Indiana GOP zeroes in on ‘right to work’ law, despite Dems going AWOL (Daily Caller)

When Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin fled their state in February 2011 to hamstring Republicans working to limit the collective-bargaining rights of public-sector unions, their colleagues in Indiana were clearly paying attention. Beginning Wednesday, Hoosier State Democrats have been skipping out of work to prevent Republicans from passing a “right to work” law.

The legislative proposal, likely to pass the Republican-dominated state legislature — if everyone were present — aims to ban negotiations between companies and unions whose workers are forced to pay dues in order to keep their jobs.

But the Christian Science Monitor reports that although Democrats are AWOL, and risk $1,000 fines every day they are absent, Republicans are taking steps toward their goal. On Friday a House committee heard more than five hours of testimony on the bill.

Democrats, who rely on labor unions for political support, want to avoid a Republican victory. But they may not be able to hold their opponents off much longer.

“Unions are big contributors to the Democrats,” Indiana University political science professor Brian Vargus said, “and they feel with the decline of unionization, it would solidify Republicans. It simply comes down to that.”

Still, he told the paper, it’s a matter of when, not if.

Indiana’s Republican legislators already used their majority last year to pass a law similar to the one that caused the fracas in Wisconsin. And as steel mills and automotive plants decline in Indiana, unions have seen their memberships decline to 10.9 percent of the private sector workforce, a full percentage point below the national average

Democrats say they will not return for a vote until Republicans agree to hold field hearings throughout Indiana to justify the bill’s passage. Republicans say they will probably start enforcing the $1,000 per day penalty next week.

A Democratic-affiliated political action committee called ActBlue has already launched a fundraising effort enabling liberal voters to help offset those fines for Democratic lawmakers who continue to avoid coming to work.

David is The Daily Caller’s executive editor. Follow him on Twitter.

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz: You guys know Romney’s a flip-flopper, right? (Daily Caller)

Speaking to reporters after Saturday’s Republican primary debate in New Hampshire, Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Republican voters would be wise to question front-runner Mitt Romney’s conservative credentials.

“This is a candidate without any conviction at all, willing to say or do anything to get elected,” she said. “Tonight he talked about how supportive he was of overturning Roe v. Wade, yet just in 2002 he was a candidate for governor who was totally supportive of Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose. I mean, that’s a pretty significant issue to have such a major flip-flop.”

“I think Republican voters need to ask themselves whether Massachusetts elected a conservative Republican candidate for governor,” she continued.

Romney’s perceived insincerity has been a major focus of criticism since he first ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. During his two campaigns for statewide office in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts — for the U.S. Senate in 1994 and for governor in 2002 — Romney ran as a moderate, pro-choice Republican.

After leaving office in 2007 and setting his sights on the presidency, however, Romney moved to the right and left many conservatives wondering if his views on issues like abortion were heartfelt or simply a matter of convenience.

Wasserman Schultz’s comments indicate that Democrats will pick up the “flip-flopper” meme if Romney should win his party’s nomination. But by attempting to exacerbate the divide between Romney and the Republican base, they also re-enforce the notion that President Obama’s allies see his as the strongest and most threatening candidate in the GOP field.

“At this point he’s certainly done everything he can to get as far to the right as possible,” she said. “He’s embraced extremism, he’s embraced the tea party, so he certainly needs to be held accountable for the things he’s saying now.”

“He’ll be held accountable for the Mitt Romney who ran in 1992 and the Mitt Romney who ran in 1994,” she continued. “You never know which Mitt Romney you’ll be running against, but we’ll be running against them all.”

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Obama and Congress Are Not Getting Along Right Now (The Atlantic Wire)

The tension between Congressional Republicans and the White House is manifesting itself on multiple fronts on Friday. House Republicans will vote on a resolution to limit what the American military can do in the Libyan intervention--and many Democrats are likely to join them, despite a last-minute appeal from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday, Politico's Jonathan Allen reports. "The president has not developed strong relationships with members of Congress that would allow members to even look at the politics of this," Rep. Maxine Waters told Allen.

Related: GOP Intensifies Demands for Votes to Raise the Debt Ceiling

Meanwhile, negotiations over raising the debt ceiling--which many experts say absolutely has to be done--are falling apart, as Minority Leader Eric Cantor quit talks led by Vice President Joe Biden Thursday. Sen. Jim DeMint said raising the debt limit would be "the most toxic vote" for Republicans, one that would "set [the party] back many years."

Starting at 12:30 p.m., the House will begin voting on two resolutions--one, modeled on a Senate proposal put forward by John Kerry and John McCain, would prohibit ground troops in Libya but otherwise authorize the war. That one will likely fail, Allen reports. The second would bar American bomb strikes, whether by drones or piloted aircraft. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "has no intention of letting the bill become law," Allen writes, but "the White House is worried about the political fallout of losing a vote on the House floor." An anonymous Democratic aide explained, "They don't want to be embarrassed." But that's exactly what Republicans are predicting.

As for the stalled debt limit talks, The Hill's Molly K. Hooper reports that Republicans had planned for Cantor to bail for weeks. The Republican Study Committee, a conservative group of lawmakers, "wants Obama to publicly float a solution to the current debt-ceiling quandary," Hooper writes. "That way Republicans will know Democrats cannot back out at the last minute by saying the final deal was not acceptable to Obama," according to the RSC's budget chair, Rep. Scott Garrett.

Related: Debt and Taxes: Eric Cantor's Hot Potato Game With Boehner

But DeMint doesn't want to see a deal at all. "I can tell you if you look at the polls, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, they do not think we should increase the debt limit," he said. As ABC News' Jonathan Karl and Sunlen Miller report, "DeMint is not just talking political analysis here. He has a significant fundraising base and has shown a willingness to use his campaign money to support or oppose fellow Republicans."

