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While thousands of low-income Americans are suffering under sequestration, our Congress somehow managed to rush through a fix for the FAA cuts that were delaying their their flights. Imagine that! As Chris Hayes discussed in the opening of his show this Friday, it's so nice to see that those members of Congress have got their priorities in order.

HAYES: But we begin tonight with the big flashing headline breaking news of the day, from the least popular branch of government, the branch of government widely seen as the most dysfunctional branch of government, the one that contains the right-wing Republican House caucus committed to obstruction above all else. In that branch of government today, today we saw a remarkable display of urgency and pragmatic bipartisan problem solving come together in a matter of hours to fix the most pressing trouble facing America today.

And that very pressing problem is extended travel delays for frequent flyers and members of Congress. Yes, it was a long and tortured path to triumph on this issue. but today in a 361 to 41 vote, a resounding margin, House of Representatives overwhelmingly agreed to tackle the scourge of flight delays being caused by the furlough of federal aviation workers.

Sadly the first piece of legislation that members of Congress saw fit to pass will make those lines at the airports shorter, and as Hayes reminded his audience, here's who will not be getting relief from the bill passed this Friday.

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As Sarah Jones at Politicususa rightfully noted, this is pretty rich coming from today's Republican party: The Party of Hotheads Cheney and McCain is Concerned About Hagel’s Temperament:

On ABC’s This Week, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) concern trolled about the ‘temperament’ of Republican former Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NB), whom Obama has nominated as Secretary of Defense. To back up his concern, Corker referenced possible issues with staffers, “I think there are numbers of staffers who are coming forth now just talking about the way he has dealt with them.” [...]

What staffers? Can he name one of them? Does Corker “think” they are coming forth or have they come forth? And since Hagel’s staffers would have most likely been Republican, it’s possible that such a desperate move might stink to high heaven of a Republican Party agenda, if in fact they ever do “come forth.” But really, since when do staffers weigh in on nominations?

Corker is worried about temperament, and he’s proving that by spreading unfounded rumors from alleged anonymous staffers that may or may not be a figament of his imagination. [...]

The real issue Republicans have with Hagel is that not only has he been to war, unlike most in the chicken hawk party, but he is a two-time recipient of the Purple Heart and he is against a war-first strategy. Hagel warned us before invading Iraq that it is very easy to start a war, and not so easy to end one. Republicans were outraged at Hagel for suggesting such a fact.

I never thought I’d see the day when a modern day Republican suggested that temperament should be an issue. After all, this is the party of distemper. This is the party that allegedly can’t control its members from shouting insults during a State of the Union address. This is the party that lied us into war and ran Sarah Palin as a Vice President.

It’s ironic that the party of irascible hotheads Dick Cheney and John McCain is concerned about Hagel’s temperament, because if they had listened to him, we never would have invaded Iraq. Hagel’s temperament is actually an argument for his confirmation.

I'm wondering when Corker has ever expressed any concern for this guy's temperament?

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Transcript via below the fold.

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Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) says that his party should agree to raise taxes on the wealthy before January because Republicans can force cuts to earned benefits like Medicare and Social Security next year by holding the debt ceiling hostage.

"I do think it's time for the president -- he knows there's a growing body of folks who are willing to look at the rate on the top 2 percent but that's only -- it could be $400 billion, it might be $800 billion, depending on how you deal with that," Corker told Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday. "Many of us that are fiscal and conservatives are beginning to see that we could end up with a lesser revenue increase by agreeing to that."

"The shift to focus in entitlements is where we need to go," the Tennessee Republican added. "And again, it's a shame that we're not just sitting down and solving this, but Republicans know that they have the debt ceiling that's coming up right around the corner and the leverage is going to shift as soon as we get beyond this issue."

Corker pointed out that Republicans could use the debt ceiling to "do the same thing we did last time."

"If the president wants to raise the debt limit by $2 trillion, we get $2 trillion in spending reductions. And hopefully this time it's mostly oriented towards entitlements," he insisted.

Speaking to business leaders last week, President Barack Obama said that he would refuse to let Republicans use the debt ceiling in budget negotiations this time.

"I will not play that game," the president explained. "Because we've got to break that habit before it starts."

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From this Tuesday's The Colbert Report, Stephen took on the so-called "fiscal cliff" and the Republicans who are at least pretending they're going to go back on the their anti-tax pledge to Grover Norquist. Colbert: Only Words As Terrifying To GOP As Grover Norquist Are ‘Buenos Días’:

“Obama’s answer to this budget crisis is to raise taxes on the wealthy just because he ran on the ‘promise’ and ‘won the election.’ It’s like he’s totally disregarding my ‘dismissive finger finger quotes,’” Colbert said.

