The Roundup / by David Dagen

[sasha031]

I’ll probably update tonight once the votes come down in the Senate. The DREAM Act probably takes a bow tonight, in both the House and Senate, and we could see a vote for cloture on the defense authorization bill with repeal of DADT, though the latest from Sen. Collins does not look good.

UPDATE: No roll call votes tonight, as negotiations hit a snag on the defense bill. Sigh.
• According to Dave Weigel, Republican opposition to the tax cut deal is muted. And some key Democrats up in 2012 are supportive. Even Barney Frank, who opposes the bill, thinks it’ll eventually pass. We’ll see.
• No, the President was not correct about FDR and Social Security. Aside from the fact that it covered more than “widows and orphans” initially, to the extent that it improved, you can chalk that up to vociferous opposition from the left, which forced the hands of the politicians. In other words, exactly what President Obama criticized yesterday. Oh, and FDR never chartered a deficit commission.
• George H.W. Bush vocally endorses the new START treaty. Susan “Anything for a Dodge” Collins said this endorsement would be crucial for her support.
• House Democrats want to increase regulator funding in their final spending bill in the majority. It would be easier to get good regulators for the SEC and the CTFC not only by increasing overall funding, but by not subjecting these important regulators to a pay freeze.
• Another thing conspicuously missing in the tax cut deal – infrastructure spending, or at least the Build America Bonds program that helps states fund it. Without it, states could have trouble borrowing at all. Better get those bankruptcy courts for the states up and running.
more here:
http://news.firedoglake.com/