All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Congressional Republicans are trying to embarrass Democrats into spending less by highlighting what they said are the most wasteful spending projects of 2009, including almost $400,000 in federal money to encourage West Virginians to grow ginseng and shitake mushrooms.

"These items are eye opening and might be amusing, but they are symptomatic of a fatal disease here in Congress that will cripple, cripple the future prosperity of Americans," said Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.).

Their list includes almost $16 million worth of special projects from both Democrats and Republicans:

• $1.9 million "Water Taxis to Nowhere" (Pleasure Beach, CT)
• $3.8 million urban art trail in Rochester, N.Y.
• $3.1 million in "mechanical upgrades" to an 88-year-old boat owned by the State Museum in New York
• $3 million for new bicycle racks in Georgetown, one of Washington, D.C.’s most affluent areas
• $1.5 million to streetscape six blocks around a casino in downtown Detroit
• $578,000 to fight homelessness in Union, New York, a town with no reported homeless people
• $550,000 skateboard park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
• $500,000 in fish food for Missouri fish farmers
• $400,000 to renovate a vacant building in the city of Jal, New Mexico
• $380,350 to encourage West Virginia landowners to grow ginseng and shiitake mushrooms
• $90,000 for a communal kitchen for entrepreneurs in Watsonville, Calif.

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President Obama today sought out Republican input about how to revive the American economy. Republicans say they have ideas.

The two parties, however, just can't see eye to eye.

Republicans have roundly criticized Mr. Obama's plans for stimulating job creation, which include new spending for infrastructure projects like highways, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives for energy-efficient home improvements. The president, nevertheless, invited both Democrats and Republicans to the White House today to discuss job creation.

The meeting, as White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs put it today, "was not without politics."

Multiple sources say the president accused Republicans of "trying to scare the heck out of the American people" on health care and the economy, according to CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Chip Reid. Republicans returned the fire -- accusing the White House of playing politics.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) discussed the exchange during a national radio interview on "The Lars Larson Show." Boehner said that Mr. Obama said Republicans were "scaring" people after the GOP members continued to press the president about his "job-killing policies."

"It was breathtaking," Boehner said of the president's comment.

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Republicans in Congress came out swinging today against President Obama's new new multibillion-dollar stimulus and jobs proposals, calling for completely different measures to revive the economy.

"Clearly, the president is trying, yet again, to get Americans back to work... he essentially announced a 'stimulus II' program," House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) said at a press conference today, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer Jill Jackson reports. However, he added, "I absolutely disagree that we can spend the way out of recession."

Cantor was joined by freshman Republican members of the House today to criticize Mr. Obama's plan. They said it would be more effective to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, permanently eliminate the death tax, pass free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, and to reduce the deficit.

The president's proposals today included new spending for infrastructure projects like highways, deeper tax breaks for small businesses and tax incentives for energy-efficient home improvements.

"Instead of passing another big spending bill, we should keep government out of business, keep taxes low and expand trade," said Rep. Lynn Jenkins (Kansas). "It's time to empower entrepreneurs and small businesses instead of the federal government."

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Responding to criticism yesterday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid comparing those who seek to block reform of health care with those who opposed civil rights reform, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said that liberals are playing the race card on this issue.

On Monday, Reid said that instead of joining Democrats on "the right side of history," the GOP's effort to "slow down, stop everything" were excuses similar to those who opposed the abolition of slavery and extending civil rights to all.

On CBS' "The Early Show" this morning, Steele said it was an "ignorant moment" for Reid.

"In fact, you know, I'm kind of sick and tired of the left and Democrats in this country when they get into trouble and don't get their way and their backs are up against the wall on legislation or whatever it is they're trying to do, they go to that card, they play that race card, that slavery card, that civil rights card. This has nothing to do with health care."

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

** Gearing up for a long health care Senate debate...

** Stimulus tracking comes under fire...

** Republican governors focus on economic issues...

HEALTH CARE: "The Senate Thursday began what promises to be a bitter, lengthy battle over the future of health care in America, and taxes, abortion, affordability and federal deficits emerged as key flashpoints," reports McClatchy Newspapers' David Lightman.

"Senate Democratic leaders expect the first test vote on their new $848 billion, 2,074-page health care overhaul bill will come on Saturday evening. Although Democrats are likely to get the 60 votes they need to move forward with the debate, the outcome is uncertain.

"Should the measure pass that initial test, lawmakers made it clear Thursday that they're ready for weeks of political warfare.

"Democrats framed their mission in heroic terms.

"'This is about the woman with high cholesterol, or the man with heart disease, or the child with hay fever who can't get help,' said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. 'That's why we're stopping insurance companies from deciding they'd simply rather not give health care to the sick.'”

"The first test for the bill, which would extend coverage to 31 million more Americans while reducing federal deficits by $130 billion over the next decade, will come Saturday evening," write the Washington Post's Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray. "That is when Democratic leaders hope to keep together all 60 of their caucus members to turn back Republican procedural objections. Reid's efforts are focused on three moderate Democrats who oppose various provisions in the measure and have not declared whether they will support efforts to advance it.

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Recently released breast cancer screening recommendations represent a "step backward" for women's health care and the "slippery slope" health care could take under Democrats' proposed policies, a group of Republican congresswomen said today.

Meanwhile, in response to the concern surrounding the new recommendations, the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress insisted the recommendations will not be used to set policy and criticized Republicans for their "political gamesmanship" on the issue.

