Back in 2008, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) predicted that the Democratic Convention in Denver would change the landscape in Colorado and the West. Did it?
The fortunes of Democrats in his state and around the country hinge on economic recovery and job creation. Colorado voters, Ritter says, are drawn to candidates of either political stripe who maintain a steady streak of independence and fiscal discipline.
Ritter spoke to National Journal at last weekend's National Governors Association meetings about the electoral fate awaiting Democrats, the "clean energy future," and the steps that states are taking to address their Medicaid shortfalls.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Ritter: Investing In A 'Clean Energy Future'.
EPA is expected to announce in April its finalized "tailoring rule" regulating greenhouse gas emissions of stationary sources. The forthcoming regulations have prompted two separate efforts by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to rein in the agency's regulatory power. Rockefeller's plan would temporarily delay EPA's regulations over stationary sources, while Murkowski's would effectively veto EPA's "endangerment finding" that gives the agency authority to regulate emissions.
While on the Hill this week to testify about the agency's budget, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has spent much of her time seeking to allay concerns about the regulations. She spoke with reporters after a hearing on Wednesday. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Jackson Cagey On Efforts To Block EPA Regulation.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) is no stranger to Washington. He was chief of staff to Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and then director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. But there's been recent chatter that he might want to return to the District -- this time, to the Oval Office.
On Monday, after he and other governors met with President Obama, Daniels visited National Journal, where he talked with reporters about rumors of presidential aspirations, what to avoid in health care reform, and how the Republican Party can rebuild and redefine itself through policy contributions.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Daniels: A Way Back For The GOP.
According to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), action is the key to addressing America's concerns.
Despite being the majority in Congress, Democrats have had a hard time keeping people happy. Deval told National Journal on Sunday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association that Congress needs to share the urgency governors see on the ground in people's lives.
Deval also discussed how Congress can help Massachusetts with Medicaid funding and shared his thoughts on Republican Sen. Scott Brown's win.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Patrick: We Need Action.
Governors are frustrated, says Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D). At a time when gridlock in Washington is the norm, governors are searching in vain for pragmatic solutions to massive budget and unemployment problems in their home states -- especially in economically crippled Michigan.
Though consensus on health care is elusive, Granholm says job creation could be in reach. "[A] little bit of economic nationalism" is the right recipe for bolstering the nation's manufacturing sector, she told National Journal in an interview at the National Governors Association meeting this weekend.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Granholm: 'A Little Bit Of Economic Nationalism'.
The political environment for Republicans is better now than it was around this time in 1994, according to Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R).
In President Obama's first year, Americans wanted action on jobs, not health care reform, Barbour told National Journal on Sunday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. "The fear of the effects of this unbelievable spending spurt, and the gigantic deficits that accompany it -- the fear of what that's going to do for them, their children and their grandchildren is real," he said.
Barbour also discussed why Republicans have outperformed Democrats in their messaging and whether or not he'll run in the 2012 presidential race.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Barbour: 2010 Seems Better Than '94 For GOP.
National Governors Association Chairman Jim Douglas had thought that by the time he and other state chief executives were to convene in Washington this week for their winter meeting, discussion would be focused on how states could implement health care legislation. Instead, Vermont's Republican governor finds himself giving advice to Democrats and Republicans locked in a legislative stalemate. In an interview with National Journal on Sunday, Douglas said he is unsure of how to move reform forward, but he's certain that passing a law through reconciliation is not the answer.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Douglas: Reconciliation 'Would Be A Mistake'.
"Only the United States Senate could come up with a rule that says 40 people or 39 people can dictate what 60 people do." That's what Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana told National Journal on Sunday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. Schweitzer discussed how government can be run more efficiently, why Congress is broken, and why Democrats should not shy away from their agenda in the current political climate.
Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Schweitzer To Dems: Do Your Job.
For Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington, stimulus money is vital to keeping her state's services going. "When that money all goes away for education, for our teachers, for our law enforcement community, for our firefighters, for our Medicaid population, we will literally fall off a cliff financially," she told National Journal on Saturday at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
The Democrat took exception to Republicans praising the local effects of stimulus funding after opposing the spending a year ago. The best way to relieve partisan gridlock on the Hill, she said, is to "put things up to a vote."
"The American people want action. What they've seen is inaction," she said. "They need to have an understanding now of why there's inaction."
Edited excerpts of the interview follow.
Continue reading Gregoire: 'Put Things Up For A Vote'.
