Wednesday, May 23, 2007
CNN Political Ticker AM
Compiled by Stephen Bach, CNN Washington Bureau
Making news today... Full story on CNN.com. Democrats "backed down in the standoff with the White House over war funds, abandoning their veto-instigating effort..." (Washington Times) "Democratic leaders ceded significant ground to the White House..." (Roll Call) "The decision to back down was a wrenching reversal for leading Democrats, who saw their election triumph in November as a call to force an end to the war." (New York Times) "Outraged" anti-war Democrats "criticized the decision." Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA): "We've given everything away... It will split the Democratic caucus." (Bloomberg) Aides say Edwards will outline principles for when the U.S. should go into a country (following a terrorist attack), how you go in, and with what expertise. "It's not just about using the blunt instrument of the army," an aide said. Edwards will also talk about modernizing the U.S. military to face current threats. [Insert loquacious Biden joke here] And Palfrey, a self-described "conservative Democrat," is throwing her support to one '08 contender. Find out who gets her vote in Hot Topics below! President's Schedule: Also on the Political Radar: ================================================================= Political Hot Topics (Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country) NO TIMELINE, BUT "BENCHMARKS WITH CONSEQUENCES": Speaker Nancy Pelosi will present a plan to House Democrats for a war funding bill that won't include a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq but will feature benchmarks with consequences, according to Democratic leadership aides. The bill also would raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour from $5.15 per hour, and fund other domestic spending programs, which were still being negotiated. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said any talk of a deal was premature. "We're hopeful that the discussions over the emergency supplemental funding bill for the troops is nearing a conclusion," she said. "We have not seen the final language yet, and we look forward to reviewing it." The legislation would provide more than $90 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30, the end of the fiscal year. CNN: Dems plan Iraq bill minus timeline but with benchmarks U.S. WANTS TO REMOVE "HARDENED SECTARIAN ACTORS" FROM TOP IRAQI ROLES: Top U.S. commanders and diplomats in Iraq are completing a far-reaching campaign plan for a new U.S. strategy, laying out military and political goals and endorsing the selective removal of hardened sectarian actors from Iraq's security forces and government. The classified plan, scheduled to be finished by May 31, is a joint effort between Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior American general in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker. More than half a dozen people with knowledge of the plan discussed its contents, although most asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about it to reporters. The overarching aim of the plan, which sets goals for the end of this year and the end of 2008, is more political than military: to negotiate settlements between warring factions in Iraq from the national level down to the local level. Washington Post: New Strategy for War Stresses Iraqi Politics SENATE SAVES "FRAGILE DEAL" ON IMMIGRATION FROM POSSIBLE COLLAPSE: A comprehensive immigration bill survived a significant test on Tuesday as the Senate voted to keep a provision that would let hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers enter the country each year. If the guest worker program, part of the "grand bargain" negotiated with the Bush administration by a bipartisan group of 12 senators, had been stripped from the bill, the fragile deal could have collapsed. Despite the vote on Tuesday, supporters of the bill were clearly on the defensive. Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, who helped write the bill, said eliminating the guest worker program would be a "huge problem" for the architects of the proposal. New York Times: Senate Votes to Keep Temporary Worker Program NO SEAT BELT ON THE RANCH? NO PROBLEM: President Bush found himself in a flap Tuesday about seat-belt use, a day after a federal agency began a campaign to encourage drivers to buckle up. Video cameras caught Bush without his seat belt while driving a pickup on his Texas ranch last weekend, giving a tour to NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. White House spokesman Tony Snow declined to comment in detail on Bush's driving habits but said, "We encourage everybody to wear their seat belts." He noted Bush was driving slowly at his ranch when the incident was taped. