Friday's Starting Lineup
Good Friday morning. Who's excited for the big Redskins-Cowboys showdown this weekend? With an 11-point line favoring Dallas, we're guessing not Redskins fans.
Here's Hotline OnCall's Starting Lineup on a clear blue Friday, the people who will make news today:
SEN. MARY LANDRIEU: The LA Dem has emerged as perhaps the most important vote in the Senate ahead of the rare weekend session. With Sen. Maj. Leader Harry Reid's decision to hold a key test vote Saturday p.m., Dems need all 60 members to move forward to a debate, and Landrieu and fellow centrists Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) are getting pressure from all sides as they contemplate their vote. But unlike Nelson and Lincoln, who have made positive but noncommittal statements in the last several days, Landrieu has actually said she is considering voting no.
So, what will Reid and the admin do to win her vote? How about $100M to plug holes in LA's Medicaid insurance program? That little treat is included in Reid's bill, the Baton Rouge Advocate notes. That's not the only pressure she will get: VP Biden, who has spent time on the Hill this week, will be making calls today as well.
Overlooked in the debate: Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who says he will filibuster final passage if it has a public option, and Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Reid said 11/19 he's had recent conversations with both of the GOP centrists, he told MSNBC's First Read.
(REID WILSON)
THE CBC: CBC members have been some of Pres. Obama's biggest backers, but they are delaying regulatory reform out of frustration with the admin's slow response to the mounting jobs crisis. House Fin Services Cmte chair Barney Frank has delayed passage of a key piece of regulatory reform -- something that was supposed to happen this week -- until at least 12/1 in order to find a solution to the CBC's concerns.
The CBC causing problems is but a symptom of a growing malady for the admin: Even their top supporters are getting itchy. Dems are eager to get health care off the table and move on to a jobs bill, while some are joining GOPers in picking admin members to scapegoat. As mentioned yesterday, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) became the first major Dem to call on Treas. Sec. Tim Geithner to step down, and even Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said Geithner has not been consistent in dealings with China, as the Washington Post points out.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN: The NRSC chair has had recruiting victories this year, convincing top-flight candidates to run in NH, OH, FL, CO, MO, DE and IL. He hasn't always been able to avoid primary challenges, and the media (yours truly included) loves covering the internecine feuds developing in those states -- as much as NRSC staffers hate it, the contests are a microcosm of a larger battle for the soul of the party, a battle moderates are, for the moment, losing.
But Cornyn could be on the cusp of scoring another huge recruit, as ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) contemplates a return to electoral politics. If Hizzoner jumps in the race against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), it will be the latest major win for the GOP, and for Cornyn's team.
One thing that has already changed dramatically this year: While the discussion at the beginning of the cycle centered on how many seats Dems would pick up, the opportunity to make this a winning cycle now rests with the GOP. That, in itself, is a huge win.
If Tommy Thompson were to actually run against Feingold in WI Senate tht would be anothe huge coup for Cornyn, to take a solid D seat to a toss-up and with CA put 10 D seats in play? Huge...