Happy Friday folks,
This morning, “Pints & Politics” host (as well as Washington Post contributor) Chris Cillizza said that it is “increasingly difficult to predict” whether or not liberals acknowledge the spending problem in this country. From President Obama’s insipid going-through-the-motions rhetoric on the deficit earlier this week, to Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Senator Tom Harkin’s denial of the problem, liberals everywhere are finding themselves on the wrong side of fiscal policy “with a majority of Americans.”
From a political standpoint, date from recent polling creates headaches for liberals who run for office in the 2014 mid-term elections. More importantly, however, is the indication that the policy realm of fiscal responsibility has some momentum. Cillizza observed that, “For Democrats, sounding like Pelosi and Harkin is a politically risky proposition.”
Liberals must now decide whether to stick with their outspoken leaders, or to join with conservatives and moderates in a bipartisan fashion to craft legislation. This is a particularly important junction, because in the next few months, Congress will debate the sequester and the debt limit. Moreover, the president’s budget will likely be laughed at, and the Senate may (knock on wood) pass a budget of their own. With an important lineup of bills this spring, it’s good to know that momentum is on the side of those who acknowledge the budget.
Seize the day,
Mark Bednar
@MarkBednar
Important Things On Tap For Today
11:15 AM: Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank Delivers Remarks On Manufacturing
2:45 PM: President Obama Delivers Remarks On Economy, Chicago, IL
7:00 PM: Secretary Of Education Arne Duncan Participates in the 2013 Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
Tweet Tweet
@JoeNBC “To those who see a rising tide for Big Government Liberalism, read this poll. Americans see DC as a threat. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/poll-government-threatens-rights-86997.html”
@ILoveCoffee “There are over 50 species of coffee. Though only 2, arabica and robusta, are commonly used in commercial coffee production.”
@BBCWorld “What does a meteor strike look like? “Something like the sun falling”, Russian eyewitness says http://bbc.in/15hDIwr”
@ByronTau “I’d love some Spotify data on whether lovelorn, broken-hearted song listens spike on Valentine’s Day.”
@HuffingtonPost “Restaurant fines patrons who don’t finish their food http://huff.to/12GHUS1”
On The Radar
Economic Growth
Budget Cuts Could Make Breaking News Back Home. “Congressional leaders definitely don’t want the part. They’re arming members with talking points to fend off bad-news budget tales before sending them back to their districts for a weeklong recess filled with town halls, business roundtables and TV and radio interviews. It won’t be easy, though. Journalists from Florida to Washington state told POLITICO that their editors are hungry for stories that turn bureaucratic doublespeak about automatic cuts into a human story of real-world pain — from layoffs to cutbacks in treasured hometown programs.”
Economy Dominant In Obama’s Speech, American’s Priorities. “Ahead of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, Americans’ concerns about the “most important problem” in the country remained largely entrenched compared with the previous month, with one in four mentioning the economy, followed by unemployment or jobs (19%), and then various issues related to poor government or leadership. At 13%, mentions of the federal budget deficit are back to where they were in December following a spike to 20% in January shortly after the conclusion of the New Year’s ‘fiscal cliff’ budget drama.”
Obama Touts Plan For Universal Preschool. “President Obama visited a preschool here Thursday to tout early education for all 4-year-olds from low- and modest-income families, part of a three-day campaign-style promotion of ideas outlined in his State of the Union address.”
Immigration
Legislator: Immigration Reform To Clear House This Summer. “A member of Congress close to negotiations in the House is confident a bipartisan immigration reform bill will pass this summer. ‘It will include a pathway to citizenship, and this will occur because the bill will include strong enforcement and security measures,’ the legislator said to NBC Latino.”
Latino Experts See Possibilities, Pitfalls, In Immigration Reform Effort. “Experts from the local Latino community and beyond met Thursday to voice both optimism and caution about the nation’s plans for immigration reform. ‘We are at a moment for comprehensive immigration reform unlike anything we’ve seen in recent history,’ said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum.”
Health Care
Uphill Road For Plan To Cut Government’s Drug Costs. “In essence, the plan would require drug companies to provide Medicare with discounts like those they now give to Medicaid. Specifically, the proposal would reduce federal payments for drugs used by low-income Medicare beneficiaries, including nine million people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. This group’s drug benefits are now covered by Medicare, not Medicaid, which is significant because the two programs have different rules for how much they pay pharmaceutical companies.”
Medicare’s Temporary Reprieve. “Advocates for Obamacare are already crediting the legislation’s payment reforms, but few of these have taken effect. There is scant evidence that the few early provisions have had much of an impact. It’s far more likely that the slow growth reflects the same trends being seen in the private sector, where medical spending has been impacted by the recession and slow recovery. People are thinking twice about seeking out healthcare, and incurring out of pocket costs. The Medicare Trustees themselves said as much, and commented ‘For these reasons, the financial projections shown in this report for Medicare do not represent a reasonable expectation for actual program operations in either the short range or the long range.’ The growth of Medicare Advantage has also helped tame spending growth, and Medicare’s actuary has said as much.”
Can Wisconsin Expand Coverage Without Medicaid? Governor Walker Thinks So. “In effect, Wisconsin provides a lot of the Medicaid coverage that is new to other states. And it will keep doing that moving forward: Medicaid coverage will be available to all Wisconsinites under the federal poverty line, reopening that program for low-income adults who had previously had an enrollment cap. ‘We now cover childless adults up to 200 percent,’ Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie tells me. ‘We’ve dialed that back to 100 percent.’”
X-Factor
Obama’s State Of The Union Lowest-Rated Since 2000. “33.5 million Americans watched President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, the lowest turnout since President Bill Clinton’s final State of the Union address in 2000, according to newly released Nielsen ratings.”
Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg Of New Jersey Won’t Seek Reelection. “The New Jersey Democrat, 89, made his decision official Thursday after months of speculation in his home state and Washington as Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) began openly discussing the possibility of running for the seat.”
Around 40,000 Flee Heavy Fighting In East Syria: UN. “An estimated 40,000 people have fled a town in eastern Syria after three days of heavy fighting between government troops and rebels, the United Nations food agency said.”
This & That
Love Conquers All, Except The Partisan Divide
Canadian Parliament “Debates” Zombie Invasion
Dating App Made in D.C. Turns Facebook Into Face Rating
Yawns: AVideo Ode To Sleepy Babies, People, And Animals
In U.S., Shark Attacks On Humans In 2012 Highest Since 2000