By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Have you thanked your taxpayer today? Maybe that should be the sign hanging above coffee machines in Capitol Hill offices. Lawmakers are spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on coffee, snacks and catered food services, USA Today reports.
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
As the country hurtled toward the fiscal cliff and sequestration, House Republican leaders apparently couldn't live without their catering, coffee and cars.
Three days after Rand Paul's 13-hour filibuster propelled the senator from Kentucky into the national political spotlight, Washington was still abuzz Sunday with pundits weighing implications for 2016 and Republicans debating whether to embrace the libertarian-leaning senator's vigorous defense of due process.
What if they read the Constitution and barely anybody came?
Despite outward statements of widespread support from his caucus after his re-election Thursday, Rep. John A. Boehner's speakership was hanging by a thread, within three votes of mandating a second ballot, largely because he allowed the "fiscal cliff" deal to go through the House.
A rough two-month stretch has left Speaker John A. Boehner facing a nascent rebellion within his party ahead of a vote on whether he will continue to lead the House when the 113th Congress convenes Thursday.
President Obama's objective in the "fiscal cliff" battle was make Republicans break their pledge not to raise taxes. The GOP entered the game with the goal of winning real spending cuts and no higher tax rates.
Tuesday's vote to avoid the "fiscal cliff" exposed a deep rift within the House GOP that ran from the rank-and-file all the way to the very top of the party.
House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that "serious differences" remain between him and President Barack Obama in negotiations on averting automatic spending cuts and tax increases that economists fear could send the U.S. economy over a "fiscal cliff."
President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner met at the White House on Sunday to try to jump-start the "fiscal cliff" negotiations as members of Congress teetered between calls for cooperation and jabs at the other side's failure to compromise.
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
Underscoring just how little has changed despite last week's elections, both chambers of Congress are poised to re-elect the same people to lead them into next year.
"The conference will unite around tax reform," says House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy of California, who has been hosting "listening sessions" with Mr. Camp and other GOP lawmakers to measure its political support.
"What Rand Paul did on the floor this week was fantastic," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
Rand Paul filibuster is music to many ears; senator raises profile for 2016 →
