Obama Blames Himself For Tone in Washington

Obama Blames Himself for Tone in Washington? Well Yeah, He Should.
Just 20 days after his inauguration, with Republicans trying to block his stimulus bill, President Obama refused to acknowledge that he had underestimated how hard it would be to change the way Washington works. But as the president returned home on Sunday to face an even more rigidly divided capital, Mr. Obama went even further by blaming himself for failing to do what he had repeatedly promised — change the tone in Washington. He said his own “obsessive” focus on implementing...

After 'shellacking,' Obama continues to point finger at himself
Conservative Democrats have blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the party's Election Day defeat. More Liberal Democrats have attacked the Blue Dogs. Nearly all Democrats have criticized the White House for some failing, from not communicating well enough to bungling the stimulus. Pelosi's allies have said the White House didn't sufficiently defend her. But the nation's top Democrat isn't blaming anyone but himself. In his comments since Election Day, President Obama has praised Pelosi (D-Ca...

Obama to meet with lawmakers about taxes, earmarks
While the president is signaling a willingness to Compromise on Tax Cuts, he is also challenging congressional Republicans to justify the $700 million hit on revenue that would come from extending Tax Cuts for the rich. (Charles Dharapak/AP) Ahead of a pre-dinner meeting with congressional Leaders Thursday, President Obama is preparing a banquet featuring Tax Cuts, earmark reform and reheated concern over Bipartisanship. "I am very confident that the American people were not issuing a mandate ...

Will they ever shove back?
That's the question I've been hearing from the Democratic Party's stunned and dispirited Base. For the past month, I've been on a book tour that has taken me to Asheville, N.C., Terre Haute, Ind., Austin, Texas, and elsewhere. Everywhere I go, supporters of President Obama and his agenda ask me why so many Democrats in Washington don't stand up for what they say they believe. I confess that I don't have a good answer. What I can say with confidence, however, is that the White House and Democrats...

Blame Game --- the president needs some coaching
Blame Game by digby For someone who never wants to hold anyone accountable for anything, the president sure is anxious to accept blame for himself. But some of us, most famously Greg Sargent, have been making the point for a long time that when a president boldly promises to change the way Washington works and the other side obstructs his every attempt at cooperation and Bipartisanship, the voters don't blame the other side, they blame the president for failing to deliver on his promises. (In...

Mitch McConnell Flips, Will Now Support Earmarks Ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major victory for Tea Party Activists, the top Republican in the Senate on Monday reversed course and endorsed a Moratorium on pork-barrel projects known as “Earmarks.” Earmarking is the longtime Washington practice in which lawmakers insert money for home-state projects like road and bridge work into spending bills. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he’s heeding the message that voters sent in Midterm Elections that swept Demo...

McConnell Earmark Ban Support Could Mean Even Less for Transpo
(Washington, DC — Todd Zwillich, Transportation Nation) State and local transportation planners may have had an uneasy sleep last night after hearing that the Senate’s top-ranking Republican is backing a ban on earmark Spending in Congress. The impact of Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s (KY) pledge is still unclear. Senate Republicans are set to vote on a voluntary Moratorium on pet-project Spending on Tuesday. But McConnell’s reversal from earmark champion to reluctan...

South Carolina's DeMint credits McConnell for embracing end to congressional 'earmarks'
WASHINGTON — A leading conservative Republican is hailing the push to end spending on pet projects, saying it represents a "culture change" in Washington. South Carolina's Sen. Jim DeMint complimented Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell for joining forces with those wanting to end the so-called "Earmarks" often attached to congressional Legislation. DeMint tells CBS's "The Early Show" he credits the Kentucky Republican with listening to fellow GOP lawmakers and also to voters who showed t...

Conservative senator lauds McConnell on earmarks
Sen. DeMint forces battle within GOP over Earmarks Washington (AP) — A leading conservative Republican is hailing the push to end spending on pet projects, saying it represents a “culture change” in Washington. South Carolina’s Sen. Jim DeMint complimented Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell for joining forces with those wanting to end the so-called “Earmarks” often attached to congressional Legislation. DeMint tells CBS’s “The Early Show” he c...

Harold Ford is IRRELEVANT
I could stop right there, but I like to include facts when I pronounce someone irrelevant. Harold Ford, Jr., is irrelevant.  Irrelevant to the political diaspora, especially where African-Americans and everyone else are concerned.  Just ask his Memphis district about his representation of them for 10 years. He was rated “Congressional Black Caucus - Worst Congressperson - EVER” - I mean, how can you manage to flunk the CBCMonitor Report cards unless you’r...

Deal on extending tax cuts begins to take shape
Reporting from Washington — The partisan stalemate over Tax Cuts softened Monday, pointing to the outlines of a potential Compromise that could involve extending the Cuts for up to two years. Other proposals also were being floated as Representatives and senators gathered for a post-election, Lame-duck session, including one that would raise the Income threshold for the Tax Cuts to $1 million, which would allow many households in the top bracket to continue receiving a Tax Break. For mo...

McConnell switches, backs earmark ban
Published: Nov. 15, 2010 at 6:17 PM Republican opponents of a ban on Earmarks should expect a challenge in the next Primary, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg Washington, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in a 180-degree turn, Monday endorsed a ban on Earmarks sought by conservative Republicans. McConnell announced his support on the Senate floor moments after the Lame-duck session of Congress began, The Washington Post reported. Sen. Jim ...