Gov. Ed Rendell (D) prescribes a little less conversation and a little more action for Washington. In an interview with National Journal on Saturday, the Pennsylvania governor -- who was in town for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association -- urged lawmakers and the Obama administration to take action on jobs, health care and the environment.
Edited excerpts from the interview follow.
Continue reading Rendell To Washington: 'Don't Play Games'.
John Podesta has "hope," but certainly not confidence, that Congress can pass a comprehensive climate and energy bill by this spring, a target date set by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. In an interview Wednesday with NationalJournal.com, the chief of the Center for American Progress discussed the importance of a price on greenhouse gas emissions and insists that there are Republicans who would support such a measure. President Obama has not, in recent speeches, explicitly endorsed a price on carbon. But Podesta says it's essential to cut emissions by the amount the administration agreed to in the Copenhagen Accord: 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
Edited excerpts of the interview follow.
Continue reading Podesta: First, Cap Emissions.
NationalJournal.com last month sat down with Charlie Cook to talk about how Democrats can improve their image with voters, particularly those who identify with the Tea Party movement.
Special Report: The Insurgents Emerge
Cook gave his assessment of the job Obama has done so far and predicted where Obama's miscalculations might have the most consequences on the election map. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Cook: Health Care Is Obama's Iraq.
What do moderate Republican voices make of the Tea Party movement? Former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., now president and CEO of the Republican Mainstreet Partnership, sees it as an energetic manifestation of "genuine Americana." The Tea Parties present a real challenge not just to Democrats, but to Republican leaders who must embrace the movement's frustrations if they want to reclaim a governing voice.
Special Report: The Insurgents Emerge
Davis recently spoke with NationalJournal.com about the movement's potential, Sarah Palin and electoral strategy for mainstream Republicans. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Davis: GOP Can't Ignore Tea Party Movement.
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States launched the most sweeping reorganization of the federal government in half a century, in part to help harden the homeland against another attack and to better coordinate response to a future disaster. The government's initial, fumbling response in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina -- the costliest and one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history -- indicated just how much work remained.
When the after-action reviews of the recent catastrophic earthquake in Haiti are finally written, the tragedy will likely prove another major milestone in gauging U.S. disaster response. For an early preview, National Journal spoke with the man tasked with salvaging the Katrina operation and an insider during the Haiti crisis, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen. Edited excerpts from that interview follow.
Continue reading U.S. Disaster Response From Katrina To Haiti.
Economy expert and Syracuse University professor Len Burman proposed in the Washington Post last week an alternative to the modest savings from President Obama's spending freeze -- a freeze in some "tax expenditures," those exemptions in the tax code for different groups that work effectively like spending programs for special interests.
The article raised a few questions that Burman answered in an interview with National Journal via e-mail. The complete exchange follows after the jump, and read more on the discussion at NationalJournal.com's Economy Expert Blog.
Continue reading On Freezing Tax Expenditures.
Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., took Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag to task at a February 2 Senate Budget Committee hearing on President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget proposal, arguing that the Obama administration was seeking to illegally use $30 billion from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program for a small business lending effort, instead of for deficit reduction. In a February 2 interview with National Journal following the hearing, Orszag sought to clarify the administration's plans, and also talked about the administration's job creation efforts. Edited excerpts follow after the jump.
Subscribers can also read further excerpts from National Journal's interview with Orszag in this week's issue.
Continue reading Orszag Explains TARP Plan.
As a rising star in the Republican Party, Rep. Mike Pence might seem too establishment to appeal to the Tea Party faithful. But the Indiana Republican shares with the movement a zeal for fiscal responsibility and limited government, and has publically aligned himself with the activists. Their alliance could provide the energy and message Republicans need to succeed in this year's midterm elections.
More Coverage: The Insurgents Emerge
NationalJournal.com asked Pence for his thoughts on the movement's relationship with Republicans and what the party can do to appeal the Tea Party in November.
Continue reading Pence: Republicans And The Tea Party.
How important is fitness in studying obesity cases? Very, according to professor Steven Blair of the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. Blair argues that that the government's focus on obesity has sidelined the importance of fitness; his research shows that fitness can trump obesity, and that moderately fit obese people have nearly the same prospects as thin people.
Blair discussed with National Journal the importance of recognizing fitness when looking at obesity.
Continue reading Professor: Obesity Studies Weak Without Fitness.
