by Frank James
A quick guided tour of some of the morning's most important, most interesting, or both, Washington-related stories.
The House passed a landmark energy bill, scheduled to be signed by President Bush this morning, which would, among other things, raise auto fuel efficiency standards for the first time in 32 years, sharply increase the use of ethanol and phase out incandescent lightbulbs.
The strategy that has worked to make Iraq safer, increasing security in neighborhoods, which has led to Iraqis helping U.S. and Iraqi forces to find insurgents and their bomb-making networks and materiel, was rejected for years by important U.S. decision-makers.
The Bush Administration won its showdown with the Senate over spending, with the Senate approving a $555 billion spending package that included $70 billion in unrestricted funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, though some Republicans said the legislation contained too much spending and pork.
President Bush ordered significant cuts in the nation's nuclear arms stockpile that would reduce it to less than a quarter of its size at the Cold War's end.
The Federal Reserve's move to place greater restrictions on the kind of risky type of subprime mortgage lending that have contributed greatly to the global credit crunch is its most extensive use of its regulatory powers to date but is being criticized as too little too late by some lawmakers.
At least four senior White House lawyers talked far more extensively than was previously known about what should happen to the Central Intelligence Agency's terrorist detainee videotapes which were eventually destroyed.
The Bush Administration must answer questions about the destruction of those videotapes, a federal judge ruled, handing a defeat to the Justice Department which argued against such a determination, saying its investigators needed time to complete their probe.
Independent groups without a direct affiliation to the either of the major parties have grown to be major players in political fundraising, accounting for 19 percent of the money raised in 2006, up from seven percent in 2000.
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Comments
The Omnibus spending bill passed by congress just puts a cap on the worst year in congressional history.
Hidden in the bill are lies and deceptions on the American people that will take weeks to uncover.
One thing that has been found is that the secretly stripped out the funding for our board defense and removed the funding for the fence. The party is disgrace as long as you leave the likes of Pelosi and Reed in leadership rolls a disgusting, devious, deceitful party void of honor and integrity.
Posted by: CJ | December 19, 2007 9:03 AM
Meanwhile, in the news the DNC Swamp won't report on, the latest Gallup Poll shows that the Democratic Congress has the lowest approval ratings in history. See http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-17-congresspoll_N.htm
for the article.
Posted by: Bruce | December 19, 2007 9:31 AM
And what RNCBruce fails to mention...EVER...is that the same poll says that despited the crappy approval rating for this do nothing Congress, the American public favors Democrats over Republicans 53% to 40%. And, the worst POTUS ever, continues to have low opinion ratings. Do you ever stop smoking the RNC-pipe, Bruce, or are you just a raving moron?
Posted by: Neal | December 19, 2007 10:15 AM
Only liberal Democrats led by goofy Al Gore would put together an energy bill without drilling for oil here in America,and ANWAR while the Chinese Communists are drilling in the gulf right off the coast of Florida.
Also, refineries should be built to take the edge off and bring back Nuclear Power plants.
Raising gas miles per gallon will raise the price of vehicles without any reason to make them less affordable.
Outlawing incondescent light bulbs in favor opf those stupid Algore bulbs is crazy.
I guess it's a victory that environmental wackos never got their pound of flesh from the oil companies.
I wish the Sierra Club would be made to cease and desist they are a bunch of predators. The sound and the fury of these wackos signifies nothing but angst.Jerry White, Springfield, IL
Posted by: Jerry White | December 19, 2007 10:17 AM
Meanwhile, in more news that Brucie won't tell you about the poll he cites:
"As President Bush and Congress battle on the budget, homeland security and the war in Iraq, Americans blame both Republicans and Democrats for the impasse.
By more than 2-to-1 margins, they give the president, congressional Democrats AND congressional Republicans unfavorable ratings in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Monday. While Bush's ratings have been poor for most of the past two years, the two parties in Congress hit new lows in the poll."
"The American people just decided that Washington is either incompetent or irrelevant," said Frank Luntz, who has conducted polls for Republicans. "Republicans made promises they didn't keep, and Democrats made promises they couldn't keep. And now it's a pox on all their houses."
"Although just 30% of those polled give Democrats in Congress good marks, they favor the party by a 53%-40% margin in next year's elections. That represents a silver lining for Democrats, who achieved only a fraction of their ambitious agenda after taking over Congress."
What Brucie won't tell you is that Americans blame BOTH parties, but still trust Democrats more than Republicans.
Nice try, Brucie.
Posted by: BobinATL | December 19, 2007 12:05 PM
Bruce,
Nowhere in that article or any accompanying material does it state that "the Democratic Congress has the lowest approval ratings in history." It says they hit new lows. Please provide evidence to back up your assertion.
Further, from the linked article: "although just 30% of those polled give Democrats in Congress good marks, they favor the party by a 53%-40% margin in next year's elections.'
So, as I've said many times before, the reason Congress' approval is so low is that they have failed at STOPPING THE REPUBLICANS. How anyone can take their low approval rating as anything but a further indictment of Republican rule is beyond me.
But that's ok, the GOP will be swept AGAIN in '08 and with a 5-7 vote majority in the Senate will have much less trouble bringing on board moderate Republicans who are also looking forward to the end of the Bush regime.
Posted by: Know When to Fold 'Em | December 19, 2007 1:15 PM
Despite all their rhetoric, Democrats in the Senate fold again on Iraq funding, just like they did in April, and just like they will the next time this issue comes up. It was a battle of wills between them and the President, and it was never really a contest.
Posted by: Herbie H. | December 19, 2007 5:04 PM