Tom Kavanagh -- Politics Daily

Published: 02/28/11

Boehner to Religious Broadcasters: National Debt Is 'Immoral'

House Speaker John Boehner told a gathering of religious broadcasters Sunday that the nation's staggering debt is "immoral." "We have a moral responsibility to address the problems we face. That means working together to cut spending and rein in government," Boehner said in a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters' annual convention in Nashville. The $14.1 trillion debt that burdens the nation is "a mortal threat to our country. It is also immoral. It is immoral to bind our children to as leeching and destructive a force as debt. It is immoral to rob our children's future and make them ...

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Published: 02/25/11

Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill Curbing Union Rights

As expected, Wisconsin's state Assembly has approved a bill curbing the collective bargaining rights of public-sector employees. In a vote early Friday morning, the lawmakers advanced legislation that has sparked heated protests in the state and generated national interest at a time when most states are seeking ways to address massive budget deficits. Wisconsin's current shortfall is $137 million. The bill forces union employees to pay more for health and pension benefits, but it's most controversial aspect strips those employees of collective bargaining rights. Republican Gov. Scott Walker ...

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Published: 02/24/11

Rolling Stone: Army Ordered 'Psy Ops' to Pressure Lawmakers on Afghan Strategy

A story in Rolling Stone magazine says the U.S. Army wanted to use psychological operations -- known as "psy ops" -- to persuade members of Congress to support troop and funding increases in Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Michael Holmes told reporter Michael Hastings that Gen. William Caldwell ordered him to perform psychological operations on VIPs visiting Afghanistan and reprimanded Holmes when he refused. "My job in psy-ops is to play with people's heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave," Holmes told Hastings. "I'm prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ...

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Published: 02/21/11

As Governor, Palin Allegedly Told Aide: 'I Hate This Damn Job'

Shortly before resigning as governor of Alaska in 2009 -- about halfway through her four-year term -- Sarah Palin allegedly e-mailed a colleague saying, "I hate this damn job." That's one of the juicier allegations in a new book being written by one of Palin's top aides, which was leaked to the press over the weekend. (How the manuscript was disseminated has created a mini-tempest of its own, centering on another author, Joe McGinniss, who is also working on a book about the 2008 vice presidential candidate and conservative firebrand.) One chapter of the draft manuscript by Frank Bailey and ...

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Published: 02/21/11

Civil Discourse Institute to Open in Tucson

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, who have joined forces in the past to head disaster relief efforts, are uniting again as honorary chairmen of a new National Institute for Civil Discourse. Formation of the institute, intended to promote compromise among opposing political parties and views, is being announced Monday in Tucson, Ariz., site of a shooting rampage last month that killed six people and wounded 14 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The new organization's director, Brint Milward, told the New York Times that the institute will focus on political ...

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Published: 02/14/11

Rep. Jeff Flake to Seek Jon Kyl's Senate Seat

Rep. Jeff Flake will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl. The six-term Republican congressman announced his intentions Monday at a press conference in Phoenix. "The country is facing a fiscal crisis, and the United States Senate is at the center of the debate about how to bring federal spending under control," Flake said in a statement. "Senator Jon Kyl has given all of the eventual candidates in this race an excellent model of how to best serve Arizona and the country. He's set the bar extremely high, and I'll do my best to meet that standard." Kyl, who was elected ...

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Published: 02/14/11

Obama's $3.7 Trillion Budget Would Trim Deficit, Boost Targeted Spending

Unveiling a plan to trim federal deficits by more than $1.1 trillion over the next decade, President Obama is rolling out a 2012 budget Monday that will likely earn displeasure from some Democrats who say it cuts too much and from many Republicans who say just the opposite. The $3.7 trillion blueprint would reduce or terminate more than 200 federal programs next year while investing additional funds in education, transportation and research, which the president believes is needed to boost the struggling economy. The annual deficit, which is projected at a record $1.6 trillion this year, ...

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Published: 01/31/11

John Boehner: Smoke Gets in His Teary Eyes

First it was his weepiness, now it's his smoking -- John Boehner just can't catch a break. Near the end of an 18-minute interview on "Fox News Sunday" about the debt ceiling, GOP plans for spending cuts and other weighty matters, the new House speaker had to contend with two other vexing issues. "Why don't you stop smoking?" host Chris Wallace asked. Boehner had a question of his own: "Why do we bring this up again?" he replied, a bit exasperated. "It's a bad habit, but I have it. It's a legal product. I choose to smoke." He added with a smile, "Leave me alone." The Ohio congressman was ...

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Published: 01/27/11

Financial Crisis Report Spreads Blame Far and Wide for Meltdown

There's plenty of blame to spread around -- and the financial crisis was avoidable. In a nutshell, that's the conclusion of a report released Thursday by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a congressionally appointed body that explored reasons for the 2007-08 meltdown that led to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. From government regulators and policymakers to Wall Street's power players, the 633-page report cites a vast of array of contributors to the near-disaster, the effects of which still grip the nation. "A crisis of this magnitude cannot be the work of a few ...

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Published: 01/27/11

Harry Reid: Obama Should 'Back Off' on Earmark Ban

President Obama stressed earmark elimination in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, but the message didn't hit home with one of his closest allies, Harry Reid. In an interview with "NBC Nightly News," the Senate majority leader said Obama should "back off" on the idea. Reid called Obama's statement that he would veto any legislation sent to him with earmarks included an "applause line" and "absolutely wrong. . . . The president has enough power; he should back off and let us do what we do." Specifically, that means he and other lawmakers "have a constitutional obligation to do ...

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