From NBC's Ken Strickland
After yesterday's successful vote to move the tax cut bill forward in the Senate, it seemed likely that the upper chamber would approve final passage of the compromise legislation today and send the bill to the House.

But, as of this morning, there are no votes scheduled for today in the Senate on the bill.

Here's why: After a filibuster is successfully broken - as it was yesterday - Senate rules require an additional 30 hours of debate before moving to the final vote. That 30 hours won't expire until about midnight tonight.

Often, that 30 hour gap is bypassed if no senators object.

But if just one senator doesn’t agree to skip the debate, the Senate is forced to burn up the entire 30 hours before the final vote.

With a small but vocal group of opponents to the bill, that's likely the cause for the delay.

But the timeline could change as Senate leaders negotiate whether or not to allow votes on amendments to the package, so stay tuned.

Steele’s surprising move to run for re-election… If he wins, does the RNC remain relevant?... GOP PR machine goes into overdrive pushing yesterday’s court ruling on the health-care law… How does the Obama administration respond?... Bizarro Congress World: Senate easily passes tax deal… Romney becomes the first potential 2012er (outside of Palin) to oppose the deal… And Rahm’s day in court.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Steele’s surprise: Last night’s decision by RNC Chairman Michael Steele to run for a second term was classic Steele. Just as all the signs were pointing against him running and as other candidates had announced their intention to replace him, Steele surprised almost everyone (maybe even himself?) -- which, in retrospect, shouldn’t have been a surprise. We now know two things about the election for RNC chair, which takes place next month: 1) it will be MUCH more interesting to watch, and 2) it’s going to be all about Steele and his stewardship of the committee. At an RNC candidate forum a couple of weeks ago, Steele’s tenure was hardly mentioned. Now? It’s going to be the chief issue between now and next month’s election. The other candidates in the field include Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis, former Bush administration official Maria Cino, Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, former RNC political director Gentry Collins, and former Missouri GOP chair Ann Wagner.

*** What becomes of the RNC? Among these other candidates -- most of whom are party operatives and not larger-than-life politicians -- who becomes the anti-Steele figure? And do the Republicans who are most critical of Steele become more vocal? Because if they don’t speak up more, it’s possible that Steele can win this race again. What’s on the line is the RNC’s relevancy. If Steele wins, it’s very possible the RNC becomes as relevant to the party as Americans for Tax Reform or the Club for Growth. Yes, those organizations have a role in the party. But they don’t run it. As we found out last cycle, Republicans are more than capable of establishing other entities -- like American Crossroads -- to raise money, air TV ads, and get out the vote. But relying on outside groups, if you are a presidential candidate, is truly risky business. In fact, keep an eye on the presidential wannabes. Could they collectively get together and attempt to stop Steele?

*** GOP PR machine goes in overdrive on health ruling: The other provocative political story yesterday was the ruling by a federal judge in Virginia that part of the health-care law (the individual mandate) is unconstitutional. Even though two other courts had ruled the other way, and even though the Virginia judge is a Republican appointed by George W. Bush, the GOP celebrated yesterday’s ruling almost as much as they celebrated winning back the House last month. In short, the conservative PR machine was in overdrive yesterday, and this raises a question for the Obama administration: How do they respond, PR-wise? Yes, the White House and HHS worked to pre-but yesterday’s ruling on the legal front. And, yes, we’ve read the emails and blog posts coming out of HHS about the health law. But does the administration begin to ramp up its efforts against the conservative echo chamber? Because the White House -- politically and message-wise -- still hasn’t sold the health law to the American public. And yesterday was a great example of just how behind the eight ball they are. Does HHS Secretary Sebelius need to become more high profile? There's an argument, actually, that on the PR front the White House has yet to recover from losing Tom Daschle -- and that was TWO YEARS AGO.

*** Bizarro Congress World: Yesterday, we entered Bizarro Congress World. After nearly two years of legislation dying in the Senate -- or being modified to get 60 votes -- the chamber easily cleared the filibuster on the tax-cut deal by an 83-15 vote; the final Senate vote will take place as early as today. Meanwhile, the House -- which has passed legislation in the past two years as if it were an assembly line -- has had a more difficult time embracing the deal. The reason why senators have found the tax deal (and also the deficit commission’s proposal) easier to swallow, and why House members haven’t, hits at the essence of the two chambers. The Senate, whose members represent entire states and which needs 60 votes to pass almost anything, is all about compromise and deal making; the House, whose members represent mostly safe congressional districts, is much more polarized.

*** Follow the leader? Still, everyone expects the House to follow the Senate’s lead and approve the tax-cut legislation, though probably not by the margin we saw yesterday. The New York Times: “Many Democrats had initially reacted furiously to the plan, but the rage seems to have yielded to resignation. Even House Democrats who remain opposed to the deal say they expect it to be approved within days, though they are still weighing plans to force votes on proposals to impose a steeper federal tax on large estates.”

