Politico has only written 90 stories on the Herman Cain saga, so the teetering candidate has barely even begun to feel its wrath. (Really. 90.) The unemployment rate fell back to 9 percent, giving the remaining jobless an extra hour of sleep. And the long, dark days in Washington that we'll tell our grandchildren about are finally over: The Tune Inn has reopened. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, November 4, 2011:
WHITE HOUSE SAYS NO THANKS TO SOLYNDRA SUBPOENA - Sam Stein: "The White House Counsel's Office has formally rejected a congressional subpoena of documents relating to the $535 million loan guarantee that the administration shepherded for Solyndra, the now-defunct solar energy company. In a letter to the chairs of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, Kathryn H. Ruemmler, counsel to the president, calls the request for documents made by House Republicans a 'vast fishing expedition' and a 'significant intrusion on Executive Branch interests.'" [HuffPost]
PEOPLE UN-OCCUPYING THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS - People are actually moving their money out of big banks, even though it's a pain in the ass. "In the past month, more than 650,000 new accounts have been opened at credit unions alone, according to the Credit Union National Association, a trade group representing credit unions. That compares to 600,000 new accounts in all of 2010." And it's not even Bank Transfer Day until tomorrow! [HuffPost]
BOEHNER OPEN TO TAX HIKES - House Speaker John Boehner signaled he's open to hiking taxes as part of a plan to cut the deficit. "I think there's room for revenue but there's clearly a limit to the revenues that may be available," he said. "Without real reform on the entitlement side, I'm not even going to put any new revenue on the table." Hmm. Kinda sounds like he wants a Grand Bargain of some kind. [HuffPost]
DEMOCRATS: WE WILL WIN THE SUPERBOWL THIS SEASON - Mike McAuliff: "The economy may be in the doldrums and his Democratic President's approval rating may be there as well, but Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel insists he can pull off a historic takeover of the House of Representatives next year. 'We have gone from a gale-force wind against us to a sustained breeze at our backs,' Steve Israel said in a briefing Friday at the Democrats' national headquarters in Washington, referring to the 2010 election in which Republicans crushed his party, grabbing 63 seats....'If I were the House Republicans, I'd be more worried about the House Republicans' numbers than the president's numbers.'" [HuffPost]
HERMAN CAIN IS KOCH HELLSPAWN - Herman Cain served another heaping portion of charming weirdness today. "I'm proud to know the Koch brothers. I'm very proud to know the Koch brothers. They make it sound like that we have had time to go fishing together, hunting together, scheme together, golfing together," Cain told the audience. "Just so I can clarify this to the media, this may be a new announcement for the media: I am the Koch brothers' brother from another mother. Yes. I am their brother from another mother, and proud of it. You see, the reason that I am running for president, folks, is because I want to unite the United States of America, not divide the United States of America." [HuffPost]
PARANOID SELF-LOATHING GOP LOBBYIST IS ANNOYED WHITE HOUSE PALS AROUND WITH 1 PERCENT - Our favorite Paranoid Self-Loathing GOP Lobbyist took a break from stockpiling seeds to complain to us that administration officials are hanging out with business fatcats. Here's how it was described in this morning's Politico Influence newsletter: "K Street and White House officials turned out Thursday evening for a 'Welcome Reception' at the Capitol Hilton on the eve of the White House Business Council and the Business Forward Business Leader's Forum." Attendees included biz leaders and honchos from the administration and K Street. "Imagine the outrage had the Bush administration done this. They've even got patriotic 1% banking lobbyists coming in," PSLGOPL wrote, "My head is spinning." Thanks, PSLGOPL!
Politico has published more than 90 stories on the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - Fewer people were out of work for longer than six months in October, which could signal that the long-term jobless are finding jobs. But maybe not. The number of long-term unemployed fell 366,000 to 5.9 million, the Labor Department announced Friday. But since it first topped 6 million at the end of 2009, the size of the population coping with six or more months of joblessness hasn't changed much. The latest datapoint represents the third time the number of long-term jobless dipped below 6 million this year. Each of the two previous times, it went back above 6 million the next month. In other words, October's decline in long-term joblessness is small potatoes. [HuffPost]
DOUBLE DOWNER - There were 4.4 million people who'd been out of work a full year in October 2010. That number has fallen to 4.1 million. But the number of very long-term jobless -- people out of work 99 weeks or longer -- tells a more a discouraging story.
