Beltway Confidential

United States Armed Forces could win simultaneous conflicts in the Korean peninsula and against Iran, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told American soldiers in Germany today, despite the impending force reductions.

"We could be fighting a land war in Korea, and suddenly Iran moves to close the Straits of Hormuz," Panetta said, discussing a hypothetical scenario, during a visit to soldiers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center today. "We’ve got to have the capability to be able to confront each adversary, to not only deter them, but defeat them.  And we can do that with the force that we’ve put in place."

North Korea, currently transitioning from one dictator to another and armed with nuclear weapons, has concerned United States foreign policy analysts for decades. Similarly, Iran's push to develop nuclear weapons has resulted in oil sanctins and the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Panetta assured the troops that the United States could defeat two such enemies, but the scheduled force reductions will preclude fighting a two-front war on the scale of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "If we are engaged in a major combat operation in one theater, we will have the force necessary to confront an additional aggressor by denying its objectives or imposing unacceptable costs," Panetta explained in a recent summary of Defense Budget Priorities and Choices.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he would not bring a budget to the floor for a vote this year, the Hill reports, which would make this the third straight year without such a resolution.

"We do not need to bring a budget to the floor this year — it's done, we don't need to do it," Reid said.

Though Senate Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said he expects his committee to produce a budget document, Reid said he wouldn't bring it to the floor.

His argument is that last summer's debt ceiling deal already set the spending levels for the year, so there's no need to pass a resolution that is non-binding anyway. Money is typically spent during the year through the appropriations process.

The problem with this explanation is that Democrats have spent a year trashing the House-passed budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. as balancing the budget on the backs of the poor, and have called for a more balanced approach. Yet neither President Obama nor the Democratic Senate has put on paper a budget that accomplishes the same ends through different means.

In a document that was scored by the CBO, Ryan showed that lawmakers could balance the budget and put the nation on a sustainable fiscal course without raising taxes. Obama and Democrats have said they supported a "balanced approach" that would include a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts. But beyond speeches, they have not released an actual detailed plan that can be evaluated by the CBO to produce the same budgetary savings as Ryan's plan does.

As I wrote in my column yesterday, when Obama releases his budget a week from Monday, it will be his last chance to live up to his promise of wanting to be the type of leader that made tough choices.

   The Superbowl may be one of the most apolitical events of the year, but when it arrives in the middle of a highly-charged election like Indiana’s Senate GOP primary, somebody is bound to piggyback on it.

  Enter Republican Sen. Dick Lugar, the former mayor of Indianapolis, who’s so far successfully fighting off a Tea Party challenge. Not one to normally brag, we hear he is moving to take some credit for reviving the host city of Superbowl XLVI.

   In a letter to supporters, for example, he takes a little credit for pushing the city into the world-class category, though he was a senator when the Colts packed up and moved from Baltimore. And in a move that will have voters in the friendly Midwestern state nodding in appreciation, he also spreads the credit around to the local community.

   Elections expert Charlie Cook has the state staying in GOP hands, presumably with Lugar serving another term, but the state’s longest-serving senator is still in the battle for his life. And looking football friendly this weekend isn’t a chance to miss.

   Here is his letter to supporters:

“Indiana's capital city has trained very hard for this moment. Super Bowl XLVI is one all Hoosiers should enjoy.

 

As mayor, I worked to make Indianapolis a world-class city. As Senator, I've kept my eye on the ball. But while officials often get credit for the rebirth and rebuilding of Greater Indianapolis, in reality, it has been a team effort of our citizens - citywide and statewide.

 

Hoosier Hospitality is not just a saying or slogan. The friendly, helpful nature of Indiana's people make our state an attractive destination for visitors and employers alike. Our work ethic and dogged determination bring events and investment marveled by other states, even nations.

 

Thanks go out to all Indiana hosts, volunteers and fans of Super Bowl XLVI. Your efforts symbolize true Hoosier Hospitality and have been vital for attracting and hosting this weekend's big game.