Obama, Republicans target symbolic spending cuts (AFP)
Washington (AFP) – President Barack Obama and his Republican foes found rare agreement Monday on targeting pet projects seen as symbols of wasteful Government Spending, fuel for voter anger in Elections this month. But battles over Tax Cuts and a landmark Nuclear Treaty with Russia loomed as lawmakers opened a year-end "Lame Duck" session in the wake of the November 2 ballot, which saw the president's Democratic congressional allies routed. Obama -- who has vowed to shift f...

Let's make a deal
`Compromise' may be a foul word to some of the more ideologically rigid members of Congress, but it's the key to making government work in an era of partisan division. So let's start with the upcoming fight over taxes. In the Lame-duck session that begins this week, neither Republicans fresh off a huge electoral victory nor Democrats who still claim majorities in both chambers until January and control the White House can get anywhere without making a deal. Yet a deal must be had to avoid an inc...

ABC: Concentration on Policy Caused Obamas Shellacking, No Mandate to GOP for Gridlock
On ABC’s World News Sunday, correspondent David Kerley seemed to accept as fact President Obama’s claim that "concentration on policy issues" was the reason for his party’s recent Election losses. Kerley began his report by describing Obama as "admitting" to this explanation of his political problems: DAVID KERLEY: A more reflective President returned to Washington, admitting on Air Force One that his concentration on policy issues led to his shellacking in ...

Mitch McConnell Changes Tune On Earmark Ban
Filed under Blog, Features. Tagged Earmarks, GOP, Mitch McConnell, Senate. He really didn’t have much choice but good for him. Make no mistake. I know the good that has come from the projects I have helped support throughout my state. I don’t apologize for them. But there is simply no doubt that the abuse of this practice has caused Americans to view it as a symbol of the waste and the out-of-control Spending that every Republican in Washington is determined to fight. And unless peo...

Top Senate Republican endorses halt to earmarks
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday endorsed plans for a Moratorium on Earmarks, a surprising reversal that could put a halt to the Controversial Federal spending practice. Earmarks are provisions added to a bill that direct money to a specific project. McConnell, who over the past three years has sponsored $458 million in Earmarks, said that the Elections two weeks ago illustrated the electorate’s desire for changes in how Federal Tax Dollars are spent. “Nearly every d...

McConnell reverses position on earmarks
In an abrupt reversal, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday endorsed a Moratorium on Earmarks that GOP Conservatives are seeking to send a signal that the Republican Party is serious about curbing federal Spending. This Story McConnell reverses position on Earmarks Poll: When, if ever, will Congress ban earmarks? Sen. DeMint forces battle within GOP over Earmarks How Earmarks weaken Congress Coalition of senators challenges GOP on Earmarks Freshman legislators meet Washington OPIN...

Senate's top Republican endorses earmark ban
WASHINGTON — Newly invigorated Senate Republicans are expected to take a small but symbolic step Tuesday to show they're serious about curbing Spending, when they formally back a Moratorium on "Earmarks," the thousands of local projects stuffed into Legislation. With a fresh boost Monday from GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who previously had been skeptical of such a ban, Senate Republicans are expected to endorse barring the practice. House Republicans also plan to vote on a ban...

McConnell Backs Down On Opposition To Earmark Ban
Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell has been one of the most strident opponents of efforts to ban earmarking among his Senate GOP colleagues. However, he also knows which way the wind blows, which is probably the main reason he came to the floor of the Senate today to announce that he’d changed his mind: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Monday that he will join a GOP effort to ban congressional Earmarks. McConnell, one of the Senate’s biggest proponents of earmar...

New clobbers old on Capitol Hill
Old and new Washington collided on Capitol Hill Monday, and new won. Within moments of flicking on the Senate lights, Sen. Mitch McConnell announced that when it came to pork barrel politics he had changed his mind. The Senate’s staunchest fan of so-called Earmarks reversed course and supported a ban on those special spending requests, a bow to the Tea partiers and others in the Populist, antiestablishment wave that gave the GOP control of the House and six more seats in the Senate. “...

Change is quick at the Capitol: McConnell reverses on earmarks ban as old and new collide
WASHINGTON — Old and new Washington collided on Capitol Hill Monday, and new won. Within moments of flicking on the Senate lights, Sen. Mitch McConnell announced that when it came to pork barrel politics he had changed his mind. The Senate's staunchest fan of so-called "Earmarks" reversed course and supported a ban on those special spending requests, a bow to the Tea partiers and others in the Populist, anti-establishment wave that gave the GOP control of the House and six more seats in...

GOP-led House could make trouble for Googles execs
Saddled with the perception that it is a darling of the Obama Administration, Google could have a difficult terrain to navigate when Republicans assume the House majority in the next Congress.  The company whose chief executive campaigned for President Obama stands to become a target of investigations by multiple Committees.  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who has promised to be an aggressive Watchdog as chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has led congressional Republicans in questioni...

Republicans in no rush for presidential campaign
WASHINGTON — The first Republican debate has been announced. The early media handicapping has begun. Anticipation in the political community is running high. By those signs, the curtain is set to rise on the 2012 GOP Presidential Campaign. But what about the Candidates? At this point four years ago, the race for the White House was already in high gear. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., filed his declaration of candidacy soon after the 2006 Midterm Elections. Barack Obama, then a junior senator...