H.R. 450, or the Enumerated Powers Act

I do not think I can even begin to do this justice or fully understand the ramifications if this passes. I must say that the thought of Congress being forced to not only accept that they are supposed to have limitation, but read their limitations with every bill they submit makes me joyous all over.

The 19 co-sponsors for this bill, all Republicans:
Rep Bachmann, Michele [MN-6] - 3/2/2009
Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [CA-50] - 3/2/2009
Rep Bishop, Rob [UT-1] - 3/6/2009
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7] - 3/26/2009
Rep Boozman, John [AR-3] - 2/3/2009
Rep Broun, Paul C. [GA-10] - 1/21/2009
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11] - 3/3/2009
Rep Foxx, Virginia [NC-5] - 3/9/2009
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] - 2/25/2009
Rep Gohmert, Louie [TX-1] - 2/2/2009
Rep Goodlatte, Bob [VA-6] - 3/2/2009
Rep Heller, Dean [NV-2] - 2/25/2009
Rep Hoekstra, Peter [MI-2] - 2/25/2009
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5] - 1/26/2009
Rep Mack, Connie [FL-14] - 2/26/2009
Rep McHenry, Patrick T. [NC-10] - 3/9/2009
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 2/2/2009
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] - 3/11/2009
Rep Roe, David P. [TN-1] - 2/2/2009

As a reminder of the federal government's limited powers, 20 representatives want to ensure that every single piece of legislation passing through Congress includes a statement citing specific constitutional authority for enacting it.

Sponsored by Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., H.R. 450, or the Enumerated Powers Act, states, "Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. The failure to comply with this section shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress.

possible hope for the G.O.P.

Obama has filled his Cabinet with some of his party's top political players, creating congressional vacancies in solidly Democratic states -- and making them potential battlegrounds.

These are tough times to be a Republican, with fewer members in Washington, polls showing strong voter disdain for the party and partisans inside the tent squabbling over who (Chairman Michael S. Steele? Uber-talker Rush Limbaugh?) speaks for the GOP.

But there is a bright spot, thanks to an unlikely source: President Obama.

By stocking his Cabinet with some of the Democrats' top political prospects, Obama has created a number of opportunities for Republicans ahead of the 2010 midterm elections.

In some states, the president stole his party's strongest U.S. Senate prospects. In Illinois and New York, he watched as governors there botched efforts to fill vacated Senate seats, turning those solidly Democratic states into potential battlegrounds.

At this point, few analysts see a serious threat to the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate (though much will depend on the state of the economy in fall 2010). If anything, handicappers say, the party is likely to gain a few more Senate seats, after picking up 14 in the last two elections.

A very clear picture of the present.

Amid a cratering stock market, huge job losses and continuing ad hoc bank interventions, President Obama is risking his presidency on the most ambitious remake of the federal government since Ronald Reagan, raising jitters among moderate Democrats and presenting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the most daunting challenge of her career.

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• Sudan's president warns aid groups in Darfur 03.08.09

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For liberals who fretted just a month ago that Obama was acting suspiciously centrist, his $3.6 trillion budget is a call to arms. It is also a carefully woven matrix that tackles everything from global warming to health care with new spending and taxes.

Pull out one piece, be it a quasi-tax on carbon or an end to charitable and mortgage interest deductions by the wealthy, and either the programs unravel or $1 trillion-plus deficits rocket higher.

"It's a terribly ambitious agenda," said Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and former director of the Congressional Budget Office. "At 30,000 feet, covering the uninsured and moderating cost growth in health has near unanimous support, as does reducing greenhouse gases and dealing with climate change. But when pen is put to paper to specify how these goals are achieved, it inevitably involves redistributing resources and power."

Moderate Democrats are already backing away from tax increases. Republicans have declared war on them.

"It's very classic redistribution of wealth," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Riverside. "Lyndon Baines Johnson would blush to put this budget up."

Will Rush Limbaugh be the new GOP spokesman?

NEW YORK (AP) — Rush Limbaugh has been Topic A in the political world, with Republicans debating his influence on their party and Democrats trying to elevate the conservative radio host to the GOP's de facto spokesman.

The skirmish has cast a bright light on the GOP and its search for leadership in the Obama era. But the personality-driven diversion has deflected attention from the deeper problems the party faces.

Simply put, the public isn't buying what Republicans are selling right now.