http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 15 May 2008 15:55:17 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Republicans this afternoon pulled off an ambush on Democrats on the House floor, helping to vote down a $160-billion plus measure for military operations in Afghanistan. The GOP has grown increasingly angry in recent weeks over the procedures the majority has used to bring the supplemental package to the floor. The measure has been split into three parts, and the first part -- which consists solely of war funds -- lost 141-149, with 133 132 Republicans voting "present." Republicans knew that Democrats were divided on the money, with some antiwar members voting against it, so they decided not to help the majority get the bill passed. The House has now moved on to the other two parts of the package, one containing troop withdrawal language and one containing educational benefits for veterans but it is unclear if anything will actually be sent over to the Senate if the House can't http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/republican_block_war_funds.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/republican_block_war_funds.html Iraq Thu, 15 May 2008 15:55:17 -0400 The dust is still clearing after House Republicans' humiliating loss in a Mississippi special election, but for now it appears that Tom Cole (Okla.) is still standing and that the GOP caucus-members are already moving to try to remedy their broader message and agenda problems. Cole, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, was seen as a potential culprit (or scapegoat, depending on your perspective), in the GOP's loss in Mississippi, as well as beatings in two other special elections this year (in Illinois and Louisiana). But despite grumbling yesterday over Cole's handling of those races, no movement materialized either among his fellow GOP leaders or the rank-and-file to oust him or his top aides -- also the targets of criticism -- from their jobs. "The sense of the [leadership] was, we need to pull together as a team. Breaking up the team was not the answer," Rep. Eric Cantor http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/cole_safe_gop_agenda_emerging.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/cole_safe_gop_agenda_emerging.html GOP Leaders Thu, 15 May 2008 15:15:14 -0400 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lashed out at President Bush this morning and his speech to the Israeli Knesset, particularly for comments on "appeasement" that some have interpreted as a veiled swipe at Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). "You know we have a protocol ... that we don't criticize the president when he's on foreign soil," Pelosi said when asked for reaction to Bush's speech, adding that she also believes Bush "should not criticize Americans when he is on foreign soil." "I think what the president did in that regard is beneath the dignity of the office of the president ... and I would hope that any serious person would disassociate himself from the president's remarks," she said. Asked whether she was referring to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Pelosi repeated: "Any serious person." In his speech to the Knesset this morning, Bush said (see video below) "Some seem to believe we http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/pelosi_slams_bush_for_israel_s.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/pelosi_slams_bush_for_israel_s.html Dem. Leaders Thu, 15 May 2008 11:55:00 -0400 Read Capitol Briefing's original post Read Capitol Briefing's second post Read both of The Fix's responses Dear Fix: The shadows grow longer this afternoon, as does the list of questions raised by yesterday's special election in Mississippi. You closed your last message with: "I'm interested in what you think the two or three core issues Republicans should use to united an obviously fractured party. Or do you think such agreement is impossible in this political climate and a go-it-alone strategy is the only one that will work?" Funny you should ask, because Capitol Briefing this afternoon attended a press conference with about two-dozen House Republicans that was meant to be the roll-out of the party's fancy new message document: "American Families Agenda: Assuring the American Dream." It's a melange of proposals large and small, most of them not new, on domestic issues like energy, health care and crime. But on http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/what_does_it_mean_miss_special.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/what_does_it_mean_miss_special.html What Does It Mean? Wed, 14 May 2008 20:00:00 -0400 Read Capitol Briefing's original post Read The Fix's response Dear Fix: Thanks for responding to my e-mail. I know you're a busy, busy man. Before we move on to the Obama and Tom Cole questions, let's stick with this "wave" topic for a moment. You wrote, "It's too early to predict a wave but something is going on in the water out there." I would agree, except we get paid to make highly speculative predictions, right? So here goes: Republicans will lose A LOT of seats in November unless they can figure out how to completely divorce themselves from President Bush's record and legacy, and if they can figure out some way to run more populist campaigns (like Democrats' constant drumbeat against "Big Oil") without completely abandoning the GOP's fundamental principles. Can Republicans pull this off? It seems like for the GOP it may have to be every man for http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/dear_fix_thanks_for_responding.