Presumptuous Politics : May 1, 2016

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Congress Cartoon

Congress heads out with no resolution on Zika, Puerto Rico

Congress accomplished relatively little in a short work period, missing deadlines on the budget and on helping Puerto Rico with its financial crisis as lawmakers began a weeklong break.
They left behind few clues about how they would address must-do items such as finding money to counter the Zika virus and a second, even scarier July 1 deadline for averting a fiscal disaster in cash-strapped Puerto Rico.
Democrats called upon House leaders to modify this spring's three-weeks on, one-week off legislative schedule to keep working, as Puerto Rico hurtles toward a half-billion-dollar default on Sunday.
"It's very, very hard to get anything done if you are a drive-by Congress," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday. "We're barely here. And these deadlines are coming." Hours later, however, Democrats joined Republicans in sprinting for the Capitol's exits.
Over the past month, the Senate finally passed a major energy bill -- the first in nearly a decade -- and made progress on providing help for Flint, Michigan, which is grappling with a water contamination crisis from lead pipes.
But an effort to revive the moribund process of passing more than $1 trillion worth of annual spending bills ran aground, while talks on a $1 billion-plus measure to fight Zika are looking less promising than previously hoped.
An update on Capitol Hill's unfinished agenda:
PUERTO RICO
Having blown a May 1 deadline to help the economically distressed U.S. territory, lawmakers are now focusing on a July 1 deadline, when around $2 billion in principle and interest payments come due.
Puerto Rico expects multiple lawsuits to be filed shortly after Monday's anticipated default.
The government is expected to keep operating as usual, but economists warn that its access to capital markets will shut down and that eventually this will curtail public services if a debt-restructuring mechanism isn't approved.
A House bill would create a control board to help manage the island's $70 billion debt and oversee debt restructuring. But the legislation has stalled in the Natural Resources Committee, as some conservatives and Democrats have objected to the approach.
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has pushed the bill, saying the U.S. may eventually have to bail out the territory if Congress doesn't act soon.
Utah Rep. Rob Bishop, the Republican chairman of the Natural Resources panel, says he hopes the island's impending default will create more urgency among his colleagues.
Senators have done even less to aid the territory, saying they will wait to see what happens in the House first.
ZIKA
President Barack Obama's $1.9 billion request for emergency funding to combat the Zika virus, known to cause grave birth defects, has elicited a lukewarm response Republicans controlling Congress. Many GOP lawmakers insist plenty of money to cover the Zika costs is left over from the largely successful battle against Ebola.
The White House has already transferred almost $600 million in previously appropriated money to the Zika fight and would have little choice but to shift more if Congress remains gridlocked.
But the administration says new funding is urgently needed to control the mosquitoes that spread the virus, manufacture vaccines once they are developed and produce more accurate testing for Zika.
Congressional GOP leaders seem to realize that they face a political imperative to do something on Zika rather than expose themselves to attacks from Democrats -- and perhaps likely presidential nominee Donald Trump -- for failing to act.
Senate Republicans may succeed in attaching a smaller Zika package to an upcoming funding bill, and House Republicans are considering adding an even smaller measure to a spending bill next month. Whether this approach will work or not is uncertain at best, but tea party Republicans have dug in against granting Obama anything near his request.
BUDGET
The House and Senate missed an April 15 deadline for producing a budget blueprint, which was a particular embarrassment for Ryan. He produced four such measures as chairman of the Budget Committee, but conservatives have hamstrung his efforts in his first year in the House's top job.
Ryan made a last-ditch appeal on Friday in a closed-door meeting and may be closer to a resolution among Republicans when they return to Washington next month.
Meanwhile, the Senate has gone directly to the 12 annual spending bills in hopes of avoiding a year-end omnibus measure.
But the very first bill, funding popular energy and water programs, hit a snag when Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., unveiled an amendment to undercut the landmark nuclear deal with Iran. Cotton's amendment was germane to the overall bill, but Democrats mounted a filibuster.
It's too early to give up, but the imbroglio bodes poorly for a successful round of spending bills.
ENERGY/FLINT
Despite Senate approval of a sprawling energy policy bill, and approval by the Senate environment committee of a bill to help Flint, both measures are far from done and face significant obstacles before reaching the president's desk.
The energy bill must be reconciled with a House version that includes far fewer incentives for renewable energy and does not include money for a land and water conservation fund, as the Senate version does.
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah singlehandedly stalled the Flint aid package for two months and remains opposed, saying Michigan does not need federal money to solve a problem it created.

