Perry on 2012: 'A definite no, brother'

Rick Perry Takes Himself Out Of Contention For 2012
You an scratch Texas Governor Rick Perry off the list of potential Candidates for President: A governor eyed by some as a 2012 Republican contender for the...

Republican chaos could help Obama
The great wall of GOP resistance, the Berlin Wall of modern Washington politics, is already crumbling and threatening to the GOP takeover of the House and the gains in the Senate into just the sort of chaos that led to the Republican downfalls after the 1994 Midterm Elections. Besides multiple losses to President Barack Obama in the lame-duck session, the Republican Party’s fractured leadership in both the House and Senate is already disintegrating under pressure from extreme demands of fr...

Quote of the Day
"A definite no, brother." -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), in an interview with Fox News, when pressed on whether it was "definite maybe" he would run for president in 2012. ...

Anchors Away? Congress to Take Up Anchor Baby Amendment
(Fox News) — The end of the year means a turnover of House control from Democratic to Republican and, with it, Congress’ approach to Immigration. In a matter of weeks, Congress will go from trying to help young, Illegal Immigrants become legal to debating whether Children born to parents who are in the country illegally should continue to enjoy automatic U.S. Citizenship. Such a hardened approach — and the Rhetoric certain to accompany it — should resonate with the GOP fa...

U.S. House soon may get to use electronic devices
(12-25) 04:00 PST Washington - -- The iPad is coming to Capitol Hill. Tucked into new rules proposed by the incoming House Republican majority is one that could fling the chamber - for good or ill - into the 21st century: Members may use an electronic device on the House floor as long as it doesn't "impair decorum." The new rule would relax the complete ban on the use of gadgets like the iPad, iPhone or BlackBerry on the floor. Mobile Phones, Tablet Computers and the whole burgeoning universe...

Republicans to open House to electronic devices
WASHINGTON -- The iPad is coming to Capitol Hill. The new rule would relax the complete ban on the use of gadgets like the iPad, iPhone or BlackBerry on the floor. Mobile Phones, Tablet Computers and the whole burgeoning universe of applications that run on them will be officially available to House members as they conduct business. Members still may not talk on the phone in the chamber and are supposed to use the devices for official business only, according to a spokesman for the soon-to-be ...

The Final Vote of the 111th Congress
Why were they holding open the vote? After days of backroom negotiations and threats of lugging Congress back into session after Christmas, the jets were revved up, the train tickets were purchased, the cars were packed. Congress was about to conclude a frenetic, Lame Duck session just in time for Christmas and "traverse afar." You know, field and fountain. Moor and mountain. All of that. But not just yet. The hold-up was an impasse over compensating 9-11 First Responders for their health benefi...

Texting while legislating? iPads OK'd for House floor
WASHINGTON — The iPad is coming to Capitol Hill. Tucked into new rules proposed by the incoming House Republican majority is one that could fling the chamber — for good or ill — into the 21st century: Members may use an electronic device on the House floor as long as it doesn't "impair decorum." The new rule would relax the complete ban on the use of gadgets such as the iPad, iPhone or BlackBerry on the House floor. Mobile Phones, Tablet Computers and the burgeoning universe ...

The new GOP House understands that DC residents have no right to any voice in government
Would you believe that Speaker-apparent Boehner is in no rush to return DC House Delegate Norton's phone calls? by Ken I don't know, maybe it's not such a Big Deal, especially since it's hardly unexpected. Such Voting Rights as the District of Columbia's congressional "representative" (officially a mere "delegate") have have been granted at the pleasure of the speaker of the House, and that has happened only when the speaker is a Democrat. As Ben Pershing reports in today's Washington Post, Wh...

SPIN METER: Lame-duck Congress charts own course
(12-25) 06:39 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans say they will follow "the people's priorities" when they gain power on Capitol Hill next month. Yet when it came to Tax Cuts for the wealthy and other top issues that dominated the just concluded lame-duck Congress, the GOP either defied what most Americans want or followed their will only after grudging, drawn-out battles. Relentlessly focused on the next election, politicians are usually loath to act against voter sentiment. Still, the post-el...

Politics 2010: A Twist on the Year-End List
(Credit: CBS/AP) 2010 is almost over. Whew! As many in the world of political punditry look back on the year's winners and losers, they are looking at the year as a whole. Here's a take at the best/worst list for politics in 2010 by half . . . not necessarily 6 months split evenly, but just whose good first half turned into a bad second half, and vice versa. Best First Half Nancy Pelosi: The first woman Speaker of the House rallied her Troops and got through major reform Legislation for hea...

World's best
"American Exceptionalism" is the trend-topping topic of conversation in the US at the moment. "Americans believe with all their hearts, the vast majority of them, that the United States of America is simply the single greatest nation in all of human history." So said Florida's new Republican Senator Marco Rubio in his Acceptance Speech following last month's mid-term Elections. Many of his fellow Republicans alluded to the same view as they celebrated their "...

For-profit colleges spend big on lobbying
WASHINGTON — For-profit colleges more than doubled their spending on lobbying and hired six former members of Congress this year to fight regulations that they say threaten the industry. Ten education companies and their trade association spent $3.8 million on lobbying in the first nine months of 2010, up from $1.5 million in the comparable period last year, according to reports filed with Congress. For-profit colleges are resisting a Department of Education proposal to restrict funding; ...

