BuzzChatter Tuesday: MO GOP leader defends tax cut
Good morning.
• “It's for small businesses. The backbone of our economy are small businesses. It’s the mom and pop stores on Main Street, it's the people who run businesses out of their homes.” — Missouri House Majority Leader John Diehl defending a major tax cut the General Assembly passed. (link via johncombest.com).
The AP reports that the cut has a wide reach in that it would help lawyers, lobbyists and all manner of businesses across the state. Gov. Jay Nixon, who appears ready to veto the measure, asked rhetorically the other day why lobbyists and lawyers need tax cuts rather than using that money to fund schools.• “He believes his actions were justified and that the records will demonstrate that.” — Martha Kumar, a Towson Univeristy political scientist
on the early release of records
from the George W. Bush administration.
The records dump, which in some cases will result in a faster release of records than the presidency of Bill Clinton, surprised some given the level of secrecy the Bush administration employed. Kumar said Bush believes he has little to lose by opening his official files and that the 43rd president clearly is comfortable with his legacy.
• “Gregory’s job does not appear to be in any immediate jeopardy, but there are plenty of signs of concern.” — The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi on “Meet the Press” host David Gregory.
Farhi noted in a story that NBC News last year hired a “psychological consultant” to interview Gregory’s friends and family as part of an effort to understand him better. The news comes as “Meet the Press” continues to struggle. After 15 years of first-place ratings on Sunday morning, the show has dropped to third.• “The culture here has shifted pretty dramatically.” — Sam Kass, executive director of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative and the White House senior policy adviser for nutrition policy on the new White House ethos
aimed at nutrition and fitness
.
To illustrate the point: Aides have their choice of large bowls of apples in the Oval Office and first lady’s office for munching during meetings. The mandate from the president to his aides: Take care of yourselves.This story was originally published April 22, 2014 at 7:00 AM with the headline "BuzzChatter Tuesday: MO GOP leader defends tax cut."