All DC Decoder
- 'Mama Grizzly' Sarah Palin dishes red meat to CPAC conservative activists
Sarah Palin fired up the conservative CPAC crowd Saturday with tart one-liners aimed at mainstream Republicans as well as President Obama. But how long can she keep it up?
- Democrats' new budget proposal: why it's balanced ... but not balanced
Senate Democrats have put forward a new budget proposal that offers balanced deficit reduction (between cuts and new tax revenue), but doesn't balance the budget.
- Paul Ryan's tax numbers: Just 'magic asterisks'?
Paul Ryan's proposed budget envisions lower and simpler tax brackets even as it projects tax revenues as a higher percentage of GDP. Some suggest he'll need magic as well as math to get there.
- Why, after all these years, the Senate is working on a budget
Senate Democrats didn't pass a budget resolution for the previous three years, but they are taking steps to do it this year. Three things, in particular, have changed.
- What's in Paul Ryan plan? Surprising numbers from GOP House budget.
The GOP budget plan Paul Ryan is putting forward in the House is filled with ambitious numbers, big and small. The bottom line: reduce the national debt and the interest payments to service it.
- Paul Ryan's new Medicare plan could be tip of the iceberg
As Rep. Paul Ryan this week once again proposes reforms to Medicare, there are signs that others in Congress are acknowledging that Medicare deficits must be addressed.
- Rand Paul: GOP party leader or destined for Ron Paul backwater?
Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster pushed him into the national political spotlight. But can he broaden his exposure and base of support beyond what his father, Rep. Ron Paul, was able to achieve?
- Jeb Bush: Is the world ready for a third Bush in the White House?
Jeb Bush hit the TV talk shows Sunday, mainly to promote his book on immigration and explain his apparent shift on any 'path to citizenship.' But the question of 2016 inevitably came up, and the former Florida governor tried to deflect any notion that he might run.
- Obama moves from confrontation to wooing Republicans. Will it work?
President Obama's job rating has dropped in the latest poll. Now, he's moving away from confrontation, planning to meet with House and Senate Republicans on their turf next week.
- Is Washington working? How Congress took a big step forward this week.
In a marked change of tone on Capitol Hill, the House Republican and Senate Democrat who hold Congress' purse strings made headway toward avoiding a March 27 government shutdown.
- Rand Paul's drone filibuster shakes up Republicans
Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster got results: The White House acknowledged that killing US citizens suspected of being terrorists must follow the rule of law. But it also shook up the Republican caucus.
- Life after 'sequester': Does federal budget have $1 trillion in fat to cut?
Deficit hawks say that, 'sequester' or not, federal spending needs to come down by at least $1 trillion during the next decade. But finding that money just in government waste is hard.
- 'Sequester' watch: Will US spending cuts really cost 750,000 jobs?
Critics say President Obama is spinning the likely impact of 'sequester' cuts to pressure Republicans to replace them, but private-sector forecasts suggest that a loss of 750,000 jobs may not be far off.
- Jeb Bush's book: more than just a flip-flop on illegal immigration
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's changed stance on citizenship for undocumented immigrants fits into a broader repositioning on the issue of immigration – perhaps for a presidential run in 2016.
- What Congress has to do to avert a late-March government shutdown
Political leaders on both sides of the aisle stressed on Tuesday a commitment to reach a budget deal that avoids a government shutdown after March 27, when funding expires. But they are at the starting line.
- Tax revenue to hit record this year. So is spending 'the problem'?
Tax revenue could hit $2.7 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Conservatives say this means spending cuts are the solution, but the budget numbers tell a more complicated story.
- Obama, Republicans maneuver over sequester, government shut-down
Two days after sequester-driven budget cuts went into effect, both sides in the battle – Republican lawmakers and the Obama White House – went into a 'Plan B' of sorts.
- Clint Eastwood and gay marriage: Political tipping point for conservatives?
Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood has joined a large group of Republicans arguing for same-sex marriage in the US Supreme Court. Prominent conservatives and many of the largest US corporations now favor gay marriage as well.
- 'Sequester' blues: Morning-after hangover hits Washington
The morning after the 'sequester' spending cuts went into effect, the earth did not stand still nor did Washington come to its collective senses. Next up: How to avoid a government shutdown March 27 when federal spending expires without a continuing resolution.
- Wall Street shrugs off 'sequester': Why is it ignoring Washington this time?
The stock market, flirting with all-time highs, seems relatively unfazed by Washington's latest fiscal stalemate over the sequester. Here are six reasons for the new attitude.