Wall-to-wall political theater today. Senate Dems scored a Machiavellian win by suffering a legislative setback on financial overhaul. Compounding the Republicans' lousy theatrics, Roger Wicker will appear on the stage tonight in "Will On The Hill." This is HUFFPOST HILL for April 26th, 2010:
BREAKING
GOP HOLDS FOR BANK REFORM VOTE, RE-RUN AROUND THE CORNER - A motion to move to debate on Wall Street reform just failed, 57-41, with the Senate Republican caucus united to continue a filibuster. Ben Nelson also voted "no," 15 minutes into the vote and after a long talk with Chris Dodd. Earlier, Dems had decided to deny Nelson constituent Warren Buffett his derivatives exemption. http://bit.ly/b6jUB2
A leadership aide said that a motion to reconsider could come as early as tomorrow. The GOP would presumably object, leading to another vote on Thursday. Byron Dorgan, a member of Senate leadership, said he saw more such votes in the Senate's future. "I hope we keep voting on this. Ultimately, perhaps the American people will say to the Republicans that are voting to block wall street reform that that's not what the American people expect," he said.
Dems are still charging hard. This is one of the few votes that Democrats can take some joy in losing, as it tags the GOP as the party defending Wall Street. "No retreat. No surrender," said a Democratic leadership aide, pledging to push forward and no doubt looking forward to tomorrow morning's headlines. ... RNC press release after the vote: "DEMS STAND WITH WALL ST. ... Senate Dems Fail In Their Attempt To Move Forward With Bailout For Their Wall Street Fat Cat Friends"
Over on the House side, Kansas City Fed President Tom Hoenig (who's been on very public campaign pushing for Congress to break up the biggest banks) met today with House banking staffers. Some of the topics discussed, according to a House aide who was present: the importance of clear rules for financial regulators, strong capital standards for banks (much tougher than what's in the Dodd bill, we're told), and an update on the state of the economy. About 25 staffers from both sides of the aisle showed up. Hoenig reiterated his view that the Fed should not solely focus on Wall Street, which is what the Dodd bill calls for.
KERRY, LIEBERMAN, GRAHAM MEETING - The trio working on climate change legislation is meeting after the Wall Street vote and is, as one senior aide put it, "working like hell to put Humpty together again." Lindsey Graham pushed the egg off the wall over the weekend, outraged that Democrats had decided to put immigration reform on the Senate calendar ahead of the climate. The outrage came just weeks after Graham had called on Democrats to show leadership on immigration. http://bit.ly/d66ix7
Lieberman's blow-by-blow, from interview with CNN's John King airing tonight: "As recently as Thursday, when the three of us -- John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and I -- met with Harry Reid, he said that he would take up the energy-climate-change bill as soon as we were ready. And he was still saying to people that could be during this work period, before Memorial Day. Then there were leaks out of his staff that said, 'No. It's not coming up and it may not come up at all.' But Lindsey was really upset about another promise he thought he had -- which was immigration reform, on which he also the only Republican out front -- would not come up this year. And he believes that the decision to bring it up is political."
Where does the White House fall? Read the tea leaves with us: Melody Barnes describes immigration as "important" and energy bill as "critical," and/but says Reid "sets the agenda." http://bit.ly/aNo4l9
ARIZONA GOVERNOR FACES BLOWBACK - A PREVIEW of AZ-Gov numbers from Public Policy Polling out tomorrow: "Democratic candidate Terry Goddard leads [Gov. Jan] Brewer 71-25 with Hispanics. That may seem ho hum, but consider this: Barack Obama only won Hispanic voters in the state by a 56-41 margin. So Goddard's outperforming him by more than 30 points there. And on our September poll Goddard was up just 53-33 with Hispanics so it's a 26 point improvement on the margin even relative to that."
AP's buzz-worthy lede, dateline Phoenix: "The conflict over a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration in Arizona intensified Monday as vandals smeared refried beans in the shape of swastikas on the state Capitol's windows. More protests were planned Monday after thousands gathered this weekend to demonstrate against a bill that will make it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona." http://huff.to/9XanpY
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon in on 6PM hour of CNN's Situation Room.
(During the Wall Street vote a few minutes ago, John Thune (R-S.D.) walked up to Jon Kyl and asked what was up with the AZ immigration law. "If you are a documented immigrant, then those papers are valid," said an animated Kyl loudly enough to be heard in the press gallery.)
GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL NOW COVERS 1,800 MILES - "Coast Guard crews raced to protect the Gulf of Mexico coastline Monday as a remote sub tried to shut off an underwater oil well that's gushing 42,000 gallons a day from the site of a wrecked drilling platform. If crews cannot stop the leak quickly, they might need to drill another well to redirect the oil, a laborious process that could take weeks while oil washes up along a broad stretch of shore, from the white-sand beaches of Florida's Panhandle to the swamps of Louisiana. The oil spill already stretches across more than 1,800 square miles of water in the Gulf Of Mexico, according to the Coast Guard." http://huff.to/bDf0lT
NASA satellite image of the spill: http://bit.ly/cinseP
JIM JONES APOLOGIZES FOR 'JEWISH MERCHANT' JOKE - Statement from the National Security Adviser: "I wish that I had not made this off the cuff joke at the top of my remarks, and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it. It also distracted from the larger message I carried that day: that the United States commitment to Israel's security is sacrosanct." Video of the joke in question: http://huff.to/9ZmZk7
Jones was whacked over the joke by Anti-Defamation League's Abe Foxman http://bit.ly/9ZRbcU ... BUT defended by Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the group Jones was speaking to when he went off-script. http://bit.ly/bBDZ1i
(Roger Ebert tweets his advice to Jones: "He can't tell a joke. 1. Leave out 'brother.' 2. End on 'tie.' 3. Halve the words. 4. Be Jewish.")
TOMORROW'S PAPERS TODAY - THE HILL's Emily Goodin is writing about how the WHCA dinner organizers are planning to crack down on potential party crashers. Details on what areas of the Hilton are open/closed, how the public will be kept out of dinner areas, and what tickets you need to get where... ROLL CALL's David Drucker writes, "First Sarah Palin, Now Kyl; McCain Gets Another Lifeline."
P.S. Betty White attending WHCA dinner: http://bit.ly/bL9CqU
NEW BLACKBERRY MODELS - Not since J Crew introduced their "Bowery cotton twill in classic fit" pant has Washington been this excited about a product roll out. Blackberry issued details today about their two new models, the Bold 9650 and the Pearl 3G. Gawk away, dweebs. http://huff.to/d1eTib
LATE-BREAKING - "U.S. official: Panama ex-dictator Noriega sent to France from U.S. prison. France wanted him on drug-related charges," CNN reports
ON THE TUBE - TONIGHT: Joe Lieberman, Dick Durbin, and Jim DeMint on John King, USA... Blagojevich chats with Fox's Greta... JD Hayworth on Ed Schultz... Olberman has Luis Gutierrez on immigration and Sherrod Brown on financial overhaul... Carolyn Maloney is on Maddow to discuss the RNC Census mailer controversy.
HOUSE ROLLS OUT LIVE VIDEO - Congressional transparency geek-in-chief John Wonderlich blasts out: "In a big step forward for public access online, the US House launched live streaming video today, on the new HouseLive.gov." http://bit.ly/aHcl0K Speaker Pelosi's announcement is here: http://bit.ly/bw6bLF Classic tape of Bill O'Reilly screaming "We'll do it live!" is here: http://bit.ly/Rxqtr
WASHINGTON BLADE TO RESUME PUBLISHING - "The District's long-running gay weekly will resume publishing under its original name, the Washington Blade, at the end of this week, after the acquisition of the Blade's assets in bankruptcy court in Atlanta. In late February, staffers bought the newspaper's name, copyright, trademark, archives, computers and office furniture for $15,000. Twenty-five thousand copies of the first edition of a redesigned Blade will hit newsstands Friday." http://bit.ly/a7UD4b
PALIN ENDORSES IN MURTHA DISTRICT - GOPer Tim Burns gets the primary nod. http://bit.ly/9PIvBG Burns is a guest on Hannity tonight.
DC GETTING A 'WAFFLE HOUSE' - Former Redskin Fred Smoot: "I'm actually in the process of starting a couple businesses up here. I'm bringing Waffle House to D.C. -- I think they've been yearning for it for a long time. My first location is right off 14th and U." http://bit.ly/bXXbTu
"WILL ON THE HILL" TONIGHT - Jane Harman's concert hall hosts a group of people who make a living getting done up and speaking to large crowds getting done up and speaking to a large crowd. Head over to Sidney Harman Hall and watch elected officials try out their acting chops at the annual "Will on the Hill." Scheduled to take the stage are Roger Wicker, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob Goodlatte, Donna Edwards, CNN's Jessica Yellin and Fox News' Major Garrett. The event benefits the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Read about it in Roll Call (and check out their new we-just-discovered-the-shadowing-effect logo). http://bit.ly/bFlJjB
NETROOTS NATION FUNDRAISER: LIKE TUMBLR IN PERSON - Netroots Nation -- the descendant of the annual blogger fest once known as YearlyKos -- holds a Grassroots Fundraiser this Wednesday at the Mott House (Maryland Ave NE and Constitution Avenue). Jeff Merkley, Kirsten Gillibrand, Brad Miller, Earl Blumenauer and Raul Grijalva will be there burnishing their blogger cred. Considering the invitation's accompanying image depicts a blogger on Second Life, we aren't too sure about the mingling.
