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Thứ Tư, 15 tháng 5, 2013

Five ways the IRS scandal will change Washington

Toss a pebble into a lake and the ripples spread far and wide. Lob a scandal, in which the anti-tax tea party is under attack by its nemesis, the Internal Revenue Service, into the shark-infested waters of Washington, and well, the political ramifications are huge.

Whatever comes of the investigations into the IRS’s inappropriate targeting of conservative groups in the 2012 election cycle, this much appears certain: the scandal will unite conservatives, invigorate the tea party, and potentially affect the 2014 midterm elections.

Here are five ways the IRS scandal will change Washington:

1) INVIGORATE THE TEA PARTY AND ITS SMALL-GOVERNMENT MOVEMENT

For thousands of tea party members across the nation, it’s an “I told you so” moment. You have to admit the scandal is perfectly scripted. Big government, and taxes in particular, are the movement’s central grievance. Heck, the group even takes its name from the Boston Tea Party, the iconic historical protest against unfair taxation.

How perfect, then, that the latest scandal to hit Washington confirms the tea party’s anti-big government, anti-tax, anti-IRS crusade. What’s more, it confirms countless complaints by tea party groups and allegations by right-leaning websites like The Blaze that the IRS was going after conservative groups.

In Washington, the tea party had been losing its luster almost ever since the shining glory of the 2010 midterms. The IRS scandal could be the rallying cry of a reinvigorated movement.

2) UNITE CONSERVATIVES

The GOP’s 2012 election square dance – two steps to the right in the primary, one step to the left in the general election – exposed a rift between the Republican Party and its conservative base, one that’s only widened as the party is forced to reconsider issues like gay marriage and immigration.

Yet, as every tactician knows, nothing unites like a common enemy. As such, the IRS scandal unleashed a golden opportunity for conservatives.

“The accusations of IRS abuse are sure to fuel an effort that appears to be uniting dispirited Republicans and their conservative political base: investigating Mr. Obama and his administration,” The New York Times reported Monday. “Republicans are pushing a portrayal of an administration overreaching its authority and punishing its enemies.”

Enemies that are sure to leverage the situation to their advantage.

3) IMPACT MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Yes, believe it or not, it’s true. If conservatives can sustain, even strengthen, that unity, and launch a big-government attack on Democrats, the IRS scandal could influence the 2014 midterm elections.

In a recent column, political polling guru Nate Silver predicts the IRS debacle “could have a substantial political impact,” and has “the potential to harm Democrats’ performance in next years’ midterm elections, partly by motivating a strong turnout from the Republican base.”

He uses a five-point test to argue that the scandal “has legs”: it can be described in one sentence, cuts to the core of a candidate or party’s brand, and reinforces a negative perception about a candidate, among other points.

Expect reverberations in 2014.

4) INVIGORATE THE TAX CODE REFORM MOVEMENT

For years advocacy groups and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle – from Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana to libertarian Rep. Ron Paul of Texas to Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas – have advocated for tax reform. It’s an uphill, if not vertiginous, climb and a goal that has remained elusive for decades.

If they’re smart, lawmakers and tax advocacy groups will use the IRS scandal – and its revelations about tax code loopholes (recall that 501(c)(4)s are often used by political groups to avoid paying taxes and to hide donors) – to invigorate their cause.

A case in point: For the first time in more than 25 years, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Baucus wants to launch the first full-scale rewrite of the 5,600-page US tax code.

Ambitious? Yes. But given the current climate in Washington, the timing couldn’t be better.

5) DERAIL BIPARTISAN COOPERATION

Alas, as if partisan bickering and congressional gridlock weren’t enough, the IRS fiasco throws another wrench into legislative wrangling on issues like gun control, immigration, and the debt ceiling debate.

President Obama’s chummy dinners and golf games with Republicans? All for naught, as Politico explains.

“The IRS developments couldn’t come at a worse time for the White House, which has spent months courting GOP support for everything from gun control to an overhaul of immigration laws,” it reported. “If the administration’s recent GOP charm offensive bought any goodwill, it seems to be on short supply now.”

Or, as the Washington Post said, “We aren’t likely to see Republicans and Democrats in Congress join hands and sing Kumbaya any time soon.”

