Charlie Cook: “Democrats face twin struggles as they seek to retake the House majority they lost in 2010. First, the chamber has largely sorted itself out. With 96 percent of Democratic House members representing districts carried by President Obama and 94 percent of Republican House lawmakers representing districts won by Mitt Romney, each party pretty much has the seats God intended. The House simply doesn’t have much elasticity right now. Substantial gains would either require Democrats winning a bunch of Romney districts or Republicans capturing a lot of Obama districts. Given this sorting out and the almost parliamentary-style voting we’re seeing these days, either party would require one heck of a head of steam to pick up a lot of seats from the other side.”
Although the federal government “currently puts hemp in the same category of illegal drug as heroin, LSD and ecstasy,” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “wants to change that,” NBC News reports. McConnell “joined forces Thursday with a pair of West Coast Democrats — Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley — to cosponsor a bill that would allow American farmers to grow hemp without fear of punishment.” How the hell is Mitch F*cking McConnell to the left of Barack Obama on this issue? On medical marijuana and the legalization of marijuana, the President has been very disappointing.
Norm Ornstein of the freaking American Enterprise Institute:
“Think about it: We have a sequester looming, one that could wreak havoc at the Pentagon; a coming series of budget confrontations that create real challenges in the management of the Defense Department; and an ongoing war.
And a little group of willful men and women, including those who have been the loudest critics of the sequester, are keeping the next head of the department from getting into office and beginning the hard job of managing the turbulence ahead.
That’s only the first on a list of irresponsible acts. If National Review is accurate, the unanimous Senate Republican response to deal with our debt problems and immediate budget crises is a constitutional amendment to balance the budget with a cap on spending at 18 percent of gross domestic product and supermajorities required to raise revenues or the debt ceiling. If I were al-Qaida and looking to destroy America from within, I would love to see this amendment added to the Constitution.”