TRENDING
IMMIGRATION REFORM TRUDGES ON - As debate over Arizona's controversial immigration bill continues, lawmakers here in Washington are still formulating a federal plan. A senior Democratic aide told the AP this afternoon that Senate Dems have yet to devise a bill to haggle over. http://bit.ly/bKd6Et
"DECISION POINTS'" TALKING POINTS - Crown Publishers offered up some details on former President George W. Bush's upcoming memoir, "Decision Points" which will be released on November 9th. From Crown's press release:
"In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings readers inside the Texas Governor's Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11 in the gripping hours after America's most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; inside the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century." http://bit.ly/a7fLU7
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US - As the good ship Huffington Post approaches its fifth birthday, the AP looks back on five years of in-depth reporting, top-notch blogging and more Kim Kardashian slideshows than you can shake a stick at. "As the site, co-founded by Arianna Huffington and launched on May 9, 2005, marks the anniversary, its proclaimed mission to be an 'Internet newspaper' gains more credence every time its traffic surpasses the websites of its print brethren. ... [HuffPost] recently made the top 10 current events and global news sites, with 13 million unique users in March, an increase of more than 94 percent over the year before, according to Nielsen Online. If the trend continues, The Huffington Post could soon pass The New York Times' website (16.6 million uniques in March) in traffic this year." http://huff.to/9GZwTI
CAPTION CONTEST WINNER - A friend at an estimable hill rag writes in with this caption to Friday's Joe Biden photo: "F@%# I hate this new 'Have Valerie Tase Joe Every Time He Drops an F-bomb' rule. So not cool." Picture: huff.to/ddKjB1
OBAMA MEETS YANKEES - As the Senate tried to curb the unchecked power of Wall Street, President Obama met with an equally despised financial juggernaut. The $200 million World Champion New York Yankees paid a visit to the White House for a meet and greet with the president. Obama did not raise Hideki Matsui's massive porn collection: http://bit.ly/11TamW
MARC AMBINDER'S WORD-RAGE - The even-keeled Atlantic/CBS News blogger/reporter/analyst has apparently had enough. "Have Conservatives Gone Mad?" he wrote on Friday (we'll let you know if Jon Stewart's gospel choir shows up).
From that post: "I want to find Republicans to take seriously, but it is hard. Not because they don't exist -- serious Republicans -- but because, as Sanchez and others seem to recognize, they are marginalized, even self-marginalizing, and the base itself seems to have developed a notion that bromides are equivalent to policy-thinking, and that therapy is a substitute for thinking." http://bit.ly/aLfFTk
Today Ambinder responded to his critics: "So far, the misreadings are legion. Of course there are Republicans with good ideas and conservative leaders with reasonable positions on public policy. But with increasing frequency, even well pedigreed Republican intellectuals such as Newt Gingrich stoop to unhinged rhetoric, either because they fear being marginalized by the base, or specifically because they're trying to curry favor in anticipation of a presidential run. Gingrich's apologetics are particularly powerful, because he lends legitimacy to charges that are, on their face, illegitimate." http://bit.ly/axAyva
DEMOCRATIC DANCEOFF - Every so often something comes across our desk that muddies the already blurry lines of politics and entertainment. Today's blur brought to you by Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn, doing the Electric Slide on Friday. Clyburn spokeswoman Kristie Greco on the rug-cutting at the Whip's annual Fish Fry event: "The fish was hot but those dance steps were on fire. We're submitting the video to Dancing with the Stars." The dance moves: http://bit.ly/bxCEEh
REP. BETTY SUTTON RESPONDS TO 'BACK IN THE KITCHEN' SLAM - Sutton today issued a great big SAY WHAAAT? in response to a GOP newsletter circulated last week calling on voters to put the Ohio Congresswoman "back in the kitchen." http://huff.to/agxefd
COMFORT FOOD
- Video of the world's smallest horse. http://huff.to/9UGKVj
- The Simpsons writers showed some solidarity with their cohorts at South Park who are embroiled in the Mohammad-depiction controversy. http://bit.ly/9QYwgU
- Proving that New Yorkers are friendlier than you think, a Big Apple teacher had her car stolen, only to have it returned all pimped out. http://bit.ly/92Eof0
- 15 things you wouldn't want to see while running a marathon. http://bit.ly/aeYtcf
- Bizarre animal weddings. http://bit.ly/dkIr8y
TWITTERAMA
@MPOTheHill: Due to weather, Obama's welcome of the Yankees has been moved indoors. Thankfully shielding the public, though unfortunately not canceled. http://bit.ly/8YR1c0
@WillieGeist1: Stephen Hawking says "Humans vs. Aliens" showdown is coming. Aliens as a big road favorite. http://bit.ly/cEC6Fj
@FakeAPStylebook: Use "exhaustion" as a polite euphemism for when celebrities are really, really tired. http://bit.ly/aHKhbK
@janekleeb hastings county courthouse had a pick of #obama with a cigarette as their OFFICIAL pic, #Nelson sending new one http://tinyurl.com/27kqqhu
ON TAP
TONIGHT
- 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm: Freshman Congressman Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) gets a running start out of the gate with his Triple Crown Launch Party [National Democratic Club Townhouse, 40 Ivy Street SE].
