Wall Street and Scalise react differently to jobs report Wall Street reacted favorably to Friday's employment report that showed 175,000 jobs were created in May -- 10,000 more than analysts' estimates. But not Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the House's conservative caucus. "May's weak jobs report is another sad example of the failed Obama...
Wall Street and Scalise react differently to jobs report
Wall Street reacted favorably to Friday's employment report that showed 175,000 jobs were created in May -- 10,000 more than analysts' estimates. But not Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the House's conservative caucus.
"May's weak jobs report is another sad example of the failed Obama economy," Scalise said in a statement. "Americans want to see the president focused on supporting legislation to create jobs and promote a healthy economy, but instead all we've seen is an out-of-control Obama Administration that continually abuses power and violates the rights of hard-working taxpayers. From the IRS scandal, to the NSA (National Security Agency) breaching personal phone records and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) bias against conservative groups, clearly President Obama has lost control of his Administration and lost sight of what is important to American families."
In today's politics, you're not just responsible for what you say
Remember back in elementary school when the teacher would keep the entire class after school until the student who wrote something inappropriate on the blackboard fessed up, or a fellow student turned the miscreant in.
Well, in today's politics, both parties are acting like a 2nd grade teacher. The thinking seems to be that if a member of your political party, or someone who holds similar views, says something viewed as inappropriate, you must speak out. If not, your own motives and views are suspect.
Recently, the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee denounced Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., for not condemning comments by state Senator and Louisiana Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Carter Peterson that suggested a racial motive for some opposition in Louisiana to President Barack Obama's health-care law.
More recently, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee condemned Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, a Senate candidate against Landrieu, for not condemning statements by Republican radio host Erick Erickson and Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. Erickson suggested that women who are breadwinners challenge the very laws of nature, while Chambliss appeared to attribute high rates of sexual assault in the military to "the hormone level created by nature."
Whatever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions -- not those of others whose statements, whether right on target, misguided, insulting or just plain stupid, were uttered with no apparent input from anybody but the speakers themselves?
Livingston: Polarization no excuse for not settling debt crisis
The prevailing view is that Washington is so politically polarized that there's little chance of a budget deal that reins in the federal deficit -- particularly now that yearly deficits are on the decline -- thanks to a better economy and earlier actions by Congress and President Barack Obama.
U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston during his days as a House leader.Former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, R-Metairie, says that's an unacceptable situation. Livingston, now a D.C. lobbyist, has teamed with the group "Fix the Debt" to urge congressional leaders and the president to come together on a bold plan to reduce future deficits. The reduced federal deficits -- down from a recent high of $1 trillion to a projected $632 billion -- just isn't good enough for the long-term economic viability of the United States, Livingston said.
Livingston knows Democrats and Republicans are on different pages. President Obama and congressional Democrats insist on a deal that includes both spending cuts and tax increases. Republicans insist on all spending cuts, and that any savings from tax changes -- that both parties say they want -- go entirely to lowering overall rates.
Still, Livingston said if President Obama and congressional leaders demand a compromise for the sake of the country they can get a deal done.
"You got to have some leadership because this issue is just too important," Livingston said. "Look, President (Ronald) Reagan and (House Speaker) Tip O'Neill fought like hell and they got a deal done in the 1980s. President (Bill) Clinton and I didn't exactly see eye to eye on issues. But we got to a balanced budget."
Livingston said neither Clinton nor Reagan would have accepted gridlock as inevitable and would have used the bully pulpit of the White House to force all sides to the negotiating table.
Polite clears FBI hurdle
New Orleans attorney Kenneth Polite has passed his FBI background checks, according to sources, to become the top federal prosecutor job in New Orleans. Polite was recommended for the post by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in February.
If the process moves normally, Polite can expect some interviews with top brass at the Justice Department before his packet of information is submitted to the White House. Then, it will be up to President Obama to decide whether to nominate him for the U.S. Attorney post in New Orleans.
Landrieu's recommendation of Polite came after longtime chief prosecutor Jim Letten, resigned, following disclosure that two the top prosecutors in his office were making contentious anonymous comments about targets of office investigations on NOLA.com.
There was no immediate comment from Polite. This was the second background check for Polite. He underwent a check, though presumably less detailed, when he became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Need scorecard to track flood insurance fix-it bills?
It's getting to be that you need a scorecard to keep track of the various proposals to change a 2012 federal flood insurance law that Louisiana officials say will lead to unaffordable premium hikes for some state policyholders.
There's the Homeland Security spending bill amendment by Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge; a stand-alone bill by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans; stand-alone legislation and amendment proposals by Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and another stand-alone bill from Sen. David Vitter, R-La.,
All aim at blocking FEMA from immediately implementing provisions of the law that could lead to large increases in premiums.,
Would a more concerted, unified effort be better? Members say that they aren't truly going at this by themselves -- that all the proposals are co-sponsored by most, if not all members of the delegation.
This is a situation, of course, where all members of Congress want to be seen as doing everything they can to combat big premium increases.