What’s really scary, Colbert added, is that Republicans might let the President do just that, even though most congressional Republicans have signed Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge.

That name is the “two most terrifying words a Republican can hear other than ‘buenos días,’” Colbert said.

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Anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist predicts that none of the Republican who are having "impure thoughts" about taxes will actually break their pledge and vote for additional revenue.

Since singing defeats by their party in the November elections, several Republicans who signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge -- including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) -- have said they would compromise with Democrats in return for cuts to earned benefits like Medicare and Social Security.

"No pledge-taker has voted for a tax increase," Norquist explained to CNN's Soledad O'Brien on Monday. "They've had some people discussing impure thoughts on national television."

"However, Lindsey Graham, if you listen to him, he would support higher taxes if it was used to pay down the debt -- of course, it wont be, it will be spent -- if ten-to-one ratios on entitlement reform. I've had long conversations with Lindsey Graham and he says, 'I would raise taxes if...' and then he lists this incredible lists of reforms and entitlements that the Democrats would never give him."

Norquist added: "And as I suggested to him, I said, 'Senator, you're offering to trade a tax increase for a pink unicorn that doesn't exist.'"

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What a mess. Rachel Maddow made the apt comparison of what just happened in Tennessee to what we saw in South Carolina, when the Democrats found themselves with an unknown candidate winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate back in 2008, named Alvin Greene. Here we go again with the nomination of Mark Clayton.

Democrats disavow their own Senate nominee in Tennessee:

The Tennessee Democratic Party has disavowed its own nominee running against Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) for being a member of a "known hate group," it said Friday.

"Mark Clayton is associated with a known hate group in Washington D.C. and the Tennessee Democratic Party disavows his candidacy, will not do anything to promote or support him in any way, and urges Democrats to write in a candidate of their choice in November," the party said in a statement. "Many Democrats in Tennessee knew nothing about any of the candidates in the race, so they voted for the person at the top of the ticket. Unfortunately, none of the other Democratic candidates were able to run the race needed to gain statewide visibility or support."

The result is a sign of how weakened Democrats have become in the state. Six years ago, Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) nearly beat Corker, and heading into the last election they held the governorship and five of the state's nine House seats.

Here's more from Mother Jones: Dems Nominate Anti-Gay Conspiracy Theorist for Senate:

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Jon Stewart took the members of the United States Senate Banking Committee to task after their disgusting display this week where they were fawning all over JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon. Not surprising, as Stewart pointed out, given Dimon is one of their largest campaign donors. As Stewart concluded after going through the list of reforms that these Republicans have opposed in regulating the banks:

STEWART: Must be nice to be a Republican Senator sometimes, because you get the fun of breaking sh*t and the joy of complaining the sh*t you just broke doesn’t work.

Here's more from TPM on this week's hearing: Senators Fawn Over JPMorgan CEO After Massive Trading Debacle:

The long-shot big hope for Wall Street reformers Wednesday was that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon would trip up before the Senate Banking Committee and expose the need for tighter rules governing big banks. His firm, after all, recently lost billions making risky bets with depositor funds on the line.

Instead, with some notable exceptions, the senators themselves turned the cross-examination into a coronation, and exposed the extent to which elected officials still feel compelled to genuflect to powerful financial interests.

“You’re obviously renowned, rightfully so I think, as being one of the most, you know, one of the best CEOs in the country for financial institutions,” crooned Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). “You missed this, it’s a blip on the radar screen.”

Most of the fawning came from GOP senators who in addition to relying on Wall Street largesse remain engaged in a political campaign against President Obama’s 2010 financial reform law. But some Democrats also treated Dimon if not quite like royalty then perhaps as a trusted confidant. [...]

His exchanges with GOP senators were even more saccharine. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) — a tea party hero — gave Dimon a full pardon. “I really appreciate you voluntarily coming in to talk with us,” he said. “It is important that we talk about things happening in the industry. It helps us as we look forward and, hopefully, it will contribute to best practice scenarios in industry. I appreciate your emphasis on continuous quality improvement. We can hardly sit in judgment of your losing $2 billion. We lose twice that every day in Washington.”

Stewart went after DeMint for that ridiculous remark, asking if he thought spending money was the same as losing money.

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Actress and environmentalist Park Overall is set to challenge Bob Corker for his Senate seat. Although Corker will have her over-matched financially as yet another of Wall Street's Favorite Senators, Overall will give him a run for his money. What was initially dismissed as a 'novelty candidate' run looks to be anything but. Here is an excerpt of her speaking a few nights ago in Nashville. The full speech (18 min) is well worth watching at YouTube, here.

via The Tennessean:

Overall, who spoke at the Tennessee Democratic Party’s Jackson Day dinner on Saturday, was “very well received” there and decided to take on Corker, who is nearing the end of his first Senate term, party spokesman Brandon Puttbrese said.

