as usual the turds can't even form a pattie
[image: The Huddle] <http://www.politico.com/huddle> Thursday Jun
11, 2009 *Dems battle themselves*
By: MARTIN KADY II <http://www.politico.com/reporters/MartinKadyII.html>
Jun 11, 2009 07:11 AM EST
Forget partisanship. The fate of every major initiative in Congress hinges
on whether Democrats can make peace among themselves before they even ask
for a few Republican votes.
On the war supplemental, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has flipped on the touchy
subject of torture photos, throwing a wrench into that negotiation. On
climate change, Democratic Ag Chairman Colin Peterson is throwing blockades
at Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman. On health care, moderates like
the House Blue Dogs and Sen. Mary Landrieu are shaky on the public option
and how to pay for it. And on the annual appropriations bills, it's looking
increasingly unlikely that this Congress will finish by the end of the
fiscal year at this rate.
Good Thursday morning and welcome to The Huddle, where Max Baucus is rattled
by lobbyist meetings, Republicans are rolling out a big anti-nationalization
initiative, and lawmakers are a bit light in their portfolios according to
the latest financial disclosures.
Today our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Stephen Johns, the
security guard killed in the Holocaust Museum shooting.
BAUCUS THREATENS K STREET: Things are getting pretty tense in the final
negotiations on the health care bill. Check out Roll Call's scoop on tough
talk at lobbyists: 'Top aides to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus
(D-Mont.) called a last-minute, pre-emptive strike on Wednesday with a group
of prominent Democratic lobbyists, warning them to advise their clients not
to attend a meeting with Senate Republicans set for Thursday.'
'Russell Sullivan, the top staffer on Finance, and Jon Selib, Baucus' chief
of staff, met with a bloc of more than 20 contract lobbyists, including
several former Baucus aides.
'They said, 'Republicans are having this meeting and you need to let all of
your clients know if they have someone there, that will be viewed as a
hostile act,' said a Democratic lobbyist who attended the meeting.'
AMA OPPOSES PUBLIC OPTION: It gets stickier on the doctor front, as Robert
Pear reports in the NYT: 'As the health care debate heats up, the American
Medical Association is letting Congress know that it will oppose creation of
a government-sponsored insurance plan, which President Obama and many other
Democrats see as an essential element of legislation to remake the health
care system.
'The opposition, which comes as Mr. Obama prepares to address the powerful
doctors' group on Monday in Chicago, could be a major hurdle for advocates
of a public insurance plan. The AMA, with about 250,000 members, is
America's largest physician organization.'
FORCED MERGER: Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke put serious pressure on Bank
of America to buy Merrill Lynch during the Wall Street meltdown last year,
according to a series of internal e-mail obtained by POLITICO's Patrick
O'Connor: 'A Republican briefing document obtained by POLITICO shows that
investigators have reached a harsh conclusion about the role played by the
two financial officials.
'In December 2008, Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke put a gun to the
head of Bank of America's CEO and Board of Directors in order to force
through a merger with Merrill Lynch, even though Bank of America's CEO felt
it was his duty to his shareholders to try his luck in the legal system and
back out of the deal,' the Republican investigators conclude. 'They did so
in the name of the financial system as a whole, without any transparency or
consultation with the American people or the Congress.'
CONFLICT OF INTEREST? Speaking of the Wall Street bailouts, lawmakers had
lots of personal wealth at stake in those rescues last year, including
members like Nancy Pelosi and Eric Cantor. The Washington Post's Paul Kane
and Carol Leonnig: 'Top House lawmakers had considerable holdings in major
financial institutions that took billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts at
the end of last year, according to annual financial disclosure reports
released yesterday.
'From stock holdings to retirement funds to mortgages, more than 20 House
leaders and members of the House Financial Services Committee had large
personal stakes in the Wall Street powerhouses whose collapse last year led
to an unprecedented government intervention in the marketplace. In some
instances those lawmakers, like millions of other investors, sold their
holdings at steep losses while others retained the stocks at greatly
diminished value.'
'House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her husband lost hundreds of
thousands of dollars investing in American International Group, which has
received $170 billion in government loans and cash injections, making it by
far the largest recipient of federal bailout dollars. Republican Whip Eric
Cantor (R-Va.) and his wife held stock, retirement plans and other
investments worth at least $183,000 and as much as $495,000 in firms
benefiting from federal government rescue efforts, including Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley.'
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