Posts Tagged ‘Capitol Hill’
July 26th, 2011 by John Feehery
President Obama has not been shy lately in trying to use the power of the bully pulpit to get his way on Capitol Hill.
It is not clear that his bully pulpit approach is working.
I listened to the President’s address last night on the radio (yes, I went old school), and predictably, I found his comments to be unconvincing. He talked about his balanced approach (which, to be clear, is different than a balanced budget; which is a pipe dream in his vision of the future), he blamed Republicans for being stubborn, he talked about raising taxes on the wealthy (which nobody in Congress includes in their plan), and then he used the same rhetoric he has used time and again.
I doubt the speech worked well for the President. He has been pounding on these message points for weeks, and if anything, his poll numbers have grown worse. Both Gallup and Rasmussen have found that the President has hit historically high disapproval ratings. Read more...
Tags: America, Barack Obama, Bill Daley, boehner, bully pulpit, Cantor, Capitol Hill, Congress, Congressional Republicans, Conservatives, Economy, gallup, GOP, Government, health care, House Republicans, McConnell, medicare, Obama, Politics, President Obama, raising taxes on the wealthy, Rasmussen, reform, Republicans, Senate Majority Leader, Social Security, spending, Tax cuts, taxes, Tea Party, Washington, White House
Posted in Bad Decisions, Bailouts, Economy, Financial Crisis, GOP, Government, History, Laws, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Promises, Reviews, Theory, bad news, election, health care, medicare, speeches, spending, taxes | No Comments »
April 4th, 2011 by John Feehery
As anybody who ever watched Schoolhouse Rock in the 1970’s knows (“I am just a bill, I am only a bill and I am sitting here on Capitol Hill, but I hope to be a law one day, oh, yes I know that I will, but today I am still just a bill”), it is awfully hard to make a law in this country.
You need to get a bill introduced in House Committee, have it considered on the House floor, have it introduced to a Senate Committee, pass the Senate, reconcile the two versions between the two bodies, have both versions pass both bodies again, and then send it to the President for his signature. If the President doesn’t like it, the bill goes back to the Congress, where the House and Senate can override the veto with a two-thirds vote or they can start the process over again.
This complicated process was designed to make it hard to make new laws. Despite the will of the founders, though, the Congress makes plenty of laws. Some of these laws are good ones. Many, though, are really bad. Read more...
Tags: Capitol Hill, Congress, Government, House Committee, how a bill becomes a law, how a law is passed, President, Schoolhouse Rock, Senate, Senate Committee
Posted in Government, Laws, Politics | No Comments »
March 30th, 2011 by John Feehery
I was driving into work this morning, listening to Tim Farley’s always excellent morning show on the POTUS channel of XM/Sirius radio, as he interviewed Washington D.C.’s delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Eleanor lives in my neighborhood on Capitol Hill, and when you meet her in person, she can be rather pleasant.
But politically, she is a disaster. For example, she helped to deliver us Vincent Gray, the current joke of a Mayor in the nation’s capitol.
Holmes Norton – or Eleanor, as she is known by her campaign signs – likes to believe that D.C. is her own private domain that she can rule as she likes. She likes to think that despite she has no formal vote on the floor of the House of Representatives and no real power in Congress (other than the power to shoot off her mouth, which she does with great skill).
Eleanor (if I might be so bold) is fighting hard against legislation being pushed by House Speaker John Boehner. Boehner believes that kids from families that don’t have resources, but do have dreams should have the chance to go to private grade schools and high schools. He has long fought for a small program to provide scholarships to kids to give them that chance. Read more...
Tags: Adrian Fenty, Anthony Williams, Capitol Hill, Congress, D.C school system, DC mayor, Eleanor Holmes Norton, House of Representatives, House Speaker John Boehner, Joe Lieberman, John Boehner, Michelle Rhee, Tim Farley, Vincent Gray, Washington D.C., Washington D.C. public schools
Posted in Bad Decisions, Education, Government, Politics, Theory, taxes, unions | No Comments »
January 12th, 2011 by John Feehery
I have lived on and off Capitol Hill now for more than 20 years.
I lived on the Hill in the early 1990’s during the bad old days, when the crack wars threatened the lives of many young staffers, and claimed the lives of a couple of kids who were senselessly murdered in botched robbery attempts
When the Marion Barry regime got too corrupt, I moved off the Hill into the relative safety of Virginia, only to return shortly after the 9/1l attacks. I was tired of traffic and I wanted to be closer to my job, which was three glorious blocks away.
