The Jobless Trap – NYTimes.com

“After years of repeated warnings that fiscal crisis is just around the corner, the U.S. government can still borrow at incredibly low interest rates. But while debt fears were and are misguided, there’s a real danger we’ve ignored: the corrosive effect, social and economic, of persistent high unemployment.”

tags: GLOW Deficit Unemployment Economy Austerity Republican Irresponsibility

New measures to fight corruption are an appropriate response to scandals – Opinion – The Buffalo News

“The shock, such as it was, of new allegations of political corruption in state government hardly had time to register before Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed tougher laws, raising the stakes for those who abuse the trust of voters. It was an appropriate response that deserves careful, prompt review.”

tags: GLOW Andrew Cuomo Albany Dysfunction Albany Reform

A Senate in the Gun Lobby’s Grip – NYTimes.com

“Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo — desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation — to go on. I am asking every reasonable American to help me tell the truth about the cowardice these senators demonstrated. I am asking for mothers to stop these lawmakers at the grocery store and tell them: You’ve lost my vote. I am asking activists to unsubscribe from these senators’ e-mail lists and to stop giving them money. I’m asking citizens to go to their offices and say: You’ve disappointed me, and there will be consequences. … Mark my words: if we cannot make our communities safer with the Congress we have now, we will use every means available to make sure we have a different Congress, one that puts communities’ interests ahead of the gun lobby’s. To do nothing while others are in danger is not the American way.”

An incredibly powerful op-ed from Gabrielle Giffords.

tags: GLOW Gun Control Filibuster Republican Irresponsibility Giffords 2014

Stronger background checks go down — this time

“And so while today is clearly a crushing setback for proponents of tougher gun legislation, overall the effort has been a very solid step towards eventual passage. If, that is, the people who strongly supported today’s amendment keep working to reward Senators who supported them, to make life difficult for those who opposed them; and, most of all, to make it a must-support for future candidates.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Filibuster Republican Irresponsibility 2014

How The GOP Demand For A Democratic Budget Just Backfired Big Time | TPMDC

“Republicans would thus be forced to choose between agreeing to new taxes and triggering a huge conservative revolt; or exacerbating the public’s sense that their party is pathologically unable to compromise.”

tags: GLOW Federal Budget Taxes Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

Paul Ryan, in a box?

“But conservatives may demand a showdown over the debt ceiling, which could put Ryan in a tricky spot. Either he signals a willingness to raise it, which could damage him among conservatives and GOP primary voters, who have been led to believe that staging big standoffs around the debt ceiling is the way to defeat Big Government. Or he holds out against compromise, which could win him plaudits on the right but could make him look uncompromising and ideologically extreme to moderate voters and opinion leaders. In other words, at a time when the prospects for GOP flexibility on fiscal matters already looks remote, with Republicans remaining ideologically tethered to Ryan’s fiscal vision, add his apparent 2016 ambitions into the mix and things could get even worse.”

tags: GLOW 2016 Ryan Debt Ceiling Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

The Morning Plum: If gun proposal dies, what happens when there’s another shooting?

“If Manchin-Toomey dies, there also will be a lot of chatter to the effect that this was inevitable, that the NRA’s grip on Congress is invincible, and that it was naïve to imagine that anything could happen, even after Newtown. This is all just wrong, and indeed, it lets culpable Senators off the hook. If the proposal goes down, it will be because a few Senators did the wrong thing. It was not at all inevitable that a half dozen Senators who were genuinely undecided voted one way and not the other. The death of this proposal will be on them. Whatever the prospects for future gun reform, it is all but certain that Senators who vote No today will eventually be confronted by another shooting — whether it’s a particularly gristly murder in their state or a high profile massacre that gets national attention. And they will be unable to say they did something to try to slow the carnage when they had the chance. Is that what they really want?”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Newtown Republican Obstruction Republican Irresponsibility

Economists: Sorry About That Mass Unemployment — Daily Intelligencer

“Both these arguments lead back to the same place — namely, that the political debate has been dominated by an imaginary fear. As a result, we’ve endured mass unemployment, a phenomenon with enormous and very long-term consequences.”

tags: GLOW Deficit Austerity Economy Unemployment Republican Irresponsibility

Obama will travel to Boston on Thursday

“The White House announced Tuesday that President Obama will travel to Boston on Thursday morning to attend an interfaith service for those who were killed and gravely injured in the attack on the Boston Marathon.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Terrorism

With background checks in the balance – The Maddow Blog

“As a policy matter, this is gibberish. Indeed, it’s so wrong, it’s almost insulting. There’s nothing unconstitutional about background checks — indeed, background checks must be legally permissible, since they already exist without legal controversy. What’s more, fearing the creation of a national gun registry from the proposal is idiotic, given that the legislation explicitly bans such a registry.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility Filibuster

The Great Debt Delusion: How Math Keeps Proving Austerity Wrong – Matthew O’Brien – The Atlantic

“Think about that. A paper that couldn’t even manage to enter numbers into a spreadsheet correctly became the chief intellectual justification for a horribly self-defeating economic experiment that has kept millions out of work.”

tags: GLOW Austerity Economy Republican Irresponsibility

Cuomo Bolsters Anticorruption Efforts – NYTimes.com

“Offering a second set of proposals on the heels of two new corruption cases involving state lawmakers, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Tuesday that he would seek to create an independent office to enforce state election law. The governor also proposed two steps intended to lessen the stranglehold of political parties on the candidate selection process: allowing voters and candidates to switch their party enrollment closer to the date of an election, and allowing candidates to run in another party’s primary without seeking permission from party leaders, as is required by current law.”

tags: GLOW Andrew Cuomo Albany Reform

Newtown families ask for meeting with Mitch McConnell

“A representative for families of the Newtown shooting victims has asked Senator Mitch McConnell to hold a meeting with them, according to sources familiar with the request. McConnell’s office initially declined the request on the basis of scheduling, a source says — and now family members are set to call McConnell and reiterate the request personally.”

tags: GLOW McConnell Newtown Gun Control Republican Obstruction Republican Irresponsibility

How out of touch is today’s GOP?

