Gov. Deval Patrick writes off ex-aide, says Doug Rubin's 'on his own'

Mass. GOP feuds in post-Brown era
One year after the euphoria surrounding Scott Brown’s stunning upset Senate Special Election victory for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat, long-suffering Massachusetts Republicans find themselves back in a familiar place: largely irrelevant, out of power, and worried about the future. Now, frustration over the inability to build on Brown’s win—highly vulnerable Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick was reelected, the GOP actually lost ground in the state Senate and Democrats he...

Speaker DeLeo makes some promises
It seems the Massachusetts Speaker of the House, Robert DeLeo (D), is in a fighting mood. In a Speech today as the Massachusetts House opened its session: Robert A. DeLeo, minutes after he was re-elected speaker of the House today, vowed to slash local Health Care costs, end patronage, oppose Tax Increases, and revive casino gambling Legislation. - Boston Globe These are not promises Democrats normally make, as they will put him squarely against many of the other Democrats in the legislatu...

Reichert Keeping His Gubernatorial Options Open
Fresh off being sworn in for his fourth term in the House, Washington Rep. Dave Reichert (R) sure sounded like he will be taking a very close look at running for Governor in 2012. Reichert has been rumored to be eyeing the contest and would be a top contender for the job. He has considered running for Governor before, and is often touted as a strong statewide Candidate for Republicans. On Wednesday, Reichert was quick to say that he isn't already looking at the race. "I'm here and I'm focused on...

Romney, Brown to appear on The View next month
BOSTON (AP) — The women of “The View” are getting a double dose of Massachusetts Republicans next month. Former and possibly future Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney will appear on the ABC morning Talk Show Feb. 1. That’s the paperback Release Date for his book, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.” Meanwhile, Sen. Scott Brown will appear Feb. 21 to coincide with the release of his memoirs, “Against All Odds.” Romney served as Massachuset...

Boehner elected speaker of 112th Congress
WASHINGTON — Newly elected speaker John Boehner hailed the Republican Party's return to control of the House Wednesday, vowing a more open legislative process but acknowledging that "a great deal of scar tissue has built up on both sides of the aisle." GOP lawmakers, who picked up 64 House seats in the November Elections, cheered loudly when Boehner defeated Democrat Nancy Pelosi in the roll call for speaker. The Veteran Ohio lawmaker's rise to the speakership was virtually guarantee...

Rick Santorum Making More Moves Towards Presidential Run
It should come as no surprise to many political observers that pro-life former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is interested in making a bid for the Republican nomination for president. In what is believed to be a lead-in to an announcement, CNN reports today that Santorum is announcing he has hired a top Strategist in the early primary state of New Hampshire to help him make inroads with voters. Santorum also has plans to visit New Hampshire, the site of the second biggest battle in the prim...

Sandy Adams looks to 2011
Sandy Adams is now the new congresswoman from Florida's District 24, having first defeated four challengers in her party's Primary Election, and then going on to defeat the Incumbent from Volusia County, Suzanne Kosmas. On January 5 she took the oath of office. As she was sworn in to her first two-year term in Washington, she remarked about "the great honor and responsibility of representing your views in Congress. This is not a task I take lightly." She knows that her consituents expect a lot f...

Michele Bachmann, Tea Party darling, for president in 2012?
 Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann is being suspiciously quiet about her presidential aspirations in 2012. However, Bachmann, a Tea Party darling, will be traveling to Iowa later this month for a Fundraiser with a key conservative anti-tax group. Many see the move as a signal that Bachmann is positioning herself for a run at the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. "She's taken nothing off the table. She wants to travel and speak to people. We can't have another four years of Presi...

Indebted to Reality
Nothing snaps prodigal slackers out of their cash-flushing ways quite like the repo man’s arrival. Seeing one’s former possessions lugged out of one’s domicile impacts a spendthriftaholic in ways that a third notice never could. If states were people, New York would be watching helplessly as the flat screen television was being loaded on the truck. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, holding a press gaggle in the hall of Governors outside his office this afternoon, repeated his pledge to not ba...

No More Baggage Fees: Gov. Orders Sale of State Planes
If Florida legislators want to get away, it won't be on a state-owned plane anymore. Newly-installed Gov. Rick Scott has ordered the sale of the two state-owned planes used to ferry politicians around the nation, making good on a campaign promise he told voters. "This is the first of many steps Gov. Scott is taking to reduce Government Spending," a Press Release said. The planes actually helped Scott win election in a way. Scott made the Taxpayer funded Frequent Flyer miles of Attorney...

Pelosi's handover to Boehner: Gracious -- and defiant
Michele Bachmann for president. Seriously?! Nancy Pelosi handed over the speaker's gavel Wednesday. And what a gavel. In a mostly gracious Speech introducing and congratulating Speaker John Boehner, the gentlewoman from California pointed out that the hefty wooden instrument wasn't the smallest in the House -- but the one Boehner preferred. Hoots from the floor. When she wasn't praising the new speaker, though, her valedictory address was about as subtle as Boehner's Thor-sized hammer. Pelosi o...

And So It Has Come To Demon Pass
Possibly my favorite news of the new Congress has been that its Budget approach will revolve around "deem and pass." This is a parliamentary maneuver in which the House deems a piece of Legislation to have been passed by rule: Because Democrats didn't pass a budget, and because spending authority expires in early March, there's a strong chance that the government will run out of money before the House and Senate agree to new spending levels. When that happens, under the new House rule...

Obama on the Debt Limit: Then and Now
Yahoo! Buzz In 2006, Sen. Barack Obama voted against raising the Debt ceiling to allow the U.S. to borrow more money, saying Washington was saddling future generations with its out-of-control spending. Now, his administration is implying that those who say the same are irresponsible. Asked on Wednesday about the seeming contradiction, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that in 2006, the outcome of the vote to raise the legal borrowing authority was not in doubt, and therefore the ...

