Harry Reid: Americans Love Government!

Heller committee assignments include GOP hotspots, but not Ways and Means
Washington — It looks like Dean Heller won’t be getting a subcommittee chair in Ways and Means, but he will have a foothold in both of the subcommittees that are expected to be prime bill drafting ground for two big GOP agenda items: extending Tax Cuts, and repealing Health Care. Heller was named to the Ways and Means subcommittee on Health today -- a position he picks up in addition to his place on the Select Revenue Measures subcommittee, which is where tax laws get written. While he’...

What Do You Know? Nancy Pelosi Was A Historic Speaker!
This seems like the perfect punctuation mark to close out the reign of the hands-wodn worst Speaker of the House in our nation’s history. With 19 Democrats withholding support from Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker on Wednesday, it represented the largest defection from a party’s speaker nominee in nearly a century. The resistance in the Democratic Party to back now-former Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the ceremonial first vote of the 112th Congress registered higher than at any poi...

Reid: The American People Love Government
Congress has generated its lowest Approval Rating in decades. President Barack Obama is treading the 50 percent line with his approval Ratings. - or so says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. On the first day of the new Congress, the Nevada Democrat lamented in his opening remarks what he referred to as obstruction from Senate Republicans over the past few years, accusing them of using stalling tactics to score political points on some Legislation. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is fo...

The Onion: Harry Reid Sleeping with Mitch McConnell's Wife in 1986 at Core of Senate Gridlock
The Onion drills down and uncovers the true reason that the U.S. Senate can't get anything done… In a stunning disclosure this week, congressional sources revealed that the acrimonious gridlock in the U.S. Senate traces its origins to a single November evening in 1986, when Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) engaged in Sexual Intercourse with Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) then-wife, Sherrill. "The impenetrable stalemate on crucial issues is not due to a widening ideological divide bet...

Richard (RJ) Eskow: It's Simple: Reform The Filibuster, Shame The Hypocrites
There are a lot of complicated issues out there, ones that require detailed analysis and serious number-crunching. The Senate will be debating its own Filibuster procedures over the next three weeks, which will give us plenty of time to dig into the numbers. But the basic principle is surprisingly simple: it's about Democracy itself. So why aren't we calling our Senators right now and telling them to fix the Senate's ridiculous Filibuster procedures? It could be the biggest step toward real de...

Budget chairman plans to reintroduce bill halving Fed's mandate
Republican criticism of the Federal Reserve's recent decisions will continue in the new Congress, as House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) plans to reintroduce Legislation changing the Central Bank's mandate. Ryan, who has criticized the Fed's policies, in particular its decision to buy back $600 billion of Treasury Bonds in a "Quantitative Easing" program, as "insidious," will push a bill in the 112th Congress that would remove the Fed's mandate that it take steps to maximize em...

Schumer says Obama should push China on trade
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Democrat in the Senate said on Thursday that President Barack Obama should back a bid to Crack Down on China's trade practices -- or get Beijing to take action on its own. Charles Schumer, a member of the Democratic leadership, said he expects his bill, to pressure China to let its currency rise, will enjoy Bipartisan support in the new Congress that convened this week and expressed hope it will become law. "It's one of the things that's seriously on the table," Schu...

Promises, Shomises
The paint is still drying in new-members’ offices, but Republicans have already broken promises they made on the Campaign Trail, getting themselves in hot water with the American People and their own supporters. Here’s a look at what the media is saying about the Republicans’ not-so-promising first 24 hours in office: AP “PROMISES, PROMISES: GOP drops some out of the gate”: Republicans have already violated some of the vows they made in taking stewardship of the Hou...

Harry Reid Says: The American People LOVE BIG Government ~ What A LIAR He Is!
Wild Thing's comment ........ LOL oh sure, that is why even the polls taken show this democrat run government is the least trusted, the least liked ever. Trust me Harry, size DOES matter when it comes to our government and bigger is NOT better. No go sit down Harry and keep looking like you have not gone to the Bathroom for 50 yesrs. ...

