Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill)
- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is in his third term in the U.S. Senate, facing re-election in 2014. He is the Senate majority whip, a position he has held since 2006. Sen. Durbin sits on the Judiciary, Appropriations, Foreign Relations and Rules Committees.
- He recently called upon Speaker of the House John Boehner to hold a vote on extending the Bush-era tax rates for incomes below $250,000, which the Senate passed last summer and is a part of the White House’s fiscal cliff proposal to Republicans. Durbin if Boehner does not bring the House bill to a vote before the end of the year, it “will endanger our economy because we’re in the midst of a recovering economy.”
- Sen. Durbin spoke last week about what he believes is needed in the fiscal cliff deal. He said progressives “cannot stand by the sidelines in denial that this is ever going to engage us in the things that we value. We can't be so naive as to believe that just taxing the rich is going to solve our problems.” While he agrees Democrats need to engage in debate about entitlements as well, he said entitlements like Social Security should be separated from the current fiscal cliff talks.
- Here is his most recent Meet the Press appearance.
Republican Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
- Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was just re-elected to his fourth term as representative of California’s 22nd Congressional District, is the majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives. He also serves on the House Financial Services Committee.
- He wrote, the president’s “plan and its messenger reveal more about the true priorities of the administration than they may have realized it would. While Republicans have offered proposals to protect small businesses (and the Americans they employ) from tax rate increases, Geithner – the champion of Wall Street whose financial services ‘reform’ enshrined ‘Too Big to Fail’ as law – is once again advancing proposals to protect the corporate elite at the expense of the taxpayer.”
- Rep. McCarthy said Republicans aren’t going to “whip a deal for the sake of a deal” and he would oppose a deal on the fiscal cliff if it included raising tax rates. He said, “I’m not going to work on something that, I feel, hurts the economy.”
- He also co-wrote “Young Guns” with Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).
Roundtable: Cooper, Gingrich, O’Donnell, Goldman, Woodward
- Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has come out in favor of going off the fiscal cliff if Republicans cannot get a good deal. He said, “I think that no deal is better than a bad deal. I think going off this cliff is less dangerous than letting things build up for a year or two years to have an even bigger cliff.” Gingrich also co-wrote “Victory at Yorktown: A Novel.” Watch his latest Meet the Press appearance.
- Lawrence O’Donnell is the host of MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. This week on his show, O’Donnell has covered the debate on the fiscal cliff, how Jim DeMint’s resignation, cabinet speculation for the president’s second term. Watch his most recent Meet the Press appearance here.
- Juliana Goldman is the White House correspondent for Bloomberg Television. She interviewed President Barack Obama this week.
- Helene Cooper is the White House correspondent for The New York Times. She most recently wrote about U.S.-Israeli relations through the latest violence in Gaza. She wrote that President Obama’s support for Israel through the conflict may have increased his popularity in Israel and given him some leverage to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on issues. She is also the author of “The House at Sugar Beach.” Here is her most recent Meet the Press appearance.
- Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward likened the fiscal cliff negotiations to the movie, “Groundhog Day.” He said, “It’s such a repetition: It’s the same players, at the same seats, at the same table, with the same doctrine. So where this goes – I think anyone who thinks they know is wrong.” Woodward is also the author of “The Price of Politics.” Watch his most recent appearance on the show.
Follow these guests on Twitter:
- Sen. Dick Durbin: @SenatorDurbin
- Rep. Kevin McCarthy: @kevinomccarthy
- Helene Cooper: @helenecooper
- Julianna Goldman: @juliannagoldman
- Lawrence O’Donnell: @Lawrence
- Newt Gingrich: @newtgingrich
Also follow @meetthepress for live updates throughout Sunday’s show.
Leave a Comment:
David, come on and ask these politions the real questions, How much is the president throwing away per day, like secret service protection being extended, BS gemme programs for certain groups, Grants for BS programs. Nobody wants to ask the real questions or even get the real answers, and it doesn't take a college grad to use the GOD given common sense to figure out that the problem is our President and all of Congress, and this is nothing but a reality show to entertain the sheep. You media guys need to put the real questions out in front of these guys and make them answer you, We the people are not all stupid.. Sounds like some of Us small business owners need to run the daily business in Washington, because the Educated don't have the common sense that it takes to do the job..I guess it truly is the richest game in town, What a shame!!
NBC has turned MTP into a silly infotainment show....Newt Gingrich? Rick Santorum? David Gregory? I can't think of any three less relevant people...except for, maybe Bob Woodward.
Fortunately, the Classic channel on cable has Married With Children reruns this morning. Al Bundy is far more relevant than the silly degradation of our politics by NBC and MTP. Bye-bye!
Dick Durbin knows the Progressive Caucus stand for those that have no voice at the table. Those that gave the Democrats a victory on November 6th. He knows the plans for austerity cuts to social earned benefit insurance programs, going on behind the backs of Americans, is selling out the Democratic voters. The Democrats are openly aligning themselves with big corporate interests. Last week Claire McCaskil said Congressional leaders should stop playing to the cheap seats; a reference to the 47%.
Dick Durbin should be talking about how Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Benefits are off any negotiating table and that defense spending cuts are taking their place. No reform of deductions for those earning under $250,000, is going to happen. Removal of Bush Tax cuts for all is going to happen.
Democrats won the election, don't you dare sell out your base to the corporations and military-Industrial. You are neither hot nor cold, so you are spewed from the mouths of the 53%ers!
Roundtable, Same-Sex Marriage: I'm a Republican/Christian; Wash. State. I believe EVERYONE has the right, under the Laws of the United States, to have equal rights of a marriage. The WORD, Marriage, IS defined to be between a Man and a Woman; THIS DEFINES CREATION! Instead of the word "marriage', why can not a different word be used. Lets compromise for couples of Same-Sex wanting a legal Union(synonym); same rights, different term. Not everything in life can be exactly the same every time. DIFFERENT IS OKAY people. To judge anyone is GODs' job, not ours. God gives everyone Free Will and Freedom to make choices; even to believe in Him. God is for EVERYBODY!
Iran is good at mixing government and religion like that, but in the USA, we respect the rights of others- ALL others- and our laws are not written for the purposes of any religion or for a few "special" people. In the USA you are free to believe whatever you want to believe, but the laws of your religion are not USA laws. Of all the many religions in the USA, not one of them dictates our secular laws. We believe in basic human rights in the USA...basic human rights for ALL people.