At this time in 2010, there were 1.5 million jobless who'd passed the 99 week mark. Now there are 1.8 million. The 99 week milestone is significant because once someone's been out of work that long, he or she no longer qualifies for unemployment insurance. To be counted as unemployed, a person has to actively search for work -- so declines in unemployment could reflect people finding jobs, but they could also reflect people giving up their search out of hopelessness. :(
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RICK PERRY APOLOGIZES FOR EMPATHY - Rick Perry is SO SORRY about that time he said it was "heartless" to oppose discounting college tuition for undocumented immigrants. Perry appeared on Iowa's WHO Radio Friday. "I made a huge error by using that word," he reportedly said. It happens to lots of guys, man. [HuffPost]
GET THE SUPERCOMMITTEE DRUNK - Our own Howard Fineman thinks the Tune Inn can solve America's problems. "If the congressional super committee held its secret deliberations in a booth at the Tune Inn, under the watchful eyes of the dead deer and the salty waitresses of a certain age, we would have a deal well before the third pitcher of Natty Boh was served." Howard is right. [HuffPost]
GEORGE W. BUSH REPEATS CLAIM HE CAN READ, WRITE - In Whichita, George W. Bush joked about how when he memoir came out, people were shocked. "People didn't think I could read, let alone write." He said basically the same thing last year. We believe you, sir! [HuffPost]
TYLER KINGKADE'S NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Some of the biggest banks are offering foreclosure reviews for 4.5 million people. But ProPublica found it's really unclear what benefits the consumers would receive. Speaking of those big banks, many of them have a "less than zero" percent income tax rate. Wells Fargo, for instance, collected $681 million from taxpayers after making $49.3 billion in profits in 2008-10. The Department of Justice thought about changing Freedom of Information Act rules to let government agencies lie in order to deny access to public records. US Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) were pissed, as was a coalition of advocacy groups. On Thursday, the DOJ decided maybe that wasn't a good rule. The National Organization for Marriage is pumping a bunch of money into a small Iowa state senate race. Why? Because if a Republican is elected, it tips the balance of power and there will likely be some anti-gay legislation passed.
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Pandas are jerks. [http://youtu.be/brNmeGQHm3Q]
PROPS TO OUR COMMENTERS - We're proud of our commenters over here. Not only do we not hide them, we encourage them. Not only do we encourage them, we praise them. This Bud's for you, backinthewestagain. [HuffPost]
JEREMY'S WEATHER REPORT - What makes a nice autumn weekend? For starters, a bit of chill in the air. A chill, such as 60-ish degrees with wind chill that adds a bit of a nippy breeze. Clear skies will add to the fall feeling all three days. It will get cold at night, though. So be warned. Thanks, JB!
(@BRADJSHANNON'S) COMFORT FOOD
- Two whales nearly swallow a surfer in California. Whales are terrifying. [http://youtu.be/qoP1N0OyFic]
- Peter Griffin as a desert-dwelling mammal. [http://youtu.be/fVXkEYZU7OQ]
- Here's today's lesson in hippo hygiene. [http://youtu.be/Yt22XnfPjz0]
- Did that T-Mobile ad just say what I think it said? [http://youtu.be/fcYWGwQu2WI]
- Here's today's lesson in hedgehog hygiene. [http://youtu.be/P7LRZkIjtl8]
- Exclusive sneak preview of the next GOP debate. [http://youtu.be/yVEsayVGKA8?t=1m45s]
TWITTERAMA
@ktumulty: kind of unfair that women don't have an equivalent of "brother from another mother." maybe, "sister from another mister"?
@TheAHuff: Dippin' Dots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, officially making it 'The Ice Cream of the Future of the Past.'
@ArthurDelaneyHP: Michele Bachmann email two days ago: "Get my book before anyone else!" Bachmann email today: "Can I send you my book?"
(CHRISTINA WILKIE'S) ON TAP
Tonight, 7:30 p.m.: The Iowa Republican Party hosts its 2011 Ronald Reagan dinner, traditionally a must-attend event for GOP presidential candidates and state party poobahs. So who's got other plans tonight? Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain. Suffice to say we're shocked. Just shocked. [Hy-Vee Hall, Des Moines, Iowa]
Tonight, 5:30 p.m.: Mitt Romney will distribute stiff handshakes for $1,000 apiece in Philadelphia, after which he's got a slumber party with Huntsman and Cain. [Rittenhouse Hotel, Philadelphia]
7:30 p.m. The Idaho State Society is hosting a shindig called STOMP. $20 open bar and a live band promises a Friday night just like the ones back in Idaho. Which is a damn good thing. [American Legion Post 8 - 224 D Street, SE]
9:00 p.m.: Recently laid-off congressional staffer Danny Ross will play IOTA with his nine piece brass band, after which he has promised to head down to McPherson Square for an encore with #OWS folks. [2832 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va.]
All weekend long: The NRSC will host its annual fall retreat on Sea Island, Ga., and now that John Ensign's gone, Saxby Chambliss is the Senate's best golfer. We're guessing he'll have a few chances to prove it before Monday.
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