.

 

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Senator Saxby Chambliss To Retire - The two-term Republican senator from Georgia, told his staff Friday morning that he would not seek a third term, according to the report. The move comes as other Republicans had appeared increasingly likely to challenge him in a primary, and will likely trigger a flood of Republican interest in running for the seat.  RollCall.com has more here.

 

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

Senator Dianne Feinstein Introduces Assault Weapons Ban - the new Assault Weapon Ban bill would replace the previous law which expired in 2004.

Feinstein introduced the bill in the Senate today and it comes just weeks following the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.


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Americans Support Obama's Proposals To Address Gun Violence - 60%, in a poll conducted by Gallup, support reinstating and strengthening the assault weapon ban that was in place from 1994-2004. 

Given the chance to vote "for" or "against" each of nine key proposals included in President Barack Obama's plan to reduce gun violence, Americans back all nine. Americans are most likely to be in favor of requiring background checks for all gun sales (91%), increasing funding for mental health programs aimed at youth (82%), increasing funding for programs to train law enforcement and schools in responding to active armed attacks (79%), and increasing criminal penalties for people who buy guns for others -- so-called straw purchasers (75%).  Gallup.com has more here.

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Obama Backs Decision On Women in Combat - White House press secretary Jay Carney said President Obama has believed for some time that women should be allowed to fight on the front lines and he supports the decision by military commanders to allow them in combat units.
 
"The president fully supports this effort to expand opportunities for women to serve in our armed forces," Carney said. "As you know women are already serving in critical roles throughout our military. The president believes strongly that we should remove these unnecessary gender-based barriers to service.

"Despite the existence of these barriers, heretofore, as you know, women have fought and bled and died in Iraq and Afghanistan in uniform, and the president believes this is a very appropriate policy change."

The policy change is expected to be announced by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey Thursday afternoon. Carney said Obama discussed his position on the issue in meetings with Panetta but the decision was made by Panetta and military commanders.  Politico.com has more here.
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Kerry Confirmation Hearings Begin - Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) began his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State with a lengthy opening statement.

At his confirmation hearing for secretary of state, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said that for U.S. foreign policy to be credible and effective, America's fiscal house must be in order.

"I'm particularly aware that, in many ways, the greatest challenge to America's foreign policy will be in your hands, not mine," Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday. "Because while it's often said that we can't be strong at home if we're not strong in the world, in these days of fiscal crisis, and as a recovering member of the Supercommittee, I am especially cognizant of the fact we can't be strong in the world unless we're strong at home."

Kerry added: "And the first priority of business which will affect my credibility as a diplomat, and our credibility as a nation, as we work to help other countries create order, the first priority will be that America at last puts its own fiscal house in order."

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Obama To Nominate Mary Jo White as SEC Chair - President Obama on Thursday will nominate former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White as chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and renominate Richard Cordray for a full term as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a White House official.

White, currently a top lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York, previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which investigates many of the country’s most significant financial crimes.

Obama is also nominating Corday, a former attorney general of Ohio, to lead the CFPB for a full term.

Obama used installed Cordray in late 2011 as a recess appointment, after Republicans made clear they had no intention of confirming him. Their refusal stemmed from their objection to the CFPB, a watchdog agency that Obama created to police financial products sold to consumers. The Washington Post has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof



Clinton Appears Before Congress on Benghazi - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday fired back at Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) over accusations that the Obama Administration misled the public by claiming the Benghazi attack was the result of a spontaneous protest. Johnson pressed Clinton on why the State Department didn't talk to the U.S. diplomatic staff evacuated after the attack, to get clear information about what happened.
 
"Senator, when you're in these positions, the last thing you want to do is interfere with any other process going on," Clinton said, adding that the State Department was waiting for the FBI to finish conducting interviews.

"I realize that's a good excuse," Johnson responded.

"Well, no, it's the fact," Clinton said. "Even today, there are questions being raised. We have no doubt they were terrorists, they were militants, they attacked us, they killed our people. But what was going on, and why they were doing what they were doing, is still, is still unknown."

Clinton forcefully insisted neither UN Ambassador Susan Rice nor the Obama Administration misled the public. "With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans," she said. "Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make? It our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. Now, honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this. The fact is that people were trying, in real time, to get to the best information."

Clinton's prepared statement can be read here.

