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US Representative Peter King (R-NY) indicated Monday morning that he is rethinking his decision not to run for US Senate in 2010 against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).  Rep. King was on Imus on the Fox Business Channel and said: “Actually, I am looking at it — you know, a lot of people have come to me.”

Rep. King continued, “Being the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, I’ve been in a position to get a lot done for the city and the state. But I am looking at the statewide race.”

King cited fundraising concerns over the summer, as well as Gillibrand’s lack of positive or negative recognition, as reasons that he would not run for the Senate seat.  In August, he released the statement, “Senator Gillibrand generates neither strong support nor opposition.  This makes it virtually impossible for me to raise the campaign funds I would need to overcome the built-in Democratic registration advantage and the countless millions of dollars which the Democrats will make available to Senator Gillibrand.”

Endorsements came before Christmas from Karl Rove and state chairman Ed Cox.  Rudy Guiliani who was an early favorite to run against Gillibrand has also thrown his support in for King, “Pete King is someone I encouraged to run for the Senate way back,” Giuliani told reporters, calling King a “terrific candidate.”

King has also said that he has been hesitant as election in 2010 would have him filling in only until 2012.  As well, as a senior Representative, King gets better committee assignments in the House and is currently serving in the top spot in the Homeland Security Panel.

Polls by the Siena Research Institute indicated in the summer that he was trailing Gillibrand by 22 points but a poll in mid-December had 30% of New Yorkers saying that they would prefer someone else and 34% saying they would re-elect Gillibrand.  King could take advantage of these poll numbers to make the run against Gillibrand.

Former New York Governor George Pataki (R) may also be a candidate for the Senate race and did well in the same Siena poll, trailing Gillibrand by only three points.

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Senators made the rounds on Sunday talk shows voicing their concerns over the healthcare compromise put into play by Harry Reid and Senate Democrats.  Details of the compromise have not been revealed, even to the majority of Senators.  Harry Reid has sent the proposal to the Congressional Budget Office and is waiting for a score before making the facts known.

The bill went to the CBO last Wednesday and the Democratic leadership is counting on a favorable report to pull together their dividing caucus.  As the end of the year looms, it is looking unlikely that Senator Reid will be able to compel action in the Senate before Christmas.

Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday to voice his disapproval of Reid’s proposal:  “Though I don’t know exactly what’s in it, from what I hear, I certainly would have a hard time voting for it because it has some of the same infirmities that the public option did.  It will add taxpayer costs. It will add to the deficit. It’s unnecessary.”

Lieberman has been a key part of Reid’s plan to force healthcare through the Senate.  Lieberman has stated that he wants the public option off the table.  “You’ve got to take out the Medicare buy-in. You’ve got to forget about the public option,” he said on Sunday.

Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska also appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday opposing the Medicare buy-in.  “I’m concerned that it’s the forerunner of single payer, the ultimate single-payer plan, maybe even more directly than the public option.”

Nelson was one of the Senators who assisted in crafting the proposal that went to the CBO for scoring.  He is now saying that he participated “to be a friend of the process”.

Coming from a heavy Republican state, Nelson also required tougher abortion restrictions for the bill.  Other Senators are saying that Nelson is the vital 60th vote that Reid needs to pass healthcare.  “He is the 60th vote — the 60th vote on the stimulus package, the 60th vote on health care, the 60th vote on you name it,” said freshman Senator Mike Johanns, R-Neb. “He’s right on the bubble.”

Nelson responded to his critics on “Face the Nation”.  “I’m not blockheaded and I’m not stubborn,” and he added, “I’ve carved out what I can live with and what I can’t live with.”

Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat from Missouri, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said that she would “absolutely” vote against a healthcare bill that increases out of pocket expenses for Americans and increases the escalating deficit.  She said. “We have to be saving more money for our government than we’re spending. And if we’re not saving more money for our government than we’re spending, then not only will I not support it, the president said he won’t support it.”

Senator Reid is crossing his fingers that a favorable CBO report will hold together what appears to be a fracturing Democratic caucus.  The question remaining is if the healthcare bill is actually a lump of coal for the American People delivered by a not so beneficent Senatorial Santa.

