A lot of feather-puffing: Harry Reid called the GOP's Wall St. reform bluff and scheduled a Monday evening filibuster breaker, President Obama talked tough on financial overhaul, Lindsay Graham warned the Dems about immigration and Kelly Clarkson threw down with an Indonesian cigarette company. Happy Earth Day, this is HUFFPOST HILL for April 22nd, 2010:
BREAKING
REID TEES UP FINANCIAL REFORM: VOTE MONDAY - Shortly after the President concluded his Cooper Union address, Harry Reid said the Senate will hold a financial regulation test vote Monday evening to see if the Dems can manufacture a 60th vote from a pliable Republican. Reid's move, reinforced by the President's bully-pulpit address, could well put the Democrats in a can't-lose political scenario. If the test vote passes, the Dems have reform sewn up and a significant populist victory going into November (with at least one Republican vote, to boot). If the measure fails, they can paint Republicans as hostile to the interests of Main Street. http://huff.to/a8scyb
AND... BANK BREAK-UP AMENDMENT NEARLY PASSES - A proposal in the Senate Budget Committee put forward today by Bernie Sanders failed by a 12-10 vote, showing that the idea is picking up real support in the chamber.
SECOND RECONCILIATION FIGHT AHEAD Kent Conrad's Budget Committee marked up its budget resolution this afternoon and included instructions that will allow the Finance Committee - and only the Finance Committee - to write a reconciliation bill that reduces the deficit by $2 billion between 2010 and 2015. The committee would need to pass it by Sept. 23 - the thick of reelection season.
The Finance Committee has broad jurisdiction and could implement a public insurance option, expand Medicare or Medicaid and do job-creation measures. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) was able to attach an amendment, however, that proscribes exactly what can be done through reconciliation.
Gregg's amendment, which could be dropped in conference, would limit new direct spending through reconciliation to no more than 20 percent of the $2 billion saved, or $400 million. That would make it extremely hard, if not impossible, to set up a public option, or create new jobs programs, but it wouldn't stop Democrats, depending on how the amendment is interpreted, from putting the savings toward existing programs.
ON THE SCENE: GOP RAISING WALL STREET CASH WHILE OBAMA SPOKE - HuffPost's Arthur Delaney from the front lines of our Republic's slow rot: While President Obama begged Wall Street to play along with financial regulatory reform, Senate Republican leaders hobnobbed with lobbyists at a lunchtime fundraiser. Ostensibly, the fundraiser was for Sen. George LeMieux, the Florida Republican appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to keep the seat warm for Senate candidate Charlie Crist. LeMieux is not running himself. ThinkProgress blogger Lee Fang noticed that LeMieux rolled up in a car with a Crist bumper sticker. Also spotted: Sen. John Cornyn; Sen. Richard Burr; and superlobbyist Charlie Black.
No sign of invitees Mitch McConnell or John McCain, but it's possible they somehow escaped the notice of the several reporters staking out the front door. The Democratic National Committee sent a camcorder guy who seemed to be zooming in on every single person who entered the building. The lobbyists mentioned on the invite boast a wide range of clients, including many in the financial services industry.
