Chris Good is a political reporter for ABC News. He was previously an associate editor at The Atlantic and a reporter for The Hill.
The Treasury has concluded its financial/political dance with Citibank in a deal that will up the government's stake in the bank from 8 percent to 36. Today's deal will convert the government's preferred stock into common stock at a $3.25 per-share conversion price--much higher than the market value of common shares, which dropped 46 percent in pre-market trading and now sits at $1.71. Important to note is that the government is not making a bigger financial…… More »
National Journal's liberal/conservative rankings for Congress are out (see them at NJ's website here), complete with a web applet that lets you sort by state, district, score, etc.One significant development NJ points out: centrist Republicans are vanishing from both the House and Senate. For the 10 GOP senators who departed in 2008, the median conservative rating was 60.9--left of center for the party. While the median score for the 43 House Republicans who left…… More »
Coalition-building--the art of bringing together an array of constituent blocs or advocacy groups behind a single political purpose--looks to figure prominently in the political parties' strategies for the next election cycle, as indicated by two significant moves by the RNC and DNC this week. … More »
Ambitious young leaders take note: President Obama's White House is seeking interns for this summer. In keeping with budgetary concerns and Democrats' new mantra of fiscal responsibility, the internships are unpaid. After all, times remain tough. Then again, someone will have to support these whippersnappers for a summer in one of the nation's most expensive cities...But despite Bill Clinton, and the eternal curse of intern jokes he laid upon us, the title still…… More »
President Obama's speech, in its entirety … More »
Following up on the idea of Tea Parties protesting the administration's mortgage refinancing plan, Pajamas Media has started running online ads (spotted on conservative blog Hot Air today), simultaneously encouraging readers to organize their own tea parties and promoting Pajamas Media's coverage of them. "The Pajamas TV team including Michelle Malkin, Glenn Reynolds, and Joe Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plumber) - are mobilized to help cover this new and evolving…… More »
As cap-and-trade has risen as a policy idea, so too has the industry now devoted to shaping it: according to a new report from the Center for Public Integrity, the climate lobby has grown 300 percent in five years, with $90 million and 2,340 lobbyists comprising it in 2008. But beyond its size, the face of the industry has changed. … More »
As President Obama gave his first State of the Union address to Congress and the nation tonight, the blogosphere saw some predictably partisan and spontaneously hilarious reactions. Here are some highlights:… More »
Just eight days after a pet chimpanzee mauled and critically injured a Connecticut woman, the House has managed to pass legislation outlawing interstate commerce for primates as pets. The bill, introduced by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), passed by an overwhelming 323 to 95 margin. Who says bipartisanship is dead? … More »
News that RNC Chairman Michael Steele might support primary opponents for the three GOP stimulus defectors has made the rounds in the blogosphere today--but was Steele serious when he made the suggestion yesterday, pressed by Neil Cavuto in a TV interview? According to an RNC official, there are no plans to break from traditional RNC policy--which is to stay out of primaries unless state parties choose to endorse--in the cases of Sens. Snowe (ME), Collins (ME), and…… More »
After environmentalists and mainstream politicians alike succeeded in dedicating a good chunk of President Obama's stimulus package to green energy, Obama's new energy secretary has been working on ways to make that happen more efficiently. Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu (who holds a Nobel Prize in physics) announced a slew of reforms to how the department doles out money, and a department official says more are on the way. The goal: streamlining the…… More »
After environmentalists and mainstream politicians alike succeeded in dedicating a good chunk of President Obama's stimulus package to green energy, Obama's new energy secretary has been working on ways to make that happen more efficiently. Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu (who holds a Nobel Prize in physics) announced a slew of reforms to how the department doles out money, and a department official says more are on the way. The goal: streamlining the…… More »
As President Obama gets ready to address Congress and the nation in his first State of the Union, a poll from CBS/NY Times shows the public confident in his economic decision-making; Chrysler and G.M., meanwhile, didn't fare so well. 76 percent are at least somewhat confident Obama will make the right decisions on the economy (31 percent "very confident," 45 percent "somewhat"), while 68 percent said the government should not send more federal assistance to the…… More »
The Democratic Congressional Committee (DCCC) released its new list of targets today, and among them is Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), a former member of the House GOP leadership who hails from a Republican stronghold district--and who won't be seeking reelection in 2010. Putnam's working-class Central Florida district has voted Republican (namely, for him) by at least 57 percent in the last three elections, but growing numbers of Hispanics and African Americans have…… More »
Slated to visit Guantanamo today, Attorney General Eric Holder this morning created a Department of Justice task force to review the cases of detainees and make recommendations on what to do with them as the prison's mandated closure looms. The task force will report to a panel of high-level officials from the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, as well as the offices of the Director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of…… More »
Stan Greenberg, polling guru for President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, takes some shots at much-criticized pollster Mark Penn in his new book recounting his prominent campaign work -- some of it in conjunction with Penn. Among the juiciest: Greenberg accuses Penn's polling methods of being "rigged." Penn supplanted Greenberg both on Clinton's team and on the British Labour Party's 2005 campaign, and it was the latter experience from which the "rigged"…… More »
During campaign season, when the political microscope is turned to high power, anything mildly outrageous can be a theme for a day. Could CNBC's Rick Santelli be one of those themes for the GOP?Two websites and a petition have sprung up since Santelli's now widely publicized on-air rant yesterday, in a pit of traders on the floor at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, against President Obama's $75 billion plan to help struggling homeowners refinance, all in favor…… More »
Health care reform is alive and kicking in Congress, despite the withdrawal of President Obama's nominee to lead the charge: one of the Senate's leading voices on the issue today announced a hearing on it slated for next week. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), who released a comprehensive health reform plan in November, will hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss the major challenges of health care reform and its impact on the budget. Baucus says he'll…… More »
Conservative members of the Democratic Party were unhappy about how the $787 billion stimulus was crafted, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi today made, at least, an overture toward their philosophy of spending restraint. Pelosi asked every committee chair in the House to look for ways to trim federal spending in their upcoming round of budget hearings. (With President Obama set to release his budget proposal next week, Congress will begin deliberations on the budget…… More »
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