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Hillary Clinton Enjoys 67% Approval Rating - Fully 67 percent of all Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll now express favorable views of the outgoing secretary of state, a record high in the survey for Clinton, albeit by a single percentage point. By contrast, just 19 percent of people said they approved of the way Congress was doing its job in a Post-ABC poll released last week.

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House To Vote Today On Extending Debt Limit To May 19, White House Will Not Oppose - The measure — set for a vote Wednesday in the House — would not resolve the dispute over how to control the national debt. But after the traumatic “fiscal cliff” episode at the end of last year, it would buy policymakers a little breathing room to continue the argument without another economy-rattling deadline just around the corner.

The White House tacitly endorsed the proposal Tuesday, issuing a statement that said Obama “would not oppose” the temporary respite. The president has called for a long-term extension of the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority, which he argues would “increase certainty and economic stability.”  The Washington Post has more here.

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GOP Tries To ReGroup - Two days after President Obama’s inauguration, all the Democratic celebrations, the parades and inaugural balls, Republicans today begin heading to Charlotte, NC for the RNC’s winter meeting, where they will lick their electoral wounds and start to regroup. Here’s the bad news for the GOP: According to the most recent NBC/WSJ poll, the party’s unfavorable rating (49%) is at its highest point since 2008. The Obama White House and Democrats forced the GOP to fold its opposition to raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans (though the agreement extended tax breaks for everyone else). And it has retreated -- for now -- on using the debt ceiling to demand additional spending cuts (and will instead use the budget process for that fiscal fight). 

The real action in Charlotte begins tomorrow: That brings us to the upcoming RNC meeting in Charlotte, which happens to be the same city where Democrats held their triumphant convention last year. Per NBC’s Carrie Dann, the real action begins taking place tomorrow, when Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal speaks at a dinner and when the RNC’s “Growth and Opportunity Project” -- the party’s effort to improve upon what went wrong in the last election -- will discuss its research. And on Friday, the 168 RNC members will elect the party chairman for the next years. It’s widely expected that current RNC Chair Reince Priebus will win re-election.  NBC FirstRead has more here.

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Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof



Obama Inauguration Speech: Moving America Forward - a powerful speech as President Obama set the tone for his second term.  Not satisfied with the status quo, Obama took on the need for action in the areas of climate change, gun control, immigration, the need to help those less fortunate and became the first president to mention Gays in an inaugural speech, when he appealed for the need to treat everyone fairly.

An excerpt: “It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.”

Below are some of the first media reactions to the speech.

New York Times: “Obama Offers Liberal Vision: ‘We Must Act’”

Washington Post: “Obama Gives Bold Vision of American Future”

Wall Street Journal: “Obama Vows Aggressive Agenda”

Associated Press: “Obama Stands His Ground on Fiscal Debates”

Los Angeles Times: “In Obama’s Inaugural Speech, A Sweeping Liberal Vision”

Politico: “Obama Dodges Entitlements”

The Hill: “Budget Tax Increases Would Put Red-State Democrats in Tough Spot”

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Will Senate Pass Filibuster Reform? - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will present colleagues with options for reforming the Senate’s filibuster rules in a Democratic caucus meeting Tuesday.

Reid will not trigger the so-called nuclear option on Tuesday, as some Republicans have feared. Under the nuclear option, Reid could change the Senate’s rules with a simple majority vote.

Freshman Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) signed on to the Merkley-Udall "talking filibuster" proposal Tuesday, characterizing her move as an effort to end partisan gridlock and change the status quo.  TheHill.com has more here.

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Majority Support Immigration Reform with Pathway to Citizenship - The CNN poll found Fifty-three percent of Americans want the federal government to focus on developing a plan to allow illegal immigrants to become legal residents.  CNN.com has more here.

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Virginia State Senate Pulls Fast One on Redistricting - Republicans took advantage of the absence of a Democratic state senator (and civil rights leader) to push their surprise legislative redistricting through what is usually an evenly divided state Senate. State Sen. Henry Marsh’s (D) trip to the inauguration of President Obama briefly made the Senate makeup 20-19 in favor of the GOP, letting Republicans launch their surprise attack.  TPM.com has more here.

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Wasserman Schultz Expected To Be Relected DNC Chair Today - The Democratic National Committee is expected to make it official Tuesday, by formally re-electing Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida as DNC chair.

