February 2011

Tales from Tripoli, Madison and Washington

When I was just a young thing, I loved a song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five called “The Message.” “Don’t push me, cuz I’m close to the edge,” the refrain went. “I’m trying not to lose my head.”

It’s a familiar cycle. Voters say they want new faces and fresh thinking in Washington. But once the newcomers arrive in the nation’s capital, they discover themselves consigned to back benches and basement offices.

Reality soon sets in. It’s harder than it seems to get things done.

But in both the House and the Senate this year, first-termers are making their presence felt on deficit spending, defense budgets, anti-terror laws -- and even Big Bird.

When it Matters and When It Doesn’t

House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor strolled out onto the White House lawn after lunch with the President this week to deliver an upbeat and focused message to the reporters gathered there.

“I thought it was pretty clear today that the President wants to try to find some common ground with us,” Boehner said.

“The economy so desperately needs us to work together,” Cantor added, “to send a signal that we should start growing again as America.”