Romney tops bestseller list

Mitt Romney's new book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," will debut on top of the New York Times bestseller list due out March 21, a source tells me.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/Romney_tops_bestseller_list.html

New Jersey Democrats blast tea party

By ALEX ISENSTADT | 3/10/10 4:47 AM EST

New Jersey Democrats are coming out with guns blazing against a tea party-led effort to recall Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, with the state party chairman going so far as to brand the campaign racist.

Last week, newly minted Democratic Chairman John Wisniewski blasted the recall campaign as extremist, saying that it was no accident that it was targeting Menendez, the only Hispanic in the Senate. And without mentioning her by name, Wisniewski took a shot at the recall campaign’s leader, Sussex County tea party founder RoseAnn Salanitri.

“The attempt to recall Sen. Menendez is an affront to the voters of New Jersey and has no standing in law. One day these folks are trying to disprove human evolution, the next day they are challenging the constitutionality of the Constitution,” Wisniewski said in the statement, making a not-so-veiled reference to Salanitri, who has spoken out against the theory of evolution. “These are radical people who chose Menendez off of a list of Democrats because of the sound of his last name.”

Wisniewski’s withering attack — which immediately appeared on widely read state political blogs such as PolitickerNJ.com and was fodder for Charlie Stile’s Sunday political column in The (Bergen) Record — marks an unusually sharp response to the tea party movement from a Democratic leader and a clear effort to paint the local tea party activists pushing the recall effort as far outside the mainstream in a Democratic-oriented Northeastern state.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34169.html

Massa probe ends; Pelosi knew of concerns last year

By JONATHAN ALLEN & JOHN BRESNAHAN | 3/10/10 8:13 PM EST

The House ethics committee closed its investigation into sexual harassment allegations against former Rep. Eric Massa on Wednesday afternoon — even as an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged for the first time that her office learned of concerns about Massa far earlier than previously known.

Sources familiar with the situation told POLITICO that the bipartisan committee decided to close its investigation into the case because Massa’s resignation — effective at 5 p.m. Monday — deprived the committee of jurisdiction over him.

But House Republicans cried foul, with one senior GOP aide saying that the new information about Pelosi’s office “further underscores” the need to find out what actually happened.

There is no indication that anyone in Pelosi’s office knew of allegations that Massa, a Democrat from New York, had improper physical contact with aides until February, when Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office was informed of the accusations and shared them with a senior Pelosi staffer.

But a Pelosi aide told POLITICO on Wednesday evening that Massa’s chief of staff, Joe Racalto, informed a member of Pelosi’s “member services” operation in October that Massa was living with several aides, had hired too many staff members and used foul language around his staff.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34237.html

Senate Health Care Bill Dead on Arrival, Pro-Life House Democrats Say

By Carl Cameron

 - FOXNews.com

The health care reform bill passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve appears to be dead on arrival in the House, as seven anti-abortion Democrats intend to join the ranks of lawmakers who plan to vote against the legislation, Fox News has confirmed

Seven new no votes would be enough to kill the Senate bill, and several more fence-sitting lawmakers are under pressure from both sides of the aisle.

Foremost among the seven new no votes is Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., whose anti-abortion amendment to the House version of the legislation got the bill passed in that chamber last year.

But because the Senate and House Democratic leaders weren't able to agree on joint legislation before losing their supermajority in the Senate this year, they have few options other than getting the House to pass the Senate bill and then making changes to the law through a separate budget reconciliation bill that could pass with simple majorities.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/10/senate-health-care-dead-arrival-say-pro-life-house-democrats/

Another Record Month of Red Ink: Government Racked Up Record Monthly Deficit Of $220 Billion in February

March 10, 2010 5:01 PM

ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe reports:

The government racked up a record-high monthly budget deficit of $220.9 billion in February, the Treasury Department announced today.

The latest flood of red ink brings the total deficit for the first five months of the current fiscal year to $651 billion, far exceeding the $589 billion shortfall for the same timeframe in the last fiscal year.

The government ended the 2009 fiscal year with a record $1.4 trillion shortfall. The Obama administration has forecast a $1.56 trillion deficit for this year.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/another-record-month-of-red-ink-government-racked-up-record-monthly-deficit-of-220-billion-in-februa.html

California watchdog sees climate policy job losses

California is likely to see modest job losses in the near term from its aggressive climate change policy due to higher energy costs and other factors, the state's independent Legislative Analyst's Office said. Skip related content

The budget watchdog was responding to a request by Republican state Senator Dave Cogdill to study the effects of California's 2006 climate change law, which mandates changes to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

California's environmental vanguard approach is being hotly debated in the state ahead of a November gubernatorial race and in the midst of an economic downturn that has pushed unemployment to recent records. Many other states and the federal government are watching closely.

