The Crypt March 29, 2007

Live Earth Concert at Capitol Appears Dead

After several weeks of back and forth, it looks as if former vice president Al Gore may not be able to have his global-warming concert at the Capitol after all. The group Live Earth, which is staging a concert on all seven continents July 7 to raise awareness about global warming, is getting ready to throw in the towel on a Capitol concert.

Instead, Philadelphia or New York may end up hosting the concert, according to Chad Griffin, a senior adviser for the group. An announcement on an alternative site is expected next week.

Live Earth is working with the Alliance for Climate Protection, which Gore runs, in an attempt to stage the Capitol show. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) have offered a resolution authorizing the two groups to use the Capitol grounds for the gig, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) objected when Reid tried to bring it up for approval under unanimous consent Friday.

With time growing short, Live Earth feels it has to go with a backup plan and a Capitol blowout looks very unlikely, said Griffin. The Interior Department has already turned down a request by Live Earth to use the National Mall for its concert, so the Capitol was a last resort.

"On July 7, 2007, Live Earth will unite over 2 billion people across all seven continents, and while it's unfortunate for the American people that we are being blocked from staging the U.S. concert in our nation's capital, the show must go on," Griffin said in a statement. "Like music, the issue of global warming transcends all boundaries, even American political parties."

Bush vs. Pelosi vs. Bush: No Retreat

This just in … again.

Bush to Pelosi: "I'm going to veto it."

Pelosi to Bush: "Take a deep breath."

At about the same time Wednesday, but on different sides of Capitol Hill, President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) engaged again, as it were, in the showdown over war funding.

Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto the emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, declaring that any move by Democratic congressional leaders to impose a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is bad military policy and an infringement on his authority as commander in chief to prosecute the war.

The speaker and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), backed by slim majorities in both chambers, see it differently, arguing that as the war enters its fifth year, now is the time to change course and prepare for a pullout.

The president has also complained about $20 billion-plus that Democrats have stuck into the legislation for disaster assistance for farmers and Hurricane Katrina victims and child health insurance.

"Here's the bottom line," Bush told the National Cattlemen's Beef Association at the Holiday Inn on the Hill. "The House and Senate bills have too much pork, too many conditions on our commanders and an artificial timetable for withdrawal. And I have made it clear for weeks: If either version comes to my desk, I'm going to veto it."

"Members of Congress need to stop making political statements and start providing vital funds for our troops. They need to get that bill to my desk so I can sign it into law."

"Now," he went on, "some of them believe that by delaying funding for our troops, they can force me to accept restrictions on our commanders that I believe would make withdrawal and defeat more likely. That's not going to happen. If Congress fails to pass a bill to fund our troops on the front lines, the American people will know who to hold responsible. Our troops in Iraq deserve the full support of the Congress and the full support of this nation."

At the Capitol, though, Pelosi showed no signs of retreat.

During a press conference with other House Democratic leaders, she told reporters that Bus should take a "deep breath" and rethink his blanket opposition to the Democratic withdrawal proposals, reports The Politico's Josephine Hearn.

"On this very important matter, I would extend a hand of friendship to the president, just say to him, 'Calm down with the threats, there's a new Congress in town. We respect your constitutional role. We want you to respect ours,'" Pelosi said. "This war must end. The American people have lost faith in the president's conduct of the war. Let's see how we can work together."

"I just wish the president would take a deep breath," she went on, "recognize again that we each have our constitutional role and we should respect that in terms of each other."

$750,000 to Study Iraqi Army

Sen. John Warner (Va.), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, pushed through a proposal Wednesday to use $750,000 in emergency funds to study the state of the Iraqi armed forces and security services. The review would be completed within four months, if it actually comes about, and be conducted by a "private entity" not linked to the Pentagon.

Exactly who would conduct the review is up in the air, but Warner said he had "a person in mind." He wouldn't tell reporters who it was, however, and it is unclear if the provision can survive the clash with Bush over the $122 billion wartime spending bill.

OK, Senators, Drop Those Papers

Also on Wednesday, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee approved a bill by Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) to require Senate campaigns to save the paper -- and spare the trees -- and file their reports electronically.

"This is a major stop forward in bringing the Senate into the modern era," said committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). "This is a common-sense measure, and I hope we can pass this bill out of the Senate without burdening it with extraneous items that will hold up passage."

Feingold also wants the bill to reach the floor quickly and without other senators (read Republican Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah) trying to attach something else to it.

"Today the Senate is one step closer to catching up with the times," Feingold and Cochran said. "We will ask the majority leader to bring the bill up promptly, so that in 2008 candidates for the Senate will be required to file their campaign finance reports electronically, as candidates for president and the House have done for years."

Political reporters everywhere remain hopeful this will become law.