Democrats are seizing on recent GOP comments that many feel are unfriendly to women voters as the American Bridge Super PAC has re-launched its “It’s Not Just Akin” website.
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Lawmakers Tire of Playing 20 Questions
“Some members of the Congress say that getting straight answers from intelligence agencies about top-secret surveillance is like playing the game ’20 Questions,’ where answers come only if a questioner knows exactly what to ask,” Reuters reports.
“They say quality of closed briefings depends largely on who conducts the sessions and whether members go in with a working knowledge of programs and pointed questions.”
Senator’s Son Used Slurs On Twitter
Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) son Tanner used Twitter to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike that he “will find you, and … will beat the crap out of you,” joked about an acquaintance stealing one-liners because he’s Jewish, and went by the name “n1ggerkiller” in an online game, BuzzFeed reports.
Said Flake: “I’m very disappointed in my teenage son’s words, and I sincerely apologize for the insensitivity. This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well.”
Quote of the Day
“I think that he’s a moron and he proves that stupid has no specific political affiliation. I have no idea what goes into the mind of a moron like that… These kinds of comments only come from a moron and they shouldn’t be tolerated one bit.”
— Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez (R), quoted by ABC News, on Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) claiming that few women who are raped end up pregnant.
Markey Holds Double-Digit Lead
A new Harper Polling survey in Massachusetts finds Rep. Ed Markey (D) with a 12-point lead over Gabriel Gomez (R), 49% to 37%.
Said pollster Brock McLeary: “Simply put, Gomez trails because there are more Democrats than Republicans in the state. In the next two weeks, the challenge for Gomez is to open up a sizable lead among independents. There are indications that this is possible, but this survey indicates that the race is currently tied among independents.”
Former Speechwriter to Help with Clinton Memoir
Showbiz411 reports Ted Widmer, a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton, will be ghost writing Hillary Clinton’s memoir expected to be published next year but, “It’s still unclear how he will be billed.”
Can Cory Booker Match His Reputation?
New York Times: “It can sometimes seem that Mr. Booker was born on third base in politics, too. For more than a decade, he has occupied a level of celebrity outsized for a councilman and then mayor of the historically troubled city of Newark.”
“Now, as he embarks on a whirlwind run for the United States Senate, he finally seems poised to step into a position that matches his much-discussed promise.”
“If he wins, Mr. Booker will instantly become one of the most prominent figures in Washington. If he loses, it will be a spectacular and surprising flameout.”
Three Women Who Go By ‘Congressman’
Smart Politics finds that three of the 78 women in the House of Represenatives prefer to use the term “congressman” over “congresswoman” when referring to themselves in the first or third person.
All three of these women are Republicans from deep red states: Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Diane Black (R-TN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
Clinton Splits with Obama on Syria
“A top Syrian rebel commander has issued a desperate plea for weapons from Western governments to prevent the fall of his forces in Aleppo, pushing the Obama administration to decide quickly whether to agree to arm rebels for the first time or risk the loss of another rebel stronghold just days after the regime’s biggest victory,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Meanwhie, Politico reports Bill Clinton told Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) he agrees that Obama should act more forcefully to support anti-Assad rebels in Syria, saying the American public elects presidents and members of Congress “to see down the road” and “to win.”
NSA Chief Says Leaks Caused U.S. Great Harm
“The head of the National Security Agency defended his agency’s broad electronic surveillance programs Wednesday, saying that they have helped thwart dozens of terrorist attacks and that their recent public disclosure has done ‘great harm’ to the nation’s security,” the Washington Post reports.
Obama White House Has Close Ties to Media
Washington Post: “The list of prominent news people with close White House relations includes ABC News President Ben Sherwood, who is the brother of Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a top national-security adviser to President Obama. His counterpart at CBS, news division president David Rhodes, is the brother of Benjamin Rhodes, a key foreign-policy specialist. CNN’s deputy Washington bureau chief, Virginia Moseley, is married to Tom Nides, who until earlier this year was deputy secretary of state under Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
“Further, White House press secretary Jay Carney’s wife is Claire Shipman, a veteran reporter for ABC. And NPR’s White House correspondent, Ari Shapiro, is married to a lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, who joined the White House counsel’s office in April.”
Former Obama Aides Form Consulting Firm
Former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs and former Obama campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt announced they are founding a communications firm called The Incite Agency in Washington, the Huffington Post reports.
They will be joined by another Obama campaign aide, Adam Fetcher, who will serve as managing director.
Lawmaker Says Man’s Brain More Concerned About Costs
Maine State Rep. Ken Fredette (R) declared that he and most of his Republican colleagues oppose accepting federal funds to expand health care coverage because the genders think differently.
Said Fredette: “From the other side of the aisle I hear the conversation being about ‘free this is free, we need to take it and it’s free and we need to do it now’ and that’s sort of the fundamental message that my brain receives. Now, my brain being a man’s brain sort of thinks differently, because I say, well, it’s not if it’s free is it really free because I say in my brain there’s a cost to this.”
Isakson Warns Pefect Storm Could Flip Senate Seat
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) “said the mixture of a trending-purple state and a bloody GOP primary could hinder the party’s ability next year to hold the Georgia Senate seat of his retiring colleague,” Roll Call reports.
Said Isakson: “It should be a Republican seat, but there’s a perfect storm that could happen that could make that challenging. So if the Republican party were to make a mistake in its nominating process, as happened in a couple of states in the last cycle then you run the risk of the Democrats having an unchallenged quality opponent in their primary and a bloody Republican — beaten up by other Republicans as well as Harry Reid — coming into a race where they are behind in money.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Before, when my friends on the left side of the aisle here tried to make rape and incest the subject — because, you know, the incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low.”
— Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), quoted by the Washington Post, arguing against an exception for banning all abortion after 20 weeks.
Nearly Half Find Surveillance Acceptable
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that nearly half of all Americans say the U.S. government’s broad surveillance tactics are acceptable within limits and also found widespread concern about the methods that were revealed last week.
The poll also found that “few were completely untroubled by the news that the National Security Agency has been secretly monitoring telephone and Internet activity of millions of Americans. More than one in three of those surveyed said the activity was completely unacceptable. Others sought a middle ground, saying the government needed to balance national security with personal privacy and explain why the activity was necessary.”
Should 2016 Democrats Break with Obama?
Walter Shapiro makes the case that 2016 Democratic White House hopefuls — Hillary Clitnon and Joe Biden aside — should speak out against flawed Obama policies like NSA spying and the terribly mishandled sequester.
“Yes, it’s counter-intuitive to break–however gently–with a popular president of your own party. But, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s also counter-intuitive for you to think about going up in 2016 against someone like Hillary Clinton or Biden.”
“Running for president is not for the fainthearted. But there is a void in the Democratic Party waiting to be filled by a credible figure on Obama’s left flank. And if you don’t have the courage to fill it in 2016, trust me, someone else will.”
Walker Will Sign Abortion Ultrasound Bill
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) said he “will sign a measure that’s quickly working its way through the Republican-controlled Legislature that would require women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound,” the AP reports.
