Buckley Carlson, brother of Tucker, called Bill de Blasio’s spokeswoman a "bitch," though we’re guessing he’s previously said the same thing about an ill-fitting woven belt with sailboats stitched into it. Joe Biden jokingly called Lindsey Graham "Mr. President" -- it will be the last time either of the men can make the joke without crying tears of anger. And "FratPAC" is a PAC dedicated to fighting fallout from campus rape allegations, though spokesman Buckley Carlson hasn’t been taking our calls. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, March 25th, 2015:
Hey: The House is about to vote on the Republican budget, then vote on another one with extra military funding.
MORE LIKE KING V. BULLWELL, AMIRITE? - Sam Stein: "At some point in June, the Supreme Court will issue its ruling in King v. Burwell, a case that could jeopardize health care coverage for an estimated 9.6 million people...Were the six critical words of the Affordable Care Act -- 'an Exchange established by the State' -- meant to be restrictive? Or were they merely oddly worded, and only being goosed up now to muddy the well-understood intent of the law? Over the past year, The Huffington Post has filed public record requests with multiple states and the Department of Health and Human Services to see if there was ever any discussion among federal and state officials about this very topic. HuffPost examined results from within a specific time frame...and focused on states that chose not to set up an exchange. In addition, HuffPost looked at more than 50,000 previously released emails from the governor's office in Oklahoma. Among all the emails, letters and press releases reviewed, HuffPost did not find a single instance of an administration official warning that if states decided not to run their own health care exchanges, their citizens would not be eligible for the tax credit subsidies. Nor did HuffPost find a single instance of a state official recognizing or anticipating such consequences. As states faced the choice of establishing their own exchange, creating a hybrid exchange with the federal government, or letting the federal government have full control, no one appeared to be discussing what plaintiffs now say is the most consequential financial element of the whole arrangement. Only when the issue began percolating on conservative news outlets, and had life breathed into it from conservative think tanks, did officials start to notice." [HuffPost]
FratPAC is a PAC that lobbies Congress to make it harder for universities to investigate cases of sexual misconduct.
We expect so much more from someone named "Buckley": "Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson’s brother Buckley Carlson referred to New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokesperson as a 'self-righteous bitch' in an email to his brother obtained by BuzzFeed News. The email appears to have been accidentally sent to de Blasio’s spokesperson, Amy Spitalnick, as well as to Tucker Carlson. In the email, Buckley Carlson, who occasionally writes for the Daily Caller, makes several offensive comments about Spitalnick after she asked for a correction on a piece about the mayor." [BuzzFeed]
DON'T YOU JUST HATE IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS? - Manu Raju and Burgess Everett: "Sen. Bob Menendez is stuck in an awkward spot over Loretta Lynch’s nomination to be attorney general. The New Jersey Democrat must decide whether to vote for her confirmation to run the Justice Department, even as the department is preparing to charge him with corruption within days. The matter is so sensitive that the two have not met personally, even though Lynch has paid courtesy calls to nearly every senator considering her nomination." [Politico]
@jasondhorowitz: Joe Biden just saw Senator Lindsey Graham in hall of Senate. "Mr. President," the Vice President said and slapped him on the back.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - James Inhofe contributed to the Senate budget amendment free-for-all today with a measure requiring states to drug test recipients of federal programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, because poor people are on drugs. The measure calls for testing to be done without new revenue, which would mean making poor people pay for their own tests.
