Christie's Budget Cuts Spur Fight Over Abortion

Fisher, Portman Locked In Hors
June 30, 2010 - Fisher, Portman Locked In Horse Race In Ohio Senate Bid, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Can't Get Above Water In Key Swing State Word format Democratic Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Republican Rob Portman remain in a tight race for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat with 42 percent for Fisher and 40 percent for Portman, with 17 percent Undecided, statistically unchanged from April and March surveys, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. President Barack...

Gov. Chris Christie calls for Republican Party rebranding
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday in an interview with Politico outlined a path for the GOP to rebrand as the party keeping “our eye on the cash register," while also praising some Democrats for taking the right approach to tackling major issues like education. Christie, a darling of Conservatives after staring down Democrats over the Budget and Tax Cuts, demonstrated his own distinct brand of Conservatism over a breakfast interview. Without naming names, the seven-year former...

Senate Democrats combine jobless benefits, homebuyer tax credit in effort to get GOP support
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are working on a new way to jump-start their stalled Election-year jobs agenda while saving Unemployment Benefits for hundreds of thousands of Laid-off workers. The plan is to create one Bill that combines the Unemployment Benefits with an extension of a popular Tax Credit for people who buy new homes. Under current law, homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by April 30 must close on their new homes by Wednesday to qualify for Credits of up to $8,000....

Gov. Chris Christie calls for Republican Party rebranding
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday in an interview with Politico outlined a path for the GOP to rebrand as the party keeping "our eye on the cash register,” while also praising some Democrats for taking the right approach to tackling major issues like education. Christie, a darling of Conservatives after staring down Democrats over the Budget and Tax Cuts, demonstrated his own distinct brand of Conservatism over a breakfast interview. Without naming names, the seven-year...

Bloomberg Unscathed By New Yor
June 30, 2010 - Bloomberg Unscathed By New York City Budget Cuts, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; City Workers Aren't Doing Fair Share, Voters Say Word format New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is unhurt - and unhelped - by the recent announcement of a City Budget with some service cuts, with a 57 - 33 percent overall Approval Rating and a negative 45 - 47 percent Approval for his handling of the City Budget, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. This compares...

On That Filibuster, Again
Republicans, and even some Democrats, like to say that America is a 'center-right' country, and I think they're probably correct about that. But it's not really the political beliefs of our citizenry that makes this country 'center-right.' Most polling done of Americans' political beliefs shows them to be quite a bit to the left of where Congress typically lies. For example, the House of Representatives (aka, the People's House) has an anti-choice majority but no poll shows that the...

Senate combines jobless benefits, homebuyer credit
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are working on a new way to jump-start their stalled Election-year jobs agenda while saving Unemployment Benefits for hundreds of thousands of Laid-off workers. The plan is to create one Bill that combines the Unemployment Benefits with an extension of a popular Tax Credit for people who buy new homes. Under current law, homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by April 30 must close on their new homes by Wednesday to qualify for Credits of up to $8,000....

Rep. Linda Harper-Brown of Irving has quit driving Mercedes linked to Durable Enterprises
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown of Irving has quit driving Mercedes linked to Durable Enterprises 12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 By GROMER JEFFERS Jr. / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] Faced with a deepening ethical quandary, Rep. Linda Harper-Brown said Tuesday that she has stopped driving a luxury car owned by a company that makes millions through state contracts. The 2010 Mercedes E550, as well as a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe, was part of the compensation package given to...

Exclusive: Rep. Linda Harper-Brown says she's given up company's Mercedes
Exclusive: Rep. Linda Harper-Brown says she's given up company's Mercedes 11:13 PM CDT on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] Faced with a deepening ethical quandary, Rep. Linda Harper-Brown said Tuesday that she has stopped driving a luxury car owned by a company that makes millions through state contracts. The 2010 Mercedes E550, as well as a 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe, was part of the compensation package given to Harper-Brown's husband,...

Kagan insists she didn't block military at Harvard
Washington— Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan maneuvered carefully through tough Republican questioning on Military recruitment at Harvard Law School, Gun owners' Rights and free Speech Tuesday, giving little ground to critics and drawing strong praise from Senate Democrats who command the votes to confirm her. In a long day of questioning at a Hearing that stretched into the evening, Kagan came under fire from Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, for...

Schwarzenegger calls for $11 billion water bond to be pulled from November ballot
In a stunning development, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday he would attempt to pull an $11.1 Billion water bond off the November ballot and instead ask for voter approval two years from now. The Governor said the delay was needed to concentrate on the Budget, but the economic climate and persistent criticism of the bond's cost were also making the measure a tough sell. "After reviewing the agenda for this year, I believe our focus should be on the Budget — solving the Deficit,...

History 101: Who was Strom Thurmond?
(James) Strom Thurmond(1902-2003) is one of the great names in South Carolina politics with a career spanning over 75 years. Born in Edgefield, SC, Thurmond graduated from Clemson University in 1923. In 1928 he won his first elected office as superintendent of the Edgefield County schools. At the same time, he studied law with his father and was admitted to the state bar in 1930 (Photo of Thurmond on SC State House grounds by author) In 1932, Thurmond was elected to the State Senate where he...

