And the Winner of the FI$CY Is

And the 'Fiscy Award' Goes To...
ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: They’re not quite the Grammies, or even the Emmys, but it may just be the award that matters during this era of staggering Budget Deficits.  We’re talking about the “Fiscy Awards” - a new award given to the political leaders who have shown the greatest “Fiscal Responsibility.” With the federal Debt no more than $13 Trillion, you’d think the Fiscy Award committee would have a tough time finding somebody in governmen

Palin won't decide on 2012 run for 'some months still'
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said on Friday she won't decide whether to run for president for "some months still." The onetime GOP vice presidential nominee said that she would wait some time before declaring her intentions for 2012, adding to the crowd of Republican contenders for president who appear set to kick off their campaigns at a later point, compared to the 2008 cycle. "It's a prayerful consideration. Other folks can jump in and that kind of helps you makeget the lay of the la...

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill
WASHINGTON -- After wrestling with - and finally abandoning - a 1,900-page catchall spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders turned Friday to devising a measure to keep the Federal Government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished Budget work needed to keep the government running was packed into the spending measure, including $158 billion for Military op...

End of omnibus jeopardizes funding for Wall Street regulation
Increased funding for financial Regulators implementing the Wall Street Reform Bill has been jeopardized by the Senate's scrapping of an omnibus spending measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Thursday night that he lacked the support needed to advance a $1.1 Trillion omnibus bill, and instead would focus on crafting a short-term funding measure to keep the government running beyond Saturday. That decision could put the budgetary fate of the Securities and Exchange Commi...

Omnibust
Senate Democrats abruptly abandoned an omnibus Budget bill for the coming year, pushing major spending decisions into the next Congress and giving Republicans immense new leverage to confront President Barack Obama priorities. The decision Thursday night sweeps away months of Bipartisan work by the Senate Appropriations Committee which had crafted the $1.1 Trillion bill to meet spending targets embraced by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) himself prior to the Elections. Sen. Robert Bennet...

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill
WASHINGTON — After wrestling with — and finally abandoning — a 1,900-page catch-all spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders need to come up with a measure to keep the Federal Government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished Budget work was packed into the spending measure, including $158 billion for Military operations in Iraq and A...

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. After wrestling with — and finally abandoning — a 1,900-page catchall spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders turned Friday to devising a measure to keep the federal government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished...

Starting Lineup: Start Your Engines
Good Friday morning and welcome to the Starting Lineup. On the radar today: The Iowa GOP sets the date for its presidential Straw Poll and a coinciding debate; Haley Barbour heading to CPAC; a potentially potent "Draft Sarah Palin" group registers with the FEC; Baron Hill passes on the Indiana Governor's race and Jay Nixon lays the groundwork for his 2012 re-election bid in Missouri. A quick scheduling note: The Starting Lineup will be going dark for the holidays starting next Monday. We wish y...

Senate Passes Extension Of Bush Tax Cuts
Along with a bunch of other stuff totally unrelated to the Bush Tax Cuts. Here’s the roll call for the votes. For you North Dakotans in the audience, Senator Kent Conrad voted for Cloture and the final bill. Retiring Senator Byron Dorgan, despite railing against this agreement, ultimately lacked the courage of his convictions and voted for Cloture to advance the bill but ultimately voted against the final version. WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed a sweeping tax package that would s...

No. No No No No No No No. NO!!!
Republican Indiana Governor and privatization enthusiast Mitch Daniels says he will decide this spring whether he'll run for president. "I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," said Daniels. "In fairness to people from all over the place - many of whom I've only read about before - who like this idea [of Daniels running for president], I owe them some kind of an answer."Indeed. And that answer should be NO! I've expressed ...

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joins Don Wade and Roma
On December 16th, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels joined Don Wade and Roma to discuss the omnibus bill. How does he feel about the omnibus bill? What does he think about Earmarks? Would he have handled the meeting with CEOs differently than Obama? Is it a good idea to borrow money for pensions? Your central source for everything from WLS' flagship programs - The Don Wade & Roma Morning Show, The Cisco Cotto Show and The Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper - as well as breaking newsmaker interviews...

Indiana buys 15 THINK City cars
Published: Dec. 16, 2010 at 5:04 PM ELKHART, Ind., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Indiana purchased 15 electrically-powered, zero-emission THINK City passenger vehicles Thursday that will be tested in State Parks. The vehicles designed in Scandinavia, were assembled at a THINK Manufacturing plant in Elkhart, Ind., and are designed to fit into fleet vehicle sales, THINK Chief Executive Officer Barry Engle said. "Our delivery today is part of a larger effort to help transform the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet f...

FB Watch
Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake discusses Earmarks and his hopes for the creation of a subcommittee on investigations. Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of Washington, D.C. schools, discusses the rationale behind judging teachers on performance and the new non-profit organization Students First. Neil Friedman, president of Mattel Brands, discusses 'Singamajigs' and other popular toys for this year. Indiana Gov. on Shrinking Government Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels discusses politics in his home stat...

Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels Put Off Presidential Announcement Until Spring
ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports: Here are two more clues that the 2012 Presidential Campaign is going to get off to a late start: two potential GOP Candidates acknowledged this week that if they decide to run, they won’t jump in until the spring. “I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told WANE-TV in Ft. Wayne on Wednesday. (The state’s General Assembly sessio

GOP Pulse: Slow Walking to 2012
Thune dips his feet in New Hampshire: The Rapid City Journal notes that Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is giving a Radio Interview with New Hampshire Radio Station WKXL. "While Iowa is nearby South Dakota and shares many of the same issues, New Hampshire is another ballgame entirely, and it's hard to see why else Thune would be doing in an interview with a New Hampshire Radio Station other than to get himself in front of an important primary state." Gingrich talks up Haley before visit: In an interview...

Indiana Gov. Daniels will decide on 2012 bid in April
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said that he'll likely decide on whether or not he'll run for president sometime by the end of April. The dark-horse contender for the GOP nomination in 2012 said he'd decide on whether or not to run for the White House after his state's legislature wraps up its session next spring. "I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," Daniels told Indiana news station WANE. "In fairness to people fr...

Barbour, Daniels wait for spring
The timeline is getting a bit clearer, Alex Burns notices: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, two of the biggest question marks of the 2012 cycle, said yesterday that they’ll make up their minds about the Presidential Campaign by sometime this spring. And Daniels gave a newly specific, end-of-April deadline for making his decision, telling WANE-TV that it &ld...;

Daniels will decide on presidential bid before May
Washington (CNN) - Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is setting a deadline for when he must decide whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Daniels, a favorite among Republican insiders who respect his fiscally conservative record, said Wednesday that he must figure out his plans by the end of April, when Indiana's legislative session is slated to wrap up. "I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," Daniels to...

Whats Mike Pence going to do?
Mike Pence has already announced that he’ll step down from his leadership post as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference.  So what does that mean? Maybe not much.  Maybe it means that he wants to free up some time for family or other interests. Now there is speculation that he might have his sights set on other aspirations besides the United States Congress. Indiana will soon be voting for a new Governor, as term limited Governor Mitch Daniel’s term will end in 201...

Daniels Keeps the Door Open for 2012
The Republican Governor of Indiana took a break from shoveling snow to talk with WLS Don and Roma this morning (Audio). He blasted the $1.2 Trillion omnibus spending bill Dems want to cram through, and while noting Earmarks are only a small portion of the federal Budget, pointed out he had objected to them early on when he had served as W's budget director nearly 10 years ago. They were just picking up steam then and we've seen the abuse, attaching them to PIGS of bills as sweeteners to push b...

Bill Would Encourage NJ Businesses To Hire Ex-Cons
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey might reward businesses that hire former Prisoners. By a 7-4 vote Tuesday, a state Senate Committee approved a bill that would permit counties and towns to set aside a percentage of their public contracts for companies that employ ex-cons. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Sandra Cunningham of Hudson County, told The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record’s Statehouse Bureau it’s very difficult for those who made a mistake in life and...

House Approves Tax Deal, Virginia Delegation Splits
Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Bipartisan tax deal negotiated by the White House and Republican leaders in Congress. The vote was 277-148, with Democrats splitting 139-112 and Republicans 138-36 in favor. Here's the split in the Virginia delegation: According to Jim Moran, "This is the wrong thing to do, easy thing to do. Everybody loves Tax Cuts. Let's just be Santa Claus." In contrast, Gerry Connolly argued, "If we don't pass the extension of the tax...

Wow. We Won. Spending Bill Dead
That's right. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid abandoned efforts to pass a $1.1 Trillion spending bill and instead extend current funding. He simply didn't have the votes. The most wonderful thing about this is that the billion dollar funding of ObamaCare is gone. The new Congress will have a much easier time defunding it now. Not to mention that I don't think Earmarks will have a chance at being included. SEN. Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "And so what we ended up with, Mr. President, was this, ...

The New Comeback Kid
WASHINGTON -- If Barack Obama wins re-election in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010. Obama had a bad November. Self-confessedly shellacked in the Midterm Election, he fled the scene to Asia and various unsuccessful meetings, only to return to a sad-sack lame-duck Congress with ghostly dozens of defeated Democrats wandering the halls. Now, with his stunning tax deal, Obama is back. Holding n...

It's not looking good
For those who have read about or vaguely remember the stolid British tribe of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, which held out in its ``finest hour,'' last week brought a disgusting sight. Mobs in Parliament Square set fire to the statue of 19th-century statesman Lord Palmerston and urinated on the statue of Winston Churchill. Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, was swinging by a rope from the Cenotaph that memorializes the 700,000 British dead of the Great Wa...