Publius' Newsstand

• State plan fines feds $2,000 over gun ru...

  Wyoming has joined a growing list of states with self-declared exemptions from federal gun regulation of weapons made, bought and used inside state borders – but lawmakers in the Cowboy State have taken the issue one step further, adopting significant penalties for federal agents attempting to enforce Washington's rules. According a law signed into effect yesterday by Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal, any agent of the U.S. who "enforces or attempts to enforce" federal gun rules on a "personal firearm" in Wyoming faces a felony conviction and a penalty of up to two years in prison and up to $2,000 in fines.

    Views: 117 Comments: 2

• Scrambling for votes, Dems face uphill climb to...

  The math is getting simpler.

  If every House member votes and all Republicans reject the bill as expected, Pelosi can only afford 37 Democratic defections. That breakdown of the votes would lead to a 216-215 tally. Of the 34 no votes/leaning no votes, eight of them backed the House-backed bill in November. Meanwhile, nine Democrats who voted no last fall are publicly on the fence.

  So she needs to convince 6 people who voted no in the fall to vote yes now, i.e., she needs to convince 6 people who got it right last time to end their careers. Good luck with that.

    Views: 125 Comments: 4

• The Cost of Democrats’ Failed Housing Policies ...

  "But if people had any idea of the damage he's [Rep. Barney Frank] done [by promoting the ‘affordable housing at all costs' policies] he's be out of there." -Thomas Sowell Taxpayer Bailout for FHA: The FHA's capital reserve ratio has fallen to .53 percent, well below its statutory ratio of 2 percent. [WaPo reported] "Although the FHA's default rate has been climbing for months, . . . the latest figures show that the FHA's woes are getting worse...If the trend continues and the FHA's cash reserves are exhausted, the federal government would automatically use taxpayer money to cover the losses." . . . National Security Implications: Bloomberg: "Russia urged China to dump its Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds in 2008 in a bid to force a bailout of the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, . . . Paulson said." ...

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• The beat goes on: Rep Gutierrez from 'yes' to '...

  Gutierrez, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) in which he serves as chairman of its Immigration Task Force, said the caucus still has concerns over the extent to which the healthcare bill excludes illegal immigrants as well as legal residents from receiving benefits in the healthcare plan. "They are enough to say I can't support this bill," Gutierrez said during an appearance on MSNBC. This must be very frustrating for Nancy.

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• Very telling: Democratic candidates distance th...

  Enjoy reading this ... Hardly any Democrat running for Congress seems to want to talk about healthcare. Of the 26 leading Democratic House candidates contacted by The Hill, only one would commit to voting for the Senate healthcare bill if and when it comes to the House floor. Out of the more than two dozen Democratic challengers and open-seat House candidates, only 10 commented for this story. Eight outright declined to comment. Eight more didn’t respond to several days’ worth of requests via phone and e-mail. There is no more direct evidence than, well, direct evidence!

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• Hamas answer to Biden: Gaza Rocket Strikes Kibb...

  Nice job, Joe. You seemed to have made some headway: A Kassam rocket fired from Gaza damaged a building in Kibbutz Nirim on Thursday, the IDF said. In response, the Israel Air Force bombed a weapon manufacturing facility and an arms smuggling tunnel. "The IDF will not tolerate the firing of rockets by terrorist organizations at Israel and will continue to respond harshly against any attempt to disrupt the calm in Israel's southern communities," the IDF Spokesperson said. More than 25 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the beginning of the year.

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• NY23d: Hoffman makes it official: he'll run for...

  Douglas L. Hoffman rode a strong wave of conservative activism to a second-place finish in last fall's special election in the 23rd Congressional District. Now the Lake Placid accountant — and adopted son of the Tea Party movement — is back for a second try, but not without some competition. Mr. Hoffman formally entered the race for the Republican nomination Monday, telling his supporters in a letter posted to his Web site that he "will defeat Bill Owens" if there's a rematch. Listen to our interview with Doug on Liberty Pundits.

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• Smackdown time - The Hill: Alexander, Gregg thr...

  Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and ranking Republican Finance Committee member Judd Gregg (N.H.) said they will force votes on virtually every sentence of the healthcare reform bill to overcome Democrats' parliamentary maneuver. Gregg said Republicans would force votes on a provision in the 1974 bill that says reconciliation can only be used to amend laws, plus another longstanding Senate rule that says reconciliation can only be used for budget-related issues, plus yet another Senate rule that says 60 votes are necessary to waive the budget-only rule. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that insisted he had 41 votes for the last roadblock, thereby denying Democrats the magic 60.

    Views: 84 Comments: 0

• Dems give up on flipping Stupak 12

  House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats. A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in the United States. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House.

    Views: 191 Comments: 1

• Senate Parliamentarian: Obama must sign bill as...

  The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday. The Senate Parliamentarian’s Office was responding to questions posed by the Republican leadership. The answers were provided verbally, sources said. House Democratic leaders have been searching for a way to ensure that any move they make to approve the Senate-passed $871 billion health care reform bill is followed by Senate action on a reconciliation package of adjustments to the original bill. One idea is to have the House and Senate act on reconciliation prior to House action on the Senate’s original health care bill.

    Views: 131 Comments: 0

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