Overall said she was driven to run by “an East Tennessee fire in my belly.”

“It was the Blunt amendment that put me over the top,” she said. “That’s where they were going to decide if they would give me medical care or give me birth control depending on how they morally believed.”

The Blunt amendment was proposed earlier this year to be added to a highway funding bill. In her speech at the Jackson Day dinner, Overall asked, “Why is my womb attached to a transportation bill?”

Overall may be best known for her role on the sitcom Empty Nest. She also appeared in the 1990 movie Kindergarten Cop.

Scott Wooledge over at Daily Kos watched her full speech and gave her two thumbs up, way up:

Ok, I wasn't going to watch the entire 18 minutes. But then I got sucked in and the time flew. This woman is fierce and fabulous. She's hilarious and she's simultaneously earthy and smart. I honestly can't believe she's a candidate in Tennessee. Good luck to her.

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As the repeal of the military's gay ban edges closer, Republicans are finding more ways to derail the effort.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) announced on the Senate floor Friday that many of his Republican colleagues may vote against the new START nuclear treaty with Russia if Democrats move forward with a plan to vote on "don't ask, don't tell" repeal Saturday.

"I want to say to our presiding officer that what's happened over the course of the last 12 hours is by filing cloture last night on 'don't ask, don't tell' and on the DREAM Act during a lame duck session in the middle of a START treaty, what it says is that Republicans -- and I don't even like to use partisan labels here -- but Republicans, 'y'all need to rise up above partisanship and deal with foreign policy in a bipartisan way, but in the midst of that, we're going to throw some partisan issues in here that our campaign promises we made over the course of this last year as we ran for election.'" Corker said.

"I have to tell you what this has done. I've been in three meetings this morning. What's happening is it poisons the well on this debate on something that's very, very important. I don't want to see that happen. I'm not someone who comes down here and says fiery things to terrorize and divide. But I'm hoping that saner minds will prevail," he said.

"These issues that have been brought forth are absolutely partisan political issues, brought forth to basically accommodate activist groups around this country," he continued. "I'm hoping that those will be taken down or I don't think the future of the START treaty over the next several days is going to be successful... I'm hoping that's going to change."

The Washington Post's Greg Sargent noted that he has heard rumors for days that Republicans would use "don't ask, don't tell" repeal as an excuse not to pass START.

"This isn't really a threat on Corker's part," Sargent wrote. "Rather, he's saying -- in a more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger way -- that his GOP colleagues will be less likely to support START unless Reid drops his plan for DADT and DREAM votes right away."

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As Rachel explains, the payday lending business, or what we used to call loan sharks, is fighting against any new regulations. As she noted, the mega-rich Check Into Cash CEO is one of those fighting against the industry being regulated at all.

TPM has more -- High-Living Pay-Day Lender CEO Tied To Bid To Weaken Financial Reform:

In the wake of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, a high-living, politically connected Tennessee businessman who made a fortune by lending money to the poor at sky-high interest rates has ties to a successful effort to water down financial regulatory reform.

Meet W. Allan Jones, who in 1993 founded Check Into Cash, a pay-day lending chain that says it now has 1,100 stores in 30 states. The company offers short-term loans designed to tide customers over until their next paycheck. But the interest rates can be as much as 400 percent on an annualized basis, meaning that they lead many borrowers to end up digging themselves deeper into debt.

...The business has been good to Jones, 56, however. In 2005, a Tennessee business magazine put his net worth at $500 million -- high enough to put him on a list of the state's richest 20 people, alongside FedEx founder Fred Smith and Thomas Frist Jr., the hospital entrepreneur and father of former Senate leader Bill Frist.

And Jones hasn't been shy about displaying that fortune. According to the magazine, Jones's 400-acre home boasts an air-conditioned muscle car garage, which includes a $300,000 Maybach; an on-site greenhouse with a full-time horticulturist; a three-story tree house; and -- get this -- a regulation-sized football field with lights, a scoreboard and supporting field house and stand, which he used to host the first-ever private college football game, raising $100,000 for University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

...All of this wouldn't amount to much more than a rather severe lapse in taste (although we admit the three-story tree-house sounds cool) were it not for recent events in the U.S. Senate.

There, Corker reportedly has weakened the section of the major financial regulatory reform bill that deals with pay-day lenders. Thanks to Corker, who sits on the Senate Banking committee, the new CFPA will have to get permission from a body of regulators in order to enforce rules against payday lenders and other non-bank financial companies -- a step that consumer groups say will significantly hamstring the agency's ability to crack down on predatory lending practices. Read on...

Check For Cash founder Jones started a new blog and as Rachel noted, tried to downplay just how much money his industry makes.

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