BLANKFEIN MEETS THE PRESS - Seated in a third row of Obama's speech: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein and COO Gary D. Cohn. "I think it's very simple," Cohn said when asked by HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour why he was in attendance. "The president invited us." Blankfein added, "The president is talking about financial reform in New York City. Unless we had to be somewhere else, of course we'd be here." Asked if the SEC charge played into his decision to attend, Blankfein smiled, saying, "I gave you my answer." http://huff.to/9V79GK
Politico's Eamon Javers: "Blankfein came face to face with Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner Thursday at the president's speech in New York -- nine months after Wenner's magazine called Blankfein's bank a 'great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity.' Wenner and Blankfein had never met before. But Wenner told POLITICO that the encounter, which occurred as both men were waiting for President Barack Obama to begin his remarks on Wall Street reform at New York's Cooper Union Thursday, was cordial. The publisher said Blankfein approached him before the speech began and said, 'I feel like I know you,' mentioning the vampire squid article." http://bit.ly/bzGE15
Guardian's Andrew Clark: "I caught up with [Blankfein] just as he was leaving the auditorium. ... 'What did you think of the speech?' Without a flicker of acknowledgement, Blankfein, 55, stared ahead and continued walking. Walking alongside him, I asked: 'Mr Blankfein, has your company done anything wrong?' The Goldman boss was having none of it, striding onward without a sound. I tried again: 'Mr Blankfein, what do you think of the SEC's charges against your company?' Still no response." http://bit.ly/bjHfZz
REPUBLICAN JOINS CALL FOR GOLDMAN CRIMINAL PROBE - The House Democratic effort to persuade Eric Holder to launch a criminal investigation into Goldman Sachs is now officially bipartisan, thanks to Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), who wants a piece of the action. Roughly 50 lawmakers have now signed on. The catch phrase: Goldman isn't "too big to jail." Ba-dum-dum. http://huff.to/d56jwP
HOW THE NY POST WELCOMED OBAMA TO TOWN - Not very warmly: http://huff.to/9f3nWn
SENATE BILL WEAK ON FED AUDIT - The reform bill headed for a test vote Monday night will allow the Federal Reserve to continue to pump trillions of dollars into major banks largely in secrecy, the co-author of House language that would open the central bank to an audit charged in a memo to the Senate, provided to HuffPost Hill. "The Senate has a provision in its reform bill that purports to audit the Fed. But, it really doesn't do anything of the sort. I'm going to run down the details for you, and reprint the legislative language so you can read it yourself," writes Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.). It would not allow the GAO to look into the Fed's massive purchase of toxic assets, its hundreds of billions in foreign currency swaps with other central banks or its open market operations, among other restrictions. Merkley tells HuffPost Hill he agrees with Grayson. Chris Dodd, however, is no fan of auditing the Fed. http://huff.to/c2yf3V
BUSH-ERA OFFICIAL CHARGED - Scott Bloch, who headed whistleblower protection under the Bush administration, has been charged with criminal contempt of Congress. AP's Pete Yost reports, "Bloch withheld information from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during the Bush administration, according to a two-page filing in federal court by the U.S. attorney's office here." http://huff.to/avaYqm
TOMORROW'S PAPERS TODAY - THE HILL's Russell Berman on whether Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are agreeing to move immigration ahead of climate change... Sir Elton John in Sunday's WaPo with "a poignant letter to his friend Ryan White, 20 years after he died from AIDS."
GRAHAM DISINVITED FROM PENTAGON PRAYER DAY - AP: "Christian evangelist Franklin Graham says the Army has withdrawn an invitation for him to appear at a special Pentagon prayer service. In a statement Thursday, Graham said he regrets the Army's decision and will continue to pray for the troops. Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, in 2001 described Islam as evil. More recently, he has said he finds Islam offensive and wants Muslims to know that Jesus Christ died for their sins."
ON THE TUBE - Dylan Ratigan talked Wall Street fixes with Blanche Lincoln and Mike Pence... Chris Matthews had Arlen Specter... Sherrod Brown and our own Sam Stein will be on Ed Schultz. ... TONIGHT: Rep. Kendrick Meek on John King, USA. ... TOMORROW: Elijah Cummings and scribe-of-the-moment Mark Leibovich are on Morning Joe. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair on tomorrow's CNBC "Power Lunch" at 1:00PM ET.
HILDEBRAND JOINS 'FAITH IN AMERICA' - From the release: "Faith In America announced today that Steven Hildebrand has joined the organization as adviser and strategist. Hildebrand, who served as deputy campaign manager for the Obama campaign, will assist the organization with its strategic planning as the organization moves to broaden its outreach and impact, said Faith In America Founder Mitchell Gold."