*** Romney opposes tax deal: A few days ago, a smart conservative asked us this question: Why hadn’t we seen a prominent potential Republican presidential candidate come out against the tax deal, especially as a way to demonstrate some fiscal-discipline chops. Well, the first potential 2012er (outside of Palin) is now opposing the tax deal, and it’s … Mitt Romney. In a USA Today op-ed, Romney picks up on the Charles Krauthammer argument and writes that the deal adds to the deficit. “Given the unambiguous message that the American people sent to Washington in November, it is difficult to understand how our political leaders could have reached such a disappointing agreement. The new, more conservative Congress should reach a better solution.”

*** Rahm’s in court: And here's the Chicago Tribune on another political story outside of Washington: "Rahm Emanuel has battled the toughest politicians in Washington but today he comes face to face with a new challenge -- more than 20 Chicagoans or their attorneys seeking to knock him off the ballot for mayor. It's Day One of what's likely to be a three-day marathon hearing into whether the former White House chief of staff meets the legal requirement of being a Chicago resident for one year prior to the February election to replace retiring Mayor Richard Daley. In a brief filed in advance of the hearing at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Emanuel's attorneys lay out the reasons that Emanuel qualifies as a Chicago resident even though he and his family have lived in Washington during his time in the Obama Administration." The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am ET.

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The Boston Globe: “A bipartisan bloc of senators easily propelled President Obama’s tax cut compromise over a key procedural hurdle yesterday, clearing the way for a final Senate vote as early as today, and setting the stage for a potential showdown later this week among divided Democrats in the House.” The final vote was 83-15.

"The Washington Post adds, “Republicans and Democrats joined forces in the Senate on Monday to deliver the most significant bipartisan vote since President Obama took office, advancing a plan to extend tax cuts for virtually every American and to boost the economic recovery. The procedural vote could be followed by final Senate passage as early as Tuesday evening. If the bill sails through the Senate, as expected, the last hurdle would be the House, where liberal Democrats remain strongly opposed to continuing President George W. Bush's tax breaks for upper-income households as well as the generous terms of a revived estate tax."

Per NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell, the Senate Republicans who voted against the deal were: Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Ensign (R-NV), George Voinovich (R-OH), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Jim DeMint (R-SC).

The Democrats who voted against it: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Kristin Gilibrand (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mark Udall (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Kay Hagan (D-NC), and Carl Levin (D-MI).

Both Oregon Democratic senators did not vote: Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden.

The New York Times: “Many Democrats had initially reacted furiously to the plan, but the rage seems to have yielded to resignation. Even House Democrats who remain opposed to the deal say they expect it to be approved within days, though they are still weighing plans to force votes on proposals to impose a steeper federal tax on large estates.”

Here are some handy charts on what the bill means based on your income from the Boston Globe.

The New York Times writes up yesterday’s federal court ruling on the health-care law: "A federal judge in Virginia ruled on Monday that the keystone provision in the Obama health care law is unconstitutional, becoming the first judge to invalidate any part of the sprawling act and ensuring that appellate courts will receive contradictory opinions from below."

The Washington Post says, "Although the opinion by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson gives significant political ammunition to the law's opponents, it does not invalidate the entire law or force federal and state officials to stop the work of putting it into effect - steps Virginia had asked him to take. The ruling by Hudson, named to the bench by George W. Bush, sets up a conflict with opinions by two Democratic-appointed judges who have concluded recently that the law is constitutional. The cases are among two dozen in federal courts across the country that challenge many aspects of the law. The final word is widely expected to come from the U.S. Supreme Court."

The Washington Post: “The death of Richard C. Holbrooke, who directed the civilian side of the war in Afghanistan, leaves a major void in what has always been the most difficult and vulnerable aspect of President Obama's strategy.”

And catch this final line of this Washington Post piece summarizes Holbrooke’s life: “As Mr. Holbrooke was sedated for surgery, family members said, his final words were to his Pakistani surgeon: ‘You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan.’”

"In the face of overwhelming criticism about his stewardship of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, the party chairman, declared Monday evening that he had no intentions of quietly stepping aside and vowed to seek re-election to lead the party into the 2012 presidential campaign," the New York Times' Zeleny writes. "Mr. Steele made the announcement in a conference call with members of the Republican committee, some of whom have already pledged their support to one of the half-dozen candidates vying to replace him. He did not take questions in the 40-minute call or address many of the challenges facing his candidacy, including the financial management of the committee that is ending the year $15 million in debt."

Politico’s Martin: “[I]n a defense of his tenure that stretched for 30 minutes before he announced his plans, Steele touted the party’s gains over the past two years in making a robust case for why he deserved to be elected to a second term when the party meets next month. According to sources on the call, the embattled chairman talked at length about why the party had gone into a debt of at least $15 million and even why they had spent money on races in the territories.” More: “More broadly, Steele’s decision to run represents a direct rebuke to the party’s establishment wing, many members of which have gone public since Election Day with their concerns about the state of the RNC under the former Maryland lieutenant governor. Figures such as Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have indicated that they preferred a different chairman. Bush administration figures such as Vice President Dick Cheney and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie have already lined up behind Maria Cino, a longtime GOP operative.”

The New York Daily News: “Republicans aren't quite done with their gaffe-prone party chairman Michael Steele yet.”