US stays quiet on Turkey's genocide
Congress has avoided a diplomatic clash with an important ally, Turkey, by deciding not to take up a resolution declaring the mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century a Genocide. Supporters of the resolution made a push for approval in the final days of Congress, despite opposition from the Obama Administration. The measure was opposed strongly by Turkey, and the administration feared it would have damaged relations with the Nato ally. Instead, the House of Representatives ended its ...

Media Parrot Obama's Claim of 'Most Productive' Congress in Generations
Was Ed Schultz Slamming 'No Labels' Group - or Joe Scarborough? As Barack Obama took his legislative victory lap Tuesday, he boldly claimed this was "the most productive postelection period we've had in decades" and "the most productive two years that we've had in generations." To give readers an idea just how parroted this concept was, a Google News search of "most productive Congress" yields over one thousand results. According to Dictionary.c...

Gadgets OK on House floor, within limits
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Members of the U.S. House of Representatives will be able to use electronic devices on the House floor in the next session of Congress, a GOP spokesman said. Under rules being developed by Republican leaders, members will be able to make limited use of cellphone, Tablet Computer and other technology -- which has been banned before now. The new rule would allow use of such items provided it does not "impair decorum," The New York Times said in a report on the change t...

A Year After Christmas Eve Senate Vote, Health Reform Celebration Seems Premature (Time.com)
It was the ultimate Christmas Eve present for Barack Obama. Around 7 a.m. one year ago today, every Democratic senator in office - 60 in all - voted in favor of enacting comprehensive Health Care reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had leveraged the threat of spending Christmas in the Capitol to force even reticent Democratic senators to support the landmark Legislation, close a major chapter of the debate over Health Care and head home for the holiday. In a brief Press Conference after...

Dallas newspaper picks Perry as top Texan
DALLAS — The Dallas Morning News has selected Rick Perry for its annual “Texan of the Year” award, acknowledging the Governor’s “Texas tough-guy” image and his firm grip on the state’s highest office. The newspaper announced its selection Saturday — making the state’s longest-serving governor the eighth recipient of the award. Last year, the heroes of the Fort Hood shootings were recognized. The newspaper selected Perry because he has bec...

Medicaid crisis to confront Haley
Among the most challenging problems Gov.-elect Nikki Haley will inherit when she takes office next year is a Health Care agency whose Budget has failed to keep pace with new patients during the Great Recession. Haley will assume Oversight of the Cabinet-level Department of Health and Human Services as it faces a $228 million shortfall this year and a spending plan for the Budget year beginning July 1 that exceeds the additional money the state expects to collect from the Federal Government. Th...

Dec. 31 is deadline for selecting Medicare plans
Until two years ago, picking a health-insurance plan was easy for Joan Jamrog. She simply chose one offered by her employer. But after retiring at 65, Jamrog, reasonably healthy but needing a handful of Prescription Drugs, was confronted with an overwhelming breadth of Medicare choices. So for the second year in a row Jamrog, of Warren, went to her local senior center to meet with a team of professional counselors in town for the day. The counselors had access to the information she provided the...

'We the people' To Open Next Congress
'We the people' to open next Congress When Speaker Pelosi hands over her gavel to GOP leader John Boehner the 112th Congress of the United States will open with a reading of the US Constitution, a document often ignored by the Far Left Extremists of the current Obama-Pelosi regime. 112th Congress = Republican Party - 242 members Democrat Party 193 members Washington Times The Constitution frequently gets lip service in Congress, but House Republicans next year will make sure it gets a lot mo...

Change!GOP-Controlled House Will Open Congress With Reading of US Constitution
As soon as Speaker Pelosi hands over her gavel to GOP leader John Boehner the 112th Congress of the United States will open with a reading of the US Constitution, a document often ignored by the Far Left Extremists of the current Obama-Pelosi regime. The Constitution frequently gets lip service in Congress, but House Republicans next year will make sure it gets a lot more than that - the new rules the incoming majority party proposed this week call for a full reading of the country’s...

Charles D. Ellison: What's the Difference Between DADT and DREAM?
To the sour-tasting disappointment of many who were relying on it, the Senate failed to pass the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibustering block of the DREAM Act, with Republicans promising not to expect much in 2011. Democrats could only muster 55 votes while the White House stood by in either disbelief or anticipated diffidence. It was a bitter legislative pill to swallow considering that - at the end of the day - it was a bill for the kids. Despite the rousing Bigotry of some Senate Repub...

Making the case for earmarks
I've never been able to figure out why Congress seems so interested in giving up power. When you're sworn in as a member on Capitol Hill, you take an oath to uphold the Constitution, which places Congress first in the firmament of national governance and makes it coequal to the presidency. Yet over the years, members of Congress have repeatedly handed the Executive Branch more power, in everything from going to war to Budget-making to designing the specifics of financial-industry reform. Capit...

Airport scanner companies hiring former federal workers
WASHINGTON — The companies that build futuristic airport scanners take a more old-fashioned approach when it comes to pushing their business interests in Washington: hiring dozens of former lawmakers, congressional aides, and federal employees as their Lobbyists. About 8 in 10 registered lobbyists who work for scanner-technology companies previously held positions in the government or Congress, most commonly in the Homeland Security, aviation, or intelligence fields, according to a Washin...