Right now, we are seven days away from thousands of American workers having to walk off the job because Congress hasn’t passed a transportation bill. We are eight days away from nearly seven and a half million students seeing their loan rates double because Congress hasn’t acted to stop it. [...] This is a time when we should be doing everything in our power – Democrats and Republicans – to keep this recovery moving forward. My Administration is doing its part. On Friday, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced $500 million in competitive grants for states and communities that will create construction jobs on projects like road repair and port renovation. And that’s an important step, but we can’t do it all on our own. The Senate did their part. They passed a bipartisan transportation bill back in March. It had the support of 52 Democrats and 22 Republicans. Now, it’s up to the House to follow suit; to put aside partisan posturing, end the gridlock, and do what’s right for the American people. It’s not lost on any of us that this is an election year. But we’ve got responsibilities that are bigger than an election. We answer to the American people, and they are demanding action. Let’s make it easier for students to stay in college. Let’s keep construction workers rebuilding our roads and bridges. And let’s tell Congress to do their job. Tell them it’s time to take steps that we know will create jobs now and help sustain our economy for years to come. – President Obama
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Romney gives Obama an “F” across the board – In an interview with CBS News political correspondent Jan Crawford, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said he would give President Obama an “F” in every area, including foreign policy and the economy. After being asked what grade he would give the president, Romney quickly responds: “Oh, an ‘F,’ no question about that,” adding that the grade applies “across the board.” Crawford followed up by asking about foreign policy and mentioned the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden last year, but Romney avoided addressing bin Laden’s death and pointed to Iraq and the political uprisings in the Middle East. – 
Romney “supporters” heckle David Axelrod in Boston – Thus, there was a rough precedent for what David Axelrod did today, which was to come to Boston to talk about Willard Romney’s record as governor of the Commonwealth (God save it!). The difference is, of course, that Dukakis ran on his record as governor here and, from the available evidence presented by the Romney campaign, Willard never set foot in the place. […] it’s still odd to me that the primary story of the day was not the fact that a former governor would rather eat dirt than admit he ever was governor here, but, rather, that he can hire people to yell on the sidewalk. Odd. — 
Boehner poised to raise student loan interest rates — Boehner told the House Republican Conference Thursday morning that it was unlikely Congress would be able to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling before the end of the month, but he blamed the Senate, since the lower chamber has already passed a bill. He dubbed the fight “phony,” and urged his members not to fall victim to what he considers a manufactured tussle. First, the issue isn’t “phony” at all to those affected by it. [...] Second, blaming the Senate is silly. The House passed its version, but paid for it by cutting access to breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings. Senate Democrats offered an alternative, paying for the lower rates by closing a tax loophole that currently allows some very wealthy people to shield some of their earnings from the payroll tax (the S-corp provision). Republicans killed the proposal with yet another filibuster. As far as Boehner is apparently concerned, it’s either the House version or nothing, which means student loans interest rates will likely double just 30 days from now. — 
RSC to Obama: No debt hike without tax cuts for the wealthy, austerity for everyone else – The lawmakers write in the letter that they want to “underscore our strong support for Speaker Boehner’s recent comments on raising the nation’s debt ceiling … tying a debt limit increase with common-sense reforms is a necessary first step to solving the nation’s fiscal imbalance.” The letter, authored by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), also warns that with China holding nearly 23 percent of the nation’s debt, it is time to curb U.S. reliance on “communist creditors.” The RSC boasts 164 members, but it is not yet clear how many will sign the letter. – 
BREAKING: Justice Department Demands Florida Stop Purging Voter Rolls – The Justice Department sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner Thursday evening demanding the state cease purging its voting rolls because the process it is using has not been cleared under the Voting Rights Act, TPM has learned. DOJ also said that Florida’s voter roll purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, which stipulates that voter roll maintenance should have ceased 90 days before an election, which given Florida’s August 14 primary, meant May 16. – 