Wrestling mogul and failed U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon will meet with NRSC Chair John Cornyn, per Roll Call. The time and date is unclear at this point. “I don’t know what her message is going to be, but I sort of suspect she isn’t finished,” Cornyn said.

BARBOUR: The State Column: Barbour said of the health care ruling, “The decision of the federal court in Virginia is encouraging to all of us who consider the Obamacare law unconstitutional.”

DANIELS: He put out a book list with a political meaning, lauding, for example, Henry Kissinger on diplomacy. US News’ Bedard writes, “When you're thinking about running for the presidency, everything has meaning, even a Christmas book list like the one Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels gave us. Over nine book suggestions, "My Man Mitch" seems to be spelling out his presidential campaign story: An underdog who compassionately pushes for an end to the welfare state, rallies the nation around war heroes, and who takes on foreign and domestic critics to resurrect a new national identity. His approach is pure Daniels: Simple, unpretentious, and with a deeper meaning.”

HUCKABEE: He told National Journal he watched President Obama, who he called “amateurish,” “self-destruct” at the podium during his press conference announcing the tax compromise: “I was just stunned--I really couldn't believe that a man that was elected president was as amateurish as he was, and essentially launched from the podium at some of his own, taking aim and mowing down everybody in D.C. and walking away having not understood that he just lost a lot of people.”

GINGRICH: Writing in National Review, he’s calling for a halt to START. He says it would hurt the U.S.’s missile defense and sent a letter to Senators urging them to oppose the treaty. He writes, “Modest treaties can wait until they have been thoroughly vetted. Modest treaties do not need to be jammed through the Senate on Christmas Eve like last year’s disastrous health-care bill — especially when twelve of the senators in the lame-duck Congress were recently defeated or are retiring and no longer have the mandate of the American people. Modest treaties can wait until March. In fact, it appears that no major treaty has ever been ratified by the Senate during a lame-duck session of Congress.” (Hat tip: GOP 12)

(Of course, nothing would be jammed through if it had been voted on earlier, as the White House wanted. And it was this Congress that held the hearings on START.)

PALIN: She was in Haiti. USA Today religion writer Cathy Lynn Grossman notes, “[T]he coverage leaves out Palin's evangelical pilot -- literally and figuratively -- Rev. Franklin Graham.” More: “Graham, who has succeeded father Billy at the head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, is more often in headlines for his condemnations of Islam and anyone else who doesn't see Christianity his way.”

ROMNEY: Watch that right flank… He pens an op-ed in USA Today, calling the tax compromise a “bad deal,” because it’s “only temporary” and it adds to the deficit. (Although, if they were made permanent wouldn’t that add MORE to the deficit?) He acknowledges it will provide some short-term stimulus, but “the long term health of our great engine of prosperity will remain very much in doubt.”

Conservative AllahPundit, writing on Hot Air writes, “Thus did Mitt cover his ass ahead of the 2011 primaries, where support for the new porkier tax cuts compromise will no doubt be a litmus test for grassroots righties.” Romney’s stance puts him to the right of at least Gingrich, Huckabee, and Thune. Palin said she was against it also.

THUNE: He voted for the tax deal.

Republican Joe Miller is taking his challenge to Alaska's U.S. Senate race to the state Supreme Court," the AP writes. "Miller filed his appeal Monday, three days after a lower court ruled against his lawsuit challenging how the state counted write-in ballots for his rival, Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Arguments are set for Friday."

Here's the appeal filing, as posted by the Anchorage Daily News.

The Anchorage Daily News in a Saturday editorial wrote: "We're confident most Alaskans hope Joe Miller will understand that just because you can hold up certification of the U.S. Senate election doesn't mean you should. ... Don't even bother to stick a fork in this one. It's overdone. All Miller will accomplish now by pursuing the court case is delay certification and potentially leave Alaska without its senior senator on duty. That's a disservice to the state Miller claimed he wanted to serve."

From NBC's Athena Jones
President Obama made his third trip to the White House briefing room in a week to deliver two minutes of remarks, hailing the Senate's vote to begin debate on the tax deal. At last count, some 80 senators -- Democrats and Republicans -- had voted to proceed on the bill. Eleven senators voted "nay" and only one of those was Republican.

Calling the deal he announced last week a "substantial victory for middle class families," Obama noted the bipartisan support it received in the Senate and urged the House of Representatives to "act quickly on this important matter."

Joe Miller (R) is keeping up his fight for the U.S. Senate. He has appealed to the state Supreme Court, AP reports.

AP writes:

The court confirms that Miller filed an appeal Monday. Arguments are set for Friday. ...

Unofficially, Murkowski garnered more votes than Miller in the Nov. 2 election, but the state's certification of the results is being held up until while Miller's legal case is resolved.

Here's a stunner: Citing two RNC committee sources, Fox reports Michael Steele will announce tonight he IS running.

From the story:

Steele is said to be amused by false reports of his retirement and intentionally kept his plans secret for the last month in order to flush out competitors for the post, Fox has learned.

Few committee members believe Steele has enough votes to win. He needs 85 votes of the 168 committee members. The vote takes place at the RNC's Winter Meeting in Washington Jan. 13-15.

