Recently in Congress Category

Sen. John Cornyn, October 27, 2005 when asked about the lack of judicial experience of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers: "I mean, one reason I felt so strongly about Harriet Miers's qualifications is I thought she would fill some very important gaps in the Supreme Court. Because right now you have people who've been federal judges, circuit judges most of their lives, or academicians. And what you see is a lack of grounding in...

OK, it's official, we are through the looking glass on the treatment of suspected terrorists. Glenn Beck is the voice of reason and sanity. Yes, you read that right, Glenn Beck, reason, and sanity all in the same sentence. On Fox and Friends yesterday, Beck said of Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-born American citizen arrested in the attempted Times Square bombing: "He is a citizen of the United States, so I say we uphold the laws...

Marcy Kaptur, Congresswoman from Ohio's 9th District, sent a letter to Attorney General Holder which reads in part:Dear Attorney General Holder:The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday, April 16, 2010, that it had filed a securities fraud action against the Wall Street company Goldman Sachs & Co (GS& Co.) and one of its employees for making materially misleading statements and omissions in connection with a synthetic collateralized debt obligation ("CDO") that GS...

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), speaking for all 41 Senate Republicans on the prospects for reforming and regulating the financial system:That was after Susan Collins (R-ME) became the 41st signature on McConnell's letter to Harry Reid which reads:"We are united in our opposition to the partisan legislation reported by the Senate Banking Committee. As currently constructed, this bill allows for endless taxpayer bailouts of Wall Street and establishes new and unlimited regulatory powers that will stifle...

I know today is April 1st, but this is no April Fool's joke:"Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) is afraid that the U.S. Territory of Guam is going to "tip over and capsize" due to overpopulation.Johnson expressed his worries during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the defense budget Friday.Addressing Adm. Robert Willard, who commands the Navy's Pacific Fleet, Johnson made a tippy motion with his hands and said sternly, "My fear is that the whole...

There's just no pleasing some people. President Obama proposes to open up much of the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the North coast of Alaska to offshore oil and gas drilling and what is the response of Rep. John Boehner (R-Darque Tan)? It's not enough: "President Barack Obama's plan to allow expanded offshore oil and gas exploration won rebuke from the top House Republican on Wednesday. House Minority Leader John Boehner...

Our friend, JC, from Chicago, has agreed to contribute this piece for us.  JC worked with Obama for America in Arizona in 2008. I feel it important that I introduce myself by scolding America. No offense meant, but I think we're past time for it. Politics in America has dissolved into a spectacle of posturing and theater that would make Vince McMahon say "Guys, tone it down a little, okay?" even as his own wife seeks...

Guest blogged by GrassrootsLobbyist: I appreciate Mike Huckabee.  Gov. Huckabee is the kind of politician America needs more of.    Now, don't get me wrong.  I disagree with about 99% of Huckabee's positions and think he knows about as much about effective fiscal policy as Sean Hannity knows about honesty and integrity.  However, he has proven to mostly be a man who offers an opinion but will respect the opinion of others and give voice...

I heard something on NPR this morning that irked me, to say the least.Since PBO took office over a year ago, there are still some 200 or so positions that are to be filled by his appointments. He has named people to these positions--don't misunderstand--but apparently there seems to be a little problem in getting the various Director-level folks into these positions. The little problem is ... partisan politics on the part of the Republicans.Positions...

Putting together different pieces of testimony from yesterday's hearings before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, it's easy to see how the New York Federal Reserve's "backdoor bailout" of Goldman Sachs and other large banks, via insurance giant AIG, became such a convoluted mess---nobody knew anything about it. Least of all the people who were allegedly in charge---Larry, Moe, and Curly former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, and then head...