Daily Archives
24 posts · Friday
The New York Times Magazine has landed an extensive interview with former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and his wife Huma Abedin which will run in the coming weeks, Politico reports.
The news comes just weeks after reports that Weiner is polling for a possible New York City mayoral race.
Foreign Policy: “Pro-democracy activists around the world are discovering that humor is one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against authoritarianism.”
Garance Franke-Ruta explains why President Obama needed to apologize for calling California Attorney General Kamala Harris “the best-looking attorney general.”
“Just as it’s perfectly appropriate to tell a colleague she looks gorgeous when she’s dressed to the nines for some black tie work event, it would be inappropriate to refer to her as ‘gorgeous over there’ during a work meeting. Doing so takes her out of the system of power and puts her into the system of beauty in a setting in which power is the value that’s brought her to the table. And that, dear readers, is a gaffe.”
TV Newser hears that CNN is looking to bring back Crossfire, the long-running political debate show which was canceled in 2005.
“It isn’t entirely clear what time the program would air, though we hear it would likely be a 30-minute format. During its original run from 1982-2005, Crossfire aired in both the afternoons and primetime, in addition to weekend editions. Aside from a brief 60-minute experiment, was always 30 minutes. CNN declined to comment.”
Stu Rothenberg says that if former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) “is serious about running for the Republican nomination in the Granite State, he needs to splash some cold water on his face, swallow a stiff drink and embrace the obvious: It’s a stupid idea.”
“Former senators who were defeated for re-election can’t simply go to another state — even if they have property there and have paid taxes there — and get elected to the Senate, especially if the state is politically competitive… For many voters, Brown would appear to be nothing more than ‘seat
shopping’ if he were to run in New Hampshire. He’d look like a perfect
example of a personally ambitious politician who didn’t care who he
represented as long as he had an office on Capitol Hill and the title of
U.S. senator.”
Roll Call notes Republicans “are surprised and, in some cases, privately skeptical” about the idea.
Vice President Joe Biden “won’t be following the president’s lead and returning some of his pay to the Treasury, but may if his staff faces furloughs,” Politico reports.
“Several members of the president’s Cabinet have said they will cut
checks to charities or to the Treasury, though most are wealthier than
the vice president. Secretary of State John Kerry’s net worth is
estimated as being as much as $300 million, while Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel’s net worth is estimated to be as much as about $10 million.”
Wonk Wire looks at reform efforts in the states.
President Obama called California Attorney General Kamala Harris (D) to apologize after referring to her as “the best-looking attorney general” during a Democratic fundraiser on Thursday, The Hill reports.
“The comment came under heavy criticism from those who said the president’s remark was sexist.”
Nevada state Assemblywoman Lucy Flores (D-LV) “received threats after giving an emotional testimony about an abortion she had as a teenager,” the Huffington Post reports.
She made the comments during a sex education bill hearing earlier this week, according to the Reno Gazette Journal, noting “sex education was hard to come by” after her mother left the family when Flores was just nine years old.
John Avlon: “Hillary Clinton has successfully transformed herself from one of the most polarizing personalities in American politics to our most broadly popular politician. And she has done it the old-fashioned way–through hard work.”
“First the former first lady put her head down in the U.S. Senate and earned the respect of skeptics and outright opponents… After her hard-fought presidential primary campaign in 2008 against Barack Obama, it seemed that the old polarizing reputation had reasserted itself… But with President Obama’s decision to invite his rival into his cabinet at secretary of State, her work ethic again won over hardened critics. She traveled tirelessly, visiting more countries than any of her predecessors did and cementing her reputation as a serious and inspirational figure in her own right.”
“Hillary Clinton’s rise has also been buoyed by something bigger than hard work. It is the vindication that eventually comes when your struggles are seen to be on the right side of history.”
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) told the Asbury Park Press that he is “very interested” in making a run for the U.S. Senate next year, setting up a possible showdown between the veteran lawmaker and Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D).
Said Pallone: “I’m pursuing that and working on it on a daily basis. It’s a very important part about what I want to do in the future.”
Speaking in Ohio, legendary journalist Bob Woodward “told an unflattering, but amusing story about sitting next to former Vice President Al Gore at a dinner, saying being with him was taxing,” the Youngstown Vindicator reports.
He added: ‘To be really honest, it’s unpleasant.”
The reporter said Gore “pressed him on why the journalist didn’t go after Bush, who beat Gore in the 2000 presidential election, over the war in Iraq.”
Tod Lindberg: “An early Clinton decision would bring swift clarity to the 2016 contest, and a late one would cause considerable Democratic anxiety. But it’s not within a front-runner’s power to claim the nomination by mere declaration–not when so many others have such tempting reasons to run, too. What, after all, might Vice President Joe Biden have to say about Hillary’s purported ability to clear the field? Come to think of it, a reporter will probably ask him any day now.”
James Carville told MSNBC that Clinton won’t decide whether to run or not until 2014.
Amy Walter: “Washington is currently consumed with guns and immigration, but come 2014 it’s possible that health care will be the more all-consuming issue, and that has lots of Democrats very worried.”
“After five years of demagoguery, political spin and hyperbole on both sides of the debate, the Affordable Care Act is finally set to go into effect January 1, 2014. Open enrollment begins this October.”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “immediately dismissed” President Obama’s package “of significant new entitlement cuts tied to new tax revenues, calling them ‘no way to lead and move the country forward,'” Politico reports.
“The White House had portrayed the proposal, part of the budget it will release next week, as a compromise with Congressional Republicans that could have put them on track for another run at a grand bargain.”
The Week: Will Obama regret offering to cut Social Security?
Debbie Dingell (D), the wife of Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), “has taken concrete steps toward a possible Senate run, including meeting in recent weeks with top Democratic interest groups to gauge their support for a 2014 campaign,” Politico reports.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) both announced their support for same-sex
marriage in statements this morning.
The two announcements leave just four Senate Democrats who have
not yet indicated support for marriage equality.
Former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R) claimed she “had no idea law enforcement was investigating a veterans charity accused of running illegal slot machine-style casinos until two agents walked into her office last month,” the AP reports.
“She was taking photos with people in her office on March 12 when she was told the agents wanted to speak to her. When the agents walked out about 20 minutes later, Gov. Rick Scott’s chief of staff was waiting outside her office. He told her Scott wanted her to resign. She immediately said yes and called her husband to let him know.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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