In an interview with Politico, Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) said that it’s wrong for politicians to be blaming public workers for their states’ budget deficits. The governor said politicians who “aren’t any good with money” shouldn’t “demagogue and blame the people that actually do the work.”
Despite previous warnings that protesters who remained in the Wisconsin capitol building over the weekend would be forcibly removed, local police refused to remove demonstrators from the building. “People here have acted lawfully and responsibly,” said Capitol police chief Charles Tubbs. “There’s no reason to consider arrests.”
U.S. officials held talks yesterday with European and other allied governments about the possibility of implementing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent further killings of civilians by forces loyal to Col. Muammar Qaddafi. Meanhwhile, the Italian government suspended its non-aggression agreement with Libya arguing that there is currently no Libyan “counterpart” to apply the treaty.
Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain, the only declared GOP 2012 presidential candidate, won a straw poll yesterday at a Tea Party convention in Phoenix. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (R) finished second and third. However, Paul won the event’s online polling “by a substantial margin.”
House Speaker John Boehner said yesterday he is reluctant to invoke a government shutdown, because “Americans want the government to stay open.” The House will pass a stopgap spending bill this week that will keep the government operating, and Democrats are likely to accept it.
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is still advising his colleagues on Capitol Hill, over 8 years after resigning as Majority Leader. Roll Call notes that Lott “has evolved from a master vote-counter into a power broker on K Street” that frequently interacts with former colleagues on the Hill.
The hacker activist group “Anonymous” has turned its fire power on Koch Industries, taking down the website of Koch-backed front group Americans for Prosperity. Charles and David Koch’s “actions to undermine the legitimate political process in Wisconsin are the final straw. Starting today we fight back,” Anonymous said in a statement.
“The United Nations refugee agency says almost 100,000 people have fled Libya’s fighting to neighboring Tunisia and Egypt in what it called a humanitarian emergency.” The U.N.’s High Commissioner for Refugees called on Western countries to donate funds and resources to aid refugees, and said his agency will help Tunisia and Egypt deal with those fleeing Libya.
A $363,052 federal tax bill sent to a widow from a gay marriage spurred the Obama administration to shift against the Defense Of Marriage Act. Widow Edith Windsor, who would’ve been exempt from the bill had she been married to a man, launched a lawsuit against the act which was one of the two cited by the administration “to justify its decision to stop defending the law.”
Despite the Republican refrain that “the people are ahead of the politicians on entitlement reform,” the latest polls show “the public to be fiercely protective of Medicare and Medicaid.” This reality is forcing many Republican freshmen to shy away from “touching the benefits in the near term, while insisting something needs to be done in the long run.”
And finally: Actor and singer Jamie Foxx is not very impressed with President Obama’s dance moves. “That definitely wasn’t the black side in you!” he told the president Thursday night at an event honoring Motown music at the White House, making fun of Obama’s dance moves when he appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show.
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