Salon.com > Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

Bob Corker’s chickens come home to roost

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:11:00 +0000

President Obama likes to joke about the Republican lawmakers who opposed his stimulus bill yet still managed to show up and preen for the cameras at ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects funded by Recovery Act. But after hearing the same line delivered over and over again, I'm betting audiences are getting tired. He needs some new material. So how about making fun of the Republican politicians who voted against the auto-bailout and yet still had the gall to attend a ceremony celebrating the reopening of an idled GM plant?

Yes, Bob Corker, R-Tenn., I'm looking at you.

Last week, GM announced that it would rehire 483 laid-off workers at its massive Spring Hill, Tenn., plant. At a ceremony to celebrate the news on Friday, Tennessee politicians flocked to get a piece of the happy action, including Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, along with Rep. Marsha Blackburn -- all three of whom voted against the auto bailout. The UAW employees in attendance booed lustily, saving their strongest scorn for Corker, who made no friends in union ranks two years ago when he argued that no federal aid should go to American car companies until and unless worker wages and benefits were reduced to levels "competitive" with foreign labor.

Obama, Corker clash in private meeting

Tue, 25 May 2010 19:05:00 +0000

Republican officials say President Barack Obama and Sen. Bob Corker clashed during a private meeting over whether anyone in either party was really trying to be bipartisan this election year.

Four officials present at the rare session said that when Obama appealed for bipartisanship, Corker accused him of "audacity" given the administration's handling of the financial reform package and other legislation. Corker was a lead GOP negotiator on the bill to regulate Wall Street.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private session, said Obama bristled and defended his negotiations over the bill.

Applause could be heard as Obama exited the room. Obama described the lunch-hour session as a frank discussion on a range of issues.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans called a high-noon cease-fire in their long-running political feud Tuesday, holding a rare, private meeting on Capitol Hill to discuss what legislation can be achieved during this volatile election year.

"We want to see if we can get some more work done," Obama told reporters on the way into the session.

Republicans changing tune on healthcare reform repeal

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:40:00 +0000

After healthcare reform was passed, Republicans started talking a big game about running on repeal this year -- presumably toward congressional majorities -- and then actually repealing it next year. At some point, though, reality had to enter the picture: Even if the GOP did manage to capture both houses of Congress, there's no way they'd be able to override the inevitable veto from President Obama.

Still, conservatives have been dogged about pushing Republican politicians to support a strict line on repeal. For the most part, it's worked, as deviations from the party line have been quickly slapped down. But now some Republican senators are starting to paint a more realistic picture.

"It may not be total repeal at the end of the day," North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, who's up for reelection, said in a recent interview. "It may be a series of fixes over the course of this bill getting enacted that allow us to change and possibly bend that cost curve down."

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker was less subtle. Talking about repeal efforts on Wednesday, Corker said, "The fact is that's not going to happen, OK?"

GOP on bank reform: Weak bill not weak enough

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Financial regulatory reform homework today: First, read David Leonhardt's comprehensive explanation in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine on why we need reform. Second, study Roosevelt Institute fellow Mike Konczal's white paper comparing the Obama administration's proposals, Rep. Barney Frank's already-passed House bill, Chris Dodd's proposed Senate bill, and advocating a set of sensible measures designed to strengthen the final product.

Then contemplate Wednesday's news: Republican Senator Bob Corker, reports the Wall Street Journal, says "I have no plans to support the current legislation. I hope we'll get back to the negotiating table."

Corker did not specific exactly why he would not support the Dodd bill in its current form, but it's a good bet that his reasons don't align with the weaknesses pointed out by Konczal and others. For example, Corker has long been on record opposing a strong and independent consumer financial protection agency. In general, the Republicans are worried that regulatory reform will be too restrictive.

Chris Dodd backbone alert

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:30:00 +0000

What is Chris Dodd up to? On Thursday, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Banking Committee announced that he will unveil his version of a financial regulatory reform package next Monday, without, reports the New York Times, "yet having a single Republican endorsement."

Negotiations with Tennessee Republican Bob Corker appear to have broken down, possibly over the issue of whether payday lenders should be regulated by a proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Sound familiar? Just one month ago, Dodd announced that bipartisan talks were at an "impasse" and Democrats would go it alone. Back then, Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby played the role of recalcitrant GOPer. But then, a few days later, word trickled out that Dodd had started negotiating with Corker.

Who's next?

The Republican National Committee’s porn problem

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:00:00 +0000

There's a moment in the Republican National Committee's Harold Ford Jr. attack ad -- it comes smack-dab in the middle of the two bimbo eruptions -- when a sleazy-looking fellow eyes the camera from behind his sunglasses and says, "So he took money from porn movie producers. I mean, who hasn't?"

Who hasn't? Well, it turns out that the RNC has. As Josh Marshall reports, the RNC has accepted a number of campaign contributions from Nicholas T. Boyias, whom Marshall describes as the owner and CEO of one of the largest producers and distributors of gay porn in the United States.

Now, surely there must be a difference between the porn money Ford took and the porn money the RNC is taking, right? There is: Ford gave his back.

How would Jesus vote?

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 12:02:00 +0000

Pastor Chris Stephens runs his church services like a rock show. Colored strobes dance across the stage, electric guitar solos punctuate the hymns, and his sermons are filled with exhortations like, "We need a God explosion." The roughly 2,000 worshipers who belong to Faith Promise Church know to expect a blunt-talking believer when they come to Sunday services, a man unafraid to take a stand for Jesus.

So it was no surprise two years ago when Stephens devoted a sermon before the presidential election to a discussion of God's hopes for the ballot box. "If you are a Democrat or a Republican before you are a Christ-ocrat, you are an idol worshiper," he told his congregation. As he explained it, God cared most about just a few core issues in 2004: ending abortion, opposing gay marriage, appointing conservative judges and ensuring the freedom to pray in the public square. Christian voters, he told his congregation, ignore these issues at their own peril. "If you reject Christ, if you have never been born again, you are not going to heaven," he said at the end of the sermon.