“To wit: It finds that only 23 percent of Americans — that would be fewer than one in four — believe the Republican Party is “in touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today,” while 70 percent believe that it is ‘out of touch.’ Among independents, those numbers are 23-70. Among moderates they’re 20-75.”

tags: GLOW Polling Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray

On immigration, will Republicans take Yes for an answer?

“In other words, most Republican lawmakers have no real reason to oppose this based on what they’ve outlined as their concerns. Which is to say that, with this immigration bill, we’ll see if Republicans are actually interested in governing, or if they’re still completely invested in an approach of constant opposition to anything proposed or supported by President Obama and the Democratic Party.”

tags: GLOW Immigration Republican Extremism Republican Hypocrisy

The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On – Bruce Schneier – The Atlantic

“Don’t glorify the terrorists and their actions by calling this part of a ‘war on terror.’ Wars involve two legitimate sides. There’s only one legitimate side here; those on the other are criminals. They should be found, arrested, and punished. But we need to be vigilant not to weaken the very freedoms and liberties that make this country great, meanwhile, just because we’re scared. Empathize, but refuse to be terrorized. Instead, be indomitable — and support leaders who are as well. That’s how to defeat terrorists.”

tags: GLOW Terrorism National Security

Most back new gun, immigration laws, Post-ABC poll shows – The Washington Post

“Still, Republicans are seen as significantly more out of touch: 70 percent of Americans — including nearly half of all self-identified Republicans — say the party is disconnected from the mainstream.”

tags: GLOW Polling Republican Disarray

Former Genesee sheriff recalled as ‘good and decent man’ – The Daily News Online: News

“On Monday, those who knew him recalled the many positive ways in which Call made an impact on the community.”

tags: GLOW Genesee County

Is a middle ground on guns emerging? It just might be.

“Fifty-five percent of respondents say new gun laws could be instituted without impinging on the 2nd Amendment right of gun owners. That includes 50 percent of those who themselves own guns, 58 percent of people who have a gun owner in their home and, not surprisingly, 60 percent of people who have no guns in their homes.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Polling

Five charts that will make you feel better about paying your taxes

“Your 2012 tax return has a lot to recommend it. Here’s why, in charts.”

tags: GLOW Taxes

Immigration bill ready for debut – Manu Raju and Carrie Budoff Brown and Anna Palmer – POLITICO.com

“Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on a bill to make the most substantive changes to immigration laws in nearly three decades. The bipartisan Gang of Eight plans to file its bill as early as Tuesday — a public roll-out was delayed because of the deadly blasts at the Boston Marathon — and it’s certain to spark an emotional debate that will dominate Washington for the remainder of the year.”

tags: GLOW Immigration Senate Schumer

Dems push tough reforms – Times Union

“The Democrats’ plan would prohibit the use of campaign cash for criminal defense fees, amend the state constitution to claw back pensions from convicted lawmakers, restrict the use of campaign funds for legitimate, election-related purposes and require that lobbyists’ campaign contributions be specially marked on disclosure reports. The officials reiterated their support for partial public financing of political campaigns.”

tags: GLOW State Senate Democrats Albany Dysfunction Campaign Finance

Letter: People feeling effects of sequestration cuts – Opinion – The Buffalo News

“Almost on a daily basis, we hear of more programs and grants being eliminated and people losing hours of employment as cuts are put into place. Any savings allegedly accrued by these ‘cost-saving’ measures in the short run will ultimately be paid for by the taxpayers in the long run, not only monetarily, but in terms of opportunity. It is no surprise that a millionaire congressman could take such a cavalier approach to the effects of sequestration from the comfort of his home where ‘his television works and the water’s on.’ Those of us living in the real world cannot afford to do so.”

tags: GLOW sequestration Collins Republican Irresponsibility

ACLU: Toomey-Manchin bill would make national gun registry less likely

“But in an interview with me today, the same ACLU privacy lobbyist tells me those concerns have been resolved in the new compromise proposal put forth by Pat Toomey and Joe Manchin. Not only that, he said the language in the compromise proposal creates stronger prohibitions against any national gun registry than exist under current law. In other words, according to the same group conservatives themselves previously cited as credible on questions about privacy protection and intrusive government under new gun legislation, the compromise in fact would make a registry even less likely than under current law.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Hypocrisy

When Republicans Favored Gun Control – Newsweek and The Daily Beast

“Which is to say: the party has gone off a cliff. Americans have noticed. The percentage that considers the GOP too extreme has jumped 20 points since 2000. Americans now consider Republicans more extreme than Democrats by 16 points.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

Column: Compromise key to legacy Obama desires – News – Boston.com

“This is who: A shrewd politician intent on doing what’s necessary to emerge from his presidency as a transformational figure — beyond the scope of being the nation’s first non-white president — with a legacy of having changed entire pillars of a country in a period of significant change.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Compromise

E.J. Dionne Jr.: Newtown’s call to reason – The Washington Post

“Because the accounts from the Sandy Hook families have been so moving and so wrenching, it is common to say that a gun bill is being carried along ‘on a wave of emotion.’ There is nothing wrong with honest emotion, but the implication is that we are acting on guns in a way we would not act if our judgments were based on pure reason or a careful look at the evidence. This has it exactly backward. The truth is that the Newtown slaughter has finally moved the gun debate away from irrational emotions, ridiculous assumptions, manipulative rhetoric — and, on the part of politicians, debilitating terror at the alleged electoral reach of those who see any new gun regulations as a step into totalitarianism. These bills are being taken seriously precisely because we are finally putting emotion aside. We are riding a wave of reason.”

