Washington Post: Software problems with the federal online health insurance marketplace, especially in handling high volumes, are proving so stubborn that the system is unlikely to work fully by the end of the month as the White House has promised, according to an official with knowledge of the project.
New York Times: “After the president’s apology last week for wrongly assuring Americans that they could retain their health plans if they wanted, senior White House aides said the president wanted to ensure that people who were forced off older policies with less comprehensive coverage were not stuck with higher monthly premiums to replace their insurance. But administration officials declined to say how they might achieve that goal, how much it would cost or whether it would require congressional approval.”
NBC’s Michael O’Brien: “President Barack Obama should consider changes to his health care law to honor his pledge to allow consumers to keep their health care plans if they so desire, former President Bill Clinton said in an interview released Tuesday.”
Politico: Clinton’s endorsement of legislation to address the cancellation issue again put the former president in a place Obama had refused to go — a familiar spot for the Oval Office’s current occupant. On issues ranging from the debt ceiling fight to Syria to rhetoric towards the rich, Clinton has parted company with the White House party line — often at crucial times that leave the current president in a tough spot and exacerbate tensions that date back to the 2008 campaign.”
Roll Call: “If you like GOP leadership’s health care plan, so too does the Club for Growth and Heritage Action for America. The two conservative groups, known better of late for their troublemaker opposition to the Republican leadership’s strategies, are back on board as leadership looks to strike at smaller chunks of Obamacare and highlight Democratic divisions.”
Los Angeles Times: “The White House warned Congress on Tuesday that slapping new sanctions on Iran could sink international negotiations to curb Tehran’s nuclear programand send America on a “march to war.” In the latest ratcheting up of the administration’s effort to stop Congress from adding to existing sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Americans are in a deeply antiwar mood and implied that voters might turn their anger on lawmakers if a failure of diplomacy leads to military action to prevent Iran from getting the bomb.”
New York Times: “President Obama’s latest choice to fill one of the vacancies on a powerful appeals court went down in a filibuster on Tuesday as Senate Republicans blocked another White House nominee — the third in two weeks — and deepened a growing conflict with Democrats over presidential appointments. By a vote of 56 to 41, the nomination of Cornelia T. L. Pillard, a Georgetown law professor, fell short of clearing the necessary 60-vote threshold.”
Des Moines Register: “A low-key U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan is focused on the job at hand, but is clearly leaving a door open for a White House run — at the top of the ticket this time. ‘I’ve decided I will consider this later,” Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, told The Des Moines Register in an interview. “Once I’m through with this term, then I’m going to give a hard look at it.””
GEORGIA: Daily Rundown’s Jessica Taylor: “In the first television ad of the Georgia Senate race, U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey is making quite a promise to voters – he’ll repeal health care reform or he’ll “go home” after one term. Gingrey, an OB-GYN, is in a crowded GOP primary to succeed retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and his volley is the first and most aggressive to use frustration with the health care law as leverage on the airwaves. “
Politico: “Georgia Democrat Jason Carter has a path to unseating Republican Gov. Nathan Deal if he emphasizes a pro-business, fiscally conservative agenda and plays up his prominent political ancestry, according to a private Democratic poll taken last month. A state legislator and the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, Jason Carter starts out in the survey within single digits of Deal, drawing 36 percent of the vote to Deal’s 44 percent. After the pollster read a positive message about both candidates, Carter moved ahead, with 45 percent to Deal’s 40 percent.”
KENTUCKY: Lexington Herald Leader: “Calling the nation’s new health care law “a monstrosity,” U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Democratic opponent Alison Lundergan Grimes will follow other “red state” Democrats in trying to distance themselves from the law. McConnell, addressing reporters at his campaign headquarters, again called for the full repeal of “Obamacare” and accused his opponent of following other Democrats in calling for tinkering with a law that he said has caused “chaos.’”
MICHIGAN: Washington Examiner: “Senate Republicans will host a major fundraiser next week for Michigan GOP Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land, an indication that the party believes it has a chance of seizing an open seat in the traditionally blue state. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will headline a National Republican Senatorial Committee fundraiser in Washington on Nov. 19 to benefit Land, the likely Republican nominee to face Democratic Rep. Gary Peters for the seat being vacated by long-time Democratic Sen. Carl Levin.”
MONTANA: National Journal Hotline: “Former Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger’s surprise announcement last week that he’s running for Senate may have set off a rare event: a contested Democratic Senate primary. Bohlinger will face off against current Lt. Gov. John Walsh, who already has the support of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which often heads off challenges to its preferred candidates. But a strong challenge to Walsh isn’t automatic, even though his and Bohlinger’s resumes include the same top entry.” Roll Call: “Former Montana Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger’s decision to seek the Democratic Senate nominationinvited a primary the party didn’t want to have — and pushed a former player in that race back into the picture: former Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Schweitzer, who turned down the chance to run for the open seat, spoke with his former lieutenant before Bohlinger’s announcement last week. But Montana Democratic sources said he declined pleas from state party leaders to dissuade Bohlinger from running, with Lt. Gov. John Walsh already in the race.” NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Hill: “Republicans in New Hampshire say former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is running out of time to demonstrate he’s serious about a potential 2014 challenge to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D).“New Hampshire Republicans are not quite desperate, but the hour is getting late,” Fergus Cullen, former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee,” said Des Moines Register: “Brown reassured a crowd of Iowa Republicans on Tuesday that their party could compete and win on middle-class economic issues, but also emphasized the need to solve the country’s other most pressing problems. Speaking at a Scott County Republicans’ fundraising dinner, Brown recalled his humble personal background and described his conversion to the GOP as a model for winning over middle- and working-class voters.” VIRGINIA: Daily Rundown’s Jessica Taylor: “One hundred and sixty-three. With all votes finally counted in the Virginia attorney general’s race, that’s how many votes Democrat Mark Herring now leads Republian Mark Obenshain by in the Virginia attorney general’s race.” Washington Post: “A recount appears all but certain after the statewide results are certified Nov. 25, and the Obenshain campaign made clear that it considers the race far from over. “We owe it to the people of Virginia to make sure we get it right, and that every legitimate vote is counted and subject to uniform rules,” Obenshain (Harrisonburg) said in a statement. Herring, by contrast, treated his victory as assured in a campaign statement.”
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