Blumenthal, a lone new Democrat, sworn in to U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON--Democrat Richard Blumenthal was sworn in as Connecticut's junior U.S. Senator on Wednesday, joining a weakened Democratic majority and fulfilling his own lifelong political aspiration. Blumenthal took the oath of office at 12:10 p.m., with his hand on a weathered Bible he borrowed from a family friend. He was one of 17 new senators-but the only new Democrat-sworn in on Wednesday as the 112th Congress officially got underway. Across the Capitol, all five of Connecticut's Democratic ...

2011 Legislative Redistricting in Texas
The 82nd Texas Legislature will draw Congressional Districts for the next five election cycles. The Republican Tsunami of 2010 was as strong in Texas as anywhere, with the Texas House becoming redder to the tune of a net gain of at least 24 seats, culminating at least in a 101-49 advantage. If the Republican Caucus is unable to form a consensus on the matter before May, the end of the Legislature’s Session, Governor Perry may call a Special Session to address redistricting. The redistricti...

McCaskill moves away from mandate
Speaking on MSNBC Wednesday morning, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill suggested that Democrats should ditch the Individual Mandate required in President Obama's health reform law. It's a proposed amendment to Legislation she supported that's deeply unpopular in Missouri just as she ramps up for a challenging Reelection bid. “There’s other ways we can get people into the pool — I hope — other than a mandate, and we need to look at that,” McCaskill said Wednesday mor...

New Mass. legislative session takes on old issues
Massachusetts lawmakers who are taking their oath of office for the new legislative session face a slate of familiar troubles, from Budget shortfalls and soaring Health Care costs to the contentious question of casino gambling. In the 160-member House, Democratic Speaker Robert DeLeo will have to contend with a reinvigorated Republican minority that doubled its numbers in the last election to more than 30 members. In the 40-member Senate, Republicans lost a seat, bringing their number to just fo...

Valet parking at Ben's Chili Bowl? Thank you, politics
It's rare that politics leaves a good taste in your mouth. So a big "smart move" to Ward 4 Board of Education member Sekou Biddle -- who was endorsed last night by City Chairman Kwame Brown for the At-large council seat -- for holding his Special Election Fundraiser tonight at Ben's Chili Bowl, that oasis of all things wonderful on U Street. The deliciousness is set to go down at 7 p.m. with Valet Parking available -- not your typical Ben's experience. But then again most late-night chili bender...

Obama Taps Seitz for Office of Legal Counsel
Seitz, a partner at the Law Firm of Sidley Austin LLP, is Obama’s second nominee for the post. The first nominee,  Dawn Johnsen , withdrew last April after facing Republican criticism for more than a year. If confirmed, Seitz would be the first OLC leader approved by the Senate since 2003, when  Jack Goldsmith resigned after coming into conflict with other George W. Bush Administration officials over their aggressive post 9/11 National Security policies. The office is currently l...

California: Jerry Brown lives down to expectations
**Posted by Phineas Well, that didn’t take long. Either we do what Jerry says and continue our exorbitant Tax Rates or the kids get it : Gov. Jerry Brown will spare K-12 schools from further drastic cuts in his Budget - so long as voters extend higher income taxes in a Special Election, according to sources familiar with his proposal. The tradeoff wouldn’t cure education ills, and many districts would still face another year of fewer school days and larger class sizes. But it could...

Harry Reid Defeats Record Percentage Of Filibusters
Congratulations to Harry Reid for becoming the most successful Senate Majority Leader in history at killing attempted Filibusters during the 111th Congress! Reid successfully defeated Republican Filibusters 69% of the time they were attempted. The prior record was shared by Republican Bill Frist and Democrat Mike Mansfield in the 106th Congress and 94th Congress, respectively. Mansfield and Frist both achieved Cloture 63% of the time, although Frist won with only 55 votes while Mansfield had 61....

Harry Reid Defeats Record Percentage Of Filibusters
Congratulations to Harry Reid for becoming the most successful Senate Majority Leader in history at killing attempted Filibusters during the 111th Congress! Reid successfully defeated Republican Filibusters 69% of the time they were attempted. The prior record was shared by Republican Bill Frist and Democrat Mike Mansfield in the 106th Congress and 94th Congress, respectively. Mansfield and Frist both achieved Cloture 63% of the time, although Frist won with only 55 votes while Mansfield had 61....

White House prepares for staff exits
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A number of White House staff changes could be announced as early as Friday, senior Democratic officials close to the process said. President Obama has winnowed contenders for the White House Chief of Staff -- replacing Rahm Emmanuel who returned to Chicago to run for mayor -- to interim boss Pete Rouse and former Clinton Commerce Secretary William Daley, two officials told CNN Wednesday. The sources said Obama wants to settle on a permanent Chief of Staff soon as mor...

Take the ADP Jobs Number With a Boulder of Salt
There's no question Wednesday's reading on nonfarm private Payrolls growth was an absolute blowout. ADP (ADP), the payroll processing company, said a record 297,000 jobs were added in December, nearly triple Wall Street's forecast. But before we pop the champagne corks in anticipation of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report Friday, it's important to remember that the ADP figure could be horribly wrong. For one thing, ADP excludes government jobs. It's also notoriously volatile and has a...

Starting Lineup: Showtime For Boehner
Good Wednesday morning and welcome back to the Starting Lineup. Here's what's happening in politics today. Showtime For The GOP: Incoming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will get full attention when he takes the Speaker's gavel in the afternoon. In his remarks, Boehner will emphasize that his chamber is the people's House and will touch on the broad themes of cutting spending and government accountability . Navigating the competing factions within his Caucus will no doubt be difficult to Bo...