"This is how rationing begins. This is the little toe in the edge of the water," said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) at a press conference on Capitol Hill. "This is when you start getting a bureaucrat between you and your physician. This is what we have warned about."

(The above photograph shows, from left to right, Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) and Blackburn.)

At issue are the new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which concluded that it is not worth it for women to perform breast self-exams or to get routine mammograms before reaching the age of 50. The task force is an independent group of 16 experts put together by the Department of Health and Human Services.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement earlier today that said the task force is only putting forward new information and does not set policy or determine what services the government covers. She also said she would be very surprised if any private insurance companies changed their mammography policies because of the recommendations.

Still, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) said today that she feared health insurance companies would change their policies. Furthermore, she said, she feared that such studies would be used to set policy in the national health insurance exchange that would be set up and run by HHS if Democrats are able to pass their health care bill.

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Before Sarah Palin's highly-anticipated book, "Going Rogue," goes on sale this week, it has already generated controversy, skepticism and blowback.

"This is Sarah Palin's turn to get even, as it were," said CBS News chief Washington correspondent and host of "Face the Nation" Bob Schieffer.

"She came under this intense criticism all during the campaign and now she's giving her version of why she didn't succeed as a candidate."

But Schieffer, speaking on "The Early Show" Monday, said he does not think her strategy will work. "It's kind of like a baseball player going into a slump and blaming the manager or blaming the bat boy or blaming the fans or something. You know, it makes for provocative reading, I think she'll sell a lot of books, but I don't think it's going to help re-establish her as a political candidate."

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Updated at 10:45 a.m. ET with reaction from RNC Chair Michael Steele.

The Republican National Committee offers its employees insurance coverage for elective abortions, the Politico reports. That’s a seeming contradiction to the party platform and the GOP’s current position on an abortion amendment added to the House health care bill.

The GOP platform calls elective abortion "a fundamental assault on innocent human life," according to Politico.

RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho reportedly said the policy has been in effect since 1991, long before current RNC Chairman Michael Steele assumed his leadership role. Upon learning of the coverage in their insurance plan, Steele instructed the RNC to opt out of any coverage for elective abortion services.

"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," Steele said in a statement. "I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."

Originally, the RNC chose not to opt out of abortion coverage, Cigna representatives told Politico.

Almost every single Republican in the House of Representatives voted in favor of an amendment to the Democrats' health care bill, offered by Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Joe Pitts (R-Penn.), that explicitly prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for plans that cover abortion. It also effectively limits private insurers from being able to offer abortion coverage within the proposed national health insurance exchange. The amendment passed with some Democratic support.

The only Republican who bucked the party and voted "present" on the amendment did so in an attempt to foil the overall health care bill's chances of passage.

"We believe in the sanctity of life, and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment addresses a moral issue of the utmost concern," House GOP leaders John Boehner (R-Ohio), Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said in a statement after the vote. "It will limit abortion in the United States. Because of this, while we strongly and deeply oppose the underlying bill, we decided to stand with Life and support Stupak-Pitts."

Republican South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who was formally censured by members of his own party earlier this week for playing nice with Democrats on climate change and other legislation, has spoken out in his own defense, according to Capitol Hill's newspaper Roll Call.

The Charleston, South Carolina Post and Courier reported that the Charleston County Republican Party voted on Monday to censure Graham for not upholding the Republican platform. The group cited his cooperation with Democratic senator John Kerry on the proposed cap-and-trade bill and his support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Obama's $700 billion bailout plan.

"U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham -- in the name of bipartisanship -- continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism," the resolution reportedly reads.

"There have been a lot of things over the years that people have been dissatisfied with the senator for doing but I think the cap-and-trade issue is the straw that broke the camel's back," Lin Bennett, the county GOP chairwoman, said according to the South Carolina State. "We have a state platform that if you want to run as a Republican in our state part of that platform includes ideals and goals we would like to see and one of them is smaller, and less government intrusion into people's lives."

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The "Tea Party" is now an official political party in Florida.

An Orlando lawyer named Frederic O'Neal has registered the Tea Party with the office of the Florida Secretary of State, Politico reports, and intends to run candidates against both Republicans and Democrats in state and national races.

"The current system has become mired in the sludge of special interest money that seeks to control the leadership of both parties. It's time for real change," O'Neal reportedly said in a press release.

One of Florida's most prominent Republicans, Gov. Charlie Crist, already faces a conservative challenger in his bid to become the GOP's 2010 Senate nominee. Conservative Marco Rubio is gaining credibility among the state's conservatives, and has won the endorsement of the anti-tax, pro-limited government Club For Growth.

The split among conservatives and moderates in the Florida GOP is part of a larger debate within the party about the future of its identity.

O'Neal, the new chair of the Tea Party in Florida, reportedly compared his party to the Conservative Party in New York's 23rd District -- another example of the GOP's moderate-conservative fissure. In a special election to represent New York's 23rd congressional district, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman drove out the local Republican Party candidate, Dede Scozzafava. The district is Republican-leaning, but the Democratic candidate ultimately prevailed over the Conservative in last Tuesday's election.

Even though the conservative lost in that race, "tea partiers" and other conservatives "remain convinced they're on the right side of history," CBSNews.com's Charles Cooper wrote. "And in writing down their morning-after election analyses... they also delivered a hard-edged message to the Republican establishment: Get behind us or get out of the way."

The Tea Party has been registered with the state since August and is one of 32 minor political parties certified in Florida, Politico reported.