The Daily Broadside - 10/22

Grayson: Republicans are 'the enemy of America'

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) fired his latest salvo at Republicans on Wednesday evening, calling them "the enemy of America."

The congressman, who gained attention for saying the GOP's health plan is for the ill to "die quickly," made his remark in response to Sen. Lamar Alexander's (R-Tenn.) comment today warning the Obama administration to not draft a Nixonian "enemies list."

Grayson said on MSNBC that the GOP is the enemy of anybody who wants "anything good for this country," including healthcare reform, climate change legislation and "anyone who wants peace."

He also took a swipe at Fox News, saying that 99 percent of Americans have the "good sense" not to tune into the network.

Pelosi says she 'definitely' has 218 votes for health bill

House Democrats "definitely" have a health reform bill right now that could win 218 votes in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday.

The speaker expressed confidence in her ability to pass legislation including a public (or "government-run") option, arguing that scoring from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would affect what that public plan will look like in final legislation.

Treasury to order bailed-out firms to slash pay

The Treasury Department is expected in the next few days to order companies that received huge government bailouts last year to slash the base salaries of their top executives by an average of 90 percent and cut their total compensation in half, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The cuts apply to the 25 highest paid executives at the seven companies that received the most assistance, the person said Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced. Smaller companies and those that have repaid the bailout money, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are not affected.

Obama: Men still 'obtuse' on sharing family duties

President Barack Obama says his family is like a lot of others—in which the men "need to be knocked across the head every once in a while" in order to see imbalances between the time moms and dads put into raising children.

"There's no doubt that our family, like a lot of families out there, were ones in which the men are still a little obtuse about this stuff," Obama said Wednesday in an interview with NBC.

He acknowledged things are different now for his wife, Michelle, and him given that they live in the White House with all its creature comforts and army of residence staff.