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By David M. Drucker
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) kicked off debate on his health care reform bill Monday, making it clear that he will pull out all the stops to ensure its passage by Christmas.
By Emily Pierce
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
There’s an air of mystery surrounding just who among Senate Democrats is going to broker a critical compromise on the public insurance option.
By Keith Koffler
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
President Barack Obama’s new strategy on Afghanistan — to be unveiled tonight in a nationally televised speech from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — will likely trigger howls of protest from both the right and the left on Capitol Hill.
By John McArdle
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Sensing momentum from strong fundraising and polling that showed him ahead in the 2010 Kentucky Republican Senate primary, ophthalmologist Rand Paul recently tried to make the case that the GOP establishment was wavering in its support of his opponent, Secretary of State Trey Grayson.
By Emily Heil and Elizabeth Brotherton
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Tareq and Michaele Salahi certainly didn’t get an invitation to the state dinner they crashed, but they have formally been issued another exclusive summons, this one without fancy engraved stationery. And the couple has a better reason to attend this gathering than a chance to schmooze with power players — they could be legally compelled to show up.
By Jackie Kucinich
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
A growing number of House and Senate Republicans are warning that their support for President Barack Obama’s plan to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan is not guaranteed because of concerns about details in the proposal.
By Bennett Roth and Matthew Murray
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
As the Senate launches into an expected marathon health care debate this month, interest groups are working furiously to shape — or spike — the current legislation. From deep inside Metro stations to aboveground in Capitol Hill offices, lawmakers and their staffs will be deluged with messages from health care stakeholders.
By Emily Yehle
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
The D.C. Council is set to vote today on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, setting in motion a process that seems likely to allow gay couples to get married in the shadow of a Capitol filled with dozens of Members dead-set against it.
By Emily Yehle
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) wants Members to cut their office budgets by 5 percent and give up their annual automatic salary raises.
By C. Simon Davidson
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Q: As a longtime Chicago resident, I have been keeping a close eye on the saga surrounding Roland Burris’ (D-Ill.) appointment to the Senate by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). Prosecutors opted not to press charges, and the Senate Ethics Committee a few weeks ago announced that it had concluded its investigation and issued a public letter of qualified admonition to Burris. In response, Burris has said that the committee cleared him of the charges. Others have said the letter had the opposite effect. I am having trouble assessing who is right. What is the significance of a letter of qualified admonition?
By Stan Collender
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
The premise of “FlashForward,” one of the new shows on ABC this season, is that everyone in the world blacks out for a little over two minutes and then wakes up having seen a vision of the future. I had that type of vision last night about the coming federal budget debate: It’s going to be the most convoluted, frustrating and torturous in U.S. history.
By Sen. Mark Udall and Timothy E. Wirth
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
As the Senate gets ready to take up legislation early next year that embraces cleaner, homegrown energy technologies, it’s important to remember the shortcomings of some of the sources we currently rely on. Half of our nation’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants. Nearly a third of these plants were built before the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970. While a number of these plants have made improvements to address air pollution since this act took effect, there is a cleaner-burning alternative that is domestically abundant and available to replace coal not only at these pre-1970 clunkers, but also as a fuel source for new power generation. That alternative is natural gas.
By Matthew Petersen
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Last week, the Federal Election Commission (of which I am currently vice chairman) promulgated a new regulation governing campaign travel on noncommercial aircraft (such as corporate jets). This regulation implements a key provision of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007.
Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
The latest cartoon from R.J. Matson.
Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
The latest cartoon from Mike Mikula.
By Nathan L. Gonzales
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
It’s hard to imagine a place with millions of eyeballs and no political advertising. Last cycle, the on-demand video Web site Hulu.com was only in its infancy, but with a growing audience, it could be difficult to ignore in future elections. This year, there has been a trickle of online video advertising on other news Web sites, and Hulu could be next.
By Emily Cadei
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
No matter what Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) does, the freshman from New York has not been able to scare off talk of a big-name 2010 challenge, either in the primary or the general election. However, New York political observers and party activists remain deeply skeptical that any of the prominent politicians now mulling a possible Senate candidacy will ultimately run, in part because of the head start that Gillibrand has gotten on fundraising and in consolidating Democratic support.
By Shira Toeplitz
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Republicans will likely keep the seat held by Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.) if the five-term House Member is appointed to lead Congress’ top watchdog agency.
By John McArdle and Josh Kurtz
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Insiders on Capitol Hill and in Orlando say that they expect businessman Bruce O’Donoghue (R) to enter the 8th district race against freshman Rep. Alan Grayson (D) and that a campaign announcement is expected in short order.
By Emily Cadei
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Bill Slaton (D) dropped his campaign for California’s 3rd district seat Monday, clearing the Democratic primary field for physician Ami Bera. Slaton’s decision all but guarantees that Bera will avoid an expensive primary, strengthening Democrats’ chances against Rep. Dan Lungren (R).
By Emily Cadei
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
The big-name endorsements are coming in fast and furious in the special Democratic Senate primary, with just a week left until Election Day.
By John Stanton
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Embattled Sen. John Ensign (R) on Monday rejected calls for his resignation based on an extramarital affair with a former aide, saying to do so would take the focus off Republican efforts to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) next year.
By Shira Toeplitz
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Another Republican is preparing to run for the seat held by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D), a move that further complicates the GOP’s chances of taking back the competitive 1st Congressional district in 2010.
By John McArdle
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
On the eve of President Barack Obama’s biggest foreign policy address to date, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee tapped one of the party’s foreign policy heavyweights to pen a fundraising appeal and blast Republicans for trying to block the president’s efforts abroad.
By Josh Kurtz
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), who lost to Rep. Dave Loebsack (D) by 18 points in 2008, announced Monday that she’ll try again next year.
By Tricia Miller
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
Walter Isaacson’s new book, “American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane,” draws portraits of innovative leaders and thinkers from Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates.
By Debra Bruno
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
We love holiday gift books — they allow us to take a peek into the pages of something that we might not buy for ourselves but could be perfect for someone else on our list. Here are a couple of options for those who love the idea of pretty, gift-worthy books with a local connection.
By Debra Bruno
| Dec. 1, 2009, Midnight
So many books, so little of anything approximating time. Nevertheless, 2010 promises to deliver a fresh batch of reading material, some of it illuminating and some of it not. Here are a few to look for in the months ahead.
