June, 2015

Want to Use a Taser on a City Official?

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For the price of a $5 raffle ticket, Van Meter, Iowa is offering its residents a chance to use a police Taser on a city official, the Des Moines Register reports.

“City hall is selling the tickets as part of a public safety fundraiser. The raffle winner will get the chance to Taser or spare City Administrator Jake Anderson or Councilman Bob Lacy at the Van Meter Fire Association Street Dance July 18.”

GOP Won’t End Filibuster to Scrap Obamacare

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“Senate Republicans appear to be closing the door on gutting the filibuster, brushing aside calls from presidential hopefuls Jeb Bush and Scott Walker to consider lowering the 60-vote threshold for repealing Obamacare,” The Hill reports.

“Sources close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) say there’s virtually no chance he will go along with abolishing the filibuster, something he has strongly criticized in the past.”

Wonk Wire: Republicans need to accept Obamacare is here to stay.

Christie Lies

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Tom Moran: “Most Americans don’t know Chris Christie like I do, so it’s only natural to wonder what testimony I might offer after covering his every move for the last 14 years.”

“My testimony amounts to a warning: Don’t believe a word the man says. If you have the stomach for it, this column offers some greatest hits in Christie’s catalog of lies. Don’t misunderstand me. They all lie, and I get that. But Christie does it with such audacity, and such frequency, that he stands out.”

“When Christie picks up the microphone, he speaks so clearly and forcefully that you assume genuine conviction is behind it. Be careful, though. It’s a kind of spell. He is a remarkable talent with a silver tongue. But if you look closely, you can see that it is forked like a serpent’s.”

Christie Finds Two Paths to White House Blocked

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Gov. Chris Christie, “whose meteoric rise as a national Republican in his first term was matched only by his spectacular loss of stature at home in his second, is set to enter the 2016 presidential race on Tuesday morning bearing little resemblance to the candidate he once expected to be,” the New York Times reports.

First Read: “There are two paths to winning a party’s presidential nomination. One, you sell yourself as the right candidate to win over the base on the issues — i.e., the ideological warrior. But that was never going to be Christie’s route. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Christie had a problem with GOP primary voters BEFORE Bridge-gate. Two, you sell yourself as the person who is the most electable, the candidate who can beat Hillary Clinton — i.e., the winner. But that route for Christie looks much less promising for him than it did two years ago.”

The GOP Needs to Change

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Charlie Cook: “The momentous events of the last week can be interpreted in numerous ways. But one thing has become increasingly clear: The Republican Party needs to change.”

“Simply put, Republicans are loaded up in a car, racing toward a generational cliff with their eyes focused on the rearview mirror, with many (but notably not all) oblivious to the societal changes taking place all around them and the growing wedge building between their comfort zone and presidential swing voters… Republicans need to do some soul-searching about their future and their relationships with voters of generations to come. Vibrant parties change with the times, adapt themselves to changing conditions and circumstances. Maybe this past week will help the GOP do this.”