tags: GLOW Newtown Gun Control Republican Irresponsibility

The Antisocial Network of Bitcoins – NYTimes.com

“The practical misconception here — and it’s a big one — is the notion that we live in an era of wildly irresponsible money printing, with runaway inflation just around the corner. It’s true that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have greatly expanded their balance sheets — but they’ve done that explicitly as a temporary measure in response to economic crisis. I know, government officials are not to be trusted and all that, but the truth is that Ben Bernanke’s promises that his actions wouldn’t be inflationary have been vindicated year after year, while goldbugs’ dire warnings of inflation keep not coming true. The philosophical misconception, however, seems to me to be even bigger. Goldbugs and bitbugs alike seem to long for a pristine monetary standard, untouched by human frailty. But that’s an impossible dream.”

tags: GLOW Economy Inflation Bernanke Republican Irresponsibility

President Obama Speaks on the Explosions in Boston | The White House

“This evening, President Obama made a statement about today’s explosions at the Boston Marathon.”

tags: GLOW President Obama video National Security Terrorism

What country does the Tea Party represent? – Salon.com

“House Republicans are no longer swayed by public opinion, imperiling the GOP and grinding government to a halt.”

tags: GLOW Congress Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray

Village Trustee Asks Corfu Mayor to Step Down – Rochester

“Following conflict involving the mayor of a Genesee County village, a trustee is urging him to resign. This comes after Village of Corfu residents decided to reach out to the governor to try to remove newly elected mayor Ralph Peterson.”

tags: GLOW Gender Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray Genesee County

Dana Milbank: Sandy Hook families revive gun-control measure – The Washington Post

“A week earlier, gun-control legislation had appeared to be a lost cause. But over the course of four days, Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son, Dylan, in December, joined with 10 other kin of the Newtown dead — and brought the legislation back to life.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Extremism Newtown

Boehner on Hastert Rule: ‘It was never a rule to begin with’

“House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) signaled Thursday that he may continue to bypass a House Republican rule that has required any legislation being voted upon to have the support of a majority of the GOP conference.”

tags: GLOW Boehner Republican Extremism Republican Disarray Hastert Rule

The three best ideas in Obama’s budget

“But here are the three best ideas in the document:”

tags: GLOW Federal Budget President Obama Education Health Care Reform Tax Reform

Lust for Gold – NYTimes.com

“And so it remains to this day. Conservative-minded people tend to support a gold standard — and to buy gold — because they’re very easily persuaded that ‘fiat money,’ money created on a discretionary basis in an attempt to stabilize the economy, is really just part of the larger plot to take away their hard-earned wealth and give it to you-know-who. But the runaway inflation that was supposed to follow reckless money-printing — inflation that the usual suspects have been declaring imminent for four years and more — keeps not happening. For a while, rising gold prices helped create some credibility for the goldbugs even as their predictions about everything else proved wrong, but now gold as an investment has turned sour, too. So will we be seeing prominent goldbugs change their views, or at least lose a lot of their followers? I wouldn’t bet on it. In modern America, as I suggested at the beginning, everything is political; and goldbuggism, which fits so perfectly with common political prejudices, will probably continue to flourish no matter how wrong it proves.”

tags: GLOW Economy Inflation Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

Club For Growth Looking For Primary Challenger To Greg Walden After His Chained CPI Opposition

“The Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax, anti-spending group, said Thursday that it was looking for a primary challenger against Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.”

tags: GLOW Social Security Republican Hypocrisy Republican Disarray

What will John Boehner say to Gabrielle Giffords?

“Giffords, having battled her way back against tremendous odds from the threshold of death, now wants Boehner and her former colleagues to hold a vote on proposals designed to slow the killing. What will Boehner say to her? Perhaps reporters will ask him.”

tags: GLOW Boehner Giffords Gun Control Republican Irresponsibility

John Boehner distances himself from the NRCC (sort of, anyway)

“To reiterate, what we have here is this: The GOP Congressional leadership is demanding that Obama embrace entitlement reform, and blasting him as unserious for failing to offer sufficient entitlement cuts. Obama has offered Republicans Chained CPI — which is a Social Security benefits cut that Republicans themselves said they wanted. But the NRCC has now signaled Republicans may use this to pillory Dems in 2014 for going after seniors, just as Republicans attacked Dems on Medicare in the last two cycles. Obviously, the threat of these attacks makes it all the harder for Dems to agree to the reforms Republicans themselves say the country urgently needs. This is not politics as usual.”

tags: GLOW Federal Budget Social Security Boehner Republican Hypocrisy Republican Irresponsibility

Fiscal frauds

“In other words, even as Republican Congressional leaders continue to claim we need to cut entitlements, the chair of the committee charged with electing Republicans to the House is simultaneously making it all the harder for this to actually get done by signaling that Dems will pay a heavy political price if they agree to actually do anything along those lines. Folks should acknowledge and call out how truly farcical and deeply unserious this really is.”

tags: GLOW Federal Budget Social Security President Obama Republican Hypocrisy Republican Irresponsibility

GOP leaders: By all means, cut Social Security, but don’t tax the rich

“If the White House’s political goal in calling for Social Security cuts in its budget was to reveal the GOP as the intransigent, uncompromising party in Washington, it’s having the desired effect.”

tags: GLOW Federal Budget Social Security President Obama Republican Hypocrisy

Senate opens debate on gun bill

“The Senate voted 68 to 31 to proceed to debate on legislation to curb gun violence, beginning what observers expect to be weeks of argument on the most consequential congressional action on firearm regulations since the 1990s.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Senate

Ornstein: Congress Has Changed, Not for the Better, and Now It Needs Changing : Roll Call Opinion

“The House GOP has veered sharply, even drastically, to the right from what already was a pretty rightist center of gravity. But more important has been the attitudinal change. Respect for the institution of Congress — much less for the framers’ vision of policymaking through deliberation, debate and an effort to find common ground, or at least grounds for compromise — has been replaced by obduracy, contempt for compromise and a level of demonization of the other side, starting with the president. This is deeply unsettling.”

tags: GLOW Congress Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

John Boehner on hot seat as Senate acts – Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer – POLITICO.com

“But the rush to bipartisanship could grind to an abrupt halt in the House. Speaker John Boehner is once again trapped in a tough position: If he doesn’t move on Senate-passed gun and immigration compromises, the House risks looking like it is obstructing the will of the American people.”

