THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† Chicago On The Potomac: USA Today reports that the first $17 billion of “the administration's massive stimulus package that can be tracked locally” has been disbursed “overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year's presidential election”:
Counties that supported Obama last year have reaped twice as much money per person from the administration's $787 billion economic stimulus package as those that voted for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, a USA TODAY analysis of government disclosure and accounting records shows. …
The reports show the 872 counties that supported Obama received about $69 per person, on average. The 2,234 that supported McCain received about $34.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs asserts that "There's no politics at work when it comes to spending for the recovery." Really? Well, as Adam Hughes, the director of federal fiscal policy for the non-profit OMB Watch explains, "Even if they wanted to, I don't think the administration has enough people in place yet to actually do that” [Emphasis, The Stiletto.] Translation: Just wait until all the ACORN operatives are doling out millions of dollars of street money, um, stimulus funds in the run-up to the 2010 mid-term election.
Editorial Note: Speaking of the 2010 election, Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) will not stand for election next year, citing the need to “choose between spending my time raising funds or spending my time raising issues for my state” and his belief that “the business of the people comes first.” Never mind that since disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) appointed him under rather murky circumstances, Burris has been an issue for his state. Or that his fundraising wasn’t going well, the polls show he is unpopular with voters and his state’s senior Senator, Dick Durbin, isn’t supporting him. Burris’ term expires in January 2011, and he will not be eligible to receive a Senate pension as he did not serve for at least five years.
Oh, and speaking of fund-raising, The Washington Times reports that “unaware of historic norms” the Obama White House was handing out ambassadorships to “major campaign donors with no experience in foreign affairs” at an unprecedented pace until career diplomats howled in indignation:
The decision to uphold the historic ratio of 30 percent political appointees and 70 percent career diplomats came only after members of the Foreign Service protested to White House staff and Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff, Cheryl D. Mills, officials said.
"There was some question about how sacrosanct the 30 percent was," the senior administration official said.
Although the 30-70 ratio is not official, "all administrations have adhered fairly closely to it in the last several decades," said Steven B. Kashkett, acting president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the diplomats' union. The U.S. has 175 ambassadorial posts. …
Mr. Obama ran on a pledge to emphasize diplomacy and transparency but appeared to be well on his way to inflating the number of political appointees as ambassadors until the Foreign Service intervened.
Those pledges were made as part of a more sweeping promise to “change the culture of Washington.” And that’s just what Obama is doing, Chicago-style.
† Empire State Repubs Rise Again: No sooner did NY Gov. David Paterson name former Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Richard Ravitch as his lieutenant governor to preside over the Senate, cast tie-breaking votes on leadership and other procedural matters so as to break the weeks-long deadlock between Dems and Repubs, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo (D) declared the move unconstitutional and state Senate Repubs got a temporary restraining order from Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Ute Lally to prevent Ravitch from "exercising any of the powers" of lieutenant governor. The legal and political brouhaha became moot when Pedro Espada Jr., the Bronx Dem who triggered the crisis by defecting to the other side, rejoined his colleagues – as the majority leader. A job, notes The New York Times, “whose power beyond its title is difficult to discern” as “[t]he titles of Senate president and majority leader have traditionally been combined; the president is vested with special powers in the state’s Constitution, and the majority leader is not.” But then, the honorary title comes with a bonus in addition to Espada's salary.
† Sotomayor: A Quintessential New Yorker: In this profile, The New York Times describes Sonia Sotomayor as “a daughter” of The Bronx who “claims the Brooklyn Bridge as her power-walking trail, the specialty shops of Greenwich Village as her grocery store, and the United States Court House as the setting for her annual Christmas party.” Juan Sotomayor, a doctor who lives near Syracuse, says his sister Sonia is as much a New Yorker as she is a Latina (“it’s her essence”). If in describing her worldview she had said, “I would hope that a wise New York woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion,” no one would have been offended or alarmed. New Yorkers are known for their street smarts, and for cutting to the chase in a New York minute. Attributes you would want in a Supreme Court justice.
† Updates To Previous Posts (Dems Still Beset By Indecision, Infighting And Intrigue): Now that Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) has joined their ranks, Dems finally have 60 seats in the Senate, but that doesn’t mean they have 60 votes to forestall potential filibusters, reports The Washington Post:
Democrats have a large enough majority to pass bills without any GOP support, but they are grappling with internal divisions on key issues such as health care, climate change and union organizing. In addition, caucus leaders and President Obama would like at least some Republican backing on key measures so they can say they are enacting a bipartisan agenda, which then-Sen. Obama made a cornerstone of his 2008 campaign.
Some conservative Democrats who live in GOP-leaning states believe that getting Republican votes on controversial bills provides them with a line of defense against political attacks back home. …
In a closed-door meeting immediately after Franken's swearing-in, Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) asked his caucus to always join ranks in supporting cloture votes. Those procedural votes require 60 senators to agree to halt debate, a step that would derail any potential filibuster.
Once cloture is invoked and the bill moves toward a final vote, Democrats would need just 50 votes on the last roll call, allowing up to 10 conservative Democrats to vote against the legislation.
But conservative Democrats such as Ben Nelson (Neb.) will not commit to backing every cloture motion. They say it is important for Democrats to continually seek GOP support, no matter their numbers.
"It's clear that bipartisanship will need to be sought," Nelson said, adding: "People back home like bipartisanship."
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