This hardly means anything is assured. Politico reported this morning, citing "key supporters" and Steele's lack of a campaign infrastructure, that Steele was unlikely to run.

*** UPDATE *** The Senate cleared the 60-vote threshold to advance the tax compromise bill by a wider-than-expected 83-15 margin. The bill now moves to the House, setting up a potential showdown with Democrats, who have expressed anger over the bill.

Here’s who voted against: Democrats: Bingaman (D-NM), Brown (D-OH), Feingold (D-WI), Gillibrand (D-NY), Hagan (D-NC), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Leahy (D-VT), Levin (D-MI), Sanders (I-VT), Udall (D-CO); Republicans: Coburn (R-OK), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Sessions (R-AL), Voinovich (R-OH).

Not voting: Merkley (D-OR) and Wyden (D-OR).

Here’s the roll call.

The vote proceeded slowly and was left open for an extended period because of bad weather across the country and some senators had been delayed in getting to the Capitol.

*** UPDATE 2 *** We'll update in the morning with the final tally. (Final tally noted above.)

In a blog posting, White House adviser Stephanie Cutter responds to today's federal court ruling that part of the health-care law is unconstitutional:

Today's narrow ruling in Virginia on the constitutionality of a provision of the Affordable Care Act is just one of many recent rulings on similar cases that have come down in recent months. Since the law passed, opponents of reform have filed more than 20 different legal challenges. Judges have already granted the Administration's motion to dismiss 12 of these cases. And in two cases, federal judges looked at the merits of the opponents' arguments, determined that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and upheld the law.

We disagree with the ruling issued today in Virginia and the Department of Justice is considering its appeal options.

We are pleased that Judge Hudson agrees that implementation of the law will continue uninterrupted. In the nine months since the health reform law was passed, we've made tremendous progress to strengthen our health care system, including lowering costs and implementing a new patient's bill of rights to end some of the worst insurance company abuses. That work continues. And we're confident that when it's all said and done, the courts will find the Affordable Care Act constitutional.

History and the facts are on our side. Similar legal challenges to major new laws -- including the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act -- were all filed and all failed. Contrary to what opponents argue the new law falls well within Congress's power to regulate economic activity under the Commerce Clause, the Necessary and Proper Clause, and the General Welfare Clause.

Opponents of reform claim that the individual responsibility requirement - the requirement that all Americans carry a minimum level insurance by 2014 -exceeds Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce because it penalizes economic "inactivity." Make no mistake -- individuals who choose to go without health insurance are actively engaged in economic decision making - the decision to pay for health care out-of-pocket or to seek uncompensated care. Every year millions of those who have chosen to go without health insurance actively seek medical care, which is evident in the billions of dollars spent on uncompensated care every year.

The Affordable Care Act came into being precisely because of the interconnectedness of our health care costs. People who make an economic decision to forego health insurance do not opt out of the health care market, but instead shift their costs to others when they become ill or are involved in an accident and cannot pay. Those costs - $43 billion in 2008 alone - are borne by doctors, hospitals, insured individuals, taxpayers and small businesses throughout the nation. This cost-shift added on average $1,000 to family premiums in 2009 and roughly $410 to an individual premium.

From NBC's Kelly O'Donnell and Alicia Jennings
Senate leaders from both parties just indicated that they expect Senate business to go beyond this Friday -- which was the expected get-away date for the holidays.

No specifics yet and not a certainty, but that is the general guidance.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said they must finish pending business, which includes the tax-cuts package, funding government operations, and possibly ratification of New START.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked in his daily press briefing about President Obama's scheduled departure for Hawaii for the holidays. Said Gibbs: "I think the president will be in Washington and in the White House for as long as Congress is in session."

From NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
This evening, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is expected to hold a conference call with RNC members to discuss whether he'll seek a second term. The smart money -- because he has disappeared from the public view as other Republicans have lined up to replace him -- and because he hasn't assembled a campaign team -- is that Steele won't run.

Despite the GOP's political success in the 2009-2010 cycle, Steele's numerous critics charged that he failed at the two biggest responsibilties for a party chairman: money and message.

The money criticism was summed up by his former political director, Gentry Collins, who is now running to replace Steele as RNC chairman. “In the previous two non-presidential cycles, the RNC carried over $4.8 million and $3.1 million respectively in cash reserve balances into the presidential cycles,” Collins said. “In stark contrast, we enter the 2012 presidential cycle with 100% of the RNC’s $15 million in lines of credit tapped out, and unpaid bills likely to add millions to that debt.” You can add stories like the RNC's $2,000 expenditure at a sex-themed nightclub to that complaint.

As for message, Steele's gaffes were legion. In fact, here's what we consider to be his Top 10 gaffes/statements that got him into trouble -- with the press and his own party.

1. Channeling Cindy Sheehan
"This is a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in. ... if he is such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Alright, because everyone who has tried over a thousand years of history has failed."

Then his backtrack...

“As we have learned throughout history, winning a war in Afghanistan is a difficult task. We must also remember that after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, it is also a necessary one. That is why I supported the decision to increase our troop force and, like the entire United States Senate, I support General Petraeus’ confirmation. The stakes are too high for us to accept anything but success in Afghanistan.”

