Politics Roundtable

IF THE RADICAL RYAN IS THEIR TEMPLATE.... Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, is touting his proposed budget "roadmap," intended to address the budget mess his party had created during the Bush/Cheney era. To...

FEAR FACTOR.... The American Medical Association wants congressional Democrats to vote for health care reform. So does the American Nurses Association. The American Cancer Society does, too, along with AARP, the NAACP, and progressive activist groups like MoveOn.org. What do...

FRIDAY'S MINI-REPORT.... Today's edition of quick hits: * Pakistan: "In the fifth terrorist attack this week in Pakistan, extremists set off twin suicide bombs Friday in the eastern city of Lahore, killing at least 43 people, a reminder of the...

ABOUT THAT EARMARK 'BAN'.... The headline reads, "House GOP Adopts Earmark Moratorium." Given that Republicans have been in mad, passionate love with earmarks for years, it seemed like an interesting change of pace. In an election-year appeal to voters frustrated...

THEY ASKED FOR IT.... For some reason, Republicans decided this week that what they really wanted to talk about was ethics. As the GOP sees it, notwithstanding their own party's humiliating culture of corruption, this is an issue that might...

PUBLIC OPTION, PUSHING UP THE DAISIES.... Legend has it that when Rasputin was murdered, his attackers found it difficult to actually kill him. He was reportedly poisoned. When that didn't do the trick, he was shot. Still kicking, Rasputin was...

BECK'S ATTACKS ON CHURCHES, 'SOCIAL JUSTICE' GET NOTICED.... We've had a fairly prominent role in highlighting Glenn Beck's criticism of churches who value "social justice," so I'm pleased to see it start to get some additional attention. Take this report...

HOUSE TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH.... There's still some question about what, exactly, the Senate parliamentarian is advising when it comes to the budget reconciliation fix on health care. The last we heard, President Obama will have to sign...

CLOSER TO SENTENCING SANITY.... Sentencing disparities when it comes to cocaine have long been a national embarrassment. We've been dealing with an indefensible 100-to-1 ratio -- a person caught selling five grams of crack will face the same mandatory minimum...

WITH THE PARLIAMENTARIAN, DETAILS MATTER.... Yesterday afternoon, Senate Republicans said they'd received guidance from the Senate parliamentarian on health care and reconciliation -- before Dems can fix a law, it has to be law. Soon after, Senate Dems, specifically Budget...