The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary is still a major part of the political conversation, as the Newtown community attends more funerals and memorial services, including this afternoon’s wake for teacher Victoria Soto.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued his call for new gun legislation Tuesday on Morning Joe. On CBS This Morning Chicago Mayor and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said he believes everyone’s attitude has changed after Friday’s events, but the key to gun legislation going forward is criminal access and the access to weapon.
The impact of the Newtown tragedy is also seen in this morning’s opinion pages: in the New York Times Joe Nocera discusses both sides of the gun debate while noting the impact Mothers Against Drunk Driving has had on state and federal law. The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson looks at public policy solutions in the wake of the mass shooting in Connecticut.
President Obama has responded to House Speaker John Boehner with another fiscal cliff counter-offer, this one $2.4 trillion in total, with The White House moving their threshold for letting the Bush-Era tax rates expire to incomes over $400,000. Speaker Boehner takes that latest offer to the House Republican Conference this morning on Capitol Hill.
We’re still waiting for movement from the Obama Administration on any new faces for the Cabinet: Secretary of State speculation continues to swirl around Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, while in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal opinion columnist Bret Stephens questions statements made about Israel and the “Jewish lobby” by Former Senator Chuck Hagel, reportedly on the short-list to replace Secretary Leon Panetta at the Defense Department.