tags: GLOW Immigration Gun Control Boehner Republican Disarray

With budget, Obama readies to hammer GOP again

“That means if the GOP doesn’t want its already dismal standing in the country to dim any further it is going to have to put governing ahead of politics. Otherwise, it better get used to getting hammered by the president for its recalcitrance and the American people for its inaction.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Republican Hypocrisy Republican Disarray

Gun control, immigration and budget talks: Is there a thaw in Washington? – The Washington Post

“For the first time in a while, members of the two parties — at least some of them — appear to be talking about getting things done, even without the deadline of a manufactured crisis looming.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Immigration Federal Budget

Gun Law Loopholes Let Buyers Skirt Background Checks – NYTimes.com

“Opponents of expanded background checks, including the National Rifle Association, argue that they would not prevent criminals from acquiring guns, since many get them through back-market sales or theft, or by getting ‘straw purchasers’ — people who can pass background checks — to buy guns on their behalf. But the checks have blocked purchases. Since 1998 the F.B.I. has rejected more than a million would-be sales, and when state-level rejections are factored in the number of denials is closer to two million — usually because the would-be buyers are convicted felons, or fugitives from justice, or mentally ill, among other reasons. How many of those rejected buyers were able buy guns without background checks, from private sellers or over the Internet, is difficult to say, in part because restrictions imposed by Congress make it difficult for law enforcement officials to track firearms sales.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Extremism Republican Hypocrisy

Rand Paul Goes to Howard – NYTimes.com

“Paul ventured across Washington to historically black Howard University and gave a speech aimed at outreach and bridge building. The man is mulling a presidential run after all. The speech was a dud. It was a clipped-tail history lesson praising the civil rights record of the pre-Southern Strategy Republican Party, while slamming the concurrent record of the Democrats. It completely ignored the past generation of egregious and willful acts of insensitivity by the G.O.P. toward the African-American community.”

tags: GLOW 2016 Rand Paul Race Republican Extremism Republican Hypocrisy Republican Disarray

Gun bill overcomes GOP filibuster, advances to debate – The Maddow Blog

“A total of 29 of the Senate’s 45 Republicans — well over half — voted to block the bill from advancing. The 29 included the entirety of the Senate GOP leadership and every Senate Republican rumored to be eyeing a presidential campaign in 2016. Relatives of the Newtown victims were not pleased:”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Newtown Filibuster Republican Extremism 2016

A Budget Focus on Inequality – NYTimes.com

“The Obama budget proposal released Wednesday, like other White House budgets before it, also emphasizes the problem of inequality and the failure of the American economy to promote a thriving middle class.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Taxes Fairness Middle Class

President Obama’s Budget – NYTimes.com

“For now, it has served its purpose — no one will be able to accuse Mr. Obama of refusing to touch entitlements, and no one can credit Republicans for being at all serious about a deficit-reduction compromise. Rejecting the president’s budget also means passing over a host of good ideas — chief among them, replacing the arbitrary and damaging sequestration cuts with more sensible reductions, along with ways to make the rich pay a larger share of revenues.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Taxes Fairness sequestration Social Security Deficit Republican Hypocrisy

White House Budget Curbs Some Deductions for the Wealthy – NYTimes.com

“Outlining his budget proposals to Congress on Wednesday, Mr. Obama pushed to raise more than $600 billion in new revenue, mainly by curbing deductions for the most affluent taxpayers and forcing million-dollar earners to pay a minimum rate of 30 percent.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Taxes Fairness Buffett Rule

The far-right line on guns gets unwelcome endorsement – The Maddow Blog

“I’m generally not in the habit of referring readers to propaganda from terrorists, but this video, flagged yesterday by Andrew Kaczynski, is more politically salient than most al Qaeda videos.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Terrorism Republican Extremism Republican Hypocrisy

Obama’s Economy of Tomorrow, Driven by Factories and Schools – NYTimes.com

“President Obama used the first budget of his second term to sketch out his vision for an economy with more lasting economic growth and less income inequality than the country has experienced in more than a decade.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Positive Government

Republican presidential delegate rule quarrel could sour wary conservatives on outreach plan | StarTribune.com

“Frustration over Republican presidential nominating rules could threaten whether a plan to revive the GOP takes hold among the party’s most conservative activists. Members of the Republican National Committee, meeting in Los Angeles this week, are already giving mixed reviews to a report that prescribes outreach to minority voters and softening the GOP’s tone on hot-button issues. But some conservative activists say lingering anger about rules aimed at streamlining the party’s presidential nominating process take power away from the GOP grassroots national party leaders say they want to empower.”

tags: GLOW 2016 Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

Bipartisan deal reached on gun background checks

“A bipartisan group of senators has struck a deal to expand gun background checks to all commercial sales — whether at gun shows, via the Internet or in any circumstance involving paid advertising, according to Senate aides familiar with the talks.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Senate

Obama’s Entitlement Cut Offer A Final Gesture Of Good Faith To GOP | TPMDC

“In a briefing with reporters at the White House on Tuesday, senior administration officials characterized the official adoption of Chained CPI as both a recognition that rounding out a ground bargain will require making concessions to the GOP, and as a final gesture of good faith to Republicans in Congress, who’ve been demanding Obama propose and take ownership of entitlement cuts for years. But the officials also stressed that Chained CPI will never become law unless Republicans respond (in unlikely fashion) by agreeing to limit tax expenditures benefiting high-income earners. If they don’t, it will mark the end of Obama’s two-year quest to secure trillions of dollars in deficit reduction on a bipartisan basis.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Grand Bargain Social Security Taxes Fairness Republican Hypocrisy