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began its annual "Click it or Ticket" seat-belt campaign, which runs through June 3. Bush did not violate Texas law. "On private property, you're not required to wear your seat belt," said Tela Mange, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. She said "it's fairly common" in the ranchlands of Texas. USA Today: Ranch exempt from 'Click It or Ticket' NEW HOUSE RULES HAVE "DONE LITTLE TO ALTER BUSINESS AS USUAL" ON HILL: House Democratic leaders pushing a promised lobbying overhaul are facing resistance from balky lawmakers and fending off accusations that a prominent member is flouting new ethics rules. The Democratic leaders were forced to scrap a promise to double the current one-year lobbying ban after lawmakers leave office. Now, they are struggling to pass legislation requiring lobbyists to disclose the campaign contributions they "bundle" - collect and deliver - to lawmakers. Failing to deliver on both measures would endanger similar provisions already passed by the Senate. New York Times: Democrats Find Ethics Overhaul Elusive in House NO REPRIMAND FOR MURTHA: House Democrats rejected a Republican bid Tuesday to reprimand Rep. John Murtha, a senior lawmaker accused of threatening legislative reprisals against a GOP member who had crossed him. Before and after the largely party-line vote, which caused some Democrats discomfort, Republicans taunted Democratic leaders about their campaign promises to run a more ethical and open Congress. The House voted 219-189 to kill the Republicans' motion to reprimand Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, Iraq war foe and close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Two Democrats - Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Jim Cooper of Tennessee - voted against killing the motion. One Republican - Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania - voted for the motion to table, or kill, the proposed reprimand. AP via Yahoo! News: House defeats bid to reprimand Murtha FRANKEN BRINGS HIGH NET WORTH TO MN SENATE RACE: Al Franken, a comedian and best-selling author before launching his Senate campaign this year, is worth between $4.3 million and $9.9 million, according to a financial disclosure form he filed with the Senate. Franken, a Democrat who hopes to challenge Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman next year, listed a salary of just over $1 million last year from his corporation, Alan Franken Inc. That corporation is the business entity that provides Franken's services - such as speaking engagements and his prior service on Air America Radio - and then pays Franken a salary at the end of the year after commissions, taxes and other fees are paid, said his campaign spokesman, Andy Barr. AP via Yahoo! News: Al Franken's worth nothing to laugh at KY GOV. FLETCHER DEFEATS PRIMARY CHALLENGERS: Overcoming the fallout from a political hiring scandal, Gov. Ernie Fletcher won a decisive victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary last night over former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup and Paducah businessman Billy Harper. Fletcher won half the Republican vote, an accomplishment that many had thought was virtually impossible given his problems of the past two years. The scandal still threatens his election to a second term in November, when he would need to attract votes from Democrats and independents to beat the Democratic nominee, former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear. But Fletcher clearly wasn't worried about that last night as he took the stage at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel in Lexington as the jubilant crowd chanted, "Four more years, four more years." Louisville Courier-Journal: He beats Northup despite scandal SAIS INVITES CANDIDATES FOR IRAQ-ONLY DEBATE: Sen. Joseph Biden's (D-Del.) call for a Democratic debate "focused solely on ending the war in Iraq" was answered this week, but he might be the only person who attends. Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies' Center on Politics and Foreign Relations invited the Democratic presidential field to participate in a 90-minute debate on June 6 where Iraq will be the only discussion topic. At press time, only one candidate aside from Biden had answered questions from The Hill about whether they planned to attend. Sen. Christopher Dodd's (D-Conn.) campaign said the senator would not be attending because of a scheduling conflict, though the campaign declined to specify what that conflict is. The Hill: Sen. Biden gets wish granted with Iraq-only debate THE NEW McCAIN... FURIOUS FUNDRAISER: As the Senate debate over immigration raged yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had breakfast, brunch and lunch fundraisers in Houston before heading north to gather money at a supporter's home in Dallas and, later, from young professionals at a gourmet Mexican restaurant. It's the new McCain: Working furiously to rebound from a lackluster fundraising effort in the first three months of the year, he is forgoing many opportunities for public campaigning and sharply cutting back his role as a high-profile legislator with a knack for brokering deals. Washington Post: McCain Turns Focus To His Fundraising "QUICK WIT" AND "STILETTO-SHARP TONGUE" AN ASSET AND LIABILITY: To anyone who has been pining for the tell-it-like-it-is John McCain who ran for president in 2000, the days of longing may be over. In the South Carolina GOP presidential debate last Tuesday, in a closed-door gathering of senators Thursday and then on a conference call Monday with Republican-leaning bloggers, the Arizona senator flashed what may be both his biggest asset and his