Gov. Inslee Signs SSB 5195 into law, extending State Need Grant to WGU Washington students

OLYMPIA, Wash., May 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Jay Inslee signed SSB 5195 into law today allowing WGU Washington students with financial need access to the State Need Grant Program. Previously, the state-endorsed, online university was unable to participate due to technicalities in the original language of the law, enacted long before online education was so pervasive.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130515/DC15266)

"This bill will give our students the same financial help that's available to other low-income Washingtonians who attend public universities, colleges, and commercial and trade schools in the state," said WGU Washington Chancellor Jean Floten. "Our students are mostly mid-career adults, trying to make ends meet while they work, raise families, and go to school. To some students, the State Need Grant will give them the help they need to pay the rent and feed their families, and not have to choose between the two. Our students are very grateful to the Washington Legislature and Governor Inslee. The bill will play an important role in educating future generations of Washingtonians who seek the flexibility online learning provides."

Current students and people considering returning to school from all over the state will benefit from this new law. That includes Tricia Elsner of Federal Way. She's a single mother of triplets, each with varying degrees of behavioral challenges; two of the 17-year-old boys have autism. Another is Jay Castro of Seattle. He's dealing with several, chronic health issues while working two jobs and going to school fulltime. For Tricia, Jay, and so many others, State Need Grant assistance would ease significant financial strain and help them on their path toward achieving their dreams of a college education.

WGU Washington's innovative model of higher education is producing graduates with the skills to meet the advanced demands of today's market. A recent Harris Interactive study shows that nearly 100 percent of employers who have hired a WGU graduate would not hesitate to hire another, 98 percent agree that WGU grads meet or exceed their expectations, and 98 percent consider WGU graduates equal to or better prepared than graduates of other universities.

Saturday, May 18, a record number of students – 543 – will graduate from WGU Washington in its second annual commencement ceremony at 3:00 pm at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. WGU Washington was created by the Washington State Legislature in 2011 and currently has 4,425 enrolled students from all over the state.

If you'd like more information about the bill's passage, or would like to speak with a student from your area or WGU Washington Chancellor Floten, please contact Jake Riddell at 206-512-0025, jake.riddell@wgu.edu , or Lee Keller at 206-799-3805, Lee@thekellergroup.com .

About WGU Washington

WGU Washington was established by the Washington State Legislature on April 22, 2011. WGU Washington is state-endorsed and offers degree programs that are accredited through Western Governors University.

WGU Washington offers more than 50 bachelor's and master's degree programs in Business, Information Technology, Teacher Education, and Health Professions, including Nursing. The university's online, competency-based learning model is designed to meet the needs of working adults by providing an affordable, flexible option for earning an accredited, respected college degree. It's non-profit and receives no money from the state.

Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE*).

The university has earned the support of more than 20 leading corporations and foundations. They include institutions such as AT&T, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lilly Endowment, HCA, Hewlett-Packard, the Lumina Foundation, Microsoft, Oracle, SunGard Higher Education, and Zions Bank.

*Western Governors University offers nursing programs that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 5380, Washington DC 20036, 202-877-6791).

Follow WGU:
http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university
http://twitter.com/wgu
http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv
http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml

Contact for media inquiries:
Jake Riddell – Public Relations Manager
(206) 512-0025
jake.riddell@wgu.edu

Contact for enrollment information:
877.214.7004
washington.wgu.edu

SOURCE WGU Washington

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Thứ Ba, 14 tháng 5, 2013

In scandal-plagued Washington, lawmaker struggles to keep track of issues

Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

With the rumbling of so much scandal ripping through Washington this week—woeful stories about Benghazi, the DOJ subpoena of journalists' phone records and the IRS unfairly targeting conservative groups—it's hard to keep track of all the terrible.

Even lawmakers sometimes struggle

At Rep. Steny Hoyer's weekly meeting with reporters Tuesday, the Maryland Democrat was asked if he was concerned about the DOJ seizing phone records from Associated Press journalists working in the House press gallery in the capitol building.

Hoyer's answer was well-delivered: Articulate, clear, firm and precise.

One problem: He responded to the wrong scandal.

