The Note: They Hold These Truths
— -- WASHINGTON, June 22
NEWS SUMMARY
Is it too clichéd for The Note to tell you that partisan tensions are flaming high in Congress?
And yet — and yet — beneath all that Elephant-versus-Donkey savagery, there is a remarkable (although little remarked upon) amount of agreement on Capitol Hill on a range of matters.
Here are some of the things on which there is consensus congressional mindmeld on both sides of the Hill and both sides of the aisle (and remember: just because they agree doesn't mean they are right!!!):
The President is looking for a (partial) exit strategy on Social Security.
Dick Durbin was smart to apologize.
Republican Senators who want to be president (and the staffs who love them) are engaged in more early, intense intramural skirmishing than their Democratic counterparts.
If the Democratic Party had some popular, smart ideas — and the message discipline to sell them — the balance of power would be much, much different.
If Sen. Clinton is really thinking of supporting a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning, her top political adviser must have weighed in on it.
Sen. McCain knows exactly what he is doing with the Abramoff hearings.
No one can figure out how Ron Bonjean made The Note quiz yesterday.
The Bush White House plays for keeps.
Today's blockbuster lobbying industry story by the Washington Post's Jeff Birnbaum is just the tip of the iceberg and a series of bullets dodged (for now). LINK The Bush Administration should be tougher on the Saudis. Although some claim to have a hazy memory of it, it seems pretty certain that Congress itself did not exist before the advent of the BlackBerry. As for today's must-reads: 1. The Washington Post's Lord Jeffrey Birnbaum examines the big, and ever-growing, business of lobbying, and the massive money involved as businesses increase their lobbying budgets and lobbyists raise their fees for their exceptionally well-connected services. LINK 2. Ron Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times Brownstein writes: "Democrats soon could face critical choices on how far to press their hard-line approach as public discontent with the Iraq war grows and the possibility looms that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist will retire." "On both fronts, the party base is clamoring for aggressive resistance. But Democrats in Washington remain uncertain over how sharply to dissent from Bush's approach on Iraq and whether to filibuster a potential Supreme Court appointment that would replace one conservative with another and not change the court's balance of power." ". . . There have been few signs that the Democratic resistance has caused Bush to change his legislative or political strategy; on Tuesday, for instance, the White House struck a characteristically defiant note by demanding another vote on Bolton." "Still, sources say the White House is concerned enough about the polarized pattern that it is looking to highlight issues with greater appeal to Democrats, such as access to healthcare." 3. John Podhoretz' must-read New York Post column attacking the Ed Klein anti-Clinton book in no uncertain terms. LINK 4. Scot Lehigh of the Boston Globe pits Mitt Romney against John McCain and questions which one is showing the greater strength of character in the invisible primary thus far. LINK 5. The Chicago Tribune's underrated Jan Crawford Greenburg breaks new ground on the White House SCOTUS spade work. LINK On today's schedule: The President takes a tour of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, MD at 9:35 am ET. At 10:10 am ET, he delivers remarks on energy and economic security. Per ABC News' Ann Compton: At the gaggle this morning, Scott McClellan indicated the president will deliver a new speech with a broader economic agenda. The President is also expected to address Social Security — again insisting private accounts must remain part of the deal and that any reform measure must include a permanent solvency solution. At 9:30 am ET today, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds its third hearing to examine allegations that lobbyist Jack Abramoff defrauded six Indian tribes in casino dealings. The hearing will center on the actions of Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist, but a slew of Abramoff associates and advisers are also scheduled to appear and some will likely take the Fifth. Just 12 days shy of Independence Day, the Star Spangled Banner weighs heavily on the minds of Congress: the House considers a resolution today to enact a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag. Please Note what Sen. Clinton reportedly told the New York Times about that. The DNC's Voting Rights Institute presents a report on the "conduct" of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio to DNC Chair Howard Dean at 11:00 am ET. Also at 11:00 am ET today, Olympic athletes and Capitol Hill Democrats — including Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) — host