Good morning everyone.
Nothing dominates the mind on this quasi holiday Friday. Can I begin by saying how much I don't care about Matt Lauer's bad week? Trust me folks, there are some people who've had it worse, or am I supposed to feel sorry for a healthy 55-year-old New York City denizen who's taking down $25 million per year? Besides, Charlie Rose is the man in the morning these days...
Congress remains off for another week from doing any legislating in Washington. President Obama is scheduled to meet once again with Senate Republicans for a dinner on April 10, the day after legislators come back from whatever they've been up to. I don't know anyone who doesn't think it's a good idea for the president to meet with opposition leaders in order to try to come up with some bipartisan solutions to try to move the country forward, but I do have to ask if it's possible.
I say that after an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal by Liz Cheney. who formerly worked in the State Department for President Bush, is a frequent Fox News contributor, and oh yeah, is Dick Cheney's daughter. Cheney is one Republican who doesn't seem to have any desire to break bread or work with the president, writing that he has "launched a war on religious freedom," as well as fossil fuels, is working to "pre-emptively disarm the United States," and is also simply "the most radical man ever to occupy the Oval Office."
But surely she doesn't speak for the party as a whole. Right?
Speaking of Republicans who don't like President Obama, Rick Scott is traveling to Dallas tonight to watch the big Florida-UFGC NCAA tourney game that start a little after 10 p.m. tonight, a game we're looking forward to checking out.
The gov held a conference call yesterday in advance of Obama's visit today to PortMiami, where he lambasted the commander in chief for failing to pay what he said was the feds fair share for port development.
Have you noticed how few Democrats are willing to speak up about what they really think the economy needs to get jump-started in terms of unemployment? That would be more short-term spending. Credit the GOP with changing the debate so that deficit reduction, and not creating conditions for job growth, is now de rigueur in our nation's capitol.
But Kathy Castor isn't so reluctant. The Tampa Democrat held a news briefing yesterday at a steel manufacturer yesterday, showing support for a "Buy American" proposal floating in Congress.
The League of Women Voters is down on yet another GOP proposal in Tallahassee that they say would politicize the court system.
And please check out feature in this week's CL: It's on the very interesting machinations going on up in Tallahassee regarding the parent trigger bill, or as it's being called this year, parent empowerment.