MITT ROMNEY: “I’ll take a lot of credit” for auto industry recovery — Romney said his views helped save the industry. “I pushed the idea of a managed bankruptcy,” Romney said. “And finally, when that was done, and help was given, the companies got back on their feet. So I’ll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry’s come back.” [...] Romney’s stance on the bailouts and his infamous 2008 New York Times op-ed “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” have come up throughout the campaign, especially ahead of February’s primary in Michigan. In that editorial, Romney argued that a government bailout for ailing auto giants Chrysler and General Motors would do more harm than good. [...] Romney also spoke out on his opposition to the government loaning money to the industry in 2009, placing some of the blame on Bush. — 
PAUL RYAN now trying very hard to distance himself from his prior love for Ayn Rand – “This is kind of fun, because you know you’ve arrived in politics when you have your own urban legend about you,” Paul responded. “This one is mine. I get a really big kick out of this one.” Paul, a practicing Catholic, explained that although he was fond of some of Rand’s novels he did not embrace her philosophy. He acknowledged that it was Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged that got him interested in economics and politics. “Just because you like someone’s novels doesn’t mean you agree with their entire worldview philosophy and she has a worldview philosophy which is completely antithetical to mine,” he added. Ryan has said that his Catholic faith helped shape his budget plan. But Catholics have questioned his admiration for the atheist novelist. “I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are,” he said in 2005. “It’s inspired me so much that it’s required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff.” The Atlas Society previously told Raw Story that Ryan’s policies are “very much in line” with Rand’s philosophy. – 
REP. ALLEN WEST compared Afghanistan draw down of troops to Hitler appeasement — West, a tea party Republican from Florida, on Monday compared the draw down of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to the appeasement of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, according to Right Wing Watch. On May 1, President Barack Obama signed a ten-year security agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Under the agreement, the majority of U.S. troops will be withdrawn by 2014 but the U.S. will continue to have a role in Afghanistan for a decade. – 
RON PAUL fanatics are probably not making many friends at state caucuses – Over the weekend, Ron Paul won Maine and Nevada, gaining 20 of 24 delegates in Maine, and 22 of 25 in Nevada. In addition to the chaos that Paul will cause at the national convention, consider how this makes the average Republican caucus-goer feel. You make a good faith effort to vote, you leave the caucus with the impression that you elected a delegate loyal to your candidate, and then you find out that your vote didn’t matter at all because some Paulist used a technicality to essentially unseat the person for whom you voted. – 
OBAMA’S TO-DO LIST for Congress – Obama’s action plan for Congress centers on a series of economic initiatives he has already been pushing for months, including eliminating tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas and promoting new tax credits for small businesses and for companies to develop clean energy. [...] Obama’s “to do’’ list for Congress also includes legislation creating a Veterans Job Corps to help service members returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan find work as police officers and firefighters. And to address the housing crisis, Obama pressed anew for a measure designed to help homeowners refinance their homes at lower interest rates. Obama planned to also make the housing pitch during a stop Friday in Reno, Nev., the state that has been the epicenter of the nation’s housing meltdown. – 
SENATE GOP BLOCKED DEMOCRATIC STUDENT LOAN BILL yesterday – Republicans on Tuesday blocked consideration of a Democratic bill to prevent the doubling of some student loan interest rates, leaving the legislation in limbo less than two months before rates on subsidized federal loans are set to shoot upward. [...] Republicans say they want to extend Democratic legislation passed in 2007 that temporarily reduced interest rates for low- and middle-income undergraduates who receive subsidized Stafford loans to 3.4 percent from 6.8 percent. But the Republicans would not accept the Senate Democrats’ proposal to pay for a one-year extension by changing a law that allows some wealthy taxpayers to avoid paying Social Security and Medicare taxes by classifying their pay as dividends, not cash income. – 