"We believe that the aggregate net jobs impact in the near term is likely to be negative," said the report, dated March 4. "Reasons for this include the various economic dislocations, behavioral adjustments, investment requirements, and certain other factors," it said.

The total effects on the economy near- and long-term are likely to be modest, since energy costs are a relatively small share of expenses for most people living and doing business in California, it said.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100309/tpl-environment-us-climate-california-20b2d2f.html?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Updating The Health Care Whip Count

March 9, 2010 3:16 PM

Dems are aiming to pass health care legislation, once and for all, by Easter recess. But for all their optimistic talk, one thing remains clear: They don't have the votes just yet. Then again, they don't have a bill yet, either.

The first step of what promises to be an arduous process will come when Dem leaders unveil the package of proposed measures to fix the legislation and make it more palatable to some House lawmakers. Once the Senate demonstrates it is able to pass the bill via reconciliation, the House will vote on the Senate legislation.

In our ongoing quest to keep tabs on how key Dems will vote, we've broken Dems into 4 categories based on their votes on the original health care bill, passed in Nov., and on the Stupak amendment, a measure to toughen abortion language that passed with overwhelming GOP support and 64 Dem votes.

Dems believe they have a total of 15 to 20 targets, "no" votes the first time around who can be persuaded to switch their positions. Those in the first category, members who voted against the bill and against the Stupak amendment, may be their easiest targets. Those in the second category, who voted against the measure but for the amendment, will be harder to win over.

GOPers are not without their own targets. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) claims he has up to a dozen votes among the second group, those who voted for health care but who are willing to vote against it if abortion language isn't strengthened. The third category include those members who voted for both the bill and the amendment, and the reservoir from which Stupak is likely to find his backers.

Finally, the fourth category will be harder for the GOP to win over. They include 17 junior Dems, some liberal, some centrist, who voted for the measure but against the Stupak amendment. The most effective argument to win over these members will be an appeal to their re-election chances.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/03/updating_the_he.php

Watermelons, Washington, and What We Call News Today

I must confess that until recently I had no idea what Twitter was. Even now, I'm not completely sure how it's best used. When I want to post something, the younger, more tech-savvy people in my office help me out. But I do know this: if you searched Twitter for "Dan Rather" over the past few days, you probably could guess why I feel the need to write this column.

It started this past Sunday when I appeared on Chris Matthews' syndicated talk show. I've known and respected Chris for many years and I enjoy doing his show. I take the train down from my home in New York to Washington D.C. and as I approach Union Station my thoughts often turn to the years I spent covering the Johnson and Nixon White Houses. It was a turbulent time for the country and a formative period for me as a reporter and a young father.

...

Meanwhile, new forms of journalism have emerged that were unimaginable when I lived in Washington. The online and cable world has allowed a freer exchange of ideas and more access to news. People can scour the New York Times (or the Times of India for that matter) in real time around the globe. If someone reads a fascinating article he or she can share it easily with friends. When news breaks, eyewitnesses have a forum for relaying their observations and insights.

All this is the backdrop for what I said on the Matthews show. I was talking about Obama and health care and I used the analogy of selling watermelons by the side of the road. It's an expression that stretches to my boyhood roots in Southeast Texas, when country highways were lined with stands manned by sellers of all races. Now of course watermelons have become a stereotype for African Americans and so my analogy entered a charged environment. I'm sorry people took offense.

But anyone who knows me personally or knows my professional career would know that race was not on my mind. Reporting on the injustices of race was part of the reason I became a reporter. I grew up in segregated Texas on the same side of the tracks as the African American community. At the time, enlightened people called them Negr*s. Many people called them much worse. When I covered the Civil Rights movement, I saw sheer hatred in ways that still haunt and shock me. For doing my small part in reporting on the South in the 1960s, I was called a traitor to my roots and other names not fit for print. I was threatened with death by people who would have welcomed me to their church on Sunday on account of my white skin if they didn't know what I was there to do. I do not take this issue lightly.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-rather/watermelons-washington-an_b_492890.html

Via Breitbart.tv:

Monica Conyers Gets 3 Years in Prison

Reported by: Ross Jones
Email: rjones@wxyz.com
Last Update: 6:19 pm

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Former Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers was sentenced to 37 months in prison for her role in the city hall scandal.

http://www.wxyz.com/mostpopular/story/Monica-Conyers-Gets-3-Years-in-Prison/HLI9y-lt0Eq93jL-Gfih4Q.cspx

How ObamaCare is killing free trade

Brazil’s threat of tariff retaliation over U.S. cotton subsidies is only the latest eruption of rising protectionism around the world. President Barack Obama isn’t doing much to quell protectionist sentiment in the U.S., either. His passivity could prove costly.

