Source: TPM

Ordinarily the president would speak directly with leadership. But as the White House sees it, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have been unwilling to begin a discussion about averting the sequester in a balanced way. The two GOP leaders have repeatedly ruled out raising any new revenue. So Obama is searching for Republicans who are willing to engage.

As part of his outreach, Obama has invited a number of Republican senators to dinner on Wednesday night at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington. Those expected to attend, according to The Associated Press, are Sens. Graham, John McCain (AZ), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Roy Blunt (MO), Pat Toomey (PA), Rob Portman (OH), Bob Corker (TN) and Ron Johnson (WI).

Graham said the broad consensus is that the deficit must be reduced by cutting long-term entitlement spending and extracting revenues by reforming the tax code to eliminate deductions.

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/obama-outreach-gop-senators-grand-bargain.php?ref=fpb

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If these monsters are suddenly praising Obama, he must really be telling them what they want to hear.

And if he's telling them what they want to hear, he's willing to give them what they want.

Which means those of us dependent on Social Security and Medicare are going to be screwed. Because these monsters are NOT going to be satisfied with any action that doesn't screw us.

The inauguration should be a secular ceremony.

As it is, it's like a Christian revival meeting.

Turned off and tuned out.

Words, words, words I'm so sick of words!
I get words all day through,
First from him, now from you,
Is that all you blighters can do?!

To say the least, I was NOT impressed with President Obama's speech which I did not have the chance to watch, so just read instead.

I read it twice to make sure what I thought I must have missed the first time, I had NOT missed.

And no, I had not missed it. It was not in there. That is, tere was not a single mention of guns.

Not. A. Single. Mention.

Unbelievable.

President Obama:

Show me - NOW!

(I won't be holding my breath.)

Another mass murder!

CHILDREN this time!

Oh, goody, says the NRA in private! GUN SALES WILL GO THROUGH THE ROOF!

The more people shot dead in a senseless mass murder, the more people will arm themselves!

ARM THOSE CHILDREN TOO!

After all, if one of those kids had had an assault rifle, that crazy dad would be toast now, right?

In conclusion, FUCK the NRA, FUCK guns, and FUCK gun culture. It's destroying our land.

But I've just been reading post after post lauding Chuck Hagel of all people.

Lots of DEMOCRATS here on this board would be perfectly fine with President Obama nominating this very conservative REPUBLICAN with his very conservative (i.e. PRO-war, PRO-Wall Street, ANTI-female reproductive rights) voting record to the very influential and visible position of SECRETARY OF STATE.

Going on record in my own thread to state my total opposition to Chuck Hagel being part of the Obama Administration in any way.

I HOPE this is only a rumor. If it isn't, it's just another slap in the face from the president to his base who are NOT Repubicans and expect him to have a Democratic cabinet!

Source: TMZ

Mitt Romney was heavily involved in the extremely messy divorce of one of his key supporters ... and the Boston Globe is going to court first thing Wednesday morning in an attempt to unseal the court file as well as lift a gag order ... TMZ has learned.

The divorce was between Staples co-founder Tom Stemberg and his first wife Maureen. We're told the divorce battle lasted for years and was extremely ugly.

Sources tell us Romney gave both a deposition in the divorce and testified in the trial. According to our sources, the Boston Globe got a tip that there was "juicy information about Romney" in the sealed documents.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/10/23/mitt-romney-divorce-thomas-stemberg-maureen-staples-gloria-allred-boston-globe/

Source: Sam Stein, Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- Concern is mounting among some Senate Democrats that President Barack Obama will make a deal with Senate Republicans during the lame-duck session that would result in changes to the benefit structure of Social Security.

One of the most progressive voices in the caucus, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), said he was heartened to hear Obama tell the AARP last week that he'd be open to raising the cap on income that's taxed for purposes of paying into the Social Security trust fund. Sanders also applauded the president for taking off of the table any reform language that resulted in the "slashing" of benefits (several Social Security advocates, disagreeing with Sanders, said they were worried such language was counterproductive, as it opens the door for cuts that could be deemed minor).

But the Vermont Independent worried that all of this could be posturing for the lame-duck session immediately after the election, when lawmakers are expected to rush to find another "grand bargain" on tax and entitlement reform to stave off the so-called fiscal cliff.

"That's exactly what's going to happen," Sanders said of Social Security being on the proverbial table, "Unless someone of us stops it -- and a number of us are working very hard on this -- that's exactly what will happen. Everything being equal, unless we stop it, what will happen is there will be a quote-unquote grand bargain after the election in which the White House, some Democrats will sit down with Republicans, they will move to a chained CPI."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/obama-and-social-security_n_1910498.html

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Given President Obama's willingness to bend over backwards to meet some Republican demands at the expense of his own supporters, this article certainly troubles me, given that Bernie Sanders, whom I greatly respect, is troubled by the potential outcome.

I told her that there was no use in asking me for a contribution because I had made up my mind and here's what I was going to do.

If President Obama bows to the Catholic bishops over contraceptive coverage, then I will NOT contribute to his campaign.

If President Obama does not bow to the Catholic bishops over contraceptive coverage, then I WILL contribute to his campaign.

I politely asked to be removed from the calling list because there is no point in calling me again.

Then I hung up while she was sputtering.

Sadly, I do not expect to be contributing to President Obama's campaign; not after the Plan B chickening out.