Daily Archives
28 posts · Monday
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 191
Blue Wave Update
“A judge is expected to decide Tuesday whether to toss out most of the corruption charges against Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen,” the AP reports.
“U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer is also set to decide whether the former first couple should be tried together or apart.”
The ex-husband of U.S. Senate candidate Monica Wehby (R) accused her of “ongoing harassment” as they were going through a divorce in 2007, according to documents obtained by the Oregonian.
From the police report: “Jim said they are currently in a divorce situation and is tired of the ongoing harassment by his wife. Jim said over the last year Monica has pulled his hair, slapped him and thrown items at him. Jim said he had been violent with her in the past approximately three years or so ago.”
“If you look at all the fiascos that have occurred, 99 percent of them have been by Democrats pulling their guns out and shooting people. So I don’t think you have a problem with the Republicans.”
— Arizona congressional candidate Gary Kiehne (R), quoted by the Arizona Daily Star.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) told ABC News that he won’t say if he’s used marijuana before.
Said Rubio: “Here’s the problem with that question in American politics, if you say you did, suddenly there are all these people saying ‘Well, it’s not a big deal, look at all these successful people who did it.’ On the other side of it, if you tell people that you didn’t, they won’t believe you.”
The RNC released a video mocking President Obama for being angry at a lot of things.
“These people, that will now receive $220 million from the state of Florida unless this is stopped, will promote double-mindedness in state education and attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can. I’m sorry to report that to you.”
— Florida state Rep. Charles Van Zant (R), quoted by Think Progress, warning that the Common Core education standards will turn children gay.
The final Gravis Marketing survey in Kentucky before the Tuesday primary shows Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) with a double-digit lead over challenger Matt Bevin (R), 48% to 34%.
“Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriages was struck down Monday by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane, who ruled that the prohibition violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians,” the Oregonian reports.
“Jubilant couples who anticipated a favorable decision from the judge began the rush to officially wed at locations around the state… Oregon becomes the seventh state where a federal judge has struck down a gay marriage ban since the U.S. Supreme Court last year invalidated key sections of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.”
Former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) suggested to NPR that he might run for president.
Said Webb: “My wife and I were just thinking about what to do next. And I care a lot about where the country is. We’ll be sorting that out… It takes me a while to decide things. And I’m not going to say one way or the other, really.”
He added that he has no interest in being vice president because it “wouldn’t be a good fit.”
“House Republicans are proposing to let some schools opt out of healthier school lunch and breakfast programs if they are losing money,” the AP reports.
“A GOP spending bill for agriculture and food programs released Monday would allow schools to apply for waivers if they have a net loss on school food programs for six months in a row.”
A new Citizens United Political Victory Fund poll in Mississippi finds Chris McDaniel (R) leading Sen. Thad Cochran (R) in a U.S. Senate primary, 43% to 39%.
The election is on June 3.
A new Vox Populi polling survey in New Hampshire finds Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) leading Scott Brown (R) by double-digits in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 35%.
In another match up, Shaheen leads Bob Smith (R), 45% to 34%.
Wonk Wire: Which state has the most gerrymandered districts?
Morning Line: “If there’s one primary day to pay attention to, it’s this Tuesday. It’s got everything — Senate control, another bite at the GOP establishment vs. tea party apple, prominent women candidates on both sides, political dynasties, and the Democratic fight to replace a vulnerable Republican governor swept in with the 2010 tea party wave.”
Nate Cohn: “Not much matters six months before a midterm election, but Tuesday’s primaries are an exception. Republicans will have an opportunity to nominate candidates in three potentially competitive Senate contests: in Kentucky, Georgia and Oregon. Here’s what you need to know.”
Rick Klein: “This wasn’t supposed to happen anymore. The late-breaking revelation that GOP Senate candidate Monica Wehby – first reported by Politico late last week – was accused of stalking by an ex-boyfriend undercuts a powerful biographical story around the first-time candidate, a renowned pediatric surgeon. And in Oregon, a vote-by-mail state, it may actually have come too late to swing the primary. Instead, the news is likely to help define Dr. Wehby for the general election – undercutting what would always have been a longshot campaign against a Democratic Senate incumbent. More broadly, it undercuts Republican attempts to further expand the Senate field – and serves as a reminder, again, that candidates matter. These aren’t the kinds of surprises Republicans were looking for this year.”
First Read criticizes news organizations and pollsters that use likely voter models “to describe an election environment before Memorial Day when many Americans haven’t even begun to tune in to the general election.”
“A tip: There is no such thing as a likely voter six months before a general election, and if you think there is one, you’re likely cooking the books. Our rule is to always begin introducing likely voter models after Labor Day.”
“Iowa’s presidential caucuses long have been the first event in the nominating process, but for Republicans, they lately have been a poor indicator of future success. The state’s quadrennial GOP straw poll has been even more discredited, an event that no longer draws some of the top candidates,” the Washington Post reports.
“All this has raised doubts about whether Iowa’s presidential process represents a true test of Republican sentiment or merely a competition for dominance among social and religious conservatives. As a result, Gov. Terry Branstad (R) and others are taking steps to try to preserve the state’s role as a presidential proving ground for candidates from all wings of the party.”
Authorities say a conservative Mississippi blogger went into a nursing home, photographed the bedridden wife of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) without permission and posted an image online as part of a video, the AP reports.
Meanwhile, the Clarion-Ledger reports police said there are other individuals in the case that they’d like to talk to “who might have been part of a conspiracy.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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