a news conference to mark the 33rd anniversary of Title IX. The group is also expected to call on President Bush to reexamine rules governing athletic opportunities for women. EMILY's List will present its "2005 Women's Monitor Report" this afternoon at 1:00 pm ET. Ellen Malcolm, Karen White, Diane Feldman, and Geoffrey Garin will all be on hand. A major headline from both the poll and the briefing will be how Democratic candidates in general and women Democratic candidates in particular can build on the perceived problems with Congress in 2006. Another is how to target and the demographic groups where they've found the largest losses in Republican support — and if those "defections" are outside the norm. The poll surveyed more than 2,600 voters, including 2,000 women, with a sample drawn from the DNC's national file of registered voters. In the Senate, a cloture motion was filed on the energy bill on Tuesday evening. There will be a vote on that cloture motion on Thursday. Debate will continue on the energy bill on Wednesday with amendments by Senators Feinstein (LNG) and Byrd (rural gas prices) being considered. Additionally, there will be three hours of debate on the McCain/Lieberman climate change amendment, followed by a Roll Call vote on that amendment. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mark Dayton (D-MN), and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) hold a news conference at 12:30 pm ET to promote the benefits of the energy bill for rural America. A press release for an 11:00 am ET teleconference call states, "Catholics for Faithful Citizenship, an organization committed to organizing Catholic voters by parish instead of precinct, has begun a campaign to defeat CAFTA, calling the proposed trade agreement 'against the culture of life.'" The Electric Drive Transportation Association holds a news briefing on energy policy and technology at 9:30 am ET. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) will attend. At 8:30 am ET, the Pennsylvania congressional delegation holds a closed meeting (not to worry, there will be a media availability following the meeting) to discuss the upcoming Base Closure and Realignment hearing. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) are all expected at this effort to preserve the Commonwealth's military installations. At 10:00 am ET, UN task force co-chairs — former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell — participate in a hearing with the House Appropriations Committee. Also at 10:00 am ET, the House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing on Medicaid prescription drugs. Former Sen. Bob Dole holds a 10:30 am ET news conference at the Hyatt Regency to initiate a tour promoting the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Virginia Gov. Mark Warner takes a turn at the podium as Marshall High School's 2005 commencement speaker at 10:30 am ET. At 2:00 pm ET, Warner — serving as the chair of the National Governors Association — convenes a panel discussion on "Sensible Solutions to Align Federal Education Laws." Karl Rove will receive an award and be the featured speaker at the New York Conservative Party's annual fundraising dinner at 7:00 pm ET. John Edwards is headlining a fundraiser for the New Jersey Assembly Democrats at the Trenton Marriott at 6:00 pm ET. Thanks to all the readers who answered our quiz yesterday. Boffo replies!!! Winners can pick up your prizes in the lobby between noon and 3:00 pm ET. Social Security: "Both approaches hold hazards for the president, Republicans say. Mr. Bennett's way would force him to forfeit the accounts that supporters say are Mr. Bush's higher priority. The White House is reluctant to fully embrace Mr. DeMint's version because it wouldn't make Social Security solvent. Also, Bush aides acknowledge that many Republicans in Congress privately view the DeMint bill not as a way to revive the issue, but as 'an exit strategy' — believing it can't pass, but will allow them to put Social Security behind them without having to vote to cut benefits." "The White House's hope — and Republicans say it is a long shot — is that a final agreement in Congress could include both concepts. Both Republican chairmen with jurisdiction over Social Security — Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas of California — continue trying to draft bills in their separate panels. Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas and Ways and Means' Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Jim McCrery, a Louisiana Republican, may join Mr. DeMint tomorrow at a news conference to introduce his legislation, even as they continue working on a broader package. Today, Mr. McCrery and three other Republicans on his subcommittee will announce a proposal they have dubbed 'Spend Social Security Dollars on Social Security' — in a further attempt to send a more popular message to voters and get away from Mr. Bush's emphasis on future benefit reductions." The New York Times ' David Rosenbaum quotes Sen. Bennett as saying the President told him, "I like your bill." LINK ABC News' Linda Douglass reports that three Republican House members, including Jim McCrery, the influential chairman of the subcommittee that is handling Social Security, will unveil a Social Security reform plan as early as today that would devote the Social Security surplus to building private accounts. Rep Clay Shaw has proposed "add-on' private accounts, funded by money outside Social Security. Reps. Ryan and Johnson have proposed "carve-out" private accounts, built from the payroll tax. All would stand by their previous proposals but will embrace this idea as well. "With the acquiescence of their leaders, key House Republicans are drafting Social Security legislation stripped of President Bush's proposed personal accounts financed with payroll taxes and lacking provisions aimed at assuring long-term solvency," Notes the AP's David Espo. LINK " . . . . [Chairman] Thomas was intimately involved in crafting the bill, and he and McCrery met privately on Tuesday with Speaker Dennis Hastert and other members of the leadership." "It was not clear in advance whether Thomas, Hastert or other leaders intended to formally endorse the bill, but one official said it was possible an outline would be presented before the news conference to the GOP rank and file." Bolton: "The increasingly bitter standoff has further poisoned relations between the two parties just as Mr. Bush faces a series of tests in Congress, including the prospect of a Supreme Court nomination and what may be a final push on his proposal to overhaul Social Security." "Mr. Frist's move effectively buys the administration time to decide how to proceed," writes Yoichi Dreazen in the Wall Street Journal . Frist "did an about-face," writes the New York Post 's Deborah Orin. LINK "Pushing for a third vote is a high-stakes poker move to put pressure on Democratic senators in pro-Bush red states," adds Orin. "Frist abruptly changed his mind," writes the New York Daily News' McAuliff. LINK Wow, that Associate Press wire is still a powerful thing! Perhaps if Nick Smith sent that helpful full transcript prior to 8:11 pm ET last night it would have more greatly affected today's coverage. The Washington Post's Jim VandeHei writes that the president was evidently quite persuasive with Senate Republicans, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in particular, as he pushed them to stop saying that pushing for an up-or-down vote on John Bolton could be futile. Now they're ready to keep pushing for several more weeks, VandeHei reports. LINK "Two administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Vice President Cheney has made Bolton's nomination a personal priority and lobbied Bush to keep fighting for an up-or-down vote." "Several Republicans who had lunch with Bush yesterday said they did not see a way out of the Bolton standoff, short of a recess appointment or a White House about-face on turning over classified national security materials that Democrats are demanding." Frist said a Bolton recess appointment "was not discussed," reports the Los Angeles Times But Frist said scheduling a vote doesn't make much sense without the possibility of getting more support, report USA Today's Kathy Kiely and Judy Keen. LINK Bush agenda: "One of the many symbols of how Saudi authorities treat women is the law against women driving. In her interview with me yesterday, Rice refused to criticize the Saudis for this, saying the issue that concerns her is political rights. Today on the flight from Riyadh to Brussels I asked her to elaborate. " "'It's just a line I have not wanted to cross,' she said. 'I think it is important that we do have some boundaries about what it is that we are trying to achieve. … I have not wanted to in any society go in and say women ought to be able to do this activity or that activity 'The driving ban, she seemed to suggest, may or may not be a violation of women's rights in Saudi society. The way you can tell, she argues, is by getting political rights for women. 'I am quite certain that when women are able to express their aspirations and their views in the political system, we will see what is really custom and what really does matter to Saudi women.'" "Even with full political rights for Saudi women, she suggested, the law against women driving could remain. ' The United States has to recognize even after democratic processes take place, places are not going to look like the United States in terms of social mores.'" "NB: The Saudis had three women journalists attend her joint press conference with Prince Saud, who made a point of calling on a woman first, and last. "We like to open with the ladies and close with the ladies,' he said. " "Saudi Arabia's effort to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) and finalize the U.S.