Coburn says he’ll force a Senate floor vote on earmarks on Wednesday

On a conference call hosted by the Heritage Foundation, Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) delivered an impassioned plea in advance of tomorrow’s Republican Conference vote over ending the practice of requesting earmarks for local spending projects. But if the measure doesn’t pass tomorrow, Coburn made it known More…

Number of GOP senators committed to voting against earmarks grows to 19

With the pressure mounting before the vote on earmarks in tomorrow’s Republican Conference meeting, a growing number of senators are coming out with statements in favor of Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) proposed moratorium on the practice. The group Taxpayers Against Earmarks has launched a feature on its website devoted More…

Rangel ties up ethics trial proceedings

Well, that was quick. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) is holding up proceedings with the argument that he be entitled to counsel. He just asked to withdraw from the proceedings, but before he could, Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) had made a “motion to continue,” effectively questioning whether the trial should proceed, More…

Long-awaited Charlie Rangel trial is now underway

The House Ethics Committee is kicking off its long-awaited trial of Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) this morning. Rangel, who has served his Harlem district for 20 terms, faces 13 counts of violating congressional ethics rules that range from failure to disclose and pay taxes on personal assets to use of More…

Reid comments on the bipartisan debt commission’s draft proposal

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has issued a statement regarding the chairman’s mark released by the bipartisan deficit reduction commission yesterday, and — at least in relation to the reactions of the majority of his Democratic colleagues — his take seems decidedly positive.

“I thank the leaders of the More…

FreedomWorks adds fire to DeMint’s earmark crusade

Via Dave Weigel, FreedomWorks (which he terms the ”most media-savvy of the Tea Party groups”) is stepping up its own efforts to pressure Republican senators to vote for Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-S.C.) plan to place a two-year moratorium on requesting earmarks. From a letter to members sent by FreedomWorks’ Dick More…

White House denies folding on Bush tax cuts, but still ‘open to compromise’

A lot of hubbub this morning surrounding a Huffington Post article that suggested the White House was willing to cave on its position of permanently extending tax cuts for most Americans while only temporarily extending those for the upper two percent and instead accept the idea of a temporary More…

Liberal donors to meet and debate next moves for 2012

Democratic donors and operatives are wasting no time in meeting to hash out what went wrong in 2010 and what the strategy for fundraising should be moving forward. About 150 key players are scheduled to meet next week in Washington at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, reports Politico’s Ken Vogel, More…

Will DeMint’s earmark moratorium pass?

My story today highlights how Tea Party pressure is making it harder for Republican senators to sit on the sidelines in the lead-up to Tuesday’s Senate Republican Conference showdown over a moratorium on earmarks being pushed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — and opposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell More…

Tea Party pressure puts Republicans in awkward position on earmark vote

With a fight brewing between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Tea Party ringleader Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) over the practice of requesting earmarks in the Senate, most Republican Senators have been desperately hoping to avoid picking sides. But Tea Party groups, which are eagerly monitoring a closed-door Republican More…