TEAMSTERS ENDORSE Obama, call Romney ‘vulture capitalist’ — Hoffa said that “Despite inheriting the worst economy since the Great Depression, President Obama has led the country down the long road back to prosperity, providing relief for the middle class and fighting for workers’ rights.” By comparison, the Teamsters endorsement statement describes Mitt Romney as a vulture capitalist; according to Hoffa, “He represents everything that is wrong with our financial system. He made his money as CEO of Bain Capital by destroying U.S. businesses, sending good-paying American jobs overseas and filling his pockets with millions while putting workers out on the street.” – 
MITT ROMNEY does have a lengthy economic plan, but it amounts to the same thing Republicans always advocate (there’s no ‘special insight’ from all Mitt’s ‘business’ experience): tax cuts, particularly on the wealthy; spending cuts in domestic programs; eliminating regulations; free trade; undermining labor unions, and so on. The closest thing to an innovative idea is the creation of a “Reagan Economic Zone,” which presumably will create wealth through the repeated incantation of the great one’s name. Which is just the point: if Mitt Romney’s experience in private equity gives him such unique understanding of the economy, why is what he proposes exactly what you’d hear from any Republican who spent his working life in government? It’s partly because Romney is a Republican, and things like tax cuts and reductions in regulation are just what Republicans believe. But maybe it’s also because when it comes to the things government can do to affect the economy, being a businessman doesn’t give you such special insight after all. — 
VETS FOR A STRONG AMERICA darkened the President’s image – Vets for a Strong America has gotten a lot of attention for its recent video attacking President Obama for taking too much credit for the Osama bin Laden killing. [...] I haven’t seen anybody point out the truly most egregious part of the video: the obvious attempt to make Obama look like a criminal thug by darkening his image. Remember the hue and cry when Time magazine did that to O.J. Simpson in 1994? Remember the hue and cry when Hillary Clinton’s campaign supposedly did that to Obama during the 2008 primary, even though it actually hadn’t? But this time nobody cares. I guess times have changed. – 
THE LATEST REPUBLICAN PLAN to reconcile the budget and preserve defense spending extracts even deeper cuts from programs to help the poor and Americans still reeling from the recession. Although spending levels for the budget were set in the Budget Control Act passed last summer in the deal to raise the nation’s debt limit, Republicans are pushing ahead with another plan that cuts more while trying to prevent the beginning of $600 billion in cuts over 10 years to the growth of the defense budget. – 
BUT RAISING TAXES ON, SAY, THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES or closing loopholes or subsidies would never be a Republican option to pay for anything – According to the 
MITT ROMNEY’S NEW “I’m rubber, you’re glue” campaign – “We will stop the unfairness of government workers getting better pay and benefits than the very taxpayers they serve,” the former Massachusetts governor said. “And we will stop the unfairness of one generation passing larger and larger debts on to the next.” I doubt this will convince anyone other than true believers, but that’s not the point; the idea is to muddy the waters when it comes to coverage of Romney’s message. By attacking Obama on “fairness,” Romney can force the press to bring a horse race dynamic to the opposing claims—“Mr. Obama says that it’s unfair for multi-millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than middle-class families, but Mr. Romney says that what’s really unfair is the burden of debt.” The issues aren’t actually sorted out, and Romney walks away with minimal scrutiny. As an aside, I will say that there is some truth to Romney’s claim. Tax cuts for the wealthy are a major driver of short-term debt, and if we keep rates low on high-income earners—as Romney proposes—we will pass a tremendous amount of debt to future taxpayers. Rather than use federal dollars for education, infrastructure, or research, we will give it to the wealthiest Americans, and leave the next generation to deal with the consequences of high debt and a deteriorating society. That’s unfair. — 
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA told a group of women on Friday that he has been their fiercest advocate and warned that Mitt Romney’s positions on women’s issues represent a step back in time. “The choice between going backward or moving forward has never been so clear,” Obama told several hundred women at the National Issues Conference, a big-ticket annual fundraiser that’s been hosted by the Democratic National Committee for nearly two decades. And as long as I’m president, we are going to keep moving forward. You can count on that. You don’t have to take my word on it – you’ve got my signature on it,” he said, referring to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, before adding a jab at the Romney campaign, which expressed uncertainty recently about whether the candidate supported the law. “Because something like standing up for the principle of equal pay for equal work isn’t something I’ve got to ‘get back to you on’ – it’s the first law I signed.” – 
