Columns
By Morton M. Kondracke
In 2006 and 2008, American voters gave Democrats big victories because they were mad at Republicans. In 2010, they gave Republicans a big victory because they were mad at Democrats.
By Norman Ornstein
First, I want to give kudos to Speaker John Boehner for walking the walk and talking the talk on opening up the House to amendments on the Continuing Resolution debate. It was time-consuming, raucous, often unwieldy. That is what you expect in a real and open debate. Of course, it did not exactly meet the definition of deliberative — many amendments got no debate, others all of two minutes — but it was much more than has been the norm in the House for many years. It was not easy for Boehner to pull off. It meant some embarrassing defeats for the majority leadership, and for the Speaker himself — not all at the hands of or the connivance of the minority Democrats.
By Stan Collender
I honestly can’t remember the last time a president’s budget received anything but very harsh criticism from the moment it was released, and I’ve been involved in or commenting on the federal budget debate for more than three decades. So it was hardly a surprise when President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget was skewered as soon as it went public last week.
By Don Wolfensberger
As we celebrate our first president’s birthday today and mark the 222nd anniversary of the 1st Congress next week, it is fitting to consider the relationship between the executive and legislative branches. Rather than attempt an overview of interbranch dynamics, I will instead focus on a small but symbolic intersection of the two — the president’s annual State of the Union address before Congress.
By Morton M. Kondracke
The country needs a 2012 presidential candidate whose No. 1 aim is to tame the raging federal debt. That candidate well could be Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who’s proved he can manage at the state level.
By Stuart Rothenberg
Given the lack of details about Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ recovery and my concern that media reports may have presented an overly upbeat description of her progress, I’m conflicted by talk from Democrats and the media of Giffords running for the Senate this cycle.
By Norman Ornstein
Sen. Orrin Hatch has long been one of my favorite people in Congress. I testified in front of him several times when he chaired the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, and I always enjoyed the intellectual give-and-take. So I winced when I saw that he had apologized for his vote in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program when heckled about it at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
By Stuart Rothenberg
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will celebrate her 71st birthday next month. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will be 72 in June. And Assistant Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) turns 71 in July. Since nobody can go on forever, House Democrats have to be starting to think about their possible next generation of leaders.
By C. Simon Davidson
Q: I am little embarrassed even to ask a question like this, but here it goes. I met a great guy at a cocktail reception last week, and we really seemed to hit it off. I didn’t hear from him again until yesterday, when he sent me three dozen beautiful red long-stem roses for Valentine’s Day. A little forward, I suppose, but I must admit that I am thrilled with them. My question is whether the fact that I happen to be a House staffer means I cannot keep the flowers. Please say I can keep them. They are stunning, and I really don’t want to mess this up.
By Stan Collender
Although this week’s Fiscal Fitness is being published after the release Monday of the Obama administration’s fiscal 2012 budget request, the column was written the day before the president’s proposal was sent to Capitol Hill. There were, of course, both official statements and unauthorized leaks about the details prior to its release, and it wasn’t that hard to guess what was coming from the White House given the politics and mathematics of this year’s budget debate.
