Congressman "Opie" kisses his way to the top
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow [Florida's 12th District] was elected today to the fifth highest GOP leadership post in the U.S. House. Putnam, a third-term Republican, was elected to chair the House Republican Policy Committee, the No. 5 position in the Republican hierarchy.
The post moves Putnam, 31, high up the ladder in the House Leadership after only five years in Congress. Putnam has been viewed as a rising star among Republicans. A seat on the powerful Rules Committee, a panel controlled by the majority leadership, has thrust him into the spotlight on the House floor, where he regularly leads debate on procedural rules for legislation. .... (See Putnam wins leadership post)
Kiss, kiss
WASHINGTON -- Republicans hailed the five-year, $39 billion budget-cutting bill [passed Wednesday on a party-line vote of 216-214] as an important first step to restoring discipline on spending. Democrats attacked the measure as an assault on college students and Medicaid patients, and said powerful Washington lobbyists had too much influence on it.
"The Deficit Reduction Act seeks to curb the unsustainable growth rate of mandatory programs that are set to consume 62 percent of our total federal budget in the next decade if left unchecked," said Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla. He said many such programs "are outdated, inefficient and excessively costly."
But Democrats attacked the measure, especially for its cuts to the federal child support enforcement program and for allowing states to reduce Medicaid coverage and charge increased fees for the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. .... (See House bill)
Write a check
WASHINGTON -- In approving $40 billion in spending cuts Wednesday, Congress slashed federal funding to student loan programs by $12 billion and substantially raised interest rates on these loans.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, said the bill helps rein in excessive government spending. Putnam focused on other cuts to Medicaid and welfare programs, dodging direct attacks on the student loan interest rates. .... (See Budget bill hikes rates on student loans)
Way to go, Big Red (that's W.'s term of endearment for his diminutive bud, ever since their 9/11 diaper-changing flight together aboard AF1). But the special interest boys don't care about the orange hair whatsohowever -- they're seeing nothing but green these days, and Opie is seen as a great investment in the futures market.
Friday morning updates:
- Putnam's Last-Minute Hustle Puts Him at Top of Policy Panel (Lakeland Ledger)
- Adam Putnam's Got Juice (St. Pete Times, "The Buzz" blog, with reader comments)
Posts
2 comments:
I don't know whether to be gleefully horrified, or just plain horrified that the GOP is "holding the course" in how it does the business of politics, even as they get caught in new and exciting and different ways of pillaging the Commons each and every day.
Given the fact that the MSM has turned newscasts into Short Attention Span Theater, I am grudgingly grateful for the continued writ-in-fire reminders of the perfidy of the modern GOP.
But I want it to end soon, or at least for things to slow down... -_-;
It won't happen, plans are in the pipe that won't run out for years, or until enough of them are behind bars.
*grins*
How appropriate - the Captcha word is "faawx."
Yeah, I saw the big Boehner this morning on the talk shows. Empty suit, no change other than a few cosmetics, voice inflections and arching of the eyebrows. :-)
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