Work is work is work is work. We all do it, and though it impacts us differently, I think there are similar reactions: sometimes we love our jobs, sometimes we hate them, and most of the time we’re in between. And for me, while the cycle is usually in the upper end (I love my [...]

I’ve got my first blog post up at OpenCongress.org, where today I begin my new role as community manager. It’s a quick preview of the legislative week: The Senate kicks off the week with a busy start, as Democratic leaders attempt to keep the caucus in line on the omnibus spending bill. In the House, [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the auto bailout lately (read my post on the House passage over at PR Watch), and the GOP in particular has me confused. Senate Republicans have made incredible tactical and strategic errors in killing the proposed auto bailout. This is why: The proposal called for the government to provide [...]

A roundup of the leadership changes in the 111th Congress, such as I could put together: With Democrats expanding their majorities in the House and Senate during the 2008 congressional elections, members of both parties sought to redefine the leadership structure within their respective caucuses. Some of the shuffling was predictable, while political calculation entered [...]

MSNBC has reported that all three of New Mexico’s House seats went to Democrats this year. Along with the victory by Senator Elect Tom Udall, that makes the state’s entire Congressional delegation blue in the 111th Congress. I imagine there’ll be some heads rolling in the NM GOP in the coming months. Did they win [...]

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry over on Huffington Post about the need for new congressional rules that would let members of Congress use the same social tools that their constituents are using: Facebook, Youtube, blogs, etc. It was all part of the Sunlight Foundation‘s campaign, Let our Congress Tweet. While we [...]

There are primaries happening today: It must be August: Congress is no longer in session and the congressional primary season is again heating up. According to our calendar, there are primary elections every week from now until mid-September. Candidates in three states – Kansas, Michigan and Missouri – are on the ballot tomorrow. As part [...]

(I’m liveblogging a discussion with four congressional candidates – click the links below to find their Congresspedia profiles, part of our Wiki-the-Vote project) 3:13 Annette Taddeo says that her opponent’s opposition to SCHIP was the biggest reason for getting into the race. 3:17 Dan Seals: I want to see Democrats not blow it – we [...]

Sunlight has a new initiative up and running, and if you use Twitter (or other social services, like Facebook or YouTube) you should take notice. I blogged about it over at Huffington Post: The full value of politicians using social networks and technology is still up for debate — are they just “repackaging,” or can [...]

Via TPM. Here’s the Associated Press version: Retiring Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., created an appearance of impropriety when he called a federal prosecutor in New Mexico to inquire about the timing of corruption indictments, the Senate ethics committee said Thursday. The committee criticized Domenici in a letter to the senator, but it recommended no punishment. [...]

Borrowing a page from John Fleck’s book, here’s a snippet from last week’s Congresspedia review: Negotiations between the House and Senate regarding the 2007 Farm Bill reauthorization broke down on Thursday evening. That forced lawmakers in both houses to approve a one-week extension of the 2002 version, which had already been extended one month. The [...]

The New Mexico Sec. of State has announced the final ballot for the June congressional primary elections. It doesn’t look like there are any surprises: everybody who prequalified at the party nominating conventions is aready on the ballot. However, I guess everybody else running for the three seats being vacated by Rep. Steve Pearce, Rep. [...]