The UGLY, the BAD and the GOOD

President Obama railed against Republicans this week because they balked at spending another $34 billion without making corresponding cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. The premise for this Democratic spending spree is the extension of jobless benefits for people who have not worked for nearly two years. And as the Buffalo News pointed out in an editorial, this bill is so overloaded with congressional baubles that it looks like a Christmas tree.

This is all too typical of the majority. The fact is, the federal government does not have $34 billion to spend. The federal deficit is expected to exceed $1.5 trillion this year.

http://www.dailymail.com/Opinion/Editorials/201007190754

Manchin named to the seat his former general counsel, Carte Goodwin, 36, who promptly announced that he would not run in the November special election.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, whose state director is Carte Goodwin's wife, Rochelle, promptly announced that Goodwin would provide the vote Senate Democrats need to pass a costly extension of unemployment compensation. The legislation is expected to pass today, minutes after Goodwin is sworn in, Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller is one of the most liberal members of the Senate. Manchin is a centrist Democrat. A Republican challenger would likely be to the right of both.

What kind of change do West Virginians want?

http://www.dailymail.com/Opinion/Editorials/201007190738

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A last-minute legislative compromise has cleared the way for a November election to fill the late Robert C. Byrd's U.S. Senate seat.

The measure, which sets an Aug. 28 primary and Nov. 2 general election, was passed 83-7 by the House and 29-0 by the Senate.

The compromise allows Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito to run both for Byrd's seat and a sixth U.S. House term. She's considered the GOP's top prospect for winning the seat.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/w-va-special-election-573734.html