Political Quick Hits: May 17th Edition

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• Minnesota continued a recent trend by becoming the 12th state to legalize gay marriage on Tuesday when Governor Mark Dayton signed a recently passed marriage equality bill into law. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should certainly include the right to marry the person you love,” Dayton said. The bill passed in the senate on Monday by a 37-30 vote. Couples will be allowed to marry starting August 1, 2013. The other states that currently allow gay marriage are: CT, DE, IA, ME, MD, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT, WA, and also the District of Columbia.

• On Wednesday, the White House released more than 100 pages of e-mails in an attempt to quiet critics who think that President Barack Obama and his aides played politics with our national security following the deadly September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. The White House has always denied any type of cover-up. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said, “Collectively these emails make clear that the interagency process, including the White House’s interactions, were focused on providing the facts as we knew them based on the best information available at the time and protecting an ongoing investigation.”

• President Obama on Thursday said he had no knowledge of the recent IRS scandal until the media exposed it last Friday. The IRS is under heavy scrutiny for singling out groups, particularly those with Tea Party ties, that were seeking tax-exempt status. President Obama has since repeatedly denounced the discriminatory behavior at the IRS. President Obama said, “What I’m absolutely certain of is that the actions that were described in that I.G. report are unacceptable.” On Wednesday, the Obama administration called for the resignation of acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller and the Justice Department announced that they will be investigating the matter. It is not yet known whether or not any laws were broken and if any criminal charges will be filed.

• Finally, a bipartisan U.S house group has reached an agreement on immigration reform. The report says that the Democrats and Republicans involved will run it by their party leaders and colleagues and hopefully formal legislation will be introduced in June. “Filing a real bipartisan bill, a serious, enforceable commonsense bill is, I think, a huge step. But it’s the first step of the process, a very important step,” said Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, one of the members of the bipartisan group.

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Justin Burkhardt

Political Quick Hits: May 10th Edition

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• The Senate on Monday approved an internet sales tax proposal that could force shoppers to pay sales tax on the majority of their online purchases. The Marketplace Fairness Act would allow the 45 states that currently charge sales taxes to require large online retailers to collect tax on purchases made by their residents. The law would only apply to online sellers that have sales of at least $1 million outside of states where they have a physical store or warehouse. “Avoiding sales tax may not be a primary reason customers shop online, but it’s one of them,” said David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation.  The bill now goes to the House where Republicans are split on the idea. If passed in the house, it is believed President Obama will sign it into law.
• On Tuesday, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford won the state’s special election for a congressional seat beating Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. Sanford was once considered a rising star in the Republican Party until 2009 when he admitted to having an extra marital affair. The Governor went missing, said he had been “hiking the Appalachian trail,” but then later admitted he was in Argentina with his mistress. “I have experienced how none of us go through life without mistakes, but in their wake we can learn a lot about grace, a God of second chances, and be the better for it,” Sanford told voters in one of his recent political ads.
• New Jersey Governor Chris Christie admitted this week to having Lap-Band weight loss surgery in February. Christie, who has previously poked fun at his weight, is believed to be one of the top contenders for the 2016 Republican party’s Presidential nomination. Some political insiders believed Christie’s weight would be an issue if he ran for president and the weight loss surgery was for political reasons. Christie has stated that was not the case and said, “I did not want to take the risk of becoming unhealthy and the ramifications that would have for Mary Pat and for my four kids. And as you know, I still have children that are in elementary school, so I got a long road here as a father and I don’t want to miss any of it.”
• And finally, Delaware officially became the 11th state to legalize same-sex marriage when the state senate passed a bill allowing it by a 12-9 vote. Governor Jack Markell almost immediately signed the bill into law. Same-sex couples will be able to begin getting married starting July 1st. During the debate before the vote on Tuesday Senator Karen Peterson, who has lived with her female partner for 24 years, said, “If my happiness somehow demeans or diminishes your marriage, then you need to work on your marriage.”

Posted by:

Justin Burkhardt

Political Quick Hits: May 3rd Edition

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• President Obama signed a bill that ends furloughs for air traffic controllers on Wednesday. The furloughs came from the automatic spending cuts from the sequester, which began in March. Millions of travelers have been affected recently by delayed flights across the country because of the furloughs. (Yahoo)

• A Mississippi man has been charged in connection with the recent ricin-tainted letters that were sent to President Obama and other legislators. James Everett Dutschke was charged with possession and use of a biological agent as a weapon just days after prosecutors dropped charges against their first suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis. No illnesses were reported from the incident but ricin is a toxin with no known antidote. (CNN)

• In Massachusetts, Democratic Rep. Ed Markey and Republican businessman and political newbie Gabriel Gomez will face each other in a special Senate election June 25th, after both won their respective primaries on Tuesday. They will be competing for the open Massachusetts senator position that has been left open since former Sen. John Kerry became Secretary of State. William “Mo” Cowan, appointed by Governor Deval Patrick, has been serving as interim senator until the election. (CNN)

• On Thursday, Maryland became the 18th state to end the death penalty. The death penalty has been replaced in the state with a sentence of life in prison without the ability of parole. (Reuters)

• Finally, on Thursday Rhode Island officially became the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriage when Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the bill into law. Weddings in the state can start taking place August 1st, when the law takes effect. (CBS News)

Posted by:

Justin Burkhardt

Political Quick Hits: April 12th Edition

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• March’s job report was released last Friday, and the news was mixed. Hiring slowed with only 88,000 jobs added, which is the lowest monthly gain since last June. While the unemployment rate dropped to 7.6 percent, it’s estimated that nearly 500,000 people dropped out of the job market. (USA Today)

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Posted by:

Justin Burkhardt

Political Quick Hits: April 5th Edition

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• A commission put together by the NRA released their own suggestions this week on school safety. The biggest idea that they proposed was arming adults in schools and having those adults go through a 40-60 hour training program and screening with a background check. They also commented that a lot of school’s visitor policies simply are not enforced strongly enough and doors that are not properly secured. Since the Sandy Hook massacre, the American public has heard proposals on school safety from both sides but still nothing has been done in Congress. (CNN)

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Posted by:

Justin Burkhardt