2. Playing the race card
In response to a question from ABC whether he has a slimmer margin of error because he's black, Steele responded, "The honest answer is, 'yes.' Barack Obama has a slimmer margin. A lot of folks do. It's a different role for me to play and others to play and that's just the reality of it. But you take that as part of the nature of it. My view on politics is much more grassroots oriented, it's not old boy network oriented, so I tend to, you know, come at it a little bit stronger, a little bit more street-wise, if you will. That's rubbed some feathers the wrong way.” (ABC’S GOOD MORNING AMERICA, April 5, 2010)

Also:

"I don't see stories about internal operations of the DNC that I see about this operation. Why? Is it because Michael Steele is the chairman, or is it because a black man is chairman?" (WASHINGTONIAN)

3. Doubting that the GOP is ready to lead
STEELE: I think overall -- given what we know so far and what this administration's proclivities are -- we're going to see, I think, nice pick-ups in the House. I think we're gonna see...
HANNITY: [interrupting] ... woah, more specific.
STEELE: Well, I can't give a number yet, because like I said, we're just now beginning to look at the races, and we have races...
HANNITY: [interrupting] Do you think you can take-over the House? Do you think Republicans...
STEELE: [interrupting] ... not this year, and Sean, I'll say...
HANNITY: [interrupting] ... you don't think so?
STEELE: Well, I don't know yet, because I don't know all the candidates yet. We still have some vacancies that need to get filled, but then the question we need to ask ourselves is: if we do that, are we ready?
HANNITY: Are you? …
STEELE: I don't know. And that's what I'm assessing and evaluating right now. Those candidates who are looking to run have to be anchored in these principles.... because if they don't, then they'll get to Washington, and they'll start drinking that Potomac River water, and they'll get drunk with power and throw the steps out the window. (FOX, Jan. 5, 2010)

4. Calling abortion an individual choice
In an interview withGQ: “I think that's an individual choice... The states should make that choice.”

5. Calling Rush Limbaugh "incendiary" and "ugly"
“His whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it's incendiary, yes, it's ugly.”

6. Comparing himself to Obama
STEELE (on CNN): “What would I be jealous of?”
CNN’s Don Lemon: "He's the president of the United States.”
STEELE: “I'm chairman of the RNC, so what's your point?"

7. Maintaining government has never created one job
“Not in the history of mankind has the government ever created a job.” (CNN, Feb. 3, 2009)

8. Saying that the earth is cooling, not warming
“We're cooling, we're not warming. Greenland, which is covered in ice, it was once called Greenland for a reason, right? OK? Iceland, which is now green. Ah, I love this, I love it. Like we know what this planet is all about. How long have we been here? How long? Not very long.” (BILL BENNETT RADIO SHOW, March 6, 2009)

9. Stating Pelosi will sit "in the back of the bus"
Rallying the GOP to win in November and urging supporters to "get on the bus," Steele capped off his call to action by predicting that "Nancy Pelosi will be in the back of the bus." (Aug. 6, 2010)

10. Rationalizing his gaffes
“I'm a cause-and-effect kind of guy. So if I do something there's a reason for it -- even it may look like a mistake, a gaffe, there's a rationale, there's a logic behind it. ... I wanna see what the landscape is, I wanna see who yells the loudest. I wanna know who's says they're with me but really isn't. ... It helps me understand my position on the chess board. It helps me understand where the enemy camp is. And where those who are inside the tent are. It's all strategic.” (CNN, March 25, 2009)

Also:

"Folks make mistakes. Lord knows I'm familiar with foot in mouth disease." (MEET THE PRESS, Oct. 24, 2010)

And then there was this about his critics: “I tell them to get a life. That's old Washington, that's the old ways, and I don’t represent that and it kills them. There are some within the party that are still mad that I'm chairman... here comes this 6-foot-4 bald guy bringing hip hop to the RNC... town halls at Howard University and Harlem. ... They hate it, and it's sad. I've had enough of it. If you don't want me in the job, fire me. But until then, shut up. Get with the program or get out of the way.”

Here are some other best-ofs:

On expanding the party:
He told the Washington Times that the party should take its message to "urban-suburban hip-hop settings" and even, “we need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.” He said the party’s message will be “off the hook” and that the party isn’t going to be cutting edge, instead, "We're going beyond cutting edge."

“You wear you're hat one way, you know, you wear it kind of cocked to the left, because you know, that's cool out West. In the Midwest, you know, you guys like to wear it a little bit to the right. In the South, you wear the brim straight ahead. Now, the North east, you know, I wear my hat backwards, you know, because that's how we roll in the Northeast. It's a very... One thing you have to recognize, we are all wearing the hat that says GOP.” (MORNING JOE, April 30, 2009)

On stimulus:
Called it "Democrats’ effort to get a little bling, bling." (POLITICO, Feb. 9, 2009)

On empathy and the Supreme Court:
"Crazy nonsense empathetic! I'll give you empathy. Empathize right on your behind. Craziness!" (GUEST HOSTING BILL BENNETT’S RADIO SHOW)

The tax cut deal negotiated between the White House and congressional Republicans is undeniably unpopular with some Capitol Hill lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, but one new poll shows that most Americans support the compromise as a whole.

