I agree with John Nichols that the opening day of Congress was not a good one for Democrats. Rather than focusing on what we need to accomplish we have unnecessary drama that should have been averted before now. Reid does have some rather unusual circumstances on his plate, but please: no more drama. It's embarrassing.
Also, reaction to Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Jeb Bush's decision not to run for Senate in 2010. Apparently, "the timing" wasn't right. I think what he really means is that his last name is political poison right now.
And, one Republican would like to delay Congressional business so he and other fellow Republicans can go to a football game. Seriously. Of course, Pelosi said no.
Well, the first day of our new Congress is over and what a day it was, as Burris was turned away and held a press conference in the rain. John Nichols argues that this was not a good day for Democrats and, oh yeah, Harry Reid needs to show a little leadership:
On a day when Democrats should have been celebrating their largest Senate majority in decades and setting their agenda for responding to the economic and foreign-policy challenges created by eight years of Republican rule, they were instead talking about refusing to seat an appointee from Illinois and preparing to seat a recount winner from Minnesota.
Reid has lost control of the narrative. He may be the leader of a significant Senate majority, but Reid does not appear to be setting the agenda on Capitol Hill.
A slim majority of Americans in the Gallup poll agree that Burris should not be seated. Feinstein now says that he should be seated and Charlie Rangel isn't happy with how it played out either. I do acknowledge that Reid is dealing with some unusual issues this year, but come on! The Democrats are squabbling amongst themselves and the focus is on Burris instead of everything this Congress needs to accomplish. This kind of political drama is exactly what we don't need. I'm not sure what the answer is, but Reid needs to negotiate with Burris to end this madness. They are meeting today, so hopefully they can reach some sort of conclusion so we don't have to witness any more muddy press conferences.
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As you all well know, our country is facing enormous problems and challenges. And... some Republicans in Congress want time off to watch football:
Thursday's championship football game between No. 2 Florida and No. 1 Oklahoma is obviously a big game, but big enough to shut down Congress? Rep. Cliff Stearns hopes so.
Stearns, a Republican from Ocala, wrote to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday asking her to move votes scheduled for Thursday evening and Friday so House members from Florida and Oklahoma can go to the Bowl Championship Series national title game.
Are you kidding me? Pelosi obviously said she would not agree to reschedule the votes, one of which is the certification of the Electoral College results, which I think is pretty important. Probably even more important than a football game. Idiots.
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In other Senate news, the drama over the New York Senate seat is nowhere near over:
Even as Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo insisted he was staying out of the competition for New York’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat, a top Cuomo aide urged labor leaders and upstate officials to refrain from embracing Caroline Kennedy for the job, according to several people with direct knowledge of the conversations.
Two of the people, including a prominent upstate Democratic operative, said the Cuomo aide, Joseph Percoco, had suggested the upstate officials give Ms. Kennedy a cold reception and had questioned her credentials.
Meanwhile, Maureen Dowd thinks the Senate would be lucky to get Caroline Kennedy - and that the criticism over her speech patterns is overblown. For my part, I'm sick of Senate drama. I'm starting to not really care who is in what Senate seat as long as they are Democrats and don't suck.
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The Miami Herald looks at who will potentially throw their hat in the ring for the Florida Senate race now that Jeb Bush has indicated he will not run:
Potential Republican candidates include Attorney General Bill McCollum, former House Speaker Marco Rubio, former House Speaker Allan Bense and U.S. Rep. Connie Mack. McCollum is the only one on the Republican short list who has run statewide.
Another statewide officeholder, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, is considered the most formidable Democrat. Other possible contenders are state Sen. Dan Gelber and U.S. Reps. Kendrick Meek, Ron Klein and Allen Boyd.
Good news for Florida Democrats. Politico speculates that it could be a bloody primary for Republicans - and perhaps even Democrats, for that matter. The Miami Herald believes Sink would have the best shot on the Democratic side, but she is supposedly also considering a run for governor. Any Floridians have an inside scoop?