Wonkbook: Obama’s budget calls the GOP’s bluffs

“But the cuts mostly haven’t begun. They begin rolling out in earnest this month. Unemployment checks for people who’ve been without a job for more than 26 weeks are about to get cut by 11 percent. Military contracts are about to get canceled. Medicare patients are being turned away from cancer clinics. Schools will lay off teachers. Infrastructure projects will stop. There will be much more demand for a compromise than there is now. There will be much more political anger than there is now. This budget sets up that debate. Republicans are, at this point, out of excuses. They can’t say the president isn’t reaching out to them. They can’t say he’s not willing to make painful concessions — or, to rephrase, they can say that, but given all the on-the-record quotes of Republican leaders demanding the White House accept means-testing Medicare and chained-CPI, no one will take them seriously. The White House is calling their bluff. The question is whether, as the pressure mounts, they double down against compromise, or they begin to fold.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Entitlements sequestration Grand Bargain Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray

Obama Budget Would Make Two Romney Wealth-Building Tricks A Thing Of The Past | TPMDC

“A senior administration official confirmed to TPM that the provision is a fresh addition to Obama’s budget, and intended to close the loophole that allowed Romney to amass upward of $100 million in his individual retirement account. IRAs are intended to allow workers to put away modest sums of money each year in order to help finance a middle class retirement. The savings are tax-deferred, but there’s a legal limit — now $6,000 — on how much an IRA holder can contribute annually. Experts critical of Romney suspect he skirted that limit by making investments in Bain Capital projects through the IRA and dramatically lowballing the value of the stakes. The budget also proposes ending the so-called carried-interest loopholes, that allows financial managers to pay tax on what most would consider labor income at a lower capital gains rate.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Taxes Fairness

Bobby Jindal: Stupid, Party of One — Daily Intelligencer

“Jindal’s plan exploded because it was zero sum. It cut taxes on the rich and raised them on the poor. It had to be zero sum because states have to balance their budgets. But the federal budget doesn’t have to balance, and this fact underpins the entire Republican policy strategy over the last three decades. Before Ronald Reagan, Republicans cared a great deal about controlling the budget deficit and very little about cutting taxes for the rich. In an environment where every dollar into one account had to come from another, giving a lot of the dollars to a tiny number of people is almost invariably unpopular. That’s why the GOP’s makeover into a more plutocratic party occurred simultaneously with its abandonment of old-fashioned fiscal conservatism. Lower taxes for the rich can work politically only if you obscure the fact that eventually the money has to come from somewhere else.”

tags: GLOW 2016 Jindal Taxes Fairness Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

The strange alliance between John Boehner and liberals

“As badly as Obama wants a budget deal, Boehner seems just as determined to keep him from reaching one. For liberals, this is close to an ideal situation. The Republican Party’s brand continues to worsen. The Democratic president manages to look reasonable without ever actually signing a painful compromise into law. And Medicare and Social Security remain safe.”

tags: GLOW Grand Bargain Entitlements President Obama Boehner Republican Disarray

GOP Cruzin’ to a bruisin’ with gun background check filibuster – The Hill’s Pundits Blog

“The great curse of Republican politics, and the great reason that Democrats have won so many national elections in the last decade, is that GOP politics is now an arms race among extremists who drive each other and drive the GOP further outside mainstream America. Consider the case of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who compete to lead the extremist wing of Republicans, with each one trying to outdo the other to prove who is more out of touch with America. And Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) increasingly looks like a hostage to this GOP arms race toward political extremism.”

tags: GLOW Cruz Rand Paul McConnell Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

Inhofe: gun debate has nothing to do with Newtown families – The Maddow Blog

“Hmm. So in the mind of the senior senator from Oklahoma, those whose loved ones were killed in a brutal school shooting are detached from the debate over gun violence. And these folks would realize this truth were it not for the rascally president convincing them otherwise. Inhofe, incidentally, is one of the 15 Republican senators who has vowed to block any effort to debate any legislation that changes any gun law in any way.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Newtown Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

Republicans: Stop Us Before We Gaffe Again!

“The distinction between policy flaws and communication problems is at the crux of the GOP’s soul-searching as the Republican National Committee convenes this week in Los Angeles for the first time since the report’s release. And it’s a discussion that won’t end anytime soon as conservatives, moderates and pragmatists struggle for control of the GOP megaphone. The dynamic has been highlighted in the weeks since the chairman’s call for outreach, with succession of conservative party figures voicing positions that may alienate the very voters national party leaders want to capture.”

tags: GLOW Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

American Conservative Union Fighting Spending Cuts – NYTimes.com

“As one of the country’s largest and oldest conservative advocacy groups, the American Conservative Union has long fought to rein in federal spending and limit the size of government. But behind the scenes, the group has formed a partnership with business lobbyists to tame the activists who have pushed Republican leaders in Congress to adopt some of the most austere spending limits in decades.”

tags: GLOW Austerity Republican Hypocrisy

Gun vote set for Thursday as Democrats beat back GOP-led filibuster

“The Senate will hold the first key procedural vote on a bill to curb gun violence Thursday as more than a half-dozen Republicans announced that they will join with Democrats to stop any attempt to block popular legislation drafted in response to a deadly shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Filibuster Republican Disarray

Governor Cuomo Proposes New Class of Public Corruption Crimes | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

“Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced new legislation, the Public Trust Act, which would create a new class of public corruption crimes and enhance New York prosecutors’ ability to crack down on public corruption across the state. Currently, the laws defining public corruption in New York are obsolete and far less effective than federal statutes for prosecuting individuals who commit public corruption crimes. The Public Trust Act announced by the Governor today would establish a new class of public corruption crimes and expand the current definitions of public corruption offenses to enable prosecutors to hold accountable those who violate public trust. The law would also impose tougher jail sentences on individuals that misuse public funds and permanently bar those convicted of public corruption offenses from holding any elected or civil office, lobbying, contracting, receiving state funding, or doing business with the state, directly or through an organization.”

tags: GLOW Andrew Cuomo Albany Reform

Exclusive: Obama budget includes $235 million in new mental health spending

“President Obama’s budget proposal will include $235 million in funding for new mental health programs, focused initiatives to help schools detect early warning signs and train thousands of new mental health professionals. These proposed new commitments come after the Newtown, Conn. shootings increased interest in the relationship between gun violence and mental health.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Newtown Public Safety Public Health

