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“She’s taking a role in the foundation, she’s writing books, she’s having a little fun being a private citizen for the first time in 20 years.”
— Former president Bill Clinton, quoted by the Washington Post, asking for everyone to give her a break over 2016 presidential speculation.
“Facing a wave of intense criticism and plunging poll numbers after opposing a bill to expand background checks on gun purchases, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte tried some damage control in an op-ed published Monday,” Politico reports.
Wrote Ayotte: “Some of my colleagues want to expand the broken background check system we have now. In my view, we shouldn’t be expanding a flawed system. The focus should be on fixing the existing system, which criminals are flouting.”
First Read says today’s special election in South Carolina is a race “that appears to signify, well, nothing, especially as it relates to 2014 and 2016. If Sanford wins — in a district where Mitt Romney beat President Obama by 18 percentage points, 58%-40% — it will be due simply to the district’s GOP tilt. And if Colbert Busch wins, it will be due simply to Sanford’s flaws and past baggage.”
Charlie Cook: “If Sanford wins by any kind of margin, it means that Republican voters simply held their noses and voted for him anyway. If Colbert Busch wins, it most likely means that a lot of Republicans chose to stay home rather than vote for either a candidate whom they thoroughly disapprove of or one with whom they thoroughly disagree.”
In case you were wondering, Lloyd Grove confirms Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), who has kept out of the spotlight for the last several months, is indeed running for U.S. Senate.
“He told me he has been interviewing potential campaign managers and other senior staffers in recent days and that he plans to raise $10 million by next January in hopes of discouraging other prospective candidates–such as Rep. Frank Pallone of the Jersey Shore and State Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver–from opposing him in the Democratic primary.”
“In the dark arts of political campaigns known as oppo research, the most basic tools of the trade include campaign finance reports, arrest records, lawsuits, old newspaper clips,” the Daily Beast reports.
“In Virginia, though, it seems as if all it takes to embarrass the opposing campaign is a working library card.”
“Over the past week, Republican operatives have been barely able to contain their glee as they email out select passages from What a Party!: My Life Among Democrats, Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, And Other Wild Animals, the memoir by Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, top fundraiser and ally of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and now the Democratic candidate for governor of Virginia.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) told CNN “he is willing to reverse his opposition to expanding background checks for guns if the Senate sponsors change on the bill’s provision dealing with internet sales.”
“Flake said the only reason he voted no was because of his concern that the requirement for background checks on internet sales is too costly and inconvenient, given the way guns are often sold among friends in his state of Arizona and others.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery to aggressively slim down for the sake of his wife and kids,” he revealed to the New York Post.
Said Christie: “I’ve struggled with this issue for 20 years. For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them.”
“He declined to say how much he lost, but sources said he has already shed nearly 40 pounds.”
First Read: “Remember, Christie had previously said that his health was prettty good… In fact, he called himself one of the healthiest fat guys in the
country. So if this is for health reasons, then he wasn’t totally
forthright before. For what it’s worth, we know the issue of his weight
has been discussed with him by supporters and consultants as a political
issue, and that it’s something he needed to deal with in some form if
he ever did decide to run for national office.”
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) “has passed the 100-day mark in the Senate, but he’s still waiting for an office,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
“Currently he’s working in a bunker-like office down the hall from former Sen. Olympia Snowe’s large office suite.”
“King says he originally questioned why he had to wait. After all, there are 100 senators and there should be 100 offices. He says he’s not one to mess with such mysterious Senate traditions, but that he’s looking forward to his new digs in space that was occupied by Scott Brown of Massachusetts.”
Former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker (R) “is taking steps to run for the U.S. Senate, saying he would vote only for legislation that’s constitutional and would pattern himself after tea party favorite U.S. Sen. Rand Paul,” the Des Moines Register reports.
“Republicans have been struggling to find someone willing to take on
the challenge of running to replace U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a veteran
Democrat who is retiring in 2014.”
“Voters in South Carolina’s first congressional district head to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to offer former Gov. Mark Sanford a chance at political redemption, or instead send the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert to Congress,” NBC News reports.
Illinois Republican Chairman Pat Brady is expected to resign Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“The resignation comes after Brady survived an attempt last month to oust him as GOP chairman over his support for gay marriage…
Brady created a controversy within the state GOP in January
when he endorsed pending legislation that would legalize same-sex
marriage in Illinois. The measure passed the Illinois Senate in February
with the support of one Republican.”
“Delaware lawmakers will take up a gay marriage bill on Tuesday in a bid to make the state the 11th to allow same-sex couples to wed,” Reuters reports.
“The scheduled vote in the state’s Democrat-controlled Senate follows the General Assembly’s passage of the bill several weeks ago. Governor Jack Markell, an outspoken supporter of gay marriage, has vowed to sign the bill into law if it clears the Senate.”
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) likened the Boy Scouts stand against gay membership akin to being opposed to slavery, the Dallas Morning News reports.
“Perry, speaking from the library in the Governor’s Mansion, referred to a portrait of Sam Houston, whom he called Texas’ greatest governor. He told how Houston’s principled stand against slavery and Texas’ joining the Confederacy cost him his governorship.”
Said Perry: “That’s the type of principled leadership, that’s the type of courage that I hope people across this country on this issue of Scouts and keeping the Boy Scouts the kind of organization that it is today. If we change and become more like pop culture, young men will be not as well served, America will not be as well served and Boy Scouts will start on a decline that I don’t think will serve this country well as we go into the future.”
The New York Observer highlights the best part out of the complaint filed against New York State Sen. John Sampson (D), who was arrested today:
“At the conclusion of the interview, agents advised the defendant John Sampson that he had lied to federal agents, which constituted a federal crime. After being asked whether he wished to revise his statement, Sampson stated, ‘Not everything I told you was false.'”
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Roll Call reports that just a week ago, political operatives were preparing Mark Sanford’s political obituary. “But internal and public polls showed the race closing — and suddenly his return to the Palmetto State’s congressional delegation has become more than a possibility.”
Stu Rothenberg: “When Sanford’s ex-wife’s complained that he entered her home, many observers believed that it was the beginning of the end for the former governor, even given the Republican nature of the district. But Sanford did not throw in the towel, and Democrats are nervous about whether his efforts during the campaign’s final weeks to make the race into a referendum on Colbert Busch, and on her ties to organized labor, has turned the race toward the Republican.”
“Senate Democrats believe that they have several new votes in favor of a bill that would expand background checks for gun buyers, after weeks in which those who opposed the legislation faced strong political backlash at home…. the bullish talk from Democrats — from leadership on down — is yet another indication that the party feels good about the fallout from the failed gun vote and is increasingly eager to try again,” the Huffington Post reports.
Greg Sargent: “One of these votes currently in play may be Senator Johnny Isakson, who sponsored a background check bill on the state level in Georgia. A gun control advocate who met with Senator Isakson today tells me that he said he is open to voting for Manchin-Toomey if and when it comes up again — and that he is in active talks with Senator Joe Manchin about the measure.”
Bloomberg reports that former Vice President Al Gore and Current TV co-founder reportedly made an estimated $70 million for his 20% stake when he sold the cable network to Al Jazeera.
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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“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
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— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
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