 

Congratulations, team!

 

Sincerely,

Richard G. Lugar

U.S. Senator for Indiana

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta refused to dispute or comment on a recent column reporting that he thinks Israel could attack Iran within the next few months.

"I'm not going to comment on that," Panetta replied when asked about a column in the Washington Post. "David Ignatius, you know, can write what he will but, you know, with regards to what I think and what I view, I consider that to be an area that belongs to me and nobody else."

Asked if he was "disputing" Ignatius' column, Panetta said "No, I'm just not commenting."

After it appeared that the Komen Foundation backed down from the decision to withdraw grants for Planned Parenthood, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barbara Boxer were quick to praise the decision.

"It just goes to show you when women speak out, women win." House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said to reporters earlier today, "Women's health had a big victory this morning."

"Women's health triumphed over right-wing politics," Barbara Boxer exclaimed today, joining MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on the phone this afternoon to celebrate the victory for Planned Parenthood

Yesterday, Boxer accused the organization of "McCarthy like" tactics, and suggested to Mitchell today that the explanation given by spokesman Nancy Brinker was "gobbledy - gook."

"There's almost hand to hand combat over the issue of birth control going on and I thought that was resolved in the '60s," Boxer added, "We have to make sure that the fact that women have access to birth control stands."

Boxer also panned the "terrible" bill proposed by Marco Rubio, that would repeal President Obama's contraception mandate.

 

Yesterday, Sierra Club Executive Driector Michael Brune came clean about his organization's profitable relationship with the natural gas industry. Specifically, Brune admitted that his organization had taken $26 million from one of the country's largest natural gas companies, Chesapeake Energy, since 2007 to fund the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign.

The investment for the natural gas industry is clear: use the Sierra Club as political cover to induce the federal government to drive up the cost of coal, thereby making natural gas relatively cheaper. It is classic Democratic corporatism in action.

But now that the natural gas industry's hydraulic fracturing practices have become the bete noir of the environmental movement, the Sierra Club wants a divorce. Brune writes:

It's time to stop thinking of natural gas as a "kinder, gentler" energy source. What's more, we do not have an effective regulatory system in this country to address the risks that gas drilling poses on our health and communities. The scope of the problems from under-regulated drilling, as well as a clearer understanding of the total carbon pollution that results from both drilling and burning gas, have made it plain that, as we phase out coal, we need to leapfrog over gas whenever possible in favor of truly clean energy. Instead of rushing to see how quickly we can extract natural gas, we should be focusing on how to be sure we are using less -- and safeguarding our health and environment in the meantime.

But will the Democratic Party follow suit? Here is then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, defending her own personal investment in T. Boone Pickens energy firm (Pickens is also a big proponent of natural gas): "I’m investing in something I believe in. I believe in natural gas as a clean, cheap alternative to fossil fuel. … These investments in wind, in solar and biofuels and focus on natural gas, these are the real alternatives."

Does Pelosi still believe natural gas is a "clean cheap alternative to fossil fuel? Or has the "science" changed?

Attorney General Eric Holder called for Louisianans to fight racism in their communities, noting that voting rights discrimination is "all too common" in the United States.

"Unfortunately, in jurisdictions across the country, both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common," Holder said today at Tulane University in Louisiana.  "And we don’t have to look far to see recent proof." Holder reminded his audience of a recent redistricting case in which a Louisiana parish "map-drawer began the process by meeting exclusively with white officeholders," which Holder said produced a map that "diminished the electoral opportunity for African Amerians."

The Justice Department "objected" to that map, Holder said, and so "the Parish enacted a new, non-discriminatory map."

Holder called for Americans to support him in fighting voting discrimination. "For every citizen, protecting the right to vote, ensuring meaningful access, and combating discrimination must be viewed, not only as a legal issue – but as a moral imperative," he said.  "And every citizen, in every state, must be part of this work."