Sunday Agenda: Senate prepares for Sunday vote on spending bill

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Sunday, December 13, 2009 MORNING HEADLINES Senate Democrats end GOP filibuster of spending bill (Washington Post) Democrats ended Saturday a Republican filibuster of a $446.8 billion omnibus spending bill that covers the Justice and State departments, among other agencies. Three Republicans voted for the measure, while three Democrats joined the Republicans in the filibuster. A final vote is set for Sunday. Is 2010 Anything Like 1994? (Talking Points Memo) Josh Marshall analyzes the 2010 midterm elections and decides the parallels between 2010 and 1994, when Republicans last charged back to reclaim control of Congress from Democrats during President Clinton's first term, are being overstated at this point. "The key problem for Dems isn't unpopularity. It's a highly apathetic Democratic electorate facing an extremely energized Tea Party GOP," he writes. Houston Elects First Openly Gay Mayor (Houston Chronicle) Houston's city controller Annise Parker defeated City Attorney Gene Locke in a runoff election Saturday "becoming both the first contender in a generation to defeat the hand-picked candidate of Houston's business establishment and the first openly gay person to lead a major U.S. city," The Houston Chronicle reports. Defense Secretary's Trip Encounters Snags in Two Theaters (New York Times) It wasn't an easy week for Defense secretary Robert M. Gates during his visits to Afghanistan and Iraq. And the going will only get tougher as Gates is scheduled to defend the war's price tag on Captiol Hill this week. US Protesters Seek New Anti-War Movement (Voice of America) Days after President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech that communicated an endorsement of war as a peacekeeping operation, anti-war rallies were held across America Saturday. Protesters in Washington totaled only around 1,500, a sharp distinction from just six years ago. TALK SHOWS Guests to be interviewed Sunday on major television talk shows (all times ET): State of the Union (CNN) 9:00 Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.); Lawrence H. Summers, director of the National Economic Council; Democratic strategist Donna Brazile; and William J. Bennett of the Claremont Institute. Fox News Sunday 9:00 Sens. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.); Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.); and Inez Tenenbaum, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This Week (ABC) 10:00 Summers and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Newsmakers (C-SPAN) 10:00 Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.). Face the Nation (CBS) 10:30 Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.). Meet the Press (NBC) 10:30 Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D); former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R); Christina Romer, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. Washington Watch (TV One) 11:30 Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.). CONTACT US | ADVERTISE | UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY POLICY | NEWSLETTER CENTER

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