Mary Jo White confirmed as SEC chief – The Washington Post

“The Senate confirmed Mary Jo White on Monday to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, and she could be behind her desk at the agency as early as Tuesday.”

tags: GLOW SEC

Why Republicans shouldn’t filibuster the gun bill

“But, what’s good politics for Republicans in South Dakota or Nebraska or Mississippi is not necessarily a good thing for the GOP’s attempts to rebrand itself. Remember that expanded background checks have the support of roughly nine in ten Americans – a sort of no-brainer issue that typically guarantees congressional action of some sort. If Republicans kill gun control measures that are widely popular via the filibuster they run the very real risk of alienating many of the right-leaning independents and centrists that they badly need to win back in advance of the 2016 presidential election.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Filibuster Republican Irresponsibility 2016 Republican Disarray

If He Runs in 2016, Biden Faces Role as Underdog – NYTimes.com

“Mr. Biden faces a situation unique in the annals of modern American politics. He is the vice president, the highest-ranking member of his party interested in running for president, yet he is not the heir apparent. While every sitting vice president who sought it in the last half-century captured his party’s nomination, Mr. Biden would start as the underdog if he ran against Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state.”

tags: GLOW 2016 Vice President Biden Hillary Clinton

Cuomo addresses ethics package – Times Union

“Among the areas Cuomo suggested were ripe for reform: the Wilson-Pakula law that allows candidates of one party to run on another party’s line; campaign donation limits; the vestiges of the state’s member-item system, which allowed lawmakers to target pork at their districts; the laggard enforcement and investigative capabilities of the state Board of Elections; and more.”

tags: GLOW Andrew Cuomo Campaign Finance Reform Albany Reform

Gov. Cuomo vows to fight corruption, says feds indicting New York Legislature’s entrenched culture – NYPOST.com

“‘We’re going to use [the crisis] to push forth a very aggressive reform package. We’re going to put forth electoral reform, campaign reform. We’ve been talking about this for years and years,’ he said. The governor said he wants to help curb or eliminate pay-to-play politics by reducing the large campaign contributions that donors can pump into lawmakers’ campaigns.”

tags: GLOW Andrew Cuomo Campaign Finance Reform Albany Reform

Obama in Connecticut to Push for Gun Control – NYTimes.com

“Mr. Obama, who last visited Connecticut for a raw and emotional memorial shortly after the Dec. 14 shootings in Newtown, met again with the victims’ relatives before his speech. Afterward about a dozen family members left with him from Connecticut on Air Force One to make their case in Washington to members of Congress this week. Mr. Obama, who was wearing a green Newtown bracelet, made reference in his speech to the brutal cases of recent mass violence from Aurora, Colo., to Virginia Tech. He pushed for a broad agenda that would include universal background checks for gun buyers, restraints on gun trafficking and a ban on assault weapons. But he focused on the background checks, which he said were supported by 90 percent of Americans. ‘There’s only one thing that can stand in the way of change that just about everybody agrees on, and that’s politics in Washington,’ he said. Mr. Obama, who included remarks respectful of gun owners, said ‘common-sense’ gun measures could be enacted that would acknowledge the rights of gun owners and the Second Amendment. But he said that at the very least, Newtown and similar tragedies demanded a vote in Congress on gun control issues.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Gun Control Newtown Filibuster Republican Irresponsibility

Duffy touts state budget in Batavia visit – The Daily News Online: News

“New York State’s 2013-14 budget controls spending, is business friendly and focuses on job creation, Lt. Gov. Robert J. Duffy said Monday. ‘We’re very pleased with the budget,’ he said. Duffy met with the editorial board of The Daily News Monday as part of his effort to support Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature’s $141.3 billion budget.”

tags: GLOW State Budget Duffy Genesee County

The Republican Party is officially broken – Salon.com

“The American political system is not broken. What’s broken is the Republican Party. And it’s not clear how it will recover.”

tags: GLOW Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

A Government That Can’t Govern

“The basic urge to get power runs up against all the incentives now built into the GOP that make getting power more difficult. Officeholders could change their tune a bit and make the Republican party more popular, but they’re not going to do it if it means they’re more likely to get booted in a primary. So we could find ourselves endlessly trapped in the situation we’re in now. Democrats keep winning presidential elections because the Republican Party is repellent to a majority of Americans. The geographic distribution of the American population nevertheless makes it possible for Republicans to hold on to the House, and at least control enough of the Senate to grind things to a halt by filibustering everything (and Democrats are too frightened to change the filibuster rules). With the exception of the occasional bill here and there that Republicans get intimidated into letting go through, governing pretty much ceases, with the exception of whatever the President can accomplish via regulation and executive agency actions (those agencies that the Republicans don’t manage to hamstring, that is). And there you have it: a government that can’t govern.”

tags: GLOW Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

Why do people hate deficits?

“But hold on a second. Why do we hate deficits? ‘Balancing the budget’ sounds really nice, but what reason do we have to believe it’s actually valuable? There are a number of reasons to think it might be good for the debt load to be smaller rather than larger, but almost all of them are controversial among economists, and some more so than others. Here are the common reasons for balancing the budget you hear, and what the evidence says about each.”

tags: GLOW Deficit Republican Hypocrisy Republican Irresponsibility

Did Obama Lose Votes Because of His Race?