Donna Ryan is the associate Executive Director for Clinical Research, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and the 2009/2010 president of the Obesity Society, whose academic and industry members study obesity and health. She spoke with National Journal about ways to reduce obesity.
Continue reading Treating Obesity With Reimbursements.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and leader of a weekly strategy session for prominent conservative activists, has argued for years that high taxes, not government spending, are what excites the electorate. He sat down with National Journal reporters on Feb. 1 to air his views on the growth of the Tea Party anti-spending movement, as well as the politics of budget deficits and the recent Supreme Court ruling broadening the rules for corporate financing of political campaigns.
More Coverage: The Insurgents Emerge
Edited excerpts follow. Check tomorrow's issue of National Journal for more from the Norquist interview.
Continue reading Norquist On Tea And Taxes.
In 2008, then-Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., worked together to add language in the Defense Authorization bill requiring the Pentagon to consider climate change as a national security risk in the Quadrennial Defense Review. Two years later, they're now seeing the fruits of their labor.
For the first time ever, the QDR includes climate change and energy security as national security issues, devoting four of its 128 pages to the topic. Warner, now retired from the Senate, told NationalJournal.com on Tuesday that the QDR, which was released Monday, "did a superb analysis and laid down a very encouraging framework for the department in the coming four years." He discussed why he thinks it's important that both the Defense Department and the CIA, which in September opened its first-ever center on climate change, are now considering climate in the realm of national security.
Warner serves a spokesman for the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate, and is currently working with the group on a report detailing the military's efforts on climate issues. Edited excerpts of the interview follow.
Continue reading Former Sen. Warner Ties Climate To Security.
In 2008, independents frustrated with establishment politics found a hero in Texas Republican Ron Paul. Warning voters about the dangers of an overstretched and overcommitted government, Paul provided today's Tea Partiers with a blueprint for grassroots success.
More Coverage: The Insurgents Emerge
Republicans like Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Mike Pence of Indiana, and Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul -- Ron's son -- have embraced the Tea Party movement. NationalJournal.com talked to Ron Paul last week about the energy of today's grassroots movements and the Republican Party's evolving relationship with the Tea Partiers.
Continue reading Ron Paul On The Tea Party Phenomenon.
When Doug Hoffman, running on the Conservative Party line, was narrowly defeated by Democrat Bill Owens for New York's 23rd Congressional District seat, some might have thought this was a fluke. But after Republican Scott Brown captured the Senate seat in Massachusetts, Hoffman's near-win has been seen as a momentum-builder for conservatives and the Tea Party movement.
More Coverage: The Insurgents Emerge
While he hasn't announced his candidacy yet, a McLaughlin & Associates poll released last month showed 74 percent of Republicans in the district agreeing that Hoffman deserves another chance at the seat. NationalJournal.com caught up with Hoffman last week to ask him about his plans for November.
Continue reading Hoffman: GOP, Tea Partiers Must Work Together.
As House Democrats moved through bill after bill last year, they could perhaps be forgiven for looking to the "cooling saucer" of the Senate with frustration. "We jumped almost every time" that President Obama asked, said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif. "Financial regulatory reform? We jumped. We're looking for the Senate to jump a little bit, too."
Becerra was speaking as part of a "Congressional Debriefing" hosted by National Journal and The Atlantic the morning after Obama's State of the Union address. In addition to giving his take on the speech, the lawmaker spoke about working with the upper chamber in the year ahead. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Becerra Looks For Senate To Play Catch-Up.
At a "Congressional Debriefing" hosted by National Journal and The Atlantic the morning after the State of the Union, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., predicted that the health care bill would move forward from its current impasse. In the course of the interview, Klobuchar also discussed the president's speech, the filibuster and the year ahead. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Klobuchar Hopeful Reform Bill Will Progress.
Sen. John Cornyn was the first of four lawmakers and administration officials to take part in a "Congressional Debrief," an event hosted by The Atlantic and National Journal the morning after President Obama's first State of the Union address. Over the course of the conversation, the Texas Republican spoke about the president's address as well as the legislative landscape in the year ahead, the possibility of more bipartisanship and the future of the filibuster. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading Cornyn: The System Worked On Health Care.
Speaking with political reporters the morning after President Obama's State of the Union, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer signaled both optimism and flexibility about moving the health care reform bill through Congress. He was interviewed as part of a "Congressional Debriefing" hosted by National Journal and The Atlantic. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading WH Aide Discusses 'Redefining' Health Bill.