'POTOMAC-O' HAS A REAL NAME - Albritton's yet-to-launch DC metro project now has a name: TBD. Explanation here: http://www.tbd.com
TRENDING
GREED IS BAD - POTUS' Wall Street speech kept the chattering class busy. Jonathan Chait on the President's citing a 1933 Time article about bankers blowing a gasket over the New Deal's market initiatives: "Obama's point was that bankers were overreacting to a necessary reform. That's not completely true. The Glass-Steagall Act did save the banking system, but it wasn't necessarily good for bankers themselves. Bank regulation made banking a 'boring' industry with healthy but reasonable incomes. Deregulation has helped turn into into a monster that produces nearly half of all corporate profits. If Obama is saying his reform won't hurt the interests of bankers, then he's saying that it won't work as well as it should." http://bit.ly/70knmA
WHAT (ELSE) MIKE ALLEN IS READING -- Times of London, "Leaders take part in second TV debate" -- Liveblogging Britain's second televised, U.S-style debate ahead of May 6 elections: "Cameron: Look at the bickering here tonight, imagine what it would be like in a hung Parliament ... Clegg: you have to be given the chance to sack corrupt politicians. We all agree on the rhetoric but we have to act. ... Brown: I've been on trains all the time during the campaign, only one plane. (Doesn't mention that Labour can't afford a plane.) And I've put a solar panel on my roof, not a wind turbine (dig at Cameron). " http://bit.ly/9uGK30
EARTH'S DAY IN THE SUN - As Washington geared up for Wall Street overhaul, people worldwide marked the 40th annual Earth Day. Vice President Joe Biden offered his two cents in an Earth Day blog post on HuffPost: "We've been celebrating Earth Day for 40 years now, but the truth is that today may be the first one where we are truly able to say that we have started down the road to a real clean energy economy -- and a better world for our kids. Since the beginning of the environmental movement, we've been trying to transform the way we use energy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels to tap into our vast, untapped, renewable energy sources and to use energy more efficiently. The fact is we've been trying for 40 years, and we've made some progress. " http://huff.to/a8QtUp
Bill McKibben doesn't share the VP's rosy outlook: "To mark Earth Day this year, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) were supposed to introduce their long-awaited rewrite of the House's climate legislation. Now that's been delayed for at least a few days, which is probably just as well, since as Graham points out, it's no longer really an environmental bill. "'I'm all for protecting the planet, but this is about energy independence,' Graham said last week. The bill's emission reductions are weakened by offsets and loopholes -- and to win support for even those concessions, it offers the fossil-fuel industries a glittering collection of door prizes. President Obama himself has already offered the first of these bent-knee offerings: a return to the full-on offshore drilling that was one of the targets of the first Earth Day. Now a new generation will have a chance to experience its own Santa Barbara oil spill, with its iconic oil-soaked birds." http://bit.ly/d6DeAh
GRAHAM AIN'T HAPPY EITHER - So much for the groovy eco-sentiment engendered by Earth Day. Lindsay Graham thinks the Democrats are torpedoing climate change legislation by moving fast on immigration reform. Graham told reporters such moves are "CYA [Cover-your-ass] politics" and said expediting immigration overhaul would "destroy the ability to do something like energy and climate." http://bit.ly/9HHCAV
VPOTUS ON "THE VIEW" - Joe Biden appeared on The View today and turned in a bizarrely awesome performance, discussing everything from the sales tax to Iran to the Veep's now infamous F-bomb. Not since Danny DeVito's hungover Bush rant scared the bejeezus out of Elisabeth Hasselbeck - http://bit.ly/7h4SI - has politics on The View been this good. When asked about Sarah Hey-Can-I-Call-Ya-Joe Palin by Hasselbeck, Biden called the former Alaska Governor "charming." http://bit.ly/cQJf9J
2010 MONEY WAR UPDATE - 'Dems Have Cash Advantage In Senate Battlegrounds,' TPM's Christina Bellantoni reports. http://bit.ly/bb5IO4
CANDIDATE ACCUSES OPPONENT OF NOT BEING GAY - A Philly politician has accused her opponent of being...ahem...straight. Babette Josephs levied the accusation against Gregg Kravitz, the challenger for her State House Seat, saying Kravitz doesn't put his money where his mouth is. TPM's Rachel Slajda: "Josephs contended that her challenger, Gregg Kravitz, had said he was gay, then brought a 'girlfriend' to an event and now says he is bisexuaL -- a ploy, she says, to get the votes of the district's LGBT voters. 'He's said so many things to so many different people that I am puzzled,' said Josephs, a widow. The issue, she said, is Kravitz's credibility. Kravitz -- whose campaign sent the audio of Josephs' remarks to the paper -- denied the charges that his bisexuality is a beard." http://bit.ly/a7G9JS
NYT IN THE GREEN (OR SLIGHTLY LESS RED)- Chalk one up for old media. The New York Times posted better-than-expected earnings today. http://huff.to/crc8dB
HUFFPOST HICCUP - In an embarrassing moment of
Freudian word-vomit, we said in Tuesday's lede that Kal Penn had been ARRESTED when the actor-turned-politico-turned actor had actually been MUGGED (at least we got it right in the article's body). Despite Kal's close association with certain recreational drugs, we have no reason to believe that he is anything but an upstanding citizen. 1000 apologies.