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Oh, Sanjay. With a Surgeon General appointee like Gupta, you know there is going to be some reaction. Troy Patterson at Slate thinks it is a smart choice:
But Gupta is a brain surgeon, a policy wonk, and a fine broadcaster. Never mind the run-of-the-mill cable-news nonsense he's committed to video—the storm-lashed stand-ups in hurricanes and spot commentaries on celebrity autopsies—he's a journalist whose talents for transforming jargon into English and spin into sense are appropriate for a gig that is, at its best, pro-health PR work.
I'm actually fine with this pick, even though (yes, I know) he's on television. In fact, I think his background will be a huge bonus for a job that will essentially entail being the top spokesman for Obama's healthcare policy. If he is willing to adhere to Obama's policies - and obviously he is or he wouldn't have been offered the position - I say why not have someone who knows how to craft and spread a message?
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Alice Park at TIME Magazine thinks it is an unorthodox pick, but may bring a bigger profile to public health issues:
Traditionally, the office, which was established in 1871, has served as a soapbox for promoting healthy living goals: C. Everett Koop launched an antismoking campaign in the 1980s; Joycelyn Elders, under President Clinton, pushed for stronger sex education in schools (she was later forced to resign, following the program's controversy); and Richard Carmona focused on controlling drug abuse under President George W. Bush. With Gupta, that soapbox has the potential to become a podium for convincing the American public as well as legislators that the health of the U.S. cannot be fixed until we stop focusing only on health care and get serious about health.
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Paul Krugman doesn't have a problem with Gupta's qualifications, but is still angry about his treatment of Michael Moore:
What bothered me about the incident was that it was what Digby would call Village behavior: Moore is an outsider, he’s uncouth, so he gets smeared as unreliable even though he actually got it right. It’s sort of a minor-league version of the way people who pointed out in real time that Bush was misleading us into war are to this day considered less “serious” than people who waited until it was fashionable to reach that conclusion. And appointing Gupta now, although it’s a small thing, is just another example of the lack of accountability that always seems to be the rule when you get things wrong in a socially acceptable way.
I normally agree with Krugman, but I think he is reading waaaaay too much into this one incident. You can dislike how Gupta handled the Michael Moore interviews, but to say his appointment indicates a "lack of accountability" seems like a stretch. Frankly, I think we have more important things to worry about. Steve Benen also mentions the Michael Moore incident in his reaction to Gupta, but says Obama could likely do much worse.
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Oh, and my speculation yesterday about Gregoire was totally out there. No Commerce Secretary position for her. Turns out, she is visiting the troops in Iraq, which explains all the secrecy. I haven't heard too much speculation about the vacant Commerce post, although there were some rumblings last night about Richard Parsons, the former chairman of Time Warner and an economic advisor to Obama.
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Did you know that the U.S. prison at Bagram Air Base holds 700 prisoners? I didn't know that, but you know what is even more disturbing?
A new prison is under construction there.
NOTE: Apparently NPR was mistaken in their original reporting. The new prison will hold 1,000 prisoners, not 10,000. Still, we need to be closing overseas prisons, not building giant new ones. From NPR:
Correction: The audio version of this story, as well as earlier Web versions, overstated the number of inmates the prison under construction at Bagram Air Base can hold. The correct figure is 1,000.
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A U.S. District Court will hear the case of Haji Wazir today, who has been held at Bagram from more than six years. The Bush administration claims that federal courts have no authority to review detainment policies of non-U.S. citizens overseas. The Washington Post editorial board looks to Obama:
Upon taking office, Mr. Obama should order that Mr. Wazir and the others at Bagram be afforded their rights under the Geneva Conventions and be given a meaningful chance to challenge their detentions. After six years, Mr. Wazir and the others are entitled to no less.
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So what did you think of the opening day of Congress?