"The IRS activity was inappropriate, inconsistent with our policies and practices as a country, very concerning, needs to be reviewed carefully," Hoyer, one of the top-ranking House Democrats, said in response to a question from Fox News' Chad Pergram about the DOJ. "We need to ensure that this does not happen again and we need to find out how long it continued, when it was stopped. It is my understanding—there was a front-page story on this at the [Washington] Post—it's my understanding that [IRS official] Lois Lerner, who was apparently overseeing this, at some point in time found out about this and said..."

When Hoyer named Lerner, Pergram interrupted.

"We're talking about two things," Pergram, who apparently had not heard the first mention of the IRS, said from across the table, "You said Lois Lerner and the IRS."

Another reporter sitting closer to Hoyer, Public Radio International's Todd Zwillich, learned over and said softly, "He's talking about the AP story."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, excuse me," Hoyer said, pausing briefly. "Whatever happened, we need to find out why it happened. But clearly it should not have happened. I don't know enough about whether there was a warrant sought."

Boom. He nailed it!

But Hoyer wasn't finished.

"I don't know fully the rationalization or justification that was being used, but the president's statement that it was outrageous, that there was no place for it and that they have to be held fully accountable is a statement in which I agree," Hoyer went on to say.

The only problem is that Obama didn't comment about the DOJ story. And he certainly didn't call it "outrageous." In fact, the White House has declined to say much of anything about the DOJ investigation. Was he talking about the IRS story again? Yup.

Hoyer continued: "He then points out in another statement which with I agree: 'I can tell you that if you've got the IRS operating in anything less...'" Hoyer said, his voice trailing off. "Oh I keep going IRS. I'm really fired up on the IRS."

Hoyer regrouped, and returned back to his answer about the DOJ.

"I don't have the president's statement on that, but I'm sure the president's statement on that was very much like that regarding the IRS," he said. (It wasn't.) "Neither of the activities is justifiable, outside the ambit in the case of the AP of having a legal mechanism where an interception of communications would have been warranted or justified by a court."

Now for the home-stretch. Almost there!

"The House needs to look at this," Hoyer continued. "We need to find out exactly what happened and we need to make sure—that's why I'm confusing the two—that those folks who were involved in this are held accountable if in fact there was wrongdoing. Clearly we should not have either House lines, but particular the lines of the Fourth Estate—the press—subject to being intercepted without knowledge and without court oversight."

And with that, he moved on to other questions.

View the original article here

Thứ Tư, 17 tháng 4, 2013

Obama Says Gun Control Defeat Marks 'Shameful Day For Washington'

Standing alongside tearful families of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre, a seething-mad President Obama lashed out against lawmakers who opposed a bill that would have expanded background checks for gun buyers, saying today marked a "shameful day for Washington."

"There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. It came down to politics," the president said in a Rose Garden statement shortly after the Senate defeated the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey amendment.

The president said lawmakers who opposed the measure "caved" to pressure from the gun lobby and its allies who "willfully lied about the bill."

"A minority in the United States Senate decided it wasn't worth it," he said. "They worried that that vocal minority of gun-owners would come after them in future elections. They worried that the gun lobby would spend a lot of money and paint them as anti-Second Amendment. And obviously a lot of Republicans had that fear, but Democrats had that fear, too. And so they caved to the pressure, and they started looking for an excuse, any excuse, to vote no."

In addition to the Newtown families, the president was joined by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an attempted assassination in 2011, and Vice President Biden, who has led the administration's effort to reform the nation's gun laws in the wake of the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The president vehemently pushed back against Sen. Rand Paul's claim that the White House used the Newtown families, who have spent weeks lobbying lawmakers, as "props" in the gun control debate.

"Do we really think that thousands of families whose lives have been shattered by gun violence don't have a right to weigh in on this issue? Do we think their - their emotions, their loss is not relevant to this debate?" Obama asked.

The president vowed "this effort is not over" and urged Americans to voice their opposition to inaction.

"I see this as just round one," he said. "I believe we're going to be able to get this one. Sooner or later we are going to get this right. The memories of these children demand it, and so do the American people."

Chủ Nhật, 7 tháng 4, 2013

Political consultants celebrate themselves at Washington gathering

By Samuel P. Jacobs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - This is a golden era for political consultants - well, except for those Republicans still smarting from the November elections.

But Americans' political tastes tend to run in cycles, so there is always a mix of hope and wariness when consultants at both ends of the ideological spectrum gather, as they did in Washington last week, to toast the profession's top operatives.