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/dear_fix_thanks_for_responding.html What Does It Mean? Wed, 14 May 2008 13:43:00 -0400 UPDATE 2 PM EST: At the Republican Conference meeting this morning, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole reportedly accepted blame for the party's loss last night in the Mississippi special election. But in a conference call with reporters a short while ago, Cole seemed to indicate that the blame lay elsewhere. Asked whether he needed to make any staff changes at the committee, Cole said: "I don't think we've had a staff failure or a personnel failure or even an execution failure." Instead, Cole said the public had lost confidence in the GOP and the real failure was the party's message. Left unsaid by Cole was that crafting the party message is not his job (whereas staff and execution are). His fellow top Republicans, led by House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio), are in charge of message. Boehner and Cole have been butting heads for months now, and their relationship appears near http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/tom_cole_watch_day_1.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/tom_cole_watch_day_1.html 2008 Campaign Wed, 14 May 2008 11:30:00 -0400 This is the first installment of a new occasional, collaborative feature between Capitol Briefing and The Fix. When interesting political news happens, we'll exchange a series of e-mails offering (we hope) trenchant analysis of "what it means" along with some informed, witty banter. Please let us know, via the comments sections of both blogs, what you think of the new feature. Dear Fix: Good morning. Hope you are well. Now stop dreaming about West Virginia exit polls, get out of bed and start thinking about what last night's Mississippi special election results really mean. House Democrats have now won three special elections in Republican-held seats, after Travis Childers (D) beat Greg Davis (R) yesterday in Mississippi's 1st district. The other two seats Democrats have taken this year, in Illinois and Louisiana, were both GOP-leaning, but this one was really, really red; President Bush won it by 25 points in 2004. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/what_does_it_mean_mississippi.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/what_does_it_mean_mississippi.html What Does It Mean? Tue, 13 May 2008 23:32:52 -0400 Democrats have completed a trifecta of special election victories in GOP-held House seats, narrowly winning a hard-fought contest in Mississippi's 1st district Tuesday and raising the specter of an expanded playing field in November. The Associated has called the contest for Democrats, and with 80 percent of the votes recorded, Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers (D) was leading Southaven Mayor Greg Davis (R), 51 percent to 49 percent, in the race to replace Roger Wicker (R), who has been appointed to the Senate. Following on the heels of Democratic victories in special elections in Illinois' 14th district in March and Louisiana's 6th district 10 days ago, Republicans pulled out all the stops to try to hold on to Wicker's seat, which should be a GOP stronghold. President Bush won the district by 25 points in 2004; he won the Louisiana seat by 19 points and the Illinois seat by http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/democrats_win_miss_special_ele.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/democrats_win_miss_special_ele.html 2008 Campaign Tue, 13 May 2008 22:29:00 -0400 In an apparently unprecedented session, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) testified this afternoon before the special committee that was set up to investigate whether Democrats "stole" a controversial House vote last August. The vote in question was on a Republican motion to bar illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. The tally was very close, and in the end Democrats announced that the measure had failed, even though it appeared several members on both sides were in the midst of changing their votes. Republican believe the vote was actually in their favor when the gavel came down. Capitol Briefing colleague Jonathan Weisman wrote in this morning's Post that Hoyer was in "for what Republicans insist will be the Maryland Democrat's comeuppance." Well, there didn't appear to be any such comeuppance for Hoyer or anyone else at today's proceedings. The catchily-named ""Select Committee to Investigate the Voting Irregularities of August 2, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/hoyer_testifies_on_stolen_vote.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/hoyer_testifies_on_stolen_vote.html Ethics and Rules Tue, 13 May 2008 21:25:00 -0400 Labels are the mother's milk of electoral politics, and while GOP congressional campaigns are already thinking of politically negative ways to refer to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), they can always fall back on the old standby in labeling Nancy Pelosi: "San Francisco liberal." The first-ever female Speaker has been a target of conservative campaign ads and mailings for quite a while now, and you can expect to hear both her name and that of her adopted hometown (since her native Baltimore isn't nearly as effective) with increasing frequency as November approaches. Missouri GOP Rep. Sam Graves is getting an early start on the anti-Pelosi front, airing this ad against his Democratic opponent, former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes: "In San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi's throwing a party for Kay Barnes," the ad's narrator says, over a groovy disco score. Barnes, it seems, subscribes to those notorious "San Francisco values," meaning: "Yes http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/pelosi_and_her_san_francisco_v.