Washington in 60 Seconds: Obama's Speech, Sarah Palin's Op-Ed, and Ricky Martin's SCOTUS Invite
Patricia Murphy
Capitol Hill Bureau Chief
Posted:
09/9/09
Good morning, Capitolists! If the president were a betting man, he'd be going all in on health care tonight with his address to a joint session of Congress. Follow the best Presidential-Joint-Session-Address Twitter feed at Politics Daily at 8 Eastern tonight. Until then, catch up on what's making news in Washington today.
* Sarah Palin has penned an op-ed on health care for the Wall Street Journal this morning. She writes, "Is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by -- dare I say it -- death panels?" Girl . . . no you didn't! (Also, our David Corn weighs in on Palin HERE.)
* The magic 60-vote majority seems more like a mirage for Senate Democrats lately. Not only have they lost their most loyal vote in Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Ben Nelson said yesterday he won't be No. 60 on health care reform. The Nebraska moderate told The Hill yesterday, "My vote is not on autopilot."
* The Supreme Court holds a special session today to re-hear oral arguments in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a case challenging limits to corporations' campaign donations. Super-lawyers Ted Olson and Floyd Abrams team up to face off against the government, and SCOTUSblog has all the details.
* An abducted New York Times reporter in Afghanistan has been rescued after a military commando raid this morning. Sadly, a British soldier, the reporter's Afghan interpreter and several others were killed in the firefight. Eric Schmidt of the Times has the dramatic story.
* How much trouble is Harry Reid in back home in Nevada? Plenty, writes Manu Raju in Politico. Raju details the many ways Reid and his advisers were finding to spend an astonishing $20 million to $25 million just to help the majority leader keep his day job.
* And finally, Sonia Sotomayor had a famous face in the audience yesterday at her investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court -- the hip-swinging Ricky Martin. The New York Times' writes it up, but notes that the legal eagles at the court were more excited to see Sen. Patrick Leahy than the Latin sensation.
* Sarah Palin has penned an op-ed on health care for the Wall Street Journal this morning. She writes, "Is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by -- dare I say it -- death panels?" Girl . . . no you didn't! (Also, our David Corn weighs in on Palin HERE.)
* The magic 60-vote majority seems more like a mirage for Senate Democrats lately. Not only have they lost their most loyal vote in Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Ben Nelson said yesterday he won't be No. 60 on health care reform. The Nebraska moderate told The Hill yesterday, "My vote is not on autopilot."
* The Supreme Court holds a special session today to re-hear oral arguments in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a case challenging limits to corporations' campaign donations. Super-lawyers Ted Olson and Floyd Abrams team up to face off against the government, and SCOTUSblog has all the details.
* An abducted New York Times reporter in Afghanistan has been rescued after a military commando raid this morning. Sadly, a British soldier, the reporter's Afghan interpreter and several others were killed in the firefight. Eric Schmidt of the Times has the dramatic story.
* How much trouble is Harry Reid in back home in Nevada? Plenty, writes Manu Raju in Politico. Raju details the many ways Reid and his advisers were finding to spend an astonishing $20 million to $25 million just to help the majority leader keep his day job.
* And finally, Sonia Sotomayor had a famous face in the audience yesterday at her investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court -- the hip-swinging Ricky Martin. The New York Times' writes it up, but notes that the legal eagles at the court were more excited to see Sen. Patrick Leahy than the Latin sensation.