biggest liability: a quick wit and stiletto-sharp tongue. The question for his presidential campaign this time is whether such attacks are helpful reminders for many people of why they originally liked the man or enhance his image as someone inclined to lose his cool when threatened. Politico: McCain's barbs may not help his campaign "LAND MINES" FOR EDWARDS' POPULIST CAMPAIGN THEME: Democrat John Edwards has eloquently established his credentials as an advocate for the poor with a presidential campaign focused on the devastating effects of poverty in America. But the former North Carolina senator's populist drive has hit a series of troubling land mines: a pair of $400 haircuts, a $500,000 paycheck from a hedge fund, and now a $55,000 payday for a speech on poverty to students at UC Davis. The problem now facing the Democratic presidential candidate is whether the pileup of headlines, including the latest regarding hefty fees from university speeches reported Monday by The Chronicle, threatens to obliterate Edwards' dominant campaign theme. The former senator, who has been portrayed as the champion of the poor and the son of a humble mill worker, now faces the possibility that voters will have a different image: that of a millionaire trial lawyer who talks one way and lives another. San Francisco Chronicle: Recent headlines threaten Edwards' main campaign theme ROMNEY A "CARD-CARRYING" YANKEE: Mitt Romney may have Midwestern roots, but after four decades in Belmont, two advanced Harvard degrees, four years as Massachusetts governor, and many Red Sox games, he's a card-carrying Northeasterner whether he likes it or not. In a country that loves Southern politicians, it is tough to run for president as a New Englander, especially in Southern states. Romney is not a garrulous, up-from-nothing Arkansan like Bill Clinton. He's no evangelical Georgia peanut farmer like Jimmy Carter. Nor is he a boots-wearing Northeasterner-turned-Texan like President Bush and his father. Even as Romney has surged into the lead in some polls in the key primary states of New Hampshire and Iowa in recent days, he is still struggling to rise above single figures in South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida, likely to be the South's early primary battlegrounds. Boston Globe: In South, Romney struggles to go beyond Yankee background THOMPSON RUNNING? "HE BASICALLY ALREADY IS": Numerous signs point to a [Fred] Thompson candidacy, and a summertime announcement is widely expected, although people close to him caution that he has not made a final decision about running. Never mind that he basically already is. Thompson is hiring staff, speaking to conservative groups, writing online columns on topics of the day and staking out positions on issues like the Senate immigration overhaul. He also is testing his pitch on the Internet. "It's important to the future of this country that (Republicans) have somebody that can win in November," Thompson said in a recent online interview. "People are looking for somebody who can talk straight to them. That's what I hope I bring to bear." His expected entrance into the already crowded GOP field could dramatically shake up the wide-open race but it's unclear who among the strongest contenders, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney, would be affected the most. AP via Yahoo! News: Many signs point to Thompson candidacy RUDY'S BLUE-STATE STRATEGY: Rudy Giuliani was off Tuesday on a second straight day of campaigning across New York with a message aimed at Republican rivals outside his home state: I can battle them for the blues. The "them" is the Democrats, who have been making much of picking up a red state or two and winning back the White House — perhaps riding there with Giuliani's home-state rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Giuliani pledges to take the battle against the Democrats to the blue states. "One of Giuliani's arguments is that he can beat Hillary Clinton, and as long as Hillary remains strong with the Democrats, that is a good argument for Rudy," said Lee Miringoff, head of Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion. "Part of his strategy with Republicans in red states is he might be able to challenge Democrats in blue states." AP via Yahoo! News: Giuliani: I can battle in the blues DC MADAM ON THE HILLARY BANDWAGON: First, we learned that adult movie star Jenna Jameson supports Sen. Hillary Clinton's run for president of the United States. Now, we learn that another, um, Taboo Titleholder backs the New York senator's White House ambitions: Deborah Jeane Palfrey, aka, the "D.C. Madam." Yeas & Nays tracked down Palfrey following her appearance at Nathans of Georgetown's "Q&A Cafe" Tuesday (where she told Nathans owner Carol Joynt that she's a "conservative Democrat") and inquired into the politics of this former escort service owner. Palfrey admitted that she's pulling for Hillary in 2008. "I think she's great," she said. "She's bright and articulate." But she doesn't have similar feelings for the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, however. "I hate him," Palfrey said. "He only got there because of his father." Examiner: DC Madam for Hillary! |
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