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/pelosi_and_her_san_francisco_v.html 2008 Campaign Tue, 13 May 2008 15:37:00 -0400 The latest New York Post report on the saga of embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) caught Capitol Briefing's eye this morning. Fossella, of course, is on resignation/retirement watch after being charged with drunken driving and admitting that he has a three-year-old daughter with Laura Fay, a retired Air Force colonel who is not the lawmaker's wife. Fossella reportedly may now face an additional investigation (though it's not clear by whom; if he resigns the House ethics committee will have no jurisdiction over him) into at least one official trip he took to France accompanied by Fay. And it's her role as a travel companion that is the subject of this morning's N.Y. Post story, which reports that a top aide to then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Scott Palmer, actually complained to the Pentagon after an official trip to Europe on which Fay served as the military liaison. "I lost confidence in http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/fossella_and_fays_european_vac.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/fossella_and_fays_european_vac.html Ethics and Rules Tue, 13 May 2008 12:15:00 -0400 Former GOP Rep. Bob Barr (Ga.) announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination today, saying that Americans deserved a choice beyond what the Democratic and Republican candidates can offer. But if Barr really is disillusioned with the two major parties, he hasn't shown it with his wallet. Barr, who helped manage President Clinton's impeachment in 1998 and then lost his House seat following redistricting in 2002, nominally quit the Republican party in December 2006. Barr said at the time that the direction of the GOP had been "bothering me for quite some time" and called himself a "proud, card-carrying Libertarian." Since then, Barr has continued to exercise his inherent right to dole out campaign cash, and his political action committee -- now known as the Bob Barr Leadership Fund -- has contributed money to roughly two-dozen Republican members of Congress, according to Federal Election Commission records. Recipients of http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/barr_has_been_spending_freely.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/barr_has_been_spending_freely.html 2008 Campaign Mon, 12 May 2008 17:00:00 -0400 A House Republican lawmaker has fired a shot across President Bush's bow over his frequent use of "Presidential Signing Statements" to give his opinion on -- or to even express his intent to ignore -- laws passed by Congress. Though signing statements have long been used by past presidents, they have become a source of particular controversy during Bush's tenure. Various press reports -- most notably a Pulitzer-winning series by the Boston Globe -- have documented Bush's aggressive use of the documents, prompting critics to deem the practice an unconstitutional end-run around Congress. Now, GOP Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.) has introduced a bill requiring such statements to be disclosed more quickly and more publicly, and "require executive staff to testify on the meaning and justification for presidential signing statements at the request of the House or Senate Judiciary Committee." Jones' bill obviously wouldn't ban the practice of issuing such statements, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/gop_rep_hits_signing_statement.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/gop_rep_hits_signing_statement.html Branch vs. Branch Mon, 12 May 2008 15:05:58 -0400 Both parties have plenty to gain and lose this week, as congressional Democrats face a tall order on the legislative agenda -- particularly on Iraq -- while Republicans grapple with multiple crises on the political front. Tomorrow, voters in Mississippi's 1st district will go to the polls to elect a replacement for Roger Wicker (R), who has been appointed to the Senate. Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers (D) is narrowly favored in the contest over Southaven Mayor Greg Davis (R) despite the district's strong GOP tilt, and a loss there would be Republicans' third embarassing special election loss of the year, raising the question of whether a Democratic wave is coming in November. Adding to GOP anxiety is the predicament of embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (N.Y.), who admitted last week after being charged with drunken driving that he had fathered a child with a woman who is not his http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/the_week_ahead_war_and_politic.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/the_week_ahead_war_and_politic.html Agenda Mon, 12 May 2008 12:46:00 -0400 The scandal-plagued members of the 110th Congress have been something of a motley crew. They've come from north, south, east and west, the House and Senate, red states and blue. They've -- allegedly, of course -- inserted shady earmarks into bills, shaken down land developers, engaged in "very serious sin" with a call girl, hidden cash in a freezer (wait, that was the 109th Congress), bought Nicaraguan real estate and taken a "wide stance" in an airport restroom. Some are quitting, others are trying to keep their jobs and all, in some form or another, have professed their innocence. Comes now Vito John Fossella, Jr., New York City's only Republican lawmaker, son of a long-entrenched Staten Island political family and - as we've learned in the last week - an alleged drunk driver who has a 3-year-old daughter with a woman who is not his wife. Mug shot of Rep. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/player_of_the_week_vito_fossel.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/05/player_of_the_week_vito_fossel.html Player of the Week Fri, 09 May 2008 16:06:00 -0400