By tradition, a sitting president gets to choose who leads his party committee, and early last month President Barack Obama said he wanted the Democratic congresswoman from Florida to stay on as party chairwoman. Wasserman Schultz got some credit for helping the president narrowly carry her home state, a crucial battleground in the race for the White House, and for helping the party pick up seats in both the House and the Senate.

Wasserman Schultz's re-election by committee members will be the main order of business as the DNC holds its one day annual winter meeting. The gathering, here in the nation's capital, comes one day after Obama's second inauguration. CNN.com has more here.

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Israel Prime minister Netanyahu Expected To Win Third Term Today - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to win a third term Tuesday in the first election in decades in which the Mideast peace process didn’t take center stage, with many Israelis focused more on economic woes than ending their conflict with the Palestinians.

The election comes at a troubled time for Israel. Netanyahu’s hard line on concessions to the Palestinians has put Israel into conflict with the international community, increasing its diplomatic isolation.

A declining economy and ballooning budget deficit mean painful government spending cuts and possible tax increases are in store for an electorate already bowed by the high cost of living. Time.com has more here.

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Watch Obama Inauguration Speech

George Wenschhof



In case, you missed it, the 18 minute speech was powerful with the use of "We the people" as President Obama called on Americans to take action to reverse climate change, reform immigration laws and enact new gun-control measures during an inaugural address devoted to the potential of citizens to drive their government.

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Obama Begins Second Inauguration Ceremonies - Yesterday, President Obama was officially sworn in at the White House by chief justice  John Roberts in a brief ceremony.

Obama used a speech to hundreds of supporters at the National Building Museum Sunday night to remind the crowd that "what we're doing is celebrating each other and celebrating this incredible nation that we call home."

Obama said the inauguration is a reminder that "there is something bigger than ourselves." He kept his comments brief and quipped that he has to save some of his lines for his speech Monday.

The President left the White House in a motorcade to the U.S. Capitol at about 10:45 AM ET en route to give his inauguration speech scheduled for 11:45 AM ET.

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Will Republicans Continue To Obstruct? - Ted Cruz, the newly elected Tea Party senator from Texas, embodies the rigidity the public grew to loathe in Congress’s last term. He is bursting with fervor to fight compromise and consensus-building in Washington wherever it is found. Unlike 85 percent of the Republicans in the Senate, he would have voted against the fiscal cliff deal.

Considering the damage that this kind of thinking did to the country and the Republican Party over the last two years — a downgraded credit rating, legislative standoffs, popular anger, a loss of Republican seats — it might seem obvious that the party should marginalize lawmakers like Mr. Cruz. Instead, they continue to gain power and support. You can read the entire NY Times editorial here.

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House Republicans Propose Extending Debt Limit To May 19 - House Republicans on Monday unveiled legislation that will suspend the debt-ceiling until May 19, setting the stage for a floor vote as soon as Wednesday.

While past measures to address the debt limit have simply increased the borrowing cap, the House bill would actually suspend the debt limit for three months. Then, on May 19, the debt limit would be automatically increased from $16.4 trillion to accommodate whatever additional borrowing the Treasury had done during that time frame.

The House Rules Committee posted the text of legislation as Washington prepared for President Obama’s second inauguration. In addition to preventing default, the bill would withhold members' pay if Congress fails to pass a budget by April 15.  TheHill.com has more here.
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Biden Says Environment Will be Focus in Second Term - Vice President Joe Biden reassured environmentalists Sunday night that the Obama administration would not let climate change fall by the wayside in the president's second term.
 
"I'll tell you what my green dream is: that we finally face up to climate change," Biden said during a surprise appearance at the "Green Ball," an inaugural weekend event for environmental groups.

The vice president stressed that the environment would not be a second-tier issue and thanked the environmental community for its support for the president.

"I came to say thank you," Biden said to thunderous applaus.  Politico.com has more here.
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36 Hostages Killed in Algeria - Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said Monday that 36 foreign hostages and one Algerian were killed at a natural gas complex that was attacked by an armed Islamist group last week and retaken by Algerian forces in a bloody battle Saturday.

The death toll included two more Americans, bringing to three the number of Americans confirmed killed in the international hostage crisis, the Associated Press reported, citing a U.S. official. It said seven American hostages survived.  The Washington Post has more here.

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