Almost 70 percent of Americans in a new Washington Post/ABC survey say that they back the agreement, which would temporarily extend tax cuts for all income levels, tax large inheritances at 35 percent, extend benefits for the unemployed, and impose a payroll tax holiday.

The poll found similar levels of support for the package (68 percent) among Democrats and independents, a key target for Democrats hoping to woo those voters in the 2012 election.

Even when respondents were told that the deal would add almost $1 trillion to the federal deficit and that the nation’s very top earners would receive the tax cuts, over 60 percent of respondents still gave the proposal a thumbs up.

The broad bipartisan support for the deal as a whole comes despite sharp partisan differences on the major pieces of the compromise.

While 85 percent of Republicans believe that the tax cuts should be extended to both the wealthiest earners and middle-class Americans, only 38 percent of Democrats agree. Independents are split on the measure, with 49 percent agreeing with the GOP-backed position and 46 percent more aligned with the position taken by most Democrats.

Norm Coleman would like to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee now that it is becoming clearer Michael Steele probably will not seek another term, but it's not a done deal, according to a source close to the former Minnesota senator.

"He wants to run," the source said, "but is getting more support outside the RNC than inside. If he gets significant signs of inside support he'll run."

As we noted in First Thoughts: Right now, here’s your field: Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis, former Bush administration official Maria Cino, Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, former RNC political director Gentry Collins, and former Missouri GOP chair Ann Wagner. Then again, as some Republicans have pointed out, didn't the 2010 cycle prove that the RNC is irrelevant?

From NBC's Pete Williams and Domenico Montanaro
A federal judge in Virginia has found part of the health care overhaul to be unconstitutional.

Read the Va. judge’s ruling on the health care law.

Here's AP's write up:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A federal judge in Virginia has declared the Obama administration's new health care law unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson is the first judge to rule against the law, which has been upheld by two others in Virginia
and Michigan.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's lawsuit challenged the health care law's requirement that citizens buy health insurance or pay a penalty starting in 2014. The case challenged the federal government's constitutional authority to impose the requirement.

Other lawsuits are pending, including one filed by 20 states in a Florida court. Virginia is not part of that lawsuit.

The U.S. Justice Department and opponents of the health care law agree that the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final word.

Reuters:

A judge in Virginia on Monday invalidated a key part of the landmark healthcare law that requires individuals to buy health insurance, the first major setback for President Barack Obama on an issue that will likely end up at the Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2002, backed arguments by the state of Virginia that Congress exceeded its authority by requiring that individuals buy health insurance or face a fine.

The decision is the first finding against the law that was passed in March and aimed at overhauling the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system. Judges in other states have rejected other challenges to the law.

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A top House Democrat said Monday that Democratic leaders will not block tax cut legislation from coming to the House floor but underscored that his caucus still views it as “unacceptable” unless changes are made.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the outgoing chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the next top Democrat on the House budget committee, said yesterday on Fox News Sunday that Democrats are “not going to hold this thing up at the end of the day.”

Speaking today to NBC’s Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie, Van Hollen said that comment shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that passage is a “done deal.”

“As the Democratic caucus said, this bill in its current form is unacceptable,” he said, noting that House Democrats gave the compromise a thumbs down in a nonbinding vote last week. “It will come to the floor of the House in some form, and it will be open to changes.”

“The Democratic leadership in the House is not going to take the bill and put it in a drawer and say that we’re not going to have a chance to debate this issue,” he said.

A primary sticking point for most House Democrats who oppose the bill is a provision that would set the tax rate on pricey estates at 35%.

“I, individually, intend to vote against it if it’s in there” Van Hollen said of that provision.

From NBC's Ken Strickland
At 3:00 pm ET today, the Senate will vote to break the filibuster on the bill that extends the Bush-era tax cuts. The "cloture vote" is expected to garner the 60 votes needed to move the bill forward. Vote for passage could be as early as Tuesday.

Cloture votes are sometimes needed to break filibusters that are preventing bills from even coming to the floor for debate. This is NOT one of those votes -- because the bill is already officially being debated on the floor.

This vote essentially suggests: "The major negotiations are over, let's finish up the minor stuff, stop talking, and get ready to pass this thing." Once this part is over, the path for passage is relatively clear.

The expectation is that several Democrats and a few Republicans vote "no" today, but the bill will still muster enough bipartisan support to advance. These cloture votes are often referred to as "test votes," because their results are sometimes indicators of who'll eventually support final passage.

In addition to today's vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will decide which -- if any -- amendments to the bill will get votes. But any amendments agreed to are not expected to alter the core components of the bill.

