Liberals Near Revolt Over Health Care Deal

House Republicans revolt, call for conference committee

(NEWSER) - House Republicans didn’t hold their expected vote on the Senate’s two-month payroll tax cut extension last night, a hairpin turn so abrupt that Politico ’s story on it is headlined, “Has John Boehner Lost Control?” The House had planned to vote down the Senate bill and push for a full-year extension, but members objected that doing so would compromise their pledge against voting for tax hikes. Instead, the House will hold a procedural vote this morning to send the matter into a conference committee with the Senate. More»

A clear message is more effective than 'Occupying' Wall Street

(NEWSER) - The Tea Party may get all the press, but progressives are pretty angry, too, these days—and frustrated that President Obama doesn’t ever seem to share their anger. Thankfully “they now have senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren,” writes Joanna Weiss in the Boston Globe . In the much-ballyhooed rant that went viral last week, “Warren injects just the right amount of conversationalism and sarcasm.” Afterward, one liberal site gushed, “THAT is how it is done. THAT is how you fight back hard.” More»

Panel charged with finding $1.5T in cuts is now complete

(NEWSER) - The "super committee" is complete: Nancy Pelosi filled in the final three positions of the 12-member panel today by picking James Clyburn of South Carolina, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Xavier Becerra of California, reports the Hill . Clyburn and Becerra are the top-ranking African-American and Latino lawmakers in Congress and they hold top spots on Pelosi's leadership team, notes the Washington Post . Van Hollen is the top Democrat on the House budget panel. More»

Mitch McConnell, Tea Party at the forefront: Chris Cillizza

(NEWSER) - The debt-deal dust has yet to settle, but that's not stopping anyone from analyzing its political consequences. In the Washington Post , Chris Cillizza notes the winners:

• Mitch McConnell was “the Mariano Rivera of the debt deal. He waited until the game was in its final moments, came onto the field and helped close things down.”
• The Tea Party showed its sway, driving John Boehner to delay his bill and “add conservative sweeteners to get the 217 votes he needed.”

Right-leaning Dem weighs Arkansas gubernatorial run after 6 House terms

(NEWSER) - Democrat Mike Ross won’t seek a seventh term in Congress, the Arkansas rep said today. A leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats, Ross said he’s considering running for governor in his home state, and another congressional term would conflict with a possible 2014 campaign. Such a move “wouldn't be fair to the people who elected me to Congress and it wouldn't be fair to my supporters in a race for governor,” he said. More»