National Journal: “Edwin Edwards is loosely a New Deal Democrat, but he doesn’t believe so much in any grand vision of America; he believes in doing favors. His version of politics is much more personal than ideological. Edwards is running for Congress in a district that Mitt Romney won by 34 percentage points–enemy territory for a Democrat–but he believes he can prevail by peeling off Republicans one by one, with a promise that he’ll do right by each and every one of them. Sure, Edwards is competing in an era of micro-targeting and ideological purity, when retail political skills are much less central to congressional elections than they once were. But so what, his thinking seems to go. Who can resist the sly smile, the Cajun lilt, and the mischievous wink of the man they call the Silver Fox?”
Archives for July 2014
The Greatest Comeback
Just published: The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority by Patrick J. Buchanan.
Obama-Boehner Relationship Hits New Low
Morning Line: “The strained Obama-Boehner relationship is not a new dynamic, but the hyper-combative tone this week is the clearest signal yet that any hope for compromise this year is gone — and the discord likely could stretch into the final two years of the Obama presidency. And both sides appear to be doubling down.”
Three Billionaires Fed Up With Congress
Sheldon Adelson, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates write in the New York Times that Congress has failed in not passing immigration reform:
“The three of us vary in our politics and would differ also in our preferences about the details of an immigration reform bill. But we could without doubt come together to draft a bill acceptable to each of us. We hope that fact holds a lesson: You don’t have to agree on everything in order to cooperate on matters about which you are reasonably close to agreement. It’s time that this brand of thinking finds its way to Washington.”
“The current stalemate — in which greater pride is attached to thwarting the opposition than to advancing the nation’s interests — is depressing to most Americans and virtually all of its business managers.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The NRA went after two or three state senators in a part of Colorado where I don’t think there’s roads. It’s as far rural as you can get.”
— Michael Bloomberg, quoted in a Rolling Stone article that has since been removed, on getting gun control passed in Colorado.
The Pros and Cons of Boehner’s Lawsuit
First Read: “By making this lawsuit all about Obamacare, Boehner gets one big narrative win for his party: The political debate will shift back towards the health care law that’s so effective at energizing Republicans. And the GOP gets to talk about the legislation rather than vague criticism of Obama’s executive orders generally. (Remember, Obama’s actually issued far fewer executive orders than predecessors like George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.)”
“But there’s a downside too: The lawsuit focuses on the White House’s decision to delay the employer mandate, which happened in 2013. If the one-year delay was so egregious, why wait a year to address it with this lawsuit? Perhaps most importantly, Democrats can counter that administrative delays happen all the time in implementing laws. Just look at how the Bush administration took action to waive penalties for low-income seniors who signed up late under the Medicare prescription drug law.”
Quote of the Day
“I know this is a long line. I feel real bad, but — I’m gonna cut.”
— President Obama, quoted by the Austin American Statesman, cutting in line while buying a barbeque lunch in Austin.
New Legal Threat to Obamacare Emerges
Wonk Wire: Why Obamacare might not survive another court challenge
New Nixon Tapes Deciphered
Out this month: The Nixon Tapes: 1971-1972 by Douglas Brinkley and Luke Nichter.
Vanity Fair: “Over the last several years, the tapes–many of which were muffled and, at times, indecipherable–have been cleaned up, pored over, and painstakingly transcribed. The result–excerpted below–includes conversations with Nixon’s national-security adviser Henry Kissinger, Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman, and chief domestic aide John Ehrlichman is a verbatim narrative of a pivotal period in Nixon’s presidency that portrays him as a geopolitical strategist, a crisis manager, and a duplicitous paranoid.”
Chalabi Returns
Foreign Policy: “The man who helped convince the United States to invade Iraq has spent the last decade in the political wilderness. But now, with his country in chaos, he could be its next leader.”
‘Blood Feud’ Outsells Clinton Memoir
New York Times: “Of all the headaches of her current book tour — the declining sales, the constant travel, the interviews that generated unkind headlines about her family’s wealth — this one may sting Hillary Rodham Clinton the most: Her memoir, Hard Choices, has just been toppled from its spot on the best-seller list by a sensational Clinton account by her longtime antagonist Edward Klein.”
“It is a powerful statement about today’s publishing realities that Mr. Klein’s book, a 320-page unauthorized and barely sourced account full of implausible passages, including one about a physical altercation between Mrs. Clinton and President Obama, has landed atop the New York Times best-seller list, knocking Hard Choices to No. 2. ”
Muslims Most Approving of Obama
A new Gallup poll finds 72% of U.S. Muslims approved of the job President Obama was doing as president during the first six months of 2014, higher than any other U.S. religious group Gallup tracks. Mormons were least approving, at 18%.
In general, majorities of those in non-Christian religions — including those who do not affiliate with any religion — approved of Obama, while less than a majority of those in the three major Christian religious groups did.
Florida Ruling Unlikely to Impact 2014 Races
The Hill notes it’s not clear how the impact of a judge’s ruling invalidating Florida’s congressional districts will impact this year’s elections.
“The decision is certain to be appealed, and even many Democrats, who cheered the ruling, are doubtful that any redrawing could be implemented quickly enough for the 2014 elections. The state’s filing period has already closed ahead of the August 26 primary elections. The judge has yet to order actions going forward to correct the map.”
Many House Republicans Not Paying Dues
Politico: “House Republicans, so worried that a swelling cash deficit will keep them from making big gains this November, have begun cracking down on dozens of lawmakers who haven’t paid dues crucial to the party’s campaign accounts. It’s reached the point that Speaker John Boehner has dispatched his own team to twist some of the stragglers’ arms.”
Draft Notices Sent to Men Born in 1800s
Washington Post: “No, the United States isn’t trying to build a military force of centenarians. It just seems that way after the Selective Service System mistakenly sent notices to more than 14,000 Pennsylvania men born between 1893 and 1897, ordering them to register for the nation’s military draft and warning that failure to do so is ‘punishable by a fine and imprisonment.'”
Landrieu Holds Edge in Louisiana
A new Rasmussen survey in Louisiana finds Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) just ahead of challenger Bill Cassidy (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 43%.
Judge Invalidates Florida Congressional Districts
“In a ruling released late Thursday, Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis ordered the redrawing of Florida’s congressional map, contending that it violates the Fair District standards,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.
House Unveils Lawsuit Against Obama
House Republicans plan to sue President Obama for failing to enforce the Affordable Care Act, according to a resolution authorizing the lawsuit posted on the House Rules Committee website, Roll Call reports.
The focus is health care: “In 2013, the president changed the health care law without a vote of Congress, effectively creating his own law by literally waiving the employer mandate and the penalties for failing to comply with it. That’s not the way our system of government was designed to work. No president should have the power to make laws on his or her own.”
Vox: “Individual members of Congress, and groups of members, have filed many lawsuits against the president and the executive branch. But neither the House or Senate has ever institutionally sued the president for failing to enforce the law.”
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