President Obama got into the policy weeds today when he invoked the obscure economic theory of "I won." Mitch McConnell called the Republican Senate conference a "robust minority," a group that will no doubt trounce the Democrats' frail majority. And David Vitter will attend a weekend fundraising retreat at Disney World, a destination known for its family-friendly attractions, myriad dining options and numerous diaper-changing stations. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, November 9th, 2012:
HuffPost Hill is early today because we *really* wanted to see Wreck-It Ralph.
FISCAL CLIFF: OBAMA SAYS HE HAS 332 REASONS WHY HIS PLAN IS BEST - AP: President Barack Obama, laying down his marker for grueling budget and tax negotiations, said Friday he won't accept any approach to deficit reduction that doesn't ask the wealthy to pay more in taxes. 'This was a central question during the election,' Obama said in his first postelection comments on the economy. 'The majority of Americans agree with my approach.' The president, speaking before a group of middle class Americans in the White House East Room, said he wasn't wedded to every detail of the plans he outlined during the election, adding, 'I'm open to compromise.' But he offered no indication that he was willing to back down on his insistence that the wealthy pay more." [AP]
BOEHNER REITERATES OPPOSITION TO NEW TAXES - Given Amazon's recent decision to sell wine on its website, the House speaker seemed surprisingly dour this morning. Mike McAuliff: "House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered conciliatory words but no actual signs of compromise Friday at his first post-election press conference, reiterating the Republican Party's opposition to raising any taxes to deal with the country's debt and deficit. His position raises the likelihood of another bitter showdown in Congress over the same fundamental issues of taxes and fairness that roiled the legislature in 2010, when the nation nearly defaulted on its debts...Instead of discussing raising any taxes, Boehner said that President Barack Obama and Democrats should work with Republicans to come up with a tax-reform plan that cuts taxes, eliminates loopholes and makes the system simpler. That, Boehner argued, will lead to more revenue through increased economic activity. At the same time, Republicans argue, more budget cutting needs to be done, especially through changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security." [HuffPost]
Hell no you can't (ask me about immigration reform)! Elise Foley: "House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that comprehensive immigration reform would be a priority in the next Congress, but on Friday declined to say whether he would include a central tenet of most plans: a path to citizenship. 'I'm not going to get into any of the details of how you would get there,' he told reporters at a press conference. 'It's just time to get the job done.' Reporters asked Boehner twice whether he endorsed the idea, both times receiving little detail from the House speaker." [HuffPost]
Delaney's b-day! See you at the Tune Inn tonight after Wreck-It Ralph.
@LukeRussert: Rep. Clyburn's sweater wins the day. @mitchellreports pic.twitter.com/ID8qr573
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Atlas shrugs! Sad CEOs are firing workers because OBAMA. Steven Mufson: "For the chairman and chief executive of Murray Energy, an Ohio-based coal company, the reelection of President Obama was no cause for celebration. It was a time for prayer -- and layoffs. Robert E. Murray read a prayer to a group of company staff members on the day after the election, lamenting the direction of the country and asking: 'Lord, please forgive me and anyone with me in Murray Energy Corp. for the decisions that we are now forced to make to preserve the very existence of any of the enterprises that you have helped us build.' On Wednesday, Murray also laid off 54 people at American Coal, one of his subsidiary companies, and 102 at Utah American Energy, blaming a 'war on coal' by the administration of President Barack Obama." [WaPo]
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MITCH MCCONNELL: I WILL NOT RAISE ANY TAXES - The Senate minority leader issued what amounted to a "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU" statement to Breitbart re: increased revenue. The Hill: "Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has drawn a line in the sand on raising taxes, defying Democratic predictions that GOP leaders will compromise on tax hikes. 'One issue I've never been conflicted about is taxes,' McConnell said in a statement released to Breitbart News. 'I wasn't sent to Washington to raise anybody's taxes to pay for more wasteful spending, and this election doesn't change my principles. This election was a disappointment, without doubt, but let's be clear about something: The House is still run by Republicans, and Republicans still maintain a robust minority in the Senate." [The Hill]
REPUBLICAN SENATE LEADERSHIP UPDATE - Roll Call: "After considering other posts within the Senate Republican leadership, Sen. John Thune (S.D.) today said he would run for re-election as Republican Conference chairman...Currently, there appears to be a race shaping up for NRSC chairman as both Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) are seeking the post. Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the current NRSC chairman, continues to be the frontrunner for the Whip spot, as no one else one has expressed interest in challenging him. But sources told Roll Call on Wednesday that discontent within the party over Tuesday's election losses generated speculation about whether he would face a new challenge. Thune was perhaps the strongest potential challenger to Cornyn, who has been running for the No. 2 spot for more than a year." [Roll Call]
