Fire upper management, and imprison them, because anyone who flies to a Congressional hearing on private jets at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars in order to plead poverty and beg for money is criminally stupid.
Category: Congress
Stevens Concedes Race to Begich
And Round One of Waxman – Dingell Is Called for Waxman
As you may be aware, Henry Waxman is challenging John Dingell for chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and today, the Democratic Steering Committee went 25 to 22 for Waxman.
I think that there are a number of things that may trump Dingell’s seniority (He’s the longest serving Dem in Congress).
- He has been awful on global warming, because he’s the Big 3 (2½) auto makers’ bitch.
- The recognition that one of the reasons that the Big 3 (2½) auto makers are in such bad shape is that the Congress never took steps to move beyond the 1970s CAFE regulation, because Dingell is Big 3 (2½) auto makers’ bitch.
- There is also, I think, a desire for a bit of a shakeup, to better reflect what is now a relatively young Democratic caucus in Congress.
- The vote was a secret ballot, so there is little chance for retribution.
- Waxman’s ability to count votes is legendary, and the mere fact that he is challenging Dingell makes people wonder if he already has this sewn up. If so, they do not want to be on the losing side.
Me, I’m rooting for Waxman.
Boehner Wins Reelection as Minority Leader
Considering his performance this cycle, my conclusion is that he must have video of congresscritters having carnal knowledge with a goat.
Election Updates
They finally finished the count, and McCain won Missouri.
Also, Ted Stevens concedes in the Alaska Senate race.
So now it’s down to the runoff in Georgia, and the recount in Michigan.
Sometimes, Good Legislation Comes Back Too
In this case, a change to bankruptcy laws that would allow judges to modify mortgages on primary residences.
Right now it can be done on a vacation home, recreational boat, etc., but not on a primary residence, but Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is bringing back a change in bankruptcy law to change this.
According to reports, this will be a priority of Obama, but we are hearing that about a lot of things right now.
This is a very good law for a number of reasons:
- Modifying mortgages is cheaper than foreclosure.
- With mortgages sliced and diced 6 ways from Sunday, it is currently impossible to get consent from the holders of the mortgages to renegotiate the loans.
- It punishes the players who created the bubble.
- The cost to people taking out mortgages is minuscule, on the order of 25-75 basis points (¼-¾%), which should not make a significant difference in home affordability.
- It makes the use of arcane financial instruments on home mortgages less certain, and hence less likely.
Did Howard Dean Just Deliver a Steaming Helping of F%$# You to Barack Obama?
Howard Dean gave an interview on the Senate’s cave to Lieberman, and said that the action was, “in the spirit of unification, which is what the President-elect wanted” and that, “He called the shots, and that’s fine.”
There are doubtless a more than a few people with steam pouring out of their ears right now, and it sounds like the good doctor just painted a target on Obama’s back.
IMHO, Obama deserves to catch grief over this. It’s clear that he figured that he wanted Lieberman in the tent pissing out, but he’s been in the tent, pissing in, for the past 4 years.
Begich Wins
He is 3,724 votes ahead with only about 2500 remaining to count, so absent a recount, and it’s outside the range where Stevens would get it for free, it looks like Mark Begich is the next Senator for Alaska.
I’m happier, but I’m sure that the Republicans in the Senate are even more relieved that they don’t have to deal with this.
It’s also Ted Stevens’ birthday today…Ouch.
Election Updates
The Minnesota state Canvassing Board formally certified the vote count, meaning that the state mandated recount of the Al Franken-Norm Coleman race can now proceed.
The margin is 215 in favor or Coleman out of about 2.9 million votes cast, but typically, on a recount you find more votes missed in more heavily trafficked precincts, which are typically urban, and typically swing Democratic.
I’m waiting for the Supreme Court to shut it down using Bush v. Gore as a precedent.
Och du Lieberman
Once again the Senate Democrats raise an interesting question, “How can we expect them to fight for us when they refuse to fight for themselves?”
Lieberupdate
One of Lieberman’s frequent allies in the Senate, Tom Carper (D-DE), is saying that there should be real consequences to Lieberman’s behavior.
You think? Not only did Lieberman campaign for McCain, he campaigned for Republican candidates for the Senate, and he has publicly said that the Democratic Party breaking 60 Senators would be a catastrophe.
One interesting development in all this is that the caucus vote to decide this will be a secret ballot.
Secret ballot….Hmmmm…This means either that the Senators in the Democratic caucus can use this to avoid enmity* from Lieberman, or they can use it to avoid consequences with their constituents.
I do not know what way this will cut.
*Except to the degree that he has been vindictive, retributive, and evil son of a bitch towards Democrats ever since he got skunked in the 2004 Presidential primaries, so they will be the victims of his bile regardless of how they choose.
