George Wenschhof
856 Billion Tax Extension Bill Overwhelmingly Passes Cloture in Senate - the vote was 85-13. The Senate will now vote on it today and send it to the House, where the second Stimulus bill is expected to pass, despite many disgruntled progressive Democrats. Reuters.com has more here.
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Virginia Judge Rules health care bill Unconstitutional - this was the first ruling on the "individual mandate" requirement of the bill. This is the section of the bill which has been challenged by many Republican state attorney generals across the country. Expect the Supreme Court to have the final say in regard to the "commerce clause" in the constitution.
Judge Henry Hudson is also coming under fire for rendering a decision when he had invested in a firm which lobbied against health care reform. The Huffington Post has more here.
Social Security also received many legal challenges when instituted.
U.S. Attorney general Eric Holder and Health Secretary Katleen Sebelius have an op-ed in the Washington Post today with their response to the ruling. You can read it here.
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Ambassador Richard Holbrooke Unable to Survive Emergency Aorta Surgery - despite an incredible effort by doctors to repair a torn aorta. The career diplomat spent 50 of his 69 years working in the foreign service, most recently as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. the Wall Street Journal has more on his life here.
President Obama, will hold a previously scheduled meeting today on the year end review of U.S. Afghanistan policy. The report is expected to be released today. TheHill.com has more here.
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Steele to Seek Another Term - as chair of the Republican National Committee. In a conference call to supporters last night, he announced he was indeed running for reelection after the huge success achieved by Republican candidates in the mid term elections. The NY Times has more here.
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Miller Appeals Judge's Ruling - the Alaska senate race drags on as Joe Miller challenges the authenticity of misspelled votes for the write-in winner Lisa Murkowski. The Miller campaign says the state law requires the name be spelled correctly to be counted. You can read more here.
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Daily Political Wire 12-14-2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Daily Political Wire 11-23-2010
George Wenschhof
North and South Korea exchange Artillery fire - the latest in long standing differences between the countries. South Korea had been test firing artillery near the North Korea border when North Korea responded with shots to a island of South Korea, killing several soldiers. The NY Times has more here.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs issued a statement calling on North Korea to halt it's belligerent action and to honor the 1953 armistice agreement. The Washington Post has more here.
Another test for the Obama administration.
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Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces Impeachment - an interesting development as the parliament indicated they wished to impeach but have refrained from doing so due to the wishes of Supreme Leader Allatollah Ali Khamenei. The Wall Street Journal has more here.
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Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to chair "American Bridge" - a liberal counterpart to conservative groups such as "American Crossroads". David Brock, a Democratic political operative, has set up the group and former Maryland Lt. Governor Townsend has agreed to chair the committee. The committee will support Democratic candidates in the 2012 election and already has 4 million in pledges, including one million from George Soros. You can read more here.
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Four House Races still Undecided - Republicans added another win yesterday when Democrat Representative Solomon Ortiz conceded to Blake Farenthold in Texas. Two races in New York and two in California remain to be decided. Democrats lead in 3 of the remaining races. Republicans have now picked up a total of 62 seats. TheHill.com has more here.
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Miller Sues to Halt Murkowski Senate Victory - Joe Miller backed by Sarah Palin and a tea party favorite, has filed another lawsuit challenging the write in victory of Senator Lisa Murkowski. At issue, the legal definition of the state statute which spells out what is acceptable for a write-in. His argument will be the name has to be spelled correctly and intent is not good enough. Stay tuned... Reuters.com has more here.
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Axelrod to Leave White House after "State of The Union" - the senior adviser to President Obama will be replace by David Plouffe. Plouffe is expected to arrive soon and work for the next month or more with David Axelrod before he leaves. Axelrod will essentially be changing roles with Plouffe, who was the Obama campaign manager in 2008. Politico.com has more here.
One of the problems with the Obama administration is there has been no good spokesperson after the president. Axelrod is one of a long list; a smart individual, but poor appearance and delivery of positions on issues. Don't look to see Plouffe be the answer.
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Jurors Deliberating in Tad DeLay Money Laundering Case - a long time coming in the case involving the former Republican House Majority Leader. CNN.com has more here.
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