COMFORT FOOD
- An Indonesian cigarette company has pulled its sponsorship of Kelly Clarkson's Jakarta concert after the singer denounced the agreement with the company she had actually signed. http://bit.ly/bbrghw
- Google has a *kangaroo* at its New York office. http://huff.to/aEMR00
- "Joe Biden Looking Crazy: A Photographic Tribute" http://huff.to/9TFOr2
- The trustworthiness of beards, a visual guide. http://bit.ly/9L77jY
- Every infomercial "Doing it wrong" moment in one epic compilation. http://huff.to/dpuM30
- A rundown of Someecards' best Earthy Day selections. http://bit.ly/bcHITc
- A few days old, yes, but enjoy the Darwinian wonder that is SHEEP-PIG, courtesy of the Awl http://bit.ly/9DZx4Z
TIWTTERAMA
MikeRiggs: Of all the journo career moves I've heard about recently, I can't think of a single one that was posted on a j-jobs site. #whatdoesthatmean
mattyglesias: BREAKING: Obama's prepared remarks for Wall Street reform address say Obama's proposals are good, opponents are wrong.
benpolitico: Wondering where in DC one can buy a Mac power cord...help?
timfernholz: Currently pitching NYTM with an 8,000 word profile of @ryangrim and the HuffPost Hill. That's a man with secrets.
ON TAP
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm: Our life goals - 1. Cartwheel down Mt. Everest. 2. Resurrect Carl Sagan for doubles badminton. 3. Play video games with the Vice Chairs of the DCCC. You can do the third at Entertainment Software Association's Happy Hour and Game Night. We hear Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is a total camper [Entertainment Software Association, 575 7th Street NW Suite 300].
6:00 pm: Sarah Silverman, best known in DC for "The Great Schlep" and best known by us for porking Matt Damon, will be signing copies of her new book "The Bedwetter" at Borders [Borders, 18th & L Streets NW].
7:00 pm: A MUST ATTEND for all those gearing up for immigration overhaul. Mr. Cokie Roberts, Steven V. Roberts discusses the modern immigrant experience and his book "From Every End of this Earth: 13 Families and the new lives they made in America" at the National Archives [National Archives].
8:00 pm: FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH MONEY: Napoleon will be hosting Champagne Trivia Night. The upscale Francophone restaurant/club rewards winners with bottles of champagne, which is kind of like Carlo Rossi with bubbles. E-mail LHarrod@clsdc.com to reserve [Napoleon, 1847 Columbia Road NW].
TOMORROW
8:30 am - 9:30 am: Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) hosts a breakfast fundraiser at the Govt Relations firm Porterfield, Lowenthal and Fetting, LLC. We hear Porterfield, Lowenthal and Fetting, LLC makes an amazing egg frittata [Porterfield, Lowenthal and Fettig, LLC, 415 2nd St. NE Suite 200].
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