GOP Lawmaker’s ‘Socialist’ Obama Claim, Will Ferrell’s Mayoral Endorsement, and More

Defense Offense:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has had enough of Republican attempts to filibuster President Obama’s defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel. On Wednesday, he moved to end the debate on whether to confirm Hagel to the top Pentagon post in an effort to speed up a vote. “This is the first time in history that a presidential nominee for secretary of defense has been filibustered. What a shame,” Reid said. The vote is scheduled for Friday. (Read more)

Libya Looms: The GOP will not let the issue of September’s deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, go. The latest exhibit: Senate Republicans grilled President Obama’s chief of staff Wednesday about the administration’s response to the terrorist attacks during his confirmation hearing to become the next Treasury secretary. Jack Lew was asked by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., whether he briefed the president during the incident that killed four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens. Lew responded by telling the Senate panel he was one of several people who met with Obama, and that the “intelligence community was in close touch with the White House, with the national security team on a near-constant basis.” (Read more)

In a Class of His Own: In his State of the Union response Tuesday night, Sen. Marco Rubio claimed that he was still living in the same working-class neighborhood he had grown up in. It appears, however, he was talking about the very same home he’s trying to sell. According to the Miami New Times, Rubio’s home has been on the market “for an un-working-class-like $675,000 so he can up and move his family to GODLESS ELITE DC.” There seems to be quite a disparity between what Republicans believe constitutes working class and what actually does. (Read more)

Faint Praise: Georgia Republican Rep. Paul Broun seems to badly want people to know that he doesn’t understand the concept of socialism as evidenced by his claim that he was the “first Member of Congress to call [President Obama] a socialist.” Broun, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Saxby Chambliss, bragged about that triumph in a fundraising letter he sent out to potential donors. “I was the first Member of Congress to call him a socialist who embraces Marxist-Leninist policies like government control of health care and redistribution of wealth.” Also up for a boast — his friendship with ex-Congressman Allen West. (Read more)

Video of the Day: Why should you vote for Eric Garcetti to become the next mayor of Los Angeles? For starters, according to actor Will Ferrell’s endorsement video, he and Garcetti have been lifelong friends. They met when they were born at the same hospital and exchanged phone numbers when they were each 1 day old, so Ferrell can vouch for Garcetti’s character. Although Ferrell says he’s not sure how Garcetti would be as a mayor, he can tell residents of Los Angeles that if they vote for him, everyone in the city will get free waffles on Tuesdays … if there were just some way to make that happen, which apparently there is not.