Cruz wins majority of delegates at Virginia convention

HARRISONBURG, Va. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has won the support of a majority of delegates up for grabs at a GOP convention in Virginia, delegates that could help decide the Republican presidential nominee if there's a contested national convention this summer.
Cruz supporters won 10 of the 13 at-large delegates elected Saturday at the Republican Party of Virginia's statewide convention at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump won the other three.
Cruz's victory will only matter if he can block Trump from clinching the nomination before the national convention in July. Virginia delegates will only be free to support whomever they choose after the first round of voting at the national convention.

Obama takes his last shots at White House Correspondents' dinner


He's been a Clown since day one.

WASHINGTON – Even though President Barack Obama and his wife can't wait to get out of the White House, being a lame duck can hurt a guy.
"Last week Prince George showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe," Obama cracked at the White House Correspondents' dinner Saturday night. "That was a slap in the face."
Obama drew plenty of laughs with his barbed remarks to a ballroom filled with journalists, politicians, and movie and television stars. It was his eighth appearance at the event and his last as president.
"If this material works well, I'm going to use it at Goldman Sachs next year," Obama said. "Earn me some serious Tubmans."
The president waxed nostalgic at times. "Eight years ago I said it was time to change the tone of our politics. In hindsight, I clearly should have been more specific."
And he acknowledged that the years had taken their toll. "I'm gray, grizzled ... counting down the days to my death panel."
On the other hand, he pointed out that his approval ratings are up. "The last time I was this high," he said, "I was trying to decide on my major." When he said he couldn't explain the rise in his popularity, two photographs appeared on ballroom screens: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Obama took a few more swipes at the presidential race, noting that "next year at this time someone else will be standing here in this very spot, and it's anyone's guess who she will be."
After calling presidential candidate Bernie Sanders the bright new face of the Democratic Party, Obama contrasted the slogan "Feel the Bern" with one he said was rival Hillary Clinton's: "Trudge Up the Hill."
Republicans took most of Obama's humorous broadsides. "Guests were asked to check whether they wanted steak or fish," he told the diners, "and instead a whole bunch of you wrote in Paul Ryan."
Obama said of the billionaire businessman and real estate mogul leading the GOP race: "He has spent years meeting with leaders from around the world — Miss Sweden, Miss Argentina, Miss Azerbaijan."
He added: "And there's one area where Donald's experience could be invaluable, and that's closing Guantanamo — because Trump knows a thing or two about running waterfront properties into the ground."
Turning serious, the president thanked the White House press corps and praised a free press.
"I just have two more words to say: Obama out." With that, he held out the mic and dropped it.
Obama took a few hits, too. Preceding his remarks was a tongue-in-cheek video tribute to his seven-plus years in office that contained highlights of his verbal gaffes — his reference to "57 states" and misspelling 'rspect" among them — as well as light-hearted moments.
Comedian Larry Wilmore, the evening's professional entertainment, began by saying, "It's not easy to follow the president." Then he proved his point, offering a series of jokes about the president, different media organizations and various presidential candidates that often were racially tinged and drew a mixture of laughter and groans.
"Welcome to Negro night," Wilmore said, and added that Fox News had reported that "two thugs" disrupted an elegant dinner, also mixing in critiques of CNN's viewership and MSNBC's firing of black anchors.
Wilmore said the president is showing signs that his time in office has been hard on him. "You came in here looking like Denzel, now you're going out looking like Grady from 'Sanford and Son.'"
As usual the Washington Hilton ballroom was a celebrity-spotters dream. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and other government officials taking a seat. Also on hand were Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Trump, a regular in recent years, was absent this time, but a son and daughter-in-law, Donald Jr. and Vanessa Trump, were spotted on the red carpet.
Among the film and television performers at the event were Oscar winners Helen Mirren and Jared Leto, "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston, "Independence Day" stars Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum, actress Rachel McAdams, and "Night Manager" miniseries star Tom Hiddleston.
Proceeds from the dinner go toward journalism scholarships and reporting awards. This year's winners:
— Carol Lee of the Wall Street Journal, winner of the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award for excellence in White House coverage.
— Matt Viser of the Boston Globe, winner of the Merriman Smith Award for outstanding White House coverage under deadline pressure.
— Norah O'Donnell of CBS News, winner of the Merriman Smith Award for broadcast journalism.
— Terrence McCoy of The Washington Post and Neela Banerjee, John Cushman Jr., David Hasemyer and Lisa Song of InsideClimate, winners of the Edgar A. Poe award, which recognizes excellence in coverage of events or investigative topics of regional or national interest.

