senator

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>

CBO: Dems' Health Plans Will Raise Costs

'Maybe what he should do is run for Congress,' snaps Reid

(Newser) - The health care reform bills being pushed by House Democrats and the Senate health panel would not cut costs as advertised, says the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In fact, Douglas Elmendorf believes they would raise costs, the Washington Post reports. “We do not see the sort...

John Kerry: Palin Misses Point on Cap and Trade
John Kerry: Palin Misses Point on Cap and Trade
opinion
Jul 14, 2009 8:54 PM CDT

John Kerry: Palin Misses Point on Cap and Trade

(Newser) - John Kerry takes Sarah Palin to task for missing the big picture in her essay today against President Obama's cap-and-trade proposal. Palin, he writes in the Huffington Post, manages to criticize legislation to curb climate change without acknowledging the dangers of climate change itself. "It's like complaining about the...

Ensign: I Won't Quit, and I'll Run Again

Disgraced senator says supporters don't want him to resign

(Newser) - Sen. John Ensign says he’ll stick with his job and run for reelection despite news of his affair and his parents’ $96,000 payment to his mistress’ family, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The Republican says his supporters are telling him he shouldn’t resign, and “I fully...

David Brooks: GOP Senator Groped Me

Columnist says politicians tend to be 'emotional freaks'

(Newser) - New York Times columnist David Brooks's career has taught him that the most powerful politicians are a bunch of "emotional freaks" prone to invading personal space, Think Progress reports. "I sat next to a Republican senator once at dinner and he had his hand on my inner thigh...

Obama Brings Pope Letter From Ailing Kennedy

President asks Benedict to pray for ill senator

(Newser) - President Obama delivered a letter from Ted Kennedy to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican today, CNN reports. Obama met with the pontiff for about a half hour before leaving Rome for Ghana. The contents of Kennedy’s letter were personal, an Obama aide said, and “not known to...

Burris Won't Run for Re-Election

(Newser) - Roland Burris won't run for re-election to his Senate seat, both Chicago papers are reporting. The Illinois senator intends to stay in office through the end of his term in January 2011 but figures he can't raise enough money to mount a re-election campaign. In fact, he's raised a measly...

Ensign's Parents Gave Mistress' Family $96K

(Newser) - Yet another twist in the John Ensign scandal: The Nevada senator's parents gave his mistress and her family nearly $100,000 when their son's affair came to light, reports the Las Vegas Sun. The Ensigns gave the money to the Hamptons in the form of gifts under $12,000 each...

Ensign Blamed Wife in Letter to Mistress

Husband releases note, raises possible felony charges

(Newser) - For those keeping score, John Ensign is the senator whose affair made national headlines before Mark Sanford. He may have thought he was done with the spotlight, but the husband of his former lover is having none of it. Doug Hampton has given the Las Vegas Sun a letter that...

Franken Plays It So Straight It's Funny

But doggone it, people like him

(Newser) - Al Franken the comedian is finally becoming Al Franken the senator, and his Senate colleagues were quick to demonstrate yesterday that, doggone it, they like him, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. The only humor at a welcoming press conference was (apparently) unintentional, as Majority Leader Harry Reid intoned,...

Franken: I Can't Wait to Start Work

Senator-elect stresses loyalty to state, downplays Dem. supermajority

(Newser) - Al Franken said he was “thrilled and honored by the faith Minnesotans placed in me” after the state Supreme Court declared him the winner of the Senate recount, CNN reports. "I'm so excited to finally be able to get to work " said Franken, who added that he...

Sen. Boxer: Don't Call Me 'Ma'am'

McCain spoofs scolding

(Newser) - Sen. Barbara Boxer wagged a finger at a military officer yesterday for calling her “ma’am,” the Christian Science Monitor reports. As the general discussed New Orleans, Boxer interrupted, saying “You know, do me a favor. Could you say ’senator’ instead of ‘ma’am?’ It’...

Blackmail Triggered Senator's Affair Confession: Aides

Cuckolded husband demanded money from Ensign after tryst, according to sources

(Newser) - Sen. John Ensign went public with the news of his extramarital affair after the woman's husband tried to blackmail him, insiders tell Politico. The Nevada Republican had the affair with a staffer while he was separated from his wife, according to current and former aides. He gave her a severance...

Ensign Admits Affair; Nev. Senator Is Rising GOP Star

(Newser) - John Ensign, a Republican senator from Nevada said to be considering a presidential run in 2012, admitted today that he had an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer, reports Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. "It's absolutely the worst thing I've ever done in my life," he said...

US Taxpayers, Too, Billed for Lawmakers' Cars, Cameras

Taxpayer groups criticize Congress for making expense info hard to get hold of

(Newser) - No moat-cleaning, but there were cameras, TVs, and fancy cars among the expenses members of Congress have charged to taxpayers recently, a Wall Street Journal investigation inspired by the British expenses scandal finds. House members are given up to $1.9 million a year and senators get up to $4....

Burris Offered Blagojevich a Personal Check

FBI tape reveals offer, but the future senator never sent money

(Newser) - The Senate Ethics Committee will have an interesting conversation to ponder as it considers whether Roland Burris engaged in any shady business before being appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. In an exchange secretly taped by the FBI between Burris and Blago's brother before the gubernatorial scandal...

Ridge Won't Challenge Specter for Seat

Former Pa. gov was encouraged to run for Senate by GOP brass

(Newser) - Former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will not seek the Republican nomination for senator from that state, the Hill reports. Party leaders had urged him to run against newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter. Ridge was in a good position to run, polling just 3 points behind Specter....

Specter: I'm Not 'Automatic 60th Vote' for Dems

GOP colleagues 'stunned,' angered by senator's party switch

(Newser) - Newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter said he will not blindly toe the party line, Politico reports. “I will not be an automatic 60th vote,” the veteran Pennsylvania senator said, pointing out recent opposition to a unionization bill. “If the Democratic Party asks too much, I will not...

Kennedy Throws First Pitch at Fenway

(Newser) - Sen. Ted Kennedy earned a rousing ovation from the Red Sox faithful today as he threw out the first pitch at Fenway, the Boston Globe reports from Opening Day. Kennedy, battling brain cancer, rode in from the outfield on a cart driven by team legend Jim Rice. Kennedy’s first...

Obama Sings Happy Birthday to Kennedy

Musical tribute honors senator's battle for health care reform

(Newser) - President Obama is no Marilyn Monroe, but he sang a heartfelt Happy Birthday to Ted Kennedy yesterday as part of a star-studded musical tribute to the ailing senator, AP reports. Obama shared the Kennedy Center stage with Bill Cosby, Lauren Bacall and James Taylor. Also attending was Caroline Kennedy, who...

Hillary Reprises Star Role in Her Third Act

First lady, senator duties prepared her well for State job

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton showed off her "substantive and unspectacular" side on her trip to the Middle East this week, writes David S. Cloud in Politico. Hearkening back to her early days in the Senate, she impressed colleagues by chipping away at details, figuring out how to play her new role....

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser