House Republicans seem to have learned nothing from their recent government shutdown fiasco. They see a "political trap" in upcoming budget negotiations, because Democrats are going to want to see some sort of tax increase on top incomes in exchange for whatever it is Republicans want. In other words, the sort of give-and-take that is -- by definition -- a part of any good faith negotiation is seen as a "trap" and anything other than checking off every item on their laundry list is complete surrender. This ought to go well.
A couple of things you need to know about a judge's decision on Texas' sweeping anti-abortion law.
Related: fresh off a 2012 win, Sen. Tammy Baldwin's campaign manager Karin Johanson is off to lead Wendy Davis' campaign for Governor of Texas. Baldwin, one of the most liberal members of congress, beat Wisconsin's most popular Republican former governor in her successful race for her Senate seat. Johanson knows her stuff.
Nearly 10,000 people have been shot and killed since the Newtown Massacre. Of course, we can't do anything to stop this ongoing slaughter, because the gun lobby and their brainless defenders believe this is a perfectly acceptable level of carnage. Nothing to see here, move along.
The surest sign that US surveillance has gone too far: Dick Cheney's a fan. For their part, the White House seems to have gotten the message, but we'll need to see if anything gets passed the smiley talk phase before getting too excited.
Polling shows that coverage of Obamacare's website problems has increased interest in the Affordable Care Act. Was it P.T. Barnum who said there was no such thing as bad publicity? Whoever it was, this is evidence in their argument's favor.
Are Tea Party Republicans really made bulletproof by gerrymandered congressional districts? Maybe not.
Finally, Louisiana Governor Bobbie Jindal is probably the worst person in America to argue that Republicans need to wage a "war of ideas." All of Jindal's ideas have sucked so hard they're dragging him down.
[Cartoon via McClatchy Newspapers]
