Better Donkey

A recent CNN poll had some astounding results. The majority of those polled said they believed that public broadcasting receives at least 1 percent of the federal budget.

Yeah?

In Fiscal 2010, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting received $506 million. The federal budget was about $3.46 trillion. That's a lot less than 1 percent of the budget.

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Whew. What a relief. The federal government didn't shut down in April 2011. Lawmakers and the president went right up to the brink and in the end did not choose to relive 1995 and 1996 when the government went through two shutdowns, one lasting five days and the other 21 days.

People didn't have to worry about whether they'd get their Social Security checks. Federal employees didn't have to worry about whether they'd get paid.

The bottom line is that this is no way to run a government. But as they say, democracy is messy. Is there a solution to this constant worrying about government shutdowns and whether Congress will keep the government funded?

Yes, but it is not universally liked and so it has not been embraced by a majority of the members of Congress. It's a so-called Automatic Continuing Resolution.

Here's what would happen if this plan was made a law.  If in the future Congress failed to pass legislation in time to keep th...

Two great political journalists died recently. One, David Broder, was one of the best-known journalists in the country. The other, Mike Posner, would be recognized by few outside the United States Capitol.  Both were among the finest journalists ever to set foot on The Hill.

Broder's story is well known.  Often referred to as the dean of the Washington press corps, Broder was a Pulitzer-prize winning columnist for The Washington Post.  He was instantly recognizable across the nation from his appearances on "Meet the Press" and other television programs.  He died at age 81 last month.

To be honest, most of us political reporters wanted to be David Broder when we grew up. He seemed to know everyone and everything. He wrote with authority because he knew what he was writing about. Calm and measured, Broder easily could be mistaken for a college professor.

Posner, on the other hand, could be mistaken for someone decidedly down on h...

Once upon a time, the United States Senate was known as the "World's Greatest Deliberative Body."  But in recent years, watching the Senate in action (if you can call it that) is like watching paint dry. The soundtrack of the chamber no longer is a Senator debating, but instead is the classical music played by C-SPAN as the Senate does nothing.

Partisanship and a close party division in the Senate have caused the body to ground to a halt. Rules that were designed to protect the minority party are now used to block legislation and nominations. The Senate was designed to protect the minority but not this way.

History tells us that Thomas Jefferson,visiting George Washington, asked why the Constitutional Convention had created the Senate. "Why did you pour that coffee into your saucer?" asked Washington. 'To cool it," said Jefferson. "Even so," responded Washington, "we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it."

A major part of the...

Since Oct. 1, the federal government has been funded by five short-term measures called Continuing Resolutions. They have lasted from several days to several weeks while Congress dithers over how much money to spend.  Most of the resolutions call for funding programs at last year's levels. Several times, it has been unclear whether Congress would be able to pass a resolution in time. If funding lapsed, most of the federal government would shut down. The only exceptions would be essential services such as law enforcement and defense.

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Republicans dominated the 2010 midterm elections (at least in the House of Representatives), where they'll own a healthy majority come January.  Democrats, meanwhile, held onto their advantage in the Senate.  Democrats' victories included one by Majority Leader Harry Reid, who was locked in a contentious battle with Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle.

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Obama is slated to give a big national address on Iraq the Iraq war on Tuesday

A report on CNN says that Rep. John Boehner plans to give a "prebuttal" today via a Web video.

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From Wall Street Journal: "A little-known favorite of the tea-party movement appeared close Wednesday to ousting Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the scion of a political dynasty in Alaska, leaving former Gov. Sarah Palin poised to draw more blood in a long-running feud with the Murkowski family."

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Mother Jones has a good piece out about Glenn Beck and has "Restoring Honor" rally coming up tomorrow at the Lincoln Memorial - complete with a visit from Sarah Palin.

Beck has repeatedly told people coming to DC not to bring political signs. What? No signs? The hallmark of the last year's worth of tea party rallies that he helped fuel? But it's true. In an info packet on his website about the rally, Beck instructs, 'Please refrain from bringing signs (political or otherwise) as they may deter from the peaceful message we are bringing to Washington.'"

Sound laughable? Check out the story.

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The AP is out with a story about how political ads have surpased 2006 levels.  It reports that candidates for state and federal office have spent $395 million on ads for the November elections. That's compared to $286 million at the stage in the 2006 midterms.

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