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NEWS ABOUT: Congressional Republicans

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Finally, Sun Through the Economic Clouds

Thanks to improving housing market, private debt: Paul Krugman

(Newser) - The economy has had its share of false starts over the past few years, but this time things could really be improving, opines Paul Krugman. "There’s evidence that the two great problems at the root of our slump—the housing bust and excessive private debt—are finally easing,... More »

Obama: Aloof Image Is Media Creation

Press corps miffed by quiet social life, he suggests

(Newser) - President Obama isn't aloof, he says—it's just that he and Michelle don't tend to paint the town red. "My suspicion is that this whole critique has to do with the fact that I don’t go to a lot of Washington parties and, as a... More »

Obama's Approval Swells to 49%

Strongest since March as president improves among conservatives

(Newser) - President Obama's job-approval numbers remain poor, but at 49% they have rebounded to their strongest point since March, showing substantial improvements from young voters, seniors, and independents in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Since September, Obama's approval rating has risen by 9 percentage points among Democrats, to... More »

Payroll Tax Could Face Vote Today

GOP plan would tie measure to oil pipeline approval

(Newser) - The payroll tax cut could see a vote today under a GOP measure linking it to the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. House Republicans, who have been fighting the tax cut, want to tie approval of the extension to approval of the pipeline, which would bring oil through Canada to... More »

Obama to GOP: Keep Your Word on Taxes

President chides Republicans on payroll taxes

(AP) - President Obama continued his onslaught on congressional Republicans today, saying that Congress needs to extend a payroll tax cut in light of an economic recovery that's "still fragile" and middle class families who need the money. In a statement given from the White House this afternoon, Obama urged... More »

Obama to Unveil Tax-the-Rich Plan Monday

The 'Buffet Rule' create new minimum rate for the wealthy

(Newser) - President Obama plans to roll out his new tax-the-rich proposal on Monday and he's calling it the "Buffett Rule." Named after Warren Buffett, the financial whiz who argues that the mega-rich don't pay enough in taxes , the plan will include a new minimum tax rate for... More »

Congress' Approval Rating Lowest Ever

Hits 12%; Republicans fare worse than Dems

(Newser) - Congress’ approval rating has once again sunk to its nadir, a mere 12%, a New York Times/CBS News poll finds. That figure was first hit in October 2008, in the throes of the economic crisis. While just 28% of voters approve of the work of congressional Democrats, only 19% approve... More »

Barry's Baaaaaack, But Are We Satisfied?

Obama gets feisty again, but he had to be 'cajoled': Dowd

(Newser) - Fiiiiinally... the fiery President Obama of old came roaring back with a killer jobs speech this week. "What a relief," sighs Maureen Dowd in the New York Times . "The president was strong and House Republicans were conciliatory." But it's not that simple, she says, because... More »

Hey, Obama: Dems Slow Job Growth, Too

Labor agency's action against Boeing is case in point: Joe Nocera

(Newser) - President Obama has been rightly railing against Republicans for blocking job-creation measures, but they're not the only ones. Boeing is ready to start building its 787 Dreamliners partially in a new South Carolina plant, home to 5,000 nonunion workers. But the National Labor Relations Board wants to leave... More »

Washington Needs Ike-Like Calm

Today's politicians have forgotten his lessons: Jim Newton

(Newser) - Coming into office after a series of crises, Dwight Eisenhower knew that part of his job as president was to calm us down. “He set out to project an aura of calm command” and, “through patient and temperate negotiation,” he sought to balance rival factions in the... More »

GOP's New Crusade: Balanced Budget Amendment

Some Democrats amenable to the plan, say insiders

(Newser) - Emboldened after the debt limit fight, Republicans are shifting energies to their quest for a balanced budget amendment—but such a measure faces major hurdles, the New York Times reports. John Boehner has called on congressional Republicans to spend their August recess convincing the public of the importance of such... More »

Poll: We Hate Congress More Than Ever

Approval dives below 20%

(Newser) - The debt ceiling mess has pushed Congress' already dismal approval ratings into the abyss, according to the latest New York Times / CBS poll. Some 82% of Americans don't approve of the way Congress is doing its job, the lowest rating since the Times started asking the question in... More »

So What's in the Debt Deal?

$1T in cuts now with more later—and a 'trigger' to ensure a second deal

(Newser) - No revenues, big budget cuts—what exactly is in the debt-ceiling deal? Ezra Klein sums it up in the Washington Post : $1 trillion in immediate cuts with at least $1.5 trillion more to come; a vote on a balanced budget amendment; and an immediate $900 billion increase to the... More »

Debt Ceiling Deal: Obama 'Surrendered'

Krugman: It's a 'disaster' for the country, and shows he'll surrender again

(Newser) - President Obama caved deeply in a debt deal that made the Republicans big winners, with both Andrew Leonard and Paul Krugman arguing that he "surrendered." Their take:
  • “In the end, President Obama had to admit surrender,” writes Andrew Leonard in Salon , detailing “a smashing victory
... More »

Let's Kill the Debt Ceiling— Permanently

Why suffer from 'problems we've created for ourselves'?

(Newser) - All this talk about raising the debt ceiling when the fact is—like almost “every other democratic country”—we shouldn’t have one at all, writes James Surowiecki in the New Yorker . “There’s no debt limit in the Constitution,” and Congress already has a way... More »

71% Disapprove of GOP's Debt Efforts

Democrats' approval numbers slightly better at 31% to GOP's 21%

(Newser) - Some 71% of Americans disapprove of Congressional Republicans’ handling of the debt crisis, while just 21% support the GOP’s efforts, a CBS News poll finds. Congressional Democrats fare better, but only slightly so: 58% disapprove of their work on the issue; 31% approve. President Obama gets the best poll... More »

McConnell: Big Deficit Deal Is Dead

Top Republican blames White House insistence on tax hikes

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell is jumping right on John Boehner's pronouncement last night that a broad deal on the deficit is impossible, reports Politico. Appearing on Fox News Sunday this morning, the Senate's top Republican said the White House's insistence that a $4 trillion deal be accompanied by tax... More »

Barack Obama Has Gone AWOL

Not only is Obama caving to the GOP—he's 'celebrating' it, writes Paul Krugman

(Newser) - Barack Obama has left the building. Granted, with Republicans running amok, all Obama really has is “the bully pulpit,” but incredibly, “he’s using it to reinforce his enemies’ narrative,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Maybe he did have to make big concessions... More »

GOP Gives Democracy a Bad Name

Why are we paying these people?

(Newser) - Nicholas Kristof has spent a lot of time in Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, and China recently, talking up the virtues of democracy. “But if Congressional Republicans actually shut down the government this weekend, they will be making a powerful argument for autocracy,” he writes in the New York Times... More »

Wisc. GOP Tries to Yank Duffy's '$174K' Video

Polk County Republicans tell TPM to take it down

(Newser) - When Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy started taking heat for complaining that he was struggling to get by on his $174,000 salary, the Polk County GOP yanked the video of the townhall meeting from its website; now it's trying to eradicate the video from the Internet, reports Talking Points Memo.... More »

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