- 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm: David Rivera (R-Fla.) is a Florida assemblyman running for the seat being vacated by Mario Diaz-Balart who is running for the seat being vacated by Lincoln Diaz-Balart who is running away as fast as he can from Congress. Expect Boehner, Cantor, Pence, and a crush of backbenchers [Capitol Hill Club, 300 First Street SE].
- 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm: Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) will have to fight hard to retain the seat he won in last year's special election. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will be on hand to tell the crowd how Bill is bringing change to Washington...at the offices of a lobbying firm [Capitol Hill Strategies, 316, Pennsylvania Ave, SE].
- 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) and her friends from the Eris lobbying group will be holding a fundraiser at the Eris Group Townhouse which is kind of a halfway house for ethics [Eris Group Townhouse - 439 New Jersey Avenue SE].
- 8:00 pm: Are you a lady? Do you like crowded spaces? Do you like music? Do you like crowded spaces with music? Stop by Black Cat for an inexpensive lesson in DJing. $7 gets you into this disc-spinning symposium right in the heart of D.C. hipsterdom. No boys allowed [Black Cat, 1811 14th St NW].
- 9:00 pm: Vieux Farka Toure, son of the late great Malian singer and guitarist Ali Farka Touré, performs at DC 9 tonight. Vieux adds dub and reggae to his father's seductive blend of American and Malian stylings. From Washington City Paper: "Touré has created a Malian-Western hybrid that is as fun--even pleasant--as it is raw" [DC 9, 1940 9th Street. NW].
TOMORROW:
8:30 am: Lois Capps (D-Calif.), best known for her work as the Co-Chair of the National Marine Sanctuary Caucus, elicits contributions at ML Strategies [ML Strategies, 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW 9th Floor].
8:30 am: DOYLE RULES: Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) understands that lobbying firms aren't known for their omelets. He'll be raising funds at Bistro Bis [Bistro Bis, 15 E Street NW].
11:45 am - 1:00 pm: Max Baucus (D-Mont.) shows some love for his Rocky Mountain Time counterpart Mark Udall (D-Colo.) the only way a Montanan can...with some grilled cow [Charlie Palmer Steak, 101 Constitution Ave NW].
12:00 pm: It usually takes reporters a little time to uncover the dirt on fundraisers. Geoff Davis (R-Ga.) does us journos a favor by calling his noon shindig a 'PhRMA Lunch.' Thanks, Geoff [Capitol Hill Club - 300 First Street SE].
12:00 pm: Peter King (R-N.Y.) takes a break from making incendiary comments about national security and kicks back at The Monocle Restaurant for some surf and turf and $1,000 contributions [The Monocle Restaurant - 107 D Street NE].
12:00 pm: Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) didn't get Mike Doyle's memo about having meals at lobbying firms. He's hobnobbing at Venable LLP [Venable LLP, 575 7th Street NW].
12:00 pm: Lamar Smith (R-Texas) hosts a 'small luncheon' which means YOU SHOULD ALL GO TOTALLY CRASH. Do it [Johnny's Half Shell, 400 North Capitol Street NW #175].
12:00 pm: Looking to evacuate both his guests' wallets and bowels, Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) hosts a "Five Guys Lunch" [National Republican Congressional Committee, 310 First Street SE].
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