A consequential week for Obama -- tax deal, New START, Af-Pak… The Dems’ tax-cut dilemma… Be sure to watch the GOP side during today’s Senate vote on the tax deal… Steele to hold conference call tonight to announce whether he’ll run for re-election (the smart money is he won’t run)… Bloomberg says “no way, no how” on presidential bid… But Bloomberg and other centrist pols participate at today's launch of No Labels… Key federal court ruling on health care is expected to come out… And Obama signs Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 into law at 10:25 am ET.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** A consequential week: This is shaping up to be another consequential week for President Obama and his administration. There’s the tax-cut deal, which will see its first Senate vote today and which has become a big test of the president’s leadership after his party’s midterm losses. There’s the New START treaty, which the Senate will consider after the tax deal and which the administration sees as a must-pass measure for its international credibility. And then there’s the White House’s Afghanistan-Pakistan review, which also will consume Obama’s time this week and which remains the most important issue few in Washington are talking about. What happens this week, and HOW it happens, could definitely impact his presidency, even if most of the country isn't paying much attention (because of the holidays or the weather).

*** The Democrats’ tax-cut dilemma: On the tax deal, do some Democrats realize that perhaps the biggest danger of not cutting this deal is ceding the economic debate to the GOP for at least one election cycle, if not more? Play it out: Dems decide to fight and get nothing when the tax cuts expire at the end of the year. Then, on Jan. 6, the new GOP-led House “comes to the rescue” and passes legislation to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. So say the economy recovers a bit but not gangbusters. Well, the GOP will criticize Democrats for creating uncertainty at fragile time. Or say the economy recovers gangbusters in 2011-12, the GOP will have an argument to take much of the credit. Bottom line: If Democrats line up and try to kill the compromise, the political price they could pay might be much higher than they fathom as they'll be on the wrong side of the economic argument -- no matter the outcome. At least they can control the process for now.

*** Watch the GOP votes: Most of the public anger over the tax-cut deal, of course, has come from the Dem side. But when the Senate holds its first test vote on the legislation at 3:00 pm ET, it will be interesting to see which Senate Republicans vote against it. Remember, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell has said a "vast majority" of his caucus would support this deal. We'll define "vast" as 25-30 GOP senators. But is that a high bar? After all, the bill has a price tag of nearly $900 billion, and it isn’t paid for -- meaning that it will add that amount to the budget deficit. In fact, columnist Charles Krauthammer last week provided the conservative argument to vote against the deal: “Obama is no fool. While getting Republicans to boost his own reelection chances, he gets them to make a mockery of their newfound, second-chance, post-Bush, Tea-Party, this-time-we're-serious persona of debt-averse fiscal responsibility.” As one Democratic Hill aide predicted to us, the tax-deal vote COULD become a primary issue for Republicans in 2012 (a mini TARP?). Then again, as John Boehner suggested on “60 Minutes” last night, many Republicans don’t consider tax cuts adding to the deficit. “Washington does not have a revenue problem. Washington has a spending problem.”

*** Passage with “relative ease”? Still, most observers expect that there will be more than 60 votes to defeat the filibuster on the tax-cut agreement. The Washington Post: “Despite the lingering reservations of many Democrats, the latest tallies by party leaders suggest that the Obama-GOP package will clear the Senate with relative ease, Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) told CNN's ‘State of the Union’ on Sunday. ‘We're counting votes in the Senate,’ he said. ‘Harry Reid and I have been on the phone over the weekend and I can say that we have a good cross-section of the Senate Democratic caucus, from left to right, who are prepared to accept this,’ he added.” What’s the over-under? 65 votes? 70 votes?

*** Steele the one? Politico broke the news over the weekend that RNC Chairman Michael Steele will hold a conference call tonight with RNC members to discuss his re-election plans. The smart money: He won’t run (but wouldn't it be just like Steele to hint one way and then surprise folks by running?). Here’s Politico: “Steele … has built no known reelection team or structure, making the prospect of a campaign unlikely in the face of competition that grows fiercer by the day. But allies said Steele has not revealed his plans, and the chairman has been nothing if not unpredictable.” If Steele doesn’t run, do we see some bigger names get into the race? Right now, here’s your field: Michigan committeeman Saul Anuzis, former Bush administration official Maria Cino, Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus, former RNC political director Gentry Collins, and former Missouri GOP chair Ann Wagner. Then again, as some Republicans have pointed out, didn't the 2010 cycle prove that the RNC is irrelevant?

*** Bloomberg’s “No way, no how” for 2012: On “Meet the Press” yesterday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pretty much ruled out a presidential bid in 2012, despite making some moves (like his big political speech last week) that suggest otherwise. “I'm not going to run for president, for the, the job,” he told NBC’s David Gregory. “I've got a great job. I'm going to finish out my 1,100 and whatever number of days it is left to go, and I'll leave the politics to the experts.” When Gregory followed up to see if there was wiggle room, Bloomberg added, “No way, no how.”

*** No Labels’ launch: However, today Bloomberg and other centrist politicians -- like Evan Bayh, Joe Lieberman, and former Rep. Tom Davis -- are participating at the launch today of No Labels, a political group seeking to bring together Americans to find common ground on issues. The launch begins at Columbia University at 9:00 am ET.