-Saudi free-trade agreement that will accompany its admission is coming under increasing attack from a bipartisan group of lawmakers assisted by pro-Israel lobbyists," reports The Hill's Elana Schor. LINK The Wall Street Journal's Brody Mullins reports that Senators are close to a compromise on the death/estate tax that would reduce the burden for all much the richest taxpayers. David Sanger reads the tea-leaves of an Asian leader's visit to the White House: "The coolness was a reflection, several American officials said, of the administration's uncertainty over how to deal with a government that is looking for a great leap in its links to the United States but has proved unwilling to loosen political control at home." LINK The Washington Post's Jim VandeHei wraps President Bush's visit with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, which, with pro-democracy protesters and Vietnam War veterans on the street outside, focused on trade, intelligence, military training, and human rights and religious freedom. Bush announced he will travel to Vietnam in 2006. LINK The prolific Deb Orin of the New York Post Notes President Bush's plans to travel to Vietnam next year. LINK Thomas Friedman argues that because President Bush doesn't have a successor in mind, he is governing not as an accommodationist but in the mode of a permanent campaign. Wethinks he takes the point more than a bit too far, but it's nice to see Don Bauer's name in the paper . . . . LINK As if on cue, the New York Times ' Timothy Egan, taking stock of the Bush Administration energy develop.m.ent policy, writes that "The battle cry is the same as in past movements: a call for local control over a distant federal landlord. But for the first time, it is the Republicans who find themselves the target of angry speeches about lost property rights and tone-deaf federal land managers. And people who have been on opposing sides of the major land battles in the West — mainly property owners and ranchers versus environmentalists — are now allies." LINK Alexander Bolton's write-up of yesterday's GOP powwow at 1600 includes this bit of history: "It was the first time since the Reagan administration that the Senate Republican caucus held a policy luncheon at the White House with the president." LINK The politics of Iraq: Mark Preston and Erin Billings have more details on the Senate Democrats' Iraq meeting, which Minority Leader Harry Reid says is unlikely to bring about a unified position on Iraq, and isn't meant to come up with a plan to bring troops home. Preston and his Roll Call colleague Chris Cillizza report that Sens. John Warner (R-VA) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) put the pressure on President Bush to "make a better case" to the American people about the U.S.' role in Iraq at a White House lunch meeting of Republican senators. They also discussed their concerns about overextending National Guard and Reserve troops. The politics of national security: "The privacy policy typically bans the sharing of such confidential information, which includes home addresses, medical information and other personal data. But senior officials at the Social Security agency agreed to an 'ad hoc' policy that authorized the release of information to the bureau for investigations related to Sept. 11 because officials saw a 'life-threatening' emergency, internal memorandums say." Reports Douglas Jehl in the New York Times: "A new classified assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency says Iraq may prove to be an even more effective training ground for Islamic extremists than Afghanistan was in Al Qaeda's early days, because it is serving as a real-world laboratory for urban combat." LINK "The assessment, completed last month and circulated among government agencies, was described in recent days by several Congressional and intelligence officials. The officials said it made clear that the war was likely to produce a dangerous legacy by dispersing to other countries Iraqi and foreign combatants more adept and better organized than they were before the conflict." SCOTUS: "Despite the strong possibility that the first vacancy in 11 years looms and a host of other critical issues are facing the federal judiciary, the justices hosted the meeting, although attendees said they were not seeking to make a pitch on any particular topic. Instead, lawmakers said, it was merely an attempt at getting to know each other better." Among those attending: Sens. Reid, McConnell, Frist, Durbin, Specter, and Rep. Sensenbrenner. Congress: The Senate approved a survey of offshore gas and oil resources, making lawmakers from coastal states unhappy for fear it could mean the overturn of a decades-long ban on offshore drilling, reports the Los Angeles Times "The Senate energy bill rushing toward passage would shower the energy industry with billions of dollars in tax incentives and loan guarantees and provide tax credits to consumers to buy hybrid cars and energy-efficient homes," reports the Chicago Tribune's William Neikirk. LINK