Five months after Mitt Romney was thumped in the race for the White House - a loss that some placed at the feet of the small group of men and women who advised the Republican presidential challenger - the meeting of the American Association of Political Consultants threw together Democratic and Republican operatives who have dedicated their lives to undoing one another's work.

Even those whose clients lost in November feel they have plenty to celebrate in a business that boasts of increasing sophistication as well as profits.

In a video message played at the conference's Hall of Fame luncheon on Thursday, President Barack Obama paid wry respects to an industry that is populated by over-the-top personalities but seen by many Americans as fathering the bitter and costly ways of U.S. politics.

"There is nothing political consultants love more than celebrating their own genius," Obama said.

The 2012 election left many of the Republican campaign professionals feeling less like geniuses after their candidate was outmaneuvered by a sitting president they had believed to be vulnerable.

"Elections make you look smarter than what you are, and more stupid," said Ed Goeas, president of The Tarrance Group, a Republican strategy firm. "This was not an election for Republican consultants that made us look smarter."

After the loss in November, complaints among the Republican activists directed at the party's consultant class have been at full boil.

Appearing last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering for influential right-wing activists, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin blasted party leaders such as Karl Rove, the former George W. Bush adviser, who she said have led the Republican Party astray.

"Now is the time to furlough the consultants, and tune out the pollsters, send the focus groups home and throw out the political scripts, because if we truly know what we believe, we don't need professionals to tell us," Palin said, calling for more staunchly conservative candidates.

(Never mind that Palin's own political action committee doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to consultants in 2012.)

CPAC also featured a panel with the indelicate title: "Should we shoot all the consultants now?"

Dale Emmons, a Democratic strategist from Kentucky and president of the consultants' association, said Republicans should hold their fire.

"To those who want to shoot all the consultants, I don't advise they do that," Emmons said. "I know the abilities of the people I compete against are strong."

Emmons said that perhaps no collection of advisers could have steered Romney around an incumbent president with a superior organization on the ground - one that was well positioned to take advantage of the nation's growing minority vote, which went heavily for Obama.

Few consultants or top aides who worked with the Romney campaign appeared at last week's gathering, which featured two days of panels - several dissecting the campaign's failings.

Former Romney press secretary Andrea Saul, a routine presence for the campaign on cable television, and Alex Lundry, a top data researcher for Romney, did participate.

For Obama advisers, the meeting was something of a victory lap. The president's pollster, Joel Benenson, began the conference with comments about the strength of the Democratic campaign's polling program and the weakness of various public surveys.

His colleagues David Axelrod and David Plouffe, top strategists for Obama's two winning presidential runs, were inducted into the association's Hall of Fame on Thursday.

"At first, I wondered whether this was a real organization or something that Axe and Plouffe made up last week," Obama said during his videotaped remarks.

A HAND ON THE 'WHEEL OF HISTORY'

A quartet of Republican strategists known for steering Republicans to victories in past elections - Arthur Finkelstein, Lance Tarrance, the late Bob Teeter and the late Lee Atwater - was honored.

Atwater, who died of cancer in 1991, is best known for orchestrating often-controversial campaigns that helped turn the South increasingly toward the Republican Party in the 1980s.

His aggressive campaign style inspired a generation of Republican consultants and led critics to accuse him of race-baiting, particularly for his work as George H.W. Bush's campaign manager in the 1988 presidential campaign.

On Friday night, the consultants handed out dozens of awards, celebrating the year's best in advertising, fundraising and mailing.

The consultants are sensitive to the criticism that they profit from the dysfunction of U.S. politics and were eager to stress their influence on candidates who they believe can help change the country for the better.

Plouffe, who managed Obama's 2008 campaign, said their lives amounted to putting a hand on the "wheel of history."

On his way out the door Thursday, Plouffe stopped to chat with a fellow consultant. Plouffe warned about the potential cost of the presidential election in 2016. Last year, each side of the presidential contest spent more than $1 billion.

"By '16, it's going to be $2 billion," Plouffe said.

The consultant sure hoped so.

"From your mouth," he said, "to God's ears."

(Reporting by Samuel P. Jacobs; Editing by David Lindsey and Eric Beech)