Trump backers furious over defeat at Arizona GOP convention

Backers of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump accused the Arizona GOP convention of cheating after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz pulled out a strategic victory Saturday.
Cruz won virtually all of the 28 at-large national delegates and roughly split the 27 delegates selected by congressional district. Cruz's Arizona campaign organizer says simple math led to the at-large victory. Cruz offered a nearly identical slate of candidates as John Kasich backers, and the combined votes led to a win.
State Treasurer Jeff DeWitt, who chairs Trump’s Arizona campaign, said a challenge is possible after calls for a revote were rejected by the party.
"The Trump campaign is very unhappy with the results," DeWitt told reporters. "We don't feel that this was a fair process. The Trump button got checked more than any other, so why do we have so few delegates?"
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio blamed “back-room-dealing politics” for the loss Saturday, according to The Arizona Republic.
"This is what America hates. This is why the voters have turned to Trump," DiCiccio said. "They're turning to Donald Trump because they are tired of the backroom politics, and that's what occurred here today."
Former Gov. Jan Brewer lost her bid to become a delegate and said afterward that she was cheated.
"I got cheated," Brewer told reporters. "And the people of Arizona got cheated."
State party Chairman Robert Graham said the election was run fairly, and the Kasich-Cruz slates just combined to get the win.
"Mr. DeWit is making a habit of making outlandish comments to try to crush the integrity of a great meeting," Graham said. "This was a very pronounced victory for the Cruz-Kasich slates. If it was close, then you might say 'Hey, one person here, one person there,' but this was a commanding victory."
Constantin Querard, Cruz’s Arizona campaign chair, struck back against claims from DeWitt.

"They lost because of math, not because of malfeasance. If you take the people that want Cruz, and you add to them the people who don't want Trump, that's a majority in just about any room in America."
Saturday’s victory was mainly strategic for Cruz since all 58 Arizona delegates are required to vote for Trump on the first national ballot because he won the state’s primary. If there is a contested convention, the state’s delegates can switch to back Cruz. There are three automatic delegates, including Graham.
With Trump at nearly 1,000 national delegates out of 1,237 he needs to win the presidential nomination outright after recent sweeps of five eastern states, even Cruz's Arizona backers believe Saturday's effort is likely to be for naught.
"It's most likely that Trump will be the next president, but I'm trying my hardest for it to be Cruz," said state Rep. David Livingston, who is unabashedly backing Cruz.
The battle at Saturday's convention goes back weeks, when Cruz backers were wrangling at local party meetings to nail down delegates to the state party.
Gov. Doug Ducey opened the convention by calling on the party faithful to end Democratic control of the White House.
Ducey called the past eight years "the most futile in modern American history" and said that it's time to "put a Republican in the White House and Hillary Clinton in the Big House."