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By Humberto Sanchez Posted at 1:39 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2015

Schumer warned Republicans against any effort to politicize the Congressional Budget Office. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Charles E. Schumer and five other Senate Democrats raised concerns in a letter Friday that Republican leaders will replace the current Congressional Budget Office director as part of an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

We strongly object to any effort to politicize this important office, the letter said.Appointing a new CBO Director on the basis of ideology would fundamentally compromise the integrity of an institution that has served as a trusted scorekeeper.

The Democrats also called for current director Doug Elmendorf to be allowed to stay on.

Director Elmendorfs record and the importance of continuity in such a critical position are compelling reasons why he should remain in the position, and we hope very much that you will reach that conclusion, the letter said.

The letter was addressed to incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, incoming Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga.

Signatories of the letter included Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who is chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Center, and DPCC vice chairman Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is DPCC strategic policy adviser, and Sen. Mark Warner, who is DPCC policy development adviser, also signed on to the letter. Both were added to the Senate Democratic leadership ranks in reaction to the loss of the majority in the 2014-midterm elections.

With control of both chambers, Republicans are entitled to pick a new CBO director. The House speaker and the Senate president pro tempore jointly appoint the CBO director after considering recommendations from the House and Senate budget committees.

Read more:
Democrats Call on GOP to Keep CBO's Elmendorf

Listen Story audio 4min 4sec Peterson, Franken, and WalzScott Takushi / The St. Paul Pioneer Press via AP

Some Minnesota congressional Democrats seem surprisingly optimistic about losing power.

Republicans will control the U.S. House and Senate next year and no politician wants to be in the minority. But members on both sides of the aisle expect a degree of stability now that the GOP will run both houses. That may open new opportunities to work together.

The GOP plans to look for issues that at least some Democrats are likely to support, said 3rd District GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen.

High on Paulsen's list is a repeal of the medical device tax that's part of the Affordable Care Act.

Even though Democrats generally oppose making changes to the law, undoing the tax is one provision that's gathered bipartisan support.

"I think the philosophy that our leadership has is that we're going to start producing legislation and looking for opportunities to show that we can govern and get some things done," Paulsen said.

As the recent vote to fund the government made clear, there are deep splits within both parties deep enough that some DFLers see an opening.

"Sometimes in the minority you actually have more leverage than you might otherwise," said 1st District DFL Rep. Tim Walz. He thinks GOP House Speaker John Boehner may try to push legislation that won't have the support of tea party-allied Republicans.

"They're going to need some moderates to help them out on some things, and I think that's a role that we play well," Walz said. "That's what my constituents want me to do."

The rest is here:
Out of power, MN congressional Democrats see room to maneuver

SBY #39;s Democrats Clamor for New Party Congress to Elect Leader

By: BeritaSatu English

Original post:
SBY's Democrats Clamor for New Party Congress to Elect Leader - Video

Democrats are taking a strikingly cautious approach to the controversy surrounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and his speech to a white supremacist group in 2002.

The vast majority ofDemocrats are not calling for Scalise to resign, or for leadership to drop him. But they are tying Scalise to other Republicans and arguing the issue is emblematic of a party Democrats argue is at odds with minority groups on a range of policies.

Democrats dont want to get too far in front of the story, particularly since it is unclear whether Scalises 2002 address to the European-American Unity and Rights Organization is an isolated incident.

Its also possible that Democrats are quite happy to see Scalise continue to be a part of the GOP leadership, since it will allow them to return to the story about his address to a group founded by David Duke repeatedly between now and Election Day 2016, when Democrats hope a broader electorate will help them win the White House and take back House and Senate seats.Only Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) has called for his resignation as majority whip.

They probably believe that hes more useful to them if he remains a leader in the Republican Party, said Bob Mann, a professor at Louisiana State University and a former Democratic aide.

If he resigns, problem solved, the Republicans have banished this embarrassing person from their midst, and the Democrats cant use him as a symbol for intolerance.

The statement from Pelosis office framed Scalises address as symptomatic of a larger GOP problem.

Actions speak louder than whatever Steve Scalise said to that group in 2002, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.

Just this year, House Republicans have refused to restore the Voting Rights Act or pass comprehensive immigration reform, and leading Republican members are now actively supporting in the federal courts efforts by another known extremist group, the American Center for Law and Justice, which is seeking to overturn the presidents immigration executive actions.

Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist and contributor at The Hill, said that it would be pretty Machiavellian for Democrats to want to keep Scalise in leadership for personal gain. He believes that Pelosi and other Democrats are holding back in fear of jumping the gun before all the facts come out.

Read the original post:
Democrats take cautious approach with GOP, Scalise

By Jeremy Diamond, CNN

updated 5:37 PM EST, Wed December 31, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- As national Democrats are jumping at the chance to sink Rep. Steve Scalise, Louisiana Democrats are throwing the House majority whip a buoy.

Democrats from the Bayou State, including a current congressman and two former statewide elected officials, are giving Scalise some much needed cover after his position in the Republican leadership was suddenly thrown up in the air Monday when his office confirmed an eyebrow-raising speech he gave to a David Duke-founded white supremacist group in 2002.

Former U.S. Senator Bennett Johnston, a Democrat who beat back a challenge from Duke in 1990, said even he didn't know that EURO as "a racist organization."

"I may disagree with Representative Scalise but a racist he is not. Nor would he have been stupid enough to knowingly address a racist group," Johnston said in a statement published in the Times-Picayune. "While it is sometimes fun to see Republicans in trouble, you'd be wrong to blame Representative Steve Scalise for being racist on account of addressing a (EURO) meeting."

Johnston is now a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. and a strong supporter of oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

RELATED: Louisiana pols offer bipartisan backing for Steve Scalise

And former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, a Democrat who beat out Duke for the governorship in 1991, also ran to Scalise's defense.

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Louisiana Dems defend Scalise