Not that Obama has a problem with trade. In his State of the Union speech to Congress last January, he stated an ambitious goal of doubling U.S exports by 2015. It is trade policy that he seems uncomfortable with. That bold declaration in the speech was a direct result of lobbying from Obama’s economic advisers. But the wonks aren’t driving U.S trade policy in the Obama administration. The political team is. Its priority is passing healthcare reform. To pass healthcare reform, Obama needs his core union support. And a push for new trade agreements would alienate Big Labor.

So Obama has not nudged Congress to pass long-stalled treaties with Colombia, Korea and Panama. Instead, the emphasis has been on get-tough actions such as slapping preliminary duties on tires from China and bricks from Mexico. Nor has he tried to energize the Doha trade talks, pushing Brazil to first litigate via the World Trade Organization and now retaliate. And in the U.S., high unemployment has encouraged protectionist forces in Congress. A bipartisan House group just introduced a new bill to abandon the North American Free Trade Agreement, while one in the Senate is pushing for action against China because of its weak currency policy.

And the situation could worsen. To appease Congress and continue its recent populist tilt, the Obama administration will likely toughen language about China in the Treasury Department’s April report on currency policy. The next step would be to declare China a currency manipulator in the October report, right before the November mid-term elections.

http://blogs.reuters.com/james-pethokoukis/2010/03/10/how-obamacare-is-killing-free-trade/

U.S. Sales Tax Rates Hit Record High

William P. Barrett, 03.08.10, 06:00 AM EST

Shopping blues: Top tax 12%. Chicago's 10.25% highest big-city rate. More Internet tax fights loom.

While President Obama's push to raise federal income taxes for the wealthy gets lots of attention, the continuing upward creep in the sales tax rates imposed by state and local governments has gotten less notice.

But Vertex Inc., which calculates sales tax for Internet sellers, reports that the average general sales tax rate nationwide reached 8.629% at the end of 2009, the highest since the Berwyn, Pa., company started tracking data in 1982. That was up a nickel on a taxable $100 purchase from a year earlier and up nearly 40 cents for the decade. The highest sales tax rate in the country now stands at 12%.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/05/sales-tax-rates-record-high-personal-finance-shopping-tax.html

 

Via Michelle Malkin:

Health care reform draws protest before Obama’s arrival

By Brian Flinchpaugh

Originally published March 10, 2010 at 11:57 a.m., updated March 10, 2010 at 3:59 p.m.

Hours before President Barack Obama was scheduled to speak in St. Charles on reforming the nation’s health care system, more than 2,000 people packed a convention ballroom a few miles away to rally against those reforms.

The occasion was a health care town hall meeting and teleconference Wednesday featuring Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin and other Missouri legislators at the St. Charles Convention Center.

Akin and other legislators took to task the health reform bill that is now before Congress. Kinder and legislators said the President’s health care bill would play havoc with state finances at a time when Missouri faces major budget issues.

Tea party activists and Republican party activists turned out in big numbers. The overflow crowd in the convention center’s main ballroom applauded Akin, Kinder and local legislators as the spoke. Before the rally, about a dozen people held signs along the drive in front of the convention center.

http://www.globe-democrat.com/news/2010/mar/10/health-care-reform-draws-protest-obamas-arrival/

Slaughter Preps Rule To Avoid Direct Vote On Senate Bill
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
by Anna Edney, with Billy House and Dan Friedman contributing

House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the chairwoman said Tuesday.

Slaughter is weighing preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes to the Senate version.

Slaughter has not taken the plan to Speaker Pelosi as Democrats await CBO scores on the corrections bill. "Once the CBO gives us the score we'll spring right on it," she said.

http://gopleader.gov/UploadedFiles/CD_03-10-10_Slaughter_Preps_Rule_To_Avoid_Direct_Vote_On_Senate_Bill.pdf