GOP Goes Easy on Daschle, For Now

Kyl: 'Start from scratch;' McConnell vows Dems won't get 60 seats

(NEWSER) - The level of spending in Barack Obama’s House-approved $819 billion stimulus package will complicate its Senate passage, say two senators whose support will be crucial. “Unfortunately, this bill has become a Christmas tree,” Republican Susan Collins told CNN, while Democratic colleague Ben Nelson said, “There’s no pork in this, but there may be some sacred cows.” Elsewhere around the dial: More»

Republicans relent after weeks of procedural delays

(NEWSER) - The Senate unanimously confirmed Regina Benjamin as US surgeon general yesterday after Republicans ended a procedural delay that had dragged on for several weeks. Mitch McConnell and seven other GOP senators said they stalled because of an administration “gag order” that prevented insurers from giving their opinions on the effects of pending health care reform to senior citizens on Medicare. Benjamin said the news was “just sinking in." More»

Procedure would allow Democrats to pass agenda with 51 votes

(NEWSER) - To circumvent a likely 60-vote minimum in the Senate for big-ticket bills like health reform, President Obama is considering pursuing proposals through a budgetary tactic known as reconciliation, where just 51 votes are needed and no filibustering is allowed. But Republicans are having none of it, Politico reports. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl warns that using the process would turn Obama’s agenda into a “purely partisan exercise.” More»

High-fliers fail to realize that national mood has turned against them

(NEWSER) - The real problem with Tom Daschle is the $5 million he made on the post-Senate gravy train, not his unpaid taxes, Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post. Daschle, John Thain, and their fellow corporate and government high fliers have run afoul of an American public that's "no longer willing to accept the corruption of the public process and the whole notion of public service." More»

Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell top the list

(NEWSER) - Who are the real power brokers in Washington? GQ names the top 50 in its biennial list of the most powerful people in DC—although, the magazine notes, "People with the last names Obama and Biden not included." The top five:

• Eric Cantor: The House majority leader is definitely the Democrats' least favorite Republican; you can thank him for Washington's hyper-partisanship and inability to compromise. GQ notes that he is widely expected to follow—or even push aside—John Boehner as speaker of the House.
• Mitch McConnell: "Even Cantor has to go through this guy eventually," thanks to his position as Senate minority leader.