Even as Virginia Gov. McDonnell rides high, tests loom
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on September 18th, 2011 4:32 am by HL
Even as Virginia Gov. McDonnell rides high, tests loom
RICHMOND
It’s a heady time to be Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. As the Republican approaches the halfway mark of his term this winter, his approval rating last week was above 60 percent, or nearly 20 points higher than President Obama’s.
GOP presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney compete for McDonnell’s potential endorsement. The Virginian recently took over as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He is one of the two politicians most frequently mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate, the other being Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
Fact checker: Boehner on federal regulations
“At this moment, the Executive Branch has 219 new rules in the works that will cost our economy at least $100 million. That means under the current Washington agenda, our economy is poised to take a hit from the government of at least $100 million — 219 times.”
— House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Sept. 15, 2011
Ever-increasing tax breaks for U.S. families eclipse benefits for special interests
As President Obama and congressional Republicans argue over how to rewrite the U.S. tax code, the debate has revolved around “loopholes” for corporate jets and ending “carve-outs” for well-heeled special interests. But if the goal is debt reduction, that’s not where the money is.
Broad tax breaks granted to millions of families at all income levels dwarf the corporate giveaways. Over the past two years, largely because of these popular benefits in the federal income tax code, the government has reached a rare milestone in tax collection — it has given away as much as it takes in.
Former Sen. Charles H. Percy dies at 91
Former U.S. senator Charles H. Percy of Illinois, a dashing corporate executive whose meteoric political rise as a liberal Republican was later eclipsed by the sense that his potential went unfulfilled, died Sept. 17 at the Washington Home and Community Hospice in the District. He was 91.
He had Alzheimer’s disease, said Kate Kelly, the director of national publicity at the public broadcasting outlet WETA, whose president and chief executive is Sen. Percy’s daughter Sharon Percy Rockefeller.