Fenty Gets Schooled
By RiShawn Biddle on 6.30.10 @ 6:07AM Even among the array of big-city mayors staking their Political aspirations (and legacies) on reforming woeful Public School Districts, Adrian Fenty stands out for having bet more of his future on such Reforms than anyone else. The Washington, D.C., mayor's takeover of D.C. Public Schools -- and its (so-far successful) overhaul effort by Controversial Reform stalwart Michelle Rhee -- remains his biggest success in a first term renowned for spats with...

POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Wednesday, June 30, 2010
From CNN's Leslie Bentz The CNN Washington Bureau's morning speed read of the top stories making News from around the country and the world. Washington/POLITICAL For the latest political News: www.CNNPolitics.com CNN: Kagan takes on GOP critics at Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan mounted a spirited defense against her Republican critics Tuesday, saying at her Senate Judiciary Committee Confirmation Hearing that she rejects the empathy standard for...

To Save America
By Peter Ferrara on 6.30.10 @ 6:08AM Newt Gingrich begins his new book, To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular-Socialist Machine , rightly describing the grave, mortal Threat America faces today due to the Left-wing Extremism of the Democrats and the vast failures of the Republicans. He writes: This is a book I never expected to write. After the victory of Freedom over Communist tyranny, of Religious liberty over Secular police States, and of American pride over the malaise and cynicism...

New Jersey governor signs $29.4B budget that cuts school aid, suspends property tax rebates
SOUTH RIVER, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed his first state Budget into law on Tuesday, saying the document reflects tough choices in a difficult economy, but he defended its underpinnings as fiscally sound. The $29.4 Billion Budget for the Fiscal Year beginning July 1 cuts aid to public schools, suspends Property Tax rebates, and jettisons public Watchdog agencies. Its passage prevented a government shutdown Thursday. The Republican Governor, who took office in January,...

William McKenzie: The really big spill is our federal red ink
William McKenzie: The really big Spill is our federal red ink 05:12 PM CDT on Monday, June 28, 2010 Put this down on your calendar. Six months from now, we're either starting to finally control our federal Debt or we're sending Markets and creditors an awful signal. Also Online What's The Big Story? Find out at dallasnews.com/opinion Blog: Opinion Blog: NAME OF BLOG --> More --> No matter how bad the Gulf Coast looks now, December will be the year's most important month. That's when...

Byrd's absence could be problematic for financial regulation bill
The death early Monday of Veteran Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) could complicate passage of the landmark Financial Legislation that Democrats are hoping to send to the president this week. This Story View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story A House-Senate conference committee finished its work Friday after two weeks of deliberations -- and one all-nighter -- to finalize the details of the 2,000-page Bill, which would create an independent consumer Watchdog aimed to...

Senate Democrats combine jobless benefits, homebuyer tax credit in effort to get GOP support
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are working on a new way to jump-start their stalled Election-year jobs agenda while saving Unemployment Benefits for hundreds of thousands of Laid-off workers. The plan is to create one Bill that combines the Unemployment Benefits with an extension of a popular Tax Credit for people who buy new homes. Under current law, homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by April 30 must close on their new homes by Wednesday to qualify for Credits of up to $8,000....

Senate combines jobless benefits, homebuyer credit
Washington (AP) - Senate Democrats are working on a new way to jump-start their stalled Election-year jobs agenda while saving Unemployment Benefits for hundreds of thousands of Laid-off workers. The plan is to create one Bill that combines the Unemployment Benefits with an extension of a popular Tax Credit for people who buy new homes. Under current law, homebuyers who signed purchase agreements by April 30 must close on their new homes by Wednesday to qualify for Credits of up to $8,000....

Christie Scores Budget Victory in New Jersey
You can never be sure when or why one industry or another will draw the attention of the Mr. Fixits of our Federal Government. Just imagine: There you are, Mr. or Ms. U.S. & Afghan Forces Launch Offensive in Northeast Afghanistan Less than a year after claiming remote regions in northeastern Afghanistan were not worth security, the ISAF launches an operation to retake one district from the Taliban. BY

NRCC adds 16 top targets
The National Republican Congressional Committee has picked 16 new Candidates for the top tier of its “Young Guns” program, an initiative that aids promising House challengers with Fundraising and infrastructure support and strategic advice. The fresh additions to the NRCC’s list provide the most specific look yet at the House GOP’s highest-priority targets for the 2010 cycle. With the 16 additional names included, the “Young Guns” list includes a total of...

Bucking GOP establishment in Colorado Senate race
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.— In a dingy, wood-paneled restaurant with a $9 pizza buffet, Ken Buck is waging the latest fight with a Republican Party establishment that favors Candidates with shinier political pedigrees. A group of retirees has gathered to hear Buck, a prosecutor who had little name recognition until he became a hero to Conservatives by targeting Illegal Immigrants in northeast Colorado's Weld County. For the past year, the indefatigable Buck has pitched a hard-right...

Endit: Christie
Rovzar sees little by way of anchors for the Spitzer-Parker CNN show. The White House isn't talking about Blago trial Testimony saying Obama had a specific pick for his old U.S. Senate seat. And Perez-Pena dissects New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's largely concession-free Budget. Posted by Maggie Haberman 10:27 PM

Schwarzenegger wants $11-billion water bond off the November ballot
California's Governor says he needs to focus on the Budget Crisis. Polls show voters may not have the appetite for such borrowing when the state is in such dire financial straits. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement: "After reviewing the agenda for this year, I believe our focus should be on the Budget -- solving the Deficit, reforming out of control Pension costs and fixing our broken Budget system." (