Ethics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal public watchdog group, today plans to file a complaint with the FEC alleging that MZM and its President, Mitchell Wade, violated federal election law by allegedly forcing employees to contribute to MZM's PAC. Separately, a federal grand jury has been convened in San Diego to investigate the transaction involving Rep. Duke Cunningham's home, according to published reports. CREW, of course, was the brains behind last year's complaint that led to Rep. Tom DeLay being wrapped on the knuckles by the ethics committee. The group is run by (mostly) Democrats, but they do have a record attracting MSM attention to their causes, and this FEC complaint may be the tipping point for the Cunningham story, which has so far eluded most MSM venues. R. Jeffrey Smith of the Washington Post follows up on yesterday's New York Times reporting by looking at e-mails to lobbyist Jack Abramoff in 1996 from a lawyer advising him that it was OK under House rules to pay for the travel of lawmakers and then be reimbursed. LINK "Until now, DeLay has not said payments by lobbyists for his expenses to overseas destinations were legal. He has said he had no idea that his expenses were paid by lobbyists, even though the lobbyists who picked up the tab for one trip — to London and Scotland in 2000 — accompanied him." "Yesterday, however, he broadened his defense of the financial arrangements for lawmakers' travel, telling reporters on Capitol Hill that disclosure of the Preston Gates e-mails 'just proves what we have been saying all along.'" Roll Call's Chris Cillizza reports that the White House remains firmly behind House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Durbin apologizes: More from the Chicago Tribune's Jill Zuckman and Gary Washburn. LINK The Washington Post's sage Mark Leibovich Notes that in the world of overheated rhetoric, comparisons to Nazis rarely get anyone anywhere except a fast track to an apology. LINK The Hill's Geoff Earle writes up the Durbin mea culpa and includes a reference to Senator Santorum's Nazi metaphor in the third to last paragraph. LINK The Clintons of Chappaqua: Dean's Democrats: And the (pardon the "Sneakers" allusion here) Florida Democratic Party today announced yesterday that it was effectively bankrupt. LINK It also said the IRS has a lien on most of what it has left. Several Florida Democrats are demanding a criminal investigation to see if anyone embezzled from the party -- or whether mismanagement -- or a bookkeeping error is responsible. LINK Not a good round of clips for Scott Maddox's gubernatorial campaign. Donna Brazile, chairperson of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute, and others will present DNC Chairman Howard Dean with the institute's findings of what went on in Ohio during last year's presidential election. According to the DNC, the study included a statewide survey of people's voting experience and two specific surveys aimed at the problem of provisional balloting. In addition, an "exhaustive quantitative analysis" of precinct-level voting data from the election was conducted. More from a DNC preview: "The investigation found that there were systemic problems plaguing Ohio's voting process including: significant evidence of voter suppression, negligent and poorly trained election officials, long lines, problems with registration status, polling locations, absentee ballots and provisional ballots and unlawful identification requirements at the polls." We are guessing you will probably hear once or twice that the investigation was not about challenging or questioning the outcome of the election. 2008: 2008: Republicans: Andrew Miga of the Herald adds that Romney has a long political background, but needs more political accomplishments to seek the win on the White House which is why Romney is proposing and pushing his universal health care plan. LINK Gov. Romney further outlined his health care reform in Massachusetts yesterday which explores the idea that all residents are covered by healthcare by "permitting private insurers to offer low-cost policies with scaled-back benefits." His efforts are applauded by both parties although some leaders are still skeptical of the details. Even Sen. Kennedy called Romney's vision "'a healthy step forward." If Romney's proposal was to stick, it could be a great 2008 Presidential selling point. LINK The AP reports that Sen. John McCain spoke at the Mayflower Hotel on Tuesday introducing Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. McCain said, "Thirty years after the war's end, I believe we should look to the future and its potential and not to the past and its pain." LINK 2008: Democrats: Can any Note reader (RNC researchers included!!) tell us what the Senator has said about this matter in the past??? Sen. Joe Biden at the Brookings Institution vocalized his opinion on what he calls the White House "credibility gap." In his first major address since the 2004 convention and his announcement that he will seek the presidency in 2008 (unless he doesn't) Biden said, "The disconnect between the administration's rhetoric and the reality on the ground has opened not just a credibility gap, but a credibility chasm." LINK The AP's Ron Fournier includes the RNC response in his Biden write-up. LINK The Schwarzenegger Era: The Los Angeles Times Oh Noe: And Democrats plan to broadcast a television commercial statewide beginning today. That's 17 months before the next round of statewide elections. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Gov. Bob Taft acknowledged he failed to disclosure golf outings as required by law, including some rounds with Mr. Noe. LINK "Taft's office refused to confirm that Noe and the governor played golf together at Inverness, where Noe is a member, but Taft did 'fess up to a number of previously undisclosed outings with still-to-be-named golf partners." "The admission will prompt an investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission, which could refer charges to the Franklin County prosecutor. If Taft knowingly filed a false financial-disclosure statement, he could face up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine, or both." "On Tuesday, the state Democratic Party began airing a 30-second cable TV ad saying that Taft and other GOP politicians funneled state money to Noe and other politically connected donors and ignored the state's economic problems. White said the TV spot is the first of a continuing barrage aimed at 'keeping these Republican scandals in front of Ohioans.'" The Cincinnati Enquirer Notes Gov. Taft hired a "leading" criminal lawyer from Columbus. LINK 2005: Rutenberg's scoop will no doubt dominate the chatter in New York's Democratic political circles today. Well, that, and the latest Quinnipiac poll numbers which show Mayor Bloomberg hitting the magical 50 percent mark in a head to head match-up against Fernando Ferrer. LINK The New York Post's Room 9 crowd (Seifman, Gaskell, Edozien) round up Tuesday's campaign trail goings on including (the neutral) Chuck Schumer's approval of the use of his photo in Anthony Weiner's first direct mail piece. LINK The New York Post editorial board is not at all impressed with Jerry Hauer's recent endorsement of Gifford Miller. LINK Michael Saul of the New York Daily News writes up the Democratic hopefuls' strong criticism of Michael Bloomberg's leadership at Ground Zero, a site (as Bill Cunningham points out) over which the mayor has very little control. LINK Michael Saul's story in the New York Daily News on Fernando Ferrer's continued critique on the city's handling of the 2012 Olympic bid causes us to ask one important question. Will Stu Loeser be calling the former Bronx Borough President, "Flip-Flop-Freddy," every day from now through November? LINK The NYPD Hispanic Society and the Log Cabin Republicans endorsed Mayor Bloomberg's reelection campaign yesterday. Maggie Haberman and Dave Saltonstall of the New York Daily News have the details. LINK 2006: Politics: Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Tomlinson yesterday denied allegations that he has brought partisanship to the CPB and prompted 16 Democratic senators to ask the president to remove him from his post, reports the Los Angeles Times Roll Call 's Lauren Whittington reports that Rep. Katherine Harris formed Forward PAC last year to help boost Republican efforts to win congressional seats, especially in Texas, and gave $1,000 each to the Texas Republicans who ousted Democratic incumbents last year. The New York Times ' Michael Cooper details the agreement on new lobbying disclosure laws that might (might) help free the image of Albany from the cinderblock of corruption. LINK Per C-SPAN: "This week Road to the White House includes . . . Senator George Allen (R-VA) in Manchester, New Hampshire at a luncheon hosted by the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women. The event takes place on Saturday (June 25)." "2004 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate & former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) in Nashua, New Hampshire at a reception hosted by the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus. The event took place on Tuesday (June 21)." And we LOVE these two, innocently written caveat footnotes: "*Neither Allen nor Edwards has announced he's running for president.
The Wall Street Journal's Jackie Calmes scores the Bennett/DeMint proposals: "Republicans are divided between competing approaches that essentially split Mr. Bush's baby . . . . The split reflects a broader party divide on Social Security. Ideologically conservative Republicans, like Mr. DeMint, are most interested in partial privatization. For fiscally conservative Republicans, like Mr. Bennett, the higher priority is shoring up Social Security's future finances as the ranks of U.S. retirees grow and proportionally fewer workers are contributing payroll taxes."