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Freshman Florida Congressman Alan Grayson took outspoken to a new level on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews on Wednesday night.  As Chris Matthews asked Grayson what he thought of Dick Cheney’s comment on Fox news that Obama will “give aid and comfort to the enemy” by putting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on trial in New York City,  Grayson with a smirk replied:

I don’t know. You know, on the Internet there’s an acronym that’s used to apply to situations like this. It’s called “STFU.” I don’t think I can say that on the air, but I think you know what that means.

Even Chris Matthews seemed a bit disconcerted as he quickly changed the topic, saying:  “Oh! I got you. Stop talking, in crude language. Well, I don’t think you’re gonna get him to do that.”

Not to be deterred, Grayson continues talking about the blogosphere criticizing President Obama for bowing to the Japanese Emperor.  Grayson said about President George W. Bush and the Saudi Royal family:

I remember Bush Junior kissing Prince Abdullah on the cheek, and then holding his hand for an extended period of time.  Maybe if he’d let him get to second base, then gasoline would be a dollar a gallon.

National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman, Andy Sere, fired back at Grayson: “The foul mouthed man-child from Orlando is at it again, taking to the airwaves to bring shame to struggling Central Florida families who want jobs, not nut-jobs.  But speaking of bases, Alan Grayson’s constituents surely find themselves wishing his parents had never gotten past first.”

Alan Grayson was an unrecognizable Freshman in Congress until he became known in September for outlining his opinion of the Republican healthcare plan:

“If you get sick in America, this is what the Republicans want you to do: If you get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly.  That’s right, the Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.”

When called upon to apologize for that comment, Grayson continued in his original vein and said he apologize to “the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner to end this holocaust in America.”  He then opened a website called namesofthedead.com with names and stories of people who have allegedly died from lack of healthcare.

Grayson comes from a swing district in Orlando.  Republicans have not announced their support for a candidate to run against Grayson.

Video of Grayson telling Cheney to STFU on Hardball MSNBC

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Sarah Palin had no problem joining in last night in the true spirit of a Gridiron Dinner as she told the audience of veteran reporters and bureau chiefs: “Sometimes you got to trust your instincts, and if you don’t, you end up in a place like this.”

The annual winter Gridiron Dinner had Sarah Palin and Barney Frank as the keynote speakers and was attended by approximately 195 journalists and plus-ones.  Tweeting was even allowed this year, breaking a one hundred year old tradition (rarely adhered to) that comments made at Gridiron Dinners are off the record.

Sarah Palin was stylish in a black dress and carrying, she quipped, a purse made from an otter.

Palin took a few shots at Obama and Biden, saying “if the election had turned out differently, I could be the one overseeing the signing of bailout checks and Vice President Biden could be on the road selling his book “Going Rogaine.”

She also told the story on being on a flight reading a magazine with President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao on the cover.  When another passenger said “Hu’s the Communist.”,  Palin replied, “I thought he was asking a question.”

There were a few self-deprecatory comments as well.  When remarking about the media, Palin said, “It’s good to be here though, really, in front of this audience of leading journalists and intellectuals, or as I like to call it, a death panel.”

In a nod to her difficulties with the McCain campaign managers, Palin laughed, “Going Rogue, the view is so much better inside the bus than under the bus.”

No word on 2012 and a potential Presidential Run but Palin will be in Iowa for a book signing and remarked, “Come early, long lines are expected.”  Iowa is the state that holds the first primaries and is used as a trendsetter for candidates.  Palin will be there Sunday in Sioux City, Iowa for a book signing.

The evening wrapped up with a rousing rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas from Rush Limbaugh as the Gridiron Chorus:

“On the first day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: A Marxist in a dead tree.
On the second day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Two tea-bag goons.
On the third day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Three hell-no’s
On the fourth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Four bawling Becks
On the fifth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Five Sarah swoon-ins
On the sixth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Six health care death squads
On the seventh day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Seven bug-eyed birthers
On the eight day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Eight Cheney boomlets
On the ninth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Nine ACORN busters
On the tenth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Ten thundering mossbacks
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: Eleven loony liberals
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Rush Limbaugh gave to me: twelve flaming liberals, hunted down in the wild and field dressed, medium well-done, seared on the fatty edges—“

Sarah piped in for the last line, “Right next to the mashed potatoes,” she sang.

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Contrary to the report released on November 9, 2009 by NBC Pentagon Correspondent, David Martin, Obama has not made a decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.

The original story stated that Obama was planning to send “close to 40,000 troops” and quoted these numbers from “an informed source”.

Within hours of the story’s release on Monday, National Security Advisor, James Jones fired back: “Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with his national security team, and he has not made any decisions about resources. Any reports to the contrary are completely untrue and come from uninformed sources.”

White House Press Secretary Gibbs has stated that a decision is unlikely until after Obama returns from his Asia trip on November 20.  Gibbs also rebuffed reports of a decision by saying that anyone reporting that the president has made a decision “doesn’t have, in all honesty, the slightest idea what they’re talking about.”

General McChrystal’s report to the Joint Chiefs in which he asked for more troops within the next year was first released by the Washington Post on September 21, 2009.  McChrystal stated that the eight year Afghanistan War will “likely result in failure” without the needed troop infusion.

Obama has repeatedly come under fire for dragging his feet on strategy in Afghanistan.  After McChrystal’s report was released in unclassified form, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement that he was “deeply troubled . . . by reports that the White House is delaying action on the General’s request for more troops”.  Boehner questioned the “integrated civilian-military counterinsurgency” Obama himself set in motion. “It’s time for the President to clarify where he stands on the strategy he has articulated,” Boehner said, “because the longer we wait the more we put our troops at risk.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney at the end of October accused Obama of being afraid.  “Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission,” Cheney said October 22 during a speech at the Center for Security Policy.

“It’s time for President Obama to make good on his promise,” the former vice president added. “The White House must stop dithering while America’s armed forces are in danger.”

In a November 2, 2009 Rasumussen poll, 57% believe the situation in Afghanistan will worsen in the next six months. This number has been worsening since June. Only 13% say the situation in Afghanistan will be better six months from now, and 20% think it will be about the same.

While the Democrats are applauding Obama’s slow and deliberate course to a decision about Afghanistan, Republicans are upset and questioning the President’s tactics.

“I hope he makes it soon, because there’s 68,000 men and women at risk right now,” said Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.). “And he needs to come to Congress and explain it.”

Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.), ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee went a bit further and said that only about 15,000 troops are currently available so any deployment would of necessity take place over a year.

Obama left for Asia today and with his administration deflecting all information on a decision, the troops in Afghanistan and the American people are on hold, hoping for a Thanksgiving miracle.

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In a late night vote in the House of Representatives, HR 3962 with the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was passed 220-215.

Anh “Joseph” Cao was the only Republican vote for healthcare reform.  Pelosi crowed victory when the vote reached 218 and then Cao quietly submitted his “Aye” vote.  He had previously said that federally funded abortions was one of the issues for him.

In an interview with CNN, Cao stated that he felt that his decision to vote for healthcare reform was the right decision for his district, although it was not a popular decision for the party.  Cao has also been able to secure Obama’s promise of assistance for Hurricane Katrina victims but he says that did not influence his vote in favor of healthcare reform.

“The president and I, we have had a very good relationship, and I thank him and his administration for their hard work in helping me to rebuild my district after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina,” Cao said. “I’m pretty sure that if I were to vote no against the bill the president would still continue to work with me to address the needs of my district. But I felt it was important of me to support the president in this matter because, like I said before, based on my own conscience, it was the right decision for my district.” (Link to CNN Interview)

Cao is a Junior Congressman from Louisiana’s 2nd District.  He defeated nine-term Democrat incumbent William Jefferson to win the seat and become the first Republican to hold the seat in that District since 1890.  William Jefferson was the same Jefferson of the $90,000 in the freezer who was also convicted of 11 out of 16 indictments in August 2009.

Cao is the first Vietnamese-American and native of Vietnam to serve in Congress.  Louisiana’s 2nd District is a heavily Democratic district and with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+28, it is one of the most Democratic districts to be represented by a Republican in the United States.

Healthcare Reform is not the first voting departure from Republican party lines by this Junior Congressman.  Cao was one of five Republicans who voted in favor of HR 2346, Obama’s $106 billion supplemental appropriation for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He was also one of seven Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution of disapproval for Joe Wilson; however, he will hold the dubious distinction of the lone Republican to vote in favor of healthcare reform all on his own.

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