January 1, 2013

Grover’s Story, and He’s Sticking to It

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 Trish

The Bush tax cuts lapsed at midnight last night. Every R voting for Senate bill is cutting taxes and keeping his/her pledge.

— Grover Norquist, tweeting the line he and every other Republican will be quoting in the coming days. Obama strategist David Axelrod responds: “Halfway through a vote he was going to lose, @GroverNorquist sprints out in front to keep from being trampled by the parade.”

Nothing Like Professional Respect Among Republicans

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 Trish

[Why would the House] heed the votes of sleep-deprived octogenarians?

— Lame duck U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio), demonstrating that perhaps the senators to whom he refers aren’t the only ones who get cranky without enough sleep.

Republicans Still Can’t Figure Out How to Say Yes

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 Trish

We harmed ourselves by undercutting our leader on Plan B

— Lame duck U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), ruing the action by House Republicans that defeated Majority Leader John Boehner’s offer to accept tax increases on income of more than $1 million. The bill passed recently by the Senate would increase taxes on household income of $450,000 or more.

Marco Rubio Votes No on Senate Fiscal Cliff Bill

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 Trish

rubiolibya — Looking presidential? Rubio with buddies Lindsey Graham and John McCain in Libya

It’s hard to explain why Florida’s junior senator would vote against the economic bill extending the Bush tax cuts on household income under $450,000. Or maybe it’s painfully easy to explain: Rubio is indeed planning to run for president in 2016.

Rubio stood with the handful of his peers who voted against the package, including Rand Paul (R/Tea-Ken.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Michael Bennett (D-Colo.), and Thomas Carper (D-Del.).

Those looking for a less cynical explanation of Rubio’s vote won’t find any help from the senator’s office, which issued this statement.

[…]

Day: January 1, 2013

Grover’s Story, and He’s Sticking to It

The Bush tax cuts lapsed at midnight last night. Every R voting for Senate bill is cutting taxes and keeping his/her pledge.

— Grover Norquist, tweeting the line he and every other Republican will be quoting in the coming days. Obama strategist David Axelrod responds: “Halfway through a vote he was going to lose, @GroverNorquist sprints out in front to keep from being trampled by the parade.”

Nothing Like Professional Respect Among Republicans

[Why would the House] heed the votes of sleep-deprived octogenarians?

— Lame duck U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio), demonstrating that perhaps the senators to whom he refers aren’t the only ones who get cranky without enough sleep.

Republicans Still Can’t Figure Out How to Say Yes

We harmed ourselves by undercutting our leader on Plan B

— Lame duck U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.), ruing the action by House Republicans that defeated Majority Leader John Boehner’s offer to accept tax increases on income of more than $1 million. The bill passed recently by the Senate would increase taxes on household income of $450,000 or more.

Marco Rubio Votes No on Senate Fiscal Cliff Bill

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.