Politics Daily Staff -- Politics Daily

Published: 03/22/11

Obama: Allies Will Soon Take Control of Libyan Campaign

Facing criticism for taking military action in Libya without first formally consulting Congress, President Obama said Tuesday he is certain U.S. control over the operation would soon be transferred to the allies, news agencies reported. "I have absolutely no doubt that we will be able to transfer control of this operation to an international coalition," Obama said at a press conference in San Salvador with El Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes, Bloomberg reported. Members of NATO are meeting to establish a command structure, which will be done "over the next several days," he ...

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Published: 03/22/11

Democrats Could Lose Senate, Biden Warns Party

Democrats are only four seats away from losing control of the Senate to Republicans in 2012, Vice President Biden warned supporters in a online appeal for donations Tuesday. "I am writing to you today because at a moment when the stakes are highest, Democrats in the Senate face the toughest electoral climate we've seen in a long time," he said in his e-mail from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Politico reported. "Democrats are defending 23 seats in 2012, five of which are open. Republicans only need to pick up four to take control of the Senate," Biden wrote. In late January, ...

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Published: 03/22/11

South Dakota Governor Signs Tough Abortion Bill Into Law

It's not easy for a woman to get an abortion in South Dakota. There is only one abortion clinic in the state. As of Tuesday, it got even more difficult. Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to wait three days after meeting with a doctor and receive counseling before undergoing the procedure, news agencies reported. The measure brought condemnation from abortion rights groups. CBS News.com said that the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of South Dakota and Planned Parenthood Federation of America announced Tuesday they plan to file a legal ...

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Published: 03/22/11

Republican Sen. Scott Brown: GOP's Planned Parenthood Cut 'Goes Too Far'

Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts has broken ranks with his party over an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, saying the move "goes too far." "I support family planning and health services for women. Given our severe budget problems, I don't believe any area of the budget is completely immune from cuts," Brown said in a statement Tuesday. "However, the proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning goes too far. As we continue with our budget negotiations, I hope we can find a compromise that is reasonable and appropriate." Related Stories Planned ...

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Published: 03/22/11

Supreme Court Takes Death Row Appeal, Turns Down Campaign Finance Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a bid to further weaken campaign finance laws, but said it would consider the case of an Alabama death row inmate whose previous appeals were rejected due to a missed filing deadline for paperwork. Corey R. Maples, convicted in 1997 of killing two men after a night of boozing and drug use, argued that he had endured negligent legal representation from the outset, including two court-appointed attorneys who cautioned a jury it might appear they were "stumbling around in the dark." During the appeals process, Maples got burned by two New York ...

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Published: 03/22/11

Obama Getting Heat From Left and Right for U.S. Role in Libyan Attacks

President Obama is getting blowback from both sides of the aisle for taking military action in Libya without first formally consulting Congress. Debate in Washington heated up even before reports Tuesday that a U.S. warplane, patrolling Libyan air space, had crashed. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), a conservative member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Obama's "unilateral choice" to join a U.N.-backed coalition establishing a no-fly zone "is an affront to our Constitution," The Hill newspaper reported. The United States, Bartlett said, "does not have a king's army." Meanwhile, a CBS ...

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Published: 03/22/11

Dick Cheney to Be Subject of HBO Miniseries

Dick Cheney's been out of government for more than two years, but his political afterlife shows no signs of ending: HBO plans a miniseries on the famously abrasive former vice president. CNN reports that the project will be based on the "Frontline" documentary about Cheney, "The Dark Side," along with the Barton Gellman book, "Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency." No word from HBO on when the series will air or who will star, but it is expected to follow the former Wyoming congressman and defense secretary from his early years in the Nixon administration to his time as George W. Bush's ...

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Published: 03/22/11

More Turbulence for McCaskill as Missouri Dem Pays Back Taxes on Private Plane

Sen. Claire McCaskill might want to strap on a parachute: The airplane she co-owns keeps flying through rough air. After reimbursing taxpayers $88,000 for using government funds to pay for campaign travel on the personal aircraft, the Missouri Democrat on Monday pulled out her checkbook again, this time to pay $287,000 in back property taxes on it. The amount covers taxes from 2007 to 2010. McCaskill bought the plane in 2006 with her husband, wealthy businessman Joseph Shepard, and other investors. "I'm disappointed in myself that this mistake was made, but I have done an awful lot on ...

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Published: 03/21/11

Allied Airstrikes Buoy Libyan Rebels; Obama Stresses Limited Military Goal

U.S. and European forces continued their air strikes against Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi loyalists for the third straight night Monday, helping rebels regain control of Zuwaytinah, an oil terminal that had been captured by Gadhafi forces last week. The Washington Post reported that explosions and plumes of smoke marked the scene of the strikes against Gadhafi's forces in Ajdabiya, about 100 miles south of the rebels' capital of Benghazi, and that advancing rebels cheered when Western warplanes flew overhead. Monday night, Libyan state TV said a new round of strikes had begun in the ...

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Published: 03/21/11

Libya Releases New York Times Journalists

The Libyan government on Monday released four New York Times journalists six days after their capture by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi, the New York Times is reporting. The four were released to the custody of Turkish diplomats and crossed safely into Tunisia in the late afternoon, the Times reported on its website. The journalists include Anthony Shadid, the Times' Beirut bureau chief; two photographers, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario, who have extensive experience in war zones; and a reporter and videographer, Stephen Farrell, who in 2009 was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan ...

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