Will a Richardson announcement be overshadowed?

by
No Comments

With Bill Richardson expected to announce in the next 10 days whether he’ll run for president, I’m starting to wonder about his choice of time frame. Next week, Democrats in the House will be looking to push their “First 100 Hours” agenda, which includes:

  • Tuesday, January 9 – Implement the 9/11 Commission Recommendations
  • Wednesday, January 10 – Increase the Minimum Wage
  • Thursday, January 11 – Expand Stem Cell Research
  • Friday, January 12 – Allow Negotiation for Lower Prescription Drug Costs
  • Wednesday, January 17 – Cut Interest Rates on Student Loans
  • Thursday, January 18 – End Subsidies for Big Oil and Invest in Renewable Energy

Don’t expect the Senate to sit back and relax either.

Meanwhile, President Bush is expected to announce his “new” strategy for political gain plan for victory in Iraq next week.

Where does that leave Richardson? Well, John Edwards’ announcement in New Orleans played second fiddle to the death of Gerald Ford (and a fluke on Edwards’ campaign site). And, though New Mexico media outlets will surely be all over any Richardson news, this is the type of event you want covered on a national scale. With so much other news happening, I wonder if a Richardson announcement wont be overshadowed.

Ideally, he might announce on the 15th, the day before the start of New Mexico’s legislative session. That might give Richardson (and his legislative agenda) a boost of momentum heading into the 60-day session, and avoid conflicts with other news events.

All of this is speculation, of course, and, if Richardson chooses not to run, won’t matter anyway.

On killing the messenger

by
No Comments

Think Progress:

John McCain has made clear that he doesn’t like the blogosphere.

Now he has introduced legislation that would treat blogs like Internet service providers and hold them responsible for all activity in the comments sections and user profiles. Some highlights of the legislation:

– Commercial websites and personal blogs “would be required to report illegal images or videos posted by their users or pay fines of up to $300,000.”

– Internet service providers (ISPs) are already required to issue such reports, but under McCain’s legislation, bloggers with comment sections may face “even stiffer penalties” than ISPs.

— Social networking sites will be forced to take “effective measures” — such as deleting user profiles — to remove any website that is “associated” with a sex offender. Sites may include not only Facebook and MySpace, but also Amazon.com, which permits author profiles and personal lists, and blogs like DailyKos, which allows users to sign up for personal diaries.
(emphasis not mine)

I can see the bumper sticker now:

Sen. John McCain — Keeping Your Children Safe from Bloggers! 

Looks like I’m going to have to start running background checks on all you commenters. And please, stop with the illegal images and videos already!

Be careful what you wish for

by
No Comments

Kevin Drum, on the news that Democrats plan to cut off earmarking:

The announcement was made last night by the incoming chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, who also said they would impose a moratorium on new congressional earmarks, targeted appropriations for special projects in members’ home districts. None would be part of the proposed funding resolution, killing hundreds that are pending in the unfinished spending bills.
(emphasis Kevin’s)

Since most of the earmarks are probably slated for Republican districts, this is both good policy and good politics.

This might have some short-term drawbacks (The Democrats don’t want your district to get those much-needed highway improvements) but, overall, I believe Kevin’s right. This wouldn’t be a problem for Republicans if they had actually, you know, finished this year’s business. Instead, they’re leaving the spending bills to the Democrats, trying to slow down the incoming majority party when January rolls around.

Senator Domenici’s jammies?

by
No Comments

Huh?

According to some staffers, a Republican Senator has been wandering around the Senate office buildings in his pajamas, Roll Call reports.

“We had a number of reports Friday that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) was wandering the halls of Senate office buildings in his jammies,” Mary Ann Akers writes. “Two staffers said they saw the Senator wearing ‘tartan’ or ‘buffalo plaid’ pajama bottoms and a ‘loose-fitting shirt.’ By the end of the day, one informant called to say she heard Domenici was walking around in his boxers.”

But Domenici told Roll Call the pajama bottoms were actually hunting pants.

From Raw Story, via Atrios, with whom I agree: even if they are jammies, let the man wear em.

Bingaman elected to Senate leadership

by
No Comments

Raw Story (hat tip to Election Central) is reporting that Silver City native Jeff Bingaman was elected to the Senate Leadership by his fellow Democrats yesterday. Starting in January, he’ll be Chairman of Committee Outreach, where he’ll serve as a liaison between the leadership and the various committee chairs.

According to a press release from the Senate Democrats:

As Chairman of Committee Outreach, Senator Bingaman will provide a voice in the Democratic leadership for Committee Chairs. Bingaman will harness the Committee Chairs’ tremendous knowledge and experience, and ensure their important committee work is advanced in a united and consistent manner.

Bingaman will also resume the position of Chairman for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, currently held by New Mexico’s other senator, Pete Domenici.