“If this is correct, and Obama underperformed by roughly four points in 2008 and 2012, then there’s a chance that the Democratic brand is stronger than we think.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Race Democrats

Why Republicans don’t fear public opinion on guns

“This helps explain the idea behind the ubiquitous GOP talking point that we should ‘enforce existing laws before creating new ones.’ It’s based on a gamble that many people can’t imagine that something as uncontroversial and sensible as universal background checks wouldn’t already be required.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Extremism Republican Hypocrisy

On immigration, Republicans need to lead

“At the same time, if Republicans genuinely want immigration reform, they’re going to have to accept a certain amount of opposition from their base. Reforming the nation’s immigration system is a huge task, and it’s unreasonable to demand that it come with zero political risks. In other words, these senators need to make a decision. Do they want immigration reform, or do they want the status quo? If it’s the former, then they need to lead and accept the consequences of making a decision, whatever they are.”

tags: GLOW Immigration Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray

Pfeiffer: House GOP proposing ‘Romney economic plan’

“House Republicans are pushing for a ‘Romney economic plan,’ White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer charged Sunday. ‘What the president will not do is come in right after getting reelected and enact a Romney economic plan, which is what the Republicans in the House are proposing,’ Pfeiffer said on ABC News’s ‘This Week With George Stephanopoulos.’”

tags: GLOW President Obama Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

Reid Threatens Filibuster Reform With Nuclear Option | TPMDC

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) threatened in his most explicit terms yet to use the so-called nuclear option to weaken the filibuster if Republicans keep blocking judicial and other nominees from coming to a vote.”

tags: GLOW Harry Reid Filibuster Reform Republican Obstruction Republican Irresponsibility

In Europe, Lew Will Press for More Growth, Less Austerity – NYTimes.com

“Jacob J. Lew began his first trip to Europe as Treasury secretary on Sunday, a four-city tour in which he is expected to try to persuade finance ministers to pursue a little more growth and a little less austerity to improve the economic fortunes of the Continent and the world.”

tags: GLOW Lew Eurozone Austerity Economy

U.S. and South Korea Devise Plan to Counter North – NYTimes.com

“American officials described the new ‘counterprovocation’ plan as calling for an immediate but proportional ‘response in kind’ — hitting the source of any North Korean attack with similar weapons.”

tags: GLOW National Security North Korea

Washington gridlock: Why Barack Obama and Republicans may now be able to get a deal on immigration, gun control, or the budget. – Slate Magazine

“Why there’s a chance that Washington may actually return to do some pretty big things.”

tags: GLOW Immigration Gun Control Federal Budget

Schumer: ‘Gang of Eight’ on track for immigration agreement by week’s end

“The Senate’s third-ranking Democrat expressed hope Sunday that a bipartisan group he belongs to will come to an agreement on a proposal to revamp the nation’s immigration laws by the end of the week.”

tags: GLOW Schumer Immigration

Chained CPI’s Diminishing Returns for U.S. Budget – Bloomberg

“What neither side seems to have noticed, however, is that the difference between the chained CPI and the standard CPI has been diminishing. That means the impact of switching indexes may not be as great as many assume.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Social Security

Newtown families voice support for gun control – CBS News

“Nearly four months later, just last week, Connecticut passed a gun control law that expands background checks and limits ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. Tomorrow, these families will push for the same in Washington.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Newtown

News from The Associated Press

“Talks between two influential senators have emerged as the most promising route for a bipartisan breakthrough on expanding federal background checks for gun buyers, a pivotal part of President Barack Obama’s plan for combating gun violence.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control

Obama Must Walk Fine Line as Congress Weighs Agenda – NYTimes.com

“Members of both parties say Mr. Obama faces a conundrum with his legislative approach to a deeply polarized Congress. In the past, when he has stayed aloof from legislative action, Republicans and others have accused him of a lack of leadership; when he has gotten involved, they have complained that they could not support any bill so closely identified with Mr. Obama without risking the contempt of conservative voters.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Republican Obstruction Republican Irresponsibility Republican Hypocrisy

E.J. Dionne: The end of majority rule? – The Washington Post

“This representational skew affects coverage in the media. Most Americans may care more about jobs than deficits. But if a right-tilted power structure is talking about deficits all the time, members of the media feel obligated to cover the argument they hear in Washington, even if that means downplaying views held by a majority of the voters — and even if the economic data say we should be talking about growth, not austerity. There’s also this: While background checks probably would pass the Senate with relative ease if there were no filibuster, the media cover a world in which 60 votes is the new 51. Thus do the battles for 60 percent of the Senate, not the views of 91 percent of Americans, dominate journalistic accounts. There is no immediate solution to the obstruction of the democratic will. But we need to acknowledge that our system is giving extremists far more influence than the voters would. That’s why American democracy is deadlocked.”

tags: GLOW Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility Media

News coverage of female candidate’s appearance damages her chance of winning

“Although it seems obvious that an unflattering portrait painted by reporters would negatively impact a candidate’s image with voters, what’s surprising is that even positive, or neutral, descriptions of a female candidate’s appearance proved detrimental in damaging key attributes and the likelihood that people would vote for her.”

tags: GLOW Gender

Insurance and Freedom – NYTimes.com

“In fact, the real, lived experience of Obamacare is likely to be one of significantly increased individual freedom. For all our talk of being the land of liberty, those holding one of the dwindling number of jobs that carry decent health benefits often feel anything but free, knowing that if they leave or lose their job, for whatever reason, they may not be able to regain the coverage they need. Over time, as people come to realize that affordable coverage is now guaranteed, it will have a powerful liberating effect. But what we still don’t know is how many Americans will be denied that kind of liberation — a denial all the crueler because it will be imposed in the name of freedom.”

tags: GLOW Health Care Reform Medicaid Positive Government Republican Irresponsibility Republican Hypocrisy

White House proposing large increase in VA funding to cut backlog

“The White House is proposing a 13.6 percent increase in funding for veterans benefits administration, an effort to reduce the Department of Veterans Affair’s massive backlog of disability claims.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Veterans

The Young Are the Restless – NYTimes.com

“Like it or not, younger Americans are thirsty for change that lines up with their more liberal cultural worldview. Advantage Democrats.”

tags: GLOW Youth Republican Disarray

Another moment of real clarity in the fiscal debate

“And so we have a moment of clarity in this debate once again: There is literally nothing that Obama can offer Republicans — not even things they themselves have asked for — that would induce them to agree to a compromise on new revenues.”

tags: GLOW Entitlements Taxes Republican Hypocrisy Republican Irresponsibility

The GOP can’t shake that `47 percent’ talk

“After the election, Republican leaders tried to repair the damage of this by distancing themselves from the former GOP nominee and trying to emphasize the elements of their agenda that may appeal working and middle-class voters. The problem is that the GOP remains wedded to the ideas underlying the 47 percent remarks, if not their tone.”