Election Update
Nothing yet on the Alaska Senate race, but in Minnesota, Al Franken’s move to count wrongly rejected absentee ballots before the official tally was released was denied, which was not unsurprising, as this is typically the sort of thing that is handled in a recount.
Frankin wanted to enter the recount with a lead, since there are always judgment calls, and even being ahead by one vote could effect an election judge’s view of a ballot.
Election Update
Mark Begich’s lead over Ted Steven has grown to 1,022.
Joementum Update
Well, now it appears that Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) has said that Lieberman’s behavior is unacceptable for a committee head:
As a chairman of one of our significant committees in the Senate, not just going off and supporting a presidential candidate of the other side but also criticizing the candidate on our side, and also involving himself in a couple of senate races on the other side. The question is, is that acceptable? The answer is no.
I think the thing that may tip the Senate is his campaigning for Republicans in Senate races.
While the only two Senators to explicitly call for his removal as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Dorgan, from North Fracking Dakota, comes pretty close to it.
Complete Pwna63*
As has been noted in various places Bush and His Evil Minions&trade have been aggressively creating new regulations in the run-up to the inauguration, in order to saddle Obama with the fallout from their insane ideology for months or years.
Well, it looks like they goofed:
“Fortunately, [the White House] made a mistake,” said a top Senate Democratic aide.
Last May, White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten instructed federal agency heads to make sure any new regulations were finalized by Nov. 1. The memo didn’t spell it out, but the thinking behind the directive was obvious. As Myron Ebell of the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute put it: “We’re not going to make the same mistakes the Clinton administration did.”
President Bill Clinton finalized regulations within 60 days of the 2001 inauguration, meaning Bush could come in and easily reverse them.
It could take Obama years to undo climate rules finalized more than 60 days before he takes office — the advantage the White House sought by getting them done by Nov. 1. But that strategy doesn’t account for the Congressional Review Act of 1996.
The law contains a clause determining that any regulation finalized within 60 legislative days of congressional adjournment is considered to have been legally finalized on the 15th legislative day of the new Congress, likely sometime in February. Congress then has 60 days to review it and reverse it with a joint resolution that can’t be filibustered in the Senate.
In other words, any regulation finalized in the last half-year of the Bush administration could be wiped out with a simple party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Congress.
(emphasis mine)
*Ownage.
Lieberman Update
Well, most importantly it appears that Obama dodged a call from Lieberman to congratulate him on his election victory, and so Lieberman talked to Biden instead.
Not sure if it means anything, but fact that Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders have both now publicly come out and said that his chairmanship should be pulled is significant.
Both Klobuchar and Bayh have said that they think that he should be allowed to keep his chairmanship if he apologizes for his behavior, but you will never, ever, see contrition from Joe, so I’m not sure if that means that they are creating an way to support him, or to oppose him.
Dodd, is still working very hard to keep Lieberman in the tent.
It’s Worse Than a Crime, It’s a Mistake
To quote Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, there are reports that Democrats in the Senate, and Barack Obama, are now scrambling to find a way to do let Joe Lieberman keep hisposition as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
You know the old saying, better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in, but Joe Liberman will be in the tent, and he will continue to piss inward.
Joe has been acting out of vindictiveness and ego ever since his Presidential bid crashed and burned in 2004, and his primary loss in 2006 only made this worse.
He does not care about policy, all he cares about is puffing himself up and hurting those who he believes have slighted him.
There is now a report on Rollcall (paid subscription required) that strongly implies that Obama is making calls in support of Lieberman.
If true, and this could be (I hope it is) some sort of head fake, it does now bode well with regard to how Obama, or the Senate Democrats intend to govern.
It feeds straight into the meme that Democrats are wimps. If they don’t stand up for themselves, how can we expect them to stand up for us.
Election Updates
Well, Mark Begich just took an 814 vote lead over Stevens. I guess those folks who said that the late votes would break for him were right.
This is probably a relief for Senate Republican leaders, who were just served notice by Senator James Demint (R-SC) that he would move to expell him from the Republican caucus.
In Minnesota, the Secretary of State has laid out the process for a recount:
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced the formation of a five-person statewide canvassing board today that will oversee the mandatory recount in the U. S. Senate race. Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Magnuson and Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen Gearin, along with two other judges, will join Ritchie on the panel.
He appears to be doing all the right things, though Norm Coleman and His Evil Minions&trade are doing their level best to cast him as the 2nd coming of Katherine Harris.
Barack Obama Resigns
Oh, chill out….He’s resigned from the Senate, effective November 16.
Governor Blagojevich will pick his successor.
Cap: Mikulski Is Running for Reelection
After her disgraceful behavior with regard to telco immunity, I will support a syphilitic goat in against her in the primary.