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Portugal PSD wins vote, strong right government seen (Reuters)

LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal's center-right PSD party was expected to work fast on Monday to form a majority coalition government with its traditional allies, the rightist CDS-PP, to implement the country's bailout program.

PSD's convincing victory on Sunday -- with 39 percent of the vote -- ended months of political uncertainty following the collapse of the minority Socialist government in March when it failed to pass its latest austerity package in parliament.

Submerged in an acute debt and political crisis, Portugal received a 78-billion-euro bailout last month from the European Union and IMF, whose terms include higher taxes, spending cuts and privatizations that will weigh on the economy.

"No time to take a breath ... Today, the PSD and CDS-PP have to start working on a coalition pact and a government that would have enough quality and experience to implement and ambitious but difficult program," business daily Diario Economico said in an editorial.

CDS-PP leader Paulo Portas said he was ready to rule together with the Social Democrats.

Portuguese stocks opened higher on Monday. The 10-year bond yield rose slightly from Friday's close to 10.45 percent, but analysts expected investors to react positively.

"The biggest risk of hung parliament is out of the way, so we should have a rather safe government, a coalition government. I'd say it is as good as it gets -- there should be positive underlying impact from the election," said David Schnautz, debt strategist at Commerzbank in London.

SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACT FAST

A center-right coalition government should be able quickly to enact reforms and austerity measures included in the bailout, such as sweeping tax rises and deep spending cuts, to reduce Portugal's large deficit and debt.

"The next thing to see will be obviously how quick do we get some unpopular decisions and how big is the backlash in the society," Schnautz said.

Portugal faces its highest level of unemployment in three decades and the economy is expected to contract two percent both this year and next, presenting the new government with tough challenges as disposable incomes fall.

The PSD has long defended lower government spending, which the Socialists have managed to reduce only slightly, focusing instead on higher revenues.

The PSD also advocates a smaller role of the state in the economy and privatizations of state companies. Sell-off of state properties is part of the bailout program.

Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros consultants in Porto, said the election results were convincing and would help investor sentiment, but economic problems will be there to stay for a long time.

"This major result will allow the right to pass more unpopular measures," Garcia said.

"The PSD has committed itself to implementing the bailout terms and that's what they'll do in the coming months ... But the pact does not solve the country's problems, does not bring growth and the success of the government's economic policy will depend very much on the Europe-wide sovereign debt crisis."

Results showed the PSD won 105 seats while the rightist CDS party obtained 24, allowing the two traditional government allies a strong majority in the 230-seat parliament.

So far there have been few strikes or protests against austerity measures in Portugal, unlike Greece and neighboring Spain, but analysts say that could change as the recession deepens.

(Additional reporting by Shrikesh Laxmidas; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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Portugal PSD wins vote, strong right government seen (Reuters)

LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal's center-right PSD party was expected to work fast on Monday to form a majority coalition government with its traditional allies, the rightist CDS-PP, to implement the country's bailout program.

PSD's convincing victory on Sunday -- with 39 percent of the vote -- ended months of political uncertainty following the collapse of the minority Socialist government in March when it failed to pass its latest austerity package in parliament.

Submerged in an acute debt and political crisis, Portugal received a 78-billion-euro bailout last month from the European Union and IMF, whose terms include higher taxes, spending cuts and privatizations that will weigh on the economy.

"No time to take a breath ... Today, the PSD and CDS-PP have to start working on a coalition pact and a government that would have enough quality and experience to implement and ambitious but difficult program," business daily Diario Economico said in an editorial.

CDS-PP leader Paulo Portas said he was ready to rule together with the Social Democrats.

Portuguese stocks opened higher on Monday. The 10-year bond yield rose slightly from Friday's close to 10.45 percent, but analysts expected investors to react positively.

"The biggest risk of hung parliament is out of the way, so we should have a rather safe government, a coalition government. I'd say it is as good as it gets -- there should be positive underlying impact from the election," said David Schnautz, debt strategist at Commerzbank in London.

SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACT FAST

A center-right coalition government should be able quickly to enact reforms and austerity measures included in the bailout, such as sweeping tax rises and deep spending cuts, to reduce Portugal's large deficit and debt.

"The next thing to see will be obviously how quick do we get some unpopular decisions and how big is the backlash in the society," Schnautz said.

Portugal faces its highest level of unemployment in three decades and the economy is expected to contract two percent both this year and next, presenting the new government with tough challenges as disposable incomes fall.

The PSD has long defended lower government spending, which the Socialists have managed to reduce only slightly, focusing instead on higher revenues.

The PSD also advocates a smaller role of the state in the economy and privatizations of state companies. Sell-off of state properties is part of the bailout program.

Filipe Garcia, head of Informacao de Mercados Financeiros consultants in Porto, said the election results were convincing and would help investor sentiment, but economic problems will be there to stay for a long time.

"This major result will allow the right to pass more unpopular measures," Garcia said.

"The PSD has committed itself to implementing the bailout terms and that's what they'll do in the coming months ... But the pact does not solve the country's problems, does not bring growth and the success of the government's economic policy will depend very much on the Europe-wide sovereign debt crisis."

Results showed the PSD won 105 seats while the rightist CDS party obtained 24, allowing the two traditional government allies a strong majority in the 230-seat parliament.

So far there have been few strikes or protests against austerity measures in Portugal, unlike Greece and neighboring Spain, but analysts say that could change as the recession deepens.

(Additional reporting by Shrikesh Laxmidas; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

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