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Good riddance? GOP relies on Specter-like recruits
Politico
For many Republicans, including Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, the reaction to Sen. Arlen Specter’s party switch was unequivocal: good riddance. Yet even as his jilted former party slams the door behind him, the GOP is quietly pursuing a 2010 strategy that relies heavily on candidates nearly identical to Specter. The party’s road to winning back a Senate majority, it seems, is paved with moderates whose records are sure to make conservatives blanch.
Budget Proposes Cuts in 121 Programs
Wall Street Journal
President Barack Obama's detailed 2010 budget plan, due out Thursday, will propose to eliminate or consolidate 121 domestic and defense programs to save $17 billion, administration officials said Wednesday.
Dems nix money to close Gitmo, say plan needed first
CNN
House Democrats told the president Monday he won't be getting money to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until he has a "concrete program" for shutting it down and moving its prisoners.
Obama triggers tax fight
The Hill
President Obama launched a high-stakes fight with big business Monday, calling for changes to the tax code that could raise taxes on U.S. multinationals by $210 billion. Obama described the tax system as broken, adding that it is filled with loopholes written by corporate lobbyists that provide incentives for shipping jobs abroad.
Chrysler’s Fall May Help Administration Reshape G.M.
International Herlad Tribune
Fresh from pushing Chrysler into bankruptcy, President Obama and his economic team are hoping that the hard line they took last week gives them leverage to force huge changes in General Motors, a far larger and more complex company.
A Case Study in Unforeseen Legal Views
Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court Justice David Souter is the conservative jurist who wasn't -- and his legacy is a cautionary tale for any president who has hopes of controlling the Supreme Court's bent.
Supreme Court Justice Souter to retire at end of term
Washington Times
Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter has informed the White House he plans to retire at the end of the session in June, providing President Barack Obama his first opening to nominate his own choice to the high court.
Ten picks for Obama's Supreme Court
With as many as three justices expected to retire, Obama may have the opportunity to reshape the conservative-leaning court. Our experts eye the candidates.
Obama sows seeds of demise
Dick Morris
When the Obama administration crashes and burns, with approval ratings that fall through the floor, political scientists can trace its demise to its first hundred days. While Americans are careful not to consign a presidency they desperately need to succeed to the dustbin of history, the fact is that this president has moved — on issue after issue — in precisely the opposite direction of what the people want him to do.
U.S. Senate joins House in backing $3.4 trillion budget
Boston Globe
The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to approve the $3.4 trillion fiscal 2010 budget compromise, wrapping up a big political victory for President Barack Obama on his 100th day in office. With no Republican support, the Senate voted 53-43 for the budget which sets parameters for spending and tax legislation for the upcoming fiscal year that begins October 1. The House of Representatives earlier on Wednesday approved the budget also on a party-line vote.
Budget boosts health care; GOP says no
Politico
Congress’ new five-year budget plan, approved Wednesday, gives President Barack Obama a big leg up toward health care reform but could severely crimp the rest of his domestic agenda unless new savings and revenues are found.
Specter: 'Prospects for Winning a Republican Primary Are Bleak'
ABC
Sen. Arlen Specter stunned both parties on Capitol Hill today when he announced he would switch his party allegiance to Democrat after 42 years as a Republican, including 28 as a senator from Pennsylvania.
GOP's Hopes Bloom Outside D.C.
Wall Street Journal
In a week when Washington is obsessed with the arrival of the 100-day milestone in President Barack Obama's presidency, it's easy to forget that, for the opposition Republicans, the crucial political testing ground likely doesn't lie in the nation's capital at all.
Top U.S. military official 'alarmed' over Pakistan
CNN
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is "very alarmed by the growing extremist threat in Pakistan and remains frustrated particularly by the political leadership's inability to confront that threat," his spokesman said Monday.
Telling the Truth
Let the hearings begin!
Some Democrats, from the White House on down, are pushing the idea of a "truth commission," à la South Africa, to deal with the "harsh measures" used by the Bush administration in interrogating al Qaeda detainees. Good. Let's have lots of truthtelling. Please bring it on.
In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing'
Politico
A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues.
On the Hill, battle on war spending looms
Washington Times
President Obama's $83.4 billion war-spending bill is headed for an unexpectedly tough time on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are scrutinizing the funding priorities and rank-and-file Democrats want to include performance benchmarks for the Afghanistan mission.
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