*** Court watch: Here’s another political event to watch today: the expected federal court ruling in Virginia on the Obama health-care law. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who filed this particular suit, will hold a news conference two hours after the ruling by Judge Henry Hudson comes out. The liberal group Health Care for America Now (HCAN) released this memo to reporters: “To date, 14 federal district judges have rejected lawsuits seeking to invalidate the new law. While the Virginia case is important and has drawn strong media interest, it is no more important than the many other rulings by judges of equal rank who have determined that the law is constitutional or have issued dismissals on procedural grounds. The fundamental issue is essentially the same in all these cases – whether the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to require everyone to have coverage. So far, the judges say yes.”

*** Obama’s day: At 10:25 am ET, President Obama -- along with the first lady -- signs the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 into law at an elementary school in DC. Later in the day, he participates in a service project with LA Lakers coaches and players. And after that, he delivers remarks marking the Lakers' NBA championship last season.

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The New York Times says “a hefty portion of the $858 billion tax package will benefit middle- and upper-middle-income Americans — precisely the demographic that felt neglected the last two years as the White House and Congress focused on the major health care law and on helping the unemployed and people facing foreclosure. These new tax breaks are in addition to the cuts Mr. Obama had always planned to maintain on all but the highest incomes, and they could pay big political dividends to Mr. Obama and other Democrats in 2012 — a point that the president and some senior advisers are counting on, and one reason that they were willing to give in to Republican demands to extend all Bush-era tax rates.”

“President Barack Obama's approval ratings have sunk to the lowest level of his presidency, so low that he'd lose the White House to Republican Mitt Romney if the election were held today, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll,” McClatchy’s Thomma writes. “The biggest reason for Obama's fall: a sharp drop in approval among Democrats and liberals, apparently unhappy with his moves toward the center since he led the party to landslide losses in November's midterm elections. At the same time, he's gained nothing among independents.” Obama’s approval is just 42%/50%. He loses to Romney 46%-44%, beats Huckabee 47%-43%, handily beats Sarah Palin 52%-40%.

“House Republicans don’t take power for another three weeks, but the White House is already engaged in a behind-the-scenes charm offensive designed to build relationships with incoming committee chairmen before they become powerful adversaries,” Politico writes. “The GOP chairmen are getting congratulatory phone calls from President Barack Obama, and private meetings with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Attorney General Eric Holder.”

“A Virginia federal judge is expected to issue a decision on the constitutionality of the healthcare reform law Monday, a court employee confirmed to The Hill late Friday afternoon.”

“Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, underwent more surgery yesterday to fix a tear in the large artery that moves blood from the heart, the State Department said. The operation came after 20 hours of surgery that ended Saturday,” the Boston Globe writes.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the second-ranking Democrat in the House, in a 9:30 am ET speech at the National Press Club will urge Congress to look beyond elections, which happen every two years for the House, and take “on the long-term, structural problems that defy quick answers.” He’ll say, according to prepared remarks, “Our politics may run on two-year cycles—but our problems do not. We won’t get to full employment in two years. We won’t get out of debt in two years. We won’t get our middle class out of this historic hole of inequality and lost opportunity in two years, either.” More: “America isn’t convinced that either party has all the answers. And on November 2nd, I believe that the voters called us to find common ground on real solutions to real problems—unemployment, economic growth, and debt.”

He touts a need to increase manufacturing, calls for bipartisanship, and lauds the work done by the president’s debt commission. He draws a line in the sand, however, on bipartisanship when it comes to funding health care, the environment, “and protecting our consumers from unfair practices that put them unknowingly at great economic risk.” Programming note: Hoyer will be on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell tonight.

“In a sign of fading resistance to President Obama’s tax cut deal with Republicans, a Democratic leader said yesterday that the House will try to make changes but will not block the bill,” the Boston Globe writes, adding, “Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a member of the Democratic leadership who represented the House in negotiations with the administration, made clear that Democrats strongly object to extending breaks to estates as large as $5 million. But he indicated that the issue would not be a deal-breaker if Republicans refuse to relent and said middle class families will get their tax relief. ‘We’re not talking about blocking the whole thing,’ Van Hollen said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’”

So what’s the difference between finding “common ground” and “compromise?” On 60 Minutes, incoming Speaker John Boehner refused to use the word, saying it “is a dirty word,” especially among Tea Partiers. Here was the exchange:

Stahl: You’re saying, “I want common ground, but I’m not gonna compromise.” I don’t understand that. I really don’t.
Boehner: When you say the word “compromise”…a lot of Americans look up and go, “Uh-oh, they’re gonna sell me out.” And so finding common ground, I think, makes more sense. Stahl reminded him that his goal had been to get all the Bush tax cuts made permanent.
Stahl: So you did compromise.
Boehner: I’ve, we found common ground.
Stahl: Why won’t you say you’re afraid of the word.
Boehner: I reject the word.
One reason is because half of his new members are Tea Partiers who think compromise is a dirty word – even when it comes to raising the national debt limit, which Boehner has said the new Congress will have to deal with as adults to keep the federal government from defaulting.

“Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele intends to announce his reelection plans on Monday evening, and key supporters expect him to drop out of the hotly contested race, top Republicans tell POLITICO.”

Former Bush administration official Maria Cino is officially in the RNC chair race.