I later got married and moved from 3rd Street to 8th Street. A longer commute (by 5 blocks), but actually a better community for raising kids, or in our case, kid. Jack arrived and we got a chance to meet the families that really make up the backbone of the Capitol Hill community.
If you work on the Hill or close to the Hill, it is so darn convenient to raise kids on the Hill, because the commute is about 3 minutes if you drive and about 15 minutes if you walk. Read more...
Tags: Ashley Turton, Capitol Hill, DeLauro, Democrats, Gephardt, Politics, Republicans
Posted in Government, History, Politics, Theory, bad news, tragedy | No Comments »
January 10th, 2011 by John Feehery
On July 24th, 1998, just as the House of Representatives concluded debate on contentious health care legislation, Russell Weston stepped into the Capitol building, fired a gun, killing Officer Jacob Chestnut. He then proceeded into the office of Majority Whip Tom DeLay, where he encountered Detective John Gibson. Gibson was able to wound Weston and stop him from killing others in the Whip’s office (including me), but not without sacrificing his own life in the process.
Weston was a deranged psychotic who held strong anti-government views. Perhaps because his target was a strong conservative leader, there was no deep concern at the time about the political rhetoric of the day. There was only concern about the alarming lack of security that surrounded the Capitol grounds, and about the fact that two brave men had given their lives in defense of their country.
The attack on Gabrielle Giffords brought back memories of that dark day thirteen years ago. Unfortunately for Giffords, she didn’t have security to separate her from a mentally unstable person who would target her for murder. She wasn’t in the Capitol. She was back in her district, doing the kinds of things that Members of Congress are supposed to do: Meeting with her constituents, answering questions and being responsive to their concerns and desires. Read more...
Tags: attack on Gabrielle Giffords, Capitol Hill, Congress, Detective John Gibson, Gabrielle Giffords, Government, House of Representatives, Jacob Chestnut, Jared Lee Loughner, Majority Whip Tom DeLay, Republican, RUSH LIMBAUGH, Russell Weston
Posted in Bad Decisions, Government, History, Liberal Media, Media, Politics, Theory, health care | No Comments »
July 6th, 2010 by John Feehery
From the roof deck at 101 Constitution.
We had an all-American Fourth of July this year on Capitol Hill. My brother came in with his wife and kids, so we were excited to soak in some of the patriotic flavor of the holiday.
We started with a local parade on 8th Street, a parade which included the Marine band from the Marine barracks, a fire truck, both a Boy Scouts troop and a Girl Scouts pack, some dogs and their owners, a few activist groups (including an anti-war float) and of course local politicians, although Mayor Fenty was a no-show.
As my sister-in-law put it, there are a lot people with a lot of opinions here.
After the parade, my brother and nephew and I went to the Nationals baseball game. What could be more patriotic than that? We stayed long enough to witness Jimmy Smits (who once served as President of the United States – Hollywood version), throw out the first pitch (which I am happy to report sailed into the catcher’s mitt), and then we all sang the National Anthem. We then caught a few innings before we leaving because we were literally melting. Read more...
Tags: 4th of July, Capitol Hill, Civil War, Independence Day, Virginia, Washington DC
Posted in Government, Politics, Theory | No Comments »
June 28th, 2010 by John Feehery
Taking my dog out for a walk in my neighborhood, I passed by two grand old houses that were clearly in a state of disrepair. I saw my friend Tony, who lives next to them, and asked what the back story was. He told me about a lady who owned several houses on Capitol Hill, where I live, who moved away but keeps ownership of the houses.
“It’s kind of a fetish thing with her. As soon as the DC government threatens to tear the houses down, she pays her back taxes and they back off,” Tony said.
The houses are eyesores. Their floors are crumbling in. Who knows what goes on inside of them?
Fetish or no, the owner’s actions are irresponsible, a threat to her neighbors’ property and a perfect reason for the government to move in and take action.
Government exists for a reason: To take collective action on behalf of the people when the general welfare requires it.
The story of the abandoned houses got me thinking about the nature of freedom in a multi-cultural society as big and as complex as the United States. The rise of the Tea Party movement has challenged the 20th century consensus for what is and what isn’t the appropriate role for government. Read more...
Tags: Ayn Rand, Capitol Hill, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Federal government, Government, Illinois, Indiana, Tea Party
Posted in Government, Politics | 1 Comment »
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