Anti-Pelosi Revolt
In spite of presiding over a smashing defeat for her Caucus in Midterm Elections, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to step aside as leader, laying claim to the Minority Leader position for the 112th Congress.  But in the process, a record number of Democratic defectors expressed dissatisfaction with Pelosi by voting for Democratic moderate Heath Shuler instead. The number of defectors was small, but significant.  What it shows is that Pelosi has work to do in unifying her own caucus....

Poll: Nearly half of Nevada Republicans want Sen. Ensign to step aside
If Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) opts to run for Reelection in 2012 he will have a tough road ahead, even with members of his own party.  New numbers from Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found 48 percent of Republicans in the state would rather see Ensign step aside in 2012. Just 42 percent of Nevada Republicans want him to seek reelection. And while Ensign currently trails all potential Democratic opponents, including Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) 45 percent to 42 percent, the poll foun...

NV-Sen: Huge Performance Difference Between Ensign, Heller
Public Policy Polling (1/3-5, Nevada voters): Shelley Berkley (D): 45 John Ensign (R-inc): 42 Undecided: 13 Oscar Goodman (D): 45 John Ensign (R-inc): 35 Undecided: 20 Catherine Cortez Masto (D): 44 John Ensign (R-inc): 42 Undecided: 14 Ross Miller (D): 40 John Ensign (R-inc): 39 Undecided: 21 Shelley Berkley (D): 38 Dean Heller (R): 51 Undecided: 11 Oscar Goodman (D): 38 Dean Heller (R): 45 Undecided: 16 Catherine Cortez Masto (D): 37 Dean Heller (R): 46 Undecided: 16 Ro...

Obama choses William Daley new chief of staff. Transcript
William Daley, President Obama (photo by Lynn Sweet) Click below for transcript... THE White House Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release January 6, 2011 REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCING WILLIAM M. DALEY AS WHITE HOUSE Chief of Staff East Room 2:29 P.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Please have a seat, everybody. Happy New Year. Last October, when my former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel departed to pursue other opportunities in Chi...

Baffled Vieira to Bachmann: Why Vote to Repeal Obamacare If It's Just Going to Get Vetoed?
NBC's Meredith Vieira seemed baffled by the concept of taking a principled stand against ObamaCare, as she repeatedly pressed Michele Bachmann, on Thursday's Today show, why Republicans would bother to vote to Repeal the Health Care bill in the House if it wasn't going to get passed in the Senate or signed by the President. Vieira's very first question to the Republican Minnesota Congresswoman set the aggressive tone for the entire interview as she demanded: "Given the fact ...

Heck joins 112th Congress; veterans take the oath again
Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., sits next to his 13-year-old son, Joey, during the first day of the 112th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. » Buy this photo A clerk handles the tally sheet during the vote for speaker of the House on Wednesday, the first day of the 112th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. PHOTOS By LAUREN VICTORIA BURKE/SPECIAL TO THE Las Vegas REVIEW-JOURNAL » Buy this photo WASHINGTON -- Fresh from church service and accompanied by his wife and three Children, Joe H...

Video: Harry Reid was against raising the debt ceiling (2006) before he was for it (2007-2011)
Harry Reid wants to raise the Debt ceiling above the absurd $14.3 Trillion that it's at now. Whenever this ceiling gets raised, my first instinct is to ask why the heck we even have a Debt ceiling when politicians raise it ever higher anyway? Harry Reid 2011 ought to talk about Debt ceilings with Harry Reid 2006: “If my Republican friends believe that increasing our Debt by almost $800 billion today and more than $3 Trillion over the last five years is the right thing to do, they should b...