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JEB BUSH THE MOST ANTI-ABORTION-Y OF ALL THE BUSHES - The dynasty has come a long way since Rubbers. Laura Bassett "As former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) fundraises with his brother George W., the likely 2016 presidential candidate is widely being positioned in the media as the more moderate of the two. But on the issue of abortion, Jeb actually stands to the right of his elder sibling…[Jeb] declared in 2003 that he was 'probably the most pro-life governor in modern times.' As governor, Bush signed a law to create 'Choose Life' license plates in Florida, the proceeds from which flow to anti-abortion advocacy organizations. He also aggressively intervened in two high-profile cases to prevent a mentally disabled rape victim and a 13-year-old girl from being able to have abortions...While Jeb Bush has not explicitly said whether he supports an exception for rape and incest victims, his actions as governor suggest that he opposes those exemptions." [HuffPost]
CHRIS CHRISTIE JOINS FIGHT AGAINST OBAMA'S IMMIGRATION ORDER - Because you can't shout five-million people out of the country…or can you? Elise Foley: "After months of staying out of the legal battle over the president's executive actions on immigration, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) finally -- but quietly -- waded in this week. Christie joined Republican Govs. Greg Abbott of Texas, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota in filing a brief on Monday that asked an appeals court to maintain an injunction that has prevented the Obama administration from moving forward with deportation relief programs it proposed in November 2014. The brief says Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana and South Dakota would face 'irreparable injuries" should those programs be allowed to move forward. The governors aligned themselves with attorneys general and fellow governors from 26 states who filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking President Barack Obama's immigration policies...New Jersey isn't part of that lawsuit, though, and Christie -- a potential 2016 presidential contender from a state that is nearly 19 percent Latino -- has said little about the matter, other than to criticize Obama's leadership when asked about the executive actions last November. His office did not respond to requests for comment last month about his stance on the lawsuit." [HuffPost]
@MEPFuller: On the House floor sitting together: Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and resigning Rep. Aaron Schock.
Like a Democratic Joe the Plumber: "The man whom New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) told to 'sit down and shut up' is doing the exact opposite. Jim Keady announced Monday that he’s running for state Assembly as a Democrat in New Jersey’s 30th District. The former Asbury Park City Council member made headlines last year when he interrupted a speech by Christie marking the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. The governor told Keady to 'sit down and shut up' after Keady accused him of mismanaging Hurricane Sandy relief funds. 'Somebody like you doesn’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about except to stand up and show off when the cameras are here,' Christie said to Keady." [HuffPost's Maxwell Tani]
HIGH COURT HANDS PREGNANT WORKERS A WIN - Amazon distribution centers have tiny sneakers on hand so neither mom nor child have to miss a moment sorting your 64-pack of paper towels. Dave Jamieson: "In a victory for pregnant women in the workplace, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in favor of a worker who sued shipping giant UPS for pregnancy discrimination, sending her lawsuit back to a lower court where she had previously lost. The case, Young v. United Parcel Service, hinged on whether or not UPS was justified in putting Peggy Young on unpaid leave after she became pregnant, even though other workers were commonly offered 'light duty' for on-the-job injuries or to satisfy requirements under the American with Disabilities Act. The justices ruled 6-3 in favor of keeping Young's lawsuit alive, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito joining the traditionally liberal members of the court. Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, said the question the lower court needed to ask was 'why, when the employer accommodated so many, could it not accommodate pregnant women as well?' The decision essentially vacates a 2013 ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that threw out Young's case." [HuffPost]
Alabama's minority disenfranchisement is so on fleek: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with black and Democratic lawmakers in Alabama who said the State Legislature had relied too heavily on race in its 2012 state redistricting by maintaining high concentrations of black voters in some districts. The vote was 5 to 4, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joining the court’s four more liberal members to form a majority. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, writing for the majority, said a lower court had erred in considering the case on a statewide basis rather than district by district. He added that the lower court had placed too much emphasis on making sure that districts had equal populations and had been “too mechanical” in maintaining existing percentages of black voters." [NYT]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's further evidence of cats' terribleness.
CUE THE BENNY HILL - Lucille Bluth has a friend in Eleanor Holmes Norton. Roll Call: "Abandon all hope, ye who happen to park anywhere near geometrically challenged-motorist Eleanor Holmes Norton A HOH tipster watched in horror Wednesday as the D.C. delegate, 77, awkwardly forced her way into a wide-open spot in the carefully controlled corridor of New Jersey Avenue Southeast sandwiched between the Longworth and Cannon House Office buildings...'If she parks like that she should not be a member of Congress anymore,' one mystified observer... said as the video was being captured. The tipster said Norton rubbed the correctly positioned, red sports utility vehicle to her immediate left with her improperly angled silver sedan." [Roll Call]
COMFORT FOOD
- Student orchestra plays Gorillaz
- Such a good film ending.
- A look at the company that provides the worlds airlines with its pretzels and peanuts.
TWITTERAMA
@JGreenDC: The first politician to live meerkat himself making a gaffe wins the White House
@EliseFoley: I thought of a bad joke, get ready! "What did the bill say to the veto threat?” “Don’t be such a SAP.”
@emma_roller: Are interviews ever narrow-ranging?
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