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CIA's Panetta Goes to the Dogs
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2010 Comment (1)By Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers
At CIA headquarters last week, spy chief Leon Panetta was presiding over a quiet ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Security Protective Service, the agency's police force, when things went, er, to the dogs. "For our agency, you form the first line of defense," the director told the assembled crowd in remarks that were shaping up as pro forma, says one intelligence insider. Panetta then paid tribute to the elite SPS K-9 corps, calling its dogged efforts at tasks like bomb detection"indispensable." (The pooches are so skilled that they're often called into special service at events like the Super Bowl.) At the end of Panetta's remarks, Bob, a chocolate Labrador retriever, trotted forward carrying on his collar a special commemorative badge for the director. As Panetta leaned over to give Bob a pat, the dog unexpectedly jumped up and slathered the boss with a big kiss. Panetta, the proud owner of an Irish setter, chuckled in good humor.
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New GOP 'Contract With America' to Debut in September
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2010 Comment (9)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
The new GOP agenda fashioned after the 1994 House Republican "Contract with America" is expected to be revealed in September and include legislative proposals, unlike the original version, according to those working on the project unveiled today.
In addition, the new project run by California Rep. Kevin McCarthy will have something else the 1994 version from Newt Gingrich and his allies didn't: A plan to update it every election with new ideas. [See who is donating to McCarthy's campaign.]
According to those familiar with McCarthy's effort, the process of gathering ideas for the new contract or "commitment" will include a website, www.americaspeakingout.com, and a series of August summer vacation town hall meetings where agenda items will be offered up. In addition, instead of Washington writing the new proposal, new candidates for office will be encouraged to offer up their best ideas. "This contract will be more successful than in 1994 because challengers will join in," says one project insider.
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Archivist Confident Clinton Library Can Deliver Kagan Docs
Tweet Share on Facebook May 24, 2010 Comment (2)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Concerns raised by lawmakers last week and an anti-abortion group today about the availability of memos of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan stored in Bill Clinton’s Little Rock library are being eased by the nation’s top archivist who promises to provide them in time for her confirmation hearing. -
Rep. Anthony Weiner Takes on Glenn Beck
Tweet Share on Facebook May 24, 2010 Comment (15)By Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers
How did Rep. Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat, come to cross swords with Fox News's Glenn Beck? This week, the congressman released a report on one of Beck's advertisers, Goldline International, alleging that the company "grossly overcharges consumers for their coins." Weiner's staff compared the prices of coins Goldline sells to the melt value of the gold. They found the markup to be an average of 90 percent, which they say "is 47 percent higher than better-priced competitors." Goldline advertises on numerous conservative radio and TV programs where the hosts, including Beck, endorse Goldline products. Weiner's report says Goldline formed an "unholy alliance with conservative pundits," and that Beck often promotes "the purchase of gold as the only safe investment alternative for consumers who want to safeguard their livelihoods." "Goldline rips off customers and Glenn Beck helps them," says Weiner. Goldline denies any wrongdoing. Weiner has asked the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate. Beck has dedicated large portions of his shows to denying the report and responded in his typical shock-jock fashion. He mocked the congressman's last name, launched a website, weinerfacts.com, featuring a cartoon of Weiner's face on a dancing hot dog, and says the representative is "trying on the shoes of [Sen. Joe] McCarthy."
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Anti-Abortion Group Seeks Kagan Hearing Delay
Tweet Share on Facebook May 24, 2010 Comment (4)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
One of the nation's most prominent anti-abortion groups is seeking a delay in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in order to provide the Clinton library time to find and make public her key writings while a White House lawyer and later domestic policy aide.
Americans United for Life, which is fast becoming one of the leading foes of Kagan, currently the U.S. Solicitor General, believes the documents in the Little Rock, Ark., library are important because President Obama's pick has no judicial experience and thus no written opinions from which to determine her political leanings. [See a slide show of the current members of the Supreme Court.]
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J.D. Hayworth Confident He'll Beat McCain
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (8)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
He's still behind Sen. John McCain in Arizona's GOP primary, but former Rep. J.D. Hayworth is so confident of victory that he's already planning a book. "This is the way I would like it to read," he says. "His successful challenge to Sen. John McCain shocked America and gratified conservatives from coast to coast. Now J.D. Hayworth tells the inside story of the conservative restoration from his perspective as a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Arizona. The Summer of Our Discontent chronicles the historic campaign in 2010 that will culminate in conservative majorities."
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Zogby: A Nutty Week for Obama and Democrats
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2010 Comment (6)Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he see's the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week 70:
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Democrats Push for More Black Supreme Court Clerks
Tweet Share on Facebook May 20, 2010 Comment (5)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Elena Kagan might be a Democratic fave to win the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court being vacated by Justice John Paul Stevens. But if the white, Jewish, Ivy-educated woman were applying for a top court clerk post, like the job she once held with Justice Thurgood Marshall, she might have a much harder time of it. That's because Democrats are pushing the court to hire more black and Hispanic law clerks. The issue got heated at a recent House hearing when Justice Clarence Thomas said, "the reality is that Hispanics and blacks don't show up in any great numbers" in the pool of clerks that justices choose from. California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee said the court should expand the pool, which Thomas rejected, prompting the lawmaker to suggest that Thomas's conservative decisions have "shut out" black and Hispanics from law school. Thomas didn't react.
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Rep. Smith Hopes Megan's Law Goes Global
Tweet Share on Facebook May 18, 2010 Comment (3)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
It's been nearly 16 years since 7-year-old Megan Kanka was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a notorious sex offender, but she's still inspiring legislation beyond the 1996 Megan's Law, which helps Americans find out if a registered sex offender is living in their neighborhood. Now, after a four-year fight, GOP Rep. Chris Smith, who represents Kanka's hometown of Hamilton, N.J., has won a major bid to expand Megan's Law overseas. "This is a huge deal," he tells Whispers, of winning Democratic help to bring the legislation to the House floor where he's predicting victory. Under the legislation, foreign governments would be notified by the United States if a convicted sex offender planned travel there. Those governments would also be urged to reciprocate. "We want to build a world-notification web," says Smith.
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Harry Reid Has Cheers for McConnell, Jeers for Frist
Tweet Share on Facebook May 17, 2010 Comment (5)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid doesn't suffer fools, or political imposters, gladly. Sometimes blunt to the point of being rude, the Nevada lawmaker is speaking out now on the three Republican leaders he's had to duel with. Two get praise for being worthy opponents, while one, former Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist, is sent packing like the outlaw played by Russell Crowe in the 2007 hit 3:10 to Yuma, a Reid fave. "He was the only majority leader that became majority leader because the president said so," sneers Reid in Terence Samuel's new book The Upper House, a profile of the Senate through the eyes of several members. Reid's point: Unlike Trent Lott, who Frist replaced after Lott resigned for making comments seen as racially tinged, or current GOP leader Mitch McConnell, Frist leaned on former President W. Bush for help to win instead of running on his own. In his online bio at billfrist.com, Frist brags that he "served fewer total years in Congress than any person chosen to lead that body in history." For Reid, experience still matters.
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