Tonight the president will politely inform Congress which dreams of his they will be crushing this year. Today marks eight years since Hillary Clinton launched her first presidential campaign, reminding us that presidential elections, like blockbuster movies, are never based on original material anymore. And the late Rep. Bill C.W. Young kept $10,000 in cash in his congressional office in case the grid collapsed. It’s a true Republican who thinks an American dollar will be worth more than kindling after society collapses. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, January 20th, 2015:
CHARLIE HEBDO SOTU SALUTE – Sam Stein: “A number of House lawmakers plan to hold up yellow pencils during the State of the Union address tonight in symbolic tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack at the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo. The tribute is being spearheaded by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), whose office confirmed on Tuesday that President Barack Obama would reference the victims of the attack during his address.” From HuffPost’s State of the Union LIVEBLOG. Stein will be interviewing Dan Pfieffer live from the White House immediately after the speech. Delaney will be scouring Twitter for the best #SOTUchat questions we should ask.
One of the biggest forthcoming State of the Union proposals we already know about will be a package of tax hikes on the rich and new tax benefits for lower earners. Andrew Sullivan is really excited about it.
GOP’S SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY ESCAPE HATCH – Good point by David Rogers: “In the past, Congress has simply shifted revenues from Social Security’s larger retirement account to fill holes in the disability fund. But the new House rule throws up a roadblock by creating a point of order against any such bill that does not improve the ‘actuarial balance’ of the combined funds. ….In fact, the new rule’s fine print leaves an escape hatch for Republicans to move tens of billions into the disability fund if this gambit fails. Still, the upshot could be a one-two punch Democrats most fear: a first-round debate over disability funding in 2016 followed by a bigger battle over all of Social Security in 2017, when Republicans hope to control both Congress and the White House.” [Politico]
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@timothypmurphy: What Liberals Don’t Get About the Fake Baby in American Sniper
@pourmecoffee: One of nation’s oldest traditions is lawmakers arriving early for State of the Union to smoke pot and knock around a gigantic beach ball,
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