DOCUMENTING THE GOP'S MERRY VOYAGE ACROSS THE KUBLER-ROSS MODEL OF GRIEF - While some Republicans continue to stare dead-eyed at 270towin.com, clicking repeatedly on Ohio, others have begun to quantify the less-than-ideal outcome of Tuesday's election. Sabrina Siddiqui categorizes the rationales: "The media selectively reported Romney's gaffes... Fact-checkers were biased... Hurricane Isaac hit the Tampa convention... Romney was too nice... Hurricane Sandy and Chris Christie get the blame... Obama won by 'suppressing the vote.'... Romney wasn't conservative enough... Americans are basically ignorant." [HuffPost]
Rick Scott is standing by his decision to not extend early voting in Florida. "Well I'm very comfortable that the right thing happened," he told WXMG Orlando last night. "We had 4.4 million people vote." Plus, you could consider the line-waiting as practice for Space Mountain. [HuffPost's Luke Johnson]
STEVE KING CONSIDERING SENATE RUN - Because the Republican party isn't capable of disqualifying a primary candidate who even mentions the word 'rape' and having a trap-door open beneath them, this is going to be a fun race to watch. Cedar Rapids Gazette: "Fresh off re-election to a sixth term, western Iowa U.S. Rep. Steve King says it's too early to talk about the next election, but isn't closing the door on challenging Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin in 2014. King, who will appear on the Nov. 9 edition of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press,' didn't mention Harkin by name, but told reporters that he's made no decision on his political future, including the possibility of appearing on a statewide ballot. 'There's a question I hadn't had time to contemplate since the election,' King said, noting, 'We're only in the second day after the election.' King, 63, defeated former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack by nearly 8 percentage points after a campaign marked by sharp exchanges and unprecedented spending." [Gazette]
HERE WE GO AGAIN: MARCO RUBIO HEADS TO IOWA - Weren't we just joshing about Mitt Romney's awkward forays into Aimes-area diners and auto repair shops? The 2012 presidential election is over, but perhaps the 2016 contest has already begun. Florida senator Marco Rubio, a star in the Republican party, is headed to Iowa. There, he will attend a fundraiser for Iowa governor Terry Branstad. Alex Conant, a Rubio spokesman, tweets: Just announced: @marcorubio will headline @TerryBranstad's bday fundraiser on 11/17/12 in Altoona, IA." [Weekly Standard]
'HEARTBEAT BILL' ONCE AGAIN INTRODUCED IN OHIO LEGISLATURE - We're starting the suspect that the GOP has an underground lab where a bunch of brylcreemed men in white lab coats with clipboards are monitoring the thousands of white men they're harvesting in giant cylindrical tubes filled embryonic fluid -- because nothing they're doing makes any electoral sense. Laura Bassett: Just two days after a majority of Ohio voters indicated at the polls that they support abortion rights, the GOP-controlled Ohio state legislature announced plans to reconsider a controversial bill that would ban all abortions after the fetal heartbeat is detected, without exceptions for rape, incest or life of the mother. The so-called 'heartbeat bill,' which could prevent a woman from having an abortion before she even realizes she's pregnant, has been stalled in the Ohio state Senate since June 2011 largely because a major anti-abortion group refused to support it. Mike Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life, told the Columbus Dispatch in March of 2011 that the bill was so extreme that it could backfire and prompt the Supreme Court to reaffirm Roe v. Wade." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - The world's smallest dog is very small.
Linda McMahon's campaign manager on her primary opponent, Chris Shays: "Congressman Shays is a classless, bitter sore loser who should do the people of Connecticut a favor and keep his mouth shut and move back to Maryland... However, I would like to offer a portion of my salary to be used to pay for the psychiatric care that Congressman Shays desperately needs. And lastly, I know that Congressman Shays has dreams of running for governor, and I will keep my opposition research book under my pillow with the hopes of being able to use it, pro bono, if he launches another failed campaign." [Hartford Courant]
COMFORT FOOD
- Tiger cub plays with a dog. The internet needs to get a job. [http://bit.ly/RMMScW]
- Baby enjoys feeling the wind in her hair. [http://bit.ly/Uzx7oz]
- Are you into "Fifty Shades of Grey?" Are you into chicken? Are you into Patrick Stuart? [http://bit.ly/RJpEG8]
- This guy invented the "Screw-in coffin." It's a coffin you screw into the ground. We're all going to die. [http://bit.ly/PHuofx]
- Who needs botox when you have CGI? [http://bit.ly/S4BIOW]
- Wes Anderson made a "Star Wars Episode VII " audition tape. [http://bit.ly/WLcOLH]
- Kittens watching tennis. [http://bit.ly/YYaa3w]
TWITTERAMA
@delrayser: So we're learning that maybe we shouldn't have trusted the decisionmaking abilities of a guy who strapped his dog to a car roof. Go figure.
@EliClifton: If Allen West is defeated will we EVER find out who is on his list of 80 House Dems who are members of communist party?
@indecision: Florida goes to Obama. It's looking more and more like Mitt Romney might not win this thing.
ON TAP
Today - Tomorrow: "Disney Weekend with Sen. David Vitter" doesn't require comment. [Lake Buena Vista, FL]
Today - Sunday: Kurt Schrader gets an early start on his reelection with a golf fundraising weekend. Or maybe it's for 2016? 2018?[Brandon, OR]
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