Harry Reid and Democrats seek to use backdoor methods to change filibuster rules
Senate Democrats are floating the idea of making major changes to Senate rules applying to the use of the Filibuster.  An important check against the majority, the filibuster exists in part to distinguish the Senate from the whims of the “majority-rule” House.  Structured as a more deliberative body, the filibuster is designed to allow the minority an opportunity to oppose or defeat bills or nominees in certain circumstances.  Democrat Senator Tom Udall is working to a...

Is Congress Listening to the American People?
Elected representatives are clearly talking more and more these days about listening to the American People. This is particularly true for the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner. As Politico put it in their Wednesday morning edition: “John Boehner will take the Speaker’s gavel with a commitment to restoring the House as an institution focused on listening to the American People.” The Washington Post reported that Boehner told reporters outside his apartment on Wednesday ...

Nineteen Democrats Scorn Pelosi in Speaker Vote, WaPo Buries Story on Page A8
The first vote cast by the 110th Congress on January 4, 2007 was for election of Speaker of the House. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) won all 233 Democratic votes (including her own). All 202 Republicans voted for Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio. Two years later Pelosi secured 255 (including her own), and there was only one Democrat, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (N.Y.) who did not vote. Minority Leader Boehner received every Republican vote, save for his own and three other Republicans who didn't vote. By co...

The Illogic of America's Debt Ceiling
One of the peculiar embarrassments of the American political process is the fact that Congress votes separately on the Deficit and Debt, as if they were two different decisions. This bizarre arrangement allows Congress the luxury of instructing the Treasury to spend more than it takes in as revenue while at the same time voting to deny the authority to borrow the funds that would be necessary to implement the plan. If the government is (a) required by the Deficit Legislation to spend, and (b) pr...

Democrats Should Stop Talking and Start Listening
As I was watching the festivities on Capitol Hill yesterday, I was thinking about Nancy Pelosi’s request to filmmaker Steven Spielberg for help in rebranding the Democratic party. If Mr. Spielberg reads this post, please ask E.T. to phone House Democrats. God knows we need the help. The best message that Democrats could come up with in 2010 was “vote for us because it’s better than not voting at all.” The transition ceremony yesterday suggests this was not a compelling ...

CBS: House Republicans 'Begin Their Assault On Health Care Reform'
On Thursday's CBS Early Show, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes derided Republican efforts to Repeal ObamaCare: "On Friday, they begin their assault on Health Care reform, with a vote to Repeal the law scheduled for next week." Cordes noted how Repeal "will hit a wall in the Senate," observing: "That legislative reality will force both sides to work together on some issues, something Speaker Boehner promised to Democrats." However, moments later she tout...

GOP leader from Reno wielded power in state Senate for more than 30 years
Sen. Bill Raggio announced Wednesday he will end his nearly 40-year reign in the Nevada Legislature, ending a career in which he built an unrivaled legacy of power forged through patience, intimidation, charm and an understanding of what would make adversaries and supporters bend. During his 38 years in the Legislature, Raggio fought to improve Nevada’s Higher Education system, strengthen the social safety net for the mentally ill and disabled and protect Northern Nevada from the encroaching h...

Congress kicks off session by tweaking chamber rules
Washington — After four years playing heavy defense, Republicans have a chance to drive their policy through Congress. But before they hit the ground running on their rollback agenda, they’re rewriting the rules of the game. The new GOP-led House opened its session Wednesday by adopting a new set of “cut-go” rules for the 112th Congress: requiring Congress to pay for every mandatory spending increase through cuts elsewhere to the Budget, as opposed to Tax Increases, which were permiss

Raggio leaves some loose ends but, overall, a very sound legacy
State Sen. Bill Raggio, the master of the art of the deal, is irreplaceable, despite his protestations to the contrary. No matter who is chosen to fill his seat, no one knows the state's Budget as well as he does after 38 years in the Senate. Frankly, no one is as good at getting what he wants without leaving any fingerprints as Sir William. His surprise announcement Wednesday that he is retiring because "my physical mobility simply does not allow me to function fully" brought back a flood of me...