tags: GLOW Middle Class Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray

Rand Paul and the `politics of paranoia’

“This continued willingness to feed this craziness, even as Paul’s national stature (if you can call it that) continues to grow, explains a lot about why we can’t get progress on something as sensible as expanding background checks. And it isn’t confined to guns, either.”

tags: GLOW Rand Paul Republican Extremism Gun Control Republican Irresponsibility Republican Disarray

Obama’s Budget Would Cap Romney-Sized Retirement Accounts – Bloomberg

“President Barack Obama’s budget proposal would cap multimillion-dollar tax-favored retirement accounts like the one held by Mitt Romney, his Republican rival in 2012. Obama’s budget plan, to be unveiled April 10, would prohibit taxpayers from accumulating more than $3 million in an individual retirement account. That proposal would generate $9 billion in revenue for the Treasury over the next decade, according to a White House statement released today.”

tags: GLOW President Obama Federal Budget Taxes Fairness

Weekly Address: The President’s Plan to Create Jobs and Cut the Deficit – YouTube

“President Obama tells the American people about the budget he is sending to Congress, which makes the tough choices required to grow our economy and shrink our deficits.”

tags: GLOW President Obama video Federal Budget

The Urge to Purge – NYTimes.com

“Unemployment, not excessive money printing, is what ails us now — and policy should be doing more, not less.”

tags: GLOW Economy Unemployment Republican Irresponsibility

Show of Support For Women’s Equality Agenda – Rochester

“The goal of the New York Women’s Equality Coalition and Finger Lakes Region Kick-Off was to stress Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Women’s Equality Agenda: a ten-point program aimed to end discrimination and inequality based on gender.”

tags: GLOW Gender Andrew Cuomo

Schumer Reaches Across the Aisle as a Bipartisan Bridge Builder – NYTimes.com

“No one in the Senate right now has a legislative portfolio thicker than Mr. Schumer’s, and no one’s political fortunes are as closely linked to the outcome of the major public policy fights now consuming Congress. He is not only a whisperer to Republicans but also an envoy to the White House and a trusted confidant to the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, who having handpicked Mr. Schumer to keep Republicans in the minority is now counting on him as his most important bipartisan bridge builder.”

tags: GLOW Schumer

Eugene Robinson: Are Sanford and Cuccinelli the best the GOP can offer? – The Washington Post

“I think I’ve figured it out. Republicans must be staging some kind of fiendishly clever plot to lure Democrats into a false sense of security. That’s the only possible explanation for some of the weirdness we’re seeing and hearing from the GOP. The party must be waiting to come out with its real candidates and policy positions at a moment when unsuspecting Democrats are in the vulnerable position of being doubled over with laughter.”

tags: GLOW Republican Extremism Republican Hypocrisy Republican Disarray

South Carolina special election 2013: GOP frets Mark Sanford could blow it – POLITICO.com

“Mark Sanford won over primary voters Tuesday night, but national Republicans aren’t celebrating: Many privately concede the former governor could hand a safe Republican seat to Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch. The affair that sent Sanford’s political career off the rails only begins to describe his baggage. Fellow GOP pols don’t like him. Neither do female voters. His campaign is largely an exercise in seeking forgiveness for his transgressions four years ago — a defensive crouch that makes it tricky to take the fight to Colbert Busch, the sister of late-night comedian Stephen Colbert.”

tags: GLOW Republican Hypocrisy Republican Disarray

E.J. Dionne: Will the GOP block background checks? – The Washington Post

“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a traditional NRA supporter, deserves particular kudos for his persistence on behalf of a decent outcome. The real barrier in the Senate comes from Republicans. The question for many of them is whether they honestly think that letting weapons manufacturers dictate the party’s positions on gun violence is a recipe for renewal.”

tags: GLOW Gun Control Republican Extremism Republican Disarray

The Republican plan for replacing Obamacare doesn’t replace Obamacare

“Do Republicans have an alternative to Obamacare? Matt Yglesias looked at proposals from Ramesh Ponnuru and Yuval Levin and concluded that the alternative is less spending on health insurance for poor people, stingier health coverage for middle-class people, and lower taxes for rich people. This is consistent with the topline spending priorities in the GOP budget.”

tags: GLOW Health Care Reform Republican Extremism Republican Irresponsibility

Obama presses donors to help return Pelosi to Speakership – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room

“President Obama returned to the fundraising trail Wednesday night with an eye on winning a House majority next year, telling donors in California it would be a ‘whole lot easier to govern’ if Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress.”

tags: GLOW President Obama 2014 DCCC Republican Obstruction

President Obama’s purely symbolic sequester strategy — and why it might work

“By taking a voluntary cut in his own pay — no matter the size or amount — President Obama is forcing the sequester back into the news and back to the top of peoples’ minds, at least for a day or two. And, what he is clearly hoping is that other Administration figures and other elected officials take his cue to forego some salary and, in so doing, keep the story in the news — ratcheting up the pressure on those (mostly Republicans) who are just fine with keeping the sequester in place.”

tags: GLOW President Obama sequestration Republican Irresponsibility

Don’t Give Up on Guns, Immigration, or a Debt Deal – NationalJournal.com

“Given the state of our nation and our politics, and the molasses-like tempo the Founders ensured with their pesky checks and balances, you could make the case that significant proposals are advancing at breakneck speed. Negotiators on a bipartisan immigration reform package cleared their major policy hurdles by April 1. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is bringing up a gun package next week, and will allow amendments that include the assault-weapons ban. A dim light even remains visible at the far end of the fiscal tunnel, with some in Congress still seeing an opportunity for a major bargain on spending and taxes, if not a grand one. And all this is well within the first 100 days of Obama’s inauguration. Results on any of these are not guaranteed, of course, but I don’t buy the argument that more speed or speeches by Obama could have shaped any of these outcomes. The real bottom line is political imperatives. Who needs what, how badly, and how fast?”

tags: GLOW President Obama Congress Gun Control Immigration Grand Bargain