"At least one Republican, Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, said Tuesday that he was in 'quiet talks' with some Democratic colleagues about how to break the impasse. Mr. Warner was a prominent figure in a recent bipartisan compromise that averted a Senate showdown over the president's judicial nominees," reports the productive Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times . LINK
ABC News' Jonathan Karl, who is traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Middle East, sends along this dispatch:
Chuck Babington and Dan Balz of the Washington Post look at how congressional Democrats, led by Senator Joe Biden's speech yesterday at the Brookings Institution, are stepping up their rhetoric on the war in Iraq with harsher critiques of the president's policies and demands that he change course — or at least talk more about the complications of U.S. involvement there and how he plans to deal with them. Biden said there is a genuine possibility for success, and also a real possibility for disaster, and called on the president to report regularly to Congress on the progress in Iraq. Moderates have been sticking to the line that allies need to become more involved. Senate Democrats will meet to discuss the war today, the duo report. LINK
"The Social Security Administration has relaxed its privacy restrictions and searched thousands of its files at the request of the F.B.I. as part of terrorism investigations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, newly disclosed records and interviews show," reports the New York Times ' Eric Lichtblau in a story too complex for cable in most cases. LINK
"In a highly unusual move, all nine Supreme Court justices broke bread with Congressional leaders last week in a small, private meeting that appears to have had no agenda other than creating better relations between the two branches of federal government," report Roll Call's Paul Kane and Erin Billings.
The House yesterday approved $42 billion in 2006 funding for intelligence — minus a measure that would have limited the authority of new Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte from moving employees to new duties, the Washington Post's Walter Pincus reports. LINK
The New York Times' Anne Kornblut and Phil Shenon preview today's Indian Affairs Committee hearings. LINK
The Washington Post's Shailagh Murray has details of Senator Dick Durbin's emotional Senate floor apology for his remarks comparing the conduct of U.S. interrogators at Gitmo to that of Nazis, Soviets, and the Khmer Rouge after a week-long Republican onslaught over the controversial comments. LINK
William Jefferson Clinton updates the world's tsunami relief efforts in a New York Times op-ed. LINK
The Democratic National Committee said yesterday it's raised at least $22.6 million since the start of the year … slightly more than half of what Republicans have raised. That's about $1 million a week.
The AP's Ron Fournier has an excellent look at the needed early start for 2008 presidential hopefuls who don't have the surname "Clinton" or "McCain." LINK
The Boston Herald quotes Gov. Romney as saying to Boston reporters after his health care press conference, "If someone said, well, you know, the governor's testing the national waters, that's a fair characterization." LINK
How will Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton vote on the latest incarnation of the flag amendment? LINK
"'I guarantee you that all of us in this building can share the blame, including myself,' he said, responding to a Field Poll on Monday that shows that only 31 percent of California adults are pleased with the way he's running the state," write the San Francisco Chronicle's Wildermuth and Gledhill and also Note troubling poll numbers on two out of the three initiatives Schwarzenegger is supporting in the special election. LINK
According to sources in Ohio and Washington, the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party has secured a commitment from the Democratic National Committee to devote resources to publishing the woes of the Ohio Republican Party, currently beset by a bizarre controversy involving a top Bush fundraiser, rare coins, Cuban cigars, a very unpopular governor, and $215 million missing from a hedge fund.
"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg met with several top Democratic donors and fund-raisers yesterday to ask for their help as part of his campaign's strategy to steal support away from his Democratic rivals and present himself as a Republican with liberal appeal," reports the New York Times ' Jim Rutenberg. LINK
Gov. Rick Perry, doing a round of satellite interviews with Houston television stations, got a little frisky. He used an abbreviated epithet that rhymes with so-so. LINK
"Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) has set her sights on the Republican Policy Committee chair, the No. 4 post in the Republican leadership — just a few days after deciding not to run for governor of Texas," reports The Hill's